Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sakura Haruka is a simple man.

He’s rather brash, easily flustered, simple-minded with a searing focus once he decided something needed his undivided attention. A kind man with a big heart who would be a blushing mess if it was pointed out to him.

Kotoha thought she knew him like the back of her hand after tending to him for a few months now. It wasn’t like he was deceptive. In fact, he’s easily read like an open book by pretty much anyone that knows him.

So she didn’t expect to be surprised one evening when the usual trio of Sakura, Suo, and Nirei entered her café.

That evening was uneventful it seemed, if the lack of fresh bruises and scrapes that often littered Sakura’s body whenever he ended patrol was any indication. It wasn’t a usual occurrence, as having such injuries on the daily was unfortunately a part of the package that anyone that decided to attend Furin expected. So to have even one day, one evening, without any new bruise was cause for at least a little treat.

And of course the boy would order omelette rice. She’s tried to get him to eat more types of food, and to watch him build a preference of food that was actually good over the time she knew him was rewarding, but time and time again Sakura would still come back to his beloved omelette rice. Which was fine.

“Sakura-kun.”

She glanced over, her hands busy with washing the cookware she used as she watched Suo lean to his left, effectively getting within Sakura’s personal bubble.

Suo was a much harder read compared to Sakura, with his dignified smile and graceful mannerisms. Always so poised, always so observant – it’s very rare for Kotoha to ever find him taken off guard.

“You still have your vegetables, Sakura-kun.”

“I don’t want ‘em.”

“Sakura-kun.”

“No.”

Suo was completely in Sakura’s space now, those shoulders of his well pressed against Sakura’s side. Kotoha watched him pluck the spoon from the monochrome-haired boy’s hand to scoop the singular piece of broccoli that she placed on that plate right before holding it in front of Sakura’s face.

The grin she found on Suo’s face was sly, sharp, which wasn’t all that infrequent when it came to him. But there was a look in his eye, a softness and warmth that shined down on the currently reddened Sakura, who was trying his damnedest to resist the charisma of the boy right next to him.

He failed, because of course he did.

It was odd. Normally, if anyone were to try that they would immediately be threatened bodily harm – loudly – or would have a fist to the face alongside the screaming that usually came whenever Sakura was getting pissy.

So to see him now, pressing his body to the wall as much as he could do without so much as a peep just to get away from the spoon that was being shoved into his face was surprising and honestly, endearing.

With barely any resistance, Sakura closed his eyes shut and let Suo guide the spoon to his mouth before crunching down on the offending vegetable with only minimal grumbling, his already blushing face turning several degrees redder.

Nirei, bless his heart, pointedly kept his nose in his notebook all throughout.

Kotoha made a mental note to corner the blonde the next day for more details.

-0-

There wasn’t much hustle and bustle in the morning in Furin High. While having a much looser structure compared to most schools, the students attending the school still tried to be there on time for the most part, though there were very few that purposefully came to class an hour or so before the bell rang.

He didn’t even mean to get to school early, but Anzai was already up after a long night of being unable to sleep and there was no point trying to force something that just wasn’t going to happen. He’ll just catch a nap in the classroom if possible. Surely, being there an hour before the bell would lend him some peace and quiet.

The lack of chatter even from behind the door to their classroom sounded promising. He slid the door – gingerly in case there were people already trying to nap in the room – before stopping, one foot inside as he stood, his rough hands clutching his small pack closer to his chest.

At the end of the room sat Suo, back straight on one of the old and vandalized chairs, his gentlemanly presentation as perfect and pristine as always. There was a book in his right hand, the cover gilded in gold and silver in a language Anzai cannot read, while his other hand rested on top of their sleeping grade captain’s head.

Anzai blinked, inhaled sharply as he watched those slender fingers tenderly fiddle and scratch over Sakura’s head, his long digits gently twisting those black and white tendrils of hair, massaging his scalp at the clear division between the colors. Sakura was unmoving, both of his arms resting over the table in front of Suo to support his head, yet leaving enough space for Suo to rest his hand and the book.

“Good morning, Anzai-kun.”

A polite smile graced Suo’s face, the soft shower of sunlight glinting off the stones of his golden-tassel earrings. There was a twinkle in his eye, and Anzai didn’t know if it was amusement over the fact that he walked in on this tender moment or because of how much Anzai felt his head was going to implode as an overwhelming heat flooded his face.

