The Delivery
(Shin's PoV)
—
After someone knocked at the door, a very familiar voice followed.
"Ishikawa... Shin? Is anybody home? Come on, I don't have much time!" That was a male voice that I would've recognized from miles away.
"Coming!" I exclaimed, walking closer to the door.
As soon as I opened the door, I saw the most unexpected, embarrassing, and spectacular thing I could ever see in my life.
In front of me was Daiki Sakurai, dressed in a green delivery guy suit, wearing a big backpack and even a hat with the delivery app's logo.
Once he saw my face, a look of a million mixed emotions appeared on his face.
"What? What are you looking at, Shin? Is it so strange to see someone having a part-time job?" He asked, trying to play cool, but the blush on his face was telling a different story.
I stared at him for a few instants before laughing like an idiot. "HAHA! Look at you! Hahahaha!" I laughed, but there was no malice. "Damn... I should take a picture right now..."
"Even though I'd also laugh like an asshole if our roles were reversed, this time stop joking around and grab your food..." He sighed. "This is my first day, actually, and I can't waste precious time." He said, putting his bag on the floor and then kneeling.
"Yeah, but... That's unexpected, way too much. Why did you suddenly start working?" I asked.
"Well, the answer is very simple. I needed to gather some money because I wanted to buy a gift for Izumi, you know... that girl who accepted my confession." He said, pulling my food out. "She's a very sweet girl, and I have a lot of things to tell you about what happened to my love life. Let's also say that I have strange feelings."
"Strange feelings? What do you mean?" I asked, curious.
Daiki slowly stood up and then held out the food to me.
"Well, I have the strange feeling that she's not being sincere, to be honest. Even though we spent a lot of time together, I still feel that something is off..." He sighed. "That's why I asked to meet one of these days at the arcade. I seriously needed to talk—" In that moment, someone cut in the conversation.
"Talk about... what, Sakurai?" Akane's voice arrived like thunder on a peaceful day.
We both looked at her, and I saw that she was wearing a pair of shorts, my hoodie, and oversized slippers that looked too big for her feet, making her even more adorable than usual.
Judging from his reaction, Daiki felt a shiver down his spine; that's for sure.
Akane walked down the stairs and then stopped directly next to me.
"T-Takanashi... hello..." He swallowed some saliva.
"Hello." Akane smiled politely. But I felt something worse behind that smile. "So? Talk about what? Where do you want to take my boyfriend, Sakurai?" Akane said, grabbing the food from his shaking hands.
"W-Well... I just asked him to meet up because... because..." He moved his gaze between me and the floor.
"Let me guess. Heart issues, right?" Akane said.
Daiki reacted as if he had touched an electric wire and immediately lowered his gaze to the floor.
"Yeah... right. Heart issues between boys." He sighed.
"Okay. But I'll come with him. Shin is a dumbhead and probably won't know what to say. He's probably gonna end up giving the worst advice possible." Akane said, leaning closer to me, our shoulders gently touching.
"Don't listen to her, Daiki. She doesn't know either." I said, smiling.
"Hah... your 'love' literally disgusts me, you know?" He raised his head.
"Well, not that I care," Akane smiled mischievously. "So? What are you gonna do? Accept? Leave?"
Daiki stood silent for a few instants before speaking. He even scratched his chin like a philosopher.
"I guess I have no other choice. I'll let you know tomorrow." He said, smiling. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have something like 15 other deliveries to do."
He took a few steps back and gave a small thumbs-up. "See you tomorrow at school, guys! Bye!"
"Bye, Daiki! See you!" I waved, while Akane only looked at him with an unreadable expression.
And then, without wasting another instant, he flew away. Literally.
"Fufufu～ I guess that he's still scared of me. Great." Akane giggled, leaning even closer to me. "So, Ghost boy, are we gonna eat now? I'm literally starving, and my body is craving more and more energy after that session."
"Fine..." I said before closing the door.
And then, we walked straight to the kitchen, prepared everything for dinner, and then opened our food.
In the end, she ordered more things than I thought.
I thought it was only curry with extra rice and some gyozas. But she also ordered udons, eight takoyakis, and even fried squid.
"Now, the first part..." Akane leaned close to the smoking curry and inhaled the air, and then clapped her hands together. "Great! This smells really good!", talking like someone who just found happiness. "And these udons... they look great..."
"Yeah, yeah..." I sighed. "Are we gonna eat now, or are we gonna look at the food all night, Akane?" I asked.
