A/n: Thank you everyone for all your reviews on the previous chapter! I actually wrote a oneshot for Valentine's day but that didn't turn out so well so I ended up not posting it. This one I started writing in last November, that's right, almost 4 months ago and I finally finished it, thank god.
It's slightly angsty in the middle but extremely cheesy by the end so I hope you guys enjoy it!
It's set in whichever verse you'd prefer it to be in!
Tale 11
- x -
The first rays of sunrise trickled in through the translucent shoji wall of the room, filling it with brightness and waking Hilary with much more ease than an alarm clock ever could. She opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light, stretching her arms around her to reach for that warm touch that she knew had been right next to her when she fell asleep the previous night, but her hands met with thin air. Her eyes shot wide open as she came into contact with emptiness and realization hit. She turned her head around quickly, only to find Tyson sitting at the edge of the bed with his back facing her. First, relief washed over her, putting all the panicky scenarios about his whereabouts to rest, then it was followed by surprise. In all the years she had known Tyson, she had never seen him wake up at sunrise, unless he was being physically being dragged out of bed by someone.
It was an odd scene to witness in the morning, and all remains of drowsiness seemed to leave her body as she observed his bare back in silence. It hadn't ceased to surprise her yet, just how much broader his back was now and how safe it made her feel whenever she got the chance to rest her head against it. With the way his back was arched and the tautness of the muscles around his shoulders, it was easy for her to conclude that he was tensed. She thought she had felt it last night too, but if the faintly red scratches right below his neck indicated anything, it was that she had been too consumed in her own feelings to think too much about it. Feeling a bit guilty about ignoring the sign last night, Hilary immediately voiced out her concern.
"Tyson, what's wrong?"
His head perked up at her voice and he turned around, greeting her with a grin, he replied, "No good morning?"
"If you're up before 6 am, you're clearly not having a good morning." Hilary replied flatly, she was well versed with his evasion tactics and that grin of his didn't reach his eyes but looked more nervous and forced, which could only mean that he was trying to avoid telling her something.
"Fair point. Don't worry, Hils. I just didn't sleep well, think I'll go for a run."
Turning away from her quickly, he stood up from the bed and stretched his arms before walking over to the duffel bag lying on the floor not too far away from the door and picked out his running wear from it without sparing another glance in her direction.
Something was wrong, that much was obvious, but Hilary didn't appreciate how he seemed to be skirting around whatever was bothering him rather than just coming clean about it. If it had been on his mind last night as well, then it meant that it had been on his mind since they last saw each other which was almost three days ago and she didn't like how he wasn't seeking comfort or reassurance from her, because she almost always did when the roles were reversed.
Eventually she let out a loud and defeated sigh, which caught Tyson's attention and he halted in the doorway, turning around to meet her gaze with an almost pleading look in his eyes.
"The run will help me clear my mind, I'll be back in about thirty minutes." He spoke softly, running his free hand through his hair.
She could tell from his expression that he just wanted some time to collect his thoughts before he approached her so Hilary decided to try her best to not pry. Nodding silently in response she sat up herself, having somehow forgotten that she wasn't wearing anything under the covers until the cold air brushed harshly against her bare chest, she felt her cheeks turn red as she rushed to pull the covers back up till her neck, darting her eyes around the bed to see where her clothes from last night had disappeared to.
"What're you looking all embarrassed for?" Tyson muttered, raising an eyebrow at her actions, he quickly took off the t-shirt he was wearing and tossed it at her, putting on the one he had pulled out from the bag just a minute ago instead, "Nothing I haven't seen before." He smirked at her before exiting the room.
Quickly pulling on the shirt he had thrown at her, Hilary looked around the bed for other pieces of her clothing, eventually managing to find her underwear and putting it on while shooting glares towards the empty doorway where Tyson had stood a few minutes ago. She heard his faint shout of 'be back soon' echo across the corridor as she herself made her way to the kitchen, deciding to fix breakfast since experience had taught her that feeding Tyson was the quickest way to get him to open up about his feelings.
