sunshine and midnight rain

Chapter 22

3rd of April

Megumi’s pov

“So, water, milk, bread…salad, cheese, biscuits-”I flinched when something fell behind me. I turned around, looking at the ground. A can of beans. I sighed loudly. “Yuji, how many times do I have to tell you to calm down and not act like a child in public?”My gaze travelled up, searching for him. He was nowhere to be seen. He was playing one of his stupid jokes on me again. I shook my head, returning to my phone and trying not to mind the situation, rereading the shopping list from the top.
I was wondering where I could find the super-specific type of snacks Yuji wrote down on the list when something bothered me again. Probably a small paper ball. I was getting annoyed. I pretended not to care another time, before I briefly caught the sight of him running between the shelves, deciding to run after him. I passed in front of the produce section, sensing strange looks coming from an old woman inspecting some tomatoes. That was embarrassing. We run through people and shelves, looking like a thief running from a policeman. I surprised him, meditating on a little strategy to fool him and grabbed him by his hood while he was trying to rush off again.
“Yuji, what the fuck!”I exclaimed.
“Oh? How did you manage to catch me?”He asked, incredulously.
“Who cares? Just stop acting like a child. It’s embarrassing!”He whined. I began making my way to the department I was before, already suspecting another one of his childish games. My sixth sense told me to turn around. Indeed, when I did, he was preparing himself to run off again. I groaned, grabbing him by his arm and having to keep him close to me just like a kid.
“‘Gumi, I was having gun.” He protested.
“I certainly was not.”He giggled.
“Com'on!”He tried to shrug my hand off his arm, in order to break free from my handhold, failing. He attempted by pushing it off with his own hand but failed another time.
“Babe, I’m not a child, please.”
“If you are not then stop acting like one.”I dragged him to where I could have found milk products. He frowned, finally seeming to calm down. I began to get upset when I didn’t manage to find the right aisle for the sixth time.
“You know, ‘Gumi, it’s not rocket science, I’m surprised you haven’t found what you’re searching for yet.” I just sighed and didn’t say another word. It would have been useless anyway. I took my hand off his arm, eventually setting him free and reaching the dairy products. While examining attentively the various options, his gaze remained on me just as carefully, probably zoning out. He jumped on his place when a loud thunder reached our ears out of the blue.
“It’s pouring…”He mumbled, surveying the row of windows along the perimeter of the building. My regard travelled to his figure and then to the window, too focused on analysing the different products to actually care about the water rivers rain has been carrying in this town for a while now. Landing again on the compartments, I pondered on my decisions once again.
“ ‘Gumi…” His little whine reached my ears. “Is it really necessary to meditate this much on a random snack? I’m getting bored.”
“Take a look around if you have that much energy and desperately need to do something.” He returned cheerful all of a sudden, hurrying to who-knows-where. I got impatient soon, getting bored. I picked one casually and started looking for Yuji another time. This was definitely taking more time than it should have.
Turning one of the many corners, an enormous, fluffy, pink stuffed animal I couldn’t identify, met my face unexpectedly as it sank completely in what seemed to be its stomach. I took a step back, looking up confusedly at the figure in front of me. A big ass sheep?
“Look what I found!”Yuji’s head appeared from the back, grinning from ear to ear. The sight was definitely cute and well appreciated by my eyes.
“Where did you even find this…this thing?” I inspected it again from head to toes.
“There’s a compartment totally dedicated to stuffed animals and toys.”He exclaimed. “Isn’t it beautiful?”He glanced at the pink animal he was holding.
“Yeh, it’s pink just like your hair.”Was the first thing that came into my mind. His cheeks heated up. “And your cheeks…”I added silently. “Do you want it?”
“Oh, well…”He glimpsed at the huge animal, occasionally squeezing it. “I wasn’t planning on buying it honestly. I don’t have enough money either. I just found it really cute and wanted to show it to you, that’s it.”He stated. “Do you want to see the others?”
“The others?”
