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“Careful, Sakura, careful!” Nirei said with anxiety laced in his voice.
“You're not gonna be able to do it.” Kiryu snickered.
“I have to agree, there's no chance of you winning this.” Suo nodded along.
“I believe in you, Sakura! You have the virtue to do anything you put your mind to!” Tsugeura cheered.
Sakura's hand held on to the block, slowly pulling it out. His attention hyper focused on not moving his hand even a little, if he so much as trembles it's all over and he’d lose.
He cannot afford to lose right now.
The piece is halfway out, the tower starts to tremble. Everyone is holding their breaths, watching as intently as Sakura is. The smooth piece of wood slowly, ever so slowly, is being removed.
Almost there, almost there.
He feels the tension release when he's able to pull it out, free of its confines.
“YES!”
“You actually did it!”
“Way to go, Sakura!”
They all cheer for him.
“You have to place it on top now.” Suo says with a smug grin, of course he would remind everyone of the rules. This wasn't over just yet.
“I know, I know.” Sakura mutters. He wills his hands to stop shaking as he lifts his arm up to place the block gently, right where Kiryu had placed his meer moments before. It was simple, all he had to do was-
Tck
The noise was hardly audible, only being heard due to the intense silence that permeated through the room.
No, no, no, no, no!
Everyone watches as the tower leans to the right before losing stability and falling apart, a loud crashing noise of wooden blocks as they scattered throughout his room.
“AAH!”
“NOOO!!!”
“YOU HAD IT!”
Everyone matched the energy of the fallen tower, loud and excitable. The anxiety in the room disappeared instantly along with the previously semi-stable tower.
“God damn it!” Sakura cursed, throwing his block at the other blocks.
Suo laughs off to the side, which makes him more pissed off.
“Maybe next time, Sakura.”
“Shut up! It's Kiryu’s fault! He removed one of the foundation pieces!” He turned to the pink haired boy who was giggling with a smile, raising his hands in surrender
“I did nothing of the sort! It was a smart play!”
“Smart play my-”
“Okay, okay, enough bickering you two!” Nirei cut in, fretting over the duo.
Sakura crossed his arms and grumbled on the floor as Tsugeura collected the fallen pieces and put them back in the JENGA box.
“To be honest, I don't think anyone was going to win that round after Kiryu’s risky play, it was a great risk and great reward on his end, well done, Kiryu.” Suo complimented.
“Tch, he just got lucky.”
“It's all about the skill.” Kiryu said in a smooth tone.
Nirei had wanted everyone to hang out together that night, it was a ‘friday night hangout session’ something he explained friends did often together to help bond or whatever. Why did they choose Sakura's place? Easy, no parents.
Yep, as simple as that, they wanted to stay up late and be as loud as possible, and Sakura lived alone so it was a win-win. (Suo wouldn't tell them his parents were almost never home, he enjoyed staying at Sakura's place more anyways.)
So everyone made sure to bring something they could all do for the night, and made sure to bring their own blankets and pillows too because they all knew Sakura had none to spare for them. In his little apartment sat their four friends and the center of attention, the dual haired boy himself.
Tsugeura had ordered a pizza for the lot of them earlier, which had just arrived. Suo wasn't one for greasy food like this, but he could make an exception for tonight because it was special to see Sakura enjoying himself. The boy wound himself so tightly that it was hard to ever get him to truly loosen up. It's as though he was scared if he let down his guard, people would pounce on him. That just wouldn't do, so he talked Sakura into letting all of them hang out regularly, and well, here they were.
Jenga done and over with, the next thing on the list was to play party games while they ate, Kiryu had brought over his switch and while they didn't have a TV to play it on, he could set it up in the center of the room and everyone could use their phones to play along. He ensured to download some party games they could all participate in.
“This one's fun, we draw pictures on our phones, we won't know who made what picture, and then we have to caption it with the funniest thing we can think of, and then we all vote on which one we thinks the funniest!” Kiryu explained.
“Do I look like a damn artist to you?” Sakura bit back.
“Haha, that's the fun of it, Sakura! We’re all going to be so terrible, it'll just make it even funnier!”
“If you say so.”
The round started and it took Sakura too long to figure out how to do it properly, the first prompt was ‘Create an album cover’ so Sakura decided to try and draw Suo with Nirei playing instruments.
