Faustine

before he could overthink it any further, the door opened. it was you, standing at the door as your face immediately brightened, a smile plastered on your face.

"haruka!" you gushed. “I’m so glad you made it!”

and just like that, every thought disappeared from his head.

"hi." he looked away, too shy to look at you.

you opened the door further. "come in."

sakura nodded, and nearly tripped over the welcome mat.

excellent start.

-

the sweet aroma hit him immediately.

it was warm and comforting. sakura followed behind you, and you disappeared into the kitchen.

"give me one second!" you called out from a couple yards away– he could tell something was baking, and he set down the bag he brought onto the coffee table nearby. he stood awkwardly in the living room, hearing cabinets opening and mixing bowls clinking together.

his chest felt strangely warm, but he wasn't sure why.

a few minutes later, you returned wearing an apron dusted with flour. there was a smudge of flour on your cheek, and somehow that was the cutest thing sakura had ever seen. yet his face immediately turned red at his internal thoughts.

you laughed at how red his face was, only for your boyfriend to immediately look away. 

because your laugh always made him forget how to function. even so, he never wanted to not hear it.

"you're cute when you blush,” you teased.

sakura nearly died– he felt his heart racing. "don't say stuff like that!"

"why?"

"because–"

because.

because..

because…

he didn't know.

it just did things to him.

terrible things.

horrible things.

his heart felt like it was trying to escape.

it made you giggle, which only made everything worse.

the timer suddenly beeped, making you take your eyes off of him.

"ah!" you hurried back into the kitchen. "they're done! come and look, haruka!"

sakura followed a few moments later, and he found you carefully removing a tray from the oven.

the smell was incredible. golden brown pastries sat neatly on the baking sheet as steam curled into the air. they looked like they belonged in a french bakery.

sakura stared at the tray. "you made those?"

"mhm!" you replied, looking proud at your creation. "i wanted to try a new recipe."

"for me?" the words slipped out before he could stop them– he looked like he regretted saying it, but then  you looked at him as though the answer was obvious.

"of course for you."

sakura froze.

because that was another thing nobody had warned him about.

being cared for.

he wasn't used to it.

sure, he had friends now– and people he trusted, or people who worried about him.

but this was different.

you remembered his favorite foods, packed snacks for him, checked whether he'd eaten. and you always asked how his day was. 

and every single time, it caught him off guard.

you placed a pastry onto a plate, and then pushed it toward him across the counter

"try it,” you told him.

sakura picked it up carefully. he took a bite, and then his eyes widened.

"..."

"..."

"..."

your smile slowly faded.

"it's bad?"

"what?"

"you made that face."

sakura immediately shook his head. "it's not bad!"

"then?" you tilted your head in confusion.

he looked down at the pastry, then at you. "it's really good."

your entire face lit up– and suddenly he understood. that expression, that happiness– that was why you always baked for him. because seeing him enjoy it made you happy.

his chest tightened.

you cared about him so much. you cared so so naturally, so easily. and he still felt like he had no idea what he was doing.

"haruka?" you called out his name, and he looked back up at you. "you okay?"

for a moment, he hesitated. then quietly admitted—

"i’m trying to be a good boyfriend."

the words came out embarrassingly soft. you looked surprised, but then your expression softened.

"haruka.”

he risked looking at you, but he saw your face. you had that smile–the gentle one. his favorite one.

you continued speaking. "you already are." you walked over to the other side of the counter to face him properly. "you care about me, you listen to me." you stepped closer. "you make time for me, you always walk me home, and you remember things i tell you."

sakura was pretty sure his heart was exploding. you were so close to him–

"relationships aren't about being perfect." you reached for his hand, and your fingers slipped between his. "they're about caring, and you've always cared."

he stared, then slowly squeezed your hand.

without hesitation, sakura broke his pastry in half, then held out one piece.

"here."

you stared– accepting the piece and smiled so brightly that sakura immediately regretted looking directly at you.

because now he was blushing again.

and honestly?

he was beginning to think that was just going to be the rest of his life.

a/n: SAKURA IS SUCH A CUTIE I LOVE HIM AUGHHH ₍₍⚞(˶ˆᗜˆ˵)⚟⁾⁾

link to the request

-

an hour later, everyone learned exactly why umemiya adored his sister so much.

because she was impossible not to like.

you arrived at furin carrying a small bag, and the moment you stepped through the gates– several students immediately noticed. mostly because you looked very out of place. but it wasn’t like you were scared or intimidated, just curious.

your eyes wandered across the campus as you searched for your brother. "wow..." you muttered under your breath. furin was bigger than you'd expected! the campus was a decent size, and there were plenty of classrooms and long hallways that seemed endless.