As she walked through the wooden corridors of the Dojo, Hilary couldn't help but notice the dust that had settled all over, grimacing as the tips of her fingers blackened after she pushed aside the door to the kitchen. She couldn't believe that they had been away for only a month, and the house was already in such a dire state. Although she did remember Tyson claiming last night that he had cleaned the house as soon as he had arrived, she made a note to grill the truth out of him the minute he got back. She had remembered to stop for groceries and such before making her way here so at least she wasn't met with disappointment when she opened the fridge. However, she decided that it was best to just rinse out the utensils before putting them to use, having lost faith in Tyson's definition of cleaning.
Although he had gotten back from Nagoya after a series of matches just yesterday morning so maybe he had been too tired to get around to fixing the place up, she thought, but definitely not too tired to ambush her in the street despite of knowing how much she hated being kissed in places which were easily visible to the neighbours, the same voice in her head reminded her.
Hilary shook the memory of last night out of her head, and fixed her attention towards the smoothie whirring around in the mixer. She thought about how quickly the year had passed them by as it had been in July last year, when Grandpa had succumbed to a sudden yet fatal heart attack, leaving everything behind to his grandson a little sooner than anyone had expected. And she meant everything, quite literally. Hilary would never forget the way Tyson's voice shook when he called her after the family meeting with the lawyer and barely managed to get the words out, telling her that Grandpa had left everything in Tyson's name, the Dojo, his savings and a few other precious family heirlooms, that were usually passed down from father to son. Tyson's father, Tatsuya, and Hiro's name hadn't been mentioned even once in Grandpa's will. With the gloom of the funeral proceedings looming over the household, there had also been the added tension between Tyson and his remaining family members, which led to Hilary finally experiencing a silent dinner at the Dojo and she'd regretted wishing for it to happen ever since.
She wasn't sure if Tyson had been included in the conversation, he had never mentioned it to her at least, but both Tatsuya and Hiro decided, since the Dojo didn't have their names on it, they didn't have any responsibility towards it. That since Tyson had inherited it, Tyson should be the one looking after it. The fact that he was still in college and already sharing an apartment with her in Tokyo and, to top it all off, didn't even have a stable source of income didn't seem to bother Tyson's father or elder brother at all, as they quickly returned to their normal lives right after the funeral was over. Tatsuya to whichever country he had recently been backpacking around and Hiro to New York, having taken up a job offered by Judy.
So here they were, a year later, treating the Dojo as their vacation home and spending long weekends and holiday weeks here, going back to their place in Tokyo a day before their classes restarted. The only silver lining was that Tyson himself had started taking kendo seriously in high school and after entering college, Grandpa had set up his professional debut, with having trained under him for so long Tyson had been easily rising up the dans, but was still a bit far from being qualified and permitted to run his own Dojo. So while Hilary proceeded to enrol into a Masters degree in the spring, Tyson decided to continue practicing kendo hoping to get licenced as an instructor so he could reopen the Dojo as soon as possible. That must've been Grandpa's plan all along, but even Hilary was sure that the kind soul must've wanted his grandson to at least establish a life for himself before handing over such a huge responsibility to him.
It wasn't easy on the pockets however, to have an apartment in Tokyo near Hilary's university but also maintain the upkeep of the Dojo on the side. So lately Tyson had even been working part-time jobs, just to make sure that he didn't drain out all the savings passed onto him before he could take over the Dojo. It made her feel guilty too, every time her phone buzzed with the message of the monthly deposit that her parents sent her, she felt spoilt and lazy compared to Tyson. She'd even gone so far as to discuss taking up a part time job with her mother, who in turn just coddled her with the usual response of how Hilary didn't need to worry about such things and only concentrate on her education, and the very next month, the amount of the deposit had been slightly increased, making her feel even worse. When she brought this up with Tyson, he just laughed and told her that this just meant she should be surprising him with expensive gifts instead of the other way around. But she understood, that while on one hand she was constantly battling with the feeling of not doing enough, Tyson was battling with how everything he did was never enough.
