Archive of Our Own ^beta

Just do it. How hard can it be? She’s less than 10 feet away. Stop staring at your feet and say something, anything! She’s going to walk right out those doors and you’ll have completely missed your chance. Get your shit together Akiteru. Hi. It’s one word. One word and you can start an entire conversation. One word and you’ll have her attention.

Thoughts fly one after another through Akiteru’s inner monologue as he stares holes into the polished hardwood beneath his feet. It had just been a regular Thursday, classes from 8am to 4pm, and then a quick trip to his favorite off campus coffee shop, Cuppa, for some much needed caffeine before he went home to study for several more hours. It was a routine he’d fallen into over the course of the semester and he was quite comfortable with it. Every Thursday, without fail, he went to Cuppa.

There wasn’t anything necessarily special about it. From the outside, it wasn’t much to look at which is probably the reason why most students passed right by, opting instead to head to one of the various Starbucks locations scattered around the university. Tucked right off the edge of campus, a five minute walk from the humanities and social sciences buildings, it was quaint, quiet, and relatively empty. Worn leather couches lined the walls, a few wooden tables scattered in various places, hanging light bulbs which lit the room up in a warm glow. It didn’t hurt that he knew the owner, either. Fourth year, fashion modeling major, Alisa Haiba. They’d had a couple classes together in the past, and with how often Akiteru frequented Cuppa they were familiar with one another.

Cuppa was his own little sanctuary that granted Akiteru a small reprieve amidst the bustling chaos of his schedule. The second he stepped through the doors, the scent of espresso and cinnamon washing over him in calming waves, his stress seemed to melt away.

That’s how it began; with a Thursday just like any other.

December air bit the tips of his ears and fingertips as Akiteru walked into Cuppa at 4:30pm and ordered his large cappuccino with cinnamon while chatting with Alisa. At 4:36pm he sat at a secluded table in the corner, hidden next to the large christmas tree, holding a steaming white mug between his palms. At 4:48pm she walks in. He pauses with the mug halfway raised to his parted lips as his eyes lock onto none other than Saeko Tanaka.

They'd met for the first time a few weeks prior at the Karasuno match against Shiratorizawa. Apparently they’d gone to high school together as well, but she was a year younger so they’d never been formally introduced. He’d talked to her through most of the match, explaining different techniques and strategies both teams and their players were using. From an outside perspective, it looked like Akiteru’s sole focus was the high school game but, in actuality, his sole focus was the feisty blonde that had stood beside him. That’s not to say he wasn’t paying attention to the game because of course he was, his little brother was playing and he was a good sibling, but part of him feared that if he stopped talking then he’d wouldn’t know how to rekindle a conversation with Saeko so he babbled and babbled and babbled. To his surprise, she hung onto his every word while intensely watching the match. Akiteru was disappointed when it ended and they had to go their separate ways. He spent the next three weeks mentally kicking himself for not asking for her number.

Now, here she was ordering her drink and smiling with Alisa while tossing a decorative sugar plum in her hand from the bowl on the counter. He didn’t even know they attended the same university (they only really talked about volleyball during their first interaction). It was almost as if the universe was giving him a second chance; a sign from some divine power that he shouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

His ass was glued to the goddamn seat.

“Fancy seeing you here.” No way. His head snaps up at the sound of a friendly voice to meet a familiar pair of brown eyes, crinkled in a smile. She must’ve spotted him and walked over without him noticing while he was lost in his train of thought. Remain calm. Stay cool.

“Hey!” His voice cracks on the singular syllable and heat floods his cheeks. If Saeko notices, she doesn’t mind.

“Mind if I join you? Or do you have a class soon?” She hovers near the empty chair on the other side of the table.

“Not at all! My classes are done for the day.” Saeko lets her backpack unceremoniously fall from her shoulder to the ground, sliding into the seat before Akiteru finishes his sentence. “I didn’t realize you went here.”

“Small world, huh?” She smiles brightly and every single thought goes straight out of Akiteru’s head. “Same high school, same college, brothers on the same volleyball team. I’m surprised our paths haven’t crossed sooner.”

“Me too. What’s your major?” His fingers fidget lightly with the handle of his cup. This is good. They were conversing.

“Mechanical engineering.” Akiteru lets out a low whistle. Saeko’s eyes narrow to slits. “What? Got a problem with women in stem?”

“Not at all!” He rushes to cover up his error, afraid he’d offended her. “I just know from personal experience that I’m absolute shit at stem so anything in that area of study goes completely over my head. I don’t have anything against, err, women. I love women...in stem, I mean.” Perfectly articulate. Great going, Akiteru. Saeko’s eyes soften, lighting up in amusement.

“Sorry about that. I tend to get a tad defensive about my major sometimes.” It was understandable. The stem majors at school were particularly competitive and dominated by egotistical men so women had to pretty much fight tooth and nail to be taken seriously. Clearly, Saeko had zero problems with that. “I’m minoring in music so I suppose it balances itself out. You?”

“Journalism.” He awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, waiting for the inevitable laughter that usually followed when he told people his major.

“No way that’s so cool!” She eagerly leans forward in her chair. “I’m not too great at writing but I love reading. Do you write?” There was an intense interest in her gaze. Akiteru had to resist the urge to avert his eyes, unused to such attention from others.

“A little…” He was being modest. He wrote a lot but he was too self critical to ever admit that his writing was good. He’d scrutinize every little detail until his passions curdled into self-doubt.

“Let me read your work sometime?” To anyone else, he would’ve said no instantly and let the topic drop. He opens his mouth to do just that but his own words surprised him.

“If you really want to.” The way Saeko brightened in excitement overshadowed his shock at what he’d agreed to.

“I do.” It was only two words, but Akiteru had never heard something so sincere in his 21 years of living. His heart beat slightly harder against the inside of his ribcage.

They end up talking for hours.

They talk until their mugs are long-empty and forgotten on the table. They talk until the sun starts to dip low in the horizon outside the windows. They talk until Alisa kicks them out for the night.

Not once did they fall into an awkward silence. They had talked about everything and nothing and even after all that, Akiteru still felt like he had more to say. Being around Saeko was as easy as breathing. It felt natural. It felt right.

Most importantly, it felt so damn good.

“Do you want a ride?” Saeko twirls her car keys around her index finger as they near the vehicle. It was past eight meaning Akiteru had missed his train and the next one wouldn’t come for another hour.

He regretted accepting her offer as he gripped his seatbelt for dear life.

“Tanaka, that was a red light!”

“Psh, it was totally yellow!” A particularly harsh turn sends him banging against the car door. “And how many times do I have to tell you to call me Saeko, Akiteru?” First names were easier considering both of them had siblings and also they simply felt comfortable enough with each other to use them despite having only recently bonded.

“Old habits die hard- THERE’S A PEDESTRIAN ON YOUR LEFT!” Another sharp turn, and they narrowly avoid hitting an old man who shakes his fist at them in anger. Huh, who knew people actually did that.

“WHAT WAS HE DOING IN THE STREET?” She screeches in horror.

