𝚈/𝚗'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"Ishigami-kun, would you mind spending a day with me during your winter vacation?" I requested.

"Huh? Sure, but only if you call me by my first name." he argued, walking next to me as we made our way to my house.

"Let's go on a date, Yu." I suggested.

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𝟹𝚛𝚍 𝙿𝚎𝚛𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙿𝙾𝚅

"I've been waiting, Ishigami. Well, let's pick out a present." Shinomiya said, walking into the mall.

"Wait, can you explain why you called me?" Ishigami sweatdropped, following after Shinomiya.

"You haven't decided what to give Y/n, right? You suddenly came crying to me about how you and Y/n are dating and how you're going on a date. I'm going to help you." Shinomiya explained.

"You have an ulterior motive, right?" Ishigami eyed Shinomiya suspiciously, knowing the girl who's always scheming something under that innocent face of hers.

"Wow, you're so distrustful. I only wanted to help my cute junior who finally confessed. It's 100% out of the goodness of my heart." Shinomiya argued.

"I'm so glad I have such a kind senpai." Ishigami remarked as they both used the escalator to go to their desired floor.

"Though, are you going to use this against me later?" Ishigami inquired, still suspicious of her.

"If it makes you that uneasy, I didn't prepare anything either! So shouldn't the debt be repaid by having you help me pick as well?!" Shinomiya scoffed.

"That way, it'll be a win-win situation. Any questions?" she averted her gaze from him.

"Well...if you put it that way..." Ishigami sweatdropped.

"Doubting someone willing to help you, that's quite rude, Ishigami. Can't you just trust people more?" Shinomiya placed both of her hands on her hips.

For some reason, Ishigami is not convinced by her statement.

"I see why you called me. We can consult each other when we pick presents." Ishigami summarized.

"That's right." she clarified.

But it turns out, Ishigami had already chosen a present for Y/n. He also states that there is a present that will allow you to avoid the receiver to feel disgusted with the present.

He suggested going to the gift catalog. You can just let the receiver pick whatever they want from it and then, you just send them the gift.

Then, you will never hear someone saying, 'I don't need your gift'. This made Shinomiya stare at him in disbelief.

"Ishigami, that's terrible." Shinomiya deadpanned at him. She then began to explain why this idea of his was horrible and how rash it was.

"The important thing is love. Shouldn't you pick something that shows how much you've thought about her?" Shinomiya suggested.

"How much I've thought about her...then I'd have to get plenty of presents." Ishigami marched his way to a shelf of gifts.

"No! That just makes you seem excessive!" Shinomiya scolded.

"Anyways, pajamas and underwear are a no go. You guys are still a new couple as well." she sighed.

"This is difficult...how about this muffler?" Ishigami came over with a stylish scarf.

"Seriously, is that all you think about?" Shinomiya sweatdropped.

"Huh?! What are you talking about?" Ishigami questioned.

"Do you really think I wouldn't know why you would pick a scarf that long?" she scoffed.

"It's obvious that you want to use the muffler with her, am I wrong?" Shinomiya pointed out.

"Well...it's not like I didn't think of that." Ishigami mumbled, an embarrassed blush searing through his cheeks.

"Okay, so something simple...soap should be fine, right?" Ishigami grabbed a box of an expensive soap brand.

"You...you pervert! Soap is something a girl rubs all over her body! Doing things like this or that while rubbing, I see clearly the depraved desires of men!" Shinomiya shouted in the middle of the store.

"That's not what I was thinking at all, though!" Ishigami argued.

"Listen up, Y/n is very important to me and the rest of the student council. The present should be simple but thoughtful." she advised.

After multiple attempts of Ishigami and counseling from Shinomiya, the two had finally decided on a present for Y/n.

"I hope she likes the aroma." Ishigami mumbled to himself. In the end, he chose something simple but thoughtful, just like what Shinomiya had instructed.

"You like flowers and herbs so it suits you. I think it's a good gift." Shinomiya praised.

"Well, let's get to the point. When you go to Fujiwara-senpai's house, you need a gift for the person you like, right?" Ishigami decided to approach this topic straightforwardly.

"Wh-What are you talking about? Someone I like?" Shinomiya quickly stood up, getting defensive.

"If you ask a guy to help you pick out a gift, doesn't that mean you want to know what sort of gift a boy would like?" Ishigami pointed out.

