“Let’s check out this shop too,” Natsu said, pointing to a clothing store under the shade of a roadside tree. A sign hanging in the window read: Now Open~
Today’s outing with i had two goals: to pick up a few things for himself, and more importantly, to go shopping for clothes with her.
With that mission in mind, the two had already been browsing for a while now.
So far, the number of outfits they’d actually bought?
Zero.
Maybe it was a matter of differing perspectives.
Every ti Natsu saw sothing that looked decent, he was ready to pay and pack it up on the spot.
Clothes, after all, just needed to be wearable.
As long as they weren’t ugly and were reasonably comfortable, they were good enough.
And if they happened to be cheap? Then that was a top-tier find.
That’s why Natsu usually shopped quickly.
His process was simple: spot a decent-looking store, head in, try sothing on, pay, and go.
He rarely ever visited more than three stores in one outing.
Because even before he left the house, he already had a clear idea of what he needed.
Once out, it was straight to the point—get what he ca for and leave.
He absolutely would not spend an extra second lingering outside.
But in this regard, i had a different opinion.
For i—and for most girls, really—whether or not they actually bought sothing wasn’t the point.
The whole purpose of going shopping was, well… shopping.
Wandering around, browsing here and there, walking with a friend or boyfriend—that experience was the whole point.
The process mattered much more than the outco.
And more often than not, the most important part of that process was the person you were with.
“Coming, coming!”
i, who had been squatting by the roadside playing with a Pidove, suddenly sprang to her feet and rushed to Natsu’s side in a few quick strides.
Then—
“Ugh, my head’s spinning…”
Maybe it was from standing up too fast after squatting for too long.
i felt like soone had pulled the plug on her vision—like an old TV with a loose cable, everything suddenly went dark.
It was like her soul had been locked away from her body.
Sounds, visuals—all of it felt distant and muffled.
“Thump.”
She instinctively stumbled back, about to collapse.
Thankfully, Natsu reacted quickly and caught her just in ti.
Otherwise, i might’ve ended up sitting on the sidewalk right in the middle of the street.
“Careful,” he said.
“You’re always like this when we’re traveling too…”
As i slowly regained her senses, she heard Natsu muttering under his breath.
Logically, as a Pokémon trainer who trained regularly, she thought her physical condition was decent.
But things like this still happened now and then.
“Alright, alright, I get it,” she cut him off. “Let’s just go look at clothes already.”
She pushed Natsu toward the shop, deliberately steering the conversation away.
She knew he was only worried, and she didn’t mind the nagging too much.
But still—was now really the ti?
They were still out shopping.
Couldn’t he save the lecture for later tonight?
So Natsu’s well-intentioned nagging was left hanging in the air as he followed i into the store to continue browsing.
“How about this one?” i asked, holding up two outfits and posing in front of the full-length mirror.
For so reason, she felt like the mirror made her look a bit taller.
Maybe it was a trick of the store's design? To make the clothes look more appealing?
“Hm…”
“I think it works,” Natsu said after a few seconds of thoughtful silence, arms folded across his chest. “It gives off a kind of intellectual vibe.”
Apparently, when picking out clothes with a girl, you shouldn’t respond imdiately.
Taking a few seconds to pause before giving your opinion was supposed to make it sound more sincere.
Natsu didn’t know who ca up with that rule, but he figured it made sense.
At the very least, it made it seem like he was seriously considering it.
Truthfully though, Natsu’s fashion sense was still firmly rooted in practicality.
Fabric type? Cut? Weight per square ter?
Yeah, none of that really registered for him.
His judgnt was based entirely on first impressions.
If it looked fine at first glance, then it was fine.
If not, then it wasn’t.
So far, everything i tried on had looked good.
Probably because i herself was already so striking.
Attractive people could pull off almost anything.
Even a potato sack would look runway-ready on her.
Especially considering how avant-garde so fashion shows were these days.
