𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙜𝙤𝙙𝙨 | 𝘣𝘢𝘬𝘶𝘨𝘰𝘶 𝘹 𝘬𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘢 𝘹 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 |

the sports festival (pt.2)

you took a final left turn, the smell of expensive cologne clouding your nostrils, golden, messy locks framing equally golden eyes.

"hey"

-

your faint footsteps came to a halt, the feather you were following returning to its owner.

"you came to see me!" you exclaimed, your brother's smile urging you to hug him, a silent 'thank you' and 'of course' being exchanged in his embrace.

the both of you stayed like that for a few moments more, savouring each other's presence, drinking up every second. over the years you had figured out that keigo rarely ever had free time, and your time together was even rarer, so you tried your hardest to keep him around for a little bit longer any chance you got.

"of course i would, kid. i was invited!" he joked, his laughter filling up the empty hallway.

"i missed you,"

your confession was more you blurting out whatever you had in your mind than a conscious effort to show affection, resulting in your eyes widening momentarily and shutting tight instantly after. the last thing you wanted was to make keigo feel guilty, since you were aware of how demanding his job was, and adding more pressure onto that would do more harm than good.

yet still, you did miss him. a lot. and, in a way, you deserved to have your feelings validated, too.

"yeah... "

your lips turned into a thin line, a slight pang in your heart reminding you of how your relationship with your brother truly was.

keigo's way of showing affection was not the most expressive, and absolutely not ideal at times like this, when you needed some sort of verbal affirmation. he was sincere, however, and that was enough. it felt borderline ironic, him being so intelligent with his words, yet facing obstacles at using them in an explicitly loving way.

it felt (borderline) bittersweet.

"you were great out there," he finally said in an attempt to fill the silence, pulling away from you to look you in the eyes.

"thanks! i was finally able to show off my little ugh... underground... move? i haven't found a name for it yet, but i'll figure it out at some point!" you excitedly balled your fists, the feelings from before being shoved away temporarily. no matter your connection to keigo, he was a hero you admired, and getting recognition for your abilities was always appreciated.

"of course you will. you're almost as smart as me!" a ruffle in your hair and a giggle.

"oh, absolutely! i'm gonna try to do my best in the next round too, and hopefully make a good enough impression. i wanna have as many options for my internship as possible, you know?"

"i mean, i've already arranged for you to come to the agency anyway, so don't worry about that, alright?"

it was only for a moment, but you could have sworn your vision went blank.

"huh?"

your body subconsciously moved further away from him, your shoulders tensing up.

"wha- ho- w-why would you do that? what? wh- when did you even arrange that?"

"woah there, kid, what's gotten into you? isn't interning with the number two hero a good addition to your resume?" keigo's eyebrow rose, his stance starting to get defensive.

"no, what has gotten into you? i trained so fucking hard for a chance like this, keigo! you're taking it away from me and for what? did you not believe i could do this on my own?"