Chapter Text
“And this is what commoners do?”
Leo laughed, bright and loud and obnoxious. “That’s such a princely way of saying things? Wahahaha, Suo, are you sure you’re not meant to be the royal here?! You have the ego for it – you’re so high up, so high! You could reach the stars!”
Tsukasa looked at him in disbelief, shaking his head even as the other members of Knights began to wander off. Each dressed finely in a summer yukata, holding jars and trailing into the sea of flashing little lights, they were the poster boys of youth.
Perhaps even literally. They all had their faces on posters by now, after all.
It had been Arashi’s idea to go in search of fireflies during the festival, having heard of a congregation of them nearby.
“We’ll be back for you soon, Tsukasa-chan!” the blonde had waved happily as the rest of them wandered off –
An unfortunate slip had left Tsukasa with a broken sandal and a minor injury. Thusly, he was left waiting on a bench with none other than their leader, who would take breaks from composing - he was using parchment paper and a brush pen that he’d gotten from the festival stalls, was it to fit the mood? - only to lift his head and gently poke at his youngest knight.
Tsukasa held onto the empty jar of his own, pouting.
“It would be nice if the stars would come to me,” he sighed.
“That’s what I keep saying about the aliens! Maybe we’ll have more luck if you greet them? Uchuu~!”
“Please stop.”
“Wahahaha!”
And with that, the other went back to his composing, brushing dark ink against pages wildly yet elegantly. Leo was infuriating, but he was also amazing –
It was not the first time that Tsukasa had that thought.
So instead of saying anything about it, he looked away. Although they were not in the thick of the fireflies, not lost in that sea of lights, there would still be the occasional light wandering toward them, twinkling softly.
If he had to put a word to it:
“Ephemeral.”
The sounds of brush strokes on paper paused. Leo had been tasked with ‘making sure that our youngest child is safe’ in the words of Arashi and apparently he was taking that at least moderately seriously, as if Tsukasa hadn’t just managed to embarrassingly sprain his ankle.
“Mm? What is?” Leo chirped up from next to him.
Tsukasa paused, watching a few more fireflies drift closer to them. When they’d arrived, the bench was empty – the fireflies likely not bothering to get too close to just any people who would take their rest there. Yet the longer they stayed, the more of them came.
Inexplicably, they floated and flitted by the two of them, providing gentle light for Leo’s composing and – in turn, for Tsukasa to look upon Leo.
The other’s eyes drifted from the page to Tsukasa, taking a moment to pause, and then breaking out into a bright smile.
If you asked Tsukasa, he was pretty sure that Leo was made out of the same stuff as fireflies.
Ephemeral.
The sounds of the rest of Knights teasing one another as they collected the fireflies. The fresh gleam of Leo’s ink against the paper. The break from school that they were all able to spend together.
This little found family that had come together.
It was all destined to end and yet Tsukasa wanted it to last forever.
“… I think I’m feeling dizzy, Leader,” Tsukasa lied instead, shaking his head softly.
“Huh? Are you not taking care of your health? Here—”
And without a hint of hesitation, Leo’s arm looped around Tsukasa, pulling him in and letting the other come to rest against him. It occurred to Tsukasa to be embarrassed for a moment.
(But the rest of the Knights were gone for now and in the end it was just left between him and his Leader, his King, his—)
But that too was fleeting.
‘It’s only temporary,’ Tsukasa had thought, shifting to lean his head against Leo’s chest, the warmth a contrast to the chill that was startling to settle into the air with the setting sun. ‘This won’t last.’
“Mm? What’s this? You’re like a cat, Suo! Wahahaha, are you going to start purring? What if I do this?” Leo’s voice drifted in, just as his fingers started to comb through Tsukasa’s hair gently.
Who knew that Leo could do anything gently?
“I’m not going to purr. Do not be so impossible, Leader,” Tsukasa sighed as he opened one eye, already knowing that he was asking for too much. What was Leo if not perpetually impossible? Still, he didn’t lift his head from Leo’s chest.
The other looked down at him with a smile, like he was petting an actual kitten, and tilted his head.
Around them, the fireflies continued to dance. The voices of the others had drifted away, though if Tsukasa focused he was sure he could hear Izumi’s complaints or Arashi’s doting. For now, he did not focus. He stayed where he was, looking at Leo who was looking at him.
This was finite.
In months, Leo would graduate and move on – either as a composer or an idol or a student. Tsukasa was never actually meant to have him for that long.
‘You are so temporary,’ Tsukasa thought as he closed his eyes again and settled for resting against Leo. In his world, there were polished marble statues that would be praised for decades. In his world, there were paintings that dated back centuries, simply part of his learning curriculum. In his world, there were long lineages that were esteemed, dignified, and quite possibly immortal.
In comparison, even the disastrous Leader who would claim to be loved by the gods and the child of miracles looked so terribly mortal. Leo was temporary.
‘And perhaps, in my rebellious years, that is why I want you so badly.’
Tsukasa sighed, shifted when he felt lips pressed to his forehead and the rise and fall of Leo’s chest as he laughed afterward.
That managed to get the young heir to open an eye, though only after he made sure to school his expression into one of irritation and not embarrassment.
Yes, it was just a phase.
That’s what he told himself.
(But could this too last forever?)