AUTHOR'S NOTE

This was written almost a year ago, and it had some quick fixing up to match the events that happened in the story after this was written, so some parts might be a little odd. Apologies.

It was a cold winters day. Yamaguchi Kenji was standing outside the library, keeping warm by blowing on his hands, then stuffing them back into the pockets of his pale blue parka. Glancing at his watch, it was ten minutes to five in the evening. Shizuku was late - they had agreed to meet at half past, but there was no sign of the girl. Then, just as if his thoughts had summoned her, he saw the orange haired girl running down the street towards him.

"Sorry..." she said, panting as she rested, her hands on her knees, supporting her body weight. "I was...helping out with...the shop."

Yamaken watched her, his face showing no emotion. Adorable as always, he thought. The words that came out of his mouth, however, said otherwise. "Grandmother clothes," he mocked her from the library steps that he had begun to climb. Shizuku glared at the blond for a moment before following him up the stairs and into the warm library.

It had been two months since Shizuku last told Haru about how she felt - she didn't love him anymore. It seems that after their roller coaster ride of feelings, Shizuku had decided that Haru was too much to handle. His odd and occasionally violent antics were just not for her. He was just not the one for her. Naturally, Yamaken was the one that was her best choice of a friend whom she wouldn't mind being with, unlike Natsume or Sasayan who had nothing in common with her. He was smart, he was concerned about his grades, he didn't care what people thought about him - he was like her, and she felt comfortable being with him.

"It's quiet," Yamaken said from across the table, which was stacked with books.

"Of course it is. This is a library, Yamaken-kun."

Shizuku wasted no time with idle chatter, despite the blond's efforts to make conversation. There was an exam coming up in two weeks, and she needed to study as much as possible. Haru was not going to beat her in ranking this time.

Yamaken sighed and put down his book. "You don't have to be that cold, Mizutani."

"You're one to talk."

It's pointless, he thought. She's a study bug, and with exams coming up so soon, there's no way she'd do anything but study. Yamaken shook his head. Damn it. Why are you even trying. She's made it clear that she doesn't see you that way.

"Yamaken-kun, why are you shaking your head like that? It's a little worrying." Shizuku put down her book and stared at him.

"Ahh..." Yamaken cursed silently. "It was just...a headache." That's a stupid answer.

"People don't shake their heads when they have headaches."

Yamaken sighed. "You talk too much."

Shizuku looked at the blond, thinking about oddly amusing he was. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to be in a relationship with Yamaguchi Kenji. Almost a year ago, in cram school, he had said that she wouldn't have any unnecessary problems if she had went out with him - it sounded like a confession, and she was right about that when he had confessed to her. Twice. Not that it mattered much, since she had turned him down because of Haru. It was a little sad. But Shizuku was sure that he wouldn't swallow his pride again to ask her out after being rejected repeatedly.

. . .

"It's really cold," Shizuku muttered to herself as she hugged herself to keep warm.

They stood outside the library at the top of the steps. Night had fallen, but the streets were lit brightly with colourful Christmas decorations.

"You should've brought your jacket," Yamaken told her nonchalantly, looking around.

"I forgot it at the shop. Anyway, thanks for helping me study today. See you again sometime." As the girl turned to leave, a hand caught her wrist. Shizuku stopped and looked back. "What is it?"

"Uhm…" Yamaken frowned. Why did I stop her? "A-Are you hungry? I have some vouchers for food at the cafe nearby, and I won't be able to finish them all by myself."

"Really? Okay, I'll go with you." Shizuku turned around and started walking with the blond. "So where did you get the vouchers?"

"I can't remember. I think I got them from someone."

I don't have any, he thought to himself, annoyed at the words that just slipped out as he was trying to find a way to make her stay with him.

"The Christmas lights are really pretty."

