A.N: I passed my tests! :D And I still gotta reply to the comments on last chapter, so give me some time with that too! Hope you enjoy this short that I made so I can get a chapter out as fast as possible, and lets be real, who doesn't like quick Saimatsu fluff?
Sorry for the wait everyone!!! I seriously intended for this to come out 1 week ago but then I got assigned major projects and essays which kinda overwhelmed me.
i wrot ethis at 3 am so im kinda dying rn but let's hope i didnt mess anyhtign up
"Test." Mr. Harada quickly grumbled, placing his hands on his desk as he faced the class. "Tomorrow."
"Really?!" Momota grumbled.
"Yea. I mean, it doesn't matter either way. Colleges aren't gonna look at your grades, they're just gonna see they went you and be like 'Oh man, you're special! You're an ultimate!' That sort of stuff." he opened and closed his hands to imitate their speaking. "So don't be too stressed about it."
"Time to study, super hard!" Oma cheered.
"Gonta need help studying! Gonta not smart boy!"
"I literally just said it doesn't matter. You can fail if you want." Mr. Harada sighed.
"I can assist you if you need, Gonta." Tojo offered.
"Thank you!"
"Want to study together?" Shuichi turned to her.
"Sure! Let's meet after school." she smiled.
"Well... I do that most of the time anyways." he chuckles. Ah, right. He still goes to her house for piano lessons every day to perfect their song together. Their progress was pretty good, but they'd need to spend a lot more time on it to consider it something they were proud of.
After all, it was their melody.
...
"Agh..." Akamatsu muttered as she got the test score back. A 73%. It's not bad, just not what she was used to. Unfortunately, her refusal to study and instead play piano damned her. The entirety of her studying with Saihara consisted of her playing songs while he sat and listened. They got too distracted...
"Bad score, Akamatsu?" Oma leered over her paper. She quickly hid it.
"Y-Yea."
"Awww mann! That sucks! You won't get accepted into college now and you're not gonna have a job and you're gonna be an utter failure!"
"Shut up, Oma." Momota bonked his head. The supreme leader winced in pain as he rubbed his head.
Shuichi stared at the girl and gave a comforting smile. "Well, it's okay. It's still a good grade."
"Thanks, Shuichi." she smiled back. "So, what'd you get?"
"Ah," he flushed, "um..."
"Wow, a 100%. You nerddd!" Shuichi didn't even notice Oma had his paper. He instantly took it back with an angered look towards the boy. "Calm down, calm down. A 100% is good!"
"I-I know..." he muttered.
"Wow, good job Shuichi!" she congratulated him.
"Th-Thanks." he chuckled. "You too."
"Typically, you don't congratulate people unless they do something significant." Oma pointed a finger up as he leaned towards them. She frowned in response and looked down at her desk.
"Shut up, Oma." Now it was Harukawa's turn to bonk him on the head.
"Ouchies! That one actually hurt instead of Momota's!" he cried, rubbing his head.
"How dare you?!" the astronaut exclaimed in anger.
"Well, it's a lie anyways. None of that hurt me because I'm soooo strong!" he snickered.
"What did you get, Oma?" I asked in curiosity.
"A 100% too." he smiled deviously. Harukawa took the paper from him.
"A 0%."
"Well, of course. I lied. It's funnier to fail than it is to pass." he stuck his tongue out.
"So, you actually tried to fail?" Momota cringed.
"Maybe.~"
"You okay?" Shuichi turned his towards the girl, who said nothing.
"Yea! It's just a grade." she smiled.
Yea, it's just a grade...
Just a grade that could've been better if she hadn't been so focused on piano...
...
After class, before Saihara's piano lesson, she went to stop at a supermarket to get some snacks. She didn't want to overwork him with no reward.
While she was registering her items, she began conversation with the poor cashier, just trying to do his job.
"So, that really reminds me of-" Akamatsu began, pointing a finger into the air to express her knowledge of the topic. She was going to express how this situation reminded her of a certain song on a piano.
"Hey, no offense..." the cashier at the convenience store cut her off. "I don't really care."
"Oh." she laughed slightly, hiding her embarrassment. "Sorry."
"Do you talk to everyone like that?" he sighed, registering another item. "Do you play piano? You've been making piano references our whole conversation here. I mean, you're just buying a bag of chips and a soda. How can you talk so much?"
She stifled an argument, she didn't want to make a scene. "I-I'm sorry."
"It's fine. Extroverted people just annoy me. I'm just trying to work, not make conversation. Though, if you're talking piano with people who don't know it, it makes me wonder how many friends you have." he didn't avert his eyes from registering the item. Akamatsu felt a tear form in her eye but quickly rubbed it away.
Usually, this wouldn't have affected her. But it had been a pretty rough day. She hoped talking about piano to someone else would make her feel better, but funnily enough, her mood worsened.
