WRONG TIMING || kunimi a.

ch. 30

"okay. here we go."

kunimi stepped towards shiho, who looked up at the sound of crunching bark and smiled at the boy. "hey! where'd you go?" she asked.

"nowhere important," he mumbled. he held the bouquet behind his back, the small size of the bouquet effectively hidden behind his figure.

"hey hey, are you hiding something? what's with the hands behind your back?" she grinned. "come on, show me!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

kunimi inhaled and closed his eyes for a brief moment before exhaling and fixing his eyes on the girl in front of him.

he pulled the bouquet out from behind him as he held it out in front of him, averting his gaze to the ground.

"shiho, i love you. i know i've been telling you this ever since you've returned from america, but i need to tell you again.

i love you, and i have since middle school. i know i've hurt you in the past, but there isn't a single day that goes by where i don't wish i had never hurt you.

i know i said i wouldn't rush you, and that i'd wait for you, but i think i have the right to do this after waiting for this long.

you are the most beautiful, extraordinary and kind person i know. i could name a million things about you that i love. i love your hair, your smile, your laugh, your eyes, your caring demeanour, your happiness...

i love everything about you, even the little things you might not even notice. and i want to be beside you for a long time, if not forever. i want to hold your hand and kiss you without caring about what other people say.

so.. shiho, will you be my girlfriend?"

kunimi didn't dare look up from the ground, terrified of what the girl would say in response. after a good ten seconds of silence, he allowed himself to look up to see shiho wiping her eyes, crying silently.

his eyes widened, panic setting in. "shit! are you okay? i'm so sorry, i know it's sudden and you didn't deserve this but i-"

"no, it's not- it's not that- sorry, i'm just so relieved right now," she laughed in the middle of tears. "i- i was going to confess to you today. i gave it a lot of thought - too much, probably - but i've finally decided how i feel about you.

you were my first and only real love. and you still are. i love you, akira. always have. i'd be happy to be your girlfriend," she smiled, looking up at the boy, her face red and stained with tears.

kunimi smiled softly, gently setting the bouquet down on the bench and pulling shiho into an embrace. "i'm sorry it took me so long to tell you," shiho mumbled, wrapping her arms around the boy tightly.

kunimi chuckled, running a hand through shiho's hair. "i said i'd wait, didn't i? and i did. i'm sorry for making this so sudden too."

"WHOOOO!!! FINALLY!!" shiho jumped at the sudden shouting as she pulled away from kunimi to spot oikawa pop out from behind a row of bushes, grinning from ear to ear.

"GOD, I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA DIE WAITING FOR YOU TWO TO GET TOGETHER!" he cried, feigning distress. shiho and kunimi looked at each other, with the same expression of "what the fuck just happened?"

"why did you- how? who??? why are you here??" shiho exclaimed, frowning. the boy grinned further, if that was even possible. "kindaichi accidentally spilled at practice."

kunimi whipped his head around to glare at kindaichi, who had appeared from behind the slides. "YU? YOU WERE IN ON THIS?" shiho yelled, glaring at the poor boy.

"he was meant to be here, i asked him to wait for me with the bouquet," kunimi sighed, pinching his nose bridge.

"now, oikawa-san on the other hand...." "oh, i'm not the only one here," oikawa laughed. "we've been caught, get your asses out of the bush," he grumbled, hoisting up iwaizumi and matsukawa.

"IWA-CHAN? MATTSUN? god- GUYS! you can't eavesdrop on someone confessing! i expected better from you, hajime," shiho frowned, shaking her head.

"i got it all on recording, by the way," hanamaki grinned, popping up from behind the bushes. "not even surprised at this point," kindaichi deadpanned.

"hey, stop glaring at us! we all came to cheer you on, you know. even mad dog-chan!" oikawa exclaimed, clapping his hands together.

"fucking KYOTANI-SAN IS HERE?" shiho groaned in disbelief. the rest of the team slowly revealed themselves from behind the bush, smiling sheepishly.

"i don't know whether i should hug or beat the shit out of ALL you right now," shiho said lowly, staring down the boys.

oikawa laughed nervously and scooted behind iwaizumi, the latter moving out of the way and pushing him towards the now-dating shiho and kunimi.

"this as your idea. all the blame falls on you," iwaizumi shrugged, grinning. the rest of the team agreed, not wanting to be on the receiving end of shiho's anger and disappointment.

"WHAT?! YOU GUYS AGREED TO THIS! DON'T THROW ME UNDER THE BUS LIKE THIS!!" oikawa panicked, being pushed closed to shiho.

shiho sighed walking over to the older boy and stopping just in front of him. oikawa put his arms up in defence and scooted away from the girl, who just laughed and pulled the boy into an embrace.

"as much as you guys shouldn't be doing this kind of fuckery, i know you had.. somewhat good intentions. i'm not going to murder you," she chuckled. she heard oikawa sigh out of relief as he returned the embrace.

she let go and waved kunimi over, interlocking her fingers with his as the rest of the team congratulated and teased the two, hanamaki replaying the video of kunimi's confession as the latter turned red with embarrassment and hid his face behind shiho.

the team eventually left to go their separate ways, not wanting to interrupt the two any further. after they'd left, kunimi sighed, rubbing the nape of his neck.

"they really are annoying..." he mumbled. "you love them though," shiho pointed out, chuckling. "mmm.. sometimes."

shiho laughed, picking up her things to start heading home. "thanks for today. it was certainly a surprise, but i appreciate your effort nonetheless," she smiled.

"thank you too. for.. giving me another chance," kunimi said, giving the girl a lopsided smile. "oh! right! before i leave, i need to give you this," shiho exclaimed, digging through her bag.

she pulled out the small bag of salted caramel, decorated with a red ribbon and a small note. kunimi smiled, taking the gift. "i asked you out to.. well, ask you out today, but looks like you beat me to it," she smiled sheepishly.

"so i guess we're actually dating now, huh?" kunimi nodded, still smiling. "yeah. took a while, but we're finally here," he chuckled.

kunimi pulled shiho closer as he stared at the girl with all the affection in the world, slowly closing the gap between their lips.

and after days, weeks, months, years of waiting, kunimi finally got the kiss the girl he had so dearly loved, so dearly missed.

it was gentle and careful, and sent butterflies throughout shiho's body as she smiled into the kiss, the slightest bit disappointed when they pulled apart.

"i'll see you on monday," kunimi smiled, taking his leave. shiho nodded, still a blushing mess from the kiss. "yeah, i'll- i'll see you then," she smiled.

"i love you," he spoke softly, turning around and heading home, growing further and further away from the girl.

she smiled fondly at the boy she had grown to love since childhood. her first and only love, the one she had stood by forever.

"i love you too."

fin.