#ooooooooooooooooooo

All the horror movie jump scares, exam papers, and in-progress text messages you've ever had the displeasure of seeing were nothing in comparison to the quaint establishment you're about to enter. Your mind urges your eyes to look down to the street beside you.

An incredible use of free will would be to bolt down the sidewalk right this second, but your feet stay rooted to the ground as your mind strenuously forces your nerves to keep you in place. You probe your brain to remember why you're here. Reaching into the forefront of your mind, you manage to unearth the circumstance that led you to this very street...

Just one week ago, you were gaping at Tadashi intensely. Incredulously, even.

"You want me to pretend to be your partner?"

As if looking at you would blind him for life, Tadashi puts way too much effort into directing his eyes away from you. He hated asking for favors— usually, he'd be on the receiving side of them, willing to lend a hand even if the situation would be a net negative for him in every way. The man sitting in front of you shamefully turns his head in your direction. For a guy who worked robots and complex code daily, he's failing to make a sound, logical argument for this elaborate plot of his.

"I know it's sudden, and, well, a lot to ask, but it'll only be for a night, and after a while, I'll tell them we broke up and stayed friends—"

"—Tadashi, no."

The man sitting in front of you juts out his lip in an act of protest. You put your hands on your hips, looking away in defense. You know that looking into his eyes means game over, and you'd eventually cave into his demands. Yet, very hesitantly, your head turns toward him. Against your better judgement.

"If you bring me home, they'll start expecting you to bring me over more often. Then it's more fake dates and keeping up appearances, a-and– before you know it, we're planning a fake wedding!"

You knew you were exaggerating, and the thought of having a wedding with Tadashi honestly didn't sound too bad... though you'd never admit that out loud. You squint at him as his pout softens into a small frown. That was your cue to start mentally beating yourself up for ever refusing his proposal in the first place. Your face falls with his.

"You can't ask someone else? Like, that really tall, pretty girl — what was her name... Lemon? Lemon something? Y'know, the girl who makes things explode...pink? Can't she do this?"

He places his head into his left hand, closing his eyes.

"Honey's never going to agree to this," his response was uttered in a low voice. He opens his eyes quickly. "First of all, it'll be hard to convince her to lie to someone, and secondly, Gogo would have my head."

Tadashi smirks, and somehow, that manages to break the tension just enough to allow you to smile as well. You cross your hands over your chest, contemplating for a few moments.

"Why'd you even need a fake date anyway? I'm sure Aunt Cass isn't pressuring your to have grandkids. Or, uh... grand-nephews and nieces...?"

Tadashi laughs, and you relax your shoulders, leaning against one of his desks behind you. Bashful heat warms his cheeks and makes them glow an abashed crimson. His left hand comes up to comfort him, and you witness his charming little habit he's made of rubbing his neck.

"Not directly, but she's being kinda pushy on my shifts at the Lucky Cat. She's not as subtle as she thinks she is, and I'm positive she's trying to set me up with one of our regulars. Trust me, it is not a good time for either party."

Humming in understanding, you look down at your hands and contemplate your options.

"You could... get someone better, y'know. I'm sure every girl at SFIT is dying to get a date with you."

Your proposal clearly isn't something Tadashi was anticipating. You could tell from the way his eyes droop downward, the shine in his irises dulling at your negative statement. He clicks his tongue, punctuating his dissent with a harsh tick.

"Don't do that right now..." "Do what?" He furrows his eyebrows, furthering his frustration.

"Make it seem like you're... lesser, or something— look, okay, I understand that you don't want to do it, but... if I'd have it be anyone, I'd have it be you."

Like a nickel incapable of succumbing to a magnet's draw, you're powerless to stop the way your head involuntarily snaps up to your best friend.

"I can't convince my little brother and Aunt that I'm dating someone I don't click with. They're perceptive, and they know me... besides. You're really nice to be around. I actually like you. I-I mean, I like being around you."

Ignoring his praise (and the way it made your brain light up and listen) was futile. You had suddenly developed rapt attention toward his case. Biting the inside of your cheek, you get up off of the desk.

"You're really good at guilt-tripping me."

His pupils seem to dilate as you float nearer to him.

"So... does that mean the guilt tripping is working?

You shake your head, an almost laugh tumbling up and out of your lips.

"...okay. What would I get if I said yes— hypothetically." Tadashi seems to light up at this newly found possibility, hand leaving his neck. Both of his hands sit on his lap, his fingers tap against the work material of his pants, drumming in quick succession.

