Quiet.
Not complete silence, but enough to live up to the expected ambience of a library; the sounds of paper rustling and systematic taps of laptop keys being the only semblance of noise within proximity.
For Nariyuki Yuiga, it was simply another afternoon spent studying on campus at Tachibana University. His preferred study setting of course. Final exams for the spring semester were right around the corner; tomorrow in fact, and it was quite obvious how distracting it could be studying at home with all his lively siblings taking up the little space there was.
He smiled to himself.
It would be nice to live away from home, in his own apartment. Of course money was the issue with that notion. He had spent a good amount of his third year at Ichinose taking part-time jobs in preparation for university tuition, but independent housing wasn't exactly within his budget, and given how close Tachibana was from home, it made living in his own apartment all too unreasonable.
He knew plenty of people who did have their own apartments however, and one name and face in particular came to mind.
With that thought, Nariyuki looked at the time on his phone.
6:05 PM
'She should be getting out of her last class right about now.' He thought to himself.
Nariyuki rose from his seat and packed away his study materials into his bag, heading for the exit of the campus library. Once outside, he hovered his finger over the contact name he was looking for and dialed.
One ring.
And another.
A click followed by a familiar voice.
"Nariyuki?"
It didn't matter how many times he had heard it before. His name being uttered off of her lips always managed to get his chest to tighten...
In a very pleasant way.
"Hey, Furuhashi..."
It had been about five months now since they became a couple. Five months since they graduated from Ichinose High School together. Four months since they started the spring semester at their respective universities.
Tenka University, regarded as one of the top institutions for their Astronomy and Astrophysics program; it was a reasonable distance from Fumino's home, but not too far given that it was in a neighboring prefecture. A one hour transit by train, enough of a commute to still mandate her to live in an apartment close to campus. Despite this fact, the two of them still made time to see each other on most weekends, but recently this task proved difficult with the prospect of final exams.
The last time they saw each other was a month ago during 'the date'.
Their planned date that had improbably and tragically become a collaboration with all their friends from high school, the only time alone together being at the festival where they had finally and wonderfully managed to share their first ki-
Nariyuki blushed at the memory.
He really needed to keep his emotions in check over these kinds of things.
Shaking his head, he returned his attention to the phone call.
"How's studying coming along? You haven't been overdoing it on the midnight snacks have you?" He added on the last part teasingly.
"O-of course not!" Nariyuki could practically feel her blush emanating through the speaker. "One cup noodles a night is hardly overdoing it!"
"Wow, one cup a night. That is pretty impressive for you."
"H-hey! Who do you take me for?"
Nariyuki laughed brightly, imagining the adorable pout on his girlfriend's face.
"How are you feeling? Tomorrow's the big day. Are you nervous?"
There was silence on her end, which made Nariyuki quirk an eyebrow.
"Furuhashi?"
"Oh! Y-yeah...I'm nervous, but I feel fine. I think...I'm just a little tired is all."
He blinked. Even if it was through the phone, Nariyuki could immediately tell that the girl did in fact sound tired. But more than that, it sounded almost as if she was...fatigued.
"You're not sick, are you?"
"W-what?!" Fumino stuttered. "N-no! I'm fine, Nariyuki! Don't worry about me okay? You should focus on studying! You have your child psychology exam first tomorrow, right? I know you've been preparing a lot for that one."
"Well...I suppose. Probably no more than you preparing for your calculus exam." Nariyuki chuckled softly before taking a brief pause. "Fumino...are you sure you're feeling ok-"
"Ah! I need to get on the train soon! Don't worry about me okay, Nariyuki? I'm just fine! I'll call you after the exams tomorrow, okay?"
"Oh...Oka-"
Nariyuki was met with the tone for an ended call.
He blinked again.
'She's definitely not okay.'
He was still a novice when it came to understanding the psychology of the female mind, but Fumino wasn't just some female. She happened to be a very special girl that Nariyuki had fallen deeply in love with, and he was starting to keep track of some of the key behaviors of his girlfriend.
