Tales from Someday

Hello and welcome! This is where I post my fanfics and occasionally original works. Personal Blog: ComposerLOST AO3, FF.net Commissions: OPEN

[talesfromsomeday]

The Tattooer Fangame Download Link

The link has broken again so I've reuploaded to Google Drive, hopefully it will not break again! Link below, and the original post has been updated.

[composerlost]

Hello, I'm so sorry to bother you, but the 【DRAMAtical Murder】's fan game [The Tattooer] has been unable to download and obtain. Do you have a backup of this fan game? Could you share it with me?Or could you please show me the way to download the game? I really like and want to get it .(T＿T)Because the dynamic is very old, I don't know if I can get a response. I hope I can get your reply! Thank you for everything！;-)

Hello there! It's no problem at all; I have a copy saved on my computer so I've reuploaded it for you. I guess it must have gotten deleted from Mega at some point, it is seven years old... (And now I feel old haha.) Anyway, here's the link! I hope you enjoy! :)

[talesfromsomeday]

Hi!! I just read your fic series "Alternate Route" and I just wanted to say that I love it!! This is the first time I read a fic with aro characters and it was so great since I'm aro too and seeing 2 of my favourite characters interpreted as aromantic just made my day!! Please keep up the good work, your writing is awesome! 😄

Hi! Thank you so much for taking the time to send me a message! I’m glad you like the series! There’s so few aro characters so it’s been really fun to write these fics. I still have plans for at least one more installment, so hopefully I’ll get around to writing it soon! :>

[subasekabang]

Artist: Matt/anannoyingcat (no Tumblr) Partner: @composerlost Artist Comments: Neku trying to figure out his new job.

[subasekabang]

The Reluctant Hand - Chapter 4

Rating: G Word Count: 7719 (Total), 1303 (Chapter) Pairings: Platonic JoshNeku Characters: Neku, Joshua, Kariya Warnings: None Summary: Neku’s waited for what felt like an eternity for Joshua to appear in front of him, only to be greeted with bad news. Joshua laments his struggles of fighting the Higher Plane on Neku’s behalf for the last six months, and finally relays the verdict; Neku will only be allowed to continue his normal life in the RG if he also steps up and assumes his rightfully earned title of Conductor, along with all the responsibilities that come with it. Even though the news should be shocking, Neku isn’t surprised at all. It’s okay, really. He’s heard Shibuya calling him to his post, and though he knows it will be a difficult job, there’s no doubt in his mind that he should answer. After all, he can’t let someone like Joshua rule all by himself, now can he?

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[subasekabang]

The Reluctant Hand - Chapter 3

Rating: G Word Count: 7719 (Total), 2160 (Chapter) Pairings: Platonic JoshNeku Characters: Neku, Joshua, Kariya Warnings: None Summary: Neku’s waited for what felt like an eternity for Joshua to appear in front of him, only to be greeted with bad news. Joshua laments his struggles of fighting the Higher Plane on Neku’s behalf for the last six months, and finally relays the verdict; Neku will only be allowed to continue his normal life in the RG if he also steps up and assumes his rightfully earned title of Conductor, along with all the responsibilities that come with it. Even though the news should be shocking, Neku isn’t surprised at all. It’s okay, really. He’s heard Shibuya calling him to his post, and though he knows it will be a difficult job, there’s no doubt in his mind that he should answer. After all, he can’t let someone like Joshua rule all by himself, now can he?

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[subasekabang]

The Reluctant Hand - Chapter 2

Rating: G Word Count: 7719 (Total), 2251 (Chapter) Pairings: Platonic JoshNeku Characters: Neku, Joshua, Kariya Warnings: None Summary: Neku’s waited for what felt like an eternity for Joshua to appear in front of him, only to be greeted with bad news. Joshua laments his struggles of fighting the Higher Plane on Neku’s behalf for the last six months, and finally relays the verdict; Neku will only be allowed to continue his normal life in the RG if he also steps up and assumes his rightfully earned title of Conductor, along with all the responsibilities that come with it. Even though the news should be shocking, Neku isn’t surprised at all. It’s okay, really. He’s heard Shibuya calling him to his post, and though he knows it will be a difficult job, there’s no doubt in his mind that he should answer. After all, he can’t let someone like Joshua rule all by himself, now can he?

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[subasekabang]

The Reluctant Hand - Chapter 1

Rating: G Word Count: 7719 (Total), 2005 (Chapter) Pairings: Platonic JoshNeku Characters: Neku, Joshua, Kariya Warnings: None Summary: Neku’s waited for what felt like an eternity for Joshua to appear in front of him, only to be greeted with bad news. Joshua laments his struggles of fighting the Higher Plane on Neku’s behalf for the last six months, and finally relays the verdict; Neku will only be allowed to continue his normal life in the RG if he also steps up and assumes his rightfully earned title of Conductor, along with all the responsibilities that come with it. Even though the news should be shocking, Neku isn’t surprised at all. It’s okay, really. He’s heard Shibuya calling him to his post, and though he knows it will be a difficult job, there’s no doubt in his mind that he should answer. After all, he can’t let someone like Joshua rule all by himself, now can he? Author’s Note: Hello everyone! Unfortunately, my fic ended up being a bit larger in scope and I ended up being a lot busier than I initially planned for, so I wasn’t able to finish all of it in time. I’m still going to finish it! It’s my offering/homage for the ten year anniversary, so I’m going to try and finish it by the end of the year. Sorry for the delay! Also, the title of this fic is a bit of a play on words: the first kanji in the name “Shibuya" means “reluctant,” which is such perfect symbolism for a certain scene I had to do something with it. So I came up with this title, where “Reluctancy’s Hand” is also “Shibuya’s Hand.” Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say. I hope you enjoy my contribution, and happy tenth anniversary to all the fans around this wonderful world!

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[talesfromsomeday]

A.Z - Blood Moon

Read on AO3 Title: Blood Moon Fandom: Aldnoah.Zero | Pairing: OrangeBat/Inasure (Unspecified) Rating: G | Warnings: None | Genres: Retrospective, Revisiting Summary: [ POST-CANON! Spoilers up to the end of the series! ] Slaine wakes up in the middle of the night to find that Inaho has, without any prior warning, arranged to have him taken out of prison for a few hours to view a lunar eclipse. Author’s Notes: I actually started this fic a long time ago, after the end of the first season. There was a total lunar eclipse in October of that year, and I was inspired to write this because of that. However, as my rotten luck would have it, the Moon was completely obscured by clouds for the duration of the eclipse, and in my disappointment and annoyance, I never finished this fic. Flash forward to this year; I just finished my rewatch of A.Z recently, and I decided to rework this idea as a post-canon fic. It's honestly much better this way, in my opinion. Anyway, there's your brief history of this fic. I hope you enjoy it! *************************************// Years of reflex kicked in when Slaine awoke to the squeaking sound of his cell door opening, and he was up and in a defensive stance before he could even think. His heart hammered in his chest with the newly supplied adrenaline. The guard, midway through the action of opening the door, froze in place, obviously startled. Slaine watched as he took a deep breath through his nose. “It’s alright,” the guard finally said. “There’s no danger.” Slaine wasn’t inclined to believe him, especially given that he recognized this guard as belonging to the night shift, but he allowed himself to relax a fraction.

