Mink woke up still feeling conflicted about Sei. It even crossed his mind that maybe he should cancel the picnic today. Didn't a picnic seem…a little too romantic? It would probably only just encourage Mink's feelings even more, and he certainly didn't need that. He lay in bed staring up at the ceiling for a long while, his thoughts racing around in his head. No, he couldn't cancel with such little notice. If someone did that to him, he'd be really pissed off, so it was unfair to do that to someone else. Not to mention, he didn't want to cancel and be responsible for breaking Sei's fragile little heart.
Grumbling as he finally got out of bed, Mink pulled on some jeans, leaving his chest bare for now as he wandered around the house. He went downstairs to the kitchen, his thoughts drumming in time with his footsteps on the stairs. He'd said it to himself about a million times now. He just needed to accept the fact that he had feelings for Sei. Fighting it only made him feel worse about it. It wasn't such a bad thing to have, was it?
While pouring milk into his bowl of cereal, Mink checked his phone to see Sei had sent him a text a couple of hours ago. Obviously, Sei had woken up and actually gotten out of bed a lot sooner than Mink had. The message said, "Really excited for this afternoon! Baking cookies now!" and came with an attached photo.
Mink's heart nearly leapt out of his chest when he opened the attachment. It was a selfie! Sei had sent him a selfie! Oh god, he was adorable. The lighting was perfect and bounced off Sei's soft skin and soft cheekbones. He was smiling at the camera, showing his perfect white teeth, and his raven hair framed his face perfectly to make his dark eyes pop beautifully. The photo was angled so Mink could just see a tray of cookies sitting on the bench behind him. Why, why why? Tell me, why did Sei have to send me this? This isn't helping one bit. I think I might be in love with this boy. He's so pure.
Did Mink even know what love was? That was a good question. He'd never experienced it before, but he figured if it was as strong and powerful as everyone said, he'd know it when he felt it. He wasn't sure if he actually loved Sei or if that was an overreaction. There was still a lot he didn't know about the boy. But he was certain he had a very strong crush on him, at the very least.
And it made his heart ache. He tried to deny it, but he really wanted to be more than just friends with Sei. He tried to tell himself that he was ok if Sei just wanted to be friends, but it was hard. He really liked Sei. He didn't want to be one of those guys who complained about being stuck in the "friend-zone," but he just wanted a clear answer to be certain either way. If he had a chance with Sei, that was good. He wouldn't try to suppress his feelings anymore. If he didn't have a chance with Sei, which was more likely, he would try his hardest to make sure his feelings didn't get in the way of their friendship. He was sure, even if no romantic feelings were involved, they had the potential to be great friends, and he didn't want to let that slip through his fingers just because he was preoccupied with his crush.
Now there was another matter to deal with. How should Mink respond to Sei's text? Would a compliment on his appearance sound too weird? Should he send a selfie back? He'd give it a try, anyway. "You look nice today," he sent, keeping it simple. He quickly took a selfie, trying not to look angry in it, and sent a follow up message. "I don't."
"Why aren't you wearing a shirt!" Sei replied. "Get dressed, Mink!" Shit, oh shit, oh shit. Mink hadn't even realised he still hadn't put a shirt on yet. The selfie he sent must have looked so weird. Oh man, I hope Sei doesn't get the wrong idea, Mink thought, internally freaking out a little bit.
Without replying, mostly because he was stunned into silence with his own stupidity, Mink hurriedly ate the bowl of cereal while standing in the kitchen, and then rushed upstairs to put a shirt on. He took a better photo and sent it to Sei, asking "Does this look better?" Sending selfies is a weird experience, Mink thought to himself. Why do people do it? Don't people usually do it only if they're really close friends or interested in each other? Sei and I aren't that close yet, I don't think so…
For the first time, Mink addressed the possibility that Sei was interested in him too. No, that can't be right. Why would he be?
Sei responded with another photo of himself, showing him a little blurry, but laughing and cheerful. "You look very handsome, Mink. See you at the bus stop soon." What kind of compliment was that? What was Mink supposed to take from that? It didn't exactly sound neutral like Mink had tried to sound. Mink scratched his head, feeling really confused. What if Sei really did like him? He couldn't even begin to entertain that idea. He'd spent the last few days convincing himself that he had no chance with Sei, it was so difficult to contemplate anything else, and he didn't want to get him hopes up.