"You'd get free pastries from the Lucky Cat?"

"And?"

He squints, smile turning suspicious.

"And free tutoring for that thermodynamics class you said you're having trouble with?"

"And...?" Your negotiating earns you an eye roll, and an amused eyebrow raise from Tadashi.

"And you're pushing it." You snort, laughing your delight out of your system.

"Okay. Deal."

Recalling that moment in his lab suddenly make your clothes less stuffy, your posture less rigid and your palms less restless. The tall, intimidating building in front of you seemed like less of a challenge, and more like a run-of-the-mill, adorable café.

It was only one dinner, after all.

You pace around to dampen your nerves, and to silently pep talk yourself into your role as Tadashi's partner. In your head, you went back and forth with yourself on table manners and and visiting etiquette. You also made sure to memorize the story the both of you had spun.

Okay, we met at a public library. We were friends for around a year, we got coffee together... we had crushes on each other for a few weeks, and... huh.

In truth, the story you and Tadashi spun about your "relationship" was just a fictionalized version of your very real friendship. It felt rational. Like a river just following it's natural course to the ocean. The only dishonest part of the story was the part about developing feelings for one another. If you were honest with yourself, it wasn't a lie completely.

You've begun to recognize the buds of feelings taking root in your heart, blooming under the right conditions. Fueled into blossoms by the blood pumped by the very organ they were planted in every time he leaned in to tell you a joke.

You've known of it for a while now. Yet, you aren't very sure if you want to make these feelings known to him. The fear of rejection always loomed over you. It persisted and multiplied indefinitely, not unlike a tumor, almost. Ignoring these feelings was easier than confronting the ever-present threat of losing him forever. You've gone through many spirals over this very dillemma, constantly finding yourself ambivalent over what "the right choice" actually looked like.

Your train of thought is brought to a halt by a faint rumbling sound in the distance.

A bright light shines into view, illuminating the area around it in a white glow. It's hard to mistake Tadashi's bright crimson moped, even from afar. It cruises toward your general direction, coming to a stop right in front of the cafe. Right in front of you.

You don't register him at first, but as soon as he takes off his helmet, you catch yourself being surprised.

You've made a tradition of making fun of his dressing style. It's not that he didn't know how to dress... well, he kind-of knew how to dress. It wasn't like he didn't have a sense of style, but his outfits were consistently confusing— toeing the line between too casual and too formal. Straight-legged pants paired up with suit blazers over cardigans, those damn mint green converse, that old San Fransokyo ninjas hat... all worn with pride to an 8am lecture that he was nearly late for.

Instead of his tonally clashing getup, the man in front of you looks like he's made up his mind on his presentation.

The crisp blue of his dress shirt catches your eye. It's a color he doesn't wear often, preferring to stick to his color palette of green, red, white, and grey like a slightly depressed Christmas tree. Though, despite the irregularity, it looked great on him.

His converse were traded in for a pair of loafers, and his grey slacks were pressed and held up by a brown belt. His eyes were gated behind a pair of thin-rimmed, black-framed glasses you've never seen him wear before. The only bit of familiarity you could find was that black SFN cap on the top of his head.

You gape at him, grinning like you just saw a unicorn.

"Wooow..."

"Shut up."

"Wooooooooow..."

"Oh my god..." Tadashi's hand comes up to scrub down his face, his eyes running up to the sky to beg for any respite from your teasing. You lighten up, moving toward him to get a good look at his face.

"You wear glasses? Like, prescription, or..."

"Yeah, prescription. I wear contacts most of the time. For convenience."

"Huh...nerd."

Tadashi scoffs, looking away from you to open the back of his moped.

"You cleaned up nicely, Hamada." Your tone isn't even teasing anymore, it's genuine and appreciative. You eyes drop to his waist, where you can't help but be slightly jealous at how cinched it looked to be.

When he turns around, a pop of color is cradled into his chest. Yellows and oranges burst out of a circle base of brown, emanating a yellow glow on Tadashi's chin. They were sunflowers, and by the looks of it, fresh sunflowers. Still wrapped in newspaper from the farmer's market. A shy beam is present on his lips, akin to that of a child showing off a drawing they did in class. "Thanks. You look..."

His eyes seemed to take you in as well, and for a moment, it seemed like time slowed down. His mouth opened to say something, but no sound seemed willing to come out. Tadashi was completely, utterly engrossed on you and how you looked.

Though the seconds slowed down in his mind, they passed normally in yours. You cock your head to the side, thoroughly stumped at what was going on in Tadashi's psyche.

