Antihistamine — Reikuri short story

Antihistamine

Historia had always loved people-watching. As far back as she could remember, she’d found herself observing anyone and everyone around her, looking for patterns, examining the cause and effect, discerning the reasons behind their choices. Her friends at school had come to find it very annoying, even Ymir, who was her closest friend, so Historia often made trips alone. Her favorite place to go people-watching?

The mall.

It was the perfect setting. It was jam-packed with all sorts of people from all walks of life, brushing shoulders, muttering apologies, making purchases, having conversations, getting into arguments. Historia’s favorite hobby was going to the mall, placing herself on a bench, and watching those who passed by with curious blue eyes.

Today was no different; she made her purchases, grabbed a smoothie, set down her backs, and settled onto a bench just outside a sports store. Inside the store she spotted several people she recognized; guys who all played on the various sports teams at her college. She loved to people-watch at school, too, so she knew most everyone, what their major was, and the social circles they hung out in. These guys, all being athletes, of course spent a majority of their time together.

Connie Springer was a soccer player, currently looking at a new pair of cleats and very obviously making several calculations to see whether he could afford them – she knew from the way his hand kept brushing the back pocket where his wallet was.

Jean Kierschtein and Marco Bodt played lacrosse together, and were thick as thieves. A lot of people, Historia included, had speculated that their feelings for each other were more than friendship. They both vehemently denied it – which made them even more suspicious. The pair looked at knee pads, murmuring quietly amongst themselves.

The last two Historia recognized were gently tossing around a football, comparing brands. Their names were Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover, and they were star football players; especially Reiner, who was built like an ox – tall, strong, with broad shoulders and a firm core. Like a giant blond, friendly… handsome… bear. Bertholdt was slimmer, but taller, built more like a basketball player – which he was. He was the only one in school who was on two sports teams, although it was clear his talent for basketball vastly outweighed his talent for football. He’d probably only joined the football team to be closer to Reiner, who was his best friend. At least these were Historia’s assumptions; being on a completely different educational track, she’d never really spoken much to either of them.

Suddenly Reiner sneezed so hard that he lost his grip on the football he was holding and dropped it – the nose of the ball hit the floor in just the right way, sending it bouncing like a jack-rabbit right into a hangar full of baseball caps, knocking it over and sending hats everywhere. Reiner continued sneezing, five more times Historia counted, profusely apologizing between each sneezing and attempting to clean up the mess he’d suddenly made. Bertholdt swooped into help, unaffected by allergies and therefore able to clean up much more efficiently than his friend. Reiner had only a brief reprieve from the allergies before he started sneezing again, having to leave the store.

As he emerged, eyes watering from the allergy attack, he pulled a small bottle of medicine from his pocket and popped a pill under his tongue, sniffling. She wanted to ask if he was alright, but it wasn’t her place. Plus, she wanted to see what he’d do. Reiner wasn’t the type of guy to hang out alone; he was constantly surrounded by friends, both at school and elsewhere. People naturally gravitated toward him, and he toward them. It was one of the reasons why he was the most popular guy at Sina University.

The beefy blond made his way over to the bench Historia had claimed, sitting down next to her. The bench wasn’t huge, so it wasn’t like he had much of a choice, but… she still had to admit she was surprised. He blinked several times, as if trying to stay awake. Glancing over at her, his expression brightened, his amber eyes filling with warmth. For a reason she couldn’t fathom, his cheeks grew pink with a blush. “H-Hey… don’t I know you?” he asked.

Historia hesitated, flushing in embarrassment. Conversation hadn’t been what she was expecting when she came to the mall today. “U-Uhm, we go to school together,” she replied.

“R-Right… e-errrr…” he appeared thoughtful, yet somehow bashful, too. The star athlete of SU, tripping over his words in front of her? How odd. “W-Wait! Historia, right…??”

Her lips curled into a smile, her brows lifting in surprise. “That’s me,” was her reply. “I saw you had a little trouble inside Sports Etc… Are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh, i-it’s just… allergies,” he replied, wiping his nose with his sleeve and grinning sheepishly. Seeming to relax a little bit, the burly man leaned back slightly and closed his eyes. His eyelids seemed… heavy. “I took an… anti… histamine.”