“What’s going on, then?” He asked suspiciously. “He said he wanted to tell you himself…” Slaine’s arms finally dropped back to his sides at that. “Kaizuka Inaho,” he said, more a statement than a question. “Y-yes.” The guard signaled behind him, and another guard stepped forward. “We’re taking you out,” he said. Slaine sighed, but stepped forward and held his arms out tiredly. The second guard latched the familiar cuffs onto his wrists, and he was led out of his cell, through the narrow hallway that bore the only open window. Slaine looked out as he passed, as he always did, and just as he thought, it was the middle of the night. Something about the view seemed off, though… He didn’t have enough time to think about it before he was carefully urged on by the guards behind him. He obediently continued on his way down the hallway and into the awful glass room that he was accustomed to visiting far too frequently, but to his surprise, he wasn’t escorted to the table in the center as usual. The guards continued to usher him through the room to the opposite door, where he was temporarily stopped as they undid the heavy lock. Once the door was open, he was escorted through it and into a dimly lit corridor beyond. Too busy looking at the unfamiliar walls, he didn’t notice Inaho standing in the darkness until he had nearly walked into him. But what was he holding…? “Where are you taking me?” He finally thought to ask as the guards unlocked his handcuffs. “What is—?” He cut himself off as he finally figured out what was in Inaho’s hands, and he stared at it for long enough that he finally prompted Inaho to speak. “It’s cold outside, please, put it on,” he said, urging the heavy coat in his hands towards Slaine. It was held out as though Inaho planned to put it on him himself, and that combined with everything else strange about the situation made Slaine continue standing there staring, not moving a muscle. “Slaine.” He started at the sound of his name. “O-outside?” He stuttered. “Yes, we’re going out. It’s cold.” The coat was once again moved towards him, and finally, Slaine shuffled forward and slipped his arms through the thick sleeves. Inaho pulled the coat properly up and settled it on his shoulders, and Slaine, uncomfortable with his back to the man, turned to face him again. He looked questioningly at the extra stripe on Inaho’s sleeves, but if the man noticed his obvious curiosity, he didn’t make any remarks about it. He nodded towards the guards behind Slaine, and the handcuffs were quickly put back on. “Let’s go.” Inaho turned towards the door. One of the guards standing near it undid the bolts and latches while the other handed Inaho a bundle of something. Slaine didn’t have much time to wonder about what it might be before the door was pulled open, frigid air blasting through the opening and shocking his skin. Inaho stepped through the door, motioning Slaine to follow after. He stepped slowly after Inaho, eyes immediately searching across the landscape, across the open sky, disbelief coloring his features. He didn’t realize he’d stopped until Inaho stopped too, motioning for him to follow again. Slaine hurried to catch up. “T-the guards aren’t going to follow us...?” Slaine wondered aloud, momentarily distracted again by the bright stars. He hadn’t properly seen this open sky in more than two years, and now that he could, it seemed even more ethereal and otherworldly than it ever had. “Not this time,” Inaho answered. “I managed to get permission from my superiors to take you out alone tonight, but the handcuffs, unfortunately, were something I could not persuade them out of.” “Why are you taking me out?” Slaine asked suspiciously, still following as Inaho led him towards a bench that was slowly coming into view. “There is something I wanted you to see.” They finally reached the bench, and Inaho stopped to turn back towards him, tipping his head to indicate Slaine should sit. He did as he was asked, perching on the cold edge of the bench, and Inaho sat down to his left, uncomfortably close. “Sorry,” he said when Slaine gave him a displeased look. He started to unfold the bundle he had been given. “The blanket is not very big.” He shook it out in one big motion, then settled it over their laps. Slaine wanted to protest about sharing a blanket with Inaho, but he found he was too happy for the extra warmth to say anything. Inaho was right, it was very cold. Slaine turned his eyes away from Inaho to look up at the sky. Something still seemed off, and as his eyes adjusted further and he finally found the larger fragments of the Moon, he realized why. They were dark. Not like a new moon, but still dark, and Slaine turned his eyes back towards Inaho with the unspoken question. “There’s a lunar eclipse tonight,” Inaho explained. “I wanted to take you out before the penumbra passed over it, but I was not allowed enough time to view the whole event. I apologize.” “It’s fine,” Slaine said distractedly. “Why didn’t you say something about it before waking me up in the middle of the night?” “I thought you might refuse if I suggested it ahead of time.” “Why would I turn down a chance to go outside?” Inaho shrugged. “I was under the impression that you hated me,” he said, eye level and betraying nothing. Slaine was taken aback for a moment, but he quickly recovered. “Well, you would be right about that,” he said, and even to his own ears, it didn’t sound quite genuine. For a split second, when his eyes turned to meet Inaho’s again, he could swear he saw a tiny smile, but the man turned away before he could be sure. “Aren’t you worried I’ll try and run?” “I don’t think you will. But even if you do, you haven’t been able to properly exercise for quite awhile, and I am certain that I would be able to catch you.” “Fair enough,” Slaine begrudgingly admitted. “We will be out here for a few hours,” Inaho said. “If you get too cold, please tell me.” “What would be the point? Were you planning to cuddle for warmth?” Inaho looked at him, and Slaine could tell that’s exactly what he had planned. “No, no way.” Inaho frowned. “Why not?” “It’s uncomfortable enough just sharing the blanket,” Slaine said sharply. “It’s only practical to share body heat when temperatures are—” “Yeah, yeah, I got it. I’d rather freeze, Kaizuka Inaho.” “…suit yourself,” Inaho finally said. “So when is the actual eclipse going to start?” Slaine prompted, gazing at the darkened moon fragments. “The umbra will begin passing over within the next few minutes. Most of the large fragments in the area of the penumbra will be in total eclipse, and those surrounding will be in partial.” Silence stretched between them as Slaine stared up at the sky, embracing the strange feeling of being able to really look at it, like he hadn’t been able to do so long. “Do you know why lunar eclipses appear red?” Inaho finally asked. “I don’t,” Slaine said. “It’s the same reason why the sky appears blue.” “Ah, Rayleigh scattering, you’ve told me,” Slaine said, a hint of annoyance appearing in his tone at the memory. “Yes, exactly. When sunlight enters Earth’s atmosphere, it encounters molecules and particles which scatter it. The amount of scattering is inversely proportional to the wavelength of the light, and since the violet side of the spectrum has shorter wavelengths, they scatter more readily, creating the blue color of the sky. The Sun, by contrast, appears orange, because the red end of the spectrum has longer wavelengths, and does not scatter as much.” “Yes, you’ve told me—” “However,” Inaho continued. “When the Sun is setting, it is closer to the horizon, and its light must travel a longer path and pass through more atmosphere to reach our eyes. Therefore, most of the shorter wavelengths of light are scattered through the atmosphere as they travel, and only the longer wavelengths manage to reach through to our eyes, creating a red and orange sky.” He paused, seeming to be making sure Slaine understood before he continued. “In a lunar eclipse, the Earth moves directly between the Sun and the Moon, casting a shadow onto the Moon. The Moon would appear completely dark if Earth did not have an atmosphere; however, because Earth does have an atmosphere, it refracts the light from the Sun behind it, which causes it to land on the Moon. And because that light passes through the denser atmosphere, just as it does during the sunset, it causes the Moon to appear red, creating the so-called ‘blood moon’ of a lunar eclipse.” His explanation complete, Inaho finally fell silent. The seconds stretched on before Slaine finally decided to speak. “Did you bring me out here just to lecture me about science? Because you could’ve done that inside, too. Or better yet, you could not do it at all!” “I merely thought you would want to know what exactly you were viewing.” “Don’t you think it takes away from the majesty of it all, though?” Slaine asked, slightly exasperated. “No, I don’t think so,” Inaho said frankly. “To me, knowing all that goes into creating the phenomena only makes it more incredible.” Slaine was startled by the strangely revering tone. “I have seen Earth from space, I have stood on the scattered fragments of the Moon… but nothing can dull the sense of scale that comes from knowing these things.” Slaine wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to that, and the thought of being in space still ignited a sense of terrible anxiety in him, but he couldn’t help but begrudgingly agree. That objects as large as stars and planets could move and create this phenomena… it made him feel exactly how tiny and insignificant he was, and there was an odd sense of comfort in the feeling as he gazed up at the fragments of the Moon, which were ever so slowly becoming red. “Maybe you’re right,” he finally whispered, and the silence descended back on the two of them for a long time. It wasn’t uncomfortable, but Slaine was still very aware of Inaho sitting beside him, staring up at the same sky that he himself couldn’t take his eyes off of. After the largest fragments of the Moon had finally turned a deep, bloody red, Slaine decided to break the silence again. “Why did you really bring me out here?” He saw Inaho look at him out of the corner of his vision. “I told you, I wanted you to see—” Slaine turned to look at him directly in the eye. “Even if that’s true, you never do anything without ulterior motives.” That seemed to make Inaho pause. He turned back towards the sky, Slaine watching his profile carefully. “Do you know why it is called a ‘blood moon?’” “This isn’t the time for more lessons—” “Answer the question, please.” “…I suppose it’s just because it’s red?” Slaine ultimately relented. “That is true, but it’s more than that. Since ancient times, the blood moon has been considered an omen of many things, by many different cultures. Generally a bad omen, but occasionally a good one. For example, many cultures believed that some type of beast had swallowed the Moon, and that it may devour them too unless they scared it away.” Inaho paused, turning back towards Slaine. “They believed this, and so they did what they had to do to restore their Moon in the sky.” “And…?” Slaine finally prompted when Inaho just stared at him for several long moments. “Even if the Moon is swallowed, even if it becomes the victim of a beast, or an evil omen, or a sacrifice, or anything else… even if it becomes all of those things, in the end, the Moon always can be saved, and it always is, even if it’s difficult or takes some time. The blood passes away from it, the shadow passes as well, and eventually, its light is restored, just as bright as it once was.” Slaine stared at Inaho, dumbfounded and unsure if he dared believe what he thought Inaho might be implying. Inaho stared back, unblinking and betraying not a single hint. “What are you…?” Slaine vaguely questioned, unsure what exactly to ask. Inaho finally relented, his eye flicking way from Slaine’s face. “I’m not good with metaphors,” he said carefully. “And there are certain things that I am prohibited from telling you, but… I hope that you understand what I’m trying to say.” With that, he turned back to looking at the scattered fragments of the Moon. Slaine stared at his profile for a moment longer before he turned back as well. “Maybe the blood moon gets to be saved, but there’s no going back for the Moon that’s been shattered, right?” He laughed bitterly to himself, and Inaho said nothing. “Still… I think… I think I understand. Thank you.” Inaho nodded once in acknowledgement of the rare gratitude. Slaine gazed at the reddened Moon, fingers twisting in the blanket over his lap. He didn’t know what to do with the information that Inaho had presumably given him. He was scared, terrified really, that any glimmer of hope handed down to him would only result in more suffering, like it always had. Yet, somehow, looking at the bloody Moon and feeling Inaho’s still form beside him, he felt he might just have the strength to allow himself to believe in a small hope again. It wasn’t much to hold onto, but it was something, and it was certainly more than he had had to hold onto for years. Maybe that was all he really needed right now.

[talesfromsomeday]

GSNK - Please Select a Present ~ White Edition

Read on AO3 | Series on AO3 Series: Alternate Route (Part 3) | Title: Please Select a Present ~ White Edition Fandom: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun | Pairing: MayuMiko (Platonic/Greyromantic [QPR]) Rating: G | Warnings: None | Genres: Fluff Summary: Mikoshiba decides he needs to get a White Day gift for Mayu, since he got one from him on Valentine's Day. Well, technically it was a birthday present, but he still wants to return the favor. Unfortunately, he has no idea what to get, so he seeks guidance from his friends and the mysterious MayuMayu. Author’s Notes: Hey everyone, sorry it's so late! As I said previously, I was pretty sure it would be late, but this is still later than expected... And after all that I couldn't even come up with a more creative title... but anyway, it's here now! It's a little silly, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway! ------------- “Uuuuuuggghhh...” “Mikorin, we can’t help you if you just lay on the floor moaning...” Sakura said quietly, taking a sip of her tea. “Yeah, you could at least moan at the table,” Nozaki agreed. “That’s not what I meant,” Sakura said. “The important part is that he needs to talk, not where he happens to talk from.”

“But if he talks from the floor it’ll be all muffled just like the moans.” “Maybe,” Hori cut in, “we should focus on getting him to talk instead of criticizing his choice of moaning positions.” “Mikorin, please get up before this conversation gets anymore awkward-sounding,” Sakura begged. “Here, I got it...” Hori stood up from his spot at the table and circled around it to reach Mikoshiba, who was lying face down under the window. “Here we go—” Hori hooked his hands under Mikoshiba’s arms and pulled him into a sitting position in front of the table. “As expected of the former drama club president,” Nozaki remarked with a sparkle in his eye. “I don’t really know what that has to do with it, but okay,” Hori said, circling back to his own seat. “So, Mamik—koshiba... What’s the problem?” “Whi...” Mikoshiba mumbled. “What?” “White Day...” He repeated, slightly louder. “Oh!” Sakura exclaimed. “You want to get something for Mayu, right!?” Mikoshiba only nodded sheepishly, eyes fixed on the table. “Did he get you something for Valentine’s...?” Hori questioned. “Oh, that’s right, you weren’t here, Hori-senpai! Mayu wanted to get a gift for Mikoshiba for his birthday so we helped him pick one!” Sakura paused. “But come to think of it, it was a birthday present, so do you really have to get him something for White Day?” “I want to...” Mikoshiba said, face still red and still avoiding eye contact. “That’s so sweet!” Mikoshiba buried his face in his hands. “Do you know what you want to get him?” Nozaki asked, taking a sip of his tea. “No... that’s the problem,” Mikoshiba said, voice slightly muffled behind his hands. “Well... we could always invite Mayu to the mall with us and see if he points anything out. He’ll probably agree if you ask,” Sakura suggested. Mikoshiba’s hands slowly slid away from his face. “O-okay. I’ll ask him to come with us tomorrow then...” “Alright! Hori-senpai, do you want to come along?” Sakura asked. “Hm... Yeah, it might be a good idea. I need to get some chocolates for Kashima.” “Then I guess it’s settled,” Nozaki said with a nod. ---------

