A Cold Friday Night

Starring: Youhei Sunohara and Tomoyo Sakagami

It was just another Friday night. I decided to stay in my room with Okazaki and read some manga. Now that I think about it, Okazaki and I have been friends ever since our freshman year of high school.

(Flashback)

It was just another boring day in class. Since I was a freshman, I didn't know anyone at school, and I didn't want to know anyone either. Everyone kept staring at me because of my blonde hair and that pissed me off. In order to keep from dying of boredom or anger, I pulled pranks on people. Even when I joined the soccer team, I still made trouble. But, one day, I got into a fight with my team since we lost a game. They were always picking on me, so, I kicked their asses. Because of that, I was kicked off the soccer team and lost my scholarship. The school wanted me out of my dorm room, but I wasn't leaving. About a month later, I got into a fight with two other guys in the middle of class. They kicked the crap out of me, but I managed to kick the crap out of them, too. I was sent to principal's office. A few minutes later, some guy with blue hair came in and sat down next to me.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked me.

"I got beat up. Looks like you did, too."

"Pfft. Not as bad as you. At least I don't have some stupid looking bandage on my nose."

"Oh yeah? What's more stupid looking then that black eye?" I laughed.

He started laughing, too. For who knows how long, we made jokes about each other's bruises. From that moment on, Okazaki and I became best friends.

(End Flashback)

"Hey, Okazaki. Can I ask you a question?"

I was a little surprised to see Okazaki doing his homework. In fact, before he met Nagisa, I think I only saw him do homework twice.

"Yeah?"

"How far have you and Nagisa gone? You two do it yet?"

I could see the annoyance on his face. Okazaki always hated me asking him questions like that, regarding him and Nagisa. Even when I ask questions that don't involve them doing stuff like that, Okazaki was still upset.

"That's none of your business."

He said with his eyes staring at his homework.

"Ah, come on. It's not like I'll tell the whole school."

I could see that Okazaki was getting upset and red in the face. Then, before I could even say anything else, my door slammed open.

"What're you two doing?! Why didn't you prepare for the party?!"

Kyou Fujibyashi. Out of our group of friends, she was definitely the most...masculine. Now, to an otaku, having an incredibly attractive tsurunde character for a friend would be a dream come true. But, if you've known Kyou as long as I have, you'd think differently.

"Hold on! Party?! What party?! And why did you just burst in here?!" I yelled. This didn't bother her one bit.

"I thought Tomoya told you that we're having a party for winter break in your room. Guess not."

I stood in shock, my mouth hanging open. I looked over to Okazaki, who just shrugged his shoulders. Really?!

"But, it's my room! You can't just throw a party in here and not ask me first!"

Kyou have me a smug look.

"Well, if you don't like it, you can leave, but the rest of us are gonna have a party in your room. Whether you like it or not, Yohei, this party will be in your room."

With that said, Kyou turned around and waved a hand to someone. Ryou, Kotomi, and Nagisa all came in with party favours and snacks. Okazaki went over to help Nagisa and everyone started chatting. I felt like a stranger in my own room.

"Uh, hello?! Did you all forget that-"

Before I could finish, Kyou gave me her infamous "Death Glare". I couldn't help but feel scared. Then, a voice came from the door.

"Um...excuse me, Tomoya told me there's a party going on in Sunohara's room. Is it alright if I join?"

Tomoyo Sakagami. She's the Student Council president and a part of our weird group of friends. Although she was the most serious of us all, there was one thing about her that was..."off" from her usual self.

During my daily ass-kickings from Tomoyo, I could tell she was less...like herself. She always had this smile on her face around Okazaki, but it didn't feel real. In fact, it felt fake, very fake. She was one of the girls that fell head over heels for Okazaki, but had her heart broken when he chose Nagisa. Even if she's a total ice queen, I can't help but feel bad for her.

"Is there something wrong with your eyes?" Asked Tomoyo with a bit of anger in her voice, instantly shaking me out if my trance.

"If so, I can fix that for you with a good kick."

I screamed and took cover under my bed. Even if I did feel bad for her, she was still scary as Hell.

"Settle down, Tomoyo." Okazaki said as he placed his hand on Tomoyo's shoulder.

