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Where in the world are you right now?!
on my way back now, oshi-san! i’m sorry for bein late bout it! they didn’t have the usual food ya like, so i had to find somethin else.
You scatterbrained dolt. You had better be on your return now.
i am! i’m almost back!
The strap of Mika’s shoulder bag whispered across his shoulder as he shrugged, pushing it back up toward his neck. The contents swung against his hip, tapping it in some attempt to knock him off balance. Luckily, he wouldn’t have to endure for much longer: he could already see the stretch of their dorm poking above the rest of the buildings. Only two streetlights and he would be there.
In his pocket, his phone buzzed again. After a moment’s hesitation, he reached down to pull it out, slowing to a snail’s pace so he didn’t trip as he walked.
Hurry up! We haven’t got all day!
The message caused him to quicken his pace. This time, he nearly fell over a crack and dropped his phone. “Stupid Kagehira!” he whispered furiously to himself. Shuu may have been having one of his weaker days, but that made no excuse for Mika to be falling over himself as much as he had been. He couldn’t risk ruining everything he had just bought. The two of them together barely had enough money to get by as it was.
Closing the short distance to the outer gates of Yumenosaki, Mika practically jogged his way to the side door, slipping inside bag-first. He ran through the larger corridor to the stairs at the other side of the hall and trotted up the stairs briskly, almost falling thrice and actually tripping once at the top. His shoulder slammed into the railing, but he recovered himself fast enough to make sure nothing in his bags spilled over. He would be in for it if he spilled any of the food he had bought for Shuu. His unit partner hadn’t eaten all day, and he hadn’t even answered Mika when he had asked. Which meant he hadn’t eaten all day.
Once he made it to the door, he slid one of the bags over his forearm, letting it dangle and hit the door as he rapped his fingers, lightly, in their quick, familiar pattern, then took out his phone again.
i’m back. are ya decent?
It took Shuu nearly half a minute to respond. Yes.
Mika hummed, pushing his way into the room. He shut and locked the door behind him, glancing around. At some point while he was gone, Shuu had sprayed perfume throughout his room and warmed some incense. The two scents mixed fine, luckily, and they tickled Mika’s nose. Shuu himself sat curled up in the corner of the room, on the small couch that could only really fit himself and half of Mika, if Mika squeezed in.
He did not, in fact, tend to squeeze in. Even if he often wanted to. It wasn’t allowed.
In the small space sat Mademoiselle, propped delicately against the back of the couch as though she were sitting. She faced Mika, watching him kindly.
He blew out a quick breath, setting his bag of groceries down on the table. “Are ya hungry, Oshi-san? I brought back some real good food. It’s light food. The kind I’ve seen ya eatin’ before. I know ya didn’t tell me to get anything in specific, but I wanted to find somethin’ ya liked. Ya gotta eat, Oshi-san.”
Shuu sniffed through his nose - a long breath, followed by a sharp whistle. He stopped at the sound and sighed. Quite loudly. But he said nothing.
Mika frowned. “Hey, Oshi-san? I’m sorry you’re feelin’ bad today. I wish I coulda help ya. I’m tryin’, Oshi-san… I really wanna help ya. I can’t make ya eat or nothin’, but I’ll try and prepare somethin’ other than just junk. I was in a hurry to come back.”
The other boy really didn’t look very well at all. Mika couldn’t hardly see him with only two lamp lights lit, but he recognised the droop of Shuu’s shoulders. Such a desperate position had become familiar to him in the past few weeks. More often, he had begun to read the emptiness that rested in the curve of Shuu’s neck. To Mika, it seemed like his entire body softened at these moments, as if he weren’t entirely the Shuu he knew, but a different person altogether. This, too, was compounded by the way he spoke: not strictly and unhappily, the way he normally did, but softly, his voice a bit higher than how he normally spoke. As if he had suddenly decided to care about Mika’s feelings for some odd reason.
It made Mika feel uneasy. He still wasn’t certain if Shuu were simply pretending not to hear him, or if he refused to, or if he heard but didn’t want to acknowledge him. Whatever the case, Mika had never witnessed anything like this from him before. Or from anyone else, for that matter.
