Work Text:
Haruitsuki picks at the soil stuck under his nails as he listens to Ashiya hum quietly under his breath, the off-key notes fading when Ashiya moves out of earshot. At some point, he muses, he had gotten used to spending time in a bright place like this, surrounded by floral scents and vibrant colors.
Close by, Ashiya bustles around him with a watering can in his hands—hands that were once able to force the strongest of youkai into submission with a simple gesture; those same hands that picked up other people’s lost mementos and cuddled the Hairball close, now chapped and covered in bandaids from handling thorny flowers.
He still has the same cheery smile—
“Hey Abeno-san… Don’t just sit around, come help me move these pots!”
—and the same tendency to complain about the littlest things. The same mentality of a five year old. Ashiya never quite grew out of that.
From where he is lazily slumped behind the counter, Haruitsuki stifles a yawn.
“Did you open the portal twice again?” Ashiya asks, eyebrows furrowing. “If you’re tired, why don’t you go home to rest instead of hanging around here?” Cupping his hands around his mouth, he calls to the ceiling in exaggerated fashion. “Hey~! Mononokean! Can you hear meee? Please come and collect Abeno-san~!”
Haruitsuki rolls his eyes. Only the Master of the Mononokean can call for it, and Ashiya knows that well too. “Putting that aside, you haven’t paid me for last month yet,” Haruitsuki says as he straightens, stretching slowly until his spine pops. He sighs. “Do you treat all your part-timers this way?”
“But Abeno-san was the one who insisted on working here!” Ashiya objects, voice rising in indignation. “Even though we weren’t looking for any part-timers in the first place!” He jabs an accusing finger in Haruitsuki’s direction. “And if you want to be paid, you should actually do some work!”
“At least I don’t create more work for you.”
Ashiya shoots him a wounded look but doesn’t retort.
This is where they are now.
Both of them have been living their own lives. Haruitsuki mediates issues that the youkai have full-time; Ashiya goes to university and occasionally helps out at his family’s flower shop. Strictly speaking, there’s no real reason for them to stick together anymore, now that Ashiya quit being his employee. Haruitsuki is much too busy dealing with the Underworld’s issues to bother with maintaining superficial high school friendships.
He makes time anyway.
“… What did he even come here for?” Ashiya mutters under his breath, as he disappears into the backroom. When he emerges, it’s with a bundle of camellias and some white flowers that Haruitsuki doesn’t recognize.
‘Obligation’ isn’t the right term for it, but Haruitsuki does feel responsible, to some extent. To take a step into Ashiya’s world and learn about the things that he keeps close to his heart, just as Ashiya had once done for him. He can’t really pinpoint the reason. Maybe it’s out of gratitude for saving Aoi. Maybe it’s got nothing to do with youkai at all.
Haruitsuki lifts his head and points at the not-camellias. “Hey, what’s that flower called?”
“This?” Ashiya glances down to the flowers in his arms, then shoots Haruitsuki a suspicious look. “You know, you’ve been really interested in flower language lately.” Haruitsuki watches as a lightbulb goes off in his head. “Don’t tell me, a girl to impress?”
“Yeah, right. Just give me the name and meaning already!”
pink camellia
- large round petals, not to be mistaken for a peony
- means admiration, gratitude, longing for someone who is missed
“Hey, I’m really okay,” Ashiya says, with an awkward chuckle. He scratches his cheek. “You don’t have to keep coming to check on me. Aren’t you busy with other jobs?”
“Rest assured,” Haruitsuki says, without missing a beat. “I wouldn’t have come at all if there was still work to do.”
“Ehh? How unfeeling!” A distinctively needling edge creeps into Ashiya’s voice. “So you didn’t miss having me around at all? Then why do you keep coming to the shop?”
Haruitsuki shrugs. “The Hairball missed you.”
“Really?” Ashiya looks around the shop. “Is Fuzzy here right now?”