Mikoshiba’s (suspiciously flustered) invitation was accepted by Mayu without a hitch, so they all met up after school the next day and headed to the mall. Mikoshiba immediately realized the problem when he stepped inside: he had no idea where to start. He knew that Mayu liked judo, but he didn’t think the sports store would be a great place to buy a gift. Beyond that... the boy only liked sleeping. Mikoshiba briefly toyed with the idea of buying him a pillow before he shook his head and decided on a different approach. “Is there somewhere you wanna go, Mayu?” The only response he got was a one-shoulder shrug. “We could go to the art store,” Nozaki deadpanned. “W-well, I guess it’s a start. We can look around while we try to figure out where to go next,” Mikoshiba said. He thought he saw a strange look pass over Nozaki, Sakura, and most surprisingly Mayu, which Hori also seemed to notice, but it was gone before either of them could question it. “Let’s go then!” Sakura said cheerfully, leading the way to the art store. When they got there, Mikoshiba steered himself towards the pens. He started looking through the new fountain pens, and was quickly joined by Nozaki and Sakura. None of the new pens really seemed like much of an improvement to him—exactly how much fancier could you make a fountain pen, anyway?—but the other two seemed pretty enthralled. Looking for something else to distract him, he glanced down the aisle at Hori, who was examining the inks. In fact, he was pretty closely scrutinizing a bottle of ink with a teal-striped label. “Is there something special about that bottle...?” Mikoshiba asked, stepping closer. From this distance, he finally noticed that Hori’s face looked distinctly perturbed, and he startled slightly as Mikoshiba approached. “Ah, it’s nothing... I just remembered when Nozaki got sick. Or I guess, every time he gets sick,” Hori said, his eyes darkening. “Did something happen...?” Mikoshiba asked, now confused. “I’m just wondering how I’ve managed to make the same mistake so many times. And it’s always this brand... maybe I shouldn’t buy it anymore...” Mikoshiba again wondered how a bottle of ink managed to stir such memories, and also how not buying it would fix the problem, but eventually decided he’d leave the man to his obviously involved thoughts. “Brother—dry-erase markers?” Mikoshiba turned when he heard Mayu’s voice at the other end of the aisle. “Dry-erase?” Nozaki questioned. “Well, probably, but they’re not exactly for art...” Sakura elbowed Nozaki’s side as best as she could from her height. “They should be a couple of aisles down that way!” She helpfully supplied, pointing. Mayu nodded and headed that direction, and Sakura turned to give Nozaki some kind of look that Mikoshiba couldn’t see, but which seemed to make Nozaki realize something, because he quickly ran off after Mayu. Mikoshiba shook off thoughts about his weird behavior and tried to find something else to distract himself with. He still had no idea what store to go to after this or what to get Mayu... Nozaki returned after not too long, Mayu trailing lazily behind. Nozaki quickly turned his attention to the drawers of screentone sheets, beginning his ritual of pulling them out at lightning speed, and it was at this point that Mikoshiba finally got the idea to text MayuMayu—she probably had a better idea of what to do than he did. Or at least he hoped so. ### Me: Mayu-chan~ I have a question! ### Mikoshiba still cringed a little every time he remembered the girly tone he had developed when talking to MayuMayu, but figured it couldn’t be helped. He got himself into this in the first place, the least he could do is properly play the part. He heard a quiet beep from next to him, and he turned to see Mayu lazily pulling a phone out of his pocket. Mikoshiba thought to himself briefly that the phone looked out of place in Mayu’s grip, but the thought was quickly overshadowed by the realization that he’d never seen Mayu’s cell phone before, if that was in fact his phone. Mayu seemed to become slightly more alert as he flipped the phone open to read a text message Mikoshiba couldn’t see, then he tapped out an answer with shocking speed before flipping the phone shut and placing it back into his pocket. Mikoshiba continued to stare at him in bewilderment for a moment more before his attention was snatched away by his own phone beeping in his hand. ### MayuMayu <3: what about? ### It was an expectedly short reply, and Mikoshiba wasted no time in typing a response. ### Me: It’s a little embarrassing, but a... a friend got me a really nice gift for valentine’s! I want to return the favor but... I don’t know what he’d like... ### He was interrupted from sending the message by Mayu tapping his shoulder. He jumped a little more than was necessary, and turned to give his attention to the boy. “Bathroom,” Mayu said simply. “A-ah... do you want me to go with you?” Mayu shook his head. “Alright... we’ll be here when you get back, then.” Mayu nodded and turned to head out of the store. Watching him go, Mikoshiba finally pressed “send,” then decided to take this opportunity to question his friends. “Has Mayu always had a cell phone?” Mikoshiba asked casually, stepping closer to Sakura and Hori, who were now clustered around the end cap near the drawers of screentones Nozaki was still ravaging. In contrast to the simple question, Sakura started fidgeting as though her answer was incredibly important, glancing at Nozaki’s stone mask of a face as though hoping she’d find some answer there. Hori, at least, seemed to know he couldn’t answer the question himself and joined Mikoshiba in looking at the floundering Sakura in confusion. “W-well, that’s—” she started. “Y-yes, he’s had a phone for awhile...” she finally settled. Nozaki, apparently finally satisfied with his horde of screentone sheets, nodded his agreement. “Weird... I should ask for his number when he gets back,” Mikoshiba said, mostly to himself. Sakura again started fidgeting, as though unsure how she should react to the statement, though Mikoshiba though it didn’t really require a reaction anyway, but he didn’t have much time to consider it before his phone beeped again. ### MayuMayu <3: for valentine’s? ### It was at this point that Mikoshiba remembered his persona is a girl, and usually girls give gifts on Valentine’s. Well, at least he can easily explain it without lying... ### Me: ah, well... valentine’s is actually my birthday... MayuMayu <3: Really? Me: yeah... I guess it was both a birthday and a valentine’s gift? but I want to get him a gift too... MayuMayu <3: What is he like? Me: well, honestly, he’s really lazy... but it’s kind of endearing! he’s really good at judo and he works really hard at it... but i think the only hobby he has besides that is sleeping... Me: i dont think a gift related to sports or sleeping is going to be good Me: so he’s a little difficult to get a gift for... >.< MayuMayu <3: I’m sure he’ll like anything you get him. ### Mikoshiba looked at the message critically. Was it just him, or did MayuMayu’s messages suddenly get more formal? Well, it was probably nothing. He shook off the thought and typed out another message. ### Me: you think so? still, i don’t even know where to start... Me: we’re at the mall right now to look for gifts, but we got sidetracked at the art store because no one knew where to go... MayuMayu <3: ...is he with you? Me: well he’s not here right now, but he came along Me: one of my friends thought he might point out something he likes, but i don’t know if it will work,, ### After a minute of not receiving anything, Mikoshiba looked up from his screen to find Nozaki and Sakura staring at him with gazes he would almost describe as predatory, if he thought either of them capable of such a menacing expression. Well, when Nozaki was recording information for plot devices, maybe... No, Mikoshiba shook his head. It’s better not to think too deeply about it. He certainly hadn’t done anything shoujo-manga-worthy in his life, especially recently, he thought. Well, maybe... no, he thought, shaking his head again to dispel the thought. His phone beeped again. ### MayuMayu <3: I think it will work. Me: do you think so? still, i’m a bit worried... MayuMayu <3: Even if it’s unconventional, if it’s something you like, I’m sure he will like it too. Me: thanks, MayuMayu! i’m going to go now, my friends are giving me weird looks MayuMayu <3: Don’t worry, you can do it. (｀・ω・´)” ### Mikoshiba finally put his phone back in his pocket, sighing to himself. He felt better with MayuMayu’s encouragement, but he still wasn’t any closer to figuring out what to get for Mayu. “Mikoto-san.” Mikoshiba almost jumped out of his skin at the quiet voice, but managed to more or less keep his composure. “Mayu, you’re back...” he said, trying not to sound too surprised. “Yes.” He glanced over Mikoshiba’s shoulder at the other three, who Mikoshiba could tell were definitely staring at them. “Should we go?” Mikoshiba perked up at that. “Is there somewhere you want to go?” Mayu nodded. “That’s great!” Maybe now he’d finally make some progress. It took some corralling and waiting for the poor shopkeeper to ring up all of Nozaki’s items, but Mikoshiba eventually managed to get everyone out the door, and Mayu lazily directed them to the store he wanted to visit. Mikoshiba was more than a little confused when they ended up outside of an anime goods store. It wasn’t the same one he usually visited, since it had fewer figures, but it was hard to mistake given that the walls were covered in phone straps and plushies and other merchandise. “Here?” He questioned, looking up at Mayu. “Are you sure?” Mayu nodded again, stepping inside, and Mikoshiba suspiciously followed after. He watched as the others fanned out inside the store, Nozaki moving to look at the some of the popular chibi straps—probably studying for future Let’s Love merchandise—Sakura trailing behind him, taking what appeared to be more than a passing interest in the merchandise for a certain idol anime—Mikoshiba was definitely going to question her on that later—and Hori, left to his own devices, ended up next to Sakura, examining a figure of a certain prince idol that looked suspiciously like Kashima. That also deserved some questioning, Mikoshiba decided, but satisfied that the three of them had found a way to occupy themselves, he turned back to Mayu. Or, where Mayu should have been. After a brief moment of panic—very brief, Mikoshiba congratulated himself—he located Mayu on the other end of the store and wound his way through the short stands and other customers towards him. The boy was staring at something on the shelf with a look in his eye that seemed suspiciously like the same one he had during judo; that is, genuine interest. Mikoshiba nearly choked from laughter when he realized what exactly Mayu was staring at. “I feel a connection with this egg,” Mayu said in his usual flat tone, gazing reverently at the wall of Gudetama merchandise. “You would,” Mikoshiba laughed quietly. “There is something charming about it, though,” he agreed. His eyes flicked around the wall stacked with everything from charms to headphones to shirts, finally landing on an object that made him pause; a small, flat pillow with a round Gudetama yolk. Well, MayuMayu did say “even if it’s unconventional,” right? And the first idea I had was a pillow, even though I didn’t think it was a good idea... But can I really call a lazy egg a proper gift? He stood there contemplating for a minute. A pillow that size was perfect to nap on, right? Mayu always just set his head on the table when he wanted to watch Mikoshiba draw, so wouldn’t it be better if he had a small pillow to rest his head on? It was kind of a weird gift, sure, but they were kind of weird people in a kind of weird relationship, so why not? Finally reaching his decision, Mikoshiba turned towards Mayu. “I’m gonna go talk to Sakura for a second, I’ll be right back.” Mayu nodded his understanding, and Mikoshiba quickly wheeled around to go talk to Sakura, distinctly feeling Mayu’s questioning gaze following his back across the store. --------- Mikoshiba definitely intended to ask Sakura what she meant by now you both owe me, but decided it was a conversation better left for another time, maybe when he had figured out some way to repay her for her help in distracting Mayu so he could buy his gift. He had decided to get this for Mayu, but now that he was about to give it to him, he was starting to have doubts again. Wasn’t it weird? It was definitely weird. He glanced up from here he was staring at the thin rope on the gift bag he in his hands. Mayu was staring at him, waiting, and he realized it was really too late for second thoughts at this point. “I-it’s not much, but I hope you like it!” He practically shoved the bag into Mayu’s lap. “H-Happy White Day...” Mayu gave him an odd look before beginning to rustle through the tissue paper in the bag to reach its contents. Mikoshiba held his breath when Mayu finally pulled the weird little pillow out, and didn’t dare to look up at Mayu’s face until the silence had stretched on for several moments. “I love it,” Mayu finally said when Mikoshiba met his eyes. Mikoshiba let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I thought you might like a pillow for the table, so you have something to rest your head on. It’s a little weird, but since it’s Gudetama...” “Unconventional is the best,” Mayu said, smiling gently. “Thank you.” Strange, that’s the same word MayuMayu used... Mayu watched him for a moment, seemingly trying to understand something, though Mikoshiba didn’t know what. After a moment, however, he evidently became tired, immediately laying down to try out the pillow. “Hey, Mayu, now’s not the time to take a nap! Mayu—!” ------------- End notes: Poor Mayu... he'll get it eventually, don't give up! You can see the Gudetama pillow here; you can actually take Gudetama out of the egg white, making it into two seperate pillows! Isn't that fun! (And when Mayu and Mikoshiba take naps together, they each have a pillow ready!) I don't know when the next update will be (it could be awhile), but I do have at least one more fic planned for this series. You can check the series page and here on my writing blog for periodic updates, as usual, but otherwise, I'll hopefully see you then!

