notes: the simplest explanation of the bloom au is this: it's a series of unconnected shorts from various fandoms featuring various couples and how they come to terms w/ their relationship. set in a universe w/o a lot of plot relevancy, where soulmates get flower tattoos when they touch for the first time. the meaning of the flower usually tells you smth about the nature of their relationship. a.k.a. i spend way too much time looking up plant symbolism and need to be stopped.
title: heliotrope
The first few times you see Yamaguchi Tadashi, he only registers in your mind as 'that one really quiet kid that sits at the back of class'. For a long while, that's all that he is to you. Another face in the crowd, a shy kid who doesn't really stand out. One with ridiculous freckles.
…
Tuesday. You don't have any classes, but you also don't have any friends. You spend the better part of the afternoon walking through a park, nursing your coffee. Honestly speaking, you have nothing better to do and you lack the motivation to find something better to do.
It's not an uncommon situation.
An uncommon situation is what you stumble upon after a few minutes of walking around. Yamaguchi, cornered by a large crowd of mean looking not-quite-adolescents. He's trying to look brave, but he's scared. The way he's shaking like a leaf is sort of a dead giveaway.
Your first thought: At least I have the good grace not to gang up on people.
"Pathetic." The word spills out without a second thought. You don't like bullies. "You need ten people to gang up on one scrawny kid?"
It goes over about as well as can be expected. They round on you, attempting to look menacing and for the most part, failing. It's all a bit sad. You almost feel sorry for them. "What did you say?!" You think: Is that really the best they can come up with?
"Sorry, I didn't know you were hard of hearing. Let me try again: You're pathetic."
"You wanna fight?!"
"Not worth my time. Go beat on someone your own age. The elementary school is back that way." The leader of the mob, a rather attractive guy with streaked blond hair, stammers out a weak threat. He obviously recognizes you. Finally. You don't have time for this. You roll your eyes at him and say, "Get out of here."
One of the underlings tugs him away and the mob disperses.
You turn to Yamaguchi and much to your horror, he's crying. No big ugly sobs, thank god, just tears streaming down his cheeks. He looks terrified. "Dammit, I hate when they cry," you mutter as you walk over. "Hey. Are you okay?"
"I-I'm fine. Fine. Um. Thank you."
"You're not fine," you say irritably. "Why are you crying?"
He touches his cheek then stares at his wet fingertips and starts to laugh, a bit hysterically. "I really don't know. Oh god. That was awful." And he's going into shock. Great. You reach out and brush your knuckles across his cheek, still scowling, trying to wipe off the tears. (You're so not made for this comforting stuff.)
Tiny purple flowers bloom on his cheek.
You stare at him, then at the color blossoming on your hand. The ink curls around your fingers and ends on your palm. Dazedly, you wonder: what flower is this? You've never been all that interested in your soulmate, never really believed you had one, so you never bothered to look up any flower symbolism.
Yamaguchi is looking at your hand with a mixture of wonder and fear.
"Are you scared of everything?"
The words come out before you can stop them, a poor attempt at covering up how shaken you feel. You abruptly realize that you're being a total ass to this poor kid, to your soulmate, and instantly want to take the words back. Contrary to popular belief, you do have a conscience and right now it's screaming: You're an asshole, what's wrong with you?!
Yamaguchi stares at you a moment before laughing. "No, not everything. I'm not scared of you." Then he's reaching out for your hand, turning it over to look at the flowers. Slowly, he says, "Heliotrope. Devotion." And something about that sounds right in a way you can't explain.
…
Next Tuesday is different. You're still wandering through the park, nursing your coffee, but your headphones are off and Yamaguchi is by your side chattering about a show he watched last night. He doesn't seem to mind that you aren't responding to him.
"—kki."
You stop in the middle of the path and look at him, "What did you just call me?"
"Tsukki. Tsukishima is hard to say," he explains, smiling like it's the most natural thing in the world. You haven't had a nickname since you were seven and your brother decided to call you 'brat' every time he needed to catch your attention. "Plus it sounds nice, y'know?"
"…Okay."
…
"Sorry, Tsukki."
"Stop apologizing for stuff that isn't your fault."
"Sorry. Oh. Um. Sorry. Alright."
"…Never mind."
…
A month passes by. Yamaguchi still sticks by your side whenever he isn't busy, and you don't bother to wonder why anymore. You let him stick around and don't admit how much you like having someone to talk to. You're pretty sure he knows anyways.
…
Later, much later, you finally learn why Yamaguchi was being picked on. She comes out to you on a sunny Tuesday afternoon, looking terrified. You don't say a word, opting to soften your expression and gesture for her to come closer. You hug her tightly and sigh. "It's okay." The first few tears wet your shirt. (You've learned that Yamaguchi cries a lot.)
"Sorry, Tsukki."
"Hey, no. Don't. Don't apologize, not for this. Never for this." It only makes her cry harder. You groan and lean your forehead against the top of her head. It doesn't sound like she's stopping any time soon. Very firmly, you order, "Stop crying, Yamaguchi. You're not pretty when you cry."
Yamaguchi giggles into your chest and pulls away, tears still making their way down her cheek. You reach out and brush your knuckles across her cheek, scowling at her eyes, now red and puffy from her brief sob session. She's smiling as she jokingly pokes you in the rib.
"Are you saying that I'm pretty when I'm not crying?"
"Yes, okay? Now for the love of god, stop."
…
"Tsukki?"
You glance at Yamaguchi and go back to your book. After a beat of silence it becomes clear that this is one of those I'm-not-talking-until-you-look-at-me moments. You sigh and close the book. "What?"
"Um." She looks nervous, possibly a bit afraid. "Tsukki, can I, uh." Yamaguchi looks down and rubs her hands together, bites her lip, then blurts out, "Can I kiss you?"
"Yeah."
You wait for a moment then lean towards her, touch your lips together a bit too roughly. There aren't any fireworks, and neither of you are superb kissers. But it does feel right. She scoots a bit closer to you, puts a hand on your arm, and you wonder: Why did this take so long?
1. tsukishima has zero tolerance for bullies. he's been bullied before (although it never got too bad bc honestly most of the kids in his class are scared of him) and he brushed it off for the most part, but he knows how deeply it can impact someone. so he plays hero a lot. most of the bullies in the area know not to pick fights w/ him at this point so it's pretty easy for him to get these poor kids out of trouble.
2. yamaguchi knows that tsukishima doesn't do well w/ physical contact and she doesn't push. she asks before she does things, and doesn't comment when tsukishima choose to initiate contact. she also knows tsukishima is crap at emotions and she's gotten pretty good at unraveling all of tsukishima's nonverbal queues.
3. they never start dating, not rly. it just kind of clicks into place and neither of then rly mention it. when yamaguchi eventually introduces tsukishima as her boyfriend, it's not a big deal. it is what it is.
an: idk if any of you have gone into shock before but it's pretty scary. it kinda feels like you're underwater. everything is dulled and you still feel the fact that you're in pain but it's sorta just a fact, not rly impacting your reality. and idk if it's just me, but i cried a ton and i couldn't stop replaying the event in my head and freaking out. but yeah. shock is pretty terrifying.