Celestial.

Something had been bothering them.

They had been so dead asleep that it was blissful, but now they laid in bed, phasing between sleep and being fully aware of the room around them. It was irritating; maybe if they didn’t open their eyes, they could trick their brain into going back to sleep.  

A tap at their window caused their breath catch in their throat; That’s what had woken them up. What was making the unsettling noise? Their heart beat started to jump up, their pulse coursing through their veins with such intense force that their limbs started to feel weak--

Oh, what had they been afraid of? They took a deep breath and settled back against their pillow; There was nothing there, it was simply just the wind causing the tree branch to tap against their window, it was no big deal. There they laid now, cuddling back into their blanket and smiling to themselves for being so silly.

Their eyes shot open wide as their stomach twisted with fear, their anxiety spiking and their heart beating in their ears; There’s no tree near their window.

Was there something in their room? They knew something paranormal was illogical—but was it really? What if there truly was something in their room—or worse? What if there was someone in their room?  

An intruder? Robber? Murderer? They couldn’t fathom the idea and squeezed their eyes shut, too frozen to move and check; If it was going to happen, they’d much rather hope these people thought they were asleep to avoid confrontation--

No! They couldn’t just lie down and let this happen! They gripped their pillow tight; What kind of person would they be if they just laid in bed and allowed crime like this to happen? Throwing the blankets off of them as they jumped to attention, swinging the pillow every which way in the dark as their eyes scrunched shut, they bit their tongue to avoid any shouting. Their courage was met with disappointment, however, as the pillow had only made contact with items around their room rather than any sort of intruder.

(Y/n) sighed, tired eyes looking at the mess they’ve made now as the contents of their desk were flung to the floor. They were ridiculous, they kept telling themselves-- they just allowed their tired state of mind run wild with their imagination, and now they’ve got themselves a mess. Their self-reprimanding masked the sounds of their window sliding open.

A soft click caught their attention as chills from the wind outside now caused shivers to shoot up their spine—or was it the fear causing them? Either way, they froze in place as quiet sounds of struggle came from behind them; They took as deep of a breath as they could, bracing themselves for whatever they were about to see as they lifted their pillow as a full functioning weapon and gripped it tight, tightening their muscles and spinning in place, swinging the pillow as hard as they could to ensure impact--

“What the hell!”

A muffled cry came from the intruder as (Y/n) swung their pillow a few more times for good measure until their voice registered in their hazy, panic-ridden mind.

“Tetsuro?”

(Y/n) halted their assault and cautiously opened one eye to see the silhouette of the cat-like boy hanging halfway out of their window sill, holding onto the inside as though it were for dear life.

“Uh, yeah, are you done kicking my ass now?” His whisper was exasperated and rough, irritation evident without ever needing to see his face. Not that (Y/n) expected any different, they did just beat him senseless with a pillow.

“What are you doing?”

“Right now, trying to make sure my heads still screwed on straight and trying to not fall out of your window.”

(Y/n) dropped their weapon and grabbed onto his arms and attempted to help pull him into the room. As he stretched and rubbed at the quickly fading indents left on his stomach from the window sill, (Y/n) looked down the side of their house to see how he possibly could have gotten up there.

“Hey, how did you--”

“Why aren’t you asleep?”

They scrunched their nose and drew their eyebrows together; how rude of him to just cut them off, and with a stupid question nonetheless.

“Because there was an asshole breaking into my house!” they whispered harshly towards him.

“Like to think of myself as more of one of those... mystical beings that visit you in the night.”

“I should have pushed you out of that window when I had the chance.”

“But you didn’t.”

Kuroo threw himself onto their bed and frantically patted next to him, silently begging for his lover to lay with him, looking up at them with half-lidded eyes and a lazy smirk as they hovered above him with an annoyed pout.

“Why are you here?”

“Wanted to know if you wanted to get some ice cream.”

“Wanted-- if I--” they sputtered, completely astonished, “Ice cream?! It’s the middle of the night!”

“And?”

(Y/n) checked their phone before lightly smacking their boyfriend's chest.

“You scared the crap out of me, at 3 a.m., just to ask me if I wanted to get ice cream?!”

“Why are you mad about it!”

“Who crawls into someone's window, second story window to be accurate, at 3 a.m. to go get ice cream!”

“Caring boyfriends!” Kuroo faked a huff and rolled to his side, making sure (Y/n) could no longer see his face, “Guess you don’t want any then.”

“Tetsu, there’s not gonna be any place open for ice cream at this hour.”

“The ‘Tetsuro’s Ice Cream Shop’ is open.”

(Y/n) finally flopped across his side, letting out a soft ‘oof’ as he turned to lay on his back simultaneously; He ran a heavy hand up and down their back, holding back his laughter with another smirk as they mumbled insults against his chest while they readjusted their position.  

Kuroo hadn’t lied-- he was there to bring them ice cream, he just failed to mention the underlying reason; He had been lying for hours unable to sleep because they were on his mind. It drove him insane to the point he thought it’d be a good idea to ran to several different gas stations for cheap ice cream and drive all the way to their house—not to mention somehow make his way up the side of their house without any notification.

Now that he lay here, however, he felt so comfortable. Surrounded by the calming scent they constantly wear, the weight of their body on top of him, the heat that spread through his body at just the thought of how much he cared about them made him feel light—was it possible to feel heavy at the same time? He couldn’t bring himself to move his limbs anymore as bit by bit his eyes started to close and his breathing became heavy, finally allowing him to succumb to the sleep he couldn’t achieve earlier.

