Work Text:
One thing about Haruka was that he didn't like staying home anymore.
"Home".
Or should he say, his apartment.
It was suffocating. What was?
The loneliness he felt as he looked around, noticing the little marks the people he loves left around the room. From Nirei's old curtains, to pretty much everything.
It felt so much better than it used to, yet still, seeing all these reminders and being unable to be with them all right now... Was driving him insane.
Freshly after waking up, he let the sun rays in - the light didn't bother him anymore, he noticed lately, but the curtains remained in use regardless, since despite initially feeling undeserving of gifts, eventually, he began insisting on using the items he's been gifted whenever he can.
The mornings were chilly these days, so from the little selection of clothes he had, he grabbed a hoodie that totally wasn't a hand-me-down from Umemiya (one that Sugishita would kill for, while at it, despite his dislike for hoodies), and rushed outside.
5 AM, the alarm on his phone told him seconds after he left.
...Yeah. Recently, he's been getting ready to start the day earlier and earlier. Complete subconsciousness.
At least before heading to Furin, he could help Kotoha open Pothos - and no, he won't deny that anymore. Helping felt nice.
Especially when it grants you free food. BUT! It felt good regardless.
Makochi was slowly waking up, the wind carrying the comforting scent of the spring breeze. The well-known jingling of the wind chimes was present as well, albeit still as if in a sleepy haze, too.
His usual morning strolls finally felt like peaceful solitude rather than the soul-crushing loneliness.
"What the FU-"
Damn. It could've been a child.
"-FREAK?!"
He finished the snap regardless.
Someone just poked him in the side, startling him to near-death, though he wouldn't admit THAT.
"Ayeee, I'm no freak. That was a rude one."
Tsugeura chuckled with an annoyingly satisfied grin, finally revealing himself - not like he had a choice, since the other immediately turned to face the person he was about to smack.
"...Do you have a death wish? The hell are you doing?" He growled, trying to get his breathing to even out.
"I do not have a death wish, not at all! It's just a silly April Fools prank!"
"April-"
...Now, he had an entirely new reason to punch his classmate's stupid mouth shut. The damn date.
"Well, anyway! I was just jogging around and saw you. No hard feelings!"
...Damn musclebrain just ran away like nothing happened.
A heavy exhale left him before he was actually able to take another step. No one cared about dates, anyway. Life went on for everyone.
And for him? It's officially been 16 years today. Things have changed since the last time.
For once, April 1st had the chance to become a normal day, not the reminder of the moment his fate was sentenced to neverending doom.
Because the curse has been taken off.
April 1st was simply the 13th day of spring. The spring that Haruka found himself enjoying since forever.
.
.
.
"Well, if it isn't my favourite client, disturbing me from opening the café in peace for the third time this week and it's... Won't you look at that. Wednesday!"
Sakura's mouth opened, ready to spit out a snarky remark towards Kotoha's sarcastic greeting, but he backed out with a huff, realising he wasn't even in a mood to argue because of the freshly stirred up mixed emotions.
"...I was gonna help. If you're gonna feed me in return." He muttered, looking around. There was barely nothing to help with, considering how clean Pothos looked. And there he was hoping for a dopamine shot from doing something useful.
In the blink of an eye, a plate of fresh omurice and a cup of coffee slid across the counter, making his eyes widen and his mouth water like crazy.
"I expected that. And you're lucky we ran out of vegetables."
...This was perfect. Omurice with ZERO disturbances and zero listening to crap like "you'd grow taller if you ate your veggies", or "you're acting like a child", or...
...Omurice...
"Want me to go and get 'em later?.."
He asked out of politeness, but barely held himself back from digging in.
"No need, I asked Ume to do it first thing after waking up."
The reassurance was only a half-truth. Because even if she DID ask her brother for a daily refill of fresh greenery... Little did Sakura know, there were still some tomatoes left.
It was just a little gesture of kindness for absolutely no reason.
.
.
.
The convenient misfortunes just kept on going, surprisingly.
"Sakura-chan~ I tipped the barista too kindly and she thought I paid for two frappés instead of one, ehe~" Kiryu giggled innocently, having just barged into the classroom late. Coincidentally holding a cup of Sakura's favourite iced drink that he just happened not to want.
"I already drank mine on the way, and I'm filled." He added, noticing the other's flat expression that said 'and?'.
