the red thread ( f. sakuya )

さん

status: unedited

< dallas love field >
artist ▸ doyoung
★. chasing love across the receivers

the study room was small, sunlit, and way too quiet for sakuya's nerves.

satomi dropped her bag on the desk and sat down with the calmness of someone who actually understood physics.
sakuya sat down with the energy of someone preparing for emotional damage.

"okay," satomi said, opening her notebook. "first, show me what you do understand."

sakuya stared at his worksheet.

long. silent. pause.

"...nothing?" she guessed.

he nodded miserably.

satomi sighed — but it wasn't annoyed. more like she was mentally preparing herself the way heroes do before facing their final boss.

"fine. then we start from the basics."

as she explained, her voice softened, her tone turning unexpectedly patient. she drew diagrams, wrote formulas in neat loops, and occasionally tapped his hand lightly when he drifted off.

sakuya tried focusing. he really did.

but every few minutes, some shoujo effect would happen — dramatic close-up, sparkles, slow-motion hair swish — completely destroying his concentration.

"you're spacing out again," satomi said, waving a pen in front of his face.

"no i'm not," he lied.

she raised a brow. "then repeat what i just said."

he panicked. "uh... atoms?"

"this is physics, not chemistry."

"right... right..."

she pinched her nose again. "okay. clearly, one session isn't enough."

she pulled out her planner — it was pink, covered in stickers, and extremely organized.

"you're free tomorrow?" she asked.

"yeah," sakuya replied a bit too quickly.

"and the weekend?"

"yup."

"good. because riku-sensei said i'm supposed to tutor you until your grades go up."

sakuya slumped. "that might take a year."

"don't worry," satomi said dryly, "i have patience."

she did not sound like she had patience.

then she added, almost casually:

"we can do the next session at my house. it's quieter there."

sakuya froze.

at her house?

satomi's house?

the shoujo sparkles turned into a full on glitter explosion behind him.

"i—uh—your house? is that—are you sure—i mean—" he stuttered, sounding like a glitching anime character.

satomi blinked. "do you not want to?"

"NO—i mean—YES—i mean—i mean—" he stopped, inhaled deeply, and tried again. "i'm okay with it."

"good," she said, writing it neatly in her planner. "tomorrow. 4 pm. don't be late."

he nodded, heart doing somersaults.

as they packed up, satomi glanced at him.

"you know," she said, "you're not actually that bad at this. you just... panic a lot."

sakuya looked away, ears red. "i panic around... stuff."

"what kind of stuff?"

"just... stuff."

she didn't press it.

but she did smile — tiny, quick, almost hidden.

and somehow, that made sakuya's brain short-circuit harder than any physics problem ever could.

author's note:
hehe double updateuu
🎧ྀི♪⋆.✮