A/N: Oh my God, would you look at that, I'm not dead, whoa. Two words, though: high school.

Rating: T (but very, very soft T)

Genre(s): Romance (sidelined Humor and Angst, but both not very noticeable)

Summary: In which they quite literally keep running into each other. Alternative title: It's Complicated.

World: Normal world AU, High school AU

Pairing(s): KuukaixUtau [KUTAU], mentions of AmuxIkuto [AMUTO], some one-sided UtauxIkuto [IKUTAU]

Warning(s): Kissing?

Disclaimer: This was requested by xToxicWaste. And don't worry, I did see your review on my other story, and I am probably be doing more KUTAU in the future, as they are my favorite pairing for this fandom. I just don't have much time for it right now. Original request: "Do you mind doing a Kutau oneshot?" Pfft, of course I do not. The plot is mine.

A/N: For those of you that don't know, KUTAU is my favorite SC! pairing. Which is why I don't know what to think about this. It's sorta weird. But kinda okay. I dunno. It was written a long time ago, but I didn't have the means to publish it then, so now I read it to edit it and it was actually better then what I remembered. But I just dunno. It's based around firsts. I can't really decide on the title, so I want you to tell me is it better like this or would you like me to make the alternative official.

~Starting Rumors~

Souma Kuukai, 16 years old, was a simple person who had simple interests and simple needs. He liked football, ramen and running and disliked his brothers, studying and mathematics. So the problem was that one day, while he was walking down a perfectly normal high school hallway, he bumped into a not so simple person which will soon became the most complicated thing in his life.

"Ow!" the person growled. "Watch where are you going!"

The person was better known as Hoshina Utau, 17 years old, who also liked ramen, but even more so singing and her brother, and disliked idiots. Very much. Which was not so good for the one who just knocked her over.

The idiot stumbled to his feet, wincing a bit, and offered her his hand. "Sorry!" he grinned. "I'll be more careful next time."

She, of course, ignored him completely, choosing to use the method of pushing herself off the floor on her own. Then she strolled past him like he was never there in the first place, leaving him frozen on spot with his hand still dumbly outstretched and his posture slightly hunched.

Somebody's hand clapped him on the back. He turned his head, still not moving, to see one of his mates' toothy smile. "Dude, way to go! You actually talked to Hoshina!"

"To whom?" he stupidly asked.

"Hoshina, you idiot! The one you just tackled down!"

Then Kuukai remembered he still had limbs, and retracted them to their normal positions. He heard that name before, never connecting it to a certain face. She was the the most idolized female person in the school, but rumors that were threaded about her were fantastic. If they were put in a book, Kuukai was sure he would read it despite his natural lack of interest in gossip. Or reading, for that matter. He started suspecting some of them true, however, those about her being collected and emotionless unless provoked or put in the presence of her brother, one of the popular male figures over which girls liked to drool (all people around Kuukai seemed to be convinced that he belong to the same drooling category, but he always laughed it off). The legends about the forbidden sibling love were epic.

The rumor he was absolutely, utterly, one hundred per cent sure of, though, was the one about her good looks.

Kuukai's interest was piqued.

He looked over his shoulder to see Hoshina surrounded by a bunch of girls who were screaming because they were in her presence and guys who were fawning from the sides.

"Hoshina, huh?" he mumbled.

Later that day, Kuukai was waiting in the cafeteria hallway with his packed lunch in hands. And when he saw Hoshina walking toward him, he quickly got up and deliberately stood in her way. She stopped in front of him and stared. He grinned. She stared. He refused to move. She shrugged and went around him.

"Wait!" Kuukai shouted, causing half of the school population to look at him. Utau was not amongst them. She continued walking as if she didn't realize the screech was directed at her. He jogged after her. "Hoshina. Hoshina! Wait! Hey. Blondie. Idol."

She stopped short in her tracks. He supposed "Idol" did the trick. He'll have to keep that in mind. "What", she inquired with an impassive expression that still somehow managed to ooze anger, "do you want?"

Okay. He was acknowledged. That was a start. "I want you to have lunch with me."

