⊱ 𝐀 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄 ⊰

"Ugh..." You groaned, rubbing your eyes as you stretched your arms. "Ew, morning..."

"Actually, it's the afternoon."

Your eyes shot wide open and you glanced around, seeing your phone plugged in and laying beside you. Gorou was still on call. You hadn't even realized you fell asleep without hanging up.

"What the- Why didn't you hang up?"

"B-Because," he stuttered, suddenly shy as he explained his reasoning. "I wasn't sure if you'd have a nightmare because of all the stress and I wanted to be here if you did..."

Wait what the fuck that's so sweet stop-

"...You did sleep, right?" You asked.

"Yeah, I fell asleep around four," he stated.

"Good," you sighed, yawning quietly as you checked the time. "Oh. You seriously stayed on the phone with me until 1 pm?"

"Um... yeah."

"Sounds like you don't have a life," you said nonchalantly, though you could feel warmth spreading across your cheeks.

"Don't insult me, just say thank you," he huffed.

"Thank you," you mumbled reluctantly. "For helping me and stuff."

"You're welcome!"

You unplugged the device and brought it with you as you approached your window, making sure M/n wasn't home. Thankfully, her car wasn't in the driveway. You exited your room and strolled down the stairs.

"So we said five o'clock, right?" You asked, glancing over to see the remains of a broken vase on the floor.

"Yep!" He chirped. "How are you feeling?"

"Um... Feeling like I just got out of bed. Speaking of which, I'm gonna eat and get in the shower before I procrastinate and have to get ready five minutes before you get here."

"...Are you sure you're okay with me driving you?"

"...Yeah, I think so."

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"Ayaka, what do you wear on a date when you actually wanna try to look good?" You queried as your phone sat on your dresser while you rummaged through the drawers.

"A date?!" She gasped. "I thought you broke up with Scaramouche!"

"Um, I-I did... Okay, maybe calling it a 'date' isn't right. Gorou invited me to the carnival in Inazuma City."

"Y/n... That's most certainly a date."

"Okay, well, what do I wear?" You groaned. 

"This is quite unexpected... I knew you two were getting along, but to suddenly go on a date with him..."

"Ayaka!" You whined.

"Okay, okay, my apologies," she giggled. "Send some pictures of outfits you found so far."

You did as she said and she hummed as she looked closely at each outfit. You waited for her response.

"To be honest, I'm not sure. We don't have the same style, so I can't tell you... Wear what feels right to you?"

"That's so helpful, thank you."

"Sorry!"

"It's fine," you chuckled. "I'll figure it out."

After a while, you hung up and picked an outfit. You weren't sure if it was the right choice or not, but that led into you asking yourself why you even cared. You never tried dressing up for dates with Scaramouche, so why was this any different? You figured it was probably because you actually cared about Gorou and he seemed to care about you.

Meanwhile, Gorou wasn't sure what to wear so that it didn't look like he didn't try but also not like he tried too hard. He couldn't figure it out, so he went to Shirou.

"...You're seriously not gonna tell me who you're going out with? It's Kokomi, isn't it?" 

"I'm not telling you. Just help me pick something, please," he replied with a sigh.

"Pfft, I think you know I'm not the one to go for with problems like this," Shirou laughed.

"I know, but Mom would overdress me," Gorou said.

"Just ask Kazuha. That guy knows fashion, right?" Shirou suggested. "He always looks good when he comes here."

"Oh! That's a good idea, thanks!"

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You were mentally freaking out. M/n still hadn't returned, which you were thankful for, but you only hoped it would stay that way until you left with Gorou. You stared out the window eagerly, waiting for a car to pull up. The carnival wasn't too far, but still, you were nervous about him driving without a full license. But you decided to trust him. After all, you knew him, and you were sure he studied the driving manual avidly until he memorized all of its contents.

So it would be fine.

You saw a car drive up and park in front of the house, causing you to quickly grab your purse and rush out the door. There was a mixture of anxiety and excitement bubbling in your chest, and it felt weirdly nice.

Gorou was about to get out of the car to go knock on the door when he noticed that you'd already exited the building. He unlocked the car doors and you hopped in the passengers' seat. He took one look at your outfit and immediately noticed that you looked nicer than usual. Well, you looked lovely all the time, but your outfit specifically was clearly picked out for the occasion. You also recognized the same detail with his clothes.

"...Hey," he greeted with a smile.

You were more embarrassed than you thought you'd be. Seeing him in person after sobbing to him over the phone the night prior felt awkward, though he didn't seem to share that feeling.

"Hey," you responded, glancing over to him.

