Chapter Text
“Do you ever wonder,” Yuzuri started lazily, the tiny kwami floating up to sit on Shirayuki’s shoulder, “if there’s a single guy in Paris that can handle rejection without getting akumatized?”
Shirayuki huffed, flexing her forearms against the rope restricting her to her chair. It would do her no good transform, not when she couldn’t reach her yo-yo.
“Yuzuri, you know Raj can’t help himself.” She scolded her kwami without any real heat, because as much as she understood Raj meant her no harm, well –
It was still extremely annoying.
She was supposed to be sitting in chemistry class, learning about the lab assignments for midterms. Instead, she was stuck playing kidnapping victim, all because she was at ground zero during the exact moment Raj was determined to be the person with the most negative emotions in all of Paris.
(She compartmentalized her guilt that she'd been the one to invoke those negative emotions. Again.)
This was the third ( third! ) time her friend had allowed his negative emotions to overcome him, and while she’d give him a pass on the second time when his siblings had driven him to the point of insanity, the first and third times were his own fault. He knew what her answer would be when he’d asked her on a date. Shirayuki had been nothing if not crystal clear.
“It’s just the movies this time!” He’d begged. “And even if it was something more overtly romantic, there is no one better suited to the role of your boyfriend as me!” He’d snapped his hand, triumphantly, like that somehow made the decision final, not counting on Shirayuki’s righteous outburst.
“We both know it’s not ‘just the movies’. I don’t know how else to say it, but I don’t want to be anything more than your friend, Raj. Even if I had time for a boyfriend right now, which I do not , I’m in love with someone else.”
He took a step back. “Someone else? But… when – how –“
He’d bit his lip, eyes watering, but Shirayuki had stood her ground, not noticing the purple butterfly floating through the hallway until it was too late to do anything but watch it merge with the movie tickets in Raj’s hands. The familiar neon purple outline of a moth covered his face, when he lifted his head in assent to Hawk Moth’s terms, purple miasma erupted around him and bubbled over Shirayuki before she could take more than two steps back.
Paris’s villain-of-the-day: Raji-Dono.
A few snaps of his fingers later, Shirayuki was brought to her current location, a pedestal in the grand ballroom of the Shenazard hotel, tied to a suspiciously throne-like chair. It seemed Hawk Moth was really trying to set the scene this time around; the Bad Purple Bubbles had changed her regular clothes into a dress she’d never seen before, made of forest-green Victorian-era silks. The cool metal of a diadem weighed against her temples, and she knew her hair had been pulled into some sort of updo, because she could no longer feel the strands brushing her shoulders. Damsel in distress was not a typical role for Shirayuki, but at least she could appreciate the costume design. She felt positively regal.
Too bad this fairy tale was still missing its heroes.
“My my,” a familiar caramel voice teased in her ear, and Shirayuki shivered.
Right on time, kitty.
Chat Noir emerged from the shadows of the pretentiously large backing of her chair, stealthy as ever.
“You just can’t help breaking hearts wherever you go, can you?” With one claw, he severed the rope at her arms, careful not to scratch her skin. She ripped her arm away from the rope as it tightened, trying to pin her down once again.
“The rope just moved. On its own.” He stood, fixated, as if he thought if he looked away for one second, it’d bind him too.
“Yeah, Ra— the akuma started bringing stuff to life.” The severed rope inched at her person like a worm, and she slid over in the chair until she was nearly sliding off the edge.
“Good to know.” He slashed the rope at her other arm, and she stood quickly out of the chair, the rope still wiggling toward her at an ominous .07 km/h. The chair was suspiciously still for having carried her through the hotel to this ballroom like a spider to its web, but maybe its sense of urgency left once it reached its destination?
Her eyes turned skyward, wondering what she could have possibly done differently.
“I just want to be taken seriously, Chat,” she groaned, shuffling away from her throne of imprisonment. Luckily, Hawk Moth had put her in flats. “I wasn’t trying to be unkind.”
