Shinomiya Natsuki x Reader: Happiness

You first met Natsuki on the school yard during recess when you were in elementary school. There were various weeds on the ground that had bloomed into cute flowers. The swing set always looked bland and bare, so you enjoyed plucking the numerous flowers and entwined their stems with the chains of the swings. You were bent over holding a bunch of the desired plant in one hand and picking more with the other before accidentally bumping into another student.

"Oh! Sorry! I didn't meant to hit you," you apologized. Your eyes widened as the boy enveloped you in a hug.

"You're so cute! I'm Natsuki Shinomiya! Let's be friends," the blond squealed.

"(Full Name)," you stuttered. The bespectacled male released his embrace, but the joyous grin remained.

"What are you doing with all of those flowers (Name)-chan?" Natsuki asked as his gaze deviated to the bundle in your hand.

"I was going to put them on the swing chains, so that they look pretty," you explained.

"That's a great idea! Let me help you," he chimed and began picking said plant. The euphoric smile on his countenance caused your lips to turn upwards as you joined him. Your budding friendship was an exordium.

Throughout the years the two of you stayed close companions despite your differences. Even when he went to Saotome Academy to become an idol, you stayed in touch. You supported all of his endeavours and helped as best as you could whether it was suggesting ideas or simply being there for him. Natsuki's growth in skills and as a person delighted you.

He had even introduced you to his co-workers as well and you'd been to the dorm a fair amount of times. This is how you found yourself baking cookies with the energetic red haired idol for an orphanage. The children wanted something made by him, so besides a performance, Ittoki would deliver these sweets as well. The guitarist wanted assistance, but the remaining members of STARISH, Nanami, and QUARTET NIGHT were busy.

You felt a pang of guilt in your heart for not informing Natsuki of your baking plans while knowing how much the blond loved making dessert. Regardless, you hardly wanted to give the children hazardous cookies and neither did Ittoki. The two of you casually conversed while creating classic chocolate chip cookies with rainbow chocolate chips. It was cute and approachable, making it perfect for the kids while still being easy to execute.

With gloved hands, you pulled out the last tray inside the oven. The scent of delectable cookies permeated throughout the kitchen which caused a tranquil smile to form on your visage.

"That was fun!" Ittoki exclaimed while giving you a high five.

"They'll be great!" you added.

"Thanks for all of your help (Name)-chan/kun," he stated as the two of you cleaned the dishes.

"I'm happy to help Ittoki-san, it's worth it for those kids and to get to hang out with you," you reassured. The doors to the kitchen burst open as Natsuki skipped inside.

"You two made cookies?" he asked while peering at the ones on the cooling rack.

“Yes, we did, it’s for the children at the orphanage,” you explained while holding your breath.

“You should have told me (Name)-chan, I would have helped you,” the blond stated. Your eyes darted to Ittoki, who practically paled at the thought of Natsuki baking, and then you faced the tall idol with a shaky smile.

“You had work, so Ittoki-san and I didn’t want to bother you,” you insisted.

“Aww, okay! Let’s bake together next time!” he chimed.

“We’ll see,” you murmured while trying not to outright reject his offer or give false hope. You winced at the idea of baking with the Piyo-chan loving male.

One time you had naively baked cookies with him for a school bake sale. He had began developing a liking for creating sweets, but you had avoided consuming any of them after seeing how others immediately became sick once they ate one. However, when the blond asked you to help him bake with a winsome expression, you agreed.

At first, he seemed competent enough, though his measurements were more of an estimate than anything. You worried that would cause the cookies to go askew, but decided to let him continue and to try the cookies before deciding a final verdict. You had left him to combine the ingredients together as you cut out parchment paper for the trays. When you turned around, your eyes widened at the terrifying sight.

After he began putting strips of dried octopus, diced celery, soy sauce, and other ingredients which caused you to hurl at the thought of putting them in a normal cookie, no clairvoyance was needed to know that this would turn out to be disastrous. You stood still, frozen in fear, while the bespectacled boy shaped the batter and plopped it onto the tray.

He placed them in the oven while humming as if he hadn’t committed a great atrocity. As they baked in the oven, your mind was racing with thoughts ranging from why anyone would even let him in a kitchen to what you were going to bring to the bake sale instead of these cookies. Sure, you didn’t like all of your classmates, but this eating one of those creations was a cruel fate that not many deserved. When Natsuki pulled them out of the oven, they appeared lumpy and awfully misshapen.

“I’m not hungry, so-” You were in the midst of refusing when the boy had shoved one of the monstrosities in your mouth. It had a putrid acrid taste along with an odd crumbly texture that implored you spit the heinous thing out of your mouth before it abused your senses further. You furtively rid yourself of the so-called cookie into the trash can. Next, you imbibed copious amounts of (water/milk) in hopes to remove any remnants and cleanse your palette.

It was surprising that someone who baked with such avidity lacked the ability to do so well. Nevertheless, you had learned your lesson the hard way, and now knew to never eat anything created by Natsuki.

“Thanks for everything,” Ittoki stated while exiting the kitchen after packing away the cookies.

“(Name)-chan, it’s so good to see you again! I’ve missed you,” Natsuki exclaimed while pulling you into a hug.

“I’ve missed you too,” you replied while returning his embrace, “But I have to go now! I planned to go back home as soon as I finished making the cookies.”

“You can’t stay?” the idol asked with a pout.

“No, sorry Natstuki,” you confirmed with a firm shake of your head.

“Ah… Okay, we’ll spend time together soon!” he declared.

“Yep, see you later!” You waved and then dashed away. Truthfully, if it wasn’t for such an altruistic cause, you would have turned Ittoki down. You had exams coming up and had a myriad of material to review. The pile of notes that awaited you at home filled you with dread.

