I'm Not Giving Up On You [Tadashi Hamada X OC] [COMPLETED]

Almost One Year Of JFC

Tadashi's POV

I look up from my spot on the sofa in my house to see Cherry also reading, although I'm faintly surprised and pleased to see it's fiction and not a new study book.
I watch her as she turns the page carefully as if she might rip it out by turning it any faster, her eyes darting quickly across each line. I always like watching her read sometimes: there's something extremely impressive watching her take in so much information so quickly; how when she's holding something like a pen she twirls and taps it absent mindedly; how she bites her lip and sometimes fiddles with a loose bit of skin on her lip from biting it. Or from the times I bite her lip when making out - she really likes it.

As I watch her I think about how amazing it is that one choice day at a random cafe lead to a choice Halloween where we decided we were going to have some type of relationship-in-emergencies, that lead to her getting into SFIT and in a relationship with me.

And a thought comes to me: did we start our relationship technically on Halloween, or the day she passed everything?

I try to think back to what we said on each day...

"I like you Tadashi. And that's why you can be in my life whenever I want. And," Cherry pauses, and steps in a little closer as Tadashi takes an almost silent bated breath, "I want you in it right now - if you please."

Tadashi tilts his head for a second, then gets it and smiles from the corner of his mouth.
He leans down and softly nudges his lips to his. Cherry kisses him back, and he smiles on her lips and deepens the kiss. She moves her hand from his chest to his waist and keeps her other hand cradling his cheek, pulling him even closer to her. Tadashi moves his arms to Cherry's waist and hand, meeting both her hands. From an outsiders' perspective of this embrace, it looks as if the two newly acquired lovebirds are meant for each other.

I smile to myself, remembering that fateful Halloween night. It was so magical, so dreamlike, yet beautifully real.
And then, the day Cherry got her results comes back to me...

"Tadashi," Cherry begins after a long pause and looking into each other's eyes, "I love you. I know I love you. And I know you love me too. And I want us for once to have the relationship we deserve to have with one another."

Just a few sentences stringed together, but the boy's eyes start watering and he breaks into a smile. Tadashi picks her up and swings her round, laughing joyfully. He puts her down and kisses Cherry extremely passionately. He parts it as soon as he starts and blurts out breathlessly:

"I love you too Cherry, so much. I want more than anything right now to be with you."
Cherry hugs him tightly, and his arms come up to envelop her too.
That's how their friends and passers by see them, in a long hug that reminds them of their own love and passion. Afterwards Fred suggests they all go to the Lucky Cat cafe for celebration and they all set off, Cherry and Tadashi holding hands with their cheeks tinged pink and smiling widely.

Now I close my eyes and recapture that feeling of intense love - the feeling like you had everything and could do anything. I open my eyes and gaze at Cherry still reading, and realise slowly and happily that I still have that for her.

But, they don't clear up my question - when did we start dating? So... when's our anniversary?

"What are you thinking about?" Cherry asks from across the room, and I notice that my book has fallen to the floor. I look at her, considering, then get up and walk to her at her spot at the table and slide into a wooden chair next to her.
"I was wondering..." I say, and she raises an eyebrow as to what the rest of the sentence will be, "when our anniversary date is. Because, technically, Halloween is when you let me be in your life for the first time, but the day we got your SFIT entrance results we told each other we loved each other-"
"And, the week before that a couple days before the Showcase, we had sex for the first time..." Cherry tilts her head, and I'm impressed that she's considering it as our anniversary. Well, I guess you can say it's an anniversary of sex... our, sex-iversary if you will. That's a good one; I'll tell her that.

I put my arm around her shoulders, and she puts down her book with a neatly positioned bookmark, "You could even call that day our... sex-iversary."
She stares at me like I'm mad and bursts out laughing, and between faking anger I admire the rare tinkly sound of her laughter.
"No, 'Dashi, just... just no! My God, you dork, I love you!" She almost can't breathe, flapping her hands in the air, and I smile at her delight.

I lean forward when she's got herself under control. "So... when was it? When was the start of our relationship?"
She tilts her head, a studious expression on her face.
"Well... I think we started mutually liking each other at that Halloween party last year. On results day we confessed our love, but really we had been in love with each other for, what, like, at least a month? Longer if we include the months we were either denying or not seeing it?"

I nod, not really knowing where she's getting all these statistics from, but it sounds professionally thought out so I'll just let my intelligent sexy girlfriend do the talking.

"We told everyone else on results day we were dating, but although we weren't dating before then we were more than friends, so what we had since last Halloween was, yeah I guess, a relationship." She looks at me from where she was staring off into space thinking. I realise what this means and smile at her, and she smiles back like the adorkable girl she is.

"So, our anniversary is officially Halloween?" I ask, and she nods with a content smile.
I cinch an arm round her shoulders. "You know what this means, Cherry? This Halloween, we could have a First Anniversary party and everyone could dress up!" I clock her face and quickly understand she's thinking of too many people and a lot of dancing, and add, "It could be just our friends, nobody else has to come, and instead of dancing and music we can watch films and make stuff! What do you say to that?" I finish with a grin, knowing she never says no to the films she's recently found out about and love.

She grins back at me. "Yes! A Halloween private party! Maybe we could even invite Hiro if he's not too annoying that day."
We settle down to read Cherry's book together, me not bothering to get my book from the sofa because the one she's reading is one of mine, and I like the way she's reacting to everything I've already reacted to in the past.

Then, I realise something, and poke Cherry.
She looks up at me questioningly, and I say:
"I think we forgot that Halloween is the Thursday coming."

Cherry counts in her head the dates, then drops her mouth when she gets to five days. I bite my lip, wincing at the idea of getting our four working dorky friends to come to our place on the busiest time of the year for teenagers to watch movies.

Better start planning...