Chapter Text
After making it official and taking in the suspiciously calm reaction from his little sister, Saku and Subaru returned to his room hand in hand only breaking contact after sitting on his floor, this time being side by side instead of across the table despite the study materials still being open. Despite this fact the dark haired boy wasn’t thinking of studying, his mind and subsequently his gaze turned to the silver haired girl he could now call his girlfriend.
“What are you thinking about Natsusawa?” Subaru asked, feeling his gaze before turning her head to meet it.
“…how little studying we managed despite our intentions” he responded plainly before taking her hand with a smile, “although I’m not complaining” he clarified.
”You have a point… we should ask the others to do a study group, I know Madoka and Kaoruko wanted to repay you all for helping us” Subaru responded, smiling as he took her hand. “It’d also…let us tell them about us” she followed up, cheeks turning pink at the suggestion.
“Good idea, Ayato’s police exam is around the corner and Usami wanted to get a jump on midterms early since we’ll be balancing that and the festival” Saku responded, taking his phone out and started typing a message.
“You’ve also got your birthday soon” Subaru reminded him with a gentle glare and slight pout, “I know it’s technically less important then exams but to me it’s the most important thing coming up.”
“Ah…thank you Hoshina” Saku replied looking away to hide his blush that crept from his ears, “but with how busy everyone is we should probably skip the party.”
“You’re right…although convincing everyone else might be a challenge” she responded with a small laugh and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder while the group chat lit up at Saku’s suggestion.
After a short conversation in the group chat lead mainly by Usami and Saku, everyone had agreed to meet up the next day for a sudden study session before their schedules became even more swamped, with the boys final school festival and midterms fast approaching. Setting his phone down Saku was glad it had worked out so well before leaning his head gently against Subaru’s the two again enjoyed a comfortable silence until the silver haired girl had to make her way home for the day.
“I should go home before it gets dark” Subaru murmured before standing up and letting go Saku’s hand, cleaning her stuff from his desk and neatly placed them in her bag.
“Right your parents might worry if you’re out for to long” Saku responded and joined her in cleaning his desk before heading to his door, “I’ll walk you to the station” he remarked and headed down the stairs.
“Thank you, I appreciate you doing that for me” she responded following behind him, putting her shoes on, saying goodbye to Mio before her and Natsusawa made their way to a nearby bus station.
“I didn’t say anything earlier but it’s okay if I tell Kaoruko about us first right?” She asked softly, looking at her boyfriend while the pair walked, “when her and Rintaro started going out last year, she told me immediately and I want her to know before anyone else”
“I’m glad you told me, I thought you’d just do it either way” Saku teased meeting her gaze, “of course I’m okay with you telling her, Naturally she’ll probably tell Rintaro too but I trust him” he continued and gave her a smile.
“Ah… I had a feeling you’d be okay with it but hearing from you directly is nice” Subaru softly responded with a smile as they arrived at the station, “thank you for walking me here, I’ll see tomorrow”
“Yeah I’ll see you tomorrow” Saku responded with a smile, “have a good talk with Miss Waguri once you get home safe” he added before turning from the empty station and started returning home.
Watching him turn away the reality of what happened finished dawning on Hoshina, not only was she comfortable with a number of boys now. She had a more intimate connection with one of them, beforehand whenever the girls including Kaoruko talked about love, Subaru felt enjoyment from watching the girls gush but now she understood it better, the so called butterflies they felt manifested in her stomach.
But with that fluttering feeling came a realisation, as a couple how were they meant to act? Thanks to Kaoruko and the other girls she knew the basics of relationships, holding hands, affectionate words and a general closeness being the basics with other more intimate acts coming with time. Her worries mainly came from expressing those feelings to him, doing it to Kaoruko was simple enough because the silver haired girl did love her best friend.
But the love she felt for Natsusawa was different, nerves gently crawled up her back as he walked back home, worry that she didn’t do enough after all he did for her today crept into her head, even if logically she knew he wouldn’t think that, the worries continued building until.
“Natsusawa!” She exclaimed loudly a vocal register she rarely used, getting his attention as she extending her arms in his direction before he turned to face her, even with embarrassment being obvious on her face Subaru continued, “can you please…hug me” she mumbled barely loud enough.
