Old Secrets and Good Drinks
{a closed starter with @corpossecos; Kurou + Ember and Himiko}
It’s fairly noisy inside a small cafe in Kyoto, not far from Kyoto University. A few students, faculty, and office workers mill about inside, the staff working as quickly as possible to deal with the evening rush. A couple sits at a table in the corner, both already settled in after placing their orders. Papers, note cards, and a laptop lay on the table, sticky notes and pencils strewn on top.
Ember taps through a slideshow on the device, brows furrowed. A seminar tomorrow features them as the lead speaker, and at a prestigious university such as Kyoto University? Any mistakes would be laughable. Their lips twist slightly, and they read over the slide once more before moving to the next one. A series of equations greet them, gaze narrowing at the strings of symbols and numbers. Yes, this was going to be a highly technical seminar, but…
“You’ll be fine. You know that, right?” Kurou says, covering their free hand with one of his to try and soothe the anxiety twisting his spouse’s face. Startled out of their focus, they twist their wrist, fingers lacing with his, settling his own worry.
A heavy sigh. “I’m aware. But some of these details… are they too much? Is it confusing?”
He pauses, glancing over their notes and the new slide on the screen. A graphic of a model built from the measurements taken from a Realm rift he had recently closed looks back at him. The labels don’t all make sense, and the equations at the bottom of the slide make even less sense to him, but he understands the gist.
“If you can walk me through it all and it mostly makes sense to me, I’m sure it will make sense to students and experts studying in your field.”
“You’re overthinking again, dear.” He smiles when they glance up at him, the exasperation and worry in their gaze fading. They open their mouth to respond, but close it again after a moment, eyes dropping to their papers once more. He squeezes their hand, and they squeeze back.
Another voice calls out from the counter, and Kurou snaps his attention over upon hearing his name, disregarding the one that followed shortly after. He glances back at them, and Ember waves him onward, going back to clicking through slides and cross-checking their note cards. He gives them a soft smile, untangles their hands, then moves towards the counter.
Three drinks sit on it as he weaves around an unoccupied table. Someone else is approaching the counter as well, a woman clad in business clothes. Kurou politely ignores her, reaching for the hot chocolate he knows is Ember’s. He then reaches for the teacup beside it and blinks when another hand bumps into his, aiming for his order. Looking up, he stumbles a bit over his words. This one… an electric blue glow lurks just beneath the near-black of her irises, fading in and out of his view.
“Um, sorry. Is this yours?” He tries and fails to keep all of the wariness out of his voice. Oops. But it doesn’t change that she’s decidedly not human.
