Spoiler warning for the ending of volume 14. This story picks up directly after the ending of volume 14 and makes references to parts of the story between volumes 12-14 as well as the Yukino anthology. In addition, I have changed various things from canon so if something is different, it is canon to this story.

Description:

Hachiman and Yukino have finally confessed to each other and are now officially dating. All was well to an extent. The service club was disbanded, and they could now live the rest of their high school life as third years peacefully. However, that was until Komachi burst into the club room as they were finishing up the last of their work from the prom and announced that the Service Club was back in action. Now, Hachiman and Yukino spend the rest of their school days together as normal members of the Service club with Komachi as their president, as well as their new journey together as boyfriend and girlfriend. What is on the horizon for the Service Club? Who is the new advisor? And will Hachiman and Yukino make up for the lost time that they never got to spend together during their second year?

Making up for lost time
Prologue

"I love you, Hikigaya-kun."

…

…

Huh?

I'm suddenly awake, arms and legs sprawled across my bed, sheets kicked off to the side. I was still groggy, but the dream I just had left me with my heart pounding and what felt like a fever. It was still at the forefront of my mind, but this wasn't just a dream. It was last night. Reality was suddenly hitting me as I rubbed my eyes to wake myself up.

Last night, she said something rather amazing. Yukinoshita's voice kept repeating in my head, and the more I thought about it the more my chest would get tighter. It was a similar feeling to one I had when I was in middle school, but this was far different from that. Instead of rejection, it was acceptance. With her own words, she confirmed that what we had was something mutual.

Despite how good it made me feel, I was actually very nervous about it. I'm not used to feeling like this. Granted, I'm like this because of how crappy my life has been, no thanks to my own efforts or lack thereof. All I could think about was, what now? This was a huge step in my life and something I wasn't expecting a few short months ago. If I could talk to my past self and tell him, "Hey, you're going to confess and be confessed to by Yukinoshita," I would have laughed and brushed it off.

The old me didn't believe that living out your youth was important. I thought, and in some way still do, that youth was just a phase in life that people like to give excuses for doing stupid things. The term, "young and dumb" is something I looked at with great disdain because I was always on the receiving end of it. I decided at a young age that I wanted to avoid ever committing such youthful acts, but there was more to it than just that.

No matter who you are, you will always fall victim to the reality of being a teenager. Your innate naïveté of being young will manifest in some form or fashion, be it rebelling against something, making bad life decisions, or falling in love. Even someone like me, who hated youth so much that I wanted to waste it away until I became an overworked salaryman, will eventually have to realize the truth.

I would slap myself if I could. I trapped myself in a dark world that honestly makes me cringe when I think about it. At the very least, I've come far from where I started. I'm slowly beginning to embrace the youth I've missed out on, and maybe it's not so bad sharing it with someone you care about.

But back to the matter at hand, my head was still in a weird way. I got out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. I need to cool down and think about this calmly—my rising temperature is making my thoughts run wild. I turned the cold water on and splashed my face, but the words flashed in my mind again.

"I love you…"

Three words that contain many meanings yet, for some, don't convey what they truly feel. For instance, I would say I am one of them. Just saying "I love you" doesn't feel like it's enough. It's what I believed when I talked to Hiratsuka-sensei; that what I was feeling couldn't be summed up in those few words alone. I realized I needed to find my own way of showing her how I feel. All I could think about at the time was to use whatever words I thought could best convey how I felt, and the actions to help get me there.

That night on the bridge was the result of my decision. I poured my heart out in that short time without ever saying those three words, and I thought that was enough. But hearing it directly from Yukinoshita was making me think I needed to say it now too. But when to say it… That was my next issue and the reason I was struggling so much right now.

I kept splashing more and more water on my face, picking up speed yet I couldn't come up with anything. I'm getting nowhere. I stopped and looked at myself in the mirror. My slightly less-rotten-than-normal eyes looked back at me, yet they were still rotten as ever. My hair was drenched and fell down in front of my face as water continued dripping down from the ends. I looked like a complete mess.

This look really isn't good. If you looked at the right angle, I almost looked like Shirosaki from Kawai Complex. I quickly pulled my hair up to get rid of the scary creature in front of me. Why couldn't I just look like Shun Ibusaki instead… he's better looking after all. I guess it's time for a haircut, I wouldn't want to look any more like a shut-in.

I exhaled slowly. I didn't think I'd get this far. Now here I am worrying over trivial things. I slapped my cheeks to get my focus back, but at the same time I heard a muffled voice yelling at me from downstairs. "Big bro! Get down here, I made you breakfast!" It was Komachi's voice calling me for breakfast. Desperate to move on, I quickly threw out my worries as I left the bathroom.