After her proclamation the pair fell to an awkward silence with Subaru’s cheeks being a deep shade of red in embarrassment, praying he didn’t question her actions simply because she didn’t have an answer. Thankfully he didn’t question her instead his reaction went from stifling small noises into full blown laughter, something that further embarrassed the silver haired girl hands retracting in an attempt to cover her face, wishing the ground would swallow her whole.
“Forget it…I wasn’t being serious, I just remembered something Kaoruko did and thought it’d be funny” she tried backpedaling, still trying to cover her bright red cheeks with her hands, failing to hear the sound of his feet moving in her direction.
“Does that mean I can’t have one?” He asked now standing in front of her, a gentle smile across his face while his arms stretched towards her mimicking the pose she did before.
Subaru stared at her boyfriend wondering why he’d do something so embarrassing, surely he could’ve just laughed it off or let her feel embarrassed in silence, instead it felt like a weight was lifted off her shoulders as she wordlessly stepped into his arms. Feeling them circle around her shoulders while her own slid up his back, her head resting comfortably on his shoulder thanks to their near equal height, a rarity since the silver haired girl usually towered over those she hugged.
“Feeling better?” Saku asked softly, seeming to maintain his composure as the two embraced, his arms being under her long silver hair, letting it move with the gentle breeze.
“What made you think something was wrong?” She responded, titling her head to him, noticing the faint tint of red on his ears, betraying his composed facade.
“This wasn’t the first time I’ve seen you do something in a panic” he replied before the pair mutually pulled away from the hug and held hands.
“Right… I guess that makes us even now” She mumbled, a small playful smile reaching her face, “I guess you should actually head home this time” Subaru added before letting go of his hands.
“Yeah I’m afraid Mio might be getting more suspicious” he replied, softly grabbing his neck with one hand, “I’ll see you tomorrow Hoshina” he added before turning again.
“Right I’ll see you tomorrow” she responded giving him a small wave as he got further away, before going home herself, feeling more relaxed than the first time he walked away.
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The following day Saku, Rintaro, Usami and Ayato met up ahead of the allotted study time with the girls, the group deciding that, incase anyone recognised them, before meeting since while both schools had improved their overall relationship, it was still risky for students to interact outside of school.
“It’s been a while since we all properly hung out, between all the stuff with Kikyo and studying for exams” Usami brought up casually as the boys walked.
“True, it’s been over a month since we went back to the beach, sorry it’s partly because I’ve been studying hard for the police exam” Ayato responded, telling part of the truth since there was another reason for them not all hanging out.
“Don’t feel bad man! We all agreed it’d be less fun if someone missed out” Usami commented, giving Ayato a slap on the back, “plus we’ve all been busy studying”
“And yet you still beg Tsukada for the exam outline everyday after school” Saku chimed in, eyes on his phone, sending a message to Subaru checking if the girls were on the way.
“That just means I’m extra dedicated to studying now!” The red head exclaimed, getting a laugh from the remaining three boys even if his proclamation was true.
After a few more minutes of walking and playful jabs, the four boys ended up in front of the café and were soon joined by the girls, after a brief exchanging of greetings and pleasantries the group entered the establishment and found a big enough table for the group of seven.
After securing a table for eight the group seated themselves accordingly, with a notable difference as instead of sitting with the rest of the boys Saku took his seat beside Subaru with little to no hesitation. Getting a number of quizzical looks from his peers, excluding Kaoruko and Rintaro the former most likely learning it from Subaru.
“Let’s start studying, we can order some drinks during” Saku voiced before anyone could question his choice of seating, pulling out his work book prompting the others follow his example.
Losing the chance to press for answers, the group started studying, the sounds of pens and pencils against paper being broken up by short bursts of talking by Saku and Kaoruko, helping their peers whenever they ended up stuck on questions.
Despite the group studying effectively for the most part, anytime Saku helped Subaru gazes ended up shifting in that direction, even Kaoruko who knew the pair were an item couldn’t hide a slight shock at how close the two got while he helped the silver haired girl.
Even with a short break to order drinks early on, going from school to a study group was taking its toll on the group only after an hour, primarily Usami and Rintaro but even Madoka was starting to lose focus. Noticing this Saku set his pencil on the table. Taking a second to stretch before opening his mouth.
