Disclaimers on the characters of Fruits Basket by Natsuki Takaya. I don't own them, so don't sue.
...
I wonder if he won't forget… The next time snow falls, will he walk with me?
…
Sitting on the floor of her bedroom, Machi stared at her cell phone hard. It was a Friday evening, and usually just a little after dinner at six o'clock, the phone would ring shrilly to notify her that Yuki was calling. But tonight, nearly half an hour later than the routine time, it still had yet to do so.
Normally, Machi would think nothing of it. Routines were meant to be broken from time to time and she knew that Yuki was busy with school. So it was okay for her life not to be perfect and she didn't expect the romantic aspect of it to be perfect either. Without flaws, his or hers, there wouldn't be a 'them' to begin with.
But tonight was supposed to be different. For some inexplicable reason, she expected something to turn out perfectly. In her mind, she carved out how the scenarios would unfold and how she would respond to them. Embarrassing as it was, she even rehearsed it privately in front of her bathroom mirror because it was that important to her.
Machi allowed her cell phone a brief reprieve as she shifted her gaze to the cracked window. The sky was dark and she could see the white flecks of snow coming down. It was the first snowfall.
After the summer of Yuki's graduation, the seasons quickly folded over and before long, it winter arrived. From what she remembered, Yuki mentioned that his final exams in university were starting soon and thus he required some time alone on weekends to prepare. She conceded to his request and noted that she too would be facing strenuous end of the semester exams, which meant that she also needed to focus more seriously on her studies. But that did not deter her from monitoring the weather of Japan almost religiously when winter started.
Strangely enough, Machi did not even think of his promise to her even after he left for university. It was only when she overheard her classmates talking of the changing seasons and when she realized how cold the air became did she remember his words. After the first time she wished for the snow to pile up, she never thought that there would be a second, or a third, or a fourth time that she would hope for that moment to arrive. It was different now though. His words lingered at the back of her mind. It was the first promise he made to her and it left a deep impression on her.
It gave her hope and that new emotion was enough to stir up her curiosity about their relationship.
Now that Yuki was studying at a faraway university and she was finishing up her high school studies, they saw less of each other despite their agreement to take turns visiting each other during the weekends. Sometimes their schedules did not work out and they did not meet. Other times, she would go over to his home or he would come and stay over at hers. Though she preferred not to entertain the thought too often, it made her wonder how long it was before their relationship would last under these conditions.
Due to school, Yuki would be in university for the next three years. She personally did not plan to attend university because she was not interested in pursuing her education any further. During her one-on-one career conversation with her homeroom teacher, she revealed that she honestly did not put any thought into her future except for the fact that she did not want to go to university. Her next option was to find a job, yet very little appealed to her. She also knew that it might be troublesome to find a job where orderliness was a must since her habit of ruining perfection still lingered with her. What was out there for her? What good could she contribute to society with her presence in the work force? Somehow, it only spelled disaster to her.
If she did not go to university as Yuki did or if she could not find a suitable job, Machi wondered if Yuki would disapprove of her and retract his affections. If he wanted to be, Machi knew that Yuki could be a goal-driven person. She did not want to disappoint him, but it was also a huge pressure to her frail perceptions of achievement and failure. Would he stop liking her if she told him of her indecision? Would he think of her as lazy or useless?
Closing her eyes, Machi laid her head on the table. The coolness of the wood against her cheek slowed down her train of thought. How silly of her to be thinking of such things, especially when she knew that Yuki would never be so cruel. She could imagine his response—he would just look at her and comment that she would find her way eventually. A blush painted across her cheeks as her mind thought of other ridiculous but teasing remarks he would add onto that.
After calming down, Machi allowed a small smile on her lips.
It was silly of her to worry and wonder about this and that. They've only just begun and though they were far apart, she knew that their feelings resonated with each other. So it was okay if he didn't call her tonight, even if it was snowing outside. It was okay that they won't get to make tracks in the freshly fallen snow together tonight. She was confident that he remembered and she would forgive him the next time they see each other because there would be more snowy days to come. They have time to leave their footprints on the snow-covered streets in the future.
Sitting up straight, Machi reached for her cell phone and prepared to power it off when her apartment doorbell rang. She blinked and stared at the clock. It was just past seven o'clock. Kakeru never visited her during the evenings, only in the afternoons. The bell chimed again, reminding her of the guest behind the door. Her face assumed a neutral appearance as she stayed seated. Maybe the person at the door got the address confused.
After the third insistent ring, several loud knocks were heard and were followed by a familiar voice. "Machi, are you home?"
Eyes widening in surprise, Machi stood immediately and looked around her apartment in a slight panic. There were some garments strewn across her bed and some crumpled paper balls littered the floor. She tried to tidy up as she answered hastily, "Yes, I'm coming!"
