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They first met by chance. This, of course, is to be expected, since every meeting is made by chance.
It was a lazy Saturday morning in spring. The air was cool enough to be cold for summer, but with winter still a recent memory Sousuke was thankful for the little warmth there was. He wasn't thankful for the reason why he had to man his mother's witch shop by himself this morning, with only her familiar to keep him company.
"You're a witch's son, Sousuke. Your life is cursed to be unpredictable, as you know. It can't be helped." She had said that this morning, hoisting her bag onto her back and stuffing some herbs into her pockets. "Don't worry, Lilith will keep you safe."
Lilith, the white fluffy cat currently curled up in the sunlight, had once hid under Sousuke's covers when a mouse ran across his room, so his mother probably meant supernatural protection, if it wasn't meant to be a complete joke.
Sousuke fiddled with his golden feather earring, as he did when he was annoyed. He could barely focus on the task in front of him: a mixture of dried flowers that was supposed to bring joy when mixed with water. Eventually he shoved the bowl aside, knowing his state of mind would only bring annoyance to anyone who bought it. He began to work on some of his math homework instead, hoping it would keep his mind off his irritation at his mother for shoving the responsibilities of the shop onto him unexpectedly when he had school to worry about.
The bell at the door chimed. Lilith flexed her claws as she rolled over to her other side. Sousuke spared a glance from his textbook, giving the tall man who looked to be his age a quick study. "Oh, umm," the young man stammered, his eyes flicking from the herbs hanging from the ceiling, to the books and bottles stacked in the various shelves, to Sousuke at his table, his eyes never staying anywhere long. "Is Yamazaki-sensei here?"
Sensei indeed, Sousuke thought, barely keeping back a grumble. "She's out." Sousuke looked back down at his work, the anxious man making him nervous just watching him. "Don't ask me where or for how long, because I have no idea."
“I-I see. Well, I don’t normally come here, but my mother does but she’s busy today and she asked me to pick up her order if you have it ready that is?” When he was done speaking the man took a deep, quiet gasp.
Sousuke waited until the man caught his breath. “Name?"
"Makoto. Oh, I mean, it would be under Tachibana I guess."
Sousuke's eyebrows raised. "Oh, you're Tachibana-san's son?"
The Tachibanas were consistent patrons of Sousuke’s mother’s wares, particularly the woman who must be this man’s mother. Sousuke had seen her a number of times throughout his life, and she was always nice to him. It was surprising, then, that he had never met Makoto before.
Sousuke stood from his table and went to the shelf in the corner where his mother kept her readied special-orders. There was a small package wrapped in off-white paper and tied with a magenta string marked Tachibana. Whiffs of vanilla and cinnamon greeted him as he took it into his hands, feeling the blessings of fortune and happiness even through the paper. It was a small blessing, one meant to be revitalized every few weeks. Small blessings weren't the kind of dramatic magic one expected from a witch, but those who knew better knew that small blessings maintained over time were some of the most powerful of them all.
“Here,” Sousuke said, holding the package out for Makoto over the table. Makoto hesitated, looking about the room, clutching his hand onto the strap of his backpack. Sousuke sighed. “You’re scared of supernatural stuff, aren’t you?” Makoto jumped at that, but before he could say anything Sousuke continued. “Listen, most of the spells in this place only affect items and they bring out good things, like this package. And if you’re scared of ghosts or spirits or something, Mom has so many protection spells in place that this might actually be the most supernaturally-safe place you’ve ever been to. So don’t be scared, nothing is going to hurt you.”
“Oh...okay. Sorry.” Makoto slowly made his way across the room, still glancing around him but more calm than he had been before. Finally he made it to the other side of the table, but just as he took the package there was a flash of white and a flutter of papers on the table, and Makoto let out a shriek.
