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mirrortouchedsea · 6 months ago

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sunsets are best viewed with friends you barely talk to

hi kuroshu nation so. i kinda went insane after the original shu unbloomed cg dropped. and wrote 1.7k words about it. and then the kuro cg dropped this morning and i'm even more insane so i'm posting everything now and yeah. enjoy.

Shu disembarked the bike, Kiryu’s arms still wrapped tightly around him. The simple touch reminded Shu of their childhood, though often the roles were reversed, weren’t they? Shu, a scared, fragile child would come to Kiryu in tears while his bullies chased him. It felt…weird, but not wrong to have Kiryu behind him, complaining about his motion sickness as they biked to the top of a mountain.

We’re here, Kiryu, you can let go now. Shu’s voice was gentle, a tone used so infrequently he almost thought he’d lost it. Ugh, since when could you bike like that, Kiryu, no, Ryukun grumbled. Shu was five, six, seven again, the two of them running off on their own after school as they so often did. It’s been a while since we’ve had time alone like this, hasn’t it, Ryukun. Shu drops the old nickname casually here, where nobody can hear them. You’re always so busy when you’re back from France, Icchan, and anyway what did you want to show me?

Shu grabbed Ryukun’s hand tentatively, still unsure what was and wasn’t okay (Ryukun didn’t pull away, let their fingers be intertwined so Shu could drag him along). The sun was setting already and he didn’t want to miss the moment. Shu, someone who always knew what to say, didn’t have the words for what he really wanted to ask. The oranges and pinks from the sky sang their melody to the Earth as the two of them ran like children to the edge of a grassy hillside.

It’s a beautiful sunset, Icchan, but what are you--Shu cut him off, a finger to Ryukun’s lips. Just watch, you’ll understand. Their breathing evened out, and the air was calm, but after what could have been seconds, minutes, the sounds of nature took over, a gentle moth flying out of a bush towards the streetlight, the crickets playing their songs, a small plot of wildflowers humming with bees. It wasn’t much, but nature’s music, the orange glow of the sunset, everything was just right. Ryukun, I’m…Shu couldn’t find the words, his head a mess of everything he wanted to say. Thank you for everything, I’m sorry I was such a jerk about your mom when we were kids, I miss the time we spent together, I wish we talked more, I still hate you for what you did to Kanata, I understand why you did it, These feelings are too complicated, Are you…happy, with how things are?

You don’t have to say anything, Icchan, we can just enjoy the sunset if you want. Yes, that sounds nice. The two of them settle in on the grass, awkwardly sitting apart, hands next to each other in the grass, the silence palpable. Shu wanted to say something, anything, why did he drag Ryukun up here again? He should say something. Ryukun-- Icchan--. The two of them looked at each other before breaking out in laughs. Being with Ryukun, even like this, was so…freeing. No expectations or pretenses to be had, they’ve seen each other at their worst, their cringiest, their childish selves.

No, there was something I wanted to talk about, Kiry--Ryukun (why is he correcting himself to that childish nickname again?), are you happy? What do you mean by that? I mean, are you happy with your life so far, everything you’ve done, do you have any regrets? Sure, there’s plenty of things to regret, but there’s no use crying over spilled milk, y’know, as much as I’d like to change the past, I have to accept that I can’t. Yes, of course I understand that but, have you ever wondered what would have happened if we never lost contact? All the damn time Icchan, but like I said, no use crying over spilled milk, we had our ways and we’re lucky we’ve found each other again. Shu lifted his hand, shaking, unsure if he should reach out.

Ryukun, can you promise me something? Shu is six years old, shaking after a particularly bad incident with his bullies. Of course, Icchan, we’re friends aren’t we? Mhm, I know, but…promise me we’ll always be friends? Ryukun laughs and pulls Shu into a hug, his warmth overwhelming and yet comforting. Yeah, Icchan, we’ll be friends forever.

Shu dropped his hand back to the grass, pinky brushing Ryukun’s own. I do wonder how things would have looked if we had been together for middle school as well. I’m sure I’d have still gotten in plenty of trouble beating up your bullies. That’s not a bad thing, you know, most people would say it’s something honorable. Do you? Do I think it’s honorable? Yeah. Well, you always had good intentions. That’s not answering the question, Icchan. I know, but it is honorable, though I’m unsure if I deserved it, after… Listen, I know we were on opposite sides back then, but you need to stop being so harsh on yourself. Says you, I’ve heard what you’ve said about yourself from back then through the grapevine. Ah, ‘course you have.

