Burning the Midnight Oil

Chapter 11

Role Reversals

~Futaro~

He was going to die. This wasn't hyperbole, he was ready to fall into his grave.

There had to be a limit to how many times a heart could beat per minute and he was sure he passed that five minutes ago. And had the city suddenly risen through the stratosphere? No? So where had all the air gone? He must have breathed it all. Sorry humanity, it was Futaro, not global warming, that doomed the atmosphere!

But if that were true, where was his tormentor getting her supply?

"Alright, push on through! Come on, that all you got? I know you got another ten blocks in ya! Let's do it!"

Yotsuba's happy commands clipped his heels like the overseer's whip pushing him through wind that refused to be breathed. His legs flexed like dry pistons begging for oil, but too afraid of their overseer to halt. She was an angel and devil working in a single voice, and neither were on his side.

"I. Can't. Go. On," Futaro gasped.

Yotsuba sprinted ahead and turned, running backwards while saying, "Oh yes you can! Anymore talk like that and it's another kilometer just to prove you wrong, mister!"

"You monster!" he moaned, then regretted releasing so much precious oxygen.

"Keep it up! Push through and finish strong!" Yotsuba cheered, persecuted, and led on. Futaro whined and ordered his weary legs to follow. Damn him for trying to better himself!

His body was a sack of meat to keep his brain sustained. Head was the master, body the slave. But now he tried to pull the body up and raise it as a partner, and for all its years of neglect, it rebelled! It afflicted him with agony for his disdain. And he had no choice but to bear it, because Yotsuba wouldn't let him do anything else. There was no going back now. She wouldn't let him without at least another kilometer.

And what a kilometer it was. The longest, hardest, sweatiest of his life. He collapsed on a bench next to a waiting Yotsuba, who immediately hauled him to his feet, "No sitting."

"But I wanna," he whined.

"Hands up! Lungs open! Walk it off!"

Why were his arms so heavy? His legs did the work, why did his arms have to hurt too!? It didn't make sense! It wasn't fair! He whined and lifted them under Yotsuba's demanding glare, then walked along the river like a dead man to the gallows.

Yotsuba calmly walked beside him. Her sports clothes were damp with light sweat, as if she'd splashed herself accidentally in the sink, while he looked like he'd stepped into a downpour. She grinned, "Hurts good, doesn't it?"

Futaro found some breath and said, "Pain is the body saying, 'avoid'!"

"The body doesn't know what' s good for it. You'll learn, you're good at learning, right?"

"Is this revenge for all my assignments?"

"No way! Why would I ever do that?"

"If you were anyone else, I'd say you were being facetious."

"What's that mean?"

"It means-"

"Wait, nevermind! No tutoring! I'm the tutor now!"

Futaro glared, "Alright, fine."

"Good!" Yotsuba nodded.

Futaro waited a moment, then said, "It means teasingly."

"Waaaa! I told you not to explain!"

"Unlike you, I am that petty." Futaro sighed, "Can I stop now?"

Yotsuba sighed, "I suppose."

Futaro slumped over the railing, his sweat falling into the river. He heard Yotsuba shuffling behind him and turned to see her removing something tied to her ankles with velcro. "Huh? What're those?"

"Weights."

"You ran with weights?"

"Yeah."

"And you're not even tired."

"No, I'll bring heavier ones next time."

Futaro rolled his eyes and stared into the river. Yotsuba joined him, "Not bad, Sprints. Not bad."

"Sprints?"

"You like it? It just came to me."

"Why Sprints though?"

"Very good over short distances." Ah Yotsuba, always looking on the bright side.

Futaro felt calmer now that his heart no longer threatened to explode, "How's Nino at home?"

Yotsuba grinned, "You mean after your dates?"

"What else?"

Yotsuba smirked, "I don't wanna tell you."

"Yes you do."

"Okay, I do!" She pouted, "How come I can never facetious you back?"

"You're using it wrong."

"Really? Darnit. Well you know what I mean."

He shrugged, "I'm good at reading open books."

"Where have you taken her, anyways?"

"Let's see, last Saturday night was the restaurant-"

"The disaster?"

"Yes. That. Then Sunday we walked home together after work, and Monday we went to the park. And yesterday we went to the arcade-"

"Oh, is that where she got Mr. Nuzzles?"