“IT WAS A CROSSWALK!” Akiteru shouts back.

“Oh. That would make sense.” She giggles slightly. “Is now a good time to mention I also have pretty bad vision and forgot to put in my contacts today?” Akiteru’s stomach drops to his feet.

“We’re going to die.” He says resolutely and Saeko smacks him in the arm. “Both hands on the steering wheel!”

“We’re not going to die!”

By some miracle, they do not die and ten minutes later Akiteru exits the car on shaky legs as Saeko grins at him from the driver's seat. They bid each other farewell and Akiteru enters his home with a smile on his face and Saeko’s number in his cell phone.

He kicks off his shoes, placing them neatly by the door in the genkan, before heading toward the kitchen. He pauses by the entrance to the living room as blonde hair flashes in his peripheral vision. The sight in front of him makes his smile grow impossibly wider.

Kei sits on the couch, his usual stoic expression uncharacteristically soft as he gazes at the sleeping figure beside him. Tadashi’s curled up tightly on his side against the cushions, knees to his chest, shins pressed against Kei’s outer thigh. He’s completely knocked out, chest rising and falling with even breaths.

Akiteru attempts to quietly sneak off so as not to disturb the pair but the floorboards creak when he moves. Tadashi doesn’t so much as stir but the small noise is enough to make Kei look sharply in his direction. He quickly darts to the kitchen in order to avoid the death glare he knows Kei was seconds away from giving him. Unfortunately, his baby brother is close on his heels as he follows him.

“You’re back late.” Kei’s voice is low as he crosses his arms over his chest.

“Tough practice?” Akiteru jerks his head in the direction of the living room where Tadashi is still sleeping soundly.

“He’s been working his ass off on his jump float serves and receiving. The idiot didn’t drink water and almost passed out on the court. He overdid it.” He says the last part slightly quieter than the rest of his sentence which told Akiteru everything he needed to know. Kei was concerned.

To the rest of the world, his brother was stoic and monotone and often devoid of any emotion. But Akiteru knew Kei probably better than he knew himself and he knew his tells. The small changes in Kei’s expressions, the slight rises and falls in the cadence of his voice, it’d taken him pretty much their whole lives but he had his brother down to a T. Akiteru was a master in the art of decoding Tsukishima Kei.

“He’s a hard worker.”

“Stop changing the subject.” Kei pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose and frowned. “You’re home late and you’re smiling like an idiot. What happened?” Akiteru shrugged and turned his attention to the fridge, rummaging for something to eat.

“I got a good grade.” There wasn’t much food in the fridge. Tadashi and Kei had most likely eaten all of it after their volleyball practice. Teenage boys.

“Bullshit.” Kei’s eyes narrow behind their thick black frames.

“Hey I am capable of getting good grades, you know?” He settled for some leftover cold soba, grabbing a pair of chopsticks and digging into the takeout container.

“I’m not saying you aren’t, but something else happened.” Akiteru rolled his eyes, mouth full of noodles. “You met someone.” He choked on his food.

Sometimes, Akiteru truly despised how perceptive his brother was.

“H-how the hell-” He sputtered trying to compose himself while Kei smirked at him from across the counter.

“So I’m right.”

It wasn’t a question. Kei wasn’t going to let him out of this conversation anytime soon.

Akiteru sighs in resignation. “Yeah.” Kei’s smirk grows impossibly wider.

“Name?” Akiteru hesitates. It’s not that he needs Kei’s approval of his romantic interests. He doesn’t. That doesn’t change the fact that he has no clue how his younger brother is going to react to said romantic interest being one of his teammates' sisters.

“Saeko.” He foolishly hopes Kei won’t recognize the name. How stupid of him.

“Tanaka’s sister?” Kei’s eyes widen slightly, the rest of his face an unreadable mask.

“The one and only.” The silence in the room is seemingly endless. Akiteru doesn’t so much as breathe as he awaits Kei’s reaction.

“Huh.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Surely Kei has more of an opinion than that. He has too. He always has to have a damn opinion and he’s never had any trouble voicing it.

“It’s your life, I'm not going to tell you how to live it.” He shrugs and pushes off the door frame he’d been leaning against the entire conversation. “Besides, who knows if things will actually work out between you two.”

Ah. There it is.

Akiteru huffs a small laugh. “You should really focus on taking care of your exhausted boyfriend instead of grilling me.” He tosses a water bottle to Kei who catches it in one hand.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” He says blankly and turns to walk back into the living room. Akiteru notes how his fingers tighten slightly on the plastic.

“Yet.” Akiteru mutters.

“I heard that.”

“Good you were supposed to.”

“HOME!” Saeko shouts as the door slams with a loud bang behind her.

Her greeting is met with silence. She glances quickly at the clock to confirm her thoughts. Ryu should be home, practice ended two hours ago.

Interesting.

Their parents weren’t home, but that wasn’t a surprise. Both worked late shifts and with Ryu and Saeko’s busy schedules they barely saw one another. Well time to make dinner I suppose. Ryu would probably be starving by the time he got home from wherever he was.

Saeko got to work in the kitchen meticulously cutting vegetables and thinly sliced meat. Shockingly, she was a good cook and could make most dishes without burning down the house. Emphasis on most. Don’t ask about the Yakitori incident of 2019.

She was smiling to herself, humming happily as she went along, when Ryu walked into the house about an hour later.

“Oh my god I’m so hung-” He abruptly pauses mid sentence, looking at Saeko suspiciously.

“Hey little brother, where have you been?”

“You’re humming.”

“I always hum.” Ryu scoffs and flops down into a chair at the countertop, watching Saeko as she works.

“Not unless you’ve spent six hours drinking or something really good happened.” Saeko rolls her eyes at this. “You don’t seem drunk, though, so I’m guessing something good happened.”

“That is so not true.” She protests.

“Yes it is.” Ryu snatches a stray carrot on the edge of the cutting board and pops it into his mouth. “So what happened?”

“Nothing!” She pokes her brother in the shoulder as she takes a seat beside him while their food cooks. “What about you, hm? Where have you been for the past three hours since practice ended?”

“Ennoshita was helping me study.” Suddenly the countertop is fascinating as Ryu stares intently at it, a flush creeping up the back of his neck.

Saeko smiles knowingly. “Studying eh?”

“I have a test coming up in modern Japanese literature. I suck at literature and Ennoshita doesn’t.” He supplies. The blush is now at the tips of his ears darkening by the second.

“The two of you have been spending an awful lot of time together lately.” Saeko may be oblivious to certain things sometimes, like physics, but when it came to her brother, he was as easy to read as a children’s novel. Lately, he’d been smiling a little wider, coming home a little later, and staying on the phone a lot longer. It wasn’t hard to figure out why.

“We’re friends and teammates, of course we spend time together!” Saeko’s grin was feral. “This isn’t about me! Why are you happy?”

“Am I not allowed to be?” She shot back.

“Of course you are-” Ryu jumped out of his chair so abruptly it tipped over and crashed to the floor. “YOU MET SOMEONE!”

