Chocolate fic for literarylemming
To: literarylemming
From: cupid_johnny
Title: That Which You Gave to Me
Pairing: Ninomiya Kazunari/Yoshitaka Yuriko
Rating: PG
Summary: It all begins on the steps of the university library.
A/N: Dear literarylemming, I apologize if this all seems rushed. My muses didn’t come to me until the last two weeks. I do hope you’ll like this, nevertheless.
Lovely thanks for my beta, C, for knocking some sense into me in the times I needed it. ♥
The steps of the university library had become his hangout ever since he came to university, his secret base, so to speak. He was a freshman, carrying his guitar, looking someplace quiet to hang out. The cafeteria is already too crowded, and the benches in the campus are full of shallow jocks or couples making out without a care in the world. His hideout has to be someplace quiet, someplace where only he can hang out.
It was when he was about to meet his friends for a gig in the university café when he found it, by the steps of the university library. Well, the old one, since the university was building a newer and bigger one by the Social Studies Building. When he sat on the steps and leaned against the pillar, strumming his guitar and taking in the semi-quiet of the campus, he knew this was the place. His secret base.
He’s in his junior year of university now, and things have changed. He and his band are now regulars in the university café, performing on Fridays and getting a good following among schoolmates and non-university people alike. Nino has taken a liking to writing songs for the band, his angst-ridden ones being crowd favorites. His studies are okay, and he’s already confident that he’s going to get a job in that production company one of his classmates had introduced him to.
Today’s a particularly ordinary day when he goes to his secret base after class, guitar in hand, as usual. The first signs of snow are already starting to fall down the school grounds, and Nino quickens his pace, wanting nothing more but to get to his hideout. He has a melody stuck in his head, begging to be played, another source for a future sad song that they can play in the café.
Today, though, he finds his secret base already occupied by someone. Someone who’s obviously not him.
He recognizes her, the bespectacled girl wearing a floral dress too thin for winter, sitting on his favorite spot, reading a book about pianos. Yoshitaka-something. He remembers sitting next to her in communication theory class last semester, though they rarely carried on a conversation that is more than a sentence. He remembers he hangs out with Riisa and the girls from the theater club; he has watched tons of plays by the theater club, but he never really noticed her, always outshone by her more outgoing group of friends.
But that isn’t really important to him at the moment. What’s bothering him right now is the fact that his favorite hideout has been occupied by someone else.
He clears his throat, causing Yoshitaka to look up, her eyes brightening in recognition. “Hey, excuse me,” he starts. “I kind of hang out here.”
“Oh.” Yoshitaka hastily stands up, almost dropping her book. She gives him a sheepish smile as she starts to pack her bag. “I’m sorry, I-I was kind of looking for someplace to hangout too, and this was … perfect. So, I thought-”
Nino feels some sort of tug in his chest. He recognizes that tug as a similar feeling whenever Aiba would give him puppy dog eyes and get dragged along to another matchmaking party. Yoshitaka’s looking for a hideaway place, too. It wouldn’t be so bad to share, wouldn’t it?
“Hey,” he says, before Yoshitaka can even take a step. When she looks at him curiously, he continues, “You can, uh, stay here, I guess, as long as you don’t bother me or anything …”
“Are you sure?” Yoshitaka asks with a frown. “You might be the type who’s into their privacy …”
Nino is, and he doesn’t know why he’s actually agreeing to share his secret base with someone he barely knows outside the classroom. “Yeah, I’m sure,” he says, smiling for emphasis, not really sure what he had gotten himself into.
Yoshitaka shows up the next day with her usual book. She gives Nino a curt nod and a small smile before settling a good distance from him. Nino gives an equally curt greeting in return and goes back to his guitar. It goes on like that for days, both in silence and minding their own business. Nino doesn’t have anything to complain about Yoshitaka, and he’s not hearing complaints from Yoshitaka either, so he guesses this silent companionship isn’t so bad.
They start talking in the next couple of weeks, when Professor Kimura pairs them up for a project. He lets Yoshitaka take the lead, not much for delegating stuff himself. Yoshitaka gives him a long look when he practically throws the reins to her, but she gives this resigned sigh and takes the lead. To his surprise, Yuriko knows how to play by his strengths and combine it with hers. The next thing he knows is that they both ace the project, and Nino asks her to dinner, on him.
He doesn’t want it to look like a date or anything, but he feels generous, so he brings Yoshitaka to this restaurant that he remembers Sho raving about after he and Maki went there for their date. Yoshitaka brightens up as she eats her pasta and cake, so he figures he did a right job.
They start talking and learning a bit about each other since then. He learns that Yoshitaka handles props in the theater club, where she and Riisa are in. She boasts about that wizard contraption she helped build for the Wicked production last year, and he remembers being amazed by it when he and his ex-girlfriend went to watch it. He tells Yoshitaka about being in the music club, and eventually forming a band with Aiba, Ohno, Jun, and Sho.
“We play in the university café every Friday night,” Nino tells her. “Do you wanna drop by and watch?”
Yoshitaka promises she will.
It’s already late when they get out of the restaurant, and Nino offers to walk Yoshitaka home. It’s her mother who opens the door, and she gives a smirk that unsettles Nino before thanking him for taking care of her daughter. Nino shakes his head, tells him it’s what a guy should do, anyway, before taking his leave.
Friday night is Nino’s favorite day of the week. Friday nights are all about forgetting the demands of schoolwork and more about nursing his need to strum and sing his worries away. So after flinging his books in the dorm he shares with Sho, Nino rushes to the university café, where his band mates are already setting up the stage. This Friday night is no different. Nino greets Takki, the student manager for the café, then hops his way on the stage, where Ohno is already performing a mic check.
“Hey, Nino!” Sho calls as he approaches, a knowing grin on his face. “Looks like you have a fan tonight.”
“I always have fans,” Nino says with a shrug.
“Not one that stands out, though.” Sho cocks his head to the side of the audience, asking Nino to take a look.
Nino’s not exactly sure what he’s expecting, but it’s definitely not Yoshitaka in a golden jacket with his name on the breastplate. She’s talking to Riisa, who’s flailing all over a crazy story that she’s enthusiastically telling. They meet gazes, and Yuriko gives him a shy wave.
“Is that Yuriko-chan?” Aiba asks, clapping gleefully when he recognizes the girl in the audience. “I can’t believe it! Nino-chan, did you pay her to come?”
“Of course, he didn’t, Yuriko-san has liked Nino for a long time now.” Jun comes out and hits Aiba’s head with a paper fan.
Nino almost drops his guitar. “Wait-what?”
“Okay, we’re all set! Standby, everybody!”
It’s not really a surprise, Nino thinks. When you’re in a band, you’re always bound to have some admirers. Nino doesn’t discount the fact that Yoshitaka can harbor feelings for him, and he’s totally cool with it, as long as she isn’t the creepy type. (And maybe if she stops wearing that gold jacket with his name.)