Suddenly his mouth went slack-jawed and he went quiet, only snoring softly. Historia blinked once, then twice. Really? Had he… fallen asleep? She knew allergy medicines had a tendency to cause drowsiness, but this was – well, fast. Suddenly feeling like she was intruding, she moved to grab her bags and let him have the bench to himself when –

“Eep–” she felt a sudden heavy weight on her shoulder and the petite blonde glanced over to see the football player’s head on her shoulder. He was still sound asleep, mouth open, a hint of drool on his lip… and frankly, he looked quite cute. Innocent. Peaceful. Everything most college guys were not. She was sure Reiner wasn’t completely innocent, either, but from all the rumors she’d heard about him… he was as nice as they came. Helpful, straight-laced, honest.

She hadn’t talked to him as much as she’d have liked, considering their vastly different social circles, but Historia found herself wishing he was awake so she could talk to him, without interference from his friends. But she also found herself unwilling to wake him; so instead she simply lifted a hand, gently moved his head so that she could sit back, and let him rest on her shoulder. His much larger body was very close to her own, so close now that their knees were touching, and she realized just how much he… well, dwarfed her. He may not have been as tall as, say, Bertholdt, but he was so wide-framed and bulky that she felt like if he were to hug her, he’d be able to just swallow her whole and she’d get lost in his chest. He was also warm – no, hot. Feeling his forehead confirmed it. The man’s body ran like he had a constant fever. Historia decided that hugging Reiner would be like… hugging a big, warm grizzly bear.

The next few minutes were peaceful. Historia found herself wrapped in a blanket of warmth due to her unplanned companion’s high body heat, and his slow and even breathing was relaxing. Even she was growing drowsy; her head tilted this way and that, her eyes suddenly laden with exhaustion. Before she knew it, Historia had leaned over, her cheek resting atop Reiner’s short, fluffy blond hair; the perfect pillow for an unexpected afternoon snooze.

—-

“You think they’re secretly dating and Reiner never told us?”

“You’re a dumbass, Connie. Reiner wouldn’t keep a girl like that a secret. He’d be insane.”

“Lots of guys at the school have secret girlfriends, Jean! Just because you’re gay –”

“I’mnotgay!”

“You’re holding Marco’s hand right now!”

A choking sound. Then: “I-I am not!”

“Made you look, didn’t I?”

“You guys… can’t we please just get along?”

“No one asked you, Marco!”

Historia’s eyes cracked open to find four college boys staring intently at her. She jumped a bit, pressing herself back into the bench and hoping it would swallow her up permanently. Her cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. Reiner was so knocked out that he didn’t budge from his spot on her shoulder. God, men were so weird.

Finally, Bertholdt broke the silence, looking almost as embarrassed as Historia herself. “Erm – we just came to check on Reiner…” he began hesitantly.

“R-Right,” the petite blonde squeaked, glancing back over at Reiner, who had left a hint of drool on her sleeve. Gross. But cute. “I-I think he’s okay… I think the antihistamines just knocked him out is all.”

“Anti-who-what?” Connie’s eyes widened. “Oh god – we can’t get caught with drugs!”

“You’re such a moron,” Jean hissed. “Antihistamines. It’s just allergy medicine. You know how Reiner gets all sneezy in the spring.”

“OH.” Connie looked relieved rather than insulted. “Well – we can’t just take him home like this, can we?”

“I’d be happy to try, but Reiner is really heavy,” Marco admitted sheepishly.

“Dude weighs a ton,” Jean agreed.

Bertholdt had stayed silent, seemingly debating with himself on what to do. “We’re sorry about this,” he finally said, directing the statement at Historia. “I’m sure Reiner had no idea it would work so fast. The medicine he took today is a new one, I think. He has to change brands every so often.”

“I mean, you guys can wake him up if you need to,” Historia said with a shrug, glancing down at the sleeping giant still leaning on her shoulder. “But he seems so… peaceful.”

“You did too,” Connie began with a grin. “You two looked really cozy. We thought you were dating!”