“Let’s take a break and order some food” he chimed, being loud enough for everyone to take notice “I don’t think Shohei and Rintaro can handle much more if we don’t.”
“Thanks Sakuuuuuuu” Usami cheered drawing his words out, before slumping forward, plopping his head on the desk with a thud.
“Sorry…I know you guys are probably used to this much” Rintaro mumbled looking sheepishly to the side, also grateful for the break.
“Honestly I needed one too, my head was going too explode otherwise” Madoka chimed in, smiling despite the fatigue.
“I’ll study a bit more before taking a break, I wanna finish this page at least” Ayato commented before turning back to his work book, looking the least fatigued of everyone.
“I’ll do the same! But I’d still like some food” Kaoruko chimed in, looking down at her book again. Seeing his girlfriend push forward despite the fatigue inspired Rintaro to pick his pencil up again and continue working.
With everyone either taking a break or pushing forward Saku went to signal for a waitress, turning back around as someone tugged his jacket the culprit of course being his silver haired girlfriend, still having a pen in one hand while her other got his attention.
“I’d still like to keep going too, can you keep helping me?” She asked while releasing his jacket, eyes beaming at him with determination.
“Sure Thing” he responded casually before watching her continue working, letting her work until she got stumped and then stepped in to explain it with his pencil, leaning in close which got the tables attention.
Despite it even getting the attention of those who were meant to be studying, nobody vocalised a question right away instead Ayato, Madoka and Rintaro started trading looks between the three of them with Kaoruko soon joining them.
Remembering what happened at the beach last month between Saku and Subaru going from that slightly tense situation to now was jarring, wondering what had changed but each of them worried to ask incase the air became awkward.
“Woah you two seem really close, did something happen?” Usami asked with all the subtly of a sledgehammer. Being completely unaware of the what happened at the beach despite being there.
Suddenly a tense silence enveloped the group, immediately after the red headed male finished his sentence Ayato dropped his pencil and frantically covered his friends mouth, worried he might say anything else. Whipping his head around to the pair in question planning to dismiss Usami’s claim, only instead to be stunned into silence at their reactions, Saku for the most part was stoic as always even though said stoicism was often moot to Usami’s shenanigans.
Subaru on the other hand had an expression the aspiring police officer had never seen, her cheeks flushed a gentle pink, eyes slightly widened as if embarrassment and realisation had taken over, turning his eyes to the others, Madoka was seemingly frozen mid sentence similar to Ayato, meanwhile Rintaro and Kaoruko seemed calmed if a little caught off guard by the situation.
“Well… um” Subaru started, bringing her hands together and covered her mouth, even with this being their plan Subaru couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed. Aside from Saku taking the seat beside her which could’ve just been seen as them studying for the same university, the fact Usami of all people managed to tell the two were close caught her off guard.
Watching his girlfriend stagger to answer the red heads question, Saku brought his hand to Subaru’s shoulder watching quietly as she exhaled and regained some composure. Her cheeks going from red to a gentle pink and unclasped her hands and placed one on Saku’s before meeting their friends gaze again.
“Natsusawa and I have…started seeing each other romantically” Subaru revealed, managing to get the words out despite the embarrassment she felt, the stunned silence only intensified said embarrassment.
After a couple seconds of processing the information just given, the awkward silence was replaced by hands hitting the table and shocked yelling. “You’re what?!” The pair of Ayato and Madoka shouted, standing with hands firmly against the table.
“We’re dating” Saku responded bluntly, remaining calm despite the table slams causing everyone else to jump, his hand no longer resting on Subaru’s shoulder for that reason, “also let’s not tell the whole café.”
Calming down from the shocking reveal both Madoka and Ayato sat back down, noticing looks from both staff and customers alike an embarrassing move that thankfully didn’t haunt the group as the onlookers lost interest soon after and went back to their own business.
“Okay but actually how?!” Madoka exclaimed, leaning over the table to look at the pair, “I mean barely last month it seemed like-“ she continued before cutting herself off before revealing too much.