“’Tetsuro’s Ice Cream Shop’...” (Y/n) whispered just loud enough for Kuroo to pick up, “Does that mean you have melting ice cream sitting in your car?”

One moment, two moments, three--

He became wide awake as he shoved (Y/n) off roughly before jumping up on their bed, frantically tripping over their covers to get to the window to—not so gracefully—climb back out of it.

(Y/n) followed suit and stared from the window sill as their boyfriend exasperatedly waved his hands around in front of his open car door, flinging about the dripping shadow they assumed to be the ice cream container; The moon illuminated Kuroo’s face in just the right ways that made (Y/n) lean against their hand and give a genuine smile at the reminder that this boy was indeed their dumbass boyfriend who they couldn’t seem to trade for the world.

Their eyes couldn’t help but look back down the side of their house, however.

“(Y/n), pay attention to me.”

“Tetsuro, I’m really not in the mood.”

He knew that. God, of course he knew that—he couldn’t run down the street fast enough to get to their house the second he heard them crying over the phone. But here he was now, laying across their bed as they gave a sniffle here and there after getting through the worst of their sobbing and he could only listen carefully as they poured their heart out. He poked, prodded, constantly tried anything he could think of to make them smile as he was able to do naturally—but no amount of borderline annoying gestures could soothe them at the moment.

Picking up the information was easy despite their cries; Their shitty boyfriend—now ex, which Kuroo would never admit he was thankful to hear—had broken their heart for the last time, openly leaving them with his new plaything in tow. He’d always been the shittiest person, Kuroo constantly told (Y/n) they deserved better, but lack of confidence and massive manipulation can make the brightest of stars blind, it would seem.  

So he sat there, hearing them recount the heartbreaking moment while wiping away as many of their tears as he could with the pad of his thumb. Kuroo didn’t talk—it would’ve all been curse words and only semi-empty threats, (Y/n) knew that—but he hoped the gentle way he held them was enough without the need for words. It was, seeing as they had calmed down an hour or so ago, but the air in the room was still heavy and he just wanted to see them smile.

“We can go egg his car?”

The question was simple and light hearted, causing (Y/n) to let out a half-hearted giggle in return.

“It’s just... so stupid,” they started again, “What... what did I do wrong?”

“Stop that,” Kuroo reprimanded, “You know you didn’t do anything.”

“But he said--”

“Fuck whatever he said!” He sat himself up across from them now to hold their hands and grab their attention. “He’s a loser! He... he was bad for you anyway, (Y/n)! He’s just a shitty guy!”

They looked at their now intertwined fingers, rubbing their thumbs over the sides of his finger pensively. The way their voice broke—Kuroo thought he could feel his heart shatter in just the same way.

“Why wasn’t I good enough, Tetsu?”

“You were good enough—no—you were too good for him,” his voice calmed; he leaned in towards them to catch their eyes once again, “You’ve always been just... so amazing. There was never a time within our entire lives that I doubted your worth—you shouldn’t doubt it either.”

“Obviously I wasn’t enough for him--”

“You don’t have to be enough for him, (Y/n)!” his voice grew louder, “Being yourself makes you good enough for the people who care about you, and that’s what matters! Not some shitty guy who wanted to change everything about you!”

Kuroo grew exasperated—could they really blame him? Watching the one person he held above himself crumble under self-doubt when all he’s ever seen is the beauty of their actions? Of their feelings? Of every piece of who they are? Not once in his life has he seen the dark side of this moon—there was none to him; Both sides were illuminated by either the sun or the stars around them, just as they have given such comforting rays in return. It hurt—did it hurt him or them more? His mind started to race now, desperate to grab at something, anything, to convey just how loved they should feel—that love shouldn’t be such a painful deal, and shouldn’t demand such change from an already perfect being.

“You don’t need someone like him,” he sounded agitated. His hands started to fidget within their own before pulling them away to rub at his face. “So what if you aren’t enough for him,” he started again, “You don’t need a jackass like him anyway! You... you need...”

He could feel the tips of his ears start to burn, as did the back of his neck—he tried desperately to rub it away, to try and stop himself from what was coming next; He knew what direction he was heading in and couldn’t bear to put that on them at a time like this.

“You know, you need...”

Stop it, Kuroo. They don’t need this, not now—they're vulnerable, pulling this shit on them now makes you no better than the other guy. He knew this, but why couldn’t he stop himself? He’s held back all these years, what has his emotions flowing over the edge this time?

The look in their eyes—that's it. The pain that’s flooding them is all he can see, it’s all he wants to get rid of right now. That pain, that pain is what’s tugging at his heartstrings, causing the back of his mind to cry out for them.  

“Someone who... you know... someone...”

Dammit, he can’t stop stuttering, now. He ran his hand up their arm a few times, stopping short of their shoulder before scooting closer to them. Their hair was so soft between his fingers as he moved it from their face—their face so soft and fragile against the callused pads of his fingers as he moved to cup their cheek and wipe away stray tears. Oh god, he was going to do it, wasn’t he?

“Someone who lov--”

The emotion in their eyes shifted, but to what? Kuroo was too lost in thought to realize they simply mirrored his own.

“Someone who loves... Somebody who...”

His hand moved to cup the back of their jaw now, grip firm as he closed the gap between the two of them, lips landing against their own—God, will they hate him after this?

