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Azami had all the necessary justifications: chilly weather, a bustling night market, and a crowd full of strangers. It’s cold and neither of them are wearing gloves. And it’s dim and crowded enough that it won’t be that noticeable nor would it look out of place with all the couples around.
He had all his reasons covered. Now all he needs to do is hold Yuki’s hand.
[-]
...Which is easier said than done.
Azami swears he's trying. But every time he's mustered enough courage to reach out, Yuki always seems to move his hand away.
First, it was to brush off some dirt from his skirt. And then it was to fix his hair. The next time, he was adjusting the strap of his bag, and the next, he was reaching out to sift through a rack of clothes in the shop they stopped at.
At this point, all these conveniently timed disruptions feel like a sign that maybe he shouldn't even be thinking about it.
But he’s already gotten this far. He finally managed to ask Yuki out on a d — to go with him somewhere, with just the two of them. So it shouldn’t be too hard to do the other thing too, right?
Wrong.
Just the thought of holding his hand is enough to make his heart race and turn his thoughts into a mush. It took him a while to actually explicitly say he wanted to go out, and he’d sped through all the necessary mental preparation just for this day. So if he lost his momentum now, it’s probably going to take him even longer again.
Which isn’t bad at all. Yuki did say they can take things slow.
Still, he really did want to do it. He just had to figure something out.
[-]
Yuki is busy looking through some clothes when Azami feels his phone buzz. He sneaks a quick glance and, unsurprisingly, finds it filled with messages from Taichi and the others, all asking him how it’s going. From the sea of messages, he spots the guide Taichi and Muku made to “help him”.
It’s supposed to contain tips and suggested scenarios for holding hands. Not that he checked it anyway. Because while he stressed about the importance of doing things properly, they made it seem extra complicated with how many they listed down.
But…
Azami glances back at Yuki who was busy talking to the shop owner.
…with the way things are going now, maybe just a look won’t hurt.
Tell him you can hold the whole world in your hands and then hold his face in your hands hand
Say his hands look cold and offer to keep them warm
Offer your hand and when he places his hand in yours, press a kiss at the back of his hand! Like a prince escorting his prince
ss!!
Grab his hand and pull him close to you while declaring “he’s mine” when someone tries to hit on him.
Say his hands look heavy and ask him if he needs help holding them
Be sure to do it casually and nonchalantly, maybe say a really cool pick-up line to make his heart race
[...]
…On second thought, maybe he’ll just figure it out on his own.
He doesn’t even know what he expected. Those two live off of shoujo manga and cheesy teen magazines so of course it’s going to be like that. And there’s no way he can even do any of those they listed down.
He’s about to close the file when hints of bright red text catch his eye, and despite his better judgment, he checks it out.
In bright red text and bold letters was the word “timing”, followed by some notes.
[-]
“What are you looking at?”
Azami startles, hurriedly turning off his phone. Yuki is peering up at him, part curious and suspicious.
“Taichi-san was just spamming our group chat.” Which isn’t entirely a lie.
But Yuki is still looking at him, unconvinced. What was he even supposed to say? Say that he was trying to figure out how to hold his hand? Just thinking about it sounded stupid, no way was he going to tell Yuki that.
After a moment, he drops it. “Whatever. Anyway, let’s go. There’s still some shops I wanna check out.”
And it’s at this moment that Azami notices how much Yuki is holding already.
“When did you even get that much…”
“Hm?”
“Nothing,” Azami sighs, reaching for some of his bags. He can’t really try to hold his hand if they’re both full after all.
But there are more shops they plan to stop at, and with the amount Yuki is buying from just the few they checked out alone, both their hands will soon be full and he really won’t get the chance to hold his hand. He really did need to figure something out quickly.
[-]
Yuki is walking close enough that their hands brush as they walk. If he reaches just a bit further, then…
Yuki abruptly turns, and Azami misses. Again.
Inwardly, he curses. It’s just hand-holding, it shouldn’t even be this hard.
He thinks back to the piece of advice from earlier. Timing, He repeats to himself, It’s all about the timing. From the corner of his eye, he watches the way Yuki’s hand swings back and forth as he walks. He just has to grab his hand at the right moment and —
“?!” Azami jolts when he feels something faintly cold touch his skin. His sudden movement jostles the bags he’s carrying and he feels one of the bags’ straps slip down.
“Drop any of those bags and I’m leaving you.”
Azami takes a moment to adjust them before focusing back at Yuki.
“Stop spacing out,” He says, and then proceeds to pull him along. By the hand . Which means Yuki is holding his hand .
Azami feels his face burn and his pulse skyrocket.
“Wait, Yuki-san…”
“What?”
Azami glances down at their hands.
Yuki follows his gaze. “You keep spacing out so if I don’t do this, you’ll get left behind,” He says simply. And then continues walking, dragging Azami along with him.
“...Besides, who knows how long it would take you to do it?”
“Huh?” Azami blinks.
“You’re not really subtle,” Yuki explains, a hint of barely concealed laughter in his voice, “It was cute, though.”
“Don’t call me cute,” Azami responds immediately, and then — “Wait, you realized?!”
“Mhm,” Yuki stops and turns to face him, an amused twinkle in his eyes.
Azami doesn’t even need to look in a mirror to know that his face gets even redder. Yuki just grins and pats his head, “Thanks for trying, though.”
He really doesn’t know what to feel about it. He’s been trying to figure out how to do it but Yuki beats him to it and does it smoothly too.
But it’s not like he minded either.
Because in the end, he still gets to finally hold Yuki’s hand. It’s still a step forward.
“Anyway, we should get going,” Yuki says, “I still wanna buy some souvenirs before the fireworks start.”
Yuki continues walking but then he pauses, as if considering something, and loosens his hold on Azami’s hand, “...This is fine, right?”
If he were being honest, Azami feels like his heart is about to burst from just holding hands. But at the same time, letting go doesn’t sit well with him. So he tightens his grip and nods, trying to fight back a blush.
“Good,” He smiles at him, amused, but there’s also a hint of relief in it. He squeezes his hand once before turning around again, “let’s go.”
[-]
In the end, it didn’t go the way he wanted to. But it’s not like he minded at all.
Still, Azami swears he’ll be the first to reach out next time.
Next time.
…Somehow, that thought is enough to make his heart feel warm and giddy.