Chapter Text
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“Sakura-chan, you’re really bad at this”
“SHUT UP, I’M TRYING MY BEST”
Suo sits comfortably on the couch, Nirei sitting next to him cuddling against him. They watch as Kiryu and Sakura, both sitting kneeling on the floor, play games.
Today is Suo’s 16th birthday. Every year before he came to Furin, he had always celebrated his birthdays alone, so when his birthday came around this year, he hadn’t told any of his friends or classmates. Seeing that Suo wasn’t planning on telling anyone that his birthday was today, his boyfriend went ahead and told their friends it was his birthday. They all decided at the last minute to come over and celebrate, bringing food and games to play together and hang out, since Suo isn’t exactly the type to want to go out and celebrate.
Suo hadn’t expected all of his friends to come over, and they didn’t tell him about the plans beforehand, just showing up at his door. He didn’t have much time to prepare, clean the house, or eat before they showed up.
Now they’re all sitting together in the living room, playing games. Everything is going pretty well so far, better than he’s expecting, especially since aside from Nirei, this was their first time at Suo’s place. Since the last time they’ve played games together, Sakura hasn’t really gotten much better. The game ends, Sakura once again lost, like always.
“AUGHHHHHHHH”
Kiryu sticks out his tongue at Sakura, then looks back at Suo, holding out the controller to him. “Are you sure you don’t want to play? It’s your birthday after all.”
“I’m fine! You guys look like you’re having fun playing, I have more fun watching anyways! ” Suo replies. What Suo doesn’t tell anyone is that he also really sucks at games. Maybe just as bad as Sakura, but he’s not sure since he’s never tried, but he doesn’t want to look bad in front of his friends. Plus, his current position on the couch is comfy, he doesn’t want to move either.
“You always say that… fine, how about you? Nirei-chan, want to play a round?”
“Me?? Sure!” Nirei gleefully says as he gets off the couch and takes the game controller from Kiryu, taking Kiryu’s spot on the floor. Kiryu moves back and sits on the couch.
Nirei turns to Sakura, “ Good luck! Sakura-san!”
Sakura huffs, still upset over the round with Kiryu, “Shut up and play, I’ll beat ya for sure!!!”
Just like that, the two started playing the next round, completely immerse in the game.
Tsugeura, who's sitting on the other side of the couch, lifting weights, suddenly speaks up. “Is anyone hungry yet? We still have the snacks we bought that we haven’t touched yet, y’all all been sitting here for the last hour!”
“Oohhh yes, Suo-chan, we bought cake! After this round with Sakura-chan and Nirei-chan, let's go and blow out the candles and have some cake!!”
When they first came over for this birthday, he should've known they also bought food with them. Suo stares blankly at the wall, trying to think of a response fast.
Suo doesn’t like eating in front of others. Well, he didn’t like eating much at all, but sitting down for a meal with others makes him uncomfortable. He’d always much rather eat alone. When you eat alone, you don’t have to worry about judgement, you don’t have to be concerned about making a mess , or looking awkward, it’s a pretty stressful experience. So when anyone asks him why he’s not eating, he’ll tell them he’s on a diet.
That has been his excuse since forever and most people accept that answer.
“I’m still on my diet~ But I can still blow out candles and you guys can split the cake!” Suo responds, not letting it show on his face that anything’s been bothering him.
“But Suo-chan..” Kiryu replies.
“Speaking of, I’ve never seen Suo eat anything before, only drink tea, is this a virtue of yours?? Is that healthy? ”
“...” Suo really did not feel like answering and just stayed quiet. He really dislikes how straightforward and blunt Tsugeura can be sometimes.
Just then, the game with Nirei and Sakura came to an end, Sakura still lost but this time he came extremely close to a tie with Nirei.
Sakura bitterly mutters, throwing the controller against the floor. “Next time I’ll beat you for sure..”
“Eh, there’s no way, Sakura-san!!”
The two looks back at the three on the couch, they were too focused on the game and didn’t realize the mood had shifted.