“Yeah,” Haruitsuki says. As a matter of fact, the Hairball has been perched on Ashiya’s shoulder since the moment they stepped into the shop. He’s nuzzling Ashiya’s cheek, even as they speak. It seems cruel to spell that out though. “He wanted to see you even if you can’t see him.”
The smile on Ashiya’s face wobbles. It’s been a month since he stopped being able to see Yahiko and the other youkai, but only a few days since he’d stopped being able to sense the Hairball at all. The loss must still be fresh.
“Don’t make that face,” Haruitsuki says gently. “You’ll just be separated for a while.”
“Just for a while,” Ashiya echoes. He turns away to make a quick swipe at his eyes, and Haruitsuki graciously pretends not to notice.
In the last few weeks, he’s consulted many specialists in the Underworld. Nearly all of them had given the same answer—that judging by his condition, it’s unlikely that Ashiya will ever regain his ability to see youkai.
But then again, in all the time they spent together, Ashiya was never one to be bound by logic or tradition. After everything he’s said and done, it’s far too late to be afraid of defying common sense now.
freesia
- citrusy scent
- symbolizes trust and friendship
Haruitsuki looks away. “It’s no big deal. Like you said, we’re human. Even if you can’t see youkai now, you can still see me anytime.”
It’s only after the words have thoughtlessly left his mouth that Haruitsuki realizes what kind of commitment he’s opening the doors to. Everything he does is for the youkai, isn’t it? But before he can contemplate it further, Ashiya gives up maintaining any semblance of decorum.
“Abeno-saaan!” Ashiya begins to sob in earnest, arms reaching out for him. Haruitsuki promptly dodges his teary embrace. “I’m so glad you’re human…!”
“Geez, don’t cry!” Haruitsuki says, exasperated. He pats around his pockets but he has no tissues on him.
Haruitsuki’s never placed much value on being youkai or human; Aoi never cared about such things either. Though, given his position as the Master of the Mononokean and his ability to see things that everyone else couldn’t, there were times when Haruitsuki had idly wondered if it would have been more fitting for him to have been born as a youkai.
But now he finds that he’s glad, if only so that it’s possible for Ashiya to latch onto his shirt like this, following him around as he searches for a box of tissues for Ashiya to blow his nose in.
He’s glad that he’s a human.
hydrangea
- blooms in different colors depending on the acidity of its soil
- when blue, signifies gratitude, patience and understanding; when pink, love and sincerity
These are tiny flowers, blooming in rounded clusters. Most of them are bright pink and blue, though there are a few stalks of white and purple. It’s a rather messy arrangement, Haruitsuki can say with conviction, after having watched Ashiya wrap up so many other bouquets for their customers. But at least Ashiya’s waterworks have finally stopped.
“Here, Abeno-san. For you!”
With puffy eyes and reddened cheeks, Ashiya holds out the flowers to him. He offers Haruitsuki a watery but genuine smile.
“A guy giving flowers to another guy… aren’t you embarrassed?” Haruitsuki mumbles. He reaches out to accept them anyway. “What am I supposed to do with these?”
“Hmm, put them in a vase? I bet the Mononokean would be happy to have fresh flowers!”
“I guess so.” Haruitsuki stares at the flowers, and clears his throat. “… Thank you.”
Ashiya beams at him. Quick to cry, and quicker to laugh, just like a child. “You’re welcome!”
Just like that, Haruitsuki finds himself bringing home a piece of Ashiya to the Mononokean.
gerbera daisy
- looks like a mini sunflower
- signifies innocence, cheerfulness, loyal love
“How did the situation even get to this?!” Haruitsuki whisper-yells. “Quit dragging me into trouble while you’re not even working for me, you five year old!”
Haruitsuki is sitting seiza in a stranger’s house, with Ashiya seated across him. Two bowls of grilled eel over rice, piping hot and steaming, have been set on the low table before them.
“No, well…” Ashiya looks properly chastised. “I ran into Manjirou’s wife on the way back from visiting Sakae’s grave yesterday, and—”
“Why didn’t you just refuse?!”
