I'm really sorry for the delay on this chapter guys! D: I had a very lovely vacation with spotty internet connection, and then came home & immediately got sick. life is suffering D: anyway! this is kind of long to make up for it; I hope you enjoy! next chapter will still be on Wednesday, do not fear~
Judal hops up on the counter towards the end of the night, narrowly missing the cash Hakuryuu is counting. What a pest. He's smiling sweetly though, and Hakuryuu's attitude softens almost immediately.
"Do you need something?" he asks, shifting the paperwork just to be safe. Judal nods enthusiastically.
"Yeah, I wanted to borrow you for a favor," he explains. "I need to pick up boring work supplies."
"Oh, did you finally look at the list I gave you?" Hakuryuu teases, counting out the last of the cash for the deposit. He should have known that Judal wanted him to drive him somewhere again, but at least it's for something responsible. He's almost proud.
"Mmhm. And I realized that I need toilet people at shit at home, so I can just buy a ton of it and use it everywhere!" Judal says proudly. Hakuryuu shakes his head and moves to drop the deposit in the safe, but Judal grabs his wrist. "Gimme the cash; I'm buying responsible crap."
Hakuryuu hands him the envelope and files the rest of the receipts and daily paperwork while Judal counts the cash and shoves it in his pocket. "Where do you want to go? It's pretty late now, so I figure I could pick you up tomorrow before we open-"
Judal cuts him off, grinning. "Walmart's open late!" he tells him, swinging his legs against the counter. "I'll even give you a bonus if you take me."
Hakuryuu stops to look at him, raising an eyebrow. "Oh? I thought I'd already agreed to it."
He leans forward and kisses Hakuryuu quickly. "Now you have to take me."
"That's so unprofessional," Hakuryuu says, hiding a smile behind a paper. "I was going to take you, but now that you're trying to coerce me…"
"Noooo, you have to," Judal whines, sliding off the counter to drape on Hakuryuu's shoulders peskily. " I wanna go to the store and buy dumb crap with you!"
Hakuryuu ruffles his hair fondly, and Judal practically purrs. "I'll take you to Walmart, don't whine so much. How did you go shopping before you could use me as a chauffeur?"
Judal hugs him tightly from behind before freeing him. "Took the bus a lot, duh. And I had to just buy small amounts at a time. It's so inconvenient!"
"I see. I guess we can go get my car, and then I'll take you," Hakuryuu says. He double checks his pocket for his keys while Judal grabs his own, and they head out into the night after the store is locked up.
Summer is winding down. The days are still sweltering but the nights are finally cool again, and it's a pleasant walk home. Judal alternates holding his hand and running ahead; he's a barely contained ball of energy and Hakuryuu thinks it's very cute. Judal practically flies through the parking lot to Hakuryuu's car, and he's leaned against it, grinning happily, when Hakuryuu catches up with him.
"You are very excited," Hakuryuu says, shaking his head and unlocking the car. Judal shrugs and clambers in.
"I dunno, I just wanna get out from the same five places I always go to, and this sounds fun," he explains, going right for the radio while Hakuryuu up directions on his phone. He's pretty sure he's never been to a Walmart - definitely not this one, since he's unfamiliar with its location - but Judal seems pretty happy about going.
Hakuryuu parks near the front and pulls up the shopping list on his phone before heading in. Judal runs ahead, forgoing a cart in his excitement, so Hakuryuu grabs one. They'll need it if they're going to be stocking up on paper products. Judal is nowhere to be seen at first, but thankfully he stands out. Hakuryuu finds him in the candy aisle, eyeing up the brightly colored bags.
"I don't think we need giant bags of candy."
Judal grabs one and drops it in the cart. "Says you!"
He shakes his head. "It's your money. But we do need toilet paper, paper towels, and some office related supplies," Hakuryuu tells him, scrolling through the list. "I was thinking of looking at desk chairs, if they have any here." Walmart certainly looks big enough to have furniture, but he's not entirely sure.
"Yeah, they do, but why?" Judal asks, a perfect picture of confusion.
"Have you sat in our office chair recently?" he asks, pushing the cart towards the paper products as Judal follows along.
"It's super comfy!" he says, looking offended. "Why don't you like it?"
The chair in question is soft and plush, yes, but he spends more time trying to get comfortable and escape being eaten by it than he does sitting still. "It's hard to sit in," he says simply.
Judal whines softly, before skipping into an aisle to grab some fruit snacks. Hakuryuu waits for his return before continuing on; otherwise he's concerned he'll lose Judal in the Walmart for hour. "I think it's nice…"
"Well, it's very nice. It fits with your aesthetic well, and I'm sure it would be great to lounge in," Hakuryuu amends. "But it's not good for sitting at a desk."
"If you say so," Judal says, unconvinced but mollified. They've finally reached the paper products, and Judal crouches down in front of the toilet paper. "Hmm," he says, rather theatrically, giving the packages a squeeze. "Hmmmmmmmm." Hakuryuu stands patiently by, watching him hem and haw over every brand before finally deciding on something very soft and grabbing the largest package of everything.