Shizuku was admiring the decorations. She remembered the year before this, when she was with Haru, walking down the exact same street. He said that her hair resembled a spider's thread. He said that he loved her. But, it was all in the past now, and regardless of how much he still loved her, she didn't. It was clear that their relationship wouldn't go anywhere. It doesn't matter, Shizuku thought. I was stupid to have even bothered with a relationship anyway. My studies must always come first.

. . .

"Yamaken-kun, why did you pay in full for the food? I thought you had vouchers," Shizuku asked and sipped some of her tea, looking straight at the blond sitting across her.

"Well, I… the truth is I didn't have any vouchers. I just said that so you could come with me," he said, looking away. "But, it's only because I wanted to thank you for helping me study today, nothing else!"

Shizuku laughed softly. "You're funny."

"The last time you told me that was in the library last year," he noted.

"Oh, you remember?"

"No! I mean, I didn't specially hang on to that memory. It just happened to pop up in my head now."

"Whatever you say. It's getting late, I should go," she said before finishing off her tea.

"I'll walk you to the bus." Yamaken glanced around as he got up, avoiding eye contact with her.

"Oh... Thanks."

. . .

"So.." Yamaken said in his attempt to make conversation, but he didn't know what to say. This is bad, he thought. I'm actually out of words.

"What?" She looked up at him.

"Uh... nothing."

"Okay then," she said, not bothering with him anymore and turning back to face the front. "The lights are really pretty."

"You said that before."

"Oh? Did I? Well, the lights really are pretty."

As the cold wind blew, her long hair flew around, briefly brushing across Yamaken's cheek as he was standing close to her side.

"Your hair..."

She turned around. "What is it?"

"It's... like a silk thread."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, it's long, smooth and incredibly fine."

"Oh. I see. Haru said that it was like a spider's thread. Your opinions are not too far off."

Yamaken frowned. To think that Haru's thoughts were similar to his - it wasn't something he appreciated.

"Hey," he pointed. "You wanna go over to that park? The decorations are pretty interesting."

"What?" Shizuku turned in the direction he was pointing. "Oh, sure."

As they walked in comfortable silence towards the beautifully lit park, Yamaken wondered what he was really doing. Stalling her? Trying to spend more time with her? Probably. Even after all that time, he still wasn't sure how - or why - he had fallen in love with Shizuku. Love is such a confusing issue, he thought as they approached a short flight of wide steps that led to the centre of the park, where a silver monument was placed. He was still lost in his thoughts when he heard Shizuku cry out. Snapping his mind back to reality, he saw her falling - she had slipped on the snow while going up the steps.

"Shizuku!" He rushed forwards, just in time to catch her by the side, but the momentum was too great and his position was unstable, causing both of them to fall backwards into the snow.

When the shock of the fall was over, Yamaken opened his eyes to find Shizuku's face buried in his chest.

"Shizu- Mizutani, are you alright?" His voice was full of concern that he didn't even bother trying to hide.

"Mmm." Her voice came out muffled. "I'm fine," she said raising her head and using her arms to push herself up. "Thanks to you and your parka. It cushioned my fall."

She was now on top of him, hands on both sides propping her body up. Yamaken lay still, unsure of what to do. Shizuku looked at him, into his eyes, then and for the first time in a long while, she felt something deep in her heart, emotions she hadn't known for months. It took her mere seconds to remember what those emotions were.

"Hey...Yamaken-kun."

"What?"

"Thank you. For saving me."

"Uhh... you're welcome. I-it just came on instinct though, not that I specially wanted to save you." He wondered if he was blushing as he mentally berated himself for the stupidity of what he was saying.

She laughed. "You're funny."

He was an odd one, she thought. That Yamaken. Interesting, funny, sometimes a little cocky, but you can't help but love him. It was at that moment that she realized something about herself and the way she saw the boy she was looking at.

They stayed that way in silence for a few moments, and Yamaken wondered if she would get up, uneasy at their position.

"Yamaken...kun..." Her eyes wouldn't meet his. "Do you... still like me?"

