[One-shot] All That You Need
Title: All That You Need
Author: shiroikazex
Group/pairing: Yabu/OC
Genre: Romance, fluff
Rating: G
Summary: Yabu doesn't get women, never did and never will. And that's where he comes to the realization his childhood best friend actually is a female and he had been doing wrong all along.
Disclaimer: Not mineee.
Notes: Requested by hikarinoniji :)
"Is that a dress?"
She sighed and tossed the navy blue fabric back into her closet.
"Yes, you, that is a dress. In case you don't remember, orientation dinner is in a month."
"But it's a dress!"
"What is your problem, Kota?" She placed her hands crossly on her hips. "So what if it's a dress?"
"I mean, in the 14 years I've known you, you have never, ever, ever worn a dress. Ever!" He threw up his hands to emphasize his point.
"Well I have to start somewhere!"
He shook his head in disbelief, still leaning against the door frame to her monotonous bedroom. Blacks and whites dominated the furniture, with a few specks of color from her soccer posters, but that was all.
"Who are you taking to the dinner, anyway, I heard there was a dance," she asked nonchalantly.
"I don't know, I haven't asked anyone. You know how I am with girls."
"Yeah, you don't need to remind me," she chuckled. "Well I pity all your potential suitors out there then, all one of them. The great Yabu Kota can't make up his mind."
"Who's the 'one of them'?" He asked, obviously failing to catch the joke. She rolled her eyes.
"Never mind."
"Well... I was thinking that... maybe we could go together. I mean, you're a girl."
She paused in the middle of stacking a few scatter issues of her soccer magazines.
"It took you 14 years to realize that I'm a girl?"
"Well--" he stumbled on his words, while his ears flushed red. "I didn't mean it that way--"
"I'm already going with someone," she answered quickly.
"Oh, who?"
"...Why do you need to know?"
He quickly caught her in a headlock.
"Come on, tell me!"
"Gerroff me, asshole! You'll see on that day!"
"But I want to know--ow"
She stood up smugly and smoothened down her soccer jersey, having elbowed him in the nuts a moment ago.
Yabu sat in the school library, quietly reading through his notes even though he had only been to a week of lectures so far. University had just started, and he ended up--yet again--in the same school as his best friend of 14 years. At least they were in different courses this time, though back in high school they didn't really stick to each other much. Over the years, their relationship had evolved to one of those which he felt comfortable around her even if they hadn't met in months.
And over the 14 years, he had honestly never seen her in anything remotely girly, unless her ponytail counted. Suddenly the university announced an orientation dinner, and while the rest of the girls in his tutorials and lectures were all fired up about how they were going to dress and whom they were going to take as dates, he had never expected her to be fussed. So it came as a huge shock when he ran into her shopping for make-up at the mall, and he relapsed into shock when he saw the navy blue tube dress she held in front of the mirror when he walked into her room earlier that week.
He had been counting on going with her to the dinner, given that he had never thought of actually asking a girl out before. He was married to soccer. She practically was too. Soccer was what brought them together in the first place, that fateful afternoon on the soccer field, where their 5 year old selves had met.
How could she be going with someone else? He wondered. She had always hung around guys more, sure, but they were all treated like bros and, as far as he knew, she had never harboured a crush on anyone. Unless--
"Excuse me."
Unless there was some guy who caught her eye now--
"Excuse me, Yabu-kun?"
A sweet voice snapped him out of his daze, and he looked up to see the gorgeous face of Inoo Aki--twin sister of Inoo Kei from the architecture department, both who were from the same high school that he went to.
"Oh, hey."
"Is anyone sitting here?" She pointed to the seat directly across him. He shook his head and she settled down, tossing her chestnut brown locks over her shoulder. "What were you thinking about?"
"Oh, well, I was wondering who to take to the orientation dinner--"
"I haven't got a date yet," she smiled.
"That's sad," he replied bluntly and watched a flicker of annoyance over her face. "I can't think of anyone to ask."
"Well... Since we both don't have dates yet, shall we go together?"
"What? Oh, alright, cool."
Her dazzling smile grew wider--had she always been this pretty?--and she looked down at her floral notebook, letting her silky hair fall to cover up the blush that he saw creeping up her cheeks.
For the first time in his life, Yabu Kota felt his heartbeat increase for reasons that were note adrenaline-induced.
Hikari considered herself lucky. Insanely lucky. But it didn't mean that it was bearable, the thought of never being able to charge down a field again, feeling the wind in her hair and the scent of fresh grass and mud in her nose.
There was a high chance of recovery, doctors had said, it would take a while until she could walk again and she might need a bit of physiotherapy, but no more strenuous exercise. No more running. No more soccer.
At least you aren't completely paralyzed.
