Summary: Freaking unbelievable.
Momiji held Tohru's hand as he gently guided her to their reserved seats in the University's court his younger cousin attended, her fingers curled around his securely as they made their way amidst other students and possibly families who were also invited and were conversing amongst themselves in excited tones.
He found it, nodding to Tohru as he finally stopped, assisted her to sit down first before seating himself down. They both sighed in relief. "Seems we made it in time." He commented, pushing his glasses back up which had almost slipped down his nose.
"I'm glad we did." His unexpected date for the night handed him his bottle of water and his portion of the snacks they bought before hurrying to the gymnasium. "I'd hate to miss even the first half of Hiro-san's game."
He nodded in agreement. "Can't have that, now that he's a starter."
Tohru beamed at him happily as she held out a potato fry at him, just as the lights dimmed and the announcer's voice came on, starting to introduce the teams. "I can't wait for this game to start!"
He gratefully took the potato fry she was offering him, chuckling at her enthusiasm.
The home team – Hiro's – was first introduced, and he and Tohru both cheered as loudly as they possibly could when number 7 and point guard Soma Hiro was called, and he placed his index and thumb fingers in his mouth to give a loud whistle. It was something Hiro had tried teaching him when they were younger and he managed to catch his attention. Even from a distance he could tell that Hiro was blushing and disgruntled at realizing who had come to watch one of his games.
"Oh je. I can practically hear him grumbling all the way here." He laughed, Tohru giggling along with him.
"He should have known nothing would stop us from watching his game."
Kisa had given Tohru tickets, inviting her to watch Hiro's first university basketball league as a starter, knowing Tohru had always been one to support a Soma's endeavor as long as she had the time. She had gratefully accepted, and was told by Kisa that there is another ticket and to bring anyone she wanted with her, apparently.
That someone had been him, as Tohru had shyly asked him one day while he was on one of his lunch breaks. Thinking that it was the perfect excuse to break away from the reports he was analyzing and stop seeing numbers swimming in front of his eyes, he immediately agreed. His father will encourage him to take a break, and a date with a beautiful woman will guarantee that rest.
Even if it was just to watch and support a relative's goal. He would never turn an invite from Tohru down.
He stood up and cheered just as Hiro scored another three-pointer shot, his fourth one in just the first quarter. Tohru was clapping, cheering and yelling with all her might beside him as well. "Oh my. I can't believe how fast he's improved! He's no longer just on the bench, he really is a starting player now." There were tears in her eyes as she smiled happily.
"You look like a mother proud of her son, Tohru." He handed her a handkerchief, sharing a smile with her even as he could feel the pump of the adrenaline in his system.
"I feel like one, actually!" She exclaimed, taking the handkerchief he gave her, dabbing at her eyes as she chuckled in the midst of her tears. "I mean I've seen him when he was just starting out playing and now – to this!"
Momiji can understand. Even he, who had been so busy to try to attend events like this still feel immensely proud of Hiro. He had come a long way from the kid who played around, who had been trying to be more mature, to this young man who was clearly paving a path for himself.
He should watch his games more.
Well on their way to the second quarter, the opposing team were quickly catching up. There were a few fouls here and there (committed by both sides) and the second quarter ended with the opposing team two baskets behind Hiro's team. He returned to the bench, towel wrapped around his shoulders and chugged a huge water bottle down as the entire team convened with their coach.
Going into the second half meant that there was a thirty-minute break for everyone to proceed to do whatever stuff they needed to do (bathroom breaks, more food run, etc.) Momiji and Tohru settled on their seats as Momiji drank his own water as well, feeling his throat start to sore from all the cheering earlier. And they haven't even started the second half yet.
"Thank you for coming with me." Tohru looked up to him, voice quiet and almost… shy. His heart fluttered at the sound of her voice. It was such a soft tone, the kind girlfriends use when thanking their boyfriends for a romantic gift perhaps.
Well, at least that's what he thinks. He had never been in a relationship to assume. Just his delusion acting up, perhaps.
"You know I'd never turn you down, Tohru." He assured her, smiling boyishly, ignoring the little flutters his heart was doing.
"Even if I ask you to go for a grocery store run with me out of the blue one day?"
"Even if you ask me to go to the underworld with you, most likely."
