electonequeen:

             “honestly? me too. i was hoping he’d find someone ‘cause he deserves to find that too. but he never told me about any frustration regarding of that topic so i’m glad he’s not hurrying or anything.” were they really talking about natsuki’s love life? better than talking about them, she assumed.

for a moment she stayed quiet. he wasn’t worrying about her, was he? either way, tomo let out a chuckle. “it’s what being an idol demands. we have our privileges after all, and it’s not always we work so much.” a pause. “wouldn’t you like to take a break?” or maybe it was just her feeling like that.

            “ i’m sure he will, eventually ” it was almost weird for him to be optimistic about something but if there was one thing satsuki didn’t doubt, was that natsuki would find someone to love him just like he deserved -- from both of them, natsuki was the one that deserved me the most. “ you know, he believes a lot in destiny and soulmates so he’s probably just... waiting. ” it felt weird sharing so much, even if it was about his brother -- it was definitely still better than letting the awkward silence take over.

            satsuki didn’t know the concept of worrying. he had never done that before for anyone but natsuki and he wasn’t even sure how that felt -- though he did feel a certain concern for her but that was burried deep down. “ it seems like an awful lot to me ” he paused. “ maybe. i haven’t thought about it. ”

electonequeen:

             “it was pretty serious back then, that’s why.” she didn’t doubt that if the rule wasn’t as important as it was when they were studying, natsuki would’ve done much more than mere comments. yet again he was doing it now with them so one could say he never gave up.

she was going to reply when their food arrived, the redhead taking her time to try it before thinking of an answer. “so you think i don’t enjoy life?” she looked at him, an eyebrow raised. “i love my work, i really do. it’s all i ever wanted; even if tiring. i will have my time for vacations, once the month ends maybe.” a small pause. “why don’t you go to the beach, then?”

          “ when does that ever stop him? rarely ” he always thought he could hide things when in reality he was as easy to read as an open book. “ i’m surprised he hasn’t dated himself. but i guess he isn’t really as interested in finding love for himself as he is for others ” something satsuki wasn’t sure whether he should admire or not.

          the food was placed on the table and satsuki nodded politely at the waiter once, pouring himself some more wine and topping off her glass before picking up the fork and the knife. “ working too much is never good ” although he was almost jealous of her, being able to do something she loved -- to have that kind of passion. “ i could if i wanted to. i just don’t. ” 

electonequeen:

               “i see. well, as you know love was ‘forbidden’ for us during the academy days so there was that…” technically she wasn’t that free to date whoever she liked now either, since relationships were not always that well welcomed by fans, but comparing to the old days, one could tell she was pretty much free. “i just said it would be a little weird. bet we’ll later know, if he stayed to spy on us or not.”

at his last comment, she let out a tired, almost bored sigh. it wasn’t the first time she had to say this. “there’s no time. as simple as that. i was busy the whole summer, and it wouldn’t be the same to go now? doesn’t sound that appealing.”

            taking a sip of his wine, satsuki looked at her with curiosity. “ i’m surprised that ever really stopped him. ” and he wondered if it had stopped her too. while natsuki valued his career a lot, he wasn’t the most responsible guy and he had always been a hopeless romantic -- too much for his own good. “ i’m sure you’ll be hearing a lot of it tomorrow or the next day. ” he would hear about it too but considerably less, since natsuki knew better than to bother him with those things.

           “ what’s the point in working so much if you can’t enjoy life? you should think about that. ” but who was he to give life advice? “ i still like the beach when it’s a little colder. it’s... calm. ”

electonequeen:

              satsuki’s words made her eyes widen, was it because of what he said? not exactly ( it was pretty obvious natsuki wanted them together ) but it sounded weird, somehow. to have satsuki adressing the situation instead of just shrugging it off. “probably. first time i see him pulling off the matchmaker card though. first one for you too?” she was pretty curious. not even in the academy days… with his next words, she leaned a bit to the side, in a failed attempt to find the other blond there. “hmm. do you think so? sounds a bit creepy, he may have left”

“i love the beach, every year i get to spend some days there but not this one, it feels weird somehow? i love the city, but kinda miss the peace and sun on my face too.”

            it was like he had no filter, the awkwardness of this unfamiliar situation making him blurt things out without realizing, before he could stop himself. saying natsuki wanted the two together was like admitting there was even a remote shot of that happening -- and despite their history, that wasn’t something satsuki wanted to talk about and potentially ruin the night. “ not the first time. he’s done it to me, to other people. he can’t help himself. ” he shrugged lightly, letting out a chuckle.. “ do you really doubt he would? maybe you don’t know natsuki that well. ”

           he listened to her with a certain curiosity he rarely felt, taking a sip of his wine. “ why don’t you go then? ”

electonequeen:

              a quiet chuckle escaped the redhead’s lips, being able to imagine the situation. “yeah sounds very much like him.” it was similar with her too but natsuki didn’t need to insist much, she would always take the chance to hang out with her best friend and actually didn’t suspect he had other intentions. her bad, but if things were going okay by now there was no need to worry, right? “i can’t believe we are in the middle of fall already. i’m quite disappointed i didn’t get to spend summer somewhere else… that would’ve been nice.” big change of topic, but it was the first thing that came to mind.

