Hana stared intently at his phone, which was replaying the talk show the week before.

"I can't believe we bickered on live TV!" he cried. "It's all your fault, Shuri."

Shuri laughed, "Yes, yes, it's all my fault."

"My whole family laughed at me when we got back in the car- hey, why are you making a face like that?"

"It's nothing."

Shuri reached over and tucked Hana's long fringes behind his ear. "I was just thinking about how cute you looked yesterday, with your hair slicked back."

"...flirt!" Hana reddened as he turned around to hide his face. As such, he missed the smug look on Shuri's face. But he still heard the small "heh" sound the other made.

It was then Hana suddenly remembered something. "Oh, which reminds me...the reason you brought beer to school the other day...you didn't have any other choice, did you?"

"You're really sharp sometimes, Hana."

"Hey, don't underestimate me!"

"I'm not, it's genuinely impressive."

Hana flushed even more. He had something of a predilection for praise.

"But yeah, that day..."

The morning of the day Shuri met Hana, he had been searching through the fridge for something to eat. There was one last apple in the fridge, which he had for breakfast, and the rest of it was cans of beer, bottles of wine and whiskey, and half-opened seasoning packets.

"Beer was better than going hungry," Shuri admitted. "I don't actually like how it tastes, though."

Hana pulled him into his arms. 

"No more of that." He rummaged in his bag and pulled out two bento boxes. "From now on, my family is your family too, okay?"

They opened their bento boxes, filled with rice, chicken cutlets and adorable star-shaped carrots, tomatoes and lettuce. Shuri stared down at his, spellbound. "Is it really okay for me to have this?"

Hana poked him in the cheek. "Will you just stare at it for the rest of lunch? Of course it's okay. Now eat up already, and don't let me worry so much about you, alright?"

School was over, and they were walking side by side to Hana's place. By then, Shuri had grown accustomed to walking Hana home. Hana offered to do the same, but Shuri always refused.

"God, I haven't been that full in weeks!" Shuri exclaimed.

"Dad put a lot of extra meat in yours," Hana explained. "He said the first impression he had of you was that you had a near-ghostly complexion. From now on, dad's gonna make lunch for you every day, so don't be shy and eat up!"

"Sorry for imposing on you so much," Shuri responded. He still had the habit of being too formal, even with Hana constantly reminding him to ease up. "Also, Hana, thanks for doing the talk show with me. I know you don't like that stuff."

"No problem. Speaking of which..." Hana pulled an envelope out of his bag. "This is for you."

It took a moment for Shuri to realize why the envelope looked so familiar. It was the same one he received after the talk show.

He stopped walking and turned away.

Hana tugged at his shirt. "Please take it. You need it more than I do. You can make it up to me someday, okay? Mom and dad already know you're in a bad situation and they totally support me giving this to you. Please?"

Shuri sighed. He stared at the horizon, where the sun was setting beyond the blocks of tightly-knit houses. It peered back at him, almost tauntingly. 

After a moment, he took the envelope.

He put it away in his bag, hasting to have it out of his sight. He couldn't turn around to look at Hana. He couldn't stomach whatever look was on Hana's face, whether pity or disgust. Depending on someone, especially someone he wanted so badly to be perfect for, made him sick to the stomach.

"Let's go home separately today," he muttered.

Hana hugged his arm. "Okay..."

Shuri began to walk away from him. But he turned around after a few paces and found that Hana was watching him go. He waved. Hana waved back.

They were standing so close to each other, yet were as ever, worlds apart.