i was preoccupied folding laundry before i heard little clanks coming from somewhere in the room.

at first, i thought it might've been noise from downstairs until i heard it three more times and i realized it was coming from the window. dropping a shirt, mid-fold, i crawled up to my window and peeked out. for a moment, there was nothing until i saw a head of purple hair.

what in the world was he doing.

i wiggled my window before pushing it up, wind immediately flurrying into my room, the temperature leaving my face feeling cold. "what are you doing?"

"oh, right, i'm supposed to 'serenade you' now, aren't i?" shinsou quoted with his fingers.

"oh my god, i meant that as a joke, hitoshi!"

"give me a second, let me see what songs i know." shinsou thought out loud and i bit my lip and i couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"meet me by the front of the house," i shouted down, not waiting for his response and closing the window.

i pulled a pair of old shoes from my closet, hopping on one leg, then the other, trying to put them on. after stomping on the right shoe, i hurried down the stairs and out the door, with only a quick shout to my mom who was in the living room. i closed the door behind me and was engulfed by the cold night.

"boo!" shinsou stepped out from the front of the house, laughing into the dark of the night.

"ahh, you're so scary," i said sarcastically before joining him in his laughter, walking towards him.

"what? i didn't get you, pretty girl?"

"no-" he cut my retaliation off by kissing me, pulling on the sides of my sweater to bring me closer.

pulling away, my eyes half lidded and lips buzzing from both the cold and his kiss, he rubbed at the back of his neck. "sorry, it's been too long."

"it's been two days, hitoshi."

"two very long days, y/n."

i could only faintly see his eyes, illuminated by the distant street lights. "alright, let's get going before my mom gets nosy and starts watching us."

"what's wrong with that?" shinsou asked, i deadpanned. "alright, alright, i get it. come on, i don't want you freezing on me."

shinsou had left his car on, the warmth of his heater proving it, and i couldn't help but find that endearing.

we both climbed outside, eager to get out of the cold. "alright, where are we headed?" i asked, staring at shinsou.

the boy didn't respond and only looked at me for a prolonged moment.

"what?"

"nothing," shinsou shook his head. "you just looked really pretty."

i felt the tips of my ears heat up, i wasn't wearing any makeup and i was in an old sweatshirt, one from high school that showed its age through the worn logo on the front. "really?"

"yeah, but we could do without the hoodie." he answered as he reversed out of the driveway, one hand on the steering wheel and one of the back of my seat.

"huh?"

"i need to get you into one of mine."

"..."

the boy laughed at my lack of response, before patting the top of my thigh. "don't think too much about it, pretty girl."

"yeah, yeah, don't flatter yourself. i was just thinking about how territorial you are." i rolled my eyes, watching as we drove down my street and neared the road.

"what do you mean?!" shinsou exclaimed, coming up on a red light and turning to face me.

i pulled the collar of my sweater down, displaying all of his handiwork. the boy readjusted himself in his seat before replying smugly, "i did do pretty good, didn't i?"

"you're hopeless, absolutely shameless too."

"it's not my fault, pretty girl. but i am sorry though, i didn't mean to go overboard." the light turned green.

"it's fine," i mumbled to myself, "i kind of like them." i pushed a finger against my neck, the way shinsou had when we were in the closet.

"wow, y/n, i didn't know you were like that." shinsou scrunched his nose, laughing softly.

"fuck off."

shinsou's hand searched for mine in the shadows of his car, interlacing our fingers when he bumped into it.

i stared at our hands, "so, where are we going?"

"first, we're going to buy snacks and the rest is a surprise."

"oh, really? planned something for us?" i teased.

he brushed a kiss against my knuckles, "of course i did."

-

"shinsou, we don't need to buy five boxes of cat shaped chocolates."

"no, we totally do! look, they're even on sale."

"that's because they expire in two days, you're really l going to eat all that chocolate in that time?"

"of course, i am."

"... fine, put it in the basket."

-

the drive to wherever shinsou's 'surprise' was was a distance away from the store we stopped by and an even greater distance from my house. it was pleasant though, shinsou caught me up on his and tai's adventures and how he was gaining tai's favor.

"pretty soon, i'll have a stronger bond with him, you know?"

"i can't believe my joke really bruised your ego that much." i rolled my eyes at his antics.

"it did, y/n, it really did. but, i'm pretty sure you can kiss it better." he held a hand to his heart, clutching at it dramatically.

"in your dreams, hitoshi."

