Chapter Text
Sakura was not sure why his two classmates had shown up to his house. It wasn't like he had invited them over, more like they had invited themselves over via a text reading:
→ Hi Sakura!! Suo and I are coming over
→ See you soon!
Well, that was that, he supposed. With those two there was not point in objecting, seeing as he would lose no matter what. He could go out of the house and to the café, but they'd find him there, too. Sakura sighed, setting his phone down and laying back on his floor, his eyes peering through the large, glass door above him. The sky was nice and blue, and he regretted not being outside.
Around 15 minutes later, a knock came at his door. Sighing, Sakura stood and went to open the door. His two classmates greeted him, Suo standing with perfect posture and Nirei lagging behind slightly. He rolled his eyes and swung the door open, allowing them to enter, deciding not to waste his energy.
"Thanks!" Nirei smiled, sliding his outdoor shoes off and padding into his bedroom while Suo waiting for Sakura at the door.
Once they had all made it into Sakura's room, they sat down in a rough circle, or triangular, shape. Propping his elbow up on his knee, Sakura finally voiced his confusion;
"So, why did you two decide to come over here?" Sakura grumbled, scratching at his scalp, a nervous habit he'd picked up.
"Well, we wanted to keep you company since it's not a school day and we aren't on patrol." Nirei said, looking up at Sakura from his phone.
"You two are far too clingy.." Sakura huffed, trying to conceal the blush tinging his ear tips.
Sakura was a little at a loss for what made them want to seek him out on days with no school or patrol. Nirei he could understand a little bit, he was nosy and liked the be involved. Suo, however.. Sakura could never work out. He glanced up, realizing now that Suo had been quietly watching him. Suo was odd, he never said much of substance. He joked often, but when he was truly serious he did not say much, he preferred to act.
"So did you two have anything planned? Or are we just going to sit here and stare at each other?" Sakura grumbled, side eyeing Suo as he said this, trying to get the other to quite staring at him.
"Not really, no." Nirei shrugged, "I just thought it'd be fun to hang out."
"Ugh.." Sakura huffed, letting himself fall back onto the floor and stare at the ceiling.
It was quiet for a long time, Nirei tapping away on his phone and Suo doing whatever he fancied. Eventually, Suo broke his long silence.
"Sakura, how do you feel about physical touch?" Suo asked conversationally, peering down at Sakura who was dozing off.
Sakura shot up immediately, his face growing hot fast as his mouth gaped, trying to find a response.
"Huh?! What do you mean, 'How do you feel?' I feel the same as everyone else!" Sakura choked out, his body physically reacting the question as he felt the muscles in his chest tighten uncomfortably.
"Well, that's definitely not true," Suo chuckled, his eye closing as he smiled, his earrings swaying with the movement of his laugh. "A lot of people feel differently, there's no correct answer."
"That's true," Nirei spoke up "I've also been kinda wondering. We know you have a romance radar and don't react well to other people being supportive or affectionate, but I never considered physical touch. I guess I thought you wouldn't enjoy it since you're usual contact is fighting."
"I don't care about it." Sakura huffed out, crossing his arms defensively and staring pointedly at the floor.
Nirei glanced as Suo who chuckled lightly.
"Is it that you don't care about it, or that you're scared of knowing?" Suo questioned gently, watching Sakura with a delicate gaze.
Sakura laid back again, turning away from the both of them silently. Suo sighed softly, figuring he had pushed too hard. Nirei gave him a sympathetic glance.
"Sakura, I-" Suo began after a few moments, before being interrupted.
"You're right. I'm… Scared." Sakura's voice came out quieter than he intended, not helped by the fact he wasn't facing the other two. "It's not like I have an opinion, anyway. I just don't know." Sakura sighed, sitting up, his face subtly flushed.
"Well, that's fine too. But there's not harm in finding out either. Both Nirei and I are here for you, Sakura, even if that makes you feel a little uncomfortable."
"Yeah! And if you don't enjoy it we can stop and go walk around or something, no big deal." Nirei added on in an attempt to be encouraging.
"Ugh," Sakura grumbled "You two wouldn't let me hear the end of it, so fine." Sakura agreed. He knew the two of them would drop it if he asked, but didn't want to come off as eager, either.
Suo shifted, sliding behind Sakura and wrapping his arms around his torso and resting his chin on Sakura's shoulder. Sakura immediately tensed at the contact, his chest tightening to an uncomfortable degree. Sakura felt his face burning as he made a point to stare at the floor in front of him, Suo's gaze digging into him.
"You could do with not being so tense, Sakura." Suo teased, pulling him in a little tighter, and letting his eye flutter close.
"And you could do with not being so close.." Sakura grumbled back, his voice feeling tight in his throat.
"That's enough from me," Suo said letting go and shifting away and back to his original position on the floor. "So, how do you feel?"
Sakura wasn't sure. Honestly, he felt like he'd been freaking out so much he couldn't even focus on the contact. "I feel like.. It made my chest hurt." He finally said, not sure what emotion that could possibly convey.
"I think Suo was a little forward, to be fair," Nirei chuckled "Do you want to try something less intense?" Nirei offered.
He wasn't sure why, but Sakura found himself nodding slightly. He supposed it was just to see, maybe this time would be different.
Nirei waddled over and leaned in, wrapping his arms around Sakura's sides.
"It's still a hug, but I figured you would relax more since you could see me," Nirei said, in the tone he usually had when he thought his idea was stupid.
This time, Sakura tried to calm down. He was a little overwhelmed by the longer contact of someone else and his face still burned, but when he breathed in deep and ignored his immediate instincts to move and not let anyone linger, he found that he enjoyed the weight. Sakura still felt antsy of being in the hands of someone else, but the warmth that blossomed at the points of contact felt like being in the sun on a cold day.
Nirei began to move away, and Sakura realized he hadn't said anything, or even noticed if Nirei was talking to him. Foolishly, Sakura reached out and grabbed onto Nirei's shirt, keeping him from pulling away. His heart twinged with embarrassment, his chest tightening with shame as he didn't let go. Sakura was sure Nirei was surprised too, but instead of questioning it, he readjusted and pulled Sakura in a little more. This time, with hesitant hands, Sakura set them loosely around Nirei, not sure what was too much or too little, but wanting to share the warmth he felt.
"Well, it looks like we have a winner!" Suo said in a cheerful voice.
"No one won jack!" Sakura pushed Nirei back, snapping back at Suo with anger fueled by embarrassment.
"We're going for a walk." Sakura said, standing up quickly and leaving before the two could get a better look at his face where a small smile had hid before.