On a particular Saturday, Hoshitani Yuta was on his day off.
Dressed in casual clothing, he took the train to the city, watching the people around him excitedly.
Once at his stop, he walked out of the station, wandering the city and walking through the crowd of people, looking to play.
Suddenly, he bumps into someone. "Ah! I'm sorry!"
"Me too…I'm-Hoshitani?"
Hoshitani looks at he person in front of him, "Otori-senpai?"
Otori's there in his causal clothes, and they both blink. "What are you doing here?"
Hoshitani tilts his head, "I could say the same to you. What are you doing here?"
Otori smiles, "Just looking for something to do. It's my day off and I'm bored."
Hoshitani smiles back, "Me too… Ne, could we look for something to do together?"
Otori nods, "Sure."
And so, they walk together, exploring.
They pass by various shops, looking at the window displays. Then, Otori stops and says, "Let's check out that pet store."
"P-Pet store?" Hoshitani stutters as he's frozen in place for a second, filled with dread.
Otori watches his kohai for a second then grabs his wrist, dragging Hoshitani into the store, "C'mon, it'll be fun."
Inside the store were cages and cages of cats, dogs, hamsters, birds, guinea pigs, goldfish, hedgehogs, and some other unusual pets along with everything one needs to take of them.
Otori looked at the animals in fascination while Hoshitani was terrified. As Otori walked around, Hoshitani followed, if only so as to get out quicker, and the fact that Otori was a good shield to hide behind.
However, when passing by the kittens, they meowed. Scared, Hoshitani grabbed onto Otori's shirt and pulled hard.
"Hoshitani what?" Otori turned around and saw his kohai trembling, looking scared and almost in tears. His eyes soften, "What's wrong?"
"S-sorry... I just... can't handle animals well, cats especially," Hoshitani says as he trembles, still holding onto Otori's shirt in a tight grip.
"You could've told me earlier," Otori sighs.
"Sorry..." Hoshitani looks down on the floor.
Otori softy smiles at him, "It's OK. C'mon. Let's go."
Hoshitani nods, blushing slightly as Otori holds Hoshitani's hand, moving forward, letting his kohai follow behind him, shielding him from the cats.
When Otori went up to the puppies, he pet one, "Hoshitani, come pet them! They're really cute."
Hoshitani, not willing to say no to Otori, looks apprehensively at the pile of puppies, then sees one that's by itself. Blinking, he goes over and carefully pets it. Blinking once more, he pets the pup some more, the pup licking his hand. Hoshitani smiles, slightly flushed as he takes his hand away, "Good boy."
Otori smiles as he looks at his kohai, happy to see that Hoshitani got over his fear a little.
Once out of the pet store, Hoshitani pants, grateful just to get out of there.
After calming down, Otori smiles apologetically at him, "Sorry that I dragged you in there. I didn't know you'd be so scared."
"It's OK... I'm just glad to be out of there," Hoshitani sheepishly smiles.
"Why don't we go where you want to go next?" Otori suggests.
Hoshitani nods and smiles at his senpai, "OK!"
Hoshitani leads them to...
"A origami shop?" Otori smiles in slight shock.
Hoshitani nods, "Un! I'm rather good at it, so I come here to get paper. C'mon!"
Otori smiles as Hoshitani drags him into the shop, "OK OK!"
Inside there was paper everywhere. All kinds of paper in all kinds of colors. There was even some displays of origami cranes tied to the ceiling, a tub of scissors, shelves of books, and a table to make origami master pieces on.
Hoshitani excitedly goes through the paper, feeling the texture, judging the stickiness, and eyeing the color.
Once he picks one he likes, Hoshitani gets to work making something.
Otori watches Hoshitani work, mostly fascinated by his expressions. Hoshitani concentrating, furrowing his eyebrows and biting his lip as his hands work effortlessly with the paper, folding it in just the right sequence.
When Hoshitani was done, Otori sees that he made a 3-D star. "What do you think?" Hoshitani asks.
Otori smiles, "Impressive. You must be very good with your hands."
Hoshitani smiles, rubbing the back of his neck, "Thanks."
Moving on, they walked together, side by side.
Suddenly, they hear rumbling. Blinking, Otori looks at his blushing kohai, who has a hand to his stomach.