Like how she always seemed to be putting others over herself.
When he thought about it, it reminded him of himself a little bit.
Maybe that was why he could tell that she was trying to hide it.
With a new resolve for the evening, Nariyuki sprinted to the nearby station. Rather than the normal route back to his house however, he had a different destination in mind.
A neighboring prefecture.
One hour away.
"Jeez, I totally hung up on him…"
Fumino flopped backwards onto her bed with a plop, putting the ice pack she just retrieved from her refrigerator onto her head.
'Why did I have to catch a fever now of all times? And it's not even from a cold...Is this what they call getting sick from stress?'
She sighed. Well she was definitely stressed that was for sure. The daunting calculus final tomorrow being a big contributor for that. It had been the class that she had been struggling with the most this semester, in contrast to her excellence in her cosmology course.
'I hope I didn't offend Nariyuki...I wanted to talk to him more, but he's such a worrywart! He almost figured it out too…'
If she was perfectly honest, it made her feel ecstatic to know just how much he cared. But sometimes it scared her just how much he did. She knew how important it was for both of them to do well on tomorrow's exams, and she knew just what lengths Nariyuki would have gone if he had found out that she had gotten sick.
Because if the roles were reversed, she knew without a doubt...that she would do the same.
If Nariyuki was sick, she wouldn't hesitate to run out of her apartment late in the day and take an hour train to his prefecture.
She wouldn't hesitate to stop by their favorite udon place and pick up his favorite bowl of udon to-go for him.
And she wouldn't hesitate to run to his neighborhood, march up to his house, and knock on the front do-
Knock
Knock
Knock
The abrupt sound caused Fumino to shoot up from her bed and clutch her pounding heart.
She waited to see if the knocks would come again. One second turned into five. And then five into ten. She exhaled in relief.
"I guess I really am sick if I'm imagining all these-"
Knock
Knock
Knock
"...things."
Fumino crossed the small living room of her apartment to the front door.
'I wonder who it could be? Maybe the neighbor? Because certainly it can't be Nari-'
She opened the door, and the guest before her made her go still.
Messy brown hair, soft brown eyes peering through those glasses, and that kind expression that she had come to be so familiar with.
Without a second thought, she shut the door forcefully right in Nariyuki's face.
"F-F-Furahashi?!" Nariyuki's confused voice came muffled through the door.
"W-What are you doing here, Nariyuki?!" She yelled through the door as well, though at this point she should've known the answer to her own question, but the surprise and embarrassment from the situation was clouding her cognizance.
"Well...I came to see you of course."
Fumino opened the door again, peaking through the gap, still flustered. "I know that...but I told you I was fine didn't I? Why did you come all the wa-"
At that point she noticed that Nariyuki's eyes were directed towards her forehead, right where she had placed the ice pack from earlier. Somehow it had remained attached to her head the entire time.
"A-ah!" She frantically removed the cursed object that was trying to give her away. "T-this is n-nothing! I just felt a little warm after walking hom-"
"So you are sick…" Guilt rose in Fumino as Nariyuki's eyes filled with concern.
"I-It's really nothing! It's...just a little fever…" She desperately tried reasoning, but before she could finish another thought, Nariyuki reached out to grasp both of her hands causing her heart to go still.
"A fever isn't nothing."
So soft. Gentle. Neither reprimanding nor disappointed.
Just full, heartfelt concern for her well being.
Fumino felt her whole face burn. Whether it was from the fever or her full on blushing, she couldn't tell anymore.
'God...I really can't lie to him when he's like this.'
"Like what?"
Realizing that she had just voiced her previous thought out loud, her face burned harder than before, if that was even possible.
"I-I…" Her voice caught in her throat as the truth slowly stumbled out. "I'm sorry...I just didn't want you to worry...You have finals too tomorrow, and I just wanted...I just...I just didn't want you to worry!" She repeated, not really knowing where she was going with this. Fumino felt her eyes tear up. "And now...now all because I got sick...you had to come out all the way out here just to take care-"
"I didn't come just because I thought you were sick."
