Last Chapter.
"Didn't you say something about breakfast?"
"E-Eh..." Len jumped a bit at her voice, but quickly nodded. "Y-Yea, we can go n-now, if y-you want..."
She smiled at him. "Sure. But get out. I need to get ready."
"Eh..." He flushed a darker shade when he found his eyes dropping down to look over her body, but he quickly leaped up from her bed and moved to the door. "Y-Yea..."
Chapter Three.
DAY ONE (9:07 a.m.)
"There's a nice little cafe down the street," Len offered, pointing towards a small shop with a large window right next to a welcoming door, a sign placed over it that read 'OPEN,' as well as the specials for the day. He sent Rin a glance then, his cerulean eyes hopeful and nervous. "It's not exactly breakfast food, but I know you love sweets. Especially when..."
"Yea," Rin said, not taking her gaze off some unknown point ahead of herself. She kept her arms folded across her chest, her shoulders raised as though she were tense and prepared for any kind of movement he might've made on her, even though a large part of her mind told her that he wouldn't - he was just Len; he was kind and considerate of other people, and there wouldn't be a time when he would even think about making her feel uncomfortable or threatened.
"Wanna go there?"
"Sure." The blonde girl nodded and gave him a soft smile before shifting her gaze away from him once again. Len was no different from how he was before. She wondered, briefly, if perhaps all of those times when he offered to help her study or when he poked her in the tummy as he teased her were his way of trying to get her to notice that he might've had a crush on her.
Len had always been kind to her, but she could remember a time when he began to hang around her even more often, when he always tried to supply some kind of reason for them to meet up outside of school. She never had a problem with it, of course; he quickly became one of her best friends. But she thought that was just him being a genuinely sweet person; never in a million years would she have guessed that he wanted her to be more than a friend.
He could tell that she seemed a little conflicted, though it wasn't all that noticeable. She was fidgeting slightly, tapping her fingers against her upper arm in such a way that he'd come to realize meant that she was feeling uneasy. Len hoped that it wasn't because of him, and he tried to calm her down by offering her his hand and giving her a warm smile.
"Come on." His eyes were a welcoming shade of cerulean, and Rin smiled as she held his gaze. "Let's go; it's all on me."
She couldn't help herself when she snickered at his statement and rolled her eyes. "Nah, I'll still be paying for mine." She took his hand, her fingers curling around his own. They had gone out together as friends many times before, and most of those days, he'd attempted to take the bill; she hated it when people treated her to lunch or dinner or breakfast, because she felt that it was unfair on them to have to spend their money on someone as unimportant as her.
Heck, even Gumi wasn't allowed to pay for the whole meal when they went out to dinner together.
"Rinny."
The girl looked over at Len with a slight smirk dancing across her lips, her eyes shining playfully. He mirrored her expression perfectly, pulling her with him into the small café and chuckling.
"I'll pay my own way," she insisted, a hint of amusement in her soft voice.
"Seriously, Rin, I've got it covered," he retorted, poking her cheek.
"No, no." Rin wagged her finger in front of his face, sticking her tongue out when he pouted in return.
He should've known that she would be that way, but truth be told, he really didn't mind. He was used to it; he just wished that she could be a little less stubborn now and then, let someone treat her when they wanted. But that was just the way that she'd been raised, he supposed, and it was another thing he loved about her. Scoffing, he slipped an arm around her shoulders and guided her towards a table next to the window, hoping to get her to just hush about it.
She laughed in response, but he could tell how she tensed upon feeling him get so close. She couldn't help it; learning of his feelings, as well as this attempt to pull him away from Gumi, had made her just a little bit more wary around him. Still, Rin trusted him - with her life.
Letting Rin take a seat, he slid into the one across from her, a wide grin spread across his face. Clasping his hands together, he rested them on the table, eyes never once leaving hers and cheeks warming as he noticed her bite her lip, a little embarrassed.
"Ready for the beginning of our first attempt at a date?"
The corners of the blonde girl's lips twitched upwards.
:::::::
Pacing the floor as his mind buzzed with the thoughts of what might've been going on between his best friend and Rin in that very moment, the white-haired boy mumbled worriedly, "I can almost guarantee you he's going to screw this up."
"Keyword, almost. You don't know what he's capable of." A soft, musical giggle followed - at least that was how it sounded to Piko.
"I do, Miki," he shot back, whirling around to face her and slamming a hand against his own chest to indicate himself. "I live with that twat! I know exactly how much of a dumbass he can be, especially when it comes to these things!" Groaning, he dragged a hand through his silky white locks. This was really getting him all worked up, and for a ridiculous reason. "Let's face it! The kid is an idiot, and he sucks at love."
She was sitting patiently on her bed, hands between her knees and back hunched as she looked up at him. Lips formed a faint pout as she spoke her next words. "Oh, come now; he can't possibly be worse than you."
"Miki-"
"I mean, don't you remember-"
"Miki..."
"But if it weren't for that, I wouldn't-"
"Miki! Shut up! ...Please."
"You're lucky you corrected yourself there," she said, referring to his quiet, nearly-whimpered 'please' after his shout. But Miki was far from angry, of course. She knew better than anyone that Piko was just a goof. A warm smile graced her lips as she got to her feet and closed the distance between them while he was momentarily distracted from his pacing. "It's okay, alright? You shouldn't be worrying about it."