Another blank stare. Kuukai was starting to worry. "Why?"

"Because."

"That is not an answer."

"That is a perfectly valid answer."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"I'm going."

"Wait!"

"Why?"

Kuukai sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Because I like your character, okay? I want to get to know you better."

She was hard to read, Kuukai understood, but he still thought he saw a spark of interest in her eyes. She still seemed hesitant, though. He smirked. "What? Afraid I'll see you not eating anything and tell everyone?"

She looked at him with despise. "I could eat more than you any day."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well why don't we test that theory?"

He soon found out that she wasn't lying, though it was a tie more or less. It was somehow nice, hanging out with a girl that actually wasn't afraid to eat. She didn't ask unnecessary questions and they could just sit, full, in silence without it being unusual, no matter that they were practically strangers. Which reminded him.

"You know what?" he piped suddenly.

She looked at him suspiciously. "What?"

"We haven't formally met." He extended his arm, although it unpleasantly reminded him on the events from that morning. "I'm Souma Kuukai."

This time, however, she accepted. "Hoshina Utau."

A week later, people start talking.

They start whispering about Hoshina and Souma, the popular jock and the popular singer, spending every free minute of their time together. They start giggling when they see them trying to establish the fastest eater during lunch. They start questioning their relationship when they see them laughing in the library. The girls get jealous of the perfect blonde locks that are apparently all Souma sees, and they are torn between hating their idol and keeping to adore her. Boys get jealous of the sense of humor Souma undeniably has, which is all Hoshina listens to these days, and they are torn between being openly disapproving and staying his friends.

Those two don't mind, though, as they are in their own little world.

Until one Thursday, when they are walking toward the exit and a guy with violin on his back passes near them. Kuukai offers a bro fist; Utau calls, "Ikuto!" with a sparkling smile. And, for the first time in ever, Kuukai feels jealous too.

He couldn't concentrate. As much as he tried to listen to the teacher, as much as he had a test from the same subject he was currently ignoring next week, his mind kept overflowing with images of violet eyes and nauseous memories of the terrible, beastly feeling from the day before, the one that made him want to just tear Tsukiyomi apart, to claw his face beyond recognition, to take Utau and haul her to somewhere safe, somewhere where Tsukiyomi wouldn't find her. He shakes his head. What kind of monster is he becoming? He wants to groan, because why did it have to be so complicated?

He excuses himself from the sheer necessity to be alone, to think things through and sort himself out. He hadn't planned for this to happen; but then again, who ever does? He walks outside, intent on just being away from the bristling, chaotic mess of his class. He realizes, though, that somebody beat him to it.

The one out of two people (the other being her brother) he presently doesn't want to see is sitting on the bench stationed a bit away, a place for students to leave their bags and jackets at and lounge on during breaks. He looks her up and down, the bowed head, the long pigtails, face hidden by them. There are plenty of benches on the way from her class to here, and might it be just a coincidence, her tiring after walking, or her feet instinctively taking her to a known spot (how many times have they been seated on it together?), he still allows hope to find its way to his insides, to warm him up like no game never could, be it a matter involving him that brought her here or not. He wants answers, so he comes close and sits beside her, and when she looks up, he senses something is wrong. Her eyes are just a bit red, not like she has been crying, but more like she was refraining herself from doing so, which he believes happened, because that is just her; and she looks so pained, and so hurt that he doesn't think before he pulls her in and takes her in his arms. She buries her head in his chest, and one of his hands lifts itself on reflex and starts sliding down her hair. He keeps the soothing actions, allows her to grieve as she chokes out, still dryly, that Ikuto has a girlfriend, and he lets her break down and take as long as she needs before he finally feels something hot and wet on the front of his hoodie, no matter how pained and hurt he is at that moment, because she will be happier once she gets it out, and then, maybe, he can be happy just by watching from afar.

And in that moment, he realizes he's done all the thinking he needed.

