Work Text:
Ishigami Yu was going absolutely crazy. Scratch that. Insane. He was absolutely going insane. Ever since he’d walked Iino home, which was three days ago now, three, his mind would not shut up about it! He went to sleep thinking about it, woke up thinking about it, spent the school day thinking about it, and now here he was another two days later, still thinking about it!
And yet… Iino was acting no different at all!
Well, truthfully he and Iino hadn’t spoken that much since he’d gone home after Shinomiya-senpai’s phone call, but the times they’d seen each other, she acted completely normal! As if nothing had happened! Her tone of voice was just as usual, her facial expressions normal, normal politeness to her greeting. There was something completely wrong with that, right? Right?
It sent Ishigami’s mind into a tailspin, overthinking and second-guessing every moment once again. After holding his hand, letting him pat her head over and over - intending as comfort at first, but morphing into something else, some kind of tension that he had been absolutely certain was real, and she hadn’t stopped him when he’d been about to…
Ishigami groaned, flopping down into a lying position on the sofa in the student council room. He’d been so close! Of course, Shinomiya-senpai’s phone call had been really important, but the timing! If the call hadn’t been that very second, maybe a minute or two later… would he and Iino really have kissed? With the way she held onto him, he had been certain she had been flirting with him!
But what did he know? He had been wrong about this before more than once!
Ishigami flopped over onto his stomach, his face pressed into the sofa cushion. He must have really gotten ahead of himself again this time…
He had been so sure, so sure that Iino really had been coming onto him… but maybe it wasn’t really about anything other than comfort for her anxiety. She’d clung to him. Said she wanted him to spoil her. She let him hold her close. She held his hand. She let him play with her hair. All of that had made Ishigami’s heart literally pound so hard he’d wondered if she could hear it. He really thought he’d read her signals correctly, but three days and a lot of time to overthink and mentally replay the scenes over and over again later, he had no idea anymore.
Maybe it really was just wishful thinking. Maybe he had really gotten the wrong idea lately.
But then again… how did he expect her to react to him the next day? Was he still thinking like he was playing a dating sim, and that day had unlocked enough affection points from Iino to have her be more lovey-dovey to him? No, he didn’t exactly think that… fantasized, maybe… but expected? Not really.
It had been comfort and an almost kiss… it wasn’t like they’d had started dating or something just from that…
Did he even want to date Iino in the first place? But really, the answer to that didn’t matter yet - it wasn’t like he was sure she wanted to date him. It was suspecting, and then brushing it off, hoping, and then rationalizing it, back and forth, back and forth.
Because up until recently, Iino hated him. She never showed any interest in him, she’d argue with every word he said, it was like it was her mission to bust him for breaking rules, for slacking, for gaming, for anything. And Ishigami knew he hadn’t exactly been nice to her, either. It wasn’t just Iino - they argued, they fought and traded barbs equally.
But he knew that he’d never hated her, not once. Sure, he might have said that once or twice to someone else, but he’d just said it out of defensiveness - he hadn’t meant it. A lot of his arguments and verbal barbs were due to that same defensiveness, he reacted back harshly at her attacks. He couldn’t put it all on her, though, because he could be just as prickly as a person, stubborn, unrelenting to his own way of life, wanting to fight for his right to game and read manga whenever he wanted. She had genuinely annoyed him at times, with her attitude, her crusade against rules and discipline didn’t mesh with his way of life and with the way she’d always found something to insult him about. But he didn’t hate her, he never even disliked her.
If he had - he wouldn’t have looked out for her back in middle school. Part of him had been drawn to her then, how no matter what, no matter what reactions she got or how people treated her, she always stuck to her principles. Even if it was unlikely that her efforts bore fruit, she would still try her hardest at her goals, pushing herself. Even though Ishigami had been, still was, the complete opposite, no passion or goals like that himself, he admired it a lot.
Could those feelings have turned into like, back then? Yes.
But with the way they continued to clash, with how clear it was that Iino hated him, especially after he got expelled from school, he never let himself go there. No matter how cute Iino was, no matter how he wanted her to actually like him, no matter how much he admired her, wanted her to succeed, or still tried to help her in secret if he could… anything leading to a feeling of ‘like’, he’d squashed deep down, knowing it would never happen, not with her, this girl who he thought would never consider him as anything but a nuisance.