“DID NOT!” Saeko denied and jumped up beside him.

“DID TOO! RULE NUMBER 4!”

Ah yes, The Rules. When they were younger and their parents started working more, the Tanaka siblings invented The Rules. It was basically the sibling code they lived by and, though they weren’t younger anymore, they still stuck true to it. Rule Number 4: Never Lie to One Another. The thing about the Tanaka siblings is they didn’t keep secrets from one another. Their parents were another story, but each other? Never.

Damn those rules.

“Okay so maybe I did…” Saeko admitted.

“I knew it!” Ryu shouted in triumph, reaching down to scoop up the fallen chair. He glanced at his sister with a smug curve of his lips. “So who’s the lucky person?”

“Akiteru Tsukishima.” In that moment it wouldn’t have been hard to convince someone that Ryu was part snake the way his jaw unhinged and dropped right to the kitchen floor. Saeko busied herself ladling servings of stew into bowls to give her younger brother time to compose himself. He did no such thing.

“TSUKISHIMA’S BROTHER?” Ryu’s voice boomed through the entire house, a mixture of horror and disbelief.

“Eat your food before it gets cold.” Saeko slid the bowl across the countertop toward Ryu who was still stupefied in the middle of the kitchen, face morphing into many different emotions. It looked like he was going through the five stages of grief in the span of 30 seconds.

“If Tsukishima ends up being my brother in law, I’ll never forgive you.” He mutters finally settling down to dig into his meal. Food had always been a good way to shut him up. Saeko smiled to herself as she took a bite from her own bowl knowing this was as much of a blessing as she would get from Ryu.

“Akiteru’s nothing like his brother.” She offers. Ryu’s nose wrinkles as he frowns.

“I’ll believe it when I see it.” He says and continues to eat. “How did that even happen?”

“I stopped to grab a coffee after class, saw him and decided to say hi, we talked for a few hours and I gave him a ride home.” It wasn’t like it was a huge deal or anything, but for some reason Saeko couldn’t suppress her smile as she recalled the memory. She turned to find Ryu staring at her as if she’d grown a second head. “What?”

“You like him.”

“I barely know him.”

“But you like him.” She didn’t deny it, she couldn’t. There was something about Akiteru Tsukishima that made her feel secure; something she’d spent her entire life searching for. And it had only been one afternoon.

Ryu opened his mouth to say something else but his phone started ringing. He glanced down at the screen and hastily stood up, rushing to leave the room so he could answer in peace. Saeko didn’t have to see the number to know who it was.

“HI ENNOSHITA!” She calls after Ryu who slams his hand over the speaker of his phone as he escapes to the safety of his bedroom.

Both of them were completely and utterly hopeless.

“I want to introduce you to someone.” It was Thursday once again and Akiteru found himself sitting across Saeko in Cuppa. Thursdays were slowly becoming his new favorite day of the week. They hadn’t gotten a chance to see one another since the previous week because their schedules were so different but that hadn’t stopped either of them from emailing one another constantly. Akiteru couldn’t help but scramble for his phone when it pinged with an incoming message no matter the time of day, even during lecture. His mornings, his afternoons, his nights, they were all slowly starting to belong to Saeko.

“Should I be worried?” Saeko laughed, loud and boisterous, and a couple people glanced over from neighboring tables but Akiteru couldn’t care less about any of them. Instead he felt a bit of pride blossom in his chest at the fact he caused that laughter. He could spend all day listening to it.

“No of course not!” She giggled. “I think you’ll like him.” Akiteru’s heartrate sped up. Him. The worry must’ve been obvious in his face because she rushed to clarify. “A friend from high school, you might actually know one another.”

“What’s his name?” Now he was curious. Saeko briefly tore her gaze from his to check the time on her phone.

“He actually gets out of class in a few minutes. Want to go meet him?” Akiteru wasn’t too enamored with the idea of someone else impeaching on the precious time he could spend with Saeko but it seemed to be important to her and with the way she was looking at him, how could he refuse?

“Sure, why not!” He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t relieved they were going to meet the mystery friend rather than mystery friend coming to Cuppa. He considered it their special place now and anybody else going there just felt so wrong. So they grabbed their bags and leisured through campus. The crisp December air cooled their cheeks and Akiteru’s gaze was drawn to the slightly pink tip of Saeko’s nose. He couldn’t tell if it was the weather that made her huddle closer to him, shoulders brushing as they walked, or something else but either way he was perfectly content.

“What’s your favorite season?” He asks.

“Winter, duh. Anybody that likes the heat is a certified psychopath.” She cocks her head towards him, eyes shining. “What about you?”

“Fall. Not too hot, not too cold. It’s the perfect in between.”

“Then why not Spring? It’s also in between. In fall, things die off but in spring, things grow and thrive.” A small shiver runs through her body and Akiteru offers her his arm. He was a gentleman, after all. She smiles gratefully and takes it, the heat of her hand on his upper bicep searing through his jacket.

“You make good points.” She huffed a laugh that seemed to say I know. “I honestly don’t have an answer for you though. There’s just something about fall.”

“Gotcha.” They continued walking in comfortable silence until they reached the outside of one of the liberal arts buildings. A man stood slightly farther away with his back to them, scrolling idly on his phone.

“Incoming!” Saeko hollered and released Akiteru to break into a dead sprint towards the stranger. Akiteru couldn’t help but briefly mourn the loss of her warmth.

“Took you long enough.” Saeko threw herself at the man, embracing him tightly. He sounds mildly annoyed, but the way he catches her and returns the hug suggests that he's not annoyed whatsoever.

“As if you’re not always late to things.” She smiles and pulls back as Akiteru walked over to meet the pair. The man turns to him allowing Akiteru a good look at his face. He automatically knows who he is. “Akiteru! This is Tenma Udai, my bestest friend in the whole world who somehow puts up with my bullshit. Tenma, meet Akiteru Tsukishima.”

A mop of messy black hair hung down around Tenma’s face brushing his collarbones. Storm grey eyes sharp as flint, flicked to Akiteru giving him a once over. Akiteru was taller than him by quite a few inches but that didn’t matter with the way he shrank under Tenma’s harsh, calculating gaze. Akiteru bowed, refusing to let his intimidation show.

“Nice to see you again.” For a moment all Tenma did was stare at him blankly, Saeko glancing confused between the two of them. Then his face broke out into a toothy grin and he returned the bow.

“Pleasure’s all mine.” He pushes a few stray curls back from his forehead and Akiteru can't help but notice white splotches speckling his hand. Tenma follows his gaze. “Studio Arts major. Was working with clay today.” He explains.

“No fair! You guys get the fun majors.” Saeko stuck her lip out in a mock-pout. It totally wasn’t adorable and Akiteru totally didn’t take a mental picture of the sight.

“You literally chose your major, quit complaining.” Tenma rolls his eyes good-naturedly at Saeko’s display before turning to Akiteru. “You’re a journalism major, right?”

