First and foremost, I'd like to thank tumblr user 'tatataraquartet' for this headcanon/idea/reminding me I'm still Shinaya trash.
Is this an AU? Post-STR? Pre-everything that goes down in Kagepro? I don't know either. Please point out any mistakes! I skimmed over this.
Kagerou Project belongs to Jin.
"You know, that headband's really unnecessary." Shintaro couldn't help but roll his eyes at the ridiculous accessory the girl was wearing, the white band wrapping around her head with a sort of delicacy only Ayano could pull off. He noticed that strands of short hair poked out from the bottom, and it took some effort to try and get his mind off of how cute it was.
What was he saying? God, okay, let's go back to apathetic and cool Shintaro.
"But the test's tomorrow!" Ayano whined, eyes wide and looking like she was about to cry actual tears. (If she did, he'd be quick to get the tissues. Or maybe he could wipe them himself, although she might jab at his grimy jersey. Besides, that's so not like him.) "This is for good luck!"
"But it just says 'English' on it," he replied oh-so-calmly, although the aforementioned headband was endearing more than everything else. When did they start going out again? He shouldn't have to deal with all of these feelings of finding Ayano really cute or appreciating the fact that she's working hard. They already confessed or something.
(Surprisingly, he said it first, but that was after he was fed up with the fact that he'd latched on to such feelings for such a long time.)
"Because that's what the test is on, silly!" With a huff, she finished straightening out her pens, taking the red one and writing 'study session with Shintaro' at the top of her notepad. Wow, that was really cheesy, but he had to give her a mental gold star for writing notes. All he had was his textbook. "Come on, teach me something!"
"You're really eager about this, huh…?" He saw where this was going, and immediately his cheeks went red. Seriously, how often did this have to happen? They were dating, for God's sake, so this type of embarrassment shouldn't even exist anymore. "Okay then, tell me what the 'subject' of a sentence is."
"Hmm…" She tapped the pen on her chin, an eyebrow raised at the clock behind Shintaro (but look at me too – I mean, go ahead, not like I care or anything…) as if it held the answer. Brown eyes light up after she managed to scrape the answer, and she raised her hand out of habit.
"Ayano, you don't have to do that…" He shook his head, watching as a slight flash of pink dusted itself on her face.
"Whoops, sorry!" Her laugh was downright illegal, and sorry, Ayano, but you're going to have to be arrested for being too adorable. Shintaro once again had to fight the mushy and "this is my girlfriend" feelings, finding solace in looking at anything but her. "The subject is…the thing the verb…uses…?"
"That's close enough," he guessed, eyes swooping down to the textbook for the definition. Okay, it was nothing near the book's description, but whatever. It sounded like she got the gist of it, and with a sigh, he goes, "Okay, it's right."
"Really?!" Now her eyes were brimming with pride, and she lunged across the table with a smile on her face. Well, not like she's never smiled in front of him before, but this one was bright and toothy and flashed "I'm glad" with each passing second. "No way! You're not lying, are you?"
"Nope, it's right." He pinched her cheek, but it only lasted for a little bit before he let go. Maybe that was his way of reminding her that this was reality, but that didn't get rid of that grin of hers. "You got it right. Now go sit down."
"But Shintaro, you promised!" Now her smile was replaced with a fake pout, although her eyes told a different story. Locked to his gaze, it told him exactly what she wanted. She was sly, that girl, and he had to hand it to her. She could seriously set his heart in motion, that's for sure. "Come on, please…!"
"I don't know…" A hand scratched the back of his neck, although he definitely wanted to do it. He just needed to swallow his pride, and that…that in itself was a rather fickle topic.
Trying his best not to look too hasty, or too embarrassed, he clears his throat, although the fact that Ayano had now leaned in closer than before was rather uncomfortable. She was on the table, on top of his textbook and her notepad, and she closed a good five inches between his face and her face. Right, what was personal space again?
"Shouldn't it be every few questions or so? That seems fair." He shrugged as if it were nothing, trying to pass of that aura of his that seemed to not care. But he did care, because the fact that one more move could put them so close together that millimeters didn't exist anymore both mystified and frightened him a bit.
He wanted all of Ayano, as cliché and as dumb as that sounded, but he didn't want to be greedy. At the same time, he didn't want to leave any regrets.
The bottom line was that he just really, really liked Ayano. Okay, he loved her. He felt that emotion deep down in his heart, and he'd trade his know-it-all brain for a lifetime with her. If he could make her happy, if he could see that smile again, if he could have her by his side everyday – God, that would be a wonderful thing.
Now he's just going over the top.
"Shintaro…!" She was just as an impatient as he was. "Please?"
"Fine, fine." They were only ten minutes into their study session, but a promise was a promise, and since he made it with her, he wouldn't dare break it.
She did get the answer sort of right.
He closed those few inches between them, and her lips felt soft and taken care of. That heat he'd been waiting for finally kicked in, and as he felt goose bumps all over his body, he felt sorry that Ayano had to kiss his chapped mouth. But she didn't pull away, and he didn't pull away, either. So she didn't mind...
The kiss only lasted for a good few seconds, but it was still blissful and, well, magical, despite the lack of a supernatural entity around them. It left both of them in a daze, staring into each other's eyes like most couples would, trying to calm down after such an action. Something like that...it definitely messed with their pulses, and their heads were spinning, trying to get a grip on real life.
Ayano slid back into her chair, picking up her pen as if that whole thing didn't happen. "Alright, next question! This time, though…if I get it right again, can we kiss even longer?"
"Ayano…"
"Shintaro, look, look!" She held the test paper eagerly in her hands, waving it in front of the boy who was obviously taller than her. She was practically on her tip-toes in an attempt to reach past his neck, but her efforts went to no avail. She'll forever be shorter than him.
(But Shintaro didn't mind, because she looked cute whenever she tried to surpass him.)
It was near impossible to miss the mark she'd gotten, the score written out in a glaring red marker. The seventy-two percent – a record, he might add – was something she definitely worked towards after a hefty amount of right answers and kisses.
"So you actually passed with a decent grade." He allowed one of his hands to pat the top of her head, messing up her hair a little. "Good job."
"That means you have to keep your other promise!" She said such a thing with enthusiasm he could barely match, and he was quite envious over that fact. He was also a bit surprised to see that she'd remember such a thing, but then again, he didn't mind.
It was the one he liked, after all.
"Okay, since you did so well. Where do you want to go for our date?"