He gently raised her hand from where it tensed in the bustle of her skirts and brought her knuckles to his lips with a soft kiss.
“You never are, Miss.”
There it was. Effervescent bubbles rising in her chest and goosebumps on her arms.
This partnership had become Shirayuki's new normal, ever since her kitty had saved her from the very first akuma and inspired her to answer the call to fight for Paris. He was her other half, the destruction to her creation. They finished each other's sentences, adapted to each other's strengths; he could intuit her plans sometimes before she even managed to articulate them. She trusted him implicitly, even without her spots.
Three years later, trust had slowly grown and morphed into, well, more , and after lots of soul-searching, fact-checking and hardcore teasing from Yuzuri, Shirayuki could state two things with absolute confidence.
She was in love with Chat Noir.
And he could never know.
Though sometimes, she wondered if he’d figured it out anyway.
"How c-could you know that?” She stuttered, holding back a frustrated sigh. The only thing 'Ladybug' about her right now was the fluttering in her stomach that had her tripping over her words.
To her annoyance, Chat barely held back his laughter.
"I have it on good authority that you are a Princess of the people," he announced so loudly it was astounding the akuma didn’t barge right in, as he aggrandized her presence to an imaginary ballroom crowd, "magnanimous and benevolent. Compassionate and selfless. An ethereal beauty like no other-"
"Okay! I get it now, please stop," she covered her face with both hands, now thoroughly embarrassed.
Yes, her kitty was dependable, selfless and kind.
He was also an incorrigible flirt.
Unfortunately, she'd reacted exactly as he wanted her to. She heard him snickering but refused to reveal herself until her face was back to its normal color and/or Chat stopped looking so smug.
“Miss.”
Nope. Not doing it.
“Miss.” He lightly nudged her forearm, trying and failing to uncover her face.
She was a rock. Stoic. Immovable.
.... Solid?
“ Miss. ”
Maybe just a peek.
One eye poked through the gap in her fingers and she was surprised to see Chat kneeling at her feet, one fist on the ground, one over his heart.
"Allow me the honor of carrying the Princess to safety?" Sincerity shone through the mirth in his soft, golden eyes, and in a blink her annoyance at him was gone.
"Oh, alright," she smiled at him, her steadfast knight, even as she quashed down feelings of hopelessness.
In a moment, she was weightless; Chat scooped her up and she threw her arms around his neck, trying to ignore how soft the leather of his suit was outside her own superhero getup. He’d barely taken two steps when the chair they’d both assumed to be dead became very much alive. Its wooden legs creaked and bent until they crooked into knees and started crawling at Chat’s heels.
“Wow, guess I should’ve expected a bit more than some rope to be protecting a Princess.” He hopped out of the way, her empty would-be throne trying to trip them both.
“Hold on miss,” he smirked, letting go of her back to grab the metal staff at his waist. She grabbed at him tighter, both grateful for the excuse and mildly exasperated. If she only had her spots, Ladybug could fling the chair halfway across Paris in a single throw, but Shirayuki had no such ability.
In one downward strike, Chat splintered the chair, wooden shrapnel flying in all directions. The pieces moved around on the floor, wriggling much like the rope had, but rather than stick around to see what the chair could achieve while disassembled, Chat quickly carried her through the doors on a journey through the hotel.
When he carefully set her down in the kitchen, she couldn't keep herself from dragging her fingertips through the hair at the base of his neck and down over his shoulders, almost but not quite letting him go.
It was satisfying to watch him shudder. Another reassurance that unrequited did not necessarily mean unnoticed.
He noticed her, she was sure of it, as she watched soft gold turn to molten amber, only to be swallowed up by dilated pupils. This close, she could see it all.
But what could they do?
Her name roared in the distance; clearly Raj had discovered her sad, empty throne.
Chat grabbed her wrists, aware of his claws, and removed them from his shoulders. "That's my cue." He slowly backed away, reluctant to break the spell.
It had to be done. "Save Raj," she nodded, resolute. At that, his expression hardened, and he nodded back in solidarity.
