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9S ran his hand through his hair again, pressing his bangs down and willing them to stay straight and neat for the entire day. Then he frowned. At their current length, they covered his eyes, and 2B had said she liked his eyes a few weeks ago, when they were having lunch together in the park. The compliment had stuck with 9S for the rest of the day.
Well, maybe the rest of the week. Actually, maybe all the way until today. He had even picked out a blue t-shirt first, trying it on, before feeling self-conscious and switching back to his usual black.
God, 9S was so nervous.
He checked his phone, worried that he had missed a text from 2B, but his screen was sadly blank of any notifications. He fidgeted with it for a few moments, opening and closing Twitter three times before he accepted that there was no way he was reading anything in the moment.
He double-checked that his phone was on vibrate then put it face down on his desk, so he wouldn't be tempted to check it every ten seconds. Then he picked it up just to double-check the time (seventeen more minutes until 2B said she would get there) and put it back down.
He sat on his bed and swung his legs a few times, staring blankly at the books on his desk. He lay down, but then his room light seared into his eyes, so he sat back up.
He picked up a pen from his desk just to have something to fidget with, fighting the urge to pick up his phone again.
It couldn't hurt just to double-check his hair again.
It was as fine as it was going to get. Yep, that's his hair.
Fourteen minutes.
When his phone buzzed, 9S all but jumped out of his skin.
im here
outside
His heart thumping, he peeked out his window and sure enough, a strange car was parked outside across the street. 2B was leaning against it nonchalantly as she looked down at her phone.
9S patted his pockets, double-checking that he had his wallet, keys, and phone. Actually at this point he was probably quintuple-checking, but who's counting? Not him.
Suddenly realizing he didn't want to keep 2B waiting, he rushed down the stairs, grabbing his flute out of habit, and bounded down the driveway, waving to 2B.
"Hi!" he chirped, trying not to let his nervousness show.
"Oh, you did bring your flute. That's great." 2B pressed a button and unlocked the trunk with the beep. "Keep it in there. My violin's back there."
2B's beat-up violin case was haphazardly in the otherwise empty trunk, the numbers 042 scrawled on it. 9S had a similar 153 on his case, the results of renting their instruments from the school. He tenderly did as he was instructed, then slammed the trunk shut.
"Ready to go?" 2B ducked into the car. "Door's unlocked."
9S scrambled in, suddenly hyper aware that he had barely said anything so far.
As he was racing to find a topic of conversation, 2B looked over and smiled. "You look nice today."
"Y-You too!" 9S blushed furiously. Damn it, why couldn't he just be smooth like that? "The weather is nice today."
"It's perfect," 2B said, starting up her car. "There's a café a few blocks away from the mall I wanted to try, with bubble tea and cakes and stuff like that. Is that okay with you?"
"Yes, of course! That's fine with me." He had definitely remembered his wallet right? Yes, okay.
A few beats passed between them. 2B's face was impassive.
"You can change the song if you want." 2B pointed at her phone in the cup holder. "It's on a random playlist right now."
"Right."
"9S?"
"Y-Yeah?"
"Can you please relax?"
"W-What?"
"9S," 2B said, and she rested her hand on his knee at a red light, and wasn't that just an unhelpful distraction. "Normally I can barely get you to shut up. I like that about you. Don't be so nervous."
"Okay." 2B looked at him and there was an expectant silence in the air. He opened his mouth and nothing came out.
"9S, I'm not that beautiful," she said, a small smile playing on her lips, and at the joke it was like 9S could finally breathe again, the awkwardness shattering.
He laughed, punching her on the shoulder. "Like hell! You know you are. You're going to be drinking bubble tea and some guy's dick is going to get hard."
She just raised a suggestive eyebrow at him and grinned.
9S peeked at his date as he took a couple of pictures of his drink for Instagram. She had already started drinking, idly sipping as she read over the various signs in the cafe.
2B had quite a reputation at their school – first violin, gymnastics star, and generally just one of the most gorgeous girls there was. On the other hand, she was also known to be utterly unapproachable. And somehow, he, 9S, a tiny nerd who loved computers and reading too much, got a chance to play a duet with her.
Literally, in their school orchestra, and also, now that they were on a date, metaphorically. He couldn't fuck this up.
"People are taking those signs to take pictures," 2B said, nodding her chin at a couple of girls squealing over their lattes. "Do you want to do that too?"
2B wasn't unapproachable at all, 9S thought as they fetched the signs. She even posed for a few selfies with him, giggling at the cat filters.