“How did you-” Saeko subtly jabbed Tenma in the side with her elbow but Akiteru still caught the movement and the way her cheeks darkened a fraction of a shade. Looks like she had told Tenma a lot more about Akiteru than she had initially let on. The thought made him feel warm inside. “Yes I am.”

“Nice.”

“Wait, Akiteru you said ‘nice to meet you again.’ Do the two of you know each other?” Saeko asks, voicing her earlier confusion. Tenma’s eyes light up in amusement.

“It was a long time ago but yeah. We used to be teammates.” Akiteru nods in agreement.

“And you didn’t tell me?”

“I’m telling you now, aren’t I?” Saeko fixes Tenma with a glare so intense Akiteru’s surprised he doesn’t burst into flames right on the spot.

“So were you two friends in high school?” Akiteru asks to deescalate the situation. Both Saeko and Tenma shake their heads in unison.

“Nah he was too cool for me in high school.” Tenma leans his elbow on her shoulder.

“What do you mean in high school? I’m still too cool for you.” Saeko scoffs and slaps Tenma’s arm away playfully. “We met like a year ago. Somebody,” he threw a pointed look at Saeko “was crying behind the ceramics workshop after getting dumped and me being the generous human I am, bought her a coffee and sat down to talk to her. The rest is history.”

“It’s hard to believe somebody could ever dump you.” Akiteru says quietly, the words slipping past his lips before he can stop them.

“She was bitch anyways.” Tenma states earning a sharp glance from Saeko.

Akiteru could feel his heart picking up a rapid pace in his chest. “She?” He almost didn’t want to know the answer.

“Yeah. Got a problem with that?” Tenma asks defensively, a challenge in his eyes. Saeko looked like a deer in headlights trapped between the two of them. It was certainly the first time Akiteru had ever seen her look so stuck but he couldn’t even appreciate it over the rush of blood roaring in his ears.

“Not at all.” He choked out, forcing his tongue which felt like lead in his mouth to cooperate. She seemed to visibly relax at his answer and Tenma backed off, satisfied, but Akiteru’s heart dropped to the pit of his stomach.

Saeko liked women. She’d never look at him the way he desperately wanted her to.

He didn’t stand a chance.

Not much happened after that initial interaction. They talked a little more, exchanged numbers and schedules, then parted ways for the night. Akiteru didn’t have time to be shocked that Saeko’s best friend was Tenma Udai. No, his thoughts were too preoccupied with the fact that her ex was a woman. Did she only like women? Why was she so concerned when Tenma said it? Why hadn’t she told him herself? Was she keeping it a secret? That didn’t seem like Saeko, though. She was far too sure of herself to ever be ashamed of who she was. Which was a good thing because she had absolutely nothing to be ashamed of.

Questions nagged his brain, wiggling into tight spaces and sowing seeds of doubt wherever they could. He could always just text and ask her, but he didn’t want to invade her privacy. Especially not when she’d seemed so hesitant to tell him in the first place. Besides, it wasn't in his nature to pry.

He was so deep in his thinking, the sound of his phone buzzing barely registered.

[Saeko] : alright bitches when are we meeting up?

[Tenma]: well hello to you too

[Saeko] : oh hush formalities are a waste of time

[Tenma] : says the girl who bowed a consecutive number of 36 times when she met the lead singer of her favorite band

[Saeko] : THAT’S OFF TOPIC!

[Tenma] : I don’t think it is

[Saeko] : woah you think? who knew there was actually a brain in that skull of yours

For a few minutes, all Akiteru could do was stare at his phone screen as texts appeared. To his horror, and secret delight, Saeko had created a group chat with all three of them.

[Akiteru] : Sorry guys, I don't think I can. Finals are just around the corner.

[Tenma] : boo!!

He was being a coward, that much he knew, but what other choice did he have? Meet up with Saeko and act like everything’s fine when in reality he’s crushed she’ll never be his? Yeah he’d rather swallow hot coals than have that happen.

His phone buzzed again but this time with a private text from Saeko.

[Saeko] : Everything okay?

Just his luck. Of course she’d pick up on his weird mood, she was oddly perceptive like that and he rarely turned down the chance to make plans.

[Akiteru] : yeah just stressed out with exams and papers

It wasn’t a total lie so much as it was a half-truth. Finals were definitely stressing him out and if he wanted to get into a good grad school he needed to do well. But that paled in comparison to his situation with Saeko. In fact, it was at the absolute bottom of his list of concerns.

[Saeko] : oh. okay.

[Saeko] : let me know if there’s any way I can help!

[Akiteru] : will do

He shut off his phone and threw it somewhere on his bed to be forgotten.

Nearly two weeks had passed and Akiteru was sitting in a lecture hall, listening to some professor drone on about comparative literature in eastern europe. It was a smaller lecture, only about 70-80 students, and he liked the professor, truly, given their minor associations outside of the classroom but at the moment his brain was doing anything but focusing on the task at hand. His hands were avidly taking notes, scribbling sentence after sentence, but he was just going through the motions. Information was going in one ear and out the other as his body worked on autopilot.

Tenma and Saeko had texted him several times in the days that had passed, both in the group chat and privately. He’d been giving them vague answers and dodging questions, saying just enough to keep them satisfied.

He thought he’d been sly and inconspicuous.

He thought wrong.

“This is one of the worst ideas you’ve ever had.” Tenma grunts. “And you’ve had some pretty bad ideas.”

“If you drop me, I’ll kill you.”

“Then stop fucking squirming so much.”

The pair of friends were receiving weird looks and glances as students passed on their way to class. Tenma was crouched low on the ground outside of the humanities building as Saeko attempted to hook her legs over his shoulders. When she successfully settled, Tenma began to stand up and Saeko dug her hands into his hair, holding on for dear life.

“I’m serious, Tenma. I’ll make you suffer.”

“I’m already suffering.” He mutters under his breath. Saeko gives his hair a rough tug. “Ow!”

“You’re not funny.”

“Really? I think I’m hilarious.” Tenma grips the front of her shins with his palms for stability and takes a tentative step to be sure the two of them wouldn’t collapse to the ground. “Now which room was it?”

The first time they met, the three of them had traded their schedules so they could decide the best times to meet up. Never in a million years would Tenma have guessed that this was the purpose that exchange would’ve been used for. Was he surprised? No, of course he fucking wasn’t. Saeko was constantly pulling him into all sorts of shit but this? This was a new level of insanity.

“H21.”

“Great now if only the room numbers were on the outside of the buildings instead of the inside.” Simultaneously both of their heads tilted up, well as far as Tenma could go with Saeko’s thighs caging his neck, to the building in front of them. Large glass windows framed by red brick were neatly lined in a row and marked each individual location of a lecture hall. Had the windows not been 10 feet off the ground, they would’ve been perfect to peer into to find Akiteru. Unfortunately, the sorry-excuse-for-an-engineer who designed the goddamn institution thought it’d be a great idea to put the windows up higher to provide for a little more privacy or some bullshit like that.

“I guess we’ll have to check them all.” Tenma glanced at the windows, silently counting. 11.

11 opportunities to find Akiteru. 11 opportunities to get caught.

