(Go ahead and cry little girl,
Nobody does it like you do)
Nakiri Erina has always had a thing for swing sets
There wasn't any genuine reason behind it. They weren't nostalgic to her, nor were they of any real importance in her life.
Still, something about them had the young princess of Totsuki continuing to pump her legs, urging the metal chains to swing her further and further away from the ground.
Who knows? Maybe it was the thrill.
Maybe she was just bored.
It was rare, for her to take a moment to just sit back and breathe.
She could feel her thighs burn as she finally allowed her legs to cease their constant thrusting, unused to the harsh labour that she was putting them through.
She learnt from previous use that the swing besides her was loud and high-pitched, while the one she was one was somehow miraculously silent. It was strange considering her particular swing had not been refurbished as far as she knew.
When did it start?
Cooking was fun. Despite the fact that her gift of receiving 'the gods tongue' was with her from when she was still an infant and the role of becoming Tōtsuki's princess was thrown at her from a young age, Nakiri Erina had loved cooking.
So, when did it stop being something enjoyable and turn into a chore?
When did her passion for cooking morph into reluctance to even step foot into a kitchen.
Erina could feel her lips twitch upwards as she felt the breeze pick up and carry her long blonde hair from behind her shoulders before setting her head back and enjoying the ride.
Maybe she needed a break
"Yo, Nakiri!"
…And there goes what could have been a peaceful, self-reflecting evening.
Angling her head towards the side, the blonde is met with Yukihira Sōma waving from a short distance near the entrance of the playground.
She's not even sure what he's doing in the park in the first place and her eyes are already rolling from his sheer presence alone.
To his credit, Yukihira's denser than a stack of bricks whenever anger is directed towards him, but somehow he's able to sense sadness in a heartbeat? He's suddenly got a sixth sense for the emotion and Erina can't fathom how he does it.
The look on his face when he stares at her makes her wonder if she's crying so she brings her hands up to her cheeks and realises her eyes are drier than a fucking bone.
Her head cocks to the side in question when he makes his way through the gates of the empty city park and Erina's amethyst eyes drag from his face to the convenience store bag and a half finished pink smoothie being clutched lazily in his hand with mild interest.
If she weren't feeling so empty she would be listening to what the majority of her brain was saying and politely scream at him to fuck off. A few weeks ago, she would've done just that. But this was the current broody Erina, The Erina whose brain had abruptly decided to have an existential crisis midway through her Sunday afternoon.
How absurd.
He's smiling lightly down at her and she can feel her swing losing its momentum before her feet are finally able to hit the ground.
She doesn't know whether she's disappointed over the loss of motion in her swing or over seeing Sōma's face. She settles for both.
Sōma doesn't seem to mind her lack of response and takes a seat on the swing besides her own and Erina's already rolling her eyes before she's even realised it.
It's become a habit whenever Soma's around and they both know it.
She can practically see the cogs turning in his head
"Shouldn't you be at a meeting or something?" He asks, despite grinning she can sense his unasked question and she frowns
What happened to make you reckless enough to skip your own duties?
Her legs are already moving to gain speed as she begins to swing, Soma snorts but when she hears the chains start squeaking from besides her she feels her lips twitch upwards.
"I had a day off" she lies and Soma just gives her a blank look of Oh, really?
It was concerning that he's able to catch her lies quicker than Hisako can and she doesn't really know how to feel with this sudden realisation or knowledge.
He sips his drink through the straw and nods absentmindedly, looking straight ahead. "So you decided to ride the swings?"
He plays along with her lie
She doesn't really feel the need to answer and he's already aware of her mood judging from his unnatural mild and tamed persona.
Her throat feels unbelievably dry and parched so her gaze is suddenly intense on his rapidly emptying cup
Soma seems to realise her dilemma because before she knows it, his beverage is being thrusted in front of her face causing the blonde to wrinkle her nose and stare at the object with both of her eyebrows raised in surprise.
"What? You wanted some right? That's why you were staring" Soma looks confused, cocking his head towards the side in question and Erina feels her cheeks heat up in swift embarrassment of being caught in the act.
Damn him and his random perception! What ever happened to the dense Yukihira Soma who couldn't even distinguish her sarcasm 99.7 percent of the time?
Instead of relieving her throat that was disturbingly drier than the Sahara desert, Erina raises her head haughtily and crosses her legs in defiance. Her regular facade finally taking over.
"Oh? And what makes you think I'd want your drink" she rolls her eyes, flipping her hair expertly behind her shoulder while Soma unknowingly smirks behind his drink at the notion.
It's gone by the time her eyes meet his again and Soma raises an eyebrow "Well why else were you staring at it so intently? If you don't want it, I really will finish it" he says bluntly.