A short pause followed her call before she heard the amusement in his response. "Machi, you're not cleaning up right now, are you?"
Flushed with embarrassment at his knowing tone, she raced to her door and yanked it open in order to retort. She stared up defiantly at his lightly grinning expression, which only made the redness in her face worsen. "N-No, I'm not!"
"Of course you're not," Yuki said with a smile—the smile which she dubbed in her mind as the unpleasant smile. She held the door for him as he walked in to her apartment and closed the door. Releasing a calming breath to cool off her furiously blushing cheeks, Machi counted to five before turning around to face her boyfriend directly.
Yuki was bundled in a warm coat and a scarf. She could see little damp spots where the snow clung onto his coat. She examined his person carefully and said nothing. She was still slightly embarrassed.
He took the initiative and greeted her, though this time his smile was tender. "Hello, Machi."
"Hello Yuki-senpai," she answered without taking her eyes off of him. She waited for him to remove his shoes so that they could move away from the foyer and back to her room, where the kotetsu was warmer. But he only stood there with his smile on his face.
She knew that he wanted her to ask him the question. But she refused to give in. So instead, she asked, "Why don't you take off your shoes and come inside, senpai?"
He sighed. "Machi, I've told you that you don't have to call me that anymore. We're no longer school mates."
Machi looked down to her slipper-covered feet. She was still too shy to say his name without any honorifics, like she did the first time he kissed her. Every time she thought about saying his name so intimately, she recalled that specific moment and it made her heart beat too wildly and her face madly flushed. Peeking up at him, she saw him waiting patiently for her to revise her greeting so she tried again. "Yuki-san…?"
"Too formal, it is even worse than calling me senpai," he told her bluntly. Yuki craned his head so that their foreheads bumped. "Pick another one."
She didn't know whether to be shocked or worried at his insistence. When she stayed silent for too long, he prompted her. "Machi…?"
Swallowing the lump in her throat, her eyes dropped to her slippers and Machi murmured in reply, "Yuki…"
He closed the gap between their lips the second she said his name. A light whimper sounded from the back of her throat though she welcomed his affection. Yuki pulled back eventually and said, "Much better."
Machi looked to the side with a pout. "Let's go inside," she muttered as she tried to suppress her pink cheeks.
"No, you go in and grab your coat," he told her. She gave him a wary look and he only smiled. "Go on, grab your coat. We're going outside."
"But it is cold and snowing outside," she pointed out. Honestly, she preferred staying indoors when it snowed. Yet something bubbled inside of her when she realized his intentions. She tried not to show her anticipation as he stared down at her.
"It'll be too cold if we wait till the snow stops and the snow might melt when morning arrives," Yuki said knowingly. He prodded her to move away from the foyer and she allowed him to. Machi trotted quickly and grabbed her winter jacket before returning to the foyer. Yuki stood there patiently waiting for her and smiled again as she reappeared. He held the door open as they stepped into the outside hallway and she locked the door. There were small snow dunes in the hall from the wind blowing the snow.
"Let's go." Yuki gently took her bare hand and tugged her forward. They traveled down several flights of stairs before reaching ground level. The streets were devoid of people and several cars were parked along the road. She spotted one fresh trail of shoeprints in the snow which led to where they currently stood. She assumed that they belonged to Yuki.
The moment her eyes strayed from his tracks, that unbidden desire stirred from within her. The snow was clean and untouched in front of her. Oh, how badly did she want to tarnish its cleanliness with her tracks! But she held back. She wanted to show Yuki that she made some improvement, that she could control her perfection destructive tendencies, even if only for a short while.
"You know, the snow isn't going to get dirty by itself," Yuki said to her teasingly as he took the first step away from her. His eyes looked at her in a soothing manner, as if reassuring her.
Machi took one look at Yuki and then another at the snow before she followed his lead and stepped forward. She planted herself right in front of him. It made her heart swell to know that he did not mind her bad habit and it did reassure her of many things. Bravely, she reached out and took hold of one of his hands with both of her own.
"I forgive you for not calling me today," she stated. "And thank you for coming to see me. It makes me happy to know that you didn't forget."
"I made a promise, didn't I?" He brushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. "I will always keep my promises to Machi."
She lost count of the number of times she managed to blush because of Yuki for the day, but she savored this moment. Standing on her toes, Machi lifted her head and closed her eyes as she pressed a kiss against his lips. Before Yuki could deepen it, she pulled back bashfully and spun around, dropping his hand in the process.
Yuki chuckled warmly and reached for her right hand with his left.
Together, they walked up and down the street, leaving their tracks in the freshly fallen snow.
AN: This was just the pure fluff that I needed to get out of my system. I hope Machi and Yuki are in character. Leave some love!