The day had finally come. It had taken Saiki a week to finally muster up the courage to do the unthinkable: ask a girl to be in a relationship. It took the first three days to come to terms with the fact that he had actually made this decision and the next three to try his best to tamp down his anxiety just long enough to get it over with.
Thus, on the 7th day our fated duo arrived at New Year's Day. Saiki's parents were headed to the shrine to wish for another year with each other. Predictably, they urged their son to join them; but he told them in no uncertain terms that accompanying them was out of the question. His father knew his son's expressions, few as they were, well enough to know he had other plans. That quip had earned his father a telekinetic choke, but his mother chased him out with her terrifying visage because he had kept Teruhashi waiting to do something as petty as intimidating his father.
So there Saiki was, trudging toward the park where god's scheme awaited him. He couldn't say he hated it, though. God could have done much worse, the timeline where Nendou's father became his being a standout example. Today was oddly quiet, almost uncomfortably so. Throngs of Teruhashi's thralls should have located her by now, but he had not seen anyone. Was it god's intervention or Teruhashi's diligence?
A breeze picked up as he drew closer, becoming more audible but maintaining a comfortable rhythm. Finally, he saw her. She waited on a cobblestone plaza facing a tall pyramidal monument gussied with up with a bell, wreath, and ribbon on each of its faces. Clad in a thick, red winter jacket and black mittens, she waited with hands clasped behind her back. Her hair had been taken by the wind, lightly bobbing while small eddies combed through it. It gave her an ethereal presence, an existence both heavenly and material. Her mind was completely silent as well; she had come very far.
"Oh!"
Her light heel turn disturbed her hair ever so slightly, causing a lilt to it that transferred to his breaths. It settled into an impression of a wing. Once again, Teruhashi had violated the laws of physics just by existing. However, it was what he noticed under the jacket that truly surprised him.
The open jacket revealed a brown and tan colored plaid, stylish jacket, a purple sweater, and a barely visible collared white shirt underneath.
He chuckled to himself. Of course she did. The hat is missing, though.
At least the earmuffs she wore were white as well. Perhaps it was fate that drove home her final victory, because he felt a pleasant thrum at the sight of her wearing the clothes he picked out for her. It was probably just god taunting him again, though.
But her smile washed all denial and doubt out of his mind. He had never seen one quite like this: brilliant yet unbelievably comforting. No doubt a product of all the time they had spent together. If he thought drawing her was difficult, this smile defied all description. Even if he were to commit it to memory it would never match the beauty of this moment. Their relationship was not perfect by any means, but there existed a level of familiarity far beyond anything he had experienced before. He never imagined he'd be doing something like this, but her demeanor set his mind at ease.
He couldn't help but smile back at her.
Per her request, he would require no cue to action. Whatever she felt right now, he hoped that he could confer at least some of the pleasant warmth the feeling of seeing her unfettered happiness without x-ray vision onto her.
He cleared his throat.
"Teruhashi-san… will you be my girlfriend?"
Her eyes closed as the elation in her expression deepened further.
"Yes," she whispered softly.
They stood silently as the wind picked up, pushing her resplendent azure locks to the side. They bobbed gently, beating like an angel's wing once again.
Relief washed over him. He had finally done it; he had overcome his fear enough to be able to reciprocate at least part of what she felt for him. Though others had helped him along the way, she stood head and shoulders above all else. Was this what they felt when they opened up their hearts to someone? To finally find a person, an equal he could be more of himself around?
Unfortunately, "himself" was still a tsundere.
He pursed his lips, cast his eyes to the side, and awkwardly opened up his arms to bare his chest to her. A melodious giggle graced his ears. As he felt her draw close, a tingling static sparked under his jacket. When she finally made contact, a jolt arced through him. The machinery of his body energized, humming to life as the current of her embrace flowed through him. While he was distracted by the aggressively slow way she wrapped her arms around his back and the way she softly slammed into his chest, a thief seemed to have stolen the air from his lungs.
Offu.
