Days Go By | lavashipping

..-*.

Cole smiled at Kai as they handed him a cup of coffee, his heart making a few summersaults as he smiled back.

"What's the plan for today?" they asked as they both began walking towards the station.

"I have a few hours before I gotta get to work so I thought I could buy some stuff I'm missing."

They perked up at that. "Oh, is that for the secret project you're working on?"

Cole hummed and nodded. "Yup."

"Are you gonna tell me now?"

Cole shook his head. "Nope." Then he took a sip of his usual 7 AM large black coffee to go and watched the way ahead of them with a satisfied smirk.

"Come on, why not? Are they making you keep it a secret? I swear I can keep secrets! Just a little something, please."

"Sorry, no can do."

"But why?"

He looked at them. "Because then it won't be a surprise."

It was a wonderful morning. One of the kinds that made Cole happy to be alive. The sun was beaming down at them, caressing their faces and the entire city with its gentle golden fingers like a loving mother. People passed by, everyone occupied with their own life; everyone in their own personal bubble. Kai and Cole had their own bubble too as they talked during their ride, Cole leaning his head against his arm that was holding onto the pole above them and listening to Kai's silvery voice, taking in his words like a thirsty being that found a stream of water.

The sun made his hair and eyes appear even more heavenly and Cole found himself losing concentration as his eyes travelled across the beautiful features he got so familiar with. He felt so full of energy, so full of life and the only thing that could make the already incredible day even better would be if Kai just then leaned in and kissed him.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen and instead, the train stopped and they exited the metro, heading to the shop Cole found on the internet. It should have exactly what he needed.

"Anyway, I talked to Misako and she said she'll let me know the moment she'll get some news about the exhibition. I have a feeling we might get an early look, wouldn't that be great? No people to disturb you. Oh my god, imagine having a sleepover in a museum?! That would be incredible! Great, now I won't get that idea from my head, we have to do it." Cole smiled as Kai turned his head to look at him. "Would you sleep with me in a museum? Imagine it, just imagine it. You, me, and a building full of stuffed extinct creatures. And very convincing figurines. It's perfect!"

Cole laughed. "I don't know how I would feel waking up next to a dinosaur..."

"Abso-fucking-lutely fantastic."

It wasn't just the sun that beamed in such a precious way that day.

Cole sighed as he pushed the door open. Maybe it was all too good to be true. But there just are days that felt like heavenly treasure and he shouldn't spoil it with his overthinking. It was difficult to think about anything negative with Kai by his side anyway.

They walked through the aisles filled with various fabrics and materials, special papers and cardboard, various beads and threads and anything a craftsperson could need. In short, it was a heaven on earth.

"What are we looking for?" Kai asked excitedly as they observed all the stuff on the shelves. The speed with which they changed their focus was immaculate and Cole could only shake his head at it. One moment Kai was observing an eye-catching piece of fabric, the next they got lost in piles of stickers.

"Some wires of sorts. They should be really soft but keep their shape, I couldn't get the perfect ones at my home nor at work. I need colours..."

"Which colours?"

"Red, yellow, orange... stuff along those lines. I only had black."

Kai hummed and disappeared in another aisle just as Cole picked up a package of twinkly beads and considered them... But he shouldn't get too sidetracked.

"I think I've got it," came a shout and Cole went to follow the voice. Sure enough, Kai was standing right in front of the goal of their treasure hunt. There was quite a selection of sizes and lengths and colours and styles. Heaven on earth.

He felt Kai's gaze on him as he picked up different wires and wondered which ones to pick and which ones not to and it was pretty distracting, to be honest.

"Can I have a question?" they spoke.

"As long as it's not 'What is the secret project you're working on?' then sure, shoot."

Kai chuckled. "How did you get to fashion design? Is there some interesting, mysterious story behind it or did it just happen?"

Cole looked away from the wires, somewhere in front of him, somewhere into the past, somewhere into the old house...

"You know... how my dad has that dance group..."

"The Royal Blacksmiths, sure."

How dare he. "Well, as a kid, I often helped him work on the costumes. It was sort of our family time activity at a certain point too. And it was the most fun I had, you know? Years later, Mum helped me get an internship at Shintaro because she had some history there and... Here I am."

"That's sweet!"

"Yeah..."

"I bet you were an adorable kid."

Cole scoffed and turned to walk over to the counter since his arms were filled with (hopefully) enough material he could need. Well, if not, maybe he could go on another quick trip like this with Kai, it was one of the best ways to start the day.

"I think it nice you stuck to something since you were a kid. You gotta admit that's pretty admirable."

"That's good to hear. I almost left to be a cabinetmaker."

"That's good to hear as well because then you wouldn't have had the pleasure to meet my coffee."

"Hmm... Are you suggesting our meeting was destiny?" He side-eyed him as he took the money out of his wallet. Another smile found its way onto his face as he paid and collected his stuff.

"Those are your words, not mine," Kai replied, following him back outside.

"Do you not think this was destiny?"

"More like a miracle. A salivating miracle, perhaps." Kai shrugged and Cole felt his face get warm despite the sun being hidden by one of the tall building the city consisted of. "But those are your words, not mine."

Cole laughed, "That's not how this works!"

Only for Kai to shrug again. "Who makes the coffee, makes the rules. My coffee, my rules."

Deciding not to remind them that neither of them had the cups anymore, he only shook his head and admired how swiftly Kai jumped around his slip-ups. It was annoying as well as endearing, in a way. But at least it was a good day.