Runaways [MikaYuu]

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Being in Mika's house felt different when he was invited in. It was like he was looking at it differently in the dark; it felt more intimate (and an inconvenience in itself - after the door shut behind them, it was so dark Yuu couldn't see two feet in front of him).

"Be right back," Mika said. Yuu felt him let go of his hand and heard his footsteps echo as he walked away. He returned after a moment with a lit oil lantern in hand, illuminating the small living space with a soft glow. "Sorry it's not much. Don't have actual lighting or heating in this place." In his other hand, Yuu saw Mika had a thick blanket. Mika tossed it to him, and Yuu caught it, allowing the plush fabric to unfold and instantly warm up his hands.

"I'm going to go make the tea. Make yourself at home, Yuu-chan," Mika ushered to the couch before heading into the small kitchenette to prepare the pot of water. Yuu sat as he was told, nestling into one side of the couch and throwing the blanket over him, pulling it up to his chin. Mika was right, the house was quite cold, but it was a definite improvement from the snowy conditions outside.

Mika soon returned with two cups of tea. He set them on the small coffee table before putting the oil lantern between the cups to lighten the space. Taking a spot in the middle of the couch, he took one cup and offered it to Yuu.

Mika took a sip, glancing around as he did so. "I'm sorry the house is so dusty," He apologized, mumbling to himself. "Haven't had time to clean it, been so busy..."

"It's fine," Yuu smiled at him. "Really. I appreciate it, Mika."

"Yeah," Mika blushed. "Um, sorry about the tea too. Nothing fancy, just regular old peach tea. 'S probably not what you're used to, being a prince and all-"

Yuu nearly dropped the mug that was being handed to him, and Mika's eyes widened, realizing too late he had struck a nerve. "Oh," He whispered, looking apologetically at his cup. "Sorry. I shouldn't have mentioned that so suddenly, yeah?"

Yuu took it gratefully, blowing on the rising steam before taking a careful sip. The tea was too watery; clearly Mika didn't have enough tea leaves to make a strong enough cup, but it was warm, and the fact that Mika made it helped. Plus, it was peach tea, which was his favorite. The thought itself made him smile.

But still, seeing the way Mika looked so hurt and confused made the smile on his face immediately falter. "No, I should be the one apologizing. I'm the one who lied to you."

Out of the corner of his eye, he could subconsciously tell Mika was nervous, but he figured it was his fault considering he's thrown Mika into this weird situation so suddenly.

Mika looked like he was about to argue, but Yuu held up a finger to silence him before he could say anything. "And before you say anything, and I know this isn't any excuse, but I just didn't want you to think of me differently. Like knowing I was some highfalutin prince would somehow just make me look like a pompous ass or some spoiled rich kid. Lots of people have taken advantage of that in the past, and-" He sighed, feeling the lump forming in his throat again, "I didn't want history to repeat itself."

"But you're neither of those things, Yuu-chan," Mika explained. "And I didn't approach you because I thought you were rich or I could get something out of you. I talked to you because I thought you were different, intriguing, even, and I liked that. And I'm really glad I did, because it's chalking up to be one of the best decisions of my life."

Yuu couldn't help but blush at that. "You can't just say things like that and think you can get away with it," He muttered darkly, avoiding Mika's gaze. God, did he always look like that?