[talesfromsomeday]

GSNK - Please Select a Present

Read on AO3 | Series on AO3 Series: Alternate Route (Part 2) | Title: Please Select a Present Fandom: Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun | Pairing: MayuMiko (Platonic/Greyromantic [QPR]) Rating: G | Warnings: None | Genres: Fluff Summary: Mayu is rather suddenly made aware that Mikoshiba's birthday is on Valentine's Day, and sets out to find a gift for him. Author’s Notes: I'm sorry this is a day late! I wanted to finally follow up on my first fic and post something for Mikoshiba's birthday, and this is what I came up with. ------------ “Oh, Mikoshiba...” Nozaki started, swiveling his chair to face the table Mayu was huddled at between Mikoshiba and Sakura. “Your birthday is coming up, is there something you want to do?” Mayu’s head popped up in a rare moment of reflex, startling Mikoshiba, who just barely managed to stutter out an answer. “I-I didn’t really think of anything... I thought you would be busy planning for your notes and research...”

“Ah, that’s true. There’s a lot of new chocolate displays this year,” Nozaki nodded, touching his chin. “That doesn’t mean we can’t make time to celebrate, Mikorin!” Sakura chimed in, an almost scolding tone directed at Nozaki. “Most of the research and note-taking is only during school anyway. We’ll have plenty of time after!” “Y-you really don’t have to worry about it! It’s fine!” Mikoshiba insisted. “It’s awkward to be out on my birthday anyway...” “Well, if you really don’t want to...” Sakura replied quietly. “Maybe we can do something the day after?” “Mikoto-san’s birthday...” Mayu finally said. “Is it Valentine’s?” Everyone stared at him, except for Mikoshiba, who was fidgeting with his pen and staring at the flowers on the page in front of him. “You didn’t know?” Nozaki finally asked. Mayu shook his head. “Ah. Well, yes, it’s Valentine’s Day.” “Poor Mikorin...” Sakura wiped a tear from her eye. “Hey! Don’t make fun of me!” Mikoshiba accused, finally moving into motion again to point an annoyed finger at her. “Well, we can plan something for the day after,” Nozaki said. “Try and think of something you want to do.” Everyone went back to working on their portions of the manga, and Mayu laid his head back down on the table and watched Mikoshiba’s hands carefully tracing ink in the shapes of flowers. It was only after Mikoshiba and Sakura went home for the night that Mayu got up from the table to pull insistently on his elder brother’s sleeve. “Hm? What is it, Mayu?” “Mikoto-san’s birthday...” “Oh, did you want to come along for the celebration?” “Yes, but... a gift...” “I see! Yes, you two are pretty close, you should definitely get him a gift!” Mayu could tell by the glint in his eye that his brother had some ulterior motives, but he couldn’t really be bothered to care too much. “You could get him chocolates! Or flowers! Wait, are flowers too romantic? What about a confession letter?” Mayu frowned at him. “No, you’re right, that’s too much.” “His birthday,” Mayu emphasized. “Hmm... you’re right that Mikoshiba doesn’t like Valentine’s Day much… so it would probably be best just to focus on the birthday part.” His brother held his chin and shut his eyes in thought. “Something heartfelt and not too romantic...” Mayu wondered why “not romantic” was even being mentioned as a qualifier, but chalked it up to the unfortunate date of Mikoshiba’s birthday and didn’t question it further. As the minutes stretched on in silence with no new ideas, Mayu debated going home. He ultimately decided he was too tired, though, so after Nozaki suggested he ask Sakura for advice and returned to working on his manga, he curled up on his futon in the corner to get some rest. --------- “And everything has to be pink, you know? Always pink and covered in ribbons and stuff! It’s so embarrassing!” Mikoshiba buried his face in his hands as Sakura awkwardly patted his shoulder in an attempt to console him. “Don’t worry, Mikorin, we’ll do something fun for your birthday so you’ll forget all about all the pink, okay?” The only response she got was something that sounded distinctly like a muffled sob. “Oh, Mayu-kun!” Sakura quickly waved as she saw the boy walking down the hall towards them. “Sakura-san, can we talk?” A confused look crossed Sakura’s face, but she nodded. “Sure, is something wrong...?” Mayu shook his head, then turned and started walking away, towards the stairwell. Sakura gave Mikoshiba another quick pat on the shoulder, assured him she’d be right back, and rushed to follow after Mayu. “What’s up, Mayu-kun?” Sakura asked once they had gotten into the stairwell and out of earshot of Mikoshiba. “Mikoto-san’s birthday...” Sakura’s face lit up. “Oh! Are you going to do something for him? You should get him chocolates! Or flowers!?” Mayu sighed quietly to himself and wondered when exactly his brother and Sakura would finally get together. They sure had a lot in common, at least as far as he could see. “His birthday,” Mayu emphasized again, feeling tired from repeating himself. “Oh, right, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to do a Valentine’s thing, would it...? But I’m sure there’s something else you can do!” Mayu frowned. “D-don’t worry, Mayu-kun! If you need help, I’ll help you! We can go after school and look for something!” Mayu wasn’t sure how well it would work out, but he wanted his gift to be a surprise, so he couldn’t ask Mikoshiba directly. Though it would certainly be tiring, Mayu didn’t think it could hurt, so he agreed to a meeting place with Sakura and left for class. After the long day of school, they met up in front of the building and decided to head in the direction of the nearby mall. “So, Mayu-kun, how were your classes today?” Mayu considered the question. “I slept the best in math today.” He nodded slightly. “Uh, I think you’re supposed to be paying attention…” Sakura said. “Ah, but what about gym?” “We played basketball...” Sakura’s face brightened. “Did you score any points?” Mayu considered it. “Brother is better at basketball than me,” he finally said. He could tell Sakura was now questioning whether he had actually tried or not, but he didn’t feel the need to argue in his defense. “I see,” she said. “Are there any sports you like besides judo?” Mayu tried to think about what other sports existed, finally landing on one he had tried as a kid. “Archery?” “Ah, I think that suits you! It requires a lot of strength, but you don’t have to move much.” Mayu nodded slightly. It was something he wouldn’t mind doing again, though practicing two sports at once seemed like it would be too tiring. His train of thought was interrupted when he suddenly became aware of a familiar presence nearby, and he turned to find his brother hiding behind a nearby tree. “Hiding” was really being generous, as the thin twig of a tree was barely wide enough to hide one arm, much less his whole body. Still, the older Nozaki looked startled when Mayu lazily pointed him out, drawing Sakura’s attention. “Oh, Nozaki-kun! What are you doing here?” Though Mayu could tell by the slight twitch in her eye that she already knew, she still seemed perfectly happy to see him. “I—I needed some supplies from the art store!” He quickly lied. “Nozaki-kun, if you wanted to come along you could have just asked.” Nozaki rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and finally moved out from behind the tree to join them, and the three of them started walking again. It wasn’t too long before they arrived at the mall. Mayu felt a wave of tiredness as he stepped into the busy building, but he valiantly fought the urge to yawn. “Okay, commence Operation ‘Get Mikorin the Perfect Gift’!” Sakura declared, clenching her fist. “Operation ‘Gift’,” Mayu agreed with a surprising amount of energy, which was to say, with a voice he recognized as slightly more emotional than monotone. “Ah, yeah, that’s a bit shorter, huh?” Sakura laughed. “Mayu is very good at shortening things and coming up with acronyms,” Nozaki nodded. “Doesn’t it get confusing though, since he does that all the time?” Sakura questioned, then shook her head. “No, never mind, that’s not important right now. Mayu-kun!” She turned back towards him. “Where do you want to start?” Mayu shrugged with one shoulder. “That’s what I figured,” she said dejectedly. “We could go to the art store,” Nozaki suggested. “Nozaki-kun, we both know you were lying, so how is that supposed to help us get a gift for Mikorin?” “I was only partially lying, I really do need some supplies,” Nozaki said seriously. “Okay, fine. We’ll go to the art store while we try to think of a better choice.” With their destination agreed on, they set off in that direction. Nozaki busied himself loading a basket with screentone sheets while Mayu hung around with Sakura, who was browsing the oil paints and brushes. “Do you ever draw, Mayu?” Sakura idly asked, thumbing through a cup of brushes. “Yes, for judo.” Sakura gave him a weird look. “Why would you need to draw for judo?” “To teach my team moves. I practice because they focus better when I draw things they like.” “What sort of requests do they make…?” Sakura asked suspiciously.            “Well, they always want me to draw girls…” He paused. “They have specific tastes, I guess.” Sakura looked even more suspicious. “…would you show me sometime?” She finally asked, her curiosity about the content plain on her face. Mayu figured she was probably also wondering if he could draw as well as his brother could. “One of my classmates made a blog to collect them,” he said, pulling out his phone. “Here.” He opened up the webpage and handed the phone to her. “It’s surprisingly girly,” Sakura commented to herself. “Do you do all the drawings on a white board? That’s gotta be tough!” Mayu nodded. “Wait, ‘MayuMayu’...? Where have I heard that name before?” She considered it, scrolling through the pictures and squinting at the screen. Mayu wondered if she had spontaneously forgotten his name when she suddenly jumped, a bright blush appearing across her face. She hurriedly shoved the phone back into Mayu’s hands. “Wait here I’ll be right back!” She almost yelled, scrambling out of the aisle and leaving Mayu standing there confused. He briefly considered following her but decided it would be too much trouble and went back to looking at the myriad of paint colors. He’d find out why she was acting so weird eventually, no point in expending the energy on it now. She returned after several minutes of hushed voices floating over from the next aisle, smiling innocently but still blushing a little too much to really sell it. They went back to their shopping, but Mayu did not miss all the furtive glances she kept sending him. Once Nozaki had retrieved all of his needed supplies, and Sakura had splurged on a few new brushes, they finally left the store and promptly realized they had forgotten to think about where to go next. “Well, Mikorin collects figures right? We could go look at the figure store,” Sakura suggested. “Yeah, that makes sense,” Nozaki agreed, nodding. Mayu also nodded his agreement, and so the three of them set off to look at figures. “I forgot that it’s a little bit intimidating,” Sakura said as she stepped sheepishly inside. She turned towards Mayu. “Do you know what series or characters he likes? There’s a lot of choices…” They started to wander around the store, Mayu pointing out the figures that he recognized from Mikoshiba’s collection. By the time they had circled the whole place, it was clear to all of them that identifying the series or favorite characters was not the issue; it was finding a figure from any of those series the store stocked that Mikoshiba didn’t have. “W-well, it doesn’t have to be a figure! I’m sure there’s something else so let’s keep looking!” Sakura turned to lead them out of the store, accidentally bumping into someone who was standing behind her. “Oh, sorry—” She stopped suddenly as she realized who it was. “Oh, Mikoshiba,” Nozaki half-greeted from behind her. “M-Mikorin!? How long have you been standing there?” Sakura squeaked. He ignored both of them in favor of groaning pathetically. “Not again…” He covered his face with the hand that wasn’t cradling a large figure box next to his hip. After a long minute of silence, he finally looked at them again. “What are you guys even doing in here this time!? Is Nozaki planning to buy a figure to mutilate again? And why is Mayu with you!?” “Sorry, Mikorin! We were just looking around,” Sakura said, holding her hands up defensively. “Although, now that you mention it,” Nozaki started, “it still wouldn’t be a bad idea to get a figure for reference.” Mayu could practically see the steam coming out of Mikoshiba’s ears at the comment. “Out! Out! If you’re not going to respect the figures then just leave!” He summarily kicked both of them out of the store, leaving Mayu standing in the aisle, looking at the back of Mikoshiba’s head and the box that was still in his hands. “Are you going to buy that?” Mayu finally asked, pointing at the box. Mikoshiba finally turned back to him, his cheeks slightly flushed. “I was thinking about it, but I don’t have enough money right now…” “Can I see?” Mayu asked. “Huh? Oh, uh, sure…”Mikoshiba sheepishly handed him the box. Mayu took it and examined the figure more closely. It didn’t seem as incriminating as the one that he had been holding the last time Nozaki and Sakura had seen him in the store, or at least it didn’t seem so based on the description his brother had given him of the incident. The figure was of a girl with short, pale pink hair, wearing a somewhat short skirt, a button-up shirt, and a green hoodie. She also had a small pixel spaceship hair clip in her bangs and a cat-shaped plush backpack on her back. Mayu really had no idea who she was or what series she came from. “Cute,” Mayu finally commented. Mikoshiba seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.“Right? She’s one of my favorites from this series! But the price… it’s normal for a prepaint statue but it’s a little more than I can afford right now...” Mayu’s eyes finally settled on the price tag on the front of the box. It was a little over ten thousand yen; he didn’t really have enough money for it either. He briefly wondered if pooling their money would be enough, but he didn’t think that was any way to get someone a birthday present out of the blue and quickly gave up the idea. He handed the box back. “Maybe for your birthday?” “It’s too embarrassing to ask my parents for something like this! But maybe I’ll get some money or something…” Mikoshiba said, looking at the figure sadly before putting it back on the shelf. Mayu suddenly had an idea. “Mikoto-san, do you want to come with us?”“Huh? Why? No, I mean… what are you guys even doing here?” “We just wanted to hang around,” Mayu lied. Mikoshiba eyed him suspiciously. “You wanted to hang around?” He asked skeptically. Mayu shrugged. “Brother was going so I couldn’t go to his house. I decided to come along.” Mikoshiba didn’t look entirely convinced but he dropped the subject. “Alright, well, I guess I can go with you? Since we’re all here? Where were you guys planning to go next?” Mayu shrugged again. “Haven’t decided.” “Okay. Well, I guess we should go get Nozaki and Sakura, huh? They look a little antsy out there.” “Gossiping?” Mayu suggested, looking at the pair outside, leaning close together with their hands hiding their mouths. “Probably,” Mikoshiba said dryly. They finally turned and headed out of the store to meet Nozaki and Sakura. “Why didn’t you kick Mayu out too?” Nozaki grumbled. “Now, now, Nozaki-kun, I’m sure he has his reasons,” Sakura chided with a knowing tone. Mikoshiba seemed to pointedly ignore her implications. “So, where do you guys want to go?” He asked. “Oh, are you coming along, Mikorin?” Sakura asked, her eyebrows drawing together. “Mayu asked me to come…” “Oh,” Sakura said, giving Mayu a questioning look. “Alright then! Why don’t you pick, Mikorin?” “Why do I have to pick?” Mikoshiba groaned. “Hmm… how about the game store?” Sakura discreetly looked to Mayu for guidance, and catching his tiny nod, agreed. “Okay! Let’s go!” “I didn’t know you liked games, Sakura?” Nozaki questioned. “I don’t play them often but it’s fun to look around!” She shot him a “please play along” look, which he surprisingly noticed and heeded. “Ah, okay. Then let’s go!” They finally headed off. “Maybe I should play a game sometime too? Dating sims are kind of fun. At least that one we played was.” “Well, you are always complaining you don’t have any hobbies when you finish your manga early…” Mikoshiba said. “But then we’ll probably just end up drawing more doujinshi...” “Doujinshi?” Mayu questioned. “Ah, when Mikoshiba made me play the game, we got really attached to this side character named Tomoda, so we ended up drawing a doujinshi where he gets his own love story with the—” “Nozaki!” Mikoshiba quickly cut him off. “I’m sure he’s not interested in what it’s about!” “With who?” Mayu prompted, inadvertently ignoring Mikoshiba’s attempt to end the conversation. “With the protagonist,” Nozaki finished before Mikoshiba could stop him. Mikoshiba covered his eyes with one hand. “They pulled an all-nighter to finish it; it was little shocking the next day when I saw it,” Sakura added. Mikoshiba covered his face with his other hand. Mayu wondered to himself why Mikoshiba was so embarrassed about it, but decided not to question further. “We’re here,” he finally said, which made Mikoshiba reluctantly uncover his face. “They have a display for Girls Princess 4! I forgot it was coming out this month!” He suddenly exclaimed, eyeing the display in the front window. “The tenth, huh? That’s this Friday,” Nozaki said. “Crap, that means I can’t buy it yet!” Mikoshiba finally rushed inside the store to look at the promotional stands, and Mayu followed slowly after. “And I can’t preorder it either because I’m short a little bit...” He added with a depressed tone. “Ask for your birthday?” “It’s a gal game, though! It’s embarrassing!” “Hm,” Mayu hummed noncommittally. “I really hope I get some money so I can buy all this stuff...” Mikoshiba whined, turning the display game case over in his hands. Mayu watched his fingers twirling idly, then noted the price on the box. It was three thousand yen; that was certainly a price he could manage. With a plan decided, he touched Mikoshiba’s hand gently. “I’ll be back.” He looked around for Nozaki and Sakura, found them in one of the corners of the store, and walked over. “Sakura-san.” “Hm? What is it Mayu?” “Can you do something for me?” --------- Mayu knew it couldn’t have been easy, but Sakura managed a lot better than he himself could have, he was sure of that. It was finally Mikoshiba’s birthday; Mikoshiba had declined going out until tomorrow, but had (happily, Mayu hoped) allowed him to visit. Staying at home kept him more or less safely insulated from all the pink and hearts and romance outside, which Mayu knew he would appreciate, and which he himself was a little happy for, too. Now, the two of them were huddled together on Mikoshiba’s bed as Mikoshiba showed him what his parents had given him for his birthday. “And they told me last week that they were going to give me some money too, so I wanted to go and preorder Girls Princess 4, but somehow I couldn’t get down there to do it? Every time I planned to go, Sakura appeared to ask me for help with something, it was weird!” Yes, it could not have been easy for Sakura. Mayu definitely owed her one. He pulled his bag into his lap and opened it. “So I never got to preorder it... I think I’ll go down tomorrow and see if they still have some cop—” Mikoshiba fell quiet suddenly when he caught sight of the game case that Mayu had slipped carefully out of his bag and held out to him. “I asked her to keep you,” Mayu admitted. “Sorry.” Mikoshiba stared at the case for several moments, then looked at Mayu, then back at the case again. He did it several times before Mayu moved the case a little closer to him, trying to encourage him to take it. Mikoshiba’s hands finally lifted, gently taking hold of the case. “You bought it for me....?” “Happy birthday.” Mayu smiled softly, and a slight blush appeared on Mikoshiba’s face. “T-thank you,” he said, his head falling onto Mayu’s shoulder to avoid the younger’s gaze. Mayu gently patted the back of his head. “Shall we play?” He suggested. Mikoshiba sat up again. “Yeah! But you have to pick your own love interest this time!” Mayu smiled again “Sure.” Mikoshiba smiled wide and got up to put the game in.

