Chapter Text
“So… if you touch sea water, you die, huh?”
“In the metaphorical sense, at least.”
“... Uh huh…”
Awkward, Suo can’t help thinking. To be fair, answering vaguely just now didn’t make this less awkward between him and Kiryu, but he’s so used to speaking that way the words just kind of slipped out. Maybe awkward isn’t the right word… unfamiliar?
Frankly, the two have barely hung out together. Suo usually sticks with Nirei, the two gravitating toward one another in pretty much every situation. It’s comfortable with him. More than that, Suo knows he has Nirei figured out; his mannerisms, his tendency to pry, what Suo has to do to keep him where he can control him (not in a manipulative way! for self-preservation. or something.)
Sakura is a little harder to read, as pure and transparent as he seems to appear to everyone else. And, not that he would ever admit this, but Suo is a little intimidated by Sakura. He has this insane ability to buckle down and do what he needs to do, excel at it even, no matter what the situation demands of him. Suo can tell it’ll take some time for him to genuinely feel comfortable around Sakura, but it isn’t hard to pretend like he does.
Kiryu? He’s a different issue all together. For the life of him, Suo cannot get a read on the guy. He knows how the others see him: chill, dependable, albeit a little disinterested. But this is the exact kind of person Suo feels he can never fully get a grasp of.
Honestly, it’s been driving him a little crazy. To observe someone for, what, half a year and still struggle to read him? Come on, now.
Pachi pachi~
Pachi pachi~
Suo blinks, realizing he’s been staring at the sand in silence. He glances beside him to find Kiryu stretched out on his stomach, phone in hand. He’s playing some game, fingers tapping wildly against the phone screen.
Huh. So maybe Kiryu doesn’t feel awkward with Suo – or at least not enough to try to make conversation. He cares more about mobile games than anything else, anyway.
Suo is perfectly content to sit in silence, observing the other boys frolic in the ocean. He watches as Anzai and the others sneak up behind Sakura and try to yank his swim trunks down. Sakura jumps, the spitting image of a startled cat, and swings at them with one hand with the other protectively holding onto his shorts. A few feet from them, Nirei is bouncing around Sugishita, yapping excitedly about something. Sugishita looks disgruntled as always, but he’s tolerating him surprisingly well. And Tsugeura is–
Just then, Suo registers the gaze on him. He turns to Kiryu and finds him staring curiously back at him.
“Is something wrong?” Suo asks.
Kiryu hums, looking back at his phone and clicking resume on his game.
“I just thought it was interesting.”
“What is? My impressive ability to sit and do nothing?”
Kiryu laughs a little. “Sure, that too. But more so the way you were looking at everyone.”
Suo’s eyes widen. He glances at Kiryu, but he’s absorbed in his game. Or he seems like he is, until he continues, “You’re an interesting guy, Suo-chan. You seem really aloof sometimes, but other times it’s so obvious you care.”
Suo’s surprised, to say the least. He was not expecting this guy to pay such close attention to something, let alone him. Has he been misreading Kiryu this whole time? Or is the disinterested demeanor a facade? If it is, what’s the reason behind acting that way?
The onslaught of thoughts is nothing new to Suo. He does his best to remain unruffled, keeping an even tone as he replies, “Of course I care. They’re our friends, after all.”
“Oh? Well, that’s good, then.”
It’s quiet again. But this is a different silence. It feels to Suo like Kiryu wants him to say more. This realization makes Suo bristle a bit, in spite of himself; he’s used to this, to people prying and poking their noses into his business. Not that Kiryu is actively doing so.
Actually, has Kiryu ever asked Suo anything? Casual questions, maybe, but nowhere near the interrogation the other guys put him through. Sakura doesn’t ask much, either, but Suo knows he just isn’t that interested in him. But Kiryu… judging by the weight and texture of this silence, it’s clear his attention is on him.
So why isn’t he asking him anything?
Something about the conditions of this moment make Suo suddenly more curious than he’s been in a while. He can feel his usual composure slipping, this new curiosity growing more insistent by the second.
I want to know more about him.
“You–”
“Suo-sannnnn!”
Nirei is suddenly in front of them, dripping wet and caked in sand. Kiryu glances up, too, and scoots back with a little gasp.
“Don’t get all of that on our blanket, Nirei-chan,” he whines. “What were you doing to end up like that?”
“Huh? Like what?” Nirei responds, panting. He looks down and gasps. “Wow! I didn’t realize I looked this crazy! But I’m not the only one, see?”
He moves to the side, revealing an even-dirtier Sugishita. His soaked hair covers his sand-encrusted face, the wet strands not unlike that of a mop.
“Who would’ve thought it gets worse,” Kiryu muses.
“Wow, Sugishita-kun,” Suo can’t help but add, “you’re even dirtier than Nire-kun. It almost looks like you lost to him in a fight.”
Sugishita lets out a low growl. Nirei yelps and inches closer to Suo and Kiryu.
“Suo-san!” he squeaks. “D-Don’t say that! Besides, haven't you seen everyone else?”
Just then, the crowd of Furin boys barrel toward them, led by a giddy-looking Anzai.
“RAHHHH!”
They jump around, water spraying everywhere, kicking sand onto everything in sight. Suo is already up, keeping a safe distance from the sweaty chaos, and realizes Kiryu has done the same. They exchange glances.
“Teenage boys, am I right?” Suo says.
“As if you’re not one yourself. Oh no, but you’re like, ancient, right?”
Suo raises his eyebrows.
“Did you just anticipate my reply?”
“Mhm. Ancient and wise, an old soul trapped in a 15 year old boy’s body.”
“I like the sound of that,” Suo says.
He really does.
Kiryu takes his hair down and runs his fingers through the pink strands. Hair tie in his mouth, he grabs a strand of hair and regards it with scrutiny.
“Another split end,” he mutters.
He’s the same guy Suo has known for months, but for the first time, Suo feels he’s been given an opening. A chance to understand this enigma a little more. Even if he can tell Kiryu is the one willingly opening the door – he’s not about to waste this opportunity.
Has he ever been this interested in another person?