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Despite it being another day of school, the upcoming winter break is already giving everyone a festive air, especially with various units wrapping up their final performances of the year. They all had more free time, more opportunities and plans of time to spend with family and friends.
With lunchtime just beginning for the day, Arashi moves to sit with Mika at her desk, though their peaceful meal doesn’t last as long as they would have hoped.
Tactful as ever, Leo slides the door to their classroom open, loud enough to make Mika jump. It doesn’t take long for him to spot Arashi and head over towards the two of them.
“How’s your day?” He asks, sounding somewhat awkward. Not that ‘strange’ is an uncommon word in regards to Leo, but still, it was strange. Since when did he care for small talk, particularly when it seemed there was some other reason for showing up in front of her.
“I’m surprised to even see you in school,” Arashi responds instead, while Mika does her best to focus on eating her food. It’s part out of respect, part wanting to be as insignificant as possible so Leo doesn’t focus on her.
“I want to talk to you about something. Are you doing anything around Christmas?”
“Is that all you showed up for? Did you even go to class at all?”
“Well, I didn’t come here for you to nag me,” Leo doesn’t take long to whine, leaning obnoxiously over their shared desk. Arashi’s completely unmoved, while Mika flails, holding her lunch close for fear of him knocking it off, or worse, stealing it.
“I have shopping and family things to do, among other things, and Mika’s coming with me, right?”
“Ah, sorry Naru, but I’m busy with work-”
“It’s settled then, don’t make other plans! And cancel those ones!”
To their confusion he leaves immediately after his exclamation, though Arashi just picks up her chopsticks and resumes eating. She doesn’t want to so much as start thinking about what kind of nuisance he intended on being for her over the holidays. Sometimes he has his good moments, but those were few and far between.
“What wassat about, Naru? D’ya think he’s tryin’ to ask ya out on a date fer Christmas Eve?”
“A date? I sure hope not,” she answers, huffing.
“I can see yer annoyed with him, but I think he’s sorta funny.”
“That’s because you don’t actually have to deal with him. I guess he’s not all that bad, but he can be, well, a pain.”
“That almost reminds me of someone,” Mika hints, and Arashi playfully shoves her while she laughs.
As they continue on bantering and eating lunch, Arashi can’t help her thoughts lingering on Leo in the background. She’s sure Mika was just teasing her about it being a date, since Leo comes up with useless ideas all the time and it could be a unit gathering, and yet- something in her gut tells her it isn’t.
“Oh, it's Naru’s friend, hey you there! Cutie!”
After flinching, Mika looks back over her shoulder, spotting Leo walking towards her from down the hall, waving. For a split second she wonders if there’s any way to escape, but her destination of the handicrafts’ club room is too far away to consider. Though it’s not like she wanted to be rude, she already knew what Arashi’s unit leader was like- far too energetic and casually affectionate, at least to her comfort.
“Eh?” Mika responds instead, clutching cloth and other materials to her chest. They were for Mademoiselle, a new dress Shu was making for her.
“I just wanted to ask, you know, Christmas is coming up soon and-”
“C-Christmas?” She repeats with a mild look of horror, her heart suddenly beating fast.
“What’s that reaction? Don’t worry, I’m not trying to ask you out, I mean you already saw me ask Naru. Not that I wouldn’t, you are cute and all, but that’s beside the point. Wait… what was the point again?”
As Leo continues talking vague nonsense, Mika tries to subtly move away, but he absentmindedly moves along with her. She realizes it’s probably better to just figure out what he wants, give it to him if she can, and then leave as quickly as possible. If only dealing with Leo were that easy.
“Is there somethin’ ya wanna do for Naru? Is it about earlier t’day, ya did talk about plans,” she attempts, interrupting whatever rabbithole of logic he had decided to follow.
“Oh, yeah, that’s what it was, cutie! I need you to tell me, because you guys’re close, what is it that Naru likes?”
“Hnn, my name isn’t cutie,” in trying to correct him she blushes. “It’s-”
“Yeah, yeah, I know it! Don’t tell me now, let me imagine it!”
