Ten And Counting
Shizuku raised an eyebrow as she packed her bags because she wasn't expecting to see a familiar figure leaning against the doorframe while stifling a loud yawn. Her friends were shooting her looks of mischief and subtly gesturing to her nonchalant dancing partner, who was patiently waiting for her outside the classroom. It was unusual of him to talk to her at school due to his preference of solitude and tranquillity. As she slowly made her way towards the entrance of the classroom, his hazel eyes met her azure orbs as he shuffled to the right to allow her to exit the classroom.
" Kiyoharu, it's a surprise to see you here and more importantly, do you have something important to tell me? It's rather unusual for you to be waiting for me after school," she walked with him towards the school gates.
Silence hung in the air before he decided to utter his first words. "I was waiting for you because I wanted to ask you if you could spare some time in the afternoon," he nodded.
Shizuku rolled her eyes playfully. " If you want to get in another round of practice before the next winter tournament, you don't have to make it out to be a big of a favour. I'm always willing to get some extra practice."
Hyoudou pursed his lips before scratching his head. " Actually, I was hoping that you could follow me to Ueno Park because I have something else to tell you."
Shizuku looked genuinely curious at the brown- haired boy. Now, this was a surprise! What on earth could be of more importance to Hyoudou other than ballroom dancing? Could it be that he as dropping out of the tournament? Or had he sustained another injury again? Millions of possibilities roamed Shizuku's head as she stole suspicious glances at her partner before following him to the park.
" Hyodou, I really hope that you aren't planning to drop out of the tournament. We've worked too hard in perfecting our routine….." she said slowly as he shot her an irritated look before fishing a parcel out of his satchel and handing it to her.
He waved it in the air and pushed it to her chest. "I called you here because I wanted to give you this present," he remarked. The blue-eyed girl was taken aback and tried to hide the light tint of pink that was colouring her sun kissed cheeks. She broke into a small smile and clutched it to her chest as she shot him a playful smile.
"Spit it out, Hyoudo, do you need something from me? Or is this to make up for the time that you accidentally stepped on my foot during our last practice?"
He snorted and folded his arms. " Happy tenth anniversary, Shizuku. Today marks the tenth year that we've been dancing partners and personally, I thought that it was a rather significant milestone, so I decided to give you something."
His cold demeanour was replaced with one of sincerity and mild embarrassment as he was trying his best to avoid her gaze.
" Kiyoharu, I'm honestly touched that you remembered, and to be honest, I didn't even know that it was today," she laughed lightly much to his annoyance. " Although, it doesn't mean that I don't remember when we first paired up ten years ago, back at your grandfather's house."
He wouldn't admit it but his heart would skip a beat whenever she would smile at him. She was a beautiful girl no doubt, but there was something about her that drove him crazy. He tried to brush it off at first but it was clear that it ran deeper than he thought- considering he spent half a day looking for the perfect gift for his dancing partner.
" Hanaoka, listen up carefully because I don't usually say this," he turned to face her.
" You're definitely not the best female follower that I know and sometimes, I question your mental fortitude when it comes to creating our own choreography but all in all, I don't think that I could imagine dancing with anyone other than you," he admitted.
" Hyoudou, hold on for a minute….." she shook her head but he placed a finger on her lips.
"Thanks for being such a supportive friend and understanding dancing partner. I may have lost my passion for dancing along the way but dancing with you never bore me. You're like this song that is stuck in my head and I hum to it whenever I feel like getting back into the groove."
She felt the heat slowly rise to her face as she desperately tried to hide the blush that had become apparent. This came across as a confession to her and her heart was palpitating because she never expected him to have mutual feelings for her.
" I hope to continue our success together, so once again, happy anniversary and don't you dare run away with Tatara again," he cracked a small smile before heaving a sigh. "Now that the formalities are out of the way, let's shift our focus back to the upcoming winter cup."
The two individuals were staring intently at each other, trying to discern the other's feelings while trying to cull the rush of adrenaline that coursed through their veins. Hyoudou clenched his fists and turned to walk away but Shizuku caught his arm and tugged him lightly.
" Kiyoharu, thank you. I really appreciate the compliment and I look forward to adding to our cabinet of trophies," she smiled sunnily at him.
Hyoudou closed his eyes in frustration. He couldn't understand why he felt butterflies in his stomach nor did he understand the strange urge to wrap his arms around her and smother her with kisses. He shook his head and started walking away from her. " I'll see you at practice tonight and don't be late," he waved his hand airily.
Shizuku watched the distance between the both increase as his shadow became to fade with each passing second. She shrugged and began unwrapping her present until a final yank revealed the content of the parcel. She stopped in her tracks and rubbed her temples. " I'm going to hate myself for this!" she mentally screamed as she ran after him and tapped him on the shoulder. His steps came to a juddering halt as he slowly turned around a ghost of a smile flickered across his face. "Hanaoka, I thought that I told you that I'll see you tonight?"
"Baka…" she muttered and chucked the gift wrapping at his face before pulling him in for a chaste kiss. He was caught by surprise but he closed his eyes and his hands found their way to her slender waist as his tongue fought hers for control. He slowly pulled away as she looked up at him with a beatific smile. It was foolish of him not to realise it sooner- that he was in love with Shizuku. He couldn't care less that it was a cliché to be avoided- falling in love with your best friend/partner after years of working with them. His unrelenting desire to excel in ballroom dancing was fuelled by the desire to prove to her that he was the best partner for her. She was more than just a partner- she would come over to take care of him whenever he fell sick, she occasionally made him a bento during the week of a competition and most importantly, she was the one person that could understand him.
" Any reason for calling me a baka?" he muttered in a low voice as he kissed the corner of her mouth and silenced her with another searing kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and caressed his check before pulling away slowly once more. "Yeah, care to explain how you got this photo of me?" she waved the photo frame in the air in amusement as Hyoudou scoffed.
It was a photo of Shizuku pulling a funny face while posing with a bag of chips in her hand in the dance studio. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she quickly stuffed the photo frame back into her school bag. He couldn't help but let a chuckle escape from his lips- it wasn't often that he saw her flustered but it was cute nonetheless. He made a mental note to thank Sengoku for the picture and the idea when he saw him tonight.
" I'm not even going to bother lying. The photo frame was Sengoku's idea but you might want to inspect it a little more thoroughly," he drawled as she began inspecting the photo frame. There was a red paper Mache rose stuck behind the photo frame with the words " can't wait for you to bloom into a great dancer" scrawled on one of its leaves.
She tried not to laugh as it was his turn to turn away in embarrassment as he tried to snatch it away from her. "It's sweet of you but it's better to get a girl a real rose when you're trying to confess to them," she teased him lightly.
" You're too presumptuous, Hanaoka. This was supposed to be a gift in recognition of our long-standing partnership- not some romantic gesture," he snorted as he absently laced his fingers with hers while walking to the bus stop.
The two dancers could never be captured by a simple photograph, any snapshot in time could never be enough to capture what their moving forms conveyed. They were joy and laughter, love and grace, emotions given a physical form. They were honesty clad in bright silk, their art cutting a path right to Shizuku's heart. She loved ballroom dancing and the glitz and glamour that came with it but most importantly, she loved her dancing partner and ten years' worth of precious memories were worth more to her than any accolades achieved. Their partnership was just the beginning of something special that was moving like ribbons in the wind- timeless.
A/N Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed this story and I'm glad to see that a fandom for this show exists. Please leave a review and tell me what you think about the story because constructive criticism is always welcomed. I'll see you guys soon!