It started with the fireworks.
The parade was due to march down the streets and Han Li had long lost interest in the bright festive flares of the celebrations. It had been fun at first but after seeing the New United Merriva flag waving at him one too many times and Penny Smith's dumb face plastered on every item marketed towards kids, Han Li decided that he had enough.
Penny Smith wasn't even that heroic of a character in history, but Merriva painted her in such a spectacular light for obvious reasons of patriotism. And damn, it wasn't as though Han Li hated his country but he liked to think of himself above all the toxic patriotism that painted Merriva as the pinnacle of the strong and free.
Okay, never mind, Merriva was a bit of a shit hole but that's beside the point. The point being, the entire Union Day festival just felt odd and out of place for a person like Han Li, who had lived a life so deeply ingrained in hunter culture only to run away from it later on. Because this was…almost a mockery of the life that he knew. A celebration for something that none of the people present truly understood and obviously took for granted. They were selling plastic pistols with fake silver pellets alongside werewolf and vampire masks.
Who even thought this was a good idea? Real vampires were…a shudder traveled down his spine, recent memories resurfacing. Yeah no, fuck that shit. He was still busy wiping that memory from his mind, thank you.
With his enthusiasm abated, Han Li turned to his phone for distractions while Kevin continued to mill around excitedly, sampling different booths for activities and other food and drinks that littered the city. Why was this starting to feel more like babysitting an excited puppy than a real date? And why were Han Li's thoughts turning so toxic?
He was trying hard to ignore his thoughts, smiling when Kevin held his wrist and was pulled him down the street. The other boy was claiming that the rooftop bar on R street was going to have the best view of the parade in the entire city and that he knew because he'd done research and yadayadayadaya.
"That's cool," Han Li replied absently, fiddling through his pocket in search of his phone, already thinking up the countless distractions he could conjure without seeming like too much of an asshole.
As it stood, he couldn't help but feel that he was venturing deep into asshole territory and that was Graham's job, not Han Li's.
There was a crowd in front of the bar, a frantic hostess trying to calm the masses as they pushed and pushed. Kevin was quick to join in. Though his personality was normally mild, when there was something he decided he wanted, Kevin was surprisingly aggressive. He wasn't shy about using his shoulder as a battering ram to carve out a path for the two of them. "Don't worry…" His soft voice barely managed to drift over to Han Li's ears. "I made… a reservation already!"
"That's great," Han Li hummed, helping his friend push through the crowd. In reality, he just wanted to sit down.
After some harrowing wrestling and a shouting match with the frazzled waitress, by some miracle, they made it up the elevator and onto the terrace that overlooked the city. It wasn't that high up, only four stories and perfect for viewing the streets where the parade was due to pass. Han Li sighed loudly, slumping in his seat and feeling strange fatigue that he couldn't really describe. It was different from being worked to death by assignments and art projects and different also from the mental and physical toll of missions.
He couldn't quite put a finger on it but he was starting to feel suffocated. In front of him, Kevin was busy picking apart the menu and Han Li was ripping apart his tired brain for a topic of conversation.
He didn't know what he was thinking when he asked, "I wonder where Simone's at?" It was likely he wasn't thinking at all. Because Kevin flinched at his words and it wasn't difficult picking up his upset, with those pulled lips and furrowed brows.
"I…I'm sure she's okay."
"…Right." Han Li dropped the topic when he realized that Kevin was upset and uninterested. That still left the sea of silence between them, waiting to be crossed and Han Li was without any tools. He was saved by the whizzing sound of fireworks in the sky.
"Look!" Kevin squealed, his eyes dazzled when the sky was filled with sizzling light. A monstrous werewolf sprung forth, only to be slaughtered with an ax to the skull. A story unfolded with the power of light and artistry. And Han Li might have been interested in the artistic aspect of it, if nothing else but he was feeling odd, disjointed, and found himself playing with his phone in his pocket.
He chanced a peek, hoping that the fireworks were enough of a distraction for Kevin to gloss over his disinterest.
