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"Sakura-san, you don't actually know how to use chopsticks, do you?"
They — Sakura, Nirei and Suo — had just gotten back from a peaceful patrol around Tonpu Street.
Peaceful meant same old, same old — helping any struggling townspeople, painting over graffiti and what not.
Food from the kind shopkeepers weren't enough for their gluttonous Sakura, Suo's words not his, so they decided to drop by Pothos and order a drink or two.
In Sakura's case, it would be an omurice drizzled with savory ketchup sauce coupled with little to no vegetables. Suo ordered hot green tea, as he always did, and Nirei wanted a cup of water.
And so, they sit by the counter on their high stools, Sakura readily devouring the plate of food infront of him in minutes.
Normally, it'd be in seconds, but since it was nearly closing time for Pothos, Kotoha had set aside all cutlery and could only afford wooden chopsticks — the same ones she used for cooking Sakura's last minute omurice.
Kotoha absentmindedly leans over the counter when Nirei questions Sakura, her eyes widening before lowering her gaze to the plate of omurice infront of her, "Nirei's right, Sakura. You rarely ever use chopsticks, but the only time I've ever seen you use them, you hold them as if you hold a pencil in your hands."
She leans her hand into the palm of her propped up elbow, "It's like watching a baby navigate an airplane. Maybe I should get you those training chopsticks I've seen online?" she teases playfully.
Sakura instantly flushes red, the uneaten cherry tomato reflecting his face, "Whuh?! What's it to you?! I'm holding my chopsticks just fine!"
"Now now, Sakura-kun, don't chew and speak at the same time," Suo adviced, his hand coming to pat the back of his grade captain.
"But I am curious too," he says, his single eye lingering on the chopsticks held in Sakura's hands.
It doesn't bother Suo per se, he just thinks it's weird to look at. He also thinks it looks hard to control too.
Admist their teasing, he can see Nirei scribbling something down into his confidential notebook through his peripheral vision. Probably something related to their current conversation, if he must assume.
Sakura's expression changes now, his face immediately hardening through the teasing, "Does it really matter how I hold my chopsticks? They're just tools to help me eat. As long as I can pick the food up with it, it fulfills its duty, right?"
The teasing from Kotoha and Suo halts, and even Nirei stopped writing in his notebook, sensing the tense atmosphere after Sakura's words.
But Sakura himself doesn't seem to realize how quiet the cafe is right now.
"'ts not like I had anyone to teach me how to hold 'em correctly, or anythin'..." he mumbles, voice softening at the ends of his words.
When Suo fully understands those words, the omurice is gone except for a few vegetables, and Sakura placed his chopsticks down onto the plate, quietly thanking Kotoha for the meal.
When the silence hits for too long, only then does Sakura realize how tense the atmosphere has become.
"Whuh?! Hey, why are you guys so quiet all of a sudden? Make some noise, damn it."
He doesn't realize the sadness behind his words, Suo thinks.
Suo gives him a small smile, the ones that don't really reach up to his eyes but his cheeks curve upwards anyways, and apologizes, "I'm sorry, Sakura-kun. My teasing went too far."
Kotoha snaps out of her dazed state, most likely from questioning the meaning behind Sakura's words and agrees, "Yeah, I took it too far. I didn't mean any of it."
She straightens up to collect Sakura's finished plate and drops it gently into the sink, "But I was serious when I said I would get those training chopsticks for you, though. I don't mind. Seriously."
Nirei is the next to apologize, "I'm so sorry, Sakura-san! I didn't mean to ask such an insensitive question... I hope you'll forgive me!" he exclaims, somehow bowing his head while still seated on his high stool.
Sakura flushes red again for the second time that night, his ears turning pink from embarassment, "I-It's not like any of you meant it for real! It's fine, I didn't mean to be such a buzzkill. It's just chopsticks, y'know."
When he looks back at them, their faces tell Sakura that it wasn't just about chopsticks. But he doesn't want to think too much about what their expressions actually say, so he unintentionally slams down a few hundred yen on the counter for his meal, and dashes out of the cafe.
There's a quick "See you tomorrow," before the door gently closes on its own, Sakura's heart beating unusually fast for reasons he doesn't understand.
He doesn't know if it was because he was running from Pothos to his house, or from whatever just happened in the restaurant.
Suo knows Sakura doesn't need any of his help with this matter. He himself had said that it wouldn't matter if he knew the difference and the benefits of holding your chopsticks correctly.
