An opportunity finally arises when your professor opens up his summer gallery to underclassmen for the first time. The theme is "Beauty in Stillness", but your photos don't reflect that. You're also failing math, and are forced into group study sessions with a quiet boy named Inumaki. Despite your hesitance, the 2 hours of peace is bliss. You find yourself torn between the soft moments with Inumaki, and the fast paced life you're used to leading.
Will you slow down to capture the moment, or will you blink?
Panda gave you a nod as you approached the table, but you didn't respond. Instead, you sat across from him, and threw your head down on the wood.
Panda smirked and said, "Careful there, you may break it."
You gave a muffled scoff. "Please, your head is even bigger than mine. I'm surprised you can even stay upright without falling over."
"At LeAsT I'm NoT uGlY." You lifted your head up to glare at Panda. "That's funny coming from someone that literally walks around in a panda mask. Your friend isn't any better. You both walk around all mysterious, but you really just look like Ayo and Teo wannabes."
"Ayo and Teo? Yikes, Way to show your age…" Panda trailed off and cringed at you.
"We're literally the same—"
Inumaki threw his books on the desk, effectively ending the bickering. He reached into his bag and handed out the weekly packet. It appeared even bigger than last weeks'. You and Panda glanced at each other and grimaced. This was definitely gonna be a harder session than last time.
After about ten minutes, Inumaki grabbed you and Panda's packets. You were about to protest, but paused when you heard Panda's sigh. He explained that it had been Inumaki's speed-training packet, and that he gave less time on those. Something about making sure you'd finish your test on time? You didn't fully understand it, but you had no choice but to trust Inumaki's judgment.
While you waited, you grabbed your camera looked through the photos you took in the past week. There were dogs laying with their owners, butterflies on branches, and of course the greenhouse photo. You remember how much Maki made fun of you when you showed it to her the next day. She went on and on about how you stared at the stranger's smile like "you want to keep it". You didn't even know what that was supposed to mean, and Maki didn't either, but she smiled a little softer anyway. Like there was something more to be said. Your thumb absently grazed the camera screen, outlining the smile gently.
You were broken out of your stupor by the sound of paper sliding across wood. You set down the camera and blinked at the paper in front of you, lips quirking up at the large "C" in the corner. It wasn't as good as you'd like, but it was better than 8%. You picked up the paper and peered at your mistakes, mentally cursing at the small errors you made. You tapped Inumaki and gestured to a question on your sheet. He pulled out a blue pen began silently writing out steps as he worked through the problem. You watched as his hand flew across the page, finding yourself more engrossed in how he was writing than what was actually being written. You didn't notice his pen stopped until he cleared his throat.
"Right, I think I get it now. Thanks, Inumaki!"
Panda snickered to himself, earning him a nasty side eye.
You glanced down at your phone, eyebrows furrowing at the message you'd gotten. It was from Inumaki.
You sat down across from Panda and Inumaki, idly looking around the small ramen shop. It was quiet, nobody except your group and a couple tucked into a small corner were there. You skimmed the menu and made a mental selection of your favorite. The three of you give your orders, falling into an awkward silence afterwards.
'Well, this is awkward.' You decided you should make the first effort to speak, since you wanted to know more about them.
"So, how's school. Besides math of course?"
"It's so boring. I can't wait to be a 3rd year so I can finally start doing fun stuff." Panda moans.
"That's so real. I hate cleaning cameras. It makes me feel like a lackey."
Inumaki nods his head a little.
"Inumaki is constantly tired. He wants to do more, but all he does is grunt work disguised as assignments. Kinda like you."
"I guess we all have it pretty bad then, huh." You sighed. The pair nodded their heads in agreement as the waiter came to the table.
Large bowls of ramen hit the tables with soft clinks. You grabbed your chopsticks and wasted no time digging in. You happily slurped on the noodles, uncaring of the two boys in front of you. Panda's "damn" fell on deaf ears as you sipped the savory broth, your eyes closing in delight. soft sigh was heard from across the table. You peeked, feeling your eyes widen at the sight of Inumaki without his scarf or mask. He too sipped the broth, his eyes crinkling as he drank a bit more. A broth mustache was revealed when he finally lowered his bowl. There was twinge of annoyance in your gut as Panda informed Inumaki of the broth above his lip.
The feeling fizzled out as soon as it came as you watch Inumaki smile. It wasn't the largest smile you'd ever seen; not by a long shot. But with the way his ears turned pink and his eyes formed crescents as the closed, it may be a contender for the cutest. Inumaki's shoulders shook a little as he wiped the broth with the back of his hand. He kept smiling as he returned to his bowl, lips only parting to eat. You knew your own bowl was getting cold, yet you couldn't bring yourself to look away from the white-haired boy. It took great effort, but you picked up your chopsticks to finish your meal. You were in the midst of polishing off the last of your noodles when you glanced at ahead of you. You watched as Panda gave Inumaki his fishcake.
Inumaki signed his thanks to him.
Panda smirked, "Yeah you better be grateful. Who else would let you take their fishcake?"
Inumaki's smile shifted into something more mischievous. He signed something with one hand.
Panda rolled his eyes and said, "Don't start that stupid 'boyfriend vs boy friend' thing again."
Inumaki just shrugged, before quickly blowing Panda a kiss. He turned his head and quietly laughed as Panda landed hits on his shoulder. Even though the laughter was silent, it still shook his whole body the way a guffaw would. Inumaki's teeth showed as his laughter dissipated into something softer. You still had broth in your bowl but you couldn't bring yourself to finish it. Not when your fingers twitched for your camera bag, longing to capture the moment. Not when his smile was looking more and more familiar to you. Your mind drifted to the figure in the greenhouse, and suddenly everything made sense.
Inumaki was the greenhouse guy. The same person that you have a secret, candid picture of sitting in your camera.
Without any preamble, you snatched up your bags and ran out of the shop. Even though it was dark, you still managed to run all the way to your dorm building. You didn't let yourself think about everything until you collapsed on your bed. You breathed heavily as you turned onto your back, staring up at your popcorn ceiling. A hand in your bag later, and suddenly your camera was in your hand. The camera turned on, and there was the picture of Inumaki.
As you stared at the photo, you felt a bit silly for running off. So what if Inumaki was the person who held those flowers with care? Who whispered quiet promises to them as he stroked their petals? Who pressed feather-like kisses to clay pots, and smiled tenderly afterward? Who gave quiet "thank you"s to the flowers, as though he'd been gifted something precious?
Jealous of whom, was unclear to you at the time, but the feeling still bubbled in your stomach. How could Inumaki create such sweet moments from the most mundane things? You couldn't see how taking care of plants could be thrilling enough for all that he'd done. Yet, in your hand was a picture of him smiling at a plant like it was everything. Inumaki did it again with Panda too. Smiling so contently after his own joke landed. It was a fleeting moment, over in no more than a minute. You found yourself obsessing over it anyway. You didn't know whether you wanted to be that carefree, or if you simply wanted Inumaki's attention on you. You turned off your camera, and prayed it was just the former.
Taglist: @stdt-chevalmarin, @louddinosaursblog, @veioura, @aerixae, @katski-baku
AN: It's been awhileeeee. I haven't forgotten about this story though, so don't worry!!
