Author's Note: Yellow flowers symbolise jealousy, but sunflowers are used to represent adoration, so I figured they would suit this really well. Writing this instead of doing college work or updating my other stories, welp. I hope you all enjoy it though~
Jealousy is simple. It is the feeling that you are inadequate, that you have little value, that what you have is just simply not good enough. It's one of those feelings that is impossible to shake of your own accord, one of those feelings that everyone feels at some point in their lives.
The air was rich with the scent of tea, stemming from a delicate china tea pot and five steaming cups that rested on or near a low wooden table on the little wooden veranda of the house. A vase of sky blue rested in the centre of the table, home to a host of trimmed sunflowers, each with a delightful fan of narrow yellow petals. A wide garden spread out on the other side of the veranda where three figures sat, enjoying the view of the green and the tumbling leaves from the trees that skirted around the edge of it. Two of these figures sat in traditional clothing, soft and pressed kimonos, one the colour of cherry blossoms and the other that of the sky on a summer morning. The third figure stuck out, dressed in white, a jacket and trousers lined with pink, bright and light. The other two figures – one dressed in a white suit, and the other sporting a tiny crown of gold – had left the veranda for a while, to stroll through the garden and enjoy the falling blossoms and the spinning leaves twirling towards the ground like swarms of little ballet dancers, pirouetting across a spotlit stage.
The figure in the blossom kimono had one of the little stone cups in his hands, covered by the sleeves of blush coloured fabric. The tea inside was still hot, steaming up in curls towards the sky, catching on the breeze as he raised it to his lips to sip. His name was Sakuraya, and it was his house that the three figures were sat at, drinking tea on the veranda in the afternoon sun, delighting in the daylight and the nature flourishing around them. A figure in black, some smart and pressed suit, stood a few feet behind him arranging some lilies of soft white in a large golden vase. The butler, Shitsuo, he always hovering in case his young master might need something or desire his presence.
The man in the sky blue kimono, with hair the colour of soft butter or hay in the summer harvest, sat at the other side of the table to Sakuraya. His name was Tsugaru, and a pipe rested between his lips, smoke curling from the end, his tea cup set on the table in front of him. His shoulders were relaxed, as at ease as he ever could be, feeling fine and content in the warm afternoon breeze.
The third figure, who went by the name of Psyche, also sat on the other side of the table from Sakuraya. With hair the colour of spilled ink and eyes the same shade, he could well have been the other man's twin if not for the difference in clothes. His cup of tea was sat on the table too, steaming up delicately into the air. He was curled into Tsugaru's side, with his slim arms wrapped possessively around Tsugaru's upper arm, clinging to the man in blue like a child might cling to his favourite toy. His brown was crinkled, eyebrows almost knitting together in a frown directed Sakuraya's way.
For the most part, Sakuraya seemed oblivious to the look being sent his way. The cherry blossom man simply remained seated, sipping at his tea and returning Psyche's look with a blank, quiet one of his own. Tsugaru was oblivious to the crinkled forehead of the figure next to him too, satisfied with the warmth of Psyche's slim figure leaning against his and the delightful atmosphere that lingered as he spoke with Sakuraya. He had noticed that Psyche had remained oddly quiet today, of course, as normally the little raven was the type of person to chatter to anyone, to everyone, always making new friends wherever he went. It was certainly of his most endearing points, though Tsugaru had just assumed that Psyche had been nervous about meeting Sakuraya, or that perhaps he felt a little awkward in a situation such as this.
It wasn't long before the two figures, Hibiya and Delic, returned from their little self-tour of the gardens. Tsugaru had finished smoking his pipe, and had set it down on the little wooden table in favour of sipping at the tea prepared for him too. He and Sakuraya looked up to greet them as they returned, but Psyche continued to frown at the man in the blossom kimono.
"Delic and I are leaving now," Hibiya stated, simply. Delic stood just a step or two behind him, the reason for the 'put out' look that seemed to have set up camp on Hibiya's face. He too had raven hair, like Psyche, like Sakuraya, and his arms were crossed tightly over his chest.
