Work Text:
The lights are low.
The room smells like candy.
The air is weirdly tense.
And Minori is three seconds away from spontaneous combustion.
Airi’s room is warm, filled with snacks and laughter and discarded cushions. There’s a lazy hum of background music playing from someone's phone speaker, and the soft rustling of someone grabbing more chips from the snack pile.
Outside, the city breathes. Inside, Minori dies. Quietly. Internally. Dramatically.
Because…
The bottle just stopped spinning.
And it’s pointing at… Haruka.
The other end is pointing at her.
“...Oh?” Airi says, grinning like she just won the lottery.
Minori blinks. Her brain short-circuits.
Haruka just tilts her head, calm and composed like she always is, her expression unreadable but not unkind. She looks at the bottle. Then at Minori.
…
“Well,” she says softly, “should we go?”
Go.
Go… where again?
Minori’s brain is pudding. Bad pudding. Expired pudding.
Airi claps her hands like a devil in human form. “Closet’s ready! Go on, lovebirds.”
“L-Lovebirds!?” Minori sputters, turning red immediately. “W-We’re not-! I mean-! That’s not-!”
Shizuku, who has been politely observing this disaster unfold, just offers an encouraging thumbs-up from across the room. “Good luck.”
Minori wants to leave the premises of earth. Excuse herself, as for even stepping on it in the first place.
But before she can fake an injury or set herself on fire, Airi is already dragging open the sliding door to her walk-in closet with a dramatic flourish, revealing a cozy, blanket-piled space barely big enough for two people.
“Rules are rules,” Airi says sweetly, the worst person alive. “Seven minutes. No escaping.”
And Haruka? Haruka nods. Like this is fine. Like she’s not about to be stuck in a closet with a girl who once cried over her handshake event because she couldn’t handle the emotional intensity of breathing the same air as her.
-
Click.
The door shuts.
And suddenly, the air feels thicker.
Minori stares at the wall.
There’s a soft rustle as Haruka sits down beside her, like this is nothing. Like she does this every weekend. Just casually. Sitting in a closet. With someone who’s very obviously spiraling internally.
Minori lowers herself onto the blanket-padded floor like she’s being sentenced to the guillotine.
Okay. Okay. This is fine. Totally fine.
Just seven minutes. In a closet. With Haruka Kiritani. Her idol. Her mentor. Her reason for living.
Her soul leaves her body.
Haruka says nothing.
Minori says nothing.
Her brain, however, screams.
Her heart is somewhere in her throat, doing somersaults, and her hands are clenched so tightly in her lap she might snap a wrist just from existing too hard.
“So,” she blurts out suddenly, her voice about three octaves higher than usual. “Haha..”
Silence.
She clears her throat, trying again.
“I mean, what are the odds, right? The bottle landing like that? That’s like, statistically improbable! But, you know. Stuff happens. Bottles spin. Gravity exists. Science. Hah…!” She smiles awkwardly, squirming on the blanket under them
Haruka doesn’t reply.
Minori swallows a scream.
She turns her head slowly, just enough to sneak a glance at Haruka out of the corner of her eye.
Haruka’s not looking at her. She’s just sitting there, legs crossed neatly, hands in her lap, gaze soft but distant-like she’s thinking about something. Something important. Something serious. Probably not the closet.
Probably not Minori.
Minori’s entire body itches with the urge to say something. Anything. She could talk about the weather. Or her idol routines. Or how she once cried watching Haruka perform a slower paced sad song and had to leave the venue because she got dehydrated.
Instead, she says:
“Did you, um. Ever play this game before?”
Haruka blinks. Looks at her.
Minori immediately regrets her life.
“I mean not that it matters! I just, It’s my first time.. not that I’m weird about it or anything! Just saying. First-timer here, closet virgi- I mean—Not—Uhm, I-I'm just gonna stop talking now!” She covers her face, a bright red blush covering her cheeks.
Haruka’s expression doesn’t change.
She looks away again. Calm. Still. Untouchable.
The silence is heavy.
Minori stares at her own knees. They look suspiciously like they’re shaking.
Don’t pass out. Don’t pass out. Don’t pass ou—
“I didn’t expect it to land on me either,” Haruka says quietly.
Minori startles. Just a little. Just enough to squeak. “O-Oh! Yeah! Same! I mean—obviously, Haha!”
Pause.
Haruka continues, still not looking at her. “You’re nervous.”
