Chapter Text
He loved her. He was definitely sure of it. He loved her and everything about her.
He loved how her smile shined like the sun peering onto the new day. He loved the way her cheeks nearly matched the soft, rosy color of her hair. He loved her comforting, gold eyes which sparkled with every emotion she showed. She was the prettiest girl he had ever seen.
He loved their somber moments. When the world appeared hateful, they would seek solace within each other. When they wove their fingers together as everything around them collapsed. She would gaze at him. He would glance at her. It seemed like as long as they were together, a shield would protect them from all their worries.
He loved their more exciting moments. When she’d rush into the shelter to watch the animals whenever he was allowed to bring her. He loved the way she admired the fascinating species. The excitement she displayed while embracing something he deeply cared about.
He loved their playful moments. When she would get carried away while playing around, ending up with them having to do way more work later. When he would mishear her, but then would still run with whatever he said just to joke with him. When she would be the dungeon master of their D&D campaign and rig high roles for him, despite him telling her not to.
He loved their sweet moments. When he would get her her favorite crepes after a rough day at school, she would use that as an excuse to get him something as well. When he’d lend her his hat when the sun got too sunny. She’d always become flustered by the action, but she never told him to stop. When she’d run into his arms and he’d twirl her around. He wasn’t confident in doing it in public, but he still did it for her.
Yep. He knew it.
“I definitely love her.”
“Uh, Keizou. That’s the third time in the last five minutes..”
“H-Huh?”
Harada immediately snapped back to reality.
The first thing he noticed was the smug look on Chiba’s face. The second thing he noticed was the concern on Hama’s face.
“I have this tiny feeling that he might love Yuki," Chiba joked.
“A-Airi!!”, He exclaimed before shoving his face into his hands. They had been dating since high school, of course he loved her. Still, despite everything, he still felt like something was missing.
It wasn’t with her. That was for sure. Yukino was perfect. Maybe even more than perfect.
A deep sigh escaped the tiger boy’s mouth. “I love her and I know that. She loves me, and I know that as well. But, I still feel like I haven’t done enough for her.”, he explained while fidgeting with his hair.
Hama almost immediately countered, “Dude, you’ve done so much for her! You’re literally the best boyfriend I’ve ever seen!!”
Chiba built off of that, “Yeah! Yuki loves you!! I think you have done way more for her than any other boyfriend could!”
“Well, yeah. I guess.. but..”, Harada trailed off.
Although he appreciated the praise, it didn’t clear the doubt clouding Harada’s mind. Yukino was different from any girl he had dated before. He loved all of them, but Yukino made the gloomiest of days a little lighter. Additionally, their 3rd year anniversary was coming up, and yet he still never did something grand or special. Sure, Harada could argue that his name and “grand” didn’t belong anywhere near each other— some of his other friends would agree too.
He was normal. He did normal things. He didn’t always just plan stuff though. Harada took Yukino on dates to several places both he and she loved. But, they still felt too normal.
He was okay with doing the same things he always did. Yukino seemed mostly alright with it too. He was okay with normal though.
At least, he thought he was.
The doubt started after Yanagi had posted about his date with Hayashi. After a couple months of them being together, Yanagi planned a day entirely just for her— despite her saying that she was fine with something less luxurious.
The two had spent the afternoon doing things the both of them loved, which was right up Hayashi’s alley of a “chill hang out. However, what set it apart from other dates was the way it ended. With help from Tamba, and Tsuno, he had turned a small park area into a dining area as gorgeous as the restaurants in the Roppongi district. Although she said it was too much, Hayashi wouldn’t stop talking about it for weeks. Clearly, she loved it.
But, Harada was nothing like Yanagi. For starters, he didn’t have the Olympic-star charisma to pull off Yanagi’s prince act. He also had no idea how he could pull off something like that. Despite that..
“I just wish I could do something special for our anniversary…”, he groaned before taking another sip of his milkshake.
He had invited Chiba and Hama to their school’s cafe to discuss this issue and flesh out his thoughts, but now he was stuck further in the cave of doubt.
Suddenly, Chiba shot her hand up in the same way a student did to ask a question. Judging by the cheery smile on her face, she definitely had a plan.
“We could always help out if you need us to!! I’ve seen tons of dreamlike dates on different shows and movies, so maybe we could recreate one!”, she happily suggested. She was right. He could have them help with his date for Yukino.
“It’s a good idea, Airi.”, Harada affirmed. “But, I feel like it’s not special if it’s not my idea.” She let out a dramatic “hmmmmmm” before Hama cut her off, “We can still help you out. I think we could make a pretty badass date that you both would never forget.”
“What if we book them a place at a very high class restaurant!!”, Chiba proposed.
“But would they even like that? Both of them aren’t high class people," Hama argued.
“Then we should do something Yuki-feeling, like a fantasy themed party!!”
“It’s not a party though! It’s a date, get it right!”
“A fantasy themed date then!!!”
Harada could only laugh to himself as the two threw out their ideas for him. As much as he wanted to try doing something just by himself, their seriousness in this matter was admirable. It washed relief over him.
“What do you think, Keizou?”, Chiba asked him with determination plastered across her face. Harada stared at her with confusion for a small moment. It only took a small chuckle from Hama for him to realize he had accidentally tuned out their suggestions.
He, albeit not-smoothly, tried to play it off, “They’re really good ideas. All of them are! I just think we shouldn’t rush into this. M-Maybe we should think about it more tomorrow?” Chiba continued to glare at him for a moment before shrugging her shoulders and sending her attention back to her food.
"You need to get better at listening, or at least pretending that you're listening. We're doing this for you, y'know!", she teased with her mouth full of cake. Harada felt a smile grow on his face. Now, he'd be able to treat the love of his life to an experience that she deserved. With their help, he felt like pulling off a grand date might be actually possible.
At least he thought it would just be their help.
So when he walked into his dorm and saw his entire group of friends, he was pretty surprised.