INTIMATE MOMENTS LIKE this one need time to sick in, merely because they're so fascinating.
So, naturally, karma and mina walked down the quiet streets of suburban Tokyo without many words.
Teenage love was fiery, having your first kiss was like stepping into the dark.
Mina could feel her cheeks burning as they walked past another street light, she thought about what just happened.
Karma stayed laid down after their kiss, so she did, too. It wasn't like she wanted to move anyway. The teenagers watched the fireworks slowly stop, getting brighted out by the white stars again.
She didn't even think about going back to Rio, Maehara, the others.
The girl lost count for how long exactly they stayed on top of that brilliant hill, but when they left, the muffled noises of the festival guests had already gone home.
She would feel bad about dipping on Rio, usually, if her mind wasn't so damn clouded.
Something electric went through her mind as her lips connected with his, something she felt like was similar to the feeling drug addiction caused.
She couldn't describe it to anyone if her life depended on it.
Never, not in a million years, would she think karma Akabane and herself would watch the summery fireworks kissing.
Yet she would have to lie if she had to say she disagreed with it in particular.
Wait, He stopped, why did he stop?
Mina looked up from the ground, only to see them standing in front of her own apartment building.
Then, she realised, he must have guided them both to her home the whole time.
The red haired boy had his back turned to her, so Mina couldn't see him. Still, she wanted him to know how she felt.
She wanted him to know that he didn't do a mistake, an error. It was anything but that, actually. It was magical.
"Listen, karma-" Mina brought out determined, taking his wrist into her hand. To signalise him to turn around, probably.
He did, although just about as she was to speak, the loud wooden door flew open, revealing a young woman with staring brown eyes.
Oh well.
____
Karma never thought of himself as a big romantic.
He hadn't kissed yet. Well, expect the mildly pedophilic at worst and highly questionable at best peck from one of kyo's snobby friends, Ann starling, at his 18th birthday party. Expect for that, he never kissed.
And he didn't plan on it: why would he, anyway?
Karma akabane wasn't loveable, neither did he ever think of loving someone else in that way.
Well, that was until now.
No, actually, until a while ago. Until Mina happened.
And now she stood there, holding his hand, and looking at him so lovely. Well, she had a dramatic expression. But po-ta-toe po-tah-to.
He didn't strategize. He didn't expect kissing her.
His body did that automatically, it was like a dream. A trance. She just looked beautiful, too beautiful, so beautiful it hurt. It hurt until they kissed, that is. Oh, and happy. She looked incredibly happy, it was the best sight ever. They should make a movie out of it, paint a picture to hang somewhere important-
"Young lady!" The woman opening the door interrupted his thoughts, and for once, he was not particularly thankful about it. She was tall, just a few inches below him. Karma was still growing, though, she was not. He guessed her age to be around 30, but she looked 28 at best. Karma knew exactly who this woman was, although he had never met her.
Mina had her mother's face.
Mina's mom jokingly huffed as if she was offended before rushing towards her daughter, catching Mina in a tight hug. The older hayashi laughed, and Mina let out a small giggle too at some point. "Honey, I was worried for you! Rio said you randomly ditched on her, I thought you got lost."
Ms. Hayashi let go off her daughter breathy before turning her head slightly, looking straight at karma. He just raised an eyebrow- still, a small smile crept up that woman's face. "But, as I see, you've been guided home just fine."
The girl with the pretty smile (quoting the red head, obviously.) widened her eyes before quickly moving next to him.
"Oh, yeah- mom, I totally forgot! This is karma, karma Akabane. Karma, this is my mom, hori."
Karma didn't like speaking to parents. He had to, once, when he hang out with nagisa and his mother forced him to introduce himself.
He didn't know why, maybe he was bitter. Maybe he didn't want to talk to other people's parents when his own didn't let him speak to them.
It was for mina, though, so he picked up the nice facade. He knew perfectly how to deal with parents from all of those parties, maybe they were good for something after all.
"Nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm-" he smiled fakely, making hori laugh a little too loudly for the time.
Karma stopped, raised an eyebrow again- questioning if he had maybe mispronounced something.
"Mom!" Mina nudged her mother, only for her to grin.