"over here!"

you looked up, and immediately smiled.

"hajime!"

umemiya waved enthusiastically, before promptly jogging over. the second he reached you, he ruffled your hair with a bright grin. "how was school?"

accepting his touch, you let out a long sigh. "boring."

"glad to hear it!"

"that's not a good thing…"

"it means you survived."

"barely."

sakura watched the entire interaction, and then he made a terrible mistake.

he looked at you.

and for him? that was all it took.

your smile was warm, your laugh was soft and gentle. and when you looked at your brother, you looked genuinely happy.

something strange happened inside sakura's chest.

he wasn’t sure what it was– but it felt weird, or maybe uncomfortable. but for sure, it was a feeling he had absolutely no experience identifying.

"...sakura?" nirei blinked, tapping his friend’s shoulder.

sakura wasn't responding, he was staring.

suo nudged him with a small smile on his face. “sakura? you stil with us?”

nothing.

"sakura."

still nothing.

-

meanwhile, you finally noticed the group standing nearby. your gaze landed on the three, and you smiled politely. "hello! i’m y/n. it’s really nice to meet my brother’s friends!”

while the eyepach male and the freckled boy greeted you and introduced themselves, the two-toned boy blinked, your voice drawing him back in.

“uh..” he began, seeming to struggle while finding the right words to say. "i..."

you waited, and nirei buried his face in his hands.

suo sighed. "he's trying his best."

sakura looked horrified. why were words suddenly difficult? he knew words, he used words all the time! but now? they seemed to be gone. every single one.

you tilted your head, smiling awkwardly. "are you okay?" your concern was genuine, which somehow made it worse.

sakura's face exploded into color. what he wanted to say was, “i'm fine."

except it came out sounding like,

"i'mfne."

…

"i’m sorry, what was that you said?" you asked, leaning in slightly closer to him. “I couldn’t really hear y–”

“I’m fine!”

…

sakura wanted to disappear.

you, nirei, and suo all stared, before you covered your face with both your hands and began laughing. thankfully, your laughter seemed to bring up the mood.

yet unfortunately for him— your laugh was cute.

sakura looked away so fast he nearly gave himself whiplash. he figured that looking at the tree nearby was much safer than looking at you.

because every time he looked at you, his heart started doing weird things.

"sakura," suo sounded amused. "why are you red?"

"i'm not."

"you are."

"i'm not."

"you absolutely are."

"shut up."

you looked between them, completely confused.

it didn’t take long at all for suo to figure out what was happening. i mean, sakura? the boy who was so easily flustered with other people showing affection? it was quite obvious by now what was going on.

haruka sakura, the delinquent who was new to makochi, had fallen in love with his upperclassman’s little sister.

a/n: such a fun and cute idea! thank you for requesting anon i adoreee sakura x reader, he's one of my favorites! ദ്ദി◝ ⩊ ◜.ᐟ

link to the request

you sighed, offering him a small bento with an adorably cute wrap around it. "haruka, i'm literally bringing you lunch."

"i didn't ask you to."

"you forgot it."

"i would've survived."

"you would've starved."

sakura's eye twitched, and you smiled sweetly. it wasn’t like your little brother hated you or anything! he just found it annoying that you had no clue what boundaries were.

"just take the lunch,” you chided, making him grumble under his breath. he snatched the bag from your hands. about to say goodbye, you had barely arrived at furin high's gates when a cheerful voice called out from behind you.

"oh? are you sakura's sister?"

you turned–

and immediately forgot how to breathe.

standing a few feet away was a tall young man with soft white hair and light blue eyes. a friendly smile stretched across his face as if smiling was simply his natural state. the afternoon sunlight seemed to gather around him. and for a moment, everything else faded into the background.

. . .

“y/n?” sakura called, though voice sounded incredibly distant.

your heart slammed against your ribs, and you couldn’t stop thinking about how screwed you were! i mean, the man in front of you was gorgeous.

"um..." the stranger tilted his head, the smile reappearing on his face. "i'm hajime umemiya."

oh, you were done for.