But he remembers — he just remembers — the expression when Sakura admitted to having taught himself how to use chopsticks.
"'ts not like anyone taught me how to use em' or anythin'..."
Remembers how small his voice sounded, remembers how his eyes glistened with moisture for a moment.
So, he's here, sitting on one of Pothos' soft couches with a cup of steaming hot green tea. Ordering Sakura's favourite as takeaway, to which Kotoha gave him a side glance but said nothing more.
Suo appreciates that side of Kotoha, the one that doesn't ask questions and simply knows.
Maybe when she's legal, she could become a bartender back home. He doesn't think Umemiya would agree to such a profession though.
He sips on his now warmed cup of green tea, his poture relaxed as he quietly apreciates the bitterness that Pothos only knows.
When Suo notes the sound of plastic slapping on a glass container, he realizes it isn't the usual takeaway packaging Pothos offers its customers.
He turns his head to the counter where Kotoha stands behind, making direct eye contact with Kotoha before her smile softens into something Suo can't quite decipher.
If he tries hard enough, it looks a lot like a mix of affection, guilt and contentment.
"This is for Sakura, isn't it?" Kotoha asks softly, her eyes drifting to the glass container. It's filled to the brim with rice, and Suo thinks there are double the eggs than usual.
"You noticed?" Suo replies, his posture straightening before taking another sip of his tea.
"Well, of course. You aren't exactly one to eat for a start. And takeaway omurice? You couldn't have been any more obvious!" She laughs, placing the container into a paper bag.
Kotoha wipes her hands on her apron before coming over to Suo's table and leaving his order in front of him. The aroma wafting from the container makes Suo flash a smile at Kotoha, thanking her for the meal.
He leaves the bill for his tea and Sakura's food on the table, taking the bag with him as he exits the cafe.
The container of omurice feels unbearably heavy in his hands.
Today is an off day for Sakura. It's an off day for everyone in the world actually — it's a Saturday.
He just came back from a dream, and he feels his thin futon on the floor and sits up, pulling it back onto his body.
He starts feeling around for his phone to check for the time, but looking at the sun tells him its around noon.
The growl of his stomach also tells him that.
Something fluffy and savory would do him good right now...
He finally finds his phone, turns it on brings it up to his chest. The digital clock on his homescreen affirms his suspicions — its half past eleven in the morning.
He quickly skims through his notification, countless messages from last night's class groupchat conversation spilling from his phone.
Sakura tells himself he'll get to it later. When he's fully awake and not dying with the urge to go back to sleep.
He quickly closes his LINE, and checks for today's weather — expected rain in the afternoon. Huh.
While rummaging through his thoughts, the sudden notification ping of his message app shocks him out of his mind.
He quickly scrambles to pick up the phone he had dropped onto the futon, his eyes rapidly blinking as he rereads the name displayed on the notification bar.
Suo Hayato (Annoying)
Sakura-kun, I'm coming over right now.
Huh? Sakura wasn't expecting any guests today... But knowing the nature of his friends, they're all the type to come in unprompted.
Sakura doesn't realize the small smile forming on his face, nor does he realize how warm his face feels as he thinks about them.
When Suo texted Sakura, he thought the rest of his friends were coming along too.
So imagine his surprise when he only sees a lone Suo Hayato at his doorstep with a bag of food from Pothos. From the smell, he can tell its omurice.
Suo watches as his eyes visibly light up, he even spots a line of drool trailing down Sakura's chin. His single eye softens ever so slightly at the sight.
"Hehe, Sakura-kun, you really do wear your heart on your sleeves," Suo chuckles, the bag shifting with the movement of his chest.
"How about you invite me in first, then we discuss our arrangements?"
The questions snaps Sakura from his stomach, "Whuh! I forgot, uhm, welcome in, Suo," his figure moving out of the doorway to let his guest in.
"Excuse my intrusion, then."
He takes off his shoes and places them by the genkan, neatly arranging them by the step.
Sakura hurriedly shuffles to the living room to keep his futon and make space to set up his table for his lunch while Suo enters the kitchen to boil some water for his tea.
The two of them sit to the opposite of each other, Suo kneeling while Sakura criss crosses his legs, quiet tension filling the space in the living room.
Suo gives him a smile Sakura always sees in school, the polite and somehow carefree one.
Sakura is first to break the silence.
