𝖆𝖘 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖚𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗 𝖘𝖙𝖗𝖎𝖐𝖊𝖘 || ꜱᴄᴀʀᴀᴍᴏᴜᴄʜᴇ

XXI

2nd december

you gently caressed the cat who jumped on your lap. your phone lay on the table and xiao was still in the bathroom. you heard faint footsteps but paid no mind to them - this was a cafe, and many people were going back and forth after all.

you had a subtle feeling that someone was watching you, however, it was so small you failed to notice it properly. the footsteps were getting slimly louder.

you raised your eyes from the cat on your lap to the table. the black cat from the bookstore jumped on it and made noise.

"hey kitty." you greeted it and stretched out your arm to pet it.

to your surprise someone was faster than you - an exposed arm was already petting the cat. your hand froze mid-air and your surroundings became blurry, silent, and almost still. surprised, you leaned back into your chair and startled the orange cat napping on your legs.

was there someone next to you all along?

you looked up to see the stranger who wasn't a stranger. it was scaramouche and his eyes were focused on the cat. previously he had a coat matching his suit on, but now it was nowhere in sight. he still had his white dress shirt on, except the long sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

his fair-skinned arms were slim and bore no scar, hiding their true strength beneath a fleshy sheath. his long fingers rhythmically stroked the cat in a gentle manner. nails clean and looked after stood out on a black cat's fur - for a second it looked like they were shining. something was enchanting about it. you couldn't tear your eyes away from the sight.

did scaramouche work part-time as a hand model? cause how could his hands look so good and healthy? you couldn't even point out a single fault on his elbow, at least the part of it that was exposed.

"you done looking?" scaramouche nonchalantly asked, with a hint of teasing.

his voice broke the frozen image of everything that was happening outside of the circle of your table. taken aback by scaramouche's question, you realized you had been staring at his arm for at least five minutes, studying his flesh and bones.

"ahem," you coughed out and looked at scaramouche's face. your eyes met his indigo ones. you noticed his bold red eyeliner. did he always wear it? "anyway, didn't expect to see you here." you attempted to switch topics.

"if i didn't speak first i'm sure you would keep looking at me with those eyes." scaramouche didn't buy your attempt.

"what eyes?" you asked, confused.

scaramouche didn't reply for a moment. right as you thought of repeating your question, he spoke "do you always stare at other's arms?" he threw a question back at you.

"what do you mean? no, i don't. why would i?" you answered, still confused. "wait, have you seen xiao?"

"he left in a hurry, don't you remember? were you that amazed by human anatomy?" you could feel the smugness in his voice but paid it no mind. you were more concerned about your childhood friend.

"what do you mean, is he alright?" your voice was full of worry but your body stayed calm. somewhat calm.

"he had to rush to headquarters."

"oh." you went silent.

"when he came back to the bathroom he told you. did you forget?" scaramouche finally stopped petting the cat who now jumped off the table and went on its business.

now that you thought about it, there was a short moment when scaramouche's arm halted and you heard some distinct voice saying something.

"well, i didn't hear. thanks for telling me."