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Chihaya truly has no idea how she ended up here.
This morning had been a blur—a flurry of activity, from making the decision to come to Kyoto, to scraping money together, buying a last minute shinkansen ticket, and throwing a few things together into a backpack before making a mad dash for the train station. Her dad called the sudden trip reckless, and her mom impulsive. Chitose had set the record straight, in her view, by saying that it’s “just young love.” Chihaya didn’t have any excuse except that she’d wanted to see her boyfriend and that, if she didn’t go, it would be the first birthday of his they’d been apart for since meeting back in elementary school.
She couldn’t let that happen, just wouldn’t. And the universe had aligned for it, too—she’d just gotten paid, and Taichi’s birthday is on a Friday so she can just take a long weekend.
The ride to Kyoto had gone seamlessly, but once she’d gotten off the shinkansen, she’d realized something…she had forgotten to warn Taichi that she was coming. So the surprise in his voice when she called him to say she was at Kyoto Station was so obvious and exaggerated that it was almost comical.
“You’re here?” he’d asked. “Right now?”
She’d smiled and nodded, even though he wasn’t there to see it. “Yeah.”
“Like right this second?”
“ Yes , Taichi!”
“What the—oh my god, okay. Okay, I’m on my way. Stay there!”
When he got there and saw her, the way he’d lunged at her to hug her had probably looked rather concerning to passersby at the station, but to Chihaya, it was the best thing she’d ever experienced.
Now safely at his apartment, she feels her adrenaline fading a bit and the post-travel lag coming on. She’s lying on his bed, and Taichi is across the room at his desk, supposedly doing some last minute homework…but it looks an awful lot like he’s just holding his pencil and sneaking glances at Chihaya with a big, goofy grin on his face. Chihaya giggles and sits up, rubbing her eyes before asking, “Are you ever going to get that done so we can do something fun?”
He hums and looks down at his notebook. “Probably not,” he admits. “But we can still do something fun.”
She raises an eyebrow. “Yeah?” Taichi’s studies are one of the most important things to him.
Though…he has made it blatantly clear in the past that she trumps everything in his life.
Taichi stands up and sits across from her at the foot of his bed. “Yeah. Forget it.”
Chihaya reaches over and picks his hand up from where it’s resting on the mattress, and kisses his palm. “If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. Although…” he groans, and she follows his eyes to his watch, which is on the wrist of the hand she’s holding, therefore within his eyeshot. 5:45. “I forgot that a couple friends wanted to hang out tonight for my birthday. I’d cancel, but…”
“No!” Chihaya says, much louder than she’d intended to; Taichi blinks a couple times at the volume. “You just moved here, and you know how happy I am that you have friends already. You need to go. I’m fine here.”
Taichi smiles. “I love you. Come out with us tonight.”
“I love you too. W-wait, you want me to come?”
“Only if you want to, and if you’re comfortable with that. But I’d like for you to meet my friends, since you’re here. They’ve heard about you already, of course, but that’s not the same.”
He meets her eyes, searching hers for any sign of discomfort. Chihaya has to stop herself from shuddering a bit—it’s almost like he can see straight into her soul. Of course she’s nervous about meeting his friends; she doesn’t exactly have “first impressions” down. She knows she can be a lot. Boisterous, loud, even erratic at times. She’s not a guy’s dream girlfriend to get to introduce to people.
“As long as you want me there, I’d love to go,” she says quietly.
Taichi frowns. “Of course I do.” He scoots closer until he’s over her, forcing her to lie down with himself propped up on his hands and knees, effectively caging her in. Chihaya gulps, any coherent thought she might have had fleeing her mind immediately. “Chihaya, are you feeling insecure about it?”
“M-maybe,” she admits quietly.
He nods in understanding, and ponders quietly for a moment before leaning forward and planting kisses to her face—to her hair, her forehead, her cheeks, her nose. She can’t help but smile a little. “I love you, all of you. Do I need to remind you of how much I like having you around?” he whispers, lips moving lower until they’re against her collarbone.
An alarm on his phone sounds before she can answer. Chihaya consequently begins to question whether there’s actually a god or not.
Taichi groans and sits back up. “We have to get ready.” He adjusts his collar and stands, offering a hand to pull Chihaya up. “Chihaya…they’ll love you, just the way you are.”
Chihaya chews at her lip. “Okay.”
They meet Taichi’s friends down by the river, where they’re all waiting with convenience store bags containing mystery items. There are three of them, all tall boys with big smiles. They look like they could be models, almost as much as Taichi does. Just how many of this type does Kyoto have, Chihaya wonders.
“Hey, man,” one of them, who seems to be the most outgoing of the group, calls out.
“Hi,” Taichi says back, letting go of Chihaya’s hand to give a small wave.
The boy raises an eyebrow as his eyes fall on Chihaya. “Who’d ya bring?”