He checked the time and realised he'd slept in longer than he'd intended to. He'd have to get going soon, so he figured he should start preparing the picnic stuff now while he still had time. He went upstairs and retrieved the picnic blanket from the top of the linen cupboard, and folded it up as small as possible to put in his bag. Even though he went on picnics often, he didn't own an actual picnic basket. He thought they were…kind of lame. He was just planning on taking his backpack and a cooler bag. He packed the jam and stone fruit carefully into his bag and ran through the list of other things he needed to bring. There were a couple of bottles of soft drink in the bottom shelf of the fridge door, so he took them and put them in the cooler bag. He also found some seldom-used plastic cups in the cupboard and he was sure no one would notice if they went missing for the day. He was pretty sure that was about all he needed. Sei was bringing everything else.
Mink picked up his two bags and headed out the door, unsure of whether his parents were actually home or not, but he locked the door on his way out just in case. He walked at a steady pace, with no need to rush since the bus stop was even closer to his house than the garden store was. He'd get there with plenty of time, then he and Sei would catch the bus to the park. Truthfully, he probably could have walked to the park, but it was a little hot for that and he didn't want Sei to get lost without him. He was thankful, however, that the weather had stayed clear for today.
"Hey, Mink!" Sei greeted him enthusiastically as he approached the bus stop, waving a hand in the air like he was trying to get Mink's attention in a crowd. He was the only one waiting there though. Mink quickly looked Sei up and down. The boy was dressed slightly differently from how he dressed at school. His loose clothes had a more feminine feel to them, and he was wearing dark sunglasses and a sunhat with a big, floppy brim. It suited him.
"Hey," Mink replied, standing next to Sei under the shade of the bus shelter. "You look…really nice today…" Just then, Mink noticed what Sei had looped around one arm, a picnic basket. He smiled, slightly amused. Of course Sei would be the type.
"Of course!" Sei beamed. "I had to get dressed up for our picnic! Ah, I guess, you may have noticed… These aren't the type of clothes I wear every day. The truth is, I really like dressing like this, but I don't want to wear this to school because I'm worried about what people might think."
Mink nodded wisely. "I completely understand," he said, sighing. "It's a shame, but kids are assholes." He looked Sei up and down once more, noticing that along with the clothing change, Sei seemed to have gained a boost of self-confidence. "You really do look good," Mink repeated.
"Thank you!" Sei said, smiling widely. "Oh, my cookies turned out really well this morning!" He moved his arm to gesture to the picnic basket, which contained the cookies. Mink grinned in response, incredibly happy that he would finally get the chance to try those cookies. "They're probably even better than last time," Sei continued, "since I wasn't really familiar with the oven in the school kitchen when I cooked them and I think I got the temperature a bit wrong. But I'm really good at cooking with the oven in our new house!"
"I'm sure whatever you bake, even at your worst, would be far better than my sad attempt at baking a cake," Mink joked, still smiling. Man, my face is going to hurt by the end of the day if the kid keeps making me smile so wide like this. I'm just not used to it.
"That is…true," Sei said, finally admitting the truth that Mink's baking had been terrible. He let out a laugh, which took Mink's breath away. It wasn't like the time he'd been overcome with laughter and doubled over in tears. It was much softer, much more like a soft trill or some sweet melody. Sei's laugh convinced Mink even further that the boy was secretly an angel sent down from Heaven.
"So what time is the bus coming?" Mink asked, glancing over at the timetable. The font was way too tiny to read from where he was standing, but he assumed Sei had already checked it while he was waiting.
"We have about five minutes," Sei announced, confirming what Mink had assumed and making him smile to himself. "So it's too late to back out," Sei added teasingly. Mink panicked for a split second, thinking somehow Sei had managed to read his thoughts from earlier that morning.
"What? Why would I do that?" Mink replied, laughing a little nervously. "I wouldn't do that. Why would I?" He was aware accidentally repeating himself had probably made him look suspicious and stupid, but it had slipped out before he'd had a chance to filter his thoughts. Sei tilted his head, lowering his sunglasses and looking at Mink over the top of them. Mink swallowed hard and avoided eye contact. Sei just laughed at him again.
