Chapter 1: The School Romance.

Yukino Yukinoshita. The same cold blue eyes, the waist-length black hair. Even the same old red coloured ribbons. But it was the twin tails that threw him off for a second. It was tied different, not in her usual style. Hachiman had noticed. But he didn't make a comment. It would have been weird. He wondered whether he had stared.

"Hikigaya-kun, look to your left."

He was used to her coldness, the standoffish behaviour. The crossed arms, the defensive posture. Her reluctance was rather self evident. Hachiman would have scoffed, point out it was her idea in the first place. It was petty. It was mean spirited. But the two weren't friends. He shouldn't care. But he did listen. Didn't nod though. Just turned and looked.

Despite her bad attitude, Yukinoshita was popular in school. A stupid number of boys vied for her attention. Perhaps she saw a few even here. Loitering, trying to approach, form a sentence and engage in a conversation. It irked him a little. He didn't want to see her. She didn't want to be seen with him.

"I see a mall cop."

"You would do well to remember that."

The two of them didn't like the other in a romantic sense. There was no attraction, no infatuation. He wasn't much to look at. Average. Sub-par. Rotten. Dead fish eyes, the most striking feature. On the other hand, she was a frozen princess. One word, beautiful. Guess, he was guilty. He had stared, before. Called out, caught. He was no different, suppose. But unlike others, understood. One of the few, perhaps. It's rude to stare. She minded. Didn't like the attention. Was wary.

"It's just that you don't wear your hair like that."

It was rude to stare. It was even ruder to point. He did both. This wasn't helping his case. A scowl on her face, arms still crossed, he wondered whether she would change her mind. It was her idea. It was her decision. She could shop, alone. He could too. He had messed it up. It was supposed to be simple. But nothing is. He should know better.

"I do, sometimes."

He knew so little. He had so many questions. But he didn't want to ask. Was it the lack of courage or the lack of social skills, he didn't need to wonder. It was difficult. Sometimes even more so. He was self conscious. Was she self-conscious, he would not ask.

He wasn't that stupid. The two had that in common. Intellect, there saving grace. He had understood the roundabout warning from before. Don't stare, would have been the more common reaction. But she couldn't work with what was common. Had trouble with such responses, loners often did. He would know. That's another thing they shared, had in common. It was better to point out the mall cop, have him draw his own conclusions. He appreciated that. Did she appreciate him, he dare not ask. Like he wouldn't ask whether she was self conscious. With herself, with him, with them, with her hair, even.

"It looks nice. Your hair, I mean."

Baby steps. Progress. The last option felt safer to talk about. He wasn't embarrassed or self conscious. He didn't want to make a big deal out of this. Nice was the safest word in his vocabulary. It was because Yukinoshita wore her hair differently. It was because he thought better than to compliment her look, but ended up staring. It was because she had lovely hair. Give him a break. It was just an observation. Nice should always be. But it was also an adjective.

"Thank you."

Also, a compliment.

Body language, shifted. Arms lowered to her side. A softer voice. Yukinoshita couldn't give him a smile. The two had stood, face to face. Now she had her back turned. It seemed he wasn't the only one lacking courage. It was silly, childish, juvenile. Highschoolers, mostly were. Why would the two of them be any different, he knew better than to ask.

Trial and error. Boundaries. Personal space. He remembered the two of them hadn't even exchanged a proper greeting while meeting up, before. Was it too much to expect a hello, he would have asked. But it would sound so very immature. He was indeed, sulking. But he didn't want to be accused as such. Gift shopping was troublesome task. Yukinoshita might be perfect. But there was no such thing as a perfect gift.

"You are being extremely unhelpful, Hikigaya-kun. "

"What do you mean? I said yes to all the things you picked."

"That's not being helpful."

It was one of the biggest shopping malls in the city. It had been close to an hour. She wasn't satisfied with the merchandise. Not a single one. The two had gone from one store to another, then another, and another. He needed a drink. Coffee worked miracles. She preferred tea. It would be for the best. They needed to catch their breath. Well, at least he did. He didn't know much about her. Couldn't really tell. It was the closest to restlessness, he had ever seen her.

"Hey, let's head over there."

"That's a bookstore."