He seemed to be handling the situation better than she had expected, there had been absolutely no change in his personality in the past year. He still groaned and kicked up a fuss if she woke him up early, or avoided packing for a trip until the very last minute, he still argued with her over the plot of their favourite tv show or teased her for her taste in music, he still whined every time she turned down an offer to eat out and still liked to remind everyone of his Beyblading accomplishments in the most awkward situations. Even if he had to work an eight hour shift, then head to the association for a match or training right after, he still showed up at the library and dragged her back home if her all-nighters got too intense. Making sure everything stayed normal was what helped Tyson cope is what Hilary had concluded, and while she knew that it wasn't fair how out of their whole circle it was only him who was being forced to be more adult than young, she held back on giving him any special treatment for his sake.
Hilary didn't even realize when she had finished setting up the table, her train of thought was broken by sound of footsteps near the entrance and minutes later Tyson entered the kitchen, sweat covering his face and making his shirt cling to his frame.
"I'm back." He grinned at her, taking a seat at the table and immediately reaching for the glass with the smoothie.
"Welcome back." Hilary muttered in reply, wrinkling her nose out of habit at how he hadn't even bothered to wash his hands or wipe his face with a towel before sitting down.
She took the seat opposite from him, picking up her own glass of smoothie, she sipped it slowly, watching him devour the very basic breakfast spread she had come up with using the limited ingredients. She herself wasn't feeling particularly hungry, all the reminiscing about the past year and the underlying anxiety over what was bothering Tyson had more or less killed her appetite and even the simple smoothie had started to feel like too much. It didn't take long for him to finish eating and he contently thanked her for the meal before pushing the empty plate away from himself and finally meeting her gaze.
Hilary's heart had unknowingly picked up pace, and when he looked at her, his eyes filled with doubt, no traces of the happy grin or the cheery satisfaction he had displayed while eating, even her breath got caught in her throat in anticipation of what he was going to announce. And while Hilary had automatically assumed the worse, it had still not prepared her for the news she received.
"Dad wants me to sell the Dojo and split the sale money equally between the three of us."
"What?"
The glass of smoothie almost slipped from her hand, her grip around it tightening just at the right moment and stopping it from spilling all over the table and she set it down gently instead, "When did he ask you to do this?" She asked, her voice a little calmer than her earlier exclamation, but the look she gave Tyson could only be described as stern.
"He didn't ask me, he asked Hiro to talk to me. Hiro stopped by yesterday, before you arrived." Tyson answered quietly, resting his elbows on the table in defeat, and had it been any other day Hilary would've scolded him for his lack of manners but right now that was the last thing on her mind.
Her interactions with his father had been brief over the years as the man never made it a point to make an effort in staying in touch with his son. But there was one incident that was etched in her brain permanently, perhaps the sole basis for her dislike towards Tatsuya. She had never mentioned it to Tyson out of her own consideration for him, despite of being tempted to do so on many occasions, the latest one being at Grandpa's funeral last year.
It had happened during the last Beyblade tournament the team had participated in, they'd all returned from the hospital after checking up on Tala and as the boys had immediately taken up training or discussing strategies, Hilary had made her way to inform Grandpa that they were all back home, she'd found him in the kitchen preparing lunch while talking on the telephone, not wanting to disrupt the conversation, Hilary had waited at the entrance for the call to finish and in turn overheard the worst bit from the conversation as the phone had been on speaker mode.
"Tatsuya, listen to what I'm saying. It's really bad this time around," Grandpa spoke, while trying to juggle two pots on the stove.
"How bad?" Came the response, although it was her first time hearing the voice, she could easily recognize it as Tyson's father.
"A kid is in the hospital, need I say more?" Grandpa responded angrily, glaring in the phone's direction.
"Is the kid in the hospital Tyson?"
"No, of course not but-"
"Call me when Tyson's the one in the hospital."
The line was immediately disconnected after that and Grandpa stood stunned into silence, the only sound in the kitchen was coming from the food now simmering on the stove. The smoke willowing up from the pots seemed to catch Grandpa's attention and he turned the stove off, a defeated sigh escaping his lips in the process. When he looked up and his eyes met Hilary's in the doorway, she knew that he understood what her balled fists and flaring nostrils meant, but he gave her a sad smile and said-
"Don't tell Tyson."