"You're acting really nervous and tense," the pale boy pointed out, nudging Mink with his elbow. "Lighten up. We're not at school so you can relax now." Mink nodded. Sei was right. He was being anxious over nothing. If Mink was being honest with himself, it was just really hard to completely relax around Sei, especially when they boy looked this good.
Mink fell into silence for a while. For him, it was an uncomfortable silence. He was wrestling with his thoughts, trying his hardest to relax. Although the effort of trying to relax was a paradox in itself. But he knew if he was tense all day, it wouldn't make for a very fun picnic. He glanced at Sei, who didn't look uncomfortable at all. That was a good sign.
"Hey, there's the bus!" Sei exclaimed, looking out at the road. Mink followed his gaze. "It's early!" He switched his picnic basket between arms, and raised a hand to hail the bus, which indicated briefly and smoothly pulled over to the kerb for them. Sei got on first, paying for his fare with the exact right amount of coins, and Mink followed, trying desperately not to stare at Sei's ass in front of him.
Mink didn't catch the bus often since he liked walking everywhere, but it looked like the bus company was using school buses for the public routes on weekends. The outside of the bus was relatively clean, but as he stepped on, he noticed the inside was incredibly dirty. He paid for his fare and followed Sei to a seat roughly halfway down the bus, trying not to step on the rubbish that was gathered in the aisle, and trying to ignore the various rude graffiti scratched into the windows. It was definitely a school bus; that was for sure.
"Do you know where we need to get off?" Sei asked politely, setting the picnic basket securely on the seat beside him. Mink had claimed the seat in front of him, since he didn't want to crowd Sei with his bulky frame.
"Not exactly," Mink confessed. "I've never caught the bus to the park before. But the park is pretty recognisable, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out where we need to get off. It's not too far from here." As the bus pulled back into traffic, Mink wriggled his backpack off his shoulders and set it and the cooler bag on the floor between his knees. He twisted his body and leant an arm against the seat so he could continue his conversation while facing Sei.
"That's ok," Sei said cheerfully. "No problem. Just let me know when I should press the stop button." He gave Mink a soft smile. Mink was relieved. Most people, when they found out their supposed guide didn't actually know the way, would be annoyed, but Sei just seemed to take it in his stride. "So you usually walk to the park then? Isn't it far?"
Mink shook his head. "It's not too far," he answered. "If you like long walks, I mean. I just thought the weather was too hot for it today." Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the scenery go by out the window, keeping an eye out for any landmarks that would indicate they were drawing closer to the park.
"It is pretty hot today," Sei agreed. "But I think it's good weather for a picnic. It looks like it'll be a really nice afternoon, so we don't have to worry about being rained on." He was right. There were no dark, ominous clouds looming on the horizon, and even the weather report this morning had confirmed it shouldn't rain again for at least another couple of days.
Suddenly, Mink noticed the bright blue sign of the fishing store that was located the block before the park. "Press the button now," he told Sei. He was unsure of when exactly the bus would stop, but he was sure it would be close enough. Best case scenario would be somewhere opposite the park. Worst case scenario would be a block away, which wouldn't really be that bad.
Sei did as he was told and immediately pressed the button, alerting the driver that they wanted to get off at the next available stop. Another block went past, and Mink could see the gate to the park on the right. The bus swerved off the road and pulled over at the kerb, luckily directly opposite the entrance to the park. Mink and Sei both gathered their belongings and stood up in unison, and Mink waited for Sei to exit the bus first.
"Thank you!" Sei called out politely to the driver as he stepped off the bus. Mink followed suit, but didn't call anything out. With their feet safely on the concrete footpath, they waited for the bus to drive away before they crossed the road. "You were right, Mink. It was pretty close," Sei commented, a smile in his tone as they crossed the road brusquely, side by side.
They passed through the tall black gates, and followed the stone path through the bushes. It was a really lovely park. Very spacious, full of grassy hills, rows of bushes and clusters of trees, and multiple barbeques and picnic benches. "Where do you want to sit?" Mink asked, as the path lead them past the barbeque area. There was a family seated at one of the benches, the children talking loudly and impatiently waiting for their father to cook their food.
"Not here," Sei whispered, giggling a little. "What about in the shade somewhere?" he suggested. Mink nodded in agreement. He usually didn't like to sit at the tables and benches, but preferred to find his own spot hidden away from the other people, and he was glad Sei felt the same.
