The celebration after Itachiyama's win at Interhigh was short-lived. Exhaustion prevailed over everyone, so they decided that the best way to commemorate their hard work was to rest instead.
After a long hard week at work, nothing was better than a good night's sleep and two days off.
A smile eternally stained (Y/N)'s lip as she walked with a spring in her step along the dry road. Nothing could ruin her day. She was on her way to the Sakusa family's residence to deliver pastries her mom had made.
The sweet, savoury aroma wafted through the fresh summer air. Her stomach clenched with hunger at the thought of sweet, melon pans.
The sky was awash with various shades of grey in places a chink of light managed to break through, but otherwise, it was almost as dark as pre-dawn. The air was humid and smelt of storms.
(Y/N) eyed the sky nervously, the clouds that had been wispy and white that morning were now darker and denser. She quickened her pace. Today was not the day to be caught in a downpour.
As she turned the corner, her luck for the day depleted as she was caught in the sudden downpour. Just great.
The clouds above her oozed and billowed across the awakening sun, casting the meadow into shadowy darkness. A jagged bolt of lightning ripped the sky in half, and she began to run, wincing as each icy raindrop pierced her skin. Her posture was now weakened by the weight of her soaked clothes.
Shielding the basket full of pastries with her body from the cloudburst, she continued running to where the Sakusa family resided.
Out of breath and drenched, she finally arrived at their doorstep with the basket full of pastries that were hopefully dry.
"(Y/N)-chan? It's been a long time! How are you? Oh my, how much you've grown-"
The door opened, revealing Sakusa's mother, who eyed (Y/N)'s drenched figure concerningly and the sky before ushering her in.
"Quickly, come in before you catch a cold!"
It was one of those rare days when Sakusa's mother was not working, and (Y/N) just so happened to be there and able to see her again during her delivery.
She hurried into the house as Sakusa's mother closed the door behind her. A puddle of water formed under her, and she was quick to apologize to Sakusa's mother for the mess.
"It's all right, this can be cleaned up, but look at you! You're soaked!"
Droplets of water drenched her hair, skin, and clothes. They fell off one by one onto the floor, while she realized how her clothes clenched to her skin. She didn't care for her clothes as much, all she could think about was-
"The pastries!" (Y/N) blurted out and immediately went to check on them. Her eyes brightened, and she held a hand over her chest once she saw that they were all dry.
"Who's at the door- oh, (Y/N)." Sakusa emerged from the living room and looked her up and down before scrunching his nose. "You're dripping water all over the floor."
"Kiyoomi!" His mother snapped. "We can clean that up later. For now, let's get (Y/N)-chan cleaned up and dried first. She needs a fresh set of clothes and a shower."
"How is she going to get a fresh set of clothes when it's pouring outside?"
"She can borrow yours."
Sakusa stiffened, and his mouth dropped while his eyebrows knitted at the statement. "My clothes?! Why my clothes?"
His mother furrowed her eyebrows back. "We can't have her wear my clothes. It would be impolite as a host. Your clothes will probably fit her better too. Don't tell me you expect her to stay in those wet clothes."
"But-"
"No buts. Just go get them quickly."
Sakusa grumbled something inaudible but went ahead to get (Y/N) some clean clothes from his wardrobe.
Sakusa's mother showed her where the bathroom was and left to do some cleaning, leaving (Y/N) as she dripped water onto the tiles while waiting for her fresh change of clothes.
"Your clothes."
Sakusa appeared and handed her a pile of his clean clothes.
"I'm sorry, Kiyo..." (Y/N) bowed her head as Sakusa placed his hand on the back of his neck.
"It's fine, just take a shower already."
As Sakusa walked away, all he could think about was how (Y/N)'s wet clothes clenched to her skin. He shook his head, trying to dismiss the weird thoughts.
Meanwhile, (Y/N) had stripped down and stepped slowly into the shower, turning the water on high and letting it beat over her head in steamy rivulets. Closing her eyes to the water as the heat soaked into her skin, it felt so much better.
After getting out of the shower and dried, she put on the clothes Sakusa gave her, which consisted of a simple black t-shirt and grey sweatpants.
While doing that, she couldn't help but notice how ironic the scent was. She breathed in the fragrance, instantly recognizing the laundry detergent as Attack.
As expected from the clean freak, using the number one brand of laundry detergent in Japan. Other scents intermingled with the powerful freshness, which included a hint of lavender and rosewood.
(Y/N) could feel the heat growing in her cheeks. She was analyzing the clothes too much.
Steam followed her out as she made her way out of the bathroom. Looking out the window, she saw that the storm was still raging on.
Lightning lit the skies in brilliant streaks. Fog embraced every tree and every square centimetre of ground. The house shook, and lights flickered as the high winds howled outside in the heavy downpour that dragged all the tree's branches down.
She also noticed how Sakusa's older siblings weren't around. Probably because they already moved out.
"(Y/N)-chan, make yourself at home while I prepare you some tea." Sakusa's mother called out from the kitchen.
