Pushover | Aether x Reader

Thirty-One

Their mornings had fallen into a quiet routine: coffee for her, bentos for him to pack. Easy. Familiar. At some point, (Y/n) even wondered if she was considered exploiting him. So, to ease her own thoughts of guilt, she decided to switch things up for a change.

One morning, Aether missed his first alarm. Panic set in the moment he opened his eyes. He scrambled to get ready for school, his thoughts spiraling faster than he could button his shirt.

'What if she already left?'

'What if she thinks I gave up on her?'

'If I decide to just brush my teeth at school, maybe I'll have enough time to at least make her bento—' but his worrisome thoughts were immediately cut short when he made it to the kitchen to see the girl in question expertly bustling around.

She eyed him with her peripheral vision as she finished up the cute smiley face garnish on his little omelette rolls.

"I thought I'd make yours today," she said, sliding his bento box toward him.

He blinked, admiring the balanced variety of foods she had packed for him. "You... made me a bento?"

She nodded, an unsure grin making its way to her face. "It's not perfect, but—yeah... there's a note too. Don't make fun of it."

He reached inside his bento to check out her note when she frantically pushed him towards the door, a light flush spread across her cheeks.

"Don't! It's in your bento for a reason!" She huffed. "Read it during lunch or something!"

He chuckled, agreeing just to appease her. But the moment he had stepped out onto the sidewalk, he carefully unravelled the small scrap of paper hastily folded inside his bento. 

Her note read: "Eat well today. You're always working hard. Don't forget that I'm cheering you on."

Archons, she was so cute he could just die. 

Aether clutched the note like it was something sacred, a giddy smile tugging at his lips as he continued down the sidewalk.

It was wild how he'd started the day wanting nothing more than for the ground to swallow him whole, only to end up floating on cloud nine by the time he departed the house.

_______________

Kunikuzushi would catch a glimpse of her in the hallway with books clutched to her chest, eyes fixed on the classroom she trudged towards, sunlight trailing behind her like a newfound spotlight that was not there prior to their most recent life-changing encounter. 

It was not as if she was actually glowing. Sure, she was no longer actually sulking or wallowing in her own misery as she had just a week ago, but it was not as if there was any drastic change either. Kunikuzushi knew that the sudden halo effect on her could only be seen by him. Still, he took it as a sign that might mean something. 

'Today,' he thought, 'Today, I'll talk to her. Just a quick word. Maybe ask how she's doing. Nothing more. Just something to rekindle our friendship.' 

But just as he had stepped forward, ready to swallow his usual coldness—

"(Y/n)!" Aether.

He practically materialized by her side like some golden retriever blessed by the archons.

"Here," he beamed, handing her a thermos. "Miso soup from the restaurant nearby. Stopped by to get you some during my break. You said it was a shame you forgot to make some this morning, right, right?"