A/N: Hello everyone! I've been busy writing the last chapter for my TaiChihaya fic, Hello, It's Me, but I love this pairing so much that I didn't want to stop writing for them (that feeling when you're in a small fandom, so there's not much fan content *sigh*). So I've decided to start this one-shot series! As the manga is ongoing, some one-shots will be faithful to canon, others will not, since we still don't know what Suetsugu-sensei is planning for Taichi and Chihaya. But the more recent chapters are giving me a lot of hope that these two will be endgame ^-^ I hope you enjoy this series!
P.S. s/o to my pal myloyaltiesliewithHP who loves this pairing as much as I do. This is for you! *hugs*
Disclaimer: I do not own Chihayafuru.
"Wow."
As they walked underneath a cover of cherry blossom trees, Chihaya couldn't help but admire the soft colours of Fukui in spring.
"How long has it been since we were last here?"
"Ten years, maybe."
"Ten years. And now he's getting married. We're gonna be at his wedding. Who knew?"
"What do you mean?"
"I always thought out of the three of us, you'd be the first to get married, Taichi," Chihaya giggled.
"Eh? Why's that?"
"Well, you were always popular with the girls. It wouldn't have been hard for you to find at least one you liked back."
"Chihaya, from elementary school until university, there was only one person I ever liked. And do you know how long it took for her to like me back?" he said pointedly, leaning in so that his lips brushed against her ear. "Fifteen years."
She blushed at the contact and laced her fingers in his. "Sorry. I really kept you waiting, huh?"
"Tell me about it, karuta baka."
Walking along the path, Taichi glanced at their interlinked hands and chuckled to himself.
"What's so funny?" she asked indignantly.
"Ten years ago, we walked here, didn't we? We were searching for Arata. And back then, I really wanted to hold your hand, too. I reached for it, but as luck would have it, Arata cycled past and you turned away. Funny how things work out."
"You did?!" she exclaimed. "How come you waited until now to tell me, Taichi?!"
"Why's it so surprising? You know my feelings were there for a long time. That incident is no different from all the others when I tried to show you how I felt about you."
"I'm sorry," she half-smiled. "It must've hurt, me being so dense and all."
"It's all a means to an end," he shrugged. "We're here now, and that's what matters."
After a few moments of walking in silence, she said, "If you'd taken my hand back then, I don't think I would've minded."
"Idiot," he rebuffed. "You would've freaked out."
She sighed huffily. "Whatever. Wait - didn't you have a girlfriend at the time? The one that called you 'Ta-kun'?"
"Don't remind me," he rolled his eyes.
"You were gonna hold my hand while you were dating that girl?" Chihaya accused. "That's terrible! I feel sorry for her."
"How many times do I have to tell you? I only went out with her because she liked me. I wasn't attached to her."
"Still! You shouldn't do things like that."
"It was an involuntary thing! My hand just...wanted to hold yours."
Chihaya smiled. She looked at him, eyes warm and impossibly bright. "You've always been by my side, haven't you?"
He was lost in her loving gaze for a moment, before he blinked and realised the reality before him. "I wouldn't have wanted it any other way."
Suddenly, Chihaya nudged him in the side and latched onto his whole arm. "Shall I call you 'Ta-kun', then? I've gotta have some cutesy nickname for you, right?"
"God, no. Please don't."
"Ta-kun!"
"Stop it!"
