Note [June 28, 2022, tumblr] - This is long. Really long. It’s writing practice, I’m bad at describing movements so, I was challenging myself. Had a lot of fun though. Ok, don’t say I didn’t tell you!
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It was a rainy day.
Low clouds had yet to stop beating down squalls of rain on rooftops since it had started an hour ago and yours was no exception.
Light streamed steadily from a mint green lamp, the only light source trying to fight off the darkness that seemed to shadow everything.
What the lamp lacked in companionship, it made up for with its brightness, shedding its light on a boy’s face, shadows framing his figure. But even the lighthouse, the defender against the darkness, seemed weary. Sleepy.
Much like a certain idiot that sat right beside it.
You smiled fondly at the boy, Tadashi Hamada, who was dozing off, black hair frizzy probably from the humid air, drowsily muttering equations and trying to check the questions, which, much to his avail wasn’t working so well as he was trying.
Your eyes travelled to the window, then settled on said boy’s grey baseball cap.
You were absentmindedly staring at it until she realized something; a strictly vital information – it was his favourite baseball cap.
Already wet from you accidentally spilling water when you were trying to try it on just to wind him up, you didn’t think he’d appreciate it if his favourite item was hanging off a hook that was dirty with rust and equally dusty covered in dusty.
In a fit of panic, you quickly grabbed the cap and flung it to your bed before its mishandling would be discovered.
Not ever again could you have him scold you about ‘cap injustice’. Never again. You shuddered from the thought.
“Huh?” Tadashi looked your way.
You shrugged, shoulders shaking a bit from the breathlessness.
Though the boy mustn’t have noticed anything amiss; he let out a single hum in response, copying your movements as well, as if to say ‘Oh well’.
Either he wasn’t perceptive or was fighting sleep his hardest.
You sighed, relaxing and taking a sip from the frosted glass cup that you had filled with your favourite hot drink, and without even realizing yourself, letting out a long exhale at the comforting taste of the coffee. The warmth that steamed in waves from it and flowed into your body as you gulped down the final drop.
You caught yourself staring at the boy yet again, and all of a sudden you became incredibly self-aware, standing up and folding your arms awkwardly as you walked over to the window.
Watching from window, at the people scurrying off to places that would mercifully shelter them from the rain, you rubbed your arm where the chilly wind had nipped you – the windows were closed, yet, the wind still seemed to seep in from them somehow. Perhaps it had something to do with living on the second floor. Maybe. You hummed to yourself.
As you focused on the sight outside the three-floored share house that sheltered you from the stormy weather, drops of water fell, mini droplets bouncing back, echoing the motion and splattering over roads flooded with the hustle and bustle of people, weary travellers trying to escape the downpour, like bees trying to zig zag away from the rain. Raindrops pelted at them, at their umbrellas, the houses and the leaves on the tree near her window.
Your vision zoned back onto the window, the rain hitting the glass, creating a layer of fog, somewhat like the mug you was cupping in your hands to keep them from freezing over; it was empty but you could still feel the leftover warmth that resided in it.
When you glanced back at your room, the gentle hum of the laptop whirring welcomed you back to your shared apartment.
The sound of raindrops patting leaves was still there, just not that prominent, compared to the sound of your old heater steadily breathing warm air out.
You looked around, trying to find a place to put aside your cup, catching a glimpse at the boy seated on the table, who was still taking his time checking the problems you solved. On the table are textbooks, pens and pencils sprawled all over in complete disorder. Going down the stairs was too much of a hassle, you decided, and since you were too lazy to even move – you blamed the weather for making you all sluggish and your droopy eyelids – you decided to put it on your make-shift bookshelf on the wall. Dangerous but, oh well.
Better than putting it on a table with an originally clumsy before sleepy state genius.
You comfortably zoned out once more, eyes fixed on the boy in your small room; the guest, the tutor, the prodigy student.
Tadashi Hamada, your tutor.
It wasn’t that you hated Math, you came to realize after a few lectures with your patient professor; rather the crushing feeling and fear of failure.
You had a mild fear of it – mild being an understatement at first, really, but that itself was achievable; you were slowly getting there, with the boy’s help, again, with a major emphasis on the slow part.
He was helping you “eradicate your fear of math” – which you believed as a feat no one could achieve, but, he was a good teacher.
Alas, progress was still progress and should be celebrated.