"Is that what she calls the little bunny plushie I won for her?" Her first stop in the arcade had been the prize booth. She pointed to the bunny and told him to win it for her, and, smiling innocently, said that she believed in him. An aspiring boyfriend couldn't say no to that. In truth, she hadn't expected anything, she just wanted to see him try for her. She hadn't expected him to be genuinely good at these silly games. All those times splurging with Raiha were worth it when he handed the little bunny to a genuinely surprised Nino.

"Yes. She hid it in the closet, but Miku found it and asked her about it."

"Why was she hiding it?"

"The secret that I'm not supposed to tell you."

"Oh, so the cat's out of the bag?"

"No, at least not for Miku. I think Ichika and Itsuki suspect something, well, mainly Ichika. She's been asking Nino where she's going by herself lately."

"And Nino-"

"Lies."

"Oh," Futaro groaned.

Yotsuba patted his shoulder, too roughly, then stopped because of the sweat, which she wiped on her shorts, "Cheer up. Back to your question: nothing really changed, but Nino started humming when she cooks."

"Humming."

"Happy humming! You know, like she has happy thoughts on the mind. It's like someone turned her happy gauge up a few notches."

Futaro said, "Wish I could see that."

Yotsuba saluted, "Until then, I'll be your inside source!"

"You make it sound like you're on my side."

"I promised, didn't I?"

The angel won out over the devil and Yotsuba seemed to shine. Futaro grinned and pushed himself away from the railing, "Yeah, I remember," he looked to Yotsuba, "I have a favor to ask."

"Go ahead."

"I'm coming over tonight after dinner."

"And?"

"Nino says Ichika and Miku already made plans. Can you take Itsuki out for the night?"

"So you can be alone in my house with my sister?"

"Yes. And I realize how suspicious that must sound."

"Yup! And leave it to me!" Yotsuba pushed herself off the railing and thrust an arm in the air, "Alright, back to it! Time for burpees!"

"What's a burpee?"

He would learn, the devil had returned.

~Nino~

Flour, milk, eggs, butter, sugar, salt, oils, lemon juice, almond extract, vanilla extract, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda. Two baking pans, cooking spray, mixing bowls, whisker, frosting bag. All carefully assembled and locked out of sight, ready for tonight. If only they could stay that way a bit longer, she'd be home free.

Ichika had skipped class today to get ready for her premiere. Her handlers wanted her to rehearse some canned phrases for the press in case they pulled her aside on the carpet. Miku left first after dinner, allegedly to meet with Futaro at the library. Nino knew it was a lie, Ichika didn't. She felt sly saying goodbye to her after dinner, knowing who Futaro would really spend the night with. Itsuki and Yotsuba followed shortly after. Nino had been brainstorming an excuse to get them out of the house. Yotsuba was her savior when she announced she wanted a night at the cake shop. Itsuki was delighted and decided to tag along. Yotsuba asked Nino, but didn't push when she said she wanted to stay at home.

She wanted to celebrate when she heard the door click shut one final time. At last, the house was hers! But there was no time for that, she had an evening to assemble. She quickly changed out of her bland t-shirt and shorts and into a pair of the same, albeit ones that were more flattering to her figure. Futaro might hold as much interest in the feminine form as he did in physical fitness, but she couldn't wear the same homely outfit around her...boyfriend? Were they there yet? Probably not, which was even more reason to dress to impress.

She sorted what minor messes her sisters made and reapplied her makeup. She was less generous with her blush tonight, she wanted a more natural appearance at home. She finished as the clock struck seven, the doorbell ringing in time with the clock. Futaro was a man of punctuality, he found no fashion in being late.

"Coming!" she called. She preened her hair behind her ears and opened the door. Futaro arrived wearing a black button-down shirt and jeans. At least it wasn't his school uniform, he was trying. "Come in, everyone's gone."

He looked her over like a line worker checking a product for defects, "You look good."

"Thanks," she said, wondering who instructed him to comment. She welcomed him inside as he took off his shoes. But as she stepped into the hall she noticed their drying rack in the living room. Their full drying rack. Full of their drying underwear.

"Stop right there! Turn around!"

Futaro blinked, "What-"

"No questions! Just do it!" Futaro sighed and did as she said. Nino stormed the drying rack and ripped off all the damp panties and bras and marched to their bedroom while cradling them like a sleeping child. She tossed them onto her futon without ceremony and returned to the hall. She said, "Alright, you can come here now."

