Chapter Text
“Sou-chan, how much longer?”
“We barely just started...”
Sougo and Tamaki stood together on a trail deep inside a forest.
They were taking a day hike at a national park before the on-season began. It was one of the benefits MEZZO" got as part of a tourism promotion and photoshoot. The park agency offered them two additional free visits as thanks for the promo. Unable to use both tickets due to their tight scheduling, Tamaki offered one to Mitsuki, who shared it with Ryuunosuke and Momo, leading to this five-person hike. Sports Club started ahead of them to scout the trail for MEZZO" in case of any issues. The trio had offered to all hike together, but Sougo did not want to drag them all down and Tamaki offered to hike with Sougo anyways.
After separating from Sports Club, the duo had hardly ran into anyone else. Well, that had been intentional, given Banri planned this trip to avoid being recognized. It didn’t look like it would be an issue though, since most passersby were too preoccupied with their own hike.
“Sorry, Tamaki-kun. I know you would have preferred to go camping or stargazing, but it’s hard to plan overnight trips with our schedule.” Sougo said apologetically, hands loosely holding on to the straps of his backpack as he walked.
“S’okay. This is also fun to do too.” Tamaki assured him jovially, sounds of dirt and slush splattering while his own backpack swung from the pep in his step. Sougo smiled, happy that Tamaki was enjoying himself.
He was making the most of it, despite how gloomy the day was. The skies were overcast, gray clouds blanketing the surrounding regions with rain. That hadn’t taken away from the serenity of the forest. The tall, evergreen cypress and cedar trees towered above them, caked with a light layer of snow. It came with a woodsy, musty smell that was different from the more softer and somewhat sterile scents in their usual indoor environments. The frigid air nipped at their exposed faces, but they were otherwise warm under their layers of fleece and their light jacket. It was too bad the poor weather landed on their day off. They had hoped the skies would clear later on, but as the time passed, it didn’t look like that was happening.
“King Pudding! King Pudding! I get to eat some King Pudding!” Tamaki sang to himself.
Sougo internally sighed, remembering he would have to deal with that too. Ryuunosuke offered it as an incentive for Tamaki to complete a mini scavenger hunt to find the hidden King Puddings the Sports Club would hide along the way. Really, they didn’t have to trouble themselves like that. Tamaki already enjoyed outdoor activities. When Sougo found out, however, that Ryuunosuke had already bought a pack of eight, it was hard to say no to his merry smile. He had pulled Mitsuki aside later and he agreed to not use too many. Mitsuki also made Tamaki promise not to eat Sougo’s share.
“Are we any closer to one?” Tamaki asked again.
Sougo opened his map app that tracked the route the two of them were taking. The blue line showed they were only a quarter of the way to the top of the mountain. A little ways away from their current position, there was a marker Ryuunosuke had placed on the shared map.
“It looks like it’s on a body of water.” Sougo described.
Tamaki excitedly searched the area with Sougo trailing behind. Tamaki’s eyes finally caught something before he bolted in that direction. Sougo followed behind, water and snow splashing on their boots as they jogged along the path.
By the time Sougo reached the pooling water, Tamaki was already helping himself to a King Pudding, water dripping from the glass container. Sougo checked to see another one waiting for him in the small pond.
“King Pudding is so good, even when cold.” Tamaki said blissfully, swaying happily back and forth at the yummy snack. Sougo had to agree; the chilled sweet milk felt refreshing after hiking for a while.
Sougo noticed Tamaki knelt down by the pond, eyes watching intently. “What are you looking at?”
Tamaki furrowed his eyebrows. “Tadpoles. Didn’t know they could grow all the way up here.”
Under the drizzle of rain, Sougo saw a knot of critters darting across the water. “Me either. They are very hardy to grow up here.”
“Does that mean Nagicchi is very hardy to grow up in Northmeir?”
Now it was Sougo’s turn to furrow his eyebrows. “I suppose so, in a way.” Sougo somewhat agreed, unsure of his own response. Though Sougo knew Nagi was from a cold place, he couldn’t imagine growing up somewhere like that, let alone in the elements like these tadpoles.
The two of them, low to the ground, watched the tadpoles skirt around the water as they finished their cold dessert. A breeze sent some snow flying, melting instantly into the pool of water. None of the tadpoles seemed to mind, despite the freezing temperatures. It was an unexpected, yet pleasant, peaceful break to their hike.