Suicide Buddies

Tchaikovsky Teriyaki (In G Major) - II

(Pt2 yay, thanks for readin :) cause agh this is sort of rushed)
(also by coincidence by mom made apple pie today, and it was delicious, and i just thought i'd add that in for you all)

Haru and I went about the dinner as normally as one could when their entire family were assholes who abandoned their son with his dumbass of a friend in the middle of a bougie-ass banquet with nothing but fish and sea moles to save them.

So, you know, complete awkward silence. So much so I could almost hear crows cawing.

The table was hauntingly wide without the other family members to fill the spaces. Haru seemed to be trying his best not to glance at them, but was most definitely failing if the last ten minutes meant anything.

My stomach churned at it. I had just set steel traps for Haru for the entire night all because of point to prove.

Maia was never going to let me live this one down. But considering how pale Haru still looked and how even our attempts at conversation dissipated flatly into the air, I deserved it.

Haru picked at his bowl, round scallops falling over each other atop the white grain. I couldn't say much either though, considering I'd eaten a grand total of one bite of my fish.

I chewed the inside of my cheek. "I'm sorry."

Haru shook his head. When nothing else followed it, I groaned.

"Forget later," I said, turning to him with bricks of guilt on my back. "Just...get mad at me now. Just get mad at me now and tell me I fucked up and I disgraced you to your family and you shouldn't have invited me and you never wanna see my face—"

Haru shook his head, hand up to stop me. I snapped my mouth shut.

He dropped his fork beside the bowl. "Angel," he said. "I'm not mad."

I shook my head. "Why not?"

Haru tilted his head at me. "You didn't say anything untrue."

"Your family hates me now."

"My family hates everyone." He laughed bitterly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have told you to lie. I just thought they might lay off for once if you did." He leaned back. "Maybe I shouldn't have expected so much out of them."

A dismal statement, but I cared more about the person saying it than the people it was about.

"I didn't mean to humiliate you," I said, quieter.

"They did more of that than you." He leaned his elbow on the table, cheek propped in his hand. " just hoped they wouldn't if someone else was here." He winced, looking over. "I'm sorry, actually. I shouldn't have brought you just to subject you to this."

I scratched the back of my neck. "No," I said. "No, don't be. If I had a family like that, I'd probably bring my whole English class just to try and evade it."

Haru gave a tiny grin, and I mirrored it.

Silence.

I flopped back in my seat, hand raking through my hair. "Ah, jinjja," I muttered. "This is so fucking overrated."

"Tell me about it." Haru picked up his fork, still poking at the scallops. "It's boring."

I leaned towards him. "How are your sea moles?"

He laughed, head tossed aside and the sound spilling out more in relief than mirth. I eased under it.

"Mollusks, and they're good." He stabbed one to brush off onto my plate. "Try one."