Minori tenses. “W-What? No. I’m great, Normal. Chill, even!”
Another pause.
Then—Haruka speaks again. Calm. Even.
“You don’t have to force yourself to talk if you don’t want to.” She chuckles, smiling at her
Minori freezes.
That lands.
Right in the chest.
Because it’s not mean. Not cold. Not rude. Just honest. Direct. Effortless.
Haruka never wastes words.
Minori deflates just a little. The pressure in her lungs loosens, but only slightly.
“Sorry,” she mutters, curling into herself like a socially anxious hermit crab. “I just… I talk a lot when I’m nervous. Or when I’m happy. Or alive.” She scratches the back of her head, giggling nervously
Haruka hums, not unkindly.
Silence again.
Minori fidgets. Picks at a loose thread on the blanket beneath them. Tries to breathe like a person. Fails.
The quiet is oppressive in a way she can’t name. Not awkward, exactly. Just… filled with things she’s too afraid to say.
And then—
They shift.
At the same time.
The worst timing in the history of movement.
Minori turns to say something, anything, maybe about the ceiling or clouds or socks-
And Haruka shifts toward her to adjust her position.
It’s barely a bump.
Just heads getting too close for comfort.
But Minori, in her infinite panic, jerks back.
And as she jerks, her balance tips.
Her hand lands in the wrong place.
Gravity, her longtime nemesis, wins again.
She stumbles, Tries to correct.
Loses all control.
And somehow, in the chaos:
She accidentally brushes against her lips
Like. Barely,
Just a little. A nervous, clumsy brush of lips in panic-mode. But it definitely happened.
Minori shoots back immediately, eyes wide, horrified, full-body red.
“OH MY GOD! I’M SORRY— I DIDN’T— I WASN’T—THAT WASN’T A THING—!”
Haruka blinks slowly, a small tint of blush on her cheeks
She Reaches up to lightly touch her lip. Like she’s checking if it’s real. Or maybe if Minori’s real.
Then,
She says nothing.
Just stares.
Expression unreadable.
Minori crumples in on herself, face in her hands. “I swear on everything, I did not plan that— I didn’t even mean to move! It was just— I was trying to sit still! And then you— and I— and I’m gonna explode…”
Haruka still says nothing.
Which somehow makes it so much worse.
Minori peeks through her fingers, just barely.
Haruka’s still calm. Still elegant. Still idol-like in a way that makes her completely unknowable.
Minori groans softly. “Please say something. Anything. Even just, like, ‘Wow, Minori, you’re the worst.’ I’ll accept that!”
A beat.
Then:
“…It didn’t hurt,” Haruka says simply, a small chuckle escaping her lips
Minori chokes on air. “THAT’S NOT THE POINT!”
She immediately clamps her hands over her mouth.
Because now she’s yelling.
-
Cool.
Awesome.
Perfect behavior for someone who’s already basically kissed her idol and is now yelling in a closet like a sleep-deprived caveman.
Haruka doesn’t flinch.
Just watches her, face unreadable. Calm. Collected. Like nothing ever startles her.
Maybe she’s used to weird fans.
Oh god. Minori’s a weird fan now.
She turns away and hides her face in her hands again, curling forward like she can physically disappear into her own knees.
“...I seriously didn’t mean to brush my lips against yours,” she mumbles into her palms. “I panicked and my face moved and then your face moved and then there was biting and now I’m never going to recover!.” She rambles on rapidly, the blush burning itself into her cheeks
Haruka doesn’t respond. Again.
Minori peeks between her fingers, just slightly.
Haruka’s looking somewhere else now. Off to the side. Toward the wall.
Minori can’t tell if she’s ignoring her or just… letting her spiral.
Either way. She’s spiraling.
“I just… I wanted to be normal,” she says, voice small.
Haruka shifts slightly, the soft rustle of fabric the only sound.
Minori goes on, because her mouth won’t stop and her brain is no longer in control.
“Like, cool, Chill! The kind of girl who can be in a closet with Haruka and not implode! You know, Just like, ‘Oh hey, we’re playing spin the bottle, haha, what a silly, normal teen experience!’ But no. Of course not. Of course I’d end up kissing someone.”
Pause.
“You. Specifically.” She whispers out in a very embarrassed tone
Still silence.
Still no reaction.
It’s worse than getting yelled at. At least yelling would be a sign that Haruka’s human.