He coughed. “G’morning, Suo.”

“Shh.” Suo pressed a slender finger to his lips, his one eye boring into Anzai as that indecipherable smile stayed on his face. He didn’t know if their vice-captain meant for him to stay quiet so as not to wake Sakura or if he was being warned to keep his mouth shut about the things he was witnessing.

Anzai much rather not know.

So he shuffled to where he usually sat near the front, far away from the two at the back. Anzai did his best to keep himself busy, keep his head down low, make himself smaller so as not to attract any more of his vice-captain’s attention.

But he couldn’t help taking a few glances.

It was silent in the classroom for ten or so minutes, the sound of pages turning and some other first years passing by outside the only things to keep the quiet from turning oppressive. But Anzai heard the slight rustle of fabric, the soft murmur of laughter, and against his better judgement, his roving eyes decided to peek at whatever the two were doing.

And almost had to choke back another cough.

Suo had his head slightly turned downwards, the tips of his bangs almost touching the bruised cheek of their now awake grade captain, those liquid silver and gold eyes staring up blearily towards his vice-captain. Anzai couldn’t hear what they were saying, their voices too low for him to even register, but he could hear Suo’s gentle laugh, could see the way his eye glowed with mirth.

Sakura adjusted, one of his arms that supported his head raised to the brunette’s cheek. His calloused hand brushed Suo’s hair away from his face and attempted to tuck it behind his ears.

Anzai’s face was burning.

But still he couldn’t make himself look away. It wasn’t that often that he could catch Sakura – and even Suo, for that matter – in such a soft moment such as this. It was mesmerizing as much as it was mortifying to watch.

That molten silver eye suddenly turned to him, locked on him, as its golden partner was hidden by Sakura’s other arm, and Anzai finally managed to look away.

The door to the classroom opened to the rest of their class forty-five minutes later and for the first time, Anzai managed to breathe.

-0-

There weren’t a lot of people in the mall that day.

It wasn’t really a mall. More like a rather large shopping center that had more amenities and shops compared to the ones closer to Makochi. Bofurin’s influence extended there to some degree, so Kiryu knew that it would be a safe place to bring Sakura to for at least half a day.

It was something their captain stressed over when he asked in their group chat if they wanted to hang out at the new arcade that opened there, but Kiryu already vetted that place beforehand. Much like the rest of class 1-1, the pink-haired man would never knowingly put Sakura in a situation that could make him uncomfortable. No one, and he meant no one, would hassle their grade captain while they were out.

And well, there were avenues to quickly shut people up, anyway.

He focused on his screen, his slender fingers quickly dancing over his phone as colorful patterns swirled around as he tried to beat his high score in that new rhythm game that just got released the other night. One earbud sat in his ear, keeping its pair in his front pocket so as not to lose too much awareness of his surroundings.

The other boys left to get snacks, leaving Kiryu and Suo by the indoor garden benches. Kiryu glanced to the side, eyeing Suo as the boy sat by one of the small fountains, one long leg crossed over the other as his lone eye watched the soft gurgling of water. There was a distant look in that single ruby eye, one that Kiryu wasn’t all too unfamiliar with.

It was a look that their vice-captain would sometimes get when there’s too much happening in their class, when too many voices were overlapping and he didn’t have either Nirei or Sakura around. And it wasn’t that Suo wasn’t paying attention, no. Kiryu knew all too well from that one time one of the vice-captains manage to slip that Suo would cherry pick conversations in an attempt to lessen the external stimuli, just switching through specific conversations in his head instead of the loud jumble that a large group of teenage boys are prone to have.

He wouldn’t be surprised if Suo was listening in on other conversations right now, mentally cataloging information if it was deemed useful enough. Hell, it’s possible that he could just be listening in on other people’s gossip (and this isn’t him projecting due to his own love of gossip, surely).

“Hayato.”

Kiryu blinked, fingers pausing their furious battle against the game as he quickly glanced to the side, those viridian eyes of his finding purchase on their captain’s approaching form.

It wasn’t often for him to see Sakura in casual wear, as the boy usually just wore a simple white shirt underneath his uniform and simple black pants. But the thin grey jacket over a simple black shirt and distressed blue jeans suited him well. He knew that Sakura didn’t focus at all on fashion, seeing as he had a limited budget to splurge on it, but Kiryu and Suo somehow had an unspoken agreement to expand their captain’s wardrobe little by little.

