lend me your ears | bokuto kotaro

17 ' a daydream

"Kotaro," she mumbled, her voice almost cracking at the last syllable. "Yes, Nanao?"

"This, this, is the first time I've felt this way," she cried in a shaky voice, struggling to get her thoughts across.

"This kindness, thank you," she continued, now sobbing. Tears that piled up uncontrollably fell down her shivering cheeks and chin.

"I'll cherish you forever, Kotaro," she added, forcing out a smile despite still facing the other way.

"Me too, Nanao," he gladly reciprocated her feelings, giving her some sense of confidence to finally see him.

She gulped and took a deep breath, then gathered the courage to look at him in the eye. She turned around, still sitting, and her eyes met his.

"I'll always be your friend. Always," he spoke with delight. It was more than enough for her, she treasured every word.

"When you play as a pro, when you get married and grow as an old man, I'll be there for you too," she agreed, with a sincere smile.

"And when you become a famous jeweler and grow old, I'll do the same."

"R-Right," she stammered and felt another wave of tears piling up. As if she couldn't get any more emotional than this, she sobbed even more, ruining her makeup.

"Uh oh, did I say something wrong? Nanao?" he asked, panicked.

"No, no, that's not it," she reassured him and shook her head, "You always say the perfect words to me, Kotaro."

"I, I do?"

"Uhuh," she hummed as her lips formed to a faint smile. Her brows arched downwards, forming a subtle puppy face.

"Then, why are you still crying?" he questioned, not knowing what to do.

"You make me vulnerable, Kotaro," she answered, slightly chuckling at her flowery words.

"Oh, and, your, your eyes," he pointed out and lifted her chin.

"What?"

"You're turning to a panda, Nanao," he chuckled, resisting the urge to touch her. He knew very well that those made her uncomfortable.

"Oh!" she mouthed and rubbed her eyebags, trying to remove the smudges. She eyed on the black residue on her fingertips, making her laugh for some reason.

"I'm a panda now," she chuckled and smiled.

"Do you have a makeup remover with you? And cotton? You should remove them now," Bokuto suggested and looked around the living room.

"I do, it's in the bathroom, wai-"

"I'll get it for you!" he volunteered and quickly stood up.

"Uh, where's the bathroom though? Heh."

"There." She pointed. "Got it!"

"Thank you."

Bokuto walked straight to the bathroom, humming his favorite tune. On first glance, he couldn't see any packs of cotton balls nor a bottle of makeup remover, so he tried searching for them in the cabinet.

Once he had his hands on the two, he returned to the living room and spotted Hoshino turning on the TV. "Movie time?" he asked, "Also, where's your brother?"

"He's still in Fukuoka. I told you, he loves our parents. He didn't want to leave yet," she answered as she switched channels.

"Oh, a western film?" he muttered when she paused to a film. It was already ending though.

"You like romantic films, Kotaro-san?" she asked.

"I like movies as long as they're interesting," he answered and sat down, the pack of cotton balls and makeup remover still on his hands.

"Here," he said and placed them down on the coffee table.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome!"

"Uh, how do you do this again?" she mumbled and pursed her lips.

"Eh? Just put some on the cotton ball then rub it on your face. My mom does that," he advised and grasped on the bottle of makeup remover.

He did a demo of his instructions and poured some of the makeup remover to the cotton. "Like this," he added, "See?"

"Oh. Right, sorry. I can be a dummy sometimes," she admitted and scratched the back of her head.

"Like this," he repeated as his hands holding the cotton reached the surface of her face. He momentarily forgot how she hated unnecessary touches and seconds of silence later, he flinched away.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Nanao."

"Huh?"

"I forgot you didn't like that, I can be a dummy sometimes too," he apologized.

"No, no, it's okay," she reassured and shook her head. "I told you. If it's Kotaro, it's okay," she reminded, ironically as her cheeks turned red.

"You're sure?"

"I'm, I'm sure!"

"Great. I've done this before. I mean, I've seen this before. My dad does it for my mom whenever she's too tired," he said, smiling.

"That's nice, they sound very sweet," she complimented.

"Yeah! And mom still makes him a cute bento every day," he added. From that, she quickly learned why he's such a ball of sunshine.

"That's very cute, Kotaro-san."

the parent trap
introduction plays

L is for the way you look at me
O is for the only one I see
V is very, very extraordinary
E is even more than anyone
that you adore can

"Oh, Nanao, can you close your eyes? I might poke you," he requested and looked at her in the eye. It made her heart flutter unexplainably.

"Y-Yeah." She nodded and followed.

"There," he mumbled and paused for some reason. He just wanted to take a better look at her, now that she was so close to him.

She didn't feel the cotton touch near her eyes, making her curious and nervous. He sat there, frozen, and continued staring. Admiring her, maybe.

"Kotaro-san?" she muttered his name, but it wasn't enough to snap him back from his daydream. A lovely and distracting daydream of her.

She wanted to peek to check on him. Still not hearing a response, she carefully and slowly opened an eye. As their eyes met, he wakes from this fantasy.

"Ah, sorry, it's nothing. Close your eyes now, Nanao," he remarked.

"Okay, okay."

As the song played, a hundred thoughts of her still come rushing in his head. He remembered the first time they met, the drink she gave him, their first date, her cheers during practice, and his goofing around during cleaner duties. He was content with this, but perhaps his heart wanted more. He just doesn't realize it.