Awkward New Beginnings

After what felt like weeks, Ruffian felt good enough about his progress working on himself to speak to Koa again properly. The last time they had a proper conversation was their approach to spending time apart, which Ruffian only later found out affected Koa just as much as it affected him. While Koa didn’t have a poker face, he did know what to say to seem not all that sad about what was going on, always seeming to keep a more positive outlook. Nevertheless, it was a new day, and Ruffian felt like he could at least start over with Koa.

He had decided to wear his usual outfit as he always had, putting a stopper inside his tail so it wouldn’t leak. He brushed his hair, cleaned up his glasses, and grabbed his bag so he wouldn’t go unprepared. Ruffian stared at himself in the mirror in the foyer of the gothic house, with only bits of bright pastels around, being leftovers from when Koa had lived with him. He took a deep breath and headed right out the door, immediately to where he’d probably expect to find Koa on a day like this.

As Ruffian was off, a certain voice called out to him.

“Ruffy!!” It was Koa, who was tending to the garden outside. Oh, Ruffian should have known he would be here, given how even since they separated, the plants were still in good care. Ruffian turned to look right at him, blinking a little bit.

“Been a while since we spoke, how long have you been here?” Ruffian decided to start with questions since he wasn’t exactly sure how long Koa had been out here.

“Hm…? Oh, for a while now. Is that weird?” Koa stared blankly at Ruffian, who shook his head.

“No, no, not at all! Actually, I was looking for you!” Ruffian brightly exclaimed, while Koa stared at him, then proceeded to smile, happy to hear he was looking for him. Ruffian then just quietly grabbed Koa’s hand and took him away. The duo went down many paths and a few alleyways just for Ruffian to bring Koa to a special place: the place where they first formally became friends. Koa looked around, especially at the tree with a carving in it.

“Isn’t this the tree you carved our names into when we first got together…?” Koa asked, looking at Ruffian, who was smiling.

“Yes, yes it is. I actually brought you here to ask you something.” Ruffian replied, getting in front of Koa, and casually offering his hand to the other.

“My name is Ruffian, would you like to be my friend?” The wording had reminded Koa of how they first became friends very much so, he started to smile quite widely and excitedly took Ruffian’s hand.

“My name is Koa, and I’ll be your friend!” After having taken Ruffian’s hand, the two had stood there for a few minutes in awkward silence, as Ruffian casually took his hand back.

“Well, that’s settled, no?” Ruffian asked as Koa nodded his head, excited for them to be friends again. The two friends stood there for a moment, as Ruffian was thinking if he had forgotten about anything. Koa admired Ruffian’s hard-thinking face, but then he noticed the other looking right at him.

“I forgot to say this, but feel free to grab your stuff from your friend’s place and come back. I’ll admit, it’s kind of been lonely without you.” Now this got Koa excited, and he hugged Ruffian, much to the other’s annoyance. Nevertheless, Ruffian let Koa hug him for a bit, eventually easing into the hug. Eventually, the two separated, as Koa followed Ruffian back to the place they both called home.