Cherry Blossoms
Ame stared down at her phone screen, her mind a few miles away. She was on break at work, and going through the most recent text that she had received from Ema only a few seconds ago.
There are no ingredients for dinner so Wataru suggested we take a picnic and go flower viewing! Tsubaka-san said he'd invite Natsume-san and Subaru-san along too, so as soon as you're done with work come join us!
Ugh, Ame clicked her tongue with irritation. If only she'd remembered to get food supplies yesterday but she had been so busy with schoolwork, and Ukyo-san was also busy with a case, and apparently no one else was capable of going food shopping. Narrowing her eyes a little, Ame tapped out a reply with robotic fingers and then spent a few seconds flipping her phone's chain up and down until a co-worker came over.
"What's with you?" Sora asked, snapping a damp rag an inch from her unresponsive face. That at least jerked Ame from her thoughts and she blinked bemusedly at older woman. Unconvinced, Sora arched a perfectly sculpted and pierced eyebrow back. "You've been glaring at your phone for over ten minutes. Who's annoyed you now?"
Ame sighed quietly and slid her phone into her apron pocket. "Nothing really. Ema and the guys wanted to go flower viewing, so I'm going to join them once my shift ends."
"And that's why you've been staring into space like you're plotting murder?" Both of Sora's eyebrows flattened in curiousity. "The flowers are super pretty right now aren't they? I'm planning on seeing them with my girlfriend tomorrow." Sora's eyes briefly glazed over as she thought of her girlfriend and then she cocked her head at Ame. "So what's the problem? Do you dislike them or something?"
The bell chimed softly, indicating a new customer but neither woman moved to serve them. Ame eventually huffed out a quiet laugh and looked away. "You're way too perceptive, Sora-san. Hate is a very strong word though. No I like to think that I'm just…wary of them. I don't like leaving my little sister alone with a bunch of boys."
"Oh no sweetheart, I've seen this before," Sora leaned on the counter beside Ame and adopted a motherly tone despite them only being two years apart. "You get like this every time your sister meets a boy or makes a new friend. Are you scared that they're going to flirt with her or be mean to her or something?"
Ame smiled grimly. "Or something."
"You just want to protect her, I get it. You've always just wanted to protect Ema-chan, but maybe you need to let your sister make her own decisions and choices, good or bad."
There was silence between them, expectant on one side and contemplative on the other. From the front of the little café came another chime from the door, followed by another server calling out the standard welcome and the sound of a little kid giggling over the cake choices.
Ame stared at Sora silently for a few seconds until her phone buzzed an alarm. "Oh, would you look at that," she remarked in a mild tone, breaking eye contact to look down at the screen that she had never let go of even while it was in her apron, "my shift is over. I'll see you later Sora-san."
The other woman sighed to herself as the brunette made her way to the back of the café where the changing rooms were, pausing to punch herself out with one hand and tap out a text with the other. As capable as Ame was, the woman didn't like to ask for help or request the opinions of others. She ploughed ahead with plans and schemes, regardless of who she had to knock over in the process. Being close to her was both a blessing and a curse because it meant that she would topple kingdoms for you if you whether you asked her to or not.
Sora said a little prayer for her co-worker and kouhai, and then she made her way over the front of the shop, calling out a cheerful, "Welcome!"
oOo
As Ame walked to the park, she thought about her family and what she was willing to do to keep it safe. Even though it was no longer winter, the early spring air still carried with it a chill that stung the inside and outside of her nose and she pulled her scarf higher up her face to block the sharp wind.
Ever since that night when Hikaru and Fuuto had confessed – well, not quite, a confession required that the revelation be a desperate secret – that they were attracted to her and not Ema, Ame had been mentally going over every interaction she'd had with them. It made sense now but at the time she had attributed their mannerisms to their respective traits. Hikaru liked to tease people and Fuuto…well, Fuuto was Fuuto. Puberty probably hit him too hard.
She stopped and shook her head and someone walked into her, almost knocking their bag from their hands. "Hey!"
"Sorry! I didn't mean to – Ame-chan?" He blurted her name, equally as surprised as she was. Ame spotted the sliver of fear that flashed across his eyes before he straightened his back and took a small step away. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it," she replied coolly. "Were you going to the picnic?"
"Yeah. My practice just ended," he scuffed the soles of his shoes against the ground and Ame realised that he must have come straight from the basketball court. Even though he had changed he still smelled faintly of sweat and she resisted the urge to wrinkle her nose.
"Okay," she spun around and kept walking. After a moment she heard him follow, keeping at least a foot behind her.
They walked in silence for a block or so before Subaru finally spoke. Ame had been expecting him to. Their last conversation had not been pleasant after all, and it had ended with her getting the last word. Most men couldn't handle that.
"I still like Ema-chan."
Ame didn't bother looking at him and instead pretended to focus on the pretty streetlights. "Do you?"
"I definitely do!" He snapped back, a little louder than the place or situation warranted. "You can't ruin my feelings for her by threatening me!"
She laughed a little and shot him a smirk over her shoulder. "You only say that because you think my threats are empty. Believe me, I am very capable." She ignored his gape-mouthed expression of anger and caught sight of something more important. "Now hush, I see my sister. Ema, over here!"
"Ame, you made it!" The two sisters hugged tightly. "And Subaru-kun, hi!" Ema waved at him over Ame's shoulders and noticed his stiff expression and tight fists. She glanced at her sister briefly and wondered if she ought to have another talk with Ame about her methods.