“Oh yeah?” i said, glancing at him through the mirror. “You seem to really like this ‘intellectual’ look.”
Natsu responded casually, like it was no big deal.
“It’s fine. I just think if you tried that kind of style now and then, you’d look amazing.”
“Really eye-catching, you know?”
“Mmhmm.”
i gave a cryptic hum and dropped the topic.
She never saw herself as the quiet, bookish type. The whole “intellectual” thing didn’t really match her personality.
But if Natsu thought it’d look good on her… maybe she could try it soti?
“This outfit does look great on you,” the sales clerk chid in, seizing the opportunity to launch into a sales pitch.
She explained how the cut was on trend, the craftsmanship, the feel of the fabric—none of which i was really paying attention to.
What caught her ear was just one phrase: your boyfriend.
She instinctively turned her head to look at Natsu—
And their eyes t.
They were standing quite close.
In that mont, ti seed to stretch.
Even the clerk’s enthusiastic voice faded into the background.
“So, what do you think, miss?”
“Ah… it’s nice. I’ll keep looking around,” i replied, quickly snapping out of it.
She broke eye contact and began examining herself in the mirror again.
For so reason, her earlobes felt warm.
The outfit in the mirror also suddenly looked… kind of ordinary.
“Let check out sothing else.”
She straightened the clothes and hung them back on the rack. Then, almost on impulse, she grabbed Natsu’s hand and headed for the door.
“Alright, co again anyti, miss!” the sales clerk called out cheerily. “Oh, and we’re having a promotion—why not take another look with your boyfriend?”
She was clearly eager to make a sale.
But i’s mind wasn’t really on clothes anymore.
Outside the store, she walked with her head slightly down.
The warmth of Natsu’s hand made her instinctively want to pull away.
But the steady pressure holding her hand made her attempts to let go unsuccessful.
So she gave up.
And just kept holding his hand as they continued their stroll.
Back on that one night, when she’d acted on impulse and crossed a line, it had only been once.
After that, i had spent the next few days avoiding Natsu out of sheer embarrassnt.
When the adrenaline faded, all that was left behind was regret and shyness.
“Didn’t like the outfit?”
“Mm, didn’t quite suit .”
“Got it. Alright then.”
And just like that, the conversation stalled again.
Neither of them really knew what to say next.
There was so much he wanted to say, but he didn’t know where to begin.
Natsu felt a strange flutter in his chest.
A feeling he couldn’t quite describe.
A feeling he had never experienced before.
Not even when he was staring at that half-human-sized Strike Freedom Gundam model equipped with a DCD belt.
And those 2D waifus? Don’t even ntion them.
The gap between 2D and 3D was just too wide.
You couldn’t even feel their warmth, let alone talk about sothing as elusive as a racing heartbeat.
Of course, maybe it was because Natsu’s cultivation wasn’t strong enough yet. He still couldn’t break through the dinsional wall to communicate with his 2D wife.
Which is why Natsu decided to enter the 2D world himself. (Strikethrough.)
Holding i’s hand, Natsu could no longer tell whose sweat it was that made their palms damp.
He walked just half a step behind her.
From that angle, he could clearly see the blush on the side of her face.
And her ears—so red they could rival the ripest peaches on a sumr tree.
He didn’t say a word, only adjusted his pace so he could walk side by side with i.
anwhile, in his pocket, Rotom was practically bursting to jump out and teach Natsu how to speak.
Co on, man, say sothing!
Aren’t you usually pretty talkative?
I’ve seen you roast people online without pausing for breath!
Why so shy now?
Keyboard warrior online, tongue-tied introvert in real life?
No way. I’ve gotta help Natsu find sothing to say in a mont like this.
There’s gotta be a million dating one-liners online...
Click.
After a brief search, Rotom silently closed the browser tab.
It’s already the year 4202.
Why are the internet’s dating lines still stuck in 2010?
What’s with all the ancient “Martian text” slang?
