The first page of their story.

Enjoy~

16, that was her age when she first met that man.

Yuu attended high school in the spring that year, joined the volleyball club like how she did in middle school and became one of the regular players soon. Playing in a lot of games, laughing and crying together with her friends, she lived her youth to the fullest. The only thing lacking was love. She had yet to go through moments such as crushing on someone, had her heart racing just by seeing that person, wanting to confess, dating, hold hands, first kiss and the likes. But she never gave it much thought, until one day.

It was not that unusual for Daichi to go out drinking with his co-workers after work, but bringing one of them home for dinner was not for everyone. Azumane Asahi, the man's named. He was an old friend of Daichi and Koushi's, who went to the same high school as them and were reunited with again.

In the beginning, the teenage Yuu on her puberty was simply curious. Outside of school and her parents, she had not had many interactions with an adult man before. Though, given her personality, Yuu had no problem approaching and eventually got closer to him.

"Asahi-san!" she cheered whenever they met, each time becoming more affectionately than another.

Asahi has a big built towering over Yuu's petit figure. His strong arms gave others a sense of safety and being protected. He also had really cool hairstyle, firm expression and short stubble on his chin, emphasizing his manliness. Although he could be sort of a wimp at times, he shows his courage when he needs to. Despite having a heart of glass, he is far kinder than anyone else. But above all, he has the sweetest and gentlest smile Yuu had ever seen.

It was just a matter of time until Yuu realized she was in love. And she soon knew she wasn't alone in this.

17, was when she mustered her courage.

It was on a cold day in the second winter in high school, a day prior to Christmas. Asahi was invited to celebrate it with the Sawamura family and hearing that, Yuu cancelled all her plans with her friends to stay at home. They had gorgeous meals for dinner before Tobio fell asleep and the children retreated to their rooms, meanwhile the adults finally pulled out drinks on the table. None seemed to notice, but Yuu had not been herself that evening.

The 24th is certainly a perfect event to express one's gratitude or love besides Valentine's. Even knowing that, and had gone out of her way to spend the day near that person, there was nothing Yuu could do. Not around her family, at least. Though, she sucked it up in no time and stepped out of her bedroom. Upon arriving at the dining room, however, her nerves got the best of her. Skipping her destination, she rushed to the front door instead, claiming to make a quick run to the convenience store.

Worried, her parents tried to stop her but to Yuu's surprise, Asahi offered to tag along.

"It's dangerous for a girl to go out alone at night."

Yuu's heart skipped a beat. She didn't bother hiding the grin making its way up her face.

That little trip had been an unexpected happiness she secretly enjoyed. On the way home, they chatted and laughed a lot, before a police patrolling the street stopped them. Apparently, Asahi was deemed to be suspicious looking, moreover of him bringing a high-school girl out late at night. The silly misunderstanding was cleared not long after, but it somehow led to a conversation they had both unintentionally been avoiding.

"Talk about bad luck on Christmas Eve…" Asahi sighed, inserting both hands in his coat pockets.

Yuu laughed, and she had been doing so for the past five minutes. "Seriously, that was hilarious!"

"Aren't you laughing too much?" He whined and continued, sounding really pitiful. "Well, I wouldn't blame the officer. An old man and a young girl walking together sure looked fishy, isn't it?"

"Nah, nah, there're plenty of couples with large age gap out there, see? It's fine~" Truthfully, she really didn't put much thought in what she said. It was just that kind of general remark. But Asahi's reply made it too obvious, whether he wanted to or not, that Yuu's love was not unrequited after all.

"E-Eh? N-N-No way! I wouldn't look at Yuu-chan that way! Never!" He blabbered. His face flushed with bright red, sounding not convincing in the least, which made her happy instead.

"Why not?"

Asahi turned to her in a slow motion. There was no sign of Yuu's normal chirpy and vibrant tone in her voice. When their gazes locked, he was almost taken aback by Yuu's intense stare. Within her slanted eyes, it appeared as if there were different shades of brown, each one further enhancing the passion she has. Before those, Asahi was not allowed to turn away from the next question, from her. She was serious.

"Asahi-san," Yuu started, earning a flinch from the other already. "What do you think?"

"O-Of what…?"

"Of us."

"What do you—"

She decided to stop beating around the bushes immediately. "Do you see me as a woman?"

"Wha…?!" It was such straightforward and embarrassing of a question, demanded to be answered right away. Asahi, on the other hand, has never been good under pressure. He exploded into a mini panic state, blurting out unthinkingly. "I-I don't…! I'd n-never think about it before, I mean, uhmm…"

"Then please think about it from now on." She stared straight at Asahi still, passionately as ever and stated loud and clear. "Because I'm in love with Asahi-san!"

Yuu turned away without waiting for the other's reaction and ran back by herself afterwards. She might have intended to give some time to the bewildered Asahi who still stood there, freezing like a statue. But it might also have been an escape chance for herself. No matter how bold or frank Yuu could be, confessing her feelings out in the open like that was still a tad bit embarrassing. She dashed to her room promptly as she got home. Her face was hot, pulse racing like crazy, she was happy.

It got through properly. Her genuine feelings she had been holding onto for so long, it finally reached that person. She couldn't wait for the next opportunity to meet him again. Yuu tasted love for the first time in her life and it was sweet, unbearable even, as sweet as how bitter it is at times.

They said, first love never goes well. Or it wouldn't be easy, at least. A lot of trials were ahead, waiting for them to overcome it one after another. Among those, age difference is definitely one of the biggest hurdles. To make it worse, adding that with Asahi's low self-confidence and timid personality. Reality could be harsh, crushing, heart-breaking too to those unprepared. Asahi avoided her with all his might since then. He visited the Sawamura's less and less, and when he did, he made sure Yuu wasn't home. It hit her hard then knowing what's exactly going on. He was running away from her. All of a sudden, everything she had faith in started to crumble.

