"Serendipity"

By Ayame Kazeai

Author's Note: Konnichiwa, minna-san! Welcome to my second Marmalade Boy fanfic (and first ever fanfic written in first-person), so hopefully those of you that read the first one notice some improvements in the way I depict my characters. But in this one… we're gonna try to take the focus off of Ginta after some suggestions I got in my inbox from readers. But just for the record, yes I DOOOO love Ginta! He's my favorite male character from all anime I've ever seen! And I wish Miki would be with him forever, just because if I knew a Ginta-esque person in real life, I'd latch onto that one. ;o) But anyway, here it goes!!

This story focuses on what most people won't touch… the theory that brave Mr. Yuu might actually have a nervous side! But the story is told in first person, which jumps from Yuu to Miki, so you get the full experience of what happens when a night of romance and an empty house go hand-in-hand.

Oh yeah, and I don't own Marmalade boy, it's characters, or it's storyline… nor do I own the movie mentioned in this fanfic, "Serendipity". But I do own the laptop this was typed on!

*~*~*~*

I really hate when our parents do this. One day, we're happily living together, and the next they're informing us that they've been planning yet another trip for days. And they always tell *us* about this trip the morning of. But I guess that's for the best- if Miki knew in advance that we would be alone together in the house for a weekend, she'd probably run off to Meiko's, afraid that I would attack her or something. But what can I say… I probably would if given the chance.

"What?!", screamed Miki, "You're leaving us alone again?! But… but… you just left last weekend! When are you going to bring us somewhere neat?!"

Our parents didn't even dignify that one with a response, but just smiled, waved, and walked on out the door. I slumped down in my seat on the couch, trying to act cool as the door slammed behind them. "Oh Miki… what's wrong? Don't you like being alone in a big empty house with me…?" I asked with a cool smile and a wink. As always, there she went, pouting and stomping up the staircase to her room. Heh heh… if only she knew how adorable she was when she acted all upset like that. But I think I'll leave her alone for a bit, to get use to the idea of it being just us this weekend. But of course, it never works out that way. Once Ginta or Arimi find out we're by ourselves, they plot some way of breaking it up. They drive me crazy, I swear. Ginta wants Miki all to himself like he's afraid I'll just mess her up or something, but when he has the chance to actually win her over, he screws it up by being violent and scaring her. And Arimi is just annoying thinking that I'm in love with her, and that I shouldn't be with Miki. She keeps forgetting that the deal we made years ago was that I would give her three months, and if after that I still didn't want to be with her, that would be the end of it and she would never bother me again. I didn't like her back then, and I sure as hell don't like her now. Who I like is Miki, but I doubt she likes me back. You see… I know she's in love with Ginta, and she's not afraid to be openly affectionate with him. But with me, no. I can joke about it, but all she does is leave. I can bluntly say I like her, but she thinks I'm joking. And if she felt the same way, she'd see the truth behind it. I love her.

Sometimes I wish I was a little better with words. Maybe then I could tell her in a way she would believe. I already know that showing her doesn't work, she just thinks it's caring, not loving. So I wonder what I could do… what I could say. And I'm hungry. Luckily, the phone is next to me, so I can just call and order for delivery.

Hoooooowwwwwww complicated! I write in my journal, Today when I was watching Ginta play tennis, I could have sworn that every time he looked over and saw me cheering, he performed better. And Yuu was there too, playing. And every time he saw me cheer for Ginta, he seemed to get just a bit worse. I wonder if I play like that… if Ginta or Yuu wasn't there to see me, I wonder if I'd do worse, or if just like Ginta I'm a monkey that performs for peanuts. Oh yeah, and our parents split again! Here I am, all upset that they never bring me ANYWHERE, and Yuu sits there all calm. And he even has the nerves to make a smart aleck comment afterwards too! Maybe I am afraid to be alone in a house with him, but I think I'm more afraid of me then him. Afraid that one of these times when he jokes to me, I'll take it seriously and make a fool of myself. Oh Yuu… I wish you felt the same way for me that I feel for you.

"Miki!! Get your butt down here, pizza's here!!", screamed Yuu from downstairs.

"Great…", I muttered, "No time to myself…" But I am hungry, so I slid my feet back into my slippers and started for the staircase.

And there she was, taking her time as always. I had already set out the pizza, plates, drinks, and a candle on the dining table by the time she finally reached her seat. "No wonder you're getting chubby, Miki, you're too lazy to even put a hustle on it when food is available." I joked while planting a soft punch on her shoulder.

"Jerk…", she muttered as she slid into her seat, "I'd rather be 'chubby' in your eyes then a weak, bony thing like you."

I couldn't help but laugh, she looked so cute when she got all defensive. But anyway, we finally settled down and ate our food… and once it was done, I gave her my best grin and suggested that she enjoy washing the dishes. God, she's even adorable when she glares and scowls at me! But I've got more important things to think about. Like how I'm going to make my move on her tonight. Already the mood is set- candles on the table are the only light in our dining/living room (besides the kitchen one, which will be off when Miki finishes the dishes), our school bags have been thrown onto the loveseat, making it to where the only seats near the television for her to sit in are the ones right next to me on either side (smart move, I'm sitting in the middle of the couch… heh heh), and the movie I just popped into the DVD player is one of Mom's ultra romantic American imported films. And there goes the light. Miki must be done with the dishes, so I turned around to look for her.

"Hey… Miki?"

She walked out of the kitchen, and as she saw the romantic setting I created for us, even in the dark you could see a bit of a blush crossing her cheeks. "What's this…?", she asked.