Her dreams of someday making the university team disappeared in the seconds following her fall from the roof of her house, where she was mending a broken pipe. Just falling would have been alright, perhaps, but she rammed her spine against the balcony on her way down three storeys, and landed away from the shrubs below, on the gravel path that led up to the porch.
She remembered searing pain, and then nothingness, and then waking up in her hospital room with her mom hysterical with relief and the doctors coming in later with the good news and the bad news.
When Yabu came in his soccer uniform, after practice, she nearly killed him by flinging everything in sight at him, until the pain in her lower back reminded her that she wasn't supposed to move yet.
He was evacuated by the nurses who rushed in at the noise of glass against concrete, and once he was out of sight, she burst into tears.
"I was thinking, we should go get outfits that match for dinner--"
"Sorry, Aki, I have to go to the hospital today."
"Why?" She looked concerned. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, but my friend took a pretty bad fall and is in hospital now so I guess I should visit her."
"Oh dear... I'll go with you then. We can go out after that."
"Um... I was actually thinking of spending the afternoon there. Sorry, I'll call you some other day, alright?"
"I--Okay."
"Cool," he grinned and jogged towards his motorcycle, chased by her flaming gaze.
"Yo."
She looked up from the lesson materials that her classmates have brought her and nodded for him to sit. He took the chair beside her bed and glanced over the things on her make-shift table.
"You can bend your back now?"
"A little, the doctors are fine with that at least. I'm sorry for nearly killing you the other day."
"It's okay, it's not like you haven't attempted that before."
She rolled her eyes.
"Besides," he pulled out a small slice of strawberry cheesecake from his bag--her favourite--and placed it on her bedside table. "I didn't know you weren't allowed on the field anymore, so I brought it upon myself."
At the mention of the sport, her eyes darken. He sensed the change in her mood and took her hand gently.
"You'll be fine."
"I won't," she whispered back. "It's the first time I've been so, so, so terrified. What am I without soccer?"
"A ton of things. Brilliant things. You'll be fine."
"I... I don't know."
Seeing her so vulnerable and lost, ignited something in him. She had always been tough, too tough for most of the guys in school to pursue. She never broke in front of people, and dealt with anything that came her way with a fierce disposition and occasionally with her fist. And now--suddenly--she was reduced to a crumpled heap in an overly clean hospital room, with the love of her life taken from her.
He squeezed her shoulder.
"When are you gonna be discharged?"
"In about a month, I suppose. I'll have to continue physiotherapy after that if I want to remotely walk again."
"But... you'll miss the dinner!"
"Who cares?" She shrieked again, followed by a rapid deflation to her crumbled state. "Sorry. I can't go then."
"You'll let your date down."
"Yeah, about that..."
"I'm going with Inoo by the way."
"Kei?" She raised a questioning eyebrow. "Wait, Kota, are you--"
"No! I meant his sister!"
"Oh, right," she barked out a laugh. "You caught me off guard for a moment there. Wait--Aki? That dolly girl?"
"Yeah, her. She asked me so I just said yes."
"Oh. That's um, cool. I guess. She's really pretty."
"She is. But now that you can't go, I don't feel like going either."
"You'll let your date down, and you definitely do not want to let a pretty girl like Aki down."
Yabu shrugged.
"I wanted to go with you at first anyway."
She suddenly looked him in the eye.
"Kota, about that..."
There came a knock on the door that very instant, and the nurse walked in a little apologetically. Yabu drew his hand back.
"Miss, it's time for your check-up..."
"Sure, thank you."
Yabu picked up his bag to leave.
"I'll be back later then."
"No, don't, I mean, go call up Aki. You had better hang out with her more."
Yabu narrowed his eyes.
"You're acting weird."
"I'm tired, that's all," she smiled weakly. "See ya."
"So I told her I'm not going--"
"You're insane," she laughed, but there is a strange tinge of relief to it. "You dumped Inoo Aki. Which guy in the right of mind would do that?"
"She's pretty and all but... I don't feel anything special."
"Fair enough. Oh, did you know, I can stand up now."
To prove her point, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed with dexterity that almost matched a normal person's, and got up on her feet slowly, holding on to the railings on the bed. He smiled and let her clutch on to his arm for support, just in case.
"That's great!"
"It's still a little difficult to walk though. To think that I had wanted to totally dance up a storm at the dinner..."
"We can do that here."
She laughed.
"You are insane. I can barely walk."
"I'll guide you!" He slid a hand around her waist to support her. "Like that, see?"
It wasn't that they had never been in close physical proximity before. They had gotten into physical fights when they were younger and those got pretty rough. Perhaps it was her fragility. Perhaps it was the way her lips were parted in laughter, or the pink tinge on her cheeks from exerting herself to stand up.
He suddenly found it impossible to speak, or think, for that matter.
"Kota, I need to tell you something."
He suddenly panicked.
"W-What?"
"I didn't actually have a date for the dinner."
"What?! I got elbowed in the nuts for nothing?!"
