From A-Z, and Everything in Between

Dream of Another Dream

It was just starting to get dark, with the faint red glow from paper lanterns illuminating the path. Couples, friends, and families alike strolled down this path, with all of them wearing similarly happy expressions. The excited chatter stemming from the people around him was a little distracting, but he didn't mind it too much. After all, this was all just part of the experience. Soraru couldn't say that he was used to events like these. Sure, he liked these kinds of things just as much as anyone else, but he was always too busy or just too tired to go to them. Honestly, he was busy today too, but he had managed to free up his schedule just for tonight for one reason in particular: he was meeting up with someone special to him. That special someone just so happened to love festivities like these, so when that person had asked him to go it was pretty much impossible to say no. Soraru wasn't sure how, but over the years he had grown a definite soft spot for that special person.

      "Soraru-san!" a familiar voice called out to him.

  Soraru looked over in the direction the voice had come from and saw MafuMafu waving at him enthusiastically. He was dressed in a yukata in honor of the festival, with the dark maroon color of the fabric complimenting his pale skin and hair well. As Soraru watched the white-haired male scurry over to him, he couldn't help thinking MafuMafu looked cute.

      "I'm really glad that you made it. I thought you might ditch me for your games," MafuMafu commented, only half jokingly.

  Soraru rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Don't say stuff like that. You make it seem like all I care about is playing games."

      "Well, maybe it's not all you care about, but you sure do seem to care about games more than work," MafuMafu pointed out matter-of-factly.

  Soraru scowled slightly at this, knowing that MafuMafu was referring to Soraru's terrible habit of procrastinating when it came to work. It wasn't like he didn't get stuff done, he just didn't get it done as efficiently as it could be. Still, at least he remembered to take time off to look after himself, unlike MafuMafu.

      "Hey, cut it out or I seriously will go back home and leave you," Soraru said flatly.

      "Ah, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Please don't leave, Soraru-san!" MafuMafu practically begged as he looked up at the blue-haired male pleadingly.

  MafuMafu's large red eyes were practically glowing in the dim lighting given off by the lanterns. Soraru found himself staring at them unconsciously, and once he realized what he was doing a faint blush settled on his face.

      "Calm down, I'm just messing with you. I came here to spend time with you, so it'd be dumb to leave before we've even done anything," Soraru muttered as he averted his gaze.

  MafuMafu grinned at this, the smile on his face now brighter than his eyes. "Right, then let's get going! There's so much I wanna do, but I don't know if I'll have time."

      "We can stay here as long as you want, so do whatever you'd like," Soraru stated.

      "What if you get tired? The festival's going to be going on pretty late this year," MafuMafu inquired.

      "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Soraru replied plainly.

  MafuMafu chuckled slightly. "Alright then. I'll take your word for it, so don't start complaining in a few hours, okay~?"

  MafuMafu gave him another grin and a wink, before he turned and began following the crowd of people down the path. Soraru followed after him, and together they made their way into the heart of the festival. Different booths selling food or housing games were set up all around them, each one with its own enticing charm. Children were flocking around booths with prizes on display, while lines of people waited to taste some of the delicious foods available here. As MafuMafu looked around at everything, his face took on an expression of child-like wonder.