“I’m hungry, can we eat the cake we bought now?” Sakura asks.
“Hahaha, yes, let’s go then!” Suo replies as he gets up from the couch and leads them to the kitchen.
As they are in the kitchen and sitting at the dining table, he takes out the cake that his friends brought. It's a lavender earl grey cake, one of the prettiest cakes he’s seen. Apparently, his friends all came together and made it before coming to Suo’s house. He considers having some later, once everyone leaves. The five sit down as Kiryu gets out candles and a lighter.
After the candles were lit, and all birthday wishes were said, Suo blew out the candles. He got a knife and cut the cake into equal pieces, and everyone got a piece, well, except for himself, of course, which made all of his friends protest.
“Even me, who is so mindful of only eating healthy foods, is willing to have cake for special occasions, Suo!”
“You’re still on that damn diet??” Sakura asks, as he shoves a piece of cake at Suo. Suo pushes it back to Sakura.
There are so many different emotions going through Suo’s brain right now. Panic, guilt, fear, he can’t even name all of them.
Fear of the others finding out that he’s struggling with something as simple as eating.
Guilt for not being able to tell others his weaknesses. He’s been friends with all these people for almost a year now, and while the others have been able to tell them about their troubles, he still can’t. He’s been dating Nirei for a few months now, and he’s still not been able to open up completely.
Panic, trying to figure out what to say next. The truth? Another Lie? Partial truth?
What about a statement so obviously fake, they’ll be thrown off guard.
“Sakura-kun, I seriously can’t eat…”
“Huh, why???
“I had a spell put on me by an evil witch when I was younger…. and If I eat… I explode, you wouldn’t want to see your friend explode, would you? Sakura-kun?”
“...”
“Suo-chan….”
“What witch did this to you? Suo?” Tsugeura asks, with a fearful look on his face.
“No, no - no, Tsugeura-san, Hayato-san is obviously joking here??”
“Ah- he is?? ”
With all the time Tsugeura and Suo are spending together, he’s surprised that Tsuegura is still falling for his bullshit. Even Sakura didn’t fall for it this time, who has an annoyed expression on his face.
“Suo, You basta-”
“Guys, let’s not push Hayato-san so much…” Nirei cuts in, worried they’re going to start arguing.
Suo also uses this chance to change the subject, so they would no longer be talking about his eating habits. “Speaking of witches, there's this one movie about witches I’ve wanted to watch since I was younger. I'm thinking of watching it. Do you guys want to watch it with me at some point?”
The movie was the first thing that came to mind, so was what he bought up, thinking they can all watch the movie together another day. He was thinking that once they finish eating, they’ll go home in a bit, but that wasn’t the case.
“Ooooh, great idea, Suo-chan, I've also heard of that movie and wanted to watch it forever, let’s watch it together once we finish eating!” Kiryu exclaims, throwing his hands in the air, cheering.
“ A movie that Suo’s interested in? This’ll definitely be good!” Tsugeura says, with excitement in his voice.
Sakura looks curious as well, but didn’t say anything since he’s too busy stuffing his face with cake, he’s already on his second slice.
Nirei then adds in, “We should have a sleepover tonight! Our very first sleepover all five of us together, wouldn’t that be sooo fun?”
Shit.
Before he could say anything, Sakura was already spluttering, his mouth still filled with food. “A-A sleepover??”
“Sakura-chan, have you never had a sleepover before?”
“.... No”
“Great then, Sakura-kun, this’ll be a fun first experience for you !”
It had already seemed like they all agreed on the sleepover already, and Suo hadn’t even said anything yet. “Uhhh, guys I don’t think-”
“Suo-chan, do you have any plans for tonight?”
“... No.”
“Good, we’ll all spend the night with you then!”
Well, today was not going how Suo had imagined at all. All he can do is smile and pretend that he’s not absolutely starving right now. He really had no other reason to tell them they couldn’t stay the night. “Sounds good then!”
“YAYY, A sleepover!” Nirei exclaims, wrapping his hands around Suo, hugging him tightly.
