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She was his best friend. He was hers. Their relationship hung at a delicate balance. Didn't he tell himself to quit rocking the boat? To quit tipping the scales? To be content with just being her friend? Not her boyfriend. Not her husband. Not her baby's daddy.

But, NOOOO. He just had to ruin it.

She ran away. And it was all because of one kiss. On one hand, he had done it impulsively; it's not like he planned to plant one on her while she was talking about God-knows-what. She stared at him for a second, before ripping herself out of his grasp and bolting out the door like her life depended on it.

Was kissing him really that bad?

Of course not, the stupid part of his brain assured him. Don't worry, she'll get over it.

Yeah, in a million years, a more sensible part of him retorted.

He slumped helplessly over his desk, feeling like a gigantic grand piano had just fallen from the sky, crushing him under its weight. He was at loss of what to do. How exactly do you tell your best friend of 8 years something so crucially important as "being friends just isn't enough anymore"? There wasn't a proper way to do it, was there? If there was, Tsubasa Andou didn't get the memo.

"Ah, shit. "

When you start talking to yourself, then you know you've gone crazy.

"He's practically a brother, " Misaki mumbled absent-mindedly, scribbling away at her math homework. "We grew up together. He's seen me in my underwear! Oh, God, why did this have to happen? "

"Why did what have to happen? " Mikan asked curiously, suddenly appearing next to her. Last time Misaki checked, she was on the opposite side of the room.

"N-nothing, Mikan-chan, " Misaki stammered. She couldn't find it in herself to confide anything in Mikan. After all, the poor girl had boy problems of her own—though she wasn't exactly aware of them yet. Oh, the bliss of ignorance. "Nothing at all. "

"You've been acting weird lately, sempai. Is something wrong? "

Misaki laughed. It sounded fake, even to her. "What makes you think that? I'm fine. Better than fine, I'm fantastic! "

Mikan looked far from convinced, but trotted back over to the others. Misaki could feel everyone else's eyes on her.

If Tsubasa were here, she found herself thinking. He'd know what to do. Then again, he was the problem.

She sighed and attempted to direct her attention to her homework. Math had never been her favorite subject, but she was fairly good at it. And besides, it didn't really take a genius to figure out that there wasn't a single mathematical function in existence that equaled 'Tsubasa'.

Oh, how she wanted to slap herself.

"How long are you planning on sulking? "

"I'll sulk as long as I want, Tono. Now, if you don't mind, your humongous head is blocking my sun. "

"Oh? Trying to get a decent tan so you can fit into the 'tall, dark, and handsome' category now, are we? Trust me, kid, you got a long way to go. "

"Mind your own business. And get the hell away from my tree. "

"Hmph. I don't see your name on it. "

Tsubasa lifted his arm and pointed at the spot right smack in the middle of the tree trunk. Tsubasa Andou, it read in scratchy letters. "...You were saying? "

"You're strange, Andou. Really strange. And quit vandalizing school property. "

"Ooh, I care so much. Now, shoo. "

Tono didn't 'shoo'. Instead, he pulled out a pen and started carving more words into the already tainted tree trunk. The task would completely ravage his pen, but it'd be totally worth it.

"What the hell are you doing now, Tono? "

"Shh. There's an artist at work. "

"Really, Tono? You're doing this after getting on my case about vandalizing school property? "

"So I'm a hypocrite, sue me, " Tono shrugged, still absorbed in his work.

"I'll pass. "

"Done! " Tono announced proudly. "Well, I'll be going now. I've got a pretty girl waiting for me. "

"Good for you, " Tsubasa muttered bitterly.

"You know... people can only wait for so long. Better get a move on. " And with that, he left, leaving Tsubasa to his thoughts. Tono was never helpful. If anything, he made things worse. Much worse.

"Ah, he's such a pain in the ass— " Tsubasa grumbled, but paused upon seeing Tono's 'work of art'.

Tsubasa Andou + Misaki Harada

So maybe Tono wasn't so useless after all.

It took him a while to find her. It was well past dinnertime, and most everyone had returned to their dorms. Misaki had been sitting behind one of the greenhouses, humming quietly to herself. Tsubasa took a deep breath before daring to approach.

"Hey, " he greeted quietly, plopping down on the ground next to her.

"H-hey. "

Silence.

"Sooo... " he began awkwardly.

"Sooo... " she repeated.

"Nice night. "

"Yeah... "

More silence.

"You know, " she piped up after a while. "Kaname's getting discharged from the hospital next week. "

He nodded stiffly. "That's... that's good. " Is that why she was rejecting him? Because of Kaname?

Even more silence. It was killing them both. Oh, won't someone--anyone--please stop the ear-shattering silence?

Misaki fidgeted, picking at her skirt. "Say, Tsubasa... about earlier... "

"Yeah? " he asked expectantly.

"Is there any way... that we can pretend it never happened? "

He didn't say anything.

Upon seeing the upset look on his face, she immediately felt guilty. "N-not that there's anything wrong with it... But.. we have a really good thing going, you know? I mean, what if it doesn't work out? I just..." She took a deep breath. ".. I just don't want to lose my best friend. "

"Misaki-- "

"I'm sorry, " she said firmly, standing up. She looked meaningfully at him.

Before she had any time to react, he grabbed her arm and pulled her back down. She landed on his lap. Misaki could feel the heat rushing to her face, as he closed the distance between them, placing his warm lips delicately on her trembling ones. He seemed almost forceful, but gentle at the same time. It didn't take long for her will to stop him to completely dissipate, and she found herself kissing him back, as her fingers traveled upwards towards his face, before finally entangling themselves in his dark hair.

She could almost hear what little resolve she had left in her subconscious screaming at her to stop. This was Tsubasa, for God's sake. Not some guy. But sensible decisions were beyond her. As much as she wanted to keep everything the way it is, as much as she wanted to avoid having to complicate things.... she couldn't find it in herself to push him away.

After a while, he cruelly pulled away, looking rather proud of himself. "Am I a good kisser or what? "

She smacked him playfully in the arm. "Leave it to you to ruin the moment. "

They sat quietly for a while, watching the stars.

"Sooo... " Tsubasa piped up. "Still friends? "

"Hell no, " Misaki said, leaning into him. So maybe it wasn't so bad to think of him as something more.

Tsubasa looked up at the sky, still grinning like an idiot.

"Glad to hear it. "

A/N: Mah most recent bias. There just aren't enough Tsubasa/Misaki fics around... *whinewhine* Hope you guys enjoyed yourselves.(Tell me you did and I'll give you a cookie. :D) ...Feedback is most welcome~ :DD