"Sorry!" Hori smiled before moving her gaze back to karma. "You can drop the fancy act, karma. Just call me hori, there's no protective dad here who'll beat you up."
The red haired boy didn't know what to think, he was startled. Though, mina's mother seemed like she was one of those relaxed adults, which made karma possible to talk like an actual human again.
"So, karma, huh? The boy who slept in the same room as my daughter, ill. wait. Mina, is this the one you've been sul-" hori crossed her arms, suspiciously before mina shushed her out by hitting her on the head.
"Mom!"
"Okay, alright!" The woman brought her hands up defensively before questioning karma.
"It's pretty late, you guys must be tired. Do you want some soda, karma?"
"Oh, no, it's alright," karma shrugged, having been zooming out of the conversation previously.
He did know mina was close to her mom, he did. She talked about her occasionally, when they all hung out with Rio and some older woman called youko. But seeing it in person was fascinating.
Karma had never been so close to any family member.
"No, no! I insist. Come on kiddo, at least get a glass of water." Hori already walked on towards the door, confidently.
He didn't mind coming up, he just wanted to know what mina wanted to say. It sounded important, did it not?
Mina sighed softly, mouthing him a quick 'sorry' before following her mother.
____
Hori's keys made a 'click' sound as they opened the door to their apartment. She threw them on the blink-182 shelve Sugino had been so obsessed with previously before taking off her black coat.
After she took of her shoes, mina moved out of the way for karma to get into the cool apartment.
It was warm outside, the air felt wet. Inside the Hayashi Apartment though, the cheap Ecuadorian Air conditioner hori had bought a while ago from a shady website worked magically better than any of the expensive ones all around tokyo.
It was dark outside, but the 'we-never-use-the-big-light' rule made the whole apartment shine in a dimed colourful light.
The yellow kitchen light, for example, was on, and hori walked straight to the glass cabinet.
"So, karma, how do you like our home? Cozy, huh?" Hori adored, signalising karma to sit down on one of the kitchen chairs.
"Oh, I've been here, actually." Karma answered non-chalantly, making hori stop before smiling again. She walked over to the table with two glasses and a bottle of sparkled water, breaking the smile not once. Something seemed off.
"Uh, mom? I have a blister," mina hopped into the kitchen on one foot, holding up her left foot and it's sock in her hands. The brunette looked at her mother before catching karma in the corner of her eye, her cheeks still redening at the unsaid words between them. "W-Where, uh, where are the band-aids?"
"Oh, second cupboard in the bathroom sweetie. I told you to wear bigger socks!" Hori scolded, Makin her daughter smile timidly and leave the room.
Karma and hori Hayashi were now alone in the quiet, dim-lighted kitchen of her apartment. The older woman stared him down, with a smile that perhaps didn't seem too sincere.
"So, karma," hori started "what's your deal with my daughter, kid?"
She was concerned. I mean, that is good, right?
Karma was always seen as a bad influence for the people around him. Although this woman didn't know him, so it was less personal.
So, karma started, "well-"
Mina's mom interrupted him right away, slapping the glass she had been drinking from down forcefully. Her eyebrows furrowed only slightly, her mouth had still an oval shape.
"Karma, listen very carefully. Mina is my daughter, she's my everything. It was always me and her, us against everyone else. She's the sweetest girl I know, and I swear to god, if you hurt her even once, I will turn into the protective dad who'll beat you up."
Oh, well.
Karma's eyes focused on the face of the woman opposing him. He realised that if even it may seem like the opposite, this was not a threat.
Karma akabane should know, he got threatened constantly.
This woman didn't have a problem with him specifically. She just cared, cared for Mina. Which both of them had in common, so he could understand.
Still, he wanted hori to like him.
"Hori, with all due respect, I want you to hear me too," karma kept his eyes staring into hers, as if they were watching out for any drastic moves of each other "I do not plan on hurting anyone, especially Mina."
The first part was an overstatement, but she didn't have to know that.
"I like your daughter. And I don't blame you for questioning that, I did it too until tonight. But believe me, we have the same goal here," he continued "I want you to like me, hori. Because I really like your daughter, and I'm planning on something that results in you and me seeing each other pretty frequently."