“Yes, the other stuffed animals! There are plenty. Do you wanna take a look?” I didn’t want to take a look. I have no interest in those. I’m just intrigued if Yuji is.
“Sure.”He grabbed my hand and led us through that endless world. He went ahead explaining precisely what distinguished an animal from the other. I wondered how he could know so many things about simple soft toys, but listened carefully to his explanation. He genuinely seemed like an expert.
“Which one do you like most?”I asked him after.
“I like them all.” Guess I have to buy them all then. “I don’t know, they’re all so cute and fluffy. Anyway, do we need to get anything else?”
“Mhh.”The list on my phone described accurately what we needed to get. “Just biscuits, apples and ice cream..oh, also some salad.”
“I’m gonna search for them, it’ll take less time.”
“Okay, I’m gonna look for something really quickly then, if that’s not a problem you can take the things we already got and go towards the cashier desk.”He nodded, sprinting after, looking for the food that was left. I lied. The only thing I need to look for is a little present for him. In fact, one of those toys would have been the perfect gift. Deciding which one, was the real challenge though. He said he liked them all, and I would have gladly bought them all if I had the chance, but I didn’t. So I had to choose. I had to be fast though. I pondered deeply my preferences, meditating again and again on the best option. My choice eventually fell on an enormous dragon. Totally not something I would have bought for anyone. For Yuji’s different though. The details travelled up to his head. He had a lovable expression. Doe eyes adorned his traits, leaving room for a sweet smile. His body was green, a vivid, emerald green. His scales were flashy and darker than the rest of the body. His irises were pink, a soft, pale but yet so warm pink.  His expression suggested comfort and reassurance, but also contentment. Its softness reminded me of Yuji hair. No, actually everything reminded me of him. I didn’t realise my heart was pounding. I got out of my trance when my phone rang. It was him.
“Yuji?”
“I’ve paid for everything, I’ll be outside waiting for you.”
“Oh, yeah, I’m coming. Sorry, it took more time than I had expected.”He chuckled, making my heart flutter.
“Don’t worry, is everything okay though?”
“Yes.”
“Fine, I'll see you in a little while th-”
“Wait. Could you…”I thought about what I could have said to make a surprise. There was no way I could have hidden it somewhere. It was almost my size. “Could you wait for me in front of the little jewellery shop near the entrance of the south wing?” He tried to locate it in his mind.
“Sure. Are you planning on going somewhere?” I wasn’t planning to, but his question made me realise that there’s a small cafe Yuji mentioned some times, but never had the chance to try out, nearby. It became part of the plan and a further little surprise.
“Yep, I’ll tell you everything when we meet up.”
“Okay, okay. Bye then.”I hung up and hurried to the cashier desk to pay. Carrying it wasn’t hard. It was for sure heavy due to its size, but not impossible to transport. I hurried to Yuji as soon as I finished paying, yet moving cautiously so as not to spoil anything in case he was still on the way. Before turning the last corner, I glanced rapidly and caught him turned, his back facing me. Perfect. I moved towards him attentively, not to make any noise, and positioned myself behind him.
“Yuji.” I purposely placed my body near his, in order to make him turn around directly against the dragon’s stomach, just like he did before to me when we were in the supermarket. Turning around, a muffled sound escaped his lips, and took a step back on impulse. His eyes widened at the sight of the toy, travelling between me and the dragon. Then a smile painted his lips, making me melt.
“Megumi!”He exclaimed, jumping into my arms, although the huge dragon was between us, getting squeezed. “Is this for me?”
“For who else if not you?”He pressed against my body and the dragon’s more. I smiled at the sight.
“Thank you!” Taking the dragon in his hands he realised how heavy it really was. He brushed his face against the soft surface and continued smiling. My heart was pounding inside my chest again, it was impossible for me not to notice. It almost scared me, making me feel slightly anxious. Love is scary. If something happens between us I’d have a hard time moving on, providing that I manage to. The smile on my lips disappeared. Maybe I’m just scared of getting hurt, that might be it.