"So, why did you decide to visit me in our day off? By yourself too," Sakura attempts to spark conversation, awkwardly breaking the silence.
"Nothing much. I missed you, though," Suo teases, his eye turning into crescent moons.
"Whuh?! Now you're just playing with me! What do you actually want?" Sakura shrieks, his finger pointing at his vice-captain directly across the low table.
"If you really want to know so badly, I guess I'll tell you..."
"Sakura-kun, do you want to learn how to use chopsticks properly?"
"...Huh?"
The quiet returns, and it takes Sakura a few minutes to function and voice his thoughts again.
"You! Was it about that day in Pothos after patrol?"
Suo doesn't say anything.
That is enough for Sakura to understand.
Sakura sighs, his eyes diverting to the sky before returning to Suo's figure, "...Look. It doesn't matter whether I know how to use chopsticks correctly or not. I told you already, they're just tools to eat food."
"I remember your words clearly, Sakura-kun. But there are also many benefits if you understand how they're supposed to be held."
"Like?"
"Picking up a single grain of rice with your chopsticks."
Sakura slams his hands down on the table in irritation, "I can obviously do that with the way I hold them! It doesn't matter. Get off my case, Suo."
He can tell that Sakura's voice is laced with anger, but there's a hint of shame pressed tightly behind his words.
"I think it'll be easier if I demonstrate it for you," Suo explains, his hands gravitating towards the Pothos bag and pulling out a glass container filled to the brim with omurice.
Sakura's previous burst of emotions starts to simmer down at the sight of Kotoha's omurice, his gaze locked onto the fingers pulling off the container's lid.
He doesn't notice Suo pulling out two pairs of wooden chopsticks from the bag, though.
"How about we continue this conversation after lunch? Hm?"
"Sakura-kun, the lunch is our conversation."
"Huh?"
Suo hands a pair of chopsticks to his starving captain and holds one pair within his right hand.
He sets the container of food in the middle and gets up to grab two plates from the kitchen rack along with his tea, "Don't eat the food yet, Sakura-kun."
Sakura, with the end of his chopsticks almost touching his lunch, sighs loudly and agrees reluctantly, "Fine. But if you take too long, I'm eating this without you."
When Suo returns to the low table, it is with a cup of jasmine tea and two glass plates. The intricate designs on them makes him think Kiryu brought them over.
He sets one plate on their respective sides and places the cup of hot jasmine tea next to his plate.
Then, he picks up his chopsticks.
"Allow me," he says.
Sakura watches him pierce through the fluffy egg to pick up a grain of rice.
It sits on the tip of Suo's chopsticks, the coating of oil glistening with the natural light.
He scoffs, "That ain't special. Even I can do that."
Now, its Sakura's turn with his chopsticks.
He forms a new hole on the egg and picks up a grain of rice.
Sakura Haruka fails.
"What the-?"
He tries again.
He fails again.
"This is rigged. There's something wrong with these chopsticks! I've definitely done something like this before in the past." Sakura attempts to convince Suo, or himself. Suo thinks he's doing both.
Sakura succeeds on his fourth try.
Suo coughs to the side, "Now you understand me? What took you four tries only took me one. The only difference is in the way we held our chopsticks."
He watches Sakura's face flush red with embarrassment, the tip of his ears complimenting his pink face.
"Hnn?! No way! It was just bad luck that's all! Let me at it again, you'll see there's nothing wrong with the way I hold it!"
After a few minutes, Sakura gets it again on his second try.
A quick improvement. But not the best.
"It still took you two tries. How about you let me fix your hold on your chopsticks, then you can devour your lunch? Sounds fair, hm?"
Sakura yells, "That exchange is far from fair! Forcing me to follow your words... Isn't that blackmailing?! I'll call the cops and get you arrested!"
"It's actually called bribery, Sakura-kun. But neither of those crimes fit with what I just said. Let's just go with equal exchange, shall we?" Suo offers, his hands up in surrender.
"Nnh.. Fine! But only 'cause I wanna eat my omurice, not 'cause of whatever tutoring lesson you're offering me!"
"Yes, yes. Of course, Sakura-kun."
Sakura knows he agreed to let Suo help him. So how the hell did it end up like this?
His back is pressed flush against Suo's chest, and Sakura's almost on his lap too. He can feel the rush of blood from his face to the tips of his ears, spreading down to his neck and collarbones.