It turned out as good as you'd expect. Stick figures and all, the only tell that it was even his friends was the poor attempt at their hair, even then there weren't many defining features.
Whatever. Kiryu said it was fine so it's fine.
Next Sakura was given a random design to try and caption, there were four total he had to somehow give funny or smart captions on. The first one showed a poor attempt at a white horse with a three-colored mane and horn sticking from its head.
Fuck am I supposed to do for this?
The timer ticked down from 30, he had 30 seconds to write a caption, if he was truly struggling he could always let the game give an auto-fill answer, but those were never fun.
Thinking on his feet, he quickly typed out “If Sugi smiled.” (Due to the character limit he couldn't fit Sugashitas whole name, so this would have to do) before hitting next.
The next image was a stick figure cat with a knife in its mouth, black background and the cat was white with blue eyes.
“Ume when tomatoes”
The next one was of a rabbit with skulls underneath it, it laid on the pile of bones at the top.
‘Suo's enemies’
The final image was just an eye, a single eye but it was drawn with somewhat good detail, the eyes color on one side was gray but the other side was yellow, with the colors somewhat blending together in the middle.
It was a weirdly actually nice quality, he wasn't expecting anyone in their friend group to be decent artists, now he was just wondering who could've drawn it.
The clock was ticking, so he had to figure out what to caption it. Eyes are windows to the soul, or whatever, right?
“Soul opener”
Did it make sense? No, he could admit that. If he had to explain himself well, he was thinking of ‘eye opener’ but replaced it with ‘soul’ because of the window soul thing , okay fine maybe it made no sense actually, he should do something better.
Before he had a chance to edit it, the screen changed, 30 seconds were up and it was voting time now. He was so focused on his screen he hardly noticed anyone in the room, he was slightly surprised to see everyone was there, he had expected someone to have wanted to quit by now.
Friend groups were still weird to him.
“Votin’ time!” Kiryu announced excitedly.
“All votes are anonymous until the end of the round! So don't say what you voted for!”
Sakura watched as the first drawing popped on screen, it was the white cat with the knife.
He saw in the boxes to vote for the captions people gave it were:
‘Death by fluff’
‘Ume when tomatoes’ (grayed out because he couldn't vote for himself)
‘I don't bite’
‘Sakura's cat’
“Ume when tomatoes hehe.” He heard Nirei giggle off to the side.
“Shh!” Kiryu interrupted, “No swaying the votes!”
What did ‘Sakura's cat’ mean? Who would think he would own a cat, and why did they think the cat would be violent?
Whatever . He voted for it anyway.
After 15 seconds, the game swapped to a different picture, this one being the white unicorn drawing.
‘Saku when food’
‘Hiragi with meds’
‘Kiryu mascot’
‘If Sugi smiled’
Another one that had him in it? At least this time it had Kiryu dragged in too. He votes for the Hiragi one before the screen changes again.
This time, the picture Sakura saw was of his own, crude drawing of his friends playing instruments.
‘Band back together’
‘Me & da bois’
‘After a fight’
‘Jammin’ @ Sakus’
What weird captions , he thinks. Clicking on the last one.
The rabbit on a skull pile came up next.
‘Suo's enemies’
‘Me w/ smn insults Saku’
‘Bofurin protecc’
‘He don't bite’
Sakura smiled at the second one, damn straight he would fight anyone who dares insult him, it wasn't even funny it was just the truth.
The last image was the weirdly detailed one of the color-morphing eye.
It appeared others struggled somewhat with this one too, as the captions weren’t as funny or directly targeted towards anyone.
‘Eye love you’
‘Me when i'm gay’
‘Oblivious’
‘Soul opener’
He was confused on the captions, they were strange, although he supposes all the captions were strange, they were only given 15 seconds to name them after all. He decides to choose the first one for the pun if nothing else. The game is on a loading screen until everyone is done voting.
“That was silly!” Nirei says
“Yeah you all had amazing captions!” Tsugeura replies.
“I thought you said we were all shit artists, then one of you comes in with this detailed eye drawing.” Sakura pouts, crossing his arms as he watches the screen.
“We will see who drew it soon enough, don't worry.” Kiryu mentions.
On screen popped up the cat with a knife, it showed Tsugeura had drawn it, then Sakura's avatar popped up next to it showing 3 of the 4 people had voted for his caption, making ‘Ume when tomatoes’ the winner for that photo.