Taichi looks to his right at Chihaya and smiles big. “This is Chihaya, my girlfriend.”
The boy smiles. “You didn’t say she was gonna come into town. Nice to meet you. I’m Ryo.” Chihaya smiles back, starting to feel a bit more loose with the warm welcome.
“Nice to meet you. I hope I’m not intruding.”
Ryo scoffs and waves a hand. “Don’t even say that. You’re welcome any time. Though if I’d known, I’d have planned something nicer…” He trails off and looks down at the plastic bags at his feet.
Chihaya looks at Taichi for an explanation, but he just shakes his head. “Who knows? I didn’t plan this at all. Anyway, this is Hiro and Nao.”
Pleasantries are exchanged, and then Ryo reaches into one of the bags and pulls out a variety of different cans of convenience store alcohol. He begins to distribute them to the group. “I thought we’d just drink and hang out, but…”
“I’m fine with that,” Chihaya interjects. “Don’t change plans just because of me. It’ll be fun!”
Ryo smiles and looks to Taichi. “Your girlfriend’s cool, man.”
“Back off,” Taichi groans playfully, and Ryo chuckles.
Cans are popped open, and the group puts their hands together in the middle of the circle to toast.
“Cheers!”
Chihaya pulls her hand back and takes a sip of whatever is in the can Ryo had given her. She makes a face.
Taichi chuckles. “Is it really that bad?”
“ You try it,” she says, gesturing toward his own can. He drinks, and makes a similar warped facial expression.
“Ryo, what the hell is this?” Taichi asks, examining the can.
“Lemon sour. It’s cheap and strong, so shut up and down it, Mashima.”
Taichi tsks and shakes his head a little. Chihaya bumps her shoulder against his. “At least it’s strong, yeah? Now I get to see Drunk Taichi,” she teases.
“I don’t know that there’s going to be much to see, but I’m glad you’re happy.” She giggles, locks their fingers together. He squeezes her hand. “I’m happy you’re here,” he whispers.
“Me too,” she says back, squeezing his hand in turn.
Taichi uses his free hand to take a few back-to-back swigs of his drink, face contorting after each. But quickly, while the group all chats and goofs off, he works his way through quite a bit of the can and is a little unsteady on his feet—he’s clearly not wasted, but not sober, either. Chihaya smirks, grabs onto his arm in a way that she hopes appears affectionate rather than a way to make sure he stays standing straight.
“It’s not as bad as I thought,” he says, giving the can a little shake. “How much have you had?”
“Not nearly as much as you, I don’t think…” she gives her own can a tilt, then does the same to his to compare weight. His is about halfway gone. “Jesus, Taichi, it’s only been like…five minutes.
He shrugs. “It gets better the more you drink.”
Chihaya laughs. “Yeah, funny how that works, huh?” she says sarcastically.
Taichi nods, takes another long drink. “Yeah,” he says, dead serious. “I wonder.”
She rolls her eyes fondly, then turns her head toward the river. The lights from the nearby buildings dance on the water as it ebbs along, and she can hear the shouts of a few other groups of college kids scattered about. It’s gorgeous. Tokyo has pockets of space like this on its outskirts, where everything is wide and open and a river flows through. But here, it’s central to the city, and she likes it. She wishes she could stay and not go back to Tokyo…though of course most of that desire is because Kyoto has Taichi.
She feels his gaze and shifts her eyes back to him. He’s staring intently, face unreadable. “W-what?” she asks, a nervous blush working its way up her neck.
“You’re beautiful,” he says softly, then steps closer. He tucks a stray piece of hair behind her ear, then kisses her forehead. It only intensifies the heat on her cheeks.
“I love you,” she replies.
“I love you, Chihaya.”
A breeze blows by, and goosebumps pop up on her arms. Taichi, always nurturing and hyper aware of Chihaya, notices immediately and asks, “Are you cold?”
“Just a little. I’m fine.”
“Why didn’t you wear a jacket?”
“It’s warmer in Tokyo right now, okay?” she huffs, embarrassed. She folds her arms over her chest against the chill.
Taichi smiles. “Yeah, I guess it probably is, huh?” He makes to take off his jacket, and she shakes her head.
“No, you’ll get cold. I’m really okay, Taichi, I promise.”
“Chihaya—” he starts, but then Ryo calls out to the couple.
“Taichi, where’s your drink?”
Taichi gestures to the can, which he’d set down a few feet away. “Done with it.”
Ryo clicks his tongue, then reaches into the convenience store bag, taking out another can and tossing it to Taichi. “Birthday boy’s out? That won’t do.”
Taichi fumbles for a second before catching it, then says, “Ryo, this is carbonated, you asshole.”