Fumino, taken aback at the reply, looked dumbfounded. "What?"
Nariyuki tightened his grasp around her hands.
"I came because I wanted to see you." He said earnestly. The embarrassment from his own words quickly caught up to him, causing him to blush, but within seconds the determination returned to his gaze.
And then...
"I missed you, Furuhashi..."
Fumino stared, her face warm. A strange feeling bloomed in her chest. One that she couldn't put into words.
Every single time she was with him...it was as if she was falling in love all over again.
Without warning, she rushed forward and buried herself into Nariyuki's chest.
"Dummy…" She whispered.
Nariyuki tensed up at first, but slowly but surely, he smiled lovingly and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. They remained that way for a while, peacefully in each other's embrace until the boy finally decided to break the silence.
"I got something for you."
Fumino perked up curiously as Nariyuki quickly retrieved a plastic bag that he left outside the door.
Upon returning, her eyes went wide. "That's-"
"Spicy Gousetsu Udon from Ogata's." He finished. "Your favorite, right?"
Jeez.
You're always there…
To make me smile, aren't you?
Fumino ran forward to hug him again.
"I missed you too."
"Hehe, this really takes us back, don't you think? It's like you're my tutor and nurse all over again."
Nariyuki smiled fondly at the observation. The hours had flown by, with him having kept a watchful eye over Fumino; taking care of most of the chores for her, while still devoting what he could in helping her prepare for the next day's exams. Thankfully, her fever had gone down compared to when he had first arrived.
"You seem more than well prepared though. You hardly needed my help with any of the practice questions." He pointed out, which had Fumino smiling bashfully. "It's already 11:30, so why don't we call it a night?"
The girl blinked in surprise, "11:30?"
"Mhm." When Fumino continued to look at him with wide eyes, he tilted his head curiously. "What is it, Furuhashi?"
"Doesn't the last train back home for you leave at 11?"
Nariyuki stared blankly, until realization hit him like a ton of bricks.
"AHHHHH! I completely forgot about the train!" He cried out in panic.
Fumino raised both hands in a calming gesture. "It's okay! Why don't you just sleep here and take the train back early in the morning? Your first exam doesn't start till nine right?"
"Oh...are you sure that's alright?" He asked, unsure of himself. "I didn't know you had a spare futon."
"Futon?" Fumino repeated. "What's wrong with sleeping with me in my bed?"
Silence.
A cricket chirp.
And another.
'Huh, did I just say something crazy?' She asked herself.
It didn't take her long to put one and two together, realizing what she had just implied.
"A-AH, THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!" Fumino jumped up quickly, shaking her hands in front of her frantically. "I-I m-mean, my bed is big enough for two people you know?! I-I didn't mean to suggest anything c-crazy! A-ah, of course, i-if you want to sleep on a futon, I do happen to h-have a spare, so that's p-perfectly fine with me."
"I-It's okay!" Nariyuki replied with a face still red as a tomato. "I mean if you don't mind...I'd be happy to...share a bed."
'What is wrong with me today? Why do I keep saying all these crazy things?'
The hot water from her shower flowed through her hair soothingly as Fumino tried calming herself before the events of what would probably be a restless sleep.
'Why am I even panicking in the first place? We're a couple for crying out loud. There should be no problem in us sharing a bed to sleep. Heck, we've already shared our first kiss!'
But even with her rational side trying to ease the situation, her curious mind wandered to certain possibilities…
Snuggling up close to his warm chest, wrapping her arms around his neck, leaning in closer and closer until their lips and body met in a passionate exchange of warmth-
"AS IF!" Her mind screamed, abruptly throwing her shampoo bottle at the wall in reflex. 'There's no way I would be that bold! I c-can barely look him in the eye without turning to mush. What makes me think that I'd have the guts to-'
"Furuhashi, are you alright?" Nariyuki's voice rang out from outside the bathroom door.
"I-I'm fine!" She answered with a blush. "I just dropped my shampoo is all. I'll be out in a few minutes!"
'Calm yourself, Fumino Furuhashi. Just act normal for once.'
