#(subsection for livetext msgs i’m holding back as i write this because i want this to be a surprise)

[yeshens]

@piliyi, prompt —

go ahead. ask whatever you want. / tookai…

let it be said that tooru’s never claimed to be a guy who handles rejection well. most of the time it’s not enough of a reason to deter him from trying, but there’s always a little part of him that braces himself even in the asking.

so he’s hesitant, (he’s never done this before. he hasn’t even considered all the ways this could go wrong,) but. there’s something about kaien that makes him want to take that risk. it’s a kind of optimistic hope that he’s learned to let go of through the years, and it reaches back for him.

but first we have to set the scene. so, picture this: the air is warm with the scent of freshly baked pastries, the windows frosted over by the remnants of winter’s chill even as the beginnings of spring chases it away. kaien cuts a striking figure with his back resting casually against the counter, his grin piercing straight through tooru’s chest. tooru thinks he may look besotted, but he’s not in a position to judge — the glass display where his reflection sits isn’t what he’s paying attention to at the moment. it’s clichéd, perhaps, but in this snapshot of a moment he only has eyes for kaien.

“right,” he takes a deep breath. “no matter what, you’re not allowed to laugh, okay?”

and then, in the space of one single exhale, “willyougooutwithme?”