[Chaptered] just vanilla (Chapter One)
Title: just vanilla
Author: Annie
Pairing: Juri x Taiga, Yasui x Taiga, Keigo x Juri (friendship), Hokuto x Taiga (friendship)
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Rating: PG
Summary: When Taiga finds himself falling in love with the boy behind the counter of an ice cream store, he can't help but feel his heart being torn in hesitancy as another boy steps in between them, intent on claiming Taiga's heart for his own. Taiga must then choose whether to follow his heart or to give in to the other boy, whose confession he just can't bring himself to reject.
A/N: Partially inspired by the juniors' Baskin Robbins CM! :) It sort of explains the cast, being Taiga, Juri, Yasui, Keigo, and Hokuto (hahaha but not the last one, sorry Jesse! xD) I am actually done writing this fic already, so I can tell you it will be 12 chapters long :D (some shorter and some longer than others.. xD) I'm still in the process of editing it, but I will hopefully post the entirety of this fic very soon! ^_^ (because I want to finish it before school starts again and my life becomes crazily busy ^^;;) I am currently now brainstorming my next taiga/juri fic (probably also a multichap^^) and also writing the taiga/juri collab fic with airichan24, so more taiga/juri love is sure to come! :3
Chapter One: His smile
“Come on, let’s go!” Hokuto grinned, pulling on Taiga’s sleeve as he led him down the last block to their destination.
“It’s so hot...” Taiga groaned, unwillingly allowing himself to be dragged on. “Why are we out walking to get ice cream when it’s so hot outside?”
“We’re getting ice cream because it’s hot outside! Ice cream is cold, you know?” Hokuto laughed.
Taiga narrowed his eyes, clearly not amused. “So exactly how far away is this brand new ice cream store?”
“Don’t worry, we’re already here!” Hokuto nodded towards the small building on the other side of the street as he eagerly led Taiga over and pushed open the door.
Taiga sighed, smiling softly. It was hard to change Hokuto’s mind once he had decided to do something. But having known his friend for so many years now, he was already used to this childish obduracy of his friend.
Having decided to make the best of his situation at hand, Taiga walked into the ice cream shop with the full intention of walking out as soon as possible, just to annoy Hokuto. But as soon as the two of them walked in, Taiga immediately froze, noticing the boy standing behind the counter. There was something about him that Taiga simply found striking. Maybe it was his gentle, smiling features and light brown hair that framed his dark, but shining eyes. He was rather thin like Taiga, but had a tanned, healthy complexion that differed from Taiga’s own pale, smooth skin. Intriguingly, he was of medium height, almost the same as Taiga’s, and he even seemed to be around Taiga’s age.
It was strange; he didn’t know why, but Taiga couldn’t help but feel his eyes continually drawing to the boy, their gazes meeting as the boy smiled, looking over to them, ready to take their order.
Hokuto glanced over at Taiga, gesturing for him to go first. Taiga shook his head, urging Hokuto to order; he hadn’t even thought about what flavor ice cream he wanted to get. The smiling boy’s smile was too… distracting, triggering an unfamiliar flutter in Taiga’s heart.
Hokuto stifled a laugh, but shrugged, walking up to the counter to tell the smiling boy his order. Taiga shuffled over behind him, but even by the time Hokuto had finished his transaction, Taiga still hadn’t made his choice.
“Take your time; I’ll wait for you by the door,” Hokuto said, seeing Taiga was still undecided.
Once Hokuto walked away, the smiling boy asked politely, “What would you like?”
“Umm…” Taiga bit his lip, averting the smiling boy’s gaze as he tried to think; but standing so close to him only made his presence so much more distracting. Taiga hadn’t even looked at their flavors. Maybe I’ll just get vanilla, he thought. It seemed simple, easy enough to say. But now he would have to summon up the courage to speak.
“How about...” The smiling boy began slowly, before Taiga could form any words. He tilted his head slightly, in a playful manner, as if helping Taiga in thinking hard about his decision. “Rather than something fancy… how about… just vanilla?” the boy suggested, his eyes smiling as well.
“O-Okay, one scoop on a sugar cone, please,” Taiga nodded, pleasantly surprised the smiling boy seemed to be able to read his mind. Maybe Taiga just seemed like the type of person who would choose something pure and simple.
