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“Care to tell me how we jumped from just friends to full fledged lovers?” You snapped, raising your voice with each word.

“My mom…kept bugging me about getting a girlfriend.” Even while he was nervously averting his gaze, Sousuke still stood tall and proud as if he had done nothing wrong at all. His voice did not waver in the least as he continued his explanation. “Every time she called me it was the same question: ‘Sou-chan, did you get a girlfriend yet?’ and…don’t laugh at that.”

His tone dropped into a snarl while you covered your giggles.

“B-but Sou-chan! That sounds way too cute for a muscular brute like you! Ha!” You clutched your sides and laughed until tears sprung in your eyes. Annoyed city workers gave a nasty glare each time they passed you, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care.

Sousuke’s shoulders eased up. Hearing your laughter had blown all of his uncertainty away. Now the only left to do was to shut you up.

Your breathing steadied and you wiped your eyes before you were enveloped in warmth. Warmth…and the scent of cologne mixed vaguely with chlorine.

“Sou…suke?” Your voice didn’t sound like usual while his arms found themselves around your waist, the only thing separating you two from being chest to chest were your arms nimbly resting against him.

“Shhh.” He hushed lightly into your ear. “Let me finish, okay?”

You let your head droop down, your hair casting a barrier away from the other people. Your fingers played with the edge of his shirt collar.

“Okay.”

“So one day, I told her that yes, I finally got a girlfriend. The first words out of her mouth were ‘Come visit so I can meet her!’ She sounded so excited that I accepted her invitation without hesitation.”

You snuck a glance up at him. His teal eyes looked straight ahead at nothing but his mouth was pulled into a small smile as he recalled the memory. Unconsciously, you leaned in closer.

“After the phone call, I stared up at the ceiling for so long that Rin almost had to force me down from the top bunk for swim practice. You were the only girl I could think of for this.” He tightened his hug.

“What about Gou?” You whispered, remembering the fact that the Matsuoka was also close to her older brother’s best friend.

“Rin would have my head if I dared suggest anything like that…and I’m not acquainted with that many girls our age so…”

You blinked and the cloth slowly wrinkled in your hand.

“So you chose me because I was easy!?” You shoved him away by his collar but that only initiated a domino effect as his arms were still around you and caused you to tumble to the ground with him along with a few bystanders.

Lots of apologies were given and you were about to take the next train home when Sousuke gripped onto your hand.

“You’re here anyways, why don’t you stay for a while and sightsee?”

“Right. Like hell I would sit through an 8 hour train ride with nothing in return.” You slapped his hand away just as his face began to light up. “But, I can manage sightseeing on my own.”

“Tokyo’s a big place. I’ll take you around.” He insisted.

“I know how to use a map.”

“I don’t want you to end up in a dangerous area. Please?” He propped his chin on the top of your head and hugged you from behind. “I’ll do whatever you say for the rest of summer.”

“Let me think about it…” You grumbled and jumped when you felt his phone vibrate against your back.

“Ah, sorry…” He shifted slightly and released you. Now is your chance…which gate did you come from again? Whatever, you’ll just run for it!

“Hey,” Sousuke held onto your wrist while he typed a reply on his phone. “My parents told me that they’re heading home to drop our bags off first so we can just go ahead and meet them at the sushi place.

Your luggage!

“O-okay….” You sighed and walked with slumped shoulders. So much for an escape plan…
---
“What do you think?” He asked after the two of you wandered around the city for a while.

“It’s…” Amazing, breathtaking, wonderful, so many words popped into your mind. How do you describe the city? The place is huge yet so crowded too. The pavement emitted a musky scent from the early morning drizzle of rain. Smells of different foods reminded you of how hungry you were. The bright screens and flashing city light blinded you. “Magical. Like Disneyland.”

Sousuke laughed, a sound that blended in with the loud chatters surrounding you.

“I guess that’s one way to put it. We can go there if you want. It’s not that far anyways, an hour by train.”

“Yeah…that sounds fun.” You smiled and his hand slid down to hold onto yours properly.
“Sorry…for making you do this, you know.” He hesitantly added and you shrugged.