[talesfromsomeday]

I’ve updated the most important headers (ie, the headers for fics in a series, ie all chapters of Too Tired to Wink and Simulated Romance)! 

[talesfromsomeday]

All headers have now been updated!

[talesfromsomeday]

I’ve updated the most important headers (ie, the headers for fics in a series, ie all chapters of Too Tired to Wink and Simulated Romance)! 

[talesfromsomeday]

Header Changes

As everyone probably knows, AO3 is my primary posting place outside of this blog, and AO3 has a separate “series” feature which you can use to connect related fics to each other. I didn’t have any series up until recently, but since I do now, I’m going to be changing my header format on here to accommodate, as well as to clean up the style a bit. -----------

Here’s what the changes will look like:

Old:

Series Title: [ Multi-chapter fic title ] Chapter Number: [ Chapter # ] Chapter Title: [ Chapter title ] Fandom: [ Fandom ] Pairing: [ Pairing ([Pairing type]) ] Rating: [ Rating letter ] Warnings: [ Applicable warnings ] Genres: [ Genre tags ] Summary: [ Summary ] Author’s Notes: [ Notes ] Links: [ Embedded AO3 link ] ([ Embedded series link ])

New:

[ Embedded AO3 link ] | [ Embedded series link ]  Series: [ Series Title ] [(Part # )] | Title: [ Fic title ] Chapter: [ Chapter # ] - [ Chapter Title ] Fandom: [ Fandom ] | Pairing: [ Pairing ([Pairing type]) ] Rating: [ Rating letter ] | Warnings: [ Applicable warnings ] | Genres: [ Genre tags ] Summary: [ Summary ] Author’s Notes: [ Notes ] ------------ All newly posted fics will follow this format, and I’ll be going back as I have time to revise the headers on archived fics. Hopefully this will make things less confusing for the future!

[talesfromsomeday]

I might post some of the original stories/poems I wrote for school this semester! I’ve got most of them compiled by this point so it just comes down to deciding which ones I want to post and then editing. Other than that, I’m still working on the next short installment for Wandering Stars, and a couple KuroAka things, so expect those eventually!

[talesfromsomeday]

HQ!! - Too Tired to Wink (Chapter 7 [Final])

Read on AO3 | Series on AO3 Series: Wandering Stars (Part 1) | Title: Too Tired to Wink Chapter: 7 - When the Time is Right Fandom: Haikyuu!! | Pairing: KuroTsuki (Romantic) Rating: G | Warnings: None | Genres: Angst, Fluff Summary: Kuroo and Tsukishima have been dating for several months, but somehow, Tsukishima has never seen Kuroo’s apartment. He starts to get suspicious, and finally convinces Kuroo to let him see it. What he finds is not at all what he expected. And what he finds will be the spark of a crossroads much bigger than he ever thought he would have to face. (Nomad!Kuroo AU) Author’s Notes: Here it is; the last chapter! Thank you all so much for reading all the way to the end! I really hope you enjoyed it, and that you’ll stick around for the sequels. (You can subscribe on AO3 or follow here for those!) ------------

The world was really set right again, turning on its axis at the right speed once more, and Tsukishima was disgustingly happy for it. Kuroo’s presence brought a huge wave of relief, an effect he’d never really noticed until he was deprived of it, and he found he was handling just about everything in his life with much more grace than he had in awhile.