"This way," he said, motioning for Sei to follow him. He veered off the stone path and cut through the bushes, emerging into one of the clear areas. There was a nice group of trees perched by a hill, casting the perfect shadow for them to relax under. "Over here," he said, headed for the spot.
Before they sat down, Mink pulled the red and white blanket out of his bag and spread it out on the grass. He tried to pick the part of the ground that was still in the shade, but not far enough up the hill for the ground to slope and make things difficult. He sat down on the blanket without waiting for Sei, and began pulling the jam and fruit out of his bag. Not a bad spot.
"Want a drink?" he asked Sei, who was just sitting down opposite him. He unzipped the cooler bag and pulled out the soft drink bottles, to show Sei what options he had. Lemonade and fizzy passionfruit. If Mink had bought them himself, he probably would have chosen something else over passionfruit, but he guessed it was better than nothing.
"Um, passionfruit, please," Sei replied, crossing his legs and opening up his picnic basket. Well, at least Sei likes it, Mink thought, separating the plastic cups and opening the bottle to pour Sei a cup. "Thank you," Sei said as he accepted the cup. He took a sip and immediately blinked very rapidly for a second. "The bubbles," he explained in response to Mink's expression.
"Right," Mink said, chuckling. He poured himself a cup of lemonade and took a sip, but he didn't have the same reaction as Sei. He was stronger. He chuckled again lightly, watching Sei carefully place the cup down beside him on the blanket as he started to pull things out of the picnic basket. Out came the bread, the cookies and the salad. It all looked really delicious. Mink was excited to try whatever salad Sei had decided to make.
"Let's dig in!" Sei exclaimed, clapping his hands together. From the bottom of the picnic basket, he handed Mink a knife and fork and a plate, and he opened the bread container, cutting off a thick slice. "May I try your jam?" he asked, his hand hovering just above the jar of jam, waiting for permission in case Mink wanted to use it first.
"Of course," Mink said, blinking for a second. Sei was awfully formal and polite when asking for things sometimes. "Go for it. Grab anything you like. Don't hold back." He himself reached across the blanket and took some salad from the container, dumping it on his plate. He stuck his fork into it and shovelled some into his mouth. "Nice salad," he commented with his mouth full.
It was the third time Mink had had the chance to eat lunch with Sei. The first two times had been in the detention room, so he wasn't sure if they really counted. But either way, Mink was more than happy to be eating lunch with Sei in a setting outside of school, somewhere he could relax. They both munched on their food in silence for a while. Mink finished his plate of salad and reach over again, cutting himself a slice of bread to try with his jam.
"Really good bread, too," he complimented. The bread really did taste as good as it looked. He was right about Sei having some kind of magical baking ability where everything he baked somehow turned out good even if he made mistakes. Not to mention, the flavour and fluffiness of the bread went really well with his plum jam.
"Thank you," Sei said, tipping some salad onto his plate now. "Oh, yeah! I was so busy eating, I almost forgot to tell you. Your jam is really delicious, Mink! It's kind of like… I could imagine a little old lady making homemade jam to sell at the markets or something like that."
Mink laughed, swallowing quickly and carefully so he wouldn't choke on his mouthful. "Was that supposed to be a compliment, or are you calling me an old lady?" he teased. Sei looked flustered at this and almost spilt the entire bowl of salad all over his plate and the blanket, but caught it at the last minute.
"No, no!" he said quickly. "You're definitely not an old lady! I didn't mean it like that!" He put the salad bowl back down gently and started eating from his own plate. "Do you want to have some cookies?" he asked, noticing Mink had finished his bread now too.
"Sure," Mink replied, hardly able to contain his excitement. The time had come. The moment was finally here. He could finally try those precious cookies Sei had made for him. He snatched up the container like a ravenous wolf, eagerly pulling the lid off and revealing the sweet cookies inside. He picked up the biggest, roundest one he could see and took a bite.
So much better than his first bite had been. He'd been upset at the time so he hadn't been able to taste anything, but now it was like a sweet explosion inside his mouth. The cookies had the perfect amount of crunch on the outside and crumble on the inside. A lot of people thought sugar cookies were boring and plain, but Mink thought Sei had put the perfect amount of flavour and effort into them. They were definitely worth the wait.
