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Cold air drifted through the quiet streets as Sakura walked aimlessly beneath the streetlights.
His patrol route had long since become a mess. And he don't even know on what street of the town he'd already been to.
Mostly because his thoughts were a mess too, which was entirely Endo's fault.
Sakura still didn't understand how things escalated into that.
He'd reluctantly agreed to meet Endo so the guy would stop pestering him through calls and appearing dramatically in random places scaring all his friends or classmates that were with him
And the next thing he knew, Endo had dragged him through what he called a "date."
After picking him up with his big bike and driving like a madman. They end up in a ridiculously expensive restaurant, a place that even Sakura wouldn't have thoight of going in his enetire life.
They ate and talked. Mostly just Endo yapping or asking him questions, while subtly pouring suggestions to go with him and leave Furin. Of course, he would immediately shot down the idea the moment it came up.
After eating, he was led to an arcade. Endo casually looting every games he came across to. Though they would fight
Then an aquarium.
An actual gigantic aquarium. He didn't even knkw that such a place existed near their town.
Anyway, Sakura had spent half the day yelling at Endo for wasting money while the other man only laughed and called him cute.
Annoying.
So annoying.
But still, he can't deny that he had fun for all the first times that he experience for today. It was supposed to be one of the memories he will cherish.
But just then.
Right in front of a giant glowing tank filled with drifting jellyfish, Endo had casually said.
"Sakura, I've fallen for you."
Like he was commenting on the weather.
Sakura nearly bash his face into the glass seaprating him abd the water. Caught off guard with the sudden confession, his face immediately burn red from the tip of his ear to his neck.
But, of course he dismissed it immediately.
Because it was Endo.
Endo said weird things constantly.
Still...
The words stayed stuck in his head afterward.
Fallen.
Is he talking about romantically? Like love or maybe just a simple platonic admiration?
Truthfully, he didn't know. Crush, like or love and whatnot.
What did that even feel like? How were you supposed to know?
How did people just... realize it?
Sakura groaned quietly and rubbed his face.
"Stupid," he muttered to himself.
Lost in thought, he barely noticed how far he'd wandered. He continue to walk aimlessly not hearing the voice calling out to him.
"-kura."
"Sakura."
Still nothing.
"SAKURA!"
Sakura jumped violently and instantly spun into a fighting stance.
Only to freeze and stop his hands halfway.
Standing a few feet away was a tall familiar figure wearing an orange jacket, glasses, and wooden sandals despite the freezing weather.
Togame blinked lazily at him.
Sakura immediately relaxed his shoulders in embarrassment.
"Oh," he muttered. "It's just you, Togame."
Togame stared for a second before laughing softly.
"That's a hell of a greeting."
"You startled me!"
"You were zoning out pretty hard."
Sakura clicked his tongue. Looking at this person he cannot help but wonder something and absentmindedly mumbled "I wonder if he likes someone..."
"Hm?"
"Nothing."
Togame tilted his head curiously before glancing around. "You're pretty far from Bofurin territory."
"...I walked without thinking."
"That sounds dangerous."
Sakura scowled. "I can handle myself."
"I know."
There it was again.
It was only a normal reply. Something that he hears from his worried friends every now and then, now that they got closer.
But for whatever reason, he always hear something different behind the concern of Togame's calm and easy tone. And it made him feel weirdly conscious and aware of himself.
An undescribable feeling that he cannot name.
It was then that a tap on his shoulder snap him out of his thoughts, that he looked up.
Togame lifted the plastic bag in his hand slightly. "Want a drink?"
Sakura blinked.
Inside were two bottles of ramune.
"...You carrying those around?"
"Bought too many."
"But there's only two?"
Togame shrugged. "So? More than one is many"
"That's dumb."
"Wanna help me?"
Sakura hesitated before quietly taking one.
The glass bottle was cold against his fingers.
For a while, they simply walked together through the quiet streets near the boundary of Shishitoren territory.
Just the sound of their footsteps and the occasional clink of glass bottles. A comfortable peaceful silence permeating around them.