Minori leans back again and stares up at the ceiling. If she cries right now, she’s going to implode from the inside out.
“I swear I’m not weird,” she whispers.
Finally, Haruka speaks.
Soft. Neutral.
“You’re not.”
Minori blinks. Turns her head.
“…Huh?”
Haruka’s gaze doesn’t meet hers. She’s still looking straight ahead. But her voice is steady.
“You’re not weird.”
Minori swallows.
“B-but-”
Haruka shrugs, barely moving. “It was an accident.”
Minori’s voice is just a breath. “...Still.”
Another beat of silence.
Haruka shifts her position again, drawing one knee up, arms resting lightly over it. “You’re intense,” she says softly.
Minori’s heart drops.
That sounds bad.
That sounds like something people say when they want to gently tell you to go away.
“Oh,” Minori mutters. “Sorry.”
“No,” Haruka says, almost interrupting.
Minori looks over.
Haruka finally turns her head. Their eyes meet.
Still calm. Still unreadable.
She says it again.
“Don’t apologize.” She smiles gently, the usual, charming Haruka smile.
Minori freezes.
The silence that follows is different now. Not loud. Not quiet.
Just heavy.
Like something is sitting in the middle of the closet, unspoken and immovable.
Neither of them look away.
And then,
Minori does.
Because she can’t hold that gaze any longer. It feels like she’s being seen too clearly, and she’s already messed up enough for one night.
She hugs her knees tighter.
Another moment passes. Or maybe a hundred.
Then Haruka speaks again, quieter this time.
“...Do people usually get this worked up around me?”
Minori’s breath catches.
She stares at the floor.
And then, like a faucet breaking,
“Not everyone! I mean—maybe some people! But not like—everyone! It’s just me. Probably. Maybe. I don’t know. You’re just—You’re you. You’re graceful and beautiful and confident and you never seem nervous and it’s really hard to breathe around you sometimes and I mean that in a normal way! not a weird way—I think… Probably. Hopefully.” She rambles on once more
She exhales.
“…I think I’m having an out-of-body experience.” She whispers with dread in her tone
Haruka blinks slowly.
And then she does something Minori absolutely wasn’t prepared for.
She closes her eyes.
Just for a second.
A tiny inhale. Like a breath of patience. Or something else.
But when she opens them again, she still doesn’t smile.
Still doesn’t say anything comforting.
She just… stays quiet.
Minori shifts again. Tucks her chin down into her arms.
“…How much time has passed?” she whispers.
Haruka checks nothing. Doesn't move.
“Not seven minutes.”
“Oh.”
Minori closes her eyes.
She’s never wanted to escape her body more than she does right now.
But Haruka doesn’t leave. Doesn’t shuffle away. Doesn’t shift toward the door like she’s counting down the seconds.
She just stays.
Still. Silent.
And there.
Minori breathes.
And even though her heart is still trying to rip itself out of her chest;
She stays too.
A sharp knock breaks the air.
Then Airi’s voice, muffled behind the closet door.
“Time’s up. Get out, lovers.”
Minori’s breath catches, panic rising. “We are not—”
But before she can finish, the door slides open.
Light spills in, washing over them like a sudden dawn.
Airi’s voice trails off as she steps back, smirking knowingly, but this time Minori barely hears her. Her attention is locked on Haruka.
Haruka meets her gaze — and for the first time tonight, there’s something different in her eyes.
Not distant. Not unreadable.
Something softer.
A small, genuine smile curves her lips — quiet but full of meaning.
Minori’s heart stutters.
Haruka takes a slow step closer, closing the gap between them without a word.
Her voice is low, calm — almost a whisper.
“You did better than you think.”
Minori swallows hard, unsure how to respond.
Then Haruka’s smile deepens, eyes holding hers steadily.
“I like that you’re real. That you try.. even if your overwhelmed by me.”
Minori’s cheeks flame. She looks down.
When she glances back up, Haruka is already leaning in.
The kiss is slow — deliberate, tender.
No rush, no games.
Just two hearts trying to say everything without words.
When they pull apart, Haruka’s smile lingers, soft and sure.
Her fingers brush lightly against Minori’s hand — a silent promise.
“I’m glad it was you,” she says quietly.
Minori’s breath catches again, and all the fear melts away.
“I’m glad too,” she whispers.
And in the end… well, it wasn’t exactly how the fanfics wrote it. Honestly, it was… better. She’s definitely in her own fanfiction now. No doubt about that.