And she'd followed his instructions diligently till now, keeping her head down every time she came face to face with Tatsuya after that, biting her tongue every time Tyson shared news of his latest escapades with her. But today might be the final straw, she thought, even though she didn't know all the details of the conversation that Tyson had had with Hiro, she could already feel the anger bubbling up inside of her because of the confused and distraught look in Tyson's eyes. She clenched her fists in hopes of containing the force with which her emotions were begging to be let out. To think that either Hiro or Tatsuya had any right to make the one person who was doing everything in his power to keep their family tradition intact this guilty about his efforts, she almost couldn't wait for her next meeting with them, couldn't wait to give them a piece of her mind. But first things first, she needed to make sure that Tyson wasn't actually considering this offer and doubting his efforts.
"Tyson, this is not their decision to make. The Dojo belongs to you, you get to decide what happens to it, not them." Hilary spoke through gritted teeth, attempting to keep the emotions raging inside her from spilling out.
"I know that. But Dad, and Hiro, think that I'm not doing a good job of taking care of it and it would be better if we just sold it off." He replied tiredly, from his expression Hilary could tell that he wasn't remembering the conversation with his brother very fondly, rather the thought of it was deflating his confidence with each passing second.
"You're doing whatever you can, while training and working towards restarting it. If they think that it's not being taken care off, they should think about lending you a hand!" She fired back angrily, seeing Tyson look so crestfallen over something that in no way was his fault, to the point that he was actually considering going along with his father's plan was not good for her temper. She knew that she shouldn't be directing her anger at him, if anything what he needed from her most at the moment was some sound advice about how he should deal with this situation, but with the way he was behaving, shoulders slumped and refusing to meet her eyes, like he had already made up his mind about selling his home, was just too much for her to remain patient over.
"Why are you getting mad at me?" Tyson countered irately, finally meeting her stern gaze with an annoyed scowl of his own, "I don't want to sell it off either. Selling it would mean everything I've been training for since high school will just go to waste." He paused, despite of the dark look in his eyes they were now glistening with tears, as he swallowed the lump in his throat with a loud gulp, and a deep breath later he added softly, "But they're not wrong in thinking that it's not being taken care of."
"I'm not mad at you," Was Hilary's immediate reply and Tyson scoffed at her words, "I'm really not." She repeated almost whiningly, leaning towards him she reached out to take his hands into her own, and for a second she felt that Tyson was about to pull his hands back because of the irritated frown on his face, but in the end he moved forward letting her grasp both his hands tightly.
"I'm just a little upset with the fact that you didn't tell Hiro that if they have any concern for the Dojo they should maybe think about staying in the country more often." Hilary spoke, immediately breaking the silent moment of understanding that had passed between the two.
"He's my brother, Hilary. My elder brother." Tyson looked at her pointedly, "It's not easy for me to talk back to him." He added, sighing, his grip around her hands loosening slightly.
"So you're just going to go along with their plan because you can't stand up to them?"
"You're really not holding back today, are you?" Tyson glared at her heatedly as he pulled his hands away from her grasp.
"I'm not holding back because I like to think that I have been giving equal amounts of care and attention to this place, in hopes of it being our house in the future." Tyson winced as her voice went up a pitch as she spoke, but Hilary continued without paying attention to his reaction, "So forgive me for being angry at you for thinking about selling it off." She folded her arms around her chest defensively, she knew she wasn't wrong but there were better ways to go about this conversation, the tension in the room had risen to a dangerous tipping point and yet Hilary didn't want to reel her emotions in.
"I already told you I'm not thinking about selling it." Tyson replied through gritted teeth, his expression seemed to have softened slightly at her words, the keyword being slightly, "It's just difficult to argue with the fact that the place is falling apart." He added, shutting his eyes he ran both his hands through his hair for the umpteenth time.