Karma's first instinct was to say love, it was. but he didn't seem like he was worthy of that yet. That would be something he first had to discuss with Mina, which he was about to do, anyway. After he was getting out of this situation.
However, this was the first time hori's face relaxed. she smiled softly, sincere. Like she was relieved.
He answered correctly.
"Well, I also like my daughter quite a lot." Hori mumbled, quietly, with a small chuckle. Karma's tensed muscles decreased, even if he would never admit having any to begin with. "I want to like you too, kid. For mina's sake."
Hori hayashi had grown cautious of people of the opposite sex, she had surrounded herself almost entirely with women.
It was understandable, considering Her track record. Still, she had to move on.
She'd be alone once mina moved out and lady youko isn't around anymore. Completely alone. So maybe she should change that.
Anyhow,
"So, want a soda now?" A small grin formed on her face.
____
"Sorry about that, I hope my mom didn't say anything too embarrassing while I was away."
The moon now completely overwhelmed the night sky, with it being around 11:00 PM.
The teenagers stood Infront of the Hayashi Apartment once again, only was it even harder to articulate what they were feeling this time.
Mina tied her hair in a ponytail, she would go right to sleep after this.
Well, if it went well, that is.
"No," karma grinned "She's cool. Her hair absolutely rocks, too. I forgot though, can you tell her that from me?"
Mina chuckled lightly before smiling, amused. "Of course you find her hair good. yours is basically the same, only two shades lamer."
They stared at eachother, and for the first time in two weeks, it felt as everything was okay again.
"Lamer?" Karma followed up, running through his hand once. He smirked now- teasingly mocking the girl Infront of him "Wow, I'm so hurt."
They were standing pretty close, the girl crossing her arms now and looking up.
Silence overtook, that was until mina started mumbling something bluntly with a small smile.
"I was kidding, red-head. I like your hair," mina raised her hand before running her hand through the front of his soft, messy bangs.
Karma Akabane's hair had always looked mesmerising, the only reason she hadn't felt it until now was that she didn't want to over-step any boundaries.
After their kiss, though, it seemed allowed.
At least mina hoped so- this was all pretty new.
"You like my hair, huh?" He smiled, only it wasn't one in his usual irritatingly smug way. This one was sincere.
At that, the brunette remembered what she wanted to tell him previously. Karma remembered too- partly because her cheeks flushed in an instant.
Mina let down her hand. She looked into his eyes, desperate for any thought in her brain that would be understood as the feeling in her body felt. She gave him those "lovely eyes", again.
"Karma, I-"
"No need to be ashamed, princess. A lot of people enjoy my appearance. I'm quite the catch, actually-"
She shut him up by giving him a quick kiss on his lips.
That idiot seriously interrupted her love confession himself. Though, to be fair, mina didn't know If it had been a confession or a bunch of words that came out so quickly and messy that he didn't understand anything.
So, karma stopped speaking. He now looked down to mina, realising that they had just kissed for the second time in a night.
And, which was the reason he was smiling from ear to ear like an absolute moron, she initiated it.
Which meant that he didn't fuck it up back at the hill, which meant that he didn't have to feel the need for awkward jokes when they met at school from now on.
But most importantly, it meant that Mina Hayashi liked him as much as he did her. Or at least on the same level.
Karma was positive that he was officially the luckiest guy on earth.
Mina saw his smile, and a bunch of pressure relieved itself instantly.
A kiss spoke enough words that both of them knew what the other person felt, thought: it was magic.
So they both stood there and understood eachother perfectly. A language only they spoke.
"I missed your stupidness, red-head."
"Well," he tried suppressing his big broad smile to form an actual sentence, only succeeded partly though. Mina didn't mind, she didn't mind at all. "I missed your insults, princess.- I think we're quite balanced."
He continued after a few seconds, his infamous smirk coming through after all at the end.
He couldn't leave a conversation without it.
"... So, Can we do that again?"
>>> Author's note
Two chapters ending with kisses !! Yay ?
Btw I'm still doing the second season 👊
I mean they both can't articulate their feelings so that's really the only communication regarding love confessions. Slay ig 🤷
Thank you for 9K, people <3
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2574 WORDS
WEDNESDAY, 3RD OF APRIL
@MIRAI