The kisses were rough—desperate—both desperate to convey words of love and desperate for confirmation; Lips parted and met again, time and time again, each kiss lasting a few seconds long but feeling as though an eternity had passed by since the last one. It felt right—finally—to have met in the space between as neither had dared to enter first. The way they kissed back, so soft and gentle, make Kuroo feel like a greedy bastard as his lips bordered the line of hunger—hunger for more, more more—he couldn’t get enough of the way his hopes, dreams, and love of his life existed in the small space created when he parted from them. It was wrong—he knew it—to take advantage of this moment, but his very soul wouldn’t dare part from its other half. He should stop—he had to stop; he knew this.

He pulled away, just enough to look into their equally lidded eyes—the faint lamp in their room just bright enough to see the way their eyes mirrored his love-blown pupils.  

“Somebody who loves you,” his whisper fanned over their lips, “You know... like me.”

Their silence killed him—what would they say? Surely they hated him now, right? Their voice was so melodic and sweet, he almost couldn’t catch their words.

“Tetsuro...”

God, he’d kill to hear them call his name like that time and time again.

“I... what am I supposed to say?”

He chuckled, shaking his head before pressing his forehead against their own, moving to cup the either side of their face as well.

“Nothing. Comment on it another time. It’s just something that should’ve been said years ago—before you even met that bastard.”

“Then... I’ll tell you I love you tomorrow, instead.”

The corners of Kuroo’s lips tugged into a full, genuine smile—not the lopsided smirk he normally dawned, but one that felt so bright, so easy, so loving that the red on his ears had finally caught up to his cheeks.

“You know what, I think that’s pretty fair.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I do.”  

His eyes closed and he took a deep breath, relishing in the soft silence as he tried to calm his now erratic heartbeat. It was... a different silence now, different than it had ever been between them before, but one he certainly didn’t mind; They broke it, however, with a gentle whisper.

“Can we still egg his car?”

Kuroo couldn’t hold in his laugh, letting go of them to lean back and let out one of the hardest laughs he’d had in a while, (Y/n)’s loving smile going unnoticed through the tears in his eyes. Once he managed to speak, his sly smirk made it to his face once again before running a hand through their hair one more time.

When the eccentric boy threw open their bedroom door at an ungodly hour-- on their day off, mind you-- they knew exactly what they were in for. They kept denying his pleas to help him study, knowing he would be easily distracted—they’ve known him long enough to know he’d much rather drop to the floor than study like they would; Yet here he was, throwing himself across their sleeping form, whining that they’ve got no choice but to help him now.

(Y/n) groaned, pulling their pillow over their head in an attempt to muffle out Nishinoya’s constant whining. Couldn’t they sleep in, just a little longer? They started to drift off once again until hands made their way under the pillow and rapidly tapped against their cheeks, earning Nishinoya an angry growl.

“Let me sleep!”

“No way! I came all the way here, now you have no choice but to help me study!”

“You say ‘all the way here’ as if you don’t live down the street, Yuu.”

He huffed and pulled the pillow away from their face only to hit them with it repeatedly until they reluctantly called for mercy and sat up to meet him face to face. Their drowsy eyes met his focused ones, theirs being much too tired and vision far too blurry to realize how soft Noya’s emotions were towards their adorable sleepy appearance behind the sharp focus. Yawning, they leaned forward to rest their forehead against his shoulder for a moment, not noticing the way he tensed up at the intimacy of his crush.

“Wake up!” he couldn’t help but let his hands roam through their messy bed-head for a moment before playing it off by tapping them repeatedly, “Up up up! Teach me things!”

“’Mm gonna sleep again,” they mumbled, slurring as though they were already headed back to sleep.

“No! Up!”  

Noya hugged them close, calling out his signature “Rolling Thunder” move as he rolled the two of them out of bed and onto the floor. Tangled in the blankets, he couldn’t control his laughter at just how done (Y/n) had already seemed to look; Defeated, they sighed and rose to their feet, making sure to push Noya over as they walked by him to ready themselves for the day.

He sat against their bed, wrapped up in their blanket; It was warm and comforting, like (Y/n) normally was, he couldn’t just... put it away. Not to mention, it was the perfect place to hide the blush that crept across his skin and the goofy smile that tugged at his lips as he replayed their recent scene over and over again solely to relive how adorable they were. He was crushing, and crushing hard—as he had been for several years now; What is one to say, though? ‘Hey, I like you’? Too boring!  

“If you’re asleep in there, I will absolutely kill you.”

A strangled sound left his throat as he struggled to keep himself wrapped up in the blanket (Y/n) had now started yanking on, though it ultimately was no use. Much to his dismay, he had lost that fight, and now came face to face with a seemingly deadpan (Y/n); No amount of cheeky smiling could shake him free from their sigh as they plopped to the ground in front of him, pulling their backpack onto their lap.

“You woke me up to study, so what are we studying?”

“I need to pass this Literature test or I’m done for!”

“That’s your worst subject.”

“Why do you think I’m here!”

They sighed, pulling their textbook out and tapping on its cover; That explained why he was here so early in the morning, he was well aware it’d take most, if not all, of the day to get at least a fraction of the learning done.

And it did. It took so long, in fact, they only got through two chapters by three in the afternoon; Though it didn’t help that Noya constantly threw himself across their lap or rolled around on the floor each time he got frustrated. It was pretty funny, however, to see just how desperate he became to change the subject throughout the day to no avail. The second it grew silent, Noya had absolutely anything else to say but literature, and tried so very hard to get (Y/n) to get off track as well—he almost had them a few times, they had to admit, but (Y/n) was very stubborn, and was in a fairly petty mood after being woken up.  