You looked at the boy, struggling to keep awake from checking the lengthy problems you’d solved, red pen digging into the paper, dragging along and causing random marks, like the scratches you always see at the paper boxes at their house, courtesy of Mochi the fluffy cat.
You chuckled into your hand, trying to stifle the laughter from becoming too loud; you didn’t want to scare him awake, rather, ease him out of it and try not to give him a heart attack that would need the immediate use of his newly fixed invention.
Hiro would NOT appreciate it.
That and one near death experience was enough to give the boy life-long trauma.
Speaking of the older robot protegee, said boy released a yawn, shifting her full attention back to him – so it appears, he wasn’t asleep after all - and you didn’t know how long he had been keeping himself from doing it, but it must have been long, from the way it was strained at first, how he tried to force it back in but failed miserably.
His will for restraint was stronger but was no rival for his tired brain. The loud sound echoed in the small room. You could have sworn you felt the air vibrate when he did.
He must have felt your gaze on him, as he tried to reassure you, “I’m fineee. I’m good, I’m good,” after which he shortly yawned again, then gave you a thumbs up, “I’m good.”
A tired breath escaped him again, despite his apparent attempt not to, one that wanted to drag on. He stopped it by pursing his lips.
As a result, with the tension in his lips throwing it into a tight line, he ended up looking ridiculous, like the polite cat meme but worse.
At this, you let out a chortle. The boy groaned in response. Why was his suffering so amusing to you? You didn’t even try to hide it. In fact, it seemed to be the one thing the people cared for in his life had in common. Tadashi huffed.
You laughed, an amused glint in your eyes. If anyone were to meet him right now, from all that; his groans and from the looks of it – no one would think he’s the tutor, the teen prodigy that invented a mega-sized marshmallow healthcare robot.
You shook your head with a smile, nudging the boy on his shoulder. “Come on.”
“Let’s go get some coffee or something,” this time, you shook his shoulders a bit to get his attention.
Tadashi looked at the jug of coffee he had brought with him; he had a feeling he would need it, the white noise of the rain did not make his fatigued eyes any easier to stay open after staying up late for his own school work the day before. You agreed half-heartily and the two of you ended up bringing a whole jug instead of just a pair of cups, both of which were now empty, with only a sheer layer of the drink still clinging on the insides of the glass. No doubt only a few drops left.
Though, to be fair to him, you drank a reasonable amount of it.
He looked up to meet your expectant gaze and shook his head, “Yeah, probably not a good idea-”
Clang!
A loud clash cut him off from the conversation.
Tadashi and you cringed from the sound, you putting your hand down on the table, startled.
What was that? Glass breaking? No-
The banging sound repeated, the same one interrupting his own train of thoughts.
You both shuddered again.
Goodness, what on earth-
Now, catching a vibration on the desk, you hastily searched for whatever has been producing the noise, eyes scanning the room to shut it off at once.
A lit up screen caught your eye and your hands dashed to pick up the phone, the apparent source of the blare.
You turned away from Tadashi, your back facing him as you squinted your eyes in embarrassment, “Sorry, I’ll mute it-”
Tadashi nodded, breathed in curtly, shaking a bit from the explosion of voices, then waved it off. His nonchalance seemed to speak volumes – It’s fine. Do your thing.
Not looking up from your phone, you gave him a nod yourself. With furrowed brows, you fumbled with the device in your hands, swiftly tapping on it, trying to find out which app had been blasting the horrid sound, nearly dropping it at first in frenzied panic.
You raised a finger, closing your mouth that was agape in alarm. Wait. One second. You mentally said to yourself.
Tadashi just hummed and waved it off again, folded arms resting on the desk as a pillow.
You rolled your eyes, unsurprised, doing nothing to stop the disgraceful snort that you made in amusement as you checked your phone. You pressed on your phone, turning off all the sounds, just to be safe – why didn’t you think of it earlier? It seemed there wasn’t just one idiot in the room, but a pair of them.
Else, both you and Tadashi’s eardrums might be damaged permanently after so much exposure to it.
You couldn’t have that; it was already pretty bad from your housemate putting her newly bought Bluetooth speaker in good use. Really fully utilizing it.
A new notification popped up on your phone, the sound of two cymbals being clapped startling you at first – you wanted to facepalm. This just defeated the purpose of silent mode. What was the purpose of it anyway if you forgot to turn off all of them anyway?
Your notification bell had been changed again.