Recently, Mika had learned that her name was Mademoiselle - the doll that the boy always loved so deeply and brought with him wherever he went. She spoke through Shuu. Or perhaps she spoke as Shuu. Mika didn’t know the difference. Her presence loomed over him like a warm blanket, her presence gentle, and her kind eyes and motherly smile seemed always aimed to reassure Mika about anything he spoke of. Still afraid of what Shuu might say, he didn’t share most of his feelings, but every so often, he let slip a word or two of his sadness and worry for Shuu and braced himself for the slew of reprimands that he often aimed at him.
Those never came from Mademoiselle. She seemed so different from Shuu, yet spoke in a way that suggested she knew everything about him, and was slowly trickling that knowledge into Mika.
He still didn’t know whether he was comforted by the knowledge or disturbed. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know everything about Shuu. He was already perfect, to Mika. What else did he need to know but that?
“Oshi-san…?” He reached out to set his fingers lightly only a few centimetres from Shuu’s thigh.
No answer, though Shuu did shift slightly where he laid, adjusting himself so that he could look at Mika with a stern, and yet slightly distance, look - as though he weren’t completely here. Perhaps it was a signal for Mika to stop talking so that he didn’t ruin his voice, or give him a bit of space, or simply not to look at him. Mika didn’t want to give him the former that quickly, still concerned about what might have happened while he was gone. Surely, Shuu hadn’t let anyone else into the room. Had he? Would anyone else even be around to bother?
Considering the current, sparse track record of visitors lately, he doubted anyone could have been here in the hour he had been gone.
Mika quickly took his head back, gaze roaming to Mademoiselle. Was it her turn to speak? “Madonee?” he whispered.
Shuu laughed suddenly, making Mika jump. His voice sat in a higher register, and Mika knew the laugh didn’t entirely belong to him. “Fufufu, Mika-chan. How long it took for you to notice!”
“Nyaagh?” Mika’s face burned. “I’m sorry, Madonee! I still didn’t recognise ya after all this time!”
“Why would you? You’ve only known me for such a short time. I wouldn’t expect you to recognise me.” Beside the following, the Mademoiselle in Shuu’s body shifted, sitting up and crossing their legs and propping the doll in their lap and facing Mika, who took it as a sign to sit and settle down on the cushion beside them. “I am who I am now, aren’t I?”
Mika nodded, but he felt very uncertain about this entire ordeal, still unused to Mademoiselle’s contrasting mannerisms. “Uu… I guess so…”
“Well, Mika-chan? You’ve come to check up on our Shuu-kun, is that right?”
“I was comin’ back anyways. He seemed real off today. Most o’ the day. At first, I thought he just slept bad the night before, but he didn’t seem tired.” Shuu had done everything as if he were wide awake. Just not entirely there, as if his mind were preoccupied with other thoughts. Even this much told Mika he was having one of his bad days. “And he wasn’t doin’ things like he was exhausted or nothin’, and he wasn’t as sharp toward me today. Not like he normally is. And- and he was still talkin’ to me, but it wasn’t the same way he usually does, ‘cause usually he’s all prickly and says I’m talkin’ back to him whenever I say anything.” He paused, crossing his arms tightly across his abdomen. Speaking his own thoughts still felt uncomfortable. “Today he just… let me talk.”
Mademoiselle narrowed their eyes in such a way that Mika could tell she wasn’t just looking at him out of suspicion. He knew suspicion - and irritation - very well when it came to Shuu’s eyes, and this was not what it looked like. It looked more like amusement, maybe. Or perhaps something kinder. He wanted to hope it was something kinder.
Several seconds of silence passed, until Mika couldn’t take it anymore. He dropped his gaze, eyeing the side of his thumbnail. Having Shuu’s eyes on him like that for longer than two seconds had always meant something bad. It could be the same with Mademoiselle. “Whatcha lookin’ at me like that for, Madonee? You’re starin’.”
“I was only trying to read your face.” She laughed softly, and the sound tinkled around Mika and tickled beneath his ear. “You seem sad that Shuu-kun let you speak.”
He raised a shoulder, tilting his head and smiling despite himself. “I ain’t sad! I’m worried, ‘cause why does Oshi-san think he needs to let me talk? I never told him I didn’t like when he did that before. I promise, Madonee, I don’t mind when Oshi-san talks over me. He knows more than me anyways, and that just means I know I got stuff I’m supposed to learn. He never lets me say anything wrong. But… I dunno if I’m sayin’ stuff wrong when he lets me talk? Maybe he gave up on teachin’ me now ‘cause he’s feelin’ so bad?” Mika didn’t want that. “I’d rather chew off my leg than have him stop teachin’ me.”
