Formidable Enmity [ Ootori Kyouya ] R18

Indifference

Kyouya knew he was going crazy, with books piling up on his desk and hating the fact that Astrea had been busy with club activities, so much that she doesn't acknowledge his existence-  not far from just another cordial talk in class. He wanted to give up and move on, yet they were supposed to be enemies with benefits, aren't they?

He maintained his focus while tapping his pen on the table 30 times. The sound blocks all the noise in his mind thinking of the inevitable.

This time, he refused to tell Kaoru, let alone Tamaki about the details. Kyouya was already receiving looks and grins from Tamaki whenever him and Astrea talk. Despite sensing Astrea becoming more distant, the way she talks in class had been so elegant; nobody would guess the kind of situationship they had with each other. She reminded him of a white cat named Marie, a Disney character whose personality is elegant and eloquent; despite the harsh words she sometimes put out for him.

The word situationship rang in his mind right after he went to bed. It was one of the rare times Kyouya would skip dinner. His heart was telling him to drop a text to her, so he did.

'Are you awake, your highness?'

Kyouya waited for about 5 minutes before he heard a notification from her. He immediately grabbed his phone and read the text.

'What's up, shadow king?'

The nickname surprised him for a while before he snapped himself back to reality. Without further ado, Kyouya clicked call and waited for her to pick up.

To his surprise, Astrea did.

'Can we talk? My thoughts have been killimg me lately.' He immediately cut to the chase.

'Sure thing, Ootori. What keeps you up at night?' Her voice felt soothing to his ears.

Somehow in his mind, he imagined her wearing a white silk nightgown to bed, something fitting for a princess of Antares.

'I... This might come off as weird but, I'd like to talk to you.'

Astrea on the other hand, who wearing a white striped pajamas and lying on her bed- started scratching her head in confusion.

'I guess it can't hurt to talk.' She answered.

Kyouya took a deep breath, he was starting to feel embarrassed of himself despite having a cold facade initially.

'Yeah, it's just that my thoughts are killing me lately and I need a distraction.'

'The final exam anxiety catching up to you?' Astrea questioned back.

'Not really. I know I would ace it as usual.' It was his turn to boast. He heard her sudden laugh on the line- it was quite literally the first time he heard her laugh because of him.

'You definitely would.'

'In truth, I felt bad about what I did in Berlin. You have every right to end the call, by the way.' Kyouya admitted grimly.

'Well, can't rewind the past even if we tried.' Astrea replied calmly.

'Yeah. Also, do you think it's easy for me?'

'What is?' She raised an eyebrow.

'Pretending that I have control over everything. It's suffocating to say the least.' He confessed solemnly over the phone.

'Ootori, you don't deserve anything good.'

'Unless you prove yourself to it.' Astrea continued.

She immediately hung up the phone.