Title: Birdbaths

Rating: Rated T.

Pairings: Mazume (Mamura x Suzume).

Genre: Romance.

Summary: Suzume had never noticed just how important she was to him until that morning, standing alone in her room with only a plush penguin for company.

Regarding Q&A: Any questions regarding the story can be asked via PM or review.

Beta: N/A—Help wanted.

Warnings: None.

Category: Hirunaka no Ryūsei.

Uploaded: January 13th, 2013

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Suzume awakens blearily in the morning.

It is an hour before normal, and she is tired, her hair unkempt from tossing and turning. Sitting up slowly in her bed she stretches, her arms above her head as she works out the kinks in her back. Reluctantly she then slides off the warm sheets and shuffles over to the mirror, observing herself in the dim light of morning that streamed through her window. From the shading she makes out only crinkles in her hair and grey bags under her eyes, and sighing as she glances at the electronic alarm clock by her bed, slowly begins her morning routine.

Slipping on her school uniform matched with high socks, Suzume brushes through the creases and tangles of her brown hair and then ties it up, and giving one last unsure glance to the present of a penguin on her bed, she emerges from her room. The feelings from the previous day leave her wanting, and as she moves, her sky-coloured eyes are heavy and tired. The drawn-out walk to the kitchen comes to and end, and hungry, she scouts for breakfast. She settles on a ripe, yellow banana, and as she sleepily unpeels it, she nearly nods off once more, wanting to give in to the allure of rest. Biting into the pale fruit, she eats, the sweet yet neutral flavour of banana coating her mouth and tongue. Nibble after nibble, she finishes her meal without haste and, before her uncle sees her, she travels solemnly back to her room, her socks her keeping her feet warm and silent on the floors.

Suzume swings open her creaky door, stepping inside, and her eyes are immediately drawn once more to the plush sea creature. Her thoughts linger on the boy who confessed to her, and heading towards the bed, she lifts the penguin up. It is cute, she admits, and remembering the penguin exhibit she amusedly notices how much cuter the fake version is compared to the real thing.

"You're a silly metaphor for love," Suzume murmurs as she realises it, turning the animal over and over in her hands. She recalls the days of her childhood where she created elaborate settings for her toys to act out, and smiling, she brings the back of the penguin's head up to her mouth, whispering into its fur. "Your name is 'Ai,' got it?"

Setting the animal down onto her soft pillow, she looks at the small cellphone on her wooden bedside table. After a second, she reaches for it and slowly flips through each contact in her address book, pausing when her eyes read the name of the boy she couldn't make up her mind about. Actually, the day she received his information had been his birthday, hadn't it? He had invited her out to Tsukiji, and while she dragged him around most of the time, she had been able to thoroughly enjoy herself.

A thought strikes Suzume as she reminisces about the wonderful outing. Wait...

Her grip on her phone slackens when she suddenly realises that she, above people he had known much longer—possibly all his life—had been the one he had invited. She, a transfer student that had blackmailed him into nothing but a simpleverbal agreement of friendship, ended up becoming the closest friend he had, and she had never noticed despite the many things he had done for her. Whether it be cheering her up or just being there, the same resonating idea she had thought on his birthday comes into her mind once more.

Mamura...has always been there when I needed him the most.

Looking at the penguin again, Suzume quietly smiles, laughing lightly as a bubbly feeling envelops her because of the oh-so-simple revelation that took her far too long to figure out.

"You really are too kind, Mamura."

Tightening her grasp on her phone, Suzume made a beeline for the front door, slipping on her shoes and giving her uncle a silly excuse as she runs out, dialing Yuyuka's number into the numberpad in order to apologise for going to sweep her friend's possibly former crush away from right under her.

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I literally screamed when I read 59 and 60. This is what happens when I don't get to read the next chapter until the 5th. I hope you enjoyed.

Well, if you review, virtual cookies. If not, that's fine too. As long as you like the story, everything's all good!

Shameless advertising: I have another Mazume Hirunaka no Ryūsei fanfiction called Opacity, by the way. And if you're interested, I also have various other one-shots for One Piece and Naruto, most of them parody.