Work Text:
Sara Chidouin sat hunched at her desk in the corner of her bedroom, right next to the window. Rain pattered against the glass softly in a rhythmic staccato, bringing a sense of calmness to the dimly lit room.
Splayed out on her desk were the neatly handwritten notes she’d made in preparation for her final exams. Despite the downpour outside, the weather was rapidly warming up, hinting at summer. Soon school would let out and she’d be free for a while. She sighed, finishing with the note sheet she was holding and swapping it for a new one. There would be no summer break for her if she failed her finals, so she had to put in the work now, no matter how boring.
On her bed lay Sara’s best friend, Joe Tazuna. He dangled his arms and head over the edge of the bed, his fluffy brown hair flopping down into his face. He made no effort to take out his own notes, if he’d even made them in the first place, and if Sara was totally honest, he probably hadn’t. Still, she liked to put faith in him.
Sara continued working until Joe finally let out a massive groan, lifting his head and sitting up. He tucked his legs under him and dug his hands into Sara’s lilac duvet. “Sara,” whined Joe, “I’m bored.”
She turned to look at him. His hair had gotten tangled again from messing around on Sara’s bed. Little brown hairs stuck up in every direction, including his face.
“Joe,” Sara said gently, getting up and walking over to him. She sat beside him and brushed the hair out of his face, tucking it behind an ear. On it she noticed he was wearing his golden ear cuff, the one he’d bought a few months ago when they went to the downtown shops. When she saw it in the shop, Sara had thought it looked ridiculous. But when she saw the way Joe looked at it with a delighted gleam in his crimson eyes, she decided not to say anything. She would never want to crush him. After a while of him wearing it, she’d even grown to like it. It suited him. It was a bold fashion choice, and it earned him a few comments and laughs behind his back, but he wore it with such pride that he always seemed to glow whenever he had it on. Sara loved the way Joe glowed. And sometimes she hated the way she loved how he glowed.
“I know it can be boring, but we really need to study. What’s gonna happen if we fail our exams and don’t get to spend summer together? I really want us to spend summer together.” She sighed, pulling her hand away from Joe’s hair and bringing it to one of her own ginger strands, wrapping it around a finger anxiously.
Joe sighed again, “I want to spend summer with you too. Aw man, it’ll be so much fun. Me, you, maybe Ryoko. We can do something new every day! Oh, and we’ll eat so many doner kebabs!” His hands were moving with each word he said, out of excitement and for emphasis. He always used his hands when he talked, as if just saying the words wasn’t enough. He had to express his point with his body too.
Sara flopped backwards, now laying on the soft bed. “We can’t do those things if we’re forced into taking summer school. Seriously, Joe, we have to pass or else we’ll never be able to do fun things over summer like eating doner kebabs.”
“Oh yeah….” Joe mumbled. “I guess you’re right.”
Relieved, Sara padded back to her desk and sat down again, ready to get back to work. This time, no distractions. She couldn’t rest until she’d reviewed everything. She reminded herself of everything that was on the line if she failed.
“Honestly Sara, I don’t know how you do it.” Joe mused.
“Do what?” Crimson met lilac as she turned around and their eyes met. So much for no distractions,
Joe grinned at her sheepishly. “Find the motivation to study.” He answered. “Really, Sara, I admire ya! I never asked to go studying, but you still manage to keep both of us on track.”
A warm feeling danced on the skin of her cheeks. “Yeah, well,” huffed Sara, “someone’s gotta do it.”
His expression turned slightly more serious. “Seriously, Sara, I’m beyond grateful. I would never have passed any of my classes this year if it wasn’t for you. You really are the best, Sara!” A grin broke across his face once again when he said the last sentence, and Sara found herself returning his smile shyly.
“Oh, and, uh, I admire ya too! I mean, you work your ass off all the time while I’m busy goofing off. Say, how many all nighters have you been pulling lately? You look like all the blood’s been sucked outta ya!” He meant this in a lighthearted way, but her stomach sunk to the hardwood floor.
“I look like shit, don’t I?” She grumbled.
“What? No, no!” Joe quickly assured her. “Just tired, very tired. Jesus, Sara, how much sleep have you gotten this week, really?”
Sara glanced away at the window. The wind had picked up, sending tree branches furiously sweeping the air. The rain was falling stronger than ever, pounding in contrast to the tame pattering earlier. Went from light to heavy, Sara realized, just like the mood in the room. She clenched her right hand, the hand she wasn’t using to write, into a tight ball.
“Not much.” She admitted warily. “But don’t worry,” Her head swung towards him once more, “It’ll be worth it come summer. I swear.”
Joe stared at her with those wide cherry eyes she loved so much. “I think ya need a break, Sara.”
