#religion plays an aspect here bc of shiozakis whole schtick but i hope its not too annoying

[mexicancat-girl]

For @bnhawlwweek. Day 3 Prompts: Moon and Sky: Sun.

Ao3: link

Ibara Shiozaki/Pony Tsunotori. Includes minor Sen Kaibara/Kosei Tsuburaba

 Ibara Shiozaki had never considered she would fall in love.

 She is a devoted Christian. She loves her parents dearly. She loves her community greatly. She loves the Lord exponentially.

 She also loves and cherishes her classmates, no matter how odd and dysfunctional a group they may be. After the pain and hardships they have had to endure together, the love and appreciation she holds for Class 1-B as a whole has reached insurmountable heights.

 Yet, through all that, she’s noticed an odd trend of favoring one classmate above the rest.

Pony Tsunotori. A girl from America that managed to get into Yuuei despite the language barrier, who struggled with her Japanese on a regular basis but always put in 110% effort into everything she did.

 Pony is an incredibly sweet girl. She is friendly. She is genuine. She is hard-working. She is always the first to express her excitement when something interests her. She never hesitates to show affection, physical or otherwise. Her smiles are always wide and uninhibited. She seems to glow with an air of happiness and confidence, sure of herself in a way not many others can achieve even in adulthood.

 Pony is a warm and welcoming presence, Ibara finds. She is enthusiastic and curious and inquisitive, always trying to ask questions. She loves to hum and sing songs, whether just for her own fancy or to try and cheer up the atmosphere. Even with her middling Japanese, she never hesitates to cheer on her classmates or compliment them.

 Pony is essentially a ball of sunshine in the form of a girl. And Ibara cannot help but be drawn to that.

 Perhaps it’s irony at its finest, for her to be so inexplicably drawn to Pony, a girl that is sunshine incarnate. Ibara’s Quirk is plant-based, after all. She has to keep up the maintenance of her Vines with plenty of water and sunlight. It is why she enjoys taking walks or sunbathing outside, her hair soaking up the sun’s rays.

 A girl with a plant-based Quirk, falling for a girl with a horse-based Quirk that just so happens to shine as bright as the sun.

 Yes, Ibara thinks, it is irony at its finest.

 She is not sure how to go about pursuing Pony, if she should pursue her at all. There is the language barrier to keep in mind, of course. Though she supposes said language barrier has not stopped Pony so far in her endeavors, but it’s still a factor.

 Ibara is also unsure of how her devoted Christianity will play into a possible relationship. It’s not that she believes Pony will rebuff her simply for her religious views—heavens, Pony is such an accepting and kind girl, that would be incredibly out of character! But to Ibara, her religion is a vital part of her life, and she will not change that for the sake of others. She is proud of who she is. She will not hide that from the world.

 Those are the two major factors to consider, though there are other minor ones that can be easily resolved, she thinks. Except…

 The fact that Pony is another girl is not an issue to her. A true Christian loves and accepts all fellow brothers and sisters of God, including those that are homosexual, because God loves and cherishes all his children. Ibara knows she is lucky to have been raised in such an accepting family and community, or else her budding feelings for a girl may have become a roadblock.

 However, what if Pony does not feel the same? What if she is not attracted to girls? Pony may come from America, with its very liberal views, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she herself would be gay.

 Pony tends to compliment the other girls in class by calling them ‘cute’. But that may simply be because Pony likes to support everyone. She tends to praise others by calling them amazing as well. Ibara swears that she hears Pony calling her kawaii and sugoi on a regular basis. That doesn’t particularly mean anything if she calls everyone else that, does it…?

 Ibara sighs, rubbing at her temples in frustration. She is getting nowhere with this line of questioning and worrying. She’s simply going in circles. Nothing is being accomplished.

 Perhaps she should pray to the Lord for guidance…? He may give her a sign on what she must do.

 Yes, that sounds reasonable.

 Ibara rises from her bed. She’s been taking quite a bit of time sitting on her bed and sulking—er, thinking—over her budding love for her classmate. Perhaps a bit of fresh air will help clear her head…

 When she opens her bedroom door, she comes face to face with Pony herself. The blonde has a hand raised in a fist, obviously being caught right before she was going to knock.

 “Oh! Hello, Ibara-chan!” the blonde chirps, smiling that sunshine smile of hers that Ibara cherishes so.

 Ibara can’t stop the smile forming on her own face. “Hello, Pony-chan.”