(Y/n) had to admit, the way Noya slowly crept closer and closer to them with each passing moment was heart-stopping; Or was it heart... starting? That wasn’t even a thing! That’s what he did to them—it was like their brain stopped working and their heart did all the work when he was around! They mentally groaned each time, fighting to keep their joy and embarrassment under wraps—they couldn’t just admit they enjoyed how closely he’d lean in and smile, or how high their heart leapt into their throat each time he’d find his way into their lap! The day was shaping up to be a hard one to keep their emotions hidden, as the quiet atmosphere constantly pulled the two of them together for longing gazes, soft touches, and unspoken tension.  

Come nightfall, they both decided their hard work could end for the day; (Y/n) sat at the edge of their bed while Noya leaned against it, sitting between their legs as he used them as arm rests.

“My brain feels like it’s going to explode!” he cried, stretching out his legs, “I’m pretty sure a few of my brain cells died around chapter 38.”

“You had brain cells this entire time?”

“Hey!” he barked. He tilted his head back into their lap, throwing them what was supposed to be a threatening pout, though he looked more adorable than anything. “I have many brain cells.”

“Oh yeah?” (Y/n) tapped his forehead, “How many?”

“I dunno, probably like, five.”

“That really explains it.”

With a click of his tongue, Noya hung his head to massage the back of his neck, pains starting to stem from the positions he had been reading in all day. The room was silent once again, calm, very content with the work provided for the day. Noya had finally collected his thoughts and tried to speak out his wishes—to ask (Y/n) if they’d let him stay over for a movie night—when the words died in his throat the second gentle hands brushed through his hair.

He tilted his head back as his wide eyes met their lidded ones—his had started to shine out of pure appreciation for the image above him. Lidded eyes, soft smile—the way the light from their dimmed lamp played on their hair and caused shadows on their face—he was awestruck for a moment, unable to voice any concerns. Soft fingertips brushed along his jawline, caressing ever so gently as they timidly leaned closer to him; Their lips—just as soft as their touch, Noya noted—brushed against his lips for a moment before pulling away. His gaze never waived both when they moved in and as they pulled away, only growing softer and so full of love that his heart felt as though it were going to burst through his chest.  

“You did a good job today, I’m proud of you.”

Their voice wrapped around him like a careful melody, and seemed to be the final push he needed to act upon his—now painfully obvious—mutual feelings. His hands shot up to interlock behind their neck, gently—but urgently—pulling their face back down to his. Noya’s bottom lip quivered, practically begging to meet theirs, properly this time, and his blown pupils shot between their own and their lips, wanting nothing more at the moment than to lock with one another in such tender intimacy that his heart had only dreamed about for years. He whispered, voice shaking, as the tips of their noses brushed against the others; Too bad all of the studying they had done had left his mind as the space had become preoccupied with the lasting image of their blush, the reoccurring feeling of their touch—their kiss—and the overwhelming desire to do it again and again as his dreams of having them as his own were finally coming true.  

“Hey... can you kiss me just... one more time?”

He sat much like everyone else—slumped over, tired, fading in and out of focus as the teacher droned on and on about the material; Asahi’s mind was somewhere else entirely, however—on their practice yesterday, the ways he could improve his serve—anywhere but where he needed to be. His mind was so far in space he couldn’t physically feel the hands that carefully pulled his hair out of the half-hearted bun and ran through it a few times to smooth it out.

Focused, (Y/n) leaned carefully across their desk and just as carefully started to braid Asahi’s hair to pass the time; On days like this where the teacher does nothing but drone on and on, they can’t help but find themselves wondering constantly to themselves just how soft and enjoyable it would be to play with the hair of a certain spiker who sat in front of them—today was the day they decided to take that leap.

Their fingers raked through the strands cautiously, both trying to keep from alerting Asahi and the teacher. Left, center, right, center—slowly, the top layer of his hair pulled together in a fashionable braid; But (Y/n) found themselves bored after a split moment of accomplishment—they decided to undo their work and repeat the actions time and time again. They started to keep count of how many times they could get away with it until warm brown eyes turned to stop them.

“(Y/n)…?”

“Ah!” they were caught. “Sorry...”

“Are you... are you braiding my hair?” he leaned backwards in his hair, dipping his head back just far enough to see them but avoid alerting the teacher—he kept his voiced hushed as well. “Is that how bored you are?”

“It’s how bored I’ve been!” they emphasized the time they’ve spent braiding and re-braiding his hair, “I’ve done it about fifteen times without you noticing.”

“Is that right?” A blush creeped across his skin that paired with his soft grin, “Did you enjoy yourself?”

“It was pretty nice.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, your hair is as soft as it looks.”

His laugh was soft and subtle, still attempting to keep their conversation off of the teacher’s radar; His smile grew shy as he mindlessly scratched his temple to help calm his nerves before whispering again.

“Well you could... keep playing with it—if you want, I mean! I don’t mind...”

“Yes!” they quietly cheered; eyes and hands determined to get back to the soft, silky strands in front of them.

Much to Asahi’s surprise, (Y/n) decided to lightly rake their fingernails against his scalp just along the hair line before pulling every little strand towards them, now being able to work with his hair in its entirety. It felt... so nice, if Asahi had to be honest; It wasn’t just the soothing act of someone playing with his hair—it was the soothing act of (Y/n) playing with his hair. His eyes flutter shut and a soft, content hum rumbled through his chest—if he continued looking at them, he might have died from embarrassment. He never imagined he’d be sitting there, everything still and calm, with his crush getting absolute joy from just playing with is hair; It seemed like they were enjoying it as well, soft little hums and sounds of accomplishment came from them every now and again as they worked on a more detailed braid this time. Asahi almost lost himself in time until a stern clearing of the throat stopped the both of them in their tracks.

