Work Text:
"Hey, Nene-"
"Rui I swear to god if you suggest something stupid one more time I'm going to hit you with a brick."
The night is young. Young, yes; but it's winter, so really, a young night really just means it's evening, but it's dark enough anybody would think it was midnight.
Upon realizing that their weekend trip to perform at a stage around 3-4 hours away, Nene had belatedly realized she was not only short of suitable jackets, but also of a pair of gloves (they had mysteriously disappeared). A few texts checking in on Rui also brought to light his own poor planning - not only did he not have any gloves either (she doesn't think he's ever owned them, despite living in a snowy area), but he was also interested in getting some scarves and maybe a hat or two.
However, Nene, despite knowing this guy for literally all her life - still manages to forget how insufferable it is to shop with him.
Sure, if it's with Emu and Tsukasa (much preferred), it's bearable - whatever Rui suggests, Emu finds weirder; and Tsukasa's always there to shut the two down, leaving Nene to get away with a snide remark or two.
Not when they're alone though.
"You're so cruel , Nene," Rui whines through crocodile tears. "I just wish to show you this gadget they have on sale…"
"We're shopping for clothes Rui," Nene exasperatedly tells him for what must be the twelfth time. "Stop wandering off and help me with jackets. I'm still stuck between these two."
"Oya? Can't you just get both?" Rui places the boxed item on the shelf behind him (what is that? Why is it so green?) and reaches for one of the jackets Nene is deliberating over. "The dark brown one does compliment your hair nicely, but the purple one has a nicer texture... Best of both worlds, just purchase both, no?"
"I already have two, I don't need four. Plus they’re expensive."
"Surely you only need to purchase any at all, then?"
"Well-" Nene coughs. "One of them is falling apart and doesn’t quite fit, so..."
Rui snickers. "That old, hm? When was the last time you cleaned your closet out?"
"When was the last time you cleaned full stop."
"Hey, don't jab at me. I can still wear all my clothes."
"Doesn't mean you should," Nene squints up at him. "The colors go together about 5% of the time. At least I have a sense of fashion, bozo."
"The crusher of my ambitions... And here I was hoping I had a shot at fashion designing..."
"Please do anything else."
The two glare at each other before melting into smiles and a little laughter. Nene supposes it's alright with the two of them, she thinks, settling on the brown coat. Sure, Rui's tendencies to wander off and do who knows what can get irritating, but-
(She turns to glance at him, mid putting the purple jacket back on the rack. He has his hands on a kids jacket, playing with the colorful buttons on its front - a glint of fascination in his eyes.)
-she can't name anyone else she's this comfortable around.
Which isn't to say her time with Emu or Tsukasa is uncomfortable in any way, no - on the contrary, she enjoys time with all three of them the most.
But sometimes she does need a little quiet. A bit more familiarity.
"All done, now?" Rui asks, seemingly satisfied with his curiosity satiated. "That jacket was the last thing you needed, yes?"
"Mhm," Nene replies, folding the jacket over her arm. "I'll go buy these, then we can head home. You wanna wait outside?"
"Will do, my dear!"
She catches the pet name, and glares. "Don't you dare try anything funny."
"Who do you take me for?"
He knows exactly what she takes him for - in which this is communicated by a skeptical look. Rui's smile only grows.
Nene rolls her eyes. This mischievous childhood friend of hers is going to kill her one day.
... is what she thinks, but she knows Rui wouldn't hurt a fly.
Heck, she's even seen him avoid hurting a fly, she thinks to herself, amused; the lengths he went to as kids to avoid hurting even the smallest of bugs was astounding. Nene used to be afraid of anything with that many legs (see: still is), and she'd always cry out to have someone else deal with it. Her mother would smush it with a tissue, her father would hit it smack with a shoe…
But Rui would tell her it was okay . He'd grab a cup, a piece of paper, carefully scoop whatever it was into the cup and set it free; all the while telling Nene about the bug, what it does, its anatomy. Nene, a child, felt even worse at the knowledge of all of that; but the Nene of today knows that it was his way of comforting her.
Rui's comforted by knowledge, by fact. It was a harmless idea, to share with her his expertise. It was kind of him.
He's always been kind. To creatures big and small, to people old and young; he's built to love. Gentle with how he treats anything around him.