“Lilith!” Sousuke made to grab for the cat but she slipped through his fingers, switching her tail and looking at him as if she had no idea she had almost killed the patron with a heart attack. “Sorry about that, she’s my mother’s familiar and she’s essentially harmless. She doesn’t normally sneak up on people like that.” Sousuke glared at the cat, who was now settling nicely on his textbook and studying Makoto with her bronze eyes. When Sousuke flicked her ear, she didn't bother to turn around, just letting her tail lightly whack him in return.
“Ah, it’s okay, I like cats actually,” Makoto smiled, but he still eyed Lilith as he held the package to his chest. "Uh, so...how is a pet different than a familiar?"
Sousuke scratched at the back of his head. "Well, Mom would tell you that the cat amplifies her powers and can be used as a second pair of eyes but honestly, I'm pretty sure a familiar is just a fancy word for a witch's pet."
Makoto laughed. “In that case, I can handle pet cats,” he said, holding out his hand for Lilith to sniff. Apparently she found him acceptable as immediately rubbing her cheek against his hand, which made Makoto break out into a wide grin as he scratched at her chin.
“Anyways, here is the payment.” Makoto reached into his bag, and an annoyed Lilith reached out her paw to pat at his arm. Sousuke took the piece of clothing from Makoto, who quickly returned his attentions to the cat. “I hope it’s what Yamazaki-sensei wanted - Mom said it would be good, but I don’t really understand why. It was my little sister’s favorite sweater, but she’s too big for it now. She's probably the only person in the world who finds it valuable,” Makoto said with a hint of sadness, rubbing his thumb on Lilith’s cheek.
“This is good,” Sousuke began to say, but stopped once the sweater was fully in his hands. The sweater was more than good. Whenever Sousuke’s mother’s customers didn’t have the money for her wares, she accepted other forms of payment. In this case, Sousuke could tell that the item that Makoto gave him was worth more to a witch than money could buy. The sweater was sky blue with white lining, ripped in some places and stained in others, but even with Sousuke’s magic as untapped as it was, he could sense the love, attachment, and innocence made as much a part of the sweater as its cloth and thread. More than a simple happiness spell could provide.
“Wait, hold on, that isn’t the full payment.” Sousuke opened a drawer at his table and pulled out a silver necklace with a leaf pendant. To a normal person it was merely a pretty, if plain, piece of jewelry, but the necklace was made to encourage growth and nurture potential to the one who wore it. “Give her this, to make up for the sweater. This’ll take her awhile to outgrow.”
Makoto blinked at the necklace. “Oh, that’s too - I can’t -”
“Best not refuse a witch’s generosity,” Sousuke replied. The look of actual fear on Makoto’s face made him sigh. “I’m kidding. Take the necklace, I insist. It’s been here a while anyways.”
After a moment some of the fear faded from Makoto’s face, replaced by a gentle smile. “I see. Okay, well, thank you. I think she’ll really like it.” He gave a small bow before heading towards the door. “Thank you again. Really.”
Sousuke was already seated in front of his homework by the time the door closed. Lilith stared at Sousuke with her bronze eyes, her big tail swishing lazily back and forth, a hint of a purr still rumbling in her throat. “What do you want?” Sousuke grumbled. In reply, she swatted her paw at his feather earring. “Hey!” Sousuke snapped, but before he could snatch her she had jumped off the table, curling up in her spot in the sunlight.
--
"So you can tell fortunes with coffee?"
"You can tell fortunes with almost anything." Sousuke placed a mug in front of Makoto before returning to his chair with a mug of his own. "The important thing is that it's familiar to you. Mom is addicted to coffee, so it's what she uses, and I learned it from her. Both the fortune telling and the addiction."
"What does your fortune say?" Makoto asked, cupping his hands on his mug with a smile.
"Reading your own fortune can often be bias, especially if you're magically inclined, but..." Sousuke took up his cup. He let the steam run across his face, curling smells of coffee filling his mind, watched the white steam twist and reach and fade. Finally he took a sip of the coffee and met Makoto's eyes, then gave the math textbooks and notes sprawled between them an obvious glance. "I sense doom."
Makoto laughed. "Are you sure you're not mixing up our fortunes?"
