Work Text:
On a Friday evening, Ojima was having a bad time regarding his issues catching up to him, so he decided to facetime Hiroaki to keep his mind off it.
They ended up talking for hours on end regarding their artistic projects and whatnot, Ojima tried his best to hide his worries but Hiroaki could see it written in his face, so he asked: “Takeshi, is everything ok?”
Ojima was startled by the sudden question, so he answered, trying not to stumble over his words: “Yeah, i’m doing fine.”
After a few more hours of talking, they ended their call on a good note, even if Hiroaki is worried about Ojima’s well-being, he could tell something was wrong, so he thought: ‘maybe i should do something nice to cheer him up.’
So he did just that by buying him some lavenders from a nearby flower shop, he was planning on getting something else, but he heard from some people that flowers can represent how much you care for someone, so he went with that.
Why lavenders? Hasegawa had mentioned that their scent can help others calm down and put their mind at ease, multiple studies say so, from what Hiroaki remembered anyway.
It took him a while to come up with it, so on a Sunday afternoon, he arrives at Ojima’s house, he knocked on the door, hoping to see him in a better state than he was 2 days ago.
Thankfully, Ojima was the one to open the door, with a confused face he said: “Nakamigawa? What are you doing here?”
“I know this is sudden of me to drop by, but i was worried about you, so i decided to visit you and see what you’re up to.”
“I told you i’m fine.” Ojima is trying to hide the fact that he is indeed not fine.
“Your face is telling me otherwise.” Hiroaki said it with a serious expression on his face.
Hiroaki knows him too well, but what he also knew is that he needs to be by Ojima’s side and help him the best way he can.
“Come in, let’s talk” says Ojima with a look of defeat, realising that he cannot hide it from Hiroaki anymore.
When Hiroaki gets inside, he places the lavenders he brought with him on the table he saw, which made Ojima ask: “Whats why the flowers?”
“I got them for you, they can help you calm down thanks to its scent but they can also bring you inspiration for a future illustration.”
Hiroaki thought of everything he can to make Ojima feel comfortable, because he truly cares about how he feels, he saw him at his worst during the killing game, he cannot let him get in that position ever again.
After that, they sat at the table and Ojima starts talking: “I’m currently… not in the best state mentally… i’ve been feeling more and more scared as of recently.”
Could it be because of uncle? Could it be because of the memories of the killing game? Ojima sheds a tear after he spoke, that was enough for Hiroaki to jump in and reassure him that everything’s gonna be ok.
After a while, Ojima managed to calm down and said: “Thank you Nakamigawa.. for everything.”
“Don’t mention it, if you ever need to take something off your chest, just call me.”
“I’ll remember that.”
After Hiroaki left, Ojima took a look at the lavenders he recieved, thinking of its meaning a bit deeper, was it really just for inspiration? Or was there something more than that?
It didn’t matter to Ojima, he still appreciated the gift and he will always look at it as a sign of care from someone he trusts.