“I can’t help it! She strongly insisted— ah, by the way, is Manjirou doing well?”
Before Haruitsuki can respond, Manjirou’s wife emerges from the kitchen with a pot of tea on a tray. “Oh my, you haven’t touched your food at all!”
“Ah, no Ma’am! It’s delicious!” Ashiya hurriedly picks up his chopsticks and shoves a large piece of eel into his mouth. His eyes grow wide. “Whoa! It really melts in your mouth! Abeno-san, try some! This unagi is super delicious!”
Manjirou’s wife laughs, eyes crinkling at the corners as she claps her hands in delight. “I’m glad! I haven’t made this since we closed the shop, so I was worried about the taste!”
“Not at all!” Ashiya rushes to reassure her. “It’s crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It’s extremely delicious!”
“Is that so?” The old lady’s expression softens. “You see, unlike most of the restaurants around here, our unagi is grilled Kansai-style. It’s a traditional recipe that has been passed down generations of Manjirou’s family…”
Her pair of rings glint in the evening light as she refills their tea, chattering away with a cheerful smile that’s touched with just a bit of nostalgia. Haruitsuki awkwardly hangs onto his chopsticks like he’s forgotten how to use them.
There’s something to be said about eating eel while reminiscing about the very youkai whom Haruitsuki had just bumped into in the Underworld a few hours ago.
Unlike him, Ashiya is a good guest. He nods along and asks questions and soon he’s coaxed out Manjirou’s entire life story and is tearing up over it. At this table, Haruitsuki is an outsider. There’s a sense of distance that reminds him of the boy he had been before he had met Aoi, of how it feels to be the creepy kid who could see ‘imaginary things’ when no one else could.
But then Ashiya catches his eye through the conversation. A soft, knowing smile plays on his lips as he informs Manjirou’s wife that he’s sure that wherever Manjirou is, he must be doing well.
All of a sudden Haruitsuki breathes easier.
“Yes,” he agrees. “I’m sure Manjirou would be thrilled to know that so many people are thinking of him.”
sunflower
- joy and adoration
The moment Haruitsuki opens a door to the mundane world, a familiar weight immediately barrels into him.
“Haruitsuki! Play with me!”
“Yahiko,” Haruitsuki sighs. “Not today. I’m tired.”
“LET’S PLAAAY!”
Haruitsuki feels his temple throb. “Tomorrow, okay?” he tries to placate.
But Yahiko isn’t convinced.
“It’s been already three years!” Yahiko argues. “I waited forever for you! Come on, play with me! Let’s play hide-and-seek!”
“... It’s only been three days since I left for the Underworld.” Three days with hardly any sleep. He swears, sometimes the Legislator forgets that he isn’t quite as superhuman as the other youkai.
Yahiko seems to realize that Haruitsuki doesn’t intend to give way today. His mouth twists into a scowl. “Haruitsuki, you meanie! Tyrant! Bully!” He releases a torrent of insults that Haruitsuki promptly ignores as he brushes past.
“—You should learn from Ashiya!”
“What?” Haruitsuki stops and turns around. “Ashiya?”
Yahiko turns his nose up the air. “Oh? So now you’re interested in listening to me?”
Because Yahiko’s idea of fun isn’t always fun for the other party involved, especially if they can’t see or hear him anymore.
“You haven’t been playing pranks on Ashiya, have you?” Haruitsuki asks sternly. He wouldn’t put it past Yahiko to do things like toppling over flower vases or messing up his room—
“I didn’t!” Yahiko exclaims, a little too innocently to be believable. “We just ate rakugan together at his house while you were gone!”
Which begs the question of what exactly Yahiko had gone to his house to do, and how Ashiya noticed him in the first place. But putting that aside for the moment…
Haruitsuki raises a brow. “Together?”
“Yeah! Ashiya figured it was me from how the pieces on the plate disappeared.” Yahiko laughs. “Some detective he is! Even though he didn’t realize he was talking to the wall the whole time! Ashiya’s such a dummy!”