“Wow, I didn't think Sakura made that caption!” Kiryu said
“Congrats on winning that round, Sakura!” Nirei chimed in.
“Nice caption.” Suo complimented
“S-shut up, yours was just bad is all.” Sakura blushes
Next was the unicorn, drawn by Nirei it appears.
The winner for that caption was ‘Saku when food’, having two people voting on it, Sakura chose a different option than Suo.
“The hell? I don't turn into a unicorn when I have food!”
“Haha, but you do get all excited, it wouldn't surprise me if rainbows started appearing around you when you did eat!” Kiryu teased.
“Yeah! You do get excited when it comes to food!” Tsugeura chimed in.
“Aagh you're all impossible!” Sakura folded his arms and looked away, blush forming on his cheeks.
“It’s alright, Sakura, I just thought it was adorable.” Suo smiled.
His drawing popped up next, showing ‘Jammin’ @ Sakus’ won by 2 votes, the other options being chosen by different people.
“Awh, you drew that one? How adorable!” Suo commented
“Was that supposed to be me and Suo?” Nirei asked.
“Y-yeah, and it's not adorable!”
“I'm touched you chose to draw us.” Suo continued on, ignoring Sakura.
“You wanna go outside?”
“Maybe later.”
For some reason, Sakura figures that wasn't an invitation for a fight.
The skull with the rabbits was drawn by Kiryu, ‘Bofurin protecc’ won, which was Tsugueras caption.
Some mild playful banter continued, until the last drawing of the eye came to screen, for some reason the air felt slightly more tense than relaxed like it was moments ago, Sakura couldn't figure out why. He noticed Kiryu giving Suo a look, and Suo pointedly ignoring Kiryu.
For some reason, ‘Oblivious’ won that round, but Sakura couldn't understand why.
More importantly, he saw Suo made the drawing.
“The hell? When did you learn how to draw?” Sakura asked, looking at Suo.
“Hah, I don't really do it much, one of my brothers likes to though and he gives me pointers from time to time, I just happen to remember a thing or two.”
“Brothers? I call BS, you don't have any brothers.”
“Oh but I do.”
“Then why’d you never say anythin’?”
“I suppose it's because there's never been a reason to bring it up before.”
“You gotta tell us about your brothers someday!” Tsuguera said, enthusiastic
“Perhaps when the time comes, however, not today.” He says simply.
“Let's do another round of this and then we can do some fun trivia!” Kiryu says, to which everyone agrees.
The pizza was good, a bit too much sauce for Sakura's liking but he wasn't one to be picky with what he ate. They played different rounds of drawing games, trivia games, memorization, competitive, and team games.
Sakura hardly won any, much to his annoyance.
It was late outside, the sky turned dark blue, he noticed Nirei yawning more and more.
“You're not tired are you?” Sakura asked.
“Huh? Oh, it's just that I normally go to bed around this time.”
“Hah? You go to bed at 10PM?”
“Yea, my parents are a bit strict with bedtimes.” He replied sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Aren't you too old to be having a bedtime?” Sakura asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Haha, well, I'm not really bothered by it much, what time do you usually sleep?”
When did Sakura sleep? He never cared to check specific times, he just fell asleep whenever.
“Doesn't matter, if you're tired you should go to bed.”
“What about you all?”
“We’ll be fine.” He looks over to find Kiryu lazily laying his head on Tsugeuras shoulder.
“I don't mind turning in for the night.” Kiryu says.
“Yeah, proper sleep is just as important as working out!” Tsugeura adds.
“See, nothing to worry about, now get settled for the night.”
“Thanks, Sakura, you really care a lot about us, huh?” Nirei said
“Huh? No, I'm not doing this for you or anything!”
“Riiight, I'm sure you aren't.” Suo chimes in.
“Where’d you come from?”
“I was made in a laboratory, thank you very much.”
Sakura grumbles at the response.
“Let's all get ready for bed, who wants to take the bathroom first?” Suo asks.
“I will if no one minds.” Nirei asks.
With the go ahead, Nirei goes to the bathroom to freshen up for the night.
When Sakura hears the shower turning on, he comes to a very unfortunate realization.
“Uh, I should've mentioned this earlier, but uh…” He trails off, looking away. The three in the room give him all their attention, it's a bit awkward to be honest.
