Tenya x Reader: Pebbles are for the Birds (Fluff)
Description: Young Iida is awkward and doesn't know how people confess to each other. So he turns to the next best source of knowledge: Animal Planet.
The elementary schoolyard: a place for safe supervised fun. However, to Tenya Iida, it was also a daunting goliath of social paradigms. Though beloved by every teacher and parent he'd ever met, his peers didn't seem to show the same love and appreciation for meticulous rule-followers such as himself. In fact, he was even teased for it more often than not.
Tenya sat on his usual spot in the grass with a book, watching his peers play their recess away. He personally had plenty of time for training and exercise with his older brother after school each day, so he didn't feel the need to exert himself. School hours, in his mind, were strictly for the nourishment of the mind. Besides, his athletic lessers on the playground would struggle to keep up, further alienating him from their group. Therefore he sat here, book in hand, occasionally keeping an eye on the other kids in case they needed help or a scolding for breaking the rules.
There were days, though, that he wished he could fit in with the others, to just go along with their dimwitted ideas without question and be popular. Only one person's opinion truly mattered to him though, and that particular girl never once asked him to compromise his integrity. He eyed the playground, scanning for-
"Hi Tenya!" You broke his focus.
"Ah! H-hello F/N!" He rose stiffly, polite and gentlemanly.
"Whatcha reading?" You asked him, pointing to the book he had dropped to the ground.
"Oh uh... 'A Hero's Strategy' by Sir Nighteye." He stated proudly, holding up the cover.
"Ooh! What's it about?" Your curiosity was peaked.
"It's about predicting the moves of your enemies, thus improving your likelihood of a successful rescue."
"Wow! That's so cool!" You sat down, patting a spot on the grass next to you. His brows furrowed in confusion, but he obeyed the nonverbal command. "Tell me more about it." Iida's face lit up. How rare it was to find someone to discuss intelligent and important matters of the future with. But, then again, that's why he favors you the way that he does.
You let him lecture you a while, enjoying his blissful excitement. Something about Tenya was never boring. He poured his heart and soul into everything he did. Even now, even if the subject was boring, he managed to capture you with how animated he was when he spoke, throwing his hands in all directions to convey a point. The sunlight sparkled off his glasses and his impassioned eyes.
BOONNNGGGG
The school bell rang, signifying your time together had ended.
"Forgive me." He frowned. "I fear I may have wasted your recess..."
"Oh no! You didn't waste it, silly." You stood and offered him a hand. "I learned something so it wasn't a waste. You're so smart, Tenya." He was taken aback by the sudden praise. So much so, that he forgot to give you a proper thank you before watching you run off. He merely stood there, blushing with a crooked smile, a new mission formulating in his mind. He now had to find a way to tell you how you made him feel.
He walked home from school mumbling to himself. It was not totally uncommon behavior for him, so nobody really questioned it. 'Maybe I could ask brother what to do. ...No. He's probably so good with girls that he won't understand...' He puzzled all evening until his brain was sore. In the past he had seen other boys confess to their crushes in different ways. Some of them got rejected while others didn't. However, he couldn't pick out the common denominator among the victorious ones.
"There's got to be some sort of algorithm... a way that guarantees success..." Iida tapped his pencil on the desk, shut off in his room with the Discovery Channel on in the background. It was the kind of educational white-noise that helped him get his homework done. He was able to ignore it until something caught his attention.
"...choose a mate through this particular method."
Tenya turned up the volume. "Adelie penguins present a carefully chosen stone to the female of their choice. If she accepts the offering, the pair mates for life."
"Eureka!" Tenya exclaimed happily, the epiphany hitting him square in the face. "Of course! That's how people get engaged as well. With precious stones! Why did I not see this before?! It's obviously the universal sign of love across all species!" He grabbed his backpack and ran towards the front door. "I must find the perfect geologic specimen!"
"Where are you going?" Tensei asked. Tenya froze, realizing he had no idea how to go about selecting the love-rock in question.
"Uh..."
"Did you need something from the store? I can run out for you." He offered.
"No..." He squirmed under his brother's scrutinizing gaze. "Brother... I need some... advice."
"About?" He smiled, immediately guessing the subject matter from Tenya's unusually bashful demeanor.
"Well... there's this girl at school and-"
"Say no more. You need a nice gift, is that it?"
"The perfect gift!" Tenya brightened up at his brother's understanding.
"Then let's go." They traveled downtown together, passing through the bustle of the city. Tenya knew exactly where their endpoint was, and pulled Tensei eagerly by the hand every step of the way.
"Here it is!" Tenya threw the door open, racing inside.
"Uh..." Tensei tilted his head. "Are you sure this is where you want to buy the gift?"
"Of course! This is the only place, isn't it?" Tensei was at a loss for words, unable to comprehend his younger brother's sudden fixation with geology. But this certainly wasn't the first occurrence of something like this. Every now and again, Tenya would read up on a new subject and become fully immersed in it. Tensei just figured this was his current interest and went along with it.
