Mimosa

Summary: Folding into themselves, in shyness, they shrank down to the ground and seemed to disappear as if they were avoiding his gaze. One-shot. SawakoxKazehaya

He came across them one day when he was out walking Maru-chan by the river. They lay on a bed of grass in small clusters, almost unnoticeable for their lackluster color. Dark hues of green, almost gray in the late afternoon sun, lay still and stagnant against the juxtaposed blades of bright green foliage.

Unremarkable… unnoticeable…

Yet ironically, it was the first thing that caught his eye.

Kazehaya approached them slowly, with Maru-chan oblivious to this new fascination of his. The small ball of energy was too busy sniffing his nose into the damp earth below their feet.

He bent down and inched forward to get a closer look. They appeared like tiny fans, clinging to the ground as if they would be blown by the wind. Small, delicate and fragile, they would have been easy to miss and he might have just stepped on several of them.

It did not occur to him why he thought they were even interesting.

Taking a finger, he stroked the leaves gently while carefully avoiding the tiny thorns at its stem. They began to shiver at his touch, and suddenly the leaves bent over themselves. Folding into themselves, in shyness, they shrank down to the ground and seemed to disappear as if they were avoiding his gaze.

For some reason, this made him smile.

It reminded him of her.

.

The next day, he came in earlier than usual. The classroom was gray, empty, and there were only two or three bags hanging on their respective tables. Their owners were yet to be found.

He took his seat and sighed quietly. Perhaps he was too hopeful to see her at this time, and he would have to wait.

Kazehaya was not as patient as he seemed though. He heaved yet another sigh—louder this time—and rested his chin on his palm, propped up by his arm. His eyes were wandering elsewhere—to the treetops outside of the window, and then to the empty table at his left.

Oftentimes he would catch himself wondering what she does in the morning. If she's had a good night's sleep, or if she eats a healthy breakfast. Does she get up earlier to cook for her family? Does she sing when she brushes her hair before leaving? Does she think of her friends?

Does she think of him?

He didn't realize, after a few minutes immersed in his thoughts, that he had dozed off. Only the weak tug on his collar brought him back to the classroom, already filled with the buttery glow of morning light.

He rubbed his eyes before looking up to see who had woken him up.

"G-G-Good morning… Kazehaya-kun…"

Her face was looking down on him nervously, as if she were anticipating a scolding. Her delicate fingers curled into themselves when she withdrew her hand from his collar, already holding a brown strap awkwardly.

"I'm… s-sorry to wake you up, but—" she held up the strap that revealed his bag, "—it was on the floor and you…you might have lost something when it fell."

Her face was glowing pink. It reminded him of the cherry blossoms flowering outside their window.

A small smile found its way to his lips. "Thank you," he took the strap, fingers brushing slightly against her own, "Sorry for the trouble."

Sawako shook her head, dismissing his statement. Her ebony tresses flowed with her every movement, and he could catch the scent the wind brought with it. She smelled like lilac and water.

"I-It's no problem…"

The room was still empty, save for both of them.

"Kuronoma."

"Y-Yes!" she straightened up, surprised at the tone his voice had taken on.

He was looking down at his desk. "Is it…"

She tilted her head and leaned down further to hear him. "Kazehaya-kun?"

"Is it okay if I did an experiment?"

He had looked up just then, both of his cheeks already tainted with a daub of red. It didn't help that she was already closer than usual. Yet they both did not seem to want to pull away from their sudden close proximity.

Hesitantly, she gave a small nod. "W-What would it be?"

The moment her words escaped from her lips, she did not expect his hand to be gently caressing her cheek. The touch was a wave of warmth, like a much-needed blanket in the middle of a cold night. Her shy eyes met his curious ones as if asking him what he was doing.

They both stared at each other for a long while, and Kazehaya still did not withdraw his hand.

Moments later, she started to glow a beet red. He could feel her skin start to heat up against his hand.

It was she who broke their stare first by timidly averting her gaze towards her shoes. Her shoulders drew in slowly, and her hands buried themselves to the comfort of her chest. She folded into herself, but did not pull away from the warmth of his touch.

And then, pure amazement flooded him.

Slowly, he retrieved his hand and took in a deep breath of air. Perhaps he had forgotten to breathe.

"Mimosa."

Sawako looked back up at him with a puzzled expression. "Mi…mosa?"

Kazehaya's broad smile seemed to glow even brighter than the early morning sun. "Nothing," he chuckled to himself.

For the rest of the morning, he did not mention it any further. He tried to ignore the curious looks Sawako gave him, but they made him smile even wider.

Perhaps he could stop by the river after school and just enjoy the rest of the afternoon watching those delicate leaves shy away from him.

A/N: Random. :3 By the way, mimosas are bushes whose leaves are sensitive to touch. They're pretty common here in my country, but I'm not quite sure if they're common in Japan. Oh well. :)