          it was clear to satsuki how natsuki was trying to get the two together, to get them to talk and work things out. as much as he loved his brother ( even if he wouldn’t say it as often as he should ), satsuki really disliked this side of him. he needed to learn how to mind his own business but it was impossible for him to stop himself. “ yeah, i’m pretty sure he thinks of himself as some sort of cupid. ” he paused. “ i wouldn’t doubt he’s out here watching us somehow... ” it definitely sounded like something he would do. “ you like the beach? ” it was weird how much he didn’t know about her still.

electonequeen:

              “mine was busy but okay, too.” a light shrug was given after her response. of course she could start talking about what she did and all that stuff, but satsuki wasn’t probably interested. no wonder why she couldn’t remember the last time they had a normal conversation, nothing awkward involved. “what did you do? i was surprised when seeing you, honestly. didn’t think you’d be one to come here, not even with natsuki.” because we both knew how much he liked to stay at home, not really being the social type.

         at this moment he almost envied people who could so easily do small talk -- satsuki had never cared much about that but now it would just made things so much easier. still, he was trying his best, as awkward as it might look or be. “ that’s good ” he replied, no idea what he was supposed to say next. drinking a sip of his wine and hoping the alcohol would help even if he knew that wouldn’t help anything. “ i had some errands to run. for work. just boring stuff. he called me at lunch and wouldn’t take no for an answer ” and both of them knew how natsuki could be when he set his mind to something.

kawaii-composer:

“Shinomiya-san..” She sniffled, leaning into the cool touch of his hand. “Tea…sounds really nice. Thank you.” Haruka sat up, rubbing her nose. She really did hate feeling like this, and she hated even more to be a burden on Natsuki. But here she was sneezing, coughing, feeling miserable, and relying on Natsuki. 

          although perhaps some medication would have a quicker effect, natsuki always believed in the power of teas and his mother had taught him a lot about that -- he already knew what he had to do and, luckily, his tea wasn’t bad as the rest of his food. “ are you cold? i can bring you a blanket too ” he would never think of her as a burden, he just wanted to help her get better.

electonequeen:

              she also took a sip of the wine before thanking the waiter, a soft smile of approval on her face as he left. “i agree. it’s been a long day, might aswell finish it with something nice.” a small pause, which she used to think of what to say next. one could say talking wasn’t exactly ‘their’ thing, but not much could be done right? they’d act normal, after all. “what about you; was your day okay?”

          perhaps it wasn’t his usual behaviour but satsuki didn’t want to leave or make the situation weird and uncomfortable for them -- it wouldn’t kill him to be nice for a couple of hours and enjoy a good meal; food was better with company anyway. it was almost weird, having a normal conversation with her -- or with anyone, for that matter. satsuki didn’t usually talk about things like this, even if they were simple. “ it was... alright. ” he didn’t know what more to say. “ and you? ”

        he knew that look all too well. she wasn’t fine at all and natsuki frowned. he reached out, a hand lightly touching her forehead for a moment. “ well, it doesn’t look like you have a fever right now but you need to take something, missy. i can make you some tea. wha are you feeling? ”

@kagetxhikari continued from here

“Huh?” She sniffled turning to face the voice, “Shinomiya-san..? Oh I’m okay. Just a little sniffly.” Haruka smiled, her red nose and flushed cheeks clearly betraying her, along a bout of sneezing fits.

drags her heals before plopping into the couch, laying her head down on the nearest surface. Sniffles and sneezes leaving her nose and lips. (casually drops a sick Haruka your way)

        oh no, something felt wrong. with concern in his eyes, natsuki moved closer and watched haruka for a moment. “ haru-chan, is everything alright? you don’t look so well… ”

pulmentumxdexmusae:

“Yeah, it’s that ‘mostly’ that scares me,” he muttered, but took up a plate for them of the meal Natsuki had made nonetheless. With a dramatic sigh, he sat at the table and took a bite of the stew, taking a moment to decide if the taste was any good.

“… Not too bad,” West said finally, taking another bite, “Bit too much salt, though. But the flavor of the meat is through it, so it almost overpowers the salt in a good way.”

