Initial conversations Hana had with his parents were tense, as neither of them thought it was beneficial for him to be in a relationship at his age. Especially not after Hana told them, off-handedly, about the beer Shuri was carrying that day. But knowing the fierce attraction of a fated pair, they couldn't easily stop it either.

Besides, Shuri was a polite kid. When Hana invited him over, he spoke with Hana's parents with the utmost respect. Despite their initial grievances, it was hard to fault a kid with such manner and maturity.

Fated pairs emitted a sort of bubbled-up aura when they were together, and Hana and Shuri pretty much were all the time. Word spread quickly. It didn’t take long for the school, and indeed the whole town, to find out. Soon they became something like local celebrities.

A big name TV talk show invited them to the town over for an interview Hana's parents drove them both over the weekend. On the day of the interview, Shuri and Hana were both dressed up in tuxedos by the talk show team. They sat together on a couch with the spotlight right in their faces. While Shuri sat on the couch confident and relaxed, Hana fidgeted nervously, flicking his fingernails.

“How should I say- it’s not like a normal crush?" Shuri said. "Those are always like- 'oh, I think so-and-so is cute', but with Hana, it’s this feeling that I want to be with him for the rest of my life, even before we ever spoke a word to each other."

The host smiled. "Wow, an emotion straight out of a fairytale, would you say?”

“Yes, it’s exactly that.”

“Speaking of which, there are so many stories about how pairs go on whirlwind romances and get married weeks if not months after meeting.”

Shuri laughed. "So I’ve heard. But Hana and I are still young. We’re in no rush. We still have school, and a life outside of our fated connection, to work on."

“Spoken so maturely, Mr. Ayase!"

Shuri smiled back genially.

"Then, Mr. Kobayashi Hana, the audience has a question for you...everyone, it seems, has realized that you are awfully quiet on the show."

Hana flushed. It took him a while to unscramble his words. "Ah, I'm sorry if I seem- reserved- speaking publically isn't my...it's not..."

Shuri slid his hand on top of Hana's and gave him an encouraging nod.

The host continued, "Then, what everyone wants to hear from you is: how would you describe your relationship with Mr. Ayase?"

"Ah, well...Shuri is...sometimes he's really quiet, but he's very kind. I was surprised when he started buying sandwiches for me during lunch, even though I already bring bento boxes from home. And because I don’t want his gesture to go to waste, I’ll eat what he buys me instead of the bento...and then dad gets mad seeing all the bento leftovers..."

Shock flashed across Shuri's face. "What? Why didn’t you say so? I’ve never even seen you with a bento box...I thought you didn't have money for lunch! So I’ve been starving for nothing this whole time?"

"What?! You said you eat during morning break!"

"I lied, obviously! I didn't want you to know I was going hungry..."

The two continued squabbling over live TV. The host leaned back in his seat.

"Hahaha! My, my, what a lovely young pair indeed!"