“The shower isn't the best, the water runs hot for the first thirty minutes or so, but then it gets cold, it won't get hot again for another two or three hours, so I guess what i'm saying is that…”
“Nirei is the only one who can shower for the night?” Kiryu asks.
“Yeah, kind of, unless anyone wants a cold shower.”
“That's alright with me.” Kiryu replies.
Tsugeura goes to knock on the bathroom door.
“Hey Nirei! Sakura told us the shower won't run hot for long, so don't stay in there for too long!”
“Got it!” Nirei calls back out.
Sakura feels himself being pulled towards someone, unsurprisingly he finds one eye staring at him.
Suo leans down to whisper in his ear.
“We could always share the shower, that way we both can have warm water for a bit.”
Sakura blushes instantly, fighting in Suo’s grasp.
“S-stop teasing me, bastard!” He bounces away from Suo, as Suo laughs
“Sorry, sorry, it was the perfect opportunity though!”
Sakura grumbles more under his breath, avoiding eye contact with the taller boy.
Against his will, he started imagining taking a shower with Suo, how would he look shirtless? How would his muscles look with the water running down them? Would he keep his eyepatch on or finally take it off?
He was blushing even harder at the thought that they would both be naked, together.
Absolutely not. He couldn't be having thoughts like these about a friend.
That's what they were, friends. Not anything more or less, whether Sakura wanted more was irrelevant.
“I need to step outside for a bit.” He says suddenly. The cold air should help cool off his face and get him to stop blushing, yes that's a wonderful idea.
“I think I should too.” He hears Kiryu say, bouncing out the door with him.
Sakura walks down the stairs of his residency and stands at the bottom, taking in a deep breath and letting it out.
“Why did you follow me!?” He asks (Or more accurately, shouts) at Kiryu.
“I just wanted to ask you some things!” He said dismissively.
“Well spit it out, I ain’t got all day.”
“Of course.” He replies with a nod. Kiryu suddenly blocks Sakura, standing straight in front of him.
“Do you like Suo?”
Does he what!?
“H-HUH!?” He shouts, the burning in his face getting darker and hotter, he stumbles nearly tripping over nothing.
“Do you like Suo? You keep staring at him, and it's not just today either, I've noticed you two are getting awfully close!”
“What makes you think just because I trust him more means I like him!?”
“Come on Sakura, you're like an open book!”
“What's that supposed to mean!?”
“It means you're easy to read, your expressions and mannerisms are so obvious! If you like him you should say something!”’
“Absolutely not!”
“Aawwhh come on, it’d be so fun to have a couple in the class, don't you think?”
“What makes you think Suo even likes me like that?”
“I thought it was obvious, but I guess it makes sense that Sakura can't see the signs, given how you avoid affection when possible.”
“I do not!”
“There's no denying that statement, Sakura!”
He folds his arms, this pink haired devil with bright green eyes is staring at him with excitement and intensity he hadn't shown meer moments ago when he lay on Tsugeuras shoulder.
A cold gust of wind rushed past him, making him shiver.
Was he really that obvious that he liked Suo? He didn't even fully realize how much he cared for the other until recently, but the way Kiryu phrased it was like he had been pining for him for months. It was just Suo was so interesting, he was unique and tall and really pretty and no matter who he fought he never got hit in a fight, never even gets grazed or has a fraction of dust on him afterwards. His fighting style was impressive and stunning to watch. Sakura wouldn't admit how he liked the way Suo smelt, something about his shampoo he uses gives him a forest kind of scent, it was relaxing. So was drinking tea with him every morning at Kotohas cafe. Sakura had drank coffee before meeting Suo, and now he much prefers the calmness tea gives him instead of the energy coffee builds in him.
That red eye holding so much wisdom, he knows there's pain there too that he tries to hide, unfortunately for them both Sakura has seen that pain before, he knows what it looks like. He wants to be the one that Suo opens up to, and he wants to be there and ready for him whenever that happens.
But who is he kidding? How could he expect Suo to open up to him when he doesn't even open up to his own friends. They've been through hell and back together, especially after Endos shit, and yet.
Yet he still fears rejection, he doesn't want to relive those memories of his past, he doesn't want those around him to view him any differently.
One day, he promises silently, one day he would open up to others and tell them everything.
