I've been wanting to do one of these for a while.

Note: they don't necessarily take place chronologically, but 7, 11, and 18 are obviously linked so I ordered them that way so they'd make sense.

1. bookstore

Of all places, she didn't expect to see him there, and of all things, she definitely did not expect to see him thumbing through that kind of magazine.

2. write

"Is there a heart-to-Japanese translation? I can't find the words that accurately convey my feelings for you."

3. caffeine

After trying Chitoge's usual dark roast and deciding it was too bitter for his taste, he figured she liked her coffee as black as her soul.

4. horrible

He'd rather stand her shrill, resounding screams and the beatings that left him black and blue over dead air and hot, angry tears and the heaviness of her disappointment.

5. sheets

Raku was confused when she volunteered to have the sheets washed after coming by his house and hanging out in his bedroom that afternoon, a panicked edge to her voice, and quietly understood when he recounted the date in his head.

6. water

With her short temper and red-hot passion for life, it was undeniable that Chitoge's element was fire. But with the ballerina's grace she exuded with every step and the fluidity of her motion as she flitted from one place to the next, Raku couldn't help likening her to the water fairy in the bedtime stories from his childhood.

7. dark

There are things scarier than the dark, Chitoge thought, and there is nothing whiter than the walls of hospital waiting rooms.

8. puppy

If he had known he'd have to compete for her time and attention, he never would've given her that mutt for her birthday.

9. matchstick

Chitoge was not a superstitious girl, but she cannot overlook the fact that she met Raku a week after she lit a Wiccan candle half-ironically, half-desperately.

10. innocent

"Shuu had a bunch in his room so I guess I was curious," Raku admitted the same day Chitoge found him with the racy magazines, his cheeks as red as her hair ribbon. "Those girls really don't mind getting their photos published like that?"

11. morphine

His eyes were stormy midsummer nights and fields of violets rolling over the hills. They were her favorite color when he finally woke up after two weeks.

12. flash

Chitoge once complained he took too many pictures on their dates, but never spoke another word of it when she received an email from Raku's mother thanking her for making her son happy and telling her how radiant she looked in the photos Raku often sent her.

13. message

Do you think otters have G-spots? Raku read the text again, completely perplexed. On the other side of town, Chitoge recoiled in horror as the message meant for Onodera was delivered to her kind-of boyfriend.

14. toes

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, he'd dip his head to kiss her when he drops her off at her house after class. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, she'd stand on her toes to kiss him when she meets him at their usual spot before getting to school. And on the weekends, anything goes.

15. almost

"Moist," Raku said decisively when Chitoge asked him what word he hated most. Her voice coated with longing, Chitoge simply replied, "Mine's almost."

16. rhyme

He once said folk music was her favorite kind of music, so it was only fair she told the Shuuei Gang that he loved rap.

17. earrings

The prospect of losing friends upset Raku, so he was glad he was still on good terms with Onodera even after the whole love triangle drama. Plus, only she could help him pick out which piece of jewelry would placate Chitoge after a huge argument.

18. paint

Chitoge's hands were made for chaos, not creation, but Raku proudly set her handmade get well soon cards! on the bedside table, reveling in the bright splashes of color that stood in stark contrast to the dull monotony of the room.

19. newspaper

Every Sunday morning, she'd flip the pages of the local paper until she reached the entertainment section to read his horoscope before checking hers.

20. wild

The nature of his family's business exposed Raku to more blood, gore, and violence than he ever would have liked, but he concluded that his volatile relationship with Chitoge was the best adventure he ever would had hoped for.

Notes:

1. 15 is based on a spoken word piece Bianca Phipps performed, entitled "Almosts". Go check it out; it's amazing.

2. Their relationship status here is dating. No labels. That's why Chitoge referred to him as her kind-of boyfriend.