ma vie, la vôtre, et un peu de romance (kazuha, xiao, aether + lumine)
It was frankly incredible that Kazuha still had time for his planned appearances in the United States with the insanity of the pre-party tour. But there he was in New York, scheduled to appear on SNL that night.
Incredible.
But he had never been to New York prior to this week, and despite the tight rehearsal schedule, he still wanted to enjoy his first time there. So there he was, in the nearest corner shop to his hotel that he could find (or wasn’t it “bodega” here?). He just wanted to find a bite to eat before his Ellis Island tour. He didn’t look like a local, at least in his mind, but he wasn’t giving clueless tourist either, so that was better than nothing.
Clearly though, he looked enough like a local (or at least an American) to fool the teenaged checker.
“You using cash or credit?” The teen looked like she could not care less.
“Uhm, let me see… Yeah, cash please.”
The checker looked a bit startled.
“Is… that alright? Would you rather I used credit?”
She shook her head. “No, I was just surprised. You don’t look British” she chuckled.
That wasn’t the response Kazuha was expecting. “Thank you? Is that a compliment?”
But she just laughed again and continued to check him out, ignoring his question.
Once he was outside, items in hand and slightly more confused than before, he fished his phone out from his pocket to text Beidou.
kazu: someone just told me i dont look british
kazu: is that a compliment?? i’m so confused
senhor do mar: HAHHHHAAAAAHAHAA
senhor do mar: yes that is 100% a compliment that’s so great
kazu: lmao
kazu: you in lisbon?
senhor do mar: yeah, ning and i are leaving again tomorrow though
kazu: well, rest while you can
senhor do mar: will do! make sure to take care of yourself too, kiddo
kazu: 💖
senhor do mar: ❤️
Kazuha smiled and moved to put away his phone when he got another message. Was his phone doing that thing again where it gave notifications twice for one message?
eeter: just saw the austrian guy
eeter: he’s cute af
eeter: help meeee
Aether. Half of the duo representing Estonia this year, it seemed like he and his sister had met everyone already. He and Kazuha happened to be friends before the participants were even announced. He grinned as he wrote back.
kazoo: the austrian guy?
eeter: yeah
kazoo: the one whose song is about edgar allan poe? that austrian guy?
eeter: yeah 😭
kazoo: and he’s hot?
eeter: extremely
kazoo: damn
kazoo: rip
eeter: NOT HELPFUL
eeter: what do i talk to him about??? i need helpppp
kazoo: uh, he’s from china, right? you could ask him about that?
kazoo: hmm or actually maybe dont, i remember hearing that he walked out on an interview after getting asked too many questions about his childhood
eeter: kuradi kurat, yeah, i won’t ask about that then
kazoo: just talk about eurovision
eeter: wait i forgot about that
kazoo: how???
eeter: shhhhhhut up
eeter: i’m gonna go rizz this guy up, talk to you later jobu 😘
kazoo: catch you later, nerd 😘
Kazuha put his phone back and started for the harbor where his tour was supposed to meet. He was kind of looking forward to just killing time while he had the chance.
———
That Estonian guy was staring at Xiao. He had been for a while now. The two had both been moving around, speaking to press, but whenever the guy wasn’t busy, Xiao could feel his eyes on him.
He didn’t think the guy was a threat. He was good at sensing that kind of thing, and the guy didn’t seem like he could really cause him an issue. He was actually kinda cute. But it was still a bit weird.
“Nein, ja, ich danke Ihnen. Stimmt unbedingt für Österreich im zweiten Halbfinale!” Xiao gave the interviewer a little wave, and the interviewer thanked him once more and rushed off to go interrogate the French representative.
And eyes on him, right on cue. Xiao glanced back at the guy. He and a blonde girl (she must have been his sister) had just finished an interview in much the same fashion that he had.
Well, Baba did always encourage him to take the first step.
“Excuse me?”
The siblings turned towards him, and the guy’s face turned immediately red once their eyes locked. “I don’t believe we’ve met. My name is Xiao.”
“Hi, Xiao! I’m Lumine, this is my brother Aether. Where are you from?” She held her hand out for a handshake, which he took.
“I’m representing Austria. And you? I’m sorry, I haven’t had the chance to hear any of the other songs yet.”
“Great! We’re from Estonia. And don’t worry, we haven’t listened to much of anything either!”
The guy, Aether, still hadn’t said a word. He was fidgeting with his (very nice, Xiao noted) hair, and gave a start when Xiao held his hand out to him for a handshake. “Yeah! Um… yeah, very nice to meet you.”
Xiao had to keep himself from laughing a bit at that. Not in a mean way, just… it was nice. “You guys too.”
But before the conversation could go any further, the three were interrupted by an interviewer, failing at subtly trying to get Xiao’s attention. He sighed. “I’ll see you again at some point?”
“For sure!” Lumine gave him a wave, and he walked away from the siblings. He wasn’t a social person, but he’d like to get to know them more.
Especially Aether.
He could hear their conversation as he walked away, although he couldn’t understand a word of it.
“Issand Jumal, Eeter. See oli bio ebamugav! Sul on temasse nii armunud, kas pole?”
“Tsss! Jää vait! Ära lase tal sind kuulda!”
“Ta ei räägi eesti keelt, see on hea! Ära nüüd sellest eemale, sa oled temasse nii armunud!”
Hm. He wondered what that meant.