When It Ends

A Friendship Blooms

- japanese translations at the end -

After the events of what Tsukisawa had dubbed 'The Slap', he had become a social pariah. Naturally, his new class was the cause.

Lila had been spreading stories about him much like she had done to Marinette before. Outrageous stories of mental issues and ongoing familial trauma. Naturally, the class believed all her fictions and tormented him- although they were reluctant to straight up beat him.

They had no qualms with Marinette, still relentlessly bullying her.

However, Marinette now had a light in the darkness; of course it was her newfound friend Tsukisawa, with whom she walked with to school. She couldn't walk with him afterwards because of her job, but for now it was a steady source of money and was honestly therapeutic.  She didn't work on weekends though, which was great as her parents these days were always looking for a way to get her out of the house. Her skin had been, if not completely, at least slightly tanned and she was looking forward to the meetups she and him had. Today, they would go to Andre's after school ended. 

For Tsukisawa, life definitely hadn't become rainbows and sparkles. But for the most part, it really was just school that was keeping him down. His family, even though he hadn't told them the whole story (that was for Marinette to decide, not him), knew how hard the situation was for her and wanted to help. It didn't hurt that his mother was a mean cook either. 

So, one night while Marinette was staying over, his okāsan  making a feast of sushi, they played videogames on the couch. She marvelled at how similar his house was to hers. 'It even looks the same outside,' she'd said as they entered. The difference was, he didn't own a bakery, he'd retorted, and she smiled. He could definitely see the resemblance however. His room even had a balcony, and although he hadn't seen the inside of Marinette's room, he could guess from the looks she'd given him that his was probably similar. 

A cheerful voice shook him out of his thoughts. He looked at the TV. YOU LOSE was spelled out in large letters while Marinette smiled at him. 'You were spacing out a little, so I took the opportunity..' 

Her avatar flexed onscreen, and gave a few punches. Tsukisawa's one was out cold, X's over the eyes. 'I don't mind,' he replied. 

'Tsukisawa! Bangohan no jikan!'  His mother walked into the room, holding a plate of sushi. She looked over at Marinette and stared at her for a bit before speaking in halting French. 'Hello! - You eat with us?' 

Marinette went red. 

Tsukisawa smiled. 'Hai, okāsan, issho ni tabete imasu. Chottomatte.'  He nodded at her, and as she left the room, he turned to Marinette, who was already reaching for the remote.

'Dinner time!'

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The meal was absurdly delicious. Small plates of uramaki, of nigirizushi and temaki, of oshizushi and sashimi, with little rolled maki servings among the different sushi types. Marinette couldn't remember the last time she'd had such a big meal, one that just felt so.. homely. Ms Kimura had really outdone herself, she thought.

Tsukisawa saw her face and nudged her gently. She blushed and quietly, asked 'Why isn't anyone talking a lot? I guess I expected it to be louder?..' 

'Well, to talk too much during meals is considered. Rude.' he replied, 'but feel free to ask more afterwards.' Marinette nodded again and picked some gunkan  from the plate.

When everyone had had their fill, they all cleaned up. Leftovers were placed in bento boxes for tomorrow's lunch, and refrigerated. A cascade of chopsticks was heard falling into the sink along with the clattering of plates. The table was quickly wiped up and soon, everyone had left. Marinette followed Tsukisawa upstairs and they went to his room, Marinette still thinking about the differences in between their rooms. 

He didn't even have a trapdoor, for god's sake!

They climbed up to the balcony and stood, Marinette wishing she'd bought a hairtie as the wind began to muss up her hair. She stepped back slightly, and nearly upset a row of potted plants. Tsukisawa unconsiously grabbed her by the shoulders. She immediately stepped back again, miraculously missing anything, although that was the last thing on her mind. 

'Please, no. You're just a friend.'

These words rang out, and Marinette went red for for the third time that night. 'I'm- I'm sorry. I guess I just assumed- that you were- no, obviously you were trying to help me! Well, I mean, you've helped me so much- but I mean, we're just friends! Yep, friends, that's us, heh, oh god I sound like Adr-' She pulled at her hoodie, trying to stop herself from going scarlet.

Tsukisawa simply smiled.

'I guess I can understand why you're so awkward around me. No need, I'm sure we're just friends.' He made a show of looking at his watch. 'Well, it's 8:25 - ish. You've got to get home by 9, right?'

Marinette nodded, but she knew her parents didn't give a damn how late she was out. She felt her cheeks cool down a little, and her awkward tugging slowed down; although she was still thinking about her outburst.

'That gives us 20 minutes- besides, I think that previous Ultra Mecha Strike game was a little unfair. Ready for a rematch?'

She grinned.

'You're on!'

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That night, after Marinette had left, she found herself walking almost unconsciously to her house. She was recounting the gaming match they'd just had, with Tsukisawa actually managing to beat her. Chalking it down to bad luck, she opened the side door and quietly made her way upstairs, careful not to wake her parents up. She knew that running a bakery made them utterly exhausted, but it was best not to risk it.

She climbed up the final set of stairs and opened the trapdoor. As she shut it, Tikki flew out of her bag. 'Well, Marinette! I think you may have made a new friend!' The kwami flew around the room, phasing in and out of various objects, then finally resting on her head. She smiled slightly as she booted up her PC.

'I think we ought to make a little call, don't you think?' She tapped the being on her head, laughing.

She began to add numbers to the group chat, but this time she added an extra one.

As the names and faces began to pop up onto the screen, Marinette was glad to see her newest friend.

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sorry for the long wait, heh. i knew i had to upload before july 24 as that would mean that i havent uploaded for a year

im considering an akumatized marinette series and an oc series (non-mlb related) to take a bit of a break. as mentioned before, will try to upload frequently but no guarantees. i have several assessments due in a few weeks.

•ᴗ•

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japanese translations

'Tsukisawa! Bangohan no jikan!'  = tsukisawa! dinner time!

'Hai, okāsan, issho ni tabete imasu. Chottomatte.'  = yes mum, we're eating together. wait a minute.

'okāsan'  = mum

everything else is sushi related 

୧ ‧₊˚ 🍙 ⋅ (๑ᵔ⤙ᵔ๑)

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1189 words