 “What you doing?” Pony asks, rocking back and forth on her heels. “Can Pony come with?”

 Ibara’s smile turns fond without her meaning to as she answers, “Yes, of course. I was just going outside to do a bit of praying.”

 Cornflower blue eyes sparkle as Pony tries to process the answer. After three seconds, the blonde nods enthusiastically. “Okay! Let’s pray!”

 Ibara blinks, taken aback. Pony has always been bold, going so far as to sit right next to Ibara quietly as she went through her daily prayers. But Ibara had never known before now that Pony was a Christian as well.

 “Are you a fellow sister of God?” she breathes, feeling her heart all but beat out of her chest in excitement.

 Pony tilts her head, looking a bit confused. “Um…Um, do you mean—”

 “Are you a Christian as well?”

 The blonde perks up, seemingly understanding what Ibara was saying. “Oh! Oh, well, yes. Pony’s family is Christian. Went to Christian private school for middle school. Learned to pray there. But in English.”

 “Language doesn’t matter, so long as you speak to the Lord,” Ibara tells her warmly and sincerely, and feels her cheeks warm as Pony beams back excitedly at her.

 “Does that mean yes? Pony can come with?”

 “Yes, of course, Pony-chan.”

 The blonde whoops, pumping her fists in the air. “Yeah!”

 Ibara can’t help the giggle that peals past her lips. She knows Pony is enthusiastic in all things, but she had never seen someone so excited about prayer before. It’s…refreshing.

 Pony falls in step with her as they make their way to the stairs—one can never skip leg day, after all! They descend the stairwell, and soon enough Ibara is pushing open the back exit of the dorms and stepping outside.

 Ibara sighs out, closing her eyes slightly as a gentle breeze hits her form, the sun’s rays warming her from her hair down to her toes.

 Yes, coming outside to pray was indeed the right call.

 She takes an embarrassing amount of time to just stand there and soak it all in—the rustle of grass and the chirp of birds and the whistle of the wind.

 Then something grabs Ibara’s hand in her meditative state, and she just about jumps out of her skin.

 She takes a cautious look down and sees that Pony has twined their hands together. The other girl seems casual and unbothered, humming an idle tune as she swings their hands to and fro.

 “It’s a nice day today!” Pony chirps, smiling up at Ibara, who towers over the shorter girl by half a foot.

 “It is…” Ibara murmurs cautiously, heat crawling up her neck as her gaze flickers between Pony’s unconcerned face to the twined hands. Pony’s hand fits so…so seamlessly into her own.

 This must be fate, right…?

 “Where to?” the blonde chirps, still swinging their hands to and fro.

 “I…Um…” Ibara flusters. “That…That tree by the courtyard should be fine…”

 “Tree ahoy!” the blonde sing-songs, tugging Ibara by their clasped hands towards their destination.

 -----------

 It takes them a bit to get settled, once they make it to the tree. Ibara-chan is obviously nervous, still looking between Pony and their joined hands. But she hasn’t let go yet, or said anything about letting go, so Pony takes that as permission for now.

 Maybe she’ll try to finagle how to ask properly next time, before she scares poor Ibara-chan to an early grave. It’s times like this that makes her less-than-stellar Japanese annoying but not crippling. Pony will power through it, though!

 She likes to think that actions speak louder than words, anyways. She’s tried to use her words before, but without as much effect as she’d like. So, it’s time to double-down on her actions, if she wants Ibara-chan to figure it all out.

 Hopefully, this all doesn’t scare her off. That’s the last thing Pony wants. But it’s hard to know when someone will take to her liking girls well, especially when religion is a factor. Considering how much of a devout Christian Ibara-chan is, religion’s a big factor here.

 But Ibara-chan seems to calm down a bit, and only unwinds their hands so she can clasp hers together with a quiet hum of “Let’s begin now.”

 Pony always likes hearing when Ibara-chan murmurs her daily prayers. To her, it sounds like music.

 It reminds her of home.

 Her adoptive parents are Christian, too. They made their prayers at dinner. They all went to church on Sunday, as a family. So Pony was a bit used to listening to praying and gospels and all that stuff that comes with being Christian.

 She’d never thought she’d meet someone so Christian in Japan, but she guesses that it makes sense. Christianity is one of the world’s major religions. Even Japan ought to have its own following, right?

 Ibara-chan is a nice girl. Which makes sense—why else would she want to be a Pro Hero?—but having her around made Pony feel a little less homesick.

