Work Text:
Jou Kido entered his apartment one stormy night, having just returned from cram school. He had forgotten his umbrella again, but wearing his poncho helped keep his school bag and uniform dry. His eyesight took the worst of the pouring rain with it showering against his glasses, though Jou grabbed a fresh towel to wipe them, along with the rest of his face when he removed his poncho and blazer.
He sat on his couch next to his books and his bag, and looked at his phone to take a peek at his messages. He was prepared to stay quiet from ongoing conversations and to turn down any invitation with studying as his excuse. That was always his excuse, because he always felt the need to do it. He wanted to get into the best universities for medicine, after all.
But when he used the excuse for that night, he knew for a fact that he would leave his books closed and his pencils away from his hand. There was more on his mind than common illnesses and the organs affected by them. And, there was one person Jou expected to use his trademark excuse for tonight - the one person he wanted to avoid even if her messages were the ones that kept his phone screen lighting up every few minutes.
Mimi Tachikawa. Her name lit up Jou's phone with one more message count from the last. He knew what she wanted to talk to him about. It was about something that bottled up within him for a long time until he finally told her that he couldn't stand to be around her anymore. Jou fought back the worries in his head that what he did was wrong. That he single-handedly ruined their friendship and the friendships with everyone else would meet the same fate in a domino effect.
But he knew deep down that he had to do what for himself. Because their friendship was already ruined from the moment he realized it. Because Jou Kido was in love with Mimi Tachikawa, and she didn't seem to care.
And after reading her messages about wanting to talk, he replied with what he always did, and planned to drop his phone beside his bag and leave it all there to wait when he returned to gather them the next morning.
Except that, right when he plopped the phone onto the couch cushion a few seconds later, that same name popped up on the screen again, this time as an incoming phone call.
Jou turned from the couch and away from his phone, fully intending to ignore the ringing, regardless of how many times she dialed him. But then, he heard a knock at his door. He wondered who it could have been at this time of the night, especially with the rain pelting against his windows. Was it a person soliciting products and services he didn't need? Why bother answering the door?
But what if it was an elderly neighbor who was having trouble with her leaky faucet? Jou felt pity for that woman who had lived all by herself next door to him, so he guilted himself enough to help her.
And if it was a damsel in distress? Just like one of those romantic tropes where a young, beautiful woman showed up at the lonely leading man's door with nowhere to go. He would let her in, and it would prompt an unlikely, but absolutely predictable, love story.
After taking a deep breath, Jou quieted his 'what-if's' and finally opened the door. Who he found standing there was, in fact, a damsel in distress, yet the damsel was Mimi, and she appeared to be in distress as she held up her phone that was awaiting the answer that he had been trying so hard to avoid giving her.
"What in the world, Mimi?!" Jou cried, taking note of the ringlets of her rained-on hair, her blazer that had taken much of the rain but he could see her blouse crumpled underneath. "What was so important to possess you to go out in the rain to see me?"
"Are you seriously asking me this question right now?" she asked, heatedly. "You left me in the dark all of a sudden and I just want to know why!"
"Jou-kun," came from an older woman's voice from the hallway. The front door of another apartment creaked open. "Is everything alright?"
"Everything is just fine, Miss Rina!" Jou replied, chuckling nervously. Immediately he placed his hand on Mimi's shoulder and hurriedly ushered her into his apartment. In his normally quiet apartment complex, Jou wanted to make sure that his inevitable conversation of raised voices was going to be behind his closed door.
He also grabbed his coat from the hanger and handed it to Mimi to put on.
"Hmph," Mimi said before taking off her blazer to replace it with his coat. She set her bag and umbrella by the door before taking off her boots.
"I'll get you an extra shirt to change into, and a towel just in case," Jou mumbled. "You can use my bathroom."
As much as he wanted to avoid Mimi, he couldn't stop himself from his own decency. Nor could he let go of his feelings so easily. Perhaps standing in his room for a few moments would give Mimi the chance to calm herself. Then again, keeping her waiting for too long wouldn't help him much, either. Jou decided that one minute and eighteen seconds was the perfect amount of time to give her before stepping out of his room with the towel.
Mimi let out a deep sigh as she took the towel and shirt from Jou's hand. "Thanks," she said quietly, then headed to the bathroom without another word.
What was he going to say to her when she came back out again? There was no other way he could see their conversation going except for her becoming angry at him, which, Jou thought, was understandable.
