Gift
Natsume drops dejectedly onto a seat by Micchan's counter, and lays her head on the tabletop, sighing heavily.
"What's the matter, Natsume-chan?"Micchan asks gently from behind the counter, his hands occupied with cleaning glasses.
Natsume sighs again, and she appears gloomier than just moments before.
"I didn't manage to give him…" she mumbles miserably.
Micchan sets the glass and cloth down, and leans against the counter in front of Natsume.
"Give who what, Natsume-chan?"
"The chocolates! I can't believe it!" Natsume exclaims, her hand flailing dramatically with her outburst. "Every time I thought I had mustered enough courage to go up to him and give him the chocolates, some girl around will proclaim her love for some guy loudly, and then I'll lose it and back away!"
She collapses onto the tabletop again and mutters softly, "It doesn't help that he's also popular enough to be approached by so many girls…"
Micchan smiles, and strokes her head.
"Sounds to me you're jealous, Natsume."
"Me? Jealous? No way, Micchan!" Natsume exclaims again, thumping her fist to her chest. "I don't get jealous!"
"Hai, hai. You're not jealous then," Micchan relents, taking his cloth to start wiping his glasses again. "It does sound to me that you like this boy."
Natsume pauses for a moment, then smiles gently, a blush tinting her cheeks.
"Yes, I do… very much."
Micchan returns her smile.
"So who's the lucky boy?"
"I'm sure you know, Micchan," Natsume says, shooting him a narrowed glare while not exactly answering him.
The smile does not wear away from Micchan's face as he replies her. "It would be nice to hear you say it."
Natsume rests her chin down once more, and blushes even harder.
"It's Sasayan-kun."
The grin on Micchan's face seems to grow, and he turns his attention to the ground next to him.
"I'm heading to the washroom. You know what to do, baseball boy."
Natsume feels her heart hammering against her chest, when a familiar voice responds.
"Aren't you being a busybody, Manager?" the annoyed voice said from behind the counter.
Natsume hides her face within her folded arms, not wanting to face the unexpected situation she finds herself in. She is embarrassed, horrified, and feels an urge to run away. No doubt her cheeks are already betraying her with a full-blown blush. She needs to stop blushing.
"Man the counter for me, Sasayan-kun," Micchan tells him, ignoring the younger boy's remark. Natsume hears the footsteps indicating Micchan's escape, and shuts her eyes tighter, praying over and over again that it is a dream and she did not just reveal her feelings for the boy in the same room as her.
"You just did, Natsume-san," Sasayan says, and Natsume berates herself for speaking her thoughts out loud.
An awkward silence falls over them, as Natsume keeps her eyes tightly shut, yet wondering at the same time about Sasayan.
Is he looking at me? He must be thinking I'm a coward. Wait, I am a coward! I'm so stupid! Doesn't he have baseball practice today? Is he—
"You should open your eyes, Natsume-san," Sasayan comments dryly. "You look stupid."
It pricks a nerve, and Natsume snaps, "I know I'm an idiot, but—"
She stops abruptly, as she finds herself staring into large, dark eyes. Sasayan has set himself in a similar position as her, his chin resting on the back of his hand on the tabletop. Her heart beats faster, when she realizes that their faces are only inches apart.
It is Sasayan who looks away first, and Natsume could see the rapid coloring of his face.
"You could… still give them to me now," Sasayan tells her hesitantly, and fidgets noticeably. Natsume thinks she has never heard his voice sound huskier than this.
"Or tomorrow, if you don't have them now," Sasayan continues to ramble. "Or if you don't want to give them to me because it's not Valentine's Day anymore, it's fine too."
Natsume feels a sense of warmth growing in her abdomen, and revels in the sensation. She sits up, and reaches into her bag to pull out a carefully-wrapped box, pushing it across the counter to stop in front of the boy's face.
"Here," she says, then ponders for a moment.
Just do it, a voice tells her, so she listens and takes the plunge.
"Suki-desu, Sasayan-kun."
A smile slowly graces Sasayan's lips as he stands and takes her hands, holding the chocolates at the same time. Natsume feels the elation in the moment.
"Me too."
Omake: Valentine's Day
"Yo, Baseball Boy!" Micchan greets. "It's half price for boys on this day, just like last year."
Micchan receives no answer as Sasayan slumps across the table with a deep sigh. Only moving his arm, he reaches for a large paper bag, and drops it heavily on the counter.
"My, someone is rather popular," Micchan comments.
"You can have them all, Manager," Sasayan mutters miserably.
"Why the glum face, Sasayan-kun?"Micchan asks, taking the bag and going through it.
"I didn't receive anything from her."
Micchan stops pursuing, and pushes a stack of token to him.
"Here. Have these."
Sasayan pulls out the change he has in his pocket, not even caring about the amount, and places them on the counter, taking the tokens with him. He leaves for the batting cage wordlessly, and starts the machine. Micchan watches as the boy swings loosely and aimlessly at each rushing ball.
"Ah… young love."
Note 1: The "hiding-behind-some-wall-and-listening-in" troupe in Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun always seem to involve Sasayan in one way or another, so I thought to use it here as well XD
Note 2: I think the Japanese usage of "Suki desu" has so much more meaning compared to the English equivalent of "I like you". I can't even call that an equivalent since the former conveys the feelings of like-as-in-love better than the latter. I'm a little uncomfortable with using the word "love" because it's just too strong at this point, and "like" just seems too… little.
Reviews would be nice :)