“Are the two of you going to stop playing around and pay attention to the lesson?”

They both gave the teacher sheepish smiles, embarrassed to be called out in front of the entire class. Asahi waited until the teacher turned again to lean backwards once more to apologize to (Y/n) when he was caught completely off guard.

His eyes fell upon their closed ones as he felt the warmth of their lips pressed against the center of his forehead. It was shocking—both emotionally and physically, as their lips felt much softer than he ever expected another person's lips to feel—definitely not what he expected when he leaned back towards them. The cheekiest smile met his quivering one as his face grew much deeper red than before; After opening their eyes, they took in his appearance and shot him a wink, watching as he gave them a visible nervous gulp.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to get you in trouble too,” they gave his cheek a soft pat, “But I wouldn’t mind braiding your hair again, if you’d let me.”

“Yeah,” he answered a bit too quickly, hushing himself a bit after getting another glare from the teacher, “I’d like that. Lunch, maybe?”

“Tsukki!” they drew out, “Please!”

And now they were whining; What had gotten into them? (Y/n) was normally content with the little things Kei had done, but it seemed it wasn’t enough today. Clingy—that was the word he would use; They were clinging onto him as though he’d been gone years or something to that extent.

“You’re annoying.”

“And you’re mean!” They huffed.

They may have started to pout, but he knew by the way their fingers timidly intertwined with his that they weren’t truly upset with him; After all, they put up with his teasing constantly, they wouldn’t let something as minor as the sharpness of his tongue to get to them. Something else was wrong, and he could read it in every inch of their body language.

“What’s bothering you?”

Their expression changed from a school kid sticking their tongue out at him to one of perplexity in an instant; A subtle blush dusting their cheeks as they turned from his gaze and mumbled out their feigned words of dismissal. As they attempted to move forward, Kei had planted his feet to the ground—they struggled to get him to move even an inch.

Pushing, pulling—Kei was an immovable force that (Y/n) just couldn’t win against. If they wanted to gain access to his mobility—or his attention as well, seeing as he now simply turned his face away every time they spoke—they were going to have to actually communicate with him. Hypocritical? Sure, but it wasn’t like he cared; He cared about what was wrong with them and needed to find a way to fix it.

They sighed, now realizing they have been denied all affection assets due to their own stubbornness. A lofty wave of their hand and a nonchalant façade followed suit as they stood in front of him, reluctant to tell him what was wrong.

“It’s nothing, really. It’s...”

“Yawn. Spit it out.”

“Did you have to say ‘yawn’ out loud?” They huffed but continued, “I’m just... lonely, that’s all. No big deal.”

“Aren’t I right here?”

“That’s not what I mean!” They started to fidget with their hands, focusing on their actions rather than looking in his eyes, “I mean... lonely,” they emphasized the word—Kei made sure to notice, “You hardly even hold my hand anymore.”

“Weren’t we just holding hands?”

“Two seconds doesn’t count, Tsukki!”

He turned from them and spaced out towards the distance—he didn’t remember being distant from them, but perhaps he was. There was no reason—no ill intent—behind it, he simply just didn’t register that they were a different creature than he, one who needed more attention.

“Sorry,” he started, “I didn’t realize.” He held out his hand as an offer once more, silently promising not to let go after a few minutes, “Before you ask—because I know you will—nothing's wrong. I just didn’t realize.”

“’Cause you’re blind. That’s why you have those thick ass glasses.”

They took his hand and their smile radiated pure delight at the genuine offer of affection—their eyes seemed at ease now with the reassurance that nothing had been wrong between them, just misunderstanding. Careful hand holding quickly turned into them wrapping around his arm, laying their head against him as the two of them finally began to walk once more.

“You’re practically climbing me like I’m some sort of tree.”

“You are a tree!” they nuzzled against his arm, “But I’m getting all the affection I can get.”

“You’re acting as though I left you completely touch-starved.”  

“That’s right—you have!”

“I’m letting you hold my hand, what more do you want? A hug? A kiss?”

“If you’re offering ‘em!”

“You’re the Shield Hero!”

“And?”

(Y/n) stood with their hands on their hips and huffed. They’d tagged along with Naofumi and his party for weeks now, but the two of them seemed to butt heads often. Perhaps it was because they’re too similar? Or they truly were nothing alike and strained the space between them; (Y/n) wasn’t sure exactly, but they were at their snapping point.

“I don’t know, aren’t you supposed to be running on ‘the power of your friends’, ‘the love of the people’, ‘the truth’, all that bullshit?”

“That’s exactly what it is, bullshit.”

“Naofumi!”

He pushed past them, disregarding their whining and instead grabbing boxes of product to put out to sell for the day. They stood to the side, arms crossed, watching his every move.

“Do you even really want to save the world?” they emphasized their words with flashy hand movements, “Are you really going to do all of your fighting alone?”

“Not alone,” he threw over his shoulder, “I have my party.”

“And you really won’t fight alongside the other heroes?”

“(Y/n).” He seemed irritated now, his normally cynical face turning extra sour, “After everything? Yeah. I really won’t fight with them.”

Naofumi continued moving boxes from the cart to his makeshift booth, dropping the conversation where it was. (Y/n) had no choice but to sigh—they understood why he didn’t want to work with them, no sane person would after all he had gone through, but they couldn’t understand why he never bothered to try and fight back against them. He was smart, and certainly strong, but why did he continue trying to live in this world backhandedly?

