Work Text:
He catches her staring out into the rain, with nothing but displeasure etched on her face. That alone makes it clear that she didn't know it was going to rain, so she obviously didn't bring an umbrella. Kuramochi stares at her, wringing his umbrella in his hands. It's really tempting to just waltz up to her and offer to walk her home... It can't be that hard. It really cannot be that hard.
Taking those several steps over to her, Kuramochi grins once she turns to face him. “Ryouko-san. Did you forget that it was going to rain today?”
There's a frown tugging on her lips for a fraction of a second before she smiles. “That's not it,” she speaks softly, and it's way too obvious to figure out that she was lying. Ryouko cares more about her dignity than anything else. “Just... I was in a hurry today and I didn't pack my umbrella. Not that I forgot it, I just had no time. That's all.”
It feels way too cheap to ask her now, but so be it. “Can I walk you home? If it's not a problem...” upon hearing the amused exhale pass her lips, he can just feel his smile widen. “It’ll be better than walking in the rain.”
“You're such a considerate guy, Youichi.” Ryouko chuckles, not hesitating with hitting Kuramochi’s forehead. While it doesn’t hurt, seeing as she never hits to do that to him, he still feigns a pained sound. And Ryouko is just that merciless to chuckle at him again.
“Don’t be so cruel, Ryouko-san...” stepping forward, Kuramochi opens his umbrella and gestures for Ryouko to step closer. “I could just leave you here if you’re so fond of teasing me.”
Another laugh. “You wouldn’t leave this poor girl to walk home in the rain...” She’s closer to him, holding the strap of her schoolbag with both hands. Ryouko practically presses herself against Kuramochi, resting her head against his shoulder. “The rain must be cold. How could you ever think of such a mean thing?”
Kuramochi grins, more so at the warm feeling of Ryouko pressed against him than anything else. She’s picked up the habit of using his shoulder as a pillow, and he can’t really complain. It was something that Kuramochi only noted that she does when they’re seemingly alone together, just to show that she felt comfortable around him. Usually, Kuramochi would tilt his head over, just to rest against the top of Ryouko’s head. Of course, he obviously can’t do it now. He has to take Ryouko home.
Ryouko gives him a pointed look once he shrugs her head off his shoulder. Kuramochi merely glances away, feeling some heat on his face just because of Ryouko’s pleased chuckle directed at him shortly after. “Let’s go before the rain picks up, Youichi.”
“Yeah... Yeah, I was getting to that.” Kuramochi breathes out a laugh, pausing to glance over and meet Ryouko’s gaze, stomach just barely fluttering at the sight of her smile, before he tightens his grip on his umbrella and takes those few steps forward. It’s only to be sure that Ryouko will take that as a cue to follow, which he only worries about so she won’t make a snide comment on him planning to leave her behind again. Even if Ryouko is sharp on picking up just about any cue from him, she wouldn’t let a chance to tease him slip out of her hands, and he really does like that about her. Thinking about it makes him snicker, and Ryouko hums before offering a response.
“What’s got you laughing?”
Kuramochi shakes his head, still feeling a dumb smile on his face. He doesn’t hesitate with looking at her again. “Nothing. Just you.”
Ryouko’s brow furrows, and she keeps quiet. The only sound between them is the rain and their footsteps. Kuramochi feels Ryouko occasionally brush her shoulder against him. Something about that makes his face hot. It’s these small, accidental touches that manage to leave him far more flustered than he usually does get whenever Ryouko does it on purpose. And that isn’t saying much. He loves any kind of physical contact she gives him.
Before long, Kuramochi’s gaze wanders down to Ryouko after they’ve begun to walk on a straight stretch of sidewalk. Ryouko is so pretty, he thinks to himself, drinking up everything about her appearance. Everything from her soft, pink lips down to how she curls her fingers over her schoolbag. Kuramochi allows himself to stare at her hands, noting the slight chips in her sea-green nail polish. He doesn’t know why that detail interests him so much, and it definitely doesn’t lessen the sudden urge to reach over and hold her hand.
It’s disappointing. He’d have to switch hands with his umbrella in order to do that, and he doubts she would appreciate getting wet from the rain. Ryouko would probably give Kuramochi a smile, insisting that it’s fine before actually hitting his head with as much force as she can once his guard is down. Ah. He’d really rather not do that. The most he can do now is look at her hands.
Even this doesn’t work. Moments after electing to do so, Kuramochi feels Ryouko bump into him again. It was on purpose, as he notes that there’s a smile on her face. His cheeks heat up before she even gets a word in. “What are you staring at, Youichi?”
Kuramochi glances forward, stuttering a few syllables before he’s able to speak up. “Nothing, nothing. I was just... noticing, your nail polish is a little ruined.” He sincerely hopes Ryouko doesn’t think he’s lying to cover up anything bad.
“Oh. Yeah, it is...” Ryouko raises a hand to look at her nails, her smile never ceases. “It was yesterday when you guys were practicing... I was moving a couple crates. It’s not that big of a deal, I can fix it when I’m home.”
“Aha. I could have helped you, Ryouko-san,” Kuramochi nudges her, laughing a bit louder with hearing her chuckle in response. “Even if you’re a manager, I can still drop a few things to help my girlfriend out, right?”
Ryouko merely laughs in response. “You’re so stupid, Youichi...” she pauses, breathes out a laugh, and hums. “Why would I make you help me with those crates? Watching you work hard and sweat is much better than worrying about my nail polish.”
