POV Takao
My partner and best friend, Midorima Shintarō, was anything but frivolous, so when he asked me if I owned a yukata, I figured it was simply a question about his daily luck item.
"No, I've never needed one, but I guess I should get one with the cultural festival coming up. How did I get roped into helping with that again?"
"Because you have an unreasonable need to be liked by our fellow students, and you are incapable of saying no," Shin-chan answered my rhetorical question.
I didn't need to change my shoes yet, but I always made a point of checking my locker first thing for notes. This morning, there was a slip of paper from the student council president reminding me that my attendance at the festival planning meeting was not optional.
"Oh yeah," I chuckled, "And speaking of which, I'm late for this morning's planning meeting because someone was late."
"Oha Asa predicted it would be so. That horoscope is never wrong. Be prepared for a day of very poor timing. Your compatibility with Libras will be extremely poor."
"Aw, Shin-chan, you listened to my horoscope as well?" I teased.
"When Scorpio is mentioned in relation to Cancer, I find it necessary to prepare for all contingencies," he huffed as cleaned trash out of his locker and arranged his shoes.
"Any chance you have my lucky item to combat all this bad luck?" I asked.
"Don't pretend you believe in Oha Asa so suddenly," he snapped.
"I believe in Shin-chan," I said. "That should be enough." He cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up his nose. I sighed, slamming my locker harder than I meant and watched as my partner flinched a little.
"See you in class, probably late, if your Oha Asa is right," I said with a smile.
After the festival meeting was over, I headed back to the lockers to change out of my sneakers and found a slightly browned four leaf clover sealed in plastic stuck in the heel of my indoor shoes.
"Oh, Shin-chan, my dear sweet tsundere, maybe today won't be so bad after all."
For the third day in a row, practice had to be skipped for the festival meeting and while it was an excused absence, it hadn't made my teammates any less unhappy. Three days without a proper training menu, and I felt seriously stiff and slow.
Shin-chan, freshly showered after practice, was waiting on me when I finally emerged from the meeting with an unreasonable amount of papers I had to read and approve in a super short amount of time.
"Kill me now," I mumbled, stuffing the whole lot into my bag.
"Nonsense, it would take too long to break in another partner," he dismissed.
"I'm not pulling you in the rain," I said as I stood at the front door and opened my umbrella. "You'll just have to walk today."
"If you waste as much time lamenting your festival assignments as you do in saying obvious things, it is no wonder you are having a difficult time meeting your deadline. I have never once expected you to pull me in the rain. I'm only a monster on the court."
"Sorry, sorry. This festival planning is completely out of my comfort zone."
"You should remember that the next time you take on extra-curricular activities."
We walked home in quiet, me preoccupied in thoughts of approving forms, and Shin-chan in his naturally occurring silence. As we reached his front gate, I mumbled a half-hearted farewell, not even expecting him to acknowledge me, so when he asked me to wait a moment, I hardly heard the end of his sentence, "…I have something for you."
The wind picked up as he walked inside and in seconds the back of my jacket was soaked through.
"You could have asked me inside to wait," I muttered at the closed door. One minute went by and then another, and my uniform was soaked from shoulders to ankles. He appeared at the door, his jacket discarded, carrying a large shopping bag.
"Baka," he said as he saw me shivering in the rain. "Why did you not at least come up under the eaves?"
I sighed and pushed the gate open and joined him under the shelter. He handed me a scroll tied carefully with a ribbon. I left the open umbrella to the side and read the invitation.
You are cordially invited…
"Your father's birthday celebration?" I asked as I continued to read. "But I told you I don't own a yukata."
"Thus the bag," he said. "The colors should be complimentary to you."
"Shin-chan, not that I…I'm not even sure where to begin."
"Yes, yes, no need for thanks. I would prefer you arrive earlier than the scheduled beginning time – say forty-five minutes – my parents would like to formally meet you before my brothers and sisters and their families arrive."
"Who else have you invited?" I asked, as he crossed his arms and looked over my right shoulder, avoiding eye contact.
"The guest list is small by Midorima family tradition. Only our immediate family will be present."
"Then, I will pass, I can't intrude," I answered, holding out the invitation.
"Don't be foolish. My family has been anxious to meet you for months. Oha Asa said that today was the perfect day to ask you; you should have no objections."
"Why would they want to meet me?" I asked, shivering and looking down at my feet.
"Why wouldn't they want to meet my boyfriend?" he asked and my head snapped up.