“Cool,” the smiling boy nodded back as Taiga handed him the money to pay. As the boy placed the money into the cash register, he lifted his gaze a tad, and was surprised to see Taiga’s eyes looking back at him. He smiled shyly. Taiga blushed, immediately looking away.
As the boy maneuvered around preparing the ice cream, Taiga’s gaze wandered back, timidly admiring the light twirl in the boy’s step. Taiga usually didn’t like to stare, but he couldn’t help it, he just couldn’t draw his attention away. He was so entranced, he didn’t even notice that, to his surprise, the boy returned with two scoops on the cone.
Taiga smiled sheepishly, “I only ordered one.”
“I know,” the smiling boy answered back casually, handing him the cone.
“O-Oh.. um… thanks,” Taiga nodded slightly, in puzzlement.
The smiling boy laughed lightly, the sound of which was both bright and sweet. “Don’t worry about it,” he grinned.
Taiga nodded once more, smiling gently, before turning to leave.
“Wait!”
He turned around in surprise, hearing the smiling boy call him back.
Taiga’s heart skipped a beat, realizing light pink blush had tinged the smiling boy’s cheeks. “You haven’t paid yet, have you?” He seemed embarrassed by the question.
Taiga blinked, not understanding what had happened. “I thought... I did already,” he answered blankly, fearing the smiling boy would get angry at his denial.
For a hesitant second, confusion clouded the boy’s shining eyes, before he suddenly realized, “Oh! Right! Sorry, I think I just got a little distracted for a second there...”
“Distracted?” Taiga looked at him curiously. Like how you distract me…?
“Y-Yeah, I mean, I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” the smiling boy added quietly.
“O-Oh, yes, this is only my first time coming here,” Taiga bowed slightly, as if in greeting. He took the chance to glance at the smiling boy’s name tag, just above the ice cream store’s logo on his company t-shirt.
Kentaro Yasui.
But Taiga frowned upon seeing this. Kentaro? He doesn’t seem like a Kentaro... It feels rather strange to call him so... He giggled softly. Maybe “Smiling boy” is my best name for him...
Smiling boy raised an eyebrow at Taiga, his smile curving mischievously. “What are you laughing about?”
A gentle warmth colored Taiga’s cheeks, realizing Smiling boy would think he was laughing at his mistake. “N-Nothing,” he replied quickly.
Smiling boy looked at Taiga with mock suspicion, “I hope you weren’t laughing about me.”
“Well... maybe?” Taiga smiled back softly. I was, though...
Hearing this, Smiling boy only laughed once more, the sparkling sound comforting to Taiga’s ears. “Hey, before you go,” Smiling boy began just as Taiga was about to say goodbye. “I’m going on my lunch break soon; would you like to come eat with me?”
The sudden question caught Taiga off-guard, but despite his inner longing, Smiling boy’s question was only answered by Taiga shaking his head. “Sorry, my friend is still waiting for me. But thank you again for the ice cream,” Taiga nodded.
Smiling boy shrugged. “All right, maybe next time.” Only now did his smile seem to fade a little.
Waving goodbye, Taiga sighed inwardly in disappointment, before turning around and walking over to meet Hokuto by the door.
“What took you so long? Couldn’t decide?” Hokuto grinned as they stepped back out into the hot summer day. “Or maybe it wasn’t the ice cream that caught your eye?”
“Wh-What do you mean by that?” Taiga retorted, trying to ignore the fact that his cheeks had just flushed a light red at what Hokuto had implied. Of course, Hokuto just had to be right, though, to Taiga’s embarrassment.
“I knew you would like him,” Hokuto laughed happily, satisfied by his work.
“I didn’t say I like him!” Taiga insisted, jabbing Hokuto with his elbow to stop his teasing.
Hokuto merely laughed harder, “You didn’t say you didn’t.”
Taiga was about to protest, but stopped himself. I hate how Hokuto’s right…
“Love at first sight?” Hokuto guessed.
Taiga merely sighed.
Hokuto patted Taiga gently on the shoulder, in mock comfort. “It’s all right, you don’t have to deny it,” he smiled. “You totally love him.”