"I can't help it," he shot back, puffing out a soft sigh as her hands rested on his shoulders. Their chests nearly pressed together as her fingers lightly traced up his neck until she reached his cheek and cupped it with her palm, thumb smoothing soothing circles over his skin. Piko held her understanding gaze for a moment before grumbling, "He's my roommate, Mii-chan. If he screws this up, I'm gonna be listening to him bitch for the next few years, until graduation."
"You can always come live with me," she offered teasingly - though they both knew that neither would mind that.
"...Miki."
"Sorry." Her cheeks dusted with a rosy tint,
a soft giggle spilling past her lips. "Hey, Piko…" Her words came out in a whisper as she leaned towards him, bringing their faces closer; Piko's eyebrows knitted together, his lips parting just slightly, clearly expecting a kiss from his girlfriend, but instead, Miki mumbled quietly to him. "But really, can we just forget about Len's troubles for a little while?"
Call him spineless, but no way could the white-haired boy turn Miki down when she was speaking to him in a pleading, almost-strained voice. His heterochromatic eyes half-lidded, Piko forced a nod, tilting his head just enough for his warm lips to ghost across hers. "Alright…"
Upon hearing his agreement, Miki stepped away from him, breaking their contact just as quickly as she'd initiated it. She danced away from him, her salmon hair swinging behind her from its ponytail; the girl couldn't fight back laughs at her boyfriend's expression, a mixture of shock and disappointment.
"Okay, so now that that's out of the way," she purred, eying the white-haired boy as he watched her with a spiteful glare, "what do you want to do today?"
Piko folded his arms across his chest, clenching his jaw. What a dirty trick! – though he had to admit, it was partially expected from someone as playful as she. He blinked after hearing her question and took a step towards Miki, which prompted the redhead to back away as her beautiful teeth were shown in a wide smile.
"H-Hey, no need for that–"
"You're mean to me, Mii-chan."
"I didn't–!"
He puffed his cheeks outward in a pout as he moved towards her. His blue-and-green eyes glinted with a mocking threat, and Miki held up both of her hands, flashing her palms in surrender as he mumbled, "How cruel."
"P-Piko…!"
"You know what that means, right?" His lips curled into a wicked grin as her back hit the wall, and he continued to stalk toward her.
Miki could only hold her hands out towards him in attempt to push him away as he closed the distance between them. Laughter bubbled within her when he pressed into her, his hands finding home on her sides, fingers pressing into her skin. He slumped against her, burying his face against her neck as his fingers wiggled over her sides.
"St-Stop! Piko!" She pounded delicate fists against him in a half-hearted attempt to get him to back off, but he didn't falter in his tickling, a broad grin spread across his face.
"That's what you get!"
"Pfft – and you called me mean!?"
:::::::
Len began to feel more and more antsy about this 'date' with Rin as he watched her uninterestedly scrape the icing from her strawberry cake. Silence had fallen between the pair not long after their food had been left by a waitress, and ever since, Rin had been circling the prongs of the fork on her plate and tearing her cake to pieces, eating it with impassive nibbles. Len, on the other hand, had cleaned his plate and only had a few sips of tea remaining.
He never realized that he would suck so badly at taking Rin on a date.
Could it even be called a real date, really? She had a girlfriend, and he was just a friend trying to get her to see him as more. Not to mention, she absolutely refused to let him pay her way. This was perhaps as far from a formal date as it could ever get.
The blond chewed his lip. He wasn't going to win her heart like this, was he? No, not a chance. His fingers drummed anxiously on the table, catching Rin's attention, and her cerulean eyes flickered towards him as she speared a small amount of cake on her fork.
Len cleared his throat, shuffling nervously in his seat as he felt her eyes on him; his fidgeting prompted the other blonde to raise an eyebrow, the look of pure innocence and curiosity enough to make his heart melt. "Rin…?"
She only hummed in acknowledgement, as her mouth was full from taking a bite of cake only moments before.
He murmured, "Are you alright?"
Rin was quick to nod, her small hand coming up to cover her mouth as she mumbled weakly, "Yeah, just cramping."
"Oh."
Oh.
Well, shit. He was pretty stupid to not realize that that could be a potential issue. Len pressed his lips into a thin line in mild frustration – Gumi easily had the upper hand in this aspect of a relationship, because she understood, and knew exactly how to help from personal experience. Len, on the other hand, he only knew what he did from what Rin had told him in the past.
Which meant that she would rather spend the day holed up in her room, bundled in blankets, watching television, and maybe eating ice cream.
Score one for Len! his mind screamed at him, and he straightened up in his seat. "I know exactly how to fix that, Rinny!"
Alright! I have a lot of apologizing to do for taking forever at updating anything! But really, things are so busy! I've recently started college, and I want to be a veterinarian, which means A+ grades if I plan to make it into vet school. Plus, I've been making cosplays for the upcoming convention, watching new anime, and I finally have a social life. Q~Q
NOTE: THIS FANFIC IS NOW MY TOP PRIORITY. I'm going to focus solely on this one (as far as my multi-chapter fics go) until it's finished. That said, expect another update by next week. And if you're interested in Fairy Tail, I have a couple of oneshots in progress for that that should be up soon as well.
THANKS TO EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO REVIEWED THIS IN MY ABSENCE. REALLY, THE REVIEWS I KEPT GETTING REMINDED ME THAT THIS EXISTED, AND MY LOVE FOR IT RESURFACED.
The ending is still indefinite (obviously.) I'm not sure whether I want Len or Gumi to have Rin. uuughh
Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated, and WILL be replied to next time!
(:Mizune