Futaro turned around and glanced at the drying rack, he grumbled, "All that because of underwear?"

Nino blushed like a bleeding tomato, "You saw them!?"

"Yeah, so what?"

"They're private!"

"They're just fabric and wire, what's the big deal?"

"Of course you don't get it," Nino moaned, "Look, just forget it. Forget everything you saw. Please."

Futaro rolled his eyes, "Alright, mind dump complete. Can we move on?"

"Yeah, why do you want me to teach you how to make a cake anyways?"

"Money, what else? The boss will give me a raise if I can work in the kitchen."

"Is it always money with you?"

"This is good news for you, I'm taking five tutoring sessions off your total bill for this."

"Oh, so you're actually counting?"

"Just show me what I'm doing wrong."

"Fine," Nino said as she took out the ingredients, "Show me what you know."

And he showed her alright. It started off fine, but cake was a hard thing to mess up. Take ingredients, measure ingredients, mix ingredients and heat ingredients. It should be simple. And it was, right until Futaro made it anything but.

"What are you doing?" Nino asked as he pulled a bag of artificial sweetener out from his backpack.

"Substituting sugar."

"No."

"It'll work."

"No, this is why it's going to suck."

"Trust me."

Nino sighed, "Fine, keep going." This was his chance to prove himself. He had no idea he'd already doomed his chances like stepping on a landmine. Nino was just waiting for the click.

He finished mixing, then greased the pans and poured in the batter before sliding them into the oven. Then he made the frosting using the same artificial sweetener. She couldn't wait to taste it, comment on it, and trashcan it.

His technique was proficient, the end result a feast for the eyes. But a feast for the stomach? Not so much.

Futaro slouched, "It was going so well."

"No. No it wasn't."

"What'd I do wrong?"

She pointed to the artificial sweetener, "That, right there. Why would you even try to use that?"

"To make a healthier cake."

"To make healthier-what? Futaro, why would you care about that?"

"Because it'd be amazing to have a delicious, low-calorie cake! We'd be famous and the manager would have to give me a raise!"

Nino grabbed Futaro's shoulders and looked him square in the eye as she ruined his dream, "Futaro, listen to me: there is no free lunch, and nobody cares. The customers know cake is unhealthy and they eat it anyways. If they're willing to pay, let them have their guilty pleasure."

Futaro looked squeamish and said, "I really thought it'd work."

He looked so sorrowful she almost felt sorry for him. Almost. "Not every idea can be a winner. You wanna reinvent the cake, master the basics first. Follow the recipe and make the stupid cake right!"

Futaro looked mournfully at the sweetener and sighed, then hardened his eyes like quick-drying concrete, "Alright, let's try again!"

Round two: take, measure, mix, heat. This time Nino was standing beside him each step of the way. His overall technique was solid, she didn't even have to hold his hand, just slap it away whenever he tried knowing better. By the time he had a working batter, she knew this one was a winner. They watched it rise in the oven together, carrying his hopes of a promotion with it. He stacked it, frosted it, and decorated it with a steady hand freed of twitching from a lifetime of careful penmanship. He'd make a good artist if his passions pushed him there.

The cake sat confidently before them. Its maker didn't share its confidence, but she did. She knew cooking, she knew baking, and she knew a good cake when she saw one. He needed to taste it to believe it.

She asked, "Ready to try?"

Futaro nodded, "Let's do it."

She carved a delicate piece and slid it onto the plate. She said, "You first."

He said, "No, you. Tell me what you think."

She shrugged, "Okay."

She took the fork, but right before she punctured the smooth layer of frosting, the door opened.

"I'm home," Miku announced.

Blood makes no noise when it freezes, it courteously keeps itself silent so the ears can pick up every vibration of doom. The pair peeked around the corner, Miku was sitting at the entrance taking off her shoes. Her back was to them. Nino pointed to the bathroom in silent command, Futaro obeyed with equal muteness and quietly slid the door shut behind him.

Nino swallowed her panic and said, "Hey, you're back early. How was the library?"

"Fine."

"And Futaro?"

"It was nice."

"Oh, great. Just great."

"I smell cake."

"Uh, yeah! Yeah, I made a cake. For us."

"Can I please have a piece?"

"Sure! Right here!"

Miku set the plate on the kitchen counter and took a careful bite. She swallowed and said, "It's different."

