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“This is good,” Maki hums, sipping from her iced tea. The sweat on her brow is yet to dry under the glare of the summer sun, and Yuuta looks worse for wear after their sparring session.
“Hm,” he intones, elbows folded on the table around his glass. He takes a deep sip, looking as distracted as he had all morning.
Maki waits for it. She’s learned Yuuta, and when he's chewing on something, he goes quiet and distant until he's ready to talk.
It happens moments later. “Hey, um, Maki-chan?”
“Hm?”
“Do you uh…” Yuuta’s cheeks are beginning to darken, though Maki isn’t sure if it’s the summer heat or something else. “What I’m trying to say is…”
Maki’s eyebrows shoot up, curious at the way Yuuta is floundering.
“Do I… what?” she prompts.
“Y’know,” he clears his throat. “Maybe… wanna go to the summer festival… with me?”
Maki barks out a laugh that startles Yuuta. He straightens, wide-eyed.
“Weren’t we already going together?” Maki says, chuckling. “We always go together—you don't have to look all that serious. Of course we’ll go.”
Yuuta sits back slowly, small, awkward chuckles tumbling from his lips, “Uh, yeah, of course, haha.”
It doesn’t hit Maki until later how weird the whole interaction was.
Nobara is painting her nails on Maki’s bed, ranting about Gojo-sensei and what a ridiculous thickhead he is. “I mean, who says that in a lady’s presence? Ugh.”
“Say, Nobara-chan,” Maki begins, examining the nail polish colours on display. It wasn’t her thing, but Nobara had insisted. “Yuuta asked me to the summer festival earlier—but he was being weird about it. I don’t get it. We always go together.”
Nobara looks up, startled. Then her face breaks out in a wide grin. “Oh my god. Okkotsu finally grew a pair.”
“What?” Maki splutters.
“He asked you out!” Nobara says gleefully. “On a date.”
Maki recoils in shock. “What?”
“How can you be so obtuse?” Nobara cackles. “No offense, senpai. But he's been making moon eyes at you all year.”
“He does not,” Maki insists, flushing. “He’s just… he's… shy?”
“And why do you think he is?” Nobara prompts, smiling knowingly. “He looooves you.”
“Oh, shut up,” Maki mutters, embarrassed, and ignores the way her heart races. “Here, I chose the green one.”
The thought spins dizzy circles in her head all week long.
Maki has liked Yuuta for a while now, despite all the odds, despite her initial hostility. Everything she found annoying about him became endearing with time, until Maki’s heart began to falter every time they’re together.
And then… according to Nobara… Yuuta asks her out, and Maki blows it.
“Oh god,” she groans into her palms. The festival is tomorrow, and she hasn’t been able to say a complete sentence to Yuuta since they last talked.
How could Maki be such an idiot?
She doesn’t want Yuuta to think she doesn’t reciprocate his feelings—that’s the last thing she wants.
There’s really only one thing she can do, Maki supposes.
If Yuuta intended for it to be a date, then Maki would treat it as such.
And if that means wearing a kimono and dolling herself up… well. Maki has endured worse for less.
Let the record state that Maki is not experienced in the world of romance. Yuuta is her first, in many ways.
But she tries.
The joyful atmosphere of the festival prompts her to. There are children skipping around with the koi fish they caught, and couples blushing as they feed each other dango and hold hands.
“Here, try this,” Maki says bluntly when the server hands her a serving of daikfuku. She plops one of the dainty-shaped balls in Yuuta’s surprised mouth and watches him expectantly.
Red permeates his cheeks, but he chews slowly and swallows. “It’s um. Good. Thanks.”
He looks away, and Maki can’t quite figure out what he's thinking.
“We can try the dorayaki next,” she prompts when he says nothing and grabs him by the elbow to lead him away.
Yuuta startles, but follows. “I didn’t know you liked sweets so much, Maki-chan.”
“I don’t. But you do… right?”
Yuuta pauses to stare at her.
Maki comes to a stop too, confused and a little nervous. “What?”
“Nothing I just…” Yuuta shakes his head. “Never mind. Let’s try the dorayaki.”
She shoots him a little smile and resumes their brisk walk, with Maki dragging him by the elbow. “I thought you’d like this one best, but maybe we can try some Nerikiri afterward. You seem like you’d like cutely shaped desserts.”
Yuuta chuckles, his smile softening. “You’ve given this a lot of thought, huh?”
Maki’s cheeks sting with a blush. “I’ve given it an appropriate amount of thought.”
At that, he laughs and sidles closer to her. “I see.”
Their elbows slot together more comfortably, Yuuta seemingly surrendering to her hold. Maki hopes he gets it now; that she doesn’t have to spell it out for him.
For all Yuuta is awkward and shy, Maki is inexperienced and unsure. What if she’s doing this dating thing all wrong?
She looks around, observing some of the couples milling about the place. Some hold hands, others walk closely, sweet blushes on their cheeks.
Maki… wants to try. Despite the way her heart jumps to lodge in her throat as she tucks Yuuta closer to her side, until their arms press together, and rests her hand daintily in the crook of his elbow.
To her mortification, Yuuta stiffens and squeaks, wide eyes sliding her way, and Maki immediately lets go, flushing red.
Shit… what if she has entirely misinterpreted the situation? Could it be that Nobara has no idea what she’s talking about?
Oh God… had Maki pushed herself on Yuuta?