"It's my job," he winked, and then he was gone, a piece of her heart gone with him.
Ugh . She had a problem.
A blur of red flew out from a pocket in the side seam of her dress. "There's got to be some sort of solution here we aren't seeing." Yuzuri propped her head on her paw, and Shirayuki felt a surge of appreciation for her friend, even as her shoulders sagged in resignation.
"Well, if you've got any ideas, I’m happy to hear them." They both knew she'd already analyzed the situation from every possible angle. She couldn't know Chat's identity because she was Ladybug. The risk was too great, and the consequences of getting akumatized with that kind of knowledge had every human being’s personal liberties hanging in the balance. The pressure was on, for sure.
And even if she did confess, as a civilian or a superhero, where did that leave them? She, (Shirayuki, that is), may as well just paint a big red target on her back with the words ‘akuma land here’. Considering that Shirayuki was also Ladybug, well, it was basically an instant loss.
They could try anyway and attempt to keep their relationship secret, but how does one date a superhero? Short-term might be feasible with some creative date ideas, but long-term? They had no idea how long it would take to defeat Hawk Moth. How would they get married? Live together? Start a family?
(She didn't even think the suits came off. A quick check with Yuzuri and one flat look later confirmed that no, they could not be removed, for 'safety reasons'. Bah .)
Maybe...
No. She still saw no path that led them to happiness. She raised the heel of her palm to her forehead. Just running the logistics gave her a headache, on top of her already sore heart.
"SHIRAYUKI!!"
Her name bellowed once again from the ballroom, yanking her from her calculations. Right. She could wallow and agonize over her feelings later, when Chat didn’t need her help fighting off an akuma. And to be fair, Raj needed her, too.
"I think we've stalled long enough." Yuzuri prodded Shirayuki’s cheek with a smile.
Shirayuki grinned back, excitement setting in. At least this part never got old.
"Yuzuri, spots on."
~⭒ ࣪⋆ 𓆣ִ ⋆⭒~
She made it to the ballroom doors and waited, pushing one open a crack to see what sort of trouble awaited her this time.
Raj roared angrily, throwing chairs from a stack with strength Ladybug figured might’ve been handy when his locker jammed last week. “How are we supposed to watch the movie NOW?”
Chat dodged with ease, nimbly moving out of each chair’s trajectory. “Have you ever considered just... Asking someone else? Someone who hasn’t already rejected you,” he asked seriously.
Both men paused, and Ladybug watched Raj’s face flush red as his velvet cape, waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Chat went on, awkwardly pulling at his shoulder, “Like, you've missed this showtime, but you can always catch another one, yeah?”
"There is only ONE Shirayuki! And that’s Raji-Dono to you, peasant!" He snapped his fingers and Chat preemptively rolled away just as a potted tree reached its branches out to swipe at him.
Raj was dressed like the fabled Kings of Old; velvet, fur-trimmed cape, stately trousers and boots, and his jacket adorned with medals and sashes for fake honors that were never his. Neither his nor Shirayuki’s outfits were even a little historically accurate, but at least they’d been given matching color schemes. The real eyecatcher, though, was the movie tickets folded into a pocket square, proudly adorning his chest.
Well, no time like the present.
Ladybug slammed the doors open, creating a distraction for Chat to get his bearings.
“What’s this about showtimes?”
“L-Ladybug?” Raj jumped back in fear, arms shielding his internal organs.
Chat sighed, cracking his neck. “Perfect timing, Bug.”
It didn’t take Raj long to recover, immediately puffing out his chest in defiance. “ You did this, didn’t you, Ladybug? Where is Shirayuki?”
“I’m afraid your Princess is in another castle, Raji-Dono .” She circled around Raj, Chat mirroring her steps with a snort.
“Stop underestimating me!” Raj growled, snapping his fingers once more. This time the rug beneath all of their feet rippled and waved like the ocean underneath them, sending everyone, Raj included, tumbling to the ground.