          “ hey, i’m sure it tastes alright! it looks and smells perfectly fine for me ” but then again, most of the time so did his cookies -- even if they were potentially lethal. but he did try to make it better, at least so west would eat some of it.

          with excitement, natsuki stared at him, waiting for a reply -- not too bad was absolutely amazing for him, perking up immediately. “ it’s actually good then? ”

electonequeen:

              what she also knew, was that she knew satsuki in a different way too. appart from the obvious, the redhead believed there were sides of him she got to see when no one else did. ( or at least that’s what tomo wanted to believe ) immersed in her thoughts as she was, his words caught her completely by surprise, taking her a couple of seconds to react, letting out a more relaxed chuckle herself. “very, yes. but we can make it work? i’m sure natsuki would want us to.” she hoped they could. in all ways

            she did know him better than anyone else -- perhaps even better than natsuki, when it came to certain things. there were sides of him only she had seen and he didn’t think he’d be showing it to anyone else either. as the waiter approached with the glasses of wine they had ordered, satsuki took a small sip before responding. “ i don’t see why we can’t have a nice dinner since we’re already here. just this once.”

electonequeen:

             “sounds fine to me.” between both of them it was him who had more knowledge about this so she’d go by his words. not like tomo had intentions to consider other stuff either, that would create more awkward silence, exactly what she didn’t want. but when the waiter left, she found herself at a loss of words. normally she’d make a comment about natuski’s intentions, probably a jokingly-sarcastic remark, but now? “…” she really had nothing, her conversation ability lacking.

            not only he knew a lot about wine and food, satsuki surprised himself by realizing he knew a lot about her too -- what she would like, what she wouldn’t... he couldn’t help but wonder when exactly that happened or how he didn’t realize it sooner. putting down the menu, satsuki watched the waiter leave, as if avoiding looking at her for a moment. “ this is a little awkward, isn’t it? ” he chuckled lightly. he didn’t want it to be.

         “ hey, it’s not that bad! ” natsuki chuckled. “ i actually followed the recipe this time. mostly. ”

@kagetxhikari

“Oh, God. You cooked dinner?” Get the call to 911 on standby.

electonequeen:

              tomo’s eyes were on him for a little longer as he sipped his drink, making her realise she could’ve went for the same action with hers before actually getting to talk. oh well. what was done was done, even if the attempt wasn’t that good.

“hmmm” a moment of consideration, which she used to re-read some of the options there but finding his suggestion quite good. he probably knew she’d like it ( and if he didn’t he just happened to be lucky ) and being a nice place she was sure it’d be good. deciding to go for it, the redhead gave a small nod, closing the menu. “okay, i’ll take your word on that one. what about you?”

             he was glad she had at least attempted at  normal conversation, something he had never been good at but now it made things a little less awkward -- it gave him a logical reason to stay other than he WANTED to.

             at least he knew food and wine and could say something about it. although suggesting that to her, he had already settled on a steak for himself, only waiting for her to pick before calling the waiter to their table. “ it fits well with a sauvignon blanc. i’ll have the steak and a cabernet sauvignon ” with a wave of his hand, the waiter was next to them, taking their order and scribbling it down his notepad.

          anything could be expected from natsuki and perhaps he had come to the dinner already aware he was going to do something like that -- but choosing to ignore it for some reason, maybe because he wanted to see her, despite how they had left things the other night. but what were they supposed to say? satsuki wasn’t used to this, he didn’t know what to do and it didn’t seem like tomochika had any idea either.

          sipping on the glass of wine he had ordered the minute he sat down, the blonde glanced at her every so often, the silence weighing between them. he thought about leaving the moment natsuki walked out the door and yet he found himself stuck on the chair, feeling a certain nervousness he had never felt before. the attempt in a normal conversation was welcome and yet did nothing to make him feel normal. “ i think the escallops are rather nice ”

@kagetxhikari​ ♡

            they probably should have expected something like this from natsuki, leaving them both with eachother for dinner, thinking ‘they needed to talk’ Not like he wasn’t right though. as always, things between them were odd. tomo wasn’t even sure of how to feel now, sitting alone in a table with him avoiding her look. what came after the night they spent, and their birthdays, was nothing but pure silence. so how should they even behave now? 

her gaze went to take a peek at his face. at least satsuki didn’t leave, which he would probably have no trouble doing before, and if he could do this, staying despite the obviously awkward atmosphere… so could her.  taking the menu in her hands she opened it, managing for her words to sound as normal as possible when silence was finally broken. ( thanking on the inside to the well developed acting skill ) “since we are here, we might aswell eat. any recommendations? i only came once.”

dearlyxxbeloved:

“Pretty laid back.” He smiled, finding him definitely adorable. He was different than most other guys he took out for drinks. “You’re….really cute.” He tried to bite back a smile but failed. “Not sure why someone so cute said yes to drinks with me. I guess because of the duet.” He laughed.

         “ i guess ” natsuki chuckled lightly. “ i’m not really used to the night life, i think. things were pretty quiet back in hokkaido... ” and honestly, he liked it like that. the compliment made him giggle a little. “ ehh, i said yes because it’d be fun! and it is! ”