You Make Me Beautiful (one-shot)
Title: You Make Me Beautiful
Author: novemberbaby86
Genre: Romance
Rating: General
Summary: A short moment in spring between the two lovebirds.
Disclaimer: I do not own them. You can just tell from Jun’s dork face that he belongs to Mao-chan.
Dedication: To all the wonderful writers and readers in this community. You guys never fail to amaze me with all the fabulous stories and encouraging comments! <3
Notes: It’s midterm examination period and I’m supposed to be writing this huge ridiculously long essay and studying for exams. But I can’t get my mind off the fabulous Maotsujun stories here and somehow I got bitten with the fic bug. This should be my shortest work so far.
Without further delay…
~~
It was a warm spring day, with the sun shining its brightest and the wind was gentle.
Inoue Mao sat on a park bench, reading the textbook for her Shakespearian course. It was a hard read, even if it was Romeo and Juliet, one of the most romantic and tragic stories she’d ever come across. Her eyes seemed to hurt as they traveled across the famous dialogues of the famous balcony scene. She shut her book and rubbed her sore neck and tired eyes. She had been reading for at least two hours.
Then she stretched her arms with a yawn. In the process of doing so, she spotted an elderly couple taking a stroll. The wife looked stunning in a purple kimono and Mao found herself staring at her. But she wasn’t the only one. The husband held onto his wife’s hand and grinned as he looked at her attire. “Misako-chan, you look lovely in your purple orchid kimono,” he said. “It’s the one that you wore on our first date.”
Misako, the wife, blushed. “You still remember?”
The husband beamed. “Of course! We went to a friend’s party and you were wearing this kimono. I thought to myself, ‘If she were my wife, I’d be the happiest man alive’. Fifty years later, I still have the same thought.”
The wife grinned and gave her husband a kiss on the cheek.
Upon hearing his words, Mao thought back to the time when she attended Director Ishii’s wedding in a kimono. That guy she was love with was also there and his eyes had lingered on her for quite a while. She wondered what he had been thinking at the time. Did he think of her as beautiful?
As she thought about this, the elderly couple walked past her, hand in hand, chatting happily.
It must be awesome to be married for fifty years. And for the husband to even remember what his wife wore on the first date is equally amazing.
Just then, a voice interrupted her thoughts. “Daydreaming again?”
She turned around and behind the bench stood her boyfriend, wearing a tight-fitted shirt and wearing a fedora hat. She used to think that only super male models could pull this look off, but that was before she met him.
“No, I was taking a break from reading,” she answered, taking hold of his hand and demanding that he sit with her.
Their intertwined hands rested on his lap as they sat there, enjoying the beautiful weather.
“Ne, do you think I look beautiful in a kimono?” she questioned, keeping her eyes on the elderly couple who was still nearby.
He contemplated her question for a moment. “You know, at Ishii-san’s wedding, everyone’s attention was on the bride. It’s expected, isn’t it? But for me, I couldn’t stop staring at you. I know that wasn’t the first time you’d put on a kimono, but there was just something about you that made me…”
“Made you what?” she probed. She could feel her heart thump faster and faster.
Please don’t tell me he thinks I look hideous in a kimono.
“Made me think about the fact that your beauty gives me a surprise every time I look at you.” It took him a while to get those words out of his mouth and she could tell when he looked slightly embarrassed.
Fact? My beauty is a fact?
She looked up at him with an adoring gaze. “So you do think I look beautiful in a kimono.”
He moved closer to kiss her lips. “You look beautiful in anything and everything.”
She turned away shyly but said, “I wonder if you’ll say the same thing fifty years from now.”
“Of course I will, but by then you will have heard me say it more than a million times. It’s a thought that will never change.”
She smiled as she wrapped her arms around him. She realized that perhaps Misako-san, the elderly wife, looked beautiful because her husband had showered her with affection. It was his love that made her beautiful.
“Thank you,” she whispered into his ear.
You make me feel beautiful and I’ll feel the same way fifty years from now. I’m sure of it.
~~
END.