"Amazing," Mink commented, cramming the rest of the cookie into his mouth. Damn, I was supposed to savour that. Oh well, I'll eat the next one slower. He grabbed another one and began nibbling on it carefully, but then ended up doing the exact same thing. They were just too tasty to eat slowly.
Sei laughed at him. "I'm really glad you like them," he said. "I told you they'd be better than the first batch, right?" Mink froze for a moment. With his mouth full of cookie, he just nodded silently in agreement. He hadn't even eaten the first batch so he had nothing to compare to, so he just went with it.
They both finished eating and packed everything away except the cookies, which Mink was still snacking on, and the drinks. Mink refilled both their glasses and they sat there peacefully in the shade of the trees, enjoying the breeze and the calmness in the air.
"That was a really nice lunch," Sei reflected, leaning back on the blanket with his arms supporting his body. His shirt rode up a little bit and revealed a strip of white skin at his stomach. Mink's heart leapt a little bit. His skin looked so soft and Mink just wanted to trace lazy circles on it with his fingertips so bad. But he had to resist.
"What? Yeah, it was nice," Mink agreed, a little distracted. He had to turn away for a moment, and turned his eyes to the sky. It was a pure, perfect blue today, with fluffy white clouds littered about the place. He shifted his legs into a more comfortable position, and tried to pick shapes in the clouds. It was difficult, since they were all so big and clumped in weird shapes. But he thought he saw a cloud very vaguely shaped like Sei's floppy hat. "Look," he said, pointing to it.
Sei followed the direction of his finger, and spotted the lazily drifting cloud. "I don't get it. What is it?" he asked, squinting. He lifted his sunglasses up to try and see properly. "A UFO?"
Mink laughed at him. "No, don't be stupid," he said. "It's your hat. You've gotta tilt your head to see it." He demonstrated with the way his own head was tilted, and watched in amusement as Sei copied.
"Oh yeah…" Sei said slowly. "I guess it could be. I don't really see it though." Wow, who would have guessed Sei was terrible at cloud watching? Mink would have thought they boy's creative nature would have meant he'd be good at something like this, but this only made it more hilarious for Mink. A soft silence enveloped them as they stared up at the clouds for a while. Every now and then, Mink would point out a shape like a dog or a car or the Eiffel Tower, and Sei would squint and try his hardest, but wouldn't be able to see it. Instead, the pale boy would point out obscure shapes like the Loch Ness Monster or a basketball.
It was pretty much the perfect picnic that Mink had envisioned on his first day of school, except instead of skipping school to go alone, Mink was hanging out with Sei on the weekend, which made it somehow even better. They'd enjoyed a satisfying lunch and they seemed to be having fun watching the clouds. The sun was moving slowly in the sky and the shadows from the trees were slowly disappearing around them. They'd have to move or leave soon, otherwise they'd find themselves sitting in the afternoon sunlight.
"Hey…Sei?" Mink said softly, trying to get Sei's attention. It was something that had been bothering him for a while. He'd wanted to ask sooner but he hadn't really had the opportunity, and he knew it would be a difficult thing to bring up. He figured it was now or never, and he was really hoping this decision wouldn't ruin the entire picnic.
"What's up, Mink?" Sei replied, looking over at him. He'd heard Mink's tone of voice and his face held a concerned expression, but he didn't pry any further, and just gave Mink time to speak for himself.
"Well, it's about…when we were fighting," Mink said slowly. He sucked in a deep breath. "Remember how you said I'm mean but not that mean? I asked you about it before, but you didn't really explain what you meant by it. And…it's been kind of bothering me…"
"Oh, that," Sei said sadly. "I regret saying that. I don't really know what I was thinking, but I shouldn't have said it without thinking."
"But what did you mean by it?" Mink pressed. "You think I'm mean?"
Sei shook his head. "No, I don't think you're mean, Mink," he explained. "When I first met you, I thought you were a nice guy who presented himself as mean. You did act mean and say some kind of mean things sometimes, but I thought you were nice under all that. When you said you didn't care about me… I thought that was the meanest thing of all, but I didn't really believe you meant it. That's why I said, you're not that mean. But then the next time you asked me about it, when I said something like I wasn't sure if I really thought you were mean or not, I think I just said that because I was confused and unsure of myself. I wasn't sure if I could forgive you right away and I just needed more time."
Mink nodded in understanding. "So…you don't really think I'm mean?" he shyly asked again for clear confirmation.