Sakura's heart felt like it had run a marathon all around Makochi. It was beating so fast and loudly he nearly yelped at the thought of Suo listening to it.
Suo's head is resting on his shoulders too. Fuck, Sakura knows he can feel the warmth coursing through his veins.
He wants to get up and run away and pretend like Suo never came over in the first place.
"First, you'll need to rest one chopstick in the space between your thumb and index," Suo guides Sakura's fingers with his own, the cloth of his changshan tickling Sakura's bare arms.
"Then, bend your ring and pinky finger under it," he continues. Sakura obeys without saying a word, because he knows that if he does, his voice would be a mess — squeaky and high pitched and everything that doesn't represent what Sakura usually is.
"Yeah, just like that. Good boy," Suo coos softly, his voice tickling Sakura's sensitive ears.
Sakura explodes at the praise, his unoccupied hand flying up to cover his ear, screaming at Suo to back off.
"Nnh, you! What are you even doing, staying so close to me?! I thought this would be quick, then I'd get to eat my omurice!" Sakura yells, attempting to put some distance between their bodies, because if they stay any closer, he knows his body will go up in flames from how hot he feels.
But before he can lift his back, Suo wraps his free hand around Sakura's waist, effectively trapping him against Suo and pushing him even closer to his chest. The move makes Sakura burn even brighter, his body freezing at such an act.
"Sakura-kun, we aren't done yet. We barely even started," Suo pouts, burying his face in Sakura's neck.
Sakura can hear the sadness behind his words, fake or not he doesn't know. But the childishness of it baffles him. Seriously, the Suo Hayato whining and pouting just because he tried to run away? Hilarious.
Sakura starts to giggle at the thought of it, his chest shaking along with his laughter. Suo comes out of his hiding spot and sneaks a glance at Sakura's expression and asks, "What's so funny?..."
His hand tightens even more around his middle, and the other hand guiding Sakura's hand leaves its spot to join the area around his waist, tightening ever so slightly.
The childish move makes Sakura burst out into a proper laugh, his hand dropping the chopsticks to wipe at the happy tears threatening to drip out of his eyes.
"No, nothing! You just seemed so childish just now, and it was so different from how you act usually," Sakura explains, his face turning to the side to look at Suo.
He immediately realizes the distance between their noses are less than a centimeter. Sakura realizes he can see the fabric pattern of Suo's eyepatch, and he watches as Suo's pupil dilates when Sakura opens his eyes.
He stops laughing, and the room goes silent. Sakura can hear the sound of wind knocking on his window, and the trees rustling as they follow the air current.
He attempts to move back to create some distance between them, but Suo beats him to it.
Instead, Suo pushes him down to the tatami mats, pinning Sakura under him. His hands are on either side of Sakura's face, trapping Sakura beneath him.
In his shock, Sakura notices that his own hands are still free by his side. He realizes its Suo's way of letting Sakura reject him, to forcefully push him away if he doesn't like it, an escape route for Sakura if he isn't ready.
They stay like that for a while, Sakura trapped between Suo's hands and his body locked between Suo's legs. Sakura watches as Suo's pupil slowly dilate until the black takes over the brown colour of his eye.
They don't move for a long while, the silence keeping them comfort. Sakura is the first to break it.
"...Suo?"
Sakura's voice snaps him out of it, and he immediately recoils back, his body twisting and his bottom dropping to the tatami, releasing Sakura from his cage.
"I- I'm sorry, Sakura-kun. I didn't mean to pin you down like that," Suo says, his voice shaky and small like a child caught stealing cookies. He apologizes repeatedly for overstepping boundaries and for forcing Sakura into a situation he wasn't prepared for.
Sakura shuts down his panic by straddling Suo's waist, his legs on either side of his body. It surprisingly works, Suo's mouth stops moving and his body lock together. It takes a moment for him to come back to his senses and understand their new position.
His face is flushed redder than it has ever been, Sakura knows. But he still did it anyways, and Sakura isn't one to back down when he commits to something.
"Shut up, you useless idiot. I didn't say I hated it, did I? Stop assuming things just 'cause you think you're better than me," he reprimands, pulling his face together to make an annoyed expression but ultimately fails.
Suo thinks he is about to combust. Their positions are suggestive in their right, but he knows Sakura doesn't know any better.
If the sight of Sakura below him made things harder, the sight of Sakura looking down at him will make him explode right there on the spot.