He's just not ready yet, and that's okay. Because he knows, he knows everyone will wait for him, Suo has infinite patience, he will slowly work open his heart and break down the barriers Sakura has so carefully built around his core, and one day he will be fully vulnerable to the other boy.
That's just not today, and that's okay.
“Sooo, you done thinking it over? Do you like him?” Kiryu asks again.
Sakura looks away, avoiding eye contact.
“And what if I did?”
“Aah! That'd be so rad! It'd be so cool to have you two together! I think you deserve happiness and if that's with Suo then that'd be nice!”
“You don't…” He looked at Kiryu in confusion.
“Huh? What's the matter?” He asks, noticing the confused pained expression in Sakura's eyes.
“I thought boys couldn't like other boys though, you don't mind?”
“Oh, well, times are changing! It's okay to like whoever you like, it doesn't matter what gender you identify as or what sex you're born as, honestly as long as the relationship isn't toxic and it makes everyone happy, I really couldn't care less who's with who!”
“What about everyone else?”
“Well, considering practically the whole school knows about Tsubaki’s crush on Umemiya, i'd say they don't particularly care, to be blunt about it.”
“And the town?”
“Sakura, you're worrying too much about this! I promise you, Makochi is very accepting of everyone, it doesn't matter who you are or what you do, all that matters is you're a decent person!” Kiryu replies with a grin.
“Does Suo like boys?” Sakura asks in a smaller voice.
“I one hundred and ten percent believe that yes, he likes boys, a specific boy in fact.” He nudges Sakura's shoulder.
“Are you really certain he likes me?”
“Aaah Sakura you're so oblivious! Just take him outside later and ask him! I will bet you money he will say yes.”
Sakura wasn't too sure, he wanted to believe Kiryu but also he was afraid.
The ground they stood on was solid, it was nice being Suo’s friend so why couldn't he be happy with that? Why did he want more from him?
“Hey you guys have been out for a bit, you should come back inside before you freeze to death!” Tsugeura shouts, looking down at them.
“We’re coming!” Kiryu replies.
“You got this, Sakura, and if I'm wrong I’ll give you 10,000 yen.”
“Ten… Thousand… No way, you don't have that money!”
“Maybe I do, maybe I don't, but if I'm wrong I will guarantee to give you that much, shake on it?”
Was his relationship with Suo worth 10k yen? He was sure they could repair it with time if he managed to screw it up, and that money would be really nice.
Sakura goes to reach for his hand, before Kiryu swipes it away.
“One condition.”
“Huh?”
“You have to ask him out tonight, no other time, it's now or never, Sakura. If he says no I give you the money, if he says yes then you get a boyfriend, it's a win-win for you either way!”
Today, he could do that . He nods “Okay.” They clasp each other's hands and give a firm shake.
“Glad to hear it! Now let's go inside before we die of hypothermia!”
When they made their way back inside Sakura's apartment, Nirei was already on the floor passed out.
Guess he couldn't stay awake much longer, he really must have been tired.
Tsugeura was getting ready to sleep next to Nirei, laying out his own blankets and pillows.
The shower was running, which told Sakura it was Suo who was occupying it.
“Seems like Suo’s the last one who can take a shower for the night, sorry.”
“It's alright! I took one before I came here anyways!” Tsugeura mentioned brightly.
“I don't mind, I took one recently too.” Kiryu smiled, before shushing Tsugeura for being too loud.
Sakura set out his things to go to sleep too, he noticed how the others kept a respectable distance from his sleeping area, he appreciated it.
Kiryu gave him a look, as if he was saying ‘Don't forget our bet’
Yea, yea, as if Sakura could forget about that, he was already starting to feel the beginnings of anxiety creeping into his stomach.
Just how would he ask Suo out is the question? He didn't want to do it around the others, but he also didn't want to bother Suo when he was getting ready to go to sleep. He closed his eyes and decided to get lost in thought and possibilities for what could happen in the future.
Was Kiryu right about Suo liking him? What about him being into guys like that?
He supposes it doesn't entirely matter, he trusts Kiryu and Kiryu wouldn't screw with him like this, at least, he hoped. So if Kiryu was right about it then it should all go fine, right?
He hears the door click open as Suo emerges, his hair still somewhat damp and a soft white medical eye patch over his right eye. He smiles at Sakura softly before making his way over to him.
“Mind if I sleep here for tonight?” Suo asks, already setting up his stuff next to Sakura's place.
