━━ chapter one.
❝ airports. ❞
--

TSUCHIYA NATSUKO DISLIKED AIRPORTS.

And yet she finds herself in one. Seated in one of the chairs, glancing at the digital clock overhead and tapping her foot impatiently against the floor.

"He's late," she mutters, irritated. She takes another glance at the digital clock with its blaring red numbers and watches as another minute passes. "I thought his plane already landed."

Ikuya Kirishima offers her a wry smile. "Maybe he's still waiting for his baggage?"

Natsuko almost rolls her eyes, but she resists the temptation to do so. Ikuya has been nothing but kind in this whole trip to the airport and even when she felt antsy and started murmuring tirades of complaints, the younger boy merely smiled that smile of his and said kind words to assure her that his brother was going to arrive.

"For almost thirty minutes?" Frustration laces her voice as she buries her face on her palms, muffling a groan with her skin. "He probably flirted with a flight attendant or something."

"Natsuko-san," Ikuya says with another wry smile. "You really don't hold my brother with high regards."

"He shattered all my expectations back in Middle School," she says and steals another glance at the digital clock. Feeling frustrated, she resumes tapping the heel of her sneakers against the floor. "Besides, we both know Natsuya and that shit flirts with—"

Something cold is pressed against her forehead and some strands of her light brown hair cling unto whatever object is there. "With what, Tsu?" A familiar teasing tone is used.

"What did you put on my forehead, Natsuya?" she asks in a monotone, rising from her seat to face the newcomer.

"Coffee," he replies with one of his cocky grins. "As apology for making you guys wait. I bought you banana milk, Ikuya."

He tosses the carton to Ikuya who catches it with ease and offers the can of coffee to Natsuko. She notices that there are dews still sliding from its surface as she arranges the strands of hair that had made a mess on her forehead.

The can is raised over her head and with him being almost a foot taller, it's not much of a feat. His amber eyes glaze over her. "You haven't grown an inch taller, Tsu," he comments and before he can dodge, Natsuko jabs him on the stomach.

"That's mean," he reacts, clutching his stomach. "Here I was, buying you both refreshments and the first thing I hear is my bestfriend backstabbing me and now, she literally stabs me in the front."

"It's what you deserve," she says and her hands instinctively move to the tips of her hair. They're styled in their usual twin tails. "No one asked you to buy refreshments, Natsuya. You should have just arrived earlier. That was all we could ask."

He merely shrugs in response and Natsuko unable to find an appropriate reply merely throws him a malicious, "Tch." One day she'll get back at him for all the teasing.

"Anyways," Natsuya addresses the both of them. "Shall we go?"

Natsuko doesn't need to be told twice. Normally, they would have taken the train but after Natsuya's complaints about exhaustion, they decided to ride a taxi and head to the Kirishima residence.

She drinks the coffee and tells Natsuya her thanks and that it's really good. The bitterness coats her taste buds and she can distinctly feel it. It smells good and although she prefers her coffee hot, with wisps of steam rising from its black pool of liquid, she decides that she likes it.

"Drink of the gods," Natsuya says.

"That's ambrosia," she deadpans.

"Like your eyes," he says and stares deep into her eyes. Natsuko takes a literal step back in shock, pondering. "They're ambrosine."

"Natsuya, I will punch you in the face."

She decides that it's the best course of action what with Ikuya looking at the both of them as if they're some strange species of bird.

Natsuya eventually stops spouting flirty remarks and instead pins his attention towards his younger brother. They chat about swimming, their middle school teammates and how Natsuya's travels went. To be perfectly honest, Natsuko felt this weird sliver of jealousy and irritation from being left out of the conversation, but when she sees the twinkle in Ikuya's eyes from the happiness, she decides to shake her head and watch the scenery unfolding in front of her eyes.

The ride is slow, occupied with silence as the wheels of the vehicle roll against the gravel. Familiar sceneries flash on the car window, from playgrounds to parks. Some of the sun's rays pass through the transparent plastic and create a path in which small particles of dust dance to a sway.

Natsuko finds herself falling into the slow steady lull of sleep, resting her head unto Natsuya's warm chest. She inhales his scent. It's cologne, she thinks, the type that made you think of summer and all the fancies that came along with it; the lazy, pellucid waters of the river, the glorious white sand, chirping crickets and the small children playing games under the sun. She feels herself finding solace in his scent and the silence permeating in the air and she sleeps.

