New Year Start

New Year Start is the fourth Tim x Azusa fanfic. It was posted in 2015 along with 6 other fanfics on the Notes section of his Facebook page. It is the third 'side story' of the series.
== Notes ==
* After graduating from high school, Azusa and I celebrate the New Year with Ui and Jun.https://www.facebook.com/timothy.gregory.923/posts/1239663232814467
== Text ==
Click expand to show the full fanfiction
I ran through my grocery list, pointing at each item to confirm I had it. "Yes, yes, yes, yes...". Once I was satisfied that I hadn't missed anything, I went through the checkout and paid. Bags in hand, I made my way home. My breath came out as white puffs, due to the cooler temperature. I wasn't totally bothered by the chill. I personally preferred it to the heat of summer. As I walked, I cast gazes at people preparing for the New Year.
I had now graduated from Sakura High, and had really enjoyed my time there. Thankfully, I had made it through scot-free. The other students had not labeled me as a pervert, which I was exceptionally happy about. All my efforts had not been wasted. Reaching my apartment, I released a couple of bags to free one of my hands. Unlocking the door, I headed inside. After putting away my groceries, I stretched. [Okay, that's all done. So what do I do now?] My phone's text tone then went off. It was Ui.
'Hi. Are you free this evening? Azusa-chan and Jun-chan are spending New Year's at my place tonight. We'd love you to come along.'
I smiled. I'm pretty sure by '[we'd] love you to come along', she really means '[Azusa] would love you to come along'. I typed up a response. 'Sounds good. Thanks for the invite. What time should I come?'
'How about around 7? Make sure you come hungry.'
'Will do. See you there.' I put my phone away, then checked the time. Almost lunchtime. [Hmm. Should I invite Azusa out, or wait for later?] Giving it some thought, I decided to wait. [Maybe I should get her a present or something, even though it's already past Christmas.] We had sent each other gifts for birthdays, but I hadn't really given her anything as a boyfriend. Nodding, I decided to get her a New Year's gift. A thought then hit me. [Maybe while I'm at it, I'll get something to contribute to New Year's. Can't let Ui do everything.] Deciding to kill two birds with one stone, I headed out.
Finding a supermarket, I browsed the various items. [What would everyone like?] Eventually ending up by the confectionery, I pulled out a bag of shortbread cookies. [These might be a little too basic.] I then had another thought. Pulling my phone out, I checked the Internet for a shortbread recipe. I shortly found one that looked doable. [Hmm. It would be a lot cheaper to make them. Ui is probably gonna cook a lot. I should try to make things a bit easier for her. I'm always making my own lunches anyway. How hard could it be to make some cookies?]
I put the item back and left, deciding to make them instead. I still needed to find a gift for Azusa though, so I headed to the main mall. [It can't be anything too extravagant, that'll cost too much.] I looked through all the stores I could find. I saw a lot of cute things that I thought she might like, but couldn't quite decide. Entering another store, I kept browsing. My eyes then fell upon some stuffed animals. Looking through, I found some stuffed cats. [Well, her nickname was 'Azu-nyan'.] Sifting through them, I found a black cat. The color matched Azusa's hair almost perfectly. Holding it in front of me, I gave it a thorough check.
Smiling, I decided this would do. After purchasing it, I headed back home. I still had a number of hours before I was to head to Ui's, so I pulled up the shortbread recipe. Looking through the ingredients, I checked my fridge and cupboards. [Seems I still need some things. Oh well, a bit of exercise never killed anyone.] Making a note of what I was missing, I headed out again. After returning with the remaining ingredients, I got busy. Within about an hour, the cookies were in the oven.
While waiting for them to bake, I watched some TV, looking back at the kitchen every so often. Eventually, the oven's timer rang. Pulling the trays out, I inspected my handiwork. Well, they're not burnt, which is good. Setting them aside to cool, I got the cat out. [Should I wrap it? Or should I just give it to her as is?] It wasn't a birthday or Christmas present, but just handing it to her by itself didn't feel right for some reason. I then had an idea. [Hey, don't I have some paper lying around?] Checking the bedroom, I found some paper and some stationery, then got to work.
Several hours later...
I rang the doorbell of the Hirasawa house. The evening was noticeably chilly. I will admit, as much as I preferred the cold, I was eager to get inside. I heard approaching footsteps, then the door opened. "Evening."
"Hi Shigure-chan. Thanks for coming." Ui said, smiling.
I looked over her shoulder. "The other 2 here yet?"
"Just Jun-chan. Azusa-chan hasn't arrived yet. Come in, you must be cold."
"*chuckle* I guess a bit." I swapped my shoes for some slippers.
"Please make yourself at home. I'll bring some gyoza."
"Before you do..." I opened my bag and pulled out a container, taking care to hide the cat. "I felt I should contribute to tonight, so I made some shortbread cookies. I hope they came out okay."
"Oh, thank you. I'm sure they'll be great." Closing my bag again, I headed into the living-room.
