Chapter Text
The doorbell rang. Mahiru stood up from her seat at the kitchen table, abandoning her half-eaten eggs, and ran towards the door. Must be Haruka, she thought, since he usually gets home from school at this time. Ever since he had to leave his own house due to the relentless abuse and negligence he was being put through, he had been living with Mahiru, and even though it has only been a few years since then, she had already memorized most of his daily routine and preferences. She knew not to get him any clothes with a weird fuzzy texture and not to over-season his food, and she knew that if he doesn't get home past 3pm, it was time to start worrying since he didn't have any extracurriculars and he always called if he was going out with somebody. She opened the door, and her guess was right. She stepped aside to let him inside before shutting the door and opening her arms for a hug, which he quickly accepted. The hugging has become a tradition for them after Haruka finally opened up to her about how little he had been hugged previously. She took it upon herself to make up for it, and she hopes his friends at school will also go on the same path. At first, he was very confused - maybe high-fiving her or just walking past - but he's gotten the hang of it alright. After the hugging, the usual was that they sat down at the table to discuss how his day at school was. Mahiru usually made him something to eat during this - he tends to forget about his sandwiches at school, and he's still pretty underweight, he needs to eat more than he does. After Haruka had sat down, Mahiru put her now cooled-off eggs into the microwave and began cutting up a slice of bread while asking the usual question. "How was today at school?" Haruka stared at his hands on the table for a few moments before answering with a mumbled 'good'.
Mahiru felt a bit worried at first hearing his unenthusiastic answer, but as she turned around to ask if he was okay, she saw that his expression was a bit dazed, almost blissed out. "Haruka? Did something happen?" he didn't even seem to notice the question at first, but he became a little more alert hearing his adoptive mother's voice. "Well- Yes, I- Um, yes, Mahiru-san.. Today was pretty eventful." Considering he considered someone talking to him at school 'eventful', Mahiru wasn't pretty worried about it, but she still wanted to know what has him so out of line! Yes, Haruka is usually pretty calm and withdrawn, but he never looks like he's drugged on some love potion unless something's out of the ordinary… "And will you tell me what these events were? I'm curious too, you know!" She knows she shouldn't pry, and that Haruka can get nervous about things like this, but she can't help her curiosity, especially with her suspicions that something may have happened that's related to Haruka's pretty obvious crush on his best friend. Yes, he never said it out loud, but it's really hard to miss when every time she hugs him or even speaks to him he turns beet-red and flustered. She opened the fridge and took out a cup of yogurt and a spoon from the nearby container. "Muu-san and I-" Mahiru cut him off immediately at the mention of Muu's name. "Did she ask you out- No, better, did you ask her out? Harukaaa.. it's going to be prom in a month and you haven't even made a move yet, have you? Unless…" She trailed off on purpose, watching his face turn three different shades of red before he stammered out a 'no' and buried his head in his hands. "We studied together, Mahiru-san. And I don't think she'd go to prom with me." Mahiru perked up. "So you do want to go with her?! Why didn't you just say that? Oh come on dear, I'm sure Yuno-chan and I could do something about it!" She giggled, and turned her head towards the now beeping microwave. "I'll finish my lunch, you'll finish yours and then we'll talk about it, 'kay?" Haruka could only nod.