Her voice left the rest unsaid. And that she missed the obvious. He even had his fingers raised, pointing. Not at the book store, of course. But the vending machine, adjacent. There was no way she would have missed. Unless she wasn't paying attention. But she was. But still she had. Which meant he wasn't the only one tired. All this walking around, they were bound to.

Her subconscious betrayed her. She licked her lips. There was an audible gulp to be heard. He caught them both, sight and sound. It was rude to stare. Ruder still to listen. He wasn't doing that. He was just being observant. She couldn't fault him for that. It would be unfair. She wasn't, she didn't. She nodded her head, understanding.

"Let's head to the food court, then."

He didn't understand.

It had been over an hour. He knew he was tired. But he didn't realise he was hungry as well. Or perhaps he did, but didn't want to ask. Guess, he didn't need to. A grumbling stomach spelled his downfall. She must have heard it then. But it was a good thing too. Now he couldn't be the only one accused of being observant.

"Okay."

It would be embarrassing. Eating might not have been in her agenda. Her focus was aimed towards better things. Like getting the perfect gift which didn't exist. Yeah, that's sounds about right. Besides, having a meal together seemed oddly intimate.

They never had before.

A light snack. Something to drink. Conversation soon to follow. Yukinoshita offered that she didn't mind revisiting the bookstore. He blinked, no doubt looking stupid. A bookstore would be the last place where they could find something suitable for their friend. Yuigahama didn't share their mutual love for reading. Even the text books were a bit too much for her.

"Are you thinking of buying her a colouring book?"

"I think a cook book would seem more suitable."

It was a joke. He had meant it to be rhetorical. Didn't expect her to answer. Much less expect her to run with it. It wasn't even that funny. Light banter, he was used to. It was the same. But she did seem to smile. And he felt his lips curl up as well.

"That's mean, Yukinoshita. Making fun of her cooking skills. Or lack thereof."

"And comparing her intelligence to a child isn't?"

"Well, I don't know. She is just childish enough to pull it off. It might seem like a compliment."

It was not the kind of conversation he was used to. She wasn't either, he could tell. But he couldn't come to call it annoying. It didn't grate on his nerves. There was an easy going nature to it which was likeable. No pressure, no stress. He was thankful for the food and drinks. He counted himself lucky for the conversation. It wasn't riveting in the least. But that wasn't the point. Sometimes simple talk was simply enough. He needed to learn that. It would take time. Or not much at all.

"I never asked."

"Hmm?"

Yukinoshita was finished with her drink. It would be time to return to the task at hand. He would be lying if he said he didn't find it at least a little bit enjoyable. But he also minded the fact that he wasn't able to help more. It was her idea. She wanted him here. He wanted to be useful. He felt he wasn't. She had said so before. He didn't mind the fact that she spoke her mind. Though she didn't need to be blunt. As mention, she was the perfect one. He never professed such.

"This gift, what's it about?"

"Why are you asking?"

Defensive. She didn't want to tell. Didn't want him to know. It made him curious. It was one of the first questions that came to his mind. For some reason he felt it was not important enough to ask. He felt a lot of things weren't. He could be wrong. Otherwise, there was no reason for not answering.

"It would be more helpful, I guess."

"How exactly?"

One of the more simplest of answers. He didn't need to think much. He might have limitations when it came to social skills, but he knew enough of the social construct. Gift giving was an age old custom. It had been going on for centuries. He would be an idiot not to know. The only reason she would be asking would be because she thought he didn't know. But that didn't make sense. She knew. She knew he knew. Then this meant she was stalling. Why though, that he didn't know.

"Well, it's not her birthday, so I'm confused. Don't know what to think about."

There were other possibilities. Moreover it was the thought that counts. Plain and lazy. But accurate and well meaning. Yuigahama was easy to please. She would like almost anything. It only mattered who was the person giving her the gift. Simple enough. He could appreciate it. He liked to keep things simple. But Yukinoshita didn't. The long hour spent searching was the answer.

"It was her idea."

Now he was plain confused. Perhaps the food and drinks were a bad idea. He was hungry but after being fed, his mind was now a bit more lax. It wouldn't be helpful. Yukinoshita wanted his full attention. But his brain felt like relaxing. It wasn't the time though. He needed his brain to be firing in all cylinders. But that didn't seem possible. He didn't understand what she meant, not in the least.