Ohno greets the crowd in his usual sleepy tone, and the crowd answers with a round of applause. “Today we’ll be playing a new song, written, as usual, by our very own Nino-chan,” he adds.
Nino raises his hand in recognition, grinning at the applause that follows. He and Yoshitaka share gazes, and this time, he doesn’t notice her jacket that looks like a reject from the AKB48 costume department.
For the first time, Nino finds her eyes and her smile pretty.
Get it together, Ninomiya. Nino mentally shakes his head and starts playing the guitar, trying to get the image of Yoshitaka’s eyes and her smile out of his mind.
Yoshitaka is waiting for him when the show is over and they’re packing up. He can tell; she’s talking to Riisa, but she keeps stealing glances at his direction every now and then. Jun and Aiba nudge him forwards with a knowing smirk, and Riisa takes it as a sign to bid her best friend goodbye.
“Nice jacket,” he ends up saying, and he ends up mentally kicking himself for it. He doesn't think the jacket is nice; he's just being polite.
Yoshitaka laughs and ends up taking off the jacket, and Nino sighs in relief when he sees she’s wearing a plain, white shirt. “It got your attention, didn't it?” she asks.
“Was that the purpose, because, yeah, it did.”
She gives him a thumbs-up. “Mission accomplished! Come on, walk me home.”
Yoshitaka makes no mention of him liking her, so Nino thinks it was just one of the weird things Yoshitaka likes to do, so he doesn't prod, just does the usual walking home and greeting her mom and making his way home.
“I like you,” Yoshitaka tells him the week after. They're back in the secret base, but the distance between them is close to nonexistent now. Ever since the pair project they both find it convenient to consult each other on homework instead of doing it on their own.
Nino recalls what Jun said the week before. He bites his bottom lip and tries to look as regretful as possible. “I'm sorry,” he says. “I'm not really looking for a relationship right now.”
“Oh.” Yoshitaka's face is blank, and Nino thinks a deadpan expression is worse than a crying one. Nino is about to dare to ask about her reaction when she shrugs. “Okay. Friends is fine.”
Nino blinks. “Okay …? Really? You’re not gonna cry or anything?”
“I'd cry and ignore you for the rest of my life, but ...” Yoshitaka shrugs again. “You're a friend, Ninomiya-kun. Not a close friend, but you're too good to lose because of a love confession.”
Nino opens his mouth to say something, but he's not exactly sure what he's going to say. One thing's for sure, though, is that Yoshitaka is different from all the other girls he knows, and he guesses it's a good thing. He likes different.
And he likes Yoshitaka, too.
But he's never going to admit that.
They don’t talk about that confession afterwards. But Yoshitaka hangs out in their secret base, as usual, and they talk like usual. This puzzled Nino at first, but he eventually feels relieved that a rejection didn’t push her away. He’s not going to admit that the secret base now feels empty without her.
Yoshitaka starts becoming a regular in the university café every Friday night. She still wears that jacket, more of out of teasing than anything else. And while Nino thinks it needs to be burned, his gaze can’t help but gravitate towards her direction whenever they perform. It’s not the jacket, really, but he really can’t explain what it is. He tries to look at everyone else in the room, but his gaze will always come back to Yoshitaka.
And then he starts walking her home every night. Course requirements force them to stay in the university longer than usual, and while Yoshitaka tells him it isn’t necessary, Nino’s able to sleep at night knowing she has gotten home safe, with her mother making this creepy smile at his direction before saying thank you and closing the door.
“You two make a cute couple, you know that?” Ohno tells him while they’re having lunch in the university cafeteria. It’s already February, the last of the snow starting to melt, to usher spring.
Nino looks out at the school grounds, wondering if he can skip production class to catch up on sleep. “I do not know what you’re talking about,” he replies.
Ohno chuckles and doesn’t even protest when Nino steals a celery stick from his plate. “You obviously like her, too,” he continues. “Why don’t you just go out with her?”
“I told you, Oh-chan, I don’t want to do this whole dating thing.”
“She’s not going to be like your ex-girlfriend, you know.”
“How can you be so sure?” Nino stabs his hamburger a little too forcefully, causing a freshman passing by to squirm and walk a bit more quickly.
Ohno sighs and changes the subject, much to his relief.
The semester is almost over, and they stop hanging out in the secret base for academic priorities. Nino spends his study time with Jun and Aiba, while Yoshitaka is most likely studying with Riisa. Still, they keep in touch through text or e-mail, just in case they need each other’s opinion on a certain subject term. Yoshitaka sends a lot of smileys and unnecessary LINE stickers, and Nino responds by sending equally random emoticons and stickers. It’s just the stress-relief method they need from the requirements needed to be finished.
And then Katori-sensei gives them a last-minute requirement on the last day of the semester: a video project about someone doing a monologue. Nino is already hanging out in the secret base after so long when he receives the e-mail, and he groans, burying his face in his hands. He thinks about the final exams he needs to take, and based on that, he knows he has to finish this final requirement by tomorrow, post-editing and all.
“Hey, you look terrible.”
When Nino looks up, Yoshitaka is gazing at him, looking sympathetic. She looks haggard, dark circles under her eyes and all, but she looks more rested than Nino now. “Hey, you’re still alive,” he says, sighing.
“I take you’re still not done with your requirements?” Yoshitaka asks, sitting beside him.
“Katori-sensei assigned us this last-minute project,” Nino groans.
“Ahhhh,” Yoshitaka nods in understanding. “He tends to do that a lot, Katori-sensei. What kind of project?”
“A video about someone doing a monologue. I don’t even know who will be willing to be video-ed doing a monologue-”
“I can.”
Yoshitaka looks serious when Nino gapes at her. He blinks rapidly. “Really?” he says.
“Yeah, really.” Yoshitaka nods, a smile playing on her lips. “I’m in the theater club, I can do monologues and stuff. Besides, I’m done with all my requirements now.”
“Uh, lucky you.” Nino huffs, wishing that his own requirements can be finished right now. “Well, thanks for volunteering. We can, uh, start immediately if you want. I have my video camera with me, and I think we can just film here.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” Yoshitaka says. “I already have a monologue in mind. Do you mind if I get the script first in the club room?”
“Go ahead.”
As Yoshitaka scampers off, Nino can’t believe his luck. Maybe this is going to be easy.
It’s already half an hour, and Yoshitaka hasn’t returned. Nino sends a text that he hopes doesn’t look like he’s getting impatient, and Yoshitaka responds with an apology, saying that Riisa has dragged her into hair and makeup to get her more “in the role.” Nino doesn’t even want to question that, seeing as it’s Yoshitaka who already volunteered to get his project done.
“Sorry, I’m late!”