It’s fine, everything would be fine, it’s just like any other day, he can endure it for a day longer, like always.
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Suo, Nirei and Sakura are all on the rooftop, at another meeting called forth by Umemiya. The grade captains and vice captains from every class, along with the four kings are all there. Umemiya had called for another gathering so he could talk to everyone about the patrol schedules for the next month ( and show off his plants, of course).
Suo really isn't listening that much, so hungry that it was hard for him to focus.
Suo wasn’t able to eat all morning, he just had a lot of tea and water. After his friends decided to stay over for the night, they all also decided to walk to school with him in the morning, so Suo didn’t have any time to get a couple of bites like he thought he could. Not only that, today was an especially cold day, he’s shivering just standing there.
It’ll be fine though, since Nirei is taking notes of everything that is being said, he can just ask him later. The longer the meeting goes, the more hungry and tired he feels. He leans onto his boyfriend, resting his head on his shoulders, as he closes his eyes to preserve some energy.
“Hayato-san?”
“Sorry, I’m a bit tired, let me?”
Nirei makes a confused sound but nods, and goes back to writing notes in his book. Even when Suo closes his eyes to rest, he does not feel any better.
He doesn’t fall asleep, the rooftop is too loud for that. After who knows how long, he feels Nirei poking his cheek a few times. “Hayato-san, We’re finished here. Do you wanna have something to eat? ” Nirei asks softly.
Suo opens his eyes and lifts his head off Nirei’s shoulders to see that the meeting is now over, and Umemiya had bought takeout for everyone to share. Everyone else had already crowded the table the food was on, so Suo shakes his head no. Nirei pouts, Suo lets out a little laugh, as he replies, “If you want some, go get some for yourself-”
“But I want to eat with Hayato-san… there’s some good food, you know?”
“Mhm, pretty sure they’re plenty delicious, go get some for yourself? Alright?”
Just then, Sakura appears in front of him, with a plate full to the brim with noodles and dumplings.
“You two should go get some, before the food is gone.” Sakura urges, as he stuffs an entire dumpling into his mouth.
Nirei and Suo turns toward the table, and indeed most of the dishes are empty.
Nirei walks over to the table and groans. “Y’all took all the noodles already?? I was looking forward to having some…”
Sakura shrugs his shoulders, continuing to eat, not realizing Nirei had snuck up from behind him with chopsticks, stealing a bite from his plate.
Sakura shrieks, and snatches his plate away while yelling, “HEY NIREI, THAT WAS MY FOOD-”
Nirei runs away from Sakura as Sakura starts chasing him down. “Sakura-san!!!! Come on, you still have an entire plate, you should share!! AND CALM DOWNN???”
Suo giggles watching this whole scene, and pours himself a cup of juice. He had scanned the entire rooftop to see if there were any empty spots, but there was none, the rooftop was only so big.
When Sakura and Nirei returns after their chase, Suo saw that Sakura finally agreed to share some of his food with Nirei. Suo takes another sip of his juice, while Nirei and Sakura argue about whether the pork or veggie dumplings flavor is better. Just then, Suo’s stomach growls, loudly enough for Sakura and Nirei to stop their arguing. Suo ignores it and continues drinking this juice, but the other two didn’t.
“You’re not gonna eat?” Sakura asks.
“I’ll eat something later, there’s no more.” Suo says as he takes a step back, hoping his stomach doesn’t make any more noises.
“ Are you sure? Sakura-san and I can share some of our food with you.” Nirei says.
“ME?? I already gave you some….” Sakura grumbles, obviously not wanting to share.
“Aki-kun, it’s fine, you two don't need to share with me. I’ll live. ”
Sakura frowns as he replies, looking around for more paper plates, “FINE. I'll share some with you, are there any more paper plates? “
Didn't he just tell Sakura he doesn’t want any ? Sakura normally hated sharing his food too.
“Sakura-san, I mean it, I don’t want any. You two eat, okay?” Suo replies in a scarier serious tone, wanting this conversation to end.