"Uh... hello?"

Your voice snapped him out of his trance. He blinked, surprised at himself. "Sorry! I meant to say that you, uh, look— amazing. I like what you did with your outfit. I stopped by a nearby market to get these for you..."

A quick snort escapes from your lips, willed back down at the sight of Tadashi pouting at you.

"Thanks. You didn't have to get me these.... but they look really pretty."

Tadashi handed them to you, eyes still trained on yours. "I guess, but... you're still technically my date, even if we aren't dating-dating. It's the right thing to do. Dates deserve nice things." "Such a gentleman..." You coo, quite enjoying the way blush rises up to his cheeks once again. He clears his throat, hands falling to his side. They ball up into loose fists before slacking, his fingers were also unsure of what to do. His right hand comes up, hesitantly approaching the small of your back. You notice his apprehension, deciding to give him a little push in the right direction.

Reaching for his hand, you gently press it onto your waist, allowing him to adjust his fingers into the most comfortable position. You don't get words from him for a while, only being able to hear an audible gulp from him, as well as the sound of him clearing his throat.

"This is... okay, right?" He mutters, pulling you into his side. Admittedly, you wonder if you'd really be okay with your best friend having you this close, with his big, warm hand holding onto you like he doesn't want to let go. Are you really okay with pretending like your heart doesn't go haywire when he leans down to say things only meant for you to hear? You don't know. But your mouth moves anyway.

"...yeah. I'm okay with it, 'Dashi."

He sighs in relief, taking a deep breath.

"Okay. We got this."

Tadashi grins at you, leading you into the Lucky Cat with no further indisposition.

Bells chime in time with your arrival into the Lucky Cat, and the interior is exactly what you would expect from the eye-catching exterior you've been staring at for the past 20 minutes. You're immediately hit with the scent of coffee, heralded alongside vanilla, chocolate and cinnamon. It's a scent you remember smelling on Tadashi whenever he wasn't perfumed with motor oil and metal.

You find that the Lucky Cat is a very winsome establishment. The simple, Japanese-style decor isn't minimalist enough to be empty, but it also doesn't visually yell at you with it's colors and graphic elements. The soft green of the building's outside paint job is continued into the walls of the cafe, some photographs and simple paintings slowly leading your eye to the quaint service counter at the back of the cafe.

Tadashi's hand on your waist squeezes slightly as you walk in. You're too busy making mundane observations of your surroundings that you don't even register someone at the till until Tadashi addresses her.

"Hey Aunt Cass..."

The woman at the till is very focused, her slim hand moving a pen swiftly over a ledger. She doesn't look up until Tadashi clears his throat, as if awoken from a trance. Her green eyes briskly flit up to meet his, taking time to make space for you next to him.

"Tadashi! Sorry, got wrapped up in sorting out some delivery expenses. I was wondering when you were coming home, and... oh, look at you; You're dressed up!"

She smiles, the bare impressions of crows feet coming into the sides of her eyes. They smooth out when she seems to remember there was someone standing beside her nephew, and her eyes widen before focusing on you.

"And...are they a new friend of yours?"

You felt like a bug under a microscope in the way that she scanned over you, squinting your eyes to scrutinize you further. Tadashi's told you about his aunt on multiple occasions. A spunky, 40-something old woman with a passion for her café and the people who supported it. You have also heard that she has an extensive knife collection and a concerningly consistent overprotective streak.

You look over to Tadashi, an SOS signal written into every pore of your face. He holds back a laugh, nodding toward you as if to say, "just give it a second". He was right to tell you to wait, because as soon as his Aunt had spotted Tadashi's hand at your waist, her whole face seemed to light up like a Christmas tree in July.

"OH!? More than a friend? Right!? Please tell me they're more than a friend."

With an excited pep in every step she takes, she quickly rounds the service counter to meet you up close and personal.

Tadashi sighs, a knowing grin on his face. Your waist becomes absent of his hand as he gestures toward you, causing something inside of you to tighten up in disappointment.

"Yeah, they're, uh... not just a friend. They're my partner, and I decided that it was time for you to meet them."

With a conflicted, matching smile on your face, you quickly introduce yourself. Your say your name in a tone and pronunciation you don't quite recognize, but you power through all the same. Aunt Cass seemed to squeal an incoherent sentence in reply.

Tadashi silently thanks you with another quick nod, glancing back up to his Aunt with a newly discovered confidence.

