#<-fankid | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

poisoned-pearls · 3 months ago

Text

Bleached

Word count: 3.2k

Nami Ashengrotto is having a hard time admitting when she needs help. Enzi just wants her to feel better.

(aka Enzi helping Nami after her overblot, + their first kiss, and a piano)

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈・୨ ✦ ୧┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

“Nami, you can’t keep pushing yourself like this,” Enzi crouched down next to where Nami was currently collapsed on the floor, helping her back up.

She looked up at her, eyebrows furrowed as the hyena’s hands hoisted her up. “I can walk, you know.”

“Right now? I don’t think you can,” Enzi sighed, struggling to keep Nami in a comfortable position as she moved her to the kitchen’s barstool seats, “why don’t you use the wheelchair the doctor gave you?”

She narrowed her eyes at the thing currently sat near their front door, unmoved since she arrived back home, “look at it! I can’t even move in it, I don’t want someone forcing me to go anywhere!” Its wheels were tiny, hospital greys of the seat fabric in contrast with the warm whites and blues of their home. The moment they’d sat her in it on her way home her future had flashed before her eyes. Calling her dads for every minor moment she needed to move. To use the restroom, to wash her face, to grab a snack, to even just have the sun on her face for a moment.

And she dreaded it.

“Nams, you know the only people pushing you would be me or your dads, we aren’t gonna make you go anywhere you didn’t tell us to go,” Enzis ears flattened as she leaned on the counter, arms crossed on pristine marble, “‘sides, can’t your dad just buy you a different one? It’s not like money’s an issue for you.”

“… can we just… drop it, okay?” She looked at her with those eyes Enzi’s never been able to say no to, and she caved.

“Okay, but still. If you don’t want to use a wheelchair, let’s get you… something, at least. Your dad still uses a cane, right?” Nami nodded, and Enzi started to head towards the room Mr. Jamil had pointed out as Azul’s office.

Nami went to her hair, gently running her hands through the ivory white locks. She hated it. Her legs ached with every step, her overworked muscles screaming with pain. She could barely get her arms above her shoulders without it feeling like her bones were cracking, and Seven forbid if she turned her head too quickly. Her muscles seemed to protest everything she even thought about doing.

But she wanted to move. She wanted to be done, to be back at school where no one knew about her overblot and she could go back to working at the lounge instead of laying around her house doing nothing.

She despised doing nothing.

(For she had always been doing everything, you see.)

Doing nothing when nothing needed to be done was a reward. This nothing was not that. There were many things that needed to be done, but she was unable to do them. That’s where her issue lied.

Because if she didn’t do them, who would? Nobody. Or even worse, somebody.

If she didn’t win her violin competitions, somebody better would. Which meant another thing she’d failed. If she didn’t run the lounge, nobody else would. Which would mean she’d fail.

Lately all she felt like she could do was fail.

And that damned wheelchair kept staring at her. She didn’t want to touch it at all, much less use it. She didn’t need help. She doesn’t want help. Nami Ashengrotto is perfectly capable of doing things herself. She can study herself, sing herself, and most definitely move herself. She didn’t need anyone’s help, anyone’s aid, or their favors.

And she most definitely didn’t need help to do something as simple as walking.

(Walking, in fact, was not simple to her. It was an intricate dance of limbs she never quite figured out. If you paid close attention to her gait, you’d notice the ever so slightly inhuman movements, small moments where her knees or ankles bent more than what was normally possible. Her legs were an illusion after all, each leg a twist of four tentacles hiding in magic to make her appear fully human. Her legs lacked bones, relying on pure muscle to hold the rest of her body upright. Of course, she’d spent her entire life correcting the little inhuman quirks in her steps, so you’d never really notice unless you were staring for far too long. She was proud of her walk.)

The soft pitter-pat of Enzis steps down the hallway snapped her out of her own thoughts, head perking up as quickly as it could with her injuries.

“Here, hopefully your pops won’t mind my digging around his room, I couldn’t find it for a hot minute.” Enzi came around towards her, placing the cane on her lap. she tucked nami’s hair behind her ear, “want me to put it up? It won’t be as nice as when your dad does it, but…”

“Yes, please,” she sighs out, leaning into Enzis touch against her face, “a braid?”

