Puppy Eyes

Despite how he would constantly push Ichiro away, Maasa didn’t actually hate him. Or even dislike him. But he had gotten so used to pushing him away… After all, Ichiro was the only person in their group who remembered how he used to be. And he hated those memories. So it was kinda hard for him to try being friendly to Ichiro when he didn’t seem to notice that he didn’t like being reminded of those things. Maasa knew it wasn’t on purpose, but still…

But he still had started to try and be a little more accepting of Ichiro’s friendship. Even if it was just starting small.

However, he still didn’t really know how to react when Ichiro would invite him to hang out. He was always so… Excited. And it was always about getting food together. But, this time, it was somewhere else.

“You want to go watch a movie at the theatre after school?” Ichiro asked him during lunch, even bringing a chair to sit on as he talked to him. “I-I know you’re not a big fan of going out to eat, so I can eat your popcorn for you if you want!”

Maasa wasn’t exactly sure how to respond to that. He didn’t expect Ichiro to actually seem perceptive for once. “Oh, eh… What movie?”

“We could decide once we get there! If there isn’t anything good, we could watch something at my place instead!”

“I… I’m not sure…” Maasa didn’t exactly know if he should go or not. He did kind of want to, but… What if things turned out extremely awkward?

“Please?” Ichiro was almost pleading, holding his hands together and making puppy eyes at Maasa.

Oh, Maasa had to admit it, his puppy eyes were kinda cute. His body jerked away from him, as if that could decrease the effect of his pleading. It didn’t, obviously. “Don’t look at me like that!”

“Pretty please? I swear we’ll have a good time!”

Maasa tried to close his eyes shut as hard as possible, but not even that could help him. He groaned. “Fine! I’ll go this time. But… If I do get popcorn, it’s gonna be just a little.”

“Yes!” Ichiro jumped off his chair and held Maasa’s hands, smiling as his eyes pretty much sparkled.

Maasa’s cheeks heat up just slightly. That wasn’t how he had expected or planned to get closer to his cousin, but it was… Definitely a start. Even though he would probably be dragged around by Ichiro quite a lot at the start.