Chapter Text
It was in mid-December when the polar and pale phenomenon made its grand debut in Spice City. Grey skies above city-dwellers swirled wintry shades in their domain while heavy clouds released slow-moving flakes of snow falling on roofs and pavements soundlessly, leaving the city awake beneath a stretchable blanket of salty sugary white. One brunet figure eyed tricolour lights adorning shops as he waited for his friend, his stiff shoulders shivered now and then due to temperature dropping. Cautious he was standing by the festive zone entry, not only for peace of mind from a crowd he wasn't socially keen on, but also to avoid super stressed shoppers zigzagging pass with countless bags attached on their arms. And who could blame them? Christmas was near. Another figure eyed the sunless weather unfold while his nose took in the high, sharp scent of snow. Such thing, he realised, wasn't quite easy to define. He couldn't just pin a fancy word like petrichor for dry rain; yet, touching snow was possible, and tasting too as demonstrated by his brunet friend he finally caught up with.
Pronto, miles quicker than he ran (which wasn't saying much); Mob's tongue jerked back in its mouth, disliking the iciness interfering with its sensitive taste buds. What had he been thinking?
"That wasn't such a good idea."
"Well, I can't say I don't agree," A familiar chuckle made Mob's ears perk up at once. Tension within him decreased. His shoulders relaxed at the same time his loneliness faded to black nothingness, "But isn't curiosity what makes us all commoners, Kageyama-kun?"
"Ah, Hanazawa-kun." Although minimal was the classic Mob expression, fleeting happiness glittered in his eyes. "I guess you're right," Chances were that it already existed once laughter escaped. "but didn't it kill a dog?"
Swallowing a chuckle at that was all Teru did, "I believe you mean a cat, although dogs are just as curious. Still, the meaning isn't really lost. We all really should check where our curiosity takes us." This advice didn't penetrate its message deep enough in their minds. "By the way, sorry for being late. You must've gotten pretty annoyed waiting for me."
Mob calmly disagreed, "The wait was alright, Hanazawa-kun. All that really bothered me was the cold, but it was worth it in the end. You’re here with me now."
Touched by plain and simple words from a plain and simple teen seizing, though unknowingly, his stuttering core hard, "Er...that's erm..." Teru was taken aback by the person he greatly admired most, "W-what a shame. And here I thought this hot compensation behind me," he presented a cup holder carrying two palatable cups he'd been holding, "would do the trick. How silly of me."
The trick was dead successful if Mob's slight dilated eyes were anything to go by, "O-Oh...that–is that-?" Hard it was for Mob to stay physically polite when having half a mind to act on irresistible impulse, his feet stepped closer to temptation. His upcoming comment, "You really shouldn't have." accompanied with a fine trickle of drool was interpreted as 'Thank God you did!' without error. He wasn't a picky eater nor drinker; however, if and only if a Venti-sized cup of Noël Hot Chocolate was in drinkable distance, Mob started losing parts of himself usually kept under wraps (a special secret side of him that amused Teru to no end).
Ever so wrapped up in his sweet temptress Mob's finger pointed at her reverently, "Hanazawa-kun, is that really what I think it is?"
"Hm, I'm not quite sure. I wonder if I've gotten your delectable, creamy December usual wrong?"
"You never do."
Stated thus, unshakable faith in that whisper alone smashed Teru's playful resolve to smithereens. Conceding, he handed over Mob's object of desire with no harmful hidden agenda. What did this mean exactly? Anyhow, the long and short of it was that Mob's incommunicable eyes and inscrutable face giving little away was classic Mob, although the main point was that he too had his exposed-for-all-the-world-to-see episodes as any other commoner. As it so happened, unknowingly again for the nth time, a pair of blue eyes traced over Mob slowly, coasting along seemingly plain features gaining colour and life as delight took over and spread over. It was as if Teru saw Mob for the first time while a satisfied hum produced from Teru’s throat was not. This 360 degree change ensuing from hot chocolate made him imagine to be such and to never buy such again. In truth, Teru's actions couldn't be helped. That solemn profile belonging to Mob took infrequent breaks; fleeting moments like this were treasured, so how could he resist adding one more emotion from Mob’s restricted range to his mental album? Oblivious to his own observation, Teru had yet to realise the way his own profile softened every time (in a way none of his admirers knew), especially as having one foot in reality and the other out tended to leave him awfully distracted.
Such as now when his own beverage neared imminent collision with the ground. Teru's psychic reflexes weren't as immediate as they ought to be, but even so his drink was saved by someone's adept foot, beautifully balancing the drink without a single spill. It definitely hinted at untapped or unleashed talent in football. Impressed, Teru let out a low whistle and retrieved his drink while the stranger who'd jostled Teru, "My bad," accidentally via Christmas tree, "Should've paid more attention," perhaps aged eighteen, "I mean, me! Me with the big fat tree not you." only two years Teru's senior, "Mmm," quite fine. "Cute hat!" Objectively, Teru acknowledged this. "For a cute boy," Who didn't use this skill in society? "The cutest here today I'd say." Declared thus, the older teen gently tugged a furry pom-pom hanging from Teru's knitted trapper hat. Caught off guard, neither annoyance nor disgust was the first thing on the blonde's mind.