“You thought they were dating,” Jean corrected impatiently.

Historia’s eyes didn’t leave Reiner’s face. Still snoring, eyebrows lifted, mouth slightly crooked as some drool caked on his chin. He was really out of it. Those drugs did him in. Testing the waters, she shifted her body just a bit, trying to raise an arm to see if he would wake; to her shock, embarrassment, and secretly her satisfaction (though she’d never admit it), he simply shifted closer to her, a dopey grin on his face, and laid his head on her chest. A strong arm wrapped around her as if she was a pillow he was loathe to part with, and she jumped slightly, an arm lifting as he pulled her in tighter.

Historia couldn’t stop the hot blush that crawled up her neck and flushed her pale cheeks, and she nearly couldn’t hold back the squeal that rose in the back of her throat. She was tingling all over – whether from delight or mortification, she didn’t know – and when she finally lowered her lifted arm to rest on his bicep, she found that he was – oh. He was strong. Not like a body-builder, but like a lumberjack. Naturally strong. No wonder he was such a natural at football. Historia decided to indulge herself and give his arm a light squeeze. It was firm to the touch, the muscles flexing unconsciously under her fingers.

Reiner’s friends collectively groaned at the reaction; all four guys seemed utterly fed-up, even Bertholdt. “Reiner,” Bertholdt said timidly, reaching in to shake the burly blond gently. Absolutely nothing happened. Reiner mumbled under his breath and buried his face in Historia’s shirt.

“I say we leave him,” Jean suggested.

“We can’t do that!” Marco protested. “It’s not fair to him or to her!”

“He’s got a ride.” Jean waved his hand dismissively. “Plus, he much prefers it right where he’s at, it looks like. I don’t blame him.”

Bertholdt frowned and hesitated, but seemed to overall agree. “He can find his way,” the brunette finally said, and all four guys turned to walk off before Historia even realized what was happening. She’d been too preoccupied with the humiliation of having this giant of a man publicly snuggling her in his sleep, and too preoccupied with questioning why the hell she liked it. By the time she looked up, Reiner’s friends were in full retreat.

“Hey!” she protested. “Y-You can’t just leave him here!”

Reiner mumbled and shifted, drawing her attention down to him. Now that no one was really watching, she allowed herself a hint of a giddy smile. This was so ridiculous, and yet it was the most alive she’d felt in a long time. And it was surprising how… natural it felt. And apparently it looked that way, too, because the random passersby were completely ignoring them. ‘Just another couple showing a little too much PDA in the mall,’ they probably thought. That’s what she would assume.

Historia smiled again and settled back against the bench, having already made the decision to stick it out until the giant bear beside her decided to wake up from his drug-induced nap. This really was a crazy situation. Completely unexpected. But she was beside herself with hidden glee.

She guessed she had a particular brand of antihistamines to thank for that.

Suddenly she felt Reiner shift slightly, and when she tilted her head down to look at him, she found his eyes cracking open. Instantly a jolt of both heat and ice raced down her spine and she froze in place. He was waking up.

Uh oh.

I bet that at some point in your life you’ve thought that your family was weird, don’t worry you’re not the only one. Meet the Yamada’s!!

This is the ultimate family movie. When it started I thought ‘is this a thing for kids?’ Even though I watch movies made for children (child at heart <3) I was taken by surprise. It is nothing like any anime movie, Ghibli never cease to surprise me. No, it is not hand painted, the whole movie is made on computer and given water color effects.

It is a compilation of various incidents of the Yamada family. This is the story of a middle class Japanese family. What makes it special is its simplicity. The characters are well developed and you can’t help but smile at the quips. Shige, the grandmother is stubborn, wise and a little childish. The father Takashi is hard working and daydreams about taking a break. The mother Matsuko is a typical housewife, and every child can relate to her mom-hood! The siblings are great, Noboru, a teenage boy with witty remarks and his sister, sweet innocent Nonoko.

Sometimes the story gives us advice, sometimes it makes us laugh and sometimes it makes us emotional but it never bores you. You can understand the nature and personality of each of the characters, even the supporting characters in just 104 minutes. And the haikus just add to the charm of this movie.

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