La Luna (BoyxBoy)

The Diamonds

Cyl stood in the lobby of the residential annex, gingerly massaging his lower back. It had been three days since the Spades had arrived, and heard Gear had barely left their room, too caught up with each other to actually be bothered to do anything else.

Their recreational areas were all on the ground floor, and Cyl found himself drifting toward the dance studio. He recognised some of the faces in there, and it was probably a good place to stretch his muscles out.

A hush fell over the room as Cyl pushed the door open, and multiple sets of eyes landed on him.

"Is that him?"

"Yeah."

Before Cyl could fully process anything he was hit in the side by a heavy weight, and a pair of arms wrapped around his waist.

"Hi!" the stranger greeted enthusiastically. "I'm your new fourth floor neighbour! You can call me Chai!"

Cyl wriggled uncomfortably in Chai's grasp. "Hi," he mumbled, pushing the man away.

Chai stood a few inches taller than Cyl. His magenta hair was braided in multiple sections away from his face and his warm brown eyes were only slightly lighter than his smooth skin. He grinned.

"My partner isn't here for another few days so I was worried I'd be lonely," Chai crooned melodramatically. "But Mika over there told me all about you and I think we'll get along well!"

The noirette by the wall gave a small wave.

Chai leaned in closer. "I was glad to hear I wasn't the only one who'd been here before in a personal sense," he murmured, quiet enough for only the two of them to hear, before pulling back to flash another bright smile. "So what brings you here?"

Cyl shifted uncomfortably. "I need to stretch my back out," he mumbled, flushing pink.

The man beside him laughed. "Ever done yoga?" he asked, excited. "I used to teach! I can show you some good stuff!"

Without waiting for an answer, Chai moved away, gathering colourful mats along with a few more people to join them.

"Now I'm going to skip the meditation part because—" he paused to gesture to the loud speakers blasting music. "You get it. This one's called a spinal twist; it's great for lower back pain."

Chai winked and Cyl felt his face grow warmer. He watched as the man in front of them lay flat on his back and twisted, breathing a relaxed sigh.

"So, Cyl," Chai asked nonchalantly. "What are the others on our floor like?"

"Oh, um," Cyl grunted as he attempted to copy the pose. "Gear's in with me. He's...nice enough, I guess?"

Chai grinned. "And the guys in 403?"

Cyl paused. "I didn't know there was anyone in 403."

"Well one of them would be Grey — he's the other Diamond who came in with me. I caught a glimpse of his partner when we were moving in, so I figured he was the other Spade."

Now Cyl was really confused. "When did the Diamonds move in?" he asked, much to Cyl's relief.

"About..." Chai trailed off, his eyes searching the walls for a clock. "Two hours ago? Change sides everyone!"

The small congregation of yoga participants they'd gathered all shifted their bodies.

So, Cyl thought. In the span of two hours Chai had already found out just about everything Cyl had learned in a week; and more.