"...I wouldn't mind adopting it." Sakura finally admitted with a shy pout, annoyed at himself for finding a damn cup of sugar, ice and an absurd amount of whipped cream so irresistible. It was just... Calling out to him.
"Sure you wouldn't! I knew it! Ah, and Tsuge-chan?"
The ginger appeared from behind Kiryu, clearly aware of the grudge still held against him. Fortunately, it seemed to have vanished in an instant as he put a packaging on the desk.
"...Same thing happened with strawberry shortcakes. You know Kiryu flexes his money too much."
"I just know when to be a gentleman."
.
.
.
The coincidences never stopped, be it Sugishita being unsettingly neutral towards him (and letting Sakura win the daily arm wrestling tournament held by their class at the end of the day, although there was no proof of him actually deciding to go easy, just the sole fact of taking his loss with cold blood), or Tsubaki and Umemiya giving him a random pep talk followed by a shower of affection (one oddly respectful of his physical boundaries, yet still satisfying his secret, deeply hidden touch-starvedness). Eventually, the pair let him go after giving him some plant.
“Thank god he doesn’t know I don’t grow succulents~”
“Didn’t you force all of the first years to listen about your sapling collection, Ume?”
“Sure did, but he was too busy trying to ragebait Sugishita-kun out of paying attention to me!”
Sakura was already on his way out of the building when the conversation took place - Umemiya always shoved plants into everyone’s faces, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary. Sure, the pot looked quite fancy, but he figured it could’ve been a fruit of Tsubakino’s boredom.
…Well. This succumbent, or whatever it is, might make a nice roommate. Silent and self-sufficient.
.
.
.
“Sugishita-san, come on?.. You two are getting along so well today!”
Nirei was desperately tugging on the giant’s sleeve, clearly having gotten way too comfortable with him ever since that one vulnerable conversation in an empty classroom. He truly believed that this was the day when the two troublemakers would be actually able to spend some quality time together (he noted only two huffs from Sugishita, a single glare from Sakura and a total of zero growls and attempts to pick up an actual fight).
The other wasn’t really convinced, though. In fact, he didn’t care, effortlessly shrugging Nirei off himself to make him realise how futile his pleas were.
“Shut up. I’m done acting kind. Going to sleep.”
“That makes three of us.” Suo chuckled from the back, patting Nirei’s shoulder - the boy seemed like a child who lost his favourite toy. Still… He DID manage to get Sugishita not to provoke his friend on this special day, so it was a win.
So sure, the three of them were fine as well…
“...As long as the birthday boy-”
He bit his tongue as soon as he noticed a pair of monochrome ahoges in the distance, his face filling with dread.
No. He HAD to act composed!
He took a deep breath, a quick glance into his secret notebook to make sure everything was going according to plan, so finally he could-
"Sakura-san, are you coming to the pond with us?" He called out excitedly.
Recently, a new pond has officially opened in Makochi, although the spot was pretty secluded, so it quickly got gatekeeped by Bofurin - anyone was welcome, but people simply began feeling out of place there. Eventually, the citizens began calling it “fuurin no ike” (the Furin pond).
They've been there a couple of times, and each one ended up in others having to DRAG Sakura home (another thing he wouldn't admit? Being terrible with directions, getting to his own apartment included). There were zero chances of refusal.
The asked raised an eyebrow at the sudden eagerness.
"To drown Suo?"
…That was not what Nirei could've expected, so his excited smile shifted into a somewhat nervous one.
"...Why would you want to do that?"
"Not interested, then." Sakura crossed his arms, huffing in feigned indifference. Seconds later, he regretted his sarcastic response - he really wanted to go. It was awkward admitting it now, though.
"Was I bad to you lately, Sakura-kun?" Suo asked with the expression of a kicked puppy.
"You've been a pain in the ass since last April."
As banter was about to stir up, the gears in Nirei's head seemed to have turned successively, extracting a light gasp from him.
"...Isn't that when we first met? Ah, it is..."
His hazel eyes lit up as he grabbed the two by the shoulders with an excited jump.
"It's gonna be a year soon!"
“...Damn. You're right-”
“That's EXACTLY why we should celebrate the day we met, Sakura-san!”