Nino isn’t really expecting to see anything when he turns around. But when he does, he almost doesn’t recognize Yoshitaka. To be fair, she isn’t wearing glasses, and her hair is flowing instead of being put up in a ponytail. And she’s now wearing this long, white, sleeveless dress and a flower crown.
Nino realizes he stopped breathing at that point.
“Everything okay?” she asks, looking concerned.
By this time Yoshitaka has gotten a bit closer and Nino has started to breathe. “Yeah,” he says, voice shaky. “Yeah I’m okay.” He clears his throat, telling himself to get it together. “So, uh, what are you supposed to be monologue-ing?”
“I’ll be Clytemnestra from this play called Agamemnon,” she says, playing with the hem of her dress. “Riisa wants me to go for this Greek muse look. Do I look okay?”
“Yeah, you’re beautiful.” The words leave Nino’s mouth before he can stop himself and he slaps a hand to his mouth, the beginnings of a blush starting to form on his cheeks. That wasn’t supposed to be said. Out loud.
Yoshitaka gazes at him for a long time, eyes also widening, mouth hanging wide open. But then before Nino can say something for damage control, she shakes her head, “Stop it, you. You might get my hopes up.”
“What?” Nino asks, but Yoshitaka waves him off and asks him to start.
Somehow, at the back of his mind, he already knows what Yoshitaka meant.
Nino decides to shoots at the library steps instead, since the lighting looks brilliant when the sun’s about to set, and the rays of light cast shadows on Yoshitaka that makes her look ethereal. He tries to breathe as he takes his shots and focuses on the task at hand. He has to pass this, and there’s no time and room for error.
And then he notices the way Yoshitaka acts. He’s no expert at theater, but he does know how to distinguish a good actor from a bad one. And as he films her, Nino can tell that Yoshitaka’s good, no, brilliant. As good as all the people in theater club.
“All good?” Yoshitaka is eyeing him with concern, an indication that she had just finished.
“Yeah …” Nino replies, out of breath once more. “Yeah, you did great.”
Nino turns in his final project on time, and he thinks he did a great job before Katori-sensei is smiling at the end of the video presentation. As soon as he’s free of every final requirement, he calls Yoshitaka to tell him the good news and asks if she wants to go out for dinner. Yoshitaka’s hanging out at home, but she says yes.
Nino drops by Yoshitaka’s home to pick her up, and instead, it’s her mother who opens the door, greeting him with that creepy smile of hers and dragging him inside for dinner. He almost laughs as Yoshitaka protests, “Mom, you’re embarrassing me,” but he decides to stay over instead.
Mrs. Yoshitaka makes them sukiyaki and heads upstairs, saying something about getting laundry done. Yoshitaka rolls her eyes before starting to eat. The silence is comfortable, but Nino thinks he should fill up the silence with something, anything …
“You were really great,” he says. When Yoshitaka looks at him curiously, he continues, “In acting, I mean.”
She smiles sheepishly, staring down at her food. “Thanks. I’m in the theater club, after all.”
“But in the props department,” Nino points out. “I’m not kidding, Yoshitaka-san. You have potential to be an actress. Why stay backstage and make props?”
Yoshitaka is silent for a moment, picking at her food, and Nino doesn’t force an answer out of her.
Nino helps clear the table and wash the dishes, after which Yoshitaka gives him a can of beer. They sit on the living room and watch television, about a variety show that does ridiculous stuff, but it’s Yoshitaka who’s in charge of the remote, so he doesn’t complain.
“I used to act,” Yoshitaka says as she lowers the volume, and Nino turns to look at her, urging her to go on. “Since grade school. I was given this role as a tree in first grade, and since then, I couldn’t stop acting.” She chuckles. “I joined the theater club, took on a few minor roles, and I was happy.”
“You never took on lead roles?” Nino asks.
“I did,” Yoshitaka says, grinning fondly at the memory. “But I usually took on supporting roles. I don’t know, being the lead is okay, but I guess I didn’t feel the character?
“But there was this one role in senior high school that I really like, so much I fought for it in auditions. And I got it. And I want to do this character justice so much that I practiced, I method acted, that sort of stuff.”
“Then what happened?”
“I pressured myself so much that I choked,” Yoshitaka says with a sigh. “I stepped out of the stage and choked. It was so embarrassing. After that, I can never get up on stage.”
“But you did fine when I filmed you yesterday,” Nino points out. “Ever considered going back?”
“No!” Yoshitaka bursts out, and then she covers her mouth, embarrassed. “I mean, I don’t think I can just yet. And when you were filming me, I … I don’t know.” She sighs. “I guess I can act when there aren’t much people to watch.”
“You can act through film, that’s a good starting point,” Nino says. “People won’t be watching you until they see the final product.”
Yoshitaka stares at him. “Suddenly you care so much,” she says with a grin.
“Hey, I’m your friend, after all.”
He thinks Yoshitaka may have been disappointed with the answer, but she doesn’t show it. She does scoot closer to him until their shoulders are bumping, and she says, “I’ll think about it.”
He nods, refusing to move away.
By the start of the senior year, Nino makes it a habit of bringing his video camera. Yoshitaka protests whenever he turns it on to film her in the university steps, but day by day she had grown accustomed to it. Soon, she brings in scripts or novels and recites some lines, and Nino really thinks she’s amazing.
One day, Riisa runs into them while Yoshitaka is reciting something from a Victor Hugo novel. They only notice after Yoshitaka utters the last line. Riisa’s motub is open, jaw dropping, eyes bugging out. Yoshitaka looks frozen in place, like a deep, dark secret had gotten out.
“Uh, it’s not what you think!” Nino says, though whatever he thinks Riisa is thinking is beyond him.
“Oh my god,” Riisa breathes as she takes a step up. “Yuriko-chan, oh my god, I didn’t know you can act so well!”
Yoshitaka gulps, looking like she’s about to shrink. “I’m not exactly-”
“Why don’t you audition?” Riisa says, hands on Yoshitaka’s shoulders, shaking her fervently. “We’re preparing for our season opener, and I think you’ll be a great part of the cast!”
“Riisa-chan, I-”
“Great!” Riisa steps back, looking pleased with herself. “I’m not taking no for an answer. Auditions are tomorrow. See you!”
Nino watches Riisa skip away, looking like she had just won the lottery. He hears a groan, and when he looks, Yoshitaka had sat down, face buried in her hands. “I can’t do this,” she says, shaking her head. “I just can’t.”
“Why not?” Nino asks as he sits down and scoots next to her. “You’re totally getting used to acting again. You should give it a try.”
“Yeah, but this is different.” Yoshitaka groans again. “We’re not talking about being in front of a camera; we’re talking about a stage with people ready to judge my every move. I can’t do this. I have a crippling stage fright!”
“Hey, look at me.”
Yoshitaka looks up, and Nino gulps, his heart skipping a beat. She’s so close, and her eyes are prettier up close …
He mentally shakes his head. This is not the time.