She was a little stiff at first, sure, and very focused on her school and hobbies. When they had rehearsed together, she had been the one asking to practice this part again, one more time, here, starting from bar 34, but with more feeling, and here, didn't he think they could lighten up the staccato a bit, make it playful instead of angry?
But when they realized they took the same bus to get home, 9S had been surprised to find she was almost a different person, quick to smile at his jokes and shoot back with her own quips.
She was also super extra cute when she fell asleep, cheek pressed against the bus window in a less-than-dignified manner.
They had kept up a friendship even after their performance, often heading out to lunch together, much to the delighted whispers of 9S's friends. Then 2B had asked if he wanted to hang out over the weekend, and 9S had somehow found the balls to ask if it was a date, and well, here they were.
Over their bubble tea, 9S told 2B about the first time he had taken a trip to the beach with his parents.
"I feel like no one else ever talks about how weird it is to walk in sand," he said, making a small face of disgust. "It feels like you're walking through water, almost, because of the way it moves and almost sloshes around you, but then actually it's sand and it sticks to you and then you step on a rock or something and your whole day is ruined for fifteen minutes."
"You don't like beaches?" 2B asked, swirling her straw around to suck up more of her boba. 9S noticed the tilt of her pinky, the pursing of her lips as she sucked.
"Oh, I try to get over it now," 9S said, picking up his own drink, "but my parents said that that first time we went I just spent the entire time shouting and screaming. I was hard to pacify as a three year old."
"I can imagine that," 2B said, laughing.
2B stretched as they walked out of the cafe, her crop top lifting even further to expose more skin than before.
9S hid a grin when she looked over at him. It was fun, now that he had gotten to know 2B, to watch how she normally behaved, cool and untouchable, in public, and then watch her try to tease him. On the other hand, he was the one who could make her giggle and blush, not anyone else.
Unsuccessful in her goal, instead she reached out and grabbed his hand, and swung their hands between them, and the sun shining down illuminated the twinkle in her eyes as she smiled at him, and wow, yeah, she could definitely also make him blush, just like that.
"Where to now?" she asked, sliding into the car.
"Hey, I thought you were the one with the plan," 9S joked.
"I just have a surprise for after dinner. You were the one who suggested getting a drink first, and then you couldn't even pick a place!" 2B made a face at him.
"Hey, it was just in case this all went terribly and we needed an excuse to bail," 9S said, laughing. "Okay, how about the mall? Let's just walk around a bit until dinner."
"Sure." The car roared to life again and 2B pulled smoothly out of the parking lot. 9S opened his window, relishing the feeling of sun on his face, even as the wind was definitely mussing up his carefully arranged bangs.
"You were like a puppy, sticking your head out the window in the car," 2B teased, once again swinging their hands between them as they were browsing inside the mall.
"Woof," 9S deadpanned, and she giggled again. "Well, then, I guess I'm your puppy, 2B."
She flushed, and 9S grinned cheekily. "Oh? Who's feeling shy now?"
She yanked on his hand and for a second 9S worried that he got gone too far, upset her somehow, but instead she swept him in and grabbed him in a kiss. Her lips were soft and 9S melted, eagerly pressing in for more.
After a few moments, she pulled away, face still red, but looking very pleased with herself.
God, 9S could just do this forever. How was this only a first date? He was drunk on the feeling of her already.
"What do you think of these?" 2B showed 9S two ribbons, one pink and one blue. "I've always wanted to try these in my hair."
"You'd look great in either," he said. He took the pink one from her and held it up to her face. "Try the pink one though. It matches your blush."
On cue, she flushed pink. 9S grinned.
She got him back later, though, when she slid behind him and tucked a flower behind his ear, dancing away and blowing him a kiss before he could respond.
"You're going to ruin my appetite for dinner," 2B said, her eyes closed.
"Hey," 9S retorted, trying to decide how to approach this. They had agreed to split for fifteen minutes in the mall and come back with a surprise for each other. "Did I complain when you fed me that dot ice cream stuff?"
"You loved it." 2B smiled serenely. 9S scooted closer to her, pressing his knee against hers, as he raised the chocolate-covered strawberry to her mouth.
"Here," he said. "Try this. I think you'll really like it."
She took a bite, lips brushing against 9S's fingers. They were a little wet, and so soft, and 9S swore she was lingering a little longer than she needed to.
She blinked her eyes open in delight as she chewed. "It's good."
"I thought so," 9S said, trying to calm his rapid beating of his heart.
They were seated by the window for dinner, overlooking the water below. An appropriately romantic view, in 9S's opinion, although the summer sun prevented the use of any candles or other clichés.
"I love the sorbet here," 9S said, looking over the menu. "I could eat like five of them."
