Title: 46. I will believe we have the same skin.
Pairing/Character/s: Yuki/Machi, Kimi, Kakeru, Nao
Word Count: 684 words
Summary: Yuki thinks about why he was interested in Machi.
A/N: How many more times can I drag out 'Yuki-thinking-about-his-relationship drabbles? Apparently, a whole bunch of times. Honestly I have no idea what this is; I just had to get it off my chest.
People have asked him, "Why do you like her?" It's usually jealous fangirls, but sometimes it's friends who don't know Machi.
He doesn't think he has to answer any of them. He just smiles, and says, "I just like her. That's it."
For the record, he would have answered Tohru if she asked, but she chose to embrace his choice. Her only question was, "When can I meet her?" And that is why Yuki doesn't think too much about other people's questions.
Some months later, Yuki is still brooding over the doubts others have about his relationship. He wants to answer the question himself. Part of him knows the real reason he took an interest in her. That part of him manages to string the reason into words.
It was because... We are the same.
The realization brings him back to the first moment he met Machi. She kneeled in a sea of papers, clearly troubled but refusing to explain. He writes it off. She's not the only one with a secret.
He doesn't realize it himself, how much attention he pays her. Yuki's mind files away little details; the way she trembles when she is handed a brand new accounting book, the surprise in her eyes when he talks to her, the tightly clenched fists upon being scolded for her messes.
For some reason, he cannot forget the lost look in her eyes because that used to be him.
In the past he had given up on life again. Like Machi, Yuki felt that life was just a long stretch of waiting. Every day he went through the same routine until it began to feel like a joke.
What was the point of it all?
No matter what, his life was planned out. A year more of school before he would be confined. All Yuki could do was wait; a slow, aching biding of his time as his freedom melted away and then, a door closed forever.
She planned to sit in that apartment, exiled from home until she died. Every day she woke up, went to school, came home, ate, and slept. When Machi felt like exploding, she would walk until she stopped remembering, until she sunk into apathy.
They are no better than things, only aging as the time ticks forward from hours to years to death and always, always, always feeling like they were in a box. No light, no air, no hope.
But then-
Yuki remembers how alive he felt when someone needed him. Even if it was just a small thing, it lightened worries and healed wounds.
The plan is to ask her a question. "Hello, Kuragi-san. How are you today?" She doesn't answer, so he has to ask again and tap her shoulder.
Even then she seems to think he is talking to someone else. He's waiting for her to answer, but she doesn't understand so they stare at each other until Nao comes into the room with complaints and a stack of papers.
That plan gets tossed in the garbage.
Midway through the meeting Yuki tries a different tactic. "Do you think we should have a fortune telling booth at the fair, Kuragi-san?"
"Too boring," Kimi blurts out.
"What about charging people to fight Yun-Yun? 500 yen a fight!"
"You just want to fight!" Nao accuses.
"Kuragi-san," Yuki tries again, gritting his teeth.
"Only 200 yen for you, Chibi-suke. You'll be losing a lot," Kakeru teases.
"This is pointless. Of course I would win," Nao snaps.
"Then you have to pay 500 yen." Kimi stick out her hand.
Somehow time has flown by and the meeting is about ended. Luckily he has one last-minute plan. "Kuragi-san, could you help me pick up the papers before you leave?"
Machi wordlessly begins cleaning. She dodges his questions with a word or two, only shrugging when he thanks her. Every time he asks, she helps. After a while, they settle into this new habit. They don't talk much, but she is grateful for the quiet.
He finds that he likes the silence, too.
It's another thing they have in common.
A/N: It's getting down to the last 10 drabbles so I have a question for you guys! Which drabble was your favorite? You don't have to say why; I'm just a curious, nosy as hell person. I'll answer the question on the last chapter, but since it sounds really narcissistic I'll list my favorite fanfiction too.