*ೃ༄ third person pov

The young lady thought of the rain as a beautiful and calming phenomenon.

Oblivious to the life it gave, it showered the world, quenching the soil and the life that depend upon it.

The sound of its gentle pitter-patters on the roofs of homes soothed her as it washed away every thought that disturbed her mind, heart, and soul.

The rain was something that stopped her thoughts from buzzing, calmed her, but at the same time, excited the lady.

"Let's share an umbrella, Hyōma." she suggested. Her euphonious voice made him agree right away.

Chigiri held up the umbrella over their heads, carrying their school bags together with one arm.

The afternoon rain shower made Chigiri want to snuggle into his bed and read a novel until he fell asleep in the arms of his lover.

The neighborhood they grew up in was as tranquil as ever, with their footsteps being the only ones that echoed throughout the vicinity.

"I can carry my own bag, you know." Y/n coughed out, feeling guilty even though he was the one who offered to do it.

The whole world seemed caught up in the beauty of this moment, and there was a sense of harmony and peace that pervaded the atmosphere.

"I know." he replied, glancing at her.

When he noticed her eyes already fixated on him, he looked away in response, his ears reddening.

Small acts of kindness like these always made Y/n feel special in a way, especially because they were coming from Chigiri.

Whenever she would eat, he would tug her hair behind her ears to prevent it from obscuring her view and getting into her food.

Whenever she raised her arms and her shirt would slightly get lifted up, he'd stand behind her to make sure no one saw her exposed skin.

He'd do all sorts of services to help lessen the burden on her shoulder, regardless of whether it was a small or big favor.

Oh, how grateful she was to have him.

When they arrived at his place, Y/n was greeted with silence, surprising her as his mom and older sister would usually be there.

"Where are they?" she asked, looking around.

"They're probably hanging out without me again." he huffed, putting down the wet umbrella in its holder.

He took off his shoes and went to his room, where he plopped down their school bags on his bed.

"Do you want to eat anything?" he inquired.

"Not really. Why?" she returned his question with one of her own.

He stated that he wanted to try a recipe he saw online and was wondering if she could be the first taste-tester. It was free food, so Y/n couldn't refuse.

"You can use my bathroom while I cook something for us to eat. Feel free to wear any of my clothes, they're in the closet." Chigiri suggested, making her nod.

Chigiri took out the ingredients he needed to make popcorn chicken and set them down on the counter. He then tied his hair up in a ponytail to avoid it from getting in the way of his cooking.

Meanwhile, Y/n went inside his bathroom to take a shower.

His bathroom wasn't really unfamiliar to her since she's used it in the past whenever they had sleepovers.

Entering the shower area, she let out a sigh of relief when she felt the warm water gently caress her skin, washing away the stress and worries of the day.

After she was done, she dried herself up with the guest towel that he had bought for her to use every time she came over.

She then changed into the pair of clothes she picked out from his closet, a jersey and a pair of shorts that reached below her knee.

The moment Y/n was done drying her hair, she hung the towel and left to check up on him.

Chigiri was in the middle of dredging the pieces of chicken in panko crumbs when he felt arms snake around his waist, feeling the warmth of her body being pressed on his back.

His face heated up at the sudden affection from the cold lady. He hoped that she couldn't hear the ecstatic pounding of his heart.

"Do you like my shirt?" Y/n inquired, making him shift his body to turn to her.

His eyes eyed the top she was wearing, realizing that it was an old jersey of his.

Chigiri couldn't help but let out a small chuckle, asking why she chose that shirt out of all the available shirts in his closet.

"I mean, this one has your name on it so..." her voice trailed off, getting slightly embarrassed as she stuffed her face into his back.

He saw it.

He saw them getting married; moving in together, cuddling on the couch, waking up to good morning kisses, having arguments, making up after, cooking together, smiling for no reason, annoying one another, and never leaving each other's side.

He saw them together.

He pursed his lips, trying to contain how happy he was to hear such words come out of her mouth.

Oh, how grateful he was to have her.

‧˚₊•┈┈┈┈ ♕ ┈┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹

*ೃ༄ your pov

"Good job." I congratulated the members of the club, earning a couple of "thanks" in return.

They just finished their match with a school that wanted to challenge us. As I anticipated, our team won.

"Hmph, we mostly did all the work but no one's talking about that, is what my brother says." Keisuke grumbled while Junichi nodded.