Erina's cheeks flare up again "Go ahead"
Deliberately slow, Sōma brings the straw of the drink back up towards his mouth "You sure?"
"Just drink the damn drink, damn it!"
She's almost certain that if he weren't carrying anything in his hands, Sōma would have held both his hands up in mock defence at her outburst before finishing the smoothie.
Erina can practically feel herself deflate as the other side of her brain scolds her for giving into her damn pride as she stares at the now emptied cup being discarded into the nearest trash can.
Her pride wasn't worth dying from dehydration, damn it.
She doesn't even realise the way her eyes have doubled in size in shock when she sees the empty cup stacked on top of the overflowing trash can.
"Alright, I can't watch anymore. Let's go" he's up from his seat in seconds and offering his free hand towards her.
The princess of Totsuki doesn't even bat an eye as she impulsively grabs a hold of his out stretched hand without hesitation and is hauled up to her feet.
It isn't until she's a few feet away from the gate of the playground, that she actually realises her actions and suddenly roots her feet back down towards the ground in protest.
"Where?" she demands
"To the smoothie shack I got my drink from, obviously" he states, rolling his eyes as if she had just asked him a second grade math question, before tugging at her hand again.
She's given up on stopping him because she really is unbelievably in the need of a drink and Yukihira's hand is warm and this feels so very much like one of the shoujo manga's she's been reading so she abandons her pride and they begin walking side by side down the semi-crowded street.
Erina is at a loss because in all honesty a bottle of water would do her much better than a blended concoction of fruits and milk but a part of her is also somewhat mesmerised by the orange beverage that he was previously drinking.
Ugh, decisions.
"What did you get?" she asks, instead
He's keeping her mind occupied and she appreciates that enough for her to humour him
He's a distraction and he knows it
He grins at her suddenly, looking hilariously sheepish "I kind of got a vegan smoothie out of curiosity. It's pretty rare in japan so I thought it'd give it a shot. It's called the 'sunshine smoothie' mainly tropical fruits based. Mangos, pineapples mainly."
Erina raises an eyebrow "It's not than rare. Smoothies don't necessarily have to include any dairy products."
He shrugs "Yeah, I wasn't really aware of that beforehand seeing as in Yukihira's, the closest thing to a smoothie we do are milkshakes. And that itself is sort of rare. Dad only sells them during the summer." He grins, embarrassed.
Erina's somewhat amused by his justification and finds herself nodding along to his explanation even though it's plain absurdity in her mind. "That's pretty bad. Not knowing the difference between a smoothie and a milkshake"
Sōma just laughs nervously "Yeah, I guess so"
It's now Erina's turn to stare at him blankly "You do realise that most smoothies don't include dairy right?"
Sōma shrugs "It was new to me"
She's already rolling her amethyst eyes and he just grins good naturedly.
Somehow, they've gotten to the point where he's talking about his failed elementary school art project and she's told him about how Alice once tried to drown a pot of glittered paint because it was pretty while she's covering her mouth and is toppling over with laughter.
Her chest hurts and when she takes a breath in it feels so good
They're not talking about Totsuki, or shokugeki's or even cooking in general and if she's to be honest with herself—
She finds that she doesn't mind
She likes talking about how weird it is that slugs are just snails without homes and that May twenty sixth is apparently 'Put a pillow on your fridge day'
It's foreign a feeling, laughing until her stomach hurts and her cheeks ache from smiling too much as he hands her a cup, grinning with what could only be described as accomplishment shining through his eyes.
Pride? What for?
She snorts, sipping her strawberry smoothie and averting her eyes towards the advertisement displayed on the opposite side while Soma laughs and pays the cashier behind the till.
Her ears are burning and she's not able to fathom why exactly.
So he bought her a drink. So what?
It didn't even taste that good.
And it was cheap
The fact that she was even drinking the liquid was absurd and she could practically sense the unnatural sweetening and artificial flavouring from miles away— but when she spares a glance towards Yukihira, grinning and ordering himself another cup, her face softens
The ends of her lips twitched upwards just for a moment. She could admit it in her mind, at the very least.
It was nice
So when he's gotten his drink, she finds herself suddenly hyperactively aware of how automatically his free hand seems to look for hers before exiting the store.
Erina's cheeks feel like they're on fire when he turns back to face her, grinning and talking about whatever else is on his mind and she's already subconsciously smiling back.
Her pride could go fuck itself, he was nice.
(I know how much it matters to you
I know that you got daddy issues)
:::::
A/N: This is probably just going to end up as a three-shot series. I just love Sōrina so much ugh.
I'm so excited for season three to be released. I will literally cry tears of joy.
(I know how much it matters to you
I know that you've got daddy issues)