Standard disclaimers apply.

SEVEN DAY TRADITION

By Cassandra's Destiny

.

"I found this on your doorstep." Yukito raised a box to emphasize his point.

Sakura sat down on the table with him, and offered him a cup of tea. "What is it, Yukito?"

"From the looks of it," he pretends to examine the box. "It's a cake."

Touya snorted. "Hn."

"What was that, onii-san?" Sakura jumped from her seat to see what her brother wanted.

Touya rolled his eyes.

"Chocolate cake to be exact," Yukito adds, smiling at the beautifully decorated cake set in front of him.

Sakura peered over his shoulder. "A cake? Why would a cake be on our doorstep?"

"It's Tuesday." Yukito stated as a matter-of-factly, taking a sip from his cup of tea.

"Tuesday?"

"Yes, it's tradition."

Sakura tilted her head to the side, trying her hardest to comprehend what Yukito was making of the situation.

"Tradition? What tradition?"

"Touya and Nakuru."

"Onii-san and… Nakuru? I thought they were fighting."

"Yes, but that doesn't exempt them from tradition."

Sakura frowned. "I don't understand."

"Touya and Nakuru have different traditions. Take this cake, for example." Yukito points at the cake and continues his explanation. "Every second Tuesday of the month, Nakuru bakes a cake for Touya."

And realization dawned at Sakura.

"I see."

"But there's more, right, Touya?" Yukito shot his friend a knowing look, although concealed behind his glasses.

"Hn," Touya tried to focus on his cooking, to ignore the fact that his best friend was only a few feet away from him, rambling about his life to his little kaiju sister, no less.

Sakura poured Yukito another cup of tea, and almost expectantly, she asked, "What else is there about the tradition, Yukito?"

Her wide-eyed inquisitiveness amused Yukito.

"Well," he began after taking another sip from his cup. "Every Wednesday, Touya brings Nakuru to the park and buys her strawberry-flavored ice cream, and every Thursday, after soccer practice, Nakuru brings a can of Touya's favorite soda to the waiting area near the boy's locker room."

Touya's face was getting paler and paler after every revelation. He can almost see the wide grin on his little kaiju sister, plotting to use all those pieces of information to blackmail him to do her chores or…

No.

It can't be.

To his annoyance, he can almost feel that Sakura was resisting the urge to write this all down, and maybe, just maybe, try everything with that stupid gaki friend of hers.

"Damn, Yukito, for being so talkative." Touya mentally cursed.

"You know what, Sakura?" Yukito leaned on a bit closer to the girl, as if to whisper what he was about to say next.

"Of all the traditions Touya and Nakuru have, there's one thing I find very strange."

Sakura slightly raised a brow. "Strange?"

"Uh-huh, and that's definitely the seven day tradition."

"Yuki…" Touya threatened under his breath. He knows his friend heard him and saw the glare he was casting towards his direction, but Yukito seemed to have chosen to ignore him altogether.

"Seven… day… tradition?"

Yukito leaned back on his seat. "Yes, the seven day tradition. You see, Sakura, every day, Touya walks Nakuru home either from work of from school, and the way they part differ every day."

Sakura beamed. "Different? What do you mean?"

"Every first day, on the Hiiragizawa doorstep, Nakuru buries her face on Touya's chest and entwines her fingers with his."

Now with a dreamy look on her face, Sakura silently comments, "That's so sweet!"

"And on the second day, again, on the Hiiragizawa doorstep, she gives him a small peck on his right cheek."

Touya was gritting his teeth at this point.

"On the third day, Nakuru uses his shoulders for support and tiptoes slowly to place a gentle kiss on top of Touya's nose. On the fourth day, still on the Hiiragizawa door step, she brushes her lips on his."

Sakura resisted the urge to melt. She can't believe her brother has a romantic side she has never been acquainted with.

"On the fifth day," Yukito went on. "She kisses his lips tenderly, retreating after a short while. Come the sixth day, she allows him to caress her face with his right hand, and then she gently nibbles on his lower lip."

Sakura bobbed her head and placed a finger on her chin. "Nibble?"

"Yea," Yukito lets out a small laugh.

"And it gets better. On the seventh day, to complete the seven day tradition, she—"

"Yuki!" Touya nearly slammed the hot plate before his best friend. He slowly inhaled then exhaled even slower, calming himself down.

"Kaiju," He slowly turned to his sister who was now pretending to be busy with the teapot, avoiding her older brother's wrath. "I thought you were supposed to meet Tomoyo at her house tonight?"

"No, you got it all wrong, onii-san." She shook her head with a small smile. "Tomoyo is the one coming over to our house tonight."

"Hn."

"Touya," Yukito called. "Aren't you supposed to be picking-up Nakuru from work today?"

Yukito muffled his laughter, but that very act earned him a glare.

"It's my day-off today."

"But—"

"—and we're fighting." Touya avoided Yukito's all too innocent glance.

"Oh, but it's tradition." He smiled.

Touya lets out a sigh.

"She gets off in five."

Touya gets his jacket and leaves.

"…and that is how tradition works, Sakura." Yukito turned to indulge in his food.

It was a chilly evening. Walking to the Hiiragizawa mansion, Touya recalled how easily his friend manipulated him just a while back. "I'll get that, Yuki." He promised himself.

"Anou, Touya-kun…"

He snapped out of his thoughts as his companion began with uncertainty.

"What is it?"

"Are we still fighting?" She looked up to him with her chocolate brown eyes, seeming almost dejected, as if she knew he'd get mad at her for asking.

Touya looked away for a second. It wasn't his intention to avoid her eyes. He did it by impulse.

"…Sorry." Her voice was quivering slightly, but Touya pushed the thought aside.

"It's just the cold winter night," he convinced himself.

"I didn't… I didn't mean to do it." She instantly looked down to her shoes, studying them like they were the most interesting things in the world.

Touya felt awkward. The always cheery girl was now too focused on the ground. He shifted uncomfortably before lifting a finger to her chin.

"It wasn't all your fault. I was a jerk too." Although it sounded confident, it took every ounce of Touya's strength not to stutter in front of her.

"So… we're not fighting anymore?" She asked again, her eyes buoyantly innocent.

"No, not anymore."

She smiled vibrantly at him. "And we'll go to the park tomorrow to make up for the lost time?"

He nodded.

"But I'm not letting you taste my strawberry ice cream 'cause I know you'll finish it all off!" She stuck out her tongue at him before turning to open the door.

It took about two seconds before Touya figured what he had to do next.

"Nakuru—"

On the seventh day, on the Hiiragizawa doorstep, she grabs his shoulders and crushes her lips against his, getting him into the moment, parting her lips for him to have better access.

And he accepts the invitation, because it's only on the seventh day that she allows him to wrap his arms around her while their tongues met in a heated battle.

After a while, she withdraws, cheeks flushed and lips swollen.

He places a loving kiss on her forehead before saying goodnight.

"I love you, Touya-kun."

And he doesn't say he loves her back, not until she is about to close the door.

"…and I love you too, Nakuru."

Because it's tradition.