By the time the train reaches the village, it's so late that they can't see a thing without artificial light. And being a very remote place, the lamp posts cease to exist as soon as they reach the path into the forest that eventually leads to the Tenjo cabin.
Yuma and Kaito had gone out on some nightly walks when the weather had been particularly hot back then, but never this late, and never for such long ones. Yuma is a little embarrassed to admit he had no choice but to closely stick to Kaito as they make their way through the mountain, lest he get lost.
There go those explorer genes his parents should have passed on to him…can't say he's that unhappy about it. At least he's athletic, which is more than most of his friends can say.
The sound of the cicadas chirping brings Yuma back some fond memories though, and the closer they get to the house, the more familiar the forest becomes. And despite the fact he only left this place a few months ago, it makes him go giddy with nostalgia…
(Hopefully that ladybug is long dead, cause Yuma totally wants to see the patch of sunflowers again. It might help Kaito cool off a little as well, so…please be dead, ninja bug.)
All too soon, they reach their destination, only to immediately find something odd about it, "Hey, does it seem like—?"
Kaito grunts under his breath as shoves some foliage away from his face, "Seems like nature is trying to take over the house. That's what happens when you leave it for almost two years." he struggles to shimmy his keys into the door, "Still, I don't quite recall something like this ever happening before…"
"Well, we can barely see anything, but maybe it's not that bad…we'll deal with it in the morning." he decides as he keeps squinting at the patch of something growing right in front of the house and blocking their way, but Kaito's light is too dim to make out what it actually is, "And hey, better some weeds than someone getting inside the place and trashing it."
That makes Kaito visibly flinch, "I hope that hasn't happened…the village kids did know there was a house out here somewhere, so…"
Ouch, that better not be the case. Or else, not only is Kaito's precious home ruined, but their vacation would likely have to be cancelled too. Hopefully, those village teens found somewhere else to make out or whatever Kaito was implying. The door seemed normal, but they could have always gotten inside through a window in the back.
All worries over that cease the moment Kaito is able to open the door and get inside, immediately flipping on the light switch. Everything is fine and almost just as Yuma remembered it. The entryway with the place to leave shoes in, the little table with the phone still on it, the TV and couch in the living room he can already see from here…
"Oof, smells a bit weird though." he comments as the itch to scratch his nose overwhelms him.
Kaito merely walks up to the phone and runs a finger on it, frowning when it becomes coated in dust, "That's what you get when you don't open a room for years. The air is stale, and everything is covered in dust." he sighs, "Can't believe my house came to this…but it could be worse I suppose."
He then turns to Yuma and motions him to get his shoes off, "We will let the house air out and deal with the dust and the garden outside tomorrow. After we get some food for the rest of our stay." he begins as he sets his suitcase aside and motions Yuma inside, "In the meantime, let's check out the bedrooms, and then eat something before bed."
The rooms are, of course, just as dusty as everything else, and it's clear they won't be able to sleep like this. So off to change the pillowcases and the bed-covers for something that fared a little better inside the wardrobes, and once that's done, there's little to do but to heat up the cup noodles Yuma stashed in his case.
It's so odd, to see the kitchen like this. To wait for Kaito to turn on the kettle, instead of being in the oven and cooking something for them. He chanced looking at the fridge, and of course, it was devoid of anything.
It reminds him of the first time he came here, right down to being unable to start a conversation with Kaito, and feeling awkward for doing so. Even though they're sitting right in front of each other as they eat, Kaito isn't looking anywhere near him, instead eating his noodles in such a methodical way that it's as if eating is a chore for him now.
But this time, Yuma doesn't have the weight of how he's going to lie to Kaito bearing down on his shoulders. So he chooses to be his honest self, and even though it might be too soon, to air his worries, "I guess I'm going to be cooking for us again." he chances with a smile, "I picked up some of my grandma's recipes these last few months, so even though I don't have much practice with them, I can at least vary the menu now!"
