Fictober 2019 Day 19 - Prompt: Swing
Title: Swing
Fandom: Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou
Pairing: Maya / Sayuri
A/N: Day 19 of the Fictober Challenge I decided to try (here) .
Day 19 - Swing
Back and forth, and back and forth again…the playground is empty at this hour, all the kids at home, eating or sleeping. The swing, it has been here since Maya was a child, he has clear memories of coming here on weekends, or during the summer.
The old, slightly rusty chains feel cold in his hands, but he keeps swinging, back and forth, forth and back. The others, they must be looking for him, he knows, but couldn’t really bring himself to stay. Every time there’s a parent-teacher conference, every time his mother has a talk with the teachers…
She already considers him a failure, so why does she keep visiting the school?
“You must be trying to catch a cold, fun.”
Not the voice Maya expected, but he knows it’s for him, he knows those steps will stop next to him. He slows down with the swing, his feet now touching the sand, and he leans his head back, closes his eyes. Not in the mood for talking, but there’s not much he can do.
Sayuri sits on the vacant swing next to him, her eyes carrying that usual look that most people decipher as disinterest, but Maya has learned to see when it carries concern. He’s not sure how she ended up here, it’s a place he would expect the others to know of, the boys. Not her.
But she can be really scary when she wants to, so if she tried to get info out of his friends, Maya is pretty sure she didn’t have to struggle much for it.
“Why here?” she asks eventually, and Maya shrugs, slowly, doesn’t have a specific answer himself. He liked that place a lot when he was a child, when he was innocent enough not to care if his mother wanted a boy or a girl. When he was just a child, and being treated as a girl or dressing up as a girl at home did not bother him. When he was eager to do things for his mother, so that she wouldn’t be sad.
When he wasn’t a disappointment.
“It’s close to my house.” He says in the end, swings himself back and forth yet again, subtly, using his shoes to push himself. “I can’t go home yet, but here, it’s close, and it’s quiet. Convenient.”
Sayuri keeps watching him, silent and calm, probably thinks of many things, or a couple of banters. Maya saw the girls today, beaming with pride, because they’re always great and no one has one bad thing to say about them. But he saw Sayuri too, across the classroom, how she didn’t really look all that interested in everything that was taking place, didn’t even seem to care if her father would show up or not.
And maybe Maya admires that, maybe he’s a little jealous of that. He remembers, how stressed she was in the beginning, her shoe almost landing on his face, their talk…
She seems stronger now. And Maya is jealous of that.
“So how long until she sleeps?” Sayuri asks, because of course Sayuri would understand why he can’t go home, what he’s waiting for to be able to go home. But there is no right answer to that question, either, and Maya can look at the time but he still won’t know. Half an hour, an hour? Maybe until the cold won’t bother him anymore?
The noises make him turn and look at her; she’s holding onto the swing chains, push the swing back and then lets it fly forward. And she’s swinging, like they really only came here to play and have fun. She’s swinging, and she goes really high, leaving Maya down on the ground, and there is something really liberating about watching her. Something that makes him feel a tiny bit better, in a way that words would never be able to.
“Why aren’t you home?” he asks, hands clenching his own swing, and she slows down, but her swing keeps moving. “If it’s so cold, why aren’t you home?”
She stops, feet touching the ground again, and she pierces him with a really intense glare, not one Maya has seen before, if he’s honest. And then all of a sudden, she takes a hold of his hand, and it feels warm on his cold skin, even though she probably has been outside for as long as he has. Maybe he’s only imagining things.
“Come on.” She says, pure determination in her voice, and it startles Maya, especially the force and the way she’s pulling him up from the swing. “We’re going home.”
“I said-“
“My home.”
“What?” Maya stutters, like an idiot, and he shakes his head immediately, trying to free his grip; why the hell is she so strong? “I’m not going to get you in trouble as well, I doubt your father will be thrilled to see someone like me-“
“You’re gonna sulk either way, so you can at least sulk in a place that won’t cause you pneumonia or something equally annoying tomorrow.” Sayuri insists, and there is something about her voice, the way she’s insisting, so passionate and so adamant about it…
…it makes Maya’s heart jump. He’s not sure how or why, but it does. It’s different than when his friends are trying to console him. Way different.
“I don’t think you’re a failure, or a disappointment.” Sayuri speaks again, because apparently she’s much better at speaking than Maya is right now, and his hand feels petrified in hers now. “If that’s what you wanna hear, I don’t think that you are. Not that it makes up for what your mother thinks of you, I know it doesn’t. But there is no need to ruin your health along with your mood, am I making myself clear?”
Ah, there it is again. The scary part. But Maya is not afraid of her, he doesn’t think Sayuri is scary. If anything, that determination, that cheekiness…it’s beautiful. It’s her strength.
And maybe right now, now that he himself doesn’t feel strong...maybe it’s ok to rely on her strength.
“Ok.” He says quietly, and his fingers wrap around hers cautiously, until he’s sure she doesn’t mind. “Take me home, then.”