Eventually, they ended up on a rooftop overlooking the city lights.
Sakura sat beside Togame with his knees pulled up slightly, ramune balanced between his hands.
The cold wind brushed against his hair.
Togame sat beside him comfortably, leaning back on his hands.
"...You seem distracted," Togame said eventually.
Sakura stared down at his drink.
"...Can I ask something weird?"
"Hm?"
Sakura looked deeply uncomfortable already. He never expected to brought this up to anyone. Not his friends, not even Kotoha or Umemiya, because it's too embarassing.
But unexpectedly he don't mind, if it its Togame. Maybe there is something that he is expecting to learn from this question.
"What does it feel like," he asked slowly, "to like someone?"
Togame blinked, an undeniabke surprise flashed across his green eyes hidden behind those glasses.
Sakura immediately regretted speaking.
"Forget it."
"No," Togame said quietly. "I'm thinking."
Sakura frowned suspiciously. "Thinking about what?"
"How to explain it."
The rooftop fell quiet again before Togame spoke softly.
"I think..." He looked up at the sky briefly. "You start wanting to stay around them more."
Sakura listened quietly.
"You notice little things without meaning to." Togame smiled faintly. "Like what makes them mad. What makes them smile. What kind of little things they like."
Sakura's fingers tightened around his ramune bottle.
"And when something good happens," Togame continued, "they become the first person you wanna tell."
The wind felt colder suddenly.
Sakura swallowed.
"...That sounds troublesome."
Togame laughed quietly. "Yeah. It is."
Another silence.
Then Sakura muttered:
"How do you know if it's love and not just admiration or friendship or something?"
Togame glanced sideways at him. His eyes narrowed a bit as if wanting to confirm somthing.
"...Did someone confess to you?"
Sakura nearly choked on air.
"WHA-NO!"
Togame raised an eyebrow.
Sakura groaned aggressively. "It's complicated."
"Mm."
"...Endo said weird stuff."
"Ah."
Somehow Togame immediately understood. But he cannot help a bit of annoyance to rise up.
Sakura stared at his ramune bottle miserably. "He told me he had fallen for me. Of course, I know he is just joking. Still, it made me wonder what love felt like and now I can't stop thinking about it."
Togame went quiet after that.
Too quiet that the moment Sakura notice the silence of the person beside him, he finally looked over. Only to find Togame staring at him strangely.
"...What?"
Togame smiled faintly.
"You really don't notice things, huh?"
Sakura frowned. "Notice what?"
For a moment, Togame said nothing.
Then he gently took Sakura's ramune bottle from his hands and set it aside.
"Sakura," he said softly.
And something in his voice made Sakura's heart skip strangely. A scratchy feeling on his chest surfaced disturbing his already chaotic mind.
Togame looked unusually serious now.
No teasing smile or lazy grin that he always wore.
Just an honest warmth full of tender admiration and unfamiliar emotion he cannot name.
"I like you."
Sakura froze completely.
"...Huh?"
"I like you," Togame repeated simply. "A lot."
Sakura stared at him blankly as the confession slowly processed in his brain. Like a broken record, the word 'I like you' keeps on repeating in his mind. He only sits there like a statue, with wide confused eyes and slighlty open mouth.
After a moment, the words dawning on him.
Sakura's face exploded red.
"W-WHAT?!"
Togame laughed softly at his reaction, though faint tremors of nervousness mix there and his own ears faintly pink with embarassment.
"You asked what it feels like." He shrugged lightly. "For me, it feels like this."
Sakura's brain short-circuited.
"T-This–what–since when?!"
"A while."
"A WHILE?! When is that 'a while'?!"
Togame nodded calmly. "Probably since you punched me that first time."
"THAT MAKES NO SENSE!"
"It did to me."
Sakura grabbed his burning face.
His heart was pounding so loudly it hurt. He never felt like this. Not when his friends would compliment him or when Kotoha will pat his head. Not when he was fighting with excitement and adrenaline.
This is entirely different and unfamiliar. And yet he did not want to reject it. He wants to embrace this feeling that Togame had brought him.
