[Chaptered] just vanilla (Chapter Six)
Title: just vanilla
Author: Annie
Pairing: Juri x Taiga, Yasui x Taiga, Keigo x Juri (friendship), Hokuto x Taiga (friendship)
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Rating: PG
Summary: When Taiga finds himself falling in love with the boy behind the counter of an ice cream store, he can't help but feel his heart being torn in hesitancy as another boy steps in between them, intent on claiming Taiga's heart for his own. Taiga must then choose whether to follow his heart or to give in to the other boy, whose confession he just can't bring himself to reject.
A/N: Partially inspired by the juniors' Baskin Robbins CM! :) It sort of explains the cast, being Taiga, Juri, Yasui, Keigo, and Hokuto (hahaha but not the last one, sorry Jesse! xD) I am actually done writing this fic already, so I can tell you it will be 12 chapters long :D (some shorter and some longer than others.. xD) I'm still in the process of editing it, but I will hopefully post the entirety of this fic very soon! ^_^ (because I want to finish it before school starts again and my life becomes crazily busy ^^;;)
Chapter Six: Ignoring the obvious
“Give me a try?” Juri smiled, pulling a spoon out from his pocket once they had walked out of the ice cream store, hand in hand.
Taiga only laughed, “Sure, it’s just vanilla, though.” He offered his cone to his friend so that Juri could take a scoop. “Do you carry around spoons all day as part of your job?” he joked as they made their way back to the park near Taiga’s house.
Juri grinned, “Well, I hoped you would come with me on my break this time, so I just grabbed one before we left.”
“You hoped I would come?” A soft pink brushed tinted Taiga’s cheeks, just then realizing that despite the many blocks they had now traveled, Juri still had yet to let go of his hand.
“Of course,” Juri nodded back, taking another spoonful of Taiga’s ice cream. “Besides, you’d be surprised that I don’t actually get to eat vanilla ice cream that often.”
Taiga tilted his head inquisitively. “Really? But isn’t it one of the most common flavors?”
“Maybe because it’s common... not many people order it anymore. Most people tend to go for the colorful, flashier flavors, the newer, fancier ones. Not that many people like the plain, traditional flavor of vanilla anymore.”
“That’s interesting...” Taiga answered slowly, trying to wrap his head around Juri’s words. “I wonder, what’s wrong with vanilla?”
Juri sighed gently, “I don’t know... I guess people themselves like being showy and all.”
Taiga frowned, “Can ice cream really tell you that much about the person who eats it?”
“You never know,” Juri shrugged.
“But then if you knew that most people like to order other flavors,” Taiga began hesitantly. “Why did you guess vanilla for me?”
Hearing Taiga’s words, Juri suddenly froze, unable to reply. His feet refused to take another step forward, forcing him to unwillingly let go of Taiga’s hand.
“Juri?”
Taiga halted as well, feeling the warmth of Juri’s fingers slip from his grasp. Turning back, he looked to Juri in wonderment.
Time stood still, barricaded by thin air; a composed silence hovered between them. But tension swirled in Taiga’s mind. He merely watched as a gentle breeze swept past, tousling Juri’s bangs, the younger boy’s eyes downcast and his gaze indecipherable.
Taiga only wished he could read Juri’s mind.
After what seemed a tormenting eternity, Juri finally sighed, murmuring softly. “When I first saw you... You felt different...” He paused, as if unsure of how to phrase his next words.
Juri took a deep breath before continuing. “You were like vanilla... because vanilla is... simply pure, and...” He lifted his eyes to meet Taiga’s gaze. “Beautiful.”
Taiga’s eyes widened, unwilling to believe his ears. “M-Me?” Beautiful...?
Juri nodded, the gentle smile returning to his lips. Inwardly, he prayed Taiga wouldn’t be able to feel his heart pounding, pulsating through his body. He yearned to tell Taiga the truth, the truth that he had just known from the first moment they had met.
“But it’s my turn to ask you a question,” he quickly changed the subject, taking a few steps forward so that the two of them could continue down the path. “The guy that always comes with you to the shore, are you... with him?”
“With?” Taiga blinked.
Juri scrunched his nose, trying to think of the right words. “With... like are you and him... together?”
Their two pairs of footsteps echoed emptily in the silence that followed Juri’s question. It wasn’t that Taiga didn’t immediately know the answer, since it was obvious that he and Hokuto were clearly just good friends. But what stopped Taiga from answering was the implication that was carried within Juri’s words.