Ryo shrugs, a grin playing at his lips. Chihaya notices that he’s objectively attractive, wonders if he has a girlfriend…she’s sure he does, and she probably lives here. He probably gets to hold her whenever he wants, kiss her whenever he wants, go out on dates with her whenever he wants.
Chihaya wishes she could give Taichi that.
“Just don’t open it near Chihaya, then,” Ryo says.
Taichi takes Ryo’s advice and steps away to pop the can open, cursing under his breath when it gets all over his hands. Chihaya and the rest of the group laugh, and she reaches into her tote bag and produces a wet wipe. She takes Taichi’s hands, one at a time so he doesn’t have to put down the can (an idea that seems to escape him at the moment), and wipes the sticky liquid away.
“Thank you,” he says. She shakes her head. It’s no big deal. She’s glad to get to do girlfriend things while she’s here. He doesn’t need to thank her, not ever, not for anything. But he still does, and she supposes that’s one of the reasons she loves him.
They drink and chat with the group, Ryo and the other guys prodding Chihaya for embarrassing stories about Taichi, which she tries to indulge in without disclosing enough to truly embarrass her boyfriend. A few minutes pass, and she truly forgets they’re drinking at all until Ryo laughs and shakes his head in Taichi’s direction. “You think you’re going to be able to handle him tonight?”
“Eh?” Chihaya asks, turning to her right, where a now very unsteady Taichi is finishing up his second can of lemon sour. “ Taichi ,” she scolds, but they both know she’s not mad. It’s all in good fun. She’s definitely not going to let him have any more, though.
“I’m fine,” he assures everyone, and they burst out into laughter at his slightly-slurred speech.
Minus Taichi, the group is completely made up of finance majors, and when they engage in a conversation about that that Chihaya and Taichi can’t relate to, they take a few steps back to have a little more privacy.
“Are you still cold?” he asks.
“Taichi, I’m really okay. But thank you.”
He hums in consideration, then shoots her a devilish grin. Chihaya blinks. That’s not a face she’s used to him making often, and especially not in public.
“If you won’t take my coat,” he says, stepping closer, “then I’ll just have to keep you warm, myself.”
He wraps his arms around Chihaya, pulls her in close. She’s enough shorter than him that he can tuck her head in under his chin, and he does that, allowing her to nuzzle her cheek against his collarbone. She’s content and warm, and—
Taichi dips his head lower and kisses at the side of her neck a few times, then slides his hands down until they’re resting low on her hips.
She sighs in appreciation, but then it hits her that they’re surrounded by a group of his friends. “H-hey,” she murmurs, but in all honesty, she knows she’s making no effort to push him away.
“Hm?” he asks.
“Your friends are right—”
And then a whistle sounds from the crowd of guys, and Chihaya’s cheeks glow red. “Taichi, they’re looking.”
“Then let them.”
She laughs a little, basking in Taichi’s seductive confidence for a moment. She turns her head inwards so she can 1) avoid the eyes of the group, and 2) so she can kiss Taichi’s neck back a few times (maybe she’s feeling a little adventurous now, too, okay?)
It’s when he moves back to go for her lips that she shakes her head. “I refuse to make out in front of your friends.”
“Fair,” he says, then he kisses her forehead once before stepping back. “I can wait.”
She shakes her head, bites her lip to keep a smile back. “You’re a weirdo.”
“Maybe,” he concedes. “But I’m your weirdo.”
“I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“God, if you can’t get a room, just get outta here,” Ryo says, crossing his arms. He’s smirking, but Chihaya doesn’t know him well enough to know if it’s a genuine smile, or an expression of irritation.
“Understood,” Taichi says immediately, bending to gather their trash. Everyone chuckles, then laughs harder when he falls right on his ass.
“Never really thought Mashima’d be a lightweight,” Nao (she thinks? She’s never been good with names) chuckles.
“Well it’s his first time, so…” Hiro adds.
While his friends banter back and forth about the situation, Chihaya shakes her head and crouches down in front of him. She smiles and affectionately pushes his bangs back out of his eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Fine. I don’t even feel drunk, really, so I dunno how this happened.”
“Uh-huh,” she replies, helping pull him to his feet. “Are you actually ready to go?”
“Yeah. I can see them any time. Right now, I wanna cuddle you.”
Chihaya smiles. “Okay.” They bid his friends quick goodbyes, then begin the walk back to Taichi’s apartment.
“I hope I didn’t embarrass you,” Taichi says once they’re both settled in bed. He’s noticeably less drunk now, but still not exactly sober.
“I wasn’t embarrassed. But you’re going to have to answer to Ryo tomorrow, I think.”
“Huh?”
“He seemed sober enough to definitely remember this in the morning.”
Taichi groans. “I’m never going to hear the end of it.”
“He won’t be mad, will he?” she asks, remembering him telling the two to get a room. Ryo likes to joke around, Chihaya can tell, but also, is there a limit? And had they crossed it tonight? She doesn’t want to mess up anything for Taichi.
