eastofthemoon

Been writing Nozaki-Kun fics for a prompt week and I managed to write one each day!

I will be posting them all here on Archive of Our Own But I'll post them here too.

Prompt: Pumpkin
Characters: Chiyo/Nozaki

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“Wow, there sure are a lot of pumpkins,” Chiyo said as she stepped carefully between them.

“Pumpkin patches tend to be full this time of year,” Nozaki said as he walked in stride next to her. “Thanks for coming with me.”

“No problem,” Chiyo said with a smile.

It had been a surprise when Nozaki asked Chiyo to help him choose a pumpkin. She didn’t ask why Nozaki needed such a thing, but she wasn’t about to let a chance slip by for some solo time with just her, him, and no manga between them.

She gave a frown. “Although, is it that hard to pick one?”

“It is when it’s not for me,” Nozaki stated as he looked over a small pumpkin. “Hori asked me to find him a gorgeous gourd.”

Chiyo tilted her head. “And he needs it why?”

“They’re doing Cinderella,” Nozaki said as he went to peek under another vine.

“Oh!” Chiyo clapped her hands. “Kashima must be playing the prince!”

“That hardly needs mentioning,” Nozaki replied as he patted the nearest pumpkin with a frown. “Anyway, when Hori mentioned getting a pumpkin I realized that a pumpkin patch might be a good setting for a scene anyway. So, I offered to save him the trouble so he could focus on set-building.”

“That makes sense, Kashima's fans have been causing more trouble lately,” Chiyo said, stopping by what looked at first like a seat before noticing its colour. “How about this one?”

Nozaki grasped his chin. “That one might be a bit too big. Hori made it clear it had to be easy for someone to carry, but still be visible on stage.”

“Oh, good point,” Chiyo said as she looked around. “Let’s see, that one looks too bumpy...too small...Oh! I think I found it!”

Chiyo picked up a medium size pumpkin and held it out. “What do you think? This looks like it would be easy to carry on stage.”

Nozaki glanced over the gourd as he gave a thoughtful frown. “Yeah, that looks like what Hori would want. Good hunting, Chiyo.”

Chiyo beamed. “Glad I could be of help!”

Nozaki crossed his arms, staring off into space for a moment. “You know, I just realized pumpkins are kind of cute.”

Chiyo blinked as she looked over the pumpkin in her hands. “Huh, really?”

How could a vegetable be cute? Wait, were pumpkins vegetables or were they one of the weird cases that was considered a fruit?

“The color,” Nozaki said flatly as he pointed. “It’s the same as your hair.”

Chiyo froze as she blushed. Did...did Nozaki just call her cute?

Her heart pounded rapidly. Was..was now the right time? Here in this pumpkin patch? Could she FINALLY tell him how she felt?

She gulped and stepped forward. “Nozaki?”

He glanced up and looked concerned. “Uh...Chiyo-”

No, he wouldn’t stop her this time and took another step. “I...I want to tell you that I-”

“Chiyo, wait stop-”

CRUNCH

Chiyo halted. The words stopped dead as she felt her shoe embedded in something squishy. Full of dread, Chiyo looked down to discover she had stepped right in the centre of a pumpkin. She pulled out her foot and grimaced at the pumpkin insides and seeds dangling off of it.

Nozaki chewed his bottom lip. “I was about to say ‘You’re going to crush a pumpkin’.”

“I see,” Chiyo said with a deep sigh as she reached for her wallet. “ I guess I’m buying this pumpkin.”

“I might be able to use it to make pumpkin pie.”

“Eating pie is one way to smother my sorrows.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”