Instead of laughing back, Kaito looks up at him, donning his usual neutral expression in order to hide his thoughts, "I'm an adult now. I can take care of myself. Do not concern yourself with my well-being."
"Yeah, but you could also take care of yourself when you were thirteen. And I doubt you learned how to cook anything that isn't frozen in the meantime, which barely counts as food." he accuses, and Kaito's glare is all the confirmation he needs to know that he's dead right, "I'm not eating any of that stuff, so since you're paying for the groceries and I'm already going to be cooking, there's no harm in doing something extra for you. If anything, it'd be a waste of electricity for you to then cook something separately." he points out.
No response, other than a slight glare as the other finishes his meal, and really, that is such a weak reaction that Yuma can't help but grin. Kaito is cracking on the inside, and he knows it, "I know how to make omurice just like grandma now!" he teases with a smile and a sing-sung tone.
Kaito remains deadly still for a bit, until he finally snaps, "Do whatever you want." he grumbles as he gets up and disposes of his empty cup and chopsticks, leaving the kitchen without even a 'good night'.
Rude. And how rather typical for the Kaito he knew in this time.
But still, that wasn't a 'no', so Yuma will count that as a win. Kaito's shield is coming down just enough for Yuma to pick at it, no matter how slowly.
He really has to kick that omurice out of the park tomorrow, is all he can think as he brushes his teeth and makes his way back to the room that was more his than it ever was Faker's.
"Yuma, stop being so gentle." a husky voice demands as a hand caresses his cheek, "Just because I'm like this, it doesn't mean I'm made out of glass."
He swallows a knot in this throat as he stares into milky white eyes that can't stare at him back, "I know. You've been fighting long enough like this for me to know that." he confesses, grabbing hold of the hand on his cheek and placing a soft kiss on his palm, "It's just I…I…"
"You don't have any experience with this?" Kaito finishes for him with a smile, "Neither do I. Which is all the more reason to let caution aside and just, as you say, go with the flow." the other leans over, kissing him on the forehead, "Because who knows if we'll ever have another moment like this."
His voice trembles at the admission of that grim reality, which only makes Yuma flinch, "And it's precisely because of that, that I want to take my time. I…I…" he hesitates once more, gritting his teeth as he chooses to change course, "We might never do this again. So there's no rush. Forget about the rest of the Universe for once, and let it just be us."
At that, Kaito finally nods, wrapping his arms around Yuma's shoulders and pulling him closer, a sign of acceptance.
But all Yuma can think of for a few minutes, is how much of a coward he is for not telling Kaito that he loves him. For letting this opportunity go.
He hopes his predictions are wrong, so that he doesn't come to regret this for the rest of his existence.
Yuma wakes up clutching at his chest, just barely missing the dash of rainbow out his window, before everything turns night again. For a moment, he thinks that he knows what that just was…but every thought on the subject dies when the contents of the dream come back to him.
That again. Seems like this house has its own personal curse for him. Hopefully, the other dreams that occurred last time don't follow him again, cause he's not looking forward to that at all. And now that he's acknowledged his feelings for Kaito, he's not that embarrassed over its contents. He's almost fourteen, after all…it could always be worse, and his sheets could be totally nasty right now.
Even as the details of it begin to fade away, the emotions he felt at the end follow him like a bad rash.
So much regret that, if the last dream he had before he left this place the first time was any indication, did come true for the dream version of him.
Because of that, Yuma realizes how he wants to avoid ending up like that for real.
Which means he has to work things out with Kaito, or at the very least, be as honest as possible. Try as hard as he can, and try again, no matter how much the other rebuffs him. Even if things don't end up well for him, at least then he'd have a clear conscience that he did everything he could possibly do.
And with such a resolution in mind, Yuma falls asleep once more.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
The next morning, Kaito is already up and throwing his breakfast noodles in the trash, "I'm going to get the shopping carts in order, you eat while I do that." is all he says as he walks past Yuma.