“Are you sure about this? Maybe he’s just been busy with school shit the past couple days.”

“It’s been nearly a week and he’s barely spoken to you or I.”

“Him and I don’t know each other that well.” He pointed out.

“Maybe not, but him and I…” She unconsciously gripped Tenma’s hair slightly tighter. “We understand each other or at least I thought we did. If this is the only way to get his attention then so be it.”

He could hear the determination in her voice.

“Fine but I'd feel a lot better about this if we at least had a trench coat or something like the movies.” Saeko scoffs from above him.

“Pft that’s cliche and tacky. Besides, you wouldn’t be able to see and both of us would go down faster than the Titanic.”

“The Titanic took 3 hours to sink.” He flinches as her hand connects sharply with the top of his skull.

“You know what I mean.”

“Yeah yeah.” He begins to shuffle toward the first window. With the two of them stacked like dominos on top of each other, Saeko’s head barely clears the top of the windowsill. If anyone happened to look outside they’d see a floating head mischievously smiling.

A terrifying sight indeed.

“Not this one. It’s completely empty, actually.” Tenma sighs loudly, making his discomfort known, and works his way to the next window. His hands brace against the wall for support, rough brick scraping against his palms. Good thing years of volleyball and sculpting has toughened the skin of his hands with calluses otherwise they’d probably be bleeding by now.

The sight must’ve been comical to any passerbys

“He better be worth all of this.” He says after window number nine. At the rate they’re going and with their luck, Akiteru’s class will be the eleventh window.

“He is.” The tone of her voice leaves no room for debate. “Wait, I think I see him!”

A small buzz on his thigh pulls Akiteru from his spaced-out state. Discreetly working the phone from the pocket of his jeans, he glances at the screen.

[Saeko] : Look to your left.

Why would she ask him to look to his-

Oh dear god.

The thing about Akiteru is he liked routine and rarely stepped outside his comfort zone. This is the reason why he always picked seats in the lecture halls closest to the window because it allowed him to give his brain a break every now and then to look at the scenery outside. Those seats always happened to be toward the front, near the professor, which he had never minded before.

Until now, when a particular blonde was grinning like a madwoman at him from the other side of the glass.

The shout of surprise slipped past his lips before he could contain it causing nearly the entire hall to look in his direction. The expressions of the faces gazing at him ranged from surprise to curiosity to annoyance and, the cherry on top of it all, was the mild amusement poorly hidden behind his professor’s eyes as they bore into his own.

“Everything alright, Tsukishima-kun?” Akiteru felt his entire face promptly burst into flames.

“Yep- yes of course! I just dropped my, err, pencil on the ground and hit my hand trying to retrieve it.” Akiteru was horrible at lying. “I’m sorry to interrupt, Shimada-san.” The small smile gracing his professor’s lips sent relief crashing over Akiteru like a bucket of ice water. Good to know he hadn’t unwillingly made an enemy out of his teacher in the process of being a complete idiot.

Shimada-san’s eyes flitted to the left of Akiteru’s shoulder. At the window sill.

Where Saeko Tanaka was waving and smiling brighter than the sun without a single care in the world.

Professor Shimada’s eyebrows shot straight up into his hairline as he coughed into his hand, a poor excuse to cover up the chuckle bubbling from his mouth. “Well you should probably go to the health center and get that hand of yours checked out if it caused you so much trouble, yes?” Shimada-san said after clearing his throat.

“I-uh-what-” He sputtered indignantly, making a few of the students around him giggle. “Right. Yes. Thank you, Sensei.” Professor Shimada nodded once and continued his lecture. For a split second, he thought he’d imagined the small wink his professor had given him.

As he packed up his materials as quickly as humanly possible he glanced again at the window. Saeko’s head was gone, thankfully, but the fast-fading image of a smiley face was drawn into a puff of breath fogging up the glass.

In less than a minute, his fastest time yet, Akiteru was outside the lecture hall and rounding the corner. Saeko was sitting atop Tenma's shoulders frowning, hands gripping Tenma’s hair in a way that looked fairly uncomfortable.

“-down right now!”

“Yes but that requires me to kneel and I already did my singular squat of the day.” Akiteru caught the tail-end of their argument as he jogged the remaining distance between him. The effect was instantaneous as all traces of the frown melted from Saeko’s features and she smiled at him once more.

“What is going-” He didn’t even get the chance to finish his sentence because suddenly Saeko was falling off of Tenma. Her body tipping over, rushing toward the ground. Akiteru didn’t think. His muscles kicked into overdrive, adrenaline pumping in his veins as he reached out his arms, catching Saeko bridal style.

A soft gasp left her lips, her arms automatically twining around his neck. She gazed up at him with wide-eyes and mouth slightly agape. His chest should be heaving. He should be panting with exertion given how fast he’d moved, but his breath remained trapped in his lungs. He held it there, not daring to inhale and break whatever spell was making Saeko look at him the way she was right now.

An obnoxious cough broke both of them out of their stupor.

Akiteru wasn’t an aggressive or violent person, however, at that moment, he could’ve murdered Tenma where he stood.

“You totally did that on purpose, you ass!” Saeko said accusingly as Akiteru reluctantly set her on her feet.

Tenma grinned, full of mock innocence, as he batted his eyelashes. “Oops?” Yeah, it was clear he wasn’t sorry at all.

“S-sorry.” She stutters lightly, cheeks flushing a pretty shade of pink. Akiteru decided that it was his new favorite color.

“No problem.” Tenma watched the interaction with vague interest, arms crossed smugly over his chest. Akiteru was so distracted remembering the weight of Saeko against his chest he’d almost completely forgotten why he’d left his lecture early in the first place. “Okay what the actual hell was that?” Gone was the previous shyness Saeko had exhibited as she returned to her bright, cheery demeanor.

She turned and punched him in the arm. Hard.

“OW!” He massaged the tender area of his upper bicep. “What was that for?”

“You’ve been avoiding us, avoiding me, for nearly two goddamn weeks!” Ah. So he hadn’t been inconspicuous at all. Tenma uncrossed his arms and punched Akiteru’s other bicep.

“What was that one for?” He shouted incredulous as both his arms were now mildly numb and tingling. Tenma grinned like a fox who caught a mouse and shrugged one shoulder.

“It looked fun.” Fair enough.

“You’re lucky Shimada-san is a chill professor. We all could’ve gotten in serious trouble.” Saeko and Tenma rolled their eyes in tandem.

“Relax, Shimada-san and I are drinking buddies.” Akiteru could feel his eyes bug out of his skull. Naturally, he’d known that they were acquainted with one another given Shimada’s connection with the neighborhood volleyball association but drinking buddies? That was certainly a float serve he hadn’t seen coming. “But enough with the subject change. What gives, Aki?”

The nickname seemed to just slip out. Saeko had never called him that before, nobody had called him that before in fact. He liked the way it sounded. He liked the way it sounded coming from Saeko, even more. The syllable rolling off of her lips as if the shape of her mouth was crafted specifically for it.

