More than a Present

The next morning, Jun looked out the window with a sigh. "It's stopped snowing, but there's still quite a lot of snow on the ground..."

Akari titled her head, studying him. "Why does that seem like bad news?"

He ran a hand through his hair, hesitating. "I wanted to show you something..."

"And you can't with the snow?"

"It's not that I can't... It's just a little inconvenient."

A soft smile crept to Akari's face. "You always worry too much about getting things perfect. Whatever it is, the fact that you thought about it and planned something, means more than enough already."

Jun averted his gaze, slightly embarrassed. "You deserve the best though..."

Akari took his hand in hers, giving it a soft squeeze. "And I already have it."

Jun blinked, caught off guard as his gaze met her sincerity. A small smile tugged at his lips as he gave her hand a squeeze back. "Shall we go then?"

Akari nodded and fell into step with Jun.

-

Jun brought them to the house Akari had bought a few weeks ago.

"What are we doing here?" Akari said as she got out the car.

Jun held out his hand for her. "Close your eyes and trust me."

She studied his face for a moment before she slipped her hand into his. "Okay."

Akari closed her eyes and let Jun guide her through her new home, carefully moving around the boxes filled with her life that waited to be unpacked.

Jun slid a door open, put slippers on both of them, and helped Akari down a step onto the soft crisp snow.

He led Akari a little further. "You can open your eyes now."

When Akari opens her eyes, she found herself standing in her new yard. But it was not the clear vast space she last remembered. The space now held neatly arranged garden beds and a small greenhouse nearby filled with tools and pots as if it was all waiting for the arrival of spring.

Akari didn't say anything at first. Her eyes danced between the garden beds and greenhouse. Despite being covered in snow, she could clearly tell the time and effort Jun had put into it.

When she finally turned to Jun, her eyes immediately fell onto the tiny cuts on his hands. "You built all this...?"

"You said you wanted a garden." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I figured I'd help you start..."

All Akari could do was stare at him. Tears threatened her eyes as a memory surfaced. "Promise me you'll watch me become a star, okay? And once I make it, I'll get you the biggest garden ever!"

Akari turned to blink back the tears as Hikari's words echoed in her mind.

Jun noticed how she tried to hide her tears and slid his hand on her back, his thumb tracing circles in support.

She let out a shaky breath as she took in the garden. "It's perfect..." She turned to him, a small, overwhelmed smile on her face. "I can't believe you did this..."

"Do you like your present?"

"I love it. Thank you, Jun. This is more than just a present to me..." She took his hand, her fingers lightly brushing over the cuts before placing a small kiss on his hand. "You really didn't have to do all this..."

"I know." He leaned down and placed a gentle peck on her forehead. "But I wanted to."

Akari smiled as her fingers lingered over Jun's cuts. "Do they not hurt?"

He shook his head. "Not at all." He intertwined their fingers. "When the snow clears, you'll be able to better see how everything looks."

She looked back at the garden. "Even with the snow, I can tell you did an amazing job. Is this what you were doing every time you left the apartment?"

He nodded. "I wanted to show you before the snow fell, but it took longer than expected."

"Well then once the snow melts we can look at it again together." Akari glanced down at the soft blanket of snow. She tilted her head as a mischievous smile formed. "You know... The snow won't last forever..."

Jun raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Akari let go of Jun's hand and crouched down. She quickly scooped up a fistful of snow and lightly tossed it at him with a playful giggle.

The snowball smacked Jun right in the face. He wiped the snow off with a wide grin. "Oh, you'll regret that." He scooped up a giant handful of snow.

"Wait! That's way too much!" Akari squealed as she backed up, laughing despite herself.

Jun tossed the giant snowball gently toward her. It burst against her shoulder, and she playfully squealed again as the snow slid down her coat. "No fair!" She crouched to scoop more snow.

"Fair?" He lightly laughed as he dodged her other attacks. "I have to defend myself, don't I?"

Akari grinned mischievously, creating multiple snowballs. "Then I guess I can't give you time to defend." She launched her pile of snowballs, one after another at him.

And just like that, the quiet winter garden became a flurry of flying snow, laughter, and playful chaos.

After a few more rounds of snowball dodging and laughing. Akari paused, brushing snow off herself. "Okay, okay. Truce."

Jun smiled as he dropped the snowballs in his hands, holding them up in surrender. "Truce."

Akari looked down at the snow. "Do you think there's enough to build a snowman?"

His eyes softened. "There's plenty." He crouched down, gesturing for her to join him.

They began rolling the snow together, laughing when one collapsed or turned out oddly shaped. Their hands brushed repeatedly as they adjusted the pieces to create a questionable looking snowman.

Akari squinted at the creation. "It looks... a little crooked.

Jun raised an eyebrow. "A little?"

Akari pouted. "Okay a lot. I've never made a snowman before. Why does it look like that?"

Jun glanced at her, taken aback. "You've never made a snowman before?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't snow in Okinawa. And I never had time before now."

Jun started gathering more snow. "Well, it just needs a little more snow to even it out."

They worked together, rolling and patting the snow, but somehow the snowman only grew stranger - lopsided and uneven.

Akari tilted her head, chucklingly lightly. "I don't think we're very good at this..."

He nudged her playfully. "What happened to your art skills from before?"

She looked at him with a grin. "I guess your skills rubbed off on me."

Jun laughed. "Well, if that's true, then I say our snowman looks perfect."

"Me too." 

Their laughter mingled in the crisp winter air.

The garden beds and greenhouse stood patiently in the background, waiting for spring, while the two of them grounded themselves in the present winter.