 Pony herself never felt like she was good enough at the whole religion schtick, but her parents were kind and patient and forgiving.

 Mom and Dad were nice Christians. They didn’t take everything so seriously. They volunteered to help the community. They planned trips and fundraisers. They didn’t instantly send Pony back to the group home when she told them she liked boys and girls. They even went out of their way in encouraging her whenever she got crushes in school, comforting her whenever she got rejected, and defending her like fierce tigers if anyone tried to kick up a fuss about her sexuality.

 Despite any misgivings and horror stories of religious fanatics, Pony got lucky to be taken into such a loving and accepting family.

 And Ibara-chan just has that sort of vibe about her. The feeling of being kind and accepting and patient and so familiar and—

 Pony just thinks Ibara-chan is incredible, in so many ways. She’s hard-working. She’s empathetic. She’s smart. She’s patient. She’s great at being a peacemaker. She’s oh so kind. She’s an amazing girl, with an amazingly strong Quirk, who’s super cute on top of all that.

 It’s sorta no wonder that Pony fell in love so hard and fast, huh?

 Ibara-chan reminded Pony of the sun and the moon and the stars all in one. She always shined bright in the spotlight, a flower blooming under the warmth of the sun. She was quiet and calm and mysterious as the moon; even when silent and still, she was captivating. She was as brilliant and vast as the night sky full of stars, her smiles rare but beautiful.

 “You can start whenever you’d like, Pony-chan.”

 The sweet voice snaps Pony out of her gay daydreaming. She hadn’t realized she was staring until now—but watching as Ibara-chan’s dark lashes flutter and her soft lips stop their melody and her eyes catch Pony’s own—Pony’s definitely been caught.

 “Ehehe…Sorry, Ibara-chan,” she demurs, scratching the back of her head sheepishly, feeling her cheeks warm with a blush.

 Ibara-chan smiles at her, something small and soft, but it crinkles her eyes all the same. “It’s fine. How about you start now, then?”

 Pony nods quickly. ��Okay! Um… Our father, Who Art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name…”

 She goes through the words, fluid and automatic after so much practice. She’s had to say it every Sunday at church, and when she went to middle school, it was a daily thing they did in the mornings. She’s gotten pretty good at memorizing all the different prayers and stuff now.

 When she finishes, she peeks over to see what Ibara-chan thinks—she hadn’t stumbled more than once, which she’s super proud of!—only to see the other girl gaping at her.

 “Beautiful,” the vine-haired girl breathes, sounding reverent, and it makes Pony’s stomach feels like it’s full of butterflies.

 Pony has to push down the sudden and very strong urge to kiss her.

 “Haven’t prayed out loud in a while…Almost feel like forgot the words,” Pony manages to stumble out, flustered and mind scattered to the winds as she stares at Ibara-chan’s perfect cupid’s bow lips.

 “You are…you did good, Pony-chan,” the other girl says, dazed, before her already pink cheeks darken. “Um. I meant. Y-You did well. Very good. Ah…”

 Pony smiles shyly, heart racing a mile a minute, scooching closer towards Ibara-chan. It feels like they’re sitting too close for just friends, but not close enough at the same time.

 Her hand brushes Ibara-chan’s, and she curls their fingers together slowly, lightly, in case the other girl wants to pull away. But to her surprise and delight, Ibara-chan clasps them together, tightening them to a firm hold.

 Pony’s palm is probably, definitely, sweating right now, and Ibara-chan’s hand is surprisingly cold and a little clammy. But Pony would rate the hand-holding experience a ten out of ten, if only because Ibara-chan’s starting to lean forwards and putting her other hand on Pony’s shoulder for stability.

 “Do you—can I—Pony-chan, I—” the vine-haired girl stutters out, looking the most flustered that Pony has ever seen her. It’s adorable, and it makes something pleased curl in her chest.

 “I like you,” Pony confesses, because she can’t help it, and it needs to be said. Some of the tension seems to drain out of Ibara-chan at that, and her flushed face turns a cute shade of red. Pony’s lips curl into an uncontrollably large grin, so pleased and eager she can barely contain it. “Kiss me?”

 Ibara-chan gives a strangled squeak, her vine-hair shifting and flailing a bit behind her—is this a sign of her embarrassment? If so, it’s super cute, Pony thinks.

 That’s the last thought she has, before Ibara-chan’s leaning forwards, and Pony’s leaning in to meet her halfway.

