"Karamatsu, what the hell are you wearing?" I laughed.
Kara looked up at me through his blue-black sunglasses. "Oh hello!" He stood up, a bit quicker than necessary, and sending a spray of blue glitter into the river. I smiled at him anyways.
"But seriously, what the hell are you wearing?"
He looked up at me and smiled back, adjusting his glasses.
"These are my standard 'date' clothes. Great right?" He asked. I shrugged and returned with a smirk,
"Yeah, they're pretty okay. I like the excessive sparkles. It suits your flashy personality." He blushed and looked down at his twinkling attire. I gestured to the black leggings and worn-out cerulean flannel I wore. "These, are my standard 'date' clothes. Great right?" I copied, pausing to adjust his jacket collar with a grin. He looked back at me and complimented with as much seriousness and compassion as ever,
"You look like a glistening blue sea and represent the unending depth of it. Never before have I seen such a beautiful sight as you, my honey." It was my turn to blush. I hugged him, hoping to shut him up, and said,
"Ya goof, it's just a simple outfit." Karamatsu hugged me back, and let go, still holding my hand.
"I was wondering," He began, twirling me around without a care. "Do you suppose we could walk around a little? In all actuality, I don't know this park very well. The bridge has always been my favorite and only place to visit." I danced with him, wearing a small smile and keeping as much poise as possible. (Though I stumbled the most out of us.)
"I'd 'suppose' we could do that, as long as you don't leave my side."
"No need to leave, I'm already lost in the depth of your eyes." He said, winking. I put a hand over his mouth, disappointed in him immensely. I looked at him scornfully.
"That was so cheesy, you're going to drive me crazy with those pickup lines. But you know, do what you want." He looked at the floor guiltily. Gently I patted his face and locked arms with him, starting to walk. "C'mon it'll be dark soon. We should enjoy this while we can." He followed gladly, keeping close to me. The ground was littered with dew. Droplets reflected what little light escaped the swirling dragons above like diamonds. The grass was a rich jade green, and the crunch of the dirt path beneath our shoes was almost nostalgic. It made me remember early mornings as a child. But that was just it. Being with Kara made me feel younger again.
What could it have been like if I'd met him as a child, I wondered? Would he still feel this way for me? No, of course not. We'd probably be like brother and sister the way we connected when we first met. I almost laughed aloud at the thought and glanced at Karamatsu. He had his eyes focused on the road ahead, a bit of steam streaming out of his mouth as he sighed. I did the same, inhaling the ice cold air, and blowing a ring of blue smoke. It sent a tremor of shivers down my back, though next to him I was warm as ever. He peered at me curiously and asked with a chuckle.
"How did you do that?"
I demonstrated wordlessly, sticking out my tongue a bit and making an 'O' with my mouth. Yet another ring of baby blue puffed out. Karamatsu did the same, and a shaky ring of smoke appeared. We kept at the activity for a while, and I commented with a giggle,
"Hey, you're getting better! Also, I just realized, this is kinda like vape tricks, minus the vaping."
"I suppose it is." He laughed. We found ourselves a bench and sat down, still looking like smoke-puffing morons. I waved away my own smoke and rested my head on my friend's shoulder. kara wrapped an arm around my waist and kept me close to him. Suddenly, I had an epiphany.
"We're always out at night," I said. "You always end up staying out with me till midnight or so. Don't your brothers ever get worried?" He shook his head and rested his chin on my head, playing with a few strands of my hair.
"They only get angry about it. Some of my brothers get kind of nervous when were not all together. It makes them paranoid. And then that upsets the others." He explained. "But I don't care. they get over it within the next hour I see them."
"How many brothers do you have, Kara?" I asked after a moment.
"Five others. I'm the second oldest."
I raised my eyebrows.
"Five?"
"Five." He confirmed. I felt his gaze move to me again and heard the grin in his voice. "We're sextuplets." I moved my head to look at him in the eyes, my face red.
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
"We. Are. Sextuplets." He said slowly.
"You're telling me, that your poor mother popped out six of you and is still alive?" I asked, grabbing his sleeve as my eyes widened. He nodded, smiling at me still.
"Give her my condolences," I said, staring at him disappointedly. "That poor old woman." He nudged me and laughed,
"Yes, sometimes I regret having made her go through so much pain as well, but every child deals with that." He rubbed my back and continued, "It's an unfortunate truth of life. We can't help it." I sat quietly and asked,
"Can you tell me more about your brothers? I'm sort of curious... Do you all look the same?"
He laughed a little. "Unfortunately."
"Do they have names, or is it just you?" I joked. He laughed yet again with that adorably deep voice and said,
"They have names." Kara drew in a breath and listed, "Well, in order, their names are, Osomatsu, then there's me, and Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, my little Jyushimatsu, and our youngest brother, Todomatsu." I was shocked yet again.
"You all have similar names... God damn it, that's gonna be hard to remember," I grumbled, burying my face into his neck. He kept playing with my hair, wearing a small smirk.
"You're so cute when you're frustrated."
"No, I'm not." I returned, feeling my cheeks burn in the cold air. He rolled out his shoulders and carelessly nuzzled his head against mine. We sat together in silence yet again appreciating the quiet of the park. Barely anyone remained. It was a perfect time to ask him what had been on my mind for the past two days. I raised my head and quickly asked. "Can I....? Can I.. um..." He looked at me in confusion.
"Can you...?"
"Can I kiss you?" I blurted out, nervously. He blushed and chuckled at me.
"You don't have to ask me, my (Y/N). You should be free to do as you wish."
I crossed my arms and mumbled, "Well, I've never really kissed anyone before." He shrugged and replied, holding a hand under my chin and pulling my face close to his.
"Neither have I." He murmured.
I felt his warm breath on my face and began to tremble with the sudden rush of excitement. His soft lips connected with mine. I was forced grip his jacket for fear of collapsing. Weakly, I melted in his arms. They tightened around me unfathomably gently, lovingly constricting me. I kept my hands in his hair, ruffling it without a care in the world. We broke away slowly, and I stared back at him, shocked that something so wonderful lasted so long. How was I even able to breathe?
He wiped away a trail of our saliva, smiling at me.
"That was... eventful." he said, trying to catch his breath.
"Damn, you're sure you'd never done that before?" I asked, panting softly. Both of us wore a ditzy, dizzy smile. He kissed my cheek softly and said in my ear,
"Yeah I'm pretty sure, or else it wouldn't have been as magical." His voice sent shivers down my spine. I wrapped my arms around his neck and commanded playfully,
"Kiss me again, please."
He pulled me close yet again and answered, "You're the boss."
