Chapter Text
Summer break was drawing to a close for the students of Furin High.
The oppressive heat and humidity finally gave way as rain cooled the earth for two days after the summer festival. However, the pressure lingered for one person.
Sakura Haruka sat in his apartment under the chill of the air conditioner, his mind lost to the memories of the festival- to Togame Jo.
Even as they parted two nights ago, Sakura still found himself inexplicably craving more time with the Shishitoren second in command. No matter how much he turned the night’s events over in his mind (losing sleep in the process), he still couldn’t figure out why his chest felt so tight and his heart raced.
The sound of his phone ringing startled Sakura from his spiral. He picked it up from where it lay next to his futon and saw Tsubaki’s name on the screen.
Tsubaki.
His mind stuttered to reboot as he answered the call. If there was anyone in his group of friends that wouldn’t judge him for asking a dumb question about his tight chest and spiral thoughts about a certain emerald-eyed boy, then that person would be Tsubaki. Sure the third year would be overzealous and excited about any discussion of feelings, but they were the safest option he had.
“Oh Sakura! I didn’t wake you, did I?” Came the familiar bubbly voice of Tsubaki through the phone.
“N-No. Just… thinking about stuff,” Sakura mumbled. “What’s up?”
“Nothing major! Kotoha has the day off, so I suggested we invite you and do a little shopping. But it sounds like you got something on your mind.”
Sakura blinked. Shopping with Tsubaki and Kotoha. Maybe he could…
“That… that sounds like fun.”
Tsubaki half squealed through the phone. “Okay! Meet us at Pothos in an hour, Kay?”
Shopping with Kotoha and Tsubaki was a completely different experience than shopping with his friends, Sakura determined as he sniffed a cleanser Kotoha put a teeny dab of on the back of his hand. It smelled a gentle floral with a blueberry undertone and felt nice when he worked it carefully into his skin.
“What do you think?” Kotoha asked as she glanced over from the shelves to a slightly baffled Sakura.
“It smells good. It’s not itchy either.”
Kotoha grinned and used a towelette to clean the sample off his hand, then replaced it with an equally teeny dab of a thing labeled ‘moisturizer’. “Same deal, just gently work it into your skin, but this you don’t wash off. You let it dry. Moisturizer will help with the dry skin on your face.”
Sakura obediently followed her instructions and found himself pleasantly surprised again by the scent of the product, but also that it made the small test patch of skin feel so soft. And there was no itchiness.
Tsubaki peeked over the shelf and preened in delight seeing Sakura’s reaction. “Looks like we got a winner!”
Kotoha nodded. “Harsh chemicals can make people with sensitive skin itch or break out. Think of using the time to wash your face with something that smells nice and does your body good a way to clear your mind and a way to take care of yourself beyond post-fight first aid.”
“Plus it’ll make you prettier than you already are!” Tsubaki agreed bringing over a matching bottle of body lotion. “Take it from me, dry cracked skin on your hands getting split open during a fight and taking forever to heal is awful. So just a little self care and you’re making yourself that much stronger,” they explained putting a sample dab on Sakura’s other hand and working it into the dry and cracking skin on his knuckles.
Sakura felt his defenses weaken under the gentle care of his friends. It wasn’t just stuff to fill his empty room. It was things for him to take better care of himself and his body, helping with problems he just assumed he was stuck with.
Taking care of myself to make myself stronger, Sakura’s thoughts echoed as they left the skin care store at the mall.
They had only hit the one store, but had spent over an hour in it, so Kotoha suggested a break for drinks. And soon they were settled at a low-key café within the shopping mall at a booth. Instrumental music drifted softly from a radio by the counter and after their coffees were delivered, the trio happily relaxed.
Well, minus Sakura who lost in thought again.
“You know,” Tsubaki began, “You can tell us what’s on your mind. Even if it’s something silly like you got into a staring contest with a cat. We’re your friends and we’d love it if you were comfortable opening up to us.”
Kotoha smiled softly. “Tsubaki is right. There’s no pressure, but with us you’re in a safe space. Especially if it’s something you wouldn’t feel comfortable talking to the guys about.”
