Spring Man never agonized the wait for a pick-up-from-shop pizza before, ever.
But who could blame him though? He was about to do something stupid to a girl that was way out of his league. And he just couldn't tell the woman he was making the special order to that he's confessing to a world-wide pop sensation without getting any jeer of disbelief from anyone that was already in the shop.
Oh yeah, that.
That deserves some form explanation.
Spring Man has felt these feelings towards her for some time, but it wasn't until after the previous ARMS Grand Prix when he began to recognize them.
It was odd to see all of the fighters he had a close relationship with stand there along with the avid fans, cheering him on as he flourished and flaunted yet another victory- but it was more odd to see one of his closer fighter friends hop up on to the pop-out stage; feeling her lips gently peck his cheek in a friendly, congratulatory manner.
And for the remainder of the night, he would just stroke the spot that she had gently grazed, still feeling the tingle in his cheek even after he returned to his apartment.
And when it came to his nightly rituals before hitting the sack, he just stared solemnly at the wide bathroom mirror, his cheeks remaining slightly pink, hiding the smudge of colored lip balm she left behind almost two hours ago; he finally caved and came to terms with himself.
He told himself that he was in love with Ribbon Girl, feeling a small burden leave him as he did so despite not getting a single wink of sleep that night.
He never told a soul about this as he tried to make plans to visit the idol, each response resulting in her being busy with something different each day.
But today was the day he struck gold.
Well, sort of. Ribbon Girl happened to sprain her ankle the previous night at a choreographing rehearsal. And having to rest for the next week or so did not please her one bit, mainly because she gets bored and lonely fairly easily.
And when Spring Man called, she seemed to light up quite a bit on the other line, saying that she would greatly appreciate having him over, and would immediately note the gatekeeper of he secured neighborhood she lived in know of his arrival. Spring Man almost yelped with joy himself, but kept his composure as best as he could as she kept talking and talking to him while he got dressed for the day.
Which led him to the pizza shop scene he was part of about an hour later. Time seemed to move so much slower than it actually did, and not in the good way either. Each passing minute within those four walls was agonizing for him, knowing very well that the hard part was just being delayed for him. That hard part being confronting his crush with a pizza of all things.
The two actually shared a pizza together before. So he knew this was the right way to subtly let her know that he cared about her and liked her quite a bit. He wasn't that much of a wordsmith either, given how he made the order. Even the lady taking his order couldn't help but to chuckle at his flushed cheeks and lazy tongue. His flustered stammering, allbe it adorable, was not like how he usually talked. The woman knew that, but didn't ask him. She knew from the order and the way he asked for it that this was going to be somewhat of a large step for him.
And as her regular customer, she was a bit proud of him for attempting to take it.
Spring Man on the other hand, was relieved that she didn't interrogate him about this order in particular. He's grown fairly close to the people who work there, and they always treated him like a family when he was around. And with family-like bonds came family-like prodding. He was just grateful that he wasn't poked around at when he made the order despite knowing there was going to be a ton of questions thrown his way once he comes back another day.
But he didn't think all too much about that. The only thing on his mind was getting the pizza and getting the hell out of there.
"Springy!~"
Oh thank God.
Spring Man looked up to see the woman he gave his order to, smiling at him while holding a slim yet large box. He stood up and returned the smile, shaking his head as he dug through his denim pants, digging around and searching for his wallet. They very rarely call him by any variation of his fighter alias. They knew it bothered him, and that's why they did it.
Again, it's the family-like relationship he had with everyone there that caused that behavior.
He yanked the wallet from his front pocket, and pulled a twenty dollar bill from it, prompting the woman to keep the change as he took hold of the warm box. Thanking the woman before he slipped out of the shop, dodging any sort of jesting from his pizza-family that could potentially make him more nervous than he already was.
Spring Man essentially booked it to Ribbon Girl's manor, driving slightly over the speed limit whenever he had the opportunity to. His heart was racing as he saw the glimmer of the well polished gate that blocked the pathway up to a rather impressively sized private abode.
He was finally there, and all he needed to do was get past those golden barred gates. His fingers tapped his steering wheel anxiously as he grew closer and closer to the said gate to her home.
And speaking of her, she decided to call him up- making the man jump in his seat from the sudden loud ringing his car made. He pressed the answer button on one of the sides of the steering wheel he tightly gripped on without a second thought, shakily answering the sudden call with his nervously wavering voice. "H-Hello?"
"Spring!" A cheerful voice on the other side of the line answered. "It's been an hour since you said you were heading out! Are ya here yet?"
Spring Man sighed. "Y-yeah, I just got here." He paused as he pulled up to the foot of the gate, lightly gulping before speaking once more. "Sorry for the hold up! I just wanted to get something before I came here."
