[Chaptered] just vanilla (Chapter Three)
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 airi-chan, so more taiga/juri love is sure to come! :3
Chapter Three: Passing fate
“H-Hi,” Taiga stammered, his voice trembling nervously.
“Hi,” Smiling boy answered softly.
Taiga couldn’t stop the words spilling from his mouth. “Who are you?” he blurted out suddenly.
The boy behind the counter shook his head, his happiness resounding in his gentle laughter. Taiga’s heart fluttered madly.
Without seeming to notice, the boy asked curiously, “So you came back to see me?”
Taiga nodded shyly, a little hesitant to admit to his eagerness. “I wanted to see you,” he murmured softly. He lifted his gaze slowly to meet the younger boy’s dark, deep eyes. Seconds melted into what seemed like minutes as Taiga felt himself captivated by the boy’s gentle gaze.
“Who are you?” he asked again; he couldn’t help himself.
Taiga watched in disappointment as he merely shook his head once more.
Instead, Smiling boy asked him, “Just vanilla again?”
With a dissatisfied sigh, Taiga could only smile back as he nodded his agreement.
And just like magic, the ice cream cone appeared in Taiga’s hands. But then, just as suddenly, the ice cream disappeared again, and the countertop between the two of them vanished as well.
The barrier broken, Smiling boy slowly began to walk toward Taiga.
“By the way… I really…” he breathed, their bodies close to touching. “…wanted to see you, too.” His last words whispered longingly into Taiga’s ear, just before his lips captured Taiga’s in a warm, gentle kiss.
He tasted like vanilla.
Taiga smiled into his kiss, melting in the feeling of his bliss.
“Who are you?”
When Taiga opened his eyes, Smiling boy was gone. For another longing moment, Taiga merely lay there in his bed, the softness of the boy’s lips lingering dreamily on his.
Taiga shook his head, dispelling his thoughts. Why is this happening to me? How can he do this to me?
I don’t even know his name...
Taiga wanted to tell himself he was being foolish, dreaming about a stranger he had only just met. But he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.
Somehow, he wanted to believe he could meet the smiling boy again. Somehow, he wanted to believe he was already in love.
Sighing tiredly, Taiga pulled himself out of bed and began to prepare for his day, trying his best to erase the dream from his thoughts. Pulling on his school uniform, he slowly got dressed, fastening each button with careful ease.
Without warning, the boy’s smile flashed before his eyes once more; Taiga could practically hear his gentle voice, his sweet laughter, echoing in his memories.
It was then that he decided. He had to go back to the store that day. Alone. It had been too long for him, too many nights of dreams consumed by thoughts of his smile.
Picking up his schoolbag, and a bite of breakfast before heading out the door, Taiga rushed out into the early morning, already beginning to worry about his day.
~*~
Class seemed to trudge along so slowly that day. Taiga felt himself fading into his dream once more as he tried to pay attention in his last class of the day.
His lips… his taste…
“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” Hokuto grinned, poking Taiga in the side.
Taiga rolled his eyes. “No...” He tried his best to suppress the reddening blush creeping to his cheeks. It’s not my fault... blame Smiling boy.
“Right...” Hokuto laughed. “My only question is, are you thinking about the nameless boy or Kentaro Yasui?”
Taiga chest tightened, remembering the real Kentaro he had met the other day. He had almost forgotten about his kindness. With a weary sigh, he faced Hokuto, insisting, “I said, I’m not thinking about anyone.”
“If you say so...” Hokuto shrugged. “So I suppose that means you don’t want to go back to the ice cream store today? It has been a few days since we last went.”
“Nope, I think I’ll pass on ice cream today.” Taiga lied.
Only a few more minutes until class would end. Taiga turned his gaze to his watch, watching as the seconds dragged on.
At last, when school finally let out, Taiga waved goodbye to Hokuto and hurriedly rushed out of the classroom. Initially, he started off down the street to his home, to make sure his friend had walked far enough away, before turning around and heading to the ice cream store. It felt strange, hiding something from Hokuto, but deep down, Taiga knew that this was something he had to face on his own.
I need to know… Who are you?
Passing down one road, then two, and before Taiga realized it, he legs had already carried him to the entrance of the shop. Pausing as his hand grasped onto the handle of the door, Taiga took a breath to calm himself before walking in.
As he looked over to the register, Taiga’s heart fell.
“You’re back!” Kentaro called out to him. Taiga forced a smile before walking to the counter. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy to see Kentaro; Taiga had nothing against the nice guy. However, Kentaro just wasn’t who Taiga had been hoping so desperately to see.
“You finally came back,” Kentaro failed to hide the happiness reflected in his eyes.