"I'm sorry, I didn't get that."

Yukinoshita blushed. Food finished, drink empty, there was nothing for her hands to occupy. Nothing to delay or distract or deflect. Though she could. But thankfully she didn't. Conversation wasn't one of their special skills. But she was articulate. Knew what needed to be said, and more especially what needed to be left out.

"Yuigahama-san and I seem to get along now. We have become friends."

"Yes, I have noticed."

"That's not the case with us."

Blue eyes darted to his face, the fell down to the table. Unable to say much more. He was, she too. The two of them weren't friends. Of course he knew. He should have. But there was a pesky emotion, the slight expectation, a faint glimmer. Presumptions were fatal. He needed to be in the clear. Not her friend. She didn't she him as such. Then what was he, he feared to ask. Didn't because it was not in his nature.

"I see."

He didn't feel like talking. He needed another coffee. Coffee was safe. A good book as well. Perhaps revisiting the bookstore wouldn't be a bad idea. He needed a new book. He would settle for anything now. Just something to occupy his mind, something else. Tangible, something. Plus then this entire trip wouldn't be an entire waste of both their time and money.

"It takes time for me to become friends, Hikigaya-kun."

"I see."

He didn't have the energy. He was repeating himself. She wasn't making it easy. She was trying to make it very clear. There was no reason for it to be so. Being ambiguous was fair enough. Some things left unsaid are better unsaid. But she needed to talk. He dreaded starting the conversation. It was too late.

"We don't spend enough time. I would like to remedy that."

"I se- wait, what?"

Bad choice of words. Yukinoshita seemed annoyed. Perhaps she thought he wasn't paying attention. It was like when he kept saying yes to every single thing she picked. It didn't help her, it didn't help him and like he said, he wanted to be helpful. There was a lot of things he wasn't getting. The gift wasn't even one of them. Having her not glare at him was another. It wasn't his fault. He was a little uncertain though.

"Yuigahama-san said we should spend more time together. Meaning you and me, Hikigaya-kun. It would help us become close. A-as friends I mean. And since I didn't know how to go about it, she offered the first thing that came to her mind."

The pieces came together. It made sense. He should have seen it before.

"Shopping."

Yukinoshita smiled. The glare had slipped. It was easy to keep up with her line of thinking, pick up the things left to find out. He didn't mind. She enjoyed it more, he thought. It must feel nice to have someone on the same wavelength, so to speak. She doesn't probably get that from a lot of people. He would know. He was like her in this regard.

"Yes. It's good that you're paying attention. As I was saying, Yuigahama-san said we -meaning I and you- could spend more time together if we went out shopping. I didn't think her idea held any merit, but she was extremely confident. So confident that she said, I would be grateful enough to buy her a gift. "

Hachiman couldn't stop himself from asking.

"And are you?"

But he couldn't be direct. Coward, he was. He couldn't think. She wanted to be friends, she was putting in the effort, she wanted to be closer. Shopping for a friend versus going out shopping just for the heck of it. Spending time together, enjoying it. Sharing a meal, odd but intimate. The bookstore seemed a good choice. Her answer, even better.

"Why do you think I want to get her the perfect gift?"

Indeed. It was a place to start. The bookstore. The food court. The shopping mall itself. It was over an hour, it was one of the biggest mall in the city. There were a lot of stores. They had been to one, then another, then another.

"Then let's head back to the bookstore."

But he didn't mind visiting each store. It was time well spent.

"You don't mind?"

He managed a smile. It didn't take much effort. He also picked up that she wasn't just talking about the shopping. The smallest of questions had the most difficult answers. But he found it easy. He wouldn't on most occasion. But he did and he was grateful.

"Not in the least."

Spending time together, going out shopping. There was no implication. There could have been if the two wanted. But they had time. There didn't exist an ideal gift or a perfect one for that matter. But that didn't mean it was a waste of time, the time spent together, trying to find it. At different places, at different stores.

It was an archaic thing to do. He paid for their food. Chivalry was dead. There was no harm remembering it from time to time. She minded only a little. He kept his eyes to himself. But he let his thoughts wander.

Were they growing close, he didn't need to ask.

As friends or something else, now that was a question for another time, another place, another store.