"Morning to you too…" he greets the empty air that Kaito left behind, then shakes his head. It's too early to get discouraged here.
Eating another bout of cup noodles so soon after the last one, and for breakfast no less, makes him rather queasy. But they truly have nothing else to eat, and like his grandma says, breakfast is the most important meal. Even if she likely meant her wonderful duel fuel and not this…
He swallows as quickly as he can, purely because he hates wasting any sort of food, and goes on to brush his teeth and get ready. When he comes out, Kaito is nowhere in sight, but there is a straw hat set on the couch, likely meant to protect Yuma from the sun. Right, he forgot to buy sunblock for this trip…
As expected, Kaito is already waiting for him outside, bottle of water in hand, but something about his body language is…off.
He doesn't turn around to look at Yuma as he hears the door close, of course, but Yuma gets the feeling the other isn't deliberately ignoring him this time. It's just that he's transfixed by the mess of shrubbery that almost blocked their way inside last night, now fully illuminated by the sun for all to see.
Curious, Yuma follows his gaze, and his eyes widen at what he finds out; it isn't weeds at all, but a beautiful patch of yellow roses! All in different stages of bloom, some withered already, some just starting to gain colour inside their bud. It's quite a sight to see them like this. Is this a flower that is even native to this area? Yuma can't recall seeing it last time, but grandma grows some in her garden too, so they're actually quite a sturdy flower.
Truly, they were quite lucky to not get pricked at all last night, likely because the bushes don't go past two feet tall, "Wow, what a surprise to come back to, huh?"
His voice makes Kaito flinch, as if the other boy finally became aware of his presence. He blinks at Yuma for about two seconds, before going back to stare at the roses as if he's hypnotized by them.
Huh. Yuma hopes this doesn't signal the fact that Kaito is in full on silent treatment mode now, "Guess we know what we will be busy with soon. But since they're not weeds, I think we should focus on the house first. I help my grandma with her gardening, so one afternoon is all we'll need for this."
This finally makes Kaito react in a way, swallowing a knot in his throat and looking away from the beautiful patch of flowers, "Yes, I suppose you are right. Let us go restock then, and when we come back, we'll begin to air out the house, and I'll gather up all the laundry."
Oh, what a relief, Kaito is still talking to him! Smiling, Yuma takes one of the trolleys next to Kaito and starts walking down the path, "Don't forget we gotta eat too! Since you're taking over the laundry again, it's up to me to cook. I was just thinking while I was in the shower of what we are going to need, and—"
As he prattles on about the shopping list, Kaito says nothing, even when he passes by Yuma so he can lead the way. But he also doesn't say no to Yuma's offer, so he's got a good feeling that Kaito has already given up, and will spend the rest of the Summer eating Yuma's cooking once more.
It's great to score such a major victory so soon!
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
And as it turns out, a problem soon rears its nasty head.
Because…Yuma met the shopkeepers last time he was here, more than once at that. And now here he is, technically five years into their future, and yet he looks the exact same. And no late-bloomer excuses are going to cut it when even Kaito looks to be at least fifteen now, baby-face and all.
So Yuma is forced to sit outside the village and wait as Kaito goes on his own, with nothing to do to pass the time. At least Kaito brings him a bottle of water from the pharmacy as he goes and buys Yuma a bag of sunblock first.
But that still means Yuma has no clue what groceries Kaito is going to buy, and for a moment, he begins to worry…
Kaito later comes with one trolley, filled with some of the stuff Yuma asked for. That's a relief, but it's not enough for even two weeks, and what is going to be in the next trolley is the real question.
When Kaito comes back for the last time, Yuma grabs the other trolley for him, and is about to open it, but then Kaito shoots him a look.
With a dejected sigh, he gives up on the idea and begins to follow Kaito back into the mountain. Being out in the heat for so long has made any fight in him die out in a fizzle, though he hasn't given up on their 'war', "So, how was it?" he asks once the village is far behind them.
