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The first time Kiyoteru met her was at her ballet performance. He was given the ticket to it by a friend, who insisted he should attend.
"Take a break and loosen up, won't you? You'll like it, I promise."
Kiyoteru, at first, didn't want to go. But the ticket staring him down everytime from where he left it on his dresser made him feel a little bit of guilt, considering his friend bought it with him in mind. He resigned the fifth time he saw it and decided to take the evening off, instead of grading papers, he would maybe enjoy something in his mundane life for once.
He thought nothing of it, but decided to dress at least a bit nicer, it was at a large theater after all, and there was bound to be other people dressed nice too. He fidgeted the entire time on his way there, and by the time he reached his destination, a pit of anxiety formed in his stomach. Watching the people enter the doors of the theater, he tried to summon the courage to do the same. Finally, he did, even if he was trying to refrain from backing out at the last minute. Getting his ticket scanned, and told which row he was to sit in, he quickly tried to find his chair before the performance started.
Settling in his seat, he inhaled deeply, smells of fresh flowers, wood, heavy perfume and cologne filled his senses, and he tried to relax and tune everyone's talking out till the performance began. Within the next few minutes, the light in the theater went out, the only lights left were the ones on the stage, as the announcements for the show began. He sat up straight quickly, eyes trained onto the stage, as the performance began. Quietly, he watched with little interest, but tried his best to understand what was going on. With each dance, he decided that ballet seemed extremely hard, even if some of these dancers made it seem extremely easy. The way they contorted their bodies for some of these moves made his back ache with phantom pain.
But then, suddenly, there was her.
She appeared on the stage, like some kind of magical fairy, elegant, pretty, and sparkling. The way she danced showed her passion, her every move captivating the audience. People whispered amongst themselves, but Kiyoteru was at the edge of his seat, his eyes glued to the stage, to the beautiful woman dancing elegantly. She conveyed the emotions of the story perfectly as she danced, her eyes sparkling under the stage lights. He swears he saw a tear fall from her cheek, and it struck a chord in him, as he exhaled shakily. He didn't even realize he was holding his breath, until the performance was over, and everyone was clapping and cheering.
Even as he left the theater, he was in a daze, his memory replaying the moment over and over again.
His friend was right. He did love it. And he expressed that to him the next time they hung out with a starstruck expression that made his friend chuckle.
"I told you so."
"Does she… have any more performances coming up?"
"You want to go to more?!"
He learned her name, Miki. A pretty name for a very beautiful woman. She was a professional ballerina of many years, and was known for her stunning performances and elegant looks.
"Dude, are you really going to go to all of her performances?"
"Should I not? Would that be creepy? Oh no, I didn't think that far…"
His friend sighed at him, but Kiyoteru seemed determined anyway. He wasn't the type to spend his money outrageously, rather spending little on himself, and more focused on giving in charity, but for once, he promised himself, it's okay to indulge.
It wasn't once. He attended every show she performed at, his fascination never-ending at her grace and beauty on stage, and everytime, he felt like crumbling, melting in his chair, as his heart thumped intensely in his chest, watching from start to finish, and applauding loudly every time at the end of each show. Some people would chuckle at this enthusiasm, and he even started to get a little famous amongst her fans, as the man who cheers a little too loud. It was embarrassing at first, but seeing that they meant it as a high praise, he grew to accept it.
This little popularity came in handy, when they told him about how there is always an opportunity to greet each dancer after the show, if he gets premium tickets. At first, he was reluctant, premium tickets cost a lot more money, and he wasn't sure if he was comfortable with spending so much.
Yet when he found himself on his laptop at midnight, buying these very same premium tickets, he repeated the same mantra to himself as before: "It's okay to indulge. Just a little."
When the day arrived, he dressed a little more formal than his usual, and despite all thoughts of nervousness, and due to the recommendations of the Miki fans he befriended, he bought her flowers. Sitting through one of her performances never felt better yet, there was a strange sense of anxiety building up when it neared its end. But this time, his new-found friends were determined to get him to finally meet the woman he's been shamelessly pining over and spending large amounts of money just to watch her wonderful dancing.
Finally, it was time.
He spotted her, shaking the hands of multiple of her fans, looking wonderful as ever, and he sucked in a deep breath. Seeing her up close was even more wonderful, her dress was magnificent, and she was sparkling. Like a star, his mind helpfully supplied, and he internally screamed at how cheesy that thought was. When it was his turn, he felt one of his friends nudge him on, and approached her, bowing deeply to hide his burning face and deeply red cheeks as he presented the flowers to her.
"I'm Hiyama Kiyoteru and I'm your biggest fan, and I think you look wonderful every time you perform!"
He cursed in his head at himself for being awkward, but then she giggled and took the flowers from him, and he felt his heart soar.
"Thank you so much, I appreciate your support! I've noticed you, front row, everytime, with a look like you're absolutely ready to fall out of your seat. It's quite cute!"
