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The following day after Suna and Maeko had their unexpected meeting at the park, Maeko felt much more at ease after hearing her friend's words. The two were walking out the gates of Inarizaki high school and on their way home. For once Maeko got some sleep the night before after hanging out with Suna at the park. Today Suna had asked Maeko to stop over his house as he needed help with assignments, sure Maeko doesn't admit to being the top of her class, but her grades were surely enough to help Suna out.
"I get to spend time with him too," she thought to herself as she walked beside the male.
Both of them kept quiet on the way to Suna's house, just enjoying the silence as they both shared airpods ━ Suna's airpods of course, there was absolutely NO WAY Maeko could purchase the Bluetooth buds. The pair soon reached Suna's house which wasn't too far from school, as Suna opened his front door Maeko heard the squeals of a young girl. Suna had gone to put his shoes away and the younger female had run into Maeko's arms.
"EMIKO!!" Maeko shouted as the little girl jumped into her arms. Maeko was the youngest in her house so knowing Suna had a younger sibling, she immediately got close with her over the years.
"hi, Maeko!! Finally, nii-san brings you to visit" Emiko said with a smile as her twinkling eyes stared up at Maeko. Emiko too had gotten quite fond of Maeko, despite being Suna's younger sister she had a far different personality than Suna.
Maeko gently placed Emiko down from her arms and removed her own shoes before entering Suna's house.
"what are you doing here anyway Maeko-chan?" Emiko asked glancing up at the older girl.
"I'm helping your nii-san get some brain cells" Maeko replied with a smile to which Suna had peeked his head out from the room he was in as he glared at Maeko's response.
"I DO HAVE BRAIN CELLS!!" he shouted back before returning into the room, Maeko laughed at his response before slipping on the slippers Suna had brought earlier.
Emiko quickly ran off to her own room to finish her own work leaving Maeko by herself in the hallway. She pranced into Suna's room seeing that he had discarded his uniform and changed into comfy clothes.
"Well don't you look comfortable" Maeko spoke as she entered the room and sat on the floor, not really comfortable sitting down with the school's very short skirt.
"you wanna change too?" Suna asked opening his closet.
Before Maeko could even answer, the boy had thrown a random shirt and a pair of his clean volleyball shorts at her face. She took off the pile of clothes on her head and raised an eyebrow at the male to which he shrugged and tilted his head towards his bathroom door gesturing her to change.
Maeko stood up from the floor and walked towards the bathroom and locked the door. As the girl folded her uniform, the scent of rich cotton filled her nostrils. It was a mix of cotton and a hint of honeysuckle, Maeko didn't know what detergent Suna uses but she desperately needs to know it at once. Maeko took her folded uniform in her arms and walked out of the bathroom seeing Suna sitting on the floor with his arms on his bed and his hand was holding his phone scrolling at random memes on a discord server.
Maeko approached the boy and sat next to him after placing her uniform on top of her bag.
"okay Rintarou, what do you need help with," she asked as he took his eyes off his phone screen and locked his phone staring at Maeko.
"math." he replied, "of course, it's math," Maeko thought to herself as she lightly chuckled at Suna's response.
Suna had grabbed his books and placed them on top of the table in the middle of his room.
"let's get started then," Maeko said as Suna opened the chapter he had difficulty understanding.
"Okay so, for this question you need to move the x from the fraction to the numerator above it, then you can multiply it into the equation in the brackets..."
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3 hours had passed and it was already 7:54 pm Suna's mother had come home when they were studying and Maeko practically insisted to help with dinner even though Suna said that it was already late and she might have to go home late as well. As Maeko was busy throwing some tofu into the boiling pot of soup and making small talk with Suna and Emiko's mother, Emiko had jumped next to her brother in the living room. Suna didn't pay attention to his younger sibling as he continued scrolling through his phone.
"nii-san" Emiko spoke as Suna let out a groan in return signaling her to continue with what she had to say.
"When will you make Maeko-chan family, then she won't need to go anywhere even when it's late" Emiko continued with serious eyes.
Suna's eyes widened at his phone's screen before turning his head towards his sibling in shock at what she just asked him.
"Plus, you guys are pretty much very close with each other and you actually do lik━" Emiko was interrupted as her elder brother's hand covered her mouth silencing her as Maeko's head peeked into the room from the kitchen "just wanted to say dinners ready," she said before returning to the kitchen, where the dining room was also in.
Suna was so grateful he was sitting in the direction of the opened door, so he saw when Maeko had peered her head in.
He glared at Emiko as she stared up at her brother "I mean did I lie though" Emiko said with a smug grin on her face following Suna as he walked out of the room.
"why can't you be in diapers again, since when were ten-year-olds this nosy," he said under his breath, Emiko could only giggle in response as she followed her brother out the room and into the kitchen.
After a filling dinner, Suna was tucking his sister into her bed as she brought up their conversation from earlier.
"Seriously nii-san when will you man up and ask Maeko-chan," she asked.
Suna glanced at his sister and replied
"it's not that easy Emiko, Mako-chan might not even return the feelings I have and I might not even be her type"
As the siblings were chatting in Emiko's room, Maeko was chatting with Suna's mother as she offered to help clean the table. While she was wiping the table down with a cloth, Suna's mother spoke up from the sink as she was washing the dishes "Maeko-chan, thank you"
Maeko glanced up in confusion, "thank you for what aunty?" she asked questioning the words Suna's mother had spoken.