-

and after that day, you developed a problem.

you found reasons to visit furin constantly. sometimes you brought sakura lunch. other times, it was snacks or water. but most of the time, it was things he definitely didn't need.

once, you came back to the school three times– solely to give him umbrellas!

now, it was a known fact that sakura was overly sensitive to people being affectionate. he suddenly understood everything when you handed him a polka dot umbrella while staring at the white-haired upperclassmen watering flowers. his face heated up, and he choked on nothing while having a really difficult time understanding everything going on! 

unfortunately, the one person who didn't understand anything was ume himself.

-

"she's really nice!” umemiya beamed, praising you when the topic of sakura’s sister came up. "and she always comes to see sakura, helping him in many ways”

nirei nodded, replying with a, "...right." but in his head, he wanted to say, isn’t it obvious why she’s here?

"it's cute how much she cares about her little brother." ume gushed, his face propped up on the palms on his hands as he talked about you.

nirei blinked. "umemiya."

"hm?"

"have you considered that maybe she comes here for another reason?"

umemiya smiled. "of course."

nirei brightened.

finally.

finally.

"she probably worries about all of us."

…

was nirei talking to a wall?

-

the worst part was that umemiya genuinely adored spending time with you.

he always greeted you first. always shared whatever food he was eating, and always looked happy whenever you arrived.

which should have been encouraging– except every single thing he said made it painfully obvious he thought of you as family.

"you remind me of an older sister."

your soul shattered. "...really?"

"yeah!"

“haha.. probably because I am one! .. to haruka, haha…”

though you tried to laugh it off, you wanted the ground to swallow you whole.

-

you had stopped by furin again, carrying a bag full of food because apparently neither your brother nor his friends knew how to feed themselves properly. and the moment you were near furin, several familiar faces greeted you.

"ah! sakura-san's sister!" nirei waved, enthusiastically.

suo offered a small smile. "visiting again?"

"i'm beginning to think i'm more popular here than sakura,” you commented.

"that's not difficult." he agreed, turning back to look at sakura who was standing nearby, looking offended.

everything felt normal, comfortable, and safe today. but maybe that's why nobody noticed the trouble brewing nearby.

-

makochi had become a better place because of bofurin, but not everyone appreciated that. there were still people who held grudges, people who wanted revenge, and still people foolish enough to test the boys of furin.

you just happened to be in the wrong place when one of those people decided to act.

separating from the group only briefly, just long enough to stop at a nearby convenience store, you decided to grab a couple things on your way back home.

everything went smoothly– until when you were walking out of the store, someone grabbed your wrist.

"well, look what we found!” a male voice spoke, his grip on your wrist not planning to let go anytime soon.

before you knew it, three guys blocked the alleyway.

"you're one of furin's friends, right?" one of the dudes spoke. “you’re pretty, let me get your number.”

you jerked your arm away, scoffing. "not interested." you turned, not daring to make eye contact, until one of them shoved you back. your shoulder slammed into the brick wall, and immediate pain shot through your body.

"we asked you a question."

"and i ignored it."

which, happened to be the wrong answer.

-

in some aspects, you were strong. never quite like haruka, but in your own ways. however, three against one was never going to end well. a fist connected with your side, pain exploded through your ribs. not realizing what was fully going on, your vision blurred.

for a moment, you lost your footing completely.

and then–

someone stepped between you and the next blow.

the sound echoed through the alley, and everyone froze. it took a moment for you to gather your thoughts, and your eyes widened.

of course it had to be him.

"...umemiya?"

the same third-year you always visited stood in front of you, and the fist that had been aimed at you had landed squarely against his shoulder. he hadn't even flinched, like he was a wall that stood between you and danger. 

for several seconds, nobody moved.

until ume slowly lifted his head. 

-

later, nobody could quite agree on exactly what happened, only that it was over very quickly.

and by the time sakura and the others arrived, the fight had already ended. three grown men were sprawled across the ground, groaning. nirei stared, suo nodded, and sakura was confused, (and really worried about you, obviously.)

and ume? he was kneeling beside you, checking up on you.

your lip was bleeding, one side of your face was bruising, and when he saw your arm trembling– something inside him broke.

“hey,” his voice became softer, a change from the violence he acted against those men. “how do you feel?”

you blinked. "i'm okay."

it wasn’t a lie, because you were okay. but the man standing in front of you? he looked upset. actually upset. his hands were trembling while he carefully brushed hair away from your face, and his fingers were gentle like he was afraid you'd disappear.

you had never seen him like this before.