The vendor in question was a small locally owned rock and gemstone polishing store. It was more of a tourist destination and rarely attracted regular customers, so Tensei was surprised to still see it in business after all these years. Tenya, however, assumed it was a valuable asset since it was the only love-stone vendor in the whole city.
Tenya soon became overwhelmed by all the choices that stood before him. Everything from colored quartz to snowflake obsidian to tigers eye and amethyst. 'Are they color coated based on the relationship with your intended? If so, is there a chart somewhere that I could see to find out?' He didn't want to ask and come off as inexperienced. It was now he wondered why diamonds were the most mainstream love-stone. These options here are much prettier and more diverse. 'I cant be the first and only person to realize this, can I?' Was he really so brilliant that nobody else caught on to it? 'Is it just a marketing scheme? ...No... There has to be a reason I'm missing. There's definitely a code to selecting the right one...'
"If you're set on getting her a stone, I'd suggest one of these two." Tensei snapped Tenya out of his spiraling thought process. In each of his hands nestled a lilac one and a light-reflecting orange one. Tenya thanked the heavens for his love-savvy older brother who had already narrowed down the difficult choice for him.
"Yes, but which one is better?" Tenya asked. Whichever his brother chose, he would fully trust his prowess.
"I... don't know what you mean..." He admitted.
'Ah. So there is still a certain amount of guess work involved.' Tenya concluded. "Nevermind. I trust your judgment, Tensei. Pick the one you think is right." Tensei just picked one at random, dropping the other one into its proper section, shrugging in confusion.
"Now do you want this polished and made into a necklace or something?" The cashier asked.
"Ah, yes! Presentation is everything!" Tenya asserted, handing over the extra needed bit of money to make it so.
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Recess came the next day, and Tenya bubbled with a mix of excitement and churning dread. It was mostly excitement, because he trusted that his older brother knew the game and would not sell him short. This lovely little purple stone had to be the key to unlocking F/N's heart.
You were playing on the jungle gym with a few friends when you saw Iida approach the group. Instinctively, they scattered, knowing he only really barged over in that fashion when they were doing something troublesome. Even you felt a twinge of fear from the intensity in his eyes. "Hi, Tenya." You greeted him with a shakey smile, climbing down to face him.
It was then, Tenya realized he had no idea how to properly present the love-stone. 'Oh no! I was so excited about finding the right stone, I completely neglected researching what to say!'
"Tenya?" You raised a concerned eyebrow when he didn't respond to your greeting, and you also noticed he was stiff and sweaty.
"F-F/N..." He shoved the necklace in your face. "Would you p-please accept this stone from me?"
"Is this for me?" You asked in surprise. It wasn't your birthday or anything so you figured he'd made a mistake.
"Yes." He noticed your confused face and figured he'd chosen the wrong one. "Ah- Forgive me!" He bowed low, beginning to babble quickly. "To be perfectly honest with you, I only found out about this mating custom yesterday and I didn't do enough research before looking. If this insinuates something incorrect about our relationship I apologize and-"
"Did you say m-mate?!" You felt your cheeks burn red, but he didn't stop.
"-and I wasn't sure what precious love-stone would best convey my feelings and how much you mean to me-"
"W-wait..." You clasped his hands, cutting off his train of thought. "What are you saying, Tenya? Are you saying you... love me?" Your little heart pattered with excitement.
"I- yes... clearly I went about it all wrong but I hope I can make up for it. I can get you something different-"
"There's nothing wrong with the necklace, Tenya! I don't know what you're talking about!"
"Really?! You like it?" His jaw fell open.
"It's pretty." You took it from his much larger hands and put it on. You saw his rigid posture relax a bit. "But I don't understand. What did you mean about it being the wrong one?"
"Well... I was confused about the selection process. I saw on the Discovery channel that some bird species use precious stones to show their devotion. I thought it must be a universal practice..."
"Are you talking about the special about penguins?"
"Huh? You saw it too?"
"Yeah. So wait a minute! You're saying you ran out and got me a special rock because of some silly documentary?!" Iida just stared at you, feeling like a complete dunce as you laughed. "Oh, Tenya! You didn't have to go through all that trouble! I already like you."
"What?! You do?!" He flushed, a fluttering elation filling him up.
"Sure!" You grinned so wide it almost hurt. "I'll be your mate, Tenya." Granted, you didn't know much about what that meant. But you knew it involved lots of closeness and cuddles, and you were more than happy to share that with the sweet blushing boy in front of you.
He stood there speechless until you nuzzled his nose with your own. At least that's what the birds did on last night's documentary. Iida chuckled the tension out of his system, positively giddy that he could share a special love custom with you. While you were that close, you couldn't help adding a human twist to it with a sweet peck on the lips. He covered his mouth with his hands, as if to preserve the feeling forever. You tilted your head at him expectantly.
"Uhm... coo?" He made the bird noise from the documentary, making you beam brightly.
"I coo you too, Tenya."