So Ashiya has tea parties with people he can’t see. After all this time, he’s still…
“Haruitsuki?” Yahiko tilts his head at him. “Why are you smiling?”
“It’s nothing,” Haruitsuki says quickly. He runs a hand through his hair. “I guess I could play with you for a while.”
“Really? Yay!”
”In exchange, you have to stop bothering Ashiya.”
He’s already been up for three days anyway, what’s a few more hours going to hurt?
lavender rose
- enchantment, and… what else did Ashiya say?
The broken vase lies in shattered pieces around them.
Ashiya stares down at him, curly hair messily falling into wide eyes. They’re almost forehead-to-forehead. From up this close, Haruitsuki can count the faint smattering of freckles on Ashiya’s nose. There is a smear of dirt on his cheek; Haruitsuki reaches out, wipes it away with his thumb without thinking. The gesture makes Ashiya tense ever so slightly, his eyes widening.
Haruitsuki is no stranger to being on the receiving end of someone’s affections, not that Ashiya is very subtle in the first place. He’s openly staring at Haruitsuki with those clear blue eyes, and the color that’s risen in his cheeks is such an honest reaction—so much that Haruitsuki almost doubts the obvious, and wonders if he’s reading into things because he wants to, or if Ashiya really is this dense when it comes to himself.
“U-um,” Ashiya breathes, lips parting around his name sweetly. “Abeno-san—”
Haruitsuki kicks him. “How long are you going to sit on me?” he snaps, heart racing. “You’re heavy, get off already!”
grass
- meaning: submission
- who knew even plain old grass had a meaning in flower language
Haruitsuki wakes to the sensation of fingers carding through his hair. He’s startled at first—the last person who had soothed him like that was Aoi when he was a child—and Haruitsuki hasn’t been a child for many years.
But he opens his eyes to a familiar face, and perhaps it’s not so surprising after all, to find himself lying in the lap of someone who innocently peers back down at him like he hadn’t been caught absently brushing through Haruitsuki’s hair like how Zenko might do to Yahiko’s fur.
“Oh, you’re finally awake,” Ashiya says. His hands still, but Ashiya doesn’t move them away.
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what happened. Haruitsuki’s back is cold— or rather, damp. He’s lying in wet grass, and one side of his kimono is caked in mud. The last thing he remembers is closing the portal for the second time today. Now it’s dark out.
Ashiya must have picked him off the grass and tried to drag him up the sloping sides of the riverbank before he’d given up and let Haruitsuki nap where he was.
“How long was I out for?” Haruitsuki mumbles. His limbs still feel like deadweight. Ashiya, who has been quite the comfortable pillow to rest on, doesn’t seem in any hurry to push him off.
“About forty minutes or so, since I got here,” Ashiya says, calm and quiet and rather unlike his usual loud self. “How are you feeling?”
“... Tired.”
“You can sleep for a while more,” Ashiya says hopefully. “If you want.”
Haruitsuki raises a brow. “What, so you can touch me while I’m asleep?”
In response, Ashiya simply brushes his bangs out of his eyes. “It’s softer than I thought,” he admits, slightly sheepish.
Haruitsuki lets his eyelids fall. “Yeah?” he sighs, as Ashiya resumes the gentle ministrations. “Reminds you of the Hairball or something?”
Ashiya chuckles. “No way. Compared to Abeno-san, Fuzzy was muuuch fluffier!”
four-leaved clovers
- faith, hope, love and a bit of good luck
It’s four in the morning. Haruitsuki only picks up because the caller ID reads ‘Ashiya Hanae’.
“A-Abeno-san!” Ashiya exclaims, voice staticky and so utterly anguished that Haruitsuki immediately sits up on his futon.
His next declaration, despite being one that both of them had been waiting for, turns the world upside down anyway.