In the high school student council, their dynamic hadn’t gotten any better until recently. In fact, was it Iino breaking her arm to save him the turning point? Something had shifted between them then, but he had fallen for Tsubame-senpai, so at the time he’d just been glad that maybe Iino was warming up to him, they had things in common, and they could finally be friends.
Though any hopes about that never lasted long, because Iino was nice to him at some points, and then at others she still acted like she loathed his existence. So he, the stubborn one he was, took her shots and fired back.
So even now, Ishigami was really confused by her sudden change in behaviour. She was being nice, yes, she had been ever since he’d been rejected by Tsubame-senpai. She’d scoffed at his feelings before, called them creepy, so her sudden change was very noticeable. It wasn't just her attitude towards him being softer - but how she suddenly began to play online video games which seemed unlike her. He had been so shocked when she'd walked up to him and Shiranui to talk about the game they were playing.
Ishigami just couldn’t figure out the reason why.
He had let his mind go to certain places, but he’d shot it down, telling himself he’d gotten the wrong idea.
He’d recently had this thought spiral already - wondering if she’d gone from hating him to just being indifferent. Thinking about it like that, he wondered again - at least hate wasn’t indifference, right? What was better? Ishigami too, knew that he wouldn’t have reacted so much to Iino’s barbs, argued with her, minded so much about what she thought of him, if he didn’t care about her. He’d always cared about her - despite the clashing, the fights, the mutual annoyance.
And now… everything about their dynamic… it wasn’t like it had changed completely, they still didn’t see eye to eye on things, they still argued, but it seemed to change enough to drive him insane with wonder.
Iino Miko hated him. Or did she? Who knew such a question would rock his whole world like this.
Who knew that Iino, someone he never let himself think about as more than an annoying classmate he sometimes worried about, would be in the forefront of his mind like this.
It also made him wonder about his own feelings. Now that Iino was nice to him a bit, was he really swayed that easily? Was he really this shallow? Were these new (or if he were to be honest, revived) feelings real or was he just so desperate for someone to like him that he was becoming delusional?
That day in Iino’s room and since then… he’d thought about it so much, more than enough. If he were to be honest, it really wasn’t out of nowhere.
It wasn’t just because she was the first girl to show interest - it was because it was Iino, who he always secretly wanted to get along with, who had such a firm belief system she wouldn’t give up, who was at the top of the class despite how busy she was with the student council and her work in the disciplinary committee, who cared about her friends, even if she had a hard time being upfront about her feelings. Iino, who liked being praised, who got lonely easily, who was cute, and sweet sometimes, and had the softest hair…
He had tried to imagine any other girl, a classmate, a senior, cozying up to him like that. Sure, he was a guy, he would probably react, but it was because it was Iino that he was like this, unable to stop overthinking it and worrying about it and wishing it had gone further, hoping that she meant it, that her actions meant something.
It wasn’t like Ishigami was one hundred percent over Tsubame-senpai, though. It still hurt. Though time was healing his wounds, and he did feel like he was ready to move on.
He just never expected it to be Iino he was having these feelings for, at least consciously. Subconsciously was another story. He’d always known Iino was cute and had all these wonderful qualities. He had long wished that Iino would be sweet instead of harsh to him, and why he felt that way, he really had repressed deep down inside of him, because he knew it would never happen.They just never spent much time together where they weren’t arguing, and Ishigami wasn’t masochist enough to let himself develop feelings for her back then when he knew it would end in a massacre for him. He had been content with watching her quietly.
Now, though?
Now…
“Ishigami.”
Ishigami startled at the voice. He yelped and in his surprise, rolled off the sofa, banging his head against the table in the process.
“Ow, damnit!” he blinked at the ceiling, clutching his forehead.
“You’re so clumsy, Ishigami,” Iino said, and Ishigami had no defense for himself.
He sat up, feeling slightly dizzy, his head throbbing at the point of contact.
“You scared me,” he said in an excuse. His traitorous heart was already speeding up now that Iino had come, and it freaked him out. Was he really this easy?
Iino suddenly came into view, and she grabbed onto his arm and tugged - ah, she was helping him up. Ishigami let her help him before he flopped back onto the sofa in a sitting position.
“Move your hand,” Iino said, and Ishigami was too emotionally weak to do anything but listen.
When he moved his hand, Iino gasped. “You’re bleeding!”
“Oh?” Ishigami looked down. Sure enough, there was some blood on his hand where he had covered his forehead. “Look at that.” He was still so dazed, he barely even cared about the blood.
