A/N: Hi guys! thanks so much for taking the time to stop and have a read at my story. I've taken up arms to make a ReaderxMakoto fic because FREE is what I'm really into at the moment, and Makoto strikes alot of girl's fancies (Askdncjbkg). I'm aware that fanfiction discourages 2nd POV(no matter how much better it is to write in -.-) so this was written in 1st person-which made sense to do in my head. I really did try my best :"). This may be my first story, but I don't expect any special treatment- If you have anything to say nice or rude,or any constructive criticism, or if my 1st person is just too weird- maybe leave a review? *ahem* without any further ado.
Chapter 1: Taking a Breather
I stood before my parents while anxiously clenching my pink ruffled dress. They were pressed against time, trying to get me to understand the situation at hand.
"Honey, we'll be back in three days." My mother assured. She crouched down to my level and placed her hands on my shoulders. "We talked about this a few days ago, don't you remember?" She asked, looking back at my dad who glanced back at her with worry.
I diverted my gaze to the ground, the tears welling up. "I know, I know...but we always go out as a family..." I choked out, my voice breaking with the will to cry. I desperately tried to hold back the tears, and anxiously twiddled with the hem of my dress.
"Yes, but this year's Anniversary is for Mommy and Daddy only, which is why I want you to stay with Uncle Haga, okay?" She explained. At the mention of his name, I turned my head back to look at my Uncle, who only looked at me awkwardly with his hands stuffed in his pockets. I'm not against going to my Uncle's house, I've visited him before. I'm just very upset with the fact that my parents are going on a fun vacation without me, it would be a first.
"If we don't hurry, we'll miss our flight." My Dad informed, gesturing at the Plane's departure time with his arms crossed.
My Mom then slid her hands to my back, bringing me to a tight embrace, before releasing me and walking over to stand next to Dad. "Take care of her until we get back". She said to Uncle.
That was all I could take- the reality that they were really leaving right this moment hit me hard. Chunky tears streamed down my face as I moved over to hold Uncle Haga's hand, and with my free hand, I roughly whipped them away. I was sniffing now and again, a clear frown displayed on my face.
"Take care you two, I Love you." Mom said, waving at us.
Dad smiled, "Three days is nothing, we'll be there and back before you know it." He said jokingly, trying to make me feel better, but the flow of my tears just wasn't slowing down.
My Dad picked up the luggage resting beside his feet before taking my Moms hand in his, and they both turned, heading for the doors that led to the plane. "Happy Anniversary!" I croaked, meaning for them to hear, but the lump in my throat was so big that it came out merely as a whisper. I watched as their forms grew distant, and gripped my Uncle's hand harder.
Just three Days, and they'll be back.
"_."
"Hey."
"Hey!"
I blinked several times, my vision focusing back on the reality I hadn't realized I had left. I turned to the one that had been calling me, My Co-worker Goro Sasabe. He and my Uncle are old friends, and he helped me get a job at this Pizza Place so I could make some money on the side. I'm working here as a part timer until my second year starts.
He eyed me curiously. "When I passed by you fifteen minutes ago, you were kneading the dough. I come back, and you're still kneading it."
As if to confirm what he's saying is true, I looked down at my hands, They were heavily covered in flour that was used to thicken the dough, and the rolling pin that had apparently been used was cast aside at some point. "Sorry, I didn't know I was out of it." I said sheepishly.
"Uh huh..." He remarked, his amber eyes boring into mine. "You might want to work a little faster, Time is money y'know". He lightly shooed me to the side, taking over what I was working on. I puckered my lips in thought then looked at my hands. Might as well go wash these first. I shuffled over to the sink and hummed along with the mellow tune playing on the radio. I looked around the Kitchen area as I washed my hands- The counters were dirty with fragments of pizza topping scattered all over it, and the floor was dirtied with footprints going in different directions, I'd have to clean all that later. As slow as work could be sometimes, I found myself enjoying it. It gave me things to keep me busy, I was somewhere other than home, and I had company other than my uncle; though I wish I had someone my age to talk to-no offense to Goro, he's a cool guy. I watched the water shower over my hands in a daze, and after a moment shook my head, stopping myself from drifting off into space again. After my hands were cleaned, I made my way back over to Goro, using my uniform as a towel for my hands. He was already placing the Pizza in the oven, 'man he's fast'. "The Pizza might be a little late…" He muttered to himself. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, he took the Pizza Pie out of the oven and placed it in the box imprinted with the store's logo. He brushed past me, reaching to grab the Red helmet that sat on the shelf.
"Hang on, How about I do the Delivery this time?" I suggested.
"Eh?" He asked, frozen in place. He gave me that dumbfounded look I've seen one too many times.
"C'mon It's only fair, you worked hard to make up for the time I wasted on kneading the dough. So how about you take a break and I deliver it?" I explained clearly.
"Hmm…" The hand that reached for the helmet pulled back, and moved over to scratch the back of his neck. He then took a glance at the clock before looking back at me. "Alright." He replied after a moment.
"Yes! That means I get to ride the-"
"Nope." He interjected, My excitement immediately deflating. "You will deliver this on foot, and if you hurry you'll make it in time."
"That's…really mean." I muttered, baffled at his conditions.
"Hey, it'll be a nice walk. It'll also give you a chance to clear your head." He jested while pointing to his skull with a teasing smile.
'How could I possibly argue with that?' I playfully rolled my eyes and went to grab the box."What's the address?" Recalling where he placed the note, he quickly paced towards me and stuffed it in my hand. I took a moment to process what was written on it, committing the address to memory before moving my hand back under the box to support its weight. "Alright, I'll be back soon."