“Well I think you should stop lecturing me and get started on your own work, or this will all have been for nothing.” She retorted with a huff. Immediately, she cringed. “I’m sorry, that was really rude. You’re right, I’m tired and under a lot of pressure.” She groaned, setting down the pencil she clutched in her left hand and resting her head against her palm.
“Aww, Sara.” Joe stood, coming over to the desk.
Her eyes widened in alarm. “Oh, but I’m fine, reall-”
The sentence was cut off because a pair of strong, muscled arms wrapped around her waist. Joe held her tightly, but he was gentle and took caution in not squeezing her to death. Sara’s body relaxed in his arms.
After a few moments, he slowly pulled away. The rain had softened once more.
“Sara, I care about ya, ok? You clearly need a break, so I’m gonna help ya get one! It’s only fair, since you help me study all the time!”
Sara was about to protest, but he pressed the palm of his hand to her mouth to silence her. “It’s the least I can do for ya.”
When he pulled his hand away, Sara couldn’t fight the smile tugging at her velvet lips or the flush of red swelling on her face. “Okay.” She agreed.
Joe whooped animatedly. “I know just the thing! Come on!” He grabbed her wrist gently and tugged her away from her desk, leading her down the stairs and to the front door.
“Don’t you need a raincoat?” Sara asked while slipping on her silver boots. Joe shrugged, putting on a pair of his own in blue.
“Must’ve forgotten to bring it back from school.”
“Joe!” She admonished him with a laugh. “That’s the third this month!”
He chuckled, throwing his hands into the air like he was in trouble for breaking the law. “My bad!”
He held the front door open for her and she stepped out into the rain. Since her dad had taken the only umbrella in the house to work with him, she pulled up her hoodie to protect her ginger hair from getting drenched. As soon as she left the house, the breeze began dancing around her wildly, picking up leaves from the ground and carrying them with it. Raindrops collected atop her hood and her clothes grew heavy as they sucked up the droplets of water. Within seconds, her jeans had gone from pale blue to navy.
Joe joined her and stood at her side. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t have his raincoat, or anything with a hood, so his hair quickly started drooping down awkwardly. Sara giggled at the sheer stupidity of his look. “You kind of look like a wet dog.” She smirked.
“Well, I happen to like dogs, so there.” He retorted playfully.
“I prefer cats.” She responded simply.
“I know ya do,” beamed Joe.
They stood, watching the rain fall over the neighborhood. Sara tilted her head up in an attempt to catch raindrops on her tongue. She spat, disgusted as a large amount of rainwater collected in her mouth. Joe snickered.
“Careful ya don’t drown in the rainwater, Sara! After all, you won’t be able to swim!” He teased.
She snorted. “Hey, watch yourself.”
She cocked her head to the side. “So, uh, what exactly are we doing out here? You said you had an awesome idea.”
“I do, I do! Are ya ready to hear it?” He glanced at her hopefully. She waited for him to say it, but he seemed to actually want an answer. Fine, she’d play along. When she finally nodded, he bounced on his feet spiritedly. “We’re gonna jump in puddles!”
Sara couldn’t contain the giggles that escaped her. “Jump in puddles? Like grade schoolers?” She could’ve sworn tears formed in her eyes from laughing too hard, but it might’ve just been a rain droplet that landed on her face when she tilted her head back in laughter. Her hood slipped off her head, sending her orange hair cascading down like a waterfall. Damn it, so much for keeping it covered.
Joe frowned. “You don’t want to jump in puddles with me?” He looked at her with big puppy-dog eyes.
“No, I do! I promise!” She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled up at him, purple eyes twinkling.
He broke away, bounding off down the street. “Well then what are we waiting for? C’mon!”
Sara followed him, her long legs quickly catching up to him. When she caught up, he took her hand and sped up, leading her down the town streets. Together they leaped into every puddle they came across rather than going around them. Despite the warmth of late spring, the rain turned her feet to ice. She didn’t care, though, she was having the time of her life with the person she cherished most. Suddenly, all her cares were forgotten and she felt light as the leaves, as if a gust of wind could carry her off her steady feet at any given moment and send her flying into the dusk sky.
They raced into a grassy field a few blocks from Sara’s house. Finally, they came to a stop, pants completely soaked from splashing in puddles, and gasping as they fought to regain their breath. When all their energy returned, Joe lifted Sara into the air and spun her around. Her wet hair spun with her, thrashing against the strong breeze. She realized, all of a sudden, that this was the happiest she’d felt in a while.