He could feel the tips of his ears burn, and he knew he was a blushing mess as his friends snickered at him. So what if he got front row seats every time, he stayed up late for the first tickets to drop every time. And it turned out to be worth it, because he's finally gotten to meet her, and she even thinks he's cute. She offered to take a picture with him, and he delightedly accepted, his heart thumping in his chest as she wrapped an arm around his own, and posed for the picture.
He made it his lock screen as soon as he got home.
He continued to attend every performance of hers, watching on, and bringing her flowers, and even little notes of encouragement along with it.
Miki loved it, everytime, and she even stuck the notes to her dressing room mirror, thinking about the cute man who watches her like she was some sort of goddess. She's never gotten attention like that before, although being a professional ballerina, came with many die-hard fans, none has ever looked at her with such devoted admiration, at not only her appearance, but her spectacular dancing, and the effort she puts into each and every show on stage. He recognized her passion, and she knew that there was something about him she just wanted to know more of.
Which is why, the next time he stopped by with flowers, she decided to ask him the question she always wanted to ask him.
"Say, Kiyoteru, would you like to go out with me sometime? On a date, that is. It's okay if you say no, I'm just wondering."
Kiyoteru was caught off guard, as he adjusted his glasses, trying to comprehend that she just asked him out. Miki, the ballet dancer he's admired for a while now, wants to go out with him?
"Me? You want to… go on a date with me?"
She giggled at his dumbfounded expression but nodded.
"Yes, you silly, do you not want to?"
Kiyoteru's eyes widened. He's never thought of himself as worthy of anyone's love, or attention for that matter, but he found himself accepting readily, nodding his head enthusiastically.
"Yea, that's great, actually, I'd love to. Is there some place you'd like to go?"
Miki smiled warmly at him, hugging the flowers to her chest.
"I'll tell you what, after my performance next week, we could go out to this nice café I know in the area, sounds good?"
Kiyoteru agreed enthusiastically, and the date was set. Both of them were equally excited, and anticipated the arrival of that day.
Neat outfit? Check. Flowers? Check.
Kiyoteru was on his way to the performance with a sparkle in his eyes, and a pep in his step, and he's never felt more confident than before that even his fellow Miki fan friends noticed, and teased him about it, despite not knowing what he had planned for that day. After the show, he waited for Miki, who came striding out of the theater, not wearing one of her usual ballet tutus, but a simple but cute dress that fitted her warm and bright personality. He immediately offered her the flowers, which she accepted with usual praise and affection. She then took his arm, linking it with hers, and they made their way to his car, where he gladly opened the door for her to step in. She took the passenger seat right next to him, and he settled into the driver's seat, starting the car when the doors were closed.
While driving, he couldn't help but sneak sideway peeks at her, as she peacefully looked out through the open window on her side, with a dreamy look in her eyes. He felt his chest tighten, and his hands felt clammy, as nervousness settled in again. Was she quiet because she was bored? Or did she have nothing to say to him?
Before his thoughts could spiral out of control, she spoke up in a soft voice, as if she was floating on Cloud 9.
"Thank you, Kiyoteru, for agreeing to go on this date with me, I really needed some fresh air and the company of someone else for a change."
He nodded politely, as he tried to keep his eyes on the road, as he replied.
"You don't have much free time like this?"
She sighed, gazing wistfully out at the different people and streets as the car sped past it all.
"No, actually. Most of my time and life goes into my performances and the training for each and every routine. Endless practice, and even my morning routines now have ballet incorporated into it. I had to beg my manager to let me go out for a change."
Kiyoteru quietly processed that information. Was she not happy about her work after all? He paused at the stoplight, but turned to ask her a question in a low, soft voice.
"Do you not enjoy your performances?"
Miki shook her head, letting out a small giggle.
"No, don't get me wrong, I love ballet, and I love my performances. It's my passion, and I enjoy it very much, especially when I get to meet wonderful fans like you. But… the life of a ballerina is draining, and can get very unhealthy. It's a strain on both your physical and mental health. Keeping your weight at a certain level, little time for yourself, and more time into endless training, gets tiring after years of doing it. I even thought of… retiring."
Kiyoteru listened with silent understanding. He too has felt that way about his job, but working with children, teaching them, and seeing their little happy smiles everyday as their teacher has kept him from giving up many times. He turned to give her a comforting smile, his eyes soft with fondness.
"I understand, really. It's good to enjoy the things you love, but if you start overworking and pressuring yourself into doing it, you'll slowly start hating it, and it'll become less of a passion you love and more like a chore you're forced to do. That's how a lot of people lose their excitement in their passions. But if you do decide to retire, I will support you anyway. I think that if this is what you really want, then… go for it. Don't let anything stop you."
