Chapter Text
In the House of Daena, many suffering students lay wide awake on this starry night. One such student was trying not to hum to herself too loudly as to not be disruptive to the other students around her, and these echoey walls don’t make her troubles any easier
“.. tsk. I’m really not feeling like drawing right now…”
She looks down at her unfinished sketch, one of her assignments. Having gone into the esteemed Kshahrewar darshan, she had her work cut out for her. ”This’ll have to be finished later…”, she thinks to herself
Sighing, she begins to pack away her things. Just as she was about to get up, a familiar face walks past
“Kuni?..”
The man walking by, turns his sharp gaze towards her. It softens briefly before going back. A mere acknowledgment. They stare awkwardly at each other- no words being said despite her calling him out, so he attempts to walk off to continue his business
“Wait-“ She hurriedly gets up
“You’re always so slow. Why don’t you make use of that vision of yours to carry your stuff?” His smooth voice finally acknowledges her, and for a moment she felt her heart leap
With a little smile, she finds her comfortable spot beside him as they walk, “because- I just prefer to hold my own things. What if I lose focus and accidentally drop them?”
“Yeah, because only someone as clumsy as you would forget to use her vision.”
“Heyyy..” She pouts a little but this little banter is already doing wonders for her earlier downpour of a mood. And when she catches herself in the act, she gets a bit annoyed with herself
“.. anyways. What are you doing? Got another.. history report to write? Or whatever it is you do?”
“Always so nosy. I’m just looking for a book.” Kuni sighs but relents
“Oh. Well.. can I help you?” She looks up at him innocently as she speaks, hoping to sway his heart a bit
“Why do you insist on tagging along, hm? Got nothing better to do with your time?”
“.. I just.. like hanging out with you. Is that.. weird?”
“Yeah. Going out of your way for my company is weird.” His walking reached a halt when he reached the right bookshelf
His comment triggers her overthinking.. did she really look that pathetic, tailing him around like this most days? Does he actually hate her company and he only tolerates it because they’re in public? Or maybe he pities her
She just stared at him while he was searching for the book he needed. She scanned the bookshelves to try to get an idea of what he wanted but seeing as he had it handled, she decided to just lean against the wall and wait.. and contemplate some more
“.. so.. how was.. your day…” She mumbles, a bit unenthused, absentmindedly playing with her hair
“Fine, as usual.” He replies fast, but doesn’t ask her about her own. Not because he’s being rude- but because she’d tell him anyways
So when he was met with unusual silence instead of her usual chatter- he was confused..
“Hey.” He stares at her clouded eyes, which slowly, almost guiltily look up at him. He raises a questioning brow
“What’s with that look?”
“N-Nothing.. I think I’m just tired…”, Averting her gaze away quickly, she steps aside so he isn’t almost caging her into the wall
“… Goodnight, Kuni..” and she walks off before he could get another word.. which ticks him off
Usually- she’d be dragging his sleeve, giving him that unapologetic, pitiful and embarrassing expression- asking him to walk her back to her place, or treat her to dinner, or to sit together for a while longer.. not this.. strange.. withdrawn attitude
The next day, the wanderer was getting his morning coffee when he happened to bump into her
“I’m sorry-“ Her head is angled downwards, but when she looks up to see who she’s apologizing to, her expression almost becomes even more downcast.
“Ah…”
This hurts him a little- isn’t she usually happy to see him?
However, his stare was simply too overbearing right now, so she simply chose to turn away and find her table. Leaving him only more confused and a little agitated. Now he knows her ignoring him is on purpose
Deep down in his heart, he knew he shouldn’t have gotten so involved with other people. Deep down in his heart, he knew other people would only disappoint him. He knew all of this- he knew it all too well- but maybe he was just too stupid to use his damn brain because now he knows the truth, that she hates him and meant to hurt him and he should’ve never ever-
“.. I.. made you something…”
“… what?” The words leave his mouth before he realizes what’s going on
She’s.. extending him a drawing. A drawing she made of him. And she looks.. adorably embarrassed about it
“… I’m sorry I’m.. a bit quiet lately.. these things just happen some days, you know? I felt kind of bad I just.. left you there last night.. I.. was planning on never giving you this actually- but.. I.. just.. just take it-“ She sighs and firmly places it in his hands, letting go of her feelings.. she examines his face to gauge his reaction…
“.. hmph.. I’ll accept it. Only so you’ll stop whimpering when you speak.”
She was about to frown and argue further- till she saw the way his expression calmed.. maybe.. things will be okay
It’s not like she stayed up all night agonizing over her interactions with him. Wondering if she was rude, overbearing, or worse, insufferable and annoying- but really the exhaustion just took over so much that she couldn’t feel much of anything
Feeling.. nothing and everything. Yeah, that sounds about right for both him and her
Because how is someone like him, a puppet, capable of feeling such depth in his chest, which is supposedly hollow? And why must she, whose own heart is filled with flowing vigor, feel like it’s drowning in a silent, abyss-like void?
Feelings don’t make any sense at all
Without another word, he took his spot across her at the table. He didn’t need to ask if she wanted him to sit there.. he just had a gut feeling. Or maybe it was arrogance. Believing that she should want him here, because perhaps it’s the least she owes him after leaving abruptly last night
Breakfast together is quiet.. but it’s not a bad quiet. Guess he’ll just have to get used to this other “her”. She who can be so loud can also be quiet- so expressive can also be so solemn.. humans can be fascinating sometimes, and if he’s willing to accept that he’s an intricate person, then he must acknowledge her as such too
He wonders what she might be thinking about