“You're already doing it so why bother asking?”
“It's the gentleman thing to do of course!”
“Sure, go ahead.” He inches slightly further away from him, feeling awkward.
His hair is down, properly down, Sakura thinks he likes the way he looks without his hair done all fancy and pretty.
He's only slightly jealous that the others in the room can see him like this too.
Just slightly.
The lights are turned off soon after as everyone settles for the night. Sakura lays on his stomach, looking out his window from his position on the floor.
He thinks, he thinks over many things. He thinks about Suo, about Kiryu’s words, about Umemiya, all the things he's done since he arrived at Furin, at Makochi. He thinks about things other people have said to him, have done to him, the actions of his classmates. How they all chose him as their captain despite him being new to the town, they put their trust in him time and time again, this time he should trust them back, too.
Lost in thought, he doesn't notice the other person who is watching him, also thinking about many things.
Suo watches Sakura stare out the window, he seems lost in thought. He thinks about how pretty he looks with the moonlight hitting his face, he wonders what colors would blossom if he were to get flustered under the darkened night sky, how obvious would his blush be ? He bets Sakura could light a room alone from it. He thinks about the heterochromatic eyes, the dual toned colored hair, Sakura was truly so unique it was breathtaking. He idly wonders how it was even possible for someone to be born with such striking features, and how it was possible anyone could hate them .
His mind wanders as he stares, he thinks back to the restaurant everyone was gathered in after one of their fights, how he had avoided trying to eat natto while everyone was messing with him, then he heard it. Everyone did, for how could anyone miss such a rare moment where Sakura showed genuine enjoyment? His laughter, it sounded light and carefree. Suo wanted to hear it more, it was so pure it made the whole room quiet, everyone took in the sound.
Beautiful, stunning, that's everything Sakura was and more.
He doesn't know how long he stares, watching Sakura, but he notices it's been a while. Sakura was still looking out the window too, either unknowing or uncaring of Suo’s watchful gaze.
“What's the matter, Sakura? Can't sleep?” Suo whispers.
He watches Sakura jolt from his position, though he tries to hide it just as quickly.
“W-what are you doin’ awake?” Sakura whisper-shouts back at Suo.
“Couldn't sleep, what about you?”
“Y-yeah.”
“Something on your mind?”
There it was, that blush he wanted to see. It was light, not nearly as dark or deep as it had the potential to become, but it was a start.
“You could say that.”
“Want to talk about it?”
Sakura turns away from him as he thinks it over. Suo is patient, he silently waits for his captains decision.
As soon as Suo decides he's going to drop it and let Sakura rest, he hears him speak again.
“Y-yeah, are you alright with going outside?”
“Of course!” Suo whispers with a smile. He and Sakura quietly exit their blankets, doing their best not to disturb anyone, as Sakura makes way to the door, opening it slowly, the bite of cold night air brushing past them as they exited the apartment.
Suo silently follows Sakura’s lead, whatever the boy wanted to talk about seemed to weigh on his mind heavily, so he decides not to tease him, it was rare for him to open up to others and the last thing Suo wanted to do was to drive him away just when he started to feel comfortable to share what was bothering him.
Sakura goes down the stairs of the building, walking down the street a little ways away, Suo diligently follows. Sakura doesn't need to turn around to check if his vice captain was following him, he already knew. Suo’s steps were light, he wouldn't be able to hear them if he wasn't intently focused on everything around him. How could Suo have such light footsteps when his heart was pounding so hard? Sakura gulped down his anxiety, despite the cold night air, he could feel himself sweating, why was he freaking out so much? He felt like he could throw up from the anxiety alone.
It was just Suo , his vice captain and second ever friend, the one who constantly teased him and made him blush, the one who he relies on during a fight for strategy and backup, the only person to ever make him feel this way. He just needed to talk with him, tell him about his stupid crush, have Suo probably pick on him for a bit, and then get that 10k from Kiryu.
Easy, simple. He could do it, even if it was mortifying.
Suo wouldn't break their friendship over some unfounded crush anyways, he's not that kind of guy.
Sakura stops when they're in a cleared out area, he's near a tall tree, still close to the path back home but slightly away from his apartment and the streets, he didn't want to risk anyone overhearing them, if anyone was even awake and out at this hour to begin with.
Strangely, Suo hasn't uttered a single complaint or word of questioning, he followed Sakura's lead to a T, never straying from his undecided path.