Sakura and Nirei got the message, and shut up and continues eating their food in silence. After ten minutes, everyone is about done eating and chatting and everyone gets ready to leave the rooftop. Tamon team is on patrol today, so Sakura, Suo and Nirei goes to throw their trash away and leave for patrol. Just before they leave, they see Umemiya walk towards them, signaling to them to wait.
“Yo, Sakura, Nirei, Suo, how’s everything going so far this semester? Haven’t talked to you guys today, wanted to check in before leaving!”
Sakura shrugs as he replies, “ Most days are normal, there are less gangs and people fighting recently, think they all got scared. Too weak.”
Umemiya laughs when he hears that. “Is that so? But that’s good, right? Less people getting hurt!”
Usually Suo keeps quiet when Umemiya comes to talk to their team, Sakura and Nirei both handle things like this better, but this time he sees Umemiya’s gaze on him the entire time when Sakura was talking, seeming like he’s trying to figure something out.
“Hey, you guys want to switch out for another team to do patrols today? Suo looks a bit tired today, and it’s fine if you three rest for today.” Umemiya asks, obviously concerned about him.
Nirei looks back at Suo, his eyes filled with worry, “Hayato-san, Umemiya-san’s right, how about you rest?”
Sakura nods, “ Just me and Nirei is enough.”
Umemiya can tell something’s off about him? He didn’t think he looked that weak today. Suo takes a deep breath, shakes his head and straightens his posture. “No need to worry, I’ll go with Sakura-kun and Aki-kun, thanks for worrying about me, Umemiya-san!”
Still with a concerned look on his face, Umemiya responds, “...Alright then, but don’t push yourself too hard and don’t be afraid to ask for help, okay? There are always people here who can swap in, never hesitate to say something!”
“A-alright, thank you!” Suo says while bowing his head, blocking his expression so no one else can see how nervous he currently is.
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The three of them go to their normal patrolling area. The townfolks come out to give them all sorts of food and gifts, as thanks. Suo, as much as he wants to eat what he is given, can't. He hands the cookie he got to his boyfriend, and Nirei beams with happiness.
After walking around town for 30 minutes, suddenly, Suo starts feeling lightheaded, and his vision starts to blur. It's something he has never experienced before, an extremely uncomfortable feeling . He can feel himself getting sweatier and really hot all over his body.
He tried to ignore the feeling and continued walking. After five minutes of trying to act like nothing was wrong, he feels his legs shaking.
He is unable to think of why he is feeling this way but he feels the need to sit down immediately, that’ll probably make him feel better. He glances around and sees a bench over by the park they are walking by, so Suo turns to Nirei and Sakura.
“Hey, Sakura-kun, Aki-kun, I’m gonna go take a seat down at the bench real quick, if you two want to go ahead, you can.” There’s no way he can ask them to stop a patrol that he was determined to be going on earlier, but Nirei and Sakura did not continue walking.
Nirei turns around and frowned when he saw Suo’s pale face, and his hands reached out to take Suo’s, squeezing his hands. “Hayato-san, you haven’t looked well all morning, are you sure you’re okay?” Nirei asks with a concerned voice.
“Once again, don't push yourself too hard.” Sakura says as his eyes narrow.
Suo tries his best to smile, as he shakes off Nirei’s hands. His hands are incredibly sweaty and he feels disgusting right now, the last thing he wants is for Nirei to feel it as well.
“I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” He didn’t wait for a response as he started to walk away. He needs to be sitting down now.
It was getting increasingly hard to see, as his vision started to black out. He’s not sure if he himself is walking in a straight line or not. His body feels so hot, that his clothes feel uncomfortable to be in.
He hears someone calling his name, he isn't sure exactly who, maybe both of them.
He ignores it and continues walking.
He hears footsteps following after him. This is annoying, he just needs a few moments to himself and he’ll be better. “Guys, just give me a few minutes and I’ll be.. I’ll be …” Suo says as he trails off.
He never makes it to the bench.
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