"Thank you for the tea, it was delicious," Delic added with a laugh, quiet and pleasant as the afternoon sun. Hibiya had headed for the door already, huffing at the apparent closeness of the blonde, his cheeks pinched with a flush that he would deny at all costs. "Hibiya is thankful too, he's just too shy to say so without me to hold his hand,"
An indignant protest came from the doorway, a huffed cry of Delic's name from a flushing, uncomfortable Hibiya. Sakuraya smiled at that, and lifted one shoulder in a little 'don't worry about it' shrug. Tsugaru smiled too, a quiet hum of a chuckle falling from his lips when he lowered the tea to rest in his lap. His head turned to face Psyche now, who was still clinging to him as if he thought that Tsugaru would blow away on the breeze like the blossoms and the leaves.
"Why don't you head back with them?" he hummed out in suggestion, before Delic left after Hibiya, who had already stepped into the house through the little sliding door next to the veranda. The other blonde was still thanking Sakuraya, having a last brief chat saying that they would have to visit again soon, and that the view had been wonderful. Psyche blinked, and turned to return Tsugaru's look at the sound of a honey voice in his ear.
"Doesn't Tsu-chan want Psyche to stay?" he questioned, blinking again. The frown had dropped now, replaced with a blank slate, a white canvas of emotion. His head tilted to the side, questioning the blonde with more than just his words.
"Of course I do," Tsugaru responded, with a fond chuckle sent the little raven's way. His lips quirked up at the corners, crinkling into a warm smile, the shade of the afternoon breeze. He removed one hand from where it was curling around the cup of tea to gently run his thumb across Psyche's cheek. "But I don't want you to stay if you aren't having fun. Go on, I don't mind. You should go and have fun with them."
Slowly, Psyche let his arms uncurl from Tsugaru's, and with another little frown crinkling at his pale skin, he got to his feet. Delic had stood by the door now, waiting for him, apparently having heard the tail end of Tsugaru's suggestion. The other blonde was smiling when Psyche reached him, and the slim, dark haired boy clung to Delic's hand when they headed into the house. A quick glance back at the table showed Tsugaru offer a smile, and a little wave, before he had turned back to continue speaking with Sakuraya.
He wasn't the sort of person who was used to feeling bad feelings. He was the type of person used to smiling and laughing and playing around. He didn't like the heavy feeling in his chest, and he didn't like the idea of Sakuraya and Tsugaru spending time together and really, he didn't like Sakuraya all that much. Izaya had said that Psyche and Tsugaru didn't match as well as he matched Delic and Tsugaru matched Sakuraya, and then the older raven had joked that maybe they had chosen the wrong people to love after all. Psyche had just blinked, and frowned, because he hadn't known what Izaya had meant or what he was on about. Psyche was used to being confused, and what he was feeling now confused him. Did Tsugaru think that too? Did he not want Psyche to be his special someone anymore?
"Ts-Tsu-chan—" And then they had rounded the corner to catch up to Hibiya, and the scene vanished from his eyes.
Psyche's cup of tea sat on the table, on the veranda with the vase of yellow flowers, still steaming, but completely ignored.
It was late evening by the time that Tsugaru finally arrived back at home. The light had already dropped from the sky, the sun finally slipping down behind the horizon to blanket the earth with quiet darkness. He had planned to return earlier, but Sakuraya had offered him dinner prepared by Shitsuo, and Tsugaru hadn't seen the need to refuse. It had been too long since Tsugaru had seen his friend, and Psyche had already left with Delic and with Hibiya, so he didn't need to worry about him growing bored or sleepy. The raven would have a much better time with the other two than he would here, drinking tea and discussing old tales.