Sakura could only snarl slightly the moment Nirei's sweaty palms gripped onto his shoulders firmly. All of a sudden, Suo remained untouched, as if he was never a part of the trio to begin with. Somehow, Nirei's enthusiasm towards the “anniversary” was precisely directed towards Sakura.
Quite suspicious, but on the other hand… They've known each other for an entire day longer.
Could've been that.
Not that it mattered. Not when he wanted to go to the pond.
.
.
.
Nirei plopped down under a cherry blossom tree, watching his two best friends banter by the pond.
“I told you I'd die once water touches me. I don't even sweat, see? It's a protective seal from the Chinese spirit in my right eye~”
“What the hell? How is this possible?”
…Yeah. Sakura still threatened to throw Suo into the pond for some reason unknown to anyone. But now, he was too bewildered by the other's biological anomaly.
It was truly a relief that despite it being five in the afternoon, no one had ruined Bofurin's masterplan so far. Even if he was the one the closest to doing so…
Well, the masterplan wasn't exactly an… official thing. It was just something everyone internally agreed on.
It came to Nirei when he was freaking out about what kind of birthday gift Sakura could possibly appreciate. No, not appreciate, but rather, accept.
It was common knowledge by now that verbal and physical affection weren't the only kinds Sakura was uneasy with. It was also any sort of gifts (though he's slowly getting accustomed to minor gestures of kindness), or being in the center of attention. That included having people make him feel special in any sort of way - which was quite upsetting, as he was a special person indeed.
The conclusion was clear: A typical birthday celebration would bring Sakura nothing but discomfort, frustration, and overthinking.
No one could afford for it to happen, therefore they needed to act differently - play stupid, simply. Shower Sakura with simple things such as food or a random compliment, pretending no one knows it's his birthday - he made it clear he didn't want it to be acknowledged. He didn't fill it in on his LINE profile (though just probably didn't know how to), and always ran away from conversations regarding zodiac signs, birth dates, etc. The only somewhat reliable source was the school register.
And when Nirei saw him in the morning, just how tense he seemed, as if praying for no one to mention it… He knew that was the day.
Hour by hour, the tension wore off. And god forbid, it wasn't that Sakura only deserved it all only because it was his birthday. Today was just the day Bofurin decided to officially lift the curse.
…And make sure Sakura never regrets what happened on the same day 16 years ago ever again.
.
.
.
“So-”
Suo sat down on his knees on the blanket previously prepared by Nirei, who just clamped his hand over his mouth, ALMOST managing to make him flinch.
“Shhhhh!” The boy hissed with dread painted all over his face.
“Can't you see how immersed he is?!”
He nervously glanced over at Sakura, finally sighing in relief. He didn't hear that.
The two of them were sitting on the very-improvised picnic setup, trying to ignore the ants trying to take over the territory, or the cherry blossom petals constantly falling down onto their faces. The setting might have not been perfect, but at least their surroundings were - the sun rays beautifully reflected in the pond, soaking through the water. The koi fish freely swimming around looked even more breathtaking with their vibrant colours so emphasised.
Then, there was Sakura, crouching by the shore in complete silence. His bicoloured eyes were fixed on the colorful creatures, a look of awe and fascination in them.
The sight was doing wonders to soothe the remnants of this morning’s unease - watching their little fins swish here and there, the white and orange, some reddish, scales… The spots reminded him of the white spots scattered around his own skin, helping him perceive it as something less disgusting than he used to think.
They also seemed not to be intimidated by humans whatsoever, since four of them just swam up to him, causing a small smile to form on his lips.
“You're some cute little guys.” He murmured, cautiously holding his hand out, as if for a dog to sniff.
The fish grew interested, one of them swimming closer to actually attempt to smooch the boy’s hand, when-
“Sakura-san-”
Nirei would rather die than ruin this moment, he simply had the intention to enhance it. However, he wasn’t prepared for Sakura to freak out, furiously blushing and yelling despite being so calm throughout the entire day.
…Perhaps being affectionate towards animals was still a level of vulnerability he had to get used to showing.
“I-I-I DID NOT! PISS OFF! STOP-”
His rage faltered upon realising he scared them all off. His shoulders slumped, and he decided he might as well listen to Nirei.
“...Do you wanna feed them?” The latter asked calmly, kneeling down to reach Sakura’s eye level. He made sure not to sound too coddling, but not judgemental either.