“Are you gonna make a cheesy speech to get me to audition?”
Nino rolls his eyes. “Look,” he says, serious. “You can do it. I know you can. I can be there in the audition, if you want.”
“What, like a stage that?” Yoshitaka laughs, but Nino’s relieved that she looks less anxious now.
Unfortunately, Nino isn’t allowed inside the audition room, so he takes Yoshitaka’s hand and squeezes it extra hard before she goes inside. “Good luck,” he says with a reassuring smile.
To his relief, Yoshitaka smiles back before disappearing inside.
Riisa is smirking at him while he takes a seat at the nearby bench. “What?” he asks suspiciously.
“You’re so stupid, you know that?”
“I …” Nino is about to protest, but somewhere, at the back of his mind, he knows what she means. “I know. I think.”
“Not everyone will try to get over a stage fright just because the person they like tells them to,” Riisa continues. “She’s not doing this for you, of course, but you get my point, right?”
He knows that, too, and before he can agree, Yoshitaka closes the door, seemingly shaking. “You okay?” he asks, concerned.
She is close to hyperventilating, but finally, she breathes out and breaks into a huge smile.
“I got in!”
Rehearsals take up most of Yoshitaka’s time since then, and Nino rarely sees her. He gets tons of apologies on his cell phone, but Nino totally understands. This is what Yoshitaka needs to get back to what she loves doing best, and he doesn’t want to be a bother.
But the secret base is not the same. It had been his hideout ever since freshman year, but Yoshitaka had been hanging out with him for so long that it isn’t the same to be alone anymore. So he ditches the secret base and hangs out with everyone else he knows.
And then one Friday night, he sees her, but the her he had been grudging to see. They lock gazes, and Nino hopes his smile didn’t come off as a grimace. In return, she looks up from her drink and smiles back.
He approaches her as soon as the band is done packing up. “Hey,” he greets. “Long time no see.”
“Same to you,” she says as she shoulders her bag. “How are you, Kazu?”
“Great.” He puts a hand to his head, awkwardness taking over. “How about you? How’s, uh, art school?”
“Great,” she echoes, shuffling her feet.
It’s all silence. They haven’t met since the breakup, and it all feels awkward.
“So,” he says, “what brings you here?”
“I’m moving,” she says. “To Australia. My flight’s tomorrow, and I just wanna say goodbye.”
He remembers her talking about Australia nonstop, about surfing its beaches and exploring the dunes. In actuality, he’s still happy for her. “Congratulations,” he says, and his smile is genuine. “Have a safe flight.”
Her smile relaxes. “Thanks. Good luck to you, Kazu.”
They hug for the last time, and Nino doesn’t see her out. He doesn’t feel so sad anymore about losing her. And now, he isn’t so afraid to take a chance at love again.
“Are you okay?” Aiba asks him, concerned.
“Yeah,” he replies, and he’s telling the truth this time. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
A month or two pass by quickly, and the next thing he knows, the theater club’s play is opening. Nino’s dressed a little too formally, a ticket and a playbill in hand, probably as nervous as the theater club, as nervous as Yoshitaka, who will be performing onstage after so long.
Ohno is beside him, browsing through the playbill with awe. “Who would have known Yuriko-chan can act, huh?”
“She’s going to be great,” Nino says, and he’s sure of it.
Suddenly, he hears someone calling his name, and when he turns around, Riisa is running towards him, panic-stricken. “We need your help,” she says when she stops, catching her breath. “It’s Yuriko-chan.”
The next thing Nino knows is that he’s backstage, in Yoshitaka’s dressing room. The room is open, but the closet is locked. He knocks cautiously. “Yoshitaka?” he calls.
“Go away,” he hears her mumble from inside.
“Yoshitaka,” he repeats. “This is your first show. Your comeback.”
“I know,” she says. “But every time I think of the crowd, I get a heart attack and I want to throw up. I don’t think I can do this.”
“You wouldn’t know until you try. Open the door, Yoshitaka. I’m going to give you a cheesy speech to get you out there. Riisa’s going to kill me if I don’t.”
Nothing happens, and Nino’s heart sinks. But then he hears a soft creak, and Yoshitaka steps out, face pale despite the makeup. “Knock yourself out,” she says. “Give me that cheesy speech. No promises it will work.”
Nino wants to roll his eyes, but there’s no time for sarcasm. He takes Yoshitaka’s hand in his. “I actually don’t have a cheesy speech prepared,” he admits. “But if it helps, I’ll be backstage. And when you’re out there, just pretend it’s just you and me and the camera, okay? No audiences. Just me and my camera.”
Yuriko looks at him, and he can slowly see that she’s starting to relax, just a bit. Finally, she takes a deep breath. “Okay.”
Nino squeezes her hand, for good measure. “Good. Now, break a leg.”
Yoshitaka makes this nervous laugh, but she doesn’t protest anymore when Riisa ushers her out.
He ends up sitting backstage. Yoshitaka looks jittery before her first scene, so Nino calls her and pretends that he’s holding his video camera. She seems to laugh at this.
He hears murmurs of approval as soon as Yoshitaka steps on stage, and he feels his chest swelling. Now everyone feels what he felt when he first saw her act. Now everyone will get to see how amazing Yoshitaka is. But, deep inside, Yoshitaka is already beyond amazing.
He cheers in the sidelines as the cast gathers onstage for the curtain call, cheers louder when Yoshitaka steps forward. The cast goes wild as soon as the curtains go down, jumping and cheering and hugging each other for a great first show.
The next thing he knows is that Yoshitaka is running and throwing her arms around him, and Nino is laughing and hugging back and then leaning in …
Yoshitaka’s lips are warn, and she stiffens at the contact. Nino thinks he screwed up, and he pulls away. “I …” he begins, his face growing warm. “I can explain.”
“Since when?” she asks, looking hopeful.
“Um … I don’t know … Since you dropped by my private space in campus …”
“Oh my god, finally!” Yoshitaka pulls him in for another kiss, and Nino can’t bring himself to complain.
Nino thinks he knows relationships, having been in one already, but in truth it feels like starting from scratch. Yoshitaka … no, Yuriko will never be the same as his ex, and he still has a lot to learn about her and about them. Just the thought about being new to this again gives this weird feeling of excitement.
“Dude,” Jun calls him, grinning as they pack up after another Friday night is over. “Your girlfriend’s here.”
Nino looks to the direction of the audience, and he can’t help but smile giddily and ignore the retching noises Sho is making. Yuriko’s there, still wearing that golden jacket, and Nino thinks he really likes her because he’s starting to like that jacket, too.
“You did great,” Yuriko coos as he wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.
“Only the best for you,” he replies with a wink.
“Should we tell sensei to close up the bar now to leave you two alone?” Sho hollers from the other side. “I get enough of this in the dorm already.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Nino says, although he really isn’t. Yuriko just sticks her tongue out at them.
It’s great to be in love again.