"Maybe we could get takeout and have a quick dinner? To talk?"

His Aunt was a hairs width away from hugging you before she snaps her head toward her nephew so fast you'd think she'd break her neck.

"Takeout?! For an occasion like this?"

You've come to know that Tadashi's aunt was a force to be reckoned with. She pinches at Tadashi's ear, making him hiss in pain repeatedly.

"I have a potential in-law and you want me to feed them takeout? You should've told me they were coming by sooner!"

"Ah-ah-ah—ow! Sorry! I'm sorry!"

Her hand relents after a hot second, releasing Tadashi's reddened ear once she's figured that he's endured enough. Tadashi cups his pained skin with his hand, rubbing to soothe the area. He deadpans when he catches you biting back a giggle.

His aunt's attention lands unto you again. This time, she hugs you properly. The sunflowers are carefully crushed into your chest. Her embrace is sweet, warm and inviting despite only knowing your name and your face for around a minute. The coffee scent that lingered in the cafe was the strongest on her. The hug felt somewhat nostalgic to you, weirdly enough.

When she pulls back, her hands remain on your shoulders, grounding you in a way you didn't know you needed.

"Oh, god, I forget myself sometimes! My name is Cassandra, but to you, I'm Aunt Cass. Don't try to be too formal with me, alright? I mean, you're practically part of the family at this point!"

You nod at her explanation, a little too dazed to reply with something just yet.

Aunt Cass is a sweetheart. You can see were Tadashi's developed some of his habits and mannerisms; like the certain way he'd walk whenever he was happier. She makes it a point to obtain as much information about you as she can in the span of 10 minutes.

"Where are you from? Have you been living in San Fransokyo for long? Ugh, rent is killer right now..."

"Are you studying? Where? Oh, I'm sure you're really smart! You have to keep up with my nephew, after all."

"Is he treating you well? He is? Good. He better be! Call me if he isn't."

You answer every question to the best of your ability. Her joy is very infectious, having that magnetic pull that makes you want to tell her everything. You're convinced the Lucky Cat had to have a million regulars. You know you'd always be coming back.

After a bit of talking, she pauses, drawing in a deep breath to seemingly calm herself. Despite that, she's still buzzing with excitement.

"Okay, enough chatting... I'm going to make dinner, then we can talk properly. Y'know, if somebody just told me you were coming sooner..." She mockingly glares at Tadashi, who chuckles.

"I said I was sorry!"

"I know. Anyway, I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." Her gaze pans back to you as she puts a hand on your shoulder. "Feel right at home, okay?"

"Right... Thanks, Aunt Cass."

You nod at her and she winks in return, quickly moving up the stairs to the second floor of the building. Her footsteps are light and quick, clearly vibrating with exhilaration. Her absence leaves a little pocket of silence. You and Tadashi exhale at the same time, nerves buzzing but subdued.

He lifts his cap to fix his hair underneath, a relieved grin cracking across his face. "I think she likes you more than she likes me..." He croaks out, voice cracking on the tail end of his sentence. You're glad to see him a little less tense than when you walked in. You were feeling lighter as well. After experiencing the whirlwind named Aunt Cass, you felt silly thinking the Lucky Cat was scary in any capacity.

"I mean, between you and me, I don't think it's too hard hard of a pick..." You smirk, keeping yourself busy with unfurling the sunflower petals that had been crushed inward from Aunt Cass's hug.

"Hey." He retorts, quietly and in offense.

You didn't even need to look up to know he was pouting at you. "I'm joking, I'm joking..."

He rolls his eyes, mirroring your smirk on his own countenance. Without warning, he takes away your hand from the flowers and sets them aside. Guiding you to the doorway behind the service counter, he throws glances over his shoulder to make sure you're still there. He ducks below the sakura noren curtains hanging guard above the doorway, moving them out of the way for you when you enter.

"C'mon, this is just the café. House's upstairs."

No corner of this building held any isolation.

Every inch of the Hamada residence has evidence of family and living. Sure, it felt cramped, but in the way your childhood bedroom may be. Innocent, decorated and untouched by any malice. The decor wasn't excessive— no gaudy bright colors or metal statement pieces could be found laying about. Even the floorboards creaked happily with every step they were subjected to.

The living room area you were situated in felt very open, thanks to the old brownstone-style windows giving a view into the neighborhood outside. The kitchen was right next door to the living room, where you saw Aunt Cass boiling some water over the stove. She waves at you with a big grin, and you wave right back.