It was late spring. Ever since their first meeting, Makoto began replacing his mother in package pick up duty more and more. Makoto said that his mother wanted him to face his fear of the supernatural, but Sousuke suspected that maybe his own mother had something to do with the idea. When he had brought it up to her she had just laughed, placed her hand on Lilith's head as she curled in her lap and said, “You would see the moon cover the sun and think it was my doing, witch’s son.” She had not answered the question directly. She rarely did.
Regardless, it was during one of those new meetings that Makoto realized that the math homework Sousuke worked on was the same as his own. They discovered they had the same teacher and course, just taken at different times, and so they began to study together. Sousuke had suggested that this be considered part of the payment for their purchases but Makoto brushed him off, saying, “You end up helping me more than I help you. I should be paying you more, to be honest.” Sousuke didn’t agree, but they just settled on keeping the study sessions completely out of the business spectrum.
Over time Makoto’s fear of magic had lessened a bit, and in it’s place curiosity began to bloom. He still jumped when he heard a particularly loud bubble burst in their pots, and he eyed the fetishes and bottles resting on their shelves whenever he passed, but at least the questions came easy.
"Here, can you try reading mine?" Makoto asked, holding out his cup.
Sousuke held up his hand. "Sure, but you have to drink from it first."
"Ah, right," Makoto brought the coffee to his lips. He took a sip and immediately pulled back. "Ugh, too hot!" He groaned, and Sousuke tried to not smile too wide. When Makoto held out his mug again, Sousuke took it.
The steam swirled around his face, soft and gentle, but each curve bent savagely, disappearing before they could straighten. "Moderate danger. Though I think that's a late fortune," Sousuke smiled through the smoke, pointing to his mouth. Makoto rolled his eyes, but looked back eagerly. The smell of coffee was spiked with milk and sugar, comforting and feeling like home. There was an edge to it, but a happy one. "I think your mom is mad at you. Did you forget to do something?"
Makoto thought for a second, and then groaned. "She wanted me to clean my room before I left. I forgot."
Sousuke laughed. "Well, she's not that mad, so just clean it when you get home." Now Sousuke took the cup to his lips, making sure to blow on it first before drinking. It was hot, for sure, but the heat flooded past his mouth, to his head and down his throat, to his fingers and feet and all that was in between. It hit Sousuke so hard that he immediately snapped his eyes open, meeting Makoto's. And suddenly the heat came together, curling into the center of his chest.
"So, any more fortunes left?" Makoto asked, tilting his head.
Sousuke grunted, handing the cup back. "You'll do fine on the test," he mumbled, waving at their work.
Makoto laughed. "I think you're being bias again." Sousuke just grunted once more, drinking his own cup and ignoring the steam caressing his face.
--
Sousuke pulled at his shirt, eagerly stepping into the shade of the house. He knocked at the door, shifting the package in his arm. There were a couple of shouts inside the house, and when the door finally opened a confused Makoto stood looking at him, wearing a loose shirt and baggy shorts. “O-Oh, Sousuke, I didn’t expect you to…what do you need?”
“Mom made the package for you all like usual, but you didn’t come to pick it up,” Sousuke said, holding up the paper parcel in his hand.
Makoto looked panicked. “Ah, that is...I’m sorry you went to the trouble, I thought Mom told Yamazaki-sensei...we can’t…”
They couldn’t pay for it. Sousuke’s mother had expected this, and made the package anyways. When Sousuke told her that Makoto and his family wouldn’t accept charity his mother had tsked. “Of course they won’t. You’ll find a reasonable payment from them, whatever you think it is worth.” She shook her head again, mixing her ingredients in a stone bowl. “This is when their family needs blessings for fortune and happiness the most. And I won’t let their stubbornness get in the way from getting the help they deserve, and you won’t either.”
