Fake it 'Til You Make it

Ukyo's Ending

The day before graduation, Ema was lounging around in the living room, reading her book, with Wataru laying on her lap. When suddenly, someone interrupts her peaceful reading session:

"Ema-chan," Ukyo says, entering the living room.

"Oh, hello Ukyo-san!," Ema says, closing her book, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"Well yes, there is... My ten year high school reunion is coming up and so... I-I was wondering, if it isn't too much of a hassle of course, i-if you'd mind maybe being m-my...," Ukyo blushes slightly, "M-my date?"

Ema's eyes widen, she had never seen Ukyo stutter before. Nonetheless she found it extremely cute. Why is he so nervous? It's not like I'd ever say no to him. "I'd love to!," Ema exclaims, "When is it?"

"The day after your graduation, I'm sorry for asking you so last minute... I've just been so busy."

"Oh no, don't worry about it! I know you've been, you work so hard... Of course I'll come with you!"

"Wonderful, I'll text you more information later," Ukyo smiles and walks away.

"Hai!"

To be... Ukyo-san's date... Ema blushes slightly at the thought of her and Ukyo possibly becoming an item someday. She places a hand on her chest. It's beating so fast...

The day after graduation, Ema got dressed to go to Ukyo's high school reunion: she wore a knee length pink wrap dress, with pretty earring and a matching bracelet. Her hair was down, and she put on some mascara and a little lipstick, before heading out the door to meet Ukyo, who was waiting outside the mansion.

"Ukyo-san?," she says shyly, standing a few feet away from him.

When Ukyo peered up from his phone, his jaw dropped to the floor. He was amazed at how mature Ema looked, she didn't look like a little high school girl anymore: she looked like a woman, and a beautiful one at that. He blushes: "Ema-chan."

Ema blushes and approaches the blond man, who was wearing a back suit with a red tie. "Are you ready to go?," she asks.

Ukyo nods and opens the door for her, motioning to her to get in.

"What were you like in high school, Ukyo-san?," Ema asks, as Ukyo drove the two to his old high school.

"Studious, as you'd probably expect. I didn't have many friends, nor was I popular. Kids never dared to pick on me though, they knew I wasn't afraid to stand up for myself. But I was still a loner, it didn't bother me though since I was at the top of my class and studied pretty much 24/7, I didn't have time for friends anyways."

"Sounds mundane."

"Really?," Ukyo chuckles, "I appreciate the honesty."

"I admire your motivation and perseverance though, I'll admit, after only two hours of studying, I'm done for the evening. It's pretty incredible that you can dedicate yourself to your studies, you deserve everything you have today and so much more."

Ukyo blushes: "Thank you, that means a lot."

"Besides, popularity is overrated."

"It is, but aren't you popular?," Ukyo asks.

"Depends on who you ask," Ema says, "Who told you I was popular?"

"Yuu-chan."

"I wouldn't call myself popular, I mean I know people, but I'm friends with few."

"Quality over quantity, smart move."

"Thank you!," Ema says, "What's the point of making hundreds of friends anyways? You'll forget about most of them by your first semester of college."

"That is true."

"Do you still talk to anyone from your old high school?"

"Does Masa-nii count?"

They arrive to Ukyo's old high school and enter the gym, where the party was held.

"This place hasn't changed one bit," Ukyo remarks, looking around the school.

"Your high school is huge! My high school was no where as big as this place."

"Yeah, but there were probably less snobs at your school than at mine."

Suddenly, they are interrupted by someone calling out for Ukyo: "Asahina-kun!," a woman shouts. An elegant woman jogs towards the two, she was beautiful: she had long brown hair, beautiful blue eyes and long shiny, supermodel legs. She was wearing a short purple dress and chandelier earrings, she looked like she was on her way to the club. "It's been forever! How are you?"

Is she... Flirting with him? Ema glares at the woman, feeling an overwhelming urge to bark at her to back off and not touch what's (not exactly, but she wishes was) hers.

"Oh hi! Yeah, it's been forever."

The two begin to catch up, as Ema awkwardly stood there, waiting for the woman to acknowledge her presence. The woman was well spoken, intelligent and apparently, from what Ema heard, she worked as an editor for a famous fashion magazine. In Ema's eyes she seemed perfect, perfect for Ukyo...

The woman looks down at Ema and giggles: "Oh? Who's this? Don't tell me she's your girlfriend, Asahina-kun!"

Ema's expression turns gloomy, Reiko had already picked on her for being a child, which she didn't mind too much, since she knew Reiko and Ukyo despised each other, but being picked on by a woman who Ukyo could potentially have an interest in really stung.

Ukyo places his arm around Ema's waist: "Yes, she is."

The woman laughs: "Are you serious?"