Even from her spot across the table she could feel the stiff tension radiating from him. She realised then, that thanks to her own busy class schedule, and Hiro's unannounced and troubling visit, Tyson hadn't gotten a single moment of rest since his recent matches. And as much as her blood boiled at the thought of Hiro's actions, what she needed to do now was focus on helping Tyson unwind after a busy week. But her own uncontrollable reaction to the news had kind of led her in the opposite direction and for that she was truly guilty.
Hilary took a deep breath and cleared her head of any thoughts about Tyson's family members, letting logic and reasoning take over. It wasn't important for her to figure out the correct solution to the problem right now, what she needed to do was find the words to put Tyson at ease for now.
"Let's think about investing in some timely maintenance for the Dojo in the coming months, so you can at least delay the whole conversation about selling it with your family." Hilary stated finally, in a calm, soothing tone and Tyson perked up and met her gaze instantly. A warm fuzziness spread through her body as she noticed the hints of relief in his cocoa eyes, the tension evaporating from around him as he finally broke into a genuine smile.
"I'd rather not dip into Grandpa's savings just yet, but I don't think there's any other option left either." Tyson replied promptly, some bits of the earlier gloom were still visible in his eyes but overall he looked eager to put the problem behind him.
"What about your Beyblade winnings?" Hilary suggested the only alternative her brain could think of on such short notice.
She remembered quite vividly, that everyone around Tyson had pretty much forced him to put all the money in the bank despite of the Champion's many protests and declarations of it being his money and how he wanted to buy an island for himself from it. She almost laughed at the memory of the argument they'd had that day and the effort she'd put into explaining to him just how expensive islands actually were. When she turned her attention back to Tyson however, she saw that her suggestion hadn't had the effect that she was expecting. All colour seemed to have drained from his face and the relief that had been visible in his eyes just a few moments ago had now turned into panic.
"Wha-what about the winnings?" He asked quickly, his voice squeakier and more nervous than usual.
"Let's use that to pay for someone to come over weekly to clean and maintain the Dojo." Hilary responded, narrowing her eyes in suspicion at his current state. Tyson fidgeted under her stare, he avoided looking at her completely, scratched his head multiple times and even began to drum his fingers on the table before letting out a defeated sigh, and finally facing her with an apprehensive look in his eyes.
"That's a great idea Hils, but I already used up the winnings for something else."
"What?"
Hilary stood up, slamming her hands on the table and Tyson leaned back in his chair, "Tyson that was supposed to be your fallback money, for emergencies and odd situations exactly like this! How could you be so reckless with it?" She spoke furiously, balling up her fists in an attempt to keep herself from reaching across the table to grab Tyson by the collar and shake some sense into him. As always, just when she had managed to reel in her temper and they were beginning to smooth things over, Tyson had to drag them back to square one by just being Tyson.
"I wasn't reckless with it! I just needed it for-" He shot back indignantly at first, but when he met her furious stare, he paused to gulp nervously, "I needed it for…" Tyson trailed off, and of course he still sucked at coming up with excuses at the last moment. He averted her gaze immediately and slowly began to scoot out of his chair.
Hilary scowled at him, as if she was going to let him make a run for it.
"Needed it for what?" She asked again her voice rising with every word. She fixed him with such a ferocious stare that Tyson would have to be the bravest man on earth to make a move under it.
"A...personal investment."
"Did you buy a car after we talked about not buying a car until the Dojo is up and running?"
"No I didn't, jeez Hils you think I'd have some difficulty hiding a whole car from you." He answered almost irritatedly, getting up from his chair in one swift motion before she could lock onto him again.
"What personal investment then?" Hilary cried out, taking a few steps forward, ready to grab onto him if he decided to run.
"If you must know." Tyson groaned, gesturing towards the kitchen door like he was asking for her permission to leave and for a minute Hilary considered whether he was just using this as a ruse to get away from her, then she noticed the nervous yet sort of excited look on his face and it confused her. As much as Tyson had tried to hide whatever he had spent the money on, the thought of finally being able to share it with her seemed exciting for him, which made her heart melt slightly and she nodded slowly at him.
