Warmth of You || Hajime Hinata x Mahiru Koizumi (Hinazumi)

Warmth of You

"Why do you like him anyway?" an annoyed Hiyoko groaned, rolling on Mahiru's bed like a child having a tantrum. "Did he do anything to you? That pervert!"

Mahiru chuckled nervously, 'Even I don't know how these feelings started...', she thought to herself.

"He's alright," she answers. "Compared to the rest of the guys in our class when you think about it."

Hiyoko pouts, there's no use changing her opinion on Hajime. Even if Hajime were to commit a heroic act or save lives, Hiyoko would probably find a way to see the negative aspects of him.

"Why don't you just spend Christmas with me?" Hiyoko asks. "You already spent the past few days with him!"

Mahiru sighs once hearing her request. It's not that she doesn't want to spend Christmas with Hiyoko. In fact, it would be better if she did since they are close friends. But she cannot ignore the feelings that have been brewing inside of her for the past few weeks. It was starting to irritate her.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A week ago...

In the hotel restaurant, Mahiru made some Hot Chocolate for herself. For an island, she had never thought it could get this cold, let alone snow.

Blowing onto the chocolate-filled cup, she took small sips in order to savor the warmth of the beverage. Her sole presence in the restaurant plus the soft sounds of the winter wind passing her ears, this was a moment of peace.

Until she heard a man's yell calling out to her.

"Mahiru!" Hajime yelled, the sound of his call echoing throughout the restaurant.

Reaching the top of the staircase, Hajime scanned the area, searching for the photographer. As soon as his eyes landed on hers, a small smile grew on his face.

"Finally, found you!" Hajime exclaimed, walking towards her.

"You sound unusually happy," Mahiru pointed out. "What is it this time?"

"I was going to ask if you're free to do something during Christmas week?" Hajime asked with a slight sound of timidity in his voice.

Hajime always asks everyone in the class to hang out with him, including Monomi sometimes. Mahiru can never get what his deal is. However, Hajime rarely asks Mahiru to spend time with him. She had thought that he hated her or was scared that she would beat him up at the mere thought of asking her.

"And what is that something you say?" Mahiru sternly asks. "I have a lot to do during Christmas week."

That was a lie. She was practically free throughout Christmas, only hanging out with Hiyoko during Christmas day itself. Every other day of that week was begging for plans or activities to do.

"Oh, I see..." Hajime said. "I was going to ask if we could arrange a party for everyone."

Mahiru tilted her head with a puzzled expression. That was an unexpected request, one that she couldn't even think of.

"A party?" Mahiru wondered, "Why approach me? I don't think I'm the right candidate to go to." Unless it was related to photography, she isn't so much of an expert when it comes to being involved in the party planning process.

"Well, I thought that you could help me with planning how the overall event would go," Hajime explained. "This isn't an insult, but you're more... rational? than the others, if I had to admit."

'Rational, huh?' That was an unexpected word to describe her. To her surprise, she didn't feel offended by that statement as she understood where he was coming from. The others in the class were people who had... interesting personalities. When it comes to suggesting things, most of them would vouch for one thing only, without considering what others would think due to their mindset.