62. Ripe (1/1)

urgh sorry this took so long i was dying (still am hahaha…)

also its not that good oops

-ripe-

kahiro leans her cheek on tsuna's shoulder, her hair still in a ponytail and rugby boots on her feet. a streak of mud is already dried on her top and the top of her knee, which was an angry red beforehand, has mellowed out to a softer pink. "man, i used to be better at rugby, i swear." she eventually says, tsuna glancing down at her with a bitten lip. their school had played at another tournament, kahiro of course invited as one of the team, and they had won! except…

usually her matches were pleasing to watch. graceful. a smile on her lips the entire time. but this wasn't one of those matches. she'd struggled to do well. she hadn't found it fun. kahiro hadn't been the worst player on the field, not by a long shot, but her athletic prowess that every sports club used her for hadn't come into it's own like it normally did.

tsuna found it painful to watch.

"you weren't that bad." he tells her, biting back the words of 'that was awful'.

she laughs lightly but he can feel the guilt in her gaze. "maybe i should practice more."

he wants to wince. kahiro's thing is that she doesn't dedicate her time to practicing tirelessly at one sport. her thing is that she does everything and loves it.

"honestly, i really did use to be better. but, you know what they say, early to ripe, early to rotten." she shrugs carelessly, hair slipping over her shoulder.

"don't say that." tsuna whispers, leaning his head a little on hers. "you won, didn't you?"

kahiro sighs. "but it's not about the winning, is it?" her medal hangs around her neck, glinting coldly in the light. "tsunayoshi, what am i even going to do when i grow up? i can't just play sports casually forever. and, even if i do pick something, it's not as though i can prioritize fun over winning."

"you could always become a pe teacher." he mumbles, not knowing what exactly to say. "you don't ever have to think about winning if you do that. just fun. well, sort of."

a short, burst of laughter escapes kahiro's throat and she straightens to look at him with a sparkle her eyes. "a pe teacher."

"it's not that bad an idea…" he frowns defensively as kahiro finds his hand and interlocks her fingers with his.

"no, no, i mean-" she cuts off, laughing again, and tsuna feels his muscles relax as the stress rolls visibly off the girl, the dark cloud of misery finally moving away. "you're thoughtful, tsunayoshi. you just thought of a way for me to not focus on winning just like that. granted though, it was a terrible idea." a snigger escapes her lips. "trusting me with children as a responsible adult? come on."

"...good point." he leans into her again, trying to forget the burning of his cheeks at the girl's effortless display of awe towards him.