Enzi stared at her for a moment before leaning in and kissing her forehead, “yeah, I can try that.”

“Try? Should I worry?” Nami’s head turned to the side, eyebrow raising ever so slightly at the other.

“Not at all!” Another kiss on her cheek, “don’t worry, you’re in good hands.”

…

“Enzi…” she turned her head in the mirror, inspecting the lopsided braid currently holding her hair.

“I said good hands, not skilled ones,” Enzi somewhat laughed out, hands falling on her hips. Her head fell to the side, “I can remake it, if you’d like. Can’t promise it’ll look any better though.”

Nami sighed, voice low, “it’s alright, not like I’m going anywhere. It does the job just fine, no point in being caught up in aesthetics.”

Enzis lips pursed, eyes seeming to hold a thousand different thoughts at once.

Nami’s eyes looked hollow. Gone was the spark of superiority and slyness she always seemed to hold, leaving only an echo of what once was. Bags weighed under her eyes, something Enzi had never once seen her with before. Sorrow seemed to creep in every corner of her being, a constant underlying emotion dragging her down. Nami was always caught up in aesthetics, she caught her staring at her appearance every spare second she had.

Enzi glanced around the room, looking for something, anything, that could bring a smile to her face. Hell, she’d settle for that little half smile she does when she’s making fun of something. Her eyes landed on the piano off to the side in their living room.

“Hey, come on, why don’t I play you a song?” She nudged the white haired girl with her shoulder, grinning at her.

“You… play for me?” She smiled slightly at that, laughing softly in the middle of her phrase.

“Mhm! Come on, you play for everybody, might as well return the favor,” she said, holding out her arms for Nami to fall into.

She does, and her grip around the hyena is tight and she helps her get her footing, while keeping her weight off of her legs.

Although difficult because of nami’s staggering height over her, through Enzi’s help and the cane, they’re able to make their way over to the living room. Nami unceremoniously plops down on the couch closest to the piano, leaning against the armrest as she watches Enzi settle onto the bench.

Enzi flexed her fingers for a moment. In truth, she really couldn’t play the piano, but she knew one song. It was… exceedingly simple, and she’s sure Nami probably came out of the womb (or…egg? As she had heard?) able to execute it perfectly, but it was something. Something that had a chance of making Nami smile. Or laugh, she wouldn’t mind making a fool of herself to hear her laugh.

She pressed down the first few notes, eyes locked on the keys in front of her. She cringed as she accidentally pressed the wrong key, chord ringing out a cacophony of bad sounds. Moving her finger, she gets it correct and begins to play through the song.

It was a childhood nursery rhyme, something she’d learned on a daycare toy piano. She’d been so proud of herself when she got it right she’d never been able to forget since.

Nami listened intently, eyes drifting shut as she played. Enzi glanced at her out of the corner of her eye, and felt as pride swelled in her as her eyes landed on a serene smile across her face. She slowly began to get some life back into her, head rocking ever so slightly back and forth to the beat.

Each note filled her ears, the sound crisp and clean. They had to keep this piano in pristine condition, with regular cleanings and tunings, because she’d yet to hear even a modicum of error in it. It made sense, of course, with two experienced pianists and an excess of money in the household, but still.

During the final moments of the song, Nami’s hum of the melody filled her ears, perking up at the sound of her voice.

“That was very nice,” she whispered, eyes creasing with her smile. Before Enzi could mutter out an excuse about how it was really nothing, Nami’s arms began to shift as she lifted herself up.

Nami placed the cane underneath her, leaning all of her body weight against it as she slowly made her way to the piano. Enzi shot out her arms, helping guide her (and potentially catch her should she fall) to the bench she currently sat on.

“N-nami?” She stuttered out in confusion as Nami plopped down next to her, motioning for her to scoot over. She did as she was told (or well, nudged) giving her enough room to sit.

“Can you grab that book next to you? The one with the tabs?” She turned and asked, seeming to not hear her previous call of her name.