Before Makoto could continue to explain, a little girl came running up to Makoto’s side. “Mako come on, let’s start the movie already - Oh!” She stopped when she saw Sousuke standing outside their door. Normally little kids marveled at his height, but with Makoto standing just a breath shorter than him, Sousuke guessed the girl was used to being towered over. “Hey, Mom and Mako talked about you, you’re the witch’s son aren’t you? Are you the one that gave me the necklace?”
“Yeah. It was payment for your blue sweater,” Sousuke said, fiddling his earring.
She nodded solemnly, holding her hand to her chest. Sousuke could see the indent in her shirt where he guess she kept her necklace. Her smile came back quickly though, and when she turned up to her brother she took up her pleading once more. “Mako, can he watch Star Wars with us? Please?” Now she turned to Sousuke. “We’re watching Star Wars! Oh! But do witches watch movies?” Her solemn expression returned - the very thought that someone could live without movies seemed to upset her greatly.
Sousuke smiled, hoping it didn’t come off as intimidating as his mother teased. “We do. I haven’t seen Star Wars since I was your age, though.” At that he gave Makoto a long look.
Makoto tried to return the look in its intensity, but it was hard to keep the expression with his sister tugging at his arm. “A movie doesn’t pay for a blessing, Sousuke.”
“It doesn’t, huh? And here I thought I was the witch,” Sousuke smirked.
Makoto’s sister gave her brother’s arm an extra hard tug. “Come on, let him in!”
Finally Makoto let out a sigh. “Fine, fine. But you’re staying for dinner too. That should at least even out the payment a bit, right?”
“Sounds good to me,” Sousuke smirked.
--
"Get out of my shop, both of you," Sousuke's mother snapped, waving her broom at the two men sprawled amongst books, papers, and cups of coffee at her table. "You're in my way of cleaning, and now you both need sleep more than numbers."
"That isn't how math works," Sousuke grumbled into his palm, trying in vain to keep his eyes open to the page beneath him. Sousuke and Makoto had managed to get a class together for their fall semester, but even this early into the school term they already had brutal exams tormenting them.
Makoto, on the other hand, slowly pulled himself out from the table and bowed to the witch. "Thank you for letting me study here, Yamazaki-sensei. Is there anything I can do to help before I go?"
"Look at that, what a nice young man. Oh where did I go wrong?" Sousuke's mom wailed. Sousuke rolled his eyes as she moved to put a hand on Makoto’s arm, knowing well the monologue she was about to give. "You know, when I found out I was pregnant, I went to this old, tall tree out in the woods and slept beneath its branches for a whole night. I wanted my child to be big and strong, wise and patient. The boy I got is that, alright, and as thick and stubborn and slow moving as one as well, and with as much generosity in his bones."
“I think you’re blaming the wrong tree, mother. Was it really that tree you slept under, or the family tree I fell from?”
“The tree must have been full of crows too, to give me such a smart mouthed child.” His mother returned with a glare before turning back to Makoto. “Never mind you helping me, child. Just get home and sleep, that’s what you really need for your exam. You too, crow boy.” And with that she placed her broom against a wall and went deeper into the house.
“You two have a colorful way of showing each other that you care,” Makoto laughed. “Well, good night Sousuke.”
“Wait,” Sousuke called, standing up from his chair. Makoto stopped, looking at Sousuke curiously. "Here," Sousuke said as he placed a stone in Makoto's hand. It was bluish-black and smooth, with a white engraving of a rune on one side. He had carved it the night before from a rock he found at a nearby waterbed. "Keep it with you when you take the test, and then when you're done drop it into a river or stream. It should help you focus and let fortune be on your side."
Makoto studied the stone, and when he looked back at Sousuke he was furrowing his brows. "Sousuke, I can't..."
Sousuke shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. It’s a gift, and it's just something witches do...” For people we care about, he thought, but didn't dare say.
“I know, but it’s unfair for you to give me luck when I can’t give any back,” Makoto said, shuffling his feet.
