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"You should go help her, you know?" Hange grins, gesturing with her head to the back of the room.
Mike hums something he himself doesn't even know the meaning of and shakes his head, sinking lower into his chair.
"You're tall, and this is the perfect opportunity to use it to your advantage," Hange continues, rubbing her chin with her thumb and forefinger. "Helping someone shorter reach something is very attractive, trust me. I know what I'm talking about, I've been there. Wouldn't you agree, Levi?"
Levi doesn't grant her an answer and busies himself with his lunch, shovelling some rice onto his fork and placing it into his mouth. Mike raises his eyebrows, curious, as he glances back and forth between his two friends.
"I did it once with Levi, some time before we started dating," Hange explains, more than happy to share. "I ran into him at the supermarket as he was trying to get something from the top shelf. So I stood behind him and leaned over him to reach up—that's the most important part. The effect isn't as strong when you stand beside them; you need to lean over them. It worked really well for me! Levi blushed deep red when I did it, and when I handed him the box, he immediately dropped it, that flustered—hmpf."
Instead of lifting his fork to his own mouth, Levi had stuffed it into Hange's, his ears bright red as he glared at her. "You need to eat more and talk less," he grumbles, avoiding Mike's gaze, who is very amused by the little story that has just been revealed to him.
The sound of metal being dragged across the room distracts him from the bickering that has just started in front of him, and he turns his head towards its source. Nanaba is still trying to fetch the radio from the top shelf, which had led to Hange suggesting he help her out. Since all her previous attempts have failed, she has now decided to climb onto a chair to reach it.
Mike frowns—that doesn't look very safe to him—and before he can think too much about it, he stands up and walks over to her, his heart thumping in his chest as always when he's close to her. He isn't good at dealing with crushes, and he knows it's obvious to his friends, hence their overzealous attempts to be supportive. But he can't help it; it's just a lot to deal with.
"Don't," he says when he's almost right behind her, his voice cracking, much to his embarrassment.
Nanaba startles, looking back over her shoulder at him, and he ducks his head, feeling caught. For a moment, he regrets having spoken up, her curious eyes tracing over his face and rendering him speechless as she waits for him to continue.
Without a word, he lifts his arm, his fingers easily wrapping around the radio's handle; his other hand grabs the cable so it doesn't slip down and accidentally hurt her. For a brief second, he allows himself to glance down at her. She isn't looking at him anymore but rather at his hands, her own reaching for the radio when he finally lifts the device off the shelf.
"Thank you," Nanaba says when the device is safely in her grip, giving him a smile that has his heart stumbling. Her cheeks are slightly pink, and Mike wonders whether he has just caused that.
"You're tall. That's… useful," she adds in an amused tone, her nose crinkling in the most adorable way (one of the first things he noticed about her, and now definitely one of his weaknesses).
"Sometimes," Mike replies with a shrug, stepping back now that he doesn't have an excuse to be in her space anymore. "I got stuck in a swing once because I was too tall. I was eight. The fire service had to cut me out of it."
Nanaba lets out a laugh that makes the corners of his lips curl up as well, and he feels very proud of himself for how their conversation is proceeding. Maybe he isn't too bad at this (or maybe Nanaba is particularly merciful to him).
"Do you want to help me set this thing up? I'll let you pick the first station if you do."
Mike doesn't need to be told twice.
He follows her to the desk at the front of the room, taking the cable and crouching down by the wall to plug it in. The display of the CD player lights up, and Nanaba quickly switches it to radio mode. Once the antenna is extended, the static turns into music, and she starts flipping through the stations, asking if he has a favourite.
Mike, who rarely listens to music, shakes his head and tells her to pick whichever she likes, gladly giving up his privilege if it means Nanaba is happy. When she has settled on one, he expects her to return to her earlier place next to Hange, since there's no reason for her to remain with him.
To his surprise, she doesn't. She easily draws him back into a conversation, and he does his best to contribute as much as he can, not quite believing this is really happening. That she's willingly spending time alone with him, and even laughing at some of the things he says. He must've done something very good to be this lucky. Moments like this, where it's just the two of them, are rare.
They don't even notice that Hange and Levi have left the room, so engrossed are they in their conversation. It's only when Nanaba briefly returns to her table to fetch her lunch that she spots their note and waves it in Mike's direction.
"They're gone," she says, unfolding the piece of paper when she's back at the front desk. Mike leans over her shoulder to read it and instantly regrets the decision, his face heating up at the words written on it.
Levi and I went to make out behind the uni building. We highly recommend you do the same.
Underneath, Levi had added:
Not behind the uni building, though. That's ours. Find your own damn place.
"Idiots," Mike grumbles, snatching the paper from Nanaba's hands and scrunching it up into a tiny ball, as if doing so could erase the words from their memory.
Nanaba's chuckle is a little too high-pitched to pass off as casual, and a pretty blush returns to her cheeks as she runs a hand through her short hair and stares out the window.
They don't follow Levi and Hange's suggestion, though, and settle back at their desk to finish their lunch, the music creating a comfortable background for their conversation. Luckily, the classroom is still empty, the sunny weather drawing everyone outside, and they can make the best of their time alone together.
Little by little, Mike grows a bit more confident and starts asking Nanaba about the things she likes, storing the information away in a specific part of his brain he has dedicated solely to her. He hopes he isn't being too obvious—but even if he is and she notices, she doesn't seem to mind. She keeps talking as she snatches some of the sliced cucumbers from his lunchbox in a way that feels so casual. In return, she offers him a bite of her noodles, handing him her own fork, and something in his brain short-circuits.
Mike promises himself, as he hands her his phone to show her some pictures of his grandma's Saint Bernard, watching her eyes light up with joy, that he has done enough staring and yearning. He's far too much in love to lose her to his inaction, and he swears he will do anything to show her how much she means to him. He really can't imagine spending even a single day without her.
This is going to be the summer he tells her he likes her.