-

umemiya realized it at exactly the same moment.

the moment he saw blood on your cheek, when he imagined arriving too late– and the moment he thought about losing you.

his heart nearly stopped, and suddenly every confusing feeling he'd been carrying around for months made sense.

every smile, every conversation, every excuse to spend time with you, every moment he searched for you in a crowd, every disappointment when you left, every burst of happiness whenever you appeared.

all of it.

oh.

he was in love with you.

ridiculously in love.

"umemiya?" your voice pulled him back, and he took a moment to look at you. for the first time, he understood why everyone had been staring at him lately.

he understood why suo always looked amused, why sakura kept choking on his drinks, and why why nirei always sighed.

because somehow, he had completely missed the fact that he was in love with the woman standing right in front of him.

a/n: this was super fun to write, thank you so much for requesting anon! (˶ˆᗜˆ˵)

link to the request

"I was."

"and now?"

"now I'm here."

"that's not an answer, vivi."

"It is an answer."

vivien tilted his head upward to look at you, his expression was completely shameless.

"you are carrying our child, ma chérie. I think that is more important than football footage."

"you said that yesterday."

"as I meant it yesterday, too."

you couldn't help smiling as you looked down at the man. since discovering you were pregnant, your husband had somehow become even more attached than before. 

whenever he was home, he was beside you. if you sat down, he joined you. if you went to the kitchen, he followed.

if you woke up in the middle of the night, there was a good chance he'd wake up too, asking if you needed water, food, another blanket, or the entire world delivered directly to your bedside.

the world-famous football player who could confidently face thousands of spectators somehow became completely helpless whenever you were involved.

not that you minded. in fact, you adored having special treatment!

"vivi."

"hm?"

"you know you don't have to watch me every second."

"I know."

"then why do you do it?"

"because I like looking at you."

you rolled your eyes. "that's such a terrible answer."

"It's the truth."

he pressed a gentle kiss against the side of your stomach, the gesture instantly softening your expression. his hand settled there afterward, warm and careful.

there was always something different about vivien whenever he touched your growing belly. perhaps it was a quietness, or a reverence– as though he still couldn't quite believe this was real.

his child.

your child.

the family the two of you were building together.

for a few moments, neither of you spoke as the rain continued outside.

vivien closed his eyes, looking perfectly content.

you wished you felt as calm.

your fingers slowed in his hair, and almost immediately, he noticed.

like he always did.

his eyes opened. "what is it?"

you hesitated.

"nothing."

his eyebrow lifted slightly.

"mon cœur."

the warning in his voice made you sigh. because "nothing" was never going to work.

you looked down at your hands. "I've just been thinking."

"about?"

"the baby."

you let out a breath– the worries had been circling in your head for weeks. sometimes they were quiet, and other times they were loud.

tonight, though, they felt impossible to ignore.

"what if I'm not ready?"

vivien immediately sat up, the movement was so quick it almost startled you. he turned toward you completely.

"what?"

"what if I'm not ready to be a mother?"

his expression softened instantly.

"oh."

you looked away. "it sounds silly."

"it doesn't."

you swallowed.

"I keep thinking about everything that could go wrong."

vivien remained silent, listening. It gave you the opportunity to continue.

"what if I make mistakes?"

he smiled.

"you will make mistakes."

"that's not comforting."

"it should be."

vivien took both of your hands in his.

"because every parent makes mistakes."

and as you opened your mouth to protest, he squeezed your hands before you could interrupt.

"listen to me."

his voice was gentle, as the same confidence he carried on the field was present now.

"you are already worrying about being a good mother. bad parents don't lose sleep wondering whether they'll be good enough."

you stared at him.

Vivien continued.

"you care."

his thumb brushed over your knuckles.

"you love this child already. you are trying. and that is where good parents begin."

the knot in your chest loosened slightly, and you couldn’t stop yourself from looking down at your lap. "but what if the baby needs something I can't give?"

"then we'll figure it out."

"we?"

vivien sounded almost offended that you had to ask. "ma chérie, this isn't something you're doing alone." 

his hand returned to your stomach.

"i'm here for you, in every way."

the certainty in his voice made your eyes sting unexpectedly, making you laugh weakly.

"these pregnancy hormones are ridiculous."

"i know."

"i wasn't even crying a second ago."

"i know."

"now I am."

"I know."

a smile tugged at his lips, and you swatted his shoulder.

before long, his arms wrapped around you completely. and with vivien holding you close, your worries didn't seem nearly as heavy anymore.

if someone had asked you about home, you’d talk about being in your spouse’s arms.

a/n: first official post to this blog... don't be shy to request guys i'm more than happy to write!