Written for Usagi and Mamoru: A Love Like No Other. Link on my bio page.
89. Comfortable Silence (387 words)
Walking through the park one afternoon Mamoru spotted a young blonde girl sitting by herself and staring out at the lake. The corners of his mouth tilted upwards as he anticipated the dispute to come. The small smile turned into a smirk as Mamoru stepped closer and called out, "Hey Odango Atama!" He frowned slightly when he received no response. He moved behind Usagi's seat and leaned down so he was level with her. "Oy Odango." Mamoru waved a hand in front of her face.
Usagi finally turned her eyes away from the horizon and looked at the man beside her. "Please Mamoru," she began quietly. "I can't deal with any of your insults right now." Mamoru shifted slightly at the seriousness in Usagi's voice and the blank expression on her face. Confusion evident on his own, he moved around the bench to sit down next to her.
"What's wrong?" Mamoru asked carefully. "What happened?" He was beginning to feel a tinge of worry. He had never seen Usagi sitting so still before. She wasn't even fidgeting like normal as if there was too much energy inside her waiting to be let out. Where was the always bubbly, always moving, always grinning girl that he had seen only yesterday?
Never moving her gaze from the lake where the sun was beginning to go down, Usagi replied, "My grandfather passed away last night."
"Oh. I… I'm-"
"Please don't say it. I'm getting sick of people telling me that they're sorry. I've never understood that anyway. Why people say they are sorry when someone dies that is. What do they have to be sorry for?"
Mamoru didn't really know what to say to that so decided to veer away from the philosophical questions. "Why aren't you at home with your family?"
"The silence there, it was too much. It was too oppressive. None of us were talking and when we did speak we weren't saying anything. I just- I had to get out of the house. So I came here. The quiet here is so much better. It's more natural, more peaceful."
No more words were spoken. One because she didn't wish to speak and the other because he knew there were no words that could help.
Together they sat on the park bench and watched the sun set.