“Oh- uh- yeah,” she leaned over, now noticing the basket nestled in between the window and piano, holding tens of books that all appeared to hold sheet music.

She took the book from enzis grasp carefully, setting it on the proper stand before flipping it open to a particular page.

At the top it read something about oceanic symphony no. 2, the name continued on to dribble into random words and letters that surely meant something to the other girl but absolute nonsense to Enzi.

She turned to the other girl, sun illuminating her face and giving her skin a glow she’d not seen in months. Her hand came up to move the braid over her shoulder, before tapping on the keys with her nail for a few moments.

Then, after she tapped for a while, she spread her fingers over the keys and began to play.

It was majestic. The symphony of notes that filled her ears was the most beautiful piece she’d ever listened to. Nami’s face was the picture of peacefulness, as if she entered another world while playing. Her eyes barely even glanced at the music.

Enzi leaned over, gently placing her head on the others shoulders, being careful to not let her ears get in the way of her sight. Her eyes followed the others intense movements.

Her manicured hands swept over the keys, playing the finishing notes of the song. She stilled as the music lingered in the air, fading into the silence as she let out a sigh.

“That was beautiful, Nams,” Enzis hand came up to tuck her hair back as she turned towards the girl beside her. “You play like an angel.”

“It’s nothing really, I’ve played far better before,” she sighed, flipping through her sheet music, “my nails are done, so my postures off, and…” she began to flip through her music, but Enzi reached out and pushed it closed.

“Sounded perfect to me,” she shrugged, “sides, even if you messed up,”she put air quotes around the words messed up, “I liked your version better anyways.”

Nami sighed, but smiled at the other. She ran her hand over Enzis thigh in a comforting manner. She’d pet her hair if she could manage to get her hands that high up.

A hand closed around Nami’s, gently cradling it as Enzi nuzzled her head into the other’s neck. Enzi always enjoyed being close to her, Nami’s warmth wrapping around her, embracing her. She smelled nice too, jasmine, sea salt, and driftwood mixing into a refreshing blend.

She buried her head deeper into the crevice of her skin, delighting in the way Nami’s breath hitched, hand turning and squeezing the one Enzi had placed on top of it. Nami’s skin was impossibly soft, something she’d learned took meticulous work to keep up over her time spent here the last week.

She felt Nami’s eyes land on her, watching intently. Enzi turned her head up a bit before finally lifting it off of her shoulder. Nami gave her another gentle smile, voice almost a whisper when she said “I can play for you again, if you’d like.”

Enzi cocked her head to the side, smiling as she softly said, “I’d like that,” in response.

They stayed like that, faces only a few inches apart as their breaths slowly synced with one another’s. It was the most relaxed she’d seen Nami since she’d arrived. With the mid morning sun illuminating her from behind, she looked angelic.

Her eyes fell to the others lips, all of a sudden all too aware of their proximity to one another. Her hand slowly came up to her face, tentatively cradling the other's face.

Nami seemed to melt into Enzi’s touch, letting out a deep breath. Her eyes fluttered shut, carrying a deep exhaustion in them. Her overblot had a deep effect on her, but it’d never been clearer to Enzi in that moment. Her face gave away every amount of sleep she’d lost, pain she felt as clear as day.

Her thumb absentmindedly reached out to rub against her bottom lip, memorizing the soft plump feeling she had against her skin. Nami peered at her from underneath her eyelashes, waiting for the others' attention before giving her the smallest nod of approval.

Enzi closed the distance between their lips slowly, savoring every second she got to kiss the other girl. Nami’s lips were exactly like her, soft and pampered to an extreme. They felt as if they’d been perfectly moisturized her entire life, and for a moment, she’d honestly believe it if it was true.

She’d kissed many girls before Nami. Some quick, some slow, some experienced, some not. She’d… experimented a lot in the last two years since figuring out some stuff about herself. But Nami was different. from the moment they’d met those girls she’d known faded away from her memory, whether they’d been there for only a few moments, or a few months. Even before they were more serious, she found herself declining invitations to parties, pulling back from other girls she’d been talking to. It felt unfair, to be internally comparing them to Nami at every step. They couldn’t compete- not to Enzi. Nami was… perfection. She supposes that’s why Nami’s overblot had shaken her so much. She was supposed to be invincible, infallible, to think that even Nami thought she contained flaws…. It broke her heart.