Its a win-win situation either way for Suo.
"You- Sakura-kun, you don't understand the weight of your actions. Its better if you get off me, then we'll resume our lesson, how about that?"
Another escape route for Sakura.
But Sakura Haruka doesn't use escape routes, ever.
Sakura audibly clicks his tongue and looks down at Suo's dazed expression, "And if I don't want to? What're you gonna do about it?"
Suo's voice is low when he presses Sakura again, "Sakura-kun, you're going to give a man the wrong idea. Please don't force me to-"
"Force you to do what?" Sakura cuts him off, his face inching closer to the man lying on the ground.
Sakura doesn't know where all his confidence is coming from, but he'll take advantage of it, thank you very much.
"...Nothing. Just get off me, please," Suo says, his voice strained and meek in his pleading.
"I told you, I'm not going to."
"..." Suo moves his head to the side, refusing to look at Sakura's face.
He clicks his tongue again and heaves a heavy sigh on top of Suo. Nothing will ever go through his thick skull, Sakura realizes.
He tells himself it's all or nothing.
The last thing Suo hears before a pair of soft and chapped lips envelop his own parted lips is "Idiot."
One second into the kiss and Sakura forgot that he doesn't know how to kiss. Fuck, the word kiss makes him want to run away already. What the hell is he doing?
Their lips are just touching one another, not moving at all, and their noses are squished against each other. Is he supposed to move or what? He regrets not opening his eyes whenever his friends made him watch a kiss scene in Kiryu's room.
Miraculously, Suo regains his senses. His hands fly up to cup Sakura's cheeks and pull him closer, angling his lips to slot perfectly against his own.
Nothing big happens for a few seconds, just Suo pecking his lips over and over again. Then, sensing no resistance or disgust with the act, Suo decides to take it a step further.
The next time their lips meet, Suo's tongue pries his lips open, and the warm feeling of it makes all the blood in Sakura's body rush to his face.
He tries his best to reciprocate, but his lips feel numb and Sakura's own tongue isn't responding to him at all. He is completely trapped in Suo's grip, his brain melting like putty in his hands.
While Suo's tongue explores his mouth intimately, Sakura finds out there isn't any oxygen in his system with belated realization. His quickly shuts his eyes in refusal, attempting to pull his head away from Suo's fingers.
But Suo doesn't let up, he continues kissing Sakura like a starved man eating his favourite dessert. Sakura tries shaking his head in rejection, and tears start forming in his eyes from the lack of oxygen. His face is red from embarrassment and oxygen shortage.
Finally, Suo releases his lips with a loud smack, a thin string of saliva reminding them of their kiss. Sakura quickly breathes in all the oxygen he can get, stealing some from Suo's space as well.
The tears don't drip down, instead they stay in his eyes, his vision blurry and full of water. He hurriedly blinks them away to clear his vision.
"Nnh.. you meanie! You knew I couldn't breathe but you still continued!" Sakura whines, his head dropping down to Suo's chest.
Suo chuckles, his arms coming up to hold the man straddling him, "I'm sorry, Sakura-kun. I intended to get the full experience of kissing you," he whispered lowly into Sakura's ear.
Sakura shrieks and his hands come up to clutch at his abused ear, "And you're doing it again! It's ticklish, so stop that!"
Suo apologizes again, but the word sounds fake on his lips. Sakura gets annoyed and gives him a quick peck to shut him up, and it works.
Sakura knows what to do when he gets annoyed of Suo's teasing from now on.
"Cheater..." he hears Suo mumble beneath him.
After some time basking in the after glow of ther kiss, they decide to revert back to their original seating arrangement.
Sakura somehow ends up fully on Suo's lap.
"So how was your first kiss?" Suo asks, his lips resting on Sakura's shoulder blades.
"I didn't say it was my first kiss, did I?"
Suo bites his neck. Hard.
"Ow! I was joking, dumbass! Was it not obvious? I couldn't even kiss you properly..."
"Yeah, I know. I just felt like getting back at you, for teasing me just now. And for stealing my first kiss too."
...Huh?
"Huh? That was your first kiss?" Sakura asks, his face contorts into a shocked expression from Suo's words.
"Of course. You thought it wasn't?"
"Obviously! You- You seemed so experienced that I-"
"Ah, so you admit I'm a good kisser then?"
"I didn't say that! No way! You're the worst kisser I know!"
"...You know other kissers?"
Fin.