InsaneJournal

In the morning, Kouchisei held open the gate in the fence, stood back to make room for the taller boy who had been invited and brought by car, and made a thankful gesture to his father. The car disappeared round the drive to park, and he gave a watchful look to the friend he had been worrying about bringing to his home for a long time.

Kou himself had been a little more sociable lately. Finding the resolve to make friends had changed that, and it had been hard, he knew, because he liked his own company. His home was on the far reaches of Iburi. Sheltered by trees and an old fence keeping with the environment, it was hard to tell that anything had colour - it had all been coated white by the snowfall. It was hard to see colour, and that made him contemplate how little people knew of what was close to his heart: his life and home and family.

Occupying himself, he looked around at the grounds. Seeing nothing to say, he went ahead and opened the door, retreating momentarily from the billowing heat. Inside, the house lacked a different kind of warmth. He was certainly not a homely person, and the way he moved like a spider seemed to show he was afraid of breaking something. Except he was comfortable, and everything inside his house was familiar.

Honestly? He was more wary of Toru being here, but it was too late to be worrying about that.