You gave a not-so-subtle suspicious glare at your friend, which he either purposefully or unknowingly ignored. Whether he was just playing oblivious or truthfully ignorant, you better not find out, but if he was playing oblivious, this would be one of the times he was actually good at it. It was convincing enough to let him off the hook with a shrug.
You were just about to ask if Natalee did it when a new message popped up. You quickly tapped on it, trying to find out what the ruckus was about. You hoped they weren’t spamming about more cursed science facts.
Another message appeared on your phone, several notifications from the ‘Share House’ group chat, the chaos making you confused at first glance. You scrolled down to read the latest messages.
Can I open a song?
Why?
Do I need a reason?
…
For the aesthetic.
Natalee and Kyle sent back to forth, leaving you no time to join in.
The girl’s answer caused you to huff out an instant breath.
Of course.
Shaking your head with a hint of a smile, you tried to think of a response, just as Kyle answered.
… Ok.
Ehhh, sure
Sure thing
The others slowly chimed in.
What song?
You put forward the most important question of all, something your friends appeared to have forgotten.
Lover?
Sure.
You responded, hands relaxing just from the thought of it.
A calming song sounded nice. After three almost heart attacks your phone had given you, the idea of that sounded heavenly.
That, and given Natalee’s eclectic tastes of music, this was a blessing to you all.
Agreed.
Ahh, go off.
Kyle wrote back, finally unconcerned.
Jsut no “Rock and rilkin”, get it?
The engineering student added, in a rush it seemed, judging from the typos. So, he was concerned afterall.
Despite yourself trying to act annoyed with pursed lips and even though you sent a sticker with an unamused face, you laughed.
Natalee paid no mind to it. With a mock salute sticker, she sent -
Oki doki, aye aye, captain
Good.
Kyle sent, and from the cheerful stickers the group gave in return, you could feel the collective sigh of relief from the whole house across the screen.
You smiled; the others were trying to relax too, even Natalee.
And try not give in to the melancholy and seasonal depression.
Because, … what better way to turn your moods up than listening to your favourite masterpiece of music, singing and dancing your woes away?
Dancing.
An idea formed in your head.
Dancing …
Closing the group chat – and this time making sure to close all notifications, you pocketed your phone in your loose cardigan. It threatened to jump onto the floor and split itself useless. Even your phone has a case of cabin fever. Irked with your phone’s antics, you gave it a stern look and placed it onto the study desk, eying it suspiciously. After a few seconds, sighing in mock defeat, you stepped towards the boy.
Time to implement the idea.
“Come on, get up, buddy.” You placed a hand on his shoulder, patting on it to get his attention, trying to wake him up from his ‘accidental’ half-slumber.
When it didn’t work, you put both hands on his arms and shook them repeatedly. Perhaps that would gain his full attention, if not, partial.
“What?” Tadashi grumbled lightly, not even making effort to open his eyes.
Light sleep, this is light sleep? Cat nap? More like a cat sleep.
You stared at his drowsy state with impassive eyes.
“Do you want me to shake you like a bottle of Coke again?”
At that, he quickly sat up with a “Nope,” though, he was still slouching against the chair.
You gestured at him to stand up.
“Hmm? Why?”
Time to celebrate your success as a teacher and me not being a total failure, I guess, you muttered under your breath.
He probably didn’t hear it, for his reply was an indiscernible hum.
Outside, it hadn’t stopped raining and the sound of the pitter patter echoed foggily in the house.
“Get up, you loaf,” you pulled his lower arm, unimpressed.
“Whyyyy?” Tadashi drawled, short black hair messy atop his head which was now upright as he sat up grumpily. He groaned and stretched his arms, making you cringe when you heard a knuckle pop. It looked like it wasn’t painful, just incredibly uncomfortable, or sore? Not that it was surprising considering the position he sprawled his hands in.
If anyone to hear that out of context, judging by the sound of his voice and the books sprawled across the table of the study environment, they would think he’s the student.
Not knowing whether to be amused or irritated even further at his persistence, you huffed.
The cold filtered in, sweeping around the room. You turned around to look at the window. It was overcast with a cloudy layer of vapor that was turning into beads of water. It dropped and streamed down the glass.
You folded your arm, clutching your sides, then your left arm from the biting cold of the downpour a few minutes ago. “I’m bored out of my mind, you look tired as heck.” You stated, waving your hand around, motioning at his half-awake panda eyes.