“That’s not true. Just because my mom and I are trained in giving out fortune doesn’t mean that normal people can’t do it too.” Makoto seemed confused, so Sousuke just sighed, placing his hands on Makoto's to close his fist on the stone. “Here, just take rune, and in return, do for me whatever it is that you, or your friends, or your family does when they want to encourage or give you luck. Whatever gesture that means a lot to you. It’ll be just as good, I promise.”
At first Makoto just stared down at their hands and bit at his lip. Sousuke waited, watching the way Makoto caressed the stone with his thumb, slowly and with care. Finally Makoto lifted his eyes back up to Sousuke’s, a blush now covering his features.
“Wha-” Before Sousuke could finish his statement Makoto moved close to him, closer than they had ever been before. Sousuke froze as he felt Makoto’s lips meet his cheek. The kiss was unsure, but Makoto pressed against him as he gave it. Sousuke leaned his cheek into the kiss just as Makoto pulled back.
“I...it’s what my mom does…” Makoto began, but his whole face was red now and his fist gripping at the stone. “I’m sorry, that was...I mean. Thank you. And good luck.” He bowed at Sousuke, stammered when realized how formal he was being, and practically ran from the shop.
Lilith sat on a nearby table, her tail swishing and her bronze eyes smiling. Sousuke almost made a smart remark at her, but after a moment he swept her up into her arms instead, smiling into her fur.
--
"You're not coming with me tonight, I see." His mother said as she closed her bag.
Sousuke fiddled with his earring. “I made plans with Makoto...”
His mother waved her hand at him, effectively shushing him. “Samhain is a time to remember the dead, but it's also a time to be with the ones you care about,” She said. “The coven won't take it as a slight if this year you would like to spend it with someone you love.”
Sousuke jumped, staring wide eyed at his mother. “What...what do you…”
“You two may be blind to it, but you can't fool these old eyes,” she laughed, petting Lilith before moving to her table. She rummaged through a stack of herbs and trinkets, so focused on finding an item that she jumped when she felt Sousuke’s arms wrap around her, his head buried into his back. “What - what is this? Since when are you affectionate?” His mother chided with a laugh.
He didn’t say anything. He felt like a kid again, but he couldn’t bring himself to respond.
She turned to him then, her smile lessening when she saw how he couldn’t meet his eyes. “My child, did you think I would be unhappy? That I wouldn’t accept you?” She said, putting a hand on his cheek. “Oh witch’s son, your life will not be easy, but I will never be against you. Always know that.”
After a moment Sousuke nodded, and when his mother tugged gently at his earring he couldn’t help but smile.
--
“It’s so dark out. Where is the moon?”
“It's a new moon, so only stars tonight,” Sousuke said, watching Makoto climb up the dirt path behind him, his movements careful and unsure. “New moons are good though. They're all about beginnings and new starts.”
“Yeah, well, they’re not great for exploring forests at night,” Makoto replied, but he sounded more amused than annoyed.
“Here,” Sousuke said, reaching a hand down to Makoto. He was planning on grabbing at his arm, so when Makoto put his hand into his own Sousuke jumped, but he didn’t pull away. Nor did he try to interpret too much from the extra second or two it took for Makoto to let go of his hand once he was standing beside Sousuke on level ground. “Come on, this way,” Sousuke said, turning back towards the path.
Sousuke’s home sat on a hill, so the path behind it was only a short distance from the top. The trees had been cleared away to look down over the town, the lights below and the stars above glittering to one another in the dark. Makoto smiled and gasped a bit, and Sousuke found himself looking more at him than the view. There was a thick log lying on the ground to look over the town, and a fire pit dug in front of it. Sousuke made no move to light it, instead leading Makoto to the other side of the log so they could sit down and look down below.
Sousuke rubbed his hands together, not from the cold but to distract him from looking at the man next to him. He tried to say something, about the view, about why he brought Makoto out here in the first place, anything, but nothing would come to him. After a few moments, however, Makoto spoke up himself. “Can you do magic?”
Despite his nerves, Sousuke gave a quiet laugh. “Yeah, I mean, that’s how Mom and I make a living.”