Sakura nodded and after a few moments of silence, his hands holding his iced latte carefully, he spoke. “So uh… I…” he hesitated for a moment and tried again, “I trust you both… And… I think… you’d know how to… help…”
It was a struggle getting so few words out, but even as his cheeks darkened, he held his nerve. He could feel safe and secure with Kotoha and Tsubaki and it was a different sort than what he shared with his other friends- even… Togame.
He took a breath slowly. “Since… since the festival… I keep thinking about… about Togame. It felt so… short. Like it wasn’t enough time… I had a lot of fun with everyone, but…” he trailed off as his face heated up.
“You wanted to spend more time with Togame, right? In a different way than he was just busy when you got there,” Tsubaki supplied after Sakura was quiet a bit longer.
He nodded, his hands shaking a little against his cup. “We talked a lot, but… He’s really cool now…”
The last statement was mumbled, but Kotoha and Tsubaki exchanged knowing looks.
“Have you talked to him since the festival?” Kotoha asked.
Sakura shook his head.
“Sounds like Togame is really special to you,” Tsubaki said with a wistful smile on their lips. “You just want to spend time with him and when you do, it never feels long enough. What did you think when he asked you to the festival?”
“Dunno… Like I wasn’t sure at first, but then he mentioned all the tasty food. Like he knew I’d want to try as much food as possible.” Sakura paused and then his cheeks darkened. “The yakisoba we had… he made it… it was so good.”
Kotoha was about to ask a follow up question, but Sakura grumbled a little into the straw of his iced latte.
“Like… it’s like he’s always on my mind and I want to see him and the festival was so fun, but I wanted to spend more time alone with him and then he was wearing that shirt and his stupid biceps and his stupid smile and stupid pretty eyes-“
Sakura’s rambling was cut off by both of his friends holding onto his hands as he held his cup. He looked up at them with his deep grey and golden eyes, blush covering his ears down to his neck now.
“Sakura, he’s special isn’t he? Different than us, different than your other friends or the people you admire?” Kotoha asked softly, her gaze steady and calm with no judgement toward the blushing boy.
It took some time, a few minutes at most while Sakura’s thoughts sorted themselves out, but finally he nodded silently.
“It sounds like you like Togame. Romantically like him,” Tsubaki approached the issue delicately as possible, hoping not to set poor Sakura off.
Both had expected fussing or a blow up from the boy, but instead found themselves watching as Sakura turned that answer around in his mind, testing and probing the answer against knowledge and experiences.
Their drinks were long forgotten when it happened.
“Oh..”
It was so soft, so gentle, so unlike the usual front of hostility and defensiveness Sakura usually protected himself with. Just a small sound that spoke the depths of his realization with no further explanations required.
Sakura realized he had fallen in love.
It was pure and delicate, like new branches of sakura trees bearing their first blooms. It was natural and came to life in unhurried and patient steps, much like Togame himself.
Neither Tsubaki nor Kotoha wanted to pressure Sakura into doing more than he was ready for and even getting him this far was like reaching the first base camp on the climb up Mount Everest. As much as they wanted to see Sakura happy and with the boy his heart had chosen, they valued him far too much to throw him into more than he could handle. There was no need to rush.
“Wha… what do I do now…?” Sakura asked quietly.
“It all depends on what you’re comfortable with. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. These are your precious feelings and whether to act or not is your decision,” Kotoha replied after giving the trio of joined hands a squeeze for comfort.
“Exactly. There’s nothing wrong with acknowledging your emotions and just continuing to live your life as friends with him. And if you want to tell him how you feel, then that’s your decision to make as well. As your friends, all we’re here to do is encourage, love and support you no matter the choice you make, so long as you’re happy with your choice.”
“And that goes beyond love stuff. Friendship is all about support and encouragement. Community is as well.”
Sakura was torn on whether or not he should confess. He wasn’t the best at reading people, especially not in a situation like this. But something about the way he’d witnessed Tsubaki confess their feelings toward Umemiya over and over, even if Umemiya knew how serious they were or not- something about that bravery stirred something in his chest.
And thinking back to that night at the festival, every time Togame met his gaze, it felt like there was something lingering in the older boy’s thoughts left unspoken.
Sakura took a breath and looked up to face Tsubaki and Kotoha once more. “I… I want to confess… I want to hang out with him more and spar and go to festivals and eat together and stuff…”
Both of his friends beamed and decided to help Sakura put his best foot forward for his confession.