𝙱𝚎𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚎 𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝙳𝚊𝚠𝚗 - 𝚃. 𝚃𝚘𝚢𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚝𝚜𝚞 𝚡 𝙾𝙲

Chapter Twenty Four

"Uggggghhhh," Izumiya tossed her head back with a groan as she tried on yet another dress at a second-hand clothing store. While she was grateful to Iida for having arranged an interview with the board members of Esuha Community Cares for her, she had nothing suitable to wear for a formal interview and thus was forced to shop for something less casual if she wanted a chance at making a good impression. "This is even worse than the last one."

"I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is, Vy," Toyomitsu called out from the other side of the dressing room door. "And the last one was okay. C'mon, let's see."

"Promise not to laugh?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," he solemnly swore.

Cursing under her breath, Izumiya unlatched the tiny metal lock and opened the door for him to poke his head in. He pursed his lips as she propped her hands on her hips, waiting for him to crack up. The dress was one of the few she'd let him pick out, only humouring him because he'd sqwaked at her and called her a chicken for not wanting to try it on. It was a lilac sundress with a boxy neckline and frilly cap sleeves - she knew it was absolutely not her style, but she definitely didn't expect to hate it as much as she did. "It's horrible."

"It's no-" Toyomitsu paused as she lifted her eyebrow at him, daring him to lie. "Okay, it's bad. But aren't ya glad you tried it on? Now you know this one's not for you."

Izumiya blinked and shook her head. "I already knew I wouldn't like it. I only tried it on because you wanted me to."

"And now I get to tease you about this for the rest of our lives, isn't it great?"

"You're such an ass," she rolled her eyes with a sigh. "The things I do for love."

Toyomitsu's teasing smile widened into a true, elated grin. "For love, huh?"

Izumiya's heart caught in her throat, her cheeks lighting up a bright red at the slip of her tongue. She scratched her cheek as she sheepishly looked up at him through her eyelashes, she'd been talking herself out of confessing for weeks but there was no avoiding it now.

"Yeah..." She bit her lip, her heart practically running a marathon as she allowed herself to be vulnerable in a way she hadn't been before. "Not exactly how I imagined telling you but I, um...I love you, Tai."

Toyomitsu took a large step to close the gap between them, wrapping one arm around her waist as he used the other to capture her chin between his thumb and index finger. His stomach fluttered with her confession; even though he knew she loved him, it still felt so heartwarming to hear it said aloud. The blonde leaned down and let his nose brush softly against hers in the process. His thumb gently tugged down her bottom lip as it had found its way between her teeth and his breath tickled her lips as he murmured his reply. "I love you more."

Connecting their lips an instant after the words fell into her ears, Izumiya felt ten thousand things at once, but for the first time in as long as she could remember, she truly felt loved. Her heart was filled to the brim with affection and her mind only cycled through the sweet nothings he'd never failed to bestow upon her. She tried her best to relay her true emotions into their kiss, hoping that he could at least begin to comprehend what she wasn't able to put into words.

"Get a room!"

A middle-aged woman's voice broke through their moment, leaving Izumiya to frown as she pulled away, poking her head around Toyomitsu's shoulder to glare at them. "We're in one, actually."

Izumiya reached over and closed the dressing room door, giving Toyomitsu an awkward smile as she laughed. "Sorry to embarrass you. I just can't believe someone would bother to interrupt."