Chat hissed, rubbing his side where he’d landed on the unforgiving metal of his staff. Raj nursed his wrist, whimpering like a wounded animal.
“Wow, you are really not good at this, pal.” Chat stared at their opponent, unimpressed.
Ladybug rolled her eyes at both of them, using the moment of distraction to throw her yo-yo up high.
“Lucky Charm!”
A box fell into her grasp, and loosely slid open to reveal… matches?
What was she supposed to do with those?
“Ha!” Raji-Dono squawked. “You won’t get far with those, not with our state of the art fire suppression system!”
He flailed both hands at the ceiling like a preemptive victory dance. Ladybug looked up at the ceiling, noted a surprisingly standard looking sprinkler system, and then back to Raji-Dono, whose distractingly large and highly flammable cape was starting to give her an idea.
Raji-Dono snapped again, and this time the whole room came to life. A movie projector on a tripod ran at her midthought, and Chat Noir crushed it with his staff. They locked eyes.
“Chat –”
“On it.” He nodded, jumping towards the exit, stopping Raji-Dono’s stealthy escape.
Ladybug jumped on a table, trying to escape some rogue chairs, which turned into a core exercise when the table started jerking like a mechanical bull in order to toss her to the ground.
Luckily, Chat never needed her help causing a distraction.
“Spoiled princes never win the fair maiden you know,” Chat taunted, breaking a vase that had hopped off its pedestal and tried to break over Chat’s head like it was a regular bar fight and not a ballroom brawl.
“Also, aren't you a little old to be using finger guns?” Chat probed, prompting another frustrated growl from Raji-Dono.
Ladybug, strategically fighting her way closer to Raj’s back, watches him back away from Chat – and subsequently, Chat’s staff – and snap; which lead to the grand piano in the corner of the room to start shooting keys randomly between herself and her partner.
“Well – you –” Raji-Dono sputtered, “You still play dress-up! And your costume is stupid!”
“Meowch.” Chat said, forearm shielding his face from being pelted with keys, “Tough crowd, right Bug?”
Raji-Dono gasped, clearly having forgotten where she was in his affront, and was quickly wrapped in the tough cord of her yo-yo. Chat ran up close and untied the strings so that when Ladybug set Raji-Dono loose, she easily grabbed the cape and used her yo-yo to fly up to an ornate wall sconce and perch there.
“Hey, give that back!” Raji-Dono shouted, racing after Ladybug only to be trapped in a hold with Chat’s staff over his chest. “That’s not even the akuma, you incompetent –!
Ladybug lit one of the matches. “I know.”
The whole cape immediately went up in flames.
“Nooooo!!!!” Raj sobbed loudly, grasping at Chat’s staff and struggling harder, who forced them both to take a knee.
“My cape!”
Ladybug tossed the cape toward the ceiling, where it triggered the sprinklers and fire alarm before fluttering back to the ground, charred and damp.
The movie-tickets turned pocket-square sagged and disintegrated due to the water damage, and the akuma gently flew out of Raj’s chest pocket.
Ladybug cleansed the akuma, and the butterfly peacefully floated away.
“Didn’t even need Cataclysm this time.” Chat Noir strided up to Ladybug, fist held out and a tiny grin on his face.
“Still couldn’t have done it without you.” She smiled back, reaching out to meet him.
“Bien joué!”
Ladybug threw the matchbox, repairing the damage done by sentient furniture. She took a moment to admire the ballroom the way it was meant to look, but turned around at a quiet, defeated voice from the ground behind her.
“I was akumatized again, wasn’t I?” Raj was kneeling on the ground, head bent over the repaired movie tickets in his head.
She frowned, at a bit of a loss. Ladybug may not be the one that Raj had feelings for, but giving the usual ‘buck up, camper’ speech to someone Shirayuki had firmly rejected just an hour earlier seemed like an ethical no-no.
Luckily, Chat Noir had no such qualms. He approached slowly, one hand rubbing at his neck and a pensive look on his face.