Or worse, to give up on Valkyrie completely. That was, in Mika’s opinion, the worst thing that could possibly happen to Valkyrie. So maybe fine had beaten them out badly, and maybe Nazuna had backed away from Valkyrie and left it forever, but… Valkyrie could still come back, as long as Shuu didn’t leave it.
He drew his hands down into his lap, hooking his fingers together and pressing his inner knuckles against each other as hard as he could. “I’m worried ‘bout Oshi-san, Madonee. And I’m scared, ‘cause he’s been feelin’ so bad, and I don’t want things to change.”
“Things are not going to change as badly as you think they will,” Mademoiselle pointed out, shifting so that she could face him. She reached a hand out, covering both his hands with splayed fingers. “Shuu-kun has a great deal he still wants to accomplish.”
“But - but they’re gonna change,” he murmured, looking down at both their fingers. “I want Valkyrie to go back to how it was. That ain’t gonna happen, is it? Nazuna-nii’s already stopped comin’ by or talkin’ ‘bout Valkyrie with us anymore, and -”
In one quick movement, Mademoiselle snatched their hand back to clutch, closed-fingered, against their chest.
Mika started in turn, pulling his own arms in. He hugged them around his abdomen, watching the floor. “M’sorry.”
“Tactless fool.” Shuu again.
“I didn’t mean to make ya upse-”
“You make me very upset, every day.” Shuu raised a hand to his temple, pressing the pads of his fingers into the softest spot and squeezing his eyes shut. “You…” There he stayed, for just a moment longer than usual. “You should know better than to mention Nito at a time like this. Why can’t you learn? Why can’t you just know what I want you to say?”
“I’m sorry, Oshi-san. I should… I should know better.” He pulled himself fully into the couch, drawing his knees in and jamming his heels into the cushion. He convened his thoughts much better when he was curled up into a ball. “Things are gonna be different, but… but I’ll help ya.”
Shuu frowned. He drew in a breath, seemingly in some reply, but exhaled again. When he became this silent…
Mika’s gaze flickered down to Mademoiselle.
“Why?” Mademoiselle’s high pitch sounded again.
“Nyaagh?” He eyed the doll, then looked up to Shuu’s face. “Why what..?”
Mademoiselle shook their head. “Shuu-kun is having… a difficult time, Mika-chan. Why will you stay?”
The question didn’t clear anything up for Mika, who frowned deeply in confusion. “I dunno what ya mean? I dunno why I wouldn’t stay and help? Oshi-san’s the most important person in my life. When he’s happy, I’m happy, and when he’s sad, I’m sad. So… so it hurts me, when he’s cryin’ or upset or won’t eat. And it scares me too, ‘cause maybe Oshi-san doesn’t think Valkyrie can go on. I don’t… I don’t wanna leave, Madonee. That’s why I’m stayin’.” Mika took a deep breath to quell the nerves in his chest. “Oshi-san’s the one who practised with me and who knows all o’ what to do on stage with me. I can’t dance with anyone else, and I can’t sing with anyone else! An’ - an’ Valkyrie’s been top since before I even got here. What’s it gonna tell everyone if it stops? What’s it gonna say ‘bout Oshi-san if he stops singin’ ‘cause o’ this?”
Mademoiselle’s brow furrowed. The look in her eye was much clearer now, more present. “Oh, darling boy. Of course Shuu-kun would never give up on Valkyrie. He would never abandon you the way you think he would.”
Mika gasped, withdrawing his arms tightly against his chest. “Huh? No! Madonee, no! I don’t think Oshi-san’s gonna abandon me!”
“Don’t you?”
“No!” His voice broke, and so, too, did his resolve. He slumped against the back of the couch, pressing his face into the fabric and shutting his eyes. A chill poked between his shoulder blades. “I mean… not like this. Singin’ and performin’ are important to him. Oshi-san ain’t Oshi-san if he gives up on Valkyrie that easy.” He rested his hand in front of his face, staring at a hangnail at his thumb. “I’m just worried ‘bout him is all. It ain’t about me.”