Taiga smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, things have just been a little hectic for me recently,” he admitted, subconsciously referring to his distracting dreams of the boy’s smile. Why aren’t you here when I come looking for you? When I need you most…
“Is everything all right?”
Taiga shrugged, giving up on his dreams. “Yeah, I guess it was nothing big, really.”
Kentaro frowned slightly, but decided against pushing Taiga to talk into any further details. “So what would you like today? It’ll be my treat, seeing as it’s been a while since we met.”
Taiga shook his head quickly, “No, it’s okay. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
Kentaro blinked twice before breaking out in gentle laughter. “You know, I’ve never met anyone who’s refused free ice cream before.”
Taiga merely smiled softly in reply.
Kentaro sighed, grinning happily. “So, what’ll it be?”
Taiga’s eyes glanced from left to right; he really didn’t know. Or maybe he just didn’t care. It didn’t really matter what he ordered, nothing would be able to compare to Smiling boy’s sweet vanilla.
“You can choose for me,” Taiga decided at last, lifting his eyes to meet Kentaro’s curious gaze.
“All right,” Kentaro nodded back, turning around to get a sugar cone. Carelessly, Taiga reached into his bag to take out his wallet, piecing together the exact change he would need to pay. Kentaro turned around, seeing Taiga was ready to pay, but just as Taiga was about to place the money into his hands, he accidentally dropped his open wallet. The clattering of coins onto the hard, cement ground rang throughout the otherwise peaceful shop.
“S-Sorry,” Taiga immediately apologized, quickly crouching down to the floor to pick up the spilled change. One after the other, he hurriedly collected the coins, embarrassment overrunning his mind. He didn’t even notice that Kentaro had bent down beside him.
Just as he tried to grab the final coin, his hand accidentally brushed against Kentaro’s slender fingers, the older boy having reached out to help. Taiga instinctively flinched back; he watched as Kentaro picked up the coin, then extended his hand out to Taiga, helping him stand back up.
“S-Sorry,” Taiga apologized once more, bowing slightly.
“Careful you don’t lose any of them,” Kentaro smiled gently.
As he handed the coin to Taiga, the younger boy could feel his heart uncontrollably jerk at the feeling of Kentaro’s warm hands enveloping around his own, still not letting go.
The softness of his touch, of his voice, of his smile, Taiga just couldn’t let go.
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 airi-chan, so more taiga/juri love is sure to come! :3
Chapter Three: Passing fate
“H-Hi,” Taiga stammered, his voice trembling nervously.
“Hi,” Smiling boy answered softly.
Taiga couldn’t stop the words spilling from his mouth. “Who are you?” he blurted out suddenly.
The boy behind the counter shook his head, his happiness resounding in his gentle laughter. Taiga’s heart fluttered madly.
Without seeming to notice, the boy asked curiously, “So you came back to see me?”
Taiga nodded shyly, a little hesitant to admit to his eagerness. “I wanted to see you,” he murmured softly. He lifted his gaze slowly to meet the younger boy’s dark, deep eyes. Seconds melted into what seemed like minutes as Taiga felt himself captivated by the boy’s gentle gaze.
“Who are you?” he asked again; he couldn’t help himself.
Taiga watched in disappointment as he merely shook his head once more.
Instead, Smiling boy asked him, “Just vanilla again?”
With a dissatisfied sigh, Taiga could only smile back as he nodded his agreement.
And just like magic, the ice cream cone appeared in Taiga’s hands. But then, just as suddenly, the ice cream disappeared again, and the countertop between the two of them vanished as well.
The barrier broken, Smiling boy slowly began to walk toward Taiga.
“By the way… I really…” he breathed, their bodies close to touching. “…wanted to see you, too.” His last words whispered longingly into Taiga’s ear, just before his lips captured Taiga’s in a warm, gentle kiss.
He tasted like vanilla.
Taiga smiled into his kiss, melting in the feeling of his bliss.
“Who are you?”
When Taiga opened his eyes, Smiling boy was gone. For another longing moment, Taiga merely lay there in his bed, the softness of the boy’s lips lingering dreamily on his.
Taiga shook his head, dispelling his thoughts. Why is this happening to me? How can he do this to me?
I don’t even know his name...
Taiga wanted to tell himself he was being foolish, dreaming about a stranger he had only just met. But he couldn’t. He just couldn’t.
Somehow, he wanted to believe he could meet the smiling boy again. Somehow, he wanted to believe he was already in love.
Sighing tiredly, Taiga pulled himself out of bed and began to prepare for his day, trying his best to erase the dream from his thoughts. Pulling on his school uniform, he slowly got dressed, fastening each button with careful ease.