“Do you trust anyone?” they drew out their words, “Do you even care about the people here?”

“I care about a select few.”

“How do I know that’s not a lie? You won’t work together with others and you keep putting up these walls so people can’t even try to help you! You only care about what, two, three people? How am I supposed to believe you’ll actually help the rest of us? How do I know you’ll protect them? That care about me? How do I know you aren’t lying--”

“I wouldn’t lie about that.”  

“What?”

“I wouldn’t lie about caring about you.”

He stopped in his tracks and looked straight at them, something in his eyes was so distantly soft—it didn’t match the scowl presented on his lips. With one look, one simple look, (Y/n) understood. He’d taken so much damage to his heart and soul from the very beginning that he has nothing but love for those who believe in him now; (Y/n) understood. They stopped yelling at him.

They shook their head, a sigh left them with a small laugh following soon after. Scratching the back of their neck, they shifted their stare to the cart and gave him a nervous smile.

“I... I’m sorry. I’m just... on edge, I guess. I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“Yeah.”  

Naofumi’s legs kicked back into gear, returning his fluid motions as if he hadn’t paused a moment ago. They watched him a bit longer, appreciating how the rising sun graced his features before he spoke quietly.

“Now, lying about other things—absolutely.” He shifted his glance towards them and gave a smirk, “Like lying about how you looked this morning. You’ve got horrible bed-head.”

“You said I looked fine!” They frantically moved to brush their fingers through their hair, flattening the unruly pieces.

“Again, I never said I wouldn’t lie about that. Or about something on your face.”

“You said there was nothing!”

“I lied. You have ink on your cheek.”

“Finral, you don’t understand!” they groaned, throwing themselves across the table to lay in anguish, “It’s like, every time he’s around, something goes wrong! It’s like... like... like he’s my curse! Bad luck! A bad omen!”

The timid man gave (Y/n)’s head a sympathetic pat, allowing them to rant about their boyfriend for the third time that day. Earlier, they had come back from a mission completely soaked and had complained about him then—even earlier had included torn clothes and wild animal scratches and a very long complaint then; Finral started to think that his role to the captain wasn’t as bad as he thought it was.

“Missions are simple! They’re easy! He makes them ten times harder than they have to be!” They whined, “This time, instead of taking care of a couple little thieves, he had to provoke them and soon, a couple of them turned into thirty of them!”

“Yeah, that seems to be a habit of the Captain’s...”

“See! Bad omen!”

“What was that?”

Finral yelped and gave (Y/n) an apologetic smile as he quickly opened a portal to escape the insufferable pressure than now sat heavy in the room. (Y/n) swore under their breath and stood up to face the source head on.

“Bad! Omen!” They tapped his chest, instantly causing him release the pressure of his mana, “You are the best thing to happen to me but karma kicks me in the ass when you’re around!”

“You’re still calling me a bad omen?” Yami took a long drag of his cigarette before blowing it towards his (s/o), smirking at the way they instantly squared their shoulders for a fight. “After everything I do for you?”

“Throwing me over your shoulder when I’m tired doesn’t make up for the sudden wild boar stampede I lived through this morning!”

“But I carried you home.”

“You tossed me towards them in the first place!”

“You were the one bouncing around, talking about being some sort of ‘fighting machine’.”

“I was psyching myself up!” they whined.

Yami let out a hearty laugh, reliving the memory while (Y/n) begrudgingly smacked their head to his chest, wrapping their arms around him and sighing. His hand tangled in their hair, scratching their head to comfort them; When he spoke, it vibrated through his chest and caused butterflies to fly through (Y/n)’s.

“Bad omen or not, you aren’t gonna get rid of me that easy. You’ll just have to surpass the hold karmas got on you.”

They sighed once again and rubbed their face against his chest, mumbling that he was right.

“I guess I’ll take Bad Omen Yami over no Yami at all.”

B-52 is seemingly aloof. Whether it be out of his own accord or simply unaware of what the world does without him, he tends to lose focus until some outside force draws him back in. Those forces typically rope him in for their own gain, but moments like these are the sweetest; When MA draws him back to reality, it’s always calming, careful, something about it felt warmer than the fire that followed behind him.

Their voice sounded heavenly this time around, instantly bringing his eyes back into focus as he stared at the empty shelf in front of him. A quick glance around reminded him of his previous task—stocking the top shelf for MA to avoid the need for them to climb up and hurt themselves. MA’s voice faintly hit his ears once again, causing him to leave his responsibilities to follow the sound.

It was... melodic. Beautiful and just a tad raspy in places—were they talking? B-52 couldn’t make out any solid words, but their tone rose and fell with grace and he wanted to witness the waves they produced in person.

He rounded corners, weaved through the bustling kitchen, only semi-politely moving customers out of his way in the dining area as he followed their voice. It wrapped around him; the melody felt physically compelling—it evoked such a vast mixture of emotions that B-52 couldn’t comprehend.  

Poking his head through the doorway to their room, he watched as they spun around gracefully, moving to tie their apron on and return to work. Their face was so relaxed, calm, yet so passionate as they sang the words to their favourite song; Master Attendant was truly in their own world, unaware of how they have been blessing those across their restaurant with the beauty of their voice.

The sight was something ethereal. The light that danced in from the window moved alongside them, creating such a heavenly glow that mirrored their melody.  

The creak of the floorboards beneath his feet caught MA’s attention, causing them to jump and immediately flush out of embarrassment. They scratched the back of their neck, their smile showing how nervous they’ve become.

“O..oh! B-52! I didn’t see you come in,” they tripped over their words.