It's weird how he can do that so casually and not feel weird about it. Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think Okazaki ever realized that all the other girls liked him. It's not fair! Even when Okazaki doesn't realize it, he still gets all the cute girls! I realized that I wasn't gonna get anywhere with my argument, and just went with the flow.

"Sorry about this, Sunohara. I didn't think it would be this much of an inconvenience to you to have a party in your room." Said Ryou.

"Ryou, don't apologize to him. Remember, Sunohara doesn't have feelings." Said Kyou with a happy gleam.

- One Hour Later -

Everyone seemed to be having fun. There were a few complaints, mainly about how I don't have a TV or how my room is too small. I ignored them and tried to have fun. But, it's hard to do that when you can't take two steps without bumping into anyone.

Feeling a little cramped, I grabbed my jacket, since it wasn't particularly cold outside that night, and get some fresh air. When I got outside, I felt so much better. But then, I saw someone leaving the boys dorm. In the moonlight, I saw a flash of silver.

"Tomoyo? What the heck is she doing out here?"

I decided to follow her and find out where she was going. She could've been going home for all I knew, but I had a feeling that wasn't the case.

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After following her for a little while, we ended up at a lake. Not wanting to get spotted, I hid behind a shrub.

"A lake? Why a lake of all places?" I whisper to myself.

Tomoyo just sat there, staring off at the lake. I didn't know what was going through her head. But if I had to think, it was probably about Okazaki. Then, out of no where, she stared crying; it caught me off guard to see her cry like that. For some reason, I wanted to walk up to her and comfort her. But then again, that's a terrible idea; she'd probably kick my head off my shoulders for even seeing her cry! Suddenly, Tomoyo picks her head up and starts wiping away her tears while staring at the lake.

"*sigh*...Wow...to think that actually happened. To think...I actually thought he liked me. I thought I finally found "The One". Heh, just goes to show how stupid you can be, Tomoyo. You're too rough and distant. Nagisa's so kind and sweet to everyone. All I ever do is scare people. I don't deserve him; even if he is seen as a delinquent by everyone else, I still fell for him. You deserve someone like Nagisa. I hope you're happy, Tomoya; Heaven knows I probably won't ever be happy again." She said while shutting her eyes with that same, sad smile.

Jeez...she looks so upset. Maybe I should go talk to her. But what'll be my excuse for being here?

"Uhhhhh...let me think..."

"Huh? Hello? Who's there?!"

Ah! Crap! I didn't mean to think out loud!

"Alright. Whoever you are, you've got five seconds before I find you myself, and believe me, you wouldn't want that."

*Gulp* Shit! Well...I guess I don't have any other choice. I stood up and walked through the shrub. At the last second I turned on my heels and decided to make a break for it. If my past with Tomoyo taught me one thing, it's that she'll hurt me no matter what! Unfortunately, My pants got caught in one of the branches of the shrub and it held me back; I feel on my face and that made a lot of noise.

"There you are."

"Shitshitshit! She found me!"

No matter how much I struggled, I couldn't get free. I looked up and saw a very angry Tomoyo standing over me. I had to think of something or else she'd kill me. Well, she'd probably do that anyway, but I had to try.

"W-w-wait, Tomoyo! I-I can explain! Ya see-"

"How much did you hear..." She said in a deadly, low tone.

"H-huh? I-I didn't-"

"HOW MUCH DID YOU HEAR?!" This time, she yelled, probably loud enough for others to hear.

"O-Oh...uh...well, not that much." Her eyes squinted down at me, like I was lying. "Really, Tomoyo; I didn't hear that much! Honest!"

She seemed upset, but her anger slightly lifted. It looked like she was gonna hit me when her hand was reaching down, but instead, she pulled me up by my shirt collar. I dusted myself off and stood there.

"Get out of here, Sunohara. I don't know what you heard, but you'll be doing yourself a favour by forgetting all of it." She takes a seat on the grass and stares out at the lake again. Cautiously, I take a seat next to her and speak up.

"So...uh..what's bothering you?" I chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. She glared at me with daggers in her eyes, and that sort of look saying "You already know".

"Okay...bad question. Well, do you wanna talk about it?" The look of daggers in her eyes now had a look of surprise in them. She quickly turned her head away, her bangs covering her eyes.