Mahiru took the eggs out of the microwave, put the plate onto the table next to Haruka, picked up his bread and yogurt and placed that in front of him too, then sat down on the chair behind her own eggs and her fork. "So, tell me. Muu-san to prom?" Haruka just opened his yogurt, clearly trying his best to ignore Mahiru's question, who in return continued her laughing. "Come on! You know you're really bad at hiding your crush anyway! It's okay, you were bound to fall in love eventually…" Haruka finally looked up from his food. He took a deep breath — Mahiru stifled a laugh. He looked like he was preparing for a marathon or to confess murder or something when all he was doing was telling his adoptive mother about his crush. "I.. I do want to ask Muu-san to prom, but I really don't want to embarrass myself, Mahiru-san. It took me really long to get to the point where I am, asking her to come over or to help me study…" Mahiru felt his words simmer down in her head. Indeed, it would be a real shame if Haruka lost all his progress, but he had to take a chance. And besides, Mahiru knew Muu would accept! Even if her feelings weren't as obvious as Haruka's, someone who could read love well enough could understand immediately — and Mahiru was such a person! She had to come up with a plan … "Say, Haruka, how about.. I write you a list on how to ask Muu out to prom?" He looked a little uncertain in his nodding, but it was good enough for her. She'll figure out how to make him more sure of himself on the way. Or not. It doesn't really matter as long as he enjoys himself! "So, first, you'll have to ask her to lunch with you…"
Haruka opened his locker and quickly shoved his lunchbox in before slamming the door shut. He needed to hurry if he wanted to catch Muu before her extracurriculars. They've been eating lunch together all week, but she had fencing on fridays, so her lunch is early, and she goes to class when the other kids like Haruka eat. He scanned the hallway and spotted someone who looked decently like her — that was enough, since not a lot of girls have this kind of appearance here. They mostly have darker, longer hair than Muu's, which is fine, but it gives her a really striking appearance with her peachy-colored hair. It wasn't hard to spot her in the hallway, not at all. As he arrived next to her, she immediately turned her head towards him. "Hi, Haruka-kun!" her face seems to display signs of concern as he resorts to waving. "You're gasping! Did you run just to see Muu before fencing?" Haruka nods, feeling a flush spread across his face. Oh, he's really in for it today if she decides to tease him more. "Yes, Muu-san. I.. I wanted to ask you something- Hold on, I have to .. I have to catch my breath." he leaned against her locker, dropping his face down and putting his hand on his chest. God damn his terrible lungs and the way he needed 10 minutes to recover after running. Muu fluttered her eyelashes. "Muu will wait! Fencing only starts in 15!" As soon as his wheezing subsided, he took the chance to just get it off his chest. "Muu-san, would it be okay if I showed you a place after school today? I'll wait while you're in fencing." He immediately began digging his nails into the palms of his hands.
What if she says no? What if she calls him stupid for ever thinking she'd go anywhere with him and oh god why did he even ask her this is so—
"Of course i'll go with you, Haruka-kun! Just wait for Muu outside the front gate, 'kay? Gotta go fencing now, see you then!"
And just like that, she took her pink bag out from her locker and ran off towards the gym or somewhere similar or she wasn't even running at all and maybe the bag was red, but Haruka could feel his knees getting weak. This happens every time she says anything to him that's remotely affirming of her liking him, as a friend or more (he wouldn't dare think of that, though) and it's starting to drive him insane. Well, he just has to wait until her fencing class ends, he has time to recover until then. He slowly creeped back up to his locker, took his stuff out, and quickly left the building to sit at the staircase of the front gate. He loved that spot. He usually waits for Muu there if they're going somewhere, and sometimes he sees his friends, too — His bandmate, Es, and their sister, Kotoko, or sometimes Amane on wednesdays when she has flute after classes. He often sees Kazui's car pass by (they wave to eachother) or Yuno on her scooter (she always yells his name out loud, and he can't help but turn red), and if it's late, he can maybe spot Shidou coming home from the hospital, but that's unusual. He doesn't really see Mahiru like this, but living with her makes up for it, and he sees Fuuta plenty of times walking home considering they live on the same street. He didn't even realize he's been sitting there for a good twenty minutes .. He got so lost in his thoughts he didn't notice the amount of kids exiting the school either! It must have been at least half an hour, which means Muu should be coming soon, right?
He picks up his bag from the ground to try and find something to entertain himself with. He doesn't understand maths on his own and reading kanji doesn't sound very appealing either, so he sticks to watching the pigeons and taking pictures of them with his camera. It's old and tattered but it used to belong to Mahiru, so he cherishes it and takes a handful of photos every time he's bored or with Muu. He has a lot of them printed and hung up in his room, too. He really likes looking at the different pictures he took at different times and trying to remember each moment. It really helps him retain the confidence he needs to remember his friends love him. His first picture wasn't taken by him — it's a demonstration from Mahiru. It has him and Muu on it, holding a volleyball together in the school gym. That was the first time they've played together, and even if they don't do it frequently because Haruka's coordination isn't the best, he really enjoys playing with her when they get the chance. Just as he looks at his watch, he hears the familiar sound of Muu's shoes on the stairs. They're the same uniform shoes as everybody else's, but she has this way of walking that makes it so he always regconizes her steps. It's just.. different. He doesn't even know why he wears a watch anyway, he takes way too long to read the time off of it. He lifts his head and waves at his friend.
