Lucky - Naekusaba

Chapter Thirteen: When He Answered

MAKOTO

I had no idea what to do.

Even if I knew what to say, how would I say it? I'd never had a girlfriend, I'd never even been asked out before. How did I tell her what I wanted to tell her? And more importantly, what did I want to tell her?

It was true that we hadn't known each other for very long. I'd hung out with her every chance I got, but there was still so much mystery surrounding her and I felt like I hadn't even scratched the surface of it. We barely knew anything about each other...

But from what little interaction we'd had, I knew she was kind, and hurting. I had no idea what she was going through, but if the bruises all over her body were any indication, she was caught up in something bad, something she didn't want to be a part of. And I knew that I cared about her, very much.

For a second I just stood there, which probably wasn't good manners considering the situation, but if I didn't keep my mouth shut I knew I was going to blurt out something stupid. I looked at her, more confident than I had ever seen her, bruised and battered but standing strong. I could see the depth and beauty in her eyes, and the hope. Hope that lit up the entire area with its brightness. (I'm really not very good at beautiful descriptions, am I?) She looked prettier and stronger than I had ever seen her, and my answer from there was obvious.

"Yes! I'll go out with you, Mukuro!"

MUKURO

Well, that was unexpected.

I'd come into the situation with overwhelming confidence but had fully expected to be shut down instantly. I had no game plan for what would happen if he said yes, and when he did, I completely froze up.

"Uh... ah..." I swayed on my feet a little, the injuries I'd gotten earlier catching up to me.

"Hey, are you okay?" Makoto was by my side, propping me up on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head. "Nothing... just wasn't expecting you to say yes." I laughed nervously.

He smiled. "How could I say no? You're awesome. You're so pretty and strong, and your smile is perfect. I may not have any experience with this kind of thing, but you're totally relationship material." He looked down, blushing. "Sorry... was that weird?"

That... was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me. Once again, I had no idea how to respond. My face was on fire, and I guess Makoto noticed that, because he squeezed his eyes shut. "Oh man... this is what I get for being so hopelessly average, not knowing how to talk to a girl right."

"No, it's fine!" I was basically having heart palpitations, but the least I could do was assure him he hadn't done something horribly wrong. "T-thank you." I wasn't used to getting complimented, and coming from him... I felt like I might explode at any second.

"Really?" His face lit up. "I'm so glad, because for a second I thought I was sounding kind of creepy. So... what now?"

I'm not sure what took over me in that second, but before I could think I was leaning in, his eyes were widening, and our lips connected. Neither of us had ever done it before, so it was almost laughable how bad we were at it, but it still felt magical. Our first kiss, awkward and bad and perfect.

I pulled back, somehow not feeling embarrassed anymore. "Was that okay?" I asked tentatively.

"I... I honestly don't know," he said, looking embarrassed enough for the both of us. "It... felt really good, so... I guess that's enough, right?"