The Milestone

...she finally loosened her grip with a soft, dramatic sigh, rolling over onto the tatami mat like a defeated cat."Ahhh... I am completely, utterly satisfied," Haruka groaned happily. She sprawled out across the cushions, her messy morning hair fanning across the floor as she contentedly clutched her stomach."Ha-ru-ka," I said, drawing out her name as I set my chopsticks down with a dry smirk. "Even if my morning cooking is a masterpiece, you shouldn't gorge yourself like that. At this rate, you're going to get soft around the edges.""Hey! Uncalled for, Itsii!" She puffed her cheeks out into a perfect pout, though the sheer bliss of a warm breakfast left her far too lazy to actually mount a proper defense.I glanced up at the cheap plastic wall clock, the ticking a sudden reminder of the ticking clock of our schedule. "Come on, stop playing dead. Our morning lecture is going to start without us. We really need to move.""Okay, okay, I'm moving..."A whirlwind ten-minute scramble of hunting down lost keys and tossing notebooks into bags later, we finally stepped across the threshold.We finally got out the door, the cold air hitting my face the second I pushed it open. Walking down our street, I shifted the heavy engineering pack onto my right shoulder, trying to find a spot where the strap wouldn't dig in, while slinging her canvas bag over my left.Haruka looked over at me, her face lighting up with a small smirk. She reached down and just kind of wrapped her hand casually around my fingers."You really don't have to carry that every single morning, you know," she said, her voice quiet."Carry what?""The bag," she mumbled. She looked away for a second as a few kids in high school uniforms walked right past us on the sidewalk. "You’ve already got all those drawing tubes. People are gonna think I'm making you do it."I laughed a little, squeezing her hand. "Come on. It’s been exactly nine months today. If I can't look after my own girlfriend on our anniversary, what am I even doing?"I nudged her shoulder with mine, a little playful push to break her out of her shell. She immediately bumped right back into me, laughing under her breath."Besides," I added, looking down the block where the university gates were finally coming into view, "your bag weighs basically nothing. It’s not like it's a workout. Just let me hold onto it."

We walked down the narrow slope of our residential street, our shoulders brushing occasionally as we fell into our usual rhythm. The neighborhood was quiet, filled with the hum of early morning television from open kitchen windows and the occasional ring of a bicycle bell as a salaryman hurried past.Even though I was carrying both of our packs, having Haruka walking right next to me made the morning trek feel effortless. Every now and then, she would look over at the convenience store displays or point out a stray cat sleeping on top of a concrete wall, her energy slowly returning as the cold morning air woke her up completely.As we turned the corner onto the main avenue, the quiet residential vibe completely vanished.The sidewalk suddenly flooded with hundreds of students streaming out of the nearby subway station. The noise of Tokyo traffic—the deep roar of city buses, the chatter of crowded crosswalks, and the distant rumble of the train lines—rushed to meet us. Up ahead, the massive brick archway of the university gates was finally visible through the sea of winter coats and matching college lanyards.I tightened my grip on her hand just a bit so we wouldn't get separated by the incoming crowd."Hey, look who finally decided to show up!" a loud, incredibly obnoxious voice shattered our quiet bubble.The sound came from Kazuya who is my best, no sorry "worst" friend, "hey man, you good?""Yea until you decide to show your face." I slap his head "How are you sato san" Kazuya asked haruka, "I am fine, thanks for asking, Ueda san" "alright man." he turned to me "I ma leave you two to continue enjoying yourself!" he said playfully. "shut up!" I slap his back playfully. Then Kazuya’s girlfriend Chika came along, who also happens to be Haruka’s best friend came tag along, “seriously kazu stop teasing them too much, i can see how haruka chan is looking forward to spending alone time with itsuki, aren’t i right haruka chan.” “You are definitely not on my side.” I groaned, “eh haruka? I look at Haruka, who is blushing furiously damn she is so cute when she blushes "are you okay?'' I asked, "No...No...I mean Yes! Yes!, i am totally fine, please, it is just... a lot of teasing, making me feel embarressed" Haruka stammered, I chuckled, "well it is almost time for lesson, lets go now." I reach out my hand and she took it, "See you soon!" I said to Kazuya and Chika, they wave back.