All throughout her life so far, Yuu had always been strong and extremely positive towards anything coming at her. She faced the absence of her parents and the death of her grandfather at a young age open-mindedly. She welcomed the gift of a whole new family with open arms. She had sworn that she would have the backs of them all, for they completed her supposed to be hollow life. She didn't falter for any of that.

However, when Yuu fell in love, she was unusually distressed. The feelings were foreign to her and she had the faintest idea on how to deal with it. Even so, she charged ahead with full speed. She, who had only ever obtained happiness from her family and friends, gave her heart to only one special person for the first time. Little did she know how painful it is, receiving nothing in return.

At one point though, she was fed up by the guy's antics and of herself. Why choose to sit in the corner and stay depressed when there're other things she could do? Stand up and go search for the answer, Yuu told herself. Life is never easy, that she should have known better than anyone else. Making up her mind, she decided to go see him in person.

That day, as club activities ended, she visited his apartment all alone, keeping it a secret from her family. Next to a door on the second floor was a name plate with "Azumane" written on it. Yuu rang the bell once, and twice, but there was no answer. Noticing the light in there didn't seem to be on, she exhaled, in a mix of disappointment… and relief.

Maybe she was young and impatient, maybe her emotion was unstable. Even if it's Nishinoya Yuu, she feels insecurity just like everyone else. Came the thought she didn't want to acknowledge, but they couldn't help haunting her. What if, unlike her expectation, Asahi actually didn't have whatsoever feelings for her? What if he would never see her in that way? What if she's being clingy and troublesome for him? After all, she's nothing more than a kid in his eyes.

Ah, this is no good.

She gulped back a sob. Instead of assuming things, Yuu's here to find out the truth. She should hear it directly from the man. Even so, what was the uncontrollable wave of sadness welling up inside her, forcing her tears to flow?

"Yuu-chan?"

Startled, the said girl lifted her face, turning to where the man speaking was. It's Asahi, standing at the edge of the stairs, quite surprised. His expression then turned to that of horror at the sight of Yuu's dampen and puffing red eyes.

"What—What's wrong?! A-Are you hurt somewhere?" He flailed his hands around as he came closer, unsure of what to do. "Why are you here in the first place? Isn't it cold? Ah!" Upon realizing what he said, he took off his coat, covering Yuu's much smaller frame with it.

She stared at him, still with the teary eyes. Suddenly, without so much of a signal, a sense of comfort enveloped all of her, filling her with the newfound confidence. It might be the warmth from the clothing she pulled tightly to her body, or it might be the soothing smell of its owner coming from it. Yuu quietly wiped her eyes with one hand and whispered. "…ed to see you."

"Hmm, what?"

"I wanted to see you, Asahi-san."

Asahi was stunned as their eyes met, making it obvious how troubled he was hearing that. There was no definite proof, but Yuu knew just what could be troubling him. So she wouldn't back down no more. The man managed to take a step back before Yuu clutched on to his sleeves determinedly.

"Asahi-san, what do you truly think about me?" She started, holding the tremble in her voice and putting it behind. "Maybe I'm just a brat for you and you probably don't take my confession seriously. But I'm dead serious!"

"Yuu-chan…" He took her hands, prying them off his sleeves and holding them tight. With a deeply hurt expression he failed to hide, he said. "Don't you think you might just… confuse your feelings?"

Yuu, and most likely Asahi too, felt a stab.

It was unbelievably heavy to open his mouth to continue, but Asahi had to. "You know, high-schoolers are emotional, I understand. They often mix up friendship with love, don't they? In this case, it might be that you see me as… umm figure like your father or teacher? And mistook that as love?"

"Please stop!"

Before the pair of eyes now filled with anger and conviction, Asahi was instantly forced to shut his mouth. He watched as Yuu curled her fingers to a fist, but didn't try to get away from Asahi's hold.

Furiously, she declared. "Turn me down or throw me away if you don't want me! But, Asahi-san, please don't make light of my feelings! It's a fact that I am in love with you! So, please don't turn away from me! Face me and reject me like a man, then I will give up!"

As though there were a hundred of swords thrusting through his chest at once, the pain was incomparable with anything else. Asahi felt the flimsy wall he built around his heart breaking so fast. His conscience strictly told him he shouldn't, but from that moment on, he decided he couldn't care less. He gave up resisting the urge to pull Yuu into his arms. "Don't say any more than that."

Yuu looked at him, slightly puzzled.

"Throwing you away or something like that, how can I ever do it?" He closed his eyes, guilt coming back to him all over. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for belittling your feelings and treating you unfairly."

There were more to say, more words to exchange, but Yuu waited for a bit longer. They stayed in the same position, unmoving for god knows how long, enjoying each other's presence while it lasted. The distant traffic noises, neighbour's muffled television sound, soft chatters in the street, they all became strangely audible in between their silence. While burying her face in Asahi's wide chest, Yuu muttered at last.

"So, Asahi-san, what's your answer?"

Asahi didn't respond immediately. He probably had another mini panic in his head to find the right way to phrase his thought. Yuu giggled as she waited again, but all the waiting in her life didn't, and will never go to waste. Asahi grabbed her shoulders, pulling her apart gently and cupped her face with his big hands. With a frown, rather than a simple statement, he said it as a resolve.

"I really wanted to see you too."

Yuu flashed her brightest smile, and with that, they kissed.

so it doesn't end here haha

well making gender swap Noya is just my personal interest

but I tried to fit it into the story as well

and Yuu is a unisex name too (how convenient lol)

ok im just babbling

Thanks for reading anyway~

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