“Isn’t it?” Mademoiselle shifted, twisting in place to face Mika and pulling their knees up. “Shuu-kun has been very worried about Valkyrie. You’ve probably noticed by the way he’s been so short-tempered with you. Personally, I think he doesn’t think about his words toward you as much as he should.” She smiled, sorrowfully through the grace of Shuu’s lips, and her eyes gleamed with compassion. “He’s sorry about it too, you know.”
For some reason, he couldn’t pull a smile. Instead, he shut his eyes, wanting only to scoot forward and rest himself in Mademoiselle’s sympathetic hold. He wouldn’t dare betray Shuu’s trust in that way. “Oshi-san ain’t a bad guy. He’s just unhappy.” He opened his eyes and found, with horror, that they were beginning to prick with tears. “I knew him once, when he wasn’t. He was real nice to me. He said he didn’t like my clothes and all, but he didn’t say nothin’ bad ‘bout them. He gave me new ones and told me I looked much nicer, and not like I’d been draggin’ myself through mud and swimmin’ in garbage. But…” Mika contemplated for a moment. “He wasn’t like he is now, I don’t think. Not that I can remember. Maybe I don’t remember, but I remember Oshi-san. And Oshi-san was the smartest boy I’d ever met. He’s still the smart boy I know. I ain’t afraid when I’m with him either.
“But he’s different than how he used to be. I dunno what happened to him between then an’ now, but he ain’t acted like that with me since I joined Valkyrie.” Shuu hadn’t told Mika much about himself at all up until this point, and the few times Mika had tried to ask about, or even allude to, it had been met with anger. “He makes me clothes an’ makes me stand still an’ tells me I’m a failure when I do somethin’ like move my fingers. I don’t even know if he remembers all that stuff that happened when we were kids. But I know he ain’t all bad. Oshi-san ain’t all bad. Right, Madonee?” Mika tilted his head at her, hunching down to drape his palm lightly over the doll’s head, like a hood. “You’ve been with him longer than I have.”
This time, Mademoiselle really did look as though she pitied him.
Unused to seeing such a glance from Shuu’s eyes, Mika glanced down at his hands. Nausea pulsed near his esophagus.
“He’s very sorry for how he’s treated you,” said Mademoiselle. “But his mind will not allow him to apologise easily. Not yet. He has been trying. He’s been trying very hard, Mika-chan. Will you give him some time to regain himself?”
“Of course I will, Madonee. Oshi-san’s been through a bad time. He needs all the time he can have.” He straightened his back. “If it was up to me, I’d give him all the time in the world. But… we already ain’t been goin’ to our classes the past few weeks. And…” With a dip of his head, he began to speak lower. “And don’t tell Oshi-san or nothin’, but I got a message from the teachers a few days ago. They’re sayin’ we gotta at least show up sometimes. I’ve told ‘em about Oshi-san, and they’re givin’ us a little more time, but that ain’t gonna last forever. Not that I know what they’re teachin’ me half the time, ‘cause I’m too stupid, but I know Oshi-san’s grades are real important to him and ain’t gonna like it if we’re dropped outta Yumenosaki. Valkyrie is his pride and joy. I know Nazuna-nii left it, but I think he still wants Valkyrie to keep goin’. I can’t ever be a replacement for what they had together, but -”
“Mika-chan,” began Mademoiselle, her high-pitched tone uncharacteristically serious, “Of course I know things about Shuu-kun that you wouldn’t know yourself. And I know he would not like me to tell you this, but he wishes only the best for you, and I think he has only recently begun to see that how he’s shown it hasn’t been very kind. He cares for you more than he’s said.”
A spark leapt in Mika’s chest, and he twisted in an attempt to quash it before it drew a blush to his ears. “Really?”
Mademoiselle nodded. “If he didn’t, he would have worked much harder to stop you from performing with him.”
He frowned. “But… Oshi-san cares a lot ‘bout Valkyrie. And I care a lot ‘bout makin’ sure his Valkyrie’s still standin’. Really, I don’t mind if he doesn’t like me all that much.”
“But there’s nothing you can do about it now, Mika-chan. And do you know what?”
“What?”
“You’re doing a wonderful job with our Shuu-kun.”
Mika paused to register it in two parts: first, “Our…?” And second: “How do ya know, Madonee?”
