let's play "Sentence prompts": #26 for Angelmaker, pretty, pretty please :> (and may I request big fluff with it? only if it's okay... !)
I should probably post this one shouldn’t I. It’s been forever. Probably not as fluffy as I’d like but I tried!
26. “Did I just say that?”
The crack of thunder shook the two of them out of their focus on their schoolwork, making them both look up in surprise.
Rain was coming down in sheets, causing muddy rivers to flow down the various paths of the park.
Aoi stood up from her side of the table set, walking to the edge of the gazebo. “When did it start raining?” She asked, looking back in Yusaku’s direction.
He shrugged. He wasn’t sure either. He began to pack up the various books and materials they had, stacking them into a pile, before joining her at the edge.
He peered at the sky, frowning. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to let up any time soon.”
Aoi groaned. “Of course not. Just our luck. My place is too far from here to make it in any reasonable amount of time.”
Yusaku pondered the distances for a moment, then nodded. “My apartment isn’t too far from here, and if I’m remembering correctly, there’s a store along the way we can buy an umbrella at.”
Aoi hummed. “Are you sure? You’ve never wanted me to visit in the past.”
“That was-” before it stopped mattering whether or not she knew he was Playmaker. He still hadn’t told her.
He recognised the reason for what it was, though. A flimsy excuse. There wasn’t really anything in his apartment that could tip someone off to the fact that he was Playmaker. Especially now that Ai wasn’t around.
He knew, inside himself, that he just didn’t want to ruin her opinion of him. He didn’t know what she would think when she saw he lived in such a run-down place. He could tell he had budding feelings for her, but he didn’t want to mess anything up between them.
So he kept putting it off, telling himself that she could visit another day.
‘Another day’ had come, he supposed.
He gave a start, realising she was still looking at him. Waiting for him to finish his sentence. He waved a hand. “Nevermind. It’s fine.”
He stared out into the rain, then turned and picked up the stack of books. “We should go before it gets worse.”
Aoi blinked, looking back and forth between him and the rain. “I don’t think it can.”
Then he ran out, moving between what little cover he could while sheltering the books from the rain, ignoring her call to wait for her.
She hurried after him, laughing slightly. “You could have let me carry some of the books!”
The two burst through the door, out of the rain, panting with exhaustion. The store hadn’t ended up having any umbrellas, so they were both soaking wet despite their best efforts.
They’d managed to keep the books from suffering any permanent damage, though, so that was good.
“It’s better than outside, but it’s still cold.” Aoi commented.
“I’ve got a heater in my room. We’ll be going through to there.”
They passed several rooms, before coming upon a door which Yusaku opened, waving her in. Descending some stairs, she noticed that there wasn’t much in the room, aside from some basic furniture.
“Welcome home, master!” A cheerful voice greeted them, and Yusaku gave a tired, sad smile at the small robot at the bottom of the stairs.
“I’m back, Roboppy. We’ve got a guest today.”
“A guest!” The small robot cheered, waving its arms in the air. Aoi giggled slightly, but stopped at its next words. “According to data from my previous iteration, it has been five hundred and twenty four days since anyone else stepped foot in your home! Congratulations!”
“Five hundred-” She began, but hesitated.
Yusaku gave a short, dull laugh. “Thanks, Roboppy. Please be silent while she’s here.”
“Understood!” The small robot moved to the corner, powering down with a happy tune.
Aoi paused on the stairs, looking at Yusaku’s back as he continued down them. He suddenly looked extremely tired.
“I can come back another time if you want.”
“It’s fine.” Yusaku set the books down on the table, leaning down to turn on a heater. Before long, the room had started to become warm enough for them to be comfortable.
Aoi put her books down, too, then they both sat down on the floor.
“Your parents aren’t home?” The moment the words left her mouth, she realised the apartment wasn’t big enough to comfortably support more than a single person, and winced.
As she expected, Yusaku’s eyes slid sideways and looked down at the floor. Her heart reached out to him as she instinctively knew what that reaction meant.
“Sorry.” She leaned forward and grabbed a hold of his hands. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“It’s fine. I never really knew them anyway.”
He stared at her hands holding his, giving a small smile, before shaking them off and reaching to remove his jacket. He placed it on the floor in front of the heater, then beckoned for her to do the same, so she did.
He pinched at his shirt, then looked at her. “I’m going to get another shirt to wear. Uh-” He hesitated. “Would you like to borrow one for the time being?”
“Ah, if you don’t mind.” She looked away to hide the slight red on her cheeks.
“Alright.” He walked back up the stairs, exiting the room and leaving her alone with her thoughts.
She regret agreeing to visit. She was a mess, her thoughts were a mess, and she didn’t really know how to interact with him. She didn’t think she could focus on the schoolwork anymore, either.
She sat down against the bed, contemplating what to do when he returned.
A few minutes passed, and she heard the door to the room open. Turning her head towards the sound, she got a face full of shirt as she heard the door close again.
She laughed under her breath at the action. He could have at least said something.
Nonetheless, she changed her shirt before calling that it was okay.
Yusaku tentatively stepped back into the room, descending the stairs once more. He threw his wet shirt down next to hers by the heater before sitting down near her.
“Should we do some of the work now?” He asked.
She looked down at the floor. “I don’t know. I can’t really focus now.”
Yusaku wasn’t sure what to make of the situation anymore. He’d invited her over for once in order to get the work done, but now they weren’t going to do it.
He felt comfortable, though. Having her around made him feel happier, and he realised how lonely it could be without someone else around. It was silent, but it was a nice kind of silent.
Now that he thought about it, compared to Takeru, or, if he had to, Naoki, he much preferred Aoi’s company instead.
He smiled quietly to himself, then glanced at Aoi.
He froze. She was staring at him with a blush on her face.
He blinked at her, confused for just a moment, then it hit him.
She nodded. “Yeah. Is there… a reason for that?”
He looked down at the floor as his face flushed red. “It’s just that- Shima is kind of obnoxious to be around most of the time, and Takeru doesn’t really stop talking for large stretches of time. You’re much quieter in comparison, which makes me feel a lot better instead. I don’t have to feel like I need to keep up with everything going on at once.”
She smiled at him, then shuffled over to sit closer. “Thanks.”
“And- I just feel comfortable around you. You don’t prod too much. Even now- you didn’t ask about what Roboppy said, nor about my parents.”
“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to talk about it.”
He nodded, then leaned back to lie on the floor, turning onto his side. “Maybe I will another time. Sorry I keep so many secrets.”
“It’s fine! It was obvious you were, but it’s not my business.” She laid down facing him with a smile. “I can come around more often if you’d like.”
“That would be… nice…” He smiled back at her.
She extended her hand out to sit between them. He stared at it for a moment, then hesitantly reached his hand out to touch it, before grabbing hold of it lightly.
The sound of the rain began to lull them to sleep, both content with the other’s presence.
Aoi later had to stop herself from screaming her brother’s head off when she was woken up by his call.