Argh.
Have you people really not found a new way to flirt in all these years?!
Rotom was so frustrated, it started cursing in foreign languages.
Swearing in other languages—sothing it picked up from Natsu.
Natsu always believed swearing was bad. It ruined your image and put others in a bad mood if they overheard.
So when Natsu got mad, he usually cursed in foreign languages.
Ask him to hold a conversation in a second language? He’d stumble, stutter, and barely squeeze out a sentence.
But ask him to cuss in one?
He’d switch between languages like a pro.
Who do you think taught Corviknight all its colorful vocabulary in the first place?
Ahem. Let’s skip over that rather “elegant and refined” topic.
At this very mont, Rotom felt like it was facing the biggest professional challenge of its entire existence.
As a Pokémon devoted to making a Trainer’s life easier—handling the little things so they could focus on training—Rotom saw itself as Natsu’s personal butler.
Always ready to dig up whatever info he needed, help build the best plans.
But now? Rotom’s virtual brain was practically overheating.
The so-called “dating tips” online were useless.
Either they were fairy-tale scripts written by people who’d never been in a relationship—
Or they were tips shared by serial players.
None of it was anything Natsu could actually use.
Was honest, simple love really that hard to co by on the modern internet?
With a weary sigh, Rotom realized it might not be much help in this departnt after all.
It wasn’t like it had ever been in love either.
Luckily, while Natsu was still single, he wasn’t a complete blockhead.
Soon, he found sothing to say to break the awkward silence.
And just like that, things slipped back into their usual rhythm—
Except for the hands they were still holding.
Night had fallen, but the crowd on the streets hadn’t thinned one bit.
In fact, with the evening stalls opening along the pedestrian street, it had gotten even more packed.
“Didn’t even notice it got this late,” i said.
Standing by the manmade lake, she raised her hand to the breeze, trying to catch and hold on to a wisp of that carefree wind.
Sotis, people just want to hold onto things that can’t be held.
Like ti. Like youth.
“Yeah,” Natsu replied.
Sitting on the grass, he discreetly rubbed his ankle.
It was sore.
For the first ti since becoming an adult, Natsu was starting to feel like his stamina might not be what it used to be.
If he hadn’t found an excuse to sit down for a bit at that milk tea shop earlier...
His ankle wouldn’t just be sore—it’d probably be throbbing by now.
Seriously, how do girls go shopping for hours and feel nothing?
One by one, the lakeside lights flickered on.
Natsu glanced at the now fully dark sky, then at the lamps just coming to life.
He didn’t feel like comnting.
Every neighborhood probably had a few of those streetlights—no one knew why they were there.
They always turned on late, constantly broke for no reason, and no one ever ca to fix them. Just stayed broken forever.
“Heave-ho.”
Plopping down beside him, i even made a cute sound effect for herself.
The fall grasses were dry and brittle, and sitting down, you could feel them poking through your pants.
Even thick fabric couldn’t block them entirely.
These weeds seed to have a way of getting everywhere.
A few decorative lotus lanterns floated quietly on the lake’s surface.
“Natsu.”
“What’s up?”
i sat quietly for a mont beside him, then suddenly spoke, breaking the stillness.
“What exactly are we now?”
With her elbows on her knees and her hand propping up her chin, she tilted her head slightly to look at him.
A few strands of hair fell by her ear, dancing lightly in the breeze.
For a girl, asking that question took so courage.
“As of now…”
Natsu didn’t answer right away, like he was intentionally teasing her.
Finally, under i’s expectant gaze, he said the words.
“We’re dating, right?”
“But you haven’t even confessed yet.”
“Then let fix that now.”
He stood up and shifted his posture, looking at i seriously.
“i, will you be my girlfriend?”
“Most of the ti, yes.”
“And the rest of the ti?”
“Absolutely yes.”
No flowers, no candles, no big dramatic declarations.
But sotis, things are just that simple.
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