❝ 𝙉𝙤 𝙇𝙤𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙃𝙪𝙢𝙖𝙣 ❞ LONG HIATUS

: ̗̀➛OF MICE AND MEN

"I got you to look after me, and you got me to look after you, and that's why."
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"You know, if you were anyone else I'd think you were planning to kill me, driving me out into the woods in the middle of the night without explanation like this," (Y/N) jokes, curled up in the passenger seat with her feet on the dashboard.

Oda emits a low hum that is almost audible as a laugh from his throat, "Are you disappointed it's me, then?" He spares a quick glance away from the road and to the younger girl beside him, catching the small smile on her face.

"No," says (Y/N), a pensive note in her voice. "I don't think I am. Where are we going, anyways?"

"We're almost there," Oda provides as his only explanation. In truth, he's a bit nervous, which is perhaps more unusual than it should be for him in (Y/N)'s company. After hearing about the approaching meteor shower, he entertained the idea of taking the children outside to watch it, but he quickly changed his mind about doing so. After all, he's not the one who would have to deal with the sleep deprived children in the morning, and he would feel bad dumping them on the restaurant owner like that. He'd then forgotten about the meteor shower until the day of, at which point he began to regret not having plans to see it. And then the strange thought of, 'hey, maybe I could bring (Y/N)' had occurred to him, and so he texted the young Executive asking if she was doing anything tonight. And here they are.

He has no idea if this is something (Y/N) would even be interested in, but he's going to find out.

He pulls off the main road and onto a narrower side one, taking them deeper into the trees. This leads to a gravel parking area that is intended for the neighboring hiking route that lies near the edge of a drop off cliff and provides a clear view of an ocean of trees as well as, more significantly, the stars. After parking the vehicle, he starts to exit it.

"A hiking trail?" (Y/N) says, following Oda's lead. "Maybe I should be reconsidering the whole you not murdering me thing."

"We're not here for the hiking trail," Oda assures her, leading her over to the guard rail at the edge. He swings his legs over to sit on the top rung and pats the space beside him. It dawns on him all of a sudden that he probably shouldn't put his faith in (Y/N) while they are perched precariously on the edge of a cliff like this, but the younger girl makes no move to jump.

"It's a nice view," (Y/N) comments appreciatively.

"Just wait."

Surprising her again, (Y/N) doesn't ask anymore questions, and instead appears pleased to remain in silence with Oda while they observe the sparkling stars.

There. A star begins to travel across the sky in a manner that is as graceful as a dancer. "Look, (Y/N)." Oda points it out fast enough for (Y/N) to catch just a lingering trail of stardust before it flickers out.