Wassup doods! Because inspiration hit me, I have decided to add another one-shot here! I have also decided to make Stepping Stones into a series of one-shots, wherein we could see bits and pieces of Mattsun and Mari's life as a couple~ There is also a probability that the chapters aren't connected to each other. Huehue.

Thanks to your reviews, I suddenly felt the urge to write more fics for these two adorable babies~ I also want to thank all those readers who gave me gists on what's happening from chapter 42 onwards XD It really helped me to write this fanfic~ Shoutout to you guys! Mehe~

As for the other requests, I would do my best to insert some of the couples in the one-shots. That is so because this fic is more MarixMattsun centric.

Hope you enjoy this one!

Matsunaga Tomoya heaved a deep sigh inside their classroom, catching the attention of his three friends who were sitting just beside him in their class.

"That sounded like a really, tired sigh, Mattsun. Is everything okay?" Hashiba Natsuki asked, sincerely concerned about him. The blonde boy really is a softie at heart. Tomoya signed once more before leaning on his chair and scratching the back of his head.

"Thanks for the concern, Natcchan. It's nothing." he mumbled, making Natsuki agree with him. On the other hand, Naoe Tsuyoshi didn't seemed to be convinced with Tomoya's answer.

"It has something to do with Tsutsui-san, am I right?" Tsuyoshi casually said, catching Tomoya in surprise. Who is he kidding, anyway? Tsuyoshi was the smartest in their group. He couldn't really dodge a bullet when it comes to lying to him. Natsuki turned his attention back at the red head. "Did you guys fight?!"

"Eh-? No, that's not—"

"Eeeeeh? You have to show her dominance, Mattsun! You don't want to lose her, do you?" Katakura Keiichi, who was holding his usual whip, gave his share of advice to their gloomy friend. As a reply, Tomoya gave Keiichi a glare that didn't seemed to bother the latter at all.

"Mari is not that kind of girl." after a few seconds of pondering, he spoke up again. "Do you really think I'd lose her?" Tomoya added, the worry obvious in his voice.

"O-of course not! No way! Kobayakawa-san even told me that Tsutsui-san was more cheery these days!"

"You can't really say for sure, Mattsun. The future is quite unpredictable."

"Hell yeah you would! Man up, dude! You gotta keep the relationship exciting! Have you guys even kissed yet?"

Natsuki, Tsuyoshi and Keiichi said spontaneously, making Tomoya genuinely confused at the same time, anxious. All three of them had a point, but he has no idea which of them is right, given his current situation. With another deep sigh, he placed his palm on his forehead.

"First of all, thanks a lot Keiichi for making my confidence drop a notch." he said, as he stared at Keiichi seriously. "No problem dude." Keiichi replied, completely unaware of Tomoya's sarcasm.

"Second, that's not really helping, Tsuyoshi."

"I did my best."

"And lastly…" Tomoya paused, sorting his thoughts. But honestly, he only paused for added drama. Somehow, Natsuki became nervous as he anticipated Tomoya's rection.

"She really said that? Mari's become cheery these days? Is it because of me?" Tomoya asked Natsuki, feeling complete joy upon hearing what his friend just said. On the other hand, Natsuki nodded with a thumbs up.

"I think you're doing great with her. Anyway, was that the only problem?" Natsuki asked. He froze, hearing what his friend just asked made Tomoya retreat back to his gloomy mood.

"There's more?" Keiichi wondered out loud. As he pondered about Tomoya getting gloomier as the weeks passed, he realized that it started before the school festival began. That was almost a month ago. He remembered Tomoya complaining something about kissing. And when realization hit him, he instantly beamed at the red head.

"Oh! You two lack make-out sessions!" he loudly declared, making Natsuki blush and Tomoya generally pissed.

"Geez, shut up Keiichi! You don't have to phrase it that way!" Tomoya hurriedly spat back, his face pale. He would have to admit that it was quite embarrassing to let his friends know that he hasn't even kissed his girlfriend yet for the whole month that they started dating.

"Wow… I haven't seen such self-control, Mattsun. I applaud you." Tsuyoshi said, sounding surprised and sincere with what he just said, making Tomoya even more depressed.

"Self-control? More like patience. Man, I'm so scared to rush things with her. She's like this small animal that I have to hold carefully so that I won't lose her." he mumbled quietly, almost barely a whisper. Natsuki patted him on his back to comfort him.

"With your mindset being like that, I don't think you'll lose her, Mattsun." he said.

"I don't really have a lot of relationship advice since S and M isn't your style, but I think you're on the right track with her!" Keiichi added as he shuffled Tomoya's hair playfully. Tsuyoshi stood up and walked towards him, placing his hands on both his shoulders. Then he breathed in before looking at him dead serious in the eye.

"Tsutsui-san's a genuine tsundere, Mattsun. It takes a whole new level of patience when dealing with her kind. But, after all that hardwork of gaining her trust, I assure you that every little bit of sacrifice is worth the wait." he said with his usual monotonous voice. Despite the lack of emotion in Tsuyoshi's voice, Tomoya could definitely feel the concern and sincerity of his advice, and of course his other friends' advice as well. He gave them a wry smile as he looked down on his desk.

"You idiots are the best idiots a guy like me could have." then he looked up at them with a huge grin. "What would I do without you guys?"

"You'd be totally helpless." Keiichi said with a smile.

Classes were over for the day, and Tsuyoshi was first to leave. Apparently, he and Asai Yukiko are meeting up somewhere to pick up some anime goods that they ordered online. He bid farewell to his friends, and then patted Tomoya on his back with a small "good luck with her" and a thumbs up before leaving. Keiichi headed out as well, saying that he has basketball practice with the varsity.