"Here." he gave her change back and the plastic bag. "Have a good day."
"Y-You too." she muttered, taking the bag and hanging her head. She spedwalk out of the convenience store to just get out of there.
"Mmmmmm!" she hummed in frustration as she ruffled her hair. She felt tears form in her eyes from frustration but quickly wiped them away. Was her obsession with piano starting to ruin her life?!
...
As she arrived at her front door, she quickly rubbed away her tears and assumed a neutral expression. She didn't want to worry Saihara. She took a deep breath before opening the door.
"Ah, Kaede." Shuichi was sitting at the couch, talking with her dad.
"Hey, honey." he waved to her. "G-Guess that's my cue to leave." he stuttered before standing up, wiping off his lap before heading out. "Gonna get groceries. Bye now!" he shut the door fast.
They stood there in bewilderment. He had left so suddenly without saying much else. Maybe he didn't want to interrupt the two?
"Shuichi, here are the snacks! How about we take a break from piano today?" she offered as she tossed the bag to him. He quickly caught it before giving her a confused look.
"...Why?"
"Just wanna change things up!" she quickly explained herself with a forced laugh before plopping herself beside the boy. "What do you wanna do?"
"U-Um... Are you sure you're okay with not playing piano?"
She hesitated before answering. "Yea, of course!" she pumped her fists with a forced smile. "It's okay, I don't want to bother you to do hard lessons like that!"
"Kaede... You don't have to do that. I know more than anyone else you're not telling the truth." he grabbed her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "What's up?"
She winced up at his grasp, his hand was so warm. Another warmth spread to her face from the sudden contact.
"I-It's nothing, seriously!" she reeled her arm back, faster than she intended. Saihara let out a frown as she avoided him but didn't try to grab her hand back. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable after all. "Just had some problems at the store. Mean clerk, y'know?"
"Ah, that sucks." he muttered, still a little offended by how quick she pulled back her arm. He didn't want to pester her with something so petty though.
The two sat there in awkward silence for a couple of seconds. Saihara looked to the side, tapping his finger against his chin while she had an exaggerated smile, tapping her finger against her knees. She sighed, getting rid of the act.
"Shuichi, do you think my piano obsession is a problem?"
"Wh-What!?" he exclaimed in shock. "Not at all!" he reassured her.
"B-But..." she hung her head low, focusing on her knees instead of him. "Yesterday, I got a bad grade because I was distracted with playing piano. And I rambled to the store clerk, about..."
"Piano...?"
"Yup." she grumbled, playing with a strand of hair in frustration. Of course, it had been obvious to him. She's the piano girl, the piano freak, whatever. It's expected of her.
"Kaede," he started, awkwardly scratching the back of his head as he continued, "it's not a bad thing at all. I've told you this, but you don't have to limit yourself from doing the things you enjoy. If someone gets annoyed from you expressing their passion, then they're just a bitter person. And doing your dream is more important than grades. Getting good grades is good but I guess we're an exception to this rule because y'know... We're ultimates." A gentle laugh escaped from his mouth.
Kaede's lips pursed to a frown. She let out a sad sigh as she leaned back on the couch, her legs dangling over his lap. "I'm sorry I'm being so moody."
"It's okay, really." he replied, pulling his arms over her legs to get himself comfortable. She hoped she wasn't inconveniencing him... It's okay to show a little weakness, right? It's okay as long as he was the only one who saw.
Immediately after that thought, Saihara picked her up bridal style.
"E-Eh?! Wh-What's happening!?" she yelled out as she got picked off the couch. Her face was completely flushed, she covered her face to hide her embarrassment. He simply smiled as he placed his girlfriend down at the seat.
"S-Sorry that was so sudden," he stuttered, a slight tint of peek remained on his face from his bold move just there. "I know that you wouldn't listen..."
"Hey..." she protested with a pout. She placed her hands on the piano and familiarized herself to the feeling of the cold keys. Though, it was only just yesterday where she placed a hand on her piano.
"Let's play, okay?" Saihara nudged her on the elbow. There was barely any space on the seat so he didn't make much of an effort to move his arm. "And don't worry... I don't mind playing piano if it's with you, you know? You d-don't have to think it's a burden on me..."
Akamatsu's face flushed from hearing those words. Not only had they been in an adorable tone, something that came naturally to him, it was something she wanted to hear. She wanted some slight approval to her piano obsession so she'd feel comfortable playing again but was too stubborn to admit it. "Thank you, Shuichi... So... It's really not a bad thing?" she looked to him with a glimmer in her eye, awaiting his answer.
'What a dumb question,' he thought as he answered. "Of course it's not. You enjoy it. Why do you feel the need to limit it if it's something you really enjoy? It's not like it hurts anyone. You made a minor mistake on a test but we can fix that another time. We can limit time between playing piano and schoolwork if you're that worried about grades... It's a good thing, Kaede, to have something you're so passionate about."