“Listen, Raj –”
“Spare me the lecture, Chat Noir. I know letting my emotions take over was wrong.” Raj folded his arms like a pouting child, tense as a rubber band ball, before promptly deflating with a dramatic sigh.
In a much softer tone, he said, “Shirayuki will never trust me if I keep causing her trouble like this.” He bit his thumbnail in thought, and Ladybug hoped he wasn’t forming another plan.
Surprisingly quickly, Raj straightened up with a snap and there was a new resolve in his smile. “If Shirayuki just wants to be friends, then I'm going to work on being the best friend I can, for her sake.”
Now that was a plan she could get behind. She was about to say as much, when Chat reached out and clapped Raj on the shoulder.
“Good man.” Chat’s infectious grin spread to Raj, then Shirayuki, and there it was again. The kindness in his heart that he showed every akuma victim, that Shirayuki found herself hopelessly devoted to.
She was in love with her partner. And he had no idea.
Ladybug and Chat Noir hung back at the entrance to the hotel, watching Raj march down the sidewalk with purpose.
“I didn’t know you played videogames, Bug.”
Videogames? She replayed the battle, trying to remember–
“I’m afraid your Princess is in another castle, Raji-Dono.”
“Yes!” She practically shouted, cringing at her own volume. “Ah–” She tried again, “uh yeah, if you want, maybe we can play togeth–”
She was interrupted by her earrings beeping a warning sound.
“We should get going.” Chat Noir checked his ring, though he technically didn’t have a timer counting him down yet.
“Oh, um, right.” She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, grimacing slightly.
Of course they did. What was she thinking? That they would play video games by candlelight, confess their mutual love and live happily ever after?
“Wait,” Chat’s eyes widened, and he stepped back towards the hotel. “I’ve gotta go check on Shirayuki.”
“Nope! Nope.” Ladybug blocked Chat from entering, before realizing how suspicious that looked, and backing away with a nervous laugh.
“She’s already back at school! My ladybugs took her back.” That was believable, right?
“Oh.” Chat said, eyebrows furrowing. “Well, I guess that makes sense.”
“Anyway,” Ladybug floundered, desperately trying to save her secret identity and internally berating herself for getting so distracted, “I better leave first– bye!” She swung away on her yo-yo, taking the shortest but also least conspicuous route back to school, leaving a befuddled Chat Noir in her wake.
/ᐠ - ˕ -マ Ⳋ
“See ya.” Chat Noir mumbled, waving lightly. His partner was a crazy genius that he’d spent a long time learning to read implicitly, yet there were still times that she managed to leave him fumbling in the dark, looking for a lightswitch. He wasn’t sure he’d ever understand Ladybug completely, but that was probably okay.
As long as they kept winning, nothing else mattered.
Back at school, Obi jogged down the hallway, scanning for a shock of apple-red hair. He turned a corner and looked towards her locker, and there she was – speaking to one remorseful looking Raj Shinazod. His head hung low, and just when Obi was thinking maybe he needed to step in this time and give Raj his final warning, Shirayuki stuck her hand out between the two like she was sealing a business deal.
Raj looked about as surprised as Obi felt. He reached out hesitantly before taking her hand, and Obi ducked away with a smile. What was he worried about? Shirayuki could win over a cactus, or an angry mob if she set her mind to it.
She could probably calm an akuma, if Obi ever let her get close enough to try.
(He would not.)
Obi walked into the chemistry classroom and practically stumbled into Zen.
“Woah – Captain.”
Zen tripped back a step and Obi barely held back a laugh, instead reaching out to steady Zen with a smile. “Had you on tenterhooks, huh? Well, don’t fret, Captain. It’ll take more than an akuma and a little bit of running to get ol’ Obi.” He pointed his thumb at his chest proudly, eliciting a chuckle from Zen.
“You caught me.” Zen smiled, sitting back at their desk. Obi lowered himself to the chair right beside Zen’s, nodding at Kiki and Mitsuhide, who sat at the desk in front of them. “I was waiting for you guys to get back. But if you’re here, then I’m guessing Shirayuki is okay.”