There was a playful giggle from the other side of the line that made Spring Man slightly blush. "'Lemme guess. Knowing you Spring, you stopped to get some Pizza on the way here."
He chuckled. "Ya' got me Rib, ya' got me. Could you open the gate so I can get it inside before it gets cold?"
"Haha, sure! I'll meet you at the door!"
"'Kay Rib, see ya soon!"
He huffed as he clicked the button on the steering wheel that ended the short lived call, noticing that the large gate was already partially opened. A small yet nervous smile creeped up as his lips as he watched the gate slowly open, driving through as soon as the gap between the two doors was large enough to fit through.
When he grew close enough to the building, he parked his car and quickly stepped out of it; quickly rushing to the passenger side of the front seat to retrieve the warm box containing his favorite food.
Once he turned to face the front door of the absurdly large building, he saw that Ribbon Girl was already there; leaning on one of her crutches while she waved at him, her striped pajamas giving away the fact that she's been resting all morning.
"Spring!~"
Her distant smile and her warm welcome made the man's heart flutter. God, she's adorable.
"H-Hey Rib!" He called back to her, holding up the box he held in his hands. "The pizza's still warm!"
"Awesome! Come in, Come in!"
Spring Man obliged, rushing over to her doorstep of the large estate so the two could head in together. His eyes immediately darted around the interior of the foyer, astounded at it's rather absurd size. "Whoa…" He muttered under his breath, turning his gaze to the girl who was already in front of him despite her use of mobility assistance. "How big... is this place?"
Ribbon Girl stopped where she was and looked over her shoulder to see him gawk over how large and spacious the room was, making her softly giggle. "I honestly don't know." She huffed. "I don't even think I explore half put this place most of the time to be honest. So uh, pretty big."
"Whoa."
Ribbon girl shook her head and chuckled once more as she re-positioned her crutches. "Now come on Spring, let's head to the living area and get settled in there!"
"O-Oh!" Spring Man shook his head. "Okay!" He caught up to her and both of them walked to the even more spacious living area that almost seemed like a miniature theatre given the size of the television that was in the room. The sight of it left him flabbergasted, even more in awe than he was in the previous room they were both in.
He quickly snapped out of his trance this time and looked over at Ribbon Girl, who was already tossing her crutches aside as she precariously hopped over to the spot she wanted to sit in on the comically large sofa. He made his way over to that same area and sat down next to her, placing the pizza box on the coffee table that Ribbon rested her injured ankle on.
"So." He slouched back onto the incredibly soft back cushion of the large sofa. "Is this how you spent your morning? Just resting your leg and binge watching movies?"
Ribbon Girl shrugged. "Basically, you really can't do much with a sprained ankle y'know."
"Oh yeah, that!" He looked back at her wrapped up foot and slightly gestured to it. "How exactly did you wind up busting yourself up like that anyways?"
"I had a dress rehearsal last night, for an upcoming performance." She sighed. "And I had to wear these really weird shoes because of the theme of the show itself… I didn't know how to keep my balance in them. Needless to say, it ended up just how I thought it would end; horribly."
"Oof. That's rough."
"Yeah." Ribbon Girl cupped her hands in her lap, slouching back in her seat with a somewhat similar fashion as to how her guest was seated. "The show itself was delayed for a month so I can recover and get back into the swing of things."
"How long will it take for you to get better?"
"The doctor I saw said that it would take about two weeks tops, so I had to have my agent cancel all of my plans I had during that time." Ribbon Girl pouted as she slumped her shoulders. "I had a photoshoot I was really looking forward to next week too!"
"Oh, dear." Spring man slightly frowned, placing a hand on her petite shoulder. "Well… you know what would probably make you feel better?"
"What?"
"Some piiizaaaa!~"
Ribbon Girl chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it would." She let out a small smile as she re-positioned her posture on the cloud-like cushion she sat on. "I'm surprised that you didn't help yourself to it yet."
Spring Man blushed, scratching behind his ear in embarrassment. "Well… I wanted you to open it."
"Hm?" Ribbon Girl hummed, gently removed her resting leg off of the glass table and leaned forward slightly. "Why? You're usually the first to dive into a pizza, especially ones that we share."
"I uh, had it specially made for you." He nervously chuckled. "It was embarrassing to order to be honest with you."
"Really?" She leaned forward more to reach the warm box containing the food in question. "What did you ask them to do that was so 'embarrassing?'"
"I…" Spring Man sighed. "Just open it."
Ribbon Girl chuckled, opening the box as she spoke. Only to be immediately cut off my her own shock at what she saw, she placed a hand on her mouth and turned to face Spring Man; who was reclining comfortably on the couch, trying to act casual despite his red face. "Spring…" She cooed. A warm smile formed on her lips as her cheeks turned a soft red. "This is so sweet! You didn't have to do this!"
