#1

At eight o'clock, cars seldom drove through the residental area on the outskirts of Kyoto. That was good enough for her.

Natsume Asako bent down and unstrapped her shoes. She stepped out onto warm tarmac, the lingering heat relaxing her soles.

"Snapped strap again?" Sasayan, who was walking beside her with grocery shopping bags, halted to check. Truth be told, it wouldn't be the first time Natsume's sandals turned out to be cheap. And it was not a memory he'd hate to remember, but just out of reliving it again he was sour.

"No," Natsume straightened. She let her shoes swing in her arm. "My feet hurt." she looked at him. Sasayan averted his gaze.

He couldn't look at her now he was reminiscing, not without letting his face show it. And admiting he doesn't mind taking her by hand once more. It was about time. For him, at least.

And from that time, forty seconds expired til they arrived at the entrance of the town house where she lived. Fifty seconds. She stepped up a few stairs. Dropped her shoes. Searched for her keys. Stopped.

"Thank you for carrying the bag," she mumbled without raising her head. It was not what she wanted to say.

"No problem," he answered without a chuckle. She wouldn't see it anyway. He passed her the groceries.

She gripped her keys. And set all down on a stair.

"Sasayan," Natsume skipped to the second stair and leaned to his face. His eyes widened, and as her hands fell down on his shoulder seeking stability, he gripped her hips instinctively as a mean of support. Her breath fanned over his lips.

Natsume knows she is not going to put it off forever, but with two inches between them it is a lot tougher. This pose was a pure improvisation, after all.

She closes her eyes, and as she opens them, her hands move - now she is propping up her elbows on his shoulders and her hands take in his face. I like you, too. Is this clear enough?

Sõhei is not that well with expressing emotions either. But unlike her, he catches on quickly.

Half an hour passes, Natsume is in her room turning on laptop, groceries yet to be unpacked. Sasayan is jogging back to his campus, just as he was earlier this afternoon.

They returned back to their separate lives.

No - they've just started living a new one together.

--

(Hiya! thanks for getting all the way down. this drabble serves as an introduction to my sasanatsu one-shots compilation. Based on how I imagine their years in uni. i hope you like it. feel free to review as how you see this, constructive criticism is welcome x))

terezia