Kaito actually turns to give him a questioning look, "What was what?"
"Seeing the shopkeepers again." he clarifies as he keeps adjusting his hat, "It's been almost two years since they last saw you. I'm sure they missed you and had tons of things to say."
Kaito audibly scoffs at the notion, "You overestimate how involved I was with these people." he argues, "Though, since this is such a small and boring and boring place, you are right about one thing; they did have an endless barrage of questions for me."
Yuma hums, pleased with the response. Given how no one had broken into the house while the Tenjo's were gone, these people must be rather nice, no matter how much of a poor time Kaito had in school here, "Such as what? Where Haruto and your father are?"
"Only Haruto, actually. I think they knew better than to ask about Faker." Kaito lets out a sigh so tiny that Yuma almost misses it, "And if only it was just that. No, instead they asked all sorts of invasive things; like where my girlfriend was, if I had plans to get married soon, if I was done with college by now, if I ever plan on moving back in, and that they happen to have nieces that will turn eighteen next year, what a coincidence!" his tone becomes high-pitched at that last part, clearly imitating the shopkeepers in question.
At first, Yuma wants to laugh. Then he gets a bit jealous that those women were trying to push girls onto Kaito (not that it would work, since judging by Droite, Kaito is gay…right?), and in order to distract himself from that, realizes that one of those is actually a good question, "Hey, did you into college that year? And what happened to your studies while you were Number Hunting?"
Surprisingly, Kaito has no issues answering that, "I got into college that year, as planned. Skipped around a bit more, and once Faker made us move into Heartland, all that was left was my internship. Which I technically did under Faker…but not actually."
It takes a bit for Yuma to understand what he meant, "Wait, so that training was your 'internship'? How is that even legal?"
"As long as the right paperwork checks out, and I don't screw up during work, who's even going to call it into question?" Kaito points out, "Just like no one called into question me raising Haruto. Out of sight, out of mind."
Kaito picks up his pace after that, getting his trolley stuck several times in the uneven ground, which pretty much signals the end of that conversation. Yuma supposes that it was too much vulnerability for one day.
But then again, isn't Kaito sort of right too? Rei's adoption was already shaping up to be a mess, while the other Barians were going to be allowed to live with the Kamishiro's once their identities were faked. What a strange world they live in…
About halfway through, Kaito is visibly sweating. Before he realizes what he's doing, Yuma shoves the bottle of water into his hands, "Here."
At the incredulous look Kaito shoots at him, Yuma just shrugs, "What? You did the same for me last time." he points out.
This time, Kaito frowns, as if he had completely forgotten about that matter. For a moment, it seems like he's going to push the bottle back into Yuma's hands, but after one long look, he opens it up and takes a drink, "Serves me right for forgetting to bring one bottle for each."
For the rest of the way, he doesn't bother giving it back to Yuma.
And it's only when they're back at the house that Yuma realizes that Kaito did not wipe the lid clean before taking a sip.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Happy news awaits him when they begin to put away the groceries; Kaito brought the rest of Yuma's list, and in enough quantity to last them a bit. There's only two measly cups of noodles stashed in there, and not a pre-packaged meal in sight!
Which means, Yuma will be cooking for the both of them. Unless he does something that pisses off Kaito really bad, which is what Yuma guesses the two cup of noodles are there for; to give Kaito a little leeway for meals should it be raining when they argue, and he can't just dash out and buy enough frozen food for the rest of the day.
This trip is shaping up to have a lot of minor victories already, along with even a little bit of conversation. It's not like how Kaito had acted towards him five years ago, obviously, but as long as Yuma has an opening to slowly keep chiselling away at, that's all he needs.
As promised, Kaito leaves him alone so he can go gather up every dust infected textile in the house, which is likely going to take him all day (and only because the Tenjo's are rich and can afford running a dryer all day, or else the process would take several days). Which means Yuma is left in charge of the food, but the kitchen is in no state to be cooked in either. Off to clean at least the table, stove, fridge, some pans and utensils, and a corner for him to chop stuff in.