“I—” The words get caught up in her throat. “I’m so sorry,” she splutters, her face uncomfortably hot. She can’t even look at him, busy searching for an escape route. “I don’t know what came over me.”
She laughs but it sounds a little hysterical and strangled. Her head ducks, hoping her bangs can hide her expression. “I should go—”
“Maki-san,” Yuuta catches her wrist, halting her escape.
She chances a look at him and finds him blushing fiercely. “Please… please don’t go,” he says at last, swallowing thickly.
Maki stops, taking a shaky breath. Okay. Perhaps she’s blowing things out of proportion. “If you insist…”
“I do,” Yuuta smiles slightly. “We haven’t seen the fireworks yet… it’ll be a shame if you miss it.”
They walk in silence for a while, desserts abandoned, just soaking in the jovial atmosphere and warm lights. Maki never really had the chance to bask in such frivolous things in her youth.
It starts a bittersweet ache in her chest to watch little children skipping around without a care in the world.
Perhaps in another lifetime, this could be her and Mai.
Yuuta clears his throat softly. “Can I ask you something?”
Maki’s heart swoops, her head swiveling in his direction. “What is it?”
“This morning…” he falters, his eyes flitting away. “Did you… what did you think I was asking you?”
Ah. There it is.
Maki’s stomach tightens with nerves, the way it does sometimes before a fight. God, she’s so bad at this. “I… wasn’t sure,” she admits, flushing. “But Nobara said… she said you were asking me out on a date.”
Yuuta’s Adam’s apple bobs. “I was.”
“Oh.”
Yuuta looks up at the sky above just as the first round of fireworks paints the skies in vivid colours. It reflects on his face, dancing in his eyes.
For a heartstopping moment, Maki loses her breath looking at him. Yuuta is beautiful like this, with the backdrop of the festival behind him, with such a sweet blush on his cheeks.
“Now that you know…” he looks at her again, seeming to have found his resolve. “What is your answer, Maki-san?”
Fretfully, she runs her palms down her kimono, smoothing out any creases. “What do you think?” she mumbles, looking away. “After I made such a fool of myself.”
Yuuta steps closer, and Maki loses her breath. “May I?” He offers his hand to her.
She accepts it unsurely, and is drawn closer to his chest, his other hand settling on the small of her back.
“You didn’t make a fool of yourself,” his voice shakes, his eyes looking somewhere over her shoulder. “I did.”
Maki begins to shake her head in denial.
“No, I did,” Yuuta insists. “I should’ve been more clear, but I… I really like you. It makes it hard to find the right words.”
Their eyes lock, and Maki can’t look away despite the heat rising in her cheeks. “I like you, too,” she whispers, allowing her hands to wind around his neck as he pulls her into a gentle dance in a private alcove between trees.
Yuuta’s smile is radiant. “Oh thank God,” he says, looking away. “Or else this would have been really awkward.”
Maki laughs, finally releasing the tension between them. “It’s still a little awkward.”
“It is,” he agrees, meeting her eyes again. “But I think we’ve got it from here.”
She smiles shyly at him. “Yeah. I think we do.”
Fireworks explode again, loud and boisterous, and the sky flashes with bright colours. Maki looks up again, at the way greens and reds and yellows paint the night’s sky and feels a mute awe at their beauty.
But Yuuta keeps looking at her, watching the lights reflect on the planes of her face.
“What?” she asks breathlessly when she looks at him again.
They’re so close now, a few inches separating their bodies as they sway gently in place, not really dancing, but moving to the symphony of their heartbeats.
Yuuta’s smile is tentative, so endearing that Maki finds herself using her fingertips to touch his lips, feeling it under her touch.
A thrill rockets down her spine at the feeling of how plush it is.
Yuuta’s blush deepens, but he reaches for her hand on his face, cradling it as he leaves the warmest, lightest of kisses on her fingertips. His eyes are so dark, sincere and gentle, Maki can’t look away. “You’re beautiful, Maki-san.”
Her heart swoops and soars at once, and Maki’s face is so warm she wonders if steam is going to rise from her ears.
She swallows, tempted to say something funny to break the tension, but she can’t quite muster up a joke, not when his words struck her to her core.
There’s only one thing that feels right, and though Maki doesn’t know if this is how she’s meant to go about it, she steels her nerves and leans closer. She slides the hand in Yuuta’s hold up his cheek, cradling the warmth of it, their noses brushing as their chests meet.
She hears Yuuta’s breath catch, and she thinks her heart does too, on a beat, because there’s a hitch in her chest when she feels his shaky breath on her lips.
His eyes flutter shut, and Maki is lightheaded as their mouths press together, achingly gentle, and her eyes close against the butterflies swarming her stomach.
It takes him a moment to move his lips against hers, his hand on the small of her back rising to settle between her shoulder blades as his other palm finds her face and tips it to slot their mouths more firmly together.
Maki clutches his shoulder, thoughts swimming as her mouth is invaded by his taste and her senses by his scent. He's a solid weight against her, firm and sure, and his mouth seems to know what it seeks from Maki, because he kisses her so gently, so lovingly, that her knees begin to feel weak.
She pulls back for breath, her head swimming, to find him looking at her through hazy eyes. This time, he cradles both her cheeks and rests his forehead against her. “Wow.”
Maki swallows, chuckling faintly. “Yeah?”
“Can I kiss you again?”
Her chest squeezes as she whispers. “Okay.”
Yuuta, gentle as ever, seals their mouths together again, and Maki gets to discover, intimately, the way his delicate care translates everywhere else, but especially here.