Tadashi's lips purse while he looks at a nearby clock. He tells you he needs a minute, before going over to talk to Aunt Cass.

Alone now, you begin to explore the living area on your own. There was nothing out of the ordinary, save for some cute trinkets lining the top of the fireplace. However, something else caught your eye. You took some time to look over the framed photographs that hung on on the living room walls.

There were a variety, reminding you of the paintings down at the café. All framed in mismatched frames with different colors.

The first one that caught your eye looked to be photo of Tadashi's high school graduation. Behind him was a big, blue logo reading "CAMERON WATANABE INTERNATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL." You recall CW High being a prestigious institution back in your highschool years, with many famous graduates that went on to become influential figures in their respective fields.

A 17-year-old Tadashi in a toga and cap, holding up a diploma, flashing his braces in a proud smile. He looked so...adorable in an ill-fitting gown and braces. Cute, in the way an armadillo was endearing.

You snort, looking back to make sure Tadashi wasn't paying attention. Your phone is in your hand before you know it, and you quickly snap a photo.

A common theme with most of the photos were that they were group photos of the three same people: Tadashi, Aunt Cass, and a short boy with messy hair and a gap-toothed grin, who you assumed to be Tadashi's trouble-maker little brother, Hiro. One was of the three of them posing for a photo on the beach, Aunt Cass's hands on either one of the brothers. The pair looked younger, yet their smiles were struggling to meet their eyes. The sight saddened you a little, urging you to the next photo.

It's a landscape image of the two brothers, a little older now, and thankfully with full smiles. They're sitting down on the floor across from eachother, huddled over a broken toy they didn't seem too upset about. In fact, they were gleefully taking it apart. What looked to be a 13-year-old Tadashi was explaning something to a 7-year-old Hiro, who was only half listening to whatever his older brother was saying. The tinier (cuter) Hamada was too engrossed in taking a screwdriver to one of the parts of the toy, tongue sticking out with focus you've never managed to see in a toddler.

The third photo was a mirror image of Tadashi's highschool graduation photo— except, Tadashi wasn't the one in the graduation gown. It was his little brother, holding up a certificate begrudgingly while Tadashi held up a plethora of other certificates and medals, smiling smugly, yet still managing to portray a proud, happy older brother. You assumed it was Hiro's middle school graduation, however, you've never seen a middle school graduation require a toga and cap.

In the year you've known Tadashi, it's made clear that his family is of the utmost important to him. You've listened to him talk about them countless times. Rants about how his aunt doesn't take care of herself for the sake of the café, and long-winded rambling around how his little brother, for all his intelligence, chooses to squander his potential in illegal bot fighting and betting.

You've seen how he cared for them deeply, how it manifested in stress some of the time. Constantly making calls and ditching hangouts to go and rescue Hiro from a botfighting 'misunderstanding'. They were the only family he had, after all. The pictures put their bond on display, the connection Tadashi fought so hard to preserve.

Your observation was cut short by a presence under you. You felt something brush against your legs. You look down to see if you had caught your feet on something. Below you isn't a rug or some stray spiderwebs. It's a fat, furry creature with orange, brown, and white spots. Every move it makes is made known by the jingling sound made through the bell attached to its collar securely fastened on its chubby little neck. Two big green eyes with round boba-like pupils stare up at you, a low-pitched vibration rumbled out from its tiny little chest.

Like any sane, rational person, you immediately coo at the adorable little kitten at your legs, abandoning the photos to pet its little head.

"Aww! Hi, baby.... what's your name?"

It seems to feed off your attention, leaning into your pets and meowing back at you, only managing to make you love it more.

"That's Mochi. Don't let him fool you. He's the reason I only have 1 good cardigan."

You look up at Tadashi without halting your petting of Mochi, your hand still in the clutches of the adorable calico kitty.

"But he's so cute though!"

Tadashi sighs, kneeling down with you. He scoops up Mochi in his arms, giving him a joking scowl.

"You've already infected them..."

Mochi meows in response, settling in Tadashi's arms. You still pet the cat, lightly scratching his chin. It purrs at the onslaught of attention. You both take a minute, not saying anything between Mochi's engine-like purrs.

Tadashi chuckles, before speaking up again to break the silence between you two.

"Okay, be straight with me... which one did you take a photo of? Was it a baby picture?"

Your eyes seemed to wander off.

"Photo? What photo? I don't know what a photo is..."

Tadashi says your name in a deadpan tone, raising an eyebrow at your antics. His suspicious expression meets yours as your look at him again. You huff.