But when the bathroom door opened, he saw her dressed in his clean shirt which was a size larger for her, and his coat still around her shoulders. He noticed that she used the towel to absorb the excess water from her hair, but her eyes darted to him only for a few seconds before looking away as she made her way to his couch.
She sat down next to his book bag. Her eyes were no longer fiery, but Jou still took a cautious step back.
"This isn't like you at all, Jou," she said. "Most of the time when we see each other, you have a few books open. Sometimes they're sprawled on the table, or on the couch. You usually have one in your hands, and sometimes your face is so close to the pages, you might as well give it a kiss…"
Jou stayed quiet, feeling his cheeks warm at her last comment.
Then, Mimi ran her hand on top of his book bag. "Here they all are, closed and stacked inside of this bag. You said you had studying to do, but it's obvious that you weren't planning on doing that tonight. I guess you had something more important to do. Like avoid me."
"Mimi…"
"I don't believe you, by the way," she continued. "If you really couldn't stand to be around me, then you would have slammed the door in my face right after you'd opened it."
"I wouldn't do that."
"I know you wouldn't. Not to anyone, even if it was someone you hated the most. You're one of the nicest, most sweetest guys I know."
Jou felt his heart sink.
"You're one of my dearest friends, Jou. So why are you pushing me away?"
Clenching his fist, Jou knew that he had to take this chance to tell her.
"Because that's all I am to you. A dear friend. The nice, sweet guy that you like to confide in about your relationships, or to vent about how some guy didn't notice your new earrings or that you styled your hair differently on a special day."
"You remember those silly little moments?" Mimi asked in surprise.
"I always remember," he replied with certainty. "I could never forget when it comes to you."
"Jou…" Mimi smiled, appearing touched. But Jou could tell she was still confused. "Jou… you know you can tell me. I've confided in you and you've given me great advice. You've always been there for me, even through my hardest times. And even if I didn't want to hear it, you're always honest with me."
Would she want to hear his honest feelings for her at the moment? To hear what his mind had been screaming at him to tell her?
Here goes nothing, he thought.
"I said that I couldn't stand to be around you, because I was tired, Mimi. I kept hearing the same story, about how you met a nice guy and started hanging out with him. And before I knew it, you started to rant about something that annoyed you, and then outright upset you."
Mimi's eyebrows crinkled as she stared at him. "Okay, so, you don't like my complaints?"
"Well, no - I mean, yeah," Jou stammered, then, he stopped and tried to collect his thoughts before Mimi opened her mouth to react. "Look, for as long as I've known you, I've noticed a pattern. I know that you want to find that special someone, but in that pattern after the guy upsets you, I could tell it hurts you. A lot. So, it hurts me."
Mimi's shoulders slumped a little, and she looked away from him. Jou thought back to the moments when she looked away with tears streaming down her cheeks. Those moments that his heart broke knowing that hers had fresh cracks after being mended over and over.
"You always did tell me that I was being foolish," she said softly. "After the end of a bad relationship, he was the fool for his mistakes. That I'm not perfect myself, but I was still foolish for loving him. You were right." She looked into his eyes, her light brown eyes glassy with oncoming tears. "You must have been tired of repeating yourself."
Jou took a breath and wondered if his feelings would cross her mind. She had yet to make the connection.
Then, she stood up and looked up at him.
"The other day, I told you I was going on a date and I started complaining. That was when you snapped. This guy was the last straw for you, wasn't he?"
"Yeah, he was," Jou replied. Then, he stepped back and he turned away. He remembered how she smiled as brightly as the sun, and how painful it was to know that that smile wasn't for him.
There came a silence between them, with only the sound of the rain on Jou's ears. With his back facing Mimi, Jou couldn't sense what she was thinking or feeling. The more he wondered, the more he became anxious.
"I didn't end up going on that date with him, you know," she said, breaking the silence. "I didn't want to, especially when I was on the outs with someone who was important to me."
"Like a 'dear friend' would be, right?"
"Why are you saying that like it's an insult?!" Mimi asked suddenly, her voice growing shrill. "Do you care about me? Or do you really want me to leave you alone?" She paused, then let out a whimper. "Or, am I just being foolish again…?"
And now Jou felt like a fool.
"No, Mimi, I'm an idiot." Jou turned around to face her again. "I'm sorry. I care about you. I hate seeing you hurt but now I realize that I am doing just that. I didn't mean to make you cancel your date."
Mimi sniffled. "I didn't think we were a good match, either way."