Home…
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Fandom: Shiritsu Bakaleya Koukou
Pairing: Maya / Sayuri
A/N: Day 19 of the Fictober Challenge I decided to try (here) .
Day 19 - Swing
Back and forth, and back and forth again…the playground is empty at this hour, all the kids at home, eating or sleeping. The swing, it has been here since Maya was a child, he has clear memories of coming here on weekends, or during the summer.
The old, slightly rusty chains feel cold in his hands, but he keeps swinging, back and forth, forth and back. The others, they must be looking for him, he knows, but couldn’t really bring himself to stay. Every time there’s a parent-teacher conference, every time his mother has a talk with the teachers…
She already considers him a failure, so why does she keep visiting the school?
“You must be trying to catch a cold, fun.”
Not the voice Maya expected, but he knows it’s for him, he knows those steps will stop next to him. He slows down with the swing, his feet now touching the sand, and he leans his head back, closes his eyes. Not in the mood for talking, but there’s not much he can do.
Sayuri sits on the vacant swing next to him, her eyes carrying that usual look that most people decipher as disinterest, but Maya has learned to see when it carries concern. He’s not sure how she ended up here, it’s a place he would expect the others to know of, the boys. Not her.
But she can be really scary when she wants to, so if she tried to get info out of his friends, Maya is pretty sure she didn’t have to struggle much for it.
“Why here?” she asks eventually, and Maya shrugs, slowly, doesn’t have a specific answer himself. He liked that place a lot when he was a child, when he was innocent enough not to care if his mother wanted a boy or a girl. When he was just a child, and being treated as a girl or dressing up as a girl at home did not bother him. When he was eager to do things for his mother, so that she wouldn’t be sad.
When he wasn’t a disappointment.
“It’s close to my house.” He says in the end, swings himself back and forth yet again, subtly, using his shoes to push himself. “I can’t go home yet, but here, it’s close, and it’s quiet. Convenient.”
Sayuri keeps watching him, silent and calm, probably thinks of many things, or a couple of banters. Maya saw the girls today, beaming with pride, because they’re always great and no one has one bad thing to say about them. But he saw Sayuri too, across the classroom, how she didn’t really look all that interested in everything that was taking place, didn’t even seem to care if her father would show up or not.
And maybe Maya admires that, maybe he’s a little jealous of that. He remembers, how stressed she was in the beginning, her shoe almost landing on his face, their talk…
She seems stronger now. And Maya is jealous of that.
“So how long until she sleeps?” Sayuri asks, because of course Sayuri would understand why he can’t go home, what he’s waiting for to be able to go home. But there is no right answer to that question, either, and Maya can look at the time but he still won’t know. Half an hour, an hour? Maybe until the cold won’t bother him anymore?
The noises make him turn and look at her; she’s holding onto the swing chains, push the swing back and then lets it fly forward. And she’s swinging, like they really only came here to play and have fun. She’s swinging, and she goes really high, leaving Maya down on the ground, and there is something really liberating about watching her. Something that makes him feel a tiny bit better, in a way that words would never be able to.
“Why aren’t you home?” he asks, hands clenching his own swing, and she slows down, but her swing keeps moving. “If it’s so cold, why aren’t you home?”
She stops, feet touching the ground again, and she pierces him with a really intense glare, not one Maya has seen before, if he’s honest. And then all of a sudden, she takes a hold of his hand, and it feels warm on his cold skin, even though she probably has been outside for as long as he has. Maybe he’s only imagining things.
“Come on.” She says, pure determination in her voice, and it startles Maya, especially the force and the way she’s pulling him up from the swing. “We’re going home.”
“I said-“
“My home.”
“What?” Maya stutters, like an idiot, and he shakes his head immediately, trying to free his grip; why the hell is she so strong? “I’m not going to get you in trouble as well, I doubt your father will be thrilled to see someone like me-“
“You’re gonna sulk either way, so you can at least sulk in a place that won’t cause you pneumonia or something equally annoying tomorrow.” Sayuri insists, and there is something about her voice, the way she’s insisting, so passionate and so adamant about it…
…it makes Maya’s heart jump. He’s not sure how or why, but it does. It’s different than when his friends are trying to console him. Way different.
“I don’t think you’re a failure, or a disappointment.” Sayuri speaks again, because apparently she’s much better at speaking than Maya is right now, and his hand feels petrified in hers now. “If that’s what you wanna hear, I don’t think that you are. Not that it makes up for what your mother thinks of you, I know it doesn’t. But there is no need to ruin your health along with your mood, am I making myself clear?”
Ah, there it is again. The scary part. But Maya is not afraid of her, he doesn’t think Sayuri is scary. If anything, that determination, that cheekiness…it’s beautiful. It’s her strength.
And maybe right now, now that he himself doesn’t feel strong...maybe it’s ok to rely on her strength.
“Ok.” He says quietly, and his fingers wrap around hers cautiously, until he’s sure she doesn’t mind. “Take me home, then.”
Home…
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..