"Is there someone special that Shinomiya-senpai likes?" Ishigami finally asked. Shinomiya fell silent, not knowing how to respond.

She could obviously lie like the usual, but how could she lie to someone like Ishigami?

She stared at the ground as her cheeks heated up. She hesitantly nodded, confirming Ishigami's suspicions.

"Can I ask who it is?" Ishigami asked.

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Shinomiya barked back.

"Of course, it matters. If that person is a good-for-nothing loser, I would have to intervene." Ishigami told her.

"You haven't changed a bit. It's fine. This person isn't someone you need to worry about." Shinomiya reassured.

"That's good." Ishigami sighed in relief.

The two had finished shopping for their significant other and left the mall to go to their meeting place.

"Don't you have to go to your date, Ishigami? Won't you be late?" Shinomiya turned around to face her junior.

"Uh, we agreed to meet at 7." Ishigami mentioned.

"Then let me see your hand." she said. Ishigami just stared at her with confusion before raising his hand.

"This is my thanks for today." Shinomiya had placed a gorgeously designed ring on his pinky.

"A ring?" Ishigami questioned, making Shinomiya nod.

"A ring on the pinky means a wish for success in love." she explained.

"I want you to take care of Y/n for me. You can do it, Ishigami." Shinomiya encouraged.

"I will, and thank you, Shinomiya-senpai." Ishigama thanked the surprisingly kind woman.

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Dates!

A date refers to the act of a man and a woman, or both genders, I don't judge, meeting at a pre-arranged time; but in a broader sense, it refers to the time they spend together.

When the man and woman are not yet officially in a relationship, they must carefully read the mood and wait for the right moment to make their move.

Closing distance too quickly would be a critical mistake!

When it comes to deciding when to make a move, it is vital to take into account how many dates they've been.

Relationships tend to progress in a very logical, predetermined order. They gradually grow more intimate with each date.

"Did you wait long? Sorry for arriving late. I had some...business to take care of." Y/n finally arrived in their meeting spot.

"I didn't wait long. I just arrived a few minutes ago." Ishigami stopped leaning against the wall and stood up straight.

He hadn't noticed it until now, how Y/n looked well-dressed today. Ishigami was also dressed well for their date.

She wanted her first date to go well, so she thought it would be okay for her to dress nicely.

"Y-You look great today. I-I mean, you always look great everyday! You look amazing, I mean..." he panicked.

"N-No, I get what you mean. Thanks, you look great today as well." Y/n reassured him.

The two awkwardly entered the building together and checked in. The two of them were offered ice skates since they planned on ice skating.

L/n Y/n has been taught to ice skate ever since she was a child to avoid embarrassing herself in front of the public.

In other words, she is very good at ice skating and decided to take him with her for the winter because why not?

Ishigami Yu absolutely sucks at skating but decides to give it a chance to hang out with her.

Ishigami kept falling and slipping whenever he tried to move around the ice skating rink.

Y/n decides to take it slow and teach them. She wanted to enjoy this with Ishigami and she could tell that he was embarrassed from falling so much.

"Okay, hold my hands and I'll guide you around. I won't let you go until you're ready." Y/n reassured him.

Ishigami placed his hands on top of hers and they both slowly moved around as Y/n gave him advice on what to do.

She ends up holding hands with Ishigami for the rest of the time to keep him steady.

In the end, Ishigami learned how to ice skate with Y/n's surprisingly great teaching skills.

Since the two were freezing, and it was winter as well, the two decided to go to a nearby coffee shop to warm up.

"Here are your menus. Please take your time and call me when you're ready, don't be afraid to call me." she said as she handed us two menus.

"What are you gonna order?" Ishigami whispered over to her as he scanned the menu.

"I don't know, maybe a hot chocolate since it's pretty cold and we just got back from ice skating." she told him.

"I'll order the same thing as you then." Ishigami mumbled to himself. The waitress came back afterward.

"And what would you two lovebirds like to order on this wintry day?" the waitress came over with a gentle smile on her face.

"I would like to order uhm...a hot chocolate." Y/n pointed to the hot chocolate on the menu she gave us earlier.

"I'll get the same thing as her. Also, if you don't mind, kindly add some whipped cream, chocolate chips, and marshmallows on hers. I'll have mine with just marshmallows." Ishigami informed.

