One night in August
Title: One night in August
Characters: Tetsuya, Nozomi
Rating: G
Word count: 1307
My series of stupid fic titles is still going on it seems. :P
Domestic Bakaleya, August 2014
- - -
“…the case is, she really doesn’t know how to do it,” Nozomi finished and Tetsuya nodded, secretly glancing at the girl who walked next to him and kept babbling about some friend of her.
The evening had already been awesome with the eight of them having checked out two new restaurants, two bars and their favorite karaoke place. Tetsuya’s ears were still ringing from the volume of the music and he was incredibly tired but he had no reason to complain; Nozomi’s cheerful chatter was amusing and he liked hanging around with her. He wouldn’t have minded even if the road to the closest train station had been twice as long as it was.
Nozomi turned her purse in her front and searched for something for a while, frowning when she didn’t find what she was looking for.
“I could have sworn I had a bottle of juice here,” she sighed and Tetsuya decided he could as well play the role of a gentleman to the end.
“I think I saw a vending machine in the last crossroad,” he said, “wait here for a second?”
She looked surprised and pleased at the same time but nodded anyway, and Tetsuya jogged back to the vending machine, choosing the kind of fruit juice he had seen Nozomi drinking many times before.
Nozomi was still waiting for him under the street lamp when Tetsuya came back but she wasn’t alone anymore. He was still far away when he heard her annoyed voice.
“No thank you, I don’t need any company!” she snapped, “Don’t touch me!”
The man standing next to her was around his thirties, he was tall but not very strong-built. He wore a dirty black cap that made shadow on his face but Tetsuya didn’t need to see the man’s features anyway.
“Hey, you,” he called out when he was close enough and both Nozomi and the man looked at him, “didn’t you hear what she said?”
“Who do you think you are?” the man asked and grinned, grabbing Nozomi’s arm. “Come on baby, you shouldn’t have to hang around with wimps like him.”
“Let me go!” Nozomi cried out and tried to pull herself free in vain. The sight was enough for Tetsuya who dropped the bottles of juice on the ground, took the few more missing steps, and hit the man hard right on his face. The man’s grip on Nozomi got off when he took a step back, moaning in pain.
“What the hell,” he spit out as he got his balance back, “You little bastard!”
The man came closer and tried to answer in the same way but Tetsuya ducked to the side and the man’s fist only reached his shoulder. He grimaced in pain but evaded the next punch, kicking the man further away from Nozomi. The man answered by running towards Tetsuya and wrapping his arms around his neck hard enough that it was difficult to breathe.
“I’ll teach you to respect the ones older than you,” the man growled. Tetsuya chuckled and purposefully jerked to the side so that the both of them fell down - Tetsuya landing with his full weight on the other man who gasped and let him go. Tetsuya got on his feet, patted some dust off the sleeves of his jacket, and crouched to take a tight grab the man’s collar, pulling him up a bit.
“You will never touch her again,” he said, making sure the tone of his voice said what he didn’t before he dropped the man down again.
“Fuck you,” the man hissed. He got up with shaky legs and turned away, limping into the darkness to the direction Tetsuya and Nozomi had come from.
A silence fell between them when Tetsuya collected the juice bottles from the ground and handed the other to Nozomi, unable to look into her eyes. He was painfully aware of her staring at him and he didn’t know what to say. Nozomi was probably scared. Even more likely she was just disappointed in him. He closed his eyes for a second and could still see another girl's reproachful pout that had become so familiar to him less than two years ago.
“Uh, I…” he started and stared at his own bottle of juice, “Are you all right?”
“I am,” Nozomi said slowly and looked at him with round eyes, “Thank you. I… I never thought you knew how to fight someone!”
“Well, yeah. I don’t,” Tetsuya stammered, “I mean, I don’t do things like that anymore.”
“Oh,” she said and shrugged, “but you were really cool!”
Tetsuya seriously believed he had misheard whatever Nozomi had just said but when he looked at the girl she was neither pale nor annoyed but quite the opposite. Her eyes were shining and the adoring way she looked at him made Tetsuya’s cheeks feel instantly warmer.
“Thank you?” he said slowly, unable to process the foreign path of her logic. “Aren’t you… scared?”
“Of you?” she asked, “Do I have a reason to fear you?”
“No,” Tetsuya said quickly, “I’d never hurt you!”
