A Thousand Cranes for a Wish (USHIJIMA X OC)

Acrylic Paint is Better

"Of course. I got these to share with you." Ushijima picked up one of the two toothpicks and offered one of the croquettes to her. "Here. Your hands are full."

Umeko happily obliged and ate the food right off the toothpick. Thankfully it was still warm and -rather conveniently- it was the perfect temperature to eat right away. She hastily finished her mouth just as Ushijima ate one of his own. "What do you think?"

He swallowed "They taste quite pleasant." Ushijima wasn't expecting it to taste quite as good as it did. While it wasn't his thing, he wouldn't mind eating them every now and again. Ushijima offered another portion to her which Umeko eagerly ate up.

It took a moment before Umeko noticed. Not only had Ushijima fed her but he had forgotten to switch between toothpicks. She tried to keep her growing blush under control. This has to be crossing the boundary between friends, right? Umeko was internally freaking out as she continued to paint. Despite coming to this realization, she kept accepting the food offered to her. Umeko didn't dare say anything as long as he didn't. Ushijima honestly didn't seem that bothered – much to her dismay or fortune. Umeko continued to paint stars on the wall trying to distract herself from the bubbles in her chest.

Ushijima wordlessly kept feeding her between his own bites. He had neglected to change the toothpicks and now that he had realized it; it was far too late to change the toothpicks out. Instead he just kept trucking on in silence. Unlike his neutral exterior Ushijima's mind was going a mile a minute, almost all his thoughts were of Umeko. What did she think about it? She wasn't saying anything so maybe it didn't bother her? Or was this a normal thing for her? Doubt it. Were the tips of her tears pink because of her blush? There were so many questions he wanted to know the answer to. There was a little prickle of satisfaction and a fluttering in his chest after every mouthful she took, it was bizarre. Never in his life did he even dream of this happening.

It wasn't long before both the food and Umeko were finished. "Thank you for the food. I really enjoyed it."

"I'm glad, I did get them for you after all." Ushijima nodded, then went around to find a rubbish bin. Umeko began tidying up all her supplies. The room was a darker muted blue which accented the plethora of different sized stars painted with glow in the dark paint. Around the room there were a few different colored spaceships, some orange, some pink and some green which seemed to fly round the expanse of stars. On the ceiling were the constellations arranged in a seemingly random pattern. Umeko had officially finished painting the room and she had to admit, she did a pretty good job.

- ----THIRTY MINUTES LATER-----

The travel home was pretty smooth, the only mishap being a late bus. Usually this would have bothered Umeko more, but now that she had a companion to wait with her and no deadline, she was much more willing to wait.

They chatted pleasantly about the events of the day, both uplifted by each other's presence. The conversation was littered with smiles, whatever the conversation was about, neither really cared as they just basked in the gentle atmosphere.

It had gotten considerably darker on the final stretch back home. Umeko scooted closer to Ushijima the darker it got. The warm rays of the sun replaced by an unrelenting blackness of the night, the blanket of stars and crescent moon above them provided some lighting between each streetlight. They heard a clatter from somewhere around them and caused Umeko to flinch. Without realizing it herself, Umeko held tight to the sleeve of Ushijima's jacket as they continued to walk.