suddenlybees | || IC INBOX

[ Kano laughs, because it can be both a gift and a prank— most of his gifts serve that dual purpose anyways, complete with celebratory glitter. ]

December 25th! A long ways away from now, so you've got plenty of time to save up for the crickets~

[ He's more interested in the tea than the cookies, and more interested in hot water than he is tea, but he hands over the tea bags all the same. There's an assortment of green tea, Earl grey, some sort of red passionfruit thing, and ginger lemon. ]

[Ooh, ginger lemon. Yuya claims that one for himself before holding the rest in a spread for Kano to pick his. ]

Really? That means the soonest birthday is Gongenzaka... or it might be Toki, I don't know his birthday. [He'll have to find out, obviously.] But I think we should save a cricket pinata for your party.

[Because he's, honestly, the only one that'll appreciate it.

He pops open the cookie box while the tea steeps, revealing a mix of chocolate-chip M&M and peanut butter.]

[ Kano goes for the weird red tea, mulling over how it's weird Toki goes out of his way to celebrate other people's birthdays but Kano doesn't know when his is either. It doesn't really matter; birthdays aren't a big deal, and is mostly just an excuse to glitterbomb people. ]

Haha, yeah, I sorta of want to send crickets to Bonbon, but he'd be super mad, wouldn't he?

[ He reaches for a M&M cookie and picks off the M&Ms and leaves the rest of the cookie. ]

[Yuya's expression twisty wryly.] He wouldn't find surprise crickets funny at all.

[Yuya takes a different M&M cookie, and then offers a peanut butter one to Odd-Eyes. He lifts his head just enough to bite it right out of Yuya's hand, and Yuya doesn't seem to care about all those sharp teeth around his fingers.] What do you think of this place?

[ Yuya is a brave soul who doesn't value his fingers. Kano keeps his to himself, balancing his scavenged M&Ms on one knee as he hooks his hands behind them and leans back to look up at the tree in full bloom. ]

...It's nice. If it were summer, I'd want to laze around and nap and not do anything~ But being here in spring is nice too! When we finish the cookies, can I have the box?

Sure, you can have the box. [It's just a normal paper bakery box, it's cardboard. But Kano can live his best life.] Anyway, you can still come in the summer. Or any time! Since it's not in town or on campus, there aren't a lot of students this way. Odd-Eyes says it's usually empty.

[Odd-Eyes is also usually here at odd hours, though, so maybe that doesn't count.

Yuya shifts to rest his back to the tree as he eats through the first cookie. This is comfortable. There's a nice breeze that knocks a couple of the loose magnolias down. Although, Kano coming here other times might mean dragging the guards along. Hm.]

Hey, your eyes weren't always red, right?

[That's... blunter than usual.]

[ He's looking forward to having that normal paper bakery box, which will be used for nefarious purposes if it ever gets to that point in the thread, but right now he's too preoccupied with almost choking on a piece of candy when Yuya asks that question right out of the blue. ]

-—Eh? No? Why??

Because Shuuya's eyes were more of a brown. Gold-brown? [Yuya taps his chin, leaning on one hand as he tilts his head sideways at Kano.] But your eyes are still red even if your illusions are down, so it's not just making them that way. They changed?

Eh... It's weird hearing "Shuuya" when it's still just me. But, aren't there some sort of medical conditions that make your eyes change color? Ah- maybe I'm dying?

[ He doesn't answer the question straight at all. It's such a stupid thing, being able to change his entire appearance to anything he wants, but so long as he's himself, he can't just wipe away the color of his eyes and nothing else, how stupid. ]

What about Kano-chan? [Better? Worse?]

You're not dying. [He decides, mostly because of Kano's uncertainty about that.] You know what it was, don't you? Does it have to do with your magic?

No way, no way~ [ Worse!!!! He flicks the cookie crumbs off his knee and at Yuya's face. ]

And, I dunno! It happened when I was little, and it's not like I look in a mirror all the time to know? [ Lies. Lies lies lies ] Did you always have red eyes?

Yeah. I was born with them. [Yuya raises a brow, picking the crumb from the ground and tossing it back at Kano.]

And you're not stupid. There's no way you saw your eyes change when you were little and don't know anything about it.

[ Kano sticks his tongue out at Yuya and picks the crumb off the ground and sticks it in his mouth, because he's gross. ]

Maybe I'm stupid, you don't know that!!

[Yuya sticks his tongue out as well, then looks at Kano with a pout.] Not that stupid. I thought we were sharing secrets?

[Yuya hasn't held back, so if this is something Kano doesn't want to get out to others...] Don't you trust me?

[ They're keeping secrets, that the each of them choose to share; it's different from asking one another to divulge things they've kept close. Somehow, it's different from goading Yuya into telling him who he has a crush on.

