[4:44 PM]ย the thing about you and him is thatย youโre two fortresses waiting for the other to crumble first.
after being closed in the sun, your eyes take a while to adjust to being open.
โtooru, whatโre we doing?โ
the brunet laying beside you turns his head and grins. instinctively, your brows quirk.
โwhat dโyou think?โ
you open your mouth, ready to reply with something witty. you donโt have anything particular in mind, but you know you want itย to be witty.
โno, wait,โ oikawa tooru says, moving so that heโs now facing you entirely, resting on his side with his head propped on his hand. โreally think about it.โ
heat spreads over your cheeks as you take in his new position, how heโs just slightly hovering over your lying figure now, his chestnut eyes fixed steadily on yours. his shadow overlaps yours by the thinnest sliver and that has to mean something, right? the air between your bodies grows scarce and your chest tightens ever-so-slightly in response.
more questions spring to mind โ what happens next? where are we going with this? are your pupils dilating or is that pseudoscience? can he even see them?
you turn your gaze away and look up, sinking into the blue sky like an anchor. knowing that oikawa still has his eyes on your face, you slide an easy smile over your lips. โi think weโre lying in a grassy meadow in the middle of nowhereโโ
oikawa flicks your forehead. โno, you idiot.โ he falls flat back on the grass again, folding his arms behind his head. the tension in your chest subsides. โthatโs not what i meant.โ
โwhatโd you mean, then?โ you wait for him to answer as you run your palms over the soft grass, feeling each blade tickle and poke your flesh as if to say hello. cicadas in the distant oak trees fill in oikawaโs silence with their little songs about summer. the out-of-view gurgling stream, which you had tuned out earlier, lets out a small splash. โhey, didโya hear thโโ
โshhhh.โ oikawa laughs and itโs light and boyish as always, except it feels far away, like the rest of him isnโt here in the meadow. somethingโs changed and you canโt put your finger on it. so you get up and sit with your legs crossed beneath you, determined to get some answers.
โsay, youโve been acting pretty weird today, tooru. everything okay?โ under your eyes, the brunet furrows his brows, crinkling his pretty features with amused confusion. still, he says nothing, only continues to hold your gaze. you canโt tell if heโs thinking or waiting.ย
โdefine โweird,โโ he finally says, sitting up and breaking the trance heโd put over the two of you. he mirrors you and crosses his legs, positioning them so that his knees rest against yours.
โwell, you asked if i wanted to hang out and, when i said yes, you drove us to this meadow.โ
โand then you lied down on the grass and told me to do the same.โ
โand we just laid in silence for, like, ten minutes.โ
oikawa chuckles. โthat is pretty weird.โ and then, he lies back down on the grass and closes his eyes. โbut you said you were stressed earlier this morning. isnโt this relaxing?โ
things fall into place. suddenly, you feel warm all over. โin a way, i guess.โ without waiting for him to pat the grass beside him, you, too, lay back down. โis that what weโre doing? relaxing?โ
the brunet turns his head and grins.
โyouโre relaxing. iโm just waiting.โ