in which i finally wrote a fanfic thats not inazuma. but its still level-5 so somehow it almost doesnt count...
And I wish I could run to you. And I hope you know that every time I don't, I almost do.
[I Almost Do, Taylor Swift]
"The mall…?" Ban raised his eyebrows quizzically at the girls. Ran, Ami and Jessica nodded their heads enthusiastically, almost in sync. "Since it's a day off, why not?" they said. The brunet scratched the back of his head before smiling. "Alright then, but not for too long," he approved and the girls cheered.
"Ah, I want to come too!" Hiro looked at Ran with a hopeful face.
"Me too! Me too!" cheerfully, Asuka waved her hand around.
"Can I come as well?" Yuuya said from his seat and Jin's head, which was earlier buried in a magazine, shot up. "Yuuya? You're going?" he asked with raised eyebrows. Yuuya quickly nodded. "It sounds fun!" he chuckled afterwards, following Ran, Ami, Hiro and Asuka, who were following Jessica—she claimed to know the best mall in town.
Jin pursed his lips before standing up, throwing the magazine onto the table. "Jin-kun?" Yuuya blinked as he watched Jin walking towards him at the door.
"I'm coming too," he declared and walked past him, hands in his pockets.
He didn't particularly care where they were headed because in the end the girls flew off on their own. Even Hiro and Asuka went away together to an LBX toy shop. He and Yuuya had stayed and browsed for a while but it got crowded so they decided to leave and stroll around with no one else but themselves.
"There are so many people…" Jin heard Yuuya mutter in awe at the array of shoppers ranging from all ages, young and old. And it was true; there were too many people going to and fro and the chances of him and Yuuya separating thanks to the crowd were high. Not fond of the idea Yuuya walking around the mall alone, his hand reached out to hold the other's, catching the long haired teen off guard.
"Jin-kun?" he asked in surprise. Jin realized what he had done and unsure of how to explain the embarrassing gesture, he said, "Ah, it'll be bad if one of us gets lost in this crowd…" he trailed off while still trying to remain his usual cool self. Yuuya's hand was warm and it felt nice to touch. His heart skipped a beat and he felt the heat rushing to his neck. "Do you want to go somewhere else?" Or something. Anything. To get out of this crowd.
"Let's go there then," Yuuya, with his ever so sweet smile, pointed to a clothing store with his other hand. Jin nodded without thinking twice and they both snaked through the crowd to get there. Not many people were inside, and the clerk smiled at them when they entered after her eyes landed on their joint hands. Reluctantly, he let go of Yuuya's hand. It was immediately cold.
The other however, went directly to a rack of shoes and Jin followed. "Are you thinking of getting something?" he asked Yuuya, who scanned the shoes one by one. Jin's heart lifted at the sight of Yuuya's sparkling eyes and beaming smile but then stopped when he realized something.
This was Yuuya's first time shopping, wasn't it?
"I was thinking of getting a new attire," Yuuya replied, his eyes not lifting up once from the shoe in hand. "Can you help me choose?" he asked Jin, turning to face him with a smile, not once considering concealing his excitement.
It was impossible to say no.
It was like that one changing booth was reserved only for Yuuya that day—he popped in and out with a different set of clothes every time and despite the bustling people outside the shop, none of them seemed to care about getting any clothes and thus the store was almost empty.
The first few sets resulted in him frowning at the sight and while the ones that came afterwards were better, but they just didn't suit Yuuya—they weren't his style. Even with all that, Yuuya still looked like he was having fun, trying out all these strange clothes and deciding on which style he would try on next. Jin couldn't help but join in the joy too, smiling slightly as Yuuya walked back into the changing booth with another set of clothes. He leaned into the sofa he had been sitting on, conveniently placed almost directly in front of the booth, when the door opened again and his breath hitched in his throat.
His jaw dropped at the sight. Yuuya had adorned himself with a sleeveless bunny themed hoodie, the long rabbit ears hanging by the sides of his face. Under it he wore a striped shirt and on his feet, much to Jin's utter surprise, was the shoes Yuuya had been admiring earlier—the shoes that had angel wings attached to them.
Whatever magic that had been cast upon him, he didn't know. His brain was suddenly a Sunday Special Soup as his thoughts jumbled together in the mixture, disabling his functionality efficiently. It took him another moment later to realize he had stopped breathing.