“A bit too late now. I’ll just make sure you regret it when we go back!” You half-joked and squeezed his hand.
---
“So tell me, how did you two meet?” Sousuke’s mother looked expectantly at the two of you.

The four of you were seated in front of the sushi bar with you sandwiched in between Sousuke and his mother. Your supposed ‘boyfriend’ left you to answer as he hit up a conversation with one of the chefs.

“Well, I met Sousuke back in elementary school when I attended one of the swim meets to cheer for my friend. I was watching his race when I saw Sousuke in the next lane. He swam with so much confidence that it really caught my attention. It was then that I realized the boy swimming there was the same one that sat next to me in class!”

You heard Sousuke scoff at your horribly made up love story.

“And then what happened!?” His mother urged you to continue. At least she seemed to buy it…

“I was nervous but the next day, I turned to him and started a conversation. Little by little, we got to know each other more. To be honest, my first impression of him was ‘woah, he’s really cute’ but as I learned more about him, I realized that there was more to his appearance. As we went through middle school, there were so many opportunities to confess but…I missed them all. Before I knew it, high school came and it was too late…”

“Oh my…” She raised her hand up to her mouth and you thought she was about to burst into tears.

“Yes, it was heartbreaking to hear that news. I didn’t know what to do afterwards and we lost contact…” You let your shoulders drop and added a sigh for effect.
“Sou-chan!” She snapped at him and you had to choke back a giggle. “How could you forget about poor (Name)-chan?”

The teen’s mouth hung open as he exchanged glances with his father, who had stuffed his mouth with fatty tuna. All the swimmer got in return was a thumbs up.

“I thought she would be mad at me for leaving…and I had to focus on swimming.”

“Ahhh you’re such an idiot! It’s always swimming, swimming, swimming to you. Which is more important, swimming or your girlfriend?” She shot at her son while her husband gave her shoulder a pat to remind her that they were still in a public place.

“Swimming.” He answered in his usual straightforward and blunt fashion.

“Sou-“

“Let’s eat, shall we? Sou-chan is just being shy, right?” You piped in and nudged his arm.”

“Yeah, Mom go eat. We can talk more at home.”

She took one look at her husband holding on to his stomach in satisfaction and nodded, turning to the chef and ordering.
---
“(Name)-chan~” Sousuke’s mom sidled up next to you in the kitchen as if you two had been best buddies since forever. “Have the two of you kissed yet?”

The small knife you held clattered to the ground along with a couple apple slices.

“No...we haven’t really…” You mumbled as you scrambled to pick up after your mess.

“What? Oh my, is that so? I supposed Sousuke takes after his father then…not even a kiss on the cheek?”

“Nothing…ma’am.” You avoided her critical gaze and continued slicing the apple with a brand new knife.

“That’s no good! Don’t worry dear, leave this to me.” She promised and directed you towards the living room where the father and son duo watched a rerun of some swimming competition.

“The fruit will have to wait until later. Go ahead and sit, (Name)-chan.”

You shuffled past his father’s seat and plopped down next to your “lover” with your head drooped low. Instinctively, his arm draped across your shoulder.

“Sou-chan, I have heard that the two of you haven’t kissed yet.”

“Uh...yeah.”

She walked over to sit on the armrest where Sousuke’s Dad sat.

“You really are like your father aren’t you! I’m pretty sure (Name)-chan feels the same way that I did when he wouldn’t even hold my hand after our third date!”

Her husband broke into a nervous sweat and gently reached for her hand.

“Now now, Love. We should let the young ones go at their pace.”

“No. I can’t leave (Name)-chan like this!” She announced, defiantly tearing her hand away from his hold.

“Mom…” Sousuke began.

“Are the two of you even dating!?” She accusingly pointed at her son.

The very statement kept the two of you glued to your seats.

“Of course.” He confirmed with confidence in his voice.

“Then kiss her. Right now.”

“Dear…” His father looked desperately between his wife and his son; finally he set his eyes on you with an apologetic look.