"O-Oh, sorry, I got carried away," She said. "Let's eat, Ishibaka. And be grateful because today the food is on me."
"You don't have to pay, you know?" I said, gently grabbing her hand.
"I just like to do it, you know?" She said, while gently caressing my knuckles. "What? Does your fragile masculine ego want to pay for me?"
"No, that's not it," I giggled. "It's just that I feel guilty if someone pays for me. Maybe we can split 50-50 next time?"
"Nahh, don't worry about that, Shin. Today is up on me; tomorrow will be on you, and the day after tomorrow? Who knows. The only thing that matters is that we'll eat together. Always." She squeezed my hand before leaning close to my ear.
"I love you." She whispered in my ear before kissing my cheek and returning to her place.
"I swear, you're impossible..." I sighed.
"Enough with the sweetness. I'm hungry." She said, leaving my hand. "Itadakimasu!" She exclaimed, then grabbed her chopsticks and started eating.
And then, dinner proceeded like always—quiet, intimate, and ours. Every moment with her felt like happiness.
We hadn't been together for long, but it looked like we'd been together for an eternity.
I loved her. I truly loved her, and with that feeling, another scary one was automatically forming.
Fear of losing her, whatever the reason was.
The only reason why I'm managing to learn to breathe alone without the help of someone was her, and, despite that, I also knew that I would never recover from a shock like that.
"Something's wrong, Shin?" Akane asked, slowly sucking a piece of udon inside her mouth.
"O-Oh? Sorry. I... I..." I snapped back to reality.
"Shin?" She looked at me, even more confused.
"Sorry, Akane... It's just that..." I took a deep breath. "It's just that sometimes I still ask myself why you've chosen me, and that I sometimes feel scared when some stupid, intrusive thoughts arrive in my mind, like... the fear of losing you, us," I said, my voice soft, but carrying a glimpse of bitterness. "I've already told you these things, but... I don't want this happiness to end, you know?" My hand unconsciously found her thigh.
After my words, Akane couldn't help but rest her hand on mine, squeezing it tightly like she was saying, 'I'm here.' Her gaze softened, and her playful demeanor turned sweet.
"Shin... you know that you're an idiot, right?" She said, her eyes watering. "Do you think I waited all these years for no reason at all? I literally based my entire existence on a bet! I should be the grateful one here. I may have saved you on that rooftop, but you have no idea of how many times you saved me, Shin." She squeezed my hand again. "Don't ever joke about things like that again, please. I'm the psycho one between us, and you're the one who can run away at any moment. I wouldn't trade the little happiness we have for anything in the entire world, Shin. Not now, and not ever. Tch— You're such a dumbhead." Akane said.
Her body was trembling a little, like she was holding herself.
"Akane... I'm sorry." I said, getting closer to her, my hand holding hers even tighter. "I didn't want to interrupt your dinner," I added, smiling.
"Tch— Don't say these things, Shin, especially when I'm eating. Because I'll kill you next time." She said, wiping away an invisible tear with the back of her hand.
And then, after that little moment, we kept eating until the end.
Akane even demanded a dessert, but I had nothing. So, she kept calling me "useless" because I didn't think about her needs, and that I had to buy her chocolate the next day.
I loved that side of her. So much.
In the end, after cleaning everything up, we went straight to bed because my instinct told me school would be even more annoying than usual the next day.
That night, we even drank green tea in our bed, and I remember how much she hated it because it was "too basic" for her.
"Tch— we're going to my place tomorrow, Ishikawa. I also want to play my guitars a little. I miss my precious babies, you know?" She said while adjusting her position on me.
"I guess it's fine for me. Shall we go there after school?" I asked while gently patting her head.
"Yeah. But first, let's drop by that konbini where you bought those Lilibat cereals. I want them." She said, her index gently tracing invisible lines on my chest.
"Sure... this time I'll buy ten boxes, I promise," I said.
"Good boy. You're learning." She teased.
"Guess so..." I said, pulling her closer to me. "I'm glad to have you by my side. Thanks for saving me."
"Idiot..." She leaned in even more, like she wanted to fuse our bodies together. "You're welcome." She whispered.
And then, we remained like that for some time. Just lost in each other's embrace, waiting for what the new day was about to give us, until we both closed our eyes and fell asleep.
The festival was close, and I had a lot of other things to do.
And I had to make sure Akane would be safe, given her situation with her family.
'No matter what, I'll be the one who'll protect you this time, Akane.' I thought...