“I’m not gonna tell ya nothin’ if ya can’t even remember my name,” Mika pouts, and Leo pouts back at her.
“I’m sure that’s it! The image of a maiden… wait, no, not Miko-”
Entertaining the idea of throwing care to the wind and actually escaping, she sidesteps him finally.
“Ah, I have it now, it’s Mika!”
Because of the emptiness of the hall they’re in, his loud voice could probably be heard halfway around the school. Mika winces.
“Can ya not be so loud-”
“So now that I remembered, c’mon, tell me!”
“Why’re ya botherin’ me for this anyways, aren’t ya in the same unit? Can’t ya ask those other guys?” Mika questions, and for a moment Leo actually seems to settle down.
“Well, you see,” he pauses for some effect, throwing an arm around Mika and leaning closer. “It’s a secret. I’m sure if I mention doing anything for Naru, little Suou will also want to join in, and then Ritsu, and- it’s all very much an unruly family, right? Though I guess that’s what makes a family!”
“Ehh, I’m sorta confused. Ya never told Naru not to tell ‘em, so she prob’ly woulda mentioned it if she talked to any of ‘em after.”
For once after this whole time, she can sense Leo freeze in that realization. Interrupting her train of thought, though, Mika sees Kuro walking down the hall towards them. When he spots them a second later he stops, then calls out.
“Hey, Tsukinaga. What’re you doing to Kagehira there?” he asks, critical, and finishes walking up to them.
“Oh, if it isn’t Kuro! I’m just asking cutie here some things-”
Before he can finish speaking, Kuro wordlessly grabs and lifts him away from Mika. Being held under one arm while he protests, there’s evidently no escape, and with barely a nod, Kuro turns, taking the struggling Leo with him, effectively ending Mika’s suffering.
It had been two days since, well, the incident.
Arashi and Tsukasa meet at the sweets cafe from before, something Knights as a unit had planned prior as a final meeting before the new year. However, as was typical, Ritsu and Izumi had flaked out, and with getting a hold of Leo being nigh impossible it was basically guaranteed they wouldn’t see him either.
In all honesty, Arashi’s glad it’s only her and Tsukasa. He’s the least bothersome out of all of them, and her favourite, though she wouldn’t admit it to any of the others. Without any difficulty they find a free table and place their order with a kind waitress.
After their desserts are brought out, Arashi starts talking about the most important thing on her mind.
“Lately, our dear king seems to be acting weirder than usual, if that’s possible.”
“Is something the matter?” Tsukasa’s so attentive in awaiting Arashi’s explanation, he accidentally pokes his spoon just off to the side of his mouth, then hurries to wipe at it.
In between spoonfuls of parfait, she recounts Leo forcing her into plans on the spot, her annoyance obviously on the rise the more she thinks back to it.
“He even decided to bother Mika and Adonis, asking them about what I might like. At this point I just want to yell at him and ignore the whole thing.”
Nodding, Tsukasa takes another bite of his parfait, trying to match even part of her frustration. He definitely understands her troubles to some extent, and she’s glad for that, for him.
“Leader told me not to say anything, but I feel I must ignore that- he asked me as well.”
Arashi knew she was going to inevitably end up with a headache in at least part of this ordeal, but somehow it seems she underestimated Leo’s capacity for mischief, as much as she was aware of his personality.
Both of them decide it’s best to ignore the topic, and after taking a few more bites, Tsukasa finishes his treat and pushes it away, leaving Arashi confused.
“How come you’re only having one this time? It’s alright to have more, unless you aren’t feeling like eating much. Is that it?”
“Not… exactly…”
“I don’t mind if you eat more, here, I’ll even order you another one. Which do you want?”
“Shouldn’t I refrain from so much sugar? It is almost the new year.”
Arashi hums at him, scooping the last strawberry out of her glass.
“I don’t mean to get all existential, but if we only have so much time on this planet, then we should be doing our best to enjoy it. Of course, there’s always a point where it’s too much, but well, I think that really depends,” she says, dropping the berry into Tsukasa’s empty glass.
