"whore!", issei squeals, his arm flailing in the air like a pigeon. he turns around, his eyes widened and filled to the brim with faux anger. it quickly cascades and goes back into the joking mood he lives by. 

"i can't believe you wasted $20 on that." asahi scornfully points at the shooting station, where you were supposed to hit the targets with the water gun. sadly, matsukawa missed- all twenty times. 

"it's a scam." 

"it's a social construct." 

tadashi lets out the giggle, letting the exuberant sound vibrate past his shoddy lips. hajime peeks a slight glance at his lips, then goes back to his feet, his ears filled with the loud bickering of asahi and matsukawa. they let the pair pull ahead, their shoulders touching so smoothly. tadashi wishes for that. 

he crosses his arm across his forlorn chest; an attempt to address the problem of being underdressed in a vicinity filled with prying eyes. suddenly, he's pushed to the side, his fingers pressed against hajime's chest. a bike speeds past where tadashi stood, the aftermath of its path blowing cool air into tadashi's eyes. 

"agh..", hajime scratches the back of his head awkwardly, "watch where you're going." 

"y-yeah, thanks." tadashi pushes from his chest, his cheeks already flushed with 3 different shades of red. his heart feels like it will break away from his skin, its beat quickening each step he takes. him crashing onto the other's chest. deja vu. 

they walk, the silence between the two overpowering the sounds and lights of the carnival. every 4 strides roughly, tadashi sneaks a gushing glance onto hajime's face. the latter also sneaks glances onto tadashi's adorable exterior, unbeknownst to the both of them. 

"guys, the ferris wheel!" matsukawa skips back to them, his finger extended to the the contraption. tadashi feels uneasy as the sheer height of the contraption makes his stomach flutter with a couple dozen of butterflies. 

"i'm fine," tadashi tries for a queasy smile, "i'll sit over on the bench while you guys go." 

hajime stares, his head in thought, as tadashi slowly struts to the bench. his hands uncurl out of the firm fist he was clenching. "i'll go with him." 

matsukawa opens his mouth to argue, but asahi clamps his fingers before he can mutter anything stupid. he raises a clever eyebrow until issei understands. 

"i hope they don't fuck on the bench." 

"it's tadashi we're talking about, shut up." 

-

"you didn't have to join me, y'know." tadashi fidgets with his fingers in subdued nervousness. the wind plays with a couple strands of his hair, before gracefully collapsing the bangs onto his forehead. 

"i know." 

hajime suddenly gains the confidence he needed. 

"the stars are gonna come out soon." he points to the darkening twilight. it feels like an artist slashed the sky with brushes with all sizes and all colours. the pink melting into the warm yellow tones, which then move into the red, then finally fading into the dark evening sky. 

hajime forcefully stares at tadashi's cheeks, daring him to look away.

 "can i kiss you?" 

tadashi widens his eyes, the freckles on his cheeks already swirling with red. he looks down as if to stifle  his heartbeat quickening and the blood roaring in his ears. "no." 

"y-you'll have to date me first." tadashi scoots to hajime's side, his fingers itching to feel hajime's wrapped around his. 

the voice always engulfing his interior suddenly whispers in his head, causing him to look away, dejectedly. his chest hunches, the adrenaline rush he felt earlier fading back into oblivion. then sturdy fingers intwine with his own. a squeeze to coax joy back into tadashi's veins. 

"guess we're dating then" 

tadashi looks back at him, their fingers still tangled, and nods with a shred of confidence. his cheeks pull up for a big grin, his freckles sparkling along with the stardust above. hajime quickly looks down to avoid the inevitable blush creeping into this cheeks.  

some people stare at the two of them when they walk past. but for the first time in forever, tadashi couldn't care less. 

lilac dreams of me and you

"you're unreal." tadashi whispers as his left cheek is lying on hajime's chest. hajime sleepily throws out a hazy smile, his fingers tousling tadashi's hair. 

"and you're beautiful." 

because i, the garden. you, the flowers. 

END