My Ice Cold Queen | Yukino Yukinoshita × M!Reader

S3, Chapter 10: Something That Can Be Said, But Difficult To Say

Shizuka: Don't summarize what you have in a simple word like "codependence." Can you honestly pack all of your feelings into just a single word? 

Y/N: No...I can't.

Shizuka: Precisely! (sigh) Giving advice to students isn't new, but giving it to one who's going to be your brother-in-law soon is a big difference.

Y/N: Heh. He finally had the balls to do it. Besides, I won't be able to stand it if it ends with just a single word. Besides, this isn't something that words aren't enough to convey. 

Shizuka: (smiles) You already have the answer inside of you. You just don't know how to let it out. (grabs tissue paper) There's more than one way to do this, L/N.

Y/N: You know, you can call me by my name, right?

Shizuka: R-Right. (clears throat and goes into coat) There are an infinite number ways to express a single word. For example...there are a lot of things I think about you. You're quiet, sometimes foul-mouthed, caring, and a hard worker. But you don't care about most things that I worry about you.

Y/N: (deadpan) You're writing some harsh things.

Shizuka: (grin) And I could write a whole lot more. But...when you put all those together...

Quickly scribbling it out and erasing something to leave some white space, she holds it up in Y/N's face. He knew. The thing Shizuka wrote was "love" in kanji.

Shizuka: "I love you." You know, don't you?

Y/N: (scratches head in embarrassment) Y-Yeah...

Shizuka: To me, you are one of the most amazing students and will soon be a loving brother. In that sense, I am quite fond of you.

Y/N gained a quick grin, Shizuka gaining a smug smile as she wraps Y/N in a headlock, ruffling his hair. Usually, he'd grown annoyed, but Y/N accepted it, giving Shizuka a warm smile.

Shizuka: If you can't solve this in one word, then use all the words you need. If you can't trust words to get the job done, then you can pair them up with actions. You can use any words and take any actions that you like. Let each of them become a dot to connect...until you've managed to form your answer. 

After taking him home, Y/N took a quick shower and was lying down on his bed, looking through different photos that had been taken over the year. Some of them were him having faces of annoyance, but he'd see himself to have the rare smile he would show, especially when he was around Yukino Yukinoshita.

With a sigh, he laid his head down and closed his eyes. A few days from now, or any day for that matter, his answer would determine the climax of their relationship.

---

The day had come and the seniors had officially graduated. The senior classes all had writing on the chalkboard, saying congratulations. It was hard to believe that the senior class were leaving and heading to university.

There was no club to go to, since Yukino didn't want to continue it any longer. And he understood. But, he didn't want to accept it was for something to compensate to give up on. After all, now that it was over, they wouldn't be connected. There wouldn't be a reason for Y/N to keep going to that empty classroom. He had finally found it, just to see that smile, and everything would be okay for the day. And he promised to himself that he wouldn't abandon her or cut any ties with her.

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Iroha: Can you explain to me what's going on here? Why exactly is there a joint prom project happening that the student council is not involved in?