"Yo Keiichi. Nozomi said something about waiting for you by the gym." he said before the brunet got out of the room.

"Oh right! I'm walking her home, if you don't mind~" Keiichi said with a cheery grin. As dreadful as it was for Tomoya, he gave him a thumbs up. Despite his "preferences" and "hobbies", Keiichi's a nice guy. He could probably trust Nozomi to him. He really hopes.

"Don't lay a hand on her, Keiichi."

"I can't promise anything!" Keiichi said before running down the hall, making Tomoya even more dreadful. "That bastard." he muttered.

"Mattsun! I'm heading to Kobayakawa-san's classroom. Wanna go with me?" Natsuki said as he grabbed his bag and waited at their room's door. Looking up from his desk, Tomoya grabbed his bag and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, sure."

Tomoya and Natsuki walked towards their destination and stood by the door, waiting for the girls. Noticing that they were just outside the room, Kobayakawa Anna tapped Tsutsui Mari on her shoulder and pointed to where the guys are. Mari looked up from her desk and waved a hand at Tomoya, making him blush and his heart beat faster than ever. He waved back with his most seductive stare, making his girlfriend roll her eyes as she stood up and walked towards him.

"I'm on cleaning duty today. You can go ahead if you want." Mari said with her arms crossed.

"No way. I'm waiting for you." he replied. Somehow, this made her flustered, much to Tomoya's amusement. She also noticed Natsuki's presence.

"Lucky for you, Hashiba. Anna's cleaning duty is next week." she mumbled, mainly to hide her flush, before going back in their room to start her duty. Tomoya grinned to himself as Natsuki patted his back, feeling happy for his friend.

"See? You have nothing to worry about." Natsuki said with a huge smile.

"Yeah. Let's hope it's for the long run." Tomoya said, agreeing with him.

After a while, Anna walked out of their classroom and waved at the two. Then, she bid farewell to Mari. Natsuki scratched the back of his head as he asked her if she wanted to head somewhere before they went home. With a small smile, Anna suggested they eat at a nearby pastry shop that just opened by the train station. Feeling his heart could burst at any time, he nodded and agreed with her.

"O-okay. Let's." he mumbled as the two started to head for the shoe lockers. They both bid their farewells to Tomoya. On the other hand, the red head gave Natsuki a wink and thumbs up, making the blond blush slightly. Realizing that things were going smoothly for his friends, he couldn't help but smile. So this was the beauty of high school, he thought. It was full of ups and downs, and there are gray-colored days. But after all that's come, surely a bright and colorful rainbow was just around the corner.

He entered Mari's classroom as she cleaned the blackboard. He sat down on one of the desks in front, watching his girlfriend reach for the blackboard to erase the writings. It seemed that she has trouble reaching the top. With a smirk, he placed his bag on the desk and stood up, walking towards her and grabbing the eraser from her hand. This surprised Mari, but he continued in erasing the remaining writings in ease.

"It's really cute to see you struggle to reach that far." He said, teasing her. With her arms crossed, she glared at him as she snatched the eraser back.

"You're such a creep." she muttered.

"That's what I get for helping you? Not even a small 'thank you'?" he whined jokingly, which was completely ignored by his girlfriend as Mari continued her cleaning duty by arranging some of the desks in order. Tomoya sighed as he leaned on the blackboard, watching her once more. Since there were only a few disarranged tables, Mari proceeded to sweep the floor.

"Need some help with that?" Tomoya asked.

"I'm pretty sure I can reach all the corners." Mari replied.

'Man, she is hard to soften up.'Tomoya thought as he continued to watch her work. Somehow, this gave him a warm, fuzzy feeling. Seeing her clean made him think of the future. He imagines her in their own house, with Mari doing some chores. Then he would hug her from behind to help her relax. And then maybe she'll turn around and place her arms around her neck. And then he'll pull her closer towards him as he would slowly lean in to kiss her. And as their lips touch, he would slide his hand on her—

"Hey! Are you just going to stand there and look stupid?" Mari called out to him as she placed the broom back to the closet. Tomoya snapped out from his thoughts and smirked at her.

"You love this stupid-looking face." he said with a sheepish grin. Mari looked at him dreadfully before walking towards her desk to grab her bag. As she walked towards him, she noticed chalk dust on his cheek. Instinctively, she reached for his face and gently removed the dust with her hand.

"Geez, you're like a kid." she muttered as she continued removing the said dust. Once again, Tomoya was caught off guard by his girlfriend. So unmanly of him.

Mari's focus then drifted from his cheek to his lips, her hand still on his cheek. And because of the atmosphere and their building hormones, Mari didn't notice that she was waiting for Tomoya's lips to touch hers as he slowly leaned in. And just like that, he kissed her for the first time as a couple. Compared to their first kiss, back when they just met, this one was much softer and warmer. And oddly, Mari found their kiss quite pleasant. She felt secured.

They both pulled away at the same time. Tomoya caressed her cheek gently as he smiled at her sincerely. With her eyes still half-opened, she placed her arms around Tomoya's neck and kissed him once more, catching him in complete surprise. It took him a good few seconds for reality to sink in before he wrapped his free arm around her waist securely and his other hand on her nape.

Despite feeling urges, Tomoya retained his self-control as he gently pulled away from their kiss. Mari then leaned on his chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Thanks for waiting for me." she muttered, making Tomoya smile in response.

"It's not a big deal."

"Your heartbeat's going haywire."

"That's because you're too cute."

"Creeper."

Pulling away from each other, the two walked out of the classroom with their hands intertwined. This was definitely that rainbow that he was waiting for, and Tomoya is as sure as ever that there would be more brighter and colorful rainbows to come.

Thanks for reading!