(Of course, Enzi knows that nobody is perfect. Nami has flaws, but Enzi would much rather prefer to call them quirks. Quirks that Nami could work through, or were so minor they didn’t really matter much at all. But Nami most definitely didn’t have anything wrong with her.)

So here she sat, despite all of that experience with turning girls into putty in her hands, lost as to what to do next.

Nami pushed against her lips a bit more, trying and failing to do something before she hurriedly panted out, “you can touch me you know. I won’t break.”

And if that didn’t light a fire in her.

She moved on instinct, hand on Nami’s cheek weaving its way through her hair, wrapping around the back of her head. The other went around her waist, pulling her closer by the small of her back. Nami let out a satisfied hum at her actions, which was a high Enzi firmly believed she’d be living on for the next few months.

Their mouths slowly melded together, Enzi letting out a low purr Nami couldn’t help but smile at. She peeked an eye open, glancing at the tail currently wagging up a storm behind her. It was… flustering, to say the least, to have such tangible evidence of her enjoyment.

Nami had never kissed anyone before. Or well, at least not like this. (She’d kissed her family, but her family most definitely did not kiss her with an open mouth.) Enzis hands were a steady force guiding her and she fought through her body's aches. She couldn’t move her arms much, but she could hold the others hips, holding them loose but steady.

She tilted her head a bit more, mouth falling even more open until Nami froze up, shoving the girl down and away from her by her legs. Enzi looked at her frazzled until she saw the wide eyed stare currently looking behind her.

“Baba!” Nami’s voice squeaked out as Enzi felt all color drain from her face, a nervous smile spreading over her face in a silent plea, Arabic slipping out of her mouth, “when did you get here-?”

She did not just get caught making out with his daughter.

In front of him.

oh she was dead. “Rest in peace, Enzi Bucchi,” she could hear her eulogy now, “at least she died doing what she loved.” What could she even say? ‘Hey, thanks for keeping me here after showing up at an ungodly hour of the morning as a complete stranger, claiming to know your daughter, as thanks for your immense kindness and patience, I’ve stolen her first kiss. Sorry about that.’

Yeah. She was dead. Enzi just wants it to be fast, maybe a snap of her neck…

When she finally turned around to face the terrifying presence that was Nami’s father behind her, she paused for a moment. His face seemed… conflicted. Like he was fighting himself (and losing) in some great battle in his mind.

His eyebrows furrowed for a moment at Enzi when his attention shifted to Nami, belatedly saying, “dear… your hair.”

Utterly confused, Nami turned to look at the braid across her shoulder. It was still a pale white, not unlike the white of dead coral. It’s only when Enzi, in her utter confusion since she’d completely missed the Arabic being exchanged, runs her hand from behind her neck down her braid that she sees it.

A wave of red fell down her hair.

It was only for a moment, but something seemed to click in Enzis head. Her hands went around Nami’s face, pressing their lips together for a few moments despite Nami’s (insanely overprotective and somewhat terrifying) father behind them.

She pulled away just as quickly as she’d kissed her, eyes intensely locked on her hair.

Another flash of red fell down her hair.

She was actually helping Nami get better.

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈・୨ ✦ ୧┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

heyyyy…. So I’ve had this in my drafts for a while, but I’ve finally been able to finish it!! They’re so special to me guys you don’t understand…. Anyways. Thank you for reading down to here!! And if ur new- I’ve got a lot more stuff for these guys-!! I’ve got tags for their names that have all of the content I’ve made for them

┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈・୨ ✦ ୧┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

Nami’s Taglist

@ghostiidasponk @stormyscrapez @squishosaur @snowrinrin @inotonline

@mello-bee @thehollowwriter @meowbyul @lowcallyfruity @saneriddlefan67

@driedupeyeballs @shadowy-skies @usurper-of-heavens