"You mean it?"
"Obviously," he chuckled from the question.
Instinctively, Akamatsu threw her arms around Saihara, resting her chin on his shoulder. He immediately flushed from their quick contact, the sweet scent of her was intoxicating. After struggling to get his arms out because Akamatsu's tight grasp, he hugged her back. He gave her a kiss to the side of her head to soothe her soul (it worked), before the two separated. It was little affection, yet they both enjoyed it. They enjoy any contact between each other. "Truth be told, Shuichi... I'm more passionate about you than the piano."
"U-Um..." he flushed, he didn't even know how to respond. That had been way too smooth for his own good, his heart beat faster than he had wanted it to.
They took a moment to stare at each other. The setting sunlight shined through the window, shining onto her blonde hair. He was in awe from how beautiful she looked, but stopped himself from pointing it out (it took him all his willpower to not go for another intimate touch).
"Besides our duet... Is there a song you wanna teach me?" Saihara awkwardly coughed to change the mood, a small smile formed on his face. It was so charming, it made her smile as well. How could she earn someone as sweet as him?
Also, half the reason for the smile was because she was enthusiastic to teach him something on the piano. I mean, he was asking for it.
"Of course! Let the great Kaede Akamatsu teach you, dear pupil!" she placed a hand on her chest with a hearty laugh. Saihara smiled as well seeing her instantly turn happier. He was glad that he was able to make her feel better...
...
After Saihara got a lesson (painful, but it had to be done), he placed the cover over the piano and laid his head upon it. They had been practicing for an hour straight. The only thing keeping him awake was the Akamatsu's touch to guide his fingers to the correct notes. At least he was capable of playing a couple of measures before deciding to tap out.
"Shuichi, sorry!" Akamatsu laughed into her hand, before shaking her boyfriend. "Wake up, wake up!"
"I'm awake," he recoiled back, almost falling backwards off the seat, prompting a laugh from the pianist.
"Shuichi, I love you." she sighed after her laughing fit. "I'm sorry for worrying you earlier. And uh, not giving you a break even though I said I would..." The laugh turned into a guilty one.
Saihara shook his head in response. "It's okay. I'd rather you be happy. Seriously, stop doubting yourself. I don't know why you keep assuming your piano obsession is a problem." He poked her cheek with a fake expression of anger.
"I apologize, deeply," she bowed to him teasingly with a slight giggle. Saihara's ruse ended immediately as he laughed with her.
The two moved to the couch, the piano bench was getting uncomfortable. It didn't have any cushions and it was really cramped. More than they liked.
"Shuichi, I really appreciate you. Thanks for cheering me up," she grinned, still facing forward.
"No problem," he responded. "Never think your piano playing is a prob-" before he could even finish his sentence, Akamatsu wrapped him into a hug once again. Her arms rested over his shoulders to wrap him into a sweet kiss. Initially he was shocked, but soon he kissed back with all his love. He could feel a smile grow on her face before they started to passionately kiss. How rude though, for her to not allow him to finish his sentence. Perhaps he was getting too repetitive or maybe she understood the point.
At least she's cheered up.
The couch was hard and uncomfortable because of the limited space, but that didn't dull the passion between the two. Saihara wrapped his arms around her and stroked her back, fumbling with the pink fabric. She placed her hands on his shoulders to stabilize herself. The security they felt from each other's hold added to the romantic ecstasy of the situation. It was an absolutely enchanting feeling as they kept on kissing each other.
They separated after some time as Akamatsu rested her head on his. They took this moment to really appreciate the other's looks. He thought she was absolutely beautiful and the feeling was reciprocated judging by the tranquil expression on her face.
"So you're just gonna interrupt my sentence?" he breathed, a small smirk on his face.
She giggled. "Yup, you deserve all of my affection. For being so sweet, you know...? And cheering me up..." She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Saihara gulped from how attractive that was. "You know better than anyone else you can't resist!"
"You're right..." he chuckled before Akamatsu leaned in again to plant another kiss on him, it's almost like her lips belonged on his.
"Oh my heavens!" a familiar voice called out.
Saihara practically threw Akamatsu off of him to look back. She yelped as she fell on the floor before he apologized profusely. He turned to the source of the noise to see her grandmother standing there with a hand over her mouth.
'Ah, right,' she thought, 'my grandmother lives with me now...'
An embarassed blush made its way to her face as she tried to crawl up and disappear. Her grandmother just saw her make out with a boy. Saihara seemed to have the same reaction as her as he rested against the couch cushion and placed his hands over his face. Probably to cover the reality in front of him.
"Please, continue. I was never here." she hummed, giggling slightly before leaving the hallway. She left the two flustered teens alone to do whatever they wanted.
They decided not to continue.