Of course, my first response is to say some pig-headed remark to her about wanting a piece of her action, but by now I knew that would send her up the stairs and to her room. So instead I just said "Oh, Mom just got this new movie in and said it was good, so I figured we could watch it together. You know, so if its just corny, we can make fun of her when she comes back." And as the final touch, a sweet smile as I motioned for her to join me.

"Oh… oh, okay." And she smiled in return as she settled down on the cushion next to me. "What's this movie called?"

"Um… Serendipity. The DVD box said it was about two people who meet in a big city, and they fall in love at first sight. But both of them were in a relationship with someone else, so the woman wrote her phone number on a piece of American money, and if he ever gets the bill, he can call her. You know, if they meet again, its serendipity. Cool, eh?" Actually, I've seen this movie before and that's why I chose it. You know, so she can get her chick-flick romance and I can concentrate on her instead of the movie. Smart, right?

"Ooooh… sounds nice.", she said with a smile.

But now… to time myself. I looked up at the clock and started my countdown. In ten minutes, once she's into the movie, I'll make my first move and put my arm around her shoulders.

As the clock counted down to my marker it got a little weird. For once, I'm actually sort of nervous about making a move on Miki! Normally I'm really suave with the ladies, but something about Miki… I don't know. I guess its because normally I just kind of like a girl, and with Miki- I'm in love. But my time reached and I did the classic "yawn-stretch-drop-an-arm-around-her-shoulders". Success.

My gosh… what is he doing? I thought we were just watching this good movie, and already he has put an arm around me. Sometimes I think he only acts like this because he's lonely or something. I wish he knew what effect it had on me! And I hope I don't look too nervous!

"You okay, Miki?", he asked

Yeah, sure, okay. He's got me held close to his body and I'm suppose to be okay?! "Y-yeah.. I'm fine.." I stuttered out in return. And he smiled, just like he always does. I think he likes seeing me all wound up like this!

Ah… and ten more minutes have passed. Time for my next move- whisper something sweet into her ears. After that, its going to be a kiss on the cheek, then finally a kiss. A real kiss. But what do I say? Hmmm…. You know, Miki… you look really beautiful tonight. That won't work, she's in her pajamas. You look so adorable when you get into something so romantic. God, that was a bad one. How about me and you go upstairs and create a little serendipity for ourselves?

Sounds good to me. So I leaned close to her, putting my mouth only an inch from her ear. Already, I could see a bit of a blush on her face. Cute. And I started my oh-so-romantic line…

"Miki… you look so beautiful tonight…".

D'oh! Why the heck did that one come out?! I didn't mean to say that! Now, ladies and gents… I have officially blew move two. And I froze right there and closed my eyes, one inch from her ear. I'm such a dork.

Oh my god… did he just say I looked beautiful?! I can't believe it. And now he's frozen, as if he's trying to think of something else to say! Is this really happening? After what seemed like five minutes, he was still sitting in the same position with this confused look on his face, too. So I turned my head and looked at him. "Yuu? Are you alright…?"

I opened my eyes, still in disbelief that I said something that stupid, and there she was. Looking at me with a concerned look on her face. Her face, one inch from mine.

"I meant it, Miki…", and now I'm playing it from my heart, not my head. Apparently my heart knows more then I do if my seemingly stupid comment hit her in the right place. And she is beautiful.

Thuh-thump. Thuh-thump. Is this really happening? Is this what romance feels like?! He says I'm beautiful. And he means it. Look at him… those eyes could pierce a brick wall and his mouth keeps moving like he's trying to say something more. What do I do?!?!!

I guess now is the time… the best time! So I finally work up the nerve and raise my hand to stroke her cheek softly. Her head moved into my hand, making the drumbeat of my heart only get quicker and louder. And out of impulse, I slowly moved myself towards her and closed my eyes… preparing for our first real kiss…

DIIIINNNNGGGGGGGG-DOOOOOONNNNGGGG!!!!!

And I fell over just seconds before our lips would have touched, completely startled by the doorbell. Whoever it is that picked this very moment to hit that button is going to die. Our eyes opened and we stared at each other for a moment before Yuu got up and ran to the door with a "if looks could kill" glare. He pulled the door open and there they stood… Arimi and Ginta.

Suddenly, a voice from above cried, "Hey… wait a sec… they weren't suppose to be in this one!! This was my uber romantic fanfic, where Yuu and Miki would finally kiss and it would be, you know, romantic!!!"

Arimi stepped into the door, pushing Yuu out of her way. "I'm sorry… but I was just on the internet, and I saw that on the disclaimer portion of Ayame's last fanfic, she said she was going to do one with Yuu and Miki. Instantly, I told my friends in Texas that I met via Livejournal to set up spy cameras all around her house so that I could keep watch and know the second she picked up that laptop with the purpose of writing a fanfic. And when I saw that she was working on this one, I couldn't help it. Ginta and I will not let this happen!!"

"Yeah, that's right!", Ginta declared as he barged into the room after her, looking very, very sexy and heroic, "In the last one, you gave Miki to ME! You can't take her away from me, Ayame, I won't let you!!"

"This is not fair… you two can't ruin my perfect fanfic!!", the upset author whined.

"Oh yes we can!", Arimi declared, "When you take another person's anime characters and twist them to your own delight, creating a fan fiction, the characters have every right to the actions of their own characters! And you won't boss me around, Ayame!"

"Fine…you get your way. Ruin my perfect story…and in the next one, you'll pay. Believe me, you'll pay..."