"Got it. I'll be back with your order in 5 minutes." the waitress turned around and left us alone.

"How'd you know I wanted it with marshmallows, chocolate chips, and whip cream?" Y/n questioned, turning to Ishigami.

"That's what you ordered last year when you helped me study for the finals. You said it was your favorite." Ishigami reminded, leaving the girl flabbergasted.

"Oh, uhm...I'm glad you remembered something like that. It makes me feel appreciated." Y/n mumbled.

How awkward! Even after they kissed and started dating, these two people still haven't passed the awkward stage! How embarrassing could this get?!

"Here are your hot chocolates. Please enjoy." the waitress placed their ordered hot chocolate on the table before leaving the two alone.

The hot chocolate is more like melted Belgian truffle than the stuff Y/n's maids serve.

It's dark, rich, and coats her tongue thickly before flowing down her throat.

The top is swirled with white milk foam and spotted with cocoa powder with sprinkled chocolate chips and decorated with marshmallows.

It smells like Charlie's Chocolate factory and she's torn between wanting to savor it and inhale it.

For some moments she just wraps her hands around the ceramic mug, letting the warmth flow through her fingers, banishing the wintry chill.

A heavy silence settled over them, thicker than the uneasy tension in the atmosphere.

Their unsettled eyes glanced unceremoniously around and tried to avoid catching each other's glances.

Y/n shifted uncomfortably in her seat and played with the hems of her shirt to somehow distract herself from how nervous she was.

Ishigami shuffled his feet against the wooden floor of the cafe, awkwardly tracing the outlines of each wooden plank.

Should I say something? That's what both of them were thinking, but one thing stopped them.

What if one of them interrupted each other while the other was trying to say something?

"So, I got you this. You can open it when you get home." Y/n mentioned, slipping a paper bag under the table.

"Oh uhm, thanks. I got you this as well. I hope you like it." Ishigami mumbled with a shy blush.

"I'm quite nervous right now since it's my first date." Y/n admitted, trying to change the awkward atmosphere.

"I'm nervous as well since it's my first date with someone." Ishigami confessed as well, making Y/n chuckle.

Now that the two of them admitted their nervousness, the awkward tension in the air had disappeared.

Why? It's all thanks to one of the personas Y/n displayed, the conversationalist persona!

She swore to never put on a persona unless it is an emergency, but she considered this as an emergency.

Thanks to that, the two began to chat with one another, forgetting the time they were consuming.

It had already been an hour and a half since the two lovebirds had entered the cafe.

Y/n glanced at her watch and noticed what time it was. It was nearly midnight and she knew her father would be furious if he caught Y/n coming home late at this hour.

"I think we stayed for too long. Time flies when you're with someone you love." Ishigami laughed before calling a waitress to get their bill.

He realized what he said and nearly threw up at how corny it was. He cringed at himself and knew that he would never forget this in the next 10 years.

"I relate to that very well. We've stayed a bit for too long. It's time for us to go home." Y/n and Ishigami decided to split the bill after they argued on who should pay.

The two stood up and left the cafe and Ishigami offered to walk his date back home like the gentleman he is.

"No, people hold hands on the first date already!"

Shirogane's words echoed in Ishigami's head as he nervously just stared at the scene next to him.

Next to him was a shorter girl, with h/c hair, staring at the cityscape with her sparkling e/c eyes.

The city spread below them, and the world suddenly felt so wide and free that she wanted to jump.

Lights glittered everywhere just liked stars dropping to the Earth. Huge and small buildings collided in a mixture of shadow and geometry.

Tiny vehicles rushing along tangled lines of streets, creating twisting threads of light.

They all intertwined together in a magnificent mess of dreams. What a breathtaking view.

Ishigami took a deep breath and yoloed it. He gently held Y/n's hand in his, catching her off guard.

She stared at him in surprise, but he only averted his gaze. This made Y/n chuckle to herself as she intertwined their fingers.

The two happily smiled, loving the fact that they were now dating after so many hidden feelings.

Starting from now on, Ishigami didn't have to call her a 'goddess', he was glad to officially call her his.

Despite how happy and amazing the day was, happiness doesn't last forever.

Happiness doesn't last. That's why when you have it, it's best to cherish it before it leaves.

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