Sakura strode to where Suo sat, a can of hot tea that he knew Suo particularly liked in one hand while the other held a paper bag. Without a word, Sakura set down the bag on Suo’s lap which the brunette took without a fuss, just as he cracked open the can and slipped a straw into the opening, all before handing it to their vice-captain.

“You’re wearing a new cologne.” It wasn’t posed as a question, more of a statement as Sakura tilted his head to the side, his hands carefully unwrapping what seemed to be a slice of a tea cake placed on a little liner before balancing it on Suo’s perfectly poised knee.

A tiny smile graced Suo’s face, as if pleased to find that their captain noticed. “It was a free sample,” he said as swirled the can in his slender hand.

There were things about Suo and Sakura that Kiryu stopped questioning, stopped really paying attention to. Their teasing amused him especially when it made Sakura red, their bickering made him laugh, their constant one-sided play fighting as often initiated by the two-toned boy was always so damn hilarious that Kiryu started looking forward to it every single day.

But intimate touches were something that Kiryu didn’t expect to see from the two boys, at least at this point of their relationship. If asked about it, he’d probably just shrug and would only believe it as he sees it.

And oh boy was he seeing it.

Those bright viridian eyes of his glistened as he watched Suo tilt his face up before resting it slightly to the right, fully exposing his unblemished neck. Without even so much as a reaction, a shrug, the usual Sakura full-bodied blush, the boy shifted, leaning his head down to that vulnerable, truly assailable spot between Suo’s neck and shoulders. With lidded eyes, the tip of their captain’s nose touched smooth skin, nuzzled, before taking a deep inhale.

That single ruby eye darkened, and Kiryu could see, amusingly witness, the slight shiver that ran through Suo when Sakura exhaled.

“I like it.”

Their vice-captain smiled, an infinity or two brighter than the last, as he basked under Sakura’s warm gaze, whose cheeks and tips of his ears now tinged with pink. “I’ll have to buy it, then.”

When Suo arrived home that night, legs a little sore from all the walking they’ve done, he blinked at the soft ping that came from his pocket. With one elegant brow raised at the sudden notification, he unlocked his phone to a private message from one Kiryu Mitsuki.

There was no message, no sticker. Just a single photo attached to kiss emoji.

In the stillness of his cool room, the petite bottle of cologne that Sakura insisted he buy for him sat heavy in his pocket, Suo smiled.

-0-

The heat of the blazing sun was unbearable that day.

They weren’t even supposed to patrol that day, seeing as it was class 1-2’s turn to do the rounds. Kakiuchi, Takanashi, and Kurita were just passing by, paper bags filled to the brim with snacks and drinks swaddled in their arms as they looked forward to an afternoon of games and movies.

They needed this break, in all honesty. It’s been a rough month. Gang fights and gang fights and even more gang fights littered their entire itinerary as for some goddamned reason, some smaller groups decided to test their luck against Furin. It’s been hard to get some time for themselves, especially since they still needed to do their patrols as was their duty to the town, and with their bodies still sore and recovering, they’re pretty damned positive that they deserved this day off.

Oh, if only they kept walking.

“Hey.”

All the two others stopped, both raising a brow at Kakiuchi who was staring pointedly to their left. “Aren’t those Sakura and Suo?”

His two companions turned, blinked as they watched their captain and vice-captain were hauling… potted plants? The three friends looked at each other and then back at their classmates. Sighed. Got to work.

And that’s how they found themselves that blistering afternoon. Sweat pooled at the base of their backs, their shirts sticking to their skin as they sat under the shade, the electric fan blowing at them from the door being their only source of bliss at this very moment.

“You didn’t have to help, you know.”

Takanashi looked up at their captain, whose bare arms were folded over his chest as he looked over the saplings they transplanted onto the fresh flowerbeds. It wasn’t often that he saw Sakura wearing a sleeveless shirt, but perhaps even their mighty leader can get affected by the goddamned heat of the summer sun.

It suited him. While Sakura might not be the most muscular person in their class (but really, no one would compare to Tsugeura in that regard), he was well toned and fit, especially for a first year in high school.

(Though, it was still kind of unfair just how popular he was with the girls, even with the third years from the all-girls and co-ed schools just outside of Makochi. And the bastard didn’t even realize it, sheesh.)