Ignoring them as I didn't wanna waste any of my energy, I approached the young man who was staring at the grassy field beneath him, reminiscing on the times he would eat up the ground as he kicked into high gear.

Unfortunately, he didn't score much. He kept hesitating whenever he got the ball that the Wanima brothers would steal the ball away from him.

It's so mean, but at the same time, I would do the same if I saw how pathetic Hyōma was being.

"You did well." I reached my hand out and ruffled his hair, "Don't feel guilty."

You mustn't, Y/n.

If this is what he wants, you have to support him.

Even if it's something you don't want.

Hyōma slowly nodded before looking up from the ground and heading to the bench to cool down.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed a fairly young woman eyeing us with a clipboard in her arms as she spoke into the phone.

She looked important, and out of place.

"Y/n, can we go over there later?" Hyōma's voice snapped me back into reality as he pointed to a secluded area.

Behind the school?

"Sure." I sighed, agreeing to come along with him.

The woman from earlier...

She looked important, so I'll scavenge whatever information I can get in my free time. If she can be of use, I wouldn't mind tugging a few strings to make my selfish desires work.

I concluded the match and dismissed the club members. Hyōma and I then went to the place he wanted to go to earlier.

No one was around, and it was quiet with only the rustling leaves accompanying the windy breeze.

"I never realized how gloomy this place was." I breathed out, slightly frowning at the loneliness of this part of the school. And yet, I found it quite comforting in a way.

Suddenly, I felt arms snake around my waist from behind me. Hyōma hid his face in the crook of my neck, allowing my skin to feel the warmth of his face despite the windy season.

"Is everything all right?" I inquired, unsure of what to do with his change of behavior.

"I-I'm sorry for disappointing you." he croaked out, his voice quivering as he spoke. The arms that were wrapped around my waist were trembling too.

"I'm sorry. I'll do better..." he tightened his grip around me as he pulled me closer to him, "so please don't break up with me...don't leave me, please..."

Hyōma?...

And with that, I gulped the words that were clawing inside of my throat, and plastered a sympathetic smile on my face.

"Hyōma..." I released myself from his grip to face him, "you've never disappointed me for even a second, and what made you think that I'd leave you?"

He looked at me with guilt-filled eyes.

"It's just...you looked so displeased recently, so I assumed you were getting tired of me." he lowered his gaze to the ground, "I-I know I'm not as great as I was back then, but...but I promise I'll change!"

And just like that, I had him kneeling in front of me- gripping onto the hems of my skirt as he begged for me to stay with him.

"I'll do better...I'll do better so, please don't go." he hiccupped, fighting back the tears that were threatening to spill.

How long has he been feeling this way?

"Oh, Hyōma..." I frowned, bending down to face him.

Tears shimmered in his eyes as he emotionally and physically battled the urge to not sob in front of me.

"Shh, don't cry, my love." I used my thumb to wipe away his tears, planting a kiss on every area that a tear had dried up on.

I then wrapped my arms around his neck to make sure he didn't hide the vulnerable state he was in from me, as it was a sight only I could see.

"I will always be here for you. I'm going to be here for you through it all." I placed my lips on his, "Don't you ever forget that, Hyōma."

He wrapped his arms around my waist once more, pulling me closer as he desperately pleaded for another kiss.

It hurts seeing him like this.

I hated seeing him lose hope in the one thing he loved.

‧˚₊•┈┈┈┈ ♕ ┈┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹

We stood there, staring at one another in the darkness of the streets. The only thing illuminating the area was the lamp post, along with the natural lights of the night sky.

"Well...did you need me for something?" Teieri Anri asked, clenching the clipboard in her arms.

I stated that I saw the contents of the clipboard and pointed out that I didn't see Chigiri Hyōma's name there. Upon confrontation, Anri argued that he didn't have the ambition to play a part in the project she was implementing.

This irritated me, even though she was right.

"Shall I explain it to you then?" I looked up at her, "I'll make it so that it's easy for you to understand, Anri."

I'm sorry, Hyōma.

Forgive me for being so selfish.

But I refuse to make you lose hope in something you love.

‧˚₊•┈┈┈┈ ♕ ┈┈┈┈•‧₊˚⊹

(a/n:  yooo, tysm for 1k. It's only been like a week or two since I first published this th 💀)