Me and Yuuki are now dating… I think
There are moments in life when clarity is found not in grand declarations, but in quiet, trembling pauses the kind where one heartbeat too many threatens to make everything unravel. For Kaito, this was one of those moments.
The corridor was mostly empty now, the gentle hum of fluorescent lights overhead filling the silence between them. Yuuki's fingers were still gently linked with his, her warmth bleeding into his skin. They'd just shared a conversation—no, something beyond words. A connection. A tether that had been slowly forming since the first day they sat beside each other under the sakura tree.
She looked up at him, her eyes glimmering with something that unsettled and comforted him all at once.
"So…" Yuuki tilted her head, cheeks flushed with unspoken hope. "Are we… you know…?"
Kaito swallowed, his heart thudding like a loud drum behind his ribs.
"…Dating?" he offered, his voice quieter than he intended.
Yuuki nodded, smiling nervously. "I think so. I mean… unless you don't want to—"
"No!" Kaito said a little too loudly, then instantly winced. "I-I mean, yes. I mean… yes, I want to."
Yuuki laughed—a real laugh, the kind that softened the edges of everything. Kaito wanted to bottle that sound, to keep it for the inevitable days where the world would feel too loud again.
"I guess we're official now," she whispered, still not letting go of his hand.
"I guess," Kaito said, though a flurry of thoughts spun wildly in his mind like confetti in a windstorm. What does being official even mean? What do couples do? Am I supposed to text her good morning? Does she want to hold hands all the time? Do I start walking her to class? What if I mess this up?
His anxiety was having a full-blown celebration in his chest.
But Yuuki's hand remained in his, grounding him. Present.
---
The news spread through the university like wildfire.
No, neither of them announced anything publicly, but Sayaka definitely saw them holding hands. And if Sayaka saw it, the entire building may as well have seen it.
"I KNEW IT!" Sayaka burst into Haru's dorm room, causing Haru to choke on his iced coffee and his model girlfriend, Rin, to blink in confusion.
"Knew what?" Haru asked between coughs, grabbing a tissue.
"Yuuki. Kaito. They're dating! I saw them—I saw them, Haru!"
"You mean the two people who have been orbiting each other like a slow-burning meteor collision for weeks now? Shocker," Haru said dryly, wiping his mouth.
Sayaka groaned. "You don't understand, Haru! This changes everything."
Rin raised an eyebrow. "You like him, don't you?"
Sayaka turned scarlet. "I don't—shut up! I just—he's so dumb. Like, who falls in love with the first girl who gives them an apple juice and a bandaid?"
Haru chuckled. "Sounds like someone's jealous."
"I'm not jealous!" she snapped, crossing her arms. "I'm just… strategically annoyed."
---
Meanwhile, Kaito and Yuuki found themselves navigating the awkward, wonderful maze of being a couple.
It wasn't glamorous. They didn't start making out behind vending machines or skipping lectures to cuddle on rooftops.
Instead, they walked to class together—awkwardly, sometimes bumping shoulders because neither knew which side to walk on.
They sat closer in the cafeteria now, and Yuuki always passed him the spoon first when they shared her matcha parfait. Kaito started texting her good morning, and she replied with sleepy cat emojis.
It was small. Tender. Quiet. And for Kaito, that was enough.
But the questions gnawed at him late into the night.
What does she see in me?
What if she realizes I'm just a mess of panic attacks in a semi-decent body?
What if I disappoint her? What if I can't be… enough?
Haru noticed.
He didn't say anything until Thursday, when they sat in their dorm room, each with headphones in, pretending to study.
Then Haru said casually, without looking up, "You're spiraling."
Kaito looked up. "What?"
"You've been chewing on your pen cap for ten minutes and staring at your notes like they insulted your mother."
Kaito blushed and dropped the pen. "I'm fine."
"You're not. And it's okay. New relationships are scary."
"…Is it obvious?"
Haru smiled. "Kaito, you once had a panic attack because a barista wrote your name wrong on a coffee cup."
Kaito groaned.
"You like her, right?"
Kaito nodded. "So much it hurts."
"Then don't let your head ruin what your heart wants," Haru said gently. "You don't have to be perfect. Just be present."
The next day, Yuuki waited for him outside the campus library, her scarf wrapped snugly around her neck. Her eyes lit up when she saw him.
"I got us two hot chocolates," she said, handing him one.
Kaito smiled. "You remembered."
"You like sweet things when you're anxious."
Kaito's eyes widened. "How'd you know I was anxious?"
Yuuki shrugged. "I just know. I pay attention."
Kaito looked down at the drink, the warmth of it spreading through his cold fingers.
"You don't have to pretend to be okay around me, you know," she added. "I know dating is new for you. It's new for me too."
He looked up at her, searching her face. "You're not scared?"
"Terrified," she grinned. "But I think… I'd rather be terrified with you than safe with anyone else."
Something broke open in Kaito's chest then. Not in a bad way. Like sunlight pushing through storm clouds.
He reached out and gently took her hand.
"I don't really know what I'm doing," he admitted.
Yuuki squeezed his hand. "We'll figure it out. Together."
That night, Kaito sat on his bed, his fingers hovering over his journal. After several minutes of hesitation, he finally wrote:
March 17 – I have a girlfriend.
Yuuki. She's kind and chaotic and smarter than me. And she makes me feel like maybe… I can be something more. Not someone else. Just more me.
I think that's what love is. Someone who sees all your broken pieces and still chooses you.
I'm scared. But I'm also grateful.
We are now official… I think. And somehow, that thought makes my world feel a little less terrifying.
He
closed the journal.
Smiled.
And for the first time in a long while slept peacefully.