Special Property (BxB)

Chapter 31. Life's No Picnic

Hana: "Sensei. Is black a shade or a color?"

Sensei: "Well, it depends on who you ask. Scientists say it's the absence of color, but artists say it is a color."

Hana: "Yeah, but I'm asking you."

Sensei: "I'm neither a scientist nor an artist. You'll have to ask one of them."

Hana: "..."

—A newspaper comic strip.

Takahashi set up lunch, putting the food on paper plates, with napkins. He poured some soda for them. They sat across from each other with the food between them. They both clapped their hands together and exclaimed in unison, "Itadakimasu!"

Food always made Kato feel happy. This meal with Takahashi was turning out much more comfortable and enjoyable that he anticipated.

"Favorite color?" Takahashi asked.

"Black."

"That's not a color! And so, cliché! All boys say that!" Takahashi laughed while complaining.

"Ha, ha, ha. I don't care. I like black." Kato said.

"Why?"

"I dunno. Ever seen the sheen of the sun reflect off the fur of a black cat?"

Takahashi stared back with a blank face.

"Or maybe admired a brand-new black car, all washed and polished up, the whole thing set off with the sun glinting off the chrome?"

"Deep," Takahashi mockingly chuckled.

Kato glared back. "I'm not a writer or a poet. I can't explain these things."

Takahashi smiled, "I'm teasing you. I understand."

"What's yours?" Kato was now curious.

"A very deep and rich sky blue."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I'm not talking about the light sky blue. I'm talking about the deep pure blue you see about mid-day when you look into a cloudless summer sky. I feel sometimes that it is endless, and I wish I could escape there."

"Nice."

"Yeah." Takahashi sighed.

-----

They ate for a while in peace. Kato would periodically look over at Takahashi. He wasn't really sure what to make out off all of this. He knew he felt warm, well-fed, and safe right at this moment, but was pretty sure, like any other time, his momentary happiness just would never last. He had been unintentionally dwelling on the rumor that Higashihara had said that was surrounding Takahashi.

"Takahashi-san..." Kato started.

"Hmm?"

"Um. May I ask what happened to your last uke?"

"Bit of a long story there." Takahashi slowly replied.

"Oh? If you don't want to talk about it, you don't have to."

"No, it's not that. I suppose being my current uke, you have a right to know." Kato's heart felt a little troubled with the word "current," as if it meant "just now" and that it was inevitable that he would be cast aside soon.

Takahashi looked at Kato, then looked away into the distance. "To start, my most recent uke wasn't actually an uke."

"Oh?"

"Nah, he was a seme who forced himself upon another uke. I didn't have an uke at the time. It isn't right to steal someone else's uke, so I was not going to defend the uke and declare to all that I was taking an uke from another seme. Instead, I decided to make an uke out of that fucking piece of shit seme."