"oh, trust me, princess. i dream about it. a lot."

with our laughter filling the car, i hardly noticed when shinsou stopped the car and only did when he turned his key, the car falling into a silence around us. the boy faced me, "come on, let me show you something."

i followed his lead as he got out of the car, taking in our surroundings. on top of an isolated hill, the terrain overlooked the city. the lights twinkled and created a display of gridded colors.

shinsou joined me with the bag of snacks in one hand and a small blanket in the other. luckily, the wind had seemed to settle as we set down the blanket so it wouldn't blow the fabric away.

"so," shinsou sat down first, crossing his legs and pulling things out of the bag, neatly organizing them on the blanket.

"yes?" i sat by his side.

"what do you think?" shinsou prompted, opening a box of strawberries.

"it's gorgeous," i faced the city again, "i didn't even know you could get up here though."

"yeah, i would come up here a lot during our last year in high school. it was quiet and a good place to do homework in the spring."

"why only in the spring?" i asked, turning back to face him.

"it was too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter, and then it would be too windy in the fall." he answered, offering me a strawberry.

i plucked one out of the box, "i see how that makes sense."

"yeah, this is the first time i ever brought anybody here though."

"really?" i was kind of shocked, "you didn't date anybody in high school?"

shinsou shook his head, "no, not really."

"what about Yuuei? anybody there? y'know before..."

"before you, pretty girl?" shinsou smiled softly. "there was nothing serious until you came along. but kendou and monoma insisted on dragging me out of the house, oh, we used to live together, and take me to their parties."

i nodded, "why'd you move out?"

shinsou bit into another strawberry, "it got harder to sleep at some point of my first year, i was always up and making noise for the two. once i was able to get control over my sleeping again, i figured that i should just move out in case my disorder got worse."

"oh," i remember shinsou had told me something about that. "and do you like living alone?"

"for the most part, yeah." he said, "i've liked it a lot more recently."

"and why's that?"

"it's easier to have you over."

shinsou had a point. if he lived with neito and itsuka, we wouldn't have as much privacy as we did in his apartment. neito and itsuka were nice though, i wouldn't have minded their company.

"ah, i get it. that's why we don't hang out much in my dorm."

"right! mina's great and everything so i wouldn't want to impose on her, you know?"

"but you would you like to come over to my dorm?"

"of course but we don't have to, mina shouldn't be kicked out of her own dorm just so i can come over. we have my apartment." shinsou reasoned, absentmindedly feeding me a strawberry. although shocked, i accepted it.

shinsou swiped the pad of his thumb across the corner of my lip. "sorry, you had something there."

"shinsou, it's dark. how can you see?"

it was quiet for a moment, "oh, no. you caught me."

-

after eating a few of shinsou's beloved chocolates as dessert, we ended up laying down and just watching the stars.

not many words were exchanged and i could feel the warmth radiating off shinsou where i was pressed close to his side.

"let's dance?" shinsou whispered, air carrying the words.

"what? right now?"

"yeah, why not?" i watched him shrug then return his gaze to the sky, moonlight washing over his side profile and reflecting off his eyes, making them shine like amethysts.

i pondered the harm in dancing, in the quiet, in the moonlight.

"sure, let's dance." i sat up after a moment, brushing any grass blades off my sweater.

shinsou followed my lead, placing a hand on my waist and then taking my hand in the other.

it was nice.

the city below us made its own quiet song; car horns here and there, the whistle of a scheduled train, sirens wailing and the rumble of speeding cars. it supported our shenanigans and a gust of wind nearly toppled me off balance, pushing me even closer against shinsou.

when i looked up, the boy was peering down at me.

"what?"

"nothing," he shook his head, hair jostling with the movement.

"it's just that," his gaze softened, "the moon is beautiful, isn't it?"

~

a/n: omg !! i love the ending of the chapter sm! but anyways, i was really eager to publish this chapter after the previous one , so theres another 2 chapter upload !

i think i like where i'm taking shinsou and y/n's relationship and it's so fun to write their little scenes. for me, it's defs the little things that matter n i think it might be noticeable in their dynamic.

anyways, i'm up pretty late trying to finish this a/n but i hope u guys enjoyed the chapter !

like always, thank u sm for reading !

take care n stay safe !! i love u all sm ! <3 double kisses this chapter,  mwah mwah :) !!

omg, n i almost forgot to thank u guys for 9k reads ! i also forgot to thank u guys for 8k during chapter nine's a/n so ill do that rn

thank u !! every little milestone like that means everything to me n i want u guys to know :)) <3