"Sorry..." Hoshitani laughs sheepishly.
Otori chuckles, "Let's get lunch. I know a good cafe."
Hoshitani nods, and they go to the cafe together.
They get a table by the window, and order tea, hamburger curry, and orange juice. While waiting, they both were silent as they try to come up with something to talk about.
"Uh/Um…" they both say at the same time before laughing.
"Is this…a date?" Hoshitani shyly asks.
Otori hums, "Does it feel like a date?"
Hoshitani flushes slightly, "Um…" but he's interrupted as their food arrives. They blink then eat happily.
"Delicious!" Hoshitani hums happily at his curry. Otori smiles at him.
As he's eating, Hoshitani's thinking, 'Calm down! This isn't a date! …even though it feels exactly like one… No! He can't find out yet. I'm not ready.' He takes a drink of orange juice, 'Whatever happens, I hope we… stay friends, even if I like him as more than a friend.'
While Otori was thinking, 'Is this a date? … If it is, then…' He looks at his kohai, 'Well… he is cute. He's even more cute when he's scared, but he's also full of surprises. What we've done today proves it.'
He notices some rice on the corner of his kohai's mouth, so… he says, "You have some rice there." Hoshitani tilts his head to the side at him, and Otori chuckles, picking off the rice and eating it. "There. All gone," Otori smiles.
Hoshitani blushes, "T-thanks…"
'Adorable… Just like a puppy. … I still don't know if I like him like that though,' Otori thinks to himself as he watches his kohai slide down his chair, blush still in effect.
It was then that Otori decides to order chocolate cake.
Hoshitani blinked at the arrival of the slice of cake the waiter put on the table, then cheerfully took a bite. Seeing Hoshitani light up at the cake, Otori smiles as he watches him. In between bites, Hoshitani notices.
"Don't you want to try some, senpai? It's really good!" Hoshitani asks.
Otori continues to smile, "OK!" He takes a bite, and says, "Mm! It is good!"
Hoshitani laughs, "Right?"
They eat the slice of cake, then had a mini fight over the bill. They decided to split it.
After, they wander around a bit, then they stop by a place with a clear view of the sea, watching the sunset and hearing the sea birds.
It was complete silence between the two, the both of them just watching the sun go down and the sky change color-the stray clouds from white to yellow, pink and purple.
Hoshitani looks at Otori, the light illuminating him in a soft orange glow, 'Beautiful.' He quickly turns to the sunset just before Otori turns his head to him.
Otori sees Hoshitani covered with the soft orange glow as well, complimenting his complexion and making his eyes stand out, sparkling, 'Beautiful.'
They both watch the setting sun for a minute more before they say, at the same time, "Did you have fun today?"
Blinking, then snorting, Hoshitani smiles, "Yes." Otori smiles back, "Me too."
"You never did answer my question. Does this feel like a date?" Otori asks.
Hoshitani shyly answers, "Uh…" before nodding.
Otori smirks, "Well then… Would you like to have dinner with me?"
Hoshitani's eyes widen, "Eh? Um…"
Otori smiles, "Since we spent all day together, we might as well spend the night together, ne?"
Hoshitani blushes, "Un…Just… not tonight."
Otori nods, "Not tonight. I'll let you know when and where later."
Hoshitani smiles, and then, he reaches up and kisses Otori on the cheek, "Thanks for today." That leaves Otori stunned before blinking and brushing his kissed cheek with a finger.
Slightly giggling at his senpai's stunned expression, he smiles, "Race ya to the station!" Then, he runs off.
It takes Otori a whole minute to snap out of it before, "Oi! Wait for me!" and chasing after him. They walk to the station together, the sun disappearing behind the sea, the day sky turning into night, a few stars coming out to play, and the rising moon setting the stage for them.
As for that dinner date… well, let's just say it went well. Really well. And that they'll be seeing each other more often.
Bonus:
Unfortunately, Sazanami and Yuzuriha saw them at dinner. In the same restaurant. Plus, their tables were next to each other. Yikes…!
Luckily, they all agreed to keep their relationships a secret for now…and to call each other if they need advice.
Bonus #2:
As for the serious conversation (the reason Hoshitani's in Ayanagi in the first place) that must happen… they did talk about it. In detail. The end result: they're stuck with each other now. Wish them luck!