~ x ~

Though Komachi's breakfast was waiting for me, I took my sweet time getting downstairs. I wasn't going to push myself any harder than I needed to. I opened the door to the living room and was greeted by Komachi.

"There you are, you're so slow! Good morning!"

"Morning," I said with a monotone voice. "…and can you even blame me? I'm trying to spend what little of my break I have left at my own pace."

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Your breakfast's on the table, eat it before it gets cold." Komachi resumed pouring drinks in the kitchen. I moved to the table and could see what she had prepared this morning. Laid out on the table was Komachi's signature omelette—but that wasn't just it. On the side she had even served pancakes and bacon. It all looked so delicious; my mouth was watering at the mere sight of it. Komachi was indeed an excellent cook—and I'd go as far to say she's at the level of a perfect housewife. Having a little sister that can cook as well as she does prepare breakfast in the morning was like a treat—no, a wonderful blessing!

It wasn't completely out of the ordinary for her to do this, but it was no less appreciated. I was the one who made us both breakfast when she was still a kid, though now, the roles have been completely reversed and her skills have far exceeded mine. She's even doing so many of the household chores, it astonishes me how good she's at it.

I sat down and began eating my food after giving my thanks. After she finished in the kitchen, Komachi made her way to the table and happily sat down with a big grin across her face. "Here you go, I made it just the way you like—fufu~" she giggled. She's awfully cheery this morning.

"Thanks." I reached for the coffee and brought it to my face. It was Komachi's coffee, but it wasn't just any ordinary coffee. This was definitely a rival to MAX coffee, there's no doubt about that. I wonder how Komachi could get so close to the taste of MAX, I'm beginning to think she might have some secret ability that lets her discern what's exactly in any given recipe, down to the most minute detail. Some tongue she must have. But maybe it's because she's the world's best little sister, and not because of some crazy superpower.

It wasn't long until Komachi finally broke our silence—though it was the start of something troublesome. "So, big bro. How's life?"

Eh? What kind of broad question is that? Also, how's life? I don't know how to respond to that. We don't normally talk about our daily lives to each other, at least not extensively. I ended up just giving her a short answer.

"Um, good?"

Komachi was still humming along with a strange excitement. "Nice, nice. Did you enjoy the prom?"

Ah, the prom. She had to go and remind me… I tried my best to shut out a certain event and keep my cool.

"I just worked through the whole thing so I don't know how I could enjoy that…"

I'm not lying really. Yukinoshita kept giving me orders through the whole night, and even after it was all over, she continued to give me a list of things to do before we left. She did of course end up saying that—no, I'm not going to think about it! I don't care if she said that, she still gave me a mountain of work! I tried putting all my energy into being angry at Yukinoshita instead of being conscious about the confession.

"Hmm, nothing happened?" So she thought something did happen?!

"What? No…" I denied it quickly. Unfortunately, the confession was now at the forefront of my mind. It was written all over my face no doubt.

"Hmmm nothing, huh? Okay." She dropped the subject rather quickly, but asked something else instead—or rather, sensing something was amiss with me, changed her angle of attack. "Anything on your mind troubling you—or whatever?"

"Uh—no…" I averted my eyes to the wall behind Komachi. Actually, there was, but I wasn't going to spill the beans about my issue with Yukinoshita right this second. It's too embarrassing to tell my little sister, "Yeah, actually, I don't know how or when to tell Yukinoshita 'I love you' after she said it to me first." I'm not going to say it!

"I see. Ah well, big bro is not good at opening up huh? Some things never change," she mumbled as she drank from her mug. I tried my best to calm myself down and act natural, but the last thing she said irked me.

"It's alright. Everything's the same as usual," I said sternly and went back to eating.

"If that's how it is, I guess there's nothing I can do."

Yep, yep. There's nothing. So we can drop this topic now. Ahh, what a nice coffee. The weather outside looks really great~!

"Enough about you, how is Yukino-san doing?" She asked very bluntly. Is she somehow reading my mind?

"I'm not reading your mind, it's just a sister's intuition! I know how you are big bro, it's the result of living with you for 15 years~!" She playfully raised a peace sign and smiled at me. Gah, damn that intuition of hers…!

I knew what she was trying to ask, and she was going to keep pestering me until I said something that pleased her. I accepted defeat with a groan, putting my cup down. "Alright, what is it?"

"Answer my question first!"

"She's doing alright—I guess. I haven't talked to her since last night."

"Hm, a passable answer. But I'd like to know how she's been since you started prepping for the joint prom."