In a very TV Drama-like way, the swimmer pulled you forward and smashed his lips against yours in a short chaste kiss. He mumbled a soft ‘sorry’ and stood up.

“We’re going out on a walk now.” He told his parents as he held his hand out for you.

You shakily followed him out.
---
The city was still very much alive in the nighttime but Sousuke led you to a nearly empty park.

“Sorry about earlier.” He apologized once more. “Was that...your first kiss?”

“It’s fine..and yeah, it kinda was.” Even though you had hoped for a better first.

He led you to a separate place surrounded by trees and a small lake, apart from where the main park was.

“Let me make it up to you.” He insisted as he bent down so that the two of you were eye level with each other.

“How-“

“Close your eyes.”

You did so and suddenly became aware of your beating heart.
His lips met yours in a similar fashion to the event earlier, but he wasn’t lying when he said he would make it up to you. His hold on your waist brought you closer as he opened his mouth slightly to tug at your bottom lips.

His kiss moved down to your jaw then your neck until he worked his way back up to your lips where he placed a sloppy kiss.

“Go out with me. For real this time.” He whispered, centimeters away from kissing you again.

You nodded and tilted your head up to meet his.

After briefly exchanging kisses, Sousuke backed away with a sly grim.

“Now that that’s over, do you want to swim with me?”

“Eh?” You stared at him as if he had grew a second head. “But I don’t have my swimsuit or a towel or-“

“Who says you need any of that?” He began to strip until he was left in his boxers.

“Sousuke!” You covered your eyes before he ruined anymore of your innocence.

“Relax.” His hands caught yours and moved them up to cup his cheek. “If you don’t want to then will you run back to the house and get me some goggles and a towel?”

You flashed him a smile and pushed him down the lake…and went down with him because the idiot was smart enough to hold onto your wrist.

“I’ve liked you since forever you know.” He confessed as the two of you resurfaced.

“I can’t take you seriously with that stupid smile. What happened to that intimidating glare?”

He blinked and forced himself to look angry. “Like this?”

You laughed and kissed his nose. “Yeah sure.”

Description
“Care to tell me how we jumped from just friends to full fledged lovers?” You snapped, raising your voice with each word.

“My mom…kept bugging me about getting a girlfriend.” Even while he was nervously averting his gaze, Sousuke still stood tall and proud as if he had done nothing wrong at all. His voice did not waver in the least as he continued his explanation. “Every time she called me it was the same question: ‘Sou-chan, did you get a girlfriend yet?’ and…don’t laugh at that.”

His tone dropped into a snarl while you covered your giggles.

“B-but Sou-chan! That sounds way too cute for a muscular brute like you! Ha!” You clutched your sides and laughed until tears sprung in your eyes. Annoyed city workers gave a nasty glare each time they passed you, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care.

Sousuke’s shoulders eased up. Hearing your laughter had blown all of his uncertainty away. Now the only left to do was to shut you up.

Your breathing steadied and you wiped your eyes before you were enveloped in warmth. Warmth…and the scent of cologne mixed vaguely with chlorine.

“Sou…suke?” Your voice didn’t sound like usual while his arms found themselves around your waist, the only thing separating you two from being chest to chest were your arms nimbly resting against him.

“Shhh.” He hushed lightly into your ear. “Let me finish, okay?”

You let your head droop down, your hair casting a barrier away from the other people. Your fingers played with the edge of his shirt collar.

“Okay.”

“So one day, I told her that yes, I finally got a girlfriend. The first words out of her mouth were ‘Come visit so I can meet her!’ She sounded so excited that I accepted her invitation without hesitation.”

You snuck a glance up at him. His teal eyes looked straight ahead at nothing but his mouth was pulled into a small smile as he recalled the memory. Unconsciously, you leaned in closer.

“After the phone call, I stared up at the ceiling for so long that Rin almost had to force me down from the top bunk for swim practice. You were the only girl I could think of for this.” He tightened his hug.

“What about Gou?” You whispered, remembering the fact that the Matsuoka was also close to her older brother’s best friend.