Given that he wasn't heart and soul in the game these days, so to speak, not only was he rusty but he also had the tendency more than ever to be on the flattered and flustered side. Put simply, his flirty know-how lied asleep. All Teru could do now was clear his throat and direct his gaze to the right, stalling for time to gather his wits, "Thanks, uh...don't you think you're too certain about that?"
Grinning lazily, the older teen shook his head, "Pretty sure, but you don't seem to be. I'm gettin' the feelin' you don't own a mirror."
He does, Mob replied back in his head, Hanazawa-kun always carries a pocket mirror in his left pocket, Mob informed himself but not the stranger. He had no good reason to. He wasn't inclined to do so. Teru, on the other hand, was inclined to ask head-on, "And what if I don't?"
"Then I'd say you have two options: you could a) buy a mirror and check your cute self out, or b) take my word for it."
Teru's single breath of disbelieving laughter was belied by a rapid rise of colour decorating his cheeks. He honestly wouldn't mind if the pale, blunt-talking, dark haired and dark eyed older teen just assumed his rosiness resulted from lively weather conditions. In comparison, Mob was lifeless. Simply comatose enough to display eyes dispassionate as ice cubes. He stood forgotten in place, unsettled, uncomfortable and unstable as usual when it came down to these endless interruptions always starring his sought-after friend. In the span of two years, Mob had naturally acquiesced in these interruptive events, but be that as may, the past few months of playing spectator struggled to remove the tiny tincture of ire within himself. It didn't feel right. His world, comprehensible five minutes ago, no longer made sense right now.
The axis had tilted terribly.
A conclusion came closer. The stranger's wink and wave before running off to his own impatient family, along with, "See you around!" were oil to Mob's arctic blue fire. For some undefined reason, he lost total interest in his drink. Its previous overwhelming allure faded faster than his fancy for soya milk that one time. His beverage grew colder and colder in his hand, reaching a degree below minus twenty the longer he eyeballed the intruder in the distance who had just blown a kiss at his friend Teru. Inevitably, Mob's throat closed up. His lips formed an unsmiling line. His inner percentage soared. The warmth of his hot chocolate plummeted straight down. In truth, it was about time Mob asked himself why his drink and the hand it was held in possessed the same temperature as Antarctica if not colder.
"Kageyama-kun!"
Blinking at the voice of concern, "Huh? Yeah? Oh...oh no," Mob the nonpareil esper, "I...I'm so sorry, Hanazawa-kun." had caused another accident, "Please believe me, I didn't mean to do this. I really did like it, Hanazawa-kun." meek eyes once a frozen abyss were desirous of forgiveness. "After all the trouble you went you through to get me this, I just had to space out again and-"
"Shigeo," was a vocal trigger of instantaneous results. "It's fine." Mob's thoughts and words came to a final halt. Mob's ears had reddened, involuntarily, at the timbre in his name. And lastly, Mob's lowered head was gently lifted by a slender curl of psychic yellow.
Teru's line of thinking, Okay, so that did work better than I expected. I can't believe it's been two years and it's now I hear him talk so much and so fast in under a second. Do I even know him at all? was disheartening, especially since one of his undisclosed wishes was to better understand his friend's unexpurgated mind if ever given the say-so.
"Kageyama-kun, answer me honestly, do I even look the slightest bit angry or annoyed?" Not at all trusting his voice to reply, Mob did so with his head instead.
"Of course I'm not, I understand. You know I do." Teru wasted no time diving into the crux of the matter, "Esper to esper, this kind of stuff happens to us all the time no matter how big the scale. Sometimes we feel too much and certain things around us pay the price. Sure, it's not the best end result, but we can learn from those mistakes and change."
"But not every esper is like me."
Sombre words spurred Teru to reshape Mob's form of Weltschmerz from the inside out, "Indeed," he agreed, "Not every esper is as amazing as you, Kageyama-kun. Not every esper can handle the amount of power you carry on a day to day basis and remain humble. To be honest, you could've easily turned the whole city into an icy wonderland at the drop of a hat–but no, you contained it, though at the expense of your hand, and no one was harmed in the process. I'm impressed–I mean–I just, ugh, words fail me! Seriously, I don't...get you. How do you not see your true strength?"
I don't get you either, Hanazawa-kun. How do you see me like that? Mob thought, currently unsure how all his pressure became weightless in seconds, I really don't deserve Hanazawa-kun as a friend, but I'll try my best to keep him by my side
Soft spoken words, "You're a good person, Hanazawa-kun." his gratitude and compliment rolled in one, "You really are." brought about an unmissable flush to Teru's cheeks (which inky eyes had tracked from left to right). Not to mention his friend's incoherent mumbling that Mob, somewhat amused by this, had no hopes in deciphering. The missable quirk to his mouth revealed that he didn't mind while his unbidden thought, ‘Hanazawa-kun should blush more’, helped him relate to admirers who got up close and personal with his friend.
"Sooo," Teru started, "Let's break the ice, shall we?"