"Feliciano?"
Kiku stopped, but Feliciano had walked on a few paces. He turned his head, hand already up in a casual greeting. It took Feliciano a couple of seconds before recognition slammed across his face like a door. He spun, small child pulled around in a wide circle at his feet.
"Kiku!"
They didn't say anything, and the city bustled on around them. Kiku lost sight of Feliciano for a second, a crowd of teenaged girls crossing their path, but when they had passed, Feliciano was right there, grinning.
Kiku took a quick step back, eyes flicking down to the moody child barely clinging to Feliciano's hand, then back to the tan complexion. The colorful, scandalous outfits had been dulled down to bright, casual daywear.
Kiku wondered if Feliciano still had the skirts he would wear, or maybe the neon outfits for black-out parties.
"I didn't even recognize you for a second—I'm not used to you in suits like that!" Feliciano laughed and walked around Kiku in a circle, child dragged behind him like an angry dog. "It looks good on you, though!"
Focus. "Thank you," Kiku finally managed, smiling. Eyes to the toddler, back to Feliciano. "Is he yours?"
"Hm? Oh!" Feliciano pushed the child forward. "Oh, no! This is Claudio, my nephew. I was taking him out for ice cream, Lovino was working and Claudio's out of school, and we're just heading back now." Feliciano waved over his shoulder.
"Ah."
Feliciano looked at him, eyes half-closed as he thought. Kiku remembered the expression well. People continued to brush by them, Claudio shrieking in Italian whenever someone stepped too close. Kiku looked at his shoes.
"Well, I have to be going, because I have actual work to do instead of ice cream, and Lovino's going to be angry I even took Claudio out, so I guess I'll see you around…?" Feliciano smiled, taking a step backwards and waiting.
"I'm sorry," Kiku said quickly, shaking his head. "I'm being rude. Would you like to have coffee?"
Of course Feliciano wanted to have coffee. He agreed, passing on his number and a place just out of town, somewhere nice and quiet Kiku would absolutely love, and then he was back into the crowd, auburn hair disappearing under the swirling grey clouds.
It was different than what Kiku would have expected. He would have thought spiked coffees, music, cocaine in the bathrooms. Maybe that wasn't fair; ten years was a long time. Kiku wondered if he had changed as he gazed into his tea.
Feliciano bustled in, seeming to bring in a gust of wind from rain outside, water flying everywhere. Everyone turned to look at him as he took his seat across from Kiku. He smiled apologetically.
"Sorry I'm late! I couldn't find a cab, and Lovino was nagging me the entire time about Claudio, and then he was on me about work and you know how that is." Feliciano laughed as he struggled with his umbrella. He had formed a puddle.
Kiku pushed forward a sweet coffee for Feliciano, nodding understandingly. "You ended up working for your brother?"
There was a moment of silence as Feliciano closed the umbrella. He didn't look at Kiku. He played with the umbrella for a moment, then placed it on the ground and turned in his seat. He took a sip of coffee.
"I did." Feliciano smiled. "I did, but I didn't start buckling down until recently. Grandpa let me do as I wished, you know that, so after college I went to Europe, I did a bunch of things. It was a lot of fun for a long, long time. I visited Japan, but no one there seemed to like me much."
Kiku laughed at the old joke, and Feliciano seemed encouraged.
"I went to Germany, too, and everyone there just seemed confused! It was so funny, and then I went to England, and everyone there just tried to walk past me when I tried to talk to them. Good parties in England. Oh, Kiku, you should have seen England."
"I have." Kiku smiled at Feliciano's expression; he had expected Kiku to live in dusty lecture halls forever. "I spent a semester abroad."
Feliciano tilted his head. "How was Atlanta?"
The café was suddenly quiet, as if everyone was waiting for Kiku's answer. He took a sip of his tea, watching water drip from Feliciano's hair. When chatter picked back up, Kiku spoke.
"It was hard work. I did not have many friends down there." Kiku almost wanted to add something about how certain groups had known of him—a Vargas friend—but the talk had soon died.
"Did you miss me?" Feliciano grinned, and Kiku wasn't sure if he was being made fun of. "You're on Google! You're a doctor now, all official and everything, but don't you build robots or something? That must be cool."
Kiku felt his patience slip at the mention of robots. A couple burst through the doors, giggling and hanging off of one another. Kiku let his gaze slide to watch them, and after a second Feliciano turned to watch them, too.
"Remember that hurricane?" Feliciano turned in his chair.
Yes, Kiku did. It had been storming, and there had been an official warning from the college to stay in the dorms. Feliciano had paced their dorm like a caged animal, laughing at jokes Kiku hadn't said. Eventually—like always—Feliciano got a phone call.
After a few rushed seconds of chatter, Feliciano had dragged Kiku out of the dorm and through the streets, screaming encouragement over the gusting wind. After what seemed like miles, they had found the party.
The power had gone out, but the band didn't care. Feliciano had gotten high in the bathroom and searched for a Coke for Kiku, but they had ended up sitting on the porch, door open so they could hear the music, Feliciano talking about the storm, pupils pinpricks.
Kiku hummed in agreement.
"That was right before you left, and I still don't like storms because of it." Feliciano laughed.
Irritation again, so quick it might have been a bug bite. Kiku's smile strained, because after all these years, Feliciano couldn't understand why Kiku had to leave, had to end things.
He hadn't understood then, in the rain, when it felt like the wind was ripping down the world around them.
This time, when Kiku left, Feliciano didn't yell for him to come back.