(Y/N) did as she said and sat on the couch, still watching the trees dance outside. Sakusa's mother smiled as she sets down a cup of sobacha tea onto the coffee table. The sound of the glass clinking together made (Y/N) snap out of her daze and turn to look at Sakusa's mother.
"I called your parents already. The storm is too dangerous for you to go out in, and it's undetermined when it'll stop. You'll be staying with us until the storm calms down."
"O-Oh. Thank you very much for letting me stay."
(Y/N) heard the door open and turned around to see Sakusa coming out, fresh out of the shower. The water softly dripped down his hair and chin as he used a towel to rub dry his hair. His wavy black locks was slightly messed up and hung unkempt in front of his face, a rare sight from his well kept, parted hair. It made (Y/N) spit her tea back into her cup.
"You're staring," Sakusa says, making (Y/N) whip her head around with a hot blush.
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you were."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
Sakusa sighed. There wasn't going to be an end to that unless he stopped. "Fine, think what you want."
(Y/N) cocked her head to the side when she realized they were wearing the same outfit. "We have the same outfit? Don't tell me you only have this in your wardrobe as sleepwear..."
"So what? It's comfortable..."
Sakusa also sported a black t-shirt and grey sweatpants, though (Y/N) had to admit, he looked better in it than her as it was quite baggy and loose. The t-shirt acted like a sleeved shirt that was too small for her, and the pants were just too long in general.
"Ah, Kiyoomi, you're finished showering." Sakusa's mother came out of the kitchen while wiping her hand with a cloth. "(Y/N)-chan's going to be staying over for the night."
"That's all right," Sakusa casually replied.
"Now for where she'll sleep... She can sleep in your room."
Sakusa abruptly stood up from his seat and raised an eyebrow. "My room? Why?"
"Kiyoomi, you know this. We can't have guests sleeping on the couch. Anyways, it's just this once. It'll be like a sleepover when you were younger."
"But we're not kids anymore. Don't you think (Y/N) will be uncomfortable sleeping in the same room as me?"
"Are you saying that you're going to do something to her?" His mother suggestively raised her eyebrows.
"W-What? No."
"Then it's decided. (Y/N)-chan will be sleeping in your room."
And with that, his mother left the room. Sakusa pinched the bridge of his nose before turning to face (Y/N).
"It's alright if I sleep on the couch." (Y/N) shrugged and thinly smiled.
"It's fine. You can sleep in my room."
The night rolled in, and neither of them was willing to sleep on the floor. So they both decided to compromise and share a bed.
Sakusa showed her to his room, and as they stepped in, (Y/N) noticed how clean and tidy it was. The bunk bed now replaced by one double-sized bed, and the room now painted a different colour.
"Wow."
• • •
It was 2:00 AM, and Sakusa was still wide awake. They were both sleeping on their side, back to back, and so far apart that another person might be able to sleep in between them.
Sakusa was literally hanging off the ledge of the bed, which was pretty uncomfortable and making him unable to sleep. But that wasn't the only factor that made him unable to sleep.
The fact that he was sleeping right beside (Y/N) just a few inches apart made him stay awake. How did he manage that?
A blush seared through his cheeks, and for a minute, he thought his face was on fire. He suddenly felt awkward and demure.
Good thing they didn't have school the next day or he would've been screwed.
Usually, he would've been asleep by 10:00 PM, but now, he was four hours past that. He peaked over his shoulder to see (Y/N) softly snoring away with one of her arms off the bed. He couldn't believe how she could sleep so soundly in this situation.
Sakusa softly sighed to himself and glanced at the clock that stared right back at him. 2:05 AM.
Why was he feeling so anxious that (Y/N) was sleeping right beside him? When they were younger, they did it all the time.
But they were older now. It wasn't the same anymore.
• • •
The world was as silent as if it ended in the night. The sun was still resolutely below the horizon, and the street was as dark as some old-school black and white movie.
Sakusa squinted his eye at the alarm clock. 5:00 AM. That was it. He was going to get up.
The house was as quiet as the dawn when Sakusa went to the bathroom to clean himself up. He looked into the mirror to see dark circles residing right below his eyes and very tangled hair. What he needed was a satisfying, steamy shower.
When (Y/N) woke up, it was 6:30 AM. She opened her eyes to see the other side of the bed empty. Sakusa must've been awake already.
As she got off the bed, she could hear the door to the bathroom open and someone grumbling something inaudible. She walked out of the room to see Sakusa grumpily walking out the bathroom with a comb stuck in his hair.
"Ha ha ha!" (Y/N) wiped away a tear that formed in one of her eyes. "How did that happen?"
"Can you... help me get this out..." Sakusa reluctantly grumbled out and placed his hand over his mouth while glancing away as (Y/N) giggled away.
"Sure."
Sakusa sat down on the bed while (Y/N) tried carefully to pull the comb out.
"Be careful with my hair."
"Relax! I'm not going to tear it off." (Y/N) laughed and continued trying to take the comb out of his hair.
That was one way to start the morning.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
this chapter was delicious.
A WILD KUROO TETSUROU HAS NOT APPEARED YET AHHHH
so my friend may have commented on every paragraph of each chapter, don't mind her-
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