“She has the resilience of a mountain goat.” Obi said, nodding seriously.
Shirayuki and Raj chose that moment to walk into the classroom, laughing together. Obi and Zen shared a look.
Ryuu filed in behind them and Obi sat up a little straighter. He hadn’t seen Ryuu during the attack, and had assumed that meant he was out of harm’s way. It was still a relief to see him, though.
Shirayuki and Ryuu sat in their chairs at the desk behind Obi and Zen. Everyone started taking out their textbooks and notes.
“You’re back,” Ryuu said.
“Yep,” Shirayuki said brightly.
Obi turned in his seat a little, curious.
“I heard you got kidnapped,” Ryuu’s voice was steady, not even questioning.
“Yeah, but I’m okay now. Sorry, if I worried you,” Shirayuki grimaced a little, as if any amount of blame might be attributed to her. Obi glanced over at Raj, knowing everything was smoothed over, but still feeling a bit salty.
“I wasn’t worried,” Ryuu informed her, and Shirayuki looked a bit embarrassed. Obi raised an eyebrow.
“Oh.” She blinked, many times, attempting to recover. “Well. Um–”
“Obi ran right out after you.” Ryuu looked up at Obi, and Obi just sort of… sat there in shock. He’d taken a side door out of the school, avoiding the crowd that had formed around Shirayuki and the akuma. He didn’t know anyone had been paying attention to him. Especially not little Ryuu.
“Like the knights of old.” Zen muttered absently. “That’s our everyday Chat Noir for you.”
Obi couldn’t help scrunching his nose a bit, at that last remark. If only they knew.
“I… couldn’t catch up in time.” Obi reached up to tug at his shoulder. He couldn’t exactly tell them he had transformed to save her. The only person who knew his secret was his father. Today, in their eyes, Obi had failed.
“Still, thank you, Sir Obi.” Shirayuki laughed, and – yep, there it was. That blinding, kind smile that, when its full power was directed at him, made him want to grab her hand and take off running. It didn’t matter where, an adventure would find them anywhere, and he’d tell her everything he’d wanted to say since that wonderful, awkward, magical first day they’d met, and –
He breathed out, the corner of his mouth creeping up for a moment. “Anytime, m’lady.”
He turned around in his seat, trying (failing) to block his heart off to her brightness. As far as she knew, Obi had never come to her rescue, anyway.
“I was safe as soon as Chat Noir found me,” Shirayuki told Ryuu.
“You mean Chat Noir and Ladybug?”
“Hm? Oh – um, yes.”
Obi’s lips quirked at that one. He knew Shirayuki wasn’t immune to his superhero persona. He wasn’t naive enough to think he had a chance with her as some sidekick in a skin-tight leather suit, but it was nice to interact with her behind the mask, as his true self. And when she flirted back ? Well, it was definitely easy to forget that he had a job to do. Aaand that she was hopelessly out of his league.
“Oh. I heard you in the hall earlier.” Ryu spoke up again. “I didn’t know you liked someone.”
“It’s… a relatively new development,” Shirayuki hedged. She sounded uncomfortable.
“Have you told him yet?” Ryuu spoke as if it was only a matter of time, only logical, that a confession would be the next step.
Obi’s shoulders tensed, and he saw Zen’s do the same in his peripheral vision. They both knew the answer. If she had, surely she and Zen would be dating by now.
“No. Not in so many words.” She admitted, looking down at the desk. “But I know how he feels.” She looked resolute, completely confident and unaffected.
“Besides, he can’t really date right now, anyway.” She assured Ryuu. Zen’s expression hardened, no doubt cursing out his older brother/legal guardian for enforcing such strict rules. Being a celebrity of his status had its tradeoffs.
Madame Gazelt walked into the classroom, lab coat swooshing majestically, and all chit chat ceased immediately.
“Good afternoon, class. I’m glad to see everyone made it to class safely.” She looked out over her students with a mischievous glint in her eyes. “Before anyone asks me, the akuma attack will not postpone the assignment of your group projects.”