Joe had always had that effect on her, even when they’d first met. She recalled the first day of freshman year when a tall boy burst through the classroom door, backpack slung over one shoulder with the front compartment open, causing papers to spill all over the dusty floor. He wore his uniform inside out by accident, and for some reason never bothered to button his blazer. His hair had been styled like a lopsided buzzcut. He was a wreck, but when he scrambled to collect the papers he had lost and their eyes locked for a split second, she felt some sort of bond. So much so that she went over and helped gather his belongings. Just the sight of him could get her to break out of her shell, which was something she rarely did.
Joe set Sara down on her feet. The rain became more a melody than a natural weather occurrence, and they began to dance. Their hands intertwined and Joe lifted a hand and twisted it, spinning Sara. She did the same, twirling Joe until he nearly lost his balance. He regained his footing quickly and they began rocking back and forth the way that felt right to them. All of this was so perfect. They were perfect.
“Sara,” whispered Joe. “I think I might just love ya!”
Maybe the wind truly had carried her off her feet, because she felt as though she was floating. “I think I might love you too, Joe.”
He didn’t respond, but neither one of them could stop smiling. Sara felt Joe squeeze her hand. A silence swept over them, but it was a comforting one. All that mattered to her was that she was with Joe, and she could sense he felt the same.
The rain began to thin, slowly at first, but decreasing rapidly until all that remained was a delicate drizzle.
“Ready to head back?” Joe asked after the rain had come to a complete stop.
“Yeah, I am.”
They continued holding hands on the way back.
“Joe?”
“Hm?”
Sara stopped walking, and Joe did too. “Thank you. I’m… I’m grateful for you too. You always know exactly how to help me. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
Joe smiled. “I guess we balance each other out pretty well, huh?”
“Yeah,” breathed Sara, “I guess we do.” God, she loved him so much.
Before she could really process what was happening they were leaning in and the world seemed to narrow down on just Joe and Sara. She closed her eyes and the gap between them slowly closed off. Their noses brushed awkwardly as their lips met, and they both giggled giddily and repositioned their heads. They fit together almost too perfectly, like they were two puzzle pieces snapped in place to make a whole. He was the air lifting her off her feet, sending her heart soaring into the stormy dusk sky. He was Joe Tazuna, and he was the one for her.
When they finally broke apart they stayed close together, neither daring to let the blissful moment end. But it was getting late and unfortunately there was still work to get done.
Joe sensed this (he always seemed to be able to tell exactly how Sara was feeling) and said “Let’s go home. I’m gonna study my ass off and pass my exams and we are going to have the best. Summer. Ever.” He stared at her so intensely that it almost felt like a threat.
“Sounds good to me.” Sara responded brightly and the pair made their way home, both buzzing with excitement. Summer or not, as long as they were together, everything would be perfect. And Sara had the feeling they’d be spending a lot of time together.
-----
EPILOGUE
“Nice work, Sara.” Her teacher said proudly as he handed her the results of her final exams, which for some reason the Board of Education insisted must be on paper. She lit up happily when she saw she’d passed with flying colors! All her hard work and all nighters payed off after all.
Joe, who sat beside her, tensed as the teacher made his way over to him. Sara saw him crossing his fingers under the desk while the teacher placed his graded work on the table. His hands were shaking.
“Sara?” His voice was barely audible. “What if I failed? What if we don’t get to spend summer together? All your hard work helping me will have been wasted!”
She grabbed his shaky hands and squeezed them, rubbing her thumbs back and forth against his hands to relax him.
“Hey, it’ll be okay.” She told him kindly. “Even if you fail we can still hang out over the summer, just not as often. But seriously, give yourself some more credit. I’m sure you did just fine.”
Joe whimpered. “I can’t look, Sara! You look for me!”
“As you wish.” She responded lightly, taking the sheet of paper off his desk and turning it over to see the result.
Pride swelled up in her. His grade was a single point above the minimum passing grade, meaning he’d succeeded!
“Is it bad?” He asked nervously. “Oh my god, it’s bad, isn’t it?!” He cried.
Sara frowned. “Joe, I’m really sorry but….” She watched Joe sink down miserably, burying his face in shame. “You passed!” She finished joyfully.
Joe’s head snapped upwards. “What?!”
“You passed!” Sara repeated, pulling Joe into a big victory hug. He didn’t move for a moment, still processing what he was hearing. Then, suddenly, he jumped up out of his seat and out of Sara’s arms.
“Oh my god, I passed!” He whooped. Sara hopped up and joined him. “My god Sara, you scared me for a second!” They laughed together, sharing the glee of them both passing. Now they had the whole summer to look forward to, and Sara couldn’t wait.
It didn’t matter what they’d do or where they’do go, all that mattered was that he would be beside her the entire time, not just over the summer, but always. Now she was absolutely certain that her hard work had been worth it.
Anything would be worth it if it meant spending time with Joe Tazuna.