Day 6 of Yukio Okumura's appreciation week is about "Love", where I'm supposed to shout to the heavens my favorite Yukio pairing. And while I will admit people on tumblr have made me like the wonderful and twisted crack that is Yukio x Todou, I must rep Yukio x Shiemi as my favorite Blue Exorcist pairing. I will admit, when I watched the anime, I didn't really pair up anyone with anyone. Then I read the manga and I somehow jumped on the Yukiemi wagon, even though a voice in my head constantly says that the protagonist (Rin) is supposed to get the girl at the end of these love triangles. But there's just something I find so cute about these two.

Disclaimer: Blu Rose doesn't own the Blue Exorcist series. She only owns this fic.

Summary: This year, there was no Rin to make them a trio and no childish and ridiculous dancing. It was just him and her, a couple, holding hands and dancing close to each other, to both his joy and his terror. (Yukio x Shiemi)

X-X-X

The last time, Shiemi had asked him if he wanted to go with her to the school festival, and Yukio turned her down. There were several reasons why he had to—he had been assigned certain duties, he thought she'd rather go with Rin, and his head had still been swimming with the memory of what had happened in Kyoto—but a part of him still felt bad about it. It resolved itself, but not because of Yukio, but once again because of his big brother.

This year, she had asked Yukio yet again if he wanted to be her date to the festival. A vexing voice in the back of his head told him it was probably because Rin was unavailable, or perhaps pity for the young exorcist. He pushed those doubts to the back of his mind and told Shiemi that, unfortunately, he had been given responsibilities once again that he couldn't turn down. Her response was a disappointed expression that made the brunette flinch. He quickly added that he'd probably be too busy with his assigned duties to be her date for the whole night, maybe they could have one dance together if he had the time. It was enough to make her smile, which made him smile in turn.

For the following days leading up to the school festival, although he remained his usual calm and composed self—at least when not dealing with Rin or Shura—there were times when the thought of the festival made Yukio feel nervous. At the times when Rin would manage to guess his anxiety, he would tease him about it, saying things like, "My little brother's nervous about his first date! Ain't that precious?" But it wasn't a date. Yukio might not have gone on a date before, but he knew enough about them to know that a single dance didn't make a date. Telling himself that made the upcoming night seem far less nerve-wracking.

At least until the night finally came.

While in the middle of the crowd, he heard a call of "Yuki-chan!" At the sound of Shiemi's voice, Yukio turned to greet her. His eyes widened a bit when he caught sight of her. He had been expecting her to come dressed in a kimono, not casual clothing. The short skirt that drew attention to her legging-covered legs, the blouse that made her…gracious assets viewable. Smiling sheepishly, the blonde answered the question he had yet to ask, "Paku-san helped me to buy these when I told her I had a date. She said I had to be able to turn heads for some reason."

"Oh." Yukio would've said more, mainly about how this wasn't a date and how she didn't have to turn heads if it was one, but the music blaring over the speakers changed from techno pop to a slow R&B song. The brunette watched as the couples around them slowed down. Several had awkward, nervous expressions as they took each other's hands. Others felt comfortable enough to hold each other close as they began to dance. Yukio's eyes fell on Shiemi, who was also looking around.

"U-um…sh-should we start?" Shiemi asked, looking nervous.

Wordlessly, Yukio nodded. Steeling himself so that his hands wouldn't start to shake, he took hold of Shiemi's hands. He took a quick look around at the others around them, took in their movements, and began to lead. Their steps were awkward due to Yukio's acting stiff as he kept trying to not get too close to her while pretending that he knew how to dance like this. Occasionally, the blonde would accidentally step on his feet and apologize immediately afterwards.

"I'm sorry, Yuki-chan," Shiemi said with a pout as she suddenly stopped. "This is so different from how it was last year."

The brunette stared down at her. "It is different." This wasn't like last year. There was no Rin around to make this a trio and childishly spin about with them like morons. His older brother was nearby, but he was paying more attention to his date, holding her closely with a blush on his face like this wasn't their first time dancing together.

