Work Text:
“Thank you for accompanying me, Takashi-kun,” Touko says as she sits down on the small bench of the bus stop and smooths down her skirt. Takashi puts down the shopping bag next to Touko, but he stays standing. “You must have wanted to spend the weekend with your friends, rather than humoring an old lady’s silly request.”
“No, no, Touko-san, it’s been my pleasure,” Takashi says, ever the polite boy. He smiles, too—neither forced nor awkward anymore. “I’m happy you asked me to come.”
“You see, I just really wanted to eat these sakura mochi. They were all Shima-chan was talking about last week, her rare out-of-season discovery, and I couldn’t help wanting to try some.” She reaches out to adjust the sweets boxes in the bag. “We even bought enough for the kitty-cat.”
“You spoil Sensei too much, Touko-san.”
Touko giggles. “He’s getting a bit chubby, isn’t he? Shigeru-san thinks I can’t see it when he feeds him under the table.” She turns to Takashi. “Can you check the bus schedule, Takashi-kun? We should still have a few minutes until the next one.”
There’s a thump of a heavy raindrop on the wooden roof before Takashi can reach the board, and soon many follow.
“Takashi-kun, hurry up and get under the roof. We can’t have you catch a cold.” She ushers him to sit down on the bench next to her and Takashi obediently does what she asks of him, holding the shopping bag in his lap.
“A sunshower. A fox’s wedding,” Touko says and claps her hands. “Seeing a rainbow would be wonderful, don’t you think?”
But Takashi’s attention has already drifted away: he’s looking at the middle of the empty road with a small frown and a sense of wonder.
Touko doesn’t know what he’s seeing, but it doesn’t seem dangerous and that’s the most important thing when it comes to Takashi. As long as he’s not upset or hurting, Touko doesn’t mind not knowing. Until Takashi is ready to share this side of him with her and Shigeru…
…she’ll wait.