"We can get one of each flavour." 2B turned the page to the desserts section. "Actually, there are ten of them."
"We can still get one of each flavour," 9S said, wide-eyed with the possibility.
"You really like sweets, don't you?"
"Don't pretend you don't!"
2B grinned at him. "Okay. This is going to be our dinner?"
"Hell yes."
They drove out of the more populated part of the city, following the wandering roads by the river, before 2B finally pulled over into a small parking lot. There were trails here by the water, but 9S had never explored them himself.
"Let's go for a walk," 2B said, holding her hand out for 9S once they had exited the car.
"Um, this won't ruin your shoes will it?" 2B's heels clicked even now on the uneven concrete.
"Nah," 2B said with a bit of a grin.
"You don't let anything get in your way, do you?" With a laugh, 9S took her hand.
They walked for a while, the setting sun lighting the river aglow. The murmur of the water formed a pleasant backdrop as they chatted, still eager to trade stories, discover everything they could about one another.
2B told him about her favourite gymnastics coach, a chipper woman named 6O. She paused for a moment, thinking. "Actually, she's a lot like you. Great fondness for talking about the weather."
9S gave her a playful shove.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, they sat on a bench and watched it together. 9S rested his head on 2B's shoulder, and after a few moments, she turned and took his chin in her hands.
A gentle wind blew as they kissed, 2B's hair tickling 9S's cheek. The world faded away as 9S felt her wrap her arms around him, drawing him in closer, the smell of her floral shampoo enveloping him. Her tongue darted out, and 9S opened obliging, allowing her to explore his mouth.
She still tasted like the sorbet they had had for dinner, sweet and cool. 9S couldn't help a moan as she became more bold, taking his bottom lip between her teeth and nibbling.
"You really like that?" 2B whispered, letting her hand drift to the hardness at the front of his jeans.
He made a sound somewhere between a whimper and a laugh. "We're in public!"
To her credit, 2B did at least look around. There was no one else on the path, just a few birds chirping around them in the trees. She cocked an eyebrow at him.
9S flushed. Honestly, and obviously, since he clearly couldn't hide it, he did really like it. "C-Can we could go back to the car?"
"Hmm," 2B said, and 9S swore he had never seen her look so mischievous as when she leaned back and draped an arm over his shoulders. "Don't think so. Not yet. We have to wait for the surprise first."
9S was about to think that the promise of "not yet" wasn't so bad, but then 2B pulled him in for another kiss, her teeth teasing at his lip again, her fingers deftly hooked into the belt loops of his jeans, and he groaned.
9S rested his forehead on 2B's car, an exaggerated picture of defeat. After teasing him for near an hour, long enough for the darkness to settle in and become comfortable, she had asked him to walk back to the parking lot.
"If the surprise is sex and you made me wait all this time," he said despairingly. The lot was empty except for them and the first stars twinkling over the river.
"Hang in there," 2B said, and she would sound sympathetic if this wasn't, in fact, all her fault. "Hop onto the hood and don't turn around."
He groaned and did as he was told. 2B had long ago made it clear who was steering this ship.
He heard the click of the trunk, and was puzzled for a moment. He'd seen it earlier in the day, and it had been empty, except for –
The sound of 2B's violin sang through the air, almost mournful at first, drifting towards the stars, before it playfully picked up speed, 2B herself stepping into view. The stars seemed to twinkle in time as she serenaded him through her strings. Her eyes were closed; her fingers moving deftly as her entire body seemed to dance with the music.
The song was vaguely familiar, and 9S had a faint suspicion that this may be the original composition she had been working on for the past month.
All this time, it had been for him.
He was speechless, even after 2B let the last notes drift away over the water. His heart felt so fragile and full.
"I was probably out of tune," 2B said at last, awkwardly. "But I didn't want to ruin the surprise."
"Wow," 9S managed at last. He might've been crying. "I don't even know what to say. Thank you, 2B. That was ... that was incredible."
"There's a part for flute too," 2B said, making a move as if going to grab it.
"This is our first date," 9S said, and he was laughing and definitely crying and pulling her into a hug. "2B, do you ever do anything halfway?"
9S saw 2B blush faintly, their faces brought close together by the hug. Her voice was quiet, nearly shy. "I've liked you for a long time, 9S."
"Me too, 2B, me too," he said, pressing their foreheads together. "But now we can spend a long, long time together."
He leaned forward, capturing 2B's lips in a kiss, unable to hide a smile as she could barely wait a few seconds before taking over again. She tilted his head back, pressing her thigh in between his legs, and the two of them moved together in harmony.