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One day, Hitomi tells him, "It's obvious you can't live without me," with that smile on her face and eyes that says he can't refute.
And while that's still annoying, nothing in the world could prepared him for the realisation that she might be right about that after all.
And then he imagines all kinds of scenarios in his head on reasons why he can't live without her -- her moving cities, him moving cities, accidents, terrifying ones, or maybe -- Hitomi dating someone else, someone who doesn't like it when she's too close with Shousuke and a grip of cold-inducing fear creeps onto his person and --
"Shit." Shousuke curses quietly and looks up to see Hitomi talking to one of their male classmates, laughing at what this stupid boy said and he wonders, what if he was just another passion project for her? What if he was just the first quiet boy she saw? What if there was someone like him that she met later on, would she still stick with him? Would she still be here, bothering him, annoying him, making him feel this way? "Shit." He curses again, just because it's worth repeating.
Not only Hitomi is right he can't live without her, Hitomi will also have the pleasure of being right in the first place.
Shit.
There was a paradox that Shousuke liked when he was reading Wikipedia at 3 AM when he was young.
The immovable object versus the unstoppable force.
Of course, the paradox was proven wrong later on or something along those lines, on how it seems impossible to move an immovable object because it should be immovable even against unstoppable force and how unstoppable force wouldn't unstoppable if it can't move an immovable object. But those scientist never met Tadano Hitomi, they never met the sheer force of her that even Shousuke couldn't help but bend to. She has this way of making the world follows her, she could be a politician.
But lo and behold, she's just the love of his life.
And he wouldn't have her any other way.
At the end of the class, Shousuke stands in front of Hitomi who is talking to some of their classmates. It's crowded around her, as always, and she looks at him like she's confused.
He just stares her and then turns around to leave.
Hitomi would know what that means.
And she does, when she stands up and chases him. She turns her head towards him and sighs, "You could just tell me to follow you, you know! Like a normal person! Just say, hey, foll --"
"Follow me." Shousuke cuts her off.
She frowns "Listen, how are you supposed to get friends if you're this way? Right? You should be more like me --"
"You're talking too much already, for the both of us." Shousuke replies.
"Friendship is give and take, Shousuke!"
Shousuke stops walking for a moment and gives her a look. He stares at every corner of her face; her forehead, her cheeks, her lips -- and then he chuckles softly. Oh, he's going to give, alright, and he's going take what she's willing to give him. But he wants her, all annoying and non annoying parts of her.
He walks again.
"What is that about?" Hitomi wonders out loud.
She'll know soon enough.
If Hitomi is an unstoppable force, that automatically makes him the immovable object. And he is immovable. He doesn't think he has to give up parts of himself just because he's in love with someone who has the power to move him. And Hitomi wouldn't want to.
Shousuke is confident Hitomi likes him the way he is.
After all, unlike the world, Hitomi just made him bend, not bow. And that's worth something.
Contrary to popular belief, students aren't allowed in the roof top but Shousuke managed to get a key for reasons he will not disclose (he stole it. He could ask but he doesn't want to use his face. He knows his attractive but using it to get what he wants when he wants Hitomi seems to be cheating).
"What are we doing here?" Hitomi asks. "You do know it's November, right? It's cold."
"Yes."
"Shousuke."
Shousuke turns his body towards Hitomi who's rubbing her arms. "I'm in love with you."
Hitomi blinks. "What?"
"I said I'm in love with you."
Hitomi keeps blinking. "Am I hearing the right words or am I hallucinating?"
"What are you hearing?"
"That you're in love with me?"
"Then you are hearing the right words."
"But..." Hitomi's face turns into confusion, her eyebrows meeting and her lips slightly pouting and Shousuke wants to kiss it. "Why?"
Why? Oh, Shousuke had asked himself that question a thousand times. There are so many people in the world. Seven billion or whatever, and he ended up being in love with his sister's boyfriend's sister who is the exact opposite of him, who is the bane of his existence, the Kryptonite of his Superman and he could live without her, yes, but he doesn't want to. He thinks it's much more fun if she's with him, spreading chaos everywhere they go.
Hitomi is still looking at him but now, there's a faint blush on her cheeks that wasn't there before and he can't help it, he laughs, happily.
That's answer enough.
Being Hitomi's boyfriend is no different from just being her friend. She still talks too much, she still forces him to do things against his will, Shousuke's energy gets depleted with every interaction they ever had but she kisses him, right under his ear sometimes, she gives him a fond look, and she calls him Shousuke in a voice he hadn't heard before.
And you know what, Shousuke will count it as his win.
Shousuke gets confessed after 'secretly' dating Hitomi (which he doesn't think he was doing secretly but a lot of people probably thought their newfound closeness was just Hitomi being her usual self) for a month and all he needs to do is turn away, walk away, just be away and it will be rejection enough. But he thinks of the day it was him on the other side of this situation. He was anxious, even though he knows he had a shot, he was shaking slightly, sweating in places he couldn't believe he could sweat, and even when Hitomi accepted him, he still feel desperate for him to continue choosing him.
Out of respect for the slight camaraderie he and this girl have, he bends his back and apologises.
And admits, "My girlfriend, Hitomi, wouldn't appreciate this. Thank you for liking me."
And a day after that, everyone knows he's dating Hitomi.
Shousuke kisses Hitomi's forehead at the corner of their classroom as a celebration.