“Then it’s okay,” Nozomi said with a warm smile and Tetsuya finally dared to smile a little.
“Are you okay?” she asked after a small silence, “I mean, he did hit you too.”
“Oh, that,” Tetsuya said and brushed his palm across his shoulder, “It’s okay. I’ve gone through worse.”
“You have?” Nozomi asked before he managed to even curse his own stupidity. However, she still didn’t show any negative attitude towards him. In fact, she seemed curious and eager to hear more. Maybe, Tetsuya realized, maybe his mental image of girls was rather biased after all. He had always known all girls were not doll-like princesses but he had never before known the other kind before getting to know Nozomi and the other girls in their group of University friends.
“My high school wasn’t very… uh,” he said slowly, wondering how to set his words until he decided he could as well tell the raw truth exactly like it was. “Well, fine. They called my school a yankee school. I know how to fight. I have been suspended from school. I was the… number two. Of our school.”
“Number two,” Nozomi repeated, “you mean...”
“Yeah. My best friend was the leader.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Tetsuya shook his head, feeling even more confused.
“Do you, really? All the adults used to call us hopeless delinquents. Doesn’t it bother you at all?”
“But you’re not like that anymore are you?” Nozomi said and tilted her head in a way that made Tetsuya’s heart skip more than just one beat.
“I can’t change what I am,” Tetsuya said with a shrug, “but we kind of grew over it I guess. I don’t fight anymore. Unless…”
“Unless there’s someone you need to protect, right?” Nozomi finished his sentence and laughed when Tetsuya raised his eyebrows. “That’s how it goes in every high school manga series I’ve ever read!”
“I guess,” he said and couldn’t help laughing together with her.
He could have stayed there whole night, just standing under the street lamp and chatting with Nozomi. It was probably the first time ever he felt like talking that much and he was amazed at how easy it was to talk to her. She was really listening to him - she always did - and somehow he had the feeling he could trust her too. How had he never noticed that before?
“We should be going,” Nozomi finally said reluctantly and sighed, “it’s fifteen minutes until my last train.”
They had to hurry to make it into their trains but they made it in time, and even when Tetsuya was already sitting in the train he felt warm in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time.
- - -
Characters: Tetsuya, Nozomi
Rating: G
Word count: 1307
My series of stupid fic titles is still going on it seems. :P
Domestic Bakaleya, August 2014
- - -
“…the case is, she really doesn’t know how to do it,” Nozomi finished and Tetsuya nodded, secretly glancing at the girl who walked next to him and kept babbling about some friend of her.
The evening had already been awesome with the eight of them having checked out two new restaurants, two bars and their favorite karaoke place. Tetsuya’s ears were still ringing from the volume of the music and he was incredibly tired but he had no reason to complain; Nozomi’s cheerful chatter was amusing and he liked hanging around with her. He wouldn’t have minded even if the road to the closest train station had been twice as long as it was.
Nozomi turned her purse in her front and searched for something for a while, frowning when she didn’t find what she was looking for.
“I could have sworn I had a bottle of juice here,” she sighed and Tetsuya decided he could as well play the role of a gentleman to the end.
“I think I saw a vending machine in the last crossroad,” he said, “wait here for a second?”
She looked surprised and pleased at the same time but nodded anyway, and Tetsuya jogged back to the vending machine, choosing the kind of fruit juice he had seen Nozomi drinking many times before.
Nozomi was still waiting for him under the street lamp when Tetsuya came back but she wasn’t alone anymore. He was still far away when he heard her annoyed voice.
“No thank you, I don’t need any company!” she snapped, “Don’t touch me!”
The man standing next to her was around his thirties, he was tall but not very strong-built. He wore a dirty black cap that made shadow on his face but Tetsuya didn’t need to see the man’s features anyway.
“Hey, you,” he called out when he was close enough and both Nozomi and the man looked at him, “didn’t you hear what she said?”
“Who do you think you are?” the man asked and grinned, grabbing Nozomi’s arm. “Come on baby, you shouldn’t have to hang around with wimps like him.”
“Let me go!” Nozomi cried out and tried to pull herself free in vain. The sight was enough for Tetsuya who dropped the bottles of juice on the ground, took the few more missing steps, and hit the man hard right on his face. The man’s grip on Nozomi got off when he took a step back, moaning in pain.
“What the hell,” he spit out as he got his balance back, “You little bastard!”