“And since our house mate is … ,” You tilted your head at the source of the noise. It was self-explanatory.
“Wanna dance?”
You stopped rubbing on your arm, folded an arm behind your back and held out your left hand to him.
In perfect synchronization, Natalee decided to open the song at this exact moment. Like you were in some sappy cliche rom-com. Oh well, she probably couldn’t find her speaker; this happened too often not to be true.
Tadashi looked up, to his right, though the sound of the music was coming from downstairs.
He must be very sleepy.
“They’ve got taste,” Tadashi nodded to no one in particular. He knew the song; it was one of the calm ones that Aunt Cass played in the café. It often radiated warmth to the homely atmosphere, like fireflies, no matter how dim the light was, or if he had to say regarding today’s situation, however the weather was, it lifted people’s dampened moods.
You snorted. “That, they do,” you nodded, eyes half-closed from looking down where the melody was flowing from. It floated up towards you two with ease, like a little songbird.
“Come on,” with a wholehearted laugh you gestured Tadashi to stand up with your outreached hand.
He rolled those brown eyes of his, warm and sweet, like a cup of hot cocoa, took your hand gently with a smile of his own. Once he did, immediately, you dragged him up.
“Oof-” He gave you a playful glare.
“Did you have to use that much strength?”
Your response was a shrug, then a stare.
He stared back.
“What?” You asked with a straight face.
“What?” The boy echoed.
This time, you said nothing. Just continued to give him an empty stare.
You and Tadashi stood there awkwardly staring at each other, the boy more than you, shifting in his stance and lowering his gaze, “Err-”
Something occurred to him when he finally started grasping the situation. Your eyes, they had a certain vacant expression. It was the kind of blank look he got from his friends when they were stuck in a project. When they didn’t know how to continue any further.
Warping his head around the situation, the boy uttered, his mouth gape open in mild amazement, “Wait … a minute, you don’t know how?”
Silence. A sparrow chirped in the distance. Possibly coughing in sparrow. You could have sworn even the music stopped for a moment – turns out it did; from the floor below you heard the music move around the room, circling and ascending slowly. But it was only when it was on the same floor as you that you notice Natalee moving the speaker back to her own room. Typical.
“I thought you knew how to-”
“Nope. Not a clue.”
A disbelieved laugh. It paused for the slightest moment, then, continued.
“I thought you knew.” Tadashi titled his head, trying not to spew out the laughter he was holding in. He might as well laugh, you thought, his ears were red, probably from the effort, and he looked like a- pufferfish? Yes, a blown up pufferfish. Your face turned sour, unamused.
Tadashi on the other hand, was very much pleased that it was his turn to tease you. Finally, his time! Ha! He decided to have his fun, while it lasted.
“Since, you, you know, suggested it in the first place?”
You folded your arms with an exasperated, at the same time, tired huff, not from fatigue but from mortification. “Don’t mock me, Hamada.”
Tadashi shrugged his shoulders in defense, “Would never dream of it.” Just thinking of it. He retorted in his mind and gave you a sly smile.
You scoffed, motioning with one hand. “Just-”
“You like, like in the movies, hold each other and rock your bodies?”
“Ok, that sounded weird-” You swiftly added without losing a beat to amend your errors.
It was too late, he was already laughing.
“Oh my god,” you buried your face in your palm, hoping it would be camouflaged as disappointment instead of embarrassment.
Tadashi held up a hand but laughed harder, wheezing and bending over from the impact of the former words.
“Enough.”
“Stop itttt.”
“Stop it." Disgruntled, you swatted his hand lightly in between your repeated words of command.
Despite motioning to zip lips, laughter still spilled out of his pursed lips.
You sent him a mock glare.
He gave you a sheepish apologetic smile, which was ironic because it was you who pulled him to do this.
“Can we just-” you sighed, all this madness was oddly calming.
“-enjoy the moment?”
Tadashi laughed, with that boyish grin you liked so much on him. “I am.”
You mirrored him with your own bona fide smile. “Thanks.”
“Err, so?” Remembering your mission, you offered him your hand. It didn’t seem like he needed it anymore, but you did anyway. Maybe it wasn’t him who needed it but you.
“Oh, right.” The boy tenderly grasped your open palm.
Two hands on a navy blue cardigan.
Another, just about significantly bigger pair wrapped around a maroon one.
Both pairs awkward but with equal endearment in their touch.