From: cupid_johnny
Title: That Which You Gave to Me
Pairing: Ninomiya Kazunari/Yoshitaka Yuriko
Rating: PG
Summary: It all begins on the steps of the university library.
A/N: Dear literarylemming, I apologize if this all seems rushed. My muses didn’t come to me until the last two weeks. I do hope you’ll like this, nevertheless.
Lovely thanks for my beta, C, for knocking some sense into me in the times I needed it. ♥
The steps of the university library had become his hangout ever since he came to university, his secret base, so to speak. He was a freshman, carrying his guitar, looking someplace quiet to hang out. The cafeteria is already too crowded, and the benches in the campus are full of shallow jocks or couples making out without a care in the world. His hideout has to be someplace quiet, someplace where only he can hang out.
It was when he was about to meet his friends for a gig in the university café when he found it, by the steps of the university library. Well, the old one, since the university was building a newer and bigger one by the Social Studies Building. When he sat on the steps and leaned against the pillar, strumming his guitar and taking in the semi-quiet of the campus, he knew this was the place. His secret base.
He’s in his junior year of university now, and things have changed. He and his band are now regulars in the university café, performing on Fridays and getting a good following among schoolmates and non-university people alike. Nino has taken a liking to writing songs for the band, his angst-ridden ones being crowd favorites. His studies are okay, and he’s already confident that he’s going to get a job in that production company one of his classmates had introduced him to.
Today’s a particularly ordinary day when he goes to his secret base after class, guitar in hand, as usual. The first signs of snow are already starting to fall down the school grounds, and Nino quickens his pace, wanting nothing more but to get to his hideout. He has a melody stuck in his head, begging to be played, another source for a future sad song that they can play in the café.
Today, though, he finds his secret base already occupied by someone. Someone who’s obviously not him.
He recognizes her, the bespectacled girl wearing a floral dress too thin for winter, sitting on his favorite spot, reading a book about pianos. Yoshitaka-something. He remembers sitting next to her in communication theory class last semester, though they rarely carried on a conversation that is more than a sentence. He remembers he hangs out with Riisa and the girls from the theater club; he has watched tons of plays by the theater club, but he never really noticed her, always outshone by her more outgoing group of friends.
But that isn’t really important to him at the moment. What’s bothering him right now is the fact that his favorite hideout has been occupied by someone else.
He clears his throat, causing Yoshitaka to look up, her eyes brightening in recognition. “Hey, excuse me,” he starts. “I kind of hang out here.”
“Oh.” Yoshitaka hastily stands up, almost dropping her book. She gives him a sheepish smile as she starts to pack her bag. “I’m sorry, I-I was kind of looking for someplace to hangout too, and this was … perfect. So, I thought-”
Nino feels some sort of tug in his chest. He recognizes that tug as a similar feeling whenever Aiba would give him puppy dog eyes and get dragged along to another matchmaking party. Yoshitaka’s looking for a hideaway place, too. It wouldn’t be so bad to share, wouldn’t it?
“Hey,” he says, before Yoshitaka can even take a step. When she looks at him curiously, he continues, “You can, uh, stay here, I guess, as long as you don’t bother me or anything …”
“Are you sure?” Yoshitaka asks with a frown. “You might be the type who’s into their privacy …”
Nino is, and he doesn’t know why he’s actually agreeing to share his secret base with someone he barely knows outside the classroom. “Yeah, I’m sure,” he says, smiling for emphasis, not really sure what he had gotten himself into.
Yoshitaka shows up the next day with her usual book. She gives Nino a curt nod and a small smile before settling a good distance from him. Nino gives an equally curt greeting in return and goes back to his guitar. It goes on like that for days, both in silence and minding their own business. Nino doesn’t have anything to complain about Yoshitaka, and he’s not hearing complaints from Yoshitaka either, so he guesses this silent companionship isn’t so bad.
They start talking in the next couple of weeks, when Professor Kimura pairs them up for a project. He lets Yoshitaka take the lead, not much for delegating stuff himself. Yoshitaka gives him a long look when he practically throws the reins to her, but she gives this resigned sigh and takes the lead. To his surprise, Yuriko knows how to play by his strengths and combine it with hers. The next thing he knows is that they both ace the project, and Nino asks her to dinner, on him.
He doesn’t want it to look like a date or anything, but he feels generous, so he brings Yoshitaka to this restaurant that he remembers Sho raving about after he and Maki went there for their date. Yoshitaka brightens up as she eats her pasta and cake, so he figures he did a right job.
They start talking and learning a bit about each other since then. He learns that Yoshitaka handles props in the theater club, where she and Riisa are in. She boasts about that wizard contraption she helped build for the Wicked production last year, and he remembers being amazed by it when he and his ex-girlfriend went to watch it. He tells Yoshitaka about being in the music club, and eventually forming a band with Aiba, Ohno, Jun, and Sho.
“We play in the university café every Friday night,” Nino tells her. “Do you wanna drop by and watch?”
Yoshitaka promises she will.
It’s already late when they get out of the restaurant, and Nino offers to walk Yoshitaka home. It’s her mother who opens the door, and she gives a smirk that unsettles Nino before thanking him for taking care of her daughter. Nino shakes his head, tells him it’s what a guy should do, anyway, before taking his leave.
Friday night is Nino’s favorite day of the week. Friday nights are all about forgetting the demands of schoolwork and more about nursing his need to strum and sing his worries away. So after flinging his books in the dorm he shares with Sho, Nino rushes to the university café, where his band mates are already setting up the stage. This Friday night is no different. Nino greets Takki, the student manager for the café, then hops his way on the stage, where Ohno is already performing a mic check.
“Hey, Nino!” Sho calls as he approaches, a knowing grin on his face. “Looks like you have a fan tonight.”
“I always have fans,” Nino says with a shrug.
“Not one that stands out, though.” Sho cocks his head to the side of the audience, asking Nino to take a look.
Nino’s not exactly sure what he’s expecting, but it’s definitely not Yoshitaka in a golden jacket with his name on the breastplate. She’s talking to Riisa, who’s flailing all over a crazy story that she’s enthusiastically telling. They meet gazes, and Yuriko gives him a shy wave.
“Is that Yuriko-chan?” Aiba asks, clapping gleefully when he recognizes the girl in the audience. “I can’t believe it! Nino-chan, did you pay her to come?”
“Of course, he didn’t, Yuriko-san has liked Nino for a long time now.” Jun comes out and hits Aiba’s head with a paper fan.
Nino almost drops his guitar. “Wait-what?”
“Okay, we’re all set! Standby, everybody!”
It’s not really a surprise, Nino thinks. When you’re in a band, you’re always bound to have some admirers. Nino doesn’t discount the fact that Yoshitaka can harbor feelings for him, and he’s totally cool with it, as long as she isn’t the creepy type. (And maybe if she stops wearing that gold jacket with his name.)