He smiles, picking it up between his fingers.
“Thank you, Narukami… May I get the strawberry parfait then?”
She orders it for him happily and then moves to sit beside him, already taking her phone out.
“Tsukasa, let’s take a picture together!”
“A p-picture?” He stutters, looking at her phone screen that has their faces mirrored back at them. She takes it before he can react further, and she laughs at his captured expression. In it, she’s putting on a signature smile and holding up a peace sign, while his face is contorted half in amazement, half in confusion, and he protests as she makes it her home screen.
Even with everything else happening, having Tsukasa being a charming kid to dote on makes her grateful for their way of life, and at least some of what it’s brought her.
After the entire week or so of cluelessness, and of Leo’s continued disappearing act, Arashi decides enough is enough.
Though it wasn’t as extensive as before, the fact that he decided to be absent after badgering both her and her friends was all it took for her to finally give in and start looking for him purposefully. On her day of rest, too. Not only that, but hearing of his actions from Tsukasa, Mika and Adonis had been frustrating. She was definitely going to murder him when she saw him.
The amount of sighing she had done ever since he first decided to drag her into plans with him was bound to get her an annoying comment from some random old person, if not her own parents. It was hard to help, with Leo giving her as much heartache as he did hope. How embarrassing, Arashi thinks, wondering how exactly she could allow herself to get caught up in this. If this were magic, it’d be hard to gauge whether it was for good or evil. An ambiguous curse seemed more fitting than anything.
Focusing back on her search, Arashi isn’t exactly sure where Leo might be, but searching through nearby parks comes up empty. Slowly, she ventures further into town, checking various shops and cafes.
It doesn’t take long to find him at a cafe table, chewing on the end of a pen amongst a mess of papers that looks mostly like unfinished scribbles.
She walks up to him, attempting to put on an air that is hopefully imposing enough that he listens or at least fears her for a minute.
“Oh, hey Naru!” His cheer falls flat in the face of her crossed arms and unamused expression. That doesn’t stop any of his own momentum, somehow. “Hm? You look like an angel of life and death come to take me away-”
Arashi considers the merit of throwing Leo out of the cafe.
Instead, she continues to angrily wait, unusually wordless, and Leo sits up straighter.
“No, actually that’s wrong… you’re more like an angel of salvation, if anything,” he amends, sounding almost thoughtful. Her frown falters as she tries to refrain from sighing at him again.
“What are you intending to do?” Arashi starts finally, hoping the weight of what else she’s going to say is apparent. “Really… I appreciate the thought you’re putting into whatever this is, but I’m not going along with you if you’re just going to pester my friends and not talk to me.”
“Isn’t it okay? I just want it to be a surprise! It's a good one, I swear, trust me Naru.”
“You told Mika you’d be fine asking her out,” Arashi responds, deadpan, and she expects his carefree expression to dim, even just a little bit. That seemed to be asking for too much.
“It’s not like I was serious, you know, I just got distracted, but she is cute and all, right? That’s why you’re friends with her, right?”
“I’m not friends with Mika just because she’s cute- why am I even talking about this,” Arashi stops in exasperation, holding a hand to her face.
Really, she meant it when she said she preferred someone more mature, at least in comparison to Leo, because he was like this. Her expression is caught somewhat in frustration, eyes closed, and it must be obvious even to Leo because he shifts in his seat again, then stands up. She hears some paper rustling and can already tell what he’s planning to do before she opens her eyes.
“Leo, I don’t-”
“It’s not an actual apology, but here.” Unusually gentle, he folds the composition into her hand, closing her fingers over it.
“I didn’t mean to upset you, so I promise I won’t do it again. Pinky swear that I’ll cut it off if I break it,” he offers, smiling with some twisted glee, and she stares at him.
“I don’t want to see you losing your pinky,” she says, not an iota of belief in him.
“Hey, are you saying you expect me to hit on Mika again?” His tone is completely offended.
“Not just Mika,” she counters. “It’s fine, if hitting on people only counts as complimenting and whatnot then that’s harmless, but if you want to take me out for Christmas Eve then don’t go saying that you’d date someone else.”
