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The sun’s a stagnant, pearly gold shimmering in the sky when Oboro looks up. It’s blinding. But it doesn’t hurt, for some odd reason, so he keeps his chin tilted toward the invisible stars and eyes open wide.
It’s peaceful. He doesn’t remember how he got here.
Oboro supposes it doesn’t matter. He lets the bewilderment drift, blooming back into itself, and sinks right back onto the grass, feeling the blades tingle against his skin as the idle warmth pools over his eyelids.
It’s so peaceful.
“You were always like a plant.”
His eyes snap open, cerulean blue burning with a dredged glint. Recognition pools in his chest at the source of the chuckle. A smile grows taut on his face as he quickly moves to sit up, movements eager as he pushes his hands down.
He would recognize that voice anywhere. After all, he’s been chasing after it for the past 2 years.
“Shouta,” Oboro teases. The other boy glances back at him testingly. "I’d argue you’re more of a plant than me, man. I’m just letting the sun catch me for once.”
His hand pats down on the empty blanket of grass beside him, eyes glimmering as invitingly as he can muster. “Come sit down with me.”
For a moment, Oboro wonders if he’s done something wrong. Shouta’s face suddenly tenses at his proposal, dim eyes widening beneath his furrowed brows, as if the thought of sitting next to Oboro was foreign.
Come on, Shou! We sat together yesterday!
“As if you would’ve let anything catch you.” His dear friend huffs, then. Blue curls up in Oboro’s chest at the tone, but he isn’t left much time to reconvene with what the phrasing means, because Shouta obliges with his request and shuffles down next to him.
Oboro beams in success. The thought of wrongdoing slips away faster than any cloud he could concoct. The blue curves into carnelion, blistering and bleedingly bright.
Without a second thought, he slips his hand into Shouta’s, humming blissfully.
Briefly, Shouta’s fingers seem to stiffen under Oboro’s touch, caught off-guard.
It takes a second before they slowly, yet fully reciprocate, curling seemingly reluctantly around Oboro’s.
Wait.
His eyes widen. Shouta’s always been the worst when it comes to physical touch, he remembers - why couldn't he remember that earlier?
He isn’t normally this dense!
Oboro let out a relieved exhale at the squeeze, glancing up to see Shouta studying him curiously.
His eyelids are raised slightly up. A clear sign of the other checking him out.
"Sorry," he mumbles. "I really don’t know why I did that. I know you’re not fond of touch, but… it feels like I haven’t done it in forever.”
Shouta doesn’t respond.
Oboro understands this well; he knows the other isn’t good with words. But Shouta's always been one for action, so the stronger squeeze to Oboro’s hand confirms that it’s okay. It's alright.
He lets out another sigh, before sinking back onto the grass. He can feel a soft thud as Shouta falls back with him. The breeze brushes amicably against them both, clinging onto them as the shield of silence wraps steeled fingers against their intertwined wrists.
The silence is comfortable. The blue haired boy faces his attention back up onto the sky, oblivious to the fact it’d gone from a cool cerulean to a teal, and grins when his eyes make contact with the sun. Clouds cluster against the bright giant; they remind him of his own. Two in particular resemble clouds he’d made before. He allows the thought to allude him, basking instead in the given silence.
He should break the silence.
Coughing, he clears his throat, opening his mouth. He doesn’t bother getting up from the ground. “Thanks for this.”
“No.”
Baffled, Oboro tilts his head. The word came so quickly. So easily, too. Was Shouta mad at him? Sure, there wasn’t really anything to indicate he was, but—
“Thank you, Oboro.” Shouta says, intercepting his troubling trail of thought, and really, what is he supposed to say to that other than shriek in joy? Of course, Oboro’s heart grunts in silent, oscillating gratitude, but he’s never been one to be fully silent. Sometimes his voice became louder than Hizashi’s, and Hizashi’s whole thing was his loudness.
Where was Hizashi, anyway?
He's not left ruminating on the thought for long. (There's been a surplus repetition of losing track of his thoughts today; today seemed especially weird, what was going on?) Shouta simply sighs, and Oboro feels an odd tug before a side of his back is pulled away from the ground, and his front is pulled forward into a warm body.
Oh my god.
An embrace, he mouths.
“Just accept it,” Shouta grumbles, though there’s something bittersweet in his voice as he says it.
Oboro doesn’t question it. He just grins, and does what Shouta asks, and doesn’t wonder why. That’s what’s worked best for them thus far. He lets his arms drift naturally, wrapping around Shouta in response. His head tilts into the curve of the other's shoulder. The world tilts slightly, the sunlight warming the curve of their joined bodies, the air humming faintly against their skin.
He lets his eyelids close.
For some reason, he swears he hears a short, soft breath, and Shouta mutter “just a little while longer, just for now” against him, but he doesn’t question that either. He just inhales, and tightens his grip.
It’s best not to dig too deep into things he doesn’t want answers to. Shouta taught him that, after all.
For now, they can remain stagnant, basking in the sun's blissful, blinding warmth.
(They don't need to question why only Shouta's eyes hurt when it glares into him.)
--
"Oboro?"
"Yeah, Shouta?"
"You know that Hizashi and I love you, right? We... love you."
"Oh! That's sweet. I love you guys too! If you don't mind me asking, where's all this coming from? Not that I mind, but... you're so affectionate today! It's almost like you've grown up, hah..."
"...I'm really sorry, Oboro."
"Huh? What's up, Shouta? What're you apologizing to me for?
"I wish I hadn't."
"...Shouta?"
"You should've been here too."
"...What?"
"...Shouta, what?"
--
The mist trails back into purple, and the cerulean blue of clement, friendly eyes curves back into a corpse's yellow mimicry of farewell.
--
"Please come back."