"Haruka-kun!"
As soon as she spots him, she begins running towards him. He knows what to expect by now. The first time she jumped on him to squeeze him was the first time she had visited him after he moved to Mahiru's house. He was very frail and weak and disoriented so they both toppled over onto the floor, but this time he was a little less frail and weak and disoriented, so he knew the brace himself and to open his arms to catch her. And just as he predicted, he got one of Muu's excited hugs again. He loved hugging Muu. She was always gentle even if she was hugging him tightly and he never complained about him being bony, unlike Amane, who always made a point about how his ribs are digging into her face. When she let go of him, he saw how messed up her hair was. That was odd — Muu doesn't mess her hair up. "You're curious about Muu's hair, right? She didn't have a lot of time to brush it after fencing today, since she was hurrying to come see Haruka-kun!" she gave a bright smile before grabbing his wrist. "Can you do it for her while she calls her parents? Just with your hands is fine!" Before he could protest she already had her phone up to her ear and an expectant look on her face. She released his wrist. He took a deep breath — to help him be able to even move his hand — and started patting down the loose strands of her hair. Quite frankly he had no idea what she wanted him to do, but the happy expression on her face during the call was enough of a hint that he wasn't too bad at whatever this was. She put down the phone. "I think my hair should be okay! So, you wanted to take Muu somewhere, right?" the eye contact was driving him up the walls. He didn't want to make a fool of himself. Not when so much depended on this. Muu probably knew why he was asking her somewhere, too, with prom being in only a week now. Well, there's nothing left to loose now, and he just has to spit it out like he did an hour ago. Why is it so hard now if it was so easy then? Deep breaths. Deep breaths, Haruka.
"Yes, Muu-san. You can follow me."
She happily took the hand he offered (by clinging to it) as they started walking along the road. He made sure not to walk too fast or slow, matching his steps to Muu's, and when they arrived to the end of his street, he started to feel a little nervous. The path from here was going to be very muddy, and he didn't know what kind of reaction to expect from Muu. "Muu-san, there's mud here. A lot of it. Should I find another .. another way to go? Or I could carry you-" she placed a finger on his lips, and he immediately stopped speaking. "Muu will be fine! She's 17! She can handle some dirt!" Haruka didn't think correcting her to mud would be the way to go here, so he just let her cling to his arm again before they started walking through the muddy path. "Muu-san, there's not much now and I swear it's a really nice spot, just.. wait until we get there, really…" When they finally stepped out of the mud, he could feel Muu's grip loosen on his arm. He didn't even notice her holding him tighter, but it was probably just because she didn't want to fall in the mud. "Are we there now?" "Almost— We have to go inside this bush now.."
Muu's face scrunched up, probably at the idea of entering the greenery, and Haruka felt a small smile creep onto his face. She looked really pretty, even with her hair messed up from the earlier shrubs and the look of disgust she had while considering Haruka's offer to carry her on his back instead. A loud crack snapped him out of his daze — Muu had started climbing inside. He quickly jumped over a puddle in front of him (a last minute realization) and followed her over the fallen tree and towards his goal. He could swear on anything - his mother, Mahiru, even Muu that this was his favourite place in the entire world. It was a clearing inside the forest, with a single dead tree laying across. He saw a deer once out there. He was really damn terrified and he cut himself plenty of times trying to escape through a thorn bush, (the deer was not following him) but it was the first time he had been there and he's grateful to the deer, even if it scared him, for leading him to a really nice spot. He had gotten ahead of Muu, pulling branches away from her face and tearing leaves off to make sure none of them end up in her hair, as he finally steps over the last peice of undergrowth into the grassy patch he loves so much. Muu quickly followed after him, again, nearly tripping over a loose peice of ivy and cursing god himself for making her go through all this all for a hangout with her friend before she looked ahead of herself. Haruka heard a gasp behind him. He looked back expectantly, and immediately a felt himself smile. Muu looked just as amazed as he thought she would. The clearing wasn't just grass — there were plenty of flowers, some mushrooms and he also made sure to clean it up the day before so there wasn't any mud that could ruin his plans. This was very important, after all. If he didn't screw up until now by pulling her through a whole kilometer of muddy roads and undergrowth, he wouldn't screw up now that they're here. His brain vaguely registered Muu's grip tightening again, but he was too busy staring at the grass to recognize the warning signs.