"Y-Yeah… you're right." Spring Man nervously chuckled. "But I did anyways."
"But why?"
"I wanted to surprise you." He sat up and placed a hand on her back, giving it a gentle pat. "And judging by your reaction, I did."
"Spring!" She squealed while she threw her arms around him in a sudden hug, nuzzling his chest as she did so. "Thank you!~"
Spring Man could of sworn that he felt his heart skip a beat as he felt her warmth against his body. His blush growing darker as he reciprocated the sudden embrace with slight hesitation. Yeah it was embarrassing to order a heart shaped pizza, but it was worth going through the embarrassment just seeing the girl he admired dearly beam with joy.
He wanted to spill his feelings right there and then, he really did. But there was pizza to be had.
And besides, he had a plan in place, he didn't want to mess that up by any means.
The pair spent the afternoon in one another's company, slowly chipping away at the pizza while binge watching queued up movies back to back. It was at a particular chick-flick film that Spring Man decided to get up and stretch, asking if Ribbon Girl would like anything to drink.
Ribbon pursed her lips, realizing that she spent so much time sitting down and spending time with Spring Man, that she forgot to get something to drink earlier. "Uh, yeah!" She smiled with her response. "I'd really like some water please! The kitchen is the next room over, I'm sure you can figure out what to do from there."
Spring Man nodded, swiftly heading towards a corridor that could most likely lead to the room that was mentioned, leaving the idol on her own once more.
She slumped, throwing her head back with a large sigh. Even though he just left the room, she already felt lonely once more. That man always lit up an entire room when he was around and he would of been the first person she would of called over to her vicinity to spend time with her in her current state.
She enjoyed every last phone call she had with him over the month prior to her spraining her ankle. Even though they were all short lived, each call with him has left her glowing; especially the one they had this morning.
She was shocked that he asked to come and see her. Shocked and overjoyed actually. Since, well, she was planning to call him to ask the same exact thing. And she had never felt any happier than she did all afternoon; as soon as she saw his smile and the swirl of his hair, her spirits were immediately lifted. And the smile she wore never wavered throughout the entire time he was around.
He was a special kind of person to her. A very special kind of person indeed.
And there was something that he did today that was rather different, she just couldn't pin exactly what it was.
He spent extra time to order a heart shaped pizza for her, and remembered that she prefered no toppings on a pizza too! He would usually reserve half of the pizza to his preference, but the entire pizza was just cheese!
It was super unusual, but knowing Spring Man, that meant something. Was he hinting at something? Was this because of something she did a while ago, and this was late reciprocation?
Oh.
Wait.
Last month happened.
She kissed his cheek last month, how in the hell did she forget that!?
She covered her face in the sudden resurfacing of that sweet moment, hiding a flushed face from seemingly no one at the moment.
This… this couldn't of been a coincidence, right?
She removed her hands from her face and looked at the coffee table once more, her eyes nervously drifting over to the now empty pizza box while thoughts littered her mind. She removed her leg from the table once more and moved closer to the box, noticing a slight discoloration beneath the paper the pizza once sat on. She hesitantly reached out to the open box, removing the non-stick paper to reveal a small envelope.
She softly gasped at the sight of the bright purple paper that made up the envelope, her blush growing even darker than it was before. She carefully took the small envelope in her hands, staring at it with wide eyes.
Before she could open it however, a familiar voice called out to her, making her jump and toss the envelope back into the box. She turned herself around to see Spring Man rushing back into the room, his smile as bright as ever as he delivered two glasses of water to the coffee table before her.
He placed one on the table as he held the other out to her, letting out a nervous chuckle. "I didn't know how much water you wanted, so I found the tallest glass I could." He flashed her a smile as she reached up and took it from his hand. "I hope it's okay, Rib."
"No, No! Don't worry!" She returned his smile, taking a small sip from her glass before setting it on the Coffee table. Her eyes doing a quick double take at the pizza box before gently placing her leg back up in a resting position. "It's perfect, thank you!"
There was a pause between the two as Ribbon tried to return her attention to the movie that was playing, while Spring Man reached over to grab his glass, taking a swift gulp before placing his glass back on the table.
Upon placing the cup back on the table however, he noticed that the small envelope in the box. It was slightly displaced from the center, so she must of found it while he was gone.
He gulped once more, feeling his body freeze up at the sight. It wasn't opened, so she probably noticed it when he was coming back. "R-Ribbon?" He stammered, his eyes still glued to the envelope.
Ribbon sat up slightly, looking up at Spring Man. "Y-yeah?"
"Y-you didn't open it?"