“No, I mean, real magic,” Makoto smiled, turning to Sousuke, and Sousuke found he couldn’t move his eyes away from his gaze. “You know, something that no one else can do. Like, make something levitate, or set something on fire. I mean,” Makoto turned away then. “I hope that isn’t rude to ask. Not that my family isn’t thankful for the blessings your family gives us, I was just…”
Sousuke was quiet for a moment. “I can,” he finally said. “But it’s something that witches only do in front of others when we’ve established trust with them.”
“Ah, it’s fine, I mean…”
“No, I do trust you. But even if we knew each other for years I’d still hesitate. We need to prove that trust to one another first.”
“How do we do that?”
Sousuke shrugged. “By telling secrets, most of the time.”
Makoto studied him then, giving a hum as he thought. He seemed to like the idea, however, because he asked, “What does your earring mean? I’m assuming that’s a secret.”
Sousuke hadn’t been expecting that question. “It’s not that interesting...just a dumb thing from when I was a kid.” Makoto raised an eyebrow, and Sousuke sighed. “Fine. When I was seven I found a bird dying in the woods. I brought it to my mother and begged her to save its life. She said there was nothing that she could do, and...I got so mad. What was the point of having magic if we couldn’t do anything that really mattered? And so I screamed at her, but the bird was still dying, and my mom took it from me. I don’t know what she did but when she came back it was dead. I would have screamed at her again but she looked so upset...She helped me bury it, but first she took a feather from its wing. Later she made it into gold, and hooked it to an earring, and pierced my ear. She told me that it’s a reminder that the world can be cruel and unkind, but I should keep fighting anyways. Even if it hurts.” Sousuke was quiet then, looking down at his hands. “It’s dumb now, but I still wear it anyways.”
“I’m still scared of magic.” Sousuke turned to him again, but Makoto was looking off to the horizon. “I don’t get it, really. I know I shouldn’t be, and I’m not when I’m with you. I feel safe at your shop, or when you’re around, but the thought of magic when you’re gone still makes me nervous. But with you...it’s, I don’t know, exciting.” Makoto met his eyes then, his expression losing some of his smile and replacing it with intensity. “Tell me another secret.”
Sousuke’s mind turned blank. He tried to think of a safe lie, something that he wouldn’t regret. But when he opened his mouth, he said, “I lied to you when I told your fortune months ago. Just at one part. I told you that you’d pass the test - really, I just knew you would because you’re smart. But that isn’t what I read. Tellings about the distant future can be vague, but sometimes they are clear, but come without context. All I knew was that someday, for some reason, you would kiss me, and that I would kiss you back.”
At first Makoto didn’t say anything. Shame crept up Sousuke’s skin, and he wouldn’t look at Makoto to see what expression he wore. But then Makoto spoke. “When you came to my house last summer, when I first opened the door and you were standing there even though I wasn’t supposed to see you that week, I wanted to kiss you. I don’t know why then of all times, but every time I’ve been with you since then I’ve always wanted to kiss you.”
They sat there staring at each other, neither one moving. “Close your eyes,” Sousuke finally spoke.
“Are you going to kiss me?”
Sousuke grinned. “The fortune said you would kiss me, remember?”
“Ah, right,” Makoto smiled fully then, his blush visible even in the dark. “Very well, I’m closing them.” He did then, facing Sousuke with a remains of a smile still on his lips. Sousuke scooted closer to him and Makoto shifted a bit when he felt their legs touch, and Sousuke almost did kiss him then.
They were quiet for a few long moments. Then Sousuke spoke. “Okay, open them.”
When Makoto’s opened his eyes he was staring into Sousuke’s own, and for a moment he was so transfixed that he didn’t notice the light right away. But when he did he looked down, he saw tiny pinpoints of light floating like the stars, cupped in Sousuke’s hands. Makoto gasped, reaching out his own hands but stopping just above them, hovering over Sousuke’s. When he looked back up, they were so close to each other that they’re foreheads were almost touching.
Makoto kissed him. Sousuke kissed back.