We finally found four empty seats next to each other near the middle row and dumped our bags on the long desk. The professor was already up front, tapping the microphone and making that annoying screeching sound through the speakers.I leaned back in my chair and stared at the empty chalkboard, feeling a massive headache coming on. "Great... History lesson..." I muttered."History isn't even that bad," Haruka said, already unzipping her pencil case and lining up her highlighters like she was preparing for war. "All you have to do is read the notes and you get a good score.""Easy for you to say," I shot back, turning my head to look at her. "You literally ace every single test.""Because I actually study!" Haruka whispered loudly, giving me a glare."Yeah, right," I smirked, leaning a bit closer to her desk. "I remember you crying and begging me to teach you physics last semester because you almost failed.""Hey! That was different!" Her face went red instantly, and she quickly looked over her shoulder to make sure Kazuya and Chika weren't paying attention. She puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms. "Anyway, you're good at science, I'm good at history. We have our own strengths."Seeing her actually get defensive made me feel bad. I reached my hand under the desk and tapped her knee. "Alright, sorry for bringing it up."Haruka let out a little huff, but I could see her trying not to smile. "Apology accepted. Just don't be mean next time."I smiled, leaned over the armrest, and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Okay, I'm sorry."Haruka’s annoying posture disappeared instantly. She leaned right back into my face to kiss me back, completely forgetting that we were sitting in a room with a hundred other students."Sato-san, Aoki-san, please!"The professor’s voice blasted through the microphone, making everyone in the room jump. He pulled his reading glasses down his nose, staring directly at us with a totally deadpan face. "This is a history lesson, so stop kissing like you're at home. It is very uncomfortable for everyone else."Instantly, the entire lecture hall erupted. People were snickering and turning around to look at us. Kazuya was literally biting his own hand to keep from laughing out loud, while Chika just put her face in her hands, completely embarrassed to be sitting next to us.Haruka and I froze. My face went so hot I thought my ears were going to smoke."We are so sorry!" we blurted out at the exact same time.We slammed our heads down, burying our faces straight into our notebooks. For the next hour and a half, neither of us moved an inch. I just stared at the blue lines on my blank paper like it was the most interesting thing in the world, praying for the bell to ring. 

The professor finally wrapped up, and everyone started packing their bags."Finished your little session?" Kazuya asked, slinging his pack over his shoulder."Shut up, give me a break," I said, shoving my notebook into my bag. I looked around the empty desks. "Where’s Haruka?""She ran ahead. Said she had club stuff." Kazuya leaned against the desk, watching me. "Come to think of it, you haven't joined any clubs.""Yeah, well, I’d rather just go home. Study, do whatever."Kazuya laughed. "Oh right. Forgot you're a nerd.""Hey, I do sports too," I said, pulling the zipper shut.It was true. I wasn't out of shape, I just saw sports as something to do occasionally rather than a daily routine."Hey! What are you guys talking about?"Haruka came jogging down the classroom aisle, slightly out of breath."Hey Haru," I said. "Just talking about why I don’t join any clubs.""Oh, yeah." Haruka nodded. "You always want to stay home." She stopped for a second, then looked at me. "Oh, by the way, I’m joining the physics club."I stared at her. "Physics? You hate physics.""Well, it might help my grades," she said, looking down at her shoes and lowering her voice. "But mostly... I just wanted more things to talk to you about.""Oh."I didn't really know what to say to that. Kazuya was right next to us, smirking like an idiot."So will you join?" Haruka asked, looking back up at me. "They still have spots left."I looked at her, then glanced at Kazuya, who just raised his eyebrows. I let out a sigh and shrugged. "Well, I guess I can't really say no.""Yay!" Haruka smiled, pumping her fists. "just don't sleep during the club activities." "Yousoro!"A loud, boisterous voice boomed from inside the room the exact second the door swung open.(A few minutes later)"I regret my choices..." Haruka stammered, resting her forehead directly against the wooden table. "The topic is so boring...""Well... I found it pretty interesting though," I said, flipping through the introductory printout they had handed us."Yeah, because you like physics!""Well, it's not my fault that you joined the club despite hating physics," I pointed out, shifting my chair a bit closer to hers.Haruka puffed her cheeks out slightly, looking away as she mumbled under her breath. "Well, I just want to be with you, dummy!""I don't know if I should be glad or worried, though," I said, looking at her."Both!" she shot back instantly."Alright, alright," I laughed, reaching over to give her head a gentle pat. "Let's just go home." "Mmmm!"