Tyson's eyes lit up instantly as he dashed out of the kitchen, and each minute that Hilary waited for him to come back seemed like an eternity to her. Had he spent the money on buying something for her? She groaned out loud at the thought, she wouldn't be able to accept a gift from him that was bought from the money that could've been used to save the Dojo instead. She made up her mind then, if he really had spent the money on something for her she'd thank him for the gesture but at the same time convince him to return it so they could still somehow salvage that money and put it to good use.
So as soon as Tyson reentered the kitchen, Hilary shot him a determined look, ready to solve the predicament they were in once and for all, but it seemed that he was just as prepared to throw her off-track yet again.
"Sit down."
"I'm not going to-"
"Sit down, please."
Reluctantly Hilary took the seat she was closest to and Tyson excitedly settled in the one next to her, resting his palms on her shoulder to turn her around so now they were sitting facing each other, and as always her heart beat picked up pace when she saw the smile on his face grow wider and brighter when their eyes met. Her eyes filled with curiosity and anticipation, followed his every movement as he lifted his hands from her shoulders, putting one inside his pants pocket to pull out the object that had apparently cost him all his winnings. As it was enclosed in Tyson's fist, she couldn't tell what it was until he slowly and very carefully placed it on the table between them.
Hilary's heart completely stopped at the sight of the small box covered in shining black velvet on the table. Her mind went into a total frenzy, she didn't want to believe her eyes but there were only so many things that fit into a box like that and Tyson couldn't possibly have gotten her that.
"Every time we crossed that shop in Ginza, you'd stop for a second to just stare at this." He spoke up, his voice gentle and free from all the tension, the uncertainty from earlier, "Last month, I was walking past it and I noticed it had disappeared from the window, so I went inside to ask the clerk where it was. They told me they had only one piece left in stock for that particular design so I panicked and bought it on the spot."
Not only had Tyson bought her that, he had paid attention to her when she was sure no one was looking and he'd gotten her exactly what she wanted. She wanted to be mad at him for spending the fallback money, for not thinking things through. She wanted to close her eyes and remind herself that she had decided to refuse the gift, to make sure Tyson returned it and was able to get the money back for the sake of the Dojo. But she couldn't stop looking at the box, couldn't stop picturing what rested inside it. Their argument from earlier completely evaporated from her mind and all Hilary could think of was how Tyson had been watching her.
Every single moment, he was always looking at her.
"It doesn't have to be now," He added a bit nervously, but once he looked at her blank expression, he immediately backtracked "I mean u-unless you want me to do it right now then I d-don't mind that-t either." He stuttered, looking at her anxiously and when her expression remained unchanged, he took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves before speaking up again, this time without any stutter or uneasiness, his tone was filled with only sincerity.
"What I meant to say is, that I've known for a while now, that it's you. It's always been you, and it will always be you. So I didn't think much about using up the savings or how we're still too young, I just thought that the least I could do for you was make sure you have the ring you wanted."
Before Hilary knew it, her hands reached forward and grabbed his shirt collar, pulling his face towards her so she could kiss him.
As soon as their lips collided, nothing else seemed to matter to either of them except being in each other's embrace. As always Tyson was quick to react, he leaned into her and snaked his arms around her waist, lifting her with ease from the chair and putting her down on the table instead to level their heights so he didn't have to bend down too much as he clasped onto her frame tightly. She had a lot left to say but not everything could be conveyed in words, with their bodies pressed against each other heatedly and their tongues tasting every corner of their mouths, she knew that they were both trying to convey the same thing, that all they needed in life was each other. When they finally came up for air it was obvious with one look that neither had really wanted to stop, so they stayed wrapped around each other with their eyes fixed onto each other and their breathing heavy for god knows how long, Hilary had lost all track of time from the moment they'd kissed.
It took some time for her head to clear, for her heartbeat and breathing to return to normal but eventually the brunette was able to collect all her thoughts coherently enough to finish this seemingly never-ending discussion.
"I will ask my Mom to look after the place when we're not in town."