Nene smiles, bagging the last of her items. She's really lucky to know him. Even with his stupid stunts as kids, to his absurd ideas now, she's lucky to have someone she trusts with her life.
He's a good person.
Clutching the bag tight, Nene nods goodbye at the security guard, and makes her way out. The cold winter air hits her in the face immediately; but there's no wind, so it’s sort of like a cold invisible wall. It brings a tranquil air to the world - people are scarce, the only light radiating from the various colors from shops and lamps, the only noise coming from the people around her.
Nighttime is very much Nene's favorite. Everyone is asleep; it feels special to be awake.
She glances to her left, and then to her right - No Rui Kamishiro.
Honest to god if I have to spend half an hour trying to find him-
"Thank you once again, young man."
The voice of an old woman startles Nene, and she pivots around, and -
"Why, it's not a problem, ma'am." Rui smiles down at her, various bags in his hand, waiting patiently for the woman to open up the trunk to her car. "Anybody would do the same in my position."
- of course.
Nene can't even pretend to be surprised.
On the (very common) occasion Rui wandered off, it would be to go and find things for shows, to find little gifts that Emu or Tsukasa or even Nene would like; on the (rare) occasion it wasn't that, it was to do something like this. From helping a child reach a book on a tall shelf, to walking an old man across the street; Rui never let a chance like that slip by.
He looks way too happy, Nene thinks, sighing exasperatedly but fondly. He really does look his happiest when helping other people, making others smile.
She reiterates; Rui has always been kind. He was in the past, he is now, and Nene has no doubts he'll continue to be in the future.
…
Which sort of makes Nene a little pissed, if she's honest.
She can't help the heat rising subtly, waiting for Rui to finish helping the woman, smiles and all.
It makes her a little angry, to see him act so kindly.
Because she knows Rui.
She knows the Rui who's always sought the best in people, the Rui who's always been on the optimistic side of things. The bright side.
The Rui who came to her as a kid, sullen, with a look of heartbreak she'd never seen before on a person; telling her that he had pushed others with his shows and that he made everyone upset.
Nene is aware she wasn't around much (very regrettably), but she knows the Rui that still hadn't found happiness; even if they didn't talk to each other anymore. Rui, who's always hoped, ever the optimist, still continued to love, even in the face of pain.
She's seen him been called names time and time again; she's been a bystander to all of the people who never gave him the time of day. The people that called him creepy, untrustworthy, dangerous - Nene knows exactly how badly it carved into him, how awful it made him feel.
Doesn't it make you angry? Nene thinks, watching as Rui shakes the old lady's hand with both of his own. To give and to never receive? To wake up, everyday, only to be exposed to people who label you as something you're not, no matter how kind you are?
How can you believe in people like that? How can you want to make them happy, when all they've done is make you sad?
Rui walks over, casting a wave over his shoulder, and greeting Nene with a smile. "Sorry for making you wait, Nene. She was struggling with a lot of bags, so I stepped in to help her."
As if you would do anything else.
"It's whatever," Nene shrugs. "You didn't take that long, luckily for you."
"Fufu. It was just a small deed, of course I wouldn't leave you out in the cold," Rui tilts his head. "Shall we go, then? Here, pass me a bag."
Kindness is just so easy for you, isn't it?
Nene shakes her head. "It's not that heavy."
"But still, you're carrying three with both of your hands," Rui points out. "Wouldn't it be better to divvy up the bags? What if you need to check your phone for something?"
"...Stop being right about everything." Huffing, Nene eventually passes Rui two of the bags.
"It's a skill~" Rui takes them happily, and motions for Nene to follow.
Nene can ignore the smug look he dons easily; but the gentleness in his eyes that he regards Nene with is a little more difficult to forget about.
Despite how much hurt Rui has endured, Nene knows why he still continues to believe, despite how much she wishes she didn't. Despite how much she wishes he would think for himself once in a while.
It's because of the friends he's made.
Emu is a lot like Rui. She believes in things; not so much people like Rui does, but in the less tangible things. Childlike platitudes, childlike wonder. Both of them dream, dream as if it's the only thing they know how to do; never for themselves, but for the world around them - dreaming for it to be filled with smiles and laughter.