Iino frowned at him. Ah, Ishigami thought. Even her frowning at him was cute. Why had it taken him so long to realize that? God, what was he thinking now? Maybe he had a concussion.
It was a moment later before he realized that Iino had gotten up, but it wasn’t long before she returned with a first aid kit. He never realized the student council room had one of those stacked somewhere. But it made sense. It was a wonder why it wasn’t often needed, with some of the insane games that Fujiwara-senpai came up with for them to play.
Iino had a sterilized piece of gauze pressed to his head in almost no time at all. Ishigami flinched at the sting.
“Thanks, Iino,” he said once he regained his sanity. “I can do it, though.”
“You might do it half-heartedly,” she argued. “Just stay still.”
So thus, Ishigami Yu stayed still and closed his eyes. Iino’s face so close to his own was making the scene from the other day replay in his mind yet again. How close she had been, how perfectly she fit into his arms… the warmth of her breath as their faces had gotten closer… was she thinking about it, too, or was it just him going crazy over it?
Ishigami kept his eyes closed as Iino removed the gauze, and placed something - a bandage, he assumed, on his forehead.
“Thanks,” he murmured, shifting back on the sofa, stretching a crink out of his neck. Iino said nothing, and Ishigami reopened his eyes to see Iino putting the contents of the first aid kit back in place, disposing of the trash. Ishigami already missed the feeling of her warm fingers on his skin.
This was already the longest interaction he and Iino had since the moment in her room. Ishigami mentally flinched yet again at the way he’d left so suddenly after Shinomiya-senpai’s phone call, as if it had been a bucket of ice water that broke the spell.
It wasn’t like Ishigami regretted what happened, or what almost did, he meant it when he thought about how he would make the move the next time he had the chance with someone he cared about. But when he regained his senses, all he could think about was how guilty he felt about potentially taking advantage of Iino when she was anxious about the stalker…
Sigh. He really was the worst.
“Has the President been by?” Iino asked as she returned, taking a seat beside Ishigami on the sofa.
The last time they were on a sofa together, she held his hand and they almost kissed.
No, no, don’t think about that right now!
“No,” Ishigami answered. “He hasn’t been by in the last two days… I think he’s still trying to find out what happened to Shinomiya-senpai.”
Had Iino meant it, or was she just trying to get comfort? Would anyone have done just as well?
“I see,” Iino said. “I hope he succeeds. The Shinomiya family must be going through way more than we can ever understand, but those two… I hope they will be okay.”
What did it all mean?
Ishigami cleared all these chaotic thoughts in his mind and nodded. “I’m sure they will. I know how devoted the President is to Shinomiya-senpai. Even though he’s leaving for America soon, they’ll make it work.”
“That’s optimistic of you of all people to say,” Iino said. He had to squash down his usual impulse to be defensive - it wasn’t like she was wrong.
“Well…” Ishigami said. “It’s Shinomiya-senpai and the President. If anyone can do it, they will.”
Their relationship was one Ishigami admired - he could tell how compatible they were, how much they cared for each other even before he learned they were actually together.
“I think you’re right,” Iino said. And before Ishigami had enough time to be surprised at her response, she was leaning her shoulder into his. Ishigami swallowed.
The times in the past, he could have taken it as pity, like when she comforted him and let him lay on her lap. Her playing video games, he could take as her wanting a new hobby. The soft expressions, the way she looked at him when they were dancing together, could be read as just her warming up to him. In her room, he could rationalize it as her being scared and clinging to him, who just happened to be there.
But now? Ishigami was running out of excuses. It was getting harder and harder to tell himself it was all in his head. He’d told himself he was thinking too highly of himself for just assuming - but…
Argh, it was all driving him crazy!
He wished he could just read Iino’s mind!
And he wished he was brave enough to just ask her outright!
What was he even waffling about, anyway? He’d been brave enough to muster up the courage to confess to Tsubame-senpai.
But then again, he knew Tsubame-senpai would be graduating. If he got rejected, it would hurt, and it sure as hell did, but if he was completely wrong about Iino, and brought it up, it would be awkward for the next two years! To top it off, she might laugh in his face! That would make being together in the student council for the next two years rough as hell-
Huh.
Ishigami had told Iino that day, that he wasn’t sure if he would stay in the student council. She encouraged him to do whatever he wanted to do. But when he imagined what his second and third year in high school was like, even with his senpais having graduated, he just naturally pictured himself at Iino’s side in the student council.