The new couple ambled slowly out of the park with no particular direction in mind. They instead decided to enjoy the comfortable silence that had come from the weight lifted from their chests. At least, that was what Teruhashi felt.
A relationship I care about.
The words played in her awestruck mind. She should have felt proud of the fact that she had finally ensnared him, much less got him to confess to her; but that thought never came. Instead, she found the tenderness of his reciprocated embrace still set deeply in her chest. Their relationship was not perfect, but it still felt much more authentic than the crush that spurred her toward him. Was this true love? She couldn't be sure. The way she felt about him had changed so much over time that she kept pulling more and more out of the depths of the bond between them.
She glanced at him. His eyes faced forward as a gentle breeze ruffled his hair. Though he was not smiling, relief filled his features, emoting a quiet contentment.
"So, you finally stopped pretending to be cold?"
He responded with a low hum. "I can't go out without winter clothes, though. It'd be too noticeable."
"True," she chuckled. "Want to go get some coffee?"
He nodded, a small grin forming at the corner of his visible lip.
She couldn't focus very well on finding a suitable coffee shop, though. The fuzzy feeling in her chest had not yet faded; in fact it had only grown since they had broken their hug. She had grown accustomed to touch as she experienced it many times with her dubious consent, or she had given it as a bargaining chip. This was far different, though: a real, vulnerable touch. They had touched at times in the past; but in many ways, as terrible as it was to say, were done almost dutifully. He had comforted her or she, him; or she had acted of her own desires. This was different. It bore the unconditional honesty of affection.
Just a few months ago, she would have been aghast at the idea of being confessed to like this: no lead-in, no prostration, and no grandiose show of affection. Despite how mundane it was, it just felt... right. There was no pressure, no fanfare, and no reservations, just the two of them. Perhaps the way god had rewarded her show of goodwill by being present at the shrine for others was to allow her to experience something so normal. Saiki had a point. Halcyon days like these were wonderful moments worth cherishing and holding onto forever.
"There." She looked up to see him pointing at a small café nestled between two buildings.
"Café Mami…" she mouthed. She had been here a few times to win his affections, but of course it had never worked out. Until now.
"Ah, Saiki-san! Teruhashi-san! Welcome!" the manager greeted them cheerfully, but his eyes fell immediately following.
"Teruhashi-san… I'm sorry I encouraged you to wear that maid costume. Business was slow and I started to worry about the future, so when you showed it was quite literally as if god had sent an angel to my aid. Please forgive me." He gave her a 90 degree bow.
"You're forgiven! I did want to help out, but I also had other reasons, too," she smiled politely. She heard a snort next to her.
The manager nodded gratefully. "Can I get you two anything? Business is a bit slow right now because everyone is out with the festivities. Order whatever you like, on the house!"
"Oh, you really don't have to…" Teruhashi said placatingly. Her act was not fooling the psychic next to her, though.
"So unfair."
Bleh, she mimed the sound of her tongue sticking out. He chortled and shook his head.
They sat and Teruhashi perused the menu while the manager went to the back to clean and organize the place. It reminded her that Saiki-kun came here VERY often, which made the slight of him avoiding her coffee jelly sting a bit more.
"I know you hold grudges, but this is more than a little petty."
"It's not your place to say."
"It-" he stopped himself- "Fine, then."
As fun as this was, she needed to cut to another topic abruptly to solve an immediate problem: the manager. So, do you want to keep us a secret?
"For now. I think the consequences of revealing something like this are more important than societal norms."
She nodded. She didn't disagree, but it represented yet another obstacle for them to overcome.
It's going to be difficult to hide it from the group.
"We'll have to figure it out. I don't fully understand why I asked you anyway…"
Her breath hitched and her eyes went wide. His expression twisted to a deep frown and his lips pressed in a tight line.
"That came out terribly. I mean that all I knew is that I just wanted to. I'm used to knowing why something happened."
She pouted angrily, crossing her arms and shooting daggers at him. "You better tell me how the confession made you feel before I do something we'll both regret."
"You know how awful I am at this," he grimaced.
"You should have thought about it before you almost told me that you confessed for the wrong reasons."