She immediately wraps her arms around him and squeezes him tightly before beginning to jump up and down, giggling loudly and shaking him with her. "This is very nice! Muu likes your spot a lot, Haruka! It's very pretty!" He could barely stay upright with her bouncing. When she finally calmed down a little and released Haruka, he took a long, deep breath. He always had to do this little ritual - telling himself how far he got already and that he can't mess it up now, and that Muu is his best friend anyway, so he has nothing to fear either. The deep breaths help him not resort to digging his nails into his palms. It hurts and it feels more calming, but ultimately he forbid himself from ever doing that if he has alternatives. He reached backwards, as quickly as he could without really looking or missing, and grabbed her hand. He felt his knees go weak again. She was holding his hand too, now, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It made him kind of jealous, that she could just do this without any struggle. Now, as gently as he could to not pull their hands apart, he started leading Muu towards the fallen tree in the middle. His plan was seemingly going really well — They both sat down and she made no move to release his hand, so he didn't either. She took out an apple from her bag, then ate it, and a book, and she read something aloud to Haruka and they laughed about it and he wasn't paying attention to the passage of time and suddenly from 5:30 it turned into 8 and they were on the grass looking up at the stars when he realized he hasn't done the final step yet.
Well.
"Haven't realized" is a bit of stretch. He was just putting it off until he's sure she probably won't see him cry or something. If she rejects him. He was trying so hard to squeeze the possibility of her going to prom with him into his mind, but it was really difficult when all he got was 'no' before the two of them met. It was long ago, sure, and they've been close all the time, but they only started meeting daily when Haruka began going to school properly after he moved to Mahiru's house. Before that, he was homeschooled. She still made a point to visit him as often as she could and then they formed the band with Es and all went really well from then on. He had to do something now. Even if it meant that Muu would probably not see him the same way afterwards. Knowing her, she wouldn't. It was all-or-nothing today. Surely Mahiru wouldn't set this up if she wasn't sure that there would be at least a 50/50 chance of Muu saying yes to him? Surely, surely she wouldn't do that to someone she's been taking care of so kindly and for so long? He felt his hands start to shake on the grass. Him and Muu were still holding hands, even though they broke contact a few times, Muu always happily grabbed his fingers again leaving no chance for him to escape. He didn't mind. That way he didn't have a chance to actually do something either, but he didn't mind it until now. Until now because Muu has a curfew too. Yes, she can stay out long if she calls her parents, but sleeptime is at 10 and it was already 08:05 so he had to get his head into the game (As Fuuta said to him once when he wasn't eating lunch after a whole 15 minutes.) and make a move. He turned his head towards her. "Muu-san." she didn't look at him, but her eyes opened. "Yes?" "I'll be right back, okay?" she closed her eyes again. "Oh, 'kay. Don't get lost." He untangled his fingers from hers and stood up. Why was she telling him not to get lost? He knows this forest, he's been playing here ever since he discovered it, and it's her first time anyway. He decided not to give it any more thought and to just go where he has to.
Yesterday at around this time Mahiru and him came out here and set up some flowers in a vase near the water where nobody could ever find them, since only Haruka dared to climb the tree above the lake anyway. (and he was the only person who ever went there after all.) He hoped the flowers didn't wither and that the vase was still upright and intact — and after a bit of struggle to climb the tree with how wet it was, he was happy to find they were still in pristine condition. He was trying very hard not to fall into the lake, or to get mud all over his shoes, or — and god save him if that happens — the flowers, and managed to accomplish both of them as he finally walked out into the clearing again. Muu was now sitting on the tree again, hanging up a phone call with her parents, which seemingly was a report on who she's with and where she is as she didn't seem upset or bothered when she out down the phone. He slowly moved to stand behind her. "Muu-san." She turned around on the log, her eyes curious, darting around the field. She took the hint that he just wanted to get her attention, so she didn't pry, and instead put her elbows on her knees and rested her head on the palms of her hands. "Muu-san, I've been really nervous about this. All month. For a couple weeks now, actually. And.. And you know, how it's prom soon, and how nobody really asked me yet and i'm sure you've already recieved plently of invitations and you might have even accepted one," he feels his stomach tighten into knots. He starts digging his nails into the palms of his hands again. Damn it, i'm really messing it up this time, she's going to say no and look at me with disgust just like mother and- "But even so, I wanted to ask you, Muu-san." He cuts his train of thought off. If he doesn't do it now he won't get to do it later. "Would you.. um, would you please come to prom with me?" He extends the flowers towards her, ducking his head in order not to see her expression.