“You know,” he said, breaking the silence. “I think I’ll stay in the student council next year, after all.”
Iino turned to look at him with surprise. “Really? But President Shirogane will no longer be around. You have the freedom and the grades to do whatever you want.”
Ishigami shrugged with embarrassment. He hadn’t meant to admit this, but whatever. “Well, I’ve gotten used to it. And I know you’ll be a great president, Iino. I kinda want to be around to see it happen… I guess?”
Iino’s eyes widened, and before she could say anything, Ishigami quickly added, “besides, if there’s something else I want to do, there’s no saying I can’t do both, like Fujiwara-senpai with the tabletop gaming club, and you and the disciplinary committee.”
When she said nothing for a moment or two, Ishigami slowly turned to look at her. The way Iino was looking at him made something flip in his stomach. It was similar to how she had looked at him the other day - her eyes wide, a light pink on her cheeks. Whatever it was, it made his heart beat faster and faster, a feeling both exciting and fearful at the same time.
“You’re not just saying that to take pity on me, right?” Iino said. “Since I said I’d be all by myself next term.”
“No,” Ishigami insisted. “I never took pity on you, not once.”
Well, other people might see it differently - but all the stuff he did for her in middle school wasn’t out of pity, either.
Iino smiled. “Okay.”
Ishigami startled yet again. Okay…? Just like that? No arguing? Just accepting his answer? Ishigami had been mentally prepared for her to argue and not believe him!
“That’s it?” Ishigami blurted out.
“It?” Iino questioned. “Oh. Thank you for your confidence, Ishigami.”
“No, no, that’s not what I - nevermind.”
Sigh.
Just like that - Iino reached down and placed her hand on top of his. Just like she had in her room the other day!
Just like that - Ishigami’s heart sputtered and stopped before restarting at a much faster pace. He gulped.
This time there was no excuse! There was no stalker in the student council room!
“I wasn’t going to tell you what to do,” Iino said, “but I was truthfully hoping you would stay in the student council with me.”
Ishigami swallowed again, his throat going dry. Even though Iino was making these moves… some more subtle than others… he didn’t know what to do anymore. Should he make his own move, just to confirm? Or just ask? Even if the evidence was stacked in his favour, it was still terrifying! Where was his bravery in a moment like this?!
“Well, when you put it like that…” Ishigami said, his face burning. “I can’t exactly say no.”
Iino… he was sure she’d thought he’d be a nuisance, after all this whole year they barely got along, even with their senpais as mediators… he thought it’d be easier for her if he wasn’t there.
“Can’t? I’m not going to force you.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Ishigami said, putting his spare hand against his face. His other hand was still being held by Iino. “I mean, the offer is too good to pass up. I guess I was just confused.”
“Confused?” Iino was leaning more heavily into his side now, and Ishigami swore he was barely even able to think normally at the moment.
“Yeah, like -” Ishigami sighed. “I won’t stop playing games in the student council. I will read manga when I want to, I will still be a nuisance to you-”
“You’re not a nuisance!” Iino said to Ishigami’s great shock.
“Huh?”
Iino seemed to fluster as she turned her head in the opposite direction. “I mean, I won’t not scold you if you really break a rule, but you’re not… a nuisance… and if that’s what it takes, I will relax the rules… slightly, in the student council room if it’s not during class hours.”
Ishigami was absolutely certain that he was dreaming right here and now.
“Who are you and what have you done with Iino?”
Iino turned to glare at him. That, that was familiar.
“If you don’t want me to relax the rules, then I won’t. I’m perfectly fine with that too.”
“No, no, I didn’t say that! Relaxing the rules works great for me! I wasn’t complaining, Iino-san!”
Ishigami’s face must have done something funny, for Iino suddenly laughed. Ishigami laughed as well. It was unbelievable how good it felt to have made Iino laugh, somehow.
After a moment, Iino became serious again. “Well, you too, are you sure you’d want to be on the student council with me? With how I am, how I drag the mood down wherever I go-”
“Hey, that’s not true at all,” Ishigami said. “We don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things, and we probably won’t stop arguing, but there’s nobody better than you.”
Iino squeezed his hand. Ishigami almost forgot, almost, that she had still been holding it!
“Ishigami…”
Iino turned to look at him again, and her expression right now was interchangeable with the one she’d worn back in her room before they’d gotten interrupted by the phone call.
Ishigami couldn’t chicken out this time.
