The Quintessential Quintuplets: Marching Forward

Extra Scene: One

*Please read the author's note before reading the content.

Somewhere in the Timeline: One

Futaro pointed to a large cardboard box that was left by the student council near the sliding door entrance of the room. "Yotsuba, can you carry that box over to the classroom closet? I still need to sweep and mop."
"Sure! Got it!" Yotsuba skipped over and knelt down to pick it up, but her eyes widened when she felt how heavy the box was.
"Woah! What's in this?!" She strained as she lifted it upright and started walking towards the back of the classroom.
"Those are the new history books the first year teacher asked for," Futaro replied as he swept dirt and grime into a pile. "If it's too heavy, I can help-" He stopped mid-sentence to see an accomplished-looking Yotsuba, who had just hauled the heavy box across the room and settled it cozily into the back closet.
Yotsuba wiped off sweat from her brow and removed her uniform blazer. "I can't believe how much work this is though! It makes me feel all gross and sweaty," She sighed. "It's supposed to be winter!"
Futaro chuckled. "It's always work when you're a class rep," he looked over at Yotsuba's flushed cheeks, he couldn't help but appreciate how cute she looked when she was flustered. "And you shouldn't have signed me up to be class rep with you, if you didn't know what the job entailed!"
Yotsuba groaned. "I guess," she said, rolling her eyes playfully. "But I didn't sign up for this kind of work. I thought being a class rep would be more exciting than this."
Futaro raised an eyebrow. "Exciting?" He repeated. "Do you remember planning the culture festival? That was hell."
A light pink hue flushed across Yotsuba's cheeks as she pouted. "I know! But how else was I supposed to spend more time with you!"
Futaro raised an eyebrow. "So, you admit it?"
Yotsuba shrugged nonchalantly and tried to hide her embarrassment. "I admit nothing!" She spun on her heel and hurried across the room towards the blackboard, snatching up the erasers as she went. She grabbed an old rag from Futaro's desk and moved towards the window, using it to whack the erasers together, generating white-gray plumes of chalk dust that floated across the sunbeams streaming through the glass.
Futaro shook his head and chuckled before wrapping his arms around Yotsuba's waist from behind. He bent down and kissed her cheek lightly. "I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm having fun."
Yotsuba gasped in surprise and stumbled. The erasers flew from her hand and plummeted down to the courtyard below.
She turned around slowly with a sly smirk on her face, then playfully jabbed her finger into Futaro's chest. "And now look at what you made me do!"
Futaro laughed and shook his head. "I'll get those later," he said, before pulling Yotsuba closer and kissing her deeply. His hands roamed down her back, feeling the soft fabric of her uniform shirt and the warmth of her skin beneath it. Yotsuba moaned against his lips, her hands moving up to tangle in his hair.
They broke away, panting for breath, and Yotsuba grinned up at him. "Uesugi-kun, you dog," she said, her eyes shining with mischief.
Before she could close the distance again for another kiss, Futaro and Yotsuba heard the loud steps of a student running up the stairs. "Nakano-san!" They heard the student shouting. Futaro reluctantly pulled away from Yotsuba and straightened up, adjusting his own uniform. Yotsuba blushed and smoothed down her hair.
"We should probably see what that's about," Futaro cleared his throat.
Yotsuba nodded as she adjusted the ribbon in her hair. Yotsuba and Futaro cautiously stepped out of the classroom, when a girl in a basketball uniform spotted them. She ran up to them, her ponytail bobbing behind her with every stride.
"Nakano-san!" She said, breathless and excited. "I've been looking for you!
"Eba-senpai-last year's team captain-came by to visit and has been asking after you."
Yotsuba bit her lip and exchanged an awkward glance with Futaro before responding. "It's nice that she's looking for me, but I'm kind of busy here."
"No worries," the basketball player replied, as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "I'll go let her know you're here." She beamed at them before turning on her heels and taking off down the hallway.
"This is going to be so awkward," Yotsuba mumbled. She turned to Futaro and continued. "I'll have to explain why I'm no longer part of the team...then I'll have to listen to her trying to convince me to come back...and on top of that...I'll probably have to explain about you," she added sheepishly.
Futaro furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "Me? What about me?"
"That you're my boyfriend. I'm pretty sure she won't like that," Yotsuba replied with the trace of a laugh, her gaze drifting away shyly. "She's had a thing for me for a while."
Futaro turned his head further, more confused than ever. "But you're a girl," he said slowly.
Yotsuba exhaled deeply and shook her head. "Uesugi-san...you can't be serious. You know what? Nope. I'll let Ichika explain that. We should probably brace ourselves. I'm just nervous I suppose."
Futaro took in Yotsuba's suddenly tense body. All semblance of calm had been robbed from her, and replaced with fidgety energy. He decided he needed to do something. Futaro tugged on Yotsuba's arm. "You're coming with me." Before Yotsuba could say anything else, he grabbed her hand and set off down the hall at a brisk pace. Yotsuba scurried to keep up, taking care to keep her skirt down and her heels from clicking too loudly on the floor.