“Master Attendant,” he moved towards them, “Why did you stop?”

“Um... stop.. Stop what?”

“What you were doing with your voice. What was it? Why did you stop?”

“You mean singing?”

“Singing? So changing your voice to fit a certain... What is it called...”

“Key?”

“Key. That’s what singing is?”

“Well, yes.”

“Why did you stop?”

They laughed, avoiding B-52's gaze, and question, which confused him. Carefully, he brought his hands to their face, caressing it gently to bring their eyes back to his own. The darker tone to their face was a nice change of pace, he thought, though he didn’t quite understand why.

“I’m not telling you what to do—I'm simply suggesting.”

“Goro, take that suggestion of yours and shove it up your--”

“Easy, (Y/n). Stop yelling.”

(Y/n) glared through the glass of the claw machine they stood in front of to where he stood on the other side. He gave them an innocent smile and tapped on the glass.

“Move it this way.”

“Goro,” they warned, “That’s telling me what to do.”

“I just want to make sure you get the one I want.”

They hunched over, getting eye level with the toys within the machine, blocking out the sounds around them and carefully, slowly, moving the joystick bit by bit until it seemed as though they were over the desired stuffed animal. With extreme confidence (and unnecessary force) they slammed their hand on the button and watched with excitement as the claw closed around the stuffed bear. They jumped up, cheered, and stuck out their tongue at their boyfriend.

“Ha! I didn’t need you to tell me what to do, I got it!”

Akechi stayed silent, only giving (Y/n) a big, knowing smile which... for some reason, made them angry.

“What?”

He closed his eyes and smiled bigger, smugly pointing to the now empty claw returning to its starting point. He had watched them celebrate and fail to notice how the bear had fallen; It felt bad, but the look of utter defeat on their face caused him to laugh.

“Are you ready to stop being stubborn and listen to me now?”

“Oh, look at me,” they mocked, “I’m Goro, the all-knowing claw machine god. You do it then!”

With a sigh, he shook his head and shrugged, putting money into the machine and moving the claw over the bear with ease. He could feel (Y/n)’s glare over his shoulder, their huff tickling against his neck when he got it on the first try. They smacked their forehead against his shoulder, whining against him as well—he laughed at their antics and gave a comforting pat to their head.

“I suppose I am the claw-machine god.”

“Hey, (Y/n)!”

(Y/n) could practically feel the forced testosterone ooze off of their fellow magic knight as he walked up to them. Magna Swing had always tried his best to put the moves on them, try and flirt, yet he always managed to fail. It wasn’t as though (Y/n) wasn’t interested, it was just so entertaining to see the overly tough guy act come to play.

“What’s up, delinquent?”  

“Hey!” he cried. Removing his glasses with false confidence, he leaned against the wall they stood by, “I may be a delinquent, but I... won’t...” he started to falter, “Won’t... delinquent... uh... won’t steal your...” He held a firm grip on his hair with his free hand as his voice rose incredibly, “No! I messed it up!”

“You sure did.”

They couldn’t help but laugh at how flustered he had become—face red, words fluctuating in volume and pitch—he seemed to get angry over just how flustered he had become over such a small mistake.

“Let me try it again!”

They gestured to allow him another chance; He went through the motions of leaning against the wall and seductively removing his glasses once again—before he could say his bit, he poked himself in the eye with his own glasses and let out a yelp.

Through (Y/n)’s laughter, they could hear Magna groan and mumble how he’ll never get it right; They couldn’t bear to see his disappointment any longer and grabbed onto his hand, holding it carefully before flashing him the brightest smile that rivaled the blush on his face.

“It’s okay, Magna. Delinquent’s like you just stumble a bit!”

“Oh, come on, (Y/n)!” he groaned.

“Listen, just know that despite everything, I’m still very glad I met you.”

That seemed to strike a chord; His blush was still bright, but it became steady and unwavering now—like it was comforting. His eyes grew wide, but they were so soft—just as soft as the words that passed by his lips.

“You are?”

“Of course!” They decided to ignore the yelp that came from him as their lips brushed against his knuckles. A mischievous smirk danced on the very same lips as their eyes locked onto his, “I most certainly don’t regret pushing you into the fountain that day.”

The both of them flashed back to the event in question; He had tried a little too hard to be the ‘cool guy’ and impress them as he had just now—flaunting his magic knight status without realizing they had been one as well—and they had no second thoughts about pushing him straight into the fountain then, and had no hesitation pretending to look for the nearest fountain now.

Magna’s voice shot up in pitch while he frantically yanked his hand away from them, squealing loud enough to draw attention from those passing by the two of them while (Y/n) had to steady themselves against the wall to avoid falling due to laughter.

“You’re evil!”

“Are you seriously sleeping right now?”

(Y/n) stood their ground, toe to toe with the group of bandits who’ve been releasing one attack after another at the magic knight. Zora, however, had taken his place on the ground, leaning on his hand, and they assumed he was sleeping. They groaned, shouted, did everything in their power to get him up and moving, though they only got a lofty response.

“I’m tired.”

“That’s all you have to say!”

“No, I can also say ‘shut up you’re being too loud’.”

“Uhg, you’re such an ass!”  

They pushed forward, using the extent of their magic to take the bandits down and hold them until help arrived while Zora took the opportunity to stand up and stretch. (Y/n) huffed, pushing against his chest when he came close and stuck their bottom lip out.  

“Hey,” he pretended to stumble back, “That was rude.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” they emphasized, “As if just lying there wasn’t rude too?”