"I guess I'm not very good at dancing like this…"

"It's your first time dancing like this, isn't it?" Shiemi nodded. "To be honest, I'm a beginner at this myself." As expected, the blonde's eyes widened in surprise. "What we were doing last year wasn't exactly proper dancing, but…I'm sure we can learn to dance like the others if we take it slow."

Shiemi smiled and nodded with enthusiasm! "Yes! T-take it slow…! Um…" She looked around for a few seconds before she stepped in closer to Yukio, gripping his hands a bit tighter. "Is this okay? No one else is dancing as far apart as we were."

"It's fine," the young exorcist spoke quickly, struggling to keep himself from blushing. It was hard, though, with Shiemi smiling brightly at him. Clearing his throat, he began to lead their dance. No feet were stepped on and Yukio felt himself relax when the scent of herbs and flowers rose off her like a perfume.

"This is nice."

"Yeah. We're not great, but at least we're not dancing as poorly as before."

"I meant being close to you like this," the blonde girl said with a soft expression. "I'm not sure if I've ever been so close to Yuki-chan like this… I really like it, don't you?"

A small smile appeared on Yukio's face as he nodded. The slow song faded out and an energetic pop song began. The brunette watched as the couples separated and began moving fast-paced and energetic. "It looks like the song is over."

"Huh? It seems like it ended too quickly..." He wouldn't say it out loud, but he agreed. "I guess you have to get back to work?"

"Yeah." Yukio soon realized that he was still holding onto Shiemi's hand. He let go, but it took seconds for the girl to do the same. "Will you be going back home after this, Shiemi-san, or will you be staying around?"

"I still have some flowers to sell, and after that, I might look around a bit."

"Alright. Have a good night, then."

"You, too, Yuki-chan."

Yukio stood in place as he watched Shiemi walk away. He took a deep breath, fixed up his glasses, and blushed. He was grateful that it was over, and at the same time, sad that it hadn't seemed to last for long. His hands were still warm from holding Shiemi's and he could still smell herbs and flowers.

"Glad to see ya can get that stick outta yer ass once in a while." Yukio flinched at the sound of a familiar and unwanted voice. Shura stood behind him, wearing a dress that accentuated her cleavage and a smirk that Yukio found annoying. "But no good night kiss? Guess you're too much of a four-eyed scaredy cat to do a thing like that!"

The brunette cast her a glare. "Don't you have any work to do? Or are you just taking advantage of the atmosphere to slack off?"

"Nyahaha~! Ain't that the pot callin' the kettle black, lover boy?" The redheaded woman spoke. With a frustrated sigh, Yukio walked away from her, ready to resume his duties.

X-X-X

"So, what happened?" Yukio, who'd just returned from the finished festival, gave his brother a long, hard stare. Rin, who had been in bed with Kuro next to him, ignored the look and said, "C'mon, tell me! If you can't tell your brother the details of your date, who can you tell?"

"First of all, it wasn't a date. Second of all, if it was a date, the details about it are my business. You don't see me hounding you for information about your dates." Not that it didn't stop the older Okumura from talking about them anyway.

Rin frowned. Beneath the sheets, Yukio could see his tail moving about as he showed his annoyance. "Alright, so it didn't go well."

"You were nearby. Didn't you see us?"

The blue-haired teen blushed and looked surprised. "R-really? I, um…guess I was distracted."

"So I saw..."

Silence fell in the room before Rin opened his mouth again. "So did you have fun?"

"…We only danced for one song. But it was a nice experience," Yukio admitted. He soon regretted it, though, as his brother smiled in a goofy manner.

"Soooo, did ya kiss?"

A light glinted off of Yukio's glasses. "Shut up and go to bed…!"

"Alright. I'll take that as a no. But there's always next year, y'know," Rin said as he closed his eyes and rolled over, being careful of Kuro.

The Yukio sighed in frustration. He had a feeling he'd have to put up with this for a while. But, as he looked down at his head and thought back to earlier that night, the young exorcist couldn't help but smile. "Maybe next year," he muttered to himself.

"I heard that~!"

"For the last time, shut up and go to bed!"