Wouldn't It Be Nice (A Toradora Soulmate AU)

10: Sixteen Candles

Five phones buzz in their pockets, alerting Taiga to blow out the candles before her. Each little fire stands tall on the cake, illuminating her face in the dark room. She takes a deep breath in and... turns sixteen. There's a shout of celebration when Ryuuji flicks the light switch on to reveal Taiga's joyous face. She snaps her gaze down to her arm after looking each one of her friends in the eye.

"Time for bed now?" Ryuuji suggests. He and Taiga had planned for the five of them to set up sleeping bags in Taiga's living room so that they could all be together when she gets her words. She nods and they all get ready to sleep. The cake could wait for tomorrow; the best part of the party would be tomorrow morning when she wakes up to discover her future.

They all lay there in the dark without talking so that Taiga can fall asleep. She keeps her eyes shut even though her mind won't stop running. Yuusaku, Ami, and Minori fall asleep soon after, and Ryuuji stares at the ceiling. What if I've already said her words? Will she be mad at me for not telling her sooner? I didn't want to put her in a situation where she had to choose fate over love, I'm sure she'll understand that. But.. what if she doesn't? I might have just messed everything up by not telling her from the beginning. He sighs. I kind of... want to have said it. There's always the chance her soulmate is someone else and I end up alone like my mom. His stomach starts buzzing at the thought.

Ryuuji rolls onto his side and forces himself not to think about it. There's nothing he can do if Taiga's soulmate isn't him, and the sooner he falls asleep, the sooner he'll find out anyway.

Hearing Ryuuji roll over, Taiga opens her eyes and faces him. They meet gazes for a few seconds, each wondering what the other is thinking about. Looking at Taiga right now is almost too overwhelming, so Ryuuji whispers "Happy birthday" with a smile and then rolls over and closes his eyes.

Taiga's cheeks turn pink as she goes back to resting.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ryuuji wakes to Yuusaku rolling him in his sleeping bag across the floor. "You're the last one up, Ryuuji. Taiga's been waiting to read her words." A quick glance around the room reveals the girls sitting in a semicircle on the floor, their sleeping bags rolled up and being used as cushions, and the birthday cake out on the table behind them.

Ryuuji mumbles a "sorry" and gets up to join the circle. When everyone is sitting down, full attention on Taiga, she takes a deep breath and rolls up her sweater sleeve. She mouths the words as she reads them, not saying them aloud.

Taiga looks back up at everyone's expectant stares. "I- they haven't been said yet. I'm not going to say what they are, but it's a little bit worrying, actually." She scratches the back of her neck. Along with a forced laugh, she suggests they eat cake now, and nobody questions the abrupt subject change. The cake was made by Ryuuji, after all, so they knew it would be great.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that night, as the sun is just starting to touch the horizon, the five of them walk to a nearby park to hang out. Yuusaku and Ryuuji carry baskets full of blankets, chips, pop cans, and some of Taiga's other favorite snacks. Watching the sky turn different colors as they laugh to each other is the best part of the celebration.

"Thanks guys," Taiga says, receiving four genuine smiles back. "You know what would be really fun right now? Sparklers! My dad and I used to do them on my birthday before he and my mom split up, and I kinda miss it."

Ryuuji jumps in. "There's probably some left over at the school from the culture fest. I could go check and see if there's a pack outside. Taiga's face lights up at the offer.

"I know where some are by the softball field. I can go with you and show you where they are," Minori offers. She's met with a cheerful hug from Taiga, and then the two set off for the school.

It isn't a very long walk there with a shortcut, so they take their time strolling down the wooded path. There's a slight breeze, enough to make the leaves rustle around them. "It's almost spooky," remarks Minori. There's a short pause as if she is considering what to say. "Do you.. believe in ghosts?"

Ryuuji tilts his head side to side in thought. "I dunno. They could exist, but I wouldn't be able to be certain unless I saw one for myself. I don't think about ghosts that often." Minori looks out into the forest as he speaks, and the wind continues to amplify the sounds around them.

"I believe in ghosts," Minori states. Ryuuji turns to look at her.

"Have you seen one or something?"

"No, I've never seen one. I don't know if I ever will, but I hope to. I guess you could say I'm looking."

"Ghost hunting? Aren't you scared?" Ryuuji knows she isn't, because she doesn't seem to be scared of anything. Though she's also the kind of person to face fears head on instead of running, so it could go either way.

"No, I'm not scared. I just think that there's one out there waiting to be discovered, wanting to be discovered, and I just haven't crossed paths with it yet. But he's somewhere, I'm sure."

Ryuuji furrows his brow at the use of the word "he" but doesn't question it. "That's.. interesting. Well, good luck. I know there's one out there for you right now, just waiting to be found." Just then the wind stops brushing the leaves and it goes uncomfortably quiet. Ryuuji chuckles. "Huh, maybe you just found your ghost."

Minori pales beside him, though he can't tell the difference in the dim light. "You know what? Maybe you're right." She laughs, but it sounds fake. "Hey, we're coming up on the school, I'll go on ahead, you wait here."

Ryuuji agrees to wait as she speedwalks off. He had really only come to escort her anyway.

Minori turns the corner around the building into the softball field. The fence gate is open as usual, so she just walks in. With wobbly legs, she goes to sit down on a bench. Nearly rips her sleeve tugging it up her arm. She's spent hours collectively reading the words on her arm over and over, and she knows them by heart, but she just wants to be certain.

Even in the darkness, the black ink is clearly written: "I know there's one out there for you right now, just waiting to be found." She pulls her sleeve back down and sighs, head in her hands. She definitely hadn't expected it said this way. Ryuuji is certain to come check on her if she's taking too long, that's just how he is, so she wipes the corners of her eyes, grabs the fireworks, and returns.

"Found 'em!" She says, handing the box to Ryuuji, who ignores her voice crack.

"Thanks," he replies, and they walk back decidedly quicker, though neither of them mentions it. They don't talk on the way back, and Minori sits as far away as possible from Ryuuji when they get to the park.

Taiga runs around the park, lighting one after another and giggling just like she did as a child. By the time the sparkler supply has dwindled, leaving only two, everyone is pretty tired out. Yuusaku and Ami sit on the swings, while Taiga and Minori sit on the end of slides. Taiga is holding the second to last sparkler, watching Yuusaku talking to Ami. He has the last one and lights it, handing it to Ami. Ami takes the sparkler from him and smiles.

Just as Taiga's sparkler fizzles out, she feels a hand on her shoulder. "Have you had a fun day?" She turns from Kitamura to look up at Ryuuji. He's standing just to the side of her, his hand still on her shoulder. "Are you okay?" He asks.

She snaps back into focus. "Oh. Yeah, thanks for getting the sparklers for me!" She gives him a warm smile and he lets go of her shoulder, sitting on the slide next to her. They lean back and watch each of the stars appear in the sky before taking their leave.