 It feels like… Pony’s not sure how to even describe it, other than the sun and moon colliding. Fantastic and amazing and a one-in-a-trillion chance.

 She feels like she’s glowing. Ibara-chan’s face is hot against hers with a flaming blush, but her lips are as soft as Pony’s imagined them.

 It isn’t a very long kiss, but when they pull back, Ibara’s panting like she’s just run a marathon. She looks a little like she’s ready to pass out any second, which is a kinda concerning. But she’s also looking at Pony in awe like she’s just seen an angel descend from Heaven, so that’s probably a good sign, right?

 “I…I like you too,” the vine-haired girl admits in a small voice, lips wavering into a pleased little grin. “I hadn’t thought—I didn’t think you’d reciprocate.”

 The knowledge that Ibara-chan likes her back—and even said so!—makes Pony feel over the moon. She knows the kiss probably sealed the deal, but it’s nice to hear the confession anyways. Makes it feel concrete.

 “Be my girlfriend?” Pony asks, just to be sure. It’s a phrase she’s been practicing for months now, in her spare time. One she was hoping she’d get to use in her time at Yuuei. And to her relief and delight, she’s using it now, and on the cutest and most amazing girl ever.

 “I—Yes. Yes, of course,” Ibara-chan nods, all but glowing as she smiles down at Pony, oh-so-fond.

 Pony feels so happy she’s ready to launch herself at her new girlfriend—girlfriend! Ibara-chan is her girlfriend!—and cover Ibara-chan’s face in kisses. But then she hears a wolf-whistle, and startles, looking wildly about herself.

 Kosei Tsuburaba and Sen Kaibara are walking together nearby, down a winding path towards one of the training fields. Kosei-kun’s still whistling up a storm, while Sen-kun pinches his nose and smacks Kosei-kun on the back of the head for him to stop. Sen-kun rolls his eyes when Kosei-kun begins to whine.

 “Stop making an ass of yourself—” Pony manages to hear, but she’s taking too long to process it properly before the other boy’s responding.

 “I’m not!” Kosei-kun snaps back, before turning to look Pony and Ibara-chan dead-ass in the eyes with a shit-eating grin unfurling on his face. He cups his hands around his mouth as he loudly yells, “Congrats, you two! Live your gay dreams!”

 “Kosei, for fuck’s sake—"

 “Thanks!” Pony calls back, face hot and smiling awkwardly back at her classmates. She can’t believe she’d forgotten how they were just out in the open! And not too far from the dorms, either!

 If the entirety of 1-B hasn’t seen them by now, well, they’re definitely going to hear about this. Kosei’s one of the biggest loudmouths in class, and despite his words on the contrary, he’s in the running for the biggest gossip in 1-B.

 Sen-kun shakes his head with a sigh, but his smile at the other boy is so very fondly exasperated. Pony’s not sure if they’re dating yet or just friends, but with the way Sen-kun looks at Kosei-kun when the other doesn’t notice, there might be another new couple in their class soon enough.

 “Congrats!” Sen-kun calls out to them, raising a hand. Pony and Ibara-chan awkwardly wave back, giggling as Sen-kun near instantly takes Kosei-kun by the shoulders and steers him away forcefully, Kosei-kun spluttering and protesting without making a move to break out of the hold.

 “We keep praying, or…?” Pony asks eventually, after a minute of silence, once their two classmates are small figures in the distance.

 But, surprisingly, Ibara-chan shakes her head. “No…I’ve already gotten the answer to my prayer,” she states, with finality. She smiles so softly and warmly at the blonde that it feels like Pony’s sunbathing at the beach.

 Pony can’t help the wide smile on her face. “Oh! Okay!”

 When she snuggles into Ibara-chan’s side, the vine-haired girl doesn’t protest, even moving her hair over her opposite shoulder so Pony won’t accidentally prick herself on the vines.

 “Don’t ever wanna move,” the blonde mumbles, craning her neck to look up at her girlfriend, placing a quick peck on the edge of Ibara-chan’s jaw.

 The other girl flushes a pretty pink, soft lips curled into a smile so fond, it takes Pony’s breath away.

 “We can stay like this for a while more, if you’d like,” Ibara-chan says, voice quiet and shy.

 “Mhm! Let’s.”

 And they do. They stay like that for another hour, at least. But Pony can stay like this—stay by Ibara-chan’s side—for forever.