Zora simply shrugged, turning to leave before more of the ‘fake knights’ arrived. (Y/n) watched him walk off before calling out to him.

“Zora, we’ve known each other for a while, right?”

“Uh huh,” he replied over his shoulder.

“And you help me out sometimes, even though you hate magic knights?”

“Where are you going with this?”

“Just... what do you do? Are you a magic knight too?” they asked, throwing their hands up and shaking their head a moment later, “You know what, nevermind. I don’t want to know. It’s probably something I really don’t want the answer to.”  

“Assuming makes you an ass,” his words were exaggerated as he turned back towards them with a raised eyebrow despite smiling at their antics. “Are you an ass?”

“We both know you’re the ass here! It’s already been established!” they spat, “Either way, I can only imagine how terrible you are at your job.”

With a suspicious laugh, he turned away one final time and continued making his way down the path away from them, nonchalantly waving a hand though his tone was playful.

Kyo knew he wasn’t the smartest guy around—he certainly wasn’t the most observant—but something about her had been off the past few days.

The way she interacted with others felt... strained. Love normally poured from every fiber of her being to the point he wondered if she’d had any left over for herself once she was done giving it to others. Bouncy, genuine, empathetic—she’d never hesitate to lend an ear (or a hand, if possible) to those who needed it around her, and she certainly wouldn’t refrain from flashing them one of her famously kind smiles.

What was causing such a smile to waiver?  

Being subtle was never his strong suit—he was pretty brash when it came to things and overly emotional people tend to try his patience, but she touched his soft spot and seeing her this way tugged at some sort of emotion within him. She was never... too annoying, and she was the only one to really care about him, of course he’d begun to take notice of the little things about her. The way she hummed while she cooked, the soft way she’d tip toe down the hall for some water while everyone was (presumably) asleep—the difference between the sparkle in her eyes and the way her lips curve into her smiles.  

Tohru’s smiles typically had a shine as bright as the sun despite being a fully curved crescent like the moon. Something about the smile she had been giving her friends today seemed dim; A solar eclipse of sorts had been brewing during the solar storm, though no one had mentioned it. Were they blinded by the artificial sunlight her smile gave off this time around? Or had she truly been so caring in her life that they were spoiled by the warm rays?

She had a good set of friends, not that he’d openly tell anyone that; They cared for her, pushing a bit to make sure she was truly okay when needed—but why hadn’t they said anything this time around? Out of respect for her privacy? Surely they noticed, didn’t they?

The smile on her lips fell a moment as her friends left before returning at the sight of him walking over. He bent over her desk and moved in close to study her face, watching as confusion dimmed the sparkle in her eyes and behind them became distant. Her lips quivered a bit before a sharp intake of breath; The tilt of her head accompanied her smile as she spoke up.

“Kyo? Is something the matter?” concern flashed across her features, “Are you alright?”

“Are you?” the corner of his lip tugged up to bare his teeth in annoyance.

“Of... of course I am! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“There’s something wrong.”

“Oh, no! Everything’s alright. I’m... I’m just a little tired today is all!”

Kyo straightened himself out, drawing his lips to the side and raising an eyebrow out of complete disbelief. Tired? Was it even possible for her to be tired? She’s always too energetic for her own good—no, she was lying. She had to have been lying, that’s just who she was—not a liar—but someone who didn’t know how to put herself first.  

His fist came at her fairly quickly, causing her to flinch—her fear dissipated the instant it tapped the top of her head in... friendly manner, if one could call it that. It was more endearing than threatening, even if his peeved expression suggested otherwise; It was gentle, knuckles simply resting on top of her head rather than digging in and causing any harm. Kyo moved forward, turning as though he were going to leave, but hung back to say his piece loud enough only for her to hear.

“Fine, whatever—blame it on being tired. Whatever it is, stop worrying about it. You’re just going to make yourself sick worrying over everyone else, think about yourself, too.”

Her eyes grew wide while her bottom lip quivered slightly at the knowledge that she had been caught red-handed with her own emotions. He felt her head lower beneath his knuckles, her eyes shooting to her now fidgeting hands as her voice came out in a contemplative manner.

“Well I was thinking... about ways that I could help. I’d like to help and just make sure everyone’s happy...”

“You need to make sure you’re alright first, idiot!” his bark had a bit of a bite to it, calming down with a sigh, “Look, if I could tell something was wrong with you, they sure as hell can.”  

He gestured with his thumb at the door behind him, her eyes drifting to the direction her close friends had left not too long before. She knew he was right—it was painted on her face before ever making eye contact with him—her mouth opened but she had nothing to say; A sad smile graced her features that caused him to groan internally, though a lighter version escaped him physically.

“Now you’re thinking all about how you’ve probably worried them, right?”

“Well if all of you were able to notice--”

“I literally just told you to worry about yourself for once!”

He turned away from her, squaring his shoulders as he resting his hand comfortably in his pockets; He could feel her stare on his back.  

“How about instead of worrying about it, you just focus on feeling better. If you feel better, they won’t worry, right?”

After a moment to think, he could practically feel her smile in her voice as the genuinely chipper tone returned.

“Yeah, you’re right! I’ll get better so they won’t have to worry about me anymore—that way, I’ll be able to focus on making everyone happy, even myself!”

Kyo smiled to himself, closing his eyes and enjoying the determination emanating from her now, knowing she had taken a triumphant stance where her fists were balled up and the sparkle in her eye had started to shine brighter than thousands of stars combined without ever having to take a look over his shoulder.

“I know I’m right. So just... work on it,” he started to walk away, hearing her cheer after him.