Natsuko wakes to Natsuya's voice. Her vision is blurry and a yawn escapes her lips, but she muffles it with a palm. She looks around. The vehicle is still moving, a cloud has covered the sun and the world is in this shady period that makes you want to lie on a hammock and watch the sky and its drifting clouds.

"What?" Natsuko manages to ask, irritation gnawing at her features. She needed that sleep, but she guessed Natsuya liked disturbing it.

"Did you stay up all night?" he asks. There's that particular tone of voice he's using that makes her feel as if he never left at all and they're the inseparable duo of bitter girl and sunshine boy. She hates it and the furrow in her brows deepen.

Natsuko nods. "I was finishing my summer homeworks."

"That's pretty early," he comments and she nods before stifling a yawn.

"I'm not into procrastination," Natsuko simply answers and bubbles of laughter escapes Natsuya's mouth at the comment. She's still leaned unto him so when he laughs and the tremors course through his body, her head is relocated unto his chest.

"High school Natsuko would be gouging her eyes out at that statement," he teases and she's still half asleep, drowsy as she unlatches herself from Natsuya and blinks repeatedly to make her vision clearer.

"That's character development," she answers and notices the familiar neighborhood where the car speeds by. Natsuko releases another yawn before speaking. "We're almost there."

"Is mom home, Ikuya?" Natsuya asks his brother and the latter shrugs, quite unsure.

"She was out grocery shopping when we left to pick you up," Ikuya informs.

Natsuya plasters a smile. "That's sweet of her."

Another yawn escapes Natsuko as she rubs her eyes tiredly. But she identifies an opportunity when she sees it. "Must be nice for you. Even though you're not her favorite child."

"That was uncalled for," Natsuya comments, clutching his chest as if hurt by her statement.

"It's what you deserve for waking people up."

Natsuya grins. "I was afraid you'd drool on me."

Natsuko's eyebrows furrow as she crosses her arms over her chest. "I don't drool." She glares at him. "This is why you're no one's favorite."

"Aww... I thought I was your favorite friend," he teases, "but then again you don't have any other friends."

The glare she's throwing him gets increasingly malevolent. Ikuya on the passenger seat shrinks deeper into the cushion of the chair and even the driver who was eavesdropping on their conversation and casually stealing glances through the mirror in the front decides that he should keep his focus on the road.

"Don't worry Tsu," Natsuya tells her before she can explode like a volcano. He reaches for the top of her head and ruffles it with affection. Natsuko has enough energy to swat his hands away. "For the record, you're also my favorite."

Mortification creeps on her cheeks but Natsuko decides that she won't let Natsuya have the satisfaction of seeing that so she reverts her attention back to the scenery through the car windows. "Tch."

She remains in that position, ignoring her best friend's remarks and when they exit the car, she focuses on the various exterior designs of the Kirishima residence. Ikuya awkwardly trails behind them, feeling embarassed at how Natsuya continues to pester Natsuko. They throw more barbs, Natsuko with occasional yawning and when Ikuya leaves, saying that he has to go attend swimming practice at his university, Natsuko takes a spot on one of the comfortable couches and decides to curl up and sleep.

Natsuya crouches perpendicular to her sleeping position, his chin propped on top of her stomach. "Come on Tsu," he says, and the teasing lace in his voice is gone. "You're not actually sleeping, are you?"

When she doesn't reply, he frowns. Maybe he went too far. "You just had coffee," he comments. "And I'm the one supposed to be jet lagged."

Natsuko's answer is an unintelligble groan of words and her fingers thread across the brown locks of his hair. "That's not fair," he whispers and his voice gradually gets louder. "Is this revenge for pissing you off back at the taxi?"

"No," she groans, her eyes still closed.

"Tsu..."

"I'm sleepy, Natsu..." she whispers and he figures that she's not really mad because she uses her nickname for him when they were kids. She rarely uses it and when she does, she's normally in a good mood. Or she decides that she's way past her anger. Natsuko was the type of girl who was quick to anger but easy to forgive when it came to Natsuya. He was charismatic after all.

"I missed you, you know?" Natsuya says and buries his head on her stomach. "I missed my bestfriend."

"We have video calls every week," she says and her voice is soft.

"Still..."

"I know, I missed you too," she whispers and he doesn't see it, but her lips are stretched into a smile.

━━ to be continued.
🌻 | the sunflowers that last forever.