YOWAMUSHI PEDAL
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From me to you
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Summary: Naruko's unlucky day becomes one of the luckiest of his life. Happy birthday to the one and only Naruko Shoukichi! ImaNaru
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Imaizumi closed the door behind his back and let out an exasperated sigh. Finally the lessons had ended.
As usual, all Sohoku members had found themselves in quite the predicament with school subjects, since they spent most of their time training. That day, both Naruko and he had special classes to attend, so they decided to go together. He wondered if the red-head was waiting for him…
Naruko.
It was Naruko's birthday, and it had been pretty unlucky so far, with the extra classes and the weather. It had been raining since early in the morning, and pretty heavily at that. Luckily they were going to party in the evening with everyone at a restaurant Naruko particularly liked (which was more than guarantee to it being great, since the sprinter was a pretty good cook)… yet, there was another thing bothering Imaizumi.
The present for Naruko.
He had been looking for at least two weeks for something for him. Maybe it was because he wasn't used to make presents (or receive them), but… he wanted it to be something… kind of… special. If not special, at least distinct. Something that said: 'I thought about you while choosing this'.
Anything he could buy didn't feel right (it was just money spent on something impersonal), but he wasn't good with making things with his hands. Not that he had an idea of what he could make to make Naruko happy.
And that was the actual problem.
He didn't know how to make the red-head happy. And that was all Imaizumi wanted. Not having what you want is pretty frustrating, especially when you can't do anything about it, and it led to the all-rounder spending those two weeks with a grumpiness he wasn't used to feel. Even Naruko had ended up asking him what the problem was, something he wasn't used to do, since they understood each other to an unspoken level. Imaizumi had felt his cheeks warm up under crimson, studying irises, dismissing the question with an excuse about tiredness. Of course, Naruko didn't believe it one bit. His eyes told so.
The all-rounder sighed again at the thought, and he ran a hand through his hair before walking towards the entrance and exit of the school building. He was almost there when he raised his gaze and saw, a few meters distant, a lonely figure standing close to the glass doors, looking outside.
His red hair suggested a passionate, lively, eccentric personality. Someone who very probably loved to be in the centre of attention. Maybe someone strong enough to be, so. Yet down a head of red, unruly locks were shoulders that had nothing of the strength and liveliness that the hair colour conveyed. They were small, and lean, and looked like they would fall if they dragged down any more.
It made Imaizumi's heart beat faster and sink with worry. He walked towards the sprinter and stopped once he was on his left side.
'… Hey.'
It was probably an awkward approach, but the black-haired boy knew he was pretty well known for his awkwardness. Naruko didn't waste any time to laugh about that every time he could, and Imaizumi wasn't sure if the red-head liked that feature of his or not.
But they liked each other enough to be great friends, and that was what mattered. Friends with a bond deep enough for them to talk to each other seriously, even expressing their feelings, and sharing worries, when they didn't understand those without speaking.
That was one of those moments.
The sprinter turned towards him.
'Hey', he said, then turned again to the grey sky. The colour of his eyes had never been so dark.
'I'm having bad luck today, aren't I?'
He smiled lopsidedly with his eyes closed, turning to Imaizumi for a few seconds, then watched again as water pelted down heavily.
'I even forgot my umbrella…'
'Not a problem. I have one.'
For the fist time that morning, Naruko went back to his usual loud self, going 'HEEEEEEEEEEH?!' and actually moving away from the other, even if it was just one meter. The all-rounder looked at him unimpressed, internally glad the red-head wasn't so depressed that he'd lose his ways of reacting.
'A-Are you… ah… we can't share an umbrella, hot shot!'
'Why not?'
'Why not? What are you, a girl?'
'Nah, you are.'
To that, Naruko actually went and kicked at his shin. Not really hard. It did hurt a little though. But his face was pink in embarrassment, and it was his birthday. Imaizumi couldn't find it in himself to be even slightly angry at the other, for many more reasons.
'We should move. You have a birthday to party for.'
'Ah, geez…', the sprinter whined, scratching his nape.
And finally they were out of the school building, both standing under a blue-grey umbrella. And since he didn't know where to put his arm because they had to stay close in order to not get wet, Naruko's arm rested around the arm the black-haired boy was using to keep the umbrella up.