Nariyuki sat on the edge of Fumino's bed patiently, waiting for the girl to finish washing up for the night. On the outside he seemed still and calm, but in reality, his mind was racing a mile a minute.
'Relax Nariyuki, she's just being considerate so you can sleep more comfortably on a bed. Plus it's a queen size. There's plenty of room!'
But what if…
Maybe she wanted to...be closer…?
What if he wrapped his arms around her...and brought her close.
So close in fact that he could feel her slender figure pressed up softly against-
'What am I crazy?!' His mind screamed. 'Isn't that something that couples do until after they get married?! Ugh, why am I so clueless when it comes to these kinds of things?'
The sound of the bathroom door opening forcibly dragged him out of his thoughts as he stiffened, and his eyes went wide at the sight before him.
Nariyuki had long accepted just how visually stunning Fumino was. So beautiful that sometimes it was a bit surprising to him just how lucky he was to have met her. The fact that she dressed so fashionably only added to her elegant aesthetic.
But something about the way she looked now...in a loose tank top, athletic shorts, with her hair down, framing her face so naturally...it stirred his heart in a way that could only be described as longing.
"W-we should probably get to bed…" Fumino said shyly, fidgeting awkwardly in front of him. Nariyuki quickly realized that he had been staring, and recomposed himself with a clear of his throat.
"Right…" He lifted the sheets and scooted to the far end to make space for Fumino. "I'll sleep on this side. If I'm bothering you just let me know…"
"You're not a bother." She replied softly, the bluntness in her answer making Nariyuki blush.
"T-thanks."
The lights turned off and the two of them laid in bed silently with their backs facing each other. The sounds of crickets chirping and the slight bustling from the outside breeze was calming, and under normal circumstances would be deemed as a favorable sleeping environment, but Nariyuki could still feel a level of awkward tension keeping him up.
A few more minutes of quiet slipped by until he finally decided to just try closing his eyes, but the sound of a body turning behind him stopped him.
"Nariyuki."
His chest tightened as he turned over to become face to face with Fumino. Moonlight was filtering in through the window nearby, illuminating the smooth pinkness of her delicate face.
"Thank you...for coming over today."
'Oh. She just wanted to thank me.' Nariyuki's mind relaxed.
"Don't worry about it…" He assured. "It's no big deal."
"It is." Fumino retorted firmly, causing Nariyuki to go still. "It is a big deal...to me."
He stared, his mind blank, not sure on how to respond, but before he could come up with anything, Fumino continued.
"Ever since the day...we started this. The day we met at the field again, and you lit the earth and sky with stars for me, I've been thinking about your promise...to always support me. And today...again...you supported me...even when I told you not to..."
Her face suddenly fell, and in the next moment she was looking away with a forlorn expression.
"I just hope that I can do the same for you...to live up to that promise...and support you as well..."
There was a brief silence once she finished, but it was only for a moment, as Nariyuki spoke up almost immediately.
"You have."
"Huh?"
"I said you have." He repeated.
"H-how?"
"By being you."
Fumino's eyes went wide, taking in his words.
If Nariyuki's mind had been blank before, now it was as clear as day.
"Ever since that day...at the field...things for me have been different as well." He began softly. "Before I got to know you...when I'd wake up in the morning, the first emotion I always seemed to feel was uncertainty. Getting the VIP nomination, supporting my family...living up to my father's image. Sometimes I just felt so lost that I didn't know what to do with myself. Funnily enough, those obstacles haven't changed much today."
Then...without warning, delicately, he reached out and took hold of Fumino's hand, squeezing gently.
"But now...when I wake up…I get a good morning text from a certain someone. Her face comes to mind and all the uncertainty fades away effortlessly. The day looks brighter...so much brighter...because I remember that I have something precious that so many people fail to find in the world. Someone who trusts me, and believes in me, regardless of how lost I may be. Someone who loves me...just the way I am."
Their eyes met, emotions streaking across like stars in the night sky.
"Having someone...who truly loves you...isn't that the best support that anyone can ask for?"
