"It takes great courage to see the world in all its tainted glory, and still to love it. And even more courage to see it in the one you love"
― Oscar Wilde
Beach
Mitsuya succeeded in pulling Azumi out of the water. "Sorry, you got wet because of me", the raven head bowed low. "It's fine. I wasn't able to get seawater on my skin for quite some time", the lad gave a short laugh. "About a while ago...", Azumi raised her head and stood straight. "What I mean is. I want to spend more time with everyone else. A few months from now, I'd be graduating, and Fumi-san and I will be moving to Australia. I know I'd be going home twice a year but I don't think that would be enough to hang around. Just like with you, we're just in the same city but we rarely see each other", she explained what she meant by what she shouted. She tried her best to mask the truth with her lies. "I see", the lavender boy gave a nod and led the way out.
Car
"You'll get sick if you leave your sweatshirt on. I have a spare jacket at the back", the lilac head informed and grabbed it giving it to the lady. He was waiting for Azumi to remove her shirt but she was frozen at the passenger seat. "Oh right, I have to go out", he opened his door and left. Since he is a fashion designer, seeing people's skin isn't new and most of his models would be comfortable just changing in front of him whether male or female. Azumi opened the door to signal Mitsuya that she's already done.
They started to drive away from the place. "You can just drop me on the bust station. I'll see my way back", the raven's head turned in his direction. "Chifuyu would chop me into pieces if I did that. We're disbanded but we still respect each other by also taking care of those they treasure", Mitsuya rejected her suggestion. "Did your underwear get wet?", he asked so casually. He had sisters so it's not a great deal with him talking about it with girls. "Unfortunately", Azumi was able to answer even if she was startled by the word coming out of Mitsuya's mouth.
"There's a nearby mall, let's just drop by", he suggested.
Mall-Clothes Section
Mitsuya leads the way and Azumi is formulating in her mind how to tell the lad that she's embarrassed having someone buy undergarments with her. The thing that relieved her was that there were just a few customers around. The lilac head stopped. The lady turned tomato when she saw bras and panties all around them. The guy he's with didn't show any hint of embarrassment and he's taking it as if a walk in the park. "How can I help you", the sales lady went near them. "We're buying undergarments but the ones ready to wear", Mitsuya didn't hesitate to answer.
Azumi and the saleslady looked at each other and they both flushed. "I got wet at the beach, that's why", the lady found the need to explain. "You can pick and we'll just be getting new stocks", she forced a smile and stormed away. The lady mustered her courage to step up and scan on the undergarments trying to ignore the fact that Mitsuya was with her. She flipped hangers and wished the earth could swallow her. "You'd leave lots of space if you use those sizes. I think your size is more of a B-cu-", the lad wasn't able to finish it when Azumi butted in. "I was just scanning. Maybe I'll give Fumi-san a matching pair", she lied. That's too many lies for one day. Mitsuya covered his mouth and hid his smile. "Were you just laughing?", the lady kept digging her grave.
She moved at the other displays and could feel Mitsuya watching her. Azumi was wondering if the designer's fashion sense was kicking in and if she would be judged by the kind of fabric she would be choosing. She doesn't give much thought about her undergarments and Fumi even teases her about being such a baby using ribbons and ones with rabbit designs. She held a laced one for a long time. "Taka-san. This is already killing me so can you please just wait for me at the longue", she finally gave up and said something honest for that afternoon. "Sure. If you're going to buy that, it'll be quite a challenge to match it with your light clothes", Mitsuya said before heading towards the lounge.
"Are you going to choose that?", the saleslady gasped. "Not really. It's not my style", Azumi shook her head and put the black laced undergarments. "Did he?", the other woman asked. "No. He even said that it would be difficult to match my light-colored clothes", the raven's head violently shook her head. "Phew~ I thought you were in that kind of relationship", the saleslady's face brightened and had hope. "He's not your boyfriend, right?", the woman asked. Azumi continued looking for something more modest and saw one with a ribbon. "Hanami. I went to look for some clothes as well. I'll be paying for it so just wear them", Mitsuya suddenly appeared holding a blue striped blouse and a high waist jean shorts.
Azumi and Mitsuya had a little discussion about who was paying. "I was the one who caused this damage so let me pay for it", he slowly pushed the lady inside the changing room. The saleslady excused herself to assist other customers. The lady removed the jacket but her hair got stuck on the buttons. She was having a hard time changing and bumped on the door. "Are you okay?", Mitsuya asked from outside. "Just fine", she said but it was obvious that she was having a hard time. "Did your hair get stuck with the buttons?", the lilac head was right on track. There was no answer. Mitsuya opened the door and went inside. It was cramped but they both can fit in.
The jacket was raised. "Taka-san. Is that you?", she was startled. "Don't worry. I'll just untangle your hair", he said with a gentle voice. His hand made its way to untangle the hairs and they were able to remove the jacket. The lady used her hands to cover Mitsuya's eyes. "You've seen a lot of model's bodies so I feel so insecure about mine. Please leave", her hands shook. The lad held her hands and placed them down. He looked directly at the raven head's eyes. "Don't say it that way. I don't look at their body just because. I needed to study them so I could make better clothes", he gave a soft chuckle that tickled Azumi's heart. The lad had his eyes tracing below the lady's eyes. Even with that speech, Azumi still felt embarrassed and slapped the jacket on his face. "Sorry, Taka-san. I didn't mean to", she removed it right away. "I get it. I'll leave", Mitsuya also felt like punching himself for maybe scaring the lady. She's not even in her legal age and she's half-naked in front of him.
As he went out of the changing room, he was met with a couple. "Taka-san?", the blonde tilted his head. "Takemitchy? Tachibana. It's been a long time", he waved at them. "Are you with someone?", Hina asked. "Ah, well", he doesn't know how to explain the situation. "Let's go grab some parfait. I found it warm here", he pushed the two of them outside the clothes shop and told them to wait for him at the sweet shop.
Chapter end.
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Existence Precedes Essence
Fanfiction"The literal meaning of life is whatever you're doing that prevents you from killing yourself." ― Albert Camus "Azumi, what is that sin you are referring to?", Chifuyu toned down. "Just merely existing. Because I happened, people had faced so many m...