Is he...
jealous?
He wants to know if I’m already... taken...
“Would it bother you if I said yes?” Taiga murmured finally, averting Juri’s troubled gaze.
“N-No, I was just wondering,” Juri answered quickly, forcing a light laugh.
Taiga could hear that this wasn’t his normal cheerful, comforting laughter.
He really does care...
“But we’re not,” Taiga soon corrected, not wanting Juri to lose hope in him. “Hokuto is just one of my closest friends from school.”
“Ah,” Juri nodded his understanding, trying to keep the smile of relief from curving his lips.
The peace between them restored, they continued strolling around the park once more, as Taiga finished eating the cone.
“So what about you?” he asked casually, stuffing his hands, now both free, into the pockets of his jeans. “Are you with anyone?” He tried to keep his voice as steady as possible, ignoring the image of Keigo Hagiya’s smile that had unwittingly popped into his head.
Juri shrugged, a playful smile illuminating his features. “Why? Would it bother you if I said yes?” he repeated back Taiga’s question.
Taiga felt the familiar blushing warmth invading his cheeks as he poked Juri’s side. “Just answer me,” he mumbled, not willing to admit his own curiosity.
“What if I am with someone? Would you not have come with me here just now?” Juri tested, attempting to feign indifference.
“...”
Taiga didn’t answer. He couldn’t.
“Well, I guess you’ll just have to find out the answer to your own question,” Juri shrugged, grinning mischievously. “But for now,” he continued, pulling Taiga’s hand into his grasp once more. “Try not to think about it.”
His smile gentled, as he squeezed Taiga’s fingers softly.
“Let me walk you home?” he offered hopefully.
Taiga pouted, annoyed that Juri would be unwilling to respond to his question. But he couldn’t help but return Juri’s clasp, softly holding onto his friend’s fingers once more. Even if he refused to give Taiga an answer, Taiga couldn’t help but follow along. He gave in to Juri’s teasing and softened at Juri’s touch.
He scorned himself for being so weak; he could only hope that Juri was holding out for him.
Juri’s just toying with me...
He can’t really be hiding something...
Can he?
Author: Annie
Pairing: Juri x Taiga, Yasui x Taiga, Keigo x Juri (friendship), Hokuto x Taiga (friendship)
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Rating: PG
Summary: When Taiga finds himself falling in love with the boy behind the counter of an ice cream store, he can't help but feel his heart being torn in hesitancy as another boy steps in between them, intent on claiming Taiga's heart for his own. Taiga must then choose whether to follow his heart or to give in to the other boy, whose confession he just can't bring himself to reject.
A/N: Partially inspired by the juniors' Baskin Robbins CM! :) It sort of explains the cast, being Taiga, Juri, Yasui, Keigo, and Hokuto (hahaha but not the last one, sorry Jesse! xD) I am actually done writing this fic already, so I can tell you it will be 12 chapters long :D (some shorter and some longer than others.. xD) I'm still in the process of editing it, but I will hopefully post the entirety of this fic very soon! ^_^ (because I want to finish it before school starts again and my life becomes crazily busy ^^;;)
Chapter Six: Ignoring the obvious
“Give me a try?” Juri smiled, pulling a spoon out from his pocket once they had walked out of the ice cream store, hand in hand.
Taiga only laughed, “Sure, it’s just vanilla, though.” He offered his cone to his friend so that Juri could take a scoop. “Do you carry around spoons all day as part of your job?” he joked as they made their way back to the park near Taiga’s house.
Juri grinned, “Well, I hoped you would come with me on my break this time, so I just grabbed one before we left.”
“You hoped I would come?” A soft pink brushed tinted Taiga’s cheeks, just then realizing that despite the many blocks they had now traveled, Juri still had yet to let go of his hand.
“Of course,” Juri nodded back, taking another spoonful of Taiga’s ice cream. “Besides, you’d be surprised that I don’t actually get to eat vanilla ice cream that often.”
Taiga tilted his head inquisitively. “Really? But isn’t it one of the most common flavors?”
“Maybe because it’s common... not many people order it anymore. Most people tend to go for the colorful, flashier flavors, the newer, fancier ones. Not that many people like the plain, traditional flavor of vanilla anymore.”