“Because what he needs right now is someone to understand him and listen to him. And you are the greatest listener that he has ever met.” She nodded once, as if agreeing with and affirming her own words. She still looked so serious that Mika didn’t doubt her for a moment. After all, Mademoiselle never lied. “And the greatest one I have ever met.”
“Nnh…” His face burned now. And his neck. “I don’t get it.” Lowering his head, he hid his blush from Mademoiselle. “Oshi-san’s got a lot of friends here. He’s got all the second years and Nakkun. And Kiryuu-senpai comes and checks up on him sometimes, when he’s got the time. But I’m… part o’ Valkyrie. I gotta help Oshi-san at all costs. We ain’t friends like that, but I still gotta. I gotta help him, ‘cause why else would I be here, then?”
Mademoiselle blinked at him. A brief, unsettling scowl crossed her expression and stayed for several moments, before she finally took in a breath and resumed her pleasant expression, albeit blanker than before. “Is that the reason you’re helping him, Mika-chan? Because you feel like you have to?”
Still reeling from Mademoiselle’s very Shuu-like expression - and worried that Shuu would begin to reprimand him at any second - Mika shook his head. “No! No, that ain’t - I said that wrong, I’m sorry! I just meant… I feel like I got even more of a responsibility. Since he let me join Valkyrie, that means I gotta make sure Valkyrie is always in some condition where we can perform for other people. If that means I gotta pick up fer Oshi-san when he’s not feelin’ good, then I’ll do it. I don’t care how hard it’ll be. I care about Oshi-san a lot. I care ‘bout him so much. I don’t ever wanna see him sad or upset like this. I’ll do anything.”
At this point, he realised he was pleading with her. If he didn’t stop now, he might look even more stupid and start crying again, so he shut his mouth, frowning severely at the floor.
Mademoiselle seemed to sense how he felt. She squeezed at his arm lightly, scooting in close and wrapping an arm around Mika’s shoulders. Gently, she pulled him in, until he was resting, in all his hesitance, against their side.
Mika, who didn’t know what to do now, curled up slightly. To protect himself? He didn’t know.
“Don’t be afraid,” she said softly, reaching up to run their fingers through his hair.
Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t something he was supposed to be doing. He wasn’t allowed, no matter how much he wanted to. “But… Oshi-san will…”
“He’ll what? Tell me that I’m wrong?” Mademoiselle let out a genuine laugh. “Shuu-kun knows that I know what’s best for him. He won’t be angry.”
Knows what’s best for him? Whatever that meant, Mika was too confused to figure it out. “He won’t be angry at you,” he pointed out delicately, because in that same moment, his mind’s eye, he was watching as Shuu shoved him off the couch and leapt away and screeched at him for daring to tuck himself against his side as he was now. And all his pleads of ‘no, it wasn’t my idea! I knew ya never wanted me to touch ya!’ would go unheard, and he would be kicked out of Valkyrie for being so bold.
He wanted to jump. He wanted to spring out of these arms and dart across the room and apologise and do something more productive with his time. Something that Shuu wouldn’t despise him for.
Despite it all, he curled a little tighter, pressing himself into their side and resting his cheek against the smooth fabric of their shirt. He wanted to be here, too. How badly he wanted to be held in Shuu’s arms and told that he didn’t have to leave. “I don’t wanna go yet.”
“You don’t have to.”
Mika’s heart wasn’t quelled of its quick beating, but he did shut his eyes. Even though Shuu didn’t want to speak to him at the moment, this still felt as if it was Shuu himself who invited him here. He had never been here before, of all places, or even really been this close to him. The only times he had were when Shuu picked him up after a fainting spell, deigning to carry him back as if it were some annoying duty. He didn’t feel this time as if Mademoiselle or Shuu thought he was a burden here. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been invited here. Right?
Still, he had to wonder what Shuu thought of him now. If not a burden, then… what? If he wasn’t an annoying, dusty little creature that shouldn’t be allowed to touch Shuu or get any of his grime on him, then what was he now? Certainly not changed, not clean and not smart and not better.
Slowly, he reached up to rest his hand to rest on Shuu’s chest, folding his fingers into a loose fist. He watched as his hand moved up and down, following the steady tempo of breathing. Here was Mademoiselle, and here was Shuu, still going strong after everything their little unit had been through. Here they were, still intent on singing.