I know that I say I hate Tenshouin, but I needed someone to wake me up as it were, if things had kept going as they had, I’m afraid I might have run Nito into the ground. Ha, yeah you would have, y’know we used to communicate in signs because of you? Yes, I’ve been made aware of that, and I feel nothing but shame for my actions that led to that. Nito forgives you, you know. Yes, I’m also aware of that, though I don’t deserve it. Well then I don’t deserve forgiveness from Shinkai for the Battle of the Sea God. No…Kanata forgives you for that as well.

We’re talking in circles now, Icchan. Yes, but I’ve been beating around the bush. Shu shifted and turned to Ryukun, his face young in the deep orange of the setting sun. God why was this so hard, it's not like Shu hadn’t been thinking about exactly what he wanted to say all day, no not at all. His heart was beating fast, rib cage tingling with nervousness. He sighed. Ryukun, no I should address you by your proper name. I think I like Ryukun just fine, Icchan. Fine, Ryukun, do you remember when we were kids and hiding beneath the slide on the playground that one day. There were a lot of days like that, I don’t remember you liking to play with the other kids. Nonsense, they just…well regardless, do you remember the day under the slide when we were talking about what we wanted to be when we grew up, you know, jobs, family, the stuff kids talk about. Yeah, I remember that you wanted to be a fashion designer with your clothes shown all over the world, and look at you now. Yes yes, and you just wanted to live a quiet life and look where we both are, but after that, when we talked about getting married and having kids. I seem to remember you were appalled at the idea of having kids of your own, Icchan. And you wanted a little girl just like your sister so you could spoil her and protect her. What’s your point Icchan, we were kids and didn’t know any better. I’m getting to that part, just…well I suppose when we were kids, the idea of two boys uhm… Ryukun chuckled and shifted to look Shu, Icchan, in the eyes. Icchan, we did kiss under the slide that day, remember? It was just a peck on the lips, nothing more! Well, yeah, but kids don’t really understand the weight of that and…

Icchan, are you trying to say you want to kiss me? Shu’s face felt as if it was on fire. Well, frankly, yes he was trying to say that, just not that directly. The thought had periodically come back to him as he went through middle and high school, whenever his mind wandered just a little too much at night, and now that they were graduated and living in the real world, well the thought only became stronger. It was really causing issues for his work if he was being honest and if he could just satisfy the urge, surely the thought would leave him alone and he could get back to working in peace. Ryukun laughed, not at Shu, but rather at the roundabout way that Shu had gone about asking, bringing him up to this secluded spot like teenagers in love, just to lose courage halfway through.

Icchan. Ryukun’s hand gently guided Shu’s face to look at his own, Shu tried to keep his eyes downcast. Hey, Icchan, look at me. Shu glanced up, taking in the sight of his childhood best friend, with hair like the autumn leaves, sun mostly set at that point, but the stars danced around Ryukun’s head like a crown. Do you want to kiss me? Yes, Ryukun. Shu’s voice was barely above a whisper. Ryukun closed his eyes, Icchan did the same, leaning in, breath hitched. Ryukun’s lips were soft, gentle, a hand still on Icchan’s cheek, and for a moment they were children under the slide again and playing pretend but this time…it was different. The moment lasted forever. It wasn’t long enough. Icchan pulled away, breaths shallow though the kiss was just a peck on the lips like it was when they were kids. Ryukun leaned his forehead on Icchan’s, eyes still closed.

Can we do that again. Ryukun’s voice is soft, delicate, the opposite of the normal Ryukun. And all of this was just for Shu in that moment. Yes. Icchan moved in that time, the two of them stayed like that in the sunset, kissing over and over and over until the sun had fully set.

We should go back, everyone’ll be worried about us. Yes, we should go back before it gets any darker. Ryukun stood up first, offering a hand to Icchan before putting his helmet back on. The two climbed back on the bike, taking in the view of the stars over the city one last time before Shu kicked off and they began their descent back to ES.

---

The thoughts did not get better after that.

#shay writes #enstars #ensemble stars #shu itsuki #kuro kiryu #kuroshu #and time to not write anything for three weeks again #posting this while dressed as a somewhat wealthy merchant lady from the 1770s. if you even cared #anyway....#i cant wait to actually read the story this was 100% me being silly and insane about kuroshu dont read that much into it

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