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It was lunchtime. Lunchtime was one of Kouda’s favorite periods during the school day- not so that he could eat, but so he could have some free time to do some leisure reading between classes. He had bought a few new gardening magazines recently, and was eager to look through them, as he hadn’t had a chance to yet. He had taken them out of his bag to hold as he made his way to his favorite lunch spot outside, not wanting to waste a single moment once he was sitting down with his lunch. Unfortunately, holding a few slippery magazines along with a lunchbox was proving to be difficult, and they slid out of his grip and onto the floor in the middle of the hallway.
“Oh no, watch out!” There weren’t a lot of students around, but he wanted to make sure he announced himself, even though his voice was soft, so that no one would slip and fall. He bent down to pick them up, but there was already someone there to help.
“Here you go, Kouda.”
Kouda saw a beak in his periphery, and turned to find Tokoyami next to him, offering him the magazines that he had dropped. Kouda hadn’t heard Tokoyami come up next to him, but then again that was just like Tokoyami- quiet, stealthy, one with shadows.
“Maybe you should carry them in your bag, that way you don’t drop them again.” He added, with a voice that was definitely more gruff than his true personality.
“Ah, you’re right.” Kouda put the magazines back in his bag. “Thanks for helping pick up my mess, Tokoyami.”
“Hey, Kouda?”
“Yes?”
“Are you sitting by yourself for lunch?”
“Yeah, I was going to look at these magazines- I got them last night! Why?”
“Oh, nevermind, I don’t want to bother y-”
“Tokoyami, you’re not a bother, you can sit with me if you want.” Kouda smiled, the corners of his craggy mouth turning up. “It would be nice to have some company.”
“Only if you’re sure-”
“I’m sure! It’s such a nice day out today- I know a nice sunny spot.”
Kouda led Tokoyami outside, near a neat grassy patch by a tree. He plopped on the ground and patted the grass next to him, prompting Tokoyami to sit down. The two ate in silence for a few minutes, enjoying the sunshine and calm breeze.
Kouda was halfway into an article about hydrangeas when he heard Tokoyami pipe up next to him. “What kind of magazines are those?” He took a bite of his sandwich as Kouda passed the magazine he wasn’t currently reading to Tokoyami.
“They’re all about gardening. Well, mostly gardening. Some are just about plants in general, like what kind of houseplants might be good to fit your lifestyle.”
Tokoyami flipped through the pages, admiring the full-color photographs. “That’s cool, I didn’t know you liked gardening.”
“Oh, well, to be honest, it’s kind of a more recent interest, and that’s why I’m reading about it so much. It started because I wanted to know the best kinds of things to feed my pet rabbit, and I ended up reading up on all of the plants they did and did not recommend, and I was fascinated!” He clapped his hands together happily. “Maybe one day I can even grow some of her own food! That would be so cool.” He noticed Tokoyami seemed to be looking at him intently. “Ah, sorry, I’m probably being silly.”
“No, you’re not silly. I’m glad that you’ve got something you’re so freely passionate about.” Tokoyami said quietly.
“Oh, um. Well.” Kouda wrung his hands a bit sheepishly. “I’m thinking of stopping by the plant nursery after classes today. I’m really excited to see what kinds of plants they have that I can get for Nadine’s food, as well as other things! I would like to get some kind of houseplant for my room, I think.”
Tokoyami had a brief thought that it was cute of Kouda to name his rabbit Nadine. “Can I come with you?”
“Oh, I don’t want to drag you along if you might be bored!”
“Kouda, I’m asking to go with you.” He felt the feathers near his cheeks bristle out slightly, feeling a pang of embarrassment for how forward he must’ve sounded just then. “I mean, I would like to go. I can help carry things back to your place.”
Kouda looked at Tokoyami for a moment before breaking into a bright smile. “Okay then! We can meet up after last period, if that’s cool!”
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The two took the train to the nursery after classes. Tokoyami crossed his arms and attempted to nap along the way, while Kouda took turns looking out the window and making faces at a faint, vestigial fluff of Dark Shadow that had managed to peep out in the shade of the train.
Once at the nursery, they set off to explore, aiming to go through all of the rooms and to admire all of the different colors and shapes and textures of all of the plants before settling on purchases. Kouda spent a while in the herb section, getting good sniffs of all of the fragrant mints and lavenders. Tokoyami was intrigued by the amount of plants there were that had dark foliage, with leaves ranging from rich brownish-purples to almost blacks.
Eventually, Kouda settled on a couple pots of lettuces and greens as a start for Nadine’s garden, as well as a zygocactus for his room. Tokoyami even picked a little coleus plant for himself. They were rung up by a stocky, tan and cheery woman who introduced herself as Etsuko, and she told them if they ever had any plant questions that they could always stop by and ask her.
They carried their new leafy purchases to the train station and boarded the next train home, holding on to the pots carefully so they wouldn’t tip over. They were able to keep them safely upright in their laps until their stop, and once they hopped off of the train Tokoyami continued to help carry the new plants to Kouda’s home, since he still wasn’t able to hold them all by himself.
The first thing Tokoyami noticed when they got to Kouda’s home were that there were a lot of birdfeeders decorating the areas outside- some of them full of seeds, and some of them full of nectar for hummingbirds. The second thing he noticed was the paint, which covered the house in a light pastel green color. There was a dinner plate left outside the front door with various chunks of cut-up fruits on it, some of which looked like they had been nibbled on by some small passerby critters. The first words that came to Tokoyami’s mind were cozy , and welcoming .
He was still taking in all of the details of the exterior of the house when Kouda placed his plants gently on the ground and fished a key out of his bag, opening the front door.
