Fleeting Moments
By Dan'yu
Drabble #4: Ribbon
Haru was nervous, and uncertain. It was a combination that never sat well with him.
Even with his own unique brand of logic, he knew that there was no reason for him to be jittery or unnerved; especially considering it was Rin he was dealing with. Rin, who had been his close friend for several years now, the one who had been his playmate, the one who knew all his deepest, darkest secrets…the same girl who had walked in on him naked as the day he was born just a year ago, studied him quite calmly without embarassment, despite the tomato-red flush to his own face, and told him he had a few more years to go. This was Rin. He had absolutely nothing left to hide.
So why was he so nervous? He supposed it was because he was a twelve-year-old boy, and his best friend just happened to be a very attractive young woman of fourteen. At the sudden reminder of his dilemma, Haru squirmed uncomfortably in his chair.
The object of his contemplations lay on his bed, stretched out on her stomach with her back to him, thumbing idly through a magazine, singing softly along with the low-sounding music coming from the stereo nearby. His eyes locked on her long black hair, plaiting into a long braid running down her back, a rarity for her but an advantage for him.
He inched forward, using as much stealth as he could muster, quickly pulling the object causing him so much agony from his pocket, tied it loosely around the end of her braid, and sprang backward.
Turning her head to see him abruptly pulled back and fall clumsily into his chair, Rin regarded him with a dumbfounded expression while he refused to meet her eyes, his face ablaze. "Haru, wha-"
"F-for White Day. For those chocolates you gave me."
A simple navy-blue ribbon looped so delicately around her hair, the thing that had caused him so much agony and worry, unsure of how she would react or if she would like it. She fingered the silken fabric lightly, and turned to smile at him. "Thank you, Haru. It's very pretty." The words were spoken quietly, shyly, but the warmth of her smile spoke volumes.
Haru could only stare, managing a weak smile of his own, blissfully unaware for a few more years of just how hard he had fallen for the girl with the beautiful smile and quiet words of thanks.