This keeps Kuramochi quiet for quite some time. Ryouko is right in a sense, he would honestly think the same if he was in her shoes. Not to say he hasn’t watched her do anything himself, mainly watching her hand out food and drinks to the team after long practices. He likes seeing these things about her, how she’ll push her hair out of her face when she’s feeling hot, or wipe her hands on her shirt. Or when she’s free and wastes no time with applying lip gloss or admiring the cute designs on her nails...
These thoughts are quite sudden, and honestly have nothing to do with what Ryouko said to him previously. Kuramochi has to laugh to himself. Ryouko manages to make his mind drift often, and he ends up going over every single detail that he likes about her. Looking over at her, Kuramochi finds himself gazing at her hands again. Suffice to say, he really, really wants to hold her hand.
Kuramochi only sighs and looks forward again. The most he does about wanting to do something as simple as that with her is rub his fingers over the handle of his umbrella and focus on where he’s walking and how much it’s raining. He really is glad that he was able to walk Ryouko home. Kuramochi is sure that she wouldn’t have particularly enjoyed walking home alone and in this heavy shower.
Now that he thinks about it, he hasn’t been able to walk her home in a while. That makes him wonder if that’s why Ryouko jumped on his offer to take her home in the first place. If that was the case, it was pretty cute of her to hide that she really wanted Kuramochi’s company...
“You’re smiling, Youichi. What’s that about?” Ryouko says. Kuramochi glances at her, noting that there’s a bit of a smile on her face, too. He can’t help it when he looks away, a bit flustered at meeting her gaze in the first place.
“Nothing, Ryouko-san. Just thinking about something...” Kuramochi pauses then laughs. “It’s... Well, I really like you. I was just thinking about that the most.”
Ryouko doesn’t say anything for a few beats, only opting to huff out a tiny laugh. “That’s fair, Youichi.” Is all she tells him, a smile clear in her voice before she falls silent again.
Kuramochi decides to say nothing back, either. He doesn’t know why her comment embarrassed him. His face feels more than a little hot, and it’s really only seconds after realizing it does he feel as if he’s burning.
There really wasn’t any reason for her to, but Ryouko raises her right hand, lightly curling her fingers over Kuramochi’s own. He wants to stupidly ask her if she wants to hold the umbrella or something, but he for sure knows that she’s doing this with every intend to hold his hand. Fingers twitching, Kuramochi spreads his fingers ever so slightly, just to allow her the chance to dip her fingers in the space between them.
And she takes the chance, acting as if there’s nothing odd about this. “Can I tell you something, Youichi?” There’s a clear smile in Ryouko’s voice, masking any other emotion she doesn’t want to convey. “I’m glad it rained today, since you were around to take me home... I like it when you walk me home, but don’t try to tease me about admitting that.”
Kuramochi tries his damndest to force back a dumb smile, failing in under a second. All he does is use his free hand to run through his hair, chuckling as he does so. “Why would you tell me if you don’t want me to tease you?”
Ryouko squeezes her hand around Kuramochi’s and turns her head to look up at him. Kuramochi can’t resist to look back at her. “Because we’re almost home. You can’t tease me if you’re not standing next to me...” she pauses for several beats, hesitation clear in the air. “Well... And because you’re my boyfriend, and... a girlfriend should tell her boyfriend what she likes, right?”
What Ryouko had said was very truthful, spoken in a very hushed tone, and very cute. It brings Kuramochi to silence for the rest of the walk home, which wasn’t very long, since they were already moments away from the front porch of Ryouko’s house.
The comfortable silence between them stretches as far as it needs to, stopping once Kuramochi rubs his thumb along Ryouko’s knuckles as she’s letting go of the umbrella.
“Ryouko-san, I... I’m happy I could walk you home again!” Kuramochi’s smile is so wide, his cheeks almost hurt. But he can’t stop smiling since Ryouko is smiling, too.
“Thanks, Youichi. I’m happy you walked me home, too.” Ryouko holds her school bag behind her back, gazing up at Kuramochi with a sweet grin curling her lips. With a subtle cock of her head, it seems like it’s a free invitation to kiss her goodbye.
All it takes is a simple step forward, a tilt of the head, and Kuramochi’s lips are softly pressed against Ryouko’s. Even if this isn’t the first they’ve kissed, it still makes Kuramochi’s stomach flutter every time. Kuramochi feels Ryouko’s hand on his chest and parts from the kiss then, holding her gaze and just waiting for her to stop smiling. She doesn’t.
Instead, she places a quick kiss on his lips. There’s a faint blush on her cheeks. “You have my lip gloss on your mouth now. Pretty...” Ryouko says after a soft, bubbly laugh, dropping her hand from his chest and taking a step back when Kuramochi touches his lips with his fingers. “Thank you for walking me home again. I’ll see you tomorrow, Youichi.”
Kuramochi’s cheeks are feeling hot, but it doesn’t stop him from returning Ryouko’s smile. “Yeah. Anytime, Ryouko-san...” He speaks as he gives her a single wave, watching her turn, open the front door, and step inside.
A fond sigh is all he can give in response to Ryouko closing the door behind her. Kuramochi feels beyond grateful that he could walk her home and spend that time alone with her. It isn’t every day that he can say that he’s walked his girlfriend home and gotten her to blush so cutely. As he fixes his umbrella above him and, once again, walks out into the rain, Kuramochi presses his fingers to his lips again.
... While it’s nice to have something lingering on him that came directly from Ryouko, Kuramochi really can’t sneak back to the dorms with fruity lip gloss on his mouth again.