Sei laughed a little bit, a relieved kind of laugh. "No, I don't think you're a mean person," he clarified. "I just think you do mean things without realising it sometimes."
"Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Mink agreed quietly. "I'm glad we could clear that up. I mean, we'd resolved things, but it felt like we'd never really resolved things because we skipped a step, you know?"
"I think I know what you mean," Sei said. Mink was glad they were on the same page. He felt like a weight had finally been lifted from his chest. He was incredibly relieved to know that Sei didn't actually think badly of him, and he was glad they had finally had this conversation.
They fell into silence for a little while again. The breeze had died down and the air was warmer than before. The edge of the shadow was just touching one corner of the picnic blanket, and Mink was sure in about 10 more minutes, they'd only have half a shadow covering them. It would be a shame to leave so soon. He hoped he'd get the chance to hang out with Sei like this again sometime, without the pressure of people watching them at school. He opened his mouth to ask if Sei was ready to leave, but his mind was elsewhere and something else came out instead.
"I was wondering if…" he started, unable to stop himself. "Maybe, uh, you might want to go on a date? W-with me?" As soon as the words had left his mouth, Mink froze in panic. Oh no, that wasn't part of the plan, he thought to himself. What do I do? I can't just take it back. He was sure the panic must have been plain on his face too. Oh no, no, no. It was way too soon to ask something like this. They'd only just patched up their friendship properly after all, and Mink had absolutely no signs that Sei even liked him back, except for the selfies in the morning, but that could have meant anything. Mink's thoughts were jumbled and frantic, so much so that he almost missed Sei's reply entirely.
"I thought this was already a date," Sei said softly, his cheeks turning crimson. Luckily, he could hide behind his dark sunglasses. But from the set of his mouth, and the posture of his body, Mink could tell the boy was suddenly just as awkward and embarrassed and nervous as he was.
But… Did that mean Sei wanted to go on a date with him? If he'd thought this was a date and he'd agreed to it? Did that mean Sei liked him? What? What was happening? Huh? How? "I'm confused," Mink confessed. "In your note in Art History, you said you wanted to be friends…"
"So did you!" Sei retorted, laughing. "I thought that was just the right thing to say! But Mink, I…really do like you. I wouldn't have agreed to come on this picnic if I didn't like you. Do you think it's a little too romantic for just friends?" Damn, I knew it.
Mink was at a loss for words. It was almost unbelievable. Sei had just confirmed that he liked him back. What was he supposed to say now? Do you thank people in a situation like this?
"Do you want to eat lunch with me next week?" Sei offered, once again proving himself to be a saving grace. He still seemed a little nervous and on edge, but he had clearly recovered enough to continue the conversation. "Lunch at school, I mean. And then maybe we could see a movie or something on the weekend, if you're not sick of me by then."
Mink laughed out loud. The idea of getting sick of Sei was incredibly far-fetched. "I still have three days of detention, but after that, sure. I'd love to," he replied, smiling. He started to pack away the drinks and the cookies, indicating that it was probably time for them to get going. Sei stood up too, to help him fold up the blanket.
"Three days?" he asked in an incredulous voice, slightly wide-eyed. "What else did you do?" He held the corners of the blanket and brought them together in front of his chest, then handing them to Mink to finish and pack inside his bag.
"I was late to Modern History," Mink explained. "I was on my way there, but I ran into…" He trailed off. Now wasn't really the time where he wanted to bring Mizuki up. "You know what? Never mind. It doesn't matter." Sei looked a little suspicious but didn't ask for any more details, and Mink was grateful for that.
Speaking of Mizuki though, Mink mentally smirked. It felt kind of nice to actually have something that Mizuki didn't have – Sei's interest. He kind of wanted to rub it in his face, but he also didn't want to announce anything to the whole school. He and Sei were getting enough attention and weird stares as it was. This would just have to be their secret for now, if it did develop into anything more.
With all their stuff packed safely into their bags, they walked back to the stone path and followed it to the gate to leave the park. "This is a really nice place," Sei commented. "Thank you for bringing me here, Mink."
"Oh, uh, you're welcome," Mink replied. "Thank you…for coming with me." The bus stop they'd gotten off at was on the other side of the road, so if they got on a bus there, they'd be heading in the wrong direction. They had to look for a bus stop on their own side of the road, but there was no obvious one in sight, so they started walking further down, headed towards the group of shops they'd passed earlier only a block away.