“Rin would have my head if I dared suggest anything like that…and I’m not acquainted with that many girls our age so…”

You blinked and the cloth slowly wrinkled in your hand.

“So you chose me because I was easy!?” You shoved him away by his collar but that only initiated a domino effect as his arms were still around you and caused you to tumble to the ground with him along with a few bystanders.

Lots of apologies were given and you were about to take the next train home when Sousuke gripped onto your hand.

“You’re here anyways, why don’t you stay for a while and sightsee?”

“Right. Like hell I would sit through an 8 hour train ride with nothing in return.” You slapped his hand away just as his face began to light up. “But, I can manage sightseeing on my own.”

“Tokyo’s a big place. I’ll take you around.” He insisted.

“I know how to use a map.”

“I don’t want you to end up in a dangerous area. Please?” He propped his chin on the top of your head and hugged you from behind. “I’ll do whatever you say for the rest of summer.”

“Let me think about it…” You grumbled and jumped when you felt his phone vibrate against your back.

“Ah, sorry…” He shifted slightly and released you. Now is your chance…which gate did you come from again? Whatever, you’ll just run for it!

“Hey,” Sousuke held onto your wrist while he typed a reply on his phone. “My parents told me that they’re heading home to drop our bags off first so we can just go ahead and meet them at the sushi place.

Your luggage!

“O-okay….” You sighed and walked with slumped shoulders. So much for an escape plan…
---
“What do you think?” He asked after the two of you wandered around the city for a while.

“It’s…” Amazing, breathtaking, wonderful, so many words popped into your mind. How do you describe the city? The place is huge yet so crowded too. The pavement emitted a musky scent from the early morning drizzle of rain. Smells of different foods reminded you of how hungry you were. The bright screens and flashing city light blinded you. “Magical. Like Disneyland.”

Sousuke laughed, a sound that blended in with the loud chatters surrounding you.

“I guess that’s one way to put it. We can go there if you want. It’s not that far anyways, an hour by train.”

“Yeah…that sounds fun.” You smiled and his hand slid down to hold onto yours properly.
“Sorry…for making you do this, you know.” He hesitantly added and you shrugged.

“A bit too late now. I’ll just make sure you regret it when we go back!” You half-joked and squeezed his hand.
---
“So tell me, how did you two meet?” Sousuke’s mother looked expectantly at the two of you.

The four of you were seated in front of the sushi bar with you sandwiched in between Sousuke and his mother. Your supposed ‘boyfriend’ left you to answer as he hit up a conversation with one of the chefs.

“Well, I met Sousuke back in elementary school when I attended one of the swim meets to cheer for my friend. I was watching his race when I saw Sousuke in the next lane. He swam with so much confidence that it really caught my attention. It was then that I realized the boy swimming there was the same one that sat next to me in class!”

You heard Sousuke scoff at your horribly made up love story.

“And then what happened!?” His mother urged you to continue. At least she seemed to buy it…

“I was nervous but the next day, I turned to him and started a conversation. Little by little, we got to know each other more. To be honest, my first impression of him was ‘woah, he’s really cute’ but as I learned more about him, I realized that there was more to his appearance. As we went through middle school, there were so many opportunities to confess but…I missed them all. Before I knew it, high school came and it was too late…”

“Oh my…” She raised her hand up to her mouth and you thought she was about to burst into tears.

“Yes, it was heartbreaking to hear that news. I didn’t know what to do afterwards and we lost contact…” You let your shoulders drop and added a sigh for effect.
“Sou-chan!” She snapped at him and you had to choke back a giggle. “How could you forget about poor (Name)-chan?”

The teen’s mouth hung open as he exchanged glances with his father, who had stuffed his mouth with fatty tuna. All the swimmer got in return was a thumbs up.

“I thought she would be mad at me for leaving…and I had to focus on swimming.”

“Ahhh you’re such an idiot! It’s always swimming, swimming, swimming to you. Which is more important, swimming or your girlfriend?” She shot at her son while her husband gave her shoulder a pat to remind her that they were still in a public place.

“Swimming.” He answered in his usual straightforward and blunt fashion.