Because suddenly-
things were clicking into place.
Why he kept looking for Togame during patrols.
Why he felt calmer around him.
Why he always noticed when Togame smiled.
Why hearing Endo confess felt confusing-
but hearing Togame confess made his chest feel like it was going to burst open.
Oh.
Oh.
Togame watched him carefully. "You okay?"
"No," Sakura answered honestly. That made Togame laugh again.
And Sakura thought how he like that sound. How he hopes to hear it everytime. And maybe keep a record of it, for when they are apart.
That realization hit him like a truck.
Sakura stared at Togame with wide eyes.
"...Oh no."
"Hm?"
"I think..." Sakura looked horrified. "I think I like you too."
Togame blinked once then smiled. Like always, it was soft and warm.
Knowing he was new to everything romance related. He did not tease him nor looked smug at the unexpected confession he received.
It was a pure genuinely happiness radiating from the lifted corners of his mouth. And for some reason, that expression only made Sakura even more flustered.
"You're seriously just realizing now?" Togame asked.
"SHUT UP!"
Togame laughed again before gently bumping their shoulders together.
Sakura didn't move away and let the warmth passed from their jackets. Neither of them spoke for a while after that.
They simply sat together beneath the cold night sky that had alreayd descended on them without notice, ramune forgotten beside them.
Then quietly-
Togame slowly reached for Sakura's hand. Carefully treading his fingers in between of Sakura, like afraid that he will scared an animal away.
Sakura's face burned red immediately, when he feels the others hand on his. But after a second, he also held back anyway.
Sakura could feel the warmth of Togame's hand around his. And honestly?
That was becoming a problem. Not in a bad way but definitley bad for him.
Because every second Togame kept holding his hand, Sakura became more aware of literally everything.
How warm his palm was.
How close they were sitting.
How Togame kept looking at him with that stupidly gentle expression.
It made Sakura's chest feel tight in a way fighting never did.
"...Why are you staring at me like that?" Sakura muttered weakly.
Togame smiled lazily. "Because my crush just confessed back."
"I DIDN'T CONFESS BACK!"
"You said you liked me too."
Sakura made a strangled noise. "You tricked me!"
"Didn't know honesty counted as trickery."
"You–ugh!"
Togame let out a soft chuckle again, and Sakura immediately looked away.
That stupid laugh.
Why did he like it so much?
The realization alone nearly killed him.
Togame tilted his head slightly, watching Sakura hide half his face behind the collar of his jacket.
"...You're cute."
Sakura almost launched himself off the roof.
"DON'T JUST SAY THAT!"
"Why not? It's true."
"You're saying weird things again!"
"And you're blushing again."
"I HATE YOU."
"No you don't."
Sakura opened his mouth then immediately closed it.
Because annoyingly enough, Togame was right.
Togame's expression softened further at Sakura's silence. For once, his teasing faded into something quieter.
"...You really didn't know?" he asked.
Sakura frowned slightly. "Know what?"
"That you already treated me differently."
The wind brushed past them gently.
Togame leaned back on one hand, still holding Sakura's with the other.
"You always came looking for me after patrols," he said softly. "You remembered what are the things I liked or casually talked about. And you always got mad whenever someone talked badly about Shishitoren."
Sakura's ears slowly reddened again.
"And every time I got hurt," Togame continued, "you looked angrier than I did."
Sakura stared at him silently.
Because...
He really did do all those things.
Without thinking.
Without realizing.
Togame smiled faintly. "You're not good at understanding your feelings, Sakura."
"...Shut up."
"But you're honest."
That made Sakura pause.
Honest.
Maybe he was.
After all, he could deny it all he wanted but his heart had already decided long before tonight.
Maybe that was why Endo's confession confused him so much. And that his first thought was to ignore it.
Because no matter how much he thought about it afterward, he never felt this nervous around Endo.
Never felt this warm.
Never wanted to stay beside him longer.
And never felt his heart, beating so much as if it would leap out of his chest.
But with Togame, even sitting quietly like this felt natural and special.
