Disclaimer: I don't own Spiral.
Pink
-by Alena S. Anigor
He was standing in front of a nicely decorated shop window, brows furrowed slightly in annoyance, if not disgust, at the layers of red, white and pink, put together perfectly to create an idyllic image. Snowflakes were falling softly around him and people stared oddly at the tall, unmoving brunette in front of the store but Narumi Ayumu paid no attention to them. He was focused on the interior of the shop window where woolen mittens, scarves, hats and caps were displayed and he frowned even more when he noticed that the dominant color was definitely pink.
And he hated pink.
He didn't know why, really...Maybe because it reminded him of something sweet and pure and childish and happy and bubbly and...and it reminded him of her.
Ah, yes – the source of his current frustration and annoyance and the reason why he was standing and freezing in front of the shop window in the first place. Her – who had made him come to this place and stare at the blasted pink things with an expression that could've burned the whole store down if he had the power.
And it all started when they were walking home together from school and she stopped suddenly in front of the said shop window to stare with twinkling eyes at the woolen mittens and a matching shawl, oohing and ahhing at the softness of the fabric and the bright pink color of it.
She turned to look at him with those starry eyes. He deadpanned.
"Narumi-san!" She exclaimed happily, making his eyebrows raise high behind his bangs.
"Nn..."
"Aren't they pretty?" She had asked with a radiant smile and he suppressed the sudden urge to back away from her.
"Ah..." He managed to mutter and then look at the tantalizing shop window again, his eyes hurting from the amount of pink in front of him. She, on the other hand continued to gush and make annoying, cooing voices and he already thought he would have to drag her away from the window to prevent his body from turning into an ice cube when he heard her sigh almost wistfully, looking at the pair of mittens and the shawl longingly.
He noticed the way her eyes saddened just barely, the solemn expression not fitting her face as the radiant smile she often wore. He snapped out of his stupor when she turned her head to look at him and smiled again, the traces of sadness vanishing like someone wiped them away the second before.
"Let's go, Narumi-san," she exclaimed and pulled him by the hand playfully, "I'm freezing!"
When he came home, he remembered that she had bought him a brand, new cookbook for his birthday and he didn't even know when hers was. He sat down, pulling his chair closer to the table where Madoka was already sitting and eating her dinner he had prepared for the both of them.
The plate was lying in front of him, his food untouched, his mind nagging him with images of her sad expression, the way crestfallen she seemed ad blurs of pink in the shop window.
God, he hated the pink color.
But his mind not shutting up at dinner table he hated even more. And regardless of what people thought about him, he did have a conscience...that he hated sometimes and that was currently on a roll.
Damn it all to hell...
Madoka glanced at him in wonder when he got up suddenly, pushed the chair back with a loud squeak and excused himself from the table. She blinked when he disappeared in the hall and then blinked again when she heard the sound of the doors closing behind him.
"Hmm..." she murmured, glancing at the clock on the wall worriedly. It was past eight. "What's he up to now?"
And that was why he was currently standing in front of the shop window, staring intently at the pink mittens and a pink shawl. His mind decided to play it dirty, so it continued to remind him that she had bought him something for his birthday...although he didn't ask for anything...and the cookbook was brand new and hard to get and pretty expensive and-
"All right already!" He exclaimed, irritated and earned a few odd looks in return from random people around him.
He took a deep breath, took a step forward, and stepped onto the battlefield boldly. He could hear the melodic ring of a small, silver bell above his head as he entered the store and almost winced at the amount of pink around him. Even the saleswomen were dressed in similar colors. His mind decided to shut up now and wisely retreat, leaving him to deal with the bubbly women on his own.
They dragged him inside eagerly and he almost wished someone could choke him with that shawl...pink or not...
---
Snowflakes still refused to stop falling the next day, making his hair full of white, fluffy dots. He looked at her strands and frowned in annoyance when he noticed they weren't that visible on her hair since it was lighter. She looked at him suddenly and craned her neck a bit.
"Narumi-san is acting weird today," she commented, making him glance away from her quickly to hide his discomfort. His fingers played with a small bundle in his pocket, wrapped in (and there he almost cringed...almost) pink, with a red ribbon attached to it.
So, yes, he went last night to the store and bought her the stupid mittens and the stupid shawl and let the stupid saleswomen smile at him knowingly, making hushed comments about his girlfriend being a happy girl for having him as a boyfriend...
He looked at her again and saw she was still looking at him strangely. He sighed. He allowed himself to be humiliated just because of her...
He shook his head, making the girl raise her eyebrows questioningly at him – that wasn't good and he knew it, but he also didn't know why...Something was pulling and tugging around his heart and he wanted it so badly to go away because it was making him feel odd and...
"Narumi-san, are you all right?" Came next and he snapped out of it, pushing the annoying feeling somewhere down and forcing it to stay there. He decided he would deal with that later and sighed; he might as well get this over with and hand her the package. It wasn't really cheap, either and he wasn't really the type to let money go to waste.
In one, quick movement, he retrieved the bundle from his pocket, stopped in the middle of the street and almost shoved the package into her hands, all the while looking away from her.
"Here," He muttered, staring at the bypassing people awkwardly. Hiyono looked down and blinked at the pink bundle in her hands in surprise. Slowly, she looked up and her lips turned upwards in a small smile, her eyes brightening up slightly.
"Is this...Narumi-san has..." She stopped when he looked at her somewhat sharply, almost urging her to shut up and open her gift already. She looked at the wrapping in her hands again and pulled at one pink strand beneath the ribbon. Unfolding the wrapping paper, she gasped softly when something soft and pink peeked out from beneath the wrapping. She raised her head to stare at him in disbelief, mingled with happiness and surprise.
"Narumi-san!" She exclaimed and smiled when he mumbled something under his breath, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
In a sudden rush of joy, she stood on her tiptoes and pecked him on the cheek lovingly, making him blush slightly, his cheeks burning on the crisp, winter air.
"Thank you!" She said; happiness and mirth evident in her voice.
Feeling like he needed to explain/defend himself for his action, he just looked at her seriously although his cheeks were still red.
"I don't know how anyone can like that color."
She glanced at the pair of pink mittens and a pink shawl in her hands and then at him. And beamed.
"But, Narumi-san," she said and pointed at his face, "your cheeks are also pink!"
His face fell.
"Ngh..."
a/n:
This was written for Sharingank (that crazy, Kakashi fangirl! XD) who requested an Ayumu×Hiyono fic after I suggested to her that she should request something. I did it out of sheer boredom...excuse me - madness and she chose pink as the keyword. Oh, my poor LJ...
But, at least she made me do something productive and yeah...this is the result /glomps Ashley/ XD