A few days later, walking to the library, and Kuukai spots another shared friend of theirs with Tsukiyomi. Pink hair isn't really subtle, and he knows Utau sees it too when she stiffs, and her body tenses, so he just reaches over and takes her hand in his. She stiffens even more, but then she just looks at him questioningly, like asking is it okay, and he gives a light squeeze; everything will be alright.

It is a stupid joke, if he were to be honest. It was a desperate attempt to push away those last bits of sadness from her face, because while her recovery has been successful, there is still that little trace of something there, it lingers on her features and casts a shadow on her face.

He wasn't expecting it to work, he honestly wasn't, it was like a child trying to cheer his mother with a bad drawing or a picked flower; useless, yet the mother still smiles and puts it away, promising she will cherish it, and he guesses he just hopes she will appreciate the gesture.

He doesn't, however, expect the sudden burst of laughter as they are seated on the same bench he found her broken on before. It has been a while since he heard it, so his heart flutters at the sound, and he can't help the grin that escapes to his own face. She looks at him as she calms down, telling him he's an idiot, which makes him laugh in return. And he isn't sure is he imagining it, but he thinks her eyes shine just a little brighter now. Especially when she looks at him.

They ran into each other by accident, almost repeating their first encounter, but this time he doesn't make her fall. They are both taking trash out for after school cleaning; her classes ended earlier, so they are at it at the same time. They walk to the containers in silence, and when they both reach for the lid in sync, their hands meet and she retracts. Avoiding to look at him, she quickly throws her weight and scrambles away without even saying goodbye. And Kuukai is sure he saw her blushing.

She has only been to his apartment once before, and that was after a game of basketball (which Kuukai won, but it was a close call), when she was too tired to walk back home and needed some rest first. So he is, if we were to pick the best suiting understatement, surprised when he hears a knock on his door on a lazy Saturday evening, and opens them to no other than her, with emphasis, because there is no need to say who she is. His eyebrows raise, but he still greets, "Idol."

She nods her head and returns it with, "Ramen boy."

They stand like that for a debatable amount of time, his figure framed by the door and her gaze trailing the floor tiles. He wonders what brought her there, and why is she acting so sheepish. He clears his throat. "So, um... " He is at loss of words. "Do you want to come in?"

She shakes her head and glances up, but her eyes travel away from his face almost immediately. "No, I... I... " There is something hanging in the air between them, something unspoken, its presence strong, and they both feel it and know what it is, but none makes a move. Finally, she takes a step forward, reluctant. He awkwardly looks around. There is no one else there, just the two of them, and he is relieved, but somehow scared at the same time, because it is so much more real and committing this way. But, he decides, that is not a bad thing. When he looks back, she is already close, very close, so close that he could just lean a bit and -

"I... " she tries again, and he can see that desperation is starting to form. "L-L... "

It doesn't need to be said. He won't push her. It takes time, after all, and this is probably a record. She never did like leaving things unfinished, but maybe this is something she will have to let him win.

It dances in his eyes, bright green orbs conveying thousand words, and she understands, so when he reaches his arms in a silent invitation, she accepts. They stay. Sitting on the welcome mat for hours, and he whispers those words in her ear. She then looks up, and the distance is too small. Understanding, they meet halfway, and Kuukai thinks how soft and warm and wonderful is it, it sends heat waves through his entire body, from the pit of his stomach, his head spins, his brain is nonexistent and only thing he knows is that he is so, so happy, and that she is here, with him, and he needs nothing else.

A/N: This is probably the shortest thing I've written since my first ever story. And then there is this really weird turn from pointless idiotics to more serious style out of middle of nowhere, and the change from past time to present and this is just so bipolar and I... I'm sorry. It turned out to be snippety again too. I don't know why I've been obsessing with snippets lately. I guess it's just the fact I like seeing those little, ordinary parts of life turned into something special when mixed together. That's sorta why I created this fic.

I threw in some Ikuto, just 'cause. I like seeing Utau realizing she's been an idiot for pining over him for so long, which is kinda mean, but I'm sadistic after all.

This was my lame attempt at Humor (well, at the beginning). I just can't seem to do Humor properly. I don't know.

Send me your requests! R&R, C&C if you want. Thank you for reading!