All this work must be what a new couple moving in together into an old house is like…minus hauling around a bunch of furniture, of course. Yuma won't lie and say the thought of that doesn't please him at least a little bit, even if the reality of it is nothing of the sort. Must be because of those shopkeepers asking about Kaito getting married earlier, as now the thought of that has invaded his mind.
He kind of misses Orbital already though. Not only would he help, but his little beeping noises and wheeling would make the house seem a lot more lively. With only the two of them around now, and the house in its current state, things feel rather lonely…but the situation is to his advantage, so he won't complain too much.
Good thing Kaito bought a lot of paper towels, because Yuma ran out of rags while cleaning the stove pretty quickly. And all his sneezing didn't help either. Gesh, keeping house sure is a lot of work without granny or Orbital.
But eventually, he has something to present. Something that looks nice too! With a grin, he leaves the small kitchen in search of the other man, "Kaiiito~, where are you?" he yells out over his loud steps.
"In the laundry room, don't make such a huge ruckus!" Kaito yells out, which is a bit pointless, since Yuma was almost there anyway, "Seriously, where else would I be when I have all this to take care of?" he points to the pile of clothing and sheets littering almost the entire floor.
"Ohhh, that bad…man, did you get the curtains as well?" he gasps as he looks at the pile stacked on top of the clothes hamper.
Kaito rolls his eyes, "I pretty much had to shove the entire house in here. And as soon as these loads are done, we're replacing our sheets and covers too, because even those made me sneeze last night."
"Yeah, probably for the best. The kitchen needed a lot of cleaning too." he shares in commiseration, before walking over to Kaito and grabbing him by the arm, "But you can't work so much on an empty stomach either. Besides, with the whole house in here now, you don't have anything to do until the dryer is done, so off to have lunch."
Kaito allows himself to be dragged for a bit, before slapping Yuma's hand off and looking away, "Tch, spoken like someone who has never had to iron before…"
That's true, but what Yuma is more focused on, is how Kaito pushed him away again. When he remembers that Kaito used to be the one to grab him like this, it only fuels his belief that there's something wrong here besides the whole time travelling mess…
But one thing at a time. He leads the way into the kitchen, where he proudly shows off the food he had made, "Ta-daaaa! Fresh off the stove, get it while it's still hot!"
Kaito raises a brow as he looks at the offered dish, "Omurice, really?"
"Yep, just like you requested last time!" he adds as he ignores the jab and take a seat, "Since scrambled eggs by themselves wouldn't cut it for lunch, but I lost too much time cleaning the kitchen to do anything more complicated."
Plus, Kaito clearly liked it last time, and eating it again might bring enough good memories to further get him to lower his guard. Which was the actual reason for this particular dish being picked, but Yuma ain't going to reveal his master plan quite so easily.
(Though let's be honest, Kaito likely suspected it. But as long as Yuma didn't outright confirm it, he would forever have just enough to let things slide.)
Kaito takes a seat after him, and only frowns more as the ketchup catches his eye, "…is this your attempt at drawing Galaxy-eyes?" he asks.
"Yep! Cause why not? I needed to have some fun after all that cleaning." he laughs as he shows off his own plate, "Look, I made Hope for myself too!"
The other squints at it and rubs his eyes, making Yuma wonder if he needs to use his glasses more than he let on…but then Kaito's words dispel that worry, "The only reason why I can recognize either, is because you slapped the numbers '39' and '62' next to them."
Not taking offense, Yuma blows a raspberry at him, "Nye, let's see you do any better, much less with a ketchup bottle. I saw your notes the last time you studied, and you couldn't do those fancy graphic equations without a ruler to save your life, and even then, they were still smudged."
At that Kaito flinches back, a small flush crushing his cheeks before he can look away, "I can't lose the habit of resting my hand against the paper…and anyway, that's why I never try to dishonour Galaxy-Eyes by drawing him. He'd turn out looking like a diseased, starving rat instead."