Takanishi just shrugged. “Figured it’d get done quicker with five people working instead of two.”

“Oi.” Both students jumped, blinked at Kurita as the boy emerged from the door and handed them an apple flavored juice box each. “Don’t wanna get dehydrated now, you two.”

For the love of everything good and holy, it was cold. Takanishi gripped it between both hands, elation welling over him as the cold seeped into his skin.

Then blinked.

“Where the hell is the straw?”

Kurita lifted a shoulder before pointing at Kakiuchi. “Dipshit kept breaking his and stole yours.”

“Huh?” He turned to where the other was, scoffing when the damned mushroom head merely smirked at him. “Little shit! Sakura, let’s beat his ass.” Takanashi turned to where Sakura was, grin in place, before tilting his head when their captain wasn’t where he last was.

Instead, Sakura was standing beside Suo, willfully ignoring the conversation their vice-captain was having with the store owner, as he popped the side of the juice box and ripped the corner. Without waiting for Suo to finish, Sakura just took the brunette’s hand and pressed the beverage to his palm.

They watched Suo tilt his head at Sakura, that usual smile on his face, as the store owner waved them over with the promise of more drinks and snacks. With a nod of thanks, Suo turned his back fully to the older man before raising the box up, pressing his lips to the spout that Sakura made to get a deep drink.

A little rivulet traveled from the corner of his mouth down to slender his neck when he released the box, immediately taking a handkerchief from his pocket as he passed it off to Sakura without a word just so he could dry off the drip before it became a sticky mess.

Seemingly satisfied that their friend had his fill, Sakura placed his lips exactly where Suo’s touched, completely unbothered that he was having an indirect kiss with their gentlemanly vice-captain as he finished off what remained of that juice box.

Kakiuchi, Kurita, and Takanashi turned, three pairs of eyes trained on each other as their brains tried to figure out what the fuck just happened. Did that shit really happen? Or did their brains get so cooked beneath the fucking summer sun that they started a collective hallucination? Because surely, surely, their captain and vice-captain did not just both lip-lock the same juice box at the exact same place.

Sure, sure, sure, it wasn’t that big of a deal. But this was Sakura they were talking about. The mere thought of holding hands had that boy turn into a blushing mess. So surely, surely, Sakura would have imploded at the thought of having his lips at the exact same spot Suo’s were just moments before.

Were they dating? Was that it? Did that little shorty from out of town get into a relationship before any of them? That was it, huh? Fuck, fuck, fuck. They were happy, yeah, of course they were. This was Sakura and Suo they were talking about. And no one, absolutely no one, deserved a good relationship more than Sakura Haruka.

But still.

They needed answers, goddammit.

Three messages sent at the same time to their bubblegum-pink-haired classmate, all with a singular message:

Are Sakura and Suo a thing?

Their phones pinged one after the other, with the only reply being a single kissing cat emoji.

All three of them groaned.

-0-

The edges of the horizon creeped with the warm watercolor tones of sunset, the throes of yellows and oranges and reds slowly overtaking the blues and whites overhead their town. The days have been getting shorter, getting colder, the coming autumn chill more evident at every gust of wind.

Tsugeura didn’t really mind the cold, although it did make it harder for him to workout outdoors. He liked exercising outside, with the breeze blowing against his muscles, the sights and scents of nature an extra motivation to stay out longer. But the best thing was, in his mind, was seeing the faces of people that trust him, that depend on him, waving and greeting him whenever he passes by them during his morning run.

It’s pretty bearable still, his Furin uniform enough to keep the chill at bay so long as he kept his buttons closed.

“Haruka.”

Tsugeura stopped, brows furrowed as he turned around. He didn’t know a Haruka – or if he had then he must have forgotten who.

It only clued him in when Sakura, who was being mercilessly teased by Grandma Sato about twelve feet from where he and Suo sat, suddenly turned back and bulled his way towards their visually impaired friend. The gravity in those heterochromatic eyes chilled him, rendering him unable to utter a word as he watched Sakura’s bruised and bloodied hands reach up to cup Suo’s face.

“Does it hurt?” Their captain’s voice was soft, so unlike anything Tsugeura’s witnessed of him before.

He’s seen Sakura be intense in the past, but it often presented itself in fire. A raging inferno that burned every single thing that decided to stand in his way. He was a forest fire, blazing, engulfing – a single-minded force of nature whose only desire was to consume.

