>>57671515>>57671620Aight, sorry it took a bit, finished dinner. This one's almost hitting 5k chars
>Your anniversary is approaching>Tomorrow's the day>You thought long and hard about what you'd get for Shiori>There were plenty of things that caught her eye during the past year>A lot of books, some dresses, a couple potted plants, even a new microscope set>But one thing that seemed to catch her eye the most while you went out on dates was always this one soft plush bear>You decided to get that for her, even if it was a little on the cheaper side, her eyes would always fall on it every single time you passed the shops>Anxiety however is gripping at the back of your mind>"What if she doesn't like it?" "What if she expected more?" "What if this is enough to en-">You drown out that last thought, and the others that came before it, shaking your head vigorously >"No way, tomorrow's a special day, gotta make it count.">The next day arrives, it's already evening>Everything happened in a blur, you don't even remember what you ate for breakfast or lunch>Shiori is waiting for you>Atop a hill, with a big tree, and a nice view of the grass swaying in the wind>There's a picnic rug, a basket and a giftbox with Shiori sitting, reading a book, looking content>You see her swaying her head side to side, it must be a good book>You sit down next to her, she seems to have noticed your approach, so she isn't too surprised, instead she rests her head on your shoulder>"Today's rather special, isn't it anon, even at night, it's pretty warm right now.">You extend your arm over her, holding her closely, feeling the warmth of her presence, and the smile she has for you>She quickly moves over to the basket and gets you a sandwich>"Oh! I made this for you, it's tuna though so I dunno how much you'd like it..">As she says that, she looks down a little, nervous>No matter what you thought of it, you couldn't let her down, so you bite into it.>The taste is a little oily, but you also taste a bit of mayonnaise on it, you swallow it down, and you tell her it's great, regardless of what you really thought>She looks up at you in delight then takes one and eats into it also>"Really? I'm so glad!">After your little meal is complete, both of you stare up at the stars for a little, cuddled together, she starts to point out constellations to you but you were never good at those so you just listen in and let her speak>A couple hours pass, just like that, the time is slowly approaching midnight>You help her pack up the little picnic she prepared with you then you extend your hand out to her>She takes it, firmly, interlocking her fingers with yours and squeezing it gently, you can feel her little squeezes on your hand>As you begin to walk her home, she asks you in a soft, gentle tone>"Hey anon, can we go through the park first?">Without thinking too much on it, you agree>Once at the park, she heads towards a small playground>"We met here as kids didn't we? Then we had to be separated for a little, but we found each other again and now here we are huh?">You nod slowly, Shiori was the childhood friend you had, unfortunately you had to move away because of your parents work>She hands you her gift box that she had by her side the entire time during the picnic>You hand her yours and she opens it quickly>She's silent, but you can see tears in her eyes forming and some light sniffles>"How did you know?" she barely managed to utter these words>You open your gift that you received, in it were a bunch of fireworks>"You always had your eye on it whenever we went on a date, think I wouldn't notice?">Your reply was full of confidence, like you had rehearsed it a thousand times to sound just that extra bit more cool>She smiles uncontrollably and hugs you, then she tells you "Hey, can you set off some of those?">Without hesitation you light a couple fireworks and watch them as they shoot up and explode in a dazzle of lights brighter than the stars that you two observed earlier>There she stands a couple paces back>"Anon, this past year has been more than everything to me, we used to joke around about how we would get married as kids, I even gave you that flower ring.">You look at her, her tone a mix of playfulness but also seriousness, you stay silent and you listen>"I was truly afraid when you left, that I would never see you again, that if I did, you would forget me, or wouldn't recognize me.">It's true, you were afraid of this too, when you first met her again in school, depression ran deep in your heart at the thought of her not recognizing you.>"But, you recognized me, you called out to me, you took away the loneliness I had felt, and you replaced it with all the love and loyalty a girl could die for. Thank you anon, I love you.">You want to reply, but your heart is filled with pure, raw, unfiltered euphoria, that cute little speech is everything to you right now.>You finally utter the words "I love you too."