“It’s not that much of a story” Saku responded before noticing the curious stares, letting out a soft sigh before explaining the events of yesterday that led to Saku and Subaru dating. During his retelling he took stock of his friends reactions, changing from anger towards the boys bothering Subaru to relief at Saku defending the silver haired girl. Eventually landing on satisfied smiles as he finished the story.
“Well congratulations guys! Guess it’s a good thing you’re both going to the same university” Usami commented right after Saku finished the story, still oblivious to what everyone else knew.
“I agree with Shohei, I’m happy for you two” Ayato added, giving his friend a genuine smile glad the beach incident didn’t cause any friction.
“Same here!” Madoka exclaimed before turning to Kaoruko and Rintaro, “what about you two? I was expecting a bigger reaction from you at least Kaoruko” she added looking at the shorter girl.
“Oh…Subaru told me about it this morning before” She responded honestly, obviously if a little embarrassed since she’d effectively hid that part for the majority of the day.
“And I heard of it from Kaoruko when she called me in the morning” Rintaro admitted, “sorry I didn’t tell you guys earlier, I figured Saku would’ve wanted to break the news himself.”
Despite being the one who dropped the news, Saku, Ayato and Usami looked at Rintaro with genuine surprise, “I can’t believe it! Rintaro’a face didn’t give it away all day!” The red head exclaimed, putting the boys shock into words.
With that revelation, the group started messing with Rintaro before devolving into other topics, some related to the homework they were meant to be doing, others being questions for the two couples that now occupied the group, before exiting cafe as the sky turned a beautiful orange glow, signalling it was time for all to start heading home.
“Man I forgot how fun studying with everyone was!” Usami exclaimed now standing outside the café with everyone.
“It was fun because we didn’t study much after a while” Saku pointed out, before shaking his head realising it wasn’t worth pointing out, instead turning to Subaru “we did more then yesterday at least.”
“Right. I suppose that’s good” Subaru responded with a light laugh, “but still even if we did less I think this was a successful time” she added, gently taking his hand while the others were distracted, causing the usually stoic Saku to look away, ears going a light red at the gesture. Before anyone did notice the two separated with slight reluctance as they split into their school groups before properly splitting up and heading home.
“So Saku you must be pretty excited, Getting a girlfriend just before your birthday huh?” Usami started with a smirk, not letting his friend get away that easily.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Saku responded calmly, not feeding into his friends antics outright, “I’d rather let Ayato focus on his exam first” he added casually.
“C’mon man we’ve already pla-mmph!” Usami tried to say something before again being gagged by the friend mentioned.
“Thanks Saku I appreciate the concern” Ayato interrupted, still covering the red heads mouth, getting only a suspicious look from the long haired boy.
“Ignoring Shohei, I’m glad it worked out you two started off on the wrong foot, but you two got close not long after” Rintaro added, trying to distract his friend which seemed to have worked.
“Don’t remind me…” Saku let out with a sigh, mostly going along with his friends silent wishes even if he could probably piece together what Usami was about to say, “I still regret my actions that day” he admitted.
“C’mon Saku! Regretting it just means you’ve grown up!” Usami chimed in, being freed from Ayato’s grasp after realising his near mistake.
“He’s right, although we’ve all matured a bit” Ayato added, wiping his hand on Shohei’s clothes, “I mean look at Rintaro, he’s learnt to keep a poker face.”
“You’ve got a point I guess” Saku responded, joining Usami and Ayato in laughing while Rintaro begged them to stop, embarrassed by his friends teasing before giving into the laughter himself, the boys continued laughing and reminiscing before going there seperate ways.
Arriving at his house, Saku headed to his room right away and shut the door. Dropping his school bag to the floor before sitting on his bed, fishing his phone from his pocket and was greeted to a number of notifications most being from the revived group chat. However the most important one being a simple message from Subaru.
«Get home safe» was all it said and yet Saku couldn’t help but smile before typing a response.
«Thank you, I hope the same for you» he responded before setting his phone down and stood up, heading downstairs as his family called for him, unable to wipe the soft smile from his face despite knowing it’d only get him suspicious looks from his mother and a long interrogation from Mio. Even with full knowledge of that Saku continued smiling as he thought about both the fun time he had with everyone and from that quick message from Subaru.