"So you mean, it'd look like Mizael's Tachyon Galaxy-Eyes?" he jokes in response.
Kaito actually chuckles at that, and for that reason alone, the messy drawings were totally worth it.
With that behind them, both of them begin to eat. Or at least Kaito does; Yuma is far too busy observing the other's reaction to dare take a bite for himself.
Just like last time, it seems to take an eternity for Kaito to chew. And then he closes his eyes as he swallows, followed by a nail-biting silence…"It's good. You've actually gotten a bit better, which is surprising given, that it's only been a couple of months for you."
Yuma can't help but let out the breath he was holding, "Ah, phew. Guess I can cook with a clear head now…" he admits, and immediately regrets it.
But Kaito doesn't take the opportunity to make an insulting remark, or to dash his hopes and inform Yuma that he won't be eating any more of his food, "It's not like I was going to reject your cooking anyway." he says as he goes in for another spoonful, "If you're going to stay here at my family's dime, might as well make yourself useful."
Yuma wants to point out that that's not what Kaito implied just last night, but stops himself from doing so. Mostly because Kaito then mumbles, "And besides, anything is better than the last time you wrote something on my food with sauce…"
Oh, so he still remembers that, after so many years? The '3 Kaito' scribbled on that 'bento' Yuma had hastily thrown together? And is still embarrassed over it?
That is as much of an admission of 'I enjoy your cooking a lot, always have' that he's going to get, at least this early on. Sure, that first comment was rather mean and had a dismissive edge to it that covered up his real thoughts, but that mumble then betrayed his real feelings.
He just has to keep working on this. Little by little, Kaito's shields will come down one by one. All he hopes is that he can do this quickly enough before their vacation ends.
Fighting back a coughing fit, Kaito throws another load of clothing into the wash. Even using the quick wash and dry cycles, this crap was taking forever, and once he was done ironing those curtains, he was going to have to ask Yuma's help to PUT them all up again.
Faker's electricity bill for the place was going to shoot up this month. Serves him right, for forcing Kaito and Haruto to leave their home, leading to it getting to this state in the first place. Did he not care for the house he originally bought for himself and his wife at all?
Or maybe, that's part of the reason it was so hard for him to come back to this house, once she passed away...
Ugh, no thinking about his dad for now. The speech the man had given him before he departed for this village with Yuma was already messing him up enough as it is. And he had far bigger things to worry about in the meantime, such as his relationship with Yuma himself.
He's already letting his guard drop too much, but that lunch really had caught him off guard. Not that Yuma would attempt such a thing, but that the taste of it had overwhelmed him so badly. He went back to nothing but frozen and pre-packaged meals since Yuma had left, so the nostalgic, frankly amazing taste had taken him back.
And those messy scribbles with the ketchup were just the cherry on top. Despite what he had said, it had made him laugh a little to see them…
This is bad. He's regressing back to how he was when he first met Yuma. Someone still saddled down by life, but also hopeful for the future and wanting to take whatever happiness where he could find it. And just like it was the case five years ago, being with Yuma made him happy…especially with none of his little harem friends around to flare up Kaito's jealousy. Not Shark, not Kotori, not the youngest Arclight brother, not even Astral.
And Yuma wasn't thinking of Astral any more either. For the first time in his life, Kaito had someone whose attention was solely focused on him. And not because they were family, but because he genuinely wanted to be with Kaito. Even with all the things Kaito had done to him up until now.
The thought of that made his heart soar in a very familiar way. It's only been a day and yet…
Five years age difference. Kaito can't even stand to be touched now. His actions as the Numbers Hunter made him unworthy of any sort of affection.
Those are the thoughts Kaito holds close to his chest, as he tries to keep his wall of defensive behaviours up.
Just like with their WDC match, Kaito has a feeling that, even if he wins the match, he'll end up bending to Yuma's wishes anyway.