Miki was speechless, as she stared at him after his little encouraging speech, but also at his adorable nervous and panicked face when he realized the light had turned green during his pep talk and cars had started to honk at him for him to move. She leaned back into her seat, letting out a refreshed breath. That was exactly what she needed to hear from someone. Everytime she brought up retiring, people around her always tried discouraging her, or acting disappointed. A comforted smile slowly spread across her face, and she turned to him, as he focused on driving, trying to avoid the awkward honking incident from earlier happening again.
"Hey, what about you, Kiyoteru? What do you do for work?"
His eyes flickered to her and then back at the road again, trying to pay attention to both.
"Oh, me? I'm an elementary school teacher."
"Really? Do you like it?"
Kiyoteru went quiet, thinking. Did he like his job?
"Well… every job has its ups and downs. Especially teaching. There's good days, and bad days, and even mundane days, where everything seems boring and repetitive. The kids get frustrated sometimes and it affects me too at the end of the day. But…"
Miki could see the moment when his face softened into something sweet, and caring.
"My students are very bright and eager to learn. Despite bad days, we have a lot of very good days, where we enjoy a good class, and they're very enthusiastic and excitable. They tell me how much they love me as their teacher and it feels like… it erases all of the stress on my mind, knowing that I am helping them, teaching a generation of kids that have potential to do great things someday."
Miki watched him speak with the same fascination he always had for her performances. On top of being a very adorable man, he was also very sweet, caring, a good listener, and understanding of everyone. Even frustrated kids. In her eyes, he was perfect.
"You're a very noble kind of guy, you know? You strike me as one of those rare good guy types."
Kiyoteru let out a chuckle at her words, reaching a hand up to push his bangs out of his face.
"Well… I have to make up for the bad boy phase I had at some point."
She laughed, as if she didn't believe him.
"You? A bad boy phase? No way!"
He let out a bashful laugh, the tips of his ears turning pink as the thoughts of his "bad boy phase" passed through his mind.
"Yea, I had a rebellious phase for a good while. I was even in a band."
Miki laughed even more, and Kiyoteru found out there wasn't a sound he loved to hear from her more than that. He was determined to make her laugh as much as possible when he could.
"You were in a band? That's so cool, you have to show me pictures of that sometime!"
He laughed along with her, as he parked, right near the cafe she picked out for them to go together.
"I could even show you videos."
"Haha, videos?! This just got even better!"
They spent their time together in the café, trying to get to know each other better, laughing, talking and joking. He showed her pictures and videos of his time as a band member, and she showed him pictures of herself as a junior ballerina. Together, they shared many stories about their life, their friends, and even about their family. He learned that she was estranged from her parents, and she learned that he still lived with his father, in order to take care of him. Both couldn't deny it, but they enjoyed each other's company.
Their bond grew stronger, and they continued to go on dates, until he finally asked her to be his girlfriend. She accepted so readily and happily, and together they tried building a life, adapting to each other's lifestyle. Even though they both got busy, they tried their best to communicate, even if it was through a simple day text and night text, although Kiyoteru would get eager and send her multiple texts throughout the day, with encouraging words, and even little funny things he found on the internet. Their life wasn't perfect, but to them, it was just as they wanted it. Satisfactory.
Years later… Kiyoteru finds himself in a suit, sitting in the front row of that same old theater, but this time, his daughter, Yuki, is sitting on his lap. His wedding band shines in the light of the theater, as he raises his hand to pat the head of his excited and giggling daughter. The lights in the theater went off as the ones on stage turned on, bright, and Kiyoteru smiled, ready for the performance to begin. The curtains rose, and on stage, was his beautiful wife, in her elegant tutu, as she began to dance, not her final dance ever, but her final dance on stage, before she retired for good to manage her very own dance school. He watched, with the same fascination and admiration, only with an even more deeper love, and this time, he wasn't just that guy, who accidentally met the love of his life through a ticket bought by his friend to a ballet performance they thought he'd enjoy, but rather the guy who was his wife's biggest fan, till her final performance. The standing ovation this time at the end, was very loud, but no one still was louder than him, and this time, their daughter as well.
With Yuki in one arm, and flowers for his wife in the other, he waited for her, as he always did. And she came straight to him, taking Yuki from his arms, and pressing motherly kisses all over her face, while she squealed and praised her mother, before pressing a loving kiss to Kiyoteru's lips, and taking the flowers from him.
"Thank you, Kiyo…"
With the look she was giving him, he knew the thank you was deeper than just for the flowers. It was for everything. He smiled, as he gave her the look he always did when she performed. As if she was a goddess. His goddess.
"Let's go home, Miki."
And she handed the flowers back to him, linking her arm with his, as they made their way out of the theater, ready to go on with their life, together, along with their sweet daughter.
In the air, the smell of fresh flowers, wood, and different types of perfumes and colognes lingered, as they drove away from the theater. It brought a smile to Kiyoteru's face.
Just like how it all began.