Some Misunderstandings (Shirou x Michiru)

Chapter 12 - Crush

     "So, how is that crush of your's going?" Melissa laughed and Michiru dropped her ball.

     "What?" Michiru blushed and stared at Melissa.

     "Well, when we talked about it last, you looked so panicky! But then you saw him and just looked cute and normal!" Melissa sat on Shirou's chair.

      "Well, it's just that I don't want to change how things are. Even if I like him, I just don't want to make things awkward or suddenly start acting all lovey-dovey on him because of some feeling. Shirou would probably be confused if I suddenly started acting weird. That isn't really fair to him." Michiru looked off to the side.

     "That is one way to look at it, but Gem had to get some hints about my love for him before he had the courage to tell me he even liked me!" She laughed and Michiru looked back over at her.

     "But didn't you know he liked you before you gave him your cues?" Melissa started to laugh again.

     "Yes, so I guess that wasn't much help, huh!" She kept laughing and Michiru sighed.

     "It wasn't, I can't tell at all if he likes me!" The tanuki whined and leaned back against the railing. "I'd like it if he liked me back, but I just don't know." She sighed and closed her eyes to enjoy the wind. Maybe a cold breeze could force her blush down.

     "That's the scary part about having a crush on someone, you don't know." Melissa got up and gasped.

     "You have a crush on someone?" Shirou's voice put a horrible pit in her stomach and she couldn't find the courage to open her eyes. And, she knew the wind couldn't save her now, no cold wind would stop this blush. "Michiru?" His voice sent butterflies through her body and was closer than before. She forced the feeling down, it only budged a little.

     "How much of that did you hear?" She heard him move closer again.

     "From when you said, 'It wasn't, I can't tell at all if he likes me'." He just barely missed his name. She breathed out slowly and opened her eyes to look at something, but he took up so much space. He was close, she could reach him with her hand if she wanted. And she wanted to, but his eyes kept her still and the butterflies resurfaced. Her face burned but he kept silent, his eyes urging her to speak. She gulped and opened her mouth to say something, anything. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I came up because I was going to go on a walk and thought you'd want to come with me, if you don't that's fine." He kept that neutral look on his face, but his eyes showed concern and a hint of something else.

     "I'll come with you." She couldn't tear her eyes from his, she just needed to act normal. She could handle this perfect balancing act, she just had to stay away from the problem and hope he'd follow her lead. Normally, she'd dive right into any problem and deal with it as she went. But this, this was special, she couldn't just dive into this. This was one of the few things that scared her stiff. She would not lose him, she would catch him, carefully. He nodded and started to walk away, he complied with this balancing act. A careful dance of sorts, one of silence and careful avoidance.

      "Sorry!" Melissa whispered to Michiru as she walked past her, she smiled and waved as they left.

---

     They were just walking around town when they heard the car. They were going down a crosswalk, it was just them, the light went red and they were alright. Then he smelled the car, he glanced to the side and saw it running through the road. It was to his left and would hit Michiru before him if things didn't move. That wasn't going to happen. He changed into his beast form, launched at her, wrapped his arms around her waist, held her in the air, raised his leg, and slammed the car's hood into the street. They skid a few feet before everything stoped moving. The car started beeping and Michiru squealed, gripping onto his arms tightly. The police cars came in after that last car. A cop came out of the car and ran over to them. He hadn't moved, he could feel the searing pain in his legs. That car was going fast, he just needed to heal before someone needed him to move. He kept his foot in the car's hood and his body still. He didn't even register how his hands gripped onto her tighter, but she must have registered his pain because she quickly loosened her grip. "I'm okay. Are you alright?" She freaked out. He was thankful that she was turned away from him, he might've gone deaf if she wasn't. He shook his head and moved to put her down.