At the beginning, the steps were fast, rushed like your blood. Your legs treaded a beat too fast compared to the slow tempo of the music – maybe they were dancing to the pace of your heart. If it were, you would be greatly annoyed; at other times was okay, that is, when you were not with a partner, not now – but you were just glad you didn’t tramp on Tadashi’s feet. It was stiff and Tadashi and you tried to not maintain eye contact. It was … weird. Staring into the depths of one’s soul.
This much contact and now, eyes as well? It was too much. You didn’t want the ticking in your chest to explode.
Or perhaps you weren’t just used to it much, you had no experience dancing, not like Tadashi was any better, for all the time he spent laughing at you.
A few steps later, you learned, looking was awkward, but not looking was just as awkward.
Tadashi too, upon realizing this, looked back at you.
The result was the both of you catching each other’s stares in purely natural eye contact.
“ … ”
For some reason, Tadashi and you laughed in perfect unison. It was by no means planned or purposeful yet it … fits. Fits together so well as if you were harmonizing.
Tadashi loosened his hold on your shoulder and moved his hand to your waist, shifting the other hand that was already there a bit. The stepping causally changed, it was now a gentle swaying movement, unhurried and smooth. Thank goodness you were getting the hang of it.
But avoiding eye contact overall made it awkward, and in a few seconds, catching each other sneaking short glances lead you to lock eyes with him again.
Tadashi was the one to break the tensity; he smiled softly at you, something that eased the tension in your shoulders.
And his too.
You smiled back, subconsciously intertwining your hands around his neck.
Tadashi shivered. The hands on your waist trembled slightly from the movement.
You scolded yourself for your stupidity. Were you mad? What if you make him uncomfortable? You definitely should have asked him before.
“Oh! Sorry!”
“No, no, it’s just,” he paused mid-sentence, contemplating something. Having reached the conclusion he shouldn’t trust you with the information, he shook his head abruptly. “Nah. It’s nothing.”
You raised your brows with an amused smile. It was in no way unkind, but the impish glint in your eyes sent a shiver down his spine, even more so than the dreary weather. “Are you ticklish?”
“Me? Pssh. No,” he answered with an eye roll, a little too quickly.
Raising your brows, you threw him an incredulous look. “Reallyyy?”
“Reallyyy,” He copied back your response, shaking his head with a smile, making the front of his hair toss left to right.
“Sure, sure,” you said, all the same taking note of the information to put in for future use.
It would be of plenty good use indeed. You snickered. Tadashi gulped in fear, hoping you wouldn’t tell Hiro. The knucklehead would most definitely get him back as payback for all the times he got slung upside down.
The music upstairs seemed to get louder.
Tadashi decided to distract you; it was likely to make you forget your recent discovery. Or so he thought. You would never lose your latest brand new blackmail material. Still, you respected him for his determination.
“Are they even allowed to open it that loud?” Tadashi looked up the ceiling, head tilted to his right and blinked, raising his brows. He was leading the slow steps, the rhythmic sway of gentle footfalls from the breathy melody of the chorus.
You shrugged. “She only opens calm ones. That and all of them are out.”
“Oh?” He looked at you, attention undivided on you. But it didn’t felt intrusive. It was rather comforting. You nodded, continuing, “Part time. One of them worked part-time as a teacher assistant. Or going out with their friends. Had a birthday party or something.” You couldn’t exactly remember.
Tadashi nodded in understanding. That explained the hollow silence of your otherwise chaotic house.
“What about you guys?”
“Hm?”
“The café?”
Tadashi paused, recollecting his thoughts, tracing back to his home. “Hiro’s helping out at the café in his place. It was raining so it would be packed right now, but, oh, well,” the boy shrugged.
But he came anyway, because it was them who asked him to come.
Not that it was not preplanned but … he could have stayed home instead.
But he didn’t.
But he came anyway, because you were the one who asked him to come. If it were anyone else, he would have refused, but this particular person, for some reason, he couldn’t. Couldn’t say no. Not ever. Never.
You nodded thoughtfully. “I see.”
“ … ”
You coughed awkwardly to cover the silence. All words seemed to have left you. You didn’t know what to say but it was getting painfully quiet. “Anyway, she knows we don’t mind the calm and sweet ones,” you added.
You chuckled when you recounted a memory. “And as long as she’s not jumping on the wooden floors, we’re good.”
“Well-” Tadashi started.
You looked at the boy, genuinely curious to what he was about to say.
