Chapter Text
The Tenma residence was silent.
By their house, there were others that were filled by laughter, shouts and cries. Their atmospheres carried playfulness, love and affection.
Young Tsukasa’s didn’t. It was silent.
His parents weren’t home. They never were. He knew it wasn’t ideal for a child to stay home alone for so long, but he couldn’t resent them for it when they were accompanying his sister’s sickness. Besides, he had Rui.
Rui was… certainly a peculiar individual. They first met on a park, when the silence on Tsukasa’s house was too loud for him to bear and he needed some time away from it.
Tenma didn’t have much friends. Differently from Saki, he didn’t have an excuse for it. Children his age just didn’t like him. Maybe it was the vibe he gave off, or perhaps he was too annoying for anyone to put up with.
Kamishiro had been in a similar situation, but the contrary. Children didn’t like him because apparently it was creepy for someone his age to be so smart. He was also too curious for his own good, Tsukasa noted. It wasn’t hard to realize. They were opposites, but if there was anyone who could put up with the blonde, it was Rui.
The purple-haired boy made Tsukasa’s life a little more bearable with his inventions and shows. Whenever the Tenmas weren’t home - which, mind you, was often - Rui would show up with a new little show script, and Tsukasa would bring life to his characters.
They hated it when they had to depart, but the little director would always come back the other day with more prototypes and ideas. By the end of everyday, the Tenma residence would look a little more lived in.
(Tsukasa postponed telling his parents about Rui, though, just in case they decided to prohibit their little meetings.)
ꨄ
When Tsukasa was seven, his sister was finally free from being in the hospital all the time. He’d been immensely grateful and relieved. After all, that meant she was finally ready to get better. It was night when she came home, all bright-eyed and cheerful.
He’d told her to come with him and played her a song on the piano. He’d been practicing, so he played it as perfectly as a child his age possibly could. Saki was happy and their mother was so proud she almost made them explode with the force of the hug she gave them.
His parents had been making dinner when he heard a knock on the door. His eyes widened with the realization that he hadn’t told Rui about his sister’s comeback.
He was quick to get up from his place on the couch and make his way to the front door, eyeing his parents . They didn’t seem to have noticed anything. Now he just had to open the door and tell Rui off the quickest he could. He would apologize properly when he had the opportunity.
When he opened the door, though, he didn’t see Rui. Instead, there was a small post-it on his door.
“Sorry, heard the noises! Happy for your sister! Come over another time!
- Rui.”
ꨄ
That was weeks before Saki’s birthday. Tsukasa’s mom, dad and him started planning her birthday party as soon as they realized she was going to be home for it. They were all so happy that they couldn’t get the smiles out of their faces.
The party was a success. They invited Toya, who was almost like a brother to them, Ichika, Honami and Shiho. The last one of the three came in a package along with her older sister, but they didn’t mind. Hinomori Shizuku was a very polite and kind girl, after all. Besides, since she was older, her, Toya and Tsukasa could play together while Saki and Shiho spent time with their friends.
It went perfectly fine. They sang birthday songs, Saki made a wish and blew the candles.
Tsukasa silently wished that his birthday would go like that, too.
ꨄ
Tsukasa was home alone. Again .
It was his birthday. He’d held back from saying anything the whole day, thinking that maybe his family was planning a surprise party for him, but no ! Saki was at one of her friends’ house since yesterday - she’d made sure to hug him and wish him a happy birthday before going, though - and his parents went back to work without saying a single word to him.
He sat down, his back pressed to the wooden door behind him, and starred at the clock on the wall for God knows how long. Hugging his knees to his chest, he barely even noticed when he started crying.
It was not like he wasn’t used to being home alone. He probably shouldn’t, but he was used to it. It didn’t affect him anymore the way it’d used to. He didn’t know why he’d expected anything else.
Knock Knock.
Tsukasa’s eyes widened. He quickly got up from his sitting position, wiping always his tears with the back of his hand as he eyed the door. Who…?
“Tsukasa-kun?” the person spoke, and his heart nearly jumped right out of his throat from the force with which it hit him.
“R-Rui? Whatever are you doing here?” he asked, loudly enough for the other to hear as he unlocked the door with a puzzled look on his face.
“Have you been crying?” Rui questioned, the sight of the purple-haired boy almost making Tsukasa want to jump into his arms and cry his eyes out.
“What, no! Why?” he did his best to look convincing enough, figuring it didn’t work when he saw one of Rui’s eyebrows shoot up.
“I have something for you.”
Tsukasa gave him a curious look. With that catlike smile of his, the other boy brought his hidden arms from behind his back to show his host what he’d brought.
Inside a vivid red box with a little yellow bow, there was a birthday cake, accompanied by a birthday card that Tsukasa was quick to grab and take a look at.
“It’s your favorite flavor
- Rui.”
“Happy birthday, Tsukasa-kun.”