When He Fell

All Play and No Work Makes Abeno a Dull Boy

(AN - nothing really. thanks for reading!)

It had been several days since Abeno had had any thing to do as Master of the Mononokean, and he was ready to go back to work. Luckily, him and Ashiya were supposed to meet with the Legislator after school. Unluckily, he had to endure an entire day of school, wherein he would also have to endure the beginning stages of planning for the school festival. There was also the issue of bringing Ashiya back to the Underworld, but—
"Ah, Abeno! Good morning!"
Ashiya. "Morning," Abeno vaguely mumbled, his face pressed into the desk, just barely turning to see Ashiya.
"You're not planning on going back to sleeping in class, are you? Aw, that's no fun!" Ashiya emphasized this with a pout that truly lived up to his nickname of 'five-year-old.'
"No," Abeno mumbled, almost shyly. "Anyways, we have work this afternoon. I know you were probably enjoying your break, but its time."
"Really? That's great! What are we doing?" Ashiya leaned forward in excitement, and Abeno was again shocked by Ashiya's genuine enthusiasm for the job. His eyes were bright; his expression, honest. Abeno shook his head to clear his thoughts, finally lifting it off the table.
"Ah, well, the Legislator wants to meet with us. I don't have a clue why, but it's always something with him. I just hope it's not something pointless..."
Ashiya looked surprised, and this did not surprise Abeno. They had not been back to the Underworld since Ashiya was officially unbanned. Abeno did hold reservations about bringing Ashiya back (that much had not changed since his and the Legislator's last encounter), but he felt like it might be time. It had also seemed important to the Legislator, whatever 'it' was.
"Ashiya, I know this will be difficult for you. I have confidence that the Legislator and Justice will protect you...as well as me," Abeno admitted. "However, if you aren't comfortable with this, I will inform the Legislator that you aren't coming, no questions asked."
"Aww, Abeno, you do care!" Ashiya exclaimed, grabbing Abeno's face between his hands. He quickly let go with a startled apology, leaving Abeno disjointed. All he could think was how he had almost leaned into Ashiya's hands, and how soft they were.
After a moment, Ashiya continued. "On a more serious note, though, I'm not completely against returning to the Underworld. It's obviously still a little intimidating, but I trust you Abeno. If you say it's okay, then it's okay!"
"I—Thank you. I won't throw that trust away."
That was all Abeno could answer. He didn't know what to say, didn't know how to convey how much that meant to him. Ashiya trusted him enough to go back to the place he was almost killed. It was...surreal to Abeno. He knew that Ashiya had some level of trust in him, but to have him say it so plainly, so definitively...
"Good morning, students! Are you all ready to submit your festival ideas?" the professor called out from the front of the classroom.
"Abeno! Do you want to present ours together?" Ashiya whispered to Abeno.
"...I guess," Abeno whispered back. Abeno was about to regret agreeing, when Ashiya's face lit up. He didn't regret it anymore.
     "Now is the time we find out how many of you actually decided to participate! Please raise your hand if you have an idea," the professor said to the class, sending a knowing look around to the students.
     Only five hands went up into the air. Saga, Fushimi, Ashiya, a girl Abeno didn't know, and, of course, Abeno.
     Abeno got a few surprised looks from classmates he didn't know, but who presumably knew him. Or, at least, they knew this wasn't the usual for him.
     The teacher called on the girl first. She stood up and announced in a forceful voice, "We should do a cafè!"
     "Ah, I'm sorry, but all the locations equipped to prepare food are already claimed! Thank you for participating, though! Saga, how about you?"
     "Cream puff roulette. Pre-made cream puffs with varying creams. Some good, some bad," Saga said.
     "Very good! We can put that on the board..." he said, writing 'cream puff roulette' on the board. "Fushimi, how about you?"
     "Weeeell, I was thinking we could do a matchmaking booth~!" Fushimi answered enthusiastically, sending a suggestive look towards Abeno.
     "Hmm, I don't think that will work well with the time limits of the festival, or with the people coming from outside of the school. Nice initiative, though!"
     "Oh, well! Then, I suppose I'll go with my back up. What about a convenience store?" Fushimi asked, seeming slightly disappointed. Abeno did not feel bad in the slightest.
     "Interesting idea," the professor said, writing it on the board. "Ashiya, how about you next?"
     "Um, actually, me and Abeno will present out idea together!" Ashiya rushed out, standing up and dragging Abeno with him.
     Abeno did not miss the look Fushimi threw him. Abeno glared back, trying to convey the message 'Shut up, idiot' telepathically. He had no time to see if it worked, as Ashiya continued speaking.
     "We were thinking that we could do a flower shop! We could sell bouquets, and, since I'm well acquainted with the language of flowers because of my mom's job..." Ashiya gave an urging look to Abeno.
     "Um, yeah...because of that, we were thinking of selling personalized bouquets to people..." Abeno continued, looking to Ashiya for approval. Ashiya held a subtle thumbs up to him.
     "Oh, what a great idea!" the professor exclaimed. "Alright, we now have three options for you to choose from. Make sure to leave your choice on a slip of paper in this bucket," here, he pointed at a plastic container on his desk, "before the end of the day. Now, for today's lesson..."
     As the professor continued talking, Ashiya turned back to face Abeno.
     "Thanks for doing that with me. I was, uh, a little nervous..." he said, rubbing his neck awkwardly with a light laugh.
     "It was no big deal..." Abeno responded, equally as awkward.
     "Hey, you two! Lesson's up here!"
     "Oh, sorry, sir!" Ashiya said, as Abeno let his head drop back onto the desk.
     He had earned a nap.