Sakura takes in a deep breath, before turning around to face the man who had given him so much trouble and internal turmoil.
“Suo.”
“Sakura.”
And wow, Suo looked stunning. He stood there with the moonlight pouring onto him, his warm aesthetic mixing with the cool atmosphere of the area, his hair looked somewhat purple in this lighting. He watched Sakura with non-judgemental eyes, hands behind his back, waiting.
“I wanted to talk to you about something.”
“I'm listening.”
“It's really important, okay? And don't fuck with me, okay?”
“I understand.”
Sakura feels his hands trembling, he would blame it on the cold night air. He looks around again, terrified of someone spotting them or hearing them.
“I need you to be honest, because i'm going to be honest too, and I don't want pity so don't give me that crap, got it?”
Suo nods. “I promise I won't tease you about anything you're going to say.”
Sakura nods back, blush adorning his face once more.
He was going to do it, god he was going to do it , Suo was right there, waiting. He just has to say three simple words, three words he never expected to ever hear himself say, three words he never believed he would be capable of feeling.
And oh god, what if he's wrong about this feeling? What if it isn't what he thinks it is? What if everything he's been feeling is normal between friends, friends and nothing more. Did he get it wrong? Was this something all friends felt for one another? Sakura had never been shown love before in his life, so what reason would he have to assume that's what this feeling is?
And Suo was still waiting , patient as he watched Sakura struggle internally. It almost pissed Sakura off that Suo wasn't rushing him, wasn't forcing him to get the words out, wasn't angry at him for dragging him out of bed to butt-fuck nowhere in the middle of the goddamn night freezing their asses off because he simply couldn't wait until the morning.
He's such a dick, an asshole friend, stupid fucking kid. How could he ask Suo how he felt about him if this is what he was doing to him? He has half the mind to turn back around and go home, pretend like this outing never happened in the first place, and return back to normal.
Sakura grimaces at the thoughts entering his mind, all the things people had said to him, unloveable, that's what he was, he was biting the corner of his lip, his hands in tight fists.
When suddenly they felt warm, he blinked once, twice, before coming back to the present. He sees Suo had taken to gently rubbing his hands, his expression soft and concerning, and he was close.
Wow he was close.
“I'm here, Sakura, it's okay, tell me what's the matter?”
“I-I… It's stupid, you'll make fun of me.”
“I promise you I won't.”
“You mean it?” Sakura asks quietly, Suo opens his hand and Sakura takes it without a second thought. Suo uses his other hand to gently caress his captain's face, brushing his hair out of his eyes as he looks so sincere at Sakura.
He could almost mistake it for love.
“I promise to you, Sakura, I would never joke about anything you're uncomfortable with, whatever you have to say I will never make fun of you for, you have my word.”
Sakura nods, he can do this, besides it's a win-win situation for him like Kiryu had said, 10,000 yen or a boyfriend, there's nothing he can't gain from this.
“Okay, okay.” Sakura takes in a deep breath again.
“Suo, I… I think I really, really like you.”
Suo’s eyes widen, but he remains quiet, the caressing of his cheek halts for a second before he continues with the slow petting movements, gently brushing his fingers through his hair.
Wow, that feels nice.
“I-I uh, I think you're really pretty.” Sakura wants to tell him more, explain to him all the little things he loves about Suo, tell him all the thoughts and feelings he has for the other, get him to believe just how deeply he admires the other.
But he can't.
His mind is blank, there's so many reasons to love the other and yet he can't think of any. His attention is fully captured by the smile that breaks out on Suo’s face.
“Haruka.” Suo begins, and wow his heart is beating even faster, if that was even possible. Hearing his first name on the other’s lips, hearing the sincerity in it, Sakura's breath stutters, it becomes impossible to breathe.
Where was he? It didn't matter, suddenly he didn't care if anyone was overhearing their conversation, he didn't care if there were eyes on them, all his focus was squarely on the boy in front of him, and he was still caressing and holding Sakura as though he were the most precious thing to exist on the Earth.
“Y-yes?” He breathes out, so quiet even he could hardly hear himself speaking.
“I'm glad you told me, I love you too.”
Sakura feels like he could die, correction, he thinks he did die. Maybe on their walk to nowhere someone jumped out and stabbed him and this was all in his mind, this couldn't be real, there was no shot in hell Suo just said he… He loved him, loves him, and feels the same way.