Kano picks up another cookie, and proceeds to remove all the M&Ms. ]

I trust you not to go around telling the world about it, but it's not really something that matters? To start, I'll say this right now: There are certain details I absolutely refuse to tell you about it. So give it up, Yu~ya!

Then say you don't want to tell me instead of making up a lie about it. [Yuya's nose wrinkles, before he huffs and turns back so he's facing forward and not at Kano. He reaches for another cookie, chewing through it more slowly.] I know I'm not smart, but even I can tell better.

[Like that he has guards for a reason, although that's not necessarily related to the red eyes thing. It's normally a contract thing, though.]

[ He mumbles something around the chocolate, that's not really meant to be anything more than a mumble to buy him time, show that he's listening even while Yuya pouts and turns away.

It's obviously a contract thing, made more obvious by the guards following Maverick and Toki around like that's not suspicious. But it's because of that, Kano thinks people already know- and because of that, he thinks Yuya would know why he doesn't want to talk about it. Contracts are no good. The Contracted are no good, especially made with a daemon who's involved in lies and death.

He sighs. ]

Sorry, sorry~ I'm a bad liar, right? My eyes turned red when I got my powers. Just something to show the world I'm a no-good bad-decisions child~ Is there anything else you want to know?

[Yuya pauses halfway through his cookie, glancing over to Kano.

For once he finishes swallowing what he's chewing before he speaks up again.] Is that what you think people assume when they see them? [He blinks rapidly.] Wait, did you think my eyes were because of the same thing?

Hmm, well~ It's a bit more complicated than that!

[ Yes, that's what he thinks people assume, and yes, that's what people assume. But he's also lived the majority of his life in a community where there were no monsters and magic, that one look at a child with bright red eyes had all the other children at the orphanage labeling him a monster, and he had no rebuttal against it. ]

But you can be a pretty bad-decisions child yourself, Yu~ya! I dunno the circumstances around yours, but I thought maybe it's because you have Odd-Eyes?

[ Is Odd-Eyes really a daemon and not a familiar... he wouldn't know. ]

[Yuya also grew up in a non-magical community, although among people who looked at him weirdly more than openly condemned him. Red eyes didn't mean evil, they just meant he didn't fit in.

He can't argue being a bad-decision child though. He's full of them. Yuya shakes his head.]

No, nothing changed on me when we bonded. Just in here, because we're connected now. [He puts his hand to his chest.] I've always had red hair and eyes, but neither of my parents do. Well, my mom is blond so maybe my hair comes from that...

[How do genetics work? That was probably taught in one of his science classes once.]

[ Oh yeah, that cool lady with the bike whose picture of a picture Kano still has on his phone... Kano leans forward and pokes Yuya in the chest, not really expecting anything to happen but felt like that was the thing to do. ]

You're sure you're not adopted? Is that a rude thing to ask?

I'm not offended. [He takes a huge bite of his cookie.] But I'm sure I'm not. I have a birth certificate and my mom's talked about it to Gongenzaka's mom before.

[Pregnancy stories, probably?? He didn't actually stick around for any of those embarrassing mom conversations lest they steered into embarrassing baby photos. The worst.]

... So, do you get along with the person who gave you powers? Like, are they nice? [Or should Yuya be ready to get into a fight with a daemon or fae over Kano's soul.]

[ Pregnancy stories... It's a good thing Kano didn't have to suffer through that sort of embarrassing thing, though he doubts he even has any pictures from before he lived in the orphanage, and not many even then. Actually, the most times he's gotten his picture taken must have been the two or three Nana and Toki took on their phones. A strange concept. ]

Hmm... Well, it's like this! We've known each other for a long time, so getting alone and being nice, those sorts of thing aren't necessary.

[ Does that make sense at all... It's like his relationship with his mother, who could be all sorts of mean but he would still cling to her, because she's all he had. With Michael, he'd spent most of his younger years absolutely terrified and pushed himself to work his powers so he wouldn't disappoint, never mind the caveat that the Contract came with. Michael is a lot of fun, and he'd learned a lot looking up to Michael, and he can be nice too, but... They aren't as close as they probably should be. Not like Yuya and Odd-Eyes. ]

[Not... quite what he meant.

Yuya sets his cookie on his leg so he can put hinds on Kano's shoulders and look at him very seriously.]

A contract doesn't change you to me. But if someone's going to come for your soul or blood will you tell me now so we can be ready when the time comes?

[He doesn't know what Kano gave up but given things with Wist, he wouldn't not put it past Kano exchanging something that would ultimately kill him.] I meant it when I said I'd protect you.

[Even if that means fighting a daemon. A fae. Don't tell Michael.]

[ Against Michael, Yuya doesn't stand a chance. Nobody in the school does, so Kano really is playing a dangerous game these past few months, going into this one. ]

How 'bout I tell you when things get hairy and I need somebody to save me? As of right now, I'm still useful, so I won't die~

[ It's words like that, that make people distrust the Contracted, maybe. ]

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