“He won’t,” he reassures her. “If anything, he’ll just congratulate me on getting laid.”
She laughs. “Oh, is that what you’re expecting to happen?”
“Of course not,” he says indignantly. “I mean, I’ll never say no to having sex with you, but it’s not like I expect it or anything.”
She smiles, kisses his forehead. “You’re so drunk, I’d feel bad.”
“I’m not that drunk anymore. Besides, what do you think is going to happen? I’m going to wake up tomorrow and regret it?”
She bites her lip nervously. “Maybe.”
“You’re insane.”
“ Hey ,” she protests, and Taichi smirks.
“Listen,” he tells her, then puts his hands on her shoulders and gently guides her to roll over. Once she’s on her side facing away from him, he pulls her in close. She gasps a bit at the sudden feeling of his erection against her back. “You’re sweet. But I’ll never regret being with you, not ever. And besides…does it feel like I’m not sure?”
Chihaya shakes her head, and Taichi kisses her neck, and she’s a goner.
Two and a half days is a devastatingly short trip to see her boyfriend, Chihaya discovers at the train station on Sunday. Though she can never have enough time with Taichi, anyway; not even the rest of her life will feel long enough. Her chest wells up with grief at the train station, and she can feel it sloshing around in the cavity there, engulfing her heart whole. She can’t leave. There’s no way. She can’t do it.
Taichi’s face is stony as his eyes scan the train schedule flashing across the electronic board. He squeezes her hand tightly, his thumb rubbing circles over her knuckles. When “arriving” flashes next to Chihaya’s train number, he sighs heavily. “That’s you.”
“Yeah,” Chihaya answers. There’s a slight quiver in her voice, and she hopes he doesn’t notice, but also knows that he does. Taichi looks down at her, brow knit with worry, and squeezes her hand.
“Hey,” he coos softly. “It’s okay. I’m coming up there in just a few weeks now, remember?” Chihaya nods, but the fact that he’s coming up to Tokyo soon doesn’t take away from the fact that they’re about to say goodbye. She knows that he gets that…he just isn’t saying it so he can keep on a brave face for her sake.
The train slides to a stop at the platform, and Chihaya lets go of Taichi’s hand to reach up and hug him instead. He wraps his arms around her waist and pulls her in tightly. The train station is an environment of chaos, but all she can hear, then, is the rhythmic thudding of his heart as they hold each other close. But all too soon, the speakers on the train platform begin to buzz, signaling that the gates will close soon. Chihaya gasps in surprise, throws herself backwards, plants a quick kiss on Taichi’s lips, and picks up her bag.
“I love you!” she shouts over her shoulder as she makes a dash for the train. Because, as much as she doesn’t want to go home without him, she knows she has to. She knows that Taichi being here for school is bettering his life, his future; what kind of girlfriend would she be to deny him that?
“I love you too!” he calls back, a melancholy smile spreading across his cheeks. He lifts his hand in a wave. She returns the gesture and steps onto the train just in time.
She finds an empty seat and plops herself down in it, sliding her body down low as if it could make her completely disappear. As the train speeds up, she mopes and stares out the window, missing him already. She’s lucky, she knows, to have someone she loves so much and who loves her so much in return. She knows she’s lucky to have gotten to see Taichi for his birthday at all, considering it’s only right near the beginning of the semester.
But all that knowledge doesn’t make it any easier to be without him now. After seeing him virtually every day since elementary school, having to go weeks between visits sucks, especially at the beginning of their relationship. She blinks back a few tears.
Chihaya feels her phone vibrate, and she sits up properly to be able to fish it out of her back pocket. She feels herself start to smile and her cheeks begin to flush involuntarily—a text from Taichi. She opens it and is greeted with a picture of him with two empty cans of lemon sour next to him as he sits on the ground, seemingly taken right after he fell. She giggles. He looks like a wreck.
“What the hell is this?!” the message reads.
“What do you mean?” she writes back. “You’re cute.”
“Whatever,” Taichi sends back. Chihaya bites her lip to suppress her ever-growing smile. She had read that in his voice, clear as day, as if he’s right beside her.
He follows up quickly with, “I like this one better” along with an attachment of a selfie they’d taken together in bed this morning. They’re surrounded by his white sheets, but their bare shoulders peek out a bit, hinting at the activities that had taken place the night before. Chihaya’s hair is slightly muffled, and Taichi’s cheeks are still pink from having just woken up, but they look so purely happy and content that those minor imperfections don’t matter.
Chihaya takes a deep breath to steady her suddenly-erratically-beating heart, clutching the phone to her chest as she does. Once her breathing is back to a normal pattern, she lowers the screen of her phone back into her view and uses her thumbs to tap out a message, short and simple:
“Me too.”