Sunfeeder [BNHA]

ch. 24

Chapter Twenty Four;;- Home Videos

[name] sneezed when she opened the door to the long untouched attic, dust swirling in the air. Boxes piled up all around the small room, some furniture with sheets draped over their shapes, paintings leaning forlornly against the wall. Her school had asked for a picture from her childhood as a an assignment for one of her classes, and her family never had an albums laying about, so up to the attic [name] went.

Thanking all the gods above for her father's organizational skills, it wasn't difficult to find the box labeled "photos." [name] kneeled down beside it and opened the box. Sure enough, two albums covered the bottom of the box and other loose photographs were scattered on top of them.

She was careful in touching them, scared of harming the memories. She sifted through them gingerly, occasionally picking one up and looking at it. None of the pictures out of the albums were what she was looking for, so [name] picked up one of the albums.

It was bound in leather with a hard cover. Inside the clear plastic slot, there was a small piece of paper that had her name on it. A peek in the box affirmed her suspicions; the other album had Makoto's name on it. [name] flipped through the pictures, stopping on ones that would catch her eye, but nothing entirely notable. She found a picture that could work for her school assignment and closed the album, put it back in the box, and closed the box. She was in the process of sliding the box into its original position when she noticed the label on the box next to it.

"Home Videos" in bold, felt-tipped letters.

[name] didn't even know they had any home videos. She opened the box, curious, and peered inside.

It was filled to the brim with stacks of VHS tapes. She picked up one, turning it over in her hands. VHS tapes? Really, Dad? [name] thought to herself as she weighed the tape in her hand.

Each of the tapes had her father's handwriting on it, a short description of what was happening. Stuff like "wedding day" or "[name]'s quirk" or "makoto's kindergarten recital" all with the date next to it. [name] pulled out tape after tape, reading their labels silently. Why had her father never mentioned these? Why hadn't he ever shown them to her?

With a little bit of effort, [name] picked up the box and brought it back down to the living room, where their VHS player was, coated in dust and looking a little sad, but still working (surprisingly)[1]. She popped a tape in and pressed play, watching as the screen flickered to life.

This one was Makoto's kindergarten recital, from back when Makoto liked school. He had been preparing for the recital for weeks, [name] remembered, and he was so excited that he very nearly blew his voice out the day before. Everything turned out fine in the end, with the video she was watching as proof, but he had worried himself sick that night, sure he was going to have to miss it.

When it ended, [name] took the tape out and sorted through the other ones. She set a couple to the side (watching her own birth didn't sound too fun), and picked up another one instead. Makoto's first steps.

Makoto was only nine months in the tape, according to the date on the side. Little wisps of [hair color] hair that floated on his head, wide [eye color] eyes that surveyed their living room disinterestedly. A three year old [name] kept coming in and out of the shot, half-heartedly trying to help Makoto but also getting distracted and bored.

A knock at the door tore [name]'s eyes from the TV screen, reluctantly rising from her spot on the floor. She opened the door, smiling when she met eyes with Tamaki. "Aha, I totally forgot you were coming over."

He frowned, eyebrows scrunching down. "Do you want me to leave then..?" Tamaki asked shyly, jerking a thumb behind him.

"Nah, just come in." She turned her back, leading him inside. "I was watching old videos."