Obstacles

He held her down by her wrists.

"Sorata."

The way she observed him cut off his oxygen. Her eyes illuminated with unearthliness; they illustrated a wordless picture of a lone girl against the world. They made him feel wronged, like she should belong to an entire different realm and not to feigned innocence in them is what disrupted him every time.

He let go of her.

"Sorata?"

The way she said his name; the way the letters rolled of her tongue reminded him of something. She said his name in a way that explained everything; that made him understand; that expressed every expressionless emotion she showed him.

Sometimes, it drove him crazy.

"Sorata."

Honey. The way she said it reminded him of honey.

Mashiro took his cheek in her palm.

Even her hand was soft, so soft.

"I love you. Don't you love me?"

"I do! I do... It's just... Shiina—."

"Mashiro when we're alone."

Sorata's face lit up in a reddish tint, "M-Mashiro."

"Yes?"

Sorata's words caught in his throat. What was he supposed to say? He couldn't do it because he felt like he was taking her innocence away? Like he was betraying her; stripping her of everything that made her Shiina Mashiro?

He didn't want to be her destruction—.

"Sorata will always take care of me."

His eyes widened. He glimpsed Mashiro's never-wavering; never-ending; never-untrusting eyes.

And he witnessed something new in them.

Determination.

Mashiro leaned forward and captured Sorata's lips.

"W—What! Mashiro—"

Sorata fell back and this time, Mashiro was the one holding him down.

"Mashiro, I said I—."

"Sorata will always take care of me. I love him."

Mashiro kissed him again up until the moments both their faces paled from lack of oxygen.

Mashiro pulled away first.

"I can't breathe."

"I wonder why!"

Sorata's panted only long enough for the oxygen to return to his lungs and then he laughed.

And he laughed some more.

And he laughed until he ran out of oxygen again.

"Why are you laughing?"

Sorata barely contained himself from laughing again after seeing Mashiro's deadpan of a confused face.

His laugh washed away all the doubt and worry; it washed away all the negativity that polluted his soul so he could finally grasp the truth; he wasn't going to destroy Mashiro; he wasn't going to take away her innocence.

All he was doing was making teenage memories with the girl he loved.

He leaned forward and kissed Mashiro.

"Sorata?"

"It's nothing." He smiled. To think Mashiro was the one who made me realize.., "I love you too, Mashiro."