Smiling, Mika shut his eyes. He didn’t know how long he was there: only that it was long enough for his beating heart to finally relax. Even a bit of sleep trickled over his eyelids and drifted over his mind, and he sank into a light sleep that wiped his consciousness, and all his worries, away.
Too soon, he felt Mademoiselle twitch. At first, Mika only moved slightly to adjust himself so that he wasn’t lying so heavily against their side. The last thing he wanted was to cut off some circulation, or to accidentally be in such a position that he might unintentionally hurt Shuu.
Then he heard a low grunt, followed by the arm he was resting on being pulled back. “Kagehira,” came the low timbre of Shuu’s voice, nearly whispering.
Mika’s nerves spiked. Slowly, he began to peel himself away. “Sorry, Oshi-sa-”
“Non!” Shuu’s arm slid up, catching Mika swiftly by the side and positioning itself so that he was firmly strapped in, like some sort of warm, human seatbelt. “Stay still, you miserable creature! Did I tell you to get up?”
Flabbergasted, Mika settled himself down quickly, curling back up against Shuu’s side and pulling a knee up. “Sorry!” he yelled in a whisper, confused and perplexed that he had to apologise for trying to move off of him. He wanted him to stay here?
But… no. Something was wrong. He should have been pushing him away and telling him he was wrong for this! No matter how irregular their current circumstances were, it was never irregular enough to change Shuu like this.
Still somewhat frozen, Mika managed to thaw himself out enough to adjust himself again, so that his cheek rested against Shuu’s side again, just shy of his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut: protection, for if Shuu suddenly decided to start yelling.
But he didn’t. He simply reached up and set his hand on Mika’s head. The weight of it felt heavy but comforting to the younger boy. Doubtlessly, Shuu was listening to everything he had told Mademoiselle. And if he wasn’t scolding him for all of it now, then maybe that meant he didn’t mind it.
Mika’s heart thumped so quickly that he was sure Shuu could feel it, but he felt bolder than usual. All this calm had to mean something - some leeway, perhaps, a chance for him to speak. “Oshi-san?”
Shuu drew in a long breath, then sighed it back out. “What?”
“I… er… I don’t think you’re broken, Oshi-san. Maybe you’re still tryin’ to figure out how to fix yerself, but… ya don’t gotta fix yerself on yer own, Oshi-san. I promise. I think you’re real beautiful, Oshi-san. Ya wanna know why?”
Shuu shifted where he sat, staring at a point on the other side of the room. He looked faintly distracted, and a light frown creased at his brow. But he didn’t respond.
Mika took that as a sign he could continue. “It’s ‘cause anyone who’s been strong enough to live through somethin’ this crappy’s beautiful. Ya didn’t become useless or worthless just ‘cause this happened to ya. Maybe Valkyrie’s in kind of a tough spot right now, but it’s just in a little bit o’ disrepair. That’s all. And if that’s all, then that means it can be fixed.” He nodded in agreement with himself, his fingers playing over a small wrinkle in Shuu’s shirt. “Valkyrie and us, we ain’t exactly broken. We’re just a little bit different. And if people can’t see that, then they won’t be our fans. We got plenty of fans, so there’s plenty o’ people who still see that in us, even if we ain’t at the top of the school anymore.”
With a hum, Shuu turned his head, looking down at him without smiling. Mika broke his gaze, unsettled once more, and continued.
“I ain’t leavin’ Valkyrie. And I ain’t leavin’ you. We’ll be a unit with two people. I know I ain’t that good at bein’ an idol, and I don’t got the brains to be very smart like you, but I wanna learn from ya, Oshi-san. You’re the only person I wanna listen to. I wanna make sure I get Valkyrie right, the way you want Valkyrie to be. ‘Cause Valkyrie is real important to me. It’s the most important thing in my life, as much as you are.”
Shuu didn’t respond to that. At least he wasn’t angry, or telling him off. That was always a better sign than a bad one.
“Oshi-san? I just wanted ya to know. I’m not leavin’, not ever. You’re stuck with me. Heh.”
This time, Shuu finally stirred, clearing his throat and scowling. “I like you better when you aren’t speaking.”
Mika blinked. Then he smiled. There was the Oshi-san he knew. There was his Oshi-san.
“‘Kay, Oshi-san.” And without speaking, he once more settled against Shuu’s side, basking, while he still could, in the gentle motion of Shuu’s breathing, wonderfully alive and delightfully rhythmic.