She burst out laughing again.
"Sort of, I guess. I was angry that you only just realized that I'm a girl, so I said that to make you actually have to ask someone else out."
"Which didn't happen in the end because someone asked me."
"Yes."
"Well... at least now we're both free," he said quietly. "You free on that night?"
"...Where else can I be, you idiot?"
It was a strange, strange evening indeed. They waltzed around to music that was playing from his phone, stopping every few songs for her to sit down and rest, forehead shining with sweat, but he had fun.
More than fun, he guessed, because he felt the atmosphere change from something friendly and careless into something heavier, something more significant. He couldn't quite place it.
"I guess I totally wasted the dress..." she chuckled during one of her breaks. "I rented it specially for the dinner."
"You can wear it out after the dinner. It's not that formal."
She shook her head.
"Nah, it's not me."
"I think it'll look good on you, really."
"You're mocking me," she narrowed her eyes at him.
"No, I'm being honest. I really think you'll look pretty in a dress, Hikari."
"...Thanks."
"Ready for another dance?" He held out his hand for her to take, and she got up gingerly to her feet, stumbling in a little so she fell right into his arms.
"Oops..."
As if it was a reflex, he tightened his arm around her back, locking her tight against him.
"This is actually kind of comfortable," she mumbled while leaning against his chest.
He heard his heart pounding in his ears, and he prayed that she couldn't feel it ramming against his chest. When did he get so nervous around her?
Her fingers curled around his, and suddenly he knew what this was turning into, with the scent of her shampooed hair and the warmth from her body on his.
When Yabu visited her the day she was about to be discharged, he walked in on her lying fast asleep. He set his school bag on the floor and took his usual seat. She had always been a heavy sleeper, so she didn't notice his arrival.
The heat of the summer afternoon sun was blocked out almost entirely, and only the light shone through to illuminate the room. Rays fell on her sleeping face, peaceful and relaxed, highlighting the best of her features. He took in her sharp nose and equally sharp jawline, her long, dense lashes and finally her lips.
It was a snap decision, like all the others he ever made. He would wonder later on what pushed him on to do it, but he did it anyway without much of a second thought.
Hikari awoke before dinner from a confusing dream, where Yabu had leaned over and... kissed her.
She looked over to the fresh daises on her nightstand, and then she wasn't so sure if she had been dreaming at all.
"Is this a dress?"
"Y-Yeah?" He responded with a sheepish scratch to the back of his head.
"When I agreed to go catch that movie with you, I didn't expect this to happen."
"Just put it on, you were sad that you couldn't wear the blue one to dinner right?"
"But this is a sun dress," she whined as if she was being forced to swallow a rat alive--on second thoughts, she would probably have done that with less of a fight than to put on a girly dress. "It's yellow and floral."
"So? I told you you'll look pretty it in. I'm giving you 15 minutes to change, and then I'm leaving even if you aren't done."
"Wait--"
"15 minutes!"
He excused himself before she could catch his reddened face.
She tugged at the fabric with much uncertainty, and threw on a cropped blazer for good measures. Spaghetti straps needed a little getting used to. Sure she was giving being a girl a test drive, but she had her limits. Sighing, she took one last look at the now empty walls of her room, devoid of her previous soccer posters, then made her way down the stairs slowly and out to the yard where he had parked his motorcycle.
He raised his visor as she stepped out, and suddenly she grew self conscious of her body in the dress.
"How did you know my size anyway?"
"I asked your mom. It looks great."
"T-Thanks."
She got on her usual seat behind him, and wrapped her arms around his torso, perhaps a little more hesistantly than usual.
"Ready?"
"Mm."
They were savouring soft serves by Tokyo Bay when she decided that she couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Kota, I wanted to ask--"
"What?"
"That day before I got discharged... Did you... Did you, like, um..."
And the change that occured on his face could only be described as epic. His eyes widened and his ears turned tomato red.
"W-What? I didn't kiss you if that's what you're asking."
She tried stifling her laugh, but it failed.
"Oh god, you're a horrible liar."
He waited for her laughter to die out, but he just couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye anymore.
"Kota..."
"I'm sorry, I don't know why I did that."
She slipped her fingers between his again, naturally, swiftly, and squeezed it lightly.
"Look up."
"Why?"
"Just do it."
He did, and he managed to catch a glimpse of her face all red with her eyes closed before fireworks exploded in his line of sight as she pressed her lips--cool and sweet from the ice cream--to his again.
She pulled back before he could react, and dropped her gaze. Her hair fell into her face to hide her already prominent blush.
"Wow," he could only say, and reached out to brush the locks behind her ear. "Wow."
"That's all you can say?"
"You look beautiful today. And I think I really hate myself for taking so long to realize that you are a girl."
She believed him, and with a light chuckle, leaned her head against his shoulder.
"I think I love you."
"...I know I do."
~END~