“I told you both I’d be busy with exams.” The lie tasted bitter on his tongue, acrid as it burned his gums. One look at Saeko’s face could tell she didn’t buy it one bit. Tenma didn’t either, judging by the slight scrunch of his nose, corners of his mouth tilted downward.

“Fine. Keep your secrets for now.” The leaves crunched beneath her feet as she walked away, expecting both men to follow behind her. “I’ll get it out of you at one point or another.”
He didn’t doubt that she would.

“Y’know you made her worry like hell, right?” Tenma asked quietly after a few minutes. Saeko was far enough ahead of them, trudging toward what he assumed to be Cuppa, that their conversation wouldn’t reach her ears.

“Yeah I know.” His shoulders curved inward and his heart withered a little between his ribs. He'd never even considered that his radio silence would affect Saeko, he didn’t even think she’d notice. How foolish and selfish of him.

“I’m not going to ask why, I’m sure you have your reasons,” Tenma looks up through his curtain of curls and Akiteru’s blood runs cold at the harsh stare that meets his eyes “just know that if you ever make her worry like that again, not even Saeko could stop me from coming for you.”

“If that were to happen,” Akiteru’s eyes harden, “I wouldn’t stop you either.”

Tenma huffs and turns his attention back toward Saeko. As Akiteru suspected, she headed right for the door of coffee shop. By the time they caught up to her, she was already inside chatting merrily with Alisa at the register.

“I ordered our usuals, grab a table please!” She called over her shoulder uncaring of the few disgruntled customers that sent dirty looks her way. Alisa waved at them enthusiastically which Tenma and Akiteru both returned with waves of their own.

They secured next to the big decorative Christmas tree in the corner of the cafe, where Akiteru usually sat with Saeko. Multi-colored balls reflecting the light making it bounce around the room in a comforting manner. Fake presents sat beneath it. He kept forgetting that the holidays were just around the corner.

As they sat down Akiteru couldn’t help but notice the light flush on the back of Tenma’s neck and the way his eyes darted toward the register. He followed the gaze to where Alisa and Saeko were laughing with one another. More specifically, Alisa.

“Don’t say it.” Tenma all but growled as Akiteru smiled knowingly.

“Your secret’s safe with me.” The small smile on Tenma’s lips was gone as quick as it came.

Ten minutes later, Saeko, who had finally finished her conversation, walked over to the table bearing three steaming mugs. Surprisingly, no liquid spilled over the sides as she plopped them down on the table with a flourish.

“Ta-Dah!” She sat down in the chair closest to the tree and flicked a red ornament happily. “I can’t wait until finals are over and it’s Christmas.”

“One more week.” Tenma said dully and Akiteru sank his head into his arms.

“Kill me now.” A hand patted his back once, twice. Tenma’s amused smile greeted him when he pulled himself from the sanctuary of his arms.

“Don’t worry we’ll get through it.” Saeko said optimistically. Tenma and Akiteru both glared at her. “What? One of us has to be positive because it’s not like either of you two are going to be.”

Tenma sighed and raised his mug. “Seven days.”

“Seven days.” Saeko lifted hers and smiled expectantly at Akiteru.

“Seven days.” He agreed.

They clinked their mugs together in unison.

It was the longest seven days of his entire life.

During finals the group chat went relatively silent aside from the occasional meme or the texts of encouragement they sent one another. Akiteru studied his ass off like usual but he struggled under the weight of the added pressure that this was one of his last semesters. He had to do good and make it count.

He’d barely slept, studying well into the night and surviving off of 45 minute power naps during the day. The bags were deep under his eyes and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten a meal that didn’t consist of espresso shots and protein bars. Ah yes the lovely habits of a full-time college student.

His finals had gone well but he still found himself doubting every answer, every written line, telling himself despite how hard he’d worked he could’ve done better. Even after he’d finished his last final he still couldn’t manage to catch a break and rest. With his mom working double shifts as the holidays drew nearer, Akiteru and Kei did their absolute best to help out; cleaning up the house, doing the food shopping, writing Christmas cards to their neighbors.

[Saeko] : Hey!! I know you’re probably super busy and stuff with family but can you meet me under the clock tower tomorrow at 8pm? It’s important.

Tomorrow…what was today again? The 24th. Saeko wanted to meet him on Christmas? His heart sped up as he set the turkey baster down and wiped his hands on his apron so he could respond. The least he could do was cook some food for his mom. Even if she was working, it’d be there for when she got home.

[Akiteru] : Actually not busy with family at all. Mom has to work the holiday shift so Kei will probably go over to the Yamaguchi’s.

[Akiteru] : Is everything okay?

His mind started jumping to the worst case scenarios.

[Saeko] : yes everything’s fine! Sorry about your family

[Akiteru] : no worries! It’s usually like this anyways

[Akiteru] : I’ll be there :)

[Saeko] : (　＾∇＾)

Akiteru finished cooking the turkey and left it in the microwave under some aluminum foil. He took a quick shower, flopping into bed with his hair still wet, not having enough energy to dry it properly.

Exhaustion was pulling him under, his eyelids growing heavy. Despite that and despite the nerves fluttering around in his stomach, he was…excited.

It was the most excited he could remember being in a very, very long time.

Akiteru woke up from the best sleep of his entire life.

He felt fresh, renewed and ready to face whatever awaited him. Glancing at the clock by his bed, he checked the time. 10:34pm.

Huh, it’d been around 8 when he fell asleep. Had he really only slept for two hours? No, that couldn’t be right. He felt too well-rested to have only gained two hours of sleep.

The feeling of dread started creeping over him. It was as if he was standing at the top of a cliff with no railing, staring at the bottom hundreds of feet below him. He broke out in a cold sweat, reaching for his phone with trembling fingers.

The screen lit up.

10:35pm…December 25th, 2012.

He’d slept through Christmas.

6 missed calls from Tenma and 2 messages.

2 missed calls from Saeko and another 4 messages. He read those first.

8:04 pm [Saeko] : Hey I’m here! Are you on your way yet?

8:15pm [Saeko] : Not to rush you or anything but it’s kind of cold out haha

8:36 pm [Saeko] : you’re not coming are you?

8:57pm [Saeko] : I’m going to head home now. Merry Christmas, Akiteru.

“Shit.” He swore. “Shit shit shit.”

9:29pm [Tenma] : Call me.

9:32pm. [Tenma] : Now.

Akiteru jumped out of bed, half stumbling, half sprinting to the kitchen. A neat little note sat waiting for him on the counter scrawled in Kei’s handwriting.

Didn’t want to wake you when you finally managed to take care of yourself, idiot. At Tadashi’s I’ll be home in a few hours.

It wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t known Akiteru was supposed to meet up with someone. Akiteru had fallen asleep before he had the chance to tell Kei. Now he found himself wishing he’d told Kei a lot sooner or put it on the calender or write a note or something other than fall asleep like the stupid stupid fool he was.

He didn’t respond to Saeko’s messages. He picked up the phone and called her.

It went straight to voicemail.