"I tried something new. You don't like it?"

"No, it's good. Really good."

Nino sighed with relief and she wondered if Futaro heard her. "Good, good to hear."

Nino took another few bites and said, "I'm going to the bathroom."

The God of Fate was not on her side, in fact He was intent on shattering her deception. Nino cried, "Wait, I haven't cleaned yet!"

Miku frowned, "What's up with you? You're being weird."

Nino flinched, "I-it's just, I was about to clean, and I..." she realized nothing could save her, it was all unraveling and she couldn't save it, so she decided to own it, "Okay, wait. There's something I need to tell you."

"It can wait, I need to go. The library bathroom was out of order." Nino could only watch with horror as Miku slipped into the bathroom and shut the door. She waited for the confused calling of his name, for a scream, or any sign of disbelief. She waited seconds that felt like minutes, even hours. But what she heard was the distorted stream of her sister using the toilet, a flush, and running water in the sink. Miku stepped out and asked, "What did you want to say?"

Nino opened her mouth dumbly, finally saying, "I forgot."

Miku said, "It must not have been important. Why's the window open?"

That clever guy, he must have escaped! Fate was back on her side! "For cleaning, remember? That's what I was going to say."

Miku nodded and said, "Alright, it was cold, we should close it soon to save on the heating bill. I'm going to go change." She headed into the bedroom and closed the door.

Nino tore into the bathroom and found the open window that must have been Futaro's escape route. Only now that she saw it did she remember how small it was. A child might squeeze through, but not a man, even a skinny one like Futaro. "How did he do it?" she wondered aloud.

"Nino?"

She turned as the cabinet under the sink opened up and a contortionist slid out to the floor. He groaned, "Ow,"

"Fuu?" Nino blinked, then rushed to his side and hissed, "Quiet! She's in the other room!"

Futaro asked, "But she liked the cake, right?"

"Priorities, Fuu!"

"Right, right. Escape."

"Now's your chance, get up!"

Futaro stretched and looked annoyed, "I got it, lay off." Nino glanced outside to make sure Miku was still in the room, then waved Futaro out. He jaunted to the entrance and quietly put on his shoes, waved goodnight, and made his exit into the night.

Nino huffed at the night time possibilities long gone. She wanted an evening enjoying the fruits of their labor, celebrating success together. Then again, when had the night ever gone right for them? At least they got through it together.

"Nino?" She turned, seeing Miku in the bedroom door. She pointed inside, "Why is our wet underwear on the futon?"

~Futaro~

The manager chewed on the cake and Futaro's promotion at the same time. Futaro thought that his manager should give up the baking business and make a career playing poker. His aura was that of an enigma trapped in a fog on a moonless night. He could love the cake to death, or despise it so that even the idea of sweets were ruined for him forever, and his expression would be the same.

He took a second bite. This was not a good sign, it meant he couldn't make up his mind with the first. Futaro existed in that gray zone of pass and fail. It was unfamiliar to him, he didn't like it. This was worse than failing, at least then he knew where he stood.

He took a third bite, then a fourth. Was he doing this on purpose to make him sweat? No, the manager's time was precious and limited, like sleep for an actress on a night shoot.

Finally he set down his fork and passed judgment. He looked to Futaro and said, "It's okay. You can work the kitchen."

Futaro didn't hear that. He heard '300 more yen per hour'. Maximizing money for time was all that mattered.

"Did she teach you?"

Futaro blanked, "Huh?"

"Well?"

"Yeah, Nino showed me where I went wrong."

"I should have her start training the newbies."

"Does that come with another raise?"

"I'm not letting you do it. You should be glad you're still here."

As far as segways come, it was as good as any other. Futaro had been waiting for the moment to seize on the subject. Even as the question of Nino seemed to play itself out, he found another in why he still had his job. He asked, "Why am I still here?"

"You're the one who asked to stay late to show me your baking."

"I mean after the bike."

The manager's eyes went wide as if he'd forgotten all about it. Had he? "Ah, that reminds me."

"No way."

"How was dinner on the balcony."

"What? Why are you asking about that?"

"I was thinking about opening up the second floor. Was it romantic?"

"Yes, the musty boxes were particularly captivating."

"Imagine they were roman pillars with candelabras and think again."

"Answer me first, I know you were gonna fire me."