“Sou-“

“Let’s eat, shall we? Sou-chan is just being shy, right?” You piped in and nudged his arm.”

“Yeah, Mom go eat. We can talk more at home.”

She took one look at her husband holding on to his stomach in satisfaction and nodded, turning to the chef and ordering.
---
“(Name)-chan~” Sousuke’s mom sidled up next to you in the kitchen as if you two had been best buddies since forever. “Have the two of you kissed yet?”

The small knife you held clattered to the ground along with a couple apple slices.

“No...we haven’t really…” You mumbled as you scrambled to pick up after your mess.

“What? Oh my, is that so? I supposed Sousuke takes after his father then…not even a kiss on the cheek?”

“Nothing…ma’am.” You avoided her critical gaze and continued slicing the apple with a brand new knife.

“That’s no good! Don’t worry dear, leave this to me.” She promised and directed you towards the living room where the father and son duo watched a rerun of some swimming competition.

“The fruit will have to wait until later. Go ahead and sit, (Name)-chan.”

You shuffled past his father’s seat and plopped down next to your “lover” with your head drooped low. Instinctively, his arm draped across your shoulder.

“Sou-chan, I have heard that the two of you haven’t kissed yet.”

“Uh...yeah.”

She walked over to sit on the armrest where Sousuke’s Dad sat.

“You really are like your father aren’t you! I’m pretty sure (Name)-chan feels the same way that I did when he wouldn’t even hold my hand after our third date!”

Her husband broke into a nervous sweat and gently reached for her hand.

“Now now, Love. We should let the young ones go at their pace.”

“No. I can’t leave (Name)-chan like this!” She announced, defiantly tearing her hand away from his hold.

“Mom…” Sousuke began.

“Are the two of you even dating!?” She accusingly pointed at her son.

The very statement kept the two of you glued to your seats.

“Of course.” He confirmed with confidence in his voice.

“Then kiss her. Right now.”

“Dear…” His father looked desperately between his wife and his son; finally he set his eyes on you with an apologetic look.

In a very TV Drama-like way, the swimmer pulled you forward and smashed his lips against yours in a short chaste kiss. He mumbled a soft ‘sorry’ and stood up.

“We’re going out on a walk now.” He told his parents as he held his hand out for you.

You shakily followed him out.
---
The city was still very much alive in the nighttime but Sousuke led you to a nearly empty park.

“Sorry about earlier.” He apologized once more. “Was that...your first kiss?”

“It’s fine..and yeah, it kinda was.” Even though you had hoped for a better first.

He led you to a separate place surrounded by trees and a small lake, apart from where the main park was.

“Let me make it up to you.” He insisted as he bent down so that the two of you were eye level with each other.

“How-“

“Close your eyes.”

You did so and suddenly became aware of your beating heart.
His lips met yours in a similar fashion to the event earlier, but he wasn’t lying when he said he would make it up to you. His hold on your waist brought you closer as he opened his mouth slightly to tug at your bottom lips.

His kiss moved down to your jaw then your neck until he worked his way back up to your lips where he placed a sloppy kiss.

“Go out with me. For real this time.” He whispered, centimeters away from kissing you again.

You nodded and tilted your head up to meet his.

After briefly exchanging kisses, Sousuke backed away with a sly grim.

“Now that that’s over, do you want to swim with me?”

“Eh?” You stared at him as if he had grew a second head. “But I don’t have my swimsuit or a towel or-“

“Who says you need any of that?” He began to strip until he was left in his boxers.

“Sousuke!” You covered your eyes before he ruined anymore of your innocence.

“Relax.” His hands caught yours and moved them up to cup his cheek. “If you don’t want to then will you run back to the house and get me some goggles and a towel?”

You flashed him a smile and pushed him down the lake…and went down with him because the idiot was smart enough to hold onto your wrist.

“I’ve liked you since forever you know.” He confessed as the two of you resurfaced.

“I can’t take you seriously with that stupid smile. What happened to that intimidating glare?”

He blinked and forced himself to look angry. “Like this?”

You laughed and kissed his nose. “Yeah sure.”