But still, he couldn’t help but feel that it was just the calm before the storm; a moment of peace together before Kuroo would have to leave. That indefinite date seemed to loom over them both. Tsukishima was counting the days, no matter how hard he tried to stop. They’d been together for almost ten months, and Kuroo had likely been living in Tokyo for at least a month before that. He knew it was getting close, and he watched for the signs through stubbornly closed eyes. And slowly, so slowly, the storm on the horizon started to shine its warning lights against Tsukishima’s eyelids. Kuroo was restless. Tsukishima had a hard time pinpointing when he had first started to see it, but looking back, he had to say it was something simple; Kuroo started bouncing his leg whenever he was sitting. It wasn’t a particularly uncommon tic, but it was new for Kuroo, and surprisingly insidious. After that came all the walks. Kuroo was pretty active, but Tsukishima knew he usually only exercised in the morning. But then he started going for a long walk almost every evening, too. Tsukishima sometimes joined him when his pile of homework was manageable, but he still knew that Kuroo went by himself often, because whenever Tsukishima texted during that time, he got no response for a long while, then a “sorry, I was out.” Soon, whenever they watched movies, Kuroo would repeatedly make up excuses to get up and walk around the apartment. Sometimes he would go to the bathroom a suspicious number of times in two hours, or make more snacks than either of them could possibly eat, or claim he forgot to get the mail so he could go downstairs to look for it, or even insist on an impromptu trip to the convenience store for some weird food he’d suddenly had a craving for. But by far, the most concerning habit that Kuroo started displaying was an incessant need to clean things. Tsukishima knew Kuroo liked things to be tidy, which wasn’t too much of a problem in his own apartment—being that it contained so few things—but Tsukishima’s apartment was a different matter, and the more time passed, the pickier Kuroo got. Tsukishima tried to keep the place as clean and tidy as he could for Kuroo’s sake, but the man still stopped repeatedly in the middle of activities just to clean leftover dishes, still ended up cleaning everything twice just to make sure it was “spotless,” still straightened random objects that seemed out of place. And—most concerningly to Tsukishima—he started cleaning things that didn’t even appear to be dirty in the first place. Kuroo’s expression always spoke of stress while he cleaned now, and he adamantly refused Tsukishima’s help every time it was offered. Somewhere in the back of Tsukishima’s mind, something he had heard in a psychology class his first year echoed over and over again; people will often resort to excessive cleaning when they feel stressed, as it allows them the feeling that they have some measure of control over their environment. The final nail in the coffin came early one Saturday morning, when Kuroo had decided to stay over at Tsukishima’s apartment for the weekend. Tsukishima had woken up around four, sensing that something was off, and quickly realized that there was a cold, empty space next to him where Kuroo should have been. He immediately felt concerned, but forced himself to remain calm and wait, hoping Kuroo had just gotten up to use the bathroom and would be back. After several minutes had passed, he heard some rustling in the kitchen and finally decided to go check on the man. He rolled out of bed and pulled on the first pair of pajama pants and jacket he could reach, then made his way to the kitchen. There, he found Kuroo, leaning as casually against the counter as one could at four in the morning, and sipping jet black coffee from a mug. There were dark circles under his eyes, and he was staring off at some point on the floor as though he could bore a hole straight through it if he just looked long enough. Tsukishima stepped into the room quietly, bare feet padding across the floor, and Kuroo’s eyes finally flicked up to meet his before flicking away just as quickly. He smiled weakly, as though he was trying to be reassuring. “It’s soon, isn’t it?” It came out of Tsukishima’s mouth sounding more like a statement than a question, and it hung in the air between them menacingly for a long, silent moment. Kuroo finally straightened up slightly and turned to set his mug down on the counter before running his hands over his face, rubbing at his eyes. “Kei, have I ever told you about stars?” Tsukishima blinked. “What—” “Stars are the hearts of the universe, you know.” Kuroo’s eyes finally met Tsukishima’s again, a tired but knowing expression twinkling somewhere deep in them. “...what are you talking about?” Tsukishima finally relented. “When I was a kid, my parents sold crafts. That’s what we did; we’d travel from place to place, selling handmade stuff. Candles, blankets, bags, those kinds of things. There wasn’t much I could make when I was little, but my mom showed me how to make these paper stars.” “Did people really buy them?” “Yeah, actually. They didn’t cost much, and of course people always love things made by cute kids.” Tsukishima raised an eyebrow. “You were cute?” “Rude, Kei.” Tsukishima smirked. “Anyway, she showed me how to make them, and she always told me that even though they were small, they were really important. ‘Stars are the hearts of the universe; everything is born in them, everything dies in them, and they’ve been the wanderer’s companion since the beginning of time. One can never be truly lost so long as they know how to listen to the stars.’ She always told me that.” “...what exactly are you trying to say?” “I know this is really overly sentimental, but here.” Kuroo reached into his pocket, then held his hand out in front of him. Tsukishima’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion, but he held his hand out, and Kuroo dropped something startlingly light into his palm; a tiny, red paper star, with simple cat faces patterned across it. “Please take care of it.” Tsukishima looked between the star and Kuroo, smiling. “You really are such a sap... but I’ll take care of it.” Kuroo smiled, just a little lopsided. “Aww, don’t lie, you’re a little sappy too.” “You don’t have any proof of that.” “Mhm.” Kuroo smirked. “So...” Tsukishima started. “Where are you going to go this time?” “I’m not sure. I haven’t decided. Would you help me?” “Huh?” “It’s sooner than I would like, but I really want you to be involved, so... help me pick my next destination.” Tsukishima was slightly bewildered, suddenly finding it a bit difficult to put words together. “Well... where are you thinking of...?” Kuroo’s eyes flicked up to the ceiling. “I’ve been considering either Russia, South Korea, or Australia. Though I haven’t narrowed it down to any particular cities yet.” “Those are... very far away...” He felt Kuroo’s warm hand on his shoulder. “Hey, it’ll be fine.” “I know. But, I want to go with you...” Kuroo’s face fell. “You shouldn’t, Kei—” “I can handle it,” Tsukishima said adamantly. “I know you can. That’s not the issue.” Kuroo sighed. “Look, you have a life here. You have two years of school left. You should focus on that.” “I don’t give a shit about school,” Tsukishima replied bitterly. “I know, Kei. I know even two more years is an eternity. But you’ve put in a lot of work. Don’t you think it’s worth it to finish?” “I don’t know anymore.” Kuroo frowned. “Well, I did tell you that you shouldn’t keep going with it if you think it’s not worth it. But you should give it some earnest thought. We’ve gotta keep clear heads, and I know your beautiful brain can handle that.” Tsukishima could feel his face flushing. “I’ll come back as soon as I’m able. Then we can decide where to go from there.” Tsukishima swallowed hard. “Okay.” “Good. Now, I want to leave the whole decision up to you. Where do you want me to go?” Tsukishima considered it. “Not Australia... There’s too many things there that could kill you,” he said finally. “Kei—” “One of those giant spiders might mistake your hair for its nest and then eat you when it realizes it’s been tricked.” Kuroo stared at him for a moment before a small smile finally crept onto his face, the spirit returning to his tired eyes. “There’s the Tsukki I know,” he said fondly. “Alright, not Australia.” “Have you been to Russia or Korea before?” “We stayed in Moscow for a few months once. I’ve only visited South Korea on short trips.” “Then maybe you should go there. It’s not too far.” “Alright!” A thought suddenly occurred to Tsukishima, and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “...do you even speak Korean?” “Not a word!” Kuroo said excitedly. “Then how—” “I’m very good at picking up languages,” Kuroo beamed. “If you say so...” “Well I’ve had enough practice haven’t I?” Tsukishima shrugged noncommittally. “I’ll let you know when I’ve narrowed down some cities.” Tsukishima nodded. “It’s the middle of the night though. Let’s go back to bed.” Kuroo blinked. “But... I just made coffee.” “Not my problem. Come on. Even if you’re not sleeping I need a heater in this weather.” Kuroo laughed. “Well, I’m glad I can be of some assistance, then.” They headed off back to Tsukishima’s bed, Kuroo’s half-empty mug of coffee quickly forgotten on the counter. --------- “Okay, I know I said I’d give you several cities to pick from, but I really think I’ve found the one.” “And what if I disagree?” Tsukishima asked with a raised eyebrow. “You won’t,” Kuroo assured with a grin. “It’s called Jeonju, in the southwest. It’s a nice mix of urban and rural and I’ve heard it’s famous for the food.”            “Aren’t all places famous for their food?” Tsukishima asked dryly. Kuroo laughed. “I suppose so. Still, it looks nice.” “Hmm.” “Here, I’ll prove it to you.” Kuroo pulled his laptop over and Tsukishima was subsequently bombarded with pictures. He was, frankly, surprised by how much enthusiasm Kuroo was able to exude about his moving plans despite how many times he had done this already, but Tsukishima was at least relieved that some of the life seemed to have come back into his eyes. At the end of it all, Tsukishima had to agree that Jeonju looked quite nice, and agreed to Kuroo’s choice of destination. And with the destination set, the date was set as well. The flight was booked for the end of the month, just a few short weeks away, and Tsukishima could feel his heart sinking again. Still, it was grounding to look at all the pictures and landmarks, at the plane ticket; they assured some deep, irrational part of himself that Kuroo wasn’t just disappearing into the void, he was going to another, real place, and would be safe and sound there. Tsukishima tried to distract himself from the worry of it all by helping Kuroo straighten out his belongings. There wasn’t much to straighten out, but there were things Kuroo couldn’t take along, and they had to be gotten rid of. As the days passed, Tsukishima found himself accepting Kuroo’s only pans, as well as the lone table and chair. A few miscellaneous items were tossed out, and at the end of it all, Tsukishima was able to list every single one of Kuroo’s remaining possessions, one item at a time, from his slim book of transit cards down to each individual sock. Tsukishima couldn’t help but watch with fascination as each item was neatly packed, one by one, into a travel suitcase and a carry-on sized camping backpack, both well used and well loved. Everything fit perfectly, a feat Tsukishima had never witnessed. And just as he watched the last pair of socks disappear into Kuroo’s backpack, Tsukishima became acutely aware again that the day had finally come. They had gotten up in the early hours of the morning and had a quick breakfast together before Kuroo had begun to pack up his things. The rest of the morning was a blur; Kuroo loaded his backpack onto his shoulders, they went down and dropped off his keys and said goodbye to the landlord, they grabbed coffee to fight off the chill on the way to the station... And now, here they were, stepping through the turnstile and towards the platform, so Kuroo could catch the Narita line to the airport. So Kuroo could fly off to Jeonju without him. Tsukishima shook his head. He refused to ruin his little remaining time with Kuroo by worrying. He’d done his worrying, and there was nothing productive left to do with it. He didn’t need it, and he wouldn’t let it come back. Tsukishima laced his fingers through Kuroo’s as they waited, an odd sense of calm settling over them. It wasn’t long before the overhead speaker announced the train, and it pulled slowly into the station in front of them. Tsukishima looked at it, his mind still clear through the slight spike of anxiety. More than anything, he felt like he was going to get on the train with Kuroo, even though he knew he wasn’t. He was staying behind this time, but next time... Next time, this train would be his too. “Kei.” Kuroo was also gazing at the train, seemingly thinking about something. “What...?” “I want you to say something.” “What is it?” Kuroo finally turned to look at him. “Just say that you’ll be okay. That we’ll be okay.” “I don’t—” Kuroo held up a hand. “You don’t have to say it to me. It’d be pointless for you to say it to me; then you’re only saying it because I want you to. No, I want you to say it when you really believe it. It doesn’t matter when or to who, but promise me that you’ll say it before I see you again.” “I... Okay.” “Thank you.” Kuroo smiled gently. “I’ll promise you too, Kei. It will be alright. We’ll see each other again soon.” Something tightened in Tsukishima’s chest, but he took a deep breath and planted his feet. “I’m sorry, Kei. I have to go. The train’s going to leave.” “I’ll be here when you come back.” He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to Kuroo’s lips. Kuroo gave Tsukishima’s hand one last, reassuring squeeze, before he let go and turned toward the train. “Tetsurou, wait—” Kuroo turned back, and Tsukishima hesitated just a second before he stuck his hand out. “It’s still overly sentimental, but please, take good care of it.” Kuroo looked confused, but he held out his hand. Tsukishima pressed a small corked bottle into it. Inside, there was a tiny paper star, dark blue with a crow pattern. Kuroo stared at it for a second until recognition dawned on his features, and he gently enclosed it in his fist, a cheeky smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep it safe.” He turned back and stepped through the open doors, onto the train. Tsukishima waved to him as the doors slid shut.            Kuroo waved back, clutching the tiny bottle in his hand as the train slowly departed. --------- Tsukishima stood there for several minutes afterwards, thinking about it. What he had told Kuroo was the truth; he wanted to go along. But at the same time, he felt that he was in the right place right now. As clichéd as it seemed to him, he knew it wasn’t time yet. But in the same spirit, he knew that it would be, soon. He really didn’t have much to look forward to now except Kuroo’s eventual calls and letters, but he was okay. Just two years stood between him and opportunity, two years he knew he needed to really come to grips with everything that had happened over the past months, to come to grips with what he really wanted and how he wanted to direct his life from now on.            Two years was an eternity, but it was also a chance to clear his head.            After awhile, Tsukishima finally turned and headed out of the station and back to his apartment. He wandered into his bedroom, intending to take a nap to make up for the lost hours of sleep. He settled under the blankets, taking off his glasses and closing his eyes. “Message!” Tsukishima jolted awake again, disoriented and startled. “What the hell was that?” He clumsily pulled his glasses on. “Message!” This time, he caught his phone lighting up on the nightstand, and he realized what was happening. He picked up his phone and swiped it open to two texts from Kuroo. ### Tetsurou: just got to the airport! Tetsurou: do you miss me yet :3c ### Tsukishima sighed, shaking his head. ### Me: did you really put a custom text tone of your voice on my phone? Tetsurou: oh, i did more than that... ### Tsukishima jumped when his phone suddenly started ringing. “Pick up the phone! Pick up the phone! Your handsome boyfriend is calling!” “I really can’t believe him...” It was probably one of the most exasperating things Kuroo had ever done, and even though the ringtone was annoying as hell, Tsukishima found himself smiling anyway. “Yeah, we’ll be okay, Tetsurou. We’ll definitely be okay.” He finally swiped the screen to answer the call and pressed the phone to his ear. “I can’t believe you’ve been gone for all of an hour and you’re already annoying me.” “It’s what I do best! Don’t think you’re safe just because I’m not there!” “Oh, believe me, I know.”

