Rei grins. "When you put it like that it does sound kind of silly."

"He can be very, very dense in some ways. We visited the ocean a couple of months ago. Neither of us had, before. He said that that'd be our first 共同作業* in getting back the childhood we never had."

(* Literally, "collaborative effort", but it's a phrase without a direct translation to English with connotations of endeavours married couples do together.)

"—eh? Really? Did he mean...? Two months ago?"

"He didn't."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"Man... you're running my image of him."

"It's there to be ruined."

Now it's Rei's turn to peer at Towa thoughtfully. "You really are head over heels for him, huh?" he asks in a teasing tone.

Is he? "I suppose I am."

"...eh? You're admitting it? Just like that?"

"Yeah."

"You really have changed."

"I'm glad."

"Tch."

"Now finish your food, mister, we're not leaving until you've eaten the whole thing."

Towa sighs and resumes eating, even though he's really not that hungry. "You don't have work this morning, then?"

"Nope! And I was planning to go to Emoto Park afterwards to cheer myself up. D'you wanna come with?"

"Pass."

"You've got other plans?"

"No."

"Wow... so heartless. I'm hurt."

Towa offers Rei another shrug and continues to eat.

He does end up going to Emoto Central Park with Rei, despite his earlier words. Rei finds a sunny spot of grass to sit but Towa picks a bench in the shade. He likes the sun better than he used to, nowadays, but the glare still bothers him, and the bench is just more comfortable than the grass, in his opinion.

After a couple of minutes of smoking in silence and watching the autumn leaves fall, Towa decides to reach into one of his coat's oversized pockets for his sketchpad and a pencil and draw.

As usual he doesn't really pick something to draw in advance. He just looks at the blank page and starts drawing. One could say Towa is just channelling his muse if one were feeling poetic, but even that ironic apophasis escapes his mind when he gets down to it and starts sketching. His hand moves and moves and shapes begin to take form on the paper.