"Are you okay? I'll drive as slow as I can," he said, assuming your issue was with the fact that you were in a car. Part of it was, to be fair.

"Okay," you nodded. "I think I'll be fine."

"If you say so," he replied, starting the car back up and driving slowly out of the neighborhood. You tightly gripped the handle over the window and tried your best to ignore the snow on the ground.

"If you hit literally anything, I'm not trusting you again."

"Don't worry, I'll be extra careful."

"Good..." You mumbled. "...You look nice."

His ear twitched and he blushed, "Y-You, too!"

As he pulled out onto the actual road, you stiffened up but didn't say anything. You stared closely at the road for any ice that could've formed, even while you spoke. 

"I know you never really brought it up, but I did mean it when I apologized to you over the phone yesterday," you sighed.

He glanced at you from the corner of his eye before returning his focus to the road, "And I meant it when I said it's okay."

"B-But it's not okay," you stammered. "I mean, I kept insulting you all the time and I don't even know if it affected your self esteem or not. I also made fun of Kokomi a few times even though I didn't really mean it. I know that was in elementary school, but still..."

"Then I forgive you, and I hope you can forgive me for assuming stuff about your life just because I disliked you."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"...I forgive you too."

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You arrived safely, though you still jumped out of the car immediately once it was parked. The event was set up on a large field just outside the city, and all the lights were shining brightly against the evening sky. 

"It looks so cool," you awed. 

"Yeah, I always liked the lights for these events," he agreed.

"Well, what first?" You asked.

"I'm just bringing you here to make you feel better, you decide," he shrugged. "I'll do whatever you want me to."

"That sentence sounds slightly suspicious but I'm choosing to ignore it," you said. "Anyway... Oh look, an archery event. Let's test your skills a little, shall we?"

"I'll definitely beat you," he smirked.

"We'll see about that."

You went over to the shooting range and paid to participate. They gave both you and Gorou bows and arrows. You did act confident, but you had no idea how to aim. When you were told to start, you immediately shot an arrow into the bush behind the target. Meanwhile, Gorou hit the circle in the middle of his target.

He laughed at your failed attempt as you struggled to get another arrow set up, "Good try."

"Yeah, yeah, I suck," you rolled your eyes. 

He quickly shot another arrow, hitting the edge of the circle only a centimeter away from his original attempt. You were actually a bit impressed by his aim, but you tried your best to hide it. Noting that you probably only had about less than two minutes left to shoot, you did your best with the next arrow but still only managed to hit the outer edge of it.

"At least you hit it that time," Gorou chuckled, hitting the target once again. "Need a little help?"

"No," you scoffed. "I am perfectly fine, Mr. Sharpshooter."

"You're not even holding the arrow right," he pointed out, walking over to you. "You could end up cutting your finger like that."

"It's a miracle I haven't already," you replied as he grabbed your hand, fixing the positions of your fingers. When he touched you, a warm sensation rose to your skin. Your eyes widened at the feeling.

"There," he said, stepping back.

"Thanks, but I still can't aim for shit," you stated, closing one of your eyes as you tried to decide where to shoot.

"Sounds like you're saying that so I'll help you," he snickered.

"Who knows?" You responded with a smile. "Are you going to or not?"

Are we flirting right now!? What am I saying!?

He blushed but didn't back down. He stood by your side and wrapped one arm around you to help steady your aim, holding his hand over yours. From the corner of your eye, you could see his side profile exceptionally close to you. Your face flared up to the point where it almost hurt, but you tried to focus on aiming. 

"Okay, let go now," he whispered.

You followed his direction and almost hit the circle, unfortunately only missing by an inch. He moved away from you and when you saw his entire body, you saw his tail swishing behind him. You lowered the bow and smiled. You liked the feeling; the desire to be close to him. It was a new experience, but a good one. And it didn't seem like he minded either. You returned the bows to the person running the event and Gorou chose a prize for winning. Of course, it was a dog plush.

"You keep telling me you're not a dog but then you get things like that," you pointed out as you walked with him down the grass path.

"W-Well, I'm only part dog and you always acted like I shared all the same qualities," he huffed. "Besides, I chose this for you."

"You did?"

"Yeah..." He handed it to you, looking away with his cheeks dusted pink. "I have my own at home."

"You really seem to like clichés," you said with a small smile. "But thanks."

"N-No problem," he stuttered and you saw his ears twitch.

Cute...

You glanced around to look for something else you wanted to do, "Oh my god, they have bumper cars here?!"

Gorou gasped, "We should do that!"

"Bet. I'll race you there," you grinned, patting his arm before dashing over.

"Wh- You didn't even give me a fair start!"

"Yeah but you run too fast!"