[talesfromsomeday]

HQ!! - Too Tired to Wink (Chapter 6)

Read on AO3 | Series on AO3 Series: Wandering Stars (Part 1) | Title: Too Tired to Wink Chapter: 6 - Goodbye Bear Fandom: Haikyuu!! | Pairing: KuroTsuki (Romantic) Rating: G | Warnings: None | Genres: Angst, Fluff Summary: Kuroo and Tsukishima have been dating for several months, but somehow, Tsukishima has never seen Kuroo’s apartment. He starts to get suspicious, and finally convinces Kuroo to let him see it. What he finds is not at all what he expected. And what he finds will be the spark of a crossroads much bigger than he ever thought he would have to face. (Nomad!Kuroo AU) Author’s Notes: (See AO3 for notes.) ------------ Tsukishima is sitting cross-legged on the floor, Kuroo sitting facing him and so close that their knees are touching, so close that Tsukishima can feel Kuroo’s body heat seeping in and overtaking his.

There’s a guitar in Tsukishima’s hands; he doesn’t know where it came from, but he recognizes the lacquered wood stained in dark colors, recognizes the way it fits naturally into the grooves of his fingers.

He raises his hand to play, and there’s something in the air, oppressive and choking, even though he hasn’t said anything to Kuroo. Even though Kuroo hasn’t said anything to him. Tsukishima doesn’t try to say anything, and doesn’t try to look, either, but still, he can see the devastation that has been put on Kuroo’s face.

He brings his hand down to strum.

Tsukishima recognizes this song, too; he’s playing it perfectly even though he remembers not having touched a guitar in years, even though he’s never played this particular song before and he knows he hasn’t.

His mouth opens to sing the words, his voice stronger than he remembers, too, far stronger than it should be in this situation. He can feel each line arcing from his throat, but they don’t quite reach his ears through the quiet strings.

They don’t reach his ears, but they reach Kuroo’s. Tsukishima is still not looking at his face, his eyes almost closed, spacing out over the curve of his fingers on the frets, but he can still see that devastation, etched deeper and deeper into Kuroo’s features as each word reaches him, as each word breaks him down bit by bit, line by line.

It’s a carefully crafted song, distilled into a short space, and Tsukishima strums the last bars as the air redoubles, presses down on him with bone crushing force.

When the song is done, Tsukishima slowly lets his hand fall, slowly takes the guitar and hands it to Kuroo. Kuroo takes it gently in his own hands, barely gripping it, and Tsukishima leans forward, holds Kuroo’s head just as gently, and presses a kiss between his eyes.

Then, he stands up, walks towards the door...

Tsukishima still doesn’t look at his face, still doesn’t tell him anything, but he does still see the tears, even long after the door has shut behind him. ---------

Tsukishima woke up to silence, the blurry, loose collar of Kuroo’s shirt just in front of him. He took one deep, grounding breath to try and get his bearings, to shake off what had obviously been just a dream, and he felt Kuroo stir.

“Kei?” Tsukishima hummed softly, trying not to give himself away. “You alright?”

“Fine.” His voice came out too smoothly, too softly, and he could tell Kuroo noticed, but Kuroo didn’t say anything, just pulled him a little closer with the arms that were already encircling his shoulders.

“Go back to sleep. I’m here.” Tsukishima nodded softly before closing his eyes again. He tried to banish the dream from his mind, tried to push it away along with the pit it had left in him, but it didn’t quite want to leave so easily.

Still, he could feel himself slowly succumbing to sleep again, and he thankfully sank down into it. ---------

Tsukishima had been hesitant to ask Kuroo to stay the night, even though their conversation throughout the evening had been easy and smooth and everything he’d needed for weeks. He had been hesitant because he was afraid something might shatter, afraid that he might step too close to the edge and slip back into the darkness of worry that was all too eager to take him again.

But Kuroo was there, and Tsukishima knew that as long as he stayed, the darkness couldn’t get to him. He wondered briefly if it was because it was getting confused by Kuroo’s hair or by his name. Probably both.

Kuroo had quickly wiped away his hesitancy at the question, however, asking him jokingly why he thought he had planned to leave, and adding that Tsukishima was truly stuck with him now. Tsukishima had tried not to smile at that, succeeded, but still knew that Kuroo had seen it as plainly as if he had really failed.

And Tsukishima was happy, after all, that he had asked, happy that Kuroo had stayed, when he woke up the second time to find him still there next to him, the thin light from the curtains dancing across his face.

“Tetsurou...”

“Morning, Kei.” Tsukishima blinked a few times to clear his eyes.

“What even happened last night.”

“You fell asleep during the movie so I carried you to bed.”

“You carried me?”

“Yeah, you don’t remember? You woke up for a second.”

“I don’t...”

“Well, that’s what happened. I guess you must’ve been as tired as I was.”

“Yeah...” Tsukishima tried not to remember the implications, the reason they were so tired, as they brushed up against the topic once more.

“So, Kei...”

“Hm?”

“You did tell Freckles that everything’s okay now, right?”

“Yes,” Tsukishima lied immediately.

“Are you sure?” Kuroo fixed him with a very suspicious look, and Tsukishima really wasn’t sure he liked where this was going. After all, he really had meant to text Yamaguchi and tell him, but he’d gotten a bit wrapped up in being around Kuroo again—that was fair, wasn’t it?

“Why wouldn’t I be sure?”

“I don’t know, I just thought I’d give you a chance to confess before I scold you.” Tsukishima sighed pointedly.

“So you do have his number.” Tsukishima really did not want to think about what kinds of schemes this union might subject him to.

“Of course I do. And I can’t believe you haven’t told him yet!”

“It’s only been one day. And I was going to tell him when I saw him in class on Monday.”

“Mhm, sure. You do know you also have his phone number, right?”

“Yes,” Tsukishima ground out.

“Well, I guess it’s alright. I know just how to fix this.”

“...what did you do?”

“Nothing! But we’d better get up; I promised we’d meet him at eleven.” ---------

After hastily getting up and ready, Tsukishima found himself being dragged down to his favorite café to meet up with Yamaguchi, an arrangement he’d only promised to honor if Kuroo bought his breakfast. It was hardly a punishment, but Tsukishima decided to pretend it was, as he usually did in these kinds of scenarios. He also decided to pretend he wasn’t concerned by the number of times he’d found himself in these scenarios.

Yamaguchi was already in their favorite booth and waiting for them, surrounded by several plates of pancakes, and he waved when they walked through the door. Tsukishima immediately scowled, but Kuroo did just the opposite, beaming and leading him by the hand over to the table.

“Tsukki! And Kuroo!” Tsukishima wasted no time getting straight to the point.

“Alright, when did you two trade numbers? Spill it.”

“You don’t remember? We traded numbers the first time we met.” Tsukishima sensed that there was something happening behind him, and sure enough, he turned to find Kuroo hastily putting his hand down.

“Were you really trying to signal him to stop talking? I can’t believe you, Tetsurou.”

“Wow, he really does call you that!” Yamaguchi exclaimed from behind him. Tsukishima sighed, completely exasperated after only having been there for all of two minutes.

