Today was just any other night.
The only exception was the seasonal festival that was happening downtown as the traditional tents and stalls were there to provide food and entertainment for guests around. Kimonos and everything, fun for anyone of age and gender.
All were there.
All but one who was cleaning the dishes inside the sink while occasionally catching a firework that blew up in the sky. Why was he at home?
"I don't want to be reminded for now... It's been a couple of years but she still lingers in my heart..."
For personal reasons, he stays home. Not because he was sick or tired or hated fun, he chose not to. So being at home alone and Akari out at the festival, he does something productive to keep him sane and the apartment tidy. The dishes were the only thing left to be cleaned as he placed the last plate he just cleaned inside the dish rack and wiped a sweat from his head.
"It's hot for some reason..." he huffs a breath before picking a popsicle from the fridge and heads towards the living room. He turns the cold up and the tv on as he decides to watch something before hitting the hay.
"..."
He pulls his phone from his shorts, the time showing that the night wasn't going to be so young in two hours as he enters the messaging app and finds Akari's contact. In it was a photo of her that he sent, her in a kimono a couple of minutes before she left. She was going to the festival because she heard Minami was going there as well.
It's been three hours since her departure but Y/n wanted to make sure she was okay and if any moves were taken to flutter the blonde boy's heart. He sent a small message to check in on her and went back to watching what was on tv.
"..."
...Ring!
As if it's a response to his message, his phone rings. That was Akari, wondering what's so important for her to call him instead of texting.
"Hello?"
No answer.
"Akari?"
"..."
"...Akari..."
Suddenly, he heard crying as on instinct, he jumped to his feet and was focused on the phone.
"Akari?!"
"..."
"Akari! Answer me!"
"Y/n... Please..." was all she said as it made him more nervous and worried for his "wife" that was crying. "Akari, where are you?! Are you hurt?!"
"Y/n... Please... I need you..."
"Shit... Alright, just stay on the phone... I'm gonna come get you and-"
Akari bawled more before the phone hangs up suddenly. "God dammit!" he says as he picks up the keys from his house and heads straight for the door, calling her number again. He was outside, locking their home up.
"Holy crap, pick up the phone, Aka-"
He heard a tune.
Being on his toes about everything from the past three minutes, he quickly turns to the tune and his eyes widens. "Akari!"
She was sitting on the ground and crying, "Y/n..." she calls his name as she was immediately met with a tight embrace. "You made me worry so much! What's going on?! Do you need something?!"
"Don't let me go..." she sniffled lightly while she hugged back with more intensity than him. "Please don't let go of me..."
It shocked Y/n that his "wife" would say something like this but, "I won't... Just..." he grits his teeth softly, following Akari's request as he made sure to comfort the girl with some head pats.
"I'm here... I'm not gonna let you go..." he said as they stayed like this for a while.
...
"I told you to check to see if you had everything before you left... You were lucky I was still here..."
This takes place half an hour after Akari's sudden breakdown. She was doing a little better with trails of tears staining her cheeks as he hands her a towel. "But I'm glad you're okay..." she takes the towel from him who smiled softly.
"It's getting late so I'll leave you be for now... Hopefully when the fireworks come, they won't disturb your sleep..."
That was a unique way of saying good night to Akari, the girl thanks him before she got ready to shower and head to bed.
She was in her pajamas now, exiting the bathroom and walking towards her bedroom while the fireworks were exploding loudly outside. Akari takes a moment to admire the lights flashing in the sky from inside, "They're so beautiful..."
"..."
On the patio was Y/n.
He was watching the fireworks, leaning on the railing as his head was looking straight up and forward as the ringing explosions doesn't faze him at all. Even though it's late and Akari wanted to sleep to get over what happened to her tonight, she heads to where Y/n was and stands next to him.
"Akari..." he takes notice of the presence of his "wife" as she leans on the railing as well, viewing the countless lights exploding in the sky. "...The fireworks are pretty..."
"...Yeah..." Y/n smiled softly. "...Right..." he continues his gaze at the fireworks.
"..."
Akari glanced back at Y/n, a soft blush on her face as she scoots closer to him. "...Y/n?"
"What is it?"
She continued to move closer to the boy unnoticed before stopping when her shoulder was mere inches away from his. She smiled a little. "...Thank you for staying with me tonight... I really needed it after what happened today..."
Y/n looks at Akari who was staring at him. He flinched a little before blushing as well and looked away. "I mean, this is our home... You're more than welcome to come back whenever you need something..."
"...Yeah... Thanks..."
"..."
"...I'm cold... Could you hold me?"
Y/n silently wraps an arm around Akari and pulls her close. In return, she pushes her body close to him with the same satisfying smile she had on earlier tonight. Contently, she leans her head on his chest.
"Thank you~..."
The boy squeezes her tighter in response as they watched the fireworks in the sky until there were no more.