"Fine," he sighed.
He paused, glancing toward the wall until he turned back toward her.
"It felt… right? It's hard to put into words, but it felt like I was drawn closer to you and I didn't think it was a bad thing."
"You're not getting the point. Praise me, peon," she said with a mischievous grin.
He shot her a dirty look. "Are we doing the platitudes trope already?"
"I think I've earned it."
He scowled and rolled his eyes, but his expression softened as he spoke. "You looked… pretty."
"See, was that so hard?" she cooed with a smug grin.
"You were the one who said that you didn't want people to judge you on your looks," he scoffed.
"It's different now."
He raised an eyebrow. "How is it different? We're the same people we were an hour ago."
"Such a dull boy," she droned, eyeing him pitifully. Her prize was a fiery glare. Something about it…
Wait.
"So I looked pretty even as a gross meatbag?" she teased.
He paused and shifted uncomfortably. "I've been able to see your true face for a while now."
A scorching blush immediately overtook her.
"W-W-Why d-d-didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't and still don't understand what it means. It wouldn't have changed my decision. Faces are like sculptures to me."
An opening! She swallowed her embarrassment, narrowed her eyes, and pounced. "A very pretty sculpture, right? I told you that you wouldn't be able to resist me if you could see my face."
"Why are you like this?"
"Normal people tend to want to touch each other as well."
"I knew that already. Why are you so aggressive?"
"You know exactly how long I've waited for this… Though-" her face fell-"I'm nervous about it too."
He crossed his arms and nodded. "I suppose we'll have to work on it, then."
"Thanks for meeting me halfway," she said, smiling gratefully.
"Hm," he offered. "We should probably order now. The manager might start to get suspicious."
She resumed perusing the menu, and Saiki hailed the manager when she was ready.
The manager reflexively pulled out his order notebook, but quickly stowed it as he approached the table. "The usual?" he asked.
"And a coffee as well."
"And you, Teruhashi-san?"
"A coffee and a strawberry shortcake, please," she said, placing her palms in a praying pose. "By the way, where is Mera-chan today?"
"Oh, Chisato-chan? She said she had to work at the shrine today. I hope she's enjoying herself at least a little bit," the manager said, a bitter edge in his tone.
"I hope so, too," Teruhashi soothed.
"Anyway, it's time for me to go to work. The only payment I ask is that you enjoy it," the manager brightened.
"I know we will," Teruhashi matched his enthusiasm. Saiki flashed him an approving grin.
The manager shuffled off to the back to craft the confections that always brought Saiki-kun back here.
They settled into a comfortable silence, embracing the still of the quiet winter morning. Wait, shouldn't there be more people around? Normally her fan club would be hot on her tail; but today things were completely silent, as if she didn't exist at all. Obviously she enjoyed attention most of the time, but this felt almost eerie. Were people following them? Was this Saiki's doing?
"No one's following us. Stop getting spun up about questions you already know the answer to."
"Mm," she swallowed.
"So, why two coffee flavors? You just couldn't pass up that coffee jelly, could you?"
"Is that wrong?"
"No, just an observation," she giggled.
He rolled his eyes at her as the manager arrived with their orders.
"Please enjoy," the manager said, bowing politely before resuming his chores.
Saiki-kun spooned some coffee jelly into his mouth. His expression wasted no time going back to the cute face that had played a significant part in her being sucked into a maelstrom of the psychic variety. She found herself unable to eat, instead resting her head in her palms to watch him. A boyfriend: her first, and Saiki-kun no less. The world viewed her in a manner much akin to an idol, so it followed that she could be considered "tainted" should she be taken off the market. Right now, she couldn't care less about that.
Am I... free?
She needed to eat now, though. The manager would be sad if she didn't enjoy the fruits of his labor.
"Not quite, but you do have the freedom to choose."
"Speak for yourself."
A low chuckle reverberated from deep in his chest as she finally picked up her fork to appreciate the artistry of a consummate professional.
She had no idea what was in store for them, but she hoped that times like these would never end.