He called another six times, all of them going straight to voicemail.

Although it was futile, he knew she was long gone, Akiteru put on his coat and winter boots and marched straight out the front door. The air was frigid as it lashed at his cheeks, breath puffing out in white clouds as it swirled toward the atmosphere. Had she really waited an hour in this cold? Longer? He prayed the answer was no while he knew in his heart it was yes. He shoved his hands deeper in his pockets and picked up his pace.

In under 10 minutes he reached the clock tower. He had hoped, against all logical reasoning, that she’d still be there waiting for him with that brilliant smile of hers. She wasn’t. Nobody in their right mind would be outside in this weather. He walked closer to the base of the tower as if the answer would be there hidden in the snow. There was nothing.

A flash of red caught his eye, barely visible underneath the white. He reached down and pulled it out. Mistletoe held together by a red ribbon lay in his palm.

Akiteru gripped it tight as the tears finally came.

It was past midnight by the time he returned home. Christmas was over. He’d stood in snow for over an hour, just as Saeko probably had, punishing himself as if that would help him atone for his stupid mistake.

He walked numbly into the genkan. Kei was sitting on the couch, reading.

“About time you-” Kei paused in the motion of pushing up his glasses, eyes narrowing on Akiteru. He didn’t need a mirror to know he looked like shit. Kei didn’t ask any questions. He simply stood and went to the kitchen. Akiteru could hear the tell-tale click of the automatic kettle boiling but it sounded so far away.

Minutes later, Kei re-entered the room and pushed a steaming mug into his hands from where Akiteru was sitting on the couch. When had he sat down?

“Merry Christmas, Niisan.” Kei said softly and left the room to give his brother some space.

The warmth seeping into his fingertips began to bring him back to his senses. He pulls his phone out from his jacket pocket and presses dial.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve calling me-” Tenma’s voice sounded thick with sleep but angry nonetheless.

“I fell asleep.”

“You-huh?”

“I fucking slept through Christmas.”

Tenma didn’t yell at him like Akiteru expected nor was he threatened within an inch of his life. Akiteru recounted the events leading up to his horrible miscalculation and Tenma quietly listened. He’d never slept for an entire 24 hours before, how was he supposed to know that his body was even capable of shutting down in such a way?

“Well, shit.” Tenma laughs when Akieru finishes. “You’re an idiot.”

“I know. I know.” He groans in frustration. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Give her a few days,” Akiteru taps his fingers impatiently on the side of his thigh “and then come up with the best apology in the whole goddamn world.”

Tenma goes quiet on the other end of the line while Akiteru goes into the middle of a crisis. “I’m sorry” wouldn’t be good enough. Words couldn’t describe the depth of his emotions nor could they make it up to Saeko.

He was spiraling down a rabbit hole of thoughts when inspiration struck him.

“Tenma?” He asks to make sure his friend is still there.

“Akiteru.”

“I need a favor.”

It’d been almost an entire week.

New Year’s Eve was mere hours away and Akiteru’s plan had been set in motion.

He’d taken Tenma’s advice to heart and resisted the urge to text or call Saeko. It was practically killing him. He lost count of the number of times he’d pick up his phone and open her contact only to remember he wasn’t allowed to. Rather than wallow, he threw every last ounce of his energy into Operation Redemption. Tenma picked the name against his will but he supposed it fit the circumstances.

Step One: Acquiring Alisa Haiba’s Phone Number

Even though it was his plan, he decided that leaving this step up to Tenma would be best. His matchmaker instincts couldn’t refuse the opportunity falling right into his lap. Besides, Tenma was helping him with his love life, surely, the least he could do was return the favor, right?

When Akiteru had thought of this wonderful step, had he expected to be sitting in Cuppa wearing a cheap disguise consisting of sunglasses and a beanie while Tenma blushed and stammered at the register? No. No he hadn’t.

He slinks lower behind his magazine as Alisa’s eyes dart straight to him from over Tenma’s shoulder. Crap.

“I don’t think that’s how you read a magazine.” Glancing at the paper in his hands, Akiteru discovered it was, in fact, upside down. Alisa exits out from behind the counter and sits in the chair across from him while Tenma, dejected, sits in the middle. “So what are you two really up to?” She smiles at them both good-naturedly, unperturbed by the weird situation they’d placed themselves in.

“Akiteru needs your number.” Tenma blurts out. Akiteru promptly whacks him upside the head while Alisa bursts into laughter.

“Why didn’t you just say so?” She pulls a pen from her apron pocket, writing a series of numbers on a napkin and slides it to Akiteru. “May I ask why?” Tenma and Akiteru trade glances.

“It’s kind of a long story.” She shrugs and props her chin on her hand.

“I got time.”

So they recount the entire situation to her from start to finish over cups of cappuccino sprinkled with cinnamon. Akiteru choses to omit the reason why he had Tenma go up to the register, nor does he explain his flimsy disguise. Thankfully, Alisa doesn’t question it.

“Okay yeah I see your problem.” She grins mischievously, a look Akiteru has seen on Tenma on many occasions. Match made in heaven. “Where do I come in?”

“Well the whole point of getting your number was so I could ask you over the phone but since you’re here I suppose I could just ask you now.” Akiteru takes a deep breath. The worst she could say was no. “Can I borrow Cuppa on New Year's Eve?”

“Sure.” She says breezily. Akiteru and Tenma’s jaws both drop.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah why not? I trust you guys and Saeko’s my friend. If there’s any way I can help, you better believe I will.” Alisa dips her hand back into the pocket of her apron and tosses a spare key to Akiteru. “Lyovochka and I are heading to Russia for New Year’s to see family so I planned on closing down the cafe for a few days.”

“Oh.” Was all Akiteru could think of to say. He was dumbfounded. Happy, but dumbfounded. Alisa pulls out her pen and another napkin, writing down what Akiteru presumes to be her number but this time she hands it to Tenma.

“Wha-” He glances up at her wide-eyed. “But I said Akiteru was the one who needed your number.”

Alisa smiles coyly, tilting her head so that blonde locks spill over one shoulder. “I know.” She stands and heads back over to the register. “You boys text me if anything happens. I’ll send you the alarm codes.”

Tenma looks like he’s about to have a heart attack.

Step 2: The Setup

“You bastard.” Tenma rubs his eyes blearily as they set the last of the supplies down on the tables. His curls are ruffled with bedhead, tangled by his ears. “Making me get up at 7am on a Saturday morning.”

“I want to make sure everything is perfect.” They’d already cleaned the entire coffee shop the day prior so all that was left to do was decorate.

“There are fifteen hours until midnight, which is more than enough time to set everything up!” He argues, yanking out his phone and furiously typing.

“Who are you texting?” Akiteru asks, wiggling his eyebrows.

Tenma doesn’t miss a beat. “None of your business.”

“Tell Alisa I said Happy New Year’s.”

“Tell her yourself.”

“Aw come on I know you woke up at six to wish her Happy New Year’s when it turned midnight in Russia.” Tenma calmly set his phone down on the table. “Tenma…put down the duct tape- TENMA!”