She was looking at him expectantly, her body leaning in closer to him. There was no way she was doing this if she didn’t mean it like that! There were no external factors to explain this away and wimp out this time.
But since this was Iino… Ishigami really didn’t want to screw up. He didn’t want to ruin the delicate strengthening of their relationship, he didn’t want to overstep. But… he also wanted more, at this moment, and from now on. If Iino really meant it, then…
Ishigami flipped his hand underneath Iino’s and threaded their fingers together, squeezing her hand back.
Iino appeared to stiffen for just a moment, and Ishigami was about to pull back, but the stiffening must have just been out of surprise, because Iino didn’t pull back, she leaned in even closer!
Ishigami’s heart was hammering against his ribcage.
Anticipation washed over him in heart racing, skin tingling madness.
He used his free hand to place it on Iino’s shoulder.
Iino let out a small sigh.
Ishigami’s face went even hotter.
Iino’s eyes closed.
Ishigami closed his eyes, too, and leaned in the rest of the way.
Their lips met somewhere in the middle, and Ishigami’s world narrowed into a point, the only thing that existed was just this, just Iino, and her soft lips, and Ishigami’s racing heart, and how warm she felt, how perfect her hand felt in his.
Ishigami had never imagined in his wildest dreams he’d ever kiss Iino, but now that he was, he didn’t want to stop. Iino moved her lips against his, and Ishigami took that invitation and deepened the kiss slightly. He wondered if it was possible for his heart to explode. Literally.
And because it was reality, not a game, the kiss had to end so they could breathe. Ishigami was inexperienced at this kind of thing, after all, he guessed Iino was too.
They stared at each other, and Iino was flushed, her chest rising up and down, up and down. Ishigami’s breaths came in similar stutters. Iino squeezed his hand again, and didn’t say anything as she stared at him, as if trying to figure him out. Ishigami didn’t mind that kind of gaze, especially at this moment.
“Iino, you-” Ishigami stuttered out. “I mean, was this-”
Even now, he couldn’t get his words together!
“What do you think?” Iino asked, leaning back slightly, her gaze going to her lap in a shy reaction.
Oh. Ishigami was wrong about this kind of thing before, but he knew, without a doubt, Iino wasn’t the kind of person to kiss someone willy-nilly or for meaningless reasons. Iino, who had gone on about proprietary and separating boys and girls.
“I - I wanted that to happen,” he admitted. “I’m just confused. I thought you hated me.”
Iino met his eyes again, and something in them seemed shy, vulnerable, and Ishigami’s chest swooped again at that look from her. Her face was red, and she shook her head. Her mouth opened and closed as if she was having trouble speaking.
And just like that, a covering was removed from Ishigami Yu’s gaze, and it was as if his eyes were truly open for the first time.
Iino was shifting in place, embarrassed and flustered, squeezing his hand, and a bunch of previous interactions flashed in his mind. When Iino said ‘why can’t you notice already?’, the way she looked at him when they went to the dance together, how she got the President’s dad to teach her how to game with him, how she had increased her use of physical affection over the past while, and even before that, and Ishigami was stunned.
“You…”
He really hadn’t misread her at all?
“I don’t hate you,” Iino said. “I never hated you. Annoyed, yes, because I couldn’t understand you. And why you just had to break the rules all the time and argue with me. I - I might have been too harsh with you. Something about you had just gotten under my skin.”
Ishigami smiled. “I know what you mean.”
After all, what she was describing was exactly his experience too, just on the other end of the rule breaking.
“And you - you have a lot of great qualities too…”
“Oh. Hey, you don’t need to force yourself-”
He remembered that one game they played where Iino couldn’t come up with one good thing to say about him.
Iino must have remembered too, for she hid her face in her free hand. “No, I was just embarrassed. So, I-”
“You didn’t look embarrassed at all!”
“I have a good poker face.”
“... That explains a lot. When you held my hand in your room the other day, I was going crazy and you didn’t react at all!”
“Hey, it took me a lot of courage to do that too!” Iino raised her voice, which was slightly trembling. “I didn’t want to come across as too thirsty-!”
She gasped and covered her mouth with her hand.
Ishigami’s eyes, if possible, almost popped right out of his skull. Had he seriously heard her correctly?
“... For me?”
“You don’t need to be that shocked!” Iino sounded offended.
“I am,” Ishigami admitted. “I didn’t think you would feel that way towards me…”
Iino huffed. “You sure are oblivious, Ishigami. I’ve liked you for a while now.”