"Fiiiiiiine... it was the dorky high school graduation one."

"The one with the glasses and braces?" You nod at him, feigning guilt. "Unbelievable."

You laugh in unison, panning your focus back to the photos with gentle, matching smiles. You point toward Hiro's graduation photo.

"I didn't know CW High had a middle school."

Tadashi pauses, glancing over the photo you were referring to. He smirks.

"They don't. This was Hiro's high school grad."

"But... what? So he graduated high school at—"

"Thirteen."

You feel your eyebrows shoot up to your hairline at Tadashi's claim, watching him chuckle at your apparent surprise.

"Yeah, that's how most people react... I remember all the scholarship offers. Letters, emails,— Hiro was wanted in schools outside of the city." Tadashi strokes Mochi's head one last time, before moving over to lay the cat on the couch. "He hated the interviews, though. And I don't blame him. Some of them were super invasive."

"He went for CW High on a scholarship, then?"

"We both did. During my last few high school years, I shared all my classes with him. It was a little annoying, but I'm kinda glad we went together."

You hum, looking back at the photo. "... were you ever jealous of him? I mean... he's a genius, and he's only 14." You've noticed that Tadashi's graduation photo has him sporting some medals and certificates, but not nearly as much as Hiro.

Tadashi pauses, not turning back around to you for a beat. When he does, his expression still holds a smile. "When I was younger, yeah. Apparently, when my mom and dad first told me I was getting a younger brother, I told them to 'cancel the delivery'."

You smile over at him, but you say nothing back, urging him to keep on talking.

"And when he finally came around, I didn't even want to be in the same room as him. For a whole week, I just moped around and didn't even try to give him a chance."

His voice became lower, softer, delivering his words with an intimacy and vulnerability reserved for sensitive, personal topics.

"Mom and dad were really patient with me, and I wish that... that I could've been better to Hiro when they were still here. When they died, he was only 3, and... it finally hit me that he was the only family I was gonna have for a long while. I just had to be someone he could look up to for answers."

You put a hand on his shoulders, ready to ground him back to reality if he got too caught up in the what-ifs. You could feel his shoulder loose tension under your touch, calming into a more relaxed posture.

"I guess it carries on, even 'till now... I have this intrusive thought that I always need to be there for Hiro. A-And of course, I need to be, but, I also have this weird... compulsion? Guilt? Something like that, y'know... the feeling of needing to.. to be better for him. It doesn't feel like enough, a lot of the time. Especially when I see him go off and get into trouble, 'cause I just know he can be so, so much more."

You weren't sure what to, or how to say anything appropriate in the moment. The air felt thicker, leaving you with less room to move and say things freely.

Tadashi's eyes seem to open up a little, suddenly aware of himself and where he was. And how far he took the conversation without meaning to.

"Sorry, I... I didn't mean to get that... real?" His hand comes up to rub his neck. "Shouldn't have dumped that all on you, I'm sorry."

You take off your hand from his shoulder to give him some space, but your expression stays supportive.

"Tadashi, it's fine, I asked. If anything, I think it's good you can talk to me about these things."

He meets your eyes, unblinking and completely concentrated on you and you alone. The attention makes chills run down your spine, but you don't seem all that afraid. Instead of space, you slowly cross your arms and move a little closer to him, resting your head on his shoulder.

"If it's worth something... I think you're pretty great."

He turns his head down to you, raising an eyebrow with a closed-mouth smile.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

You don't try and stop yourself when your eyes zero in on his lips. Your thoughts are unrelenting, constantly drumming up a million scenarios of where this moment could lead to.

Tadashi seems to forget that tonight was all a performance. That you weren't really his partner, and that you weren't really dating. You weren't really into him.

He dares to take the moment in his own hands, turning to lean into you.

"DINNER'S READY!"

Aunt Cass's voice rings bright and clear throughout the living room, cutting you two apart almost immediately. You step away from him while he stands still, slowly morphing his skin into that of a scarlet bell pepper.

"Uh. So. Uh..."

"Dinner?" You quickly respond, already feeling the fire starting up on the skin of your cheeks.

"Yep!" Tadashi squeaks, clearing his throat to bring his voice down to it's usual register. "Dinner."

You both walk to the dinner table in hasty steps. Mochi follows you both in a model-esque catwalk, striding without a care in the world.

"Meow."

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READINGGGG!! if you enjoyed this fic, please REBLOG and LIKE!! reblogs mean the world to me!! also feel free to comment ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ,<)~✩‧₊