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It takes them the better half of the evening to extract Shun from the cushioned line of seats he'd collapsed into at the cafe, staunchly declaring himself unmoving and no, try as they might, none of the Procellarum members should disturb his rest, so there. Yoru tries to soothe Yoh who's already begun to bristle, and Kai leans over from the far side of the table to pass Iku the menu, clamping a firm hand on Yoh's shoulder as he does so. No, don't blow up yet, save that for after dinner. A resigned sigh signals that Yoh gets the message and Kai smiles in relief.
Shun's order is "the usual", though this is their first time here.
"What does that even mean," Kai hears Iku mutter, and Shun just looks at Kai, says,
"Ask him."
So Iku asks, "What's the usual?"
Kai shrugs and orders for them two plates of pasta, a sandwich, one plate of beef and two chicken, then finally five glasses of water and one milk tea.
He has to practically lift Shun out of his seat by the time they're done.
"Carry me back, Kai," Shun says, and Kai drops him immediately.
"Carry yourself," he laughs as Shun sulks good-naturedly, half-smiling.
"Don't be so mean, I worked hard today."
"Yes, yes," Kai sighs, pushing his chair back in position, ushering the younger members out before stepping in line behind them. Yoru's heading up to settle the bill with the cashier, with Rui trailing behind him. "Alright, let's wait outside for them."
The evening air combs whispery fingers through his mussed hair and Kai finds himself stuffing his hands further into his coat pockets. Beside him, Yoh doesn't look any colder than usual, but even Iku is huddling a little closer today. The crinkled-brown leaves that fall on sidewalks around them scatter in bursts, like confetti, a welcome carpet of red for another year's damp winter.
Someone's arm loops through his and an elbow bumps him in the side. Kai glances away from Yoh to Shun, who beams. "Looks like someone's cold."
"Don't be silly," says Kai, though he really is.
Yoh makes a small noise of derision that comes out as a puff of hot air beside Kai's cheek. He crinkles up his nose; it rather tickles.
"I heard we're due for rain before the seasons' change," Yoh says offhandedly, sounding a little put-off by the thought. Kai understands, he's not really one for rainy days either.
"I think rainy mornings are nice," Shun says. "Very comfortable to sleep in."
"Don't give me more work," Kai sighs. Though after a year of being Shun's personal alarm clock, he's become rather skilled at throwing various people out of bed.
"Rain in the morning makes me sleepy, but I'll do my best!" Iku proclaims, just as Rui exits the cafe with Yoru in tow.
Kai gestures to them to come over, and points to the slip of paper Yoru has in the clutches of his hand. "How much?"
Rui peeps over just as Yoru unfolds the receipt. "It's a little over ten-thousand yen."
"I'll get someone to add it to the company expenses claims list," Kai says, but Yoru shakes his head and pockets the receipt instead.
"It's my treat," he says softly, voice almost lost in the cold air. "I didn't really do so well on the broadcast earlier, and everyone covered for me, so…"
Yoh's the first to cut in, before any of them can speak, his voice already warming the space between them. "Don't be silly, isn't that the basics for friends to help each other?"
"Ten-thousand is a bit much," Iku chips in. He's accompanied by some furious nodding from Rui, as if saying: I tried to tell him that earlier.
Beside Kai, Shun laughs. "Non, non, I can't accept this," he purrs, finally extracting himself from Kai's side, sliding his fingers into Yoru's pockets despite the other boy's yelping. "Treat us, hm? Yoru."
Shun smiles and steals away the receipt, passing it over to Kai wordlessly. "It was fun, still, wasn't it? Even though we didn't really stick to the script?"
At Yoru's hesitant nod, Shun's smile grows wider and Kai smiles too; he knows what their leader will say - he's heard those words himself before, Shun's whimsical idea of encouragement.
"Don't apologize for having fun."
Shun throws a pleased look over his shoulder and their eyes meet before Kai's even realized what he'd said. Crap, he thinks, but laughs anyway.
"Sorry," though he isn't, as he watches Yoru's expression transform from confused to a relaxed warmth that suits him so much better. "I couldn't help myself."
He glances back to Shun. Even though it really isn’t the season to admire stars - the weather, at this crossroads, is far too cloudy and Tokyo far too dazzling in the dark - Kai does so anyway, recognizing the twinkle in Shun’s gaze that glimmers like a scattering of star-sand on a cold, cold night.