A resounding groan from the class only made Madame Gazelt smile wider. She pulled out the attendance sheet and called roll before explaining the project assignment.
“This is your end-of-year project, so you’ll have plenty of time to work on it. I’ll have you in groups of three, and I want you all to spend time doing research outside of class. There are plenty of resources available in the school library that are not Wikipedia, alright?”
Madame Gazelt allowed a few grumpy comments from students before announcing the groups. Obi slid down in his chair, relieved to hear that he was with the two smartest minds in class, sitting right behind him. If anything, their biggest hurdle would be agreeing on a topic to present.
Outside school, Ryuu, Obi and Shirayuki agreed to meet up in the library the next day to get started. Ryuu turned left at the gates, and Obi walked Shirayuki home, their daily ritual.
“So…” Obi started, throwing his arms behind his head. “You excited for the project?”
Shirayuki beamed, ready to wax poetic about soil chemistry and pH balances and Obi just listened to her go with what he knows is a goofy grin on his face. Being near Shirayuki when she got passionate was like standing next to a live wire. Totally infectious, it made him want to go out into a garden and start taking notes, or something. Whatever she and little Ryuu would tell him needed to be done.
Her emerald eyes glinted in the sunlight, and Obi felt himself gravitate closer, wondering how Zen could possibly hold back just because Izana said so. With cat-like curiosity, Obi’s hand inched to reach out, to–
“Obi?”
He blinked. They’d already made it to her grandparents’ bakery.
And he shouldn’t be touching live wires.
“Well, look at that. We’re here, m’lady.”
He looked down at her and found she was already staring back at him, her eyes soft. “Thanks again, Obi. See you at school tomorrow?”
They shared a smile, and he nodded. “Of course. I’ve got you and little Ryuu counting on me, afterall.’
He walked home alone, the commute silent except for cars passing by. He lived a bit further out than Shirayuki did, but still close enough that he could walk, instead of bike. Walking past the stone pillars that stood at either side of their front door, Obi walked in and set his house key in a dish. His adoptive father was in the kitchen plating Chicken Fricassee, but turned to smile at Obi as he walked by.
“Hey kid. Dinner’s ready. Kazuki and Itoya should be home soon, too.” Mukaze was already fostering Kazuki and Itoya when he picked Obi up off the street. They were his brothers, now. “We’re all going to the dojo after, for some training. Nice job out there today.”
“It was mostly Bug’s doing, honest. Down in a sec.” Obi ran upstairs to his room to set his bag down. He went to his nightstand to plug his phone in, and paused a moment to look at some polaroids he’d left out. Pictures he’d taken at the last photoshoot Zen had recruited him to help with. Some sort of poolside party scene, with Zen and Shirayuki wearing the big ticket items, and Mitsuhide, Kiki and Obi modeling more background, accent pieces.
One polaroid had Kiki and Mitsuhide reclined on lounge chairs, looking deadpan at the camera with noisemakers in their mouths. Another had him and Zen mock fencing with pool noodles. Zen had won – as expected of their Fencing Captain – but couldn’t stop Obi from pushing him in the pool right after.
He gingerly picked up favorite picture; Shirayuki sitting on the pool’s edge, legs dangling in the water. The lights reflected off the pool and her hair in just the right way to make it sparkle like a reflection. She smiled like she was thinking secret happy thoughts, and Obi desperately wanted to know what she’d been thinking about.
Obi sighed, falling to sit on the edge of his bed. The front page of that modeling spread had been Zen and Shirayuki, and Obi remembered feeling like they were so far away, when he looked at their pictures. They were up in a world in the sky, and he would never be able to reach them, no matter how high they made him feel he could fly.
He put the picture back, and felt at his neck, where her hands had stayed, a few moments longer than necessary. Obi counted down five seconds to set it aside, and get himself under control. This had been his new normal for… years now. There was no use in dwelling.
He was in love with his best friend’s crush. And she could never know.