Without warning, the boy’s smile flashed before his eyes once more; Taiga could practically hear his gentle voice, his sweet laughter, echoing in his memories.
It was then that he decided. He had to go back to the store that day. Alone. It had been too long for him, too many nights of dreams consumed by thoughts of his smile.
Picking up his schoolbag, and a bite of breakfast before heading out the door, Taiga rushed out into the early morning, already beginning to worry about his day.
~*~
Class seemed to trudge along so slowly that day. Taiga felt himself fading into his dream once more as he tried to pay attention in his last class of the day.
His lips… his taste…
“You’re thinking about him, aren’t you?” Hokuto grinned, poking Taiga in the side.
Taiga rolled his eyes. “No...” He tried his best to suppress the reddening blush creeping to his cheeks. It’s not my fault... blame Smiling boy.
“Right...” Hokuto laughed. “My only question is, are you thinking about the nameless boy or Kentaro Yasui?”
Taiga chest tightened, remembering the real Kentaro he had met the other day. He had almost forgotten about his kindness. With a weary sigh, he faced Hokuto, insisting, “I said, I’m not thinking about anyone.”
“If you say so...” Hokuto shrugged. “So I suppose that means you don’t want to go back to the ice cream store today? It has been a few days since we last went.”
“Nope, I think I’ll pass on ice cream today.” Taiga lied.
Only a few more minutes until class would end. Taiga turned his gaze to his watch, watching as the seconds dragged on.
At last, when school finally let out, Taiga waved goodbye to Hokuto and hurriedly rushed out of the classroom. Initially, he started off down the street to his home, to make sure his friend had walked far enough away, before turning around and heading to the ice cream store. It felt strange, hiding something from Hokuto, but deep down, Taiga knew that this was something he had to face on his own.
I need to know… Who are you?
Passing down one road, then two, and before Taiga realized it, he legs had already carried him to the entrance of the shop. Pausing as his hand grasped onto the handle of the door, Taiga took a breath to calm himself before walking in.
As he looked over to the register, Taiga’s heart fell.
“You’re back!” Kentaro called out to him. Taiga forced a smile before walking to the counter. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy to see Kentaro; Taiga had nothing against the nice guy. However, Kentaro just wasn’t who Taiga had been hoping so desperately to see.
“You finally came back,” Kentaro failed to hide the happiness reflected in his eyes.
Taiga smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, things have just been a little hectic for me recently,” he admitted, subconsciously referring to his distracting dreams of the boy’s smile. Why aren’t you here when I come looking for you? When I need you most…
“Is everything all right?”
Taiga shrugged, giving up on his dreams. “Yeah, I guess it was nothing big, really.”
Kentaro frowned slightly, but decided against pushing Taiga to talk into any further details. “So what would you like today? It’ll be my treat, seeing as it’s been a while since we met.”
Taiga shook his head quickly, “No, it’s okay. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”
Kentaro blinked twice before breaking out in gentle laughter. “You know, I’ve never met anyone who’s refused free ice cream before.”
Taiga merely smiled softly in reply.
Kentaro sighed, grinning happily. “So, what’ll it be?”
Taiga’s eyes glanced from left to right; he really didn’t know. Or maybe he just didn’t care. It didn’t really matter what he ordered, nothing would be able to compare to Smiling boy’s sweet vanilla.
“You can choose for me,” Taiga decided at last, lifting his eyes to meet Kentaro’s curious gaze.
“All right,” Kentaro nodded back, turning around to get a sugar cone. Carelessly, Taiga reached into his bag to take out his wallet, piecing together the exact change he would need to pay. Kentaro turned around, seeing Taiga was ready to pay, but just as Taiga was about to place the money into his hands, he accidentally dropped his open wallet. The clattering of coins onto the hard, cement ground rang throughout the otherwise peaceful shop.
“S-Sorry,” Taiga immediately apologized, quickly crouching down to the floor to pick up the spilled change. One after the other, he hurriedly collected the coins, embarrassment overrunning his mind. He didn’t even notice that Kentaro had bent down beside him.
Just as he tried to grab the final coin, his hand accidentally brushed against Kentaro’s slender fingers, the older boy having reached out to help. Taiga instinctively flinched back; he watched as Kentaro picked up the coin, then extended his hand out to Taiga, helping him stand back up.
“S-Sorry,” Taiga apologized once more, bowing slightly.
“Careful you don’t lose any of them,” Kentaro smiled gently.
As he handed the coin to Taiga, the younger boy could feel his heart uncontrollably jerk at the feeling of Kentaro’s warm hands enveloping around his own, still not letting go.
The softness of his touch, of his voice, of his smile, Taiga just couldn’t let go.