The manager walked through the kitchen with his head in the clouds, "Add a spiral staircase, expand the balcony, add some candles...lots of candles."

"Boss, focus."

"I am. Maybe a violinist. Live music could really draw some crowds...no, too expensive. Maybe a busker?"

"Boss!"

He finally looked at him, as if he'd forgotten Futaro was there. "Ah, what're you still doing here? I'm not paying you overtime. Start in the kitchen on Sunday. No, Saturday. You're working Saturday now too."

"Wait, I-"

"'Night,"

The manager left for his office. Futaro followed. He wanted that answer, this was one of those questions that consumed him. He barged into his office and said, "I asked you a question, why didn't you fire me?"

The manager cocked an eyebrow and set down an unlit cigarette, "Why're you going on about this? Just be glad you're still here."

"Because I can't just go on like nothing happened. I did something stupid and I know you were ready to fire me. But then," Futaro paused, "then you saw me with Nino, and you didn't. You even gave us a place to finish our night. I want to know why."

The manager rolled his eyes and lit his cigarette. Futaro huffed away a steady stream of smoke blown his way. The manager said, "Doesn't matter."

"It does to me."

"So? Stop caring."

"I can't just-"

"Fine. Want a reason? You've stuck it out here longer than most. Can't let a halfway decent worker go that easily."

"That's not the reason."

"It's a reason."

"But not the reason!"

"Uesugi," he began, "Focus on something that actually matters. Isn't Nakano waiting for you outside?"

Futaro paled, he'd actually forgotten. Had she heard anything? No, she'd storm straight in if she had. "I didn't..."

The manager got up and walked around him. "So what're you doing here? If I had someone important waiting on me, I wouldn't be hanging around with some geezer."

But didn't he? Or hadn't he, at least once? What was that picture Nino found on the desk? Who was that younger woman in the white dress with a younger manager? Another question, one that suddenly became more important than employment, or Nino. It needed to be answered. So he asked, "I thought you did. Or, the woman in the picture?"

The manager looked amused, "Oh, you saw that up there?"

"Yeah, I thought you were single-"

"I am."

"Then who was-"

"No one now."

"Oh," Futaro replied dumbly, "What happened?" He realized he was crossing several lines only after he asked the question, but it was too late, his curiosity was unstoppable as a bullet train.

The manager shrugged and turned away, walking down the hall as he said, "Something important came up."

"What's that?"

The manager stopped but didn't answer him, so he asked again. The silence annoyed him and he was ready to storm up to the manager and demand an answer. Then the manager reached for the wall and touched it, not like it was any wall, but with such reserved gentleness he might have been touching a newborn's cheek. His fingers traced the indents in the paint, following their familiar path down the wall like little rivers running together. He pressed his palm flat against the wall and felt it, almost melded with it.

He said, "You still care about the reason?"

"Yes."

"People have done stupider things for women. Good enough?"

"I don't get it."

"Maybe you'll get this, then: Choose what's important to you before someone else chooses for you." The manager waved and returned to the kitchen, reminding Futaro again that he wasn't getting paid anymore overtime for sticking around.

Futaro thought the manager should stick to baking. Who was he to break into lecture about...what was he even talking about? The manager had a strange way of speaking, like he was water circling a drain but never quite reaching the point. Why did some people speak in riddles instead of plain Japanese? It's as if they wanted to build a roller coaster out of words, only their language lacked any structural support! And yet his mind couldn't leave this new puzzle unsolved, so it rode the words hoping to glimpse their conclusion.

He mulled on this as he gathered his things in the employee lounge. He changed out of his work clothes and walked out the back door into the frigid air. He rounded the corner of the cake shop and looked inside. Nino was sitting on the counter.

Oh. He forgot. She was waiting for him. And then it made sense.

Nino stayed long past her shift for him, so he could test and walk her home. And he forgot she was there, because he found another question. Questions. She might wait for him again, or she might not. How would he feel if he walked out and she wasn't there? How would she feel if she waited all night only to find he'd left without her? Both thoughts chewed his insides more sharply than he expected.

He was used to wandering wherever the next question took him, like the world's best paper plane soaring on the wind. He was untethered to the earth and worldly attachments save his family, his home base, which was always there for him. Family couldn't be cut. But Nino could. Either she would follow for as long as she could, or one day he'd look back and find her gone, drifting away.