“Huh, is that jealousy I hear? Never thought I’d see you like that.”
“It’s not about jealousy, it’s about common decency, honestly Leo,” she huffs, but all he’s doing now is laughing.
“Alright, I can manage that much.”
Arashi continues to stare at him, searching for something, anything in his expression, but he just looks as foolish and carefree as ever. Fed up, she stretches out a hand to Leo’s cheek. He’s caught off guard in expectation of something else before she pinches it, earning a surprised yelp.
“E-eh, Naru, why? Could it be I’ve been betrayed, my heart played around with and-”
“You are so much more of a drama queen than I could ever be. I’m done with this, Leo. Please come to school more often.”
She turns to walk away and leave, unsettled. Not that she didn’t believe Leo, he actually had a nearly undeserved amount of her trust, but maybe he would take her more seriously already. The composition is still clenched in her hand, and she thinks about throwing it out. She stops herself though, instead throwing it in her bag quickly.
Arashi’s just a few metres down the street when the door opens with him appearing out of it, bell chiming, and she stops to turn at the sound of it. She notices his now unsmiling face, and grins, teasing, “Huh, is that seriousness I see? Never expected that from you.”
All Leo does is groan, and she laughs, then takes a moment before deciding to walk back towards him.
“You didn’t have to run after me. But I do appreciate it.”
He’s strangely silent, and Arashi tilts her head at him.
“Did you forget something? Did you lose your voice- or let me guess, an alien took it?”
“Hn, no, but a beautiful lady I know did.”
“Leo. Would you stop.”
She feels the urge to flick his forehead for that, but doesn’t, knowing it’s useless. Even heavier is the urge to dump him right there, but then he opens his mouth again.
“Yeah, I take it back, I know that was dumb. Just trying to figure out words, they don’t come easy even to a genius composer like me, you know! And just because I’m a genius doesn’t mean I’m that great at other stuff.”
While Leo rambles on, Arashi thinks back to the paper in her bag, suddenly too intrigued about its weight. Why couldn’t he have just settled on a decent apology instead of trying to gift her one of his compositions? She still appreciated it, knowing the thought, the inspiration he puts into them, but likening Leo’s only good traits to his ability to write songs, to be cheerful and limitless- it feels wrong to her. As if he was only worth something when he was endlessly bright, endlessly eccentric, without the lows or the scars that came along with him. Even if that was supposed to be humbling, even though he could be a pain-
“Would you stop, Leo?” She asks again, not as harsh, and he does, mid-sentence. It’s like she can sense something in him crack, not what she intended, and she finds herself reaching for Leo’s hand and squeezing it. He doesn’t seem to have any clue what’s happening, but she expects as much from him.
“I know you think you’re troublesome, and you can be, but not in the way you think,” Arashi stops, making sure he’s paying attention, but also to gathers the rest of her thoughts and finish. “It never means me, or anyone else for that matter, wants you to go away.”
“Where’s this coming from? And you’re still scolding me like a child,” he tries to whine in response, but seeing her harsh gaze he averts his eyes, taking a deep breath. “Okay, I get it. I get it, Naru, so…”
He stops, readjusting her hand in between both of his more comfortably, looking back to her.
“So… please go out with me on Christmas Eve?”
While tapping her foot and trying not to be anxious, Arashi glances at the numbers illuminated on her phone. 5:49pm. Leo had said six o’clock, and with most of her in doubt about if he would actually come, her main thoughts continue to revolve around ‘he better not stand me up or I’ll actually murder him’.
She announces her leave before opening the door into the night, but thankfully it’s not as cold as expected. Still, waiting outside for too long isn’t something she prefers. As if Leo could sense her oncoming impatience, he actually arrives just minutes later.
“You were looking forward to seeing me that much, huh?” He asks, and she can’t even bring it in herself to be annoyed, because, well, he showed up. Now she’s more mad at herself for such low standards, but this is Leo she’s talking about.
“You did say you were coming around this time. So where are we going?” She asks as they head off to walk in the direction of the main shopping plaza.