Silence follows. His heart feels like it stopped. He's barely breathing.
And then, yet again without any warning, he feels her arms wrap around him in the tightest hug of the day yet. He hears her giggling. Confusion envelops him. But then, she finally says something to snap him out of his internal-despair monologue, and he's pretty sure the entire world just stopped because what the fuck. Muu Kusunoki is going to prom with him. She said yes to him, hugged him and now she's just looking into his eyes while he's smiling like an idiot. "Do.. do you like the flowers, Muu-san?" He didn't know when she took them, but they were in her hands anyway. "Yes! Muu loves the flowers. But she's a bit scared that they'll wilt by the time she gets home… Should I just put them in my water bottle-" "No no no it's fine! You can use mine, really, I don't want you left without water." Her expression quickly turned to one of concern. "But you…? You're human too, Haruka. We both need water.." her eyes brightened. "No, I know! You'll drink out of Muu's!" she smiled, innocently as usual. Sharing a bottle of water with Muu? Haruka sighed. First, she agrees to prom with him, and then offers to share her bottle with him. He might as well not have to do anything for the next year with how hectic the day has been.
He walked Muu home, hugged her goodbye, gave her the flowers and arrived home in what Mahiru only described as a 'disheveled state'. She was already wearing her sleepwear, a very intricately designed nightgown and some rabbit sleeping mask, both gifted by Yuno. He smiled weakly in response. "Mahiru-san, you won't believe it…" Her face lit up so fast he could swear the entire room turned brighter before she ran up to him and squeezed him hard. At this rate, someone's going to break his ribs. He's lucky Yuno isn't here, she'd probably spin him around as well. They sat down the dinner table, she ate some random toast Haruka wasn't paying attention to and he ate a plain slice of bread.(Mahiru gave up on trying to get him to even eat that, he was just too dazed for it.) He told her everything, from the moment he found her at her locker to the goodbye hug and the way she told him good night that made his knees go weak.
And Mahiru just smiled. She smiled, she felt her chest grow warm with pride. The boy who was trembling, clinging to Muu, screaming "Please don't leave me!" at the top of his lungs with tears streaming down his face and his arms bleeding red now asked that very same Muu out to prom, all on his own.
She blinked at him slowly. He was talking about some pigeon pictures. She was trying her best to listen, but the haziness of a long day was getting to her tired mind. He must be tired too.
"Sounds.. really nice, Haruka. You take a shower and go to bed, okay? Don't stay up late today. It's been exhausting for you, too." With that, she stood up carefully, not to ruin the lace trim at the bottom of her gown, and walked to her room. She heard the lights click down, the bathroom door open, close, the running of the water, the door opening, closing again, and then she heard nothing for a really long time. Young love, she thought, while she drifted off to sleep.
Haruka did not sleep for another hour. He texted Es (who ignored him), he texted Shidou (he hearted his message and sent a typical old-man congratulation) and Yuno (who replied with so many emojis he didn't even see the letters.) and after that he drew a few pictures and even stargazed from his window before collapsing into his bed, but only because his legs were giving out in exhaustion. He still lay there, eyes open, dumb smile still on his face because nothing could really wipe it off, not even the groggy call the got from Es when the message notifications finally woke them up or the fatigue weighing down his body. He hasn't felt like this in ages. He's going to cling to it like there's no damn tomorrow.
Eventually, when he did fall asleep, he re-dreamed the entire thing. He didn't tell Mahiru about the detail where they "kind-of got married at the end". She doesn't have to know about.. that. Not yet.