Yamaken was stunned. Yes, he did. He still liked her, even after the repeated rejections and the humiliation that he had face, not to mention the pain of not being able to have her, he still liked – no, loved her.

"I-I do. I still do," he murmured just loud enough for her to hear while avoiding eye contact. It was extremely odd for her to ask him that question, and he wasn't entirely sure where things were going, but he figured that being honest with her while he had the chance would be the best thing to do.

She smiled softly as a slight blush tinged her cheeks. "I'm so glad…"

Yamaken stared at her, as if he couldn't quite believe what he had just heard.

"I'm so glad," she repeated. "After I broke up with Haru again, I thought that love and relationships weren't for me. I immersed myself in my studies, and I went back to my old ways. But just then, I think I realized that I might actually like you, and probably always did, but at that time Haru was there as well, and I might have been confused, but now I know."

She gently lowered herself till their faces were inches apart, her blush deepening. "I like you too, Yamaken."

Then she kissed him.

. . .

Yamaken was stunned, but he kissed her back. This glorious moment which he never even dreamed of, was happening. There he was, lying in the snow in a beautiful park, and the one girl he had ever fallen for was kissing him. It was perfect.

Shizuku pulled away, raising herself again. She smiled down at him before removing herself and turning to flip onto the snow on her back.

"You know, somehow, I feel like if I'm with you, nothing will go wrong. I'm not confused, not like when I was with Haru." Shizuku had her hands on her abdomen as she lay on the snow, smiling up at the sky.

Yamaken watched her, unable to find the words to reply to her statement. He pushed himself up and watched the lights. "The lights are pretty."

Shizuku laughed. "I said that."

"I know," he smiled. He felt happy. Right now, he was free from his cage of confusion. His struggles for the past year, those mixed feelings between wanting to forget her and not wanting to love another, they were gone, replaced with pure bliss.

"Hey... do you want to go to the New Year's festival with me?"

Shizuku turned her head slightly to face him. "Definitely. And after that, we'll pick a good place to watch the sunrise, and you can buy me some food too - without cutting my line."

Yamaken laughed. "Of course. And you know I didn't cut your line just to get food for myself. I-"

"I know… Yamaken-kun, I'm sorry it took so long for me to return your feelings."

Yamaken closed his eyes and smiled. "That's okay. It was all worth it." When he opened his eyes, Shizuku was leaning over him again.

"I love you," she said, smiling, and kissed him again.

Well, the study bug's coming on pretty strong, he thought.

Boom.

Shizuku opened her eyes and pulled away, sitting back on the snow. "Fireworks? Now?"

Yamaken sat up next to her. "Seems like it. I don't know why they're going off since it isn't even Christmas yet, but they are beautiful."

"Yeah." Shizuku leaned in to him and rested her head on his shoulder.

Beautiful just like you, Shizuku.

END NOTE

So basically this is what should happen in the end. Yeah. The endgame in the manga might have been Haru and Shizuku, but well, this is what fanfiction is for.

This is a one-shot that I typed up in my handheld device when I was bored during my vacation, added together with what I mentioned before the start of the story, it might not be as good and smooth flowing as it could have been, so I apologize once more. Also, if you guys were disappointed that this was only a one-shot, there is a slim chance that I might continue on with this story if it gets a good reception.

However, continuing or not, I hope you guys enjoyed reading it!

UPDATE / JULY '14

Right, so I have written a continuation of this, but then it developed into more love triangle drama and I decided that, despite the aftermath I had planned and was actually looking forward to, I didn't want that to happen - that is, the love triangle stuff because honestly we have enough shoujos to read for that, and I know how frustrating it is. Thus, I won't be continuing this particularpiece of work. I do, however, have plans for at least one more Shizuken/YamaShizu - whatever the pairing is called - fanfic.

Just thought I would let you guys know, especially since some of you were hoping for a continuation. Hopefully this news is good enough and I'm sorry I'm not going to continue this one!