You And I (SomaXErina)

Chapter 2: The Residuals

A/N: What? An update? No way! -.- Anyway, this is SUPPOSED to be a collection of DIFFERENT one-shots, but somehow I ended up doing the same story back-to-back, so here you are. I may or may not make this its own separate fic.

Their exchange the night before flashes in his memory the moment he sets his eyes on her.

His mouth was hanging slightly agape, but no words passed through his lips. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to hear, but that had not been a possibility.

"What's the matter, Yukihira? Shouldn't you be happy? Now, you don't have to choose."

"Choose?" he asked stupidly, unnecessarily, habitually.

She merely smiled bitterly and rolled away from him. He wanted to reach out to her, to tell her to come back, but his hand remained frozen at his side. "Don't," she had said to him.

"I'm sure you know how to show yourself out."

They sit next to each other in all their shared classes, something that probably occurred more subconsciously than not. For a pair of people not on the greatest terms, they certainly had a tendency to drift towards one another. He never minded the proximity, but his routine is about to be disrupted and he doesn't know how to salvage it. He elects to mimic his usual casualness.

"Yo, Nakiri! Did you finish that essay?" he grins cheekily, pulling out his chair and situating himself next to her. For a second, he sees her seat flash empty, and his smile falters just a bit.

"Yukihira," Erina greets slowly, eyeing him cautiously. "What does my progress on my assignment have to do with you?"

He leans in closer, catching her scent, and nearly reels back. She had never been one to drench herself in perfumes, but her natural fragrance sends an aching familiarity through him that, he now notes, won't always be there anymore.

"Hmm, thought maybe you could let me copy it later," he jokes lightly, pulling away to put some distance between them.

His action doesn't go unnoticed, and she studies him briefly before responding in tedium, "As if, Yukihira. Do your own work."

When he finishes dinner that night, he considers visiting Erina. He pauses at the front door, hand grasping the knob, and ponders yet again how the strawberry-blonde with a tsundere streak managed to wiggle herself into his life. She is so ingrained in his everyday life that his body naturally seeks to be near her. But what is he to do when she's no longer around? When he can't reach her via a short bike ride anymore?

It's then that he hears the clamoring of dishes in the kitchen, and he sidles towards the noise for the needed distraction. There, he finds Tadokoro cleaning up the remnants of dinner. She doesn't see him right away, so he takes a minute to appreciate the hard work she puts into everything she does, including mundane tasks such as washing plates and bowls.

Tadokoro Megumi is beautiful in her own way. She's a shining ray of purity, an angel descended from the heavens to spread warmth and love to all she touches. While she isn't always confident about herself, she provides unwavering support for her friends. Her laughter and optimism is contagious. Surely, any guy would be beyond lucky to claim her as his. He knows this.