"So where are you going?" Ame asked, understanding Ema's glance and wanting to change the subject. "I thought you were at the park?"
"We ran out of soda so I volunteered to go get some," Ema told her. "Want to come with me? I might need help carrying all the bottles."
A few minutes later the three of them were on their way back to the park, all weighed down with bottles of lemon and orange soda and cola. "I can't believe you left Juli at home," Ame chuckled.
"He wasn't feeling well," Ema laughed, remembering the sweaty, limp clump of fur that had tried to climb into her backpack that evening. "I left him with all his favourite foods."
"I bet he'll still complain when we get home." The park came into view and Ame couldn't help ooh-ing over how pretty the flowers and lights looked even from a distance. Wataru was the first to spot them and came sprinting over, nearly trampling two other picnics in the process.
"Big sister! Big sister! Big siste-oomf!" He smacked into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her and nearly knocking the bags from her hand. There was a blinding grin on his face when he pulled back to look up at her. "You're here! I thought you were going to miss the flower viewing!"
Ame softened. She loved Wataru; so far he was the only brother who seemed to treat them like actual siblings. Well, him and Masaomi. Ame suspected that it was just the age difference – Wataru was barely in the double-digits and Masaomi was in his thirties. "I would never miss that. It's our hanami as a family!"
"It is, isn't it?" Ema looked so pleased by that. She liked little milestones like that. If she wasn't already obsessed with video-games Ame suspected she'd be one of those people who had scrapbooks for everything. "Ame, you and Subaru haven't eaten anything!"
The blanket was almost too small to hold all of them but with a little wriggling everyone managed to fit. Ame ended up squished next to Tsubaki who was more than a little drunk judging by the smell of alcohol and the flush on his cheeks.
"Ame-chan~!" He sang when she sat down. "You're here~!"
She and Azusa shared a commiserating look over his head. "I think you've had enough sake," he muttered, moving the half-empty bottle further away from his brother.
Tsubaki barely noticed himself being cut off and instead leaned closer to the girl beside him. "Hey Ame-chan," he tried to whisper but, like most drunk people, his voice came out a little too loud, "is it just a coincidence that the two of you arrived with Subaru? What happened~?"
Subaru scoffed. "Obviously it's just a coincidence."
"Oooh, defensive~!" Tsubaki cackled, throwing an arm around Ame's shoulders and leaning closer. She leaned away and shot Azusa a look that clearly said help me! He was already looking at them though and there was something a little tense around his shoulders.
Ame huffed and pretended to look around the park, casually shrugging off Tsubaki's arm in the process. She spotted Wataru leaning over the fence that separated the park from the lake waters. He had a stick in his hand and he was using it to tease one of the ducks that had wandered close by in the hope of some crumbs from the numerous humans. "That's dangerous! He looks like he might fall in," she said worriedly.
"I'll get him!" Natsume got up and started running towards Wataru, however several things happened at the same time.
The duck, likely tired of Wataru's shenanigans, quacked loudly while flapping it's large wings and rearing backwards. Wataru, who had been balanced precariously over the fence on his stomach, fell backwards onto the ground instead of toppling headfirst into the water. However Natsume, who had been close to him, tripped over Wataru and fell into the shallow water.
This all happened within the space of a few seconds and Ame wished she had been filming the whole thing.
"Oh no," Tsubaki pretended to wail between bouts of cackling, "Natsume fell into the lake! I'll save you brother!"
Masaomi rolled his eyes. "Tsubaki, be serious."
"I am!" Tsubaki pretended to wipe his eyes before walking over and pulling Natsume out of the lake. "Aw, Na-kun is all wet!"
Wataru, who had no clue what had happened, blinked at his older brothers curiously. "Why did Natsume-nii fall into the lake?"
"Because he likes to swim," Tsubaki said with all the seriousness he could muster. Ame giggled behind her hands and the sound made him puff up a little. He had made her laugh!
"Really?" Wataru asked.
"Really! See?" With that he let go of Natsume's hand, letting the other slip on the slippery-wet mud and go sprawling back into the freezing cold lake.
"Tsubaki!" Masaomi and Azusa barked.
"Jeez, fine! It was just a joke!" After several more heaves they managed to get Natsume out of the water and Ema set about fussing over him, patting his face dry with her little white handkerchief with the pink embroidery.
"I'm sorry, it won't help much," she murmured. "We should go home and get you into something warm."
"It's fine. Thanks," he replied. Then, "was it really a coincidence?"
"Hm?" Ema stopped dabbing at him.
"Meeting Subaru like that," he said. "Was Ame-chan with you the whole way?"
Ema wondered why he was so fixated on that. "It was just a simple coincidence," she answered, "Ame was with Subaru before I found them."
She didn't see Tsubaki and Azusa stiffen. The two turned to stare at Subaru with expressions that weren't quite friendly. As Subaru took a step away from his brothers, he lamented their decision to bring the two sisters into the house.
I can't lie I'm missing Kaname and Ukyo? I do love writing for Fuuto idk why. Scenes I can't wait to write:
Subaru confessing to Ema after his basketball game
Every instance of Fuuto in school
That time during the holiday when Fuuto snuck into Ema's room like a creep to do god knows what to her while she was asleep like my dude come the fuck on
When Ema discovers that she's adopted