"Really?" Jou perked up at that.
She shook her head.
"I'll spare you the details. I definitely dodged a bullet."
Jou noticed her sad smile. Already, she had noticeably refrained from complaining about that canceled date, even after she seemed to be agitated by Jou's actions toward her. Perhaps this wasn't the right time to tell her, anyway.
Or maybe, it was the absolute perfect time to tell her.
"Do you remember what I always tell you, Mimi?" he asked. "Whenever you're feeling down in these situations?"
"Mm-hmm. You always told me any good man could see how wonderful I am."
"That's right. You're kind, funny, and sincere. You always see the best in people, and you know how to brighten someone's day when they've had the worst time. Even if you can drive someone insane, when you love someone, you love to the fullest. But none of them saw that. They only broke your heart instead. But, Mimi, I see it. I've always seen it. How wonderful you are."
Jou's voice trembled through last sentence, and he could barely croak the next words, but he knew they were worth uttering in front of her:
"Any man would be lucky to have you. So, why can't I?"
That was when Mimi gaped at him. Jou stared back, waiting for a more telling expression,on whether it was a good sign from her or not, but all he saw was surprise. He forced back his anxiety, his heart beating loudly in his chest, and told himself to wait.
"It all makes sense now," Mimi said in a daze. "You've been acting cold when it comes to other guys because you're…"
"I'm in love with you, Mimi," Jou finished in one helpless breath.
"I wish you would have told me straight."
Jou sighed. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. I know I'll tell you a lot of things straight, but I've never been in love before being in love with you."
He blinked, realizing that the words had just spilled out of his mouth so fluidly. He wondered how red his cheeks were at that moment.
"Do you wanna know why I really canceled that date, Jou?" Mimi asked, taking a step closer.
"Why?"
"Sora helped me realize it," she replied with a shrug. "'Why do you care so much about what Jou thinks? Why are you saying that you wish this or that guy was more like Jou?'" She took another step toward him, lifting her head up for her eyes to meet his. "I hated what I felt when you pushed me away. Somehow, the thought of losing you was more painful than some stupid guy breaking my heart."
"And, you don't hate me for it?" Jou asked. "For pushing you away?"
"I'm still mad about it. But that doesn't change the fact that you are everything I want."
"...I am?"
Mimi drew closer still. Was this really happening? Jou was reading her signals that pointed toward one answer, yet he searched her eyes in his effort to make sure that this was real.
"You are." Her lips formed a smile just as their noses were about to touch, and her voice lowered to a whisper. "I'm in love with you, too, Jou Kido."
There was no time for Jou to form words on his parted lips as her lips pressed against them. He watched her eyes close in front of him as she pushed further into the kiss. His mind blanked out from his next thoughts, his surroundings faded away, and all he knew was the two of them standing together.
Mimi pulled away and opened her eyes to look into his. Now she was the one who appeared to be searching, waiting for him to respond or react. And there he was, blinking eyes behind his glasses, at a loss of what to say after his first kiss.
So, he raised his hands to cup either side of her cheeks, his fingers brushing past her locks of hair, and he leaned in for his second.
When he pulled away, he met her eyes again, though he wasn't sure how to read her thoughtful expression.
"What is it?" he asked.
"I was just curious about how you would kiss me back."
"Oh. Well, you probably could tell that I hadn't kissed anyone before…"
"It wasn't bad, Jou."
"So, it was… good?"
"It was… honest."
Jou stared. "Am I supposed to take that in a positive way?"
"Well, I've never been kissed that way before, and I liked it."
"So, it was good?"
"It was honest." Mimi smiled. "But, maybe you could study more about it, since that's what you're really good at."
"Oh, honestly…"
Mimi giggled mischievously, then she moved closer to lean her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his back to embrace him.
Jou held her in his arms and saw that she had her eyes closed, smiling softly. He began to let it sink in that he had finally confessed his feelings, that he'd had his first kiss, and now he was embracing the girl of his dreams.
Suddenly, he realized that he hadn't given her the full hospitality he would give to any guest in his apartment, despite the fact that she had already been wearing his shirt and coat.
"Um, Mimi?" he said softly.
"Hmm?"
"Did you want anything to drink? Water? Tea? Maybe a blanket? Something to keep you warm?"
"Mm-mm. I told you, Jou. I have everything I want."
Jou realized the odd sensation of his heart fluttering in his chest, and he held her closer as he closed his eyes, taking in the warmth surrounding them.