“So let me get this straight, you two have had each other’s numbers this entire time. What the hell have you been talking about?”

“This and that,” Kuroo said, shrugging noncommittally. Yamaguchi followed suit, and Kuroo took a seat in the booth and pulled Tsukishima down with him.

“I went ahead and ordered for you guys, I hope you don’t mind,” Yamaguchi said, pushing a plate towards each of them.

“No worries! I’m just glad there’s food, I’m starving,” Kuroo said, digging into his blackberry pancakes. Tsukishima crossed his arms.

“I can’t believe you two are teaming up against me. What’s next? Is the sky going to fall? Is Tetsurou’s mother going to appear and start lecturing me about not eating enough like your mom does?”

“I’m allowed to be friends with your boyfriend, Tsukki,” Yamaguchi said, rolling his eyes and starting to eat.

“And as your loving and endearing boyfriend, it’s like, my duty to be friends with your best friend, Kei,” Kuroo chimed in.

“Why? I’m not really friends with Kenma.”

“Well you should be. You two would get along excellently. Freckles!”

“Huh?” Yamaguchi was caught slightly off-guard, his mouth full of pancake.

“We’re setting up a boyfriends-best-friends-playdate! When are you free?”

“Tetsurou—” Tsukishima tried to interject.

“I’m available on Saturday!”

“Yamaguchi, don’t encourage him—”

“Ok, it’s a date! We’ll go bowling or something. Bowling is perfect for bonding. That’s why they both start with ‘bo’! Just like ‘Bokuto’!”

“You are not inviting him,” Tsukishima quickly cut in. “You remember what happened last time.” A shadow passed over Kuroo’s face.

“Yes, I remember. But it’s okay, this playdate will be restricted just to the three of us and Kenma.”

“Would Kenma even be willing to put in the effort required to bowl, though?” Tsukishima asked skeptically.

“Probably not? But we can try! But see, Kei, you’re better friends with Kenma than you think!”

“Anybody with eyes could figure out that Kenma wouldn’t put effort into anything that’s not video games unless you forced or tricked him.”

“I’ve gotta side with Tsukki on this one,” Yamaguchi chimed in.

“Okay, fine, you got me there. Still, I know you two will get along. I can sense it.”

“Sure.” Tsukishima finally picked up his fork and cut out a bite of his strawberry pancakes.

“So, Kuroo,” Yamaguchi began between bites. “I keep forgetting to ask you—how did you and Tsukki start having your weekly movie dates? I can’t imagine him just agreeing to something so romantic so you must’ve had to convince him, right?”

“Yamaguchi,” Tsukishima groaned, running a hand over his face.

“I’m glad you asked!” Kuroo quickly interrupted, waving his fork in front of him. “It all started way back when, when we’d only been dating for a few weeks.”

“You don’t need to tell him the story—”

“I wanted to see Kei’s apartment, so I asked if he wanted to have a movie night. I promised he could pick the movie if he agreed, and somehow that worked.”

“He picked Jurassic Park, didn’t he?” Yamaguchi asked immediately.

“You know your stuff, Freckles! It’s adorable. But yes, we watched the first one that night, and every time he got to pick after that, we watched another one until I was all caught up to Jurassic World.”

“Of course, of course, I knew no boyfriend of Tsukki’s would be spared from watching them all.”

“Of course! You should’ve seen Kei’s face, though, it was so cute.”

“Okay, I changed my mind, breakfast is not enough. You still owe me.” Tsukishima was collectively ignored.

“So if you were the one to suggest the first movie night, how did you get out of taking him to your apartment?” Yamaguchi asked.

“The power of distraction,” Kuroo said proudly. “But anyway, I made dinner that night, and then I suggested we do it again the next week, and I guess Kei wanted to cook to return the favor, and we ended up just always trading off like that.”

“And Tetsurou has managed to forget when it’s his turn to cook at least 80% of the time since then,” Tsukishima quipped.

“Or I’m just pretending to forget so I can surprise you with my excellent on-the-spot cooking.”

“Mhm, sure. I’m not convinced.”

“You will be. Just wait until you see what I have planned for next week.” Tsukishima rolled his eyes when Kuroo wiggled his eyebrows, and finally turned his attention back to his pancakes. There was a lapse in the conversation for a bit while they all ate, an amicable silence that almost made Tsukishima forget the original reason they had met up with Yamaguchi in the first place. Luckily, it didn’t seem he needed to do anything, as Kuroo had obviously told Yamaguchi already that everything was okay now, or even if he hadn’t, it wouldn’t require any further explanation or evidence on Tsukishima’s part to prove it to him after this.

When they had all finished eating, Kuroo insisted on paying for all three of them. Yamaguchi tried to protest, but relented after Kuroo put on the intimidating smile that Tsukishima had begun to refer to as “the captain’s face.”

After the bill was taken care of, Kuroo stood up to leave, but Tsukishima hung back, pretending to gather up his jacket. He waited until Kuroo was out of earshot, and then motioned Yamaguchi to come closer.

“Would you do me a favor?” He asked after Yamaguchi leaned towards him.

“What is it?”

“I need to go get something from my parents’ house next weekend. Come with me.” Yamaguchi’s eyebrows knit together in confusion, but he nodded.

“Sure...? Whatever you need, Tsukki.” ---------

Tsukishima told Kuroo about his plan to visit his parents over the weekend, and though he was accused of trying to weasel out of their bowling date, Tsukishima managed to appease him by promising to do it another time.

Tsukishima lied when Kuroo asked if he could come along, saying that it was a special trip for him and Yamaguchi, and Kuroo gracefully accepted a rain check on that as well. All that was left then was to go.

It was a simple mission, one that probably wouldn’t have taken more than a few minutes if his parents lived down the street instead of almost two hours away by bullet train, but it was something that Tsukishima had to do, and he would do it.

His parents were just as confused as Yamaguchi when Tsukishima told them what he was looking for, but they agreed to help in the search, and it was found within a few minutes, just as Tsukishima had predicted; an old acoustic guitar, the lacquered wood stained a dark black about the edges, and a deep, more natural orange in the center.

He couldn’t get the image out of his head, couldn’t banish the strange dream from his mind, and he knew of only one way to remedy it, no matter how troublesome it might be to make it happen. He knew, then, that a borrowed guitar wouldn’t work; it had to be this guitar. All the details had to be just so, had to be perfectly arranged to match so he could clear his head once more. Nothing else would suffice.

He hadn’t seen the instrument in years, and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to complete his plan after all, but he had completed at least the first step, and he set to getting reacquainted with the guitar as soon as he was alone for a bit, skillfully avoiding Yamaguchi’s questions about the song he was trying to play and why he suddenly felt the need to come all this way just for the sole purpose of playing it.

They stayed the night at his parents’ house, and headed back first thing in the morning. Then, it was time to practice. ---------

It took days of his free time and several rejuvenated calluses before Tsukishima was finally ready.

He and Kuroo ate their Friday night date meal in amicable silence, and Tsukishima waited until Kuroo started washing the dishes before he started talking. He dived straight to his point.

“I used to play guitar, when I was a kid.” Kuroo looked over at him, one eyebrow raised.

“Guitar?”

“Yeah. My elementary school had a music program, so we had to learn an instrument... Of course they didn’t have a lot of choices, or instruments in general, so we didn’t really get to pick ourselves. I didn’t care that much what I played, and I was big and had long fingers, so they put me in the guitar group.”

“Can you still play?” Tsukishima could tell Kuroo was sensing where this was going, even if he didn’t know the specifics.

“Well... sort of. I can’t play it very naturally anymore, but if I have time to practice, I can usually play a song.” Kuroo regarded him for a moment, the dishes forgotten.

“Is there a song you want to play...?” Tsukishima nodded sharply, his fingers lacing together in front of him on the table.

“It’s weird and... sad, but I had a dream about playing it for you, and I can’t get that image out of my head, so...”

“A dream...? Will playing the song for me actually help?”

“Definitely.”

“Well, I’d love to hear you play, if you really want to.”

“I do. Give me just a minute.” Tsukishima stood from the table and left the room, returning after a moment with the guitar. Kuroo’s eyes followed it questioningly, but he didn’t ask.

Tsukishima sat down in the middle of the floor with his legs crossed, and motioned for Kuroo to join him. When Kuroo had sat down across from him, Tsukishima slid forward until their knees were touching, then carefully brought the guitar into his lap between them, his fingers settling softly over the strings. He closed his eyes.

“I’m sorry, but I have to go,” he said slowly. “Please... imagine it like that while I’m playing.” He opened his eyes to see the sad, questioning look on Kuroo’s face. He waited until Kuroo gave him a soft nod, then turned back to the guitar, positioning his fingers.

With a strum, he began to play.

It was truly an odd song, short and melancholy, even back when it hadn’t meant anything to him personally. He opened his mouth to shakily sing the words, still not used to the way singing felt in his throat.

"Moving truck outside; I’m off to Oklahoma... These walls we painted are getting painted over...” He could feel Kuroo’s eyes on him, but he focused on his fingers, on the words he carefully pronounced. “I’m scared I’ll fall asleep, I’m scared to say goodbye. Who knows how long we’ll make it last tonight?” He could feel his eyes beginning to sting, but he blinked the feeling away. “Goodbye bear, I’m heading out the door, I’m falling off the map, I’m never coming home.” His voice faltered slightly over the last word. “I’m sorry I couldn’t ask you, and couldn’t offer you my life. Now it’s all in boxes, ‘cause sometimes...” He felt Kuroo’s fingers brushing against his knee. “...you have to let love die.”

He fell quiet, strumming the last part of the song into the silence of the room.

“Kei...” Tsukishima took one look up at Kuroo’s heartbroken face, and his hand finally left the guitar, rubbing at his stinging eyes with the pick still clutched in his fingers.

“I’m sorry.” Tsukishima’s voice faltered again, slightly. “I know it hurts, but I had to create it so I could wipe it out.”

“It’s okay, I understand.” Kuroo rubbed his hands softly over Tsukishima’s arms, leaning forward to look into his face.

Tsukishima finally looked up towards Kuroo again, and was startled to find tears on his face, dripping slowly down his cheeks. He reached out gently and wiped them away with his thumb, then leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss between Kuroo’s eyes.

“You know, I still remember a nightmare I had right after our fight. I can’t get rid of it. It’s not something that would happen in real life, but I want to wipe it out too...”

“Would you tell me about it?”

“Maybe some other time.” He paused to take a breath. “I don’t really want to think about it right now. But I know... that I’ll be able to wipe it out someday soon, even if it’s just as sad. Will you wait until then?”

“Of course.” Kuroo smiled.

“Thank you.” Tsukishima smiled in return, and stood up to stow the guitar away once more. ------------ Author’s Notes: The name of the song that Tsukki plays in this chapter is another Ludo song named Goodbye Bear (and there's the chapter title for you). It’s a pregap track, which makes it extremely difficult to find online, so I went ahead and uploaded it for you to listen to, if you’re so inclined. (And if you like this band and/or the song, you can go ahead and download it, I promise I won’t tell.)