Now out of everything, it was those words that made him feel like he was a game character that just got KO’d.
His eyes widened as he stared at Iino, her huffy, embarrassed expression, the way it seemed to pain her to admit it out loud, but through all of it - she never let go of his hand.
He wanted to ask for how long, he wanted to ask what about him she liked, but in the end, he realized it didn’t matter, at least now.
It didn’t matter - because the timing was right and he was so, so unbelievably happy.
“You know, I-” Ishigami knew so well he was definitely blushing. Why was it still so embarrassing, even if Iino had been honest first? “I wouldn’t kiss someone I didn’t like.”
Iino’s face swerved towards him so fast he was worried she would get whiplash. “Really?”
Ishigami gave a firm nod.
Something about this was still way too embarrassing. He never expected to be here, in this situation, it almost didn’t feel real quite yet. He still was shocked to find out that Iino did like him that way, and that he could honestly say he liked her too.
Iino’s flustered expression was prettied by a wide smile. She reached over to where she had her bookbag, and pulled it onto her lap. Ishigami wondered what she was doing so suddenly, but right away Iino had a book in hand - it looked like some kind of journal.
And then Iino pulled out something, it appeared to be a bookmark. It took Ishigami a moment to recognize it, and when he did, he almost fell off the sofa again in his shock.
“Your efforts will be rewarded someday,” Iino said happily. “They weren’t wrong.”
“That-that-that-” Ishigami stuttered. “You - you - kept it?!”
Iino frowned, turning to face him. “What’s with that reaction? Did I ever tell you about my bookmark before?”
Ishigami paled, a static pounding in his ears. He honestly wanted to forget that ever happened. Looking back, that gesture was too embarrassing for someone he hadn’t been that close to at the time. When Osaragi told him she saw him do it, too, he’d almost wanted to melt on the floor with embarrassment. But it appeared she hadn’t told Iino where the note and flower had come from.
“Iino…” Ishigami’s voice shook. “We… we’re dating now, aren’t we?”
Iino’s face flushed a pretty red. “Yes. I would like that.”
Her voice, her expression, so earnest, it made Ishigami’s heart sing. But there was a bandaid he had to rip off.
“And you probably value honesty, right…?”
Oh God. This was probably the most humiliating moment in his whole life, and it didn’t even happen yet.
“Of course. What happened, Ishigami? You’re scaring me.”
Ishigami took a deep breath. “I should tell you… that flower and note… it was me.”
Iino blinked at him. And said nothing. She looked down at her flower bookmark, and then back up at Ishigami. She stared at him for so long that it became nerve wracking. And then Ishigami noticed something -
“Iino, are you crying?!”
“No!” Iino sniffed.
“You are!”
“Shut up, I’m not! I’m just - so… happy.”
“Oh,” Ishigami murmured. “Is that so…”
“I always wondered,” Iino said quietly. “To think it was you all along, Ishigami. I didn’t know you could be this romantic.”
Ishigami scratched behind his neck. “It’s really embarrassing when you put it like that.”
“I’m going to take even better care of this now.”
“You don’t need to go that far…”
“I will!”
Ishigami was taken aback, and still very embarrassed, but he smiled. “I… I’m glad that it really did mean a lot to you.”
He didn’t really want to rehash middle school days, and he was certain Iino didn’t want to either, so that was all he said.
Iino smiled back and snuggled up to his side. “Ishigami, shall we go on a date right now?”
“Right now?” Ishigami blurted. “Ah, yes - yes that would be great.”
He’d really have to get over this nervousness. It was Iino. Maybe it was because it was Iino that it was nervous.
“My place?” Iino asked innocently.
Oh God. Ishigami was already dead. Totally dead.
“Uh - okay,” he agreed.
“We can play Apex together,” Iino suggested.
Ishigami let out a breath of air and laughed. “Yeah. That sounds like a perfect first date to me.”
Iino stood up from the sofa, and Ishigami stood with her, still holding hands. “Even if you find out I’m better than you and beat you every time?”
“We’ll see about that,” Ishigami joked back. “I’m surprised that you even learned how to game… it couldn’t have been just for me, right?”
Iino looked away.
“Eh, really?”
Iino shrugged her shoulders as they left the room.
“Does that mean I can get you to join Discord too?”
“Truthfully, I already made an account when Papa Shirogane was teaching me.”
“Eh!? Iino, you keep surprising me more and more!”
Iino turned to him - and that smirk she gave him in return was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.