"What do you care? It doesn't involve you, and it doesn't matter anyway. My feelings are my own and you had no right to follow me."

"But, I followed you anyway-"

"Which is a total violation of my privacy."

"Because I don't like seeing my friends upset. I mean, you were stealing glances of Okazaki the whole party, and then you just...left. What's up with that, huh?"

The daggers in her eyes came back, and they brought even more anger.

"It's none of your business, Sunohara. Now drop it, before I kick you across the lake like a stone."

It was obvious that I wasn't getting anywhere with her. So, I decided to take my chances and touched on a subject I really should have. Okazaki.

"You're upset about Okazaki picking Nagisa, aren't you?"

A gasp escaped her lips. She looked at me in embarrassment, shock, and anger.

"You-you don't know what you're-"

"And it's not just that. What upsets you even more is that he just...chose..Nagisa. It wasn't even a conscience thing on Okazaki's part. It just...happened."

"...shut-up."

"But what upsets you the most is-"

"Shut-UP, Sunohara! I mean it! I'll kick you so hard..." She takes a pause.

I could tell she was close to breaking. She had tears in her eyes and she was trembling. I felt like shit by causing her so much pain, but I had to help her. Some people say that you just have to let someone tell you about their troubles when they're ready. But, knowing Tomoyo, she'll keep them bottled up and never tell a soul. So, in order to help her, I had to force her to admit those feelings. It's not like I enjoyed making Tomoyo suffer. It tore me up inside seeing my friend in so much pain. But, I had a task to complete, and I was going to complete it.

"...Okazaki probably never considered your feelings. He probably never even thought of your feelings..."

That was the breaking point; she exploded in rage and hurt feelings. She grabbed me by the shirt and punched me in the face, over and over again. It was so painful! But, a few seconds later, her punches grew softer, softer to the point that I could barely feel them, but not before punching me in the eye.

Afterwards, Tomoyo started crying again. As if on instinct, I hugged her and pressed her head into my chest. There was nothing but sniffles at this point. What surprised me was that Tomoyo didn't punch or kick me again. In fact, she just buried her face deeper into my chest. Her tears stained my shirt, but I didn't care; all I cared about was comforting my friend.

"So, care to tell me now?"

She wiped the tears from her eyes, but kept her head against my chest.

"Well...you were right about me liking Tomoya. You see: I've never felt this way about any guy except Tomoya. All the other guys I met, I had no interest in. Even if I did, they were all either too scared to come near me, or they turned out to be jerks who wanted me to let my guard down so they could beat me in a fight."

"Did it work?" What a stupid question.

"What do you think?" Said Tomoyo in a dead-pan tone.

She went on to talk about how her family started to fall apart, and how her parents' constant arguing and her distance nature was traumatic on her younger brother. It got to the point where he jumped off a bridge because his parents were getting a divorce. Tomoyo then told me on how her family grew closer when hoping that her brother would survive. She said that he made a full recovery and that every year, he wanted to see the cherry blossom trees with his family. That's actually the while point of her coming to our school and running for Student Council President.

"That's when I met you and Tomoya. He helped me become Student Council President. Not to say you didn't help either, Sunohara."

"Yeah, only AFTER you hurt me in the process!"

"*Sniffles* You're an idiot, Sunohara. Why would you help me? After all I've done to you-"

"Because...well...I don't know why. I thought that it was because I didn't like seeing my friends crying their hearts out, but I..." I literally had no words to describe how I felt. Mainly because I didn't know how I felt, myself. I kept thinking and thinking until, finally, I had an answer.

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It was just simply another Friday. Although the teacher was giving a lecture, I couldn't help but space out. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened last last Friday.

When I asked Sunohara why he helped me, me of all people, he didn't answer. Well, he didn't answer verbally. Before I knew what was going on, he took hold of my shoulders and pulled my face closer to his, crashing his lips against my own. I felt a bit of pain at first, and I was both shocked and stunned. For the first second or so, I couldn't think straight. Here was Sunohara, the idiot that I kicked the daylights out of practically everyday, kissing me full on the lips in the moonlight. I thought my immediate response would've been to hurt Sunohara, but it wasn't; instead, I found myself relaxing and falling deeper into the kiss. I still remember how it felt. His lips felt surprising soft, and warm, too. I felt a rush...a sort of shock, going from my lips throughout my entire body. In an instant, my arms were around Sunohara's neck. Not to strangle him, but to pull him closer. The kiss only lasted about five seconds, but it felt like an eternity, and when we finally split, we we're both shocked. Sunohara was blushing like an idiot, and I'm sure I was, too.