“That’s interesting...” Taiga answered slowly, trying to wrap his head around Juri’s words. “I wonder, what’s wrong with vanilla?”
Juri sighed gently, “I don’t know... I guess people themselves like being showy and all.”
Taiga frowned, “Can ice cream really tell you that much about the person who eats it?”
“You never know,” Juri shrugged.
“But then if you knew that most people like to order other flavors,” Taiga began hesitantly. “Why did you guess vanilla for me?”
Hearing Taiga’s words, Juri suddenly froze, unable to reply. His feet refused to take another step forward, forcing him to unwillingly let go of Taiga’s hand.
“Juri?”
Taiga halted as well, feeling the warmth of Juri’s fingers slip from his grasp. Turning back, he looked to Juri in wonderment.
Time stood still, barricaded by thin air; a composed silence hovered between them. But tension swirled in Taiga’s mind. He merely watched as a gentle breeze swept past, tousling Juri’s bangs, the younger boy’s eyes downcast and his gaze indecipherable.
Taiga only wished he could read Juri’s mind.
After what seemed a tormenting eternity, Juri finally sighed, murmuring softly. “When I first saw you... You felt different...” He paused, as if unsure of how to phrase his next words.
Juri took a deep breath before continuing. “You were like vanilla... because vanilla is... simply pure, and...” He lifted his eyes to meet Taiga’s gaze. “Beautiful.”
Taiga’s eyes widened, unwilling to believe his ears. “M-Me?” Beautiful...?
Juri nodded, the gentle smile returning to his lips. Inwardly, he prayed Taiga wouldn’t be able to feel his heart pounding, pulsating through his body. He yearned to tell Taiga the truth, the truth that he had just known from the first moment they had met.
“But it’s my turn to ask you a question,” he quickly changed the subject, taking a few steps forward so that the two of them could continue down the path. “The guy that always comes with you to the shore, are you... with him?”
“With?” Taiga blinked.
Juri scrunched his nose, trying to think of the right words. “With... like are you and him... together?”
Their two pairs of footsteps echoed emptily in the silence that followed Juri’s question. It wasn’t that Taiga didn’t immediately know the answer, since it was obvious that he and Hokuto were clearly just good friends. But what stopped Taiga from answering was the implication that was carried within Juri’s words.
Is he...
jealous?
He wants to know if I’m already... taken...
“Would it bother you if I said yes?” Taiga murmured finally, averting Juri’s troubled gaze.
“N-No, I was just wondering,” Juri answered quickly, forcing a light laugh.
Taiga could hear that this wasn’t his normal cheerful, comforting laughter.
He really does care...
“But we’re not,” Taiga soon corrected, not wanting Juri to lose hope in him. “Hokuto is just one of my closest friends from school.”
“Ah,” Juri nodded his understanding, trying to keep the smile of relief from curving his lips.
The peace between them restored, they continued strolling around the park once more, as Taiga finished eating the cone.
“So what about you?” he asked casually, stuffing his hands, now both free, into the pockets of his jeans. “Are you with anyone?” He tried to keep his voice as steady as possible, ignoring the image of Keigo Hagiya’s smile that had unwittingly popped into his head.
Juri shrugged, a playful smile illuminating his features. “Why? Would it bother you if I said yes?” he repeated back Taiga’s question.
Taiga felt the familiar blushing warmth invading his cheeks as he poked Juri’s side. “Just answer me,” he mumbled, not willing to admit his own curiosity.
“What if I am with someone? Would you not have come with me here just now?” Juri tested, attempting to feign indifference.
“...”
Taiga didn’t answer. He couldn’t.
“Well, I guess you’ll just have to find out the answer to your own question,” Juri shrugged, grinning mischievously. “But for now,” he continued, pulling Taiga’s hand into his grasp once more. “Try not to think about it.”
His smile gentled, as he squeezed Taiga’s fingers softly.
“Let me walk you home?” he offered hopefully.
Taiga pouted, annoyed that Juri would be unwilling to respond to his question. But he couldn’t help but return Juri’s clasp, softly holding onto his friend’s fingers once more. Even if he refused to give Taiga an answer, Taiga couldn’t help but follow along. He gave in to Juri’s teasing and softened at Juri’s touch.
He scorned himself for being so weak; he could only hope that Juri was holding out for him.
Juri’s just toying with me...
He can’t really be hiding something...
Can he?