But now his eyes were steel.

And yet there was a tremble to his hands, a shake to his fingers as if he was careful not to mar Suo’s perfect complexion with flecks of his own dried blood. Those piercing dual-colored eyes of his bore down onto their vice-captain’s face, searching, searching for the pain.

There was a tightness to Suo’s jaw, at the corner of his right eye, a visible discomfort that seemed to be so foreign on that particular boy’s face. But he looked at his friend, his lips lifted at the corners with such warm fondness that Tsugeura had to take a double-take to see if what he was seeing was real.

Oh.

Sakura wasn’t angry.

He was worried.

Those battered hands reached deep into his pocket before taking out a bed of pills and a slim flask. Tsugeura blinked, as he knew that neither Sakura nor Suo drank so he was sure that it wasn’t alcohol, but there wasn’t any other indication as to what it was, either.

“Sakura-kun,” the teasing tone was once again lilting Suo’s voice, the same placid smile that often graced his features on his face, although it didn’t pack the same punch that Tsugeura was used to. “You better not let Hiragi-san find that.”

As if on cue, Sakura’s face bloomed into a deep vermillion as the boy grumpily unscrewed the flask and shoved it into Suo’s hand. “It’s your tea, damn it! I don’t have water on me right now.”

That single crimson eye softened. “You bring my tea with you?”

The red in Sakura’s cheeks remained constant, slowly, slowly creeping its way beneath his shirt. He vehemently avoided eye contact. “Of course I do.”

The blush on the boy’s cheeks was a brilliant red now as he did his best to voice out his embarrassment via an assortment of grumbles. “It’s the flower one you like so it’s not caffeinated,” he huffed. “I know how you are when you get too caffeinated during this time of day.”

“Oh Sakura-kun, you noticed!”

“Suo!”

His captain and vice-captain jumped at the sudden boom of his voice. Tsugeura winced, forgetting that he really should be using the more modulated voice Kiryu was making him do whenever they hung out together, especially with these two. “Are you alright, Suo?”

The boy’s uncovered eye focused on him like a laser, and Tsugeura didn’t know if the chill he was feeling was because of the blowing autumn wind or due to the look Suo was giving him at that very moment, pinning him in place.

But the look faded as quickly as it arrived as Suo smiled, pointed enthusiastically at his covered eye. “The ancient Chinese spirit is getting restless,” he said, voice low and menacing as Sakura removed a pill from its packaging and dropped it into Suo’s palm. “It doesn’t like the cold.” And with a wink, popped the pill into his mouth.

That should have been the end of it, really. They should have just gone on their merry way before the sun finally set, should have gone their separate directions as they often did at the end of the day. But the two of them lingered, and Tsugeura couldn’t fathom why.

He wanted to say something, anything to break the quiet spell. But the way Sakura cupped Suo’s face once more, the way his thumb gently massaged the hollow beneath Suo’s right eye shut him up, too mesmerized by this display.

It was a gentleness that surprised him, so different from how Sakura usually presented himself. So different from the empty threats, the acts of violence that often befell him. And Suo just sat there, a serene smile lovingly present on his face as his uncovered eye stared up at the boy with such an adoration that Tsugeura felt like this was a moment that he should not be even in the presence of. And yet the juxtaposition of bloodied knuckles carefully caressing pale, untarnished skin was too jarring to stir any other reaction from the muscled boy except to just watch.

But then Sakura’s thumb moved up, still caressing, still massaging, knocking the wind out of Tsugeura when that digit slipped under Suo’s eyepatch and lifted –

Tsugeura’s eyes instinctively closed shut, his neck popping at the sudden turn of his head to finally, finally, give these two their privacy.

If that boy watched for one second longer, he would have seen the way Suo blinked prettily, his long lashes brushing over the two-toned boy’s cheeks, just as Sakura pressed a soft kiss to the gnarled scarring over the brunette’s closed eye.

-0-

The slow creep of winter in Makochi was a quiet thing.

The outerwear of the citizens started getting even heavier, more and more layers were needed to keep the chill at bay. Colors, the reds and oranges and yellows of autumn fading away to barren trees, stripping away the vibrancy to lead to the cool tones of whites and blues. Sound was a tad muffled now, as if the people were already ready for the promise of snow.

External gang activity was lessened during the winter season, a welcome reprieve from the fighting, vandalism, and overall destruction of their little town. The students of Furin High weren’t complaining, as for many of them it would be a great time to spend with their families and friends.

