Work Text:
Normally, Sakura would voice a protest—not a serious one—when his friends visited without warning, but that afternoon he was too stunned to even comment when there was a knock on his door and his two representatives were standing on the porch with big smiles.
"Huh...?"
He mean, why was Nirei casually hugging a pillow, while Suo was carrying a bag full of toiletries?
"Good afternoon, Sakura-san."
"Afternoon, Sakura-kun."
"...What are you guys doing here?"
Without answering, the two entered casually as if Sakura's house was a public facility. Nirei muttered that he was hot after his afternoon training—a special session between him and Suo—and needed to take a shower immediately, while his sweat-free companion turned on the stove and started boiling water.
"Sakura-kun, this is chamomile tea, it's good for calming your nerves." Suo explained as he poured the tea into cups, several minutes after the water had finally boiled and Nirei had rejoined them.
"Well, but I feel fine—"
Nirei gulped down his tea quickly. "Then we're the ones who need to calm down!" he said.
"Hey, it's still steaming..." Sakura couldn't help but think. "Besides, you guys don't need to worry just because of my past."
Suo sighed, silently reflecting that things take time. They couldn't change Sakura's way of thinking overnight, not when the poor kid had been indoctrinated from the beginning as a bringer of bad luck.
"Sakura-san... you're not a murderer." Nirei whispered softly, "and I will say it hundreds, thousands, as many times as it takes until you believe it."
Even though Sakura was slowly opening up, how could they convince him that he had a place in this world? That he was needed and deserved to be loved, that he was innocent and shouldn't be judged.
Sakura stammered for a moment, "I-I know you wouldn't call me that." The people of this town were always too kind to him, weren't they? They supported, comforted, and reached out to someone like him. How could Sakura ever repay them?
However, his words did not seem to relieve his friends at all. Because, even though Sakura knew Bofurin didn't see him as a murderer, as trash, as a plague, what about the way Sakura saw himself? The accusations and allegations from his past were likely still eating away at him.
The heart of the boy named Sakura Haruka continued to bleed, until he became accustomed to the pain and hurt. Repeatedly scratched, until he no longer recognized the pain. They didn't know how many times little Sakura had felt devastating sadness, but here he was now, protecting people without losing his kindness to continue caring.
"Sakura-kun, you know? You don't have to hold back." Suo said calmly, slowly, as if there was no storm of anger raging inside his chest. "You can complain, or be sad. You can be a little cheeky, or bother people. Even if you do things like that, we will never let go of your hand."
Unlike his father.
Unlike his relatives.
Unlike the people who rejected his existence.
Sakura didn't have to be strong all the time, didn't have to bear everything alone. He didn't have to feel responsible for everything, or feel afraid of disappointing them and being abandoned.
He could just be a normal high school student, who was occasionally mischievous and laughed freely. He could be a little selfish, or bossy, or stubborn. He was allowed to have opinions, to refuse, or to satisfy his curiosity.
Sakura Haruka is allowed want things.
"And... how much can I take?" Sakura opened his mouth with a hesitant question. "How many times can I make mistakes before you stop forgiving me? How long can I stay before everyone gets bored? What price must I pay... for all this happiness?"
And Sakura was sincere when he said that being in Makochi made him happy. He wasn't born in this city, but this was the place that felt closest to home for him. Not his relatives' houses that changed every month, not his father's side who wouldn't even look at him.
"Sakura-kun," Suo replied, exchanging glances with Nirei, who nodded his head, then almost simultaneously said in unison, "What if I told you that we will love you always?"
Always, in the sense of continuously.
Always, in the sense of unconditional consequences.
Always, in the sense of negating time limits.
Sakura never knew how deeply he was hurt, or, all this time he pretended not to feel it and deliberately ignored it. However, in Nirei's warm and unreserved embrace, his tears suddenly flowed down to his chin, dripping onto the wooden floor of his room.
Nirei did not let go, and Sakura did not ask him to. They remained silent like that for some time, with Suo patting both of their backs in a certain rhythm.