Both of them had written so many letters for each other already since they first met on an online site. It wasn't something she'd normally do, to be honest. But she found it interesting, especially when she got to talk to him via chat and — as you guessed it — letters.
Handwritten letters. They both found it exciting to do it that way instead of the modernized and technological version of it. Regardless of the response time, the long wait would always feel worth it for both of them.
They would reply eagerly whenever one would arrive. And yes, they would both do it by hand.
A little old-fashioned, right? It might be, but it didn't matter to them. They wanted to do it because it would give them excitement. Not to mention, it was their way of letting each other know that they were sincere in every word that they would write. It might not be that easy to determine, but those written words were also enough to make them feel something sincere and amazing.
Vague feelings that would eventually be named the moment they finally figured out the real reason why they couldn't give up on each other.
The usual day went on for Amu as she just finished writing the letter that she intended to send to her penpal that day. It was a busy day for her, to be honest, with all the housework and other stuff that Tusk wanted her to work on. That guy wouldn't really get her off the hook.
But for some strange reason, she didn't mind the load of work that she had to do that day. Should she blame it on the good mood that she managed to acquire when she finished writing that letter to Nagi?
"That would be weird..." Amu whispered as she finished putting the newly washed clothes on the clothes dryer racks outside the house.
With a satisfied smile and a relieved sigh, Amu looked at her finished product. Another strange thing for her to feel since it was something trivial for her. Then again, with Tusk continuously nagging him for not doing her own load of house chores, this was a lot.
"Are you done already?" Tusk asked.
Of course, Amu was surprised to hear her friend who was approaching. She smiled and nodded. "I did good, right?"
"Looks like someone's inspired," Leo commented.
She chose to stay quiet and just continued smiling. Leo didn't know anything, even though he was spot on with that. It was a different case for Tusk, however.
That guy knew the reason why she felt productive and inspired over the last few months. At first, she thought he would be against the idea of her having a penpal with a guy that she hadn't met personally. But it turned out that Tusk personally knew the person and so he knew what kind of person Nagi was.
And so, though begrudgingly, Tusk became the sort of postman for her and Nagi. Then again, it seemed that the elephant man didn't mind doing so. It would give him reason to visit a friend who was as enthusiastic in learning new things as he was.
"Tusk-kun, I'm heading out today, okay? I don't want to miss this day," Amu said as she removed her apron and placed the laundry basket near the door.
Before Tusk could even answer, she was already rushing towards the door.
"Just don't be clumsy!" she heard Tusk shouted.
She could only smile at the last minute reminder, though. And then she took off.
The two men left on the spot could only look at the running Amu. Tusk was shaking his head, but doing so with a small smile. While Leo was scratching the back of his head and soon faced Tusk.
"What kind of reminder was that?" Leo asked incredulously.
But Tusk paid him no mind as he headed back to the house to finish the remaining house chores that he had to do. He did so without forgetting to drag Leo, of course.
xxxxxx
It wasn't a cold day, to be honest. But if someone would actually touch Nagi's hands at the moment, one would think that he just dipped those hands in a bucket full of ice. He was nervous, okay? No one could blame him for that.
Though he was trying his best to fight his anxiety, it was easier said than done. He was finally meeting his penpal for the first time that day, after all. Who wouldn't be nervous?
Then again, did he even have a reason to feel that way? There was nothing wrong with the person that he was about to meet, right? Of course, he was also worried about what sort of impression he would be making after all that.
Breathe in... Breathe out...
There was nothing to worry about. At least, that was what Nagi wanted to tell himself as he waited a few more minutes for the person that he agreed to meet that day for the first time.
"Nagi-kun!"
He stiffened as soon as he heard a woman's voice calling out his name all of a sudden. There was nothing for him to feel nervous about, he said. And yet, here he was.
"Amu-chan!" he called out before he could even stop himself. There was nothing wrong with that, right?
Then again, they resorted to calling each other that way in letters, right?
It looked like it didn't offend Amu, anyway. So perhaps he made the right call. It didn't take long before Amy finally reached his position. Both still showed shyness as they would look at each other, only to look away after a few moments. The action only made them laugh as soon as they realized that.
"I can't believe we're acting like this," Amu said first, finally breaking the tense silence between them.
"That's still understandable, considering that this is the first time we've truly met," he said. This time, with a smile.
"It finally happened, huh? We finally saw each other after a long while of writing letters to each other."
Even Nagi couldn't believe that they've managed to hold out that long to not meet each other personally. And to think they've mentioned a lot about themselves and their lives through the letters that they kept sending out to each other before.
"Does it feel like we've diminished the thrill somewhat?" Nagi asked all of a sudden.
Amu's eyes widened at the words she heard. "What? What made you say that?"
But he just shrugged. It was true, he had no idea where that thought came from. And yet he still ended up saying it.
"Sorry. It was weird of me to say something like that. Forget it."
Before Amu could even say anything to rebuke or retort that, Nagi ended up taking her hand and pulled her away from there. He wasn't aware of the surprised expression that crossed Amu's face when he did that. Then again, it wasn't like she didn't like it.
She couldn't understand the warmth that coursed her body the moment he did something as bold as holding her hand when they've just met face to face for the first time. Of course, it wasn't like she hated it. She was just surprised, that's all.
"We're still going to continue what we've been doing until now, right?" Amu asked after a little long while of silence between them as he continued pulling her along with him.
Nagi faced her, his frown visible. But she could tell that he was genuinely confused about her words.
"We're not going to stop writing those letters to each other just because we've finally met properly, right?" she asked, reiterating what she truly intended to ask of him.
Without a doubt, the question had surprised him. But even with that unexpected question, deep inside, he knew he was also about to ask the same thing had he been given enough time to gather his courage. And yet this woman whom he was holding hands with at the moment had beat him to it.
Talk about crazy... but amazing.
"No one between us wanted to even stop doing that, right?" Nagi asked back instead. But he knew he was giving Amu the answer that — hopefully — she wanted to hear from him.
The elated smile that crossed Amu's features was enough as a confirmation for him that she understood.
At the moment, they might be taking just small steps. It was just the start of a new chapter, after all. But they knew, if this would keep up, more brand new beautiful chapters about their "letter writing to gain each other's affection" journey would open up before they knew it. In the meantime, they would just savor the time that they could spend together before it would disappear before the day ended. Those letters that they kept writing to each other even after they've finally met would open that door for them.
xxxxxx
Here's a new one-shot, y'all! You could say that I'm writing these one-shots just for me not to lose the momentum and also to think clearly before I focus on my other writing projects. And I appreciate each and everyone of you for reading till here. See you on the next one-shot! Bye!
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