The place was dark when he entered, having being dropped home by Shitsuo on Sakuraya's orders just now, and he hadn't been able to hear the normal scurry of Psyche somewhere around in another room. Usually, if he was out when Psyche was at home, the other would come rushing through the house to greet him with a hug and nuzzle at his neck when he returned. He paused by the door to remove his shoes, calling Psyche's name when the other still hadn't appeared. The clock on the little table just inside the door told him that it was late enough that either Delic or Hibiya would have brought him back by now, though he himself hadn't realised it had gotten that late until he had returned.
The blonde was quiet and calm, just like he normally was, as he moved through the house. A quick glance in the first couple of rooms told him that Psyche wasn't there, though as he moved further in, a little glow of light dusted the place. The light, soft and faint, appeared to be coming from the bedroom, the result of one of the little bedside lamps in the room turned on, he guessed.
"Psyche?" Tsugaru called again, soft and gentle, as he reached out with one hand to push open the door. It had only been pushed too, and not totally closed, so now it opened with only a slight creak of the hinges.
The raven had seated himself on the bottom edge bed, resting in the middle of the room and pressed with the headboard against the back wall. He had wrapped himself in one of the top layers of Tsugaru's kimonos, the blue and white material draped over his thin frame like some kind of toga. One of his hands had curled in the fabric, bringing it up to rest against his lips, the scent of the blonde that clung to it comforting, warm. It dipped down over one shoulder, exposing prominent collar bones and skin as creamy as the moon. From the slithers of skin, pale and soft, on show, Tsugaru guessed that he was probably only wearing underwear under it, as even his headphones had been set on the bedside table, just like when they curled up in bed to fall asleep. Psyche looked up when the door opened, and though his head dropped again, Tsugaru couldn't fail to notice the tears curling down his cheeks in little floods. He heard a tiny sniff from the figure on the bed, noticed the little shake of his shoulders.
"What's the matter?" Tsugaru asked, swiftly moving across the room to kneel at the end of the bed in front of Psyche. He was worried, really, he was. This was a side to the raven that he could never remember seeing before, and he didn't like seeing him cry, especially when he didn't know the reason behind it. He lifted his hands to cup Psyche's cheeks; thumbing away the tears that now seemed to have started falling even more than they had been before.
"Does Tsu-chan like Sakuraya-kun?" the raven questioned, his voice barely whispering, soft, husky, quiet, his head still turned towards the bed, his fingers still gripping at the material wrapped around him. His shoulders were still shaking, and now he seemed to have developed little hiccups which marred his breathing and his crying and his talking. If the situation had been different, Tsugaru would have found the little squeaks hopelessly adorable, just like the rest of him.
"Of course," he replied, blinking himself. Tsugaru didn't really understand just where this train of questioning was going though, and was far more concerned with finding out what was wrong with the darling boy in tears before him than whether he or Sakuraya got along or not.
"More than Ps-Psyche?" the teary eyed boy asked again, another little hiccup mixing with a sob, marring his speech with a little stutter. Tsugaru's gaze softened and his head tilted with a little bittersweet smile. "Because Izaya-kun says that Sakuraya-kun and Tsu-chan match so— so—"
Tsugaru laughed, a soft little chuckle ghosting out from his mouth. Psyche's head shot up at that, his forehead crinkled in a frown so deep that it looked comical. He was trying to look mad, and yet the outcome was so entirely adorable that Tsugaru couldn't help but laugh a little more.
"Psyche," the blonde sighed out, contently. He leaned his forehead down to rest against Psyche's, and the little raven blinked, apparently forgetting he was supposed to be acting mad due to the sudden closeness. "Sakuraya is my friend. I've known him since I was little, of course I like him. But there is no one I like more than you,"
"T-Then you don't mind that Psyche doesn't match you like Sakuraya-kun?" Psyche mumbled out, fiddling with the fabric of the kimono wrapped around him. It spilled into the kimono that Tsugaru was still wearing, a mix of soft oceanic blue and snowdrop white.
"Silly," Tsugaru laughed, breaking away to plant a soft kiss upon Psyche's lips. The raven hummed, leaning up and nuzzling his neck when their lips parted. "I adore you just the way you are,"