Flare and Shade- Little Moments
Tomoko leans back against the counter, looking over at her graceful best friend Kanon in her Gothic Lolita dress. “You know, I tried that once. I wanted to see if I’d look as good as her.”
The cat that was once King Morrow looks up. “Since you’re not in the same style of clothing, I can only assume that didn’t go well.”
Tomoko giggles. “Yeah, I accidentally broke one of the heels she gave me to wear. That would have been bad enough, but I was at the top of a flight of stairs when it happened.”
Morrow winces, looking cuter than any cat should. “I can’t even bring myself to laugh at that. I had a similar thing happen to me when I was wearing my royal robe for the first time. How many stairs was it for you?”
Tomoko thinks back to that time. “I’m pretty sure I hit all seventeen steps on the way down. I wound up almost upside down, with the whole weight of the dress over me. Kanon had to pull me out, and she wound up tripping over me and we were just this big pile of ruffles and lace everywhere.”
The cat king strokes his face with a paw. “That must have been quite the sight. Now tell me, is it true you two share a birthday?”
“Yeah, we were born in the same hospital, on the same day.” Tomoko has an issue with oversharing, one that Morrow is all to happy to indulge.
“What is it like, sharing a birthday with someone so close to you? I had no siblings or close friends, so my birthdays were a somber affair.” Morrow starts cleaning himself off as he listens.
“Well, I’ll tell you this. Kanon always gets me a present that’s...how do I put this? It’s always a gift that I didn’t know I needed in my life until that very moment. She got me interested in American musicals that way, by giving me the soundtrack.”
“Is that the one about ‘not throwing away your shot?’“ Morrow has heard the music Tomoko’s talking about, and found it quite intriguing.
“Yeah. She got me that CD before it won all those awards, and from there, I just dove deep into the world of musicals.” Tomoko answers, sliding a bowl of milk over to Morrow.
“Does she know that you’ll ‘dive deep’ as you put it?” The cat takes a few tentative licks.
“Yeah. When Kanon finds me something she knows I like, I always get in over my head.”
“What is it like finding presents for her? Is Kanon as easily entranced as you are?” Morrow finishes the bowl.
“Every year that I’ve been able to give her a gift of my own, she’s never surprised. I can’t figure it out. I’m always so careful when it comes to keeping secrets...”
“So you claim...” The cat fairy isn’t buying it and leaps down from the counter of the tea house, roaming over to where Kanon is taking her tea.
“Good Day, Your Majesty. Have you been having a good conversation with Tomoko?”
“Fairly so. I’m trying to learn what it is like to share a birthday. Is it true that you are never surprised by Tomoko’s birthday gifts?” Morrow rubs his feline body up against the girl in black.
“Tomoko is not a very sneaky person, Your Majesty.” Kanon admits as she wipes a few stray crumbs from her lips with a handkerchief. “Take last year, for instance. One month before our birthday, she asked me ‘What size swimsuit do you wear?’ It’s an absurd question coming from her. She spends almost as much time in my closet as I do. She knows my sizes. Then two minutes later, she asked ‘Do you want a one-piece or a two-piece swimsuit?’ Not ‘Would you prefer...’ but ‘Do you want...’ I never told her that she gave her own plan away because...” She pauses for a moment. “Because the look on her face when she says ‘How did you know?’ is such a simple joy for me.”
“You two are far more interesting than I first thought. One would think that you are polar opposites just looking at you and yet... opposites attract, yes?”
“Indeed, Your Majesty.” Kanon offer him a biscuit from her tray before preparing the cat bed next to her for him to take his royal nap.
“Interesting. I hope to learn more about you both in the future.”