“She can-”
He pursed his lips then they were pulled in a grimace, as if the thought was unbearable even to think. After his words you would know why he cringed.
“Jump with really soft fluffy shoes?” His eyebrows were raised in question.
“ … ”
“Tadashi?”
“Yeah?”
“You know how I once said you have your rare moments of stupidity?” You blankly stared at the boy, rather not knowing whether to laugh or be disappointed.
“Yeah?”
“This is one of them.”
Though, this shouldn’t be much of a surprise – after all, this was coming from the same person who probably programmed their robot to act drunk on low battery as well.
“Heheh,” Tadashi gave you a sheepish smile. You were looking at him with an amused deadpan.
When you didn’t cease your teasing stare, he groaned. “Come onnnn, give me a break!” He gave a puppy eyed pout, with those loveable eyes, and you couldn’t help but break the deadpan into a smile once you see it, blissfully unknowing to your own gentle actions. Lips tugged into a smile, you rolled your eyes.
Sometimes, Tadashi and his younger brother did some not so ingenious things that make people realize and convince them, brilliant or not, they were still two halves of an idiot who were at times sharing the same brain cell.
At the last words of the song, Tadashi twirled you; it was most likely that he just remembered to do it, but then, an arm gently hugged around your waist, trying to lower you into a dip.
It was rather unfortunate that the soles of his feet stepped on the rainwater leaking from the ceiling – something you have yet to fix as the drip appeared randomly and disappeared whenever you tried to look for it.
The force of the motion knocked the breath right out of you.
Tadashi’s attempt had almost caused the two of you to be crumpled on the floor, not the romantic way, since he was one second away from falling flat on his face and your bones were about to break as you were trying to stand, unsurprisingly startled, weak, frail arms trying to support your body and the boy from crushing his pretty face and skull.
“Wow, you are-” he gasped mid-sentence as you almost tumble down again, with you almost slipping and losing foot hold, you were trying your best to balance the both of you but you were losing control.
“Whew,” he breathed out, mouth agape in astonishment as you stumbled again, holding his weight up with your arms.
“You are strong.” Eyes wide, he finished his statement with even more amazement.
“No offense,” he quickly added.
“Is it offensive?” He questioned himself, immediately shifting into a frown.
“No,” he paused, rethinking his words mid-sentence. “ … I don’t think so?”
You snorted, a smile easing its way onto your face. “And thanks, I work out,” you joked.
“Really?” His eyes widened a second time.
“ … ”
“Nah,” you replied with a nonchalant shrug.
“I carry things for Kyle when he moves his furniture once a week.”
“Oooh.” He nodded as if he understood what you were talking about.
He did not know what you were talking about.
“Yeah,” you trailed off, nodding. “Annnnnd you’re heavy. Off. Off!”
The boy above you frowned, genuinely offended. “Don’t call me fat.”
You gave him a tired, impassive look. Did he not understand your request? Did he even hear? “I didn’t call you fat. I called you heavy.”
Tadashi wore a matching unimpressed face. “Same difference.”
“Shut up and get up, you dolt, my bones feel like they’re about to break.”
“Oh! Yeah,” he tried to get up, struggling in your grasp.
Not being able to take it anymore, you let him drop with a tired sigh.
“Ow!”
Well, at least now it was certain he was awake.
“I’m your teacher, you know,” Tadashi groaned out as you held out a hand for him, pulling him up so he can stand up.
He stood up with a grunt, still holding your hand even after.
“Let go,” your voice came out rougher than you intended to. Tadashi, with a nervous laugh, pulled away, fumbling with his hand. “Oooh, err, sorry.”
There was an amused snort, much to his dismay. Tadashi pretended not to hear it.
“ … “
The air began to tense as it was filled up with awkwardness once more.
He seemed uncomfortable. Embarrassed? Hurt? Did you hurt his feelings? A faint frown on your face, you let out a short sigh, frustrated with yourself. What do you do?
Just try to change the subject. You scolded yourself.
Don’t make it any more awkward by confronting him or even feeling the need for that. It’s probably nothing.
“Well, you volunteered.”
“… you’re mean. Humph,” folding his hands, Tadashi huffed.
He meant no harm, but you couldn’t deny it stung. Just a little. But, well, perhaps it was well-deserved, you supposed, especially with how much you’ve teased him today. Besides, he was probably just joking. Still, the wane smile on your face fell, and you replied flatly, “Should have guessed.”