I was right, she wanted to know what was going on between us. Once before, I had tried to tell Komachi about Yukinoshita, but it ended up being super vague—as is all of our conversations whenever we discuss what's going on in our lives. I think she already knows, as does everyone else apparently, but she wants something more concrete. I don't blame her; I feel like I need to properly explain things to her too.

"She's definitely… happy. I guess," I said a little embarrassed.

"Are you two getting along?"

"Yeah."

"That's good." She sat back in her chair with a smile. She seems to think that was the best answer she would get out of me. Of course, if it were me from several months ago that would be the case. But right now, I wanted to tell her more than that.

"Komachi, there's actually something I want to say…"

"Huh?" She looked puzzled.

"Me and Yukinoshita, we're uh—ah… well…" I scratched the back of my head subconsciously. I was getting nervous as Komachi was now at the edge of her seat. Her expectant expression was making it harder on me, though even she appeared to be stiff and anxious.

"We're… partners now," was what I managed to say in the end.

Ugh, I went and used "partners" to describe our relationship. I couldn't honestly think how to describe our relationship exactly. It would be clear to use the term boyfriend and girlfriend, but to me it felt like something that went beyond that. "Partners" is what Yukinoshita said, though I don't know if it was out of embarrassment or for the same reason I'm thinking. Even with recent events, I don't know what she actually thinks about it herself.

"Wawawa… that was unexpected…! Big bro you actually said it…!"

"Was it really that surprising…?!"

"Haha, big bro you are never this honest about yourself. I'm happy you finally told me about it though!" She had a big smile. "It was tough for me, really. I don't know how to deal with this, I wasn't expecting it to happen this soon. H-how do I call her now… O-Onee-san…?" she said bashfully.

"…I don't think you have to go that far."

Komachi laughed at me, then looked out into space. "I'm really happy! You found someone who can take care of you."

I didn't say anything back, I just kept eating my food. I felt I didn't need to say anything more.

"Hey, big bro. Enjoying your breakfast?" Komachi now had a wistful smile on her face.

"Yeah, it's delicious as always." After pausing to answer, I went back to eating again.

"Heh, thanks. That's good—because this will be the last time I make you breakfast."

I nearly spat out my food. "What!? Komachi, you can't be serious…"

"Yep. Dead serious."

"No way…" This is impossible, moving on from Komachi's cooking? I don't know if I can handle the shock just thinking about that kind of timeline.

Komachi sighed. "Geez big bro, you know I can't do this forever. Don't you have Yukino-san to take my place now? Are you even considering that as an option?"

"Y-You're right, but I think I'll let Komachi spoil me for a little while longer…"

It was then that Komachi made some kind of realization. "I see how it is… I was the cause of the problem the entire time! Big bro was relying on Komachi's kindness as a little sister…! Komachi will no longer spoil you!"

"Eh, what the heck's up with that?!"

"I realize now that I was the obstacle all along!"

"Komachi, you're not leaving your big bro all alone, are you? You're not going to stop making meals, right?"

"You're gonna have to get Yukino-san to do that for you!"

I don't think I'm ready to move on from Komachi's home cooked meals! "Komachi, you're gonna make big bro cry..."

Komachi clicked her tongue and looked at me disappointingly. "What's with this sis-con... so gross. Truly, there may be no hope after all…" Komachi shrugged her shoulders and ate her food with a slightly grumpy face.

"Yukino-san is a great cook, isn't she? She's much better than you anyway, so I don't have to worry about it."

"Hey, wait a minute. I'm pretty decent at cooking, that was totally mean Komachi."

"Maybe if you just need to survive…," she said in a monotone voice.

Ouch… this side of Komachi was not cute at all, but she was saying it with such a cute face…! What did I do to deserve this treatment so early in the morning from my little sister?

"This is great, isn't it? You can just have Yukino-san make all of your meals."

"She can't make all of my meals; we aren't like that yet."

"Yet? Fufufu, big bro you are already planning on moving in together?" Komachi chuckled.

"Ugh you little…!"

"Well, it's a great idea! You could maybe even get Yukino-san to level up your cooking if you don't want to rely on her so much."

"I wouldn't want to bother her too much…"

"I don't think she'd be bothered by it. Why don't you just ask? I think she would rather enjoy it."

"Yeah, enjoy making fun of me." Yukinoshita would enjoy mocking me about it, there's no doubt about that. Afterward, she'd probably put me through some hellish training regimen to get better at it. I shivered at the thought. That's something I want to avoid at all costs.

We went back to eating and talked about other topics. Shortly thereafter, I received a message from Yukinoshita.

Good morning.

Despite what happened last night, she had the courage to greet me in the morning as if everything was normal. Wanting to match her courage, I sent her a reply.

Morning.

Thus was the beginning of our new relationship.