It was quiet.
Too quiet.
His words still seemed to be echoing around the room, but all Nariyuki could focus on was the brimming emotion in Fumino's gaze as it rested on him.
Until-
"C-close your eyes." Fumino asked softly.
"W-what?"
"Please."
He did what he was told, but in his mind he was panicking.
'Oh god, I must've gone too far. I definitely shouldn't have said all of that!'
Then suddenly, he froze.
Warm.
The sensation of soft warm lips pressed against his own.
His eyes opened in reflex, taking in the face of the beautiful girl that was suddenly so close that he could clearly make out the scent of her shampoo. He stared, his senses completely overwhelmed by the unexpected proximity.
But slowly but surely,
Nariyuki closed his eyes...and kissed back.
It was tingling.
Gentle, yet still powerful.
A tentative waltz.
It may not have been their first kiss, but the level of intimacy certainly still felt just as new...
...and Nariyuki savored every moment of it.
A minute passed and they eventually broke apart, foreheads touching, and gazing into each other's half-lidded eyes. Their faces warmed, and the affection blossomed on each other's blushed cheeks as the message between them became so clear.
I love you.
With the synchronous whisper of their hearts, their lips met again, but this time the kiss was deeper and more passionate. Mouths moving against each other more needily, and their hands grasping at each other desperately, Nariyuki was barely able to keep a sane mind, until he felt something completely new altogether.
Fumino wrapped her arms around his neck.
Instinct seemingly took over and his mind no longer became in play. He moved his arms to the girl's waist and brought her even closer, their bodies touching to the point where they could feel each other's body heat.
'Fumino...'
Nariyuki was burning up.
And he didn't want it to stop.
RING RING RING
The intrusive blare of a phone alarm had them flying apart, hearts pounding at the interruption.
It was Nariyuki's phone.
He grabbed the device and mentally slapped himself as he realized that he had set the morning's alarm to 12:30 instead of 7:30 AM.
"S-Sorry...I set the wrong time for the alarm."
"I-it's okay." Fumino replied, her voice shaky.
Both of their hearts were still racing from the passionate moments from earlier.
"I-it's late...we should probably sleep now." Nariyuki suggested.
Fumino slowly nodded. "Yeah..."
Together the two of them slipped back under the covers, and moments after, Fumino reached for Nariyuki's hand, which he tentatively but gladly accepted.
Once again, it became quiet.
For about fifteen seconds.
"Hey Nariyuki..?" Fumino asked softly, in which Nariyuki tilted his head towards her in acknowledgement.
She looked at him nervously.
"Can you hold me?"
Rather than getting completely flustered at the request, surprisingly, Nariyuki nodded, reaching out to wrap his arms around Fumino's slender figure to bring her close. The girl breathed out a sigh of relief and placed her head comfortably onto his chest.
Gradually and steadily, sleep seemed to come as the two of them succumbed to the comfort of each other's embrace.
"Goodnight, Nariyuki."
"Goodnight, Fumino."
The train station from her apartment fortunately was not far at all.
Fumino had decided to wake up early with Nariyuki and walk with him to the station. The sleep last night ended up being one of the most peaceful rests she'd had in a while, so much that she felt better than even before she had gotten sick.
"Thanks for walking with me, Furuhashi." Nariyuki said as he prepared to board the leaving train.
"Of course." She replied. "I wanted to see you off, after all."
"I'll call you in the evening after my last exam." He promised, squeezing her hand comfortingly one last time. "Let's do our best today, okay?"
Fumino smiled brightly. "Let's."
As the train left with Nariyuki waving at her the entire distance, Fumino realized that the nervousness she had felt previously for the day's exams had completely disappeared.
Instead, it had been replaced with a confidence that brimmed with hope.
What was there to be worried about?
She smiled to herself.
After all, she had the love of her life supporting her the entire way.
A/N: Thanks for reading this first chapter! This'll mostly be a collection of one shots of Nariyuki and Fumino after the route ending. Open to prompt requests as well.
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Thanks!