pretend it only happened in a dream | bakuiida

eighteen | you and i were fireworks

~*~

"It makes me sad that this will be the last Fourth of July I will see in this town," Tenya says. He has snuck us onto the top of the train tracks so we can watch the fireworks go off together.

I hold his hand tight. "It could be my last."

When I say this, he sighs. "Make it count, yeah?"

"Of course."

The night sky is barley melting into a dark blue as we sit on the hood of Tenya's car. Before we came out here we packed a bag of food to eat and ate picnic style. I'm getting better at cooking, especially with my mom's help.

Tenya and I discussed how we would work out living together. I obviously would have to move across the country, which my parents wouldn't care about all that much. My mom trusts me, but more importantly she trusts Tenya to care for me. We would get a little apartment not too far from the college that his parents would pay for; and Tenya would drive me to high school in the mornings before his class. I would take the bus home and maybe even I could even manage a job so we can have bigger luxuries.

It sounds nice, but neither of us are quite sure right now.

Instead of worrying about the move, we stare into the night sky, searching for stars and satellites. Tenya points out the fast moving satellites. "Y'know, a majority of satellites in orbit don't work anymore," he says.

"Really?"

He nods. "Yeah, over 2/3rds of satellites orbiting earth are inactive. And like, some of them are from the 60's and 70's. Oldest one up there is from the 50's I believe," he tells me. "I want to own a satellite someday. I wouldn't have any use for it, but the idea that it could float up there longer than I would sit on this earth is interesting. It would outlive me."

I stare up and watch as a small, bright light passes through the night sky. I point up to it. "That's a satellite," I say. "She could be up there for a very, very long time."

Tenya nods. "Vanguard 1 is the oldest one up there. They say it won't decay for another 200 years or something." I squeeze his hand tight. "One day, I will put a satellite up there, I call it 'Katsu', and I'll pray it never falls down."

I gulp. "You'd do that?" He nods softly. "That's the most romantic thing anyone has ever told me."

"Well, I lo-"

The first firework goes off, exploding into the night sky as a bright red and blue. I cheer as I watch the colors brightly fade away. Another sets off, and then another and another, until finally, just after midnight, there are no more bright fireworks.

I smile up at the sky and let out a sigh. "Happy Fourth of July!" I shout.

"Happy Fourth of July," Tenya replies.

When we get into his car, Tenya turns the radio up. Last he was listening to country music, and he goes to change it but I stop his hand. "I don't mind," I say. "You're always listening to music, so don't worry."

The first song we hear is Chicken Fried, which Tenya instinctively sings along to. When it gets to the part that says, "see the love in my woman's eyes" he replaces woman with my name. I blush at the action, which he takes note of and decides to pester me with all the way home.

In Tenya's mansion sized home, he has an open, beautiful, white sitting room. It has virtually nothing it, aside from some beautiful landscape paintings, a small end table, and two white chairs. Tenya has set down a speaker on the table, and it is playing La Vie En Rose, specifically Louis Armstrong's rendition. However, I know the French by heart.

I stare at a painting of two people sitting on a bench over a landscape. "My brother painted that," Tenya tells me.

"It's excellently made."

I feel a strong hand delicately grab my wrist and turn my around. "You were excellently made," Tenya whispers. He puts one hand behind my back and another wrapped around my hand. "Have you ever slow danced like this?" he asks.

I shake my head.

His smirk is adorable. "My parents used to attend important parties. They were formal things, dumb, but important in the long run. There was this beautiful girl, and she would always slow dance with my brother, but not before me. It was obviously a thing of courtesy, and she was messing around with me. But the gesture made me so nervous," he tells me. "She taught me how to slow dance so I didn't look like a fool, and then she married my brother."

I raise an eyebrow. "Really?" I ask.

He nods. "They are very happy together. I envy my brother for being able to marry the person he loves, more so I envy his ability to forget the horrors our parents put him through." He shakes his head and laughs. "Besides the point. Follow my lead as we dance, yes?"

Frantically, I nod. Tenya is experienced at these sort of things, and he's good at being casual about it. He leans down and kisses me after the song ends. "You are so, so very beautiful."

The next day, Kaminari, Jirou and I are all invited to Mina's home to hang out. I bring Tenya along with me, as well as a bag of chips and those shitty dollar tree pies you can buy. I know Mina loves them.

Inside her apartment is an array of candles and towels. Her baby is strapped onto her chest by a baby carrier, and she has tired eyes. "Hey guys," she says.

"How are you holding up?" I ask.

Mina audible sighs. "Tired, worn out, and everything in between. But look at how cute he is!" she says, pointing to Hanta who is asleep.

"Very cute indeed. Where Kiri?" I ask.

"Oh downtown. He's taking his GED exam."

Tenya smiles. "Good for him."

Mina laughs. "Yeah. Also I don't think we've formally met. I'm Mina Ashido."

"Tenya Iida. It's a pleasure to formally meet you."

And so the party ensues. However, it's less of a party and more of us sitting around and talking. Kirishima comes home a little after an hour and he smiles. "I definitely passed," he says.

We congratulate him and the conversation continues. "Um. Next week will be Sero's birthday," Kaminari says. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to visit him, and leave him some flowers and some doughnuts. He would've wanted some."

I nod. "Yeah. We can all wish him a happy birthday." Mina and Kirishima both agree, and so a plan is set in stone.

~*~