"Your what?" I asked, my jaw falling open. I blinked hard a few times.
Shin-chan cleared his throat and pushed his glasses up with taped fingertips, but that nervous movement didn't hide the peach flush to his normally pale cheeks.
"Have I misread the situation?" he asked, his voice a monotone.
"Um…" I gapped.
"Why else would you put up with me? Follow me around? Go to such lengths to exceed my ridiculous demands?"
"I thought," I stuttered, "I was courting you. I'd planned to ask you out many times, but I chickened out each time because our compatibility was bad on those days according to Oha Asa."
His eyes flashed behind his glasses and suddenly the full bore of his emerald gaze held my eyes.
"I…I…," his tongue seemed stuck in his mouth.
"How did we both get this so wrong?" I asked. "If I had known we were officially a couple, I wouldn't have moved so slowly."
"I should have known you weren't simply respecting my pace," he said.
"So, if I'm meeting your parents, does that mean we can hold hands on the way to school tomorrow? Or would that throw off your pace?"
"What? Yes, of course we can. Wait, I'm confused. These last few months, since Winter Cup, how did I misjudge the situation so completely?" he asked with a wounded look which I knew was the complete opposite of the goofy grin that split my face.
"How was I to know unless you confessed your feelings, Shin-chan?" I teased. "Everyone knows it's not official until there is a confession." I continued to enjoy the unusually ruffled and insecure look on his face. "But I will gladly meet your family as your boyfriend if you confess now." If he hadn't been so out of sorts, he would have processed my earlier confession and my eagerness to be his.
His left eye twitched behind his lenses and then both eyes closed. He took a deep breath.
"I will do some research and make sure to do so properly before Saturday night."
"Shin-chan," I sighed. "Don't over think this. Just tell me how you feel."
"That's it?" he asked. I nodded.
He turned away for a second, collecting his thoughts. He took my right hand in his left and held it flat against his chest.
"Do you feel it beating?" he asked, and I pressed harder against his firm muscles and felt the smooth, steady beat of his heart. "When we are apart, my heart races unsteadily. When I am with you, it is at peace. Even my heart acknowledges you are its master."
"Whoa," I exhaled.
"You know I am inept in social situations. You shouldn't have expected anything better," he huffed.
"No, Shin-chan, that was perfect," I smiled up at him.
"Then you will join me next Saturday night," he said, shoving the bag into my stomach. "You should go home and dry off before you come down with a cold."
"Ok, Shin-chan," I laughed, letting my hand fall down his chest. He went back inside and I choked down the scream of joy that bubbled into my mouth.
The festival business wasn't even on my radar as I skipped up the steps of our apartment and let myself in. Yukina was watching anime in the living room, a plate of snacks on the table in front of her.
"Guess what?" I said as I threw my arm around her neck and kissed the back of her head.
"Ugh," she squirmed free. "If it's another Shin-chan was so cute story, I'm gonna barf."
"Don't be so jaded. Middle schoolers should have more faith," I said. "Besides, this is the best day ever. Shin-chan –" her groan only slowed me down for a beat, "– confessed to me today. I am now in a real relationship with the guy I've been obsessed with for years. You can congratulate me any time now. Oh, he bought me a gift. Wanna see?" I asked, holding up the white bag with the distinctive blue sides and multi-colored stripe down the center.
"Mitsukoshi! No way," she shouted, "Show me, show me now!"
I pulled out the tissue paper and then the red pouch embossed with the store's name in gold foil. The entire package was held closed with a matching golden ribbon. I pulled the ribbon free, and Yukina stole it. I took a deep breath and bit my lip as I unfolded the wrapping. The yukata was made of plain, soft sapphire blue cotton. Along the bottom, in a complimentary slate gray outlined in black, birds swooped among chrysanthemums.
"It matches your eyes perfectly," Yukina squealed. "Look, hawks!"
"It's awesome, Shin-chan," I said.
"Try it on," Yukina pushed me off the couch. I stripped out of my wet jacket and was about to put in on when we both heard a bang from downstairs. A slow, plodding footstep treaded heavily up the stairs. I grabbed everything and shoved it into the bag while Yukina turned off the TV and fled into the bedroom with the snacks. I was right behind her, closing that door just as I heard the front one slam open.
"I'm back," slurred the voice in the living room.
Thanks to my Beta Reader - Sara
Thanks to my review NeoMiniTails for additional editing help.