Sakura's grip on Togame's hand tightened slightly before he realized it. Togame noticed immediately, of course.
His smile softened.
And suddenly Sakura became painfully aware of how close they were again.
"...So," Togame said quietly. "What now?"
Sakura blinked. "What do you mean?"
"You like me." Togame squeezed his hand gently. "I like you."
His voice dropped softer.
"So what do you wanna do about it?"
Sakura's brain nearly exploded again.
He stared at Togame helplessly.
"...I don't know how this works."
Togame chuckled. "Neither do I."
"You seem way too calm for someone confessing."
"That's because I already accepted you'd reject me."
Sakura snapped his head toward him. "WHAT?!"
Togame shrugged lightly. "You yell at me a lot."
"That doesn't mean I hate you! And you said you know how I treated you differently!"
"I know that. Still, I don't know how you would react on my confession, you know."
Sakura groaned loudly and covered his face with his free hand.
This was horrible.
Why was talking about feelings harder than fighting fifty people at once?!
Togame gently pulled Sakura's hand away from his face.
"Sakura."
"...What."
"Look at me."
"...No."
Togame laughed quietly. "Please?"
Sakura cursed internally before slowly looking up.
And immediately regretted it. Because Togame was looking at him so warmly it made his chest hurt.
"You don't have to figure everything out tonight," Togame said softly. "We can just start slow."
Sakura swallowed hard.
"Slow...?"
"Mm." Togame smiled. "Like going home together after patrols."
"...We already do that."
"Then maybe sharing snacks too."
"You already give me snacks."
"True."
Sakura snorted before he could stop himself. Togame grinned at his reaction.
Then a comfortable silence settled between them.
Togame then leaned a bit and gently whispered.
"...Can I kiss you?"
Sakura's soul immediately left his body and his entire face turned scarlet instantly. And a screeched came out of his mouth.
"K-K-KISS?!"
Togame immediately laughed. "That sounded painful."
"You can't just ask that so suddenly!"
"I thought asking was better than surprising you."
"That's-"
Sakura stopped.
Because somehow...that actually made his chest feel warm again.
Togame waited patiently while Sakura internally combusted for the nth time tonight.
Then finally, after nearly a whole minute, Sakura muttered very quietly.
"...Fine."
"Hm?"
"I said fine!" Sakura exploded. "Just stop looking so happy about it!"
Togame smiled anyway before he leaned closer. He then slowly lifted his orange glasses and pushed them up onto his head, without the tint between them, his dark green eyes were clearer now, fixed entirely on Sakura.
Sakura froze for a moment under that gaze, but can't help but a gentle smile to bloom on his face. Because he can see himself on those eyes. Reflected with overflowing fondness and warmth.
Slowly the space between them got smaller, but still enough for Sakura to pull away if he wanted.
And yet, Sakura didn't move. Didn't pull away to run nor reject him.
He only stared wide-eyed as Togame's free hand gently brushed against his cheek before their lips met softly.
Warm and careful.
Nothing dramatic like the drama on television nor as overwhelming as his classmates would dream of their first kiss.
Just gentle enough that Sakura's heart skipped painfully in his chest. When Togame pulled back, Sakura looked completely stunned.
Togame looked equally affected now, his usual relaxed expression softer around the edges and an undeniable happiness was radiating off him.
"...Wow," Togame murmured.
Sakura's brain stopped functioning. "Huh?"
"You're really cute."
"STOP SAYING THAT!"
Togame laughed helplessly as Sakura buried his burning face into his collar again.
But this time, it was Sakura who moved closer first.
Enough for their shoulders to touch. And quietly, almost impossible to hear beneath the wind–
"...Don't reject me later either," Sakura mumbled.
Togame froze slightly, then his expression softened into something unbearably fond.
He gently squeezed Sakura's hand again.
"Never," he promised.
Below them, the city lights continued to glow beneath the cold winter sky.
And somewhere along the way, where it first started with fist. An instance was created that evolved into meetings between patrols, rooftop talks, shared drinks, and stolen moments of how–
Sakura Haruka had fallen in love without even realizing it.