“Well, I can take things in from here, Toko. Thanks for all of your help, I wouldn’t have been able to get as much as I wanted without your assistance. Oh, and don’t forget the ones you bought, too.”
Tokoyami snapped to attention. He had been too mesmerized by the sheer cuteness of his classmate’s home that he hadn’t even realized he’d been affectionately called Toko . The cool, inscrutable, collected part of him wanted to say it was nothing, all I did was carry some things that you didn’t have the extra arms for- anyone could have done it, but what actually left his beak was “c-can I come in and see Nadine?”
Kouda’s face brightened, and he clapped his hands together. “Oh, sure, absolutely!! She loves company. She’s in my room, we can just take everything up there.” They scooped up the plants from the doorstep and made their way to Kouda’s room, while Tokoyami tried to ignore how he felt his feathers puff out a little after seeing Kouda smile so genuinely, and hoped Kouda didn’t notice.
Kouda’s room wasn’t as decorated as Tokoyami was expecting, but he quickly realized it was so Nadine had more room to roam around and less stuff to get into when she was taken out of her cage after they closed the door behind them. She was a small white and black lop-eared bun, with spots that flecked her fuzzy, soft body. Kouda held her and gave her a few soft pets before he placed her on the ground.
“Hold your hand out and let her come to you.” Kouda suggested softly, and Tokoyami knelt down, extending his arm out slowly in Nadine. She wiggled her nose and chirped softly, scooting a few careful hops forward towards Tokoyami’s hand. Eventually she stopped, and Tokoyami was able to give her a few gentle pats on her head.
“Oh! She likes you, she can tell you’re a good person.”
“I think it’s just because I smell like lettuce leaves.”
“Don’t be silly, you’ve earned her approval.” Kouda scooped Nadine up and held her as he gave her a few more pets. “Hey, Toko, would you like me to let you know the next time I plan on going back to the nursery?” He smiled at Tokoyami. “And not just in case I need help carrying things, I enjoyed your company today.”
Tokoyami blinked, not expecting to be invited to hang out again. “Oh, um, sure.”
Tokoyami stayed for a bit longer before saying goodbye to Kouda and Nadine, since he still had some schoolwork to do. The sun would start setting soon, but there was still enough light left outside that he should be able to walk home while there was still daylight.
Though, with Dark Shadow watching his back, he never had to worry too much about feeling unsafe in the dark. Honestly, it was the safety of others that he had to worry about. He recalled the night he lost control of Dark Shadow and ended up hurting Shouji, and how the severity of damage could have been a lot worse. He appreciated the power of Dark Shadow, but sometimes that power was too much, and he ended up distancing himself from others- especially those he cared about- to protect them from himself.
He knew that Kouda had seen how destructive he could be, and yet -
Here Kouda was being kind to him, showing him nothing but a friendly warmth, apparently completely unaffected by Tokoyami’s stoic front. Did Kouda actually want to be friends with him, even if he knew Tokoyami could potentially hurt him?
Tokoyami told himself he shouldn’t get too used to it, that Kouda would probably change his mind the closer they got. It would be for the best.
Dark Shadow grew larger in the waning sunlight, hovering around Tokoyami’s shoulders and attempting to dissuade him from his self-deprecating thoughts, only to be met with a quiet huff and a gentle swat as Tokoyami tried to brush it away.
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Tokoyami and Kouda ended up making something of a routine, where every few weeks or so they would take a train ride back to the nursery, sometimes to get some new plants, and sometimes just to get some supplies. Kouda would usually get excited and buy just a little bit too much, and Tokoyami would end up helping him carry things home.
He was helping bring part of Kouda’s latest purchase into his room when he noticed a new addition to Kouda’s growing collection of houseplants- he had been there with him every time he bought a new one, after all. This one Tokoyami didn’t recognize.
“Oh, when did you get that one? I don’t remember you picking that one up.” He gestured to the new plant on Kouda’s desk.
“Hmm, that one? Oh, I got it last weekend.”
“Oh... last weekend?” The part but you didn’t let me know you were going was left unsaid, but a slight choke to Tokoyami’s words ended up giving himself away.
“Ah, you caught me, there was one time I didn’t tell you I was going to the nursery, because I wanted to get you a gift.”
“A...a gift? For me? Why?”
Kouda shrugged. “I wanted to get you a thank-you present for helping me carry things so many times. You didn’t have to do that.” He handed the pot to Tokoyami. There was a shiny pink ribbon stuck to the front of it.
“You didn’t have to do this , either.” Tokoyami inspected the pot- it was full of short and geometric succulents. “But...thank you, Kouda.” He ran a finger over the succulents, admiring their interesting texture. “I like it.”
“That kind is called ‘hen and chicks’- I saw you spend a lot of time looking at the cacti and succulents, and the name of this kind reminded me of you and Dark Shadow!”
Tokoyami coughed, his eyes going wide. The feathers on his face had puffed out, making him look soft, and there was a noticeable flush creeping down the non-feathered skin of his neck. Kouda giggled.
“Th-thank you, Kouda.” Tokoyami mumbled, trying weakly to hide his face behind the pot in his hands. Dark Shadow materialized and headbutted Kouda affectionately in the arm.
“Anything for a close friend, Toko.” Kouda replied, as he smiled and reached out tentatively to ruffle the feathers on Tokoyami’s head. Tokoyami didn’t stop him, nor did he flinch away.
“You consider me a friend?” There was no reason anymore for Tokoyami to try and hide his moment of vulnerability. He let his voice waver slightly.
“Yes, absolutely!”
“S-same. Likewise.” He took Kouda’s hand in his own, and felt his chest tighten with reassurance when Kouda didn’t let go.