"W-well, I hope that was a good enough answer."

All I could do was nod my head. After that, we walked back to the dorms in silence. When we got there, all our friends were waiting outside. They were practically hassling Sunohara and I on where we went. He simply told them that we went to get some fresh air. They were all suspicious at first, but just dropped it since they were all tired. After everyone left, I turned to Sunohara.

"Hey, Sunohara..."

"Hmm? What is it?"

"I just...wanted to thank you. If it weren't for you, I don't think I'd even be smiling right now."

"I-uh...sure, Tomoyo. You should get home. It's kinda late."

"Yeah. Well, before I go..." I took a step forward and kissed Sunohara. It was brief, briefer than our kiss by the lake, but still enjoyable. I took off running. When I arrived home, my family was asleep, thankfully, so I went right to bed when I arrived home.

On Monday, Sunohara came up to me and asked me on a date. At first, I was stunned and I'm sure I was blushing. But, I accepted. I can't tell you how he jumped up and down like a little kid getting a new toy. Oddly enough, I was happy, and I was smiling, on the inside of course.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Wow, hard to believe it's already been 15 years. In that time, I dated the most amazing girl to ever come into my life. You're probably wondering what happened after I asked her out. Well, we dated for about a year before I found an apartment and Tomoyo graduated. She moved in with me and we settled into our new lives. Tomoyo became a self defence instructor, while I went into management of the modelling company I interned at 15 years ago. Sure, like any other relationship, ours wasn't perfect. We had our spats and our fights, Tomoyo winning the physical half of those fights. But, in the end, we worked out our disagreements and made up. When I turned 21 and Tomoyo turned 20, I took her for a walk under the cherry trees and asked her the most important question of our lives...

(Flash Back)

It was an early, July morning. I had the day off as did Tomoyo. I asked her on a date and obviously she agreed. We stopped by the Furukawa bakery to pay Akio and Sanae a visit; we visited Okazaki-I mean Tomoya and Nagisa and their daughter, Ushio. Next was the Fujibyashi twins, Kyou and Ryou. Kotomi was still in America, so we talked to her over the phone for a good hour. Afterwards, it was sunset and I took Tomoyo through the cherry trees.

"You know, I love this time of year. The cherry trees are in full bloom, and their pedals make everything seem so beautiful. Don't you think so, Sunohara? Sunohara?"

I was so distracted by what was on my mind, that I didn't hear Tomoyo. So, I decided it was time. I got on one knee, pulled out a black box from my jacket pocket, and said the five words that made me feel like a dork...

"W-will you marry me, Tomoyo?"

...a lucky ass dork.

Before I knew it, Tomoyo had tears in her eyes and a hand clasped over her mouth. All I, and probably passers by, could hear was:

"yes...Yes! I will marry you, Sunohara!"

After slipping the ring on her finger, I was attacked by a swarm of kisses, to which I returned whole heartedly. A few months later, we had our wedding, with Tomoya as my best man, and Kyou as Tomoyo's bride's maid. For the next 13 years, we've lived in happiness.

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"And that's how your mother and I got together." Sunohara said.

"After all these years, I never get tired of hearing that story." And to think: The one who would make me happy is Yohei. Sometimes he can be an idiot; sometimes he can be difficult to be around; but in the end, he's the man I've come to love.

"Mommy?" Asked Yuna. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, nothing Yuna." I looked over at Sunohara playing with our son Yuzuru. "Just thinking about a certain idiot that I love."

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A/N: Aloha, everyone! This is my first time posting something on . I hope you all enjoyed this story I cooked up about a year ago. Yes, one year in the making. And yes, I'm a Tomoyohara fan .3.

Hopefully, this will be well received. Well, that's all I have to say. Take care and have fun. X3