It was cold.

There wasn’t any sort of heating installed inside the classrooms, the dry and crisp air swirling around several groups of children huddled together in their heavy coats and scarves and gloves to conserve whatever warmth they could manage.

There was still patrol to be had, but due to the coming frigidity and the first possible snow fall predicted to arrive in the coming week or so, the kids will most likely have to work together with the other classes in their grade so as to have more people on alert to whatever trouble there might be. Just because there might be less fights during the winter, doesn’t mean there won’t be a rise in accidents, especially with the more elderly side of the town’s population.

But most of class 1-1 didn’t really think about it much, knowing full well that communicating with the other classes will fall onto the shoulders of their grade captain and vice-captains (honestly though, Suo will most likely be the one to take point on that front).

They grinned.

It was something that Sakura still had insecurities about. They knew the boy still had trouble delegating duties, still felt a twinge of guilt whenever he had to leave a particular assignment in the hands of his vice-captains or anyone in the class, really. It was kind of endearing whenever their captain would get flustered by people volunteering to help.

(And they wouldn’t admit that it was fucking funny whenever he would threaten to fight Suo whenever the brunette would quickly snatch a task for himself before Sakura could even comprehend it.)

“Sakura-kun?”

Heads turned, silence quickly descending over the boisterous class. Teasing, arm-slinging, borderline yelling all stopped to a mere collective breath as class 1-1 watched Suo lightly nudge Sakura’s shoulder, softly calling his name as the monochrome boy stared ahead, unmoving.

“Oi,” someone whispered. The creak of a chair could be heard as someone leaned forward to take a closer look.

No one breathed, no one moved a single muscle as multiple pairs of eyes watched Suo and Nirei hover over Sakura, with the former gently rubbing over their captain’s chest in what seemed like soothing circles.

“Sakura-kun?” The furrow in between Suo’s brows dug deeper, his mouth set in a hard line as an expression that they were completely unaware their eye-patch wearing vice-captain was capable of having was present on his face.

Distress.

They watched as Tsugeura stood up without so much as a word and slowly, very gingerly, maneuvered Sakura’s chair to face Suo more directly without so much as jostling the boy.

Sakura’s eyes were wide open.

“Haruka.”

A collective inhale of breaths, several pairs of hands white-knuckling anything that they could get a hold of as Suo’s soft yet commanding voice cut through the tension. The heel of his palm gently kneaded the area below Sakura’s sternum to keep the connection of touch as his other hand looped beneath their captain’s arm, gripping Sakura’s shoulder from behind to keep him from toppling over.

“C-can’t breathe,” was Sakura’s only response as he leaned forward, pressing his eyes to the crook of Suo’s neck. His bandaged fingers pawed around, blindly searching for the taller boy’s hand and choked a sob when Suo linked their fingers together in a vice grip.

Several voices swore. Sakura’s voice was not supposed to be that small, that scared. Sakura should be loud, should be brash, should be energetic and proud even in the face of adversity. This wasn’t right, this wasn’t right, this wasn’t right.

But they couldn’t do anything except watch. They couldn’t go to him, didn’t want to crowd him, didn’t want to overwhelm him any more than he already was. There wasn’t any other person in the room that they could fight, no other person that they could punch and kick and hurt.

The people that hurt their friend weren’t here.

But still, someone had the mind to close the door. No one else should see their captain’s moment of vulnerability.

They looked on, bodies tense and ready to spring the moment Suo or Nirei ordered them to do something – anything – for Sakura. No one spoke, no one moved, not one single soul averted their gaze as Suo pulled Sakura closer to his body, desperately, desperately warming him up. Kiryu already draped his jacket over Sakura’s own, most likely to provide more warmth and weight.

Suo’s hand was on their captain’s cheek now, long fingers caressing Sakura’s tender cheek, eyes locked together as he coaxed the shorter boy to copy his breathing. Inhale through the nose. Hold. Exhale through the mouth. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

It took him minutes, agonizing minutes, before he could repeat.

Suo’s lips were on Sakura’s brow, his forehead, gently nuzzling, whispering words of encouragement as their captain could finally, finally breathe.

And they all breathed with him.

If anyone asked class 1-1 why their door was locked, why no noise was heard for a solid fourteen minutes, they’d have given different answers. Some were vague, some were unrelated to the question, and some were so ludicrous that it could almost be believed to be true.

