Together in the Moonlight (Chizuru Ichinose x Reader)

(1) Welcome Back

After getting up and having breakfast, Y/n drives ***** *** Studios; the company in charge of adapting the first of his books into a film. He finally received a call back, being told he was needed and of course, he was happy to oblige. The golden rays of the sun blanket the area, stimulating a positive feeling. 

After around 10 minutes, he gets there, parking his car and going inside. He immediately goes into 'Theatre 18' where he finds the director and some of his crew, who he greets enthusiastically before going to join them, sitting in their row. 

Y/n: "Good morning!"

Director: "Good Morning, Y/n! I'm glad you decided to come. The cast has been finalised and they're on their way now. I thought it'd be good for you all to get acquainted. Also, we've got a list of the places we'll be shooting at. It's still under revision, and hopefully you can provide some insight on how the scenes should be." They say rather quickly just the door opens once again.

Y/n quickly receives a copy of the script and the scene notes from the respective members of the crew, before the the actors for each role enter. 22 in total. Five of them are main characters, another five are side-characters, while the rest are extras.

As they enter, Y/n sticks a hand out, waving to everyone with a large smile on his face, until...

He saw her...

Chizuru Ichinose

Y/n stood there staring, shocked and overjoyed at the same time. He was about to say something but no words came out when he opened his mouth. 

Chizuru wears a similar expression on her face. Of course, she had hoped that she'd meet him once again but was not prepared when the moment came. The moment lasted for a few seconds more before they were brought out of their stunned states by the sound of the director's voice.

Director: "All right everyone! Take some time to get acquainted with each other. After all, there's nothing worse than a lack of chemistry in this business." He says, leaving the room.

In what felt like an instant, Y/n was bombarded by actors and crew alike, all wanting to introduce themselves to him. He was greatly caught off guard by this behaviour as he hadn't expected to be the first person people want to talk to. They all compliment him and shake his hand, while he reciprocates, but he was only half-there. 

His gaze was fixed on the woman at the back, similarly surrounded by people; Chizuru. She matched his gaze and a gentle smile arose from Y/n's face. Once this happened, Chizuru started blushing before completely changing her mood and turning away. 

Y/n's longing to see her over the course of those 5 years burned brighter with time and now she's turning away from him?  I-Is she unhappy to see me? He thought, stuttering even in his thoughts. He quickly shook his head, opting to think about it later. Now, he needs to focus on the task at hand. 

Shortly after, the director comes back into the room with a large box containing various keys. Each of them almost identical except for the number plastered over the front of each. The crew now stood back up, helping him give them out accordingly.

 Director: "Right, listen up everyone. For the duration of your time here, you'll be staying in the various rooms we've prepared. Once all the keys are properly laid out, we'll put the list down and you can go and collect the key associated with your number. You can take the rest of the day off as there's only a couple of hours left and I imagine some of you will have travelled an awfully long way. Rest up and we'll see you tomorrow morning, same room at **:**. I am looking forward to working with each and every one of you!" He says merrily.

Y/n's turn approaches and he collects his key (Key Number 23) and due to being in the studios many times before, knows exactly where this is. He quickly leaves for his room, going up to the second floor and along the short corridor. As he's in the middle of unlocking his door, he hears someone else doing so right next to him. 

He looks to his left, smiling as he mentions:

Y/n: "Neighbours again, huh?" He says, facing Chizuru as he shows her another smile.

A smile of not just plain happiness, but relief.

She simply laughs, slightly nodding her head, returning a smile back to him, though Y/n fails to find similar emotions in her's. This saddens him a little, before he ends the small exchange, about to go into his room.

Chizuru: "...I'm glad to see you again." She says quietly, to which Y/n stops walking, responding a couple of seconds later.

Y/n: "Likewise." He says calmly, having recollected himself.

Right after, an awkward silence fills the two of them, as other actors now reach the seconds floor, going straight into their rooms. Y/n stands there, unsure of what to do as it looks like Chizuru is about to say something.

She diverts her gaze to her door as she seems to be struggling with whatever's on her mind. Y/n notices this and decides to himself to leave her for now.

It's our first day back. We're both pretty overwhelmed, and we'll have plenty of time to catch up... He thought, once again starting to walk into his room, before she finally speaks up, slightly blushing in the meantime:

Chizuru: "W-Would you like to come over? I imagine we've got quite a lot to catch up on." She says sharply, trying not to let her true emotions leak out.

Y/n quickly accepts the offer, locking his door and waiting for Chizuru to unlock her own. Once she does, they both go inside, the both of them becoming incredibly shy towards each other.

Many years have passed since their friendship had gotten to an all-time high. Y/n internally curses at the walls of time between them. They will have to 'de-rust' their friendship if he has any chance at eventually confessing to her.

Chizuru shuts the door as they both sit down on a couch, keeping a respectful distance from each other. 

And with this, another silence ensues, no longer able to talk so casually.