Yuuya was fumbling with the rabbit ears as his eyes darted from here to there. He looked quite embarrassed with the style he had chosen this time. After analyzing Jin's lack of reaction and unblinking eyes, he assumed this outfit was no good either. "Not this one too, huh?" he said, forced out a laugh and scrambled back into the booth before anyone else saw him.
Jin, on the other hand, wanted to say otherwise but he had been a few seconds too late.
Despite the fact that he didn't get anything, Yuuya seemed content with the day's activities—at least, in everyone else's eyes. But Jin knew better—or saw better. Whichever it was, he knew Yuuya was a little bit disappointed. He wasn't sure how he knew it was just there in his mind like a fact.
That was why after everyone else got into the train, Jin stepped right back out and said really quickly to Yuuya, "I forgot to buy something Ban-kun asked me to get, so you guys head on without me," and the doors closed before the other even got a chance to reply.
Ban never told Jin to get anything for him at all, Yuuya and the others soon found out. The brunet denied it plenty of times when Asuka kept on insisting that he might have forgotten or something, but he really didn't. If he had wanted something from the mall, he would have just gone there himself instead of asking someone else to get it for him.
And it left Yuuya in blatant confusion. Why had Jin lied to them—to him? Was he considered lying too, since he had told the others what Jin had told him? No, he didn't think that was how things worked, right? Even with all these unanswered questions, he found himself thirsty and the long haired teen pushed himself off his bed. He might as well get a glass of water.
He was sure the rest weren't asleep yet. But even then, when he walked out and saw a figure in the far off corner of the hallway, he was surprised to say the least. If it weren't for the lights illuminating the other's face, he would have assumed it to be a burglar. Thank God it was Jin, wet from head to toe.
"Jin-kun?!" Yuuya gasped. Droplets of water landed on the ground after trailing down Jin's face and body. The black haired teen looked just as surprised at the sight of Yuuya, taking a step back and hiding his hands behind him. "Y-Yuuya!" he stammered with eyes wide. "The others told me you went to sleep,"
"I didn't, but never mind that. Look at you!" he walked over to him and pulled one of Jin's arms. "You'll catch a cold if you don't dry yourself soon," he said worriedly as he dragged the other into his room and instantly got a towel out the closet to wipe Jin's hair. "Yuuya, I'll be fine," Jin said as the other ruffled his hair, messing it up and letting a few strands stick out here and there.
"No you won't, you're just as immune to diseases as the rest of us," the long haired teen scolded, huffing afterwards. Jin stayed silent after that and objected no more when Yuuya dried his head and face for him. He didn't even realize he closed his eyes—it felt good to be pampered this way, especially when he knew it was Yuuya. He opened them again but was caught off guard by Yuuya's face, only a few centimeters away from his.
"Why did you lie to me?" the long haired teen asked, sounding hurt. Jin saw the pain in the other's eyes and felt something weigh down his heart. Shit.
His fingers tightened around the bag he hid behind him, before slowly holding it out to Yuuya. Head turned to the side, Jin felt undeniable vulnerable as the beats of his heart sounded in his ears. He felt like jumping out a window when Yuuya asked, "…what's this?"
Managing to pull himself back together, Jin answered, "I... I went back to buy this for you. I thought it would suit you," he confessed, unable to believe he actually did it. The bag was taken from his hand and he listened quietly to the sound of the other opening it.
A gasp. "J-Jin-kun..."
Daring to look up, he saw Yuuya's face had turned red—accompanied by an awkward line for a mouth. "B-But I thought—" the long haired teen started. Jin cut him off. "You look great in it," he complimented honestly, a smile on his face as Yuuya's eyes met his. "Adorable, actually,"
Yuuya's blush deepened in colour. He turned his head away. Jin stood up, the towel Yuuya used on him draped over his shoulder. He took a step towards Yuuya, his hand outstretched, and gently he caressed the other's cheek, finding the soft flesh unsurprisingly warm. Yuuya, at first, wouldn't meet his eyes. But slowly he raised his head and smiled for him—that one angelic smile he found entrancing. "Thank you, Jin-kun!" he chirped.
Satisfied, Jin retreated, his hands in his pockets. "We can go again, if you want to," he suggested, partly sure Yuuya was going to agree. But he froze in place when Yuuya replied with, "Just the two of us, okay?" and laughed.
A pink blush dusted his cheeks as he answered, "O-Okay..."