Welp. Where the hell did that come from. That got darker than he intended and he wanted to smack himself on the head. Having never gone out for human interaction unless a) Tohru asked him to, b) he had to go and attend a company event and c) his secretary threatened him bodily harm if he didn't go and get himself some sunshine, his humor seems to have also darkened by the passage of time.
Or maybe that was just because this is how adults usually are. Playful, but with darker humor and a little snarky.
Tohru's expression was between amazement and… admiration if he was reading that right. What she would admire him for remains to be a question. Momiji had always been stuck in thinking whether there was anything to admire him for aside from surviving turning into a rabbit at one point in his life when in contact with a woman and family trauma.
Just then the gymnasium erupted with giggles and laughter, as a romantic song suddenly played in the background. Both of them looked around, and realized that the people around them were pointing and laughing at something above. They both turned to see the giant television screens hanging above them showing a huge heart outline centered on a man and a woman with the words KISS CAM on bold letters below said heart outline.
Kiss cam.
In Japan. Of all places.
The two on screen gave in and kissed each other for all of three seconds, and the audience both laughed and booed in cheer and in disappointment.
"T-They have this now?" Tohru was blushing, but did not avert her eyes from the screen as it showed another couple on the screen. Said couple shook their heads, immediately pointing at each other and mouthing what looked like "we're siblings" of some sort. This got another howl of laughter from the audience.
"Apparently. Seems Japan is becoming a bit more open to public displays of affection like this." He said, not knowing whether to feel impressed. Kiss cam being allowed at an event like this shouldn't be that much of a big deal, but this isn't common. The society of their country can be restrictive like that.
Oh well. People should be allowed to have fun sometimes.
"So that's how it works…" Tohru's voice was so quiet, he almost didn't hear it. She didn't sound embarrassed, just thoughtful. Like she found something interesting and wanted to study it.
Momiji had glanced down to Hiro's general direction and spotted him looking annoyed, but he saw his mouth fall open as the audience erupted into cheers again.
"M-Momiji…" Tohru whispered from beside him, sounding like she was about to faint. "L-Look up."
He did, eyes widening upon recognizing who was displayed on the screen now. He thought he was just imagining it but the heart outline was on him and Tohru.
Now.
Kiss cam.
He looked at her, surprised at meeting her gaze on him. He was expecting her to be panicking and trying to hide herself from the cameras but she was looking at him, cheeks flushed.
"KISS! KISS! KISS!"
He recovered from being frozen in shock for all of .3 milliseconds. "We don't have to."
"KISS! KISS! KISS!"
Everything seemed to have gone in slow motion or something of the sort, the noise of the crowd falling away, leaving him and Tohru just focused on each other. She was looking at him directly, gaze unwavering. He was starting to realize – when was the last time Tohru averted her eyes from him?
"Do you want to?" She asked, voice still soft and quiet.
Oh don't do me bad like that. He thought, mentally groaning. Where was the Tohru who was easily embarrassed?
Why do you keep looking for that Tohru, dummkopf? His conscience snapped. She was asking you straight, give her a direct response as a real man should!
"I want to." He said, fixing her a steely gaze.
She smiled almost looking relieved. "I thought I would have to ask you to go to the underworld with me before getting kissed."
He couldn't help himself – he laughed. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
"Baby, stop teasing. Let me kiss you now."
His hand reached for her neck and pulled her to him, kissing her almost sloppily as the people around them cheered, enough to remind them both that this is VERY MUCH IN PUBLIC with a younger cousin who's probably about to faint in disbelief somewhere below them.
Tohru resembled a tomato when he finally let go of her, as he licked his lips while keeping his gaze on hers. "More of this later, babe."
The laughter and cheer of the people around them continued ringing in their ears for the rest of the night.
"Unbelievable." Hiro muttered to himself as Momiji kissed airhead – Tohru – finally, in full view of the cameras and in front of thousands of people, perhaps. On national television.
He couldn't believe that a kiss cam was all it needed for his blond cousin to finally make a move on the Soma princess. Was it cringe that it was on national television? Perhaps. But he could only feel annoyance and a small amount of satisfaction deep down inside him that he would rather die than admit to anyone at seeing the scene in front of him. He could only imagine Kisa somewhere in the stands nearer to him. His girlfriend has probably fainted at this moe-moe-worth display.
Well… it's about time. Freaking unbelievable though.