He was no longer free to wander as he once was. This is what it was to travel with another, to open your life up to journey with someone else. His life was indefinitely more limited than before. And yet, as he asked himself if that meant he wanted to end this with Nino, he didn't. Because there was something in that narrower space, in this limitation, that enticed him, as it entices all who begin to understand the rapture of love. It was a focusing of his world, a subtle blinding of the superfluous to what could be important, special. His manager had faced that same choice once, and he narrowed his world to his little shop. One day he'd have to make that choice too. But for now he still had time to decide if this was a world he wanted to live in, a world endlessly held back by a woman's hand. This woman's hand.

He walked in the shop. Nino turned from her phone, looking confused, "What're you doing over there?"

"Walked out the back. Old habit."

Nino rolled her eyes and locked her screen. Futaro caught the colorful game she'd been playing to pass the time. He'd sent her a link to a flashcards website and never seen her use it once. She asked, "How'd it go?"

He gave a thumbs up, "Pass."

"Thank your teacher."

"No praise?"

"Praise where it's due first."

"Fine, thank you for showing me how."

"You're welcome, and congratulations my apprentice."

"I'm going to start calling you that at tutoring."

"Absolutely not." She slipped her purse onto her shoulder and said, sounding annoyed, "Walk me home, it's late and I want a nice bath before bed."

The narrow path sounded inviting with her, more than the freedom of wandering the city alone. "I'm glad you waited."

"You should be! Do you know how boring it was waiting for you? I still have homework to finish!"

He wanted to be upset that she hadn't thought to do it while waiting, but he was just happy she was thinking about homework at all. Baby steps of progress. Baby steps they'd taken together, ones he wanted to keep taking for a while longer.

From time to time, Futaro was struck by a truly ridiculous thought. These were disturbances in communications, blips on the radar, anomalies proving his thought process still wasn't perfect. He was suddenly taken by one of these thoughts. He recognized it as laughable, a waste of time, but with Nino, it didn't seem so farfetched anymore.

"Hey, want to take a detour?"

~Nino~

If a person ever needs to be humbled, here is what they can do: open a tracking app on your phone and just walk through Tokyo. Just pick a place and walk from noon to dusk. Really feel the city under you with each step, soak it in each time you breathe. Then, when you're done, check your progress. See the little line you've walked, then zoom out to see the idea of the megalopolis, and you will see how small you really are. Tokyo really is that enormous, and you can find anything within those limits. Anything. Including everything you'd never want to see.

Nino had a small pool of places she visited after dark. These were reasonable, safe locations in public settings, and she never went alone. These included restaurant districts, shopping plazas, festivals, and maybe, when the mood struck her, a concert. Other places weren't necessary dangerous, just, unwelcoming to young women. Oh, the regulars might love to have their company, but for reasons women will not appreciate, but will always remember.

So when Futaro guided her into a completely new area, a long, narrow street filled with impromptu tents and too many bodies and the smell of burning oil, she was skeptical, and uncomfortable. At one point she nearly lost him in the crowd. But then she saw those twin sprigs of untamed hair leaping through the crowd like a beacon to summon her back. When he saw her he looked visibly relieved, he took her hand and didn't let it go again.

And it made her feel safe. Futaro was a tall twig of a man that looked like he could use a steak or twenty, but something as simple as holding hands so tightly she felt her own pulse in her fingers made her feel safe in this strange new place.

Futaro wandered the tents, reading their selection like he read a textbook, and moving on. He was a hunter looking for prey. He never told her for what, and she didn't ask, it was amusing watching him work.

Then he stopped and locked onto his prize. The stall was run by a plump older woman without a streak of silver in her hair. An assortment of charms, pins and hair clips were sprayed on the table so closely she could barely see the white tablecloth beneath them.

Futaro pointed to something, she couldn't tell what "Do you have another one of these?"

The old woman smiled, a gold tooth flashing in the incandescence. "Sure do, give us a sec." She rummaged through her collection behind the counter and pulled out a purple butterfly pin as small as the nail on her little finger. Futaro picked up its clone from the table and compared them, nodding with satisfaction that they were absolutely alike.

"Are these for your girlfriend here?"

