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One day, after school, Naoto and Yu relax in his room, sitting on his couch while leaning on each other for support. They each have a book open—the boy, a random book he picked up from the bookstore, and the girl, a detective novel she’s been meaning to crack open for a while now. With the Inaba Kidnapping-Murder case over and nothing else of importance to occupy their thoughts, the two suddenly find themselves with a lot of free time. As the two read in silence, both clearly comfortable in it, Yu suddenly remembers something and speaks up, catching Naoto off guard.
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask, Naoto,” Yu says inquisitively, closing his book, “Why do you keep wearing your hat? I mean, it looks cute on you, but I almost never see you without it.”
“P-Please don’t suddenly call me things like c-cute, Senpai…!”
Yu chuckles. “Sorry, sorry. Seriously though, I am curious about it.”
Naoto closes her own book, clears her throat, then thinks about it for a little. “Well, I have a few reasons… First of all, Grampa gave me this cap.”
“Really? And here I thought you bought it yourself,” Yu says, seemingly surprised.
“Well, I picked it out, but… he bought it for me when I was younger, a little after he took me in. He said that it would look good on me, so I suppose that’s part of why I still wear it. It’s also a boy’s cap, so I thought it would make me look like a boy…”
“Huh. Well, I have to admit, it did work for a while…”
Then, Naoto gets another thought, “Although, there is another reason…”
“You did say you had a few reasons, what’s the other one?”
Naoto mumbles, a little embarrassed, “D-Don’t laugh or call it childish, okay…?”
Yu simply smiles and leans his head on hers. Comforted by the act, Naoto continues.
“W-Well… There are a lot of detectives in fiction that wear some sort of hat, like most depictions of Sherlock Holmes, for example… S-So I thought that maybe… It would make me more like them…”
“I see,” Yu says with a grin, clearly planning something, “Well, I’d say my lovely girlfriend is a first-class mind, so maybe there’s some truth to it.”
“S-Senpai!” she exclaims before sighing in defeat, “Honestly, you just love to embarrass me, don’t you…?”
The couple look at each other for a moment, Naoto pouting, then the two burst into laughter. Yu was laughing heartily, while Naoto tips her hat in an attempt to hide her giggling face from her boyfriend. This doesn’t go unnoticed by him, however, and he points it out.
“Have you noticed that you tend to hide your face behind your hat too?”
This catches Naoto by surprise. “R-Really? I wasn’t aware…”
“Yeah, you usually do it when you’re embarrassed, though.”
“I see… Then I suppose that’s another reason I wear it,” she smiles slyly, “Because my dear, sweet boyfriend does nothing but try to make me feel embarrassed.” She picks up a pillow lying next to her and uses it to smack Yu, eliciting a chuckle out of both of them.
“You also said…” she mumbles, too softly for Yu to hear.
Confused, Yu asks her to repeat herself. Naoto is now visibly blushing harder than before, and repeats herself louder.
“You also said… I looked cute with it earlier…” This catches Yu completely off guard. “I’ve been thinking… Maybe I should at least try to look more like a girl, now that we’re going out… Honestly, I was thinking of ditching my cap these days… But if you think it looks… c-cute on me, then maybe I can keep wearing it…”
Naoto makes herself look smaller than she normally is. Suddenly, she feels a tug on her arm. Turning around to see, Naoto suddenly receives a hug from Yu, startling her immensely.
“S-Senpai?!”
“Seriously, Naoto… How cute can you be?”
Yu pulls away, still holding on to her shoulders. Naoto just stares at him like a deer in headlights as he takes her cap off her head and drops it, letting it fall to the seat of the couch. Naoto, frozen in shock, does nothing to stop him.
“I told you before, you can be whatever you want to be… If you decide to wear your hat or not, whether to dress as a boy or girl, I’ll still love you. You don’t have to change yourself for me or anyone else unless it’s what you really want—just be true to yourself. I don’t love what you wear, I love Naoto Shirogane.”
“Senpai…” Naoto says, then sighs, “Goodness, you just keep helping me, don’t you? ‘You don’t need to change yourself’ ...I do recall you saying something similar on Valentine’s Day… Alright, I’ll hold you to that, okay Senpai?”
Yu just nods. Naoto only then realizes how close Yu’s face is to hers and blushes a little. Almost on instinct, she closes her eyes and leans in closer and they plant a kiss on each other’s lips. A moment after they pull apart, Yu breaks the silence.
“You know… you look pretty cute without your hat too.”
Naoto pouts and looks away, a little pink dusting her cheeks. “I told you not to call me cute…”
Yu chuckles with a gentle smile on his face, “Sorry.”
“…I love you, Senpai. And thank you.”
“Don’t mention it. I love you too.”