Jun waved when she saw me. "Hello."
"What is up?" I replied, sitting down. Ui appeared again with some gyoza, and we exchanged some small talk until the doorbell rang again.
"That'll be Azusa-chan." Ui left the room briefly, then returned with Azusa in tow.
"Evening." I said.
She smiled brightly when she saw me. "Hi Shigure."
I then gestured towards Jun. "Um..."
"Oh. Sorry Jun. Hello." Azusa added quickly.
"Hi Azusa." Jun then reached for another Gyoza.
"Hold it. Azusa hasn't had any yet." I said, jabbing my thumb at my girlfriend.
"It's okay. I have some more." Ui said. She left the room again, leaving the 3 of us alone.
Later on...
We all watched the TV screen, waiting for the countdown. Yamanaka-sensei had somehow managed to invade the house (I was told she had done it several times before), and was sitting with us. I could see that they were all trying to stay awake. I had had some coffee earlier, which kind of helped.
"*yawn* How much longer?" Jun asked.
"Almost time." I said. "Let's just get through this, then you can all sleep." I looked at Azusa. She was really struggling, so I scooted over to her. "You doing okay?"
Shaking her head, she gave me a smile. "I'm okay. I'll make it." Seeing her like this was making me start to feel bad. Yamanaka-sensei then spoke up.
"It's starting."
I grabbed my drink. "Everyone ready?" Shaking their tiredness away, they all got their drinks. The countdown then began.
"10(jū), 9(kyū), 8(hachi), 7(shichi), 6(roku), 5(go), 4(shi), 3(san), 2(ni), 1(ichi)! Happy New Year!"
A few hours later...
Azusa and I stood atop a hill, waiting for the sun to rise. The other 3 were still at the house. Although I felt really bad doing it, I woke them up and asked for volunteers to see the first sunrise of the new year. Yamanaka-sensei was fast asleep, with no hope of being woken up. Azusa and Jun were still half-asleep when I asked, but Ui was awake enough to suggest that Azusa and I go by ourselves. So a still-waking-up Azusa and I wrapped ourselves up and headed out. The freezing morning air quickly woke her up.
"Well, it's time for a new year." I said.
"Yeah." Azusa replied. She looked down, smiling a bit.
I looked over at her. "Something on your mind?"
"Just thinking that I'll be able to see Yui-sempai and the others again. It feels like forever since I last saw them."
I gave her a smile. "Yeah. You guys have a lot of catching up to do." A sliver of light then appeared. "Here it comes." We looked at the horizon. The sun began slowly showing itself. "Gorgeous, isn't it?" I said.
"Yeah." She moved closer and grasped my hand. "Happy New Year, Shigure."
"Happy New Year, Azusa." Something then came to me. "That reminds me..." I set my bag down and pulled my gift out, hiding it behind me. "Do me a favor. Close your eyes and hold your hands out."
Puzzled at what I was doing, she did as I said. Placing the cat in her outstretched hands, I then said "Okay, you can open them now."
Opening her eyes, she initially looked confused. "What's this?"
"New Year's gift."
A look of surprise appeared. "Shigure... Why?"
"Can't a guy get something for his precious girl? Look on the left ear."
She saw the folded bit of paper. Opening it up, she read aloud what I'd written. "'Thank you for taking me as your lover. I hope our future is as bright as your eyes'." I could see she was shocked. "But... I don't have anything for you."
I moved closer and put my arms around her. "I wasn't expecting anything. You are all I need, Azusa." I held her close. "Accepting me as your boyfriend was the best gift I ever got from you."
My ears picked up the sound of her getting emotional. "Shigure..."
Separating from her, I held her face and gently put her gaze on me. "I'll say it again. Happy New Year, Azusa. I hope it's a good one, for both of us."
Wiping her tears away, she smiled. "Me too." She then pulled me down and joined our lips. Our arms wrapping around each other, we embraced in the gathering light. We stayed joined for a good few moments.
Pulling away, I gave her another smile. "I'm sure Yui-sempai's gonna throw herself all over you when you two meet."
"Yeah. It'll be okay though. I've kind of missed that part of her." She looked down again. "Um... Things are gonna work out for us, right? With me moving in soon?"
"Of course. Everything's gonna be fine. I'm really looking forward to it."
She looked at me again. "And what about you? You said you weren't going to college, right? What will you do?"
"I'll find myself some work. Can't keep relying on my parents, right?"
"I guess. It'll just be a bit lonely, not having you with me at college."
I grasped her shoulders. "We'll only apart for half a day at most. You can survive that long. And we'll have the weekends to do whatever we want. Besides, you’re going to an all-girls school again. I doubt I’ll get accepted into another one.
She nodded and giggled. "Yeah, you’re right." She looked up at me lovingly. "I love you."
"I love you, Azusa." I stooped down and kissed her again. This year would mark a new chapter for us, where we'd begin changing from kids to adults. Things were far from certain, but I knew this much. As long as Azusa and I had each other, everything would be alright.
THE END
==References==