“...What, you got seaweed in that endless bag of yours?” Sakura scoffed in mild disbelief, looking at the other’s large, pin-filled tote bag that laid securely next to Suo.
As if “securely” and “Suo” could be put together.
Nirei was already next to it, giving a grateful nod to the bagkeeper, who was enjoying himself just by watching his friends from a distance.
“Nope, no seaweed. But Koi can eat quite a lot of fruit, so you could feed them a bit of berries. Here!”
The small box of berries was now in Sakura’s hands. He stared at it blankly for a second, before hesitantly taking a single berry out.
His hand reached out towards the seemingly most confident fish, whose lips were already puckering needily. It swam closer to him, hesitating as well before lunging at his hand to snatch the berry.
…It startled him a bit, but tickled and gave him a sense of satisfaction that left him smiling softly. He glanced over at Nirei, who seemed not to have made a big deal out of his reaction.
That served to make Sakura comfortable perfectly well.
“Haha, they’re hungry beasts in disguise!” He chuckled, noticing a swarm of Koi suddenly putting their fear aside for the sake of food.
“I know, right?”
Nirei loved being happy. But what he loved more was helping the ones around him join him in this state, just like now.
He looked behind his shoulder, exchanging relieved smiles with Suo.
.
.
.
When the sun faded, Nirei decided to drag them to the arcade - more precisely, to a certain large claw machine which had a large, black and white cat plushie as a main prize. Was it still a plushie when it was around 1,5 meter tall?..
Nevertheless, Nirei was coincidentally hellbent on winning it.
It wasn’t that days ago, he went there with Suo and asked the other to calculate the odds and help him come up with a tactic.
It wasn’t that he really wanted to give Sakura something huggable for the times when he couldn’t bring himself to seek physical affection from humans. Despite visibly growing fond of it, he couldn’t initiate it himself, not yet.
…Okay. He felt terribly bad for how Sakura had to sleep alone - he hated it himself. Sometimes, even his bed full of plushies wasn’t enough and he’d find himself ‘accidentally’ falling asleep next to his mom-
Suo’s tactic was a true blessing that made Nirei look like an actual professional. The victory came soon enough.
“Actually, now that I think of it… I don’t quite have where to store it.” He murmured, thankful to the gods that Sakura bought his terrible lies everytime. Just like now.
“You knew it, and still went with it? Is this some sort of gambling addiction?” He scoffed with a fond smirk, resting his back against the machine.
“Sakura-kun, perhaps you could take it?”
“M-me? Why the hell would I…”
The plush was passed to him with a light, yet unexpected shove that left him with no option but to catch it into an embrace.
His heart fluttered at the sudden softness. In a way, he totally got the appeal. Internally. Because externally, he roughly grabbed it, throwing it against his shoulder instead.
“...Whatever. Uh… I guess, uh… T-thank you.”
If not the strange way the two idiots were looking at him, smiling so goddamn warmly and almost lovingly (ew), he wouldn’t have fumbled.
.
.
.
He gave into his urges sooner than expected.
At ten in the evening, when he finally got home, the second he plopped down onto his futon…
He immediately wrapped his arms and legs around his new treasure, nuzzling his face into it.
Smelled like Makochi, Nirei’s stupidly candyish scent and Suo’s annoyingly nauseating musky cologne.
Maybe he was tearing up because of the awful mix of smells.
…It wasn’t awful. It was what home smelled like.
“H-hah… They’re too nice…”
He took a few shaky breaths, keeping his face pressed against the overgrown cat.
Finally, he got himself to reach for his phone weakly, wanting to check his notifications one last time.
When he first got his phone, he didn’t really care. A few months ago, though, he started feeling like some sort of attention addict - continuously checking for messages from others the second he was left alone. Preferably, from the groupchat.
And there it was.
Nirei: Happy birthday, Sakura-kun. We love you a lot :D
His breath hitched.
Sakura: You knew???
Nirei: What kind of friends would we be if we didn't? ;)
…He was certainly crying himself to sleep that night.
Not the way he cried himself to sleep every other April 1st.
This time, it was going to be a manifest of freedom.
Freedom of the curse.
The curse that’s really been lifted.
Sakura: I love you all
Sakura: More than anything
Sakura: Don’t let it get to your head morons
Sakura: See ya tomorrow.