Ohno greets the crowd in his usual sleepy tone, and the crowd answers with a round of applause. “Today we’ll be playing a new song, written, as usual, by our very own Nino-chan,” he adds.
Nino raises his hand in recognition, grinning at the applause that follows. He and Yoshitaka share gazes, and this time, he doesn’t notice her jacket that looks like a reject from the AKB48 costume department.
For the first time, Nino finds her eyes and her smile pretty.
Get it together, Ninomiya. Nino mentally shakes his head and starts playing the guitar, trying to get the image of Yoshitaka’s eyes and her smile out of his mind.
Yoshitaka is waiting for him when the show is over and they’re packing up. He can tell; she’s talking to Riisa, but she keeps stealing glances at his direction every now and then. Jun and Aiba nudge him forwards with a knowing smirk, and Riisa takes it as a sign to bid her best friend goodbye.
“Nice jacket,” he ends up saying, and he ends up mentally kicking himself for it. He doesn't think the jacket is nice; he's just being polite.
Yoshitaka laughs and ends up taking off the jacket, and Nino sighs in relief when he sees she’s wearing a plain, white shirt. “It got your attention, didn't it?” she asks.
“Was that the purpose, because, yeah, it did.”
She gives him a thumbs-up. “Mission accomplished! Come on, walk me home.”
Yoshitaka makes no mention of him liking her, so Nino thinks it was just one of the weird things Yoshitaka likes to do, so he doesn't prod, just does the usual walking home and greeting her mom and making his way home.
“I like you,” Yoshitaka tells him the week after. They're back in the secret base, but the distance between them is close to nonexistent now. Ever since the pair project they both find it convenient to consult each other on homework instead of doing it on their own.
Nino recalls what Jun said the week before. He bites his bottom lip and tries to look as regretful as possible. “I'm sorry,” he says. “I'm not really looking for a relationship right now.”
“Oh.” Yoshitaka's face is blank, and Nino thinks a deadpan expression is worse than a crying one. Nino is about to dare to ask about her reaction when she shrugs. “Okay. Friends is fine.”
Nino blinks. “Okay …? Really? You’re not gonna cry or anything?”
“I'd cry and ignore you for the rest of my life, but ...” Yoshitaka shrugs again. “You're a friend, Ninomiya-kun. Not a close friend, but you're too good to lose because of a love confession.”
Nino opens his mouth to say something, but he's not exactly sure what he's going to say. One thing's for sure, though, is that Yoshitaka is different from all the other girls he knows, and he guesses it's a good thing. He likes different.
And he likes Yoshitaka, too.
But he's never going to admit that.
They don’t talk about that confession afterwards. But Yoshitaka hangs out in their secret base, as usual, and they talk like usual. This puzzled Nino at first, but he eventually feels relieved that a rejection didn’t push her away. He’s not going to admit that the secret base now feels empty without her.
Yoshitaka starts becoming a regular in the university café every Friday night. She still wears that jacket, more of out of teasing than anything else. And while Nino thinks it needs to be burned, his gaze can’t help but gravitate towards her direction whenever they perform. It’s not the jacket, really, but he really can’t explain what it is. He tries to look at everyone else in the room, but his gaze will always come back to Yoshitaka.
And then he starts walking her home every night. Course requirements force them to stay in the university longer than usual, and while Yoshitaka tells him it isn’t necessary, Nino’s able to sleep at night knowing she has gotten home safe, with her mother making this creepy smile at his direction before saying thank you and closing the door.
“You two make a cute couple, you know that?” Ohno tells him while they’re having lunch in the university cafeteria. It’s already February, the last of the snow starting to melt, to usher spring.
Nino looks out at the school grounds, wondering if he can skip production class to catch up on sleep. “I do not know what you’re talking about,” he replies.
Ohno chuckles and doesn’t even protest when Nino steals a celery stick from his plate. “You obviously like her, too,” he continues. “Why don’t you just go out with her?”
“I told you, Oh-chan, I don’t want to do this whole dating thing.”
“She’s not going to be like your ex-girlfriend, you know.”
“How can you be so sure?” Nino stabs his hamburger a little too forcefully, causing a freshman passing by to squirm and walk a bit more quickly.
Ohno sighs and changes the subject, much to his relief.
The semester is almost over, and they stop hanging out in the secret base for academic priorities. Nino spends his study time with Jun and Aiba, while Yoshitaka is most likely studying with Riisa. Still, they keep in touch through text or e-mail, just in case they need each other’s opinion on a certain subject term. Yoshitaka sends a lot of smileys and unnecessary LINE stickers, and Nino responds by sending equally random emoticons and stickers. It’s just the stress-relief method they need from the requirements needed to be finished.
And then Katori-sensei gives them a last-minute requirement on the last day of the semester: a video project about someone doing a monologue. Nino is already hanging out in the secret base after so long when he receives the e-mail, and he groans, burying his face in his hands. He thinks about the final exams he needs to take, and based on that, he knows he has to finish this final requirement by tomorrow, post-editing and all.
“Hey, you look terrible.”
When Nino looks up, Yoshitaka is gazing at him, looking sympathetic. She looks haggard, dark circles under her eyes and all, but she looks more rested than Nino now. “Hey, you’re still alive,” he says, sighing.
“I take you’re still not done with your requirements?” Yoshitaka asks, sitting beside him.
“Katori-sensei assigned us this last-minute project,” Nino groans.
“Ahhhh,” Yoshitaka nods in understanding. “He tends to do that a lot, Katori-sensei. What kind of project?”
“A video about someone doing a monologue. I don’t even know who will be willing to be video-ed doing a monologue-”
“I can.”
Yoshitaka looks serious when Nino gapes at her. He blinks rapidly. “Really?” he says.
“Yeah, really.” Yoshitaka nods, a smile playing on her lips. “I’m in the theater club, I can do monologues and stuff. Besides, I’m done with all my requirements now.”
“Uh, lucky you.” Nino huffs, wishing that his own requirements can be finished right now. “Well, thanks for volunteering. We can, uh, start immediately if you want. I have my video camera with me, and I think we can just film here.”
“Oh, that’s fine,” Yoshitaka says. “I already have a monologue in mind. Do you mind if I get the script first in the club room?”
“Go ahead.”
As Yoshitaka scampers off, Nino can’t believe his luck. Maybe this is going to be easy.
It’s already half an hour, and Yoshitaka hasn’t returned. Nino sends a text that he hopes doesn’t look like he’s getting impatient, and Yoshitaka responds with an apology, saying that Riisa has dragged her into hair and makeup to get her more “in the role.” Nino doesn’t even want to question that, seeing as it’s Yoshitaka who already volunteered to get his project done.
“Sorry, I’m late!”