"I'm surprised you don't have specific ones you like already," Hakuryuu remarks, steering them to the office supplies section. Who knew Walmart had so much?
Judal laughs. "You'd think that! But there are so many more options here I had to make sure I got the nicest ones! I gotta wipe my ass with the most plush toilet paper possible, you know?"
Hakuryuu snorts before he can stop himself and Judal grins. "Oh, this is how to make you laugh? I wouldn't have expected potty humor to be your thing, but I guess everyone's full of surprises."
"No, I just- I didn't expect that answer," he admits, but Judal's still smiling at him.
"It's cute," Judal assures him, skipping ahead and leaving Hakuryuu to pick up the "boring" work supplies.
They need pens, printer paper, paper clips, deposit slips, and a weekly calendar. Hakuryuu wants to track their sales now that he's made a dent in fixing all the old receipts. Oh, and they need another expanding folder, since Judal decided he doesn't like the current one. Maybe they could use a better stapler too?
Judal finds him comparing staplers, carefully lifting them and considering their weights. He doesn't want something cheap and plastic, but if it's too heavy it'll be a hindrance.
"Gonna redo the whole office?" Judal asks, poking through what's already in the cart.
"Just a few things. Most of that is replacements for what we ran out of, but if the office is better organized, it will be easier to maintain," Hakuryuu says, putting down the staplers. He supposes the one they already have is acceptable.
He chuckles. "You're really precious, you know? I appreciate the work you've been doing, since organization is basically fucking magic to me."
"And yet you're always complaining about it."'
"What? I'm not complaining, "Judal says, frowning. "I'm teasing you 'cause I think it's cute and helpful."
Hakuryuu narrows his eyes. "But you keep telling me I'm making your life harder with all the changes I've made."
"I mean, yeah, it's difficult for me, but that's just because I suck royally at keeping things clean and putting shit away. I'm just joking around," he says, brows furrowed. Now he's upset Judal because he misread the situation; this always happens when he's missed the joke.
"I'm really bad at jokes," he tries to explain, and Judal's face softens.
"You've mentioned that before and I forgot, huh? Sorry," he says sheepishly. "I really do like that you're helping with so much. You coulda just done the bare minimum of showing up to fulfill the contract, but you didn't."
Under the buzzing fluorescent lights of the Walmart seems like an odd place for a heart to heart talk, but it's Judal. It's just something that happens with him. "Sorry for misunderstanding," Hakuryuu says.
"No- no, look, I think I was the asshole here. You thought I was upset with you!" Judal flails. "I'm a dick!"
"A little, yeah."
He laughs. "Then let me apologize. And get a stapler. I think mine is older than you are."
Hakuryuu feels himself smile despite the still lingering stress and he picks up the one he liked most. "Thank you," he says, unsure of how else to respond, and Judal seems happy.
"Good! Let's get a chair, too, fancy office man," Judal says, slinging an arm around his shoulders to kiss Hakuryuu's cheek affectionately.
"I was just going to price them," he tries to say, but Judal is already leading him to the furniture section. It's not bad, for a massive, cheap store, and normally he'd shop around a few places before buying something like this. But Judal is so enthusiastic that it somehow affects his better judgment. They pick a nice desk chair after looking at all of them, and Judal buys everything without a complaint.
"I thought you were going to get groceries," Hakuryuu points out while finagling the chair into the trunk of his car. Judal leans against the car, watching instead of helping, and shrugs.
"I got snacks," he says. "Look, I have realistic expectations of my abilities to feed myself, and I know I subsist on mostly take out."
Hakuryuu shoves the box the rest of the way in and fits their bags around it. Judal is some sort of walking miracle; he survives on the weirdest things. "I see."
"Don't judge my life," he demands, hopping into the car. "Or I'll find the most annoying music to listen to on the way back."
"Isn't that what you always do?"
Judal opens his mouth to argue but catches Hakuryuu's smirk. "Oh, but you can tease me? Rude."
Hakuryuu turns on the car and pulls out of the parking lot, trying to keep his laughter to himself. Judal sticks his tongue out but doesn't seem offended, instead rolling his window down and reveling in the fresh night breeze.
"You can just leave it in your car and bring it all in tomorrow," Judal says as they get closer. "Except my snacks. I want those."
"Do you want me to at least drop you at home?" Hakuryuu asks.
"Nah, I'll get myself back from your place," he replies, grinning. "But thanks!"
Judal insists on following him upstairs and into his apartment, plastic bag of food dangling from his wrist the whole time. He always seems so enthralled by Hakuryuu's living arrangements.
"You know, besides your pottery, you've got like nothing here that makes me think of you," Judal says, running a hand over a bookshelf. He's staring at the books like he's trying to understand the secrets of the universe, or at least Hakuryuu's life. Like many things Judal does, it's a bit unsettling.
"What do you mean?"
"Even the pottery could be, I dunno, fancy decorations. It looks like a catalog home or something in here," he elaborates, tapping the spine of the book in front of him. "I know you're not gonna sit around and read about the analysis of business practices in the 1980s in your free time, so why do you have it? It looks like filler."