“I can see!”
magenta zinnia
- endurance, lasting affection
He’s summoned the Mononokean and had it open a door to Ashiya’s bedroom before he even realizes it. They’re still connected on the phone line when Haruitsuki, still clad in pajamas, is greeted by the sight of Ashiya knelt on the floor, squeezing the life out of the Hairball.
Ashiya looks up at him first, then his gaze falls somewhere behind Haruitsuki. His eyes grow wide. “I—”
”You can see the Mononokean too?”
That’s the last straw; Ashiya’s expression crumples as he nods rapidly. “This morning when I woke up, Fuzzy was sitting on my face, and—” He lets out a quiet sob.
Haruitsuki is instantly at his side. For once, he doesn’t sidestep Ashiya’s snotty embrace when he throws his arms around him. The Hairball nuzzles Ashiya’s cheek as he squishes the life out of them both as if he’s saved up years of hugs and was trying to return them all in one shot.
And well… That’s just like Ashiya. Naive and kindhearted, always quick to extend a hand to the youkai, getting involved with them, getting attached to them… Now he cries like a child, one arm wrapped around Fuzzy, the other tightly wound around Haruitsuki’s back. Haruitsuki holds him close until he calms.
Outside the window, dawn finally breaks.
daffodil
- new beginnings, hopes for the future
“I’m the newly re-employed part-timer, Ashiya Hanae!” Ashiya salutes. “I’ll be in your care again!”
The Mononokean’s glass chime tinkles merrily. I’m so glad, Hanae! Isn’t that great, Itsuki? ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝ꕤ*.ﾟ
Ashiya turns to him expectantly, then his face falls. “What’s that look for?” he whines. “We made a promise that you’d employ me again whenever I could see youkai. Isn’t that right, Fuzzy?”
The Hairball affectionately nuzzles his cheek in response. Ever since they had been reunited, he’s been settled on Ashiya’s shoulder like it’s a permanent seat.
Ashiya pouts at him. “Aren’t you happy that I came back?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m thrilled.”
“Can’t you say that with a happier face?!”
Haruitsuki sighs. “We’ll have to contact the Legislator again.”
Ashiya brightens. “Are we going to the Underworld? I can’t wait to see Big Boss Scree and Manjirou!” He starts ticking off his fingers. “And Koura-san and Shizuku-chan and Jomatsu-san and Princess Anmo and Bonta-san… Oh, but before that, Yahiko—”
“We’re going to the Underworld for work, not a holiday!”
Ashiya laughs, loud and giddy and still very much in good cheer. “I know, I know! I’ll work my absolute hardest, Abeno-san!”
“No, you don’t have to try too hard— you’ll just end up bringing me more trouble again.” He catches Ashiya’s wrist. “Come on, stop fooling around! We have work to do!”
Ashiya grins. “Yessir!”
red rose
- there’s nothing more straightforward than a red rose
“Here.”
Without further preamble, Haruitsuki shoves the bouquet at him. His intentions should be obvious enough.
Ashiya’s eyes widen as his hands come up to cradle the flowers. He looks surprised but happy—that was the plan—and a matching blush colors his cheeks as he touches the red petals. Haruitsuki watches him with bated breath. Surely Ashiya understands what he’s trying to convey here.
Then Ashiya starts to chuckle softly. Not like he’s nervously trying to cover up his embarrassment, but like there’s some inside joke that Haruitsuki didn’t get—
“Abeno-san can be unexpectedly romantic!” he teases, and Haruitsuki feels himself glow bright red. “But how should I say this…? 13 roses actually stands for ‘eternal friendship’…”
Haruitsuki cringes. His face flares with heat as he makes a grab for the bouquet. “If you don’t want the flowers, give them back!”
“No! That’s not it,” Ashiya takes a step back, laughing. “Thank you, Abeno-san! I’ll treasure them! Ah— Don’t take them away! Sorry! I’m sorry! I promise I’ll treasure them for the rest of my life!”
red rose
there’s nothing more straightforward than a red rose- 13 roses mean eternal friendship
12 roses mean, “Be mine”Ashiya is so damn annoying!