"Don't take too long, that pizza was supposed to be on its way ten minutes ago!" He exclaimed.
"Got it!" I called back to him, moving even quicker.
As soon as I had left the shop I was bathed in warm sunlight, yet caressed by a faint breeze all the same. Although it was summer, it wasn't as hot as I thought it'd be, then I took note of the orange tinting my skin and realized the heat was toned down since it was sunset. The neighborhood was nice and peaceful, the buzzing of Cicadas only adding to that effect. I don't get to go out a lot during my shift, I'm stuck indoors preparing the Pizzas and answering any calls, or attending customers. Goro of course helps me out, but he's the only one that gets to Deliver. He at least gets some fresh air and I envy him for that. Being outside at this time of hour is really pleasant and something I want to savor as much as I can, That's why I should hurry and deliver this pizza in time, so I could take my sweet time getting back to the shop while enjoying the fresh air. Now that sounded like a plan.
As much as I thought I could run, I only sprinted for about twenty seconds, All the while Gaining a few curious stares from passersby, and I had to constantly adjust the pizza box in my hands so that I wouldn't drop it. Finally halting to a stop, my heart pounded in my chest, and my lungs ached for a steady stream of air. I kept going regardless of the pain-remembering that I couldn't waste anymore time and decided on stabilizing my breathing along the way. The place was farther than I had thought, and when I asked someone loitering by a convenience store what time it was- I felt disappointed. The pizza had been more than thirty minutes late, and I still had a ways to go. Dammit.
The sky had already grown to be a darker hue of blue by the time I reached my destination, any traces of orange in the sky already gone. I steadied my breathing, wiped a few beads of sweat from my forehead, and fiddled with my hair in a last minute attempt to look "presentable". I rang the doorbell and took a step back so I wouldn't be in the persons face when they opened the door. As soon as the door opened I heard a big commotion on the other side and couldn't suppress a smile when I heard cheering along the lines of "Pizza's here. Pizza's here." A brunette with shamrock-green eyes had been the one to answer the door. He was wearing a baggy blue T-shirt, and plain black shorts. Now did I really hope I looked decent in his presence-He was rather attractive.
"Hi." He greeted, a welcoming smile gracing his lips.
"Hello." I greeted back, bowing to him nervously. "This is the Tachibana Residence, right?" I asked, already handing the Pizza box over to him.
"Yeah, that's right. Thank you." he replied, Shifting over the box to hold in one hand, while fishing around the pockets in his shorts with the other, Presumably fishing for money for the pizza.
"Oh um, originally the Pizza was twenty, but since it was late- it's free. I'm terribly sorry about that." I meekly explained. Goro is gonna chew me out for returning back late AND being empty handed. "Enjoy your Pizza." I added, beginning to turn on my heel.
"No wait, hang on." He said, and went back inside the house. He had left the door slightly ajar and the commotion from inside drifted clearly in my ears, I smiled to myself. It sounded very…lively.
"Save some for me, guys!" I heard him say before stepping out again, empty handed this time. "Sorry about that." He said, chuckling lightly while extending a hand toward me. I looked down at the extended hand, mouth slightly agape in confusion-and then I realized.
"You really don't have to, I mean- are you sure?" I asked, half curious and half coy. This is probably the first time I've ever seen anyone deny free pizza, I couldn't help but be a little surprised, after all, It's FREE PIZZA.
When I caught his stare, he gave me a reassuring smile. With his easy-going demeanor he probably smiled a lot, not that I argued, it was rather charming."You came all this way, right? Please." He insisted. If he put it that way, how could I possibly refuse? He looks like he wouldn't take no for an answer anyway. I outstretched my hand and accepted the money he offered me, briefly brushing my fingers with his. I politely bowed to The brunette boy while thanking a wave of farewell I turned on my heel, and started my walk back to the shop. As I walked, I felt a strange feeling, and couldn't fight the tendency to turn around. When I chanced back a glance, I saw that that brunette boy was still outside with his eyes on me, I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed, shouldn't he have gone inside and enjoyed his pizza already?
"Did I forget something?" I dumbly asked, fully aware that I only came here with the pizza box. We were still within hearing range if we spoke loud enough, so yelling wasn't necessary. I saw him shake his head, The light from his house casting a big shadow that mimicked his movements.
"No it's just-It's kind of dark, will you be okay?" He questioned. Oh so he's worried about me, That's awfully sweet. I looked up at the sky, and the longer I stared, the more stars appeared into view. It wouldn't get any darker than this, and there were plenty of streetlights around. I should be pretty safe as long as I stay on the main road and keep a move on.
When I opened my mouth to reply, I heard a woman's voice drift from the other side of his door.
"Makoto?"
When he turned to answer whoever called him, I took that as my chance to escape, not wishing to take anymore of his time. I jogged and cut through a few corners to escape his field of view. When I realized It was a shorter route, I mentally facepalmed for not recalling it sooner when I had to rush my delivery. I continued with a brisk pace, noting the change of atmosphere. It was cooler now,The Cicadas were no longer buzzing, Crickets chirping faintly in their place, and It felt very empty. I was suddenly conscious that I had been clenching my left hand the entire time, the hand with the money in it. When I opened up my hand and smoothed out the bill, I found that there was another bill folded under the other. The original twenty dollars, and another five dollars as a tip for me. I couldn't suppress the urge to smile as I gingerly placed the money in my uniform pocket. Makoto...Makoto Tachibana is it? What a really nice guy.