What he saw was a hectic wall of messages from Simone and Han Li made the mistake of clicking one, seeing her lively broadcast of all the stupid fun she was having.
[ did u and kevy finally get a room? Lul grats! gimme deets later I need fanfic material thanx ]
Annoying, and yet he was smiling at the message. He scrolled for more.
[ HLY SHT MY MAN MY DUDE MY DUDERS I just met a hot hunk of meat and zeroing in on target ]
[ he aint no janitor class but LOOK AT THIS CUTIE ]
[ if things dont work out with u and kevy then lmk ill set u up ]
Han Li almost spat when he saw a blurry selfie of Simone with her cheek pressed up against a familiar poser, with crimson hair and fake blue eyes. He even had that anime chuuni pose with his hand covering half his face— What the fuck, wasn't that guy still recovering from his injuries?
"Li?" Han Li almost dropped his phone as he perked up, summoned by the sound of Kevin's gentle voice over the roar of fireworks above them.
"Y-Yeah? What's up?" He was trying his best to be discreet with shoving the device back into his pocket but something told Han Li was being a major failure.
But by whatever miracle Kevin didn't seem to notice, the smile on his face was soft, eyes lightly crescented with an honest expression of joy. There was a light brush of rose on his cheeks, glowing brightly with the flashing lights that graced them from the skies. Kevin, normal, down-to-earth, boring Kevin was all sorts of pretty and cute under this lighting, even with his plain ass jacket and even lamer anime shirt. Han Li wanted to think he liked everything about this boy.
But he didn't.
"Thank you…for joining me tonight," Kevin's voice was small, his eyes broke off and he scratched the side of his plump cheek. Han Li felt a visceral desire to flee; something akin to getting cornered by a monster too high rank for him and his team to deal with. He needed to reconvene and re-evaluate his strategies, he needed to—
Kevin could not read his mind and thus continued, "U-um." His cheeks deepened and it was cute. Han Li only wanted to make a tactical retreat even more. The situation was getting out of hand. "The…truth is…I…"
Fireworks flew overhead, the scene was doused in glittering pink light; a magnificent dragon danced in figure-eights.
"I really like you!"
Ah.
Would it be cruel if Han Li pretended like he didn't hear? His smile strained, unable to reach his eyes.
He didn't know what to say. Or rather, he had nothing to say at all. His heart hurt, man. This was a critical hit in all the wrong ways.
"U-um!" Kevin rambled at Han Li's silence, his hands waving frantically as he tried to recover from his embarrassment. "You don't…have to answer now…and we…we can still be friends!"
The words came as a relief but Han Li knew it would be unkind for him to take them as a way out.
Frankly, he didn't know what kind of answer would be considered kind in this situation. He was cornered. "I will," he began but paused to mull over the words. "I'll think about it."
But they came out when more fireworks sounded and Kevin blinked rapidly, leaning over the table like a shy but eager hamster, "W-what did you say…?"
Han Li almost jumped out of his skin when Kevin froze, his excited expression turning into one of fear. A hand came down on his shoulder and he may or may not have yelped.
"Forgive the intrusion," Graham's cold voice cut through the sizzling and crackling fireworks overhead. He was a dark monument, otherworldly as he stood there like a shadow behind Han Li, seeming to appear out of nowhere. The stoic and unfeeling countenance didn't help.
"You weren't responding to messages so I thought it suitable to find you in person. I understand that I might be intruding a private moment…" His eyes trailed over to Kevin, who, for the first time, shrank under the Saint of Eternity's gaze. "But I can make it fast. There is something important I wish to convey to you, Han Li. It will only be a moment."
Han Li gulped, he felt like a jackass when he said, "Is it…about work?" Work, as in hunting, as in something he was no longer part of and wanting nothing to do with. It was a convenient excuse.
One of Graham's brows twitched, it didn't go unnoticed by Han Li. "Hm, in the strictest sense, I suppose it does."
"Alright," Han Li rose from his seat, but he didn't look over at Kevin, too afraid to catch the other boy's expression. "Let's talk. I'll be right back, Kev." But in his heart, he hoped that Graham would take his time.