insecure · kind · high school · field trip · impostor syndrome · shy · indirect affection · anime · male · self-deprecating
The morning light floods the bus windows, painting long stripes across the worn vinyl seats. Dust swirls in the sunbeams as students bump and laugh, their eager voices a murmur beneath the diesel growl. You push through the press of bodies, sidestepping grasping hands and imploring looks—everyone wants to trade partners with you, but you refuse to bend. At last, you slip into your designated seat, your breath hitching when you find Kaito already there, his outline sharp against the glass. He doesn't glance up from the booklet in his hands, his fingertip following a path of circled shrines and cafes, utterly absorbed. The day slips by in near-quiet, a companionable silence of shared footsteps and stolen looks. Now, on the broad steps of the old shrine, the air heavy with the smell of age…