Author: Annie
Pairing: Juri x Taiga, Yasui x Taiga, Keigo x Juri (friendship), Hokuto x Taiga (friendship)
Genre: Fluff, Romance
Rating: PG
Summary: When Taiga finds himself falling in love with the boy behind the counter of an ice cream store, he can't help but feel his heart being torn in hesitancy as another boy steps in between them, intent on claiming Taiga's heart for his own. Taiga must then choose whether to follow his heart or to give in to the other boy, whose confession he just can't bring himself to reject.
A/N: Partially inspired by the juniors' Baskin Robbins CM! :) It sort of explains the cast, being Taiga, Juri, Yasui, Keigo, and Hokuto (hahaha but not the last one, sorry Jesse! xD) I am actually done writing this fic already, so I can tell you it will be 12 chapters long :D (some shorter and some longer than others.. xD) I'm still in the process of editing it, but I will hopefully post the entirety of this fic very soon! ^_^ (because I want to finish it before school starts again and my life becomes crazily busy ^^;;) I am currently now brainstorming my next taiga/juri fic (probably also a multichap^^) and also writing the taiga/juri collab fic with airichan24, so more taiga/juri love is sure to come! :3
Chapter One: His smile
“Come on, let’s go!” Hokuto grinned, pulling on Taiga’s sleeve as he led him down the last block to their destination.
“It’s so hot...” Taiga groaned, unwillingly allowing himself to be dragged on. “Why are we out walking to get ice cream when it’s so hot outside?”
“We’re getting ice cream because it’s hot outside! Ice cream is cold, you know?” Hokuto laughed.
Taiga narrowed his eyes, clearly not amused. “So exactly how far away is this brand new ice cream store?”
“Don’t worry, we’re already here!” Hokuto nodded towards the small building on the other side of the street as he eagerly led Taiga over and pushed open the door.
Taiga sighed, smiling softly. It was hard to change Hokuto’s mind once he had decided to do something. But having known his friend for so many years now, he was already used to this childish obduracy of his friend.
Having decided to make the best of his situation at hand, Taiga walked into the ice cream shop with the full intention of walking out as soon as possible, just to annoy Hokuto. But as soon as the two of them walked in, Taiga immediately froze, noticing the boy standing behind the counter. There was something about him that Taiga simply found striking. Maybe it was his gentle, smiling features and light brown hair that framed his dark, but shining eyes. He was rather thin like Taiga, but had a tanned, healthy complexion that differed from Taiga’s own pale, smooth skin. Intriguingly, he was of medium height, almost the same as Taiga’s, and he even seemed to be around Taiga’s age.
It was strange; he didn’t know why, but Taiga couldn’t help but feel his eyes continually drawing to the boy, their gazes meeting as the boy smiled, looking over to them, ready to take their order.
Hokuto glanced over at Taiga, gesturing for him to go first. Taiga shook his head, urging Hokuto to order; he hadn’t even thought about what flavor ice cream he wanted to get. The smiling boy’s smile was too… distracting, triggering an unfamiliar flutter in Taiga’s heart.
Hokuto stifled a laugh, but shrugged, walking up to the counter to tell the smiling boy his order. Taiga shuffled over behind him, but even by the time Hokuto had finished his transaction, Taiga still hadn’t made his choice.
“Take your time; I’ll wait for you by the door,” Hokuto said, seeing Taiga was still undecided.
Once Hokuto walked away, the smiling boy asked politely, “What would you like?”
“Umm…” Taiga bit his lip, averting the smiling boy’s gaze as he tried to think; but standing so close to him only made his presence so much more distracting. Taiga hadn’t even looked at their flavors. Maybe I’ll just get vanilla, he thought. It seemed simple, easy enough to say. But now he would have to summon up the courage to speak.
“How about...” The smiling boy began slowly, before Taiga could form any words. He tilted his head slightly, in a playful manner, as if helping Taiga in thinking hard about his decision. “Rather than something fancy… how about… just vanilla?” the boy suggested, his eyes smiling as well.
“O-Okay, one scoop on a sugar cone, please,” Taiga nodded, pleasantly surprised the smiling boy seemed to be able to read his mind. Maybe Taiga just seemed like the type of person who would choose something pure and simple.