"Where are we going?" She asked, looking up at Futaro as he pulled her into the stairwell.
"The roof," he replied, pushing open the door at the top of the stairs. They promptly shut the door behind them.
"Oooo, romantic!" Yotsuba laughed. She took a moment to look out over the rooftop, and then exhaled in relief. She didn't see any basketball players watching them, and there was enough of a gap that they would have an excuse if someone were to glance out and see them together. "I think we're safe."
Futaro let out a low chuckle and ran his hand down her arm. "I know we are."
Yotsuba blushed and grinned at Futaro as he sat down, pulling her towards him. She settled into his lap and leaned her head back against his shoulder. "I wish I could spend my days with you like this."
Futaro pressed a kiss against Yotsuba's cheek. "Me too," he murmured against her skin. "At least we have the roof for now."
Yotsuba smiled and released a delicate giggle. "You're so corny."
"I think you meant romantic," Futaro corrected her with a smirk.
"No, you're pretty bad at this." She playfully shoved his shoulder. "But thank you. I know what you're doing."
"What am I doing?"
She looked up at him with eyes full of appreciation. "Did Ichika or someone tell you that I've been struggling with balancing work and my studies?"
Futaro tugged nervously at a tuft of hair over his ear, avoiding her gaze. "She might have mentioned something like that...but that's not why we're here today. You said you didn't want to talk to Eba-san. And you seemed to be a bit stressed, so that's what I'm trying to do." Yotsuba twisted around to try and face Futaro.
"Ow!" Futaro rolled his eyes and flinched.
"What's wrong?" Yotsuba tried to turn her head to face Futaro.
"You poked me again with your ribbon."
Yotsuba giggled again, resting her head on Futaro's shoulder once more. "Sooner or later I'll get the hang of it! You're right. I didn't want to talk to Eba-san. It's really nice of her to check up on me, but I don't know how to tell her I'm not on the team anymore without sounding like a huge jerk. I'm pretty sure she wanted me to be the team captain's successor."
"Really? But you've only really been in the club for half a year."
"Well, it was either that or she wanted to suck my face off," Yotsuba laughed. "Probably both."
"Hmm..." Futaro grunted.
Yotsuba playfully patted his cheek. "Oh, don't you start. You can't be getting jealous. You didn't even know what I meant earlier."
"Yeah well...I just didn't like the way you said it this time."
"Would it make you feel better if I sucked your face off?" Yotsuba smirked.
Futaro rolled his eyes. "You're ruining the perfectly good peace and quiet."
Yotsuba stuck her tongue out at Futaro. "Well, I don't know what to tell her," she continued thoughtfully. "I mean I'm not going to lie, especially not after how strongly she felt about me joining the team. But I don't really want to disappoint her either. I wonder if I could just casually let her know I'm not on the team anymore? Or maybe I'll just drop by the gym and say hi. It'll be so awkward...but she sounds like she really wants to talk to me, so I should at least reply back."
"If you want, I can go with you," Futaro suggested.
"What? Really? You'd do that for me?" Yotsuba sat up straight, turning around to face him. "Wouldn't that be a bit awkward for you?"
"Nah," Futaro reached for Yotsuba's hand, tucking it into his own. "I guess as long as she doesn't suck your face off in front of me."
"You're no fun," Yotsuba laughed.
Futaro didn't respond, instead resting his chin on the top of Yotsuba's head, breathing in the scent of her hair. He was glad that she was no longer tense, but he did feel a bit worried. He couldn't tell what she was thinking by looking at her, and he had a fear that she was thinking something negative.
Suddenly, Yotsuba was off his lap. She opened the door and poked her head out into the hallway. "Looks like we're clear," she said, looking back at him. "I'm going to go look for Eba-senpai," she added, before exiting the door and closing it behind her. [scene end]

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Author's Note: Hi everyone! Welcome to my first upload of "Somewhere in the timeline." When I draft chapters Marching Forward, I often manage to gather a huge pool of extra scenes and whole extra chapters that don't end up making the cut in the story for one reason or another.
I decided to incorporate those older pieces of writing as a little "treat," I guess? for readers who feel anxious about waiting a month for a Marching Forward upload. These little extras are not always meant to be complete scenes or chapters and are more just "vignettes" into Futaro and Yotsuba's lives at various points in the five-year gap between when they start dating to when they get married and even beyond. I thought it'd be good to reflect on my own older writing samples (cringe) and to bust out my editing chops so my editor isn't crying from all the extra work I put on them. This is especially true since we're not having a Marching Forward chapter this month because I'm completing Nanowrimo. (I'll have everyone know that I'm about four chapters away from finishing my Itsuki story so it's been a resounding success. Please look forward to that)
If people end up enjoying these and I get good feedback, I'll continue to upload these little vignettes. I promise I will never write such a long A/N again sorry!