"I did major in business, you know," Hakuryuu tells him. "That's a textbook."
Judal whirls around to stare at him in shock. "Business?"
"It's very practical," he tries to explain, but Judal waves a hand to cut him off.
"You're serious."
"I- well, yes, of course I am. And you should be grateful; I've been helping you with your business," Hakuryuu points out. "Are you going to insult my carpeting too?"
Judal glances down. "Yeah, it's boring."
"You're so rude."
"I know! But my opinion still stands," Judal insists, getting back to inspecting the decor.
Hakuryuu frowns. "I have my plants. I like them, and they provide some life."
Judal shrugs. "Fair."
"Not all of us are as flashy as you when it comes to decorating, Judal."
"I still feel like I'm in some sort of model house," Judal says, flopping on the couch. Hakuryuu takes a seat next to him, and Judal immediately invades his personal space, leaning up against him affectionately. Maybe he should admit that the apartment came furnished? It never bothered him before, but now that Judal has brought it up, he realizes that he thinks of his apartment as a perfectly functional place to live, not a home. Not that that's any different from his family estate, though. He'd never given it much thought.
"Sorry," Hakuryuu settles on, and Judal chuckles.
"You're just hard to understand sometimes. You don't have to apologize for that," he says.
"Like you're one to talk," Hakuryuu says and Judal bursts out laughing.
"You've got me there," he admits once he's managed to stop laughing. At least when he laughs, it makes Hakuryuu feel like he's actually having a good time instead of making fun of him. "But you know what I'm about from seeing my place, right?"
Hakuryuu considers this. Judal's home is usually a bit of a mess, but it does feel cozy and comforting; it feels like Judal. "You don't have much personal stuff either, but it does feel more like a 'home,'" he admits.
"See!" Judal looks proud of himself.
"Also, this is a pre-furnished apartment," Hakuryuu says casually, hoping that somehow Judal won't make a big deal out of it, but he starts laughing all over again.
Judal wipes a tear from his eye. "Oh, you're not kidding? That's actually kind of cute."
"It seemed most practical," Hakuryuu says and Judal leans up to kiss his cheek. "It's not like I have furniture I'm attached to. Anything that would have reminded me of better times was destroyed in fire."
The mood turns somber almost immediately. Perfect, just what he wanted: to make Judal miserable. He knows Judal is probably just trying to help, in his own weird way, but here he is ruining everything. He really hates how bad he is at conversation. But somehow, Judal doesn't seem that bothered, and that's reassuring.
"You can live however you want," Judal says, breaking the heavy silence. "If you wanna have a picture perfect model home I'm not gonna stop you. I just don't get it, and I like to stick my nose in everything. 'Cause I'm rude."
Hakuryuu settles back against him, allowing himself to be comforted by Judal's warm presence. "I think you mean well."
Judal chuckles, snuggling into him. "I don't hear that a lot, you know."
"Mm, I guess I can see why. You like to curse people and then insult their homes," he teases.
"Hey! Hey, I didn't curse you. It's not my fault you can't follow directions," Judal whines, but he's obviously not upset enough to leave. "And I just think you should, I dunno, try to express yourself better. Do something 'cause you wanna."
He's never gotten this advice before; his whole life has been built around blending in and not causing problems so that his family will ignore him as much as possible. "I- I've never really thought about it," he says.
"I know," Judal says, grinning. "You like helping me organize, but you're not exactly passionate about it or anything. What was your job before?"
"I worked in an office-"
"Some boring desk job shit then. Do you miss it?"
"No," Hakuryuu answers without hesitation, and Judal grins.
"That's what I thought," he says smugly. "Why'd you study something you didn't care about that much? I know you're a fancy rich boy, but college is still majorly expensive, right?"
Hakuryuu sighs, trying to collect his thoughts into something he can explain to Judal without dragging him down with his entire life story. "It didn't upset anyone, and it would be useful if I wanted to work for one of the companies my family owns. I don't want to, but that way no one questioned me." Now that he's said it aloud, it sounds silly and lame, especially compared to Judal, who seems to live his life in the moment, regardless of consequences. It's hard to put it into words, but it felt so necessary at the time, and he doesn't know how to live without worry and guilt.
Judal nods. "I gotcha. Guess with all you went through as a kid, makes sense you'd just wanna blend in and not attract any bad attention." He gently cuffs Hakuryuu in the shoulder with a smile. "Still think you should think about yourself sometimes."
Hakuryuu rubs his arm where Judal punched him and tries not to be too surprised at how patiently Judal is taking all of this. "I'll try."
"Good!" Judal hops up and dusts himself off. "I should go home, though."
"It is getting late," Hakuryuu agrees. "I'll walk you out."
"Nah, I'm good," he says, grinning brightly. Judal pulls out his wand and draws his teleportation sigil in the air. "See you tomorrow!" he calls out before hopping through, leaving Hakuryuu in his quiet apartment with his thoughts.