"No, that's too much-" Tyson protested immediately, although he still looked a bit dazed by the kiss, the guilt over involving her mother in his family's problems slipped immediately into his voice.
"Tyson, it's okay, she wouldn't mind at all." Hilary interrupted him quickly, caressing his cheek lightly to reassure him that there was nothing to feel guilty about, chuckling quietly she added, "She'll probably ask us to meet her more often in return, but we can handle a few awkward meals once in a while."
Tyson seemed unsure with her response but seeing as how they had both been at a total loss over what to do, he didn't attempt to refuse the only solution that they were left with and once again silence settled between them as Hilary continued to run her hand across his cheek and he relaxed into her embrace. This gave her a chance to calmly and carefully select her next statement as she had yet to reply to his surprising yet deeply romantic proclamation, something she hadn't been prepared to be on the receiving end of for at least a few more years.
"And about...that." Hilary's eyes drifted towards the tiny box still resting elegantly undisturbed next to her on the table, she paused long enough to make sure she had Tyson's attention,"You don't have to do it right now, I mean unless you want to." She added quickly, then giggled to herself as she remembered how he'd made the same nervous claim just minutes ago.
"Just knowing that you did that for me makes me so happy, that I don't really need anything else. Every single moment with you, yes even the ones when you make me want to strangle you, is so fulfilling that it doesn't matter to me if we get married tomorrow or ten years later. As long as I always get to be by your side."
Maybe it was the light playing tricks on her but Hilary was almost sure that the shine in Tyson's eyes meant that he was close to tears but before she could confirm it, he closed his eyes and leaned downwards so that he could rest his forehead against hers, sighing deeply as he did so. This time when she wrapped her arms around his neck, she noticed that finally there were absolutely no traces of the tension from last night and it filled her heart with joy. They stayed that way for a while, not saying anything, their foreheads pressed together and their eyes closed, the only sound in the kitchen was of their calm and somehow totally in-sync breathing.
"I'll go call my Mom and tell her we'll stop by for dinner tomorrow with Hiro." She spoke up softly after some time, opening her eyes she gently removed Tyson's arms from around her, finally breaking their embrace. Tyson followed her lead as he moved back to give her some space to get off the table, "I'm sure Hiro will be on his best behaviour in front of her and will not make too many objections to our suggestions."
Tyson scoffed and simply nodded in reply, the expression on his face told her that he wasn't so sure about Hiro being amiable towards anything they'd tell him, but he trusted her and her mother to handle the conversation way better than he had anyway. He stretched his arms for a bit before picking up the box from the table and putting it into his pocket once again, and Hilary couldn't stop her curiosity from getting the best of her.
"So…" She started, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at Tyson.
"So…?" He repeated after her, looking confused.
"When are you going to do it?" Hilary asked, pointing towards the pocket in which the velvet box was currently resting in. It was no secret that she liked to be prepared for things, especially life changing events, so she thought to herself that it would be nice to have a deadline of sorts that would help her in being at her best on D-day.
For a while, Tyson's face was completely blank, and Hilary wondered if he'd understood her question or not. And just as she was about to rephrase it, he broke into the cheekiest smirk that she had ever seen, making her regret asking him that question in the first place. She knew his answer even before he opened his mouth, he was going to torture her by doing what she hated the most, keep her guessing and guessing and then take her by surprise.
"Wouldn't you like to know?"
- x-
A/n: So what I see happening after this is that Tyson often pranks Hilary where he makes her believe that he's about to propose and then he doesn't, and everyone around them is in on the joke. And eventually when Hilary's pretty much given up on getting the ring, he does it and totally sweeps her off her feet!
And also for the record, I don't think Tyson's family is this evil but I needed a villain for this setting. I usually like to hc them as being super close-knit though, despite of all the shit that Hiro pulls in canon, so maybe I will write something that depicts that or something where Grandpa is alive (lol) in the future. I did talk about all my TyHil fankids recently so I certainly want to write a family-centric fic soon too.
As always, thank you for reading and reviews are always appreciated.