“I thought we could walk around and I’d let you choose,” he answers, which she frowns at.
“Leo… if you wanted to, I don’t know, take me to a restaurant, the chances of it being completely booked are very high.”
“Hey, don’t worry about the small stuff!”
Arashi thinks about reasoning with him more in-depth, but knows it’s useless, and she resigns herself instead to the fact that they’re probably not going to eat more than quick snacks.
As they walk it starts to get busier, other couples crowding the streets, and the atmosphere is infectious. It’s something she gets to be a part of this year, not just with family, and Leo talking inanely beside her as they walk fills her with a particular kind of warmth.
They don’t get much closer though, because Leo grabs her hand and decides to change their course not long after.
“I know I said it would be impossible, and therefore pointless, but where are you taking us now?” Arashi asks, some strain in her voice, and Leo halts his step and turns to face her.
“Actually, not having a plan was a lie,” he starts, and holds tighter onto her hand so she doesn’t let go, doesn’t interrupt. “There’s a park this way, it’s a bit up a hill though-”
“You could’ve just said that in the first place, I wouldn’t be opposed to it.”
“I know.” There’s a look in his eyes as they shine, and she isn’t sure if his expression is supposed to be mischievous or joyful or both.
“I did say it was going to be a surprise, right?”
Their trek up the hill isn’t as taxing as Arashi feared, and on the way Leo explains how he did actually have reservations for a restaurant, a good one too, so at least there was that to look forward to.
“It’s so quiet up here. I’m surprised this area doesn’t have more visitors,” Arashi remarks, looking pointedly over at Leo. She doesn’t put it past him to set up something, after all, even with the way he is she doesn’t doubt some of his abilities.
“I didn’t do anything! You could probably tell, people don’t really want to climb up this hill in winter, even if they know about this place,” he explains, and even though she isn’t convinced, Arashi drops the topic, looking back towards the part of town it’s slightly elevated over.
The cold gives the night a fresh crispness, lights down below seemingly warmer and brighter as they contrast against the snow and frost.
Being amongst the buildings and people must have made it warmer, Arashi thinks as she breathes into her cold hands in an attempt to heat them some more. Beside her, Leo’s also looking down, then over at her, and then down again, seemingly apprehensive for once. It’s easy for her to sense him out of the corner out her eye, and he finally says something.
“Hey, Naru, would you close your eyes?”
"Are you trying to kiss me?" Arashi asks point blank, and he sputters. It’s enjoyable for her to see him get thrown off for once.
"N-no, I’m not, but if that’s what you want, then feel free to imagine it!" Leo shoots back. She gives him a piercing look but all he does is grin at her, back to being unfazed. It’s easy for Arashi to sense his nervousness, even while he’s smiling and saying one inane thing or another. If this weren’t something he seemed to have gone through a lot of trouble to plan, she’d consider leaving him alone there in the cold. That, and also the fact that… she actually wanted to be here, with him, and it was somewhat surprising to herself.
"See, this is why I call you childish,” she says instead, at least earning his offended response.
“I’m going to ignore you saying that just now,” he pouts, but now she’s the one grinning back at him, and he backs down.
“Okay, okay, fine, can you just close your eyes?”
“I mean it, if you try to kiss me I might accidentally throw you over this railing.”
“What are you trying to do to the atmosphere?!”
She giggles at him, but then straightens out, listening to his request.
With his fist clenched around something in his pocket, he slowly takes it out, walking a step closer and attempting to fix it to her bangs with barely shaking hands; and as he leans close to do so, she wonders, really, what if he had made the present a kiss. How she’d respond she doesn’t know, but her heart beats a step faster, and she hopes the sudden embarrassment isn’t showing on her face.
When he pulls back she can tell how terribly he put it on despite how painstakingly long it took him.
“Did you forget to practice beforehand?” She teases, reaching up to take it out.
No other words come out of her mouth as she admires the present in her hands. Leo is silent, and she glances up to make sure he’s even there.
“Leo, this… this is beautiful,” she finally says, to which he smiles wide, obviously winning whatever there was to be won.