The man came closer and tried to answer in the same way but Tetsuya ducked to the side and the man’s fist only reached his shoulder. He grimaced in pain but evaded the next punch, kicking the man further away from Nozomi. The man answered by running towards Tetsuya and wrapping his arms around his neck hard enough that it was difficult to breathe.
“I’ll teach you to respect the ones older than you,” the man growled. Tetsuya chuckled and purposefully jerked to the side so that the both of them fell down - Tetsuya landing with his full weight on the other man who gasped and let him go. Tetsuya got on his feet, patted some dust off the sleeves of his jacket, and crouched to take a tight grab the man’s collar, pulling him up a bit.
“You will never touch her again,” he said, making sure the tone of his voice said what he didn’t before he dropped the man down again.
“Fuck you,” the man hissed. He got up with shaky legs and turned away, limping into the darkness to the direction Tetsuya and Nozomi had come from.
A silence fell between them when Tetsuya collected the juice bottles from the ground and handed the other to Nozomi, unable to look into her eyes. He was painfully aware of her staring at him and he didn’t know what to say. Nozomi was probably scared. Even more likely she was just disappointed in him. He closed his eyes for a second and could still see another girl's reproachful pout that had become so familiar to him less than two years ago.
“Uh, I…” he started and stared at his own bottle of juice, “Are you all right?”
“I am,” Nozomi said slowly and looked at him with round eyes, “Thank you. I… I never thought you knew how to fight someone!”
“Well, yeah. I don’t,” Tetsuya stammered, “I mean, I don’t do things like that anymore.”
“Oh,” she said and shrugged, “but you were really cool!”
Tetsuya seriously believed he had misheard whatever Nozomi had just said but when he looked at the girl she was neither pale nor annoyed but quite the opposite. Her eyes were shining and the adoring way she looked at him made Tetsuya’s cheeks feel instantly warmer.
“Thank you?” he said slowly, unable to process the foreign path of her logic. “Aren’t you… scared?”
“Of you?” she asked, “Do I have a reason to fear you?”
“No,” Tetsuya said quickly, “I’d never hurt you!”
“Then it’s okay,” Nozomi said with a warm smile and Tetsuya finally dared to smile a little.
“Are you okay?” she asked after a small silence, “I mean, he did hit you too.”
“Oh, that,” Tetsuya said and brushed his palm across his shoulder, “It’s okay. I’ve gone through worse.”
“You have?” Nozomi asked before he managed to even curse his own stupidity. However, she still didn’t show any negative attitude towards him. In fact, she seemed curious and eager to hear more. Maybe, Tetsuya realized, maybe his mental image of girls was rather biased after all. He had always known all girls were not doll-like princesses but he had never before known the other kind before getting to know Nozomi and the other girls in their group of University friends.
“My high school wasn’t very… uh,” he said slowly, wondering how to set his words until he decided he could as well tell the raw truth exactly like it was. “Well, fine. They called my school a yankee school. I know how to fight. I have been suspended from school. I was the… number two. Of our school.”
“Number two,” Nozomi repeated, “you mean...”
“Yeah. My best friend was the leader.”
“Ah, I understand.”
Tetsuya shook his head, feeling even more confused.
“Do you, really? All the adults used to call us hopeless delinquents. Doesn’t it bother you at all?”
“But you’re not like that anymore are you?” Nozomi said and tilted her head in a way that made Tetsuya’s heart skip more than just one beat.
“I can’t change what I am,” Tetsuya said with a shrug, “but we kind of grew over it I guess. I don’t fight anymore. Unless…”
“Unless there’s someone you need to protect, right?” Nozomi finished his sentence and laughed when Tetsuya raised his eyebrows. “That’s how it goes in every high school manga series I’ve ever read!”
“I guess,” he said and couldn’t help laughing together with her.
He could have stayed there whole night, just standing under the street lamp and chatting with Nozomi. It was probably the first time ever he felt like talking that much and he was amazed at how easy it was to talk to her. She was really listening to him - she always did - and somehow he had the feeling he could trust her too. How had he never noticed that before?
“We should be going,” Nozomi finally said reluctantly and sighed, “it’s fifteen minutes until my last train.”
They had to hurry to make it into their trains but they made it in time, and even when Tetsuya was already sitting in the train he felt warm in a way he hadn’t felt in a long time.
- - -