As they all walk back to the dorms, Shun reminds him quietly about adding the sum to the company’s expenses. Kai nods; he knows.
They walk together and the wind whispers again in his ears that yes, it will soon be winter.
“It’s freezing,” Kai hears Yoh groan, half-submerged in the humongous kotatsu they’ve managed to pull out from somewhere, probably one of Shun’s past expenses during his online-shopping phase.
The tabletop wobbles violently for a precarious moment before settling down. “Yoh,” comes Rui’s muffled voice from under the sheets, “don’t push…”
“Don’t tunnel all the way in!” Yoh cries indignantly, and the kotatsu jerks in a strange direction again as he tries to shift around, but finds his legs blocked by Rui’s prone form. “Rui!”
Iku groans from across the room at the ruckus, curled up on the common room couch, barely visible himself under the huge coat he has on - a covering gladly accepted when Yoru caught him shivering after a round of morning stretches. Beside him, Yoru hands over a mug of steaming liquid from the six he has gathered on the coffee table in front of them.
“Come on,” Yoru calls out, “I’ve got something warm for anyone who needs it.”
Kai watches the entire scene with a sense of age and amusement. God, he thinks, I must be getting old; but all he wants is take a picture of the group of them like this - freeze them in time and keep that memory close to heart. Yoh and Rui tussling under the covers of a kotatsu, Iku and Yoru huddled together on the couch, Shun -
- Well.
“I must say you’re prepared,” Kai remarks wryly.
From across the dining table, Shun shoots him a coy look. “Please, Kai. I’m fine.”
“If you say so,” Kai says, nevermind that Shun is wrapped from head to toe in winter gear, maroon scarf wound at least three times around the collar of his long coat.
“Shush now, don’t pick on fine details.”
“Sure, sure.”
“And here, for the both of you,” comes the sound of Yoru’s voice. Kai blinks when the boy sets down a ceramic mug in front of him. He remembers this mug - it’s the one Yoh decided to scrawl his name on in permanent marker sometime back, claiming it as his.
“Isn’t this Yoh’s?” Kai asks, though he also recalls how no one really cared anyway, because Yoh had complained very loudly about seeing Yoru use that mug.
“It doesn’t really matter,” Yoru says, proving his point.
“Come to think of it,” Shun says, “we could auction that online and buy ourselves another kotatsu.”
There’s a loud bang from somewhere over in the living room space and, “Don’t you dare,” Yoh shouts, before curling up to nurse his knee.
“Why don’t you sign one yourself?” Kai suggests, laughing into his drink and nearly snorting some up his nose. “Ouch, this is hot.”
“Take care,” Shun smiles. “And that won’t do. What if I sell out?”
“But selling Yoh is okay?”
“Hey now, I didn’t say that,” Shun points out, accepting the mug Yoru offers in his direction. “Thank you, Yoru, this is nice.”
Yoru shakes his head, sighing a little. “Selling Yoh isn’t.”
“I can hear you guys,” Yoh yells from his temporary residence under the kotatsu.
Kai laughs and calls back, “Don’t worry, you’ll become a national treasure!”, to which he’s met with a horrified protest from the redhead and an angry yelp from Rui when Yoh accidently kicks him in the back; then Yoh, in his hurry to apologize, bangs his other knee against the kotatsu’s table and Kai actually snorts his drink up the wrong pipe this time.
“Lively, isn’t it?” Shun comments, looking all too pleased even as Kai coughs for air and passes him the tissue box, for which Kai is eternally grateful.
“I should go turn up the heater,” Kai says after sneezing into a tissue.
Shun shrugs, hands cupped around the steaming drink in front of him, fingertips tinged red from cold. The boy is particularly unreadable in winter, just as the snow that flutters its way down to earth is - crystallized in forms whose numbers are unknown to logic - always different.
“We’re good like this,” Shun says.
Kai does not know what Shun thinks is good (there are so many good things) but if he looks closely enough maybe he does know, after all. He looks over at Yoru laughing at Yoh who graciously accepts the drink proffered to him, at Rui curled up on a mountain of pillows stolen from couches, at Iku who darts over to Rui’s side and squirms closer to the kotatsu’s heat in the midst of this gray winter. He looks at Shun, who sits across him with his strange smile, their ever-watchful leader.
“Yeah,” Kai agrees with a laugh. His fingertips are cold, too. “We’re good.”