The clip is overtly fancy, a center of a purple flower with adornments around it, more traditional and looking to be worn with a yukata or kimono than anything. At that rate it was more like something to show off at home than to wear.
It’s stunning, and suddenly the weight of it is on her heart; crying over such a thing would be mortifying, though she can handle at least that much. What she can’t handle is the situation in its entirety, of Leo being Leo in that ridiculous way he is- that he’d go off doing and saying careless things without a thought, but then go through the effort of this, of considering her and catering to her.
“So, you like it then? I had Luka help me, I wouldn’t have found it without her!” He explains proudly, while she’s still trying to take it all in.
“No one’s ever given me anything like this,” she admits, clutching it to her chest now. Leo seems taken aback for once, but then coughs, moving to lean on the railing.
She’s not sure how to continue, running her thumb along the clip, but she doesn’t have to decide.
“So it’s a first for you?” Leo asks as he turns to look at her, but it seems like a rhetorical question. Something about his expression is difficult, conflicted.
“That’s sorta sad, but that just means you can only get more, right? Hey, Naru, what do you think, about having more firsts with me?”
This isn’t what Arashi expected at all, and her chest tightens, heart beating fast. She wants to regain higher ground, to be bantering and teasing him lightly. Instead she’s completely at a loss for words, although there is one thing, one question at the very forefront of her mind.
“Why?”
“Huh? Do you even need to ask that?”
In an instant he shatters it, the tense atmosphere built up within her, and as much as she’s annoyed, crossing her arms, she’s grateful.
“What? I mean it, don’t you know how great you are? Do you think I wasn’t being honest when I said you could come to me with anything?”
“And… sometimes I think what it’d be like, if someone was there for me back then, like you were for cutie there at that festival. And if I could be that for you now then I’d be there in a second.”
Arashi regards him quietly then, the night pressing down on both of them.
In all his lacking subtleties, now she can barely spot the shadows that continue to cling to him, from a different time, a different era, slow to ease off. For a moment there’s a slight gust of wind, Arashi standing frozen by the railing, but she takes a slow breath and releases herself from it.
“We should go back and warm ourselves up with some food, don’t you think?” She proposes, and he pauses, then turns back to grab her hand.
As he’s smiling wide and goofily, his eyes closed, Arashi pulls him closer by the arm. When he opens his eyes, it’s already too late, or rather, he’s just in time to catch the fluttering of Arashi’s eyelashes as she closes her own eyes, ghosting a quick kiss on his cheek. She’s done before he can even blink and come to the realization of what she’s doing, and it takes him another second to put a hand up to his face.
Arashi laughs as he yells in surprise, then grabs her arm as she goes to walk away.
“N-Naru, what was that?”
She stops to consider whether to humour him, and then puts a hand to his cheek, smiling gently at him.
“You could take that as, oh, I don’t know… another first, I guess, of many. I forgot to say, what drama did you steal that line from again?”
“I was trying to be charming!”
“I think you have a long way to go before you manage that. You’re still just a child, so you should embrace it.”
“I might not be fit to be a proper ‘adult’ yet, but neither are you. You couldn’t think of anything to say before, that so-called drama line had you speechless!”
“Hm, I suppose that’s true, but on a spectrum of maturity I’m still further along than you.”
“Y’know, kids always think they’re more mature than they are. If it’s like that, then maybe it’s more like you’re the childish one, and I’m the mature one?”
She stares at him, wondering if he realizes how much nonsense goes through his mind or his mouth. He’s smiling but at least he’s stopped talking now, so she decides to drop it and keep going back. Walking down the hill feels more difficult than when they were climbing up, though Leo has no further complaints. She can’t help think it might have something to do with him sneakingly holding her hand, and her glancing sidelong at him, her only response to hold tighter as they continue.
It isn’t like firsts were all that special most of the time; every day was a first, but it was also a commitment, having to wake up and participate in life. Arashi isn’t sure if Leo understood the weight of that, but it was a promise between them, and as they find their way to the restaurant hand in hand, she decides it’s one she’d like to try and keep.