Chapter Text
"Sensei!" 18-year-old Hikaru appeared in the teacher's lounge. He was wearing a dark green overall, and brown boots and his hair was tight in a short ponytail. An elderly woman wearing glasses raised her eyes from her book and looked at him with a kind smile.
"Yes, Kaji-san?"
"I already brought all of our sheep back to the barn and fed them and the cows too. Cleaned their beds, put fresh water and the horses are brushed and fed as well."
"Oh, that's good. But you shouldn't have worried so much, it's your first day of winter vacation, right?"
"Ye... yes!" Hikaru was all flustered. "But I didn't want to go without being sure the animals were okay."
"You're always so thoughtful. Don't worry about anything anymore, you've worked hard during the semester. You really should enjoy yourself. She is coming today, right?"
Hikaru blushed deeply before nodding, incapable of hiding a small smile on his features.
"Go along then. You don't want to leave your girlfriend waiting."
"Thank you so much, Sensei." he made a polite bow. "I'll see you in two weeks."
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Sakura wrapped her light pink scarf around her neck better the minute she reached the departure area in the Shin-Hakodate Hokuto Station.
She was covered in many layers to endure Hokkaido's freezing winter weather and the almost five hours from Tokyo to Sapporo felt like an eternity.
The last time she was able to see her boyfriend after he moved to college was on summer vacation. Hikaru arrived home and in the first week, his time was totally devoted to his dads, the Suzukis, and Makoto before Sakura could get a hold of him.
Even in the middle of that harsh cold, she could feel the blood rushing inside her veins with the thrill of finally being with Hikaru after so long.
"SAKURA!"
Ah, she could recognize that voice anywhere. Turning around, Hikaru was there, waiting for her, waving happily, the biggest smile on his handsome face.
And Sakura's grey eyes glistened in pure happiness before running towards him while carrying her bag.
"HI-CHAN!"
Hikaru hugged her so tight she almost disappeared inside his strong arms when they finally reached each other.
"I can't believe you're finally here!" he looked at her, unable to stop smiling. "You're so cute!"
"I probably look like an Eskimo!" she chuckled.
Sakura was wearing a very thick dark red overcoat, dark jeans, and a white and warm turtle neck. A white wool hat and a pair of black winter boots completed her outfit.
"The cutest Eskimo!" Hikaru held her gloved hand after picking up her bag. "Come, let's go home before we become a stalactite."
Sakura's heart fluttered with Hikaru's "Let's go home" because it was exactly how she felt, being finally able to be by his side.
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"Hi-chan, it looks even nicer than in the videos!" Sakura said the minute they entered Hikaru's apartment.
Makoto teased, saying he was probably the youngest elder in his class, but Hikaru knew that being so particular about tidiness and studying, he wasn't going to be able to live in the dorms with all those students coming and going, different schedules, noise and parties happening.
"Well, Mina-chan was the one who found the place."
He was living in a one-bedroom apartment that came with all the utilities and furniture. Even if he didn't have a balcony, the windows in the living room were huge and had a nice view of a park nearby.
The decoration was minimalist and practical, just like Hikaru's old bedroom. And just like his home back in Tokyo, there was a shelf with a lot of pictures of important moments and people in his life.
And Sakura was in many of them.
"You're probably tired, right? Come, I'll show you the bedroom. You can take your time and have a shower."
"Hi-chan..." Sakura smiled gently. "Are you not going to kiss me?"
It was so adorable how Hikaru still blushed easily even after three years of dating.
Putting her bag down, she got close to Sakura and cupped her face, looking into her beautiful grey eyes.
"I... didn't want to appear too eager. But I have wanted to kiss you since the moment I saw you in the train station."
"I wanted to kiss you too."
Sakura didn't know how many times she had kissed Hikaru before, but she was sure that each time his lips touched her, it was a brand new experience.
Was it possible for kisses to change with time, even with the same person?
Hikaru's hands moved to Sakura's waist, bringing her even closer, trying to erase all the longing his young heart had felt over those six months apart.
"I've missed you so much." he said, whispering on the crook of her neck, hugging her tight.
"I've missed you too, Hi-chan." Sakura replied, her face over his heart.
#########
"Did your wife arrive okay?" Makoto asked and it made Hikaru smile.
"Yes, she's taking a shower right now." Hikaru was in the kitchen starting to prepare their lunch, talking with Makoto through the speakerphone. "Thank you for taking her to the station, Makoto."
"Don't worry about it! And we couldn't really rely on Okamoto-san to do it, he had a really hard time letting his beloved daughter spend a whole week away with her boyfriend in distant Hokkaido."
Hikaru chuckled.
"Yes, I know, he already called her when she arrived."
"So, what do you kids have planned for this special week?"
"I bought all of Sakura's favorite food and I'm going to cook for her every day! I'll also take her to see the White Illumination and the ice sculptures. And for dinner time, I'll take her to the famous restaurants here, I think she'll love the seafood."
"Everything sounds great, Hikaru! Aren't you the best husband?"
"I hope she enjoys herself." his voice was sweet. "I was counting the minutes to see her again."
"I'm sure she will. But don't forget the condoms, okay?"
Hikaru dropped the frying pan and there was pasta all over the floor.
"Hi-chan, is everything okay?" Sakura asked from the bedroom.
"DUDE! What happened?!"
"What... what... what do you mean condoms?!" Hikaru whispered after picking up the phone and turning off the speaker, going all the way to the laundry area.
"Wow! It has been so long you forgot about those?! Makoto laughed. "You know, those latex things we use to wrap our dic..."
"I KNOW WHAT CONDOMS ARE!" he screamed-whispering. "Why are you talking about such a thing?!"
"Because you're a guy and your girlfriend is visiting after half a year?" Makoto replied like it was obvious.
"I didn't get condoms! There is no need! We..." even though Makoto was on the other side of the phone, all the way in Tokyo, Hikaru could feel his face burning up in flames. "We... we... have never....!"
"Oh." it was all Makoto was able to say after a long, excruciating silence. "Hikaru... you and Sakura are dating since we were 15. Are you telling me that... you two... never...?"
"NO!" he screamed in his whisper again.
"Dude... that must have been hard, no pun intended. How did your penis not fall off yet?!"
"Makoto, stop saying those things!"
"Okay, okay! But... is it something you two agreed on? Because if it was me, I wouldn't wait a second to be jumping on my girlfriend's bones."
"What?" it felt like Hikaru had lost the earth under his feet. "You think... Sakura... wants to..."
"Don't you?"
"I... I think..." he sat down on the floor, his head had actually started to hurt. "I think I'm going to get sick."
"DUDE! Calm down! If it was never an issue to you before, it's probably okay for Sakura too, right?" Makoto was feeling so sorry for him.
"But we've never talked about it! Ever! Oh my god... what if... I'm denying something to her?! I'm a horrible boyfriend!"
Makoto sighed, calling himself stupid for bringing up that topic.
"Hikaru, stop, you're not a horrible boyfriend, you're the best husband ever! I'm sorry, I was just messing with you, don't worry. You and Sakura are great together and I'm sure you two are going to have tons of fun. I need to go now, but take a lot of pictures and show them to me later, okay? Bye!"
Hikaru could feel his soul leaving his body while his stomach started to hurt.
From all the things he had wanted to do that week, talking about sex with Sakura was DEFINITELY not on his plans.