“Cool,” the smiling boy nodded back as Taiga handed him the money to pay. As the boy placed the money into the cash register, he lifted his gaze a tad, and was surprised to see Taiga’s eyes looking back at him. He smiled shyly. Taiga blushed, immediately looking away.
As the boy maneuvered around preparing the ice cream, Taiga’s gaze wandered back, timidly admiring the light twirl in the boy’s step. Taiga usually didn’t like to stare, but he couldn’t help it, he just couldn’t draw his attention away. He was so entranced, he didn’t even notice that, to his surprise, the boy returned with two scoops on the cone.
Taiga smiled sheepishly, “I only ordered one.”
“I know,” the smiling boy answered back casually, handing him the cone.
“O-Oh.. um… thanks,” Taiga nodded slightly, in puzzlement.
The smiling boy laughed lightly, the sound of which was both bright and sweet. “Don’t worry about it,” he grinned.
Taiga nodded once more, smiling gently, before turning to leave.
“Wait!”
He turned around in surprise, hearing the smiling boy call him back.
Taiga’s heart skipped a beat, realizing light pink blush had tinged the smiling boy’s cheeks. “You haven’t paid yet, have you?” He seemed embarrassed by the question.
Taiga blinked, not understanding what had happened. “I thought... I did already,” he answered blankly, fearing the smiling boy would get angry at his denial.
For a hesitant second, confusion clouded the boy’s shining eyes, before he suddenly realized, “Oh! Right! Sorry, I think I just got a little distracted for a second there...”
“Distracted?” Taiga looked at him curiously. Like how you distract me…?
“Y-Yeah, I mean, I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” the smiling boy added quietly.
“O-Oh, yes, this is only my first time coming here,” Taiga bowed slightly, as if in greeting. He took the chance to glance at the smiling boy’s name tag, just above the ice cream store’s logo on his company t-shirt.
Kentaro Yasui.
But Taiga frowned upon seeing this. Kentaro? He doesn’t seem like a Kentaro... It feels rather strange to call him so... He giggled softly. Maybe “Smiling boy” is my best name for him...
Smiling boy raised an eyebrow at Taiga, his smile curving mischievously. “What are you laughing about?”
A gentle warmth colored Taiga’s cheeks, realizing Smiling boy would think he was laughing at his mistake. “N-Nothing,” he replied quickly.
Smiling boy looked at Taiga with mock suspicion, “I hope you weren’t laughing about me.”
“Well... maybe?” Taiga smiled back softly. I was, though...
Hearing this, Smiling boy only laughed once more, the sparkling sound comforting to Taiga’s ears. “Hey, before you go,” Smiling boy began just as Taiga was about to say goodbye. “I’m going on my lunch break soon; would you like to come eat with me?”
The sudden question caught Taiga off-guard, but despite his inner longing, Smiling boy’s question was only answered by Taiga shaking his head. “Sorry, my friend is still waiting for me. But thank you again for the ice cream,” Taiga nodded.
Smiling boy shrugged. “All right, maybe next time.” Only now did his smile seem to fade a little.
Waving goodbye, Taiga sighed inwardly in disappointment, before turning around and walking over to meet Hokuto by the door.
“What took you so long? Couldn’t decide?” Hokuto grinned as they stepped back out into the hot summer day. “Or maybe it wasn’t the ice cream that caught your eye?”
“Wh-What do you mean by that?” Taiga retorted, trying to ignore the fact that his cheeks had just flushed a light red at what Hokuto had implied. Of course, Hokuto just had to be right, though, to Taiga’s embarrassment.
“I knew you would like him,” Hokuto laughed happily, satisfied by his work.
“I didn’t say I like him!” Taiga insisted, jabbing Hokuto with his elbow to stop his teasing.
Hokuto merely laughed harder, “You didn’t say you didn’t.”
Taiga was about to protest, but stopped himself. I hate how Hokuto’s right…
“Love at first sight?” Hokuto guessed.
Taiga merely sighed.
Hokuto patted Taiga gently on the shoulder, in mock comfort. “It’s all right, you don’t have to deny it,” he smiled. “You totally love him.”