"We could just walk back into town," Sei suggested. "We're already kind of walking that way." Mink thought about it for a moment. Walking back would take a lot longer than riding the bus, so it would give him more time to spend with Sei. But it was still pretty hot and he didn't want to make Sei suffer from walking in the heat. He couldn't be greedy like that.
"Let's just catch the bus," Mink said firmly. "I'm sure there's a bus stop around here somewhere. There are shops here after all." They continued walking a little further until the finally found a bus stop, just past the shops. Mink peered at the tiny writing on the timetable. "Damn, looks like we just missed it. We have to wait another 15 minutes for the next one."
"I don't mind waiting," Sei replied cheerfully. He had already sat himself on the bench under the shade of the bus shelter, his legs swinging in the air. Mink didn't really feel like sitting. They'd spent the entire afternoon sitting down lazily and now he felt like if he sat down again he might forget how to use his legs. He unshouldered his bags and laid them on the seat, opting to stand in the shade beside Sei rather than sit.
"Do you want a drink?" Mink offered, gesturing to the cooler bag. They hadn't walked very far, but it was pretty hot so it was possible that the slim, fragile Sei could have already worked up a thirst. Mink was fine for now. He'd only have a drink if Sei was having one, but otherwise he could just wait until he got home.
"No, thanks," Sei responded, shaking his head slightly. "I'm fine. But before I forget completely…" He leant over and opened up the picnic basket, rummaging around inside. He pulled out the container of cookies and handed it out for Mink to take. "You can have it. If I take it home, I probably won't finish them, but I know you'll appreciate it."
"Thanks." Mink gratefully accepted the container. This time he would go straight to his room and hide it somewhere, just to be sure his father wouldn't be able to get his grubby little hands on his cookies again. He tucked it away safely in his backpack.
He and Sei then passed the remaining time by talking about whatever popped into their heads, getting to know each other a little better. Sei asked what kind of music Mink liked, and he replied that he didn't listen to much music but he liked Blues. Apparently Sei liked Pop Punk, but Mink wasn't entirely convinced that was a real genre. It sounded like something Sei had made up just to mess with him. Mink asked Sei what his favourite soft drink was, and apparently it was fizzy passionfruit, so Mink bringing it today had been a happy coincidence. Sei asked Mink how he'd gotten so into gardening, and in return Mink asked Sei how he'd gotten so into baking.
Their conversation didn't stop when the bus pulled up. They paused to pay for their fares, and then resumed again as soon as they were seated. This time, Mink had decided to sit next to Sei on the same seat, with their bags sitting in front of them. He made sure to give Sei enough personal space and not to crush him on the corners, but it was nice being able to sit next to him. He could feel Sei's thigh pressing against his.
Mink asked Sei about his old town and his old school. Sei explained that the school had been very average, and he'd always been too shy so he hadn't had many friends back then either. He'd been the one to convince his parents to move because he wanted to go to a better school which could help him pursue his interest in cooking and baking, and he'd had no problems making the move since he didn't really have anyone he was attached to.
"I'm really glad," Sei continued. "This school is so much better. The home economics program is so much better and the facilities are really amazing. And if I hadn't moved here, I never would have met you. Even my parents were really happy that I was going out to hang out with someone this weekend." He was practically beaming from ear to ear.
Suddenly, Mink looked at his surroundings and recognised where he was. He pressed his thumb on the stop button. "We're nearly there," he informed Sei, feeling a little disappointed. He'd really been enjoying talking to Sei. He'd definitely noticed over the course of the week, and today in particular, they had both been able to open up and act more naturally with each othering, talking comfortably and just being themselves.
The bus pulled over, and Sei stood up first, looking just as disappointed as Mink felt. They both picked up their bags and got off the bus, Sei thanking the driver just as he'd done before. He was the only person Mink had ever seen who would actually thank the driver. It was refreshing. Sei really was the kindest, purest person he'd ever met.
"I have to catch my bus home from here," Sei told him. "But I'll see you tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah," Mink confirmed. "I'll see you tomorrow."
They parted ways at the bus stop, with Sei waiting for his bus and Mink walking home, but because of Sei, Mink actually looked forward to going back to school the following day.