There it was, that pesky label neither of them were ready to say. But someone, a complete stranger, goes out with an assumption and muddles the air. Nino blushed and looked aside, glancing at Futaro out of the corner of her eye. He is completely nonplussed as he lingers on the pins, but he keeps lingering, delaying his response just a moment longer than was natural. Nino saw the gears clicking behind his busy eyes, processing the words and breaking apart their meaning. And when he responds, he blows her away.

"Yes, they are."

And there, just as he dragged her into this unknown place, he drags her across that invisible line. Her heart, the heart of a girlfriend, flutters with life the butterflies on those pins will never know.

Futaro pays for the pins and presents them to her, saying, "Here, try them on."

Nino's mind is a beehive of disbelief at his boldness. A designation this significant deserves discussion! But the way he says it, so nonchalantly as if it were obvious, she loves it. She loves him. But she's still too stunned to form words. She babbles, "Huh?"

"Here, take out your earrings."

"My earrings?" She looks at the pins. All the magic in the air suddenly trips and falls on its face.

"Yes, so you can try these on."

"Fuu, these are pins. Badges."

"So?"

"For shirts."

He pauses, "Not for ears?"

She pointed to the clips in back, "No, not for ears."

Futaro stared curiously at the pins for several moments as his embarrassment overwhelmed him. He mechanically turned to the shopkeep, "Can I get a-"

"All sales are final, dearie."

Futaro mourned for his mistake, for his lighter wallet, and for a ruined moment. Nino mused, this is why men shouldn't just go buying jewelry for their girlfriends without being trained.

Then she grinned to herself. Girlfriend. His girlfriend. That made him hers. Her boyfriend. Futaro was her boyfriend. He accepted their label for them. Now she could take it too.

She removed her earrings and said, "Go on, do it."

Futaro asked, "But aren't they-"

"They're about the same size, just try it."

Nino fidgeted as she felt his fingers gently squeeze her earlobe and slowly linee up the sharpened tip with the hole. He missed and poked her, she yelped and screamed, "Careful!"

"Sorry," he said and tried again. She felt a pinch as he worked it through, but it fit well enough. He did the other and secured the clips on the ends. It felt weird to have her earlobe squeezed from behind. She stepped back and lifted her hair as she asked, "How do I look?"

Futaro said, "Good, I guess."

Nino narrowed her eyes, "I'll give you another chance. How do I look?"

Futaro looked confused, but he learned, "Ah, you look great. They suit you."

Nino flicked her hair and nodded, accepting it. "Good. Now, walk me home."

"Yeah," Futaro said as they left the flea market.

As they left the crowd and walked down the emptying street, Nino asked, "Can you help me with my homework tonight?"

"What? Why?"

"Boyfriends do that kind of thing!"

Futaro blinked, realizing where she was coming from. He blushed, "Ah, do they?"

"Mine better."

Futaro looked around, "Fine, we can find a cafe or something. No caffeine this late though."

As they walked through the streets, Nino played with the butterfly pins in her ears. These gifts were markers broadcasting to the world her status as Futaro's girlfriend, at least to herself. But then she looked to Futaro, her boyfriend. Boyfriend. What a word. She loved it. But she didn't love that he had nothing broadcasting the same. She wanted the world to know he was hers now. But she didn't know what kind of trinket could do that. Futaro was too plain for anything extravagant. But she wanted him to have something that told the world he was hers now.

She blinked and realized how silly she was. She already had just the thing.

She grabbed Futaro's arm and hung on tight, clinging to him like a fireman clings to a pole. Futaro gasped and said, "Nino, what're you doing?"

"What's it look like? Just enjoy it." Futaro scowled and looked away, but Nino caught an unavoidable blush melt his cheeks. She grinned, he was cute when he got shy.

She pulled him close as they walked through the night, a warning to all that this one was hers. Her boyfriend. She was already getting used to it.

A/N

One aspect of fanfiction I enjoy is the opportunity to fix things that don't make sense. Futaro's inability to bake a cake of any reasonable taste, is one of them. One with an A in chemistry should be able to combine simple ingredients. The explanation I came up with he tried to be too smart, nuking it to high heaven. Sometimes your partner needs to bring you back to earth.

I've been enjoying the manga and Yotsuba's recent development. I have plans to take her in a different direction than canon, but I'm happy to see her finally being explored. It will make any future re-reads interesting knowing her perspective now, but I'm going to hold off until the series is complete, I'm sure there will be more to appreciate. I'll continue with the next chapter, so please review and get ready for the next update.