During the coming weeks Natsuki had asked you to hang out a plethora of times which you found surprising considering his busy schedule. The amount he called and texted had increased as well. It was a pleasant surprise, but unfortunately you couldn’t devote much time to him.

“Are you free (Name)-chan?”

“I’m off next Friday!”

“I haven’t seen you in so long (Name)-chan!”

“I miss your cute presence.”

“Piyo-chan misses you too!”

“We should bake something sweet soon.”

Each offer had to be rejected as the time between the present day and your exam dwindled. Truthfully, you would have declined the offer to bake even if you weren’t busy though. Natsuki seemed more attentive and determined to spend time with you as if directing your attention towards him, but it was all for naught as your exams occupied most of your mind. You informed him of so, and he conceded and gave you space despite promising to do so with a forlorn tone.

You were drowning in all of the material you had to re-learn and commit to memory. Page after page after page of information had to be processed and the sound of your pencil hitting paper constantly filled your room as you re-did numerous questions. Details here and there would be forgotten in the abyss of knowledge you were trying to obtain which frustrated you to no end.

Despite your best efforts, there seemed to be no end and each day left you feeling drained, worried, and knackered. Days passed yet the final goal seemed so far away. Information swirled in your mind to the point where there was a dull pain in the back of your head. With pressure building and time decreasing, you needed a change before you went insane. You picked up your phone and automatically called the blond idol.

“Natsuki, are you free today?” you asked in replacement of an idle greeting.

“(Name)-chan, I’m free!” he answered cheerfully.

“Would you like to hang out together? It’ll just be the two of us,” you inquired for the sake of being polite even though you already knew his answer.

“Yes!~ I’d love to!” Natsuki squealed in a notably louder voice.

“There’s a new plaza that opened up near my home, want to go there?” you offered. You had been meaning to check it out and doing so with Natsuki would be even better.

“That sounds like fun,” he agreed, “I’ll be there soon!” You texted him the address and he replied with a time estimate along with many statements expressing his joy.

Soon enough you were patiently waiting at the central location in the plaza. Benches were scattered about for people to sit on along with various trees and forms of vegetation for viewing pleasure and to provide shade. The sun enveloped you with its warm rays and you felt better as a cool breeze passed by.

“(Name)-chan!” Natsuki called out as he engulfed you in a hug.

“Natsuki, it’s nice to see you!” you greeted.

“I’ve missed you so much,” he added as he tightened his embrace.

“Me too. How have you been?” you asked.

“I was sad because you were always so busy, but now I’m happy,” the blond admitted.

“I’m sorry, I was busying studying,” you explained as a twinge of guilt washed over you.

“It’s okay, all that matters is that we’re together now!” the idol reassured. He grabbed your hand and began dragging you to a nearby boutique.

“Why do you want to go here?” you questioned while entering the unfamiliar store.

“There are so many cute things in here that you should try on!” Natsuki explained. He scanned the racks of clothing and picked out numerous items. The blond’s chartreuse green pools lit up the moment he discovered another adorable accessory or piece of clothing for you to try on.

Eventually you were pushed into the change room and tried on countless of outfits. Even if it seemed tedious, the content that danced across his orbs and the sincere smile that shone on his face made it worth the trouble. You fancied some outfits more than others and a couple definitely were out of your comfort zone. In the end you two decided on one, albeit the idol exclaimed how you looked stunning in all of them. You exited the building and a colourful store caught your eye.

“How about that place?” you suggested while pointing to an ice cream parlor.

“That looks adorable, let’s go!” Natsuki agreed. A bell rang when you opened the door to the shop. The inside was filled with cute décor ranging from some miniature ice cream figurines, various pictures with different styles of art depicting the frozen confection, and more.

Both of you checked out the menu and pointed out which flavour of the creamy dessert you wanted before someone’s tantalizing sundae passed by. You met his eyes and you both had a childish grin.

“Let’s have that one!” you both exclaimed at the same time.

“Can we have the ooey gooey butter cake sundae with cotton candy ice cream [1], please?” you ordered. The cashier nodded and Natsuki paid for the sweet.

“I could have paid for the sundae Natsuki,” you muttered.

“Today was so much fun so I wanted to pay (Name)-chan! Besides this dessert is just as sweet and cute as you!” he insisted. A light shade of pink dusted your cheeks and you sat in a booth beside him.

“Say ahh!~” he requested as the blond hovered a spoonful of the sweet.

“Okay,” you conceded. You obliged and opened your mouth. The sundae easily slid off the spoon and onto your tongue. You hummed in pleasure while eating it.

“You need to try some too!” you urged and fed him too with your own spoon.

“Delicious!” Natsuki exclaimed. The whipped cream was light and fluffy in contrast to the dark, decadent hot fudge. The ice cream embodied the fun element of cotton candy without having sticky body parts once you finished eating. The butter cake was dense and added a nice change in texture to the dessert. The rainbow sprinkles on top were adorable and gave a nice crunch.

You both continued to consume the sweet while chatting and observing cute passersby. An adorable little girl in a pretty cerulean dress adorned with ribbons made his face erupt in a contagious grin. The small boy with a vermillion balloon and toothy smile caused the blond to squeal. There was a serene atmosphere which bubbled with joy between the two of you.

Eventually you had to part ways with Natsuki as the sun set. With one final hug, you left for your home. The outing had rejuvenated you and left a placid smile on your face. The idol was like the sun that faded into the horizon. He could change a bleak, blank day to one filled with whimsy and colour in the same way the burning ball of fire painted a collage of colours onto the sky. He brightened everyone’s day, and you were glad to have him in your life.