Ribbon Girl's blush returned, forcing her leg off of the table once more so she can move herself closer to Spring man. "Was I supposed to?"
"I mean, y-you were… but…"
"I could look at it now, if you want me to…" She frowned. She reached out to pick up the envelope, only to be quickly stopped by Spring Man grabbing a hold of her wrist.
"No, no! Please don't!" Spring Man protested, pulling her hand away from the note. "What was in there was… pretty bad, anyways."
"What was it?"
Spring Man sighed, allowing a lingering pause between the two as he slipped her hand into his, and gently grabbed the other one. Averting eye contact as his heart raced, gently stroking one of her hands with his absurdly huge thumb. "Do you really want to know, Rib?"
Ribbon Girl looked down at their clasped hands before looking up at the spring fighter, his lower lip quivered as his face went completely red. She too was nervous at this sudden change in their time together, but his gentle, soothing touch was enough to calm her to the point where she could answer.
"O-of course I do." She stuttered, trying to hold on to his hands as he slightly trembled.
Another pause lingered between the two, the barely audible sounds of the television being the only thing the pair heard. Spring Man's grip slightly tightened as he uttered out something that was barely coherent to either of them.
"Spring, I'm sorry but… could you say that agai-"
Ribbon Girl's request was suddenly interrupted with a deep sigh from Spring Man. Her eyes widened as he finally turned his head to look at her, leaning slightly forward as he repeated the statement he previously mumbled out.
"I said, it was a love letter, Ribbon."
The idol's heart skipped a beat at the sound of those words, mouthing the words back at him in some form of a question, which he promptly nodded at as a response.
But before she could speak, he continued to ramble on.
"I wrote it the night you kissed me, And after looking it remembering how tired I was when I wrote it this morning right be before making my order... I thought it would be better just to tell you, but I handed it over anyways and I don't know why I did that! I was probably to blinded by the fact that I finally got the chance to see you again, that I forgot how horrible it was and-"
"Spring Man…" Ribbon Girl interrupted, her own blush now matching the intensity of his.
"You… Love me?"
"I…" He slumped his shoulders with yet another sigh. "... I do."
"Spring…" She smiled as she leaned in closer to him, staring in to his bright blue eyes that desperately wanted to look away once more. A few moments later she let out a soft sigh before she briefly closed the gap between them; gently grazing his lips with her own.
Once she pulled away, there was a short pause between them before the pair broke down in a fit of overzealous laughter. Ribbon Girl slipped her hands out of Spring Man's soft grasp and slipped her arms around his torso, giving him a tight hug that he swiftly and graciously returned; the two still laughing like drugged up idiots as they held one another.
Spring Man rested his chin on top of Ribbon Girl's head, trying desperately not to cry over the reciprocation he only dreamed of having from the girl he never thought he would fall so hard for. He didn't think his feelings would be returned at all, especially this strongly.
But the fact that they were, and that she just grazed him once more, left him with a feeling that was beyond euphoric. This feeling made him not want to let go of her. Neither of them wanted to, and it wound up with them embracing one another for the remainder of the evening.
"Spring, do you really need to leave now?" Ribbon Girl leaned on one of her crutches as she stood by the front door of her abode, pouting as Spring Man was just about to step out of her home and into the night. "You can stay here for tonight if you want! There's more than enough guest rooms here."
"Maybe some other night." Spring Man chuckled. "I promise to be back tomorrow though, if that's what you want."
"Please!" Ribbon Girl's pout immediately shifted into a wide grin. "I would love that, are you kidding me!?"
"Alright, I'll be back here tomorrow morning." Spring Man returned her smile, walking over to her before cupping her cheek with his hand, gently caressing it with his thumb. "In the meantime, don't miss me too much. Okay?"
Ribbon Girl placed her hand on top of his, leaning her head into his touch as she giggled. "Alright, I'll do my best."
"Good." Spring Man kissed her forehead before removing his hand from her cheek, bounding out of the door and out onto the top of the front deck's steps. "I'll see you then!"
And with that, the door was shut behind him, leaving Ribbon Girl on her own once more.
She re-adjusted her crutches as she watched Spring Man sprint to his car through a window, hearing a muffled yet excited shout from outside as he disappeared into the vehicle in the driveway. She chuckled at this before moving herself back into the living area, sitting back down in the same spot she sat in all day with a sigh. Her eyes immediately fell on the empty pizza box, specifically the small envelope that was in it.
Without thinking, she reached over and grabbed it, examining it before carefully opening it. She took out a small card, tossing the envelope aside before reading the context of this "mess of a note" that Spring Man didn't want her to read.
She scanned the note a couple of times and eventually couldn't help but to chuckle at the content of the letter.
He was right, it was terrible.
Terrible, but awfully sweet at the same time.