I just watched this movie like yesterday and I already felt the urge to write fanfiction hahah. There are spoilers for the movie, so if you haven't watched the movie, what are you still doing here? Go watch it, it's amazing.
Mitsuha stares at the boy or rather the man - she doesn't know why she thought of him as a boy - sitting across the table from her over the rim of her coffee cup. She takes a sip and sets the cup down.
"So," she lets out, unsure.
"So," he repeats. "Umm..."
He scratches the back of his head as he chuckles nervously.
"Mitsuha, was it?" he asks.
Her heart skips a beat. She doesn't know why. She should be getting angry at him, shouldn't she? He shouldn't already be calling her by her first name when they've just only met each other yesterday. Although the circumstances of their meeting were pretty bizarre, she must admit.
She still doesn't really understand what happened. She doesn't know why she had felt so defeated when he walked past her without any recognition. She can't comprehend what compelled her to stop at the bottom of those stairs, hopeful for- What exactly was it she had hoped for? She can't explain why she had burst into tears when he called out to her. She can't explain the overwhelming nostalgia and familiarity she had felt when he had told her his name.
She's never heard that name before, has she?
But their meeting felt like it was meant to happen. It was surreal, like being in a dream, but it felt right.
Just like how it felt right hearing him say her name.
So instead of scolding or correcting him on the proper etiquette to use for a first meeting - date? - she smiles teasingly and says, "Yes, that's right. You haven't forgotten it again after just one day, right Taki-kun?"
She doesn't know why she said 'again' but he doesn't correct her.
This too feels right.
He laughs and she laughs along with him.
Ah, I've been waiting a long time to hear this laugh again, she thinks.
She blinks in confusion. Why did she think that?
The sound of Taki-kun clearing his throat draws her out of her reverie. She looks up at him and her breath catches in her throat.
She didn't know it was possible for anyone to look at her like that.
His gaze is soft. It's a gaze that seems to scream I love you and she wonders if he was the one who wrote those words on her palm eight years ago. But it's impossible, isn't it? They hadn't met back then.
They hadn't met, had they?
"No, I promise you, I won't forget it," he says softly. "I know it may sound strange, but I feel like your name is something precious that I've worked really hard and struggled a long time to hear. And now that I've finally heard it, I don't ever want to forget."
Mitsuha gasps, only then remembering to breathe again - When did she start holding her breath?
"Never again," he whispers.
She doesn't know what he means by that. She doesn't know why those words make her so happy and breaks her heart at the same time. But if there's one thing she's certain of-
If we see each other, we'll definitely know right away!
She smiles.
She's certain that-
"I feel the same, Taki-kun."
His name is precious to her too.