Nino isn’t really expecting to see anything when he turns around. But when he does, he almost doesn’t recognize Yoshitaka. To be fair, she isn’t wearing glasses, and her hair is flowing instead of being put up in a ponytail. And she’s now wearing this long, white, sleeveless dress and a flower crown.
Nino realizes he stopped breathing at that point.
“Everything okay?” she asks, looking concerned.
By this time Yoshitaka has gotten a bit closer and Nino has started to breathe. “Yeah,” he says, voice shaky. “Yeah I’m okay.” He clears his throat, telling himself to get it together. “So, uh, what are you supposed to be monologue-ing?”
“I’ll be Clytemnestra from this play called Agamemnon,” she says, playing with the hem of her dress. “Riisa wants me to go for this Greek muse look. Do I look okay?”
“Yeah, you’re beautiful.” The words leave Nino’s mouth before he can stop himself and he slaps a hand to his mouth, the beginnings of a blush starting to form on his cheeks. That wasn’t supposed to be said. Out loud.
Yoshitaka gazes at him for a long time, eyes also widening, mouth hanging wide open. But then before Nino can say something for damage control, she shakes her head, “Stop it, you. You might get my hopes up.”
“What?” Nino asks, but Yoshitaka waves him off and asks him to start.
Somehow, at the back of his mind, he already knows what Yoshitaka meant.
Nino decides to shoots at the library steps instead, since the lighting looks brilliant when the sun’s about to set, and the rays of light cast shadows on Yoshitaka that makes her look ethereal. He tries to breathe as he takes his shots and focuses on the task at hand. He has to pass this, and there’s no time and room for error.
And then he notices the way Yoshitaka acts. He’s no expert at theater, but he does know how to distinguish a good actor from a bad one. And as he films her, Nino can tell that Yoshitaka’s good, no, brilliant. As good as all the people in theater club.
“All good?” Yoshitaka is eyeing him with concern, an indication that she had just finished.
“Yeah …” Nino replies, out of breath once more. “Yeah, you did great.”
Nino turns in his final project on time, and he thinks he did a great job before Katori-sensei is smiling at the end of the video presentation. As soon as he’s free of every final requirement, he calls Yoshitaka to tell him the good news and asks if she wants to go out for dinner. Yoshitaka’s hanging out at home, but she says yes.
Nino drops by Yoshitaka’s home to pick her up, and instead, it’s her mother who opens the door, greeting him with that creepy smile of hers and dragging him inside for dinner. He almost laughs as Yoshitaka protests, “Mom, you’re embarrassing me,” but he decides to stay over instead.
Mrs. Yoshitaka makes them sukiyaki and heads upstairs, saying something about getting laundry done. Yoshitaka rolls her eyes before starting to eat. The silence is comfortable, but Nino thinks he should fill up the silence with something, anything …
“You were really great,” he says. When Yoshitaka looks at him curiously, he continues, “In acting, I mean.”
She smiles sheepishly, staring down at her food. “Thanks. I’m in the theater club, after all.”
“But in the props department,” Nino points out. “I’m not kidding, Yoshitaka-san. You have potential to be an actress. Why stay backstage and make props?”
Yoshitaka is silent for a moment, picking at her food, and Nino doesn’t force an answer out of her.
Nino helps clear the table and wash the dishes, after which Yoshitaka gives him a can of beer. They sit on the living room and watch television, about a variety show that does ridiculous stuff, but it’s Yoshitaka who’s in charge of the remote, so he doesn’t complain.
“I used to act,” Yoshitaka says as she lowers the volume, and Nino turns to look at her, urging her to go on. “Since grade school. I was given this role as a tree in first grade, and since then, I couldn’t stop acting.” She chuckles. “I joined the theater club, took on a few minor roles, and I was happy.”
“You never took on lead roles?” Nino asks.
“I did,” Yoshitaka says, grinning fondly at the memory. “But I usually took on supporting roles. I don’t know, being the lead is okay, but I guess I didn’t feel the character?
“But there was this one role in senior high school that I really like, so much I fought for it in auditions. And I got it. And I want to do this character justice so much that I practiced, I method acted, that sort of stuff.”
“Then what happened?”
“I pressured myself so much that I choked,” Yoshitaka says with a sigh. “I stepped out of the stage and choked. It was so embarrassing. After that, I can never get up on stage.”
“But you did fine when I filmed you yesterday,” Nino points out. “Ever considered going back?”
“No!” Yoshitaka bursts out, and then she covers her mouth, embarrassed. “I mean, I don’t think I can just yet. And when you were filming me, I … I don’t know.” She sighs. “I guess I can act when there aren’t much people to watch.”
“You can act through film, that’s a good starting point,” Nino says. “People won’t be watching you until they see the final product.”
Yoshitaka stares at him. “Suddenly you care so much,” she says with a grin.
“Hey, I’m your friend, after all.”
He thinks Yoshitaka may have been disappointed with the answer, but she doesn’t show it. She does scoot closer to him until their shoulders are bumping, and she says, “I’ll think about it.”
He nods, refusing to move away.
By the start of the senior year, Nino makes it a habit of bringing his video camera. Yoshitaka protests whenever he turns it on to film her in the university steps, but day by day she had grown accustomed to it. Soon, she brings in scripts or novels and recites some lines, and Nino really thinks she’s amazing.
One day, Riisa runs into them while Yoshitaka is reciting something from a Victor Hugo novel. They only notice after Yoshitaka utters the last line. Riisa’s motub is open, jaw dropping, eyes bugging out. Yoshitaka looks frozen in place, like a deep, dark secret had gotten out.
“Uh, it’s not what you think!” Nino says, though whatever he thinks Riisa is thinking is beyond him.
“Oh my god,” Riisa breathes as she takes a step up. “Yuriko-chan, oh my god, I didn’t know you can act so well!”
Yoshitaka gulps, looking like she’s about to shrink. “I’m not exactly-”
“Why don’t you audition?” Riisa says, hands on Yoshitaka’s shoulders, shaking her fervently. “We’re preparing for our season opener, and I think you’ll be a great part of the cast!”
“Riisa-chan, I-”
“Great!” Riisa steps back, looking pleased with herself. “I’m not taking no for an answer. Auditions are tomorrow. See you!”
Nino watches Riisa skip away, looking like she had just won the lottery. He hears a groan, and when he looks, Yoshitaka had sat down, face buried in her hands. “I can’t do this,” she says, shaking her head. “I just can’t.”
“Why not?” Nino asks as he sits down and scoots next to her. “You’re totally getting used to acting again. You should give it a try.”
“Yeah, but this is different.” Yoshitaka groans again. “We’re not talking about being in front of a camera; we’re talking about a stage with people ready to judge my every move. I can’t do this. I have a crippling stage fright!”
“Hey, look at me.”
Yoshitaka looks up, and Nino gulps, his heart skipping a beat. She’s so close, and her eyes are prettier up close …
He mentally shakes his head. This is not the time.
“Are you gonna make a cheesy speech to get me to audition?”