“Hey,” sensing the shift in your mood, Tadashi lightly took hold of your shoulder. He gave you one of his delicate smiles. “I was just kidding. We’re good.”
“… okay.”
See? Just kidding.
Thank goodness.
There was a relieved sigh on both ends and you eased up, shoulders relaxing, frowning lips soothing into a smile. “What hand cream do you use?”
“Eh?”
“Soft. Your hands are soft.”
Tadashi blinked, not expecting it at all and let out a chuckle. “Thanks.”
“I have no idea,” he laughed, scratching the back of his neck with a boyish grin. “I do a lot of dishes but somehow they are still soft,” he looked down at his right palm, flexing his fingers, then shook his head with a smile.
You nodded in agreement. “Like mochi.”
“I mean the food, not the cat.”
At you replying yourself, Tadashi raised his brows, amused smile playing on his lips, “Of course.”
“Thanks.”
You gave him a puzzled look.
“I’m awake now.”
“Was it the dance or the fall?”
Tadashi winced. Did he just remember the pain existed? “Both.”
You puffed out a breathy laugh. Tadashi smiled cheekily, laughing along with you a second later.
“You also threatened to shake me like coca cola.”
You nodded, laughing harder and clutching your sides, tears falling from the corners of your eyes. Tadashi smiled fondly as you wiped them with one hand.
He held out a hand, gentlemanly, in the same position she did, but softer, that endearing smile and tender gaze. There were no words spoken but you understood.
“Really?” you asked with raised brows. “Even after I let you-” you motioned how he flopped on the floor with your hands, “Swoosh,” you voiced to add emphasis.
Tadashi nodded solemnly, “Yes, even after your blatant betrayal. I haven’t forgotten that yet.”
“Hard to, really, when my arm hurts soooo much-”
“You know, mine hurts from holding your heavy body too, … and are you sure you didn’t damage your brain too?” You teased, but you were ignored.
Tadashi kept talking, “Even after you let me plummet onto the cold hard floor-”
He held out his hand in mock pain. You took it and squeezed it.
Tadashi yelped, giving you a flat look. “-the fall that crumbled all trust- ”
You rolled your eyes, groaning and let go of his hand, “Enough already.”
Pleased at your irritated state, Tadashi chuckled. He held out his hand, the one you didn’t torment, like in those cheesy ‘modern adaptations’ of princess movies. He smiled at you, and paired with a charming smile and twinkling eyes, he almost succeeded in giving you a heart attack. “Now, shall we?”
You decided to hide the effect he had on you by acting surprised, so you gave him an amused questioning look. You gingerly laid your hand on top of his. Tadashi grinned. “I thought you’d never accept.”
“… shut up and enjoy the moment.”
“I am.”
“And otherwise, I wouldn’t have asked,” he said, again, with that contagious smile, the one that drew you in, every single time.
You could feel your cheeks heating up. To turn the attention away from your burning face, you faked a dramatic groan. A groan that you both knew from knowing and spending time with each other for a long time, being in each other’s presence quite often, was too histrionic to be true. You look away, an attempt to hide your abashed gaze and how his cheesy words could make a fool out of her like no other can.
“You can’t just shut up, can you?” You gave him a mock glare.
Tadashi put his hands up defensively. “Ok, ok, shutting up.” To make his point, he motioned zipping mouth.
From fear of getting skinned alive. Wise choice.
However, he was laughing with his mouth closed, making sure and trying so hard to keep his laughter between his pursed lips.
Rolling your eyes, you huffed out a breath of laughter, making no attempt to hide the big smile on your face.
In the room upstairs, the song repeated itself, the distorted vintage record-like sound starting again.
Tadashi and you swayed and whisked and turned, shifting against the cold air, warmth engulfing around you with each move.
The proximity between you was closed, pressed against each other; it was less of a dance and more of an embrace.
In your crumpled up room, the coffee cup, though empty, still emitted a waft of familiarity. It was cozy. Homely.
With the misty blur of the song and the hazy smell of the coffee, it felt like a dream. One of the best dreams you would ever have.
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Note [June 28, 2022, tumblr] - Ok, folks, that’s all. Phew.
Anyway, I would appreciate it very much if you could give me some feedback; I have been working on this for months.
I felt guilty not being to upload, but, life has not been kind to me these days.
Really sorry if I got some things wrong. If so, please let me know. I really wanted to share this with you guys.
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