The time where Emu's older brothers had told her to stop dreaming was one of the very few times she had seen Rui so... angry. Barely restrained. When Rui feels too much, he inversely maintains his composure; so for Rui to so calmly speak like that spoke volumes .
The only other time Nene can recall recently that Rui was that mad was when Tsukasa had yelled at her, back when Wonderlands x Showtime had only recently formed. And even then, it was for Nene. He's never been angry for himself .
Tsukasa is a perfect example of how humans can change. He's still as annoying as ever (that part of him is probably going to stay), but Nene knows that Tsukasa is someone very important to Rui. Nene is by no means emotionally perceptive at all; but when you know someone for as long as she's known Rui, it's learned, intentionally or not. She sees how happy it makes him to be trusted.
Back when she had first joined, she caught the way Rui had purposefully made himself look more dangerous, unsafe; she caught the bored look he thought he was hiding so well.
She caught the thinly veiled lack of hope. The resolution of "Let's just get this over with."
It's a little upsetting to think about how he probably put himself through this just for Nene's benefit.
It’s always for other people, and never for you.
But they had shown him a better life. They all proved him wrong.
Hope had found a home.
"The sky is quite clear tonight..." Rui mumbles, mainly to himself. Nene looks up at him, at how he's peering up, intrigued. She sees how the moonlight reflects off his eyes, and how his mouth quirks up just a little.
She knows Rui. She knows thinking for others, making others laugh, smile; loving is what makes him feel whole. She reiterates; Rui was built to love.
But, Nene thinks. But you deserve to be loved, too.
"Yeah, yeah, just watch where you're going," Nene nudges him slightly. "Knowing you, you're gonna trip over something."
"And I can't have my dear Nene watch out for me?"
"Hell no."
"Well, then how am I supposed to appreciate the sky?"
You've seen this sky so, so many times - it's lived eons beyond you. And yet you look at it like it's the first time ever.
"...Wait until we get home, then," Nene looks down, averts her gaze. Shy. "We can climb onto your roof. Like old times. Watch the stars."
"Are you sure?" Rui looks down at her, surprised. "I would've thought you'd use the time to rehearse instead."
Oh, honestly, you.
"Well. Um." Nene clears her throat. "I... guess, something like this is... fine, once in a while."
Nene may wish things for Rui but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for her to grant them.
Rui smiles - a gentle thing. "Well, then I would be delighted to. As long as you don't fall asleep on me like you've done all the other times~"
"Wh-" Nene sputters, face reddening. "I thought- you- you always say it's fine, don't spin this around on me now!"
"I'm joking, I'm joking," Rui laughs a little. "I really don't mind it. It's nice to fall asleep under the stars, I'll admit."
(She knows it's much less enjoyable for him than it is for her. He lets her use most if not all the blanket - and he lets himself be laid on like a human pillow.
But when Nene asked about this, after him catching another cold, accompanied by a rather stiff neck, he only smiled and told her, "I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable, Nene.")
Dummy .
"Well, this time, things will be different," Nene resolves with a huff. "I won't fall asleep. In fact, I'll make sure you fall asleep, on me. You can have the blanket. And in the morning, I’ll wake you up."
"...And why would that be?"
"Isn't it obvious?" She speaks with authority. "Even Rui deserves to be pampered sometimes. You deserve to be on the receiving end of all that kindness, you know?"
It’s a little embarrassing to be so honest.
Nene doesn't expect Rui to stop walking like that. She doesn't expect to turn and see that look on his face; one of pleasant surprise.
And she definitely doesn't expect that smile, and the intensity of its warmness; and how it immediately makes her cheeks burn.
"...Thank you, Nene."
Even though he's not good with vocalizing his thoughts, Rui sure has a way of making each of his words full of emotion. Nene, who knows Rui, can tell the connotations that lie beneath those words.
It’s pure, heartfelt gratitude.
"...You're welcome, Rui."
You fall in love with the world.
"Now come on, we should get back soon. It's freezing out here."
"...Right, of course. We wouldn't want Nene catching a cold, now would we?"
"If anyones catching a cold, it's you."
"I'm more bundled up than you are."
"And? When has that ever mattered? Weren’t you the one that caught that nasty bug despite all those layers?"
"Ugh. Whatever, Rui."
So let me fall in love with you too.