His heart was beating faster than it should have been, and he felt his cheeks getting warm again. Maybe it was because Imaizumi was keeping him warm, beside him like this. Really, hot shot was so tall and lean he could just cut the wind in half. He smelled nice, too. Of cologne, peace of mind and strength.
Naruko was so concentrated on him that he almost jumped when the other spoke up.
'You know, I've been looking for a present for you everywhere. More or less two weeks. But I couldn't find anything that could be worth it. Nothing felt right. So… is there anything you want?'
Naruko laughed at the straightforward question.
'Really, hot shot? You have such picky taste?'
'There was… nothing that could make you happy…', Imaizumi murmured, looking to the other side, his cheeks gaining colour. His lips were pressed together, like he did every time he was worried. If Naruko waited another few minutes, maybe he'd start chewing on his lower lip. He knew he shouldn't be happy to see that, because that meant the other wasn't feeling okay, but every time his teeth sank lightly on that soft, rose skin… it made it really hard for the sprinter to look away.
But really, it was hard for Naruko to talk now, because his throat was getting dry and his face had to be lit up like a Christmas tree.
'… is that so?', he managed to croak, then he coughed to regain his voice. He saw Imaizumi nod once with the corner of his eye.
'… Anything? I can ask anything at all?'
'… Yes.'
He surely was confident in himself, for letting him such a wide range of choice. And he had to confide in Naruko a lot too. Not that the red-head thought the opposite, of course.
Yet the temptation was great, and it felt like it was appositely happening for that. And although his heart was going to burst no matter what happened in the next few minutes, he felt it was right to ask.
'Then…'
His voice was so soft he couldn't recognise himself. Imaizumi had turned towards him, giving him his full attention. They stopped walking when Naruko gripped the all-rounder's arm tight.
'… kiss me.'
He was strong enough to hold the other's wide-eyed gaze without turning away. Their cheeks were burning heavily.
'… Are you sure?', Imaizumi asked, scratching his face with his index finger while looking to the side.
'Yeah.'
The confidence and gentleness of his tone were no lie, and when the dark-haired boy lifted the sprinter's chin with his free hand, it didn't take long for him to close the distance between their lips, both getting closer to each other and meeting halfway.
It took a moment only to lose themselves into the touch, rather than in the million thoughts filling their heads. It was between a peck and a kiss, but it was like suddenly that leaden day had exploded into Technicolor.
Naruko really, really wanted to hold the other closer, and he did just that. Unable to keep still, his arms wrapped around Imaizumi's shoulders and back, gently resting there. The other followed suit, enveloping his waist and back in a firm hold, deciding he could care less of the umbrella and the rain, and letting their plastic shelter fall.
The kiss was warm, and nice, and the all-rounder suddenly felt like he wanted to share a taiyaki with Naruko soon, because his lips tasted just like that. It was pretty hard for him to leave the other's lips, and he had just officially met them.
They forgot they were in the middle of the street, and forgot how embarrassed they were. Although when the kiss broke, their cheeks were still glowing.
'You are not that unlucky today, are you', the black-haired boy said, his hair getting heavy with the water, 'the rain's warm.'
The sprinter smiled, feeling his heart flutter. It was really warm.
'Neh, Imaizumi… do I have to wait for my birthday every year to get a kiss?'
The all-rounder's heartbeat stopped for a moment, just to gain speed a second later. He really wanted to just kiss the lights off the red-head, now.
'Yes.'
'W-Wha-! So stingy, hot shot! What if I'm greedy and can't make-do with one only?'
Imaizumi had to laugh at that.
'Then I'll make an exception… you can get an unlimited number. Just 'cause it's you.'
Naruko tried to forget how to get embarrassed, failed, then remembered they had kissing to do.
He grinned.
'Let's climb up that scale of numbers then, hot shot.'
The all-rounder grinned too, before stealing their second kiss.
'Happy birthday, Shoukichi.'
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... Yeah. Tons of sap, I know. Yeah, I'm embarrassed. Anywayyy I really hope you enjoyed this!
And thanks to everyone who has been supporting me, I'm really grateful. It's always nice to know one's work is appreciated.
See you later guys!
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