HaruGou: Drabbles
By Confused Panda Bear
Forty-One
"Big Mouth"
Gou had been acting strange lately.
It was nothing that Haru thought was worth bringing up, but it was definitely hard to ignore.
There were small things, at first.
Like when, all of a sudden, she just stopped eating carbohydrates.
And because she absolutely could not risk any temptation, all traces of the said food group were purged from their apartment, thus inadvertently dragging the rest of her housemates into her questionable diet plan.
One day, she asked if she could join him on one of his evening runs, and although Haru was more than happy for her to tag along, she didn't get as far as a few blocks down the road before she was out of breath and hailing a taxi back to their apartment.
He noticed that she lingered in front of the mirror in the hallway a lot more these days too, pausing on the way out of their apartment or whenever she caught a glimpse of her reflection in it, inspecting what it appeared to be very aspect of her appearance with the most critical expression on her face.
Eventually, she turned to him one evening and asked:
"Would you say swimming is a good way to lose weight, Haruka-senpai?"
And he froze like a deer in headlights.
The topic of women and their weight was uncomfortable for any man, let alone one as unprepared as he was at the moment.
Unsure on how to answer that question, Haru opted for a neutral response:
"But you can't...swim?"
Gou pouted, eyebrows creasing.
Clearly, he had chosen incorrectly.
"I know that. But I'm willing to learn as long as it's guaranteed to get me in better shape than I am now."
He should not have been surprised by her motivations.
Haru had dated plenty of women and knew that they tended to find something new to hate about their appearance every other week but still, it had shocked him that Gou, with her petite stature and perfectly acceptable proportions, was concerned about her weight.
"I suppose it will," he shrugged nonetheless. "Any sort of cardio helps. That and a good diet."
The girl averted her gaze back to the news channel they had switched on in the background, though appeared to be in deep within her own thoughts. Haru, now accustomed to the silence between them, figured that the conversation had (thankfully) been dropped.
Gou had moved in with them earlier this year, after securing a well-paying job in the city.
The arrangement had been a no-brainer: he and Rin had a spare room, so rent would cheaper split between the three of them — but in all truth, Rin had strongly advocated for taking his little sister in, given that he could keep a closer eye on her rather than have her live with (potentially male) strangers.
Apparently, Haru didn't count as a threat, and he had thought so too until he started noticing how Gou looked just as good first thing in the morning than she did when she was dressed up ready for work or a night out with her friends.
It was hard not to note the contours of her body, her shapely legs when she wore cotton shorts around the house, or when she flitted around the kitchen in little else but her skimpy nightgown to cook them breakfast on the weekends.
And from what he could see, there was nothing for her to be worried about, nothing he thought she should change.
Of course, he decided against telling her any of this, knowing that she would not believe him either way (also conscious of the fact that Rin was within earshot, albeit occupied in the kitchen with cooking their dinner).
After a drawn-out minute, she asked: "do you remember Hanamura Chigusa? From high school?"
Haru nodded, recalling Gou's bubbly blonde friend who sometimes turned up to their swim meets to cheer them on.
"She's getting married in a couple of months. In Hawaii."
She bit the last two words out in a way that expected a reaction, though Haru was too concerned about the fact that Hanamura-san's impending nuptials seemed to make her all the more insecure.
It wasn't like Gou, who always put others first, to not be happy for her friend.
But it was easy to guess that her bitterness had something to do with her own relationship status, and her inability to pick up a half decent guy that baffled even he and Rin.
There had been plenty of times when she had sobbed on their sofa and asked him "why, Haruka-senpai, why?!" and Haru didn't have the heart to tell her that she had a certain propensity for dating douchebags with more muscles than common sense.
"She asked me to be a bridesmaid so I'm going on a diet and working out for the next couple of months to make sure I can fit into the same dress size I was in high school..."
Gou nodded at him, hands fisting in her determination:
"...I also need to find a date. I absolutely cannot turn up to another wedding alone!"
Haru regarded her warily and wanted to ask why she cared so much in the first place, but knew that would open a whole 'nother can of worms that he was not equipped to deal with.
Thankfully, Rin entered the living room, skilfully balancing three steaming plates in his arms.
"Are you still going on about that?" he said, in an exasperated tone. "I already said I'd go with you."
Gou appeared scandalised by the offer.
"I can't turn up with my older brother! That's even worse than turning up alone!"
Haru laughed to himself as Rin clutched at his chest dramatically. There had once been a time when Gou doted upon his very existence and even though Rin acted as if it got on his nerves, he secretly thrived upon her devotion to him.
"You should go with her, Haru," he begrudgingly suggested, just as Gou was retreating to the kitchen with their empty dishes.
They could hear her running the tap and her voice humming an indistinguishable tune.
Haru shot him a puzzled look.
"Really?"
"Why not?" Rin pursed his lips. "I'd rather she go with you than a stranger she picks up off the street in her sheer desperation."
As Rin had suspected, Gou was extremely receptive to the idea. She reasoned that his company would free up her time to focus on her diet and exercise, instead of having to also worry about finding a date as well.
Although unsure at first, it didn't take much to persuade Haru after she showed him photos of the resort. Hanamura Chigusa was marrying a wealthy man and they had reserved for their reception, a beautiful hotel adjacent to white sand beaches and clear blue seas and that was all it took to convince him.
When the weekend of the wedding came around, Gou had already flown out a couple of days earlier to tend to her bridesmaids duties whilst Haru chose to arrive the day before, where there were to be pre-party cocktails and dancing before the actual ceremony and reception.
He could tell in an instant why Gou might have been feeling apprehensive about the event, because seemed as if Chigusa had invited their entire graduating class and there wasn't a face he didn't somewhat recognise from back in Iwatobi High School's corridors.
This, of course, included Nagisa and Rei, who caught sight of him immediately, flagging him down from their seats at the hotel bar.
"Haru-chan!" Nagisa chimed. "We had no idea you'd be here!"
They were already donning brightly coloured Hawaiian shirts and flower garlands and taking advantage of the open bar.
Rei appeared pleasantly confused by their impromptu reunion.
"It's good to see you, Haruka-senpai. I didn't know that you were close with Hanamura-san?"
"I'm not, I'm here with Kou," Haru replied, coincidentally standing to greet the girl herself as she approached the three of them.
She had styled her hair in an elegant bun, pinned back with a flower clip that matched her cocktail dress. She was the sole focus of male attention of the entire room, until she came to his side and smiled only up at him.
"You made it!"
Haru wound an arm around her waist.
"I'm glad I did. You look great," he added, earning a pretty blush from across Gou's cheeks.
"Thanks, so do you."
Meanwhile Nagisa was observing the subtle, completely platonic interaction with the expression similar to that of a proud mother sending their child off on their first day of school.
It wasn't long before Haru noticed it and anticipated the worst.
"No way!" he screamed, lunging at the Haru and linking an arm with his. "Haru-chan~! How can you keep this a secret from us?!"
"What—?"
"—I can't believe it!" Nagisa wiped at the corner of his eyes. "So you finally got the girl you've been crushing on since high school, huh?"
Crickets chirped.
Gou's gaze shifted between the three of them.
"Eh?"