reparations | genshin impact

making plans when you already have plans is a different kind of stupid

"Is everything alright?"

This is the first thing Kazuha says after a long bout of silence inside the shop. You startle a bit at his question, fumbling with the bouquet in your arms as you hand it to him carefully.

"What do you mean?" you ask nervously.

He sighs as he cradles the flowers you arranged for your parents rather precariously. The thing about Kazuha that most couriers don't have is his keen senses. He knows that your bouquets should be handled with utmost care even without you saying it out loud. So when things between you and a certain Arataki Itto go for a bit of an awkward turn, it's no surprise that Kazuha takes notice of that, too.

"Hmm," your delivery boy hums, just a touch amused as he glances at Itto, who's preoccupied with watering the plants outside. "I just thought you and Arataki-san were a lot closer. When I came in earlier, the air was thick enough to cut through with a knife. Pardon me for asking, but did you get in a fight with him, perhaps?"

"Uhh..."

Well, to be fair, you don't know the answer to that either. Itto came to work just like he said he would last night, but it's as if the two of you suddenly regressed back into strangers. He doesn't crack his stupid jokes anymore; doesn't ask strange questions about the plants and flowers you've put up on display or when Itto the Fourth is gonna crawl out of his body bag. In fact, it's almost like he's avoiding you.

"So this one's addressed to the Takahashi residence." Kazuha thankfully diverts the topic back to your courier request, reading the form off his phone. "A late Valentine's gift?"

"Yeah, I can't really make the trip back home because things have been a bit hectic," you sigh. "My dad always forgets to buy my mom flowers, but he kind of gets sulky if she gets presents from me and he doesn't. Hence, the two-in-one bouquet."

"Your father is quite the character then," he laughs before confirming your request with a single tap. "Mmm, I might just be speaking off the top of my head right now, but maybe Arataki-san is the same way."

You shoot him a puzzled look. "Pardon?"

"I think he's the type of person who won't tell you they're upset, yet will visibly send you that exact message without saying a word." Kazuha smiles as he pockets his phone. "I'm not one to give unsolicited advice, but since you're one of my regulars, I'm sort of inclined to help you out."

"Kazuha, I gotta be honest with you, but I have no idea what you're talking about."

He breathes out a soft laugh, and you get the inkling that you've missed out on something that's been staring at you in the face all this time.

"To put it simply, Arataki-san might also have the tendency to sulk—much like your father," Kazuha tells you point-blank when he's halfway to the door. "Because of what? Well, only you have the answer to that." And then he's off, leaving you more dumbfounded than when he first stepped inside the shop.

Itto? Sulking? For a moment, you wonder if he's upset that you couldn't say yes to his impromptu invitation the night prior. But...it's really not like him to let trivial stuff like that get to his head.

Then again, Haru did tell you that your assistant has a heart that's bigger than his own body. You glance at Itto through the clear glass windows, chest twisting at the fact that he doesn't have that usually chipper smile put up. Guilt starts to eat at you from the inside-out. Should you have told him to reschedule instead of subtly turning him down like you did? But it's not like you're his girlfriend or anything. Why should it be a big deal?