Ukyo nods: "I am."

"Oh my! But, Asahina-kun, she's a child! She looks barely nineteen, wouldn't you want to be with a real woman instead?," the woman flirts, caressing Ukyo's tie. Ema blushes in a anger and jealous.

Ukyo shakes his head: "No, not really, certainly not a woman as shallow as you are. It seems like not much has changed since high school, hasn't it? That's a shame, being a thirty year old woman stuck in a sixteen year old girl's body must be rough. Ema, let's go." Ukyo grabs Ema's arm and drags her into the men's washroom.

"I-I'm sorry, Ukyo-san..."

"What are you apologizing for? She was being a bitch."

Ema giggles, causing Ukyo to raise an eyebrow at her: "What is it?"

"Language, Ukyo-san!," Ema jokingly scolds.

Ukyo blushes as Ema laughed, she had never heard Ukyo cuss before, but she liked it when he did, it made him seem more human, it was kind of hot honestly.

"Alright, alright, you got me," Ukyo sighs, "I'm sorry for the way she spoke to you... I feel bad because I'm the one who brought you here."

"No, no, don't feel bad! It was my choice to accompany you, I could've perfectly said no, and I knew something like this would happen, but..."

"But?"

"I-I just didn't expect you to introduce me as your girlfriend."

Ukyo goes silent, unsure of how to respond.

"Y-you didn't have to you know, she was really pretty, successful and she seems really intelligent... I just don't want you to miss out on possible relationships, because you're pretending to be dating me," Ema explains.

"I don't want to pretend to be dating you," Ukyo blurts out.

"W-what-"

Ukyo crashes his lips onto Ema's, cutting her off. Her eyes shoot open, as she inhales sharply. She never expected Ukyo to be so bold. Ukyo always confused her, she was never sure if he liked her or not since he was always so polished and put together, she'll admit, he was hard to read. But this was the confirmation she needed. She smiles softly into the kiss, passionately kissing him back, placing her hands on his chest, as his pressed against her cheeks. His lips were warm and welcoming, the kiss made her feel all fuzzy inside, like a warm blanket and a hot chocolate in front of a fire on a cold winter evening.

After a minute, he pulls away: "I'm sorry... I-I've wanted to kiss you for a while now. I want to date you, like actually date you. I like you, Ema-chan. I really really like you, and I have for a very long time."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?," Ema asks innocently.

"I-I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable living at home... So I stayed away, I promised myself I'd keep my feelings a secret until after you graduated, then if you rejected me, I'd pay for an apartment for you outside, so that you wouldn't have to face me everyday... I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable or awkward, I mean our age gap is pretty large, I'll admit, I was afraid you'd see me as a creep."

"Ukyo-san, I would never see you as a creep!," Ema exclaims, emphasizing on the world "never", "I-I really like you too, but are you sure I'm not too immature for you?"

Ukyo places a hand on Ema's cheek: "You're perfect for me." He leans down and kisses her once again.

Flashforward (One year later)

For their one year anniversary, Ukyo decided to take Ema to a luxurious restaurant. Ema was excited for the date, she had never been to a fancy restaurant before, and going with Ukyo made the experience extra special. She wore a pretty champagne dress for the event, while Ukyo wore a simple but nice suit. Unbeknownst to her, Ukyo had something important to tell her.

"Thank you so much for taking me here, Ukyo! This place is gorgeous!," Ema exclaims, in awe of the restaurant's beauty.

"It is," Ukyo smiles, squeezing Ema's hand softly, "Ema, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Ema's eyes widen in worry, Ukyo sounded serious, and his piercing gaze didn't make her feel any better. "W-what is it, Ukyo?"

Ukyo takes a deep breath. "I've been meaning to tell you this for a while." He pulls something out of his pocket: a small velvet box. He pops the box open, revealing a beautiful diamond ring: "Please marry me, Ema," Ukyo declares, "I know you're still young, and I know it's quite early, but I want to be with you... forever. I promise I'll make you happy."

Ema freezes: "A-are you serious?"

Ukyo smirks: "I'm very serious." Ema bursts into tears, covering her mouth with her hand, in utter shock, she was speechless. "So is that a yes?," Ukyo laughs.

Ema can only nod in response, Ukyo smiles brightly and slides the breathtaking ring onto her ring finger. "I love you," Ema cries.

"I love you too, Ema."

A/N: Hey, hey, hey! If you've been reading this story since before September 8th 2020, you might've noticed that the layout of the chapters is a little different. I spent two days editing the chapters because I felt like the lack of spaces made the story hard to read, I hope you guys like this change as much as I do! I also corrected some of my spelling/grammar/syntax mistakes along the way, if you spot some that I've missed, please don't be shy to point them out to me! Thank you so much for reading!