He gulps down the anxiety once more, his heart was racing.
“Y-you love me? You mean it?”
“I do, I've been waiting to learn how you felt about me too, I didn't want to rush things.”
“I-I l-love you too.” Speaking was so hard, why was Sakura stuttering so much? He was only half aware of the fact his hands were still shaking, and Suo still held on to one of them.
Suo gently takes his face, hand under his chin as he guides him to look at Suo fully.
When had Sakura drifted his gaze away?
“That makes me so happy to hear.” Suo smiles, he speaks gently, softly, as though he was afraid Sakura would run away.
“What d-do we do now? What happens next?”
“A lot of things can happen, we can go at your own pace, there's no need to rush into anything if you don't want to. Let me know what you're comfortable with.”
“I don't know what I'm comfortable with.” Sakura mutters.
Suo thinks for a moment.
“Are you comfortable with kissing?”
“I never… I don't know.”
Suo hums at that, he gently brings Sakura closer.
“If you want to try it, we can.”
“What if I'm not good?”
“If it's a kiss from Sakura, it'll be good no matter how you do it.” Suo jokes slightly.
Sakura nods. “Okay, we can try it.”
Suo smiles. “Of course, if you change your mind, tell me to stop and I will, okay?”
“Okay.”
Suo leans forward slowly, Sakura doesn't know what to do, so he stays still. He's blushing, he can feel heat rising in his chest despite the frigid air, the wind that whips past the two and bites on their exposed flesh. He doesn't feel the cold right now anyways.
He closes his eyes as Suo kisses him, soft warm lips planting themselves on Sakura's. He feels tingly, his heart racing, he squeezes Suo’s hand, and Suo releases him, pulling back.
It was quick, but it was life changing. Sakura couldn't believe this is what it felt like.
“How was that?” Suo asks gently.
Sakura nods slowly.
“I… Good.”
“I'm glad to hear it.”
Sakura brings his hand up to his mouth, feeling where Suo had just been.
“You're so cute, you know?” Suo teases lightly.
“S-shut up.” Sakura replies.
“Make me~” Suo winks (or blinks? Sakura feels like it was meant to be a wink for some reason)
“Bastard.” Sakura grumbles, though it has no bite. Suo laughs.
“Let's get back inside now, yea?” Suo asks.
“Right, sorry for dragging you over here.”
“Don't be, this is a wonderful spot to share our first kiss.”
“You never kissed anyone before either?”
“Nope.”
“But you seemed so confident!”
“Fake it until you make it as they say!”
“Aagh, can't believe you.”
“You know you love me.” Suo teases again.
They have friendly banter on the way back to his apartment, before they could go up the stairs to his door, however, Sakura takes Suo's hand and stops.
“Hm? What's the matter?”
“I just… I need verbal confirmation on something.”
Alright, what is it?”
“You said you liked me, and I like you too, and we kissed, does that mean you’ll be my boyfriend?”
Suo let's out a gentle giggle, so quiet and endearing.
“Of course it does, silly, come on let's go to bed now, boyfriend.”
Sakura blushes at that.
Boyfriend, that sounds nice.
The two ended up sleeping together, Sakura was entangled in the mess of limbs called Suo Hayato. He nuzzled his face in the other's chest and could smell that forest smell he loved so much on him. Suo was so warm, it was nice to feel. He liked the tingling sensations his body felt as Suo ran his fingers through his hair, gently using his nails to scratch at his scalp.
He feels all his earlier anxieties melt away, as though they never existed in the first place. All he could feel was Suo.
Kiryu woke up early that morning, upon seeing his two friends sleeping together, he thinks Sakura did as he was told last night and the two were finally together, he vaguely remembers hearing whispering around the middle of the night, and when he got up to go to the bathroom he saw the duo had left the house. It seems as though Sakura managed to take Suo away and confess his love.
He snaps a few pictures, he plans on distributing them to the whole school, but he wants to wait for now until Sakura is ready to go public about themselves, he didn't want to make his captain uncomfortable.
But he could still send them to Suo.
He notices how Sakura's hand is entwined with Suo’s, their breathing slow and methodical.
He's really glad Sakura asked Suo out, but he's more glad Suo had said yes.
He never had that 10,000 yen to give away, that's just how confident he was that Suo would say yes.