Nino rolls his eyes. “Look,” he says, serious. “You can do it. I know you can. I can be there in the audition, if you want.”
“What, like a stage that?” Yoshitaka laughs, but Nino’s relieved that she looks less anxious now.
Unfortunately, Nino isn’t allowed inside the audition room, so he takes Yoshitaka’s hand and squeezes it extra hard before she goes inside. “Good luck,” he says with a reassuring smile.
To his relief, Yoshitaka smiles back before disappearing inside.
Riisa is smirking at him while he takes a seat at the nearby bench. “What?” he asks suspiciously.
“You’re so stupid, you know that?”
“I …” Nino is about to protest, but somewhere, at the back of his mind, he knows what she means. “I know. I think.”
“Not everyone will try to get over a stage fright just because the person they like tells them to,” Riisa continues. “She’s not doing this for you, of course, but you get my point, right?”
He knows that, too, and before he can agree, Yoshitaka closes the door, seemingly shaking. “You okay?” he asks, concerned.
She is close to hyperventilating, but finally, she breathes out and breaks into a huge smile.
“I got in!”
Rehearsals take up most of Yoshitaka’s time since then, and Nino rarely sees her. He gets tons of apologies on his cell phone, but Nino totally understands. This is what Yoshitaka needs to get back to what she loves doing best, and he doesn’t want to be a bother.
But the secret base is not the same. It had been his hideout ever since freshman year, but Yoshitaka had been hanging out with him for so long that it isn’t the same to be alone anymore. So he ditches the secret base and hangs out with everyone else he knows.
And then one Friday night, he sees her, but the her he had been grudging to see. They lock gazes, and Nino hopes his smile didn’t come off as a grimace. In return, she looks up from her drink and smiles back.
He approaches her as soon as the band is done packing up. “Hey,” he greets. “Long time no see.”
“Same to you,” she says as she shoulders her bag. “How are you, Kazu?”
“Great.” He puts a hand to his head, awkwardness taking over. “How about you? How’s, uh, art school?”
“Great,” she echoes, shuffling her feet.
It’s all silence. They haven’t met since the breakup, and it all feels awkward.
“So,” he says, “what brings you here?”
“I’m moving,” she says. “To Australia. My flight’s tomorrow, and I just wanna say goodbye.”
He remembers her talking about Australia nonstop, about surfing its beaches and exploring the dunes. In actuality, he’s still happy for her. “Congratulations,” he says, and his smile is genuine. “Have a safe flight.”
Her smile relaxes. “Thanks. Good luck to you, Kazu.”
They hug for the last time, and Nino doesn’t see her out. He doesn’t feel so sad anymore about losing her. And now, he isn’t so afraid to take a chance at love again.
“Are you okay?” Aiba asks him, concerned.
“Yeah,” he replies, and he’s telling the truth this time. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
A month or two pass by quickly, and the next thing he knows, the theater club’s play is opening. Nino’s dressed a little too formally, a ticket and a playbill in hand, probably as nervous as the theater club, as nervous as Yoshitaka, who will be performing onstage after so long.
Ohno is beside him, browsing through the playbill with awe. “Who would have known Yuriko-chan can act, huh?”
“She’s going to be great,” Nino says, and he’s sure of it.
Suddenly, he hears someone calling his name, and when he turns around, Riisa is running towards him, panic-stricken. “We need your help,” she says when she stops, catching her breath. “It’s Yuriko-chan.”
The next thing Nino knows is that he’s backstage, in Yoshitaka’s dressing room. The room is open, but the closet is locked. He knocks cautiously. “Yoshitaka?” he calls.
“Go away,” he hears her mumble from inside.
“Yoshitaka,” he repeats. “This is your first show. Your comeback.”
“I know,” she says. “But every time I think of the crowd, I get a heart attack and I want to throw up. I don’t think I can do this.”
“You wouldn’t know until you try. Open the door, Yoshitaka. I’m going to give you a cheesy speech to get you out there. Riisa’s going to kill me if I don’t.”
Nothing happens, and Nino’s heart sinks. But then he hears a soft creak, and Yoshitaka steps out, face pale despite the makeup. “Knock yourself out,” she says. “Give me that cheesy speech. No promises it will work.”
Nino wants to roll his eyes, but there’s no time for sarcasm. He takes Yoshitaka’s hand in his. “I actually don’t have a cheesy speech prepared,” he admits. “But if it helps, I’ll be backstage. And when you’re out there, just pretend it’s just you and me and the camera, okay? No audiences. Just me and my camera.”
Yuriko looks at him, and he can slowly see that she’s starting to relax, just a bit. Finally, she takes a deep breath. “Okay.”
Nino squeezes her hand, for good measure. “Good. Now, break a leg.”
Yoshitaka makes this nervous laugh, but she doesn’t protest anymore when Riisa ushers her out.
He ends up sitting backstage. Yoshitaka looks jittery before her first scene, so Nino calls her and pretends that he’s holding his video camera. She seems to laugh at this.
He hears murmurs of approval as soon as Yoshitaka steps on stage, and he feels his chest swelling. Now everyone feels what he felt when he first saw her act. Now everyone will get to see how amazing Yoshitaka is. But, deep inside, Yoshitaka is already beyond amazing.
He cheers in the sidelines as the cast gathers onstage for the curtain call, cheers louder when Yoshitaka steps forward. The cast goes wild as soon as the curtains go down, jumping and cheering and hugging each other for a great first show.
The next thing he knows is that Yoshitaka is running and throwing her arms around him, and Nino is laughing and hugging back and then leaning in …
Yoshitaka’s lips are warn, and she stiffens at the contact. Nino thinks he screwed up, and he pulls away. “I …” he begins, his face growing warm. “I can explain.”
“Since when?” she asks, looking hopeful.
“Um … I don’t know … Since you dropped by my private space in campus …”
“Oh my god, finally!” Yoshitaka pulls him in for another kiss, and Nino can’t bring himself to complain.
Nino thinks he knows relationships, having been in one already, but in truth it feels like starting from scratch. Yoshitaka … no, Yuriko will never be the same as his ex, and he still has a lot to learn about her and about them. Just the thought about being new to this again gives this weird feeling of excitement.
“Dude,” Jun calls him, grinning as they pack up after another Friday night is over. “Your girlfriend’s here.”
Nino looks to the direction of the audience, and he can’t help but smile giddily and ignore the retching noises Sho is making. Yuriko’s there, still wearing that golden jacket, and Nino thinks he really likes her because he’s starting to like that jacket, too.
“You did great,” Yuriko coos as he wraps his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.
“Only the best for you,” he replies with a wink.
“Should we tell sensei to close up the bar now to leave you two alone?” Sho hollers from the other side. “I get enough of this in the dorm already.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Nino says, although he really isn’t. Yuriko just sticks her tongue out at them.
It’s great to be in love again.