Half an hour later, Akiteru’s yanking tape from his mouth and wrists.

“Better use chapstick so you can have a decent New Year’s kiss.” Tenma says idly pulling streamers out of the bag.

“You have to have lips to use chapstick and I’m pretty sure you just skinned my mouth.” He receives a shrug as his response. “I guess you haven’t lost the agility you gained playing volleyball.”

“Guess not.”

It takes them hours upon hours and many cups of caffeinated drinks to finally finish. They pause only for lunch and to check on their loved ones before they’re back on the grind stringing lights and streamers and various decorative items.

They cover all of the hanging lightbulbs with mason jars to make the light warmer and more reflective. Candles adorn each table with small, flicking flames adding to the ambiance. They strung golden streamers across the wooden supportive beams on the ceiling, intricately wrapping them around one another. Akiteru had bought rose petals but hid them in the back when Tenma said Saeko would find it cliche. An old radio Tenma managed to borrow from his grandfather sits on the counter, it’s brass knobs and dials gleaming in the dim light. It was a beautiful thing made of cherry mahogany, shining with wood polish. Akiteru had it tuned in to the station that would play the final countdown of the year. Detail after detail and painstaking time spent for everything to come together and coalesce into what better be the most epic and amazing apology history has ever seen.

He’d messed up. There was no changing his actions, and it’d probably take a miracle for Saeko to forgive but hey, aren’t miracles what the holidays are for?

They finish and Tenma texts Saeko to meet him at coffee shop for one last celebratory espresso shot before the New Year to which she begrudgingly agrees. Little does she know it’ll be Akiteru waiting for her and not Tenma.

“She’s going to love it.” Tenma says certainly as they stare at the product of their hard work.

“God, I hope so.”

Tenma gives him an encouraging wink as he disappears out the door leaving Akiteru alone with his thoughts.

Step 3: Get the Girl

One more hour left and Akiteru spends it nervously pacing the entire length of the cafe. Once, twice, he keeps going and going as if the strides his legs make will calm his racing heart.

He undos the top button of his white shirt, redos it, the sleeves are rolled to his elbows. The air inside is comfortingly warm but combined with Akiteru’s nerves it’s practically stifling. He drinks a glass of water and then regrets drinking that glass of water. He fiddles with the radio. He splashes water on his face to cool the blush on his cheeks, curses when a drop lands on his dress pants, calms down when he realizes his dress pants are black and the droplet is hardly noticeable.

He waits.

Fourteen minutes until midnight.

And waits.

Thirteen minutes until midnight.

And waits.

Just when he thinks he can’t take it anymore, a small ring of the bell over the door signals someone walking through. Akiteru looks up and there she is. Saeko Tanaka stares at him and he stares back. She’s absolutely gorgeous. White pants hug her hips sliding down her thighs and brushing the tops of her winter boots. Underneath her usual black leather jacket, she wears a crimson halter top. Velvet? Akiteru thinks it’s velvet but he really can’t tell because his sole focus is on her eyes, lined skillfully with kohl and gazing right at him in pure shock.

“I’m going to kill Tenma.” She says decisively and turns to march right back out the door.

“Saeko, wait-” He runs to go after her but in his haste his foot snags on a spare streamer and he goes crashing to the ground. The breath knocks out of his lungs with a woosh.

He inhales slowly trying to remind his lungs how to work, leaning his forehead against the hardwood floor. This is going horribly. A snort catches his ears and in that moment it’s the most beautiful sound to ever grace his ears. He dares to look up.

Saeko is standing with the back of her hand pressed to her mouth, shoulders shaking with poorly repressed laughter.

“Don’t…make me laugh…I’m supposed to be mad at you.” She laughs even harder, the loud, boisterous sound he missed so much. “Get off the floor, ya dope.” She holds out her hand and he grabs it without hesitation.

“That wasn’t part of the plan.” He says wheezing slightly as he stands. His ribs hurt. They’re probably bruised but it’s fine. He deserves it.

“You don’t say.” Her smile is fleeting. As if it came to her lips without permission before she remembered why it wasn’t allowed. “I’m feeling generous tonight. You have five minutes.”

He looks at the clock. Exactly five minutes until midnight.

“I’m an idiot.”

“I know.”

“I passed out for twenty six hours and slept through Christmas, but that’s an explanation not an excuse.” She leans against the counter, waiting, arms crossed with a passive expression on her features. “I avoided you and Tenma for two weeks because I thought you only liked women and I was too scared to ask you otherwise. Part of me didn’t want to hear the answer, didn’t want to entertain the possibility that there would never be a chance of you returning my feelings.”

Saeko goes to say something, but he holds a hand up. If he stops now, he might not have the courage to start again.

“I’ve spent my life running from the things I’m afraid of. I lied to my brother because I was afraid I wouldn’t fit the image he had of me, and I broke his trust because of it. I quit volleyball because I stopped working hard, thinking I wasn’t good enough and it was futile to think I ever would be. I have so many unfinished writing pieces, starting them and then giving up on them because I don’t have faith in my own abilities. I have too many regrets because of the stupid decisions I’ve made out of fear.”

His breath shakes and it’s not because of his fall.

“The truth is I like you so much it terrifies me.”

Saeko’s arms uncross and her eyes mist over.

“I won’t run from you. Not now. Not ever again.”

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the mistletoe he’d been keeping since Christmas. Her face lights up with recognition and the tears spill over her cheeks. The stem is broken, some of the red berries have fallen off, and the ribbon is beginning to fray at the edges but he holds it out to her nonetheless.

“I'm so sorry I left you waiting and I understand if you chose to walk out that door and never look back.” He places the withered plant into her palm, fingers closing around her own.

“But if you chose to stay,” His voice barely breaches a whisper. “I will spend the rest of my life running towards you.”

Now that the words are out there, he can’t take them back. He looked over the edge of the cliff and stepped off, finally ready to see what awaits him at the bottom.

Saeko doesn’t say anything. For a brief second he thinks that she’s going to walk away. The radio plays in the background.

“Alright folks it’s the moment everybody is waiting for, we’re down to the final minute of 2012”

Then her fingers tighten on his.

They intertwine, leaving the mistletoe trapped between their palms.

“10…9…8…7…”

She presses closer to him and Akiteru doesn’t hesitate to take him into his arms.

“6…5…4…”

People are outside in the streets, hollering, and screaming the countdown.

“3…2…”

Their lips collide and the one is forgotten.

Muted cheers float through the radio and fireworks boom outside the glass panes but it’s all so far away. Akiteru’s eyes are closed but he can see his entire future stretched out before him as a soft mouth presses gently against his own.

The weather outside is freezing. The people dancing and celebrating on the sidewalks and under lampposts couldn’t care less, but in a matter of minutes they’ll return indoors to pubs and houses lit with fires. Champagne corks will fly under the light of a shower of sparks, bubbling from the edges as flutes are filled.

The weather outside is freezing.

Here, surrounded by espresso and cinnamon and the promise of a new start, it’s warm.