"I am aware that you and my son had been calling each other more often than usual since training camp. And for some reason, I haven't seen him smoke a cigarette since he came home from camp months ago. Even when he stayed up late and couldn't sleep, which is usually the time he would smoke. I assume that was your doing" Suna's mother answered as she turned towards Maeko, a smile plastered on her face before she turned back to the dishes as she continued "because I'm pretty sure out of anyone he'd listen to it will be you".
Maeko smiled at her words, "he really tried stopping didn't he" Maeko thought as she thought back to their chat during training camp.
"I just want Rintarou to be healthy, but I am happy to help" she replied smiling at the elder woman.
Suna had finished his talk with his sister and went back downstairs to maeko and his mother who just finished cleaning the kitchen. He took a glance at the clock, it was already 9 pm which was far too late at night for Maeko to go back home, and to be frank, Suna didn't want her to go home.
"Oh it is far too late for you to be heading home Maeko-chan, do you mind staying over?" Suna's mother asked kindly.
"Oh if it is okay with you aunty" Maeko replied back not really minding the thought of a sleepover as she and Suna had many sleepovers before. Suna smiled internally at the thought of Maeko sleeping over.
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As both teenagers were in Suna's room, Maeko sat on the floor and took the time to finish an essay that is due at midnight ━ whereas Suna was lying on his back beside the table Maeko was using, staring up into his phone for God knows what. The playlist he had made for Maeko was echoing through the room from his Bluetooth speaker. Maeko usually liked making essays on her own in her room, but having Suna's presence just made her feel more at ease.
By the time Maeko had submitted her essay, it was already 1:30 in the morning as she had a couple of distractions from Suna jokingly spamming her discord with memes from the internet that distracted her greatly but she loved the memes nonetheless.
Maeko had just finished brushing her teeth using a spare toothbrush that Suna's mother had given her, "God I'm tired" she said as she stretched out her arms and crawled onto the futon on the floor.
Suna who had moved to his bed stared at the girl as she took off her glasses to sleep, she suddenly heard a soft thud as Suna rolled off his bed and onto her futon. Maeko stared at the boy confusingly but ignored the gesture and laid down beside him, leaving quite a space between them.
Suna took his phone from his bed and clicked on a sleep playlist before locking his phone and throwing it back onto his bed as he lay on his back staring at the ceiling. His thoughts were soon swarmed with his earlier conversation with his younger sister.
∘◦ ﾐ ◦∘
"How is it complicated nii-san? You do like Maeko right?" Emiko asked staring at her brother as he sat on the edge of her bed.
"of course I do Emiko, I wouldn't be her friend if I didn't" he replied
"not like that nii-san" Emiko frowned at her elder brother's answer. "I see the way you look at her nii-san, you always seem happier with Maeko-chan. And you guys are practically attached to the hip, I would be surprised if she didn't like you" she added.
Suna was surprised at his sister's words, he didn't believe what she was saying and gave a blank and confused stare back at his sibling. "c'mon nii-san, have you never had that giddy feeling inside you whenever Maeko-chan is around" Emiko questioned.
As she asked that particular question, Suna trailed back to the times the two were together. How Maeko grinned when she saw delicious food, or when she passed her difficult exams, or even the time when she laughed at Atsumu tripping down the stairs at school. Suna felt the pit in his stomach fill up with erupting butterflies as he thought about his best friend, and unknowingly he grinned slightly at his thoughts of Maeko.
"see? you're even smiling at the thought of her nii-san. I even heard our parents talking about how you guys should just date. See? Even mom and dad both think that you seem far happier with her. So hurry up and make her family Rintarou nii-san, not that she isn't already a part of the family right" Emiko pointed out with a grin as she saw her elder brother smile at the thought of his best friend.
∘◦ ミ ◦∘
Now that Suna thought about it, the only reason why he couldn't understand the math chapter was that the entire day he had Maeko in his thoughts. He thought of her the whole day, how she is so clumsy she stubs her toe in every corner of the room or that one time where she practically slammed herself onto her door because she thought it was open, or how she sounds when they call at night till dawn.
His thoughts ranged from memories they shared together, to her features; Maeko likes teasing herself calling her "average" compared to other people but he didn't see her as average in any possible way. He loved her short dark hair, her monolid eyes, her chubby cheeks. Hell Suna loved everything about Maeko.
"shit. loved huh" he thought to himself but then grinned as he recalls his sister's words
"so hurry up and make her family Rintarou nii-san"
Suna's thoughts soon came to a halt as he felt the futon under him shift, all of a sudden Maeko had laid her head on his shoulder, her arms wrapping around him as if he was a pillow.
Suna felt his cheeks heat up at the gesture, his eyes widened and his mouth agape as he stared down at the sleeping girl. He knew she had the tendency to move around in her sleep but never had she pull a gesture like this, not that he minds. Suna felt his lips curve slightly as he smiled down at Maeko before closing his own eyes, and leaning his head towards her own, before wrapping an arm around her.
The world and everything in it just felt peaceful, Suna had never been more grateful to have met the girl in his arms right now, she always cared for him when he was sick, she always kept him company when he needed it and being under the same sky as Maeko━is already enough for Suna Rintarou" I really like you Maeko" he thought before drifting to sleep.
%━━━12:17a.m | 𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 ✓
author's note!
DAMMN THAT WAS A LONG ONE LMAO. Also, I honestly don't know what Japanese people call their friend's parents (like is it with uncle and aunty?), so I just went along with what I use when calling my friend's parents, hope you guys don't mind that ;-;
But yeah, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I'm gonna go sleep now <3
Stay safe and healthy everyone !!
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Next chapter: finally