And if anyone asked if they saw Sakura walking home with red bruising and tear stains around his eyes while huddled against Suo’s taller form, they will simply have one answer:

No they didn’t.

-0-

Snow fell gently overnight, covering the town in a thin blanket of cold.

It was a pretty sight. A little whimsical perhaps, not too dangerous especially after a morning crew of Furin students made their rounds. There usually wasn’t a patrol in the early light of day, but winter was the exception. Vigilance was key, and they will try to keep trouble to a minimum if they could help it.

But still it wasn’t enough for any festivities to cease. It didn’t surprise many students when the classroom speakers all simultaneously started shrieking by the end of the day, just after the people who were scheduled to patrol left campus.

It was a simple summons: anyone who’s still within the premises was invited to a simple meal at the rooftop of the school to celebrate the first snowfall of the season.

Not many people were expected to come, seeing as most of them already had plans of their own either with their families or friends, and it wouldn’t be begrudged upon them if they left, even if the one that asked was their charismatic leader, Umemiya.

So it came as a surprise when the entirety of class 1-1 was all accounted for.

They were mingling with the other classes well enough, unabashedly chatting it up with the other first year classes and a few upperclassmen. It would do well for the future of Furin to have everyone be at least familiar with each other, especially when times get rough.

And yet.

“They’re like a barricade.”

Umemiya grinned at Hiragi’s observation, his own cool grey eyes sweeping over the group of boys that suspiciously lingered far too long in just one area of the roof.

They were subtle about it, or at least trying to.

It was easy enough to see the way they were fanned out in a seemingly organized formation by the garden plots, their backs facing the picnic table where he sat with Hiragi and Sakura’s troupe on their first day of patrol to talk about the whole ordeal with Shishitoren.

He could see the way Anzai and Nirei, while in conversation with a group of third years, kept sliding looks into his and Hiragi’s direction whenever they took a step too close to the bench, saw the way several boys of class 1-1 tensed, as if ready to spring into action, when other people made a move into their territory.

There were some who joined in on the loud laughter instigated by a couple second year students, their hands clapping the backs of their upperclassmen while discreetly leading them away to the other side of the rooftop before heading back to resume their positions.

Even Sugishita, ever loyal, kept his sharp and rather aggressive gaze levelled at anyone that attempted to even look at the direction of their class.

It was all too amusing, all too endearing, and Umemiya had a feeling that it had something to do with the two people from their class who were currently missing. So he walked with Hiragi by his side, chuckling at the thirty-three pairs of eyes that watched their every step, every movement; waiting – just waiting for the ball to drop.

As they were just about a mere five feet from their destination, the tension that pressed against his back was overwhelming.

Umemiya turned to face the class, smiled.

“It’s alright.” There was a gentleness to his voice, almost with an intention to appease, to soothe the group of very capable teenagers with a mission.

He didn’t quite succeed, necessarily, but there was an attempt.

“Pft.”

He turned, blinked at Hiragi’s soft chuckle, his own grey eyes watching the man shuffle his weight to his other foot while a fond look rested on his face. Umemiya’s gaze flitted to where Hiragi set his eyes, blinked a few more times, before stifling a laugh.

At the farthest corner, hidden behind the rundown picnic table with his back pressed against the wall, a certain two-toned boy dozed beside a portable space heater. The hard look that was often present on his face, his eyes, was smoothed out by the serenity of sleep, and most probably even more so with how he had his arms wrapped securely around his eye-patched friend who currently had his face buried into his captain’s chest. There were at least six different coats draped on top of their frames to keep the chill away.

It was a delightful sight, one that even he didn’t expect, but it wasn’t an unwelcome one. Lord knows that Sakura definitely didn’t when he first came here to Furin. He was glad to have the boy finally progress in building relationships that he could rely on, to have people who’d stand by him even through his hardest battles, to have people who would accept him for who he was and wouldn’t hesitate to help him know more about who he could be.

To have a group of friends who would stay and watch over him in a moment of vulnerability, to have a partner who would join him in his struggles and successes – Umemiya couldn’t ask for better blessings for the young Sakura Haruka.

And with the serene smile still on his face, Umemiya shrugged off his outermost coat, kneeled down on his knee to drape it over the sleeping couple, and walked away.

This was a great day for a party, after all.