Hand in Hand
For Love Live! Secret Admirers 2018
Rating: General Audiences Word count: ~3K Fandom: Love Live! / Love Live! Sunshine!! Pairings: ChikaRiko
Summary: Chika and Riko decide to exchange chocolates on Valentine’s Day. As simple a story as that ^^;
Link: read on AO3
My present for @beemura for the Love Live Secret Admirers gift exchange (@lovelivesecretadmirer2018)! You asked in your prompt to “bwease hit me with that fluff,” and I hope I was able to fulfill your expectations XD I’m sorry it’s so late aah, but please enjoy!!
Hand in Hand
“So…Valentine’s Day is coming up,” Chika said out of the blue, stopping in her tracks.
Riko’s heart skipped a beat. “Um…yeah.” It was in a week, to be precise.
Their walk home from the bus stop had been unusually quiet until Chika spoke up. She must’ve been thinking about asking this entire time.
“So…are we going to celebrate it? Get each other chocolates and stuff?” Chika looked at her expectantly.
It was a strange question, coming from Chika. She was usually the first to rush headlong into things, rarely bothering to ask for permission or to consider the practicalities. And of course, Riko wanted to exchange chocolates, she thought that’d be obvious.
Nevertheless, she was glad Chika was asking, since she’d been hoping herself that Chika would be the one to bring the topic up. There was no way could she do it herself. That’d seem too desperate.
“Yeah, I’d like to,” she responded with a shy smile, and then quickly adding, “if you don’t mind, that is!”
Chika gave a big-toothed grin back. “Of course I don’t mind! I’m asking because…I was worried you might not want to. I know you can get kinda overly embarrassed over this stuff.”
So that was it, Riko thought, looking down and feeling a flush of heat rise to her face.
She walked up to Chika and pressed herself against her, leaning her head into Chika’s shoulders. “Why wouldn’t I want to celebrate Valentine’s with my girlfriend? I’ll just be a little embarrassed….but I’d love to get chocolate from you, Chika-chan.”
She was glad she was so close, since it hid her blushing face from view. But just to be sure, she nuzzled into Chika’s neck even further. Chika was always thinking of her, even for something like this it showed, and each time it made her fall in love all the more.
“Ahaha, yeah I was worrying too much,” Chika said, chuckling nervously and rubbing the back of her head. She then wrapped her arms around Riko in a tight hug. “I’d love to get chocolate from you too, Riko-chan.”
Unbeknownst to Riko, Chika’s face was burning red as well.
Riko wished she could stay in that moment forever, wrapped in each other’s embrace with the afternoon sun warming their backs and the sea breeze cooling their skin. It was like a scene from one of her yuri novels come to life…except it was better, for no other reason than the fact that it was with Chika. With Chika, Riko always felt like she was flying on top of the clouds.
Riko might’ve really stayed like that forever, were it not for the hum of a car engine down the road, forcing her back to reality. Realizing the public display of affection she was putting on, Riko quickly disentangled herself from Chika, blushing even more furiously than before.
“Aww, why’d you pull away,” Chika whined, with a hint of teasing.
“We have to get home eventually.” Riko started walking again, her head held high in feint nonchalance.
Chika giggled, not buying it for a second. She skipped in line with Riko, grabbed her arm, and locked them together.
“Chika-chan!” Riko gasped, startled.
“This much at least is fine, right?”
Riko looked into Chika’s magenta eyes and immediately knew it was a mistake. She could feel her resolve withering the longer she gazed into those bright orbs. “Maybe just…holding hands.”
“Yay!” Chika laughed and quickly switched from linking arms to grabbing Riko’s free hand. How quickly Chika gave in seemed to say that may have been what she wanted all along.
“Geez, I feel like you set me up.”
Chika snickered and swung their arms a few times like a child. “Maybe I did!”
Riko didn’t know it was possible for her to blush so much in the span of a few minutes. But she had to admit it felt nice, Chika’s hand. It was soft and cool and tender. She certainly fantasized about it before, walking home hand in hand…but again, it was the public presentation.
At least it was better than linking arms.
“Hey y’know,” Chika spoke up again. “You have to learn to deal with this much if we’re going to give each other chocolate.”
Riko hummed her grudging acknowledgement. “Wait, you don’t plan on giving them to me in front of everyone, do you?”
Chika gave her a sneaky look. “I want to.”
Riko groaned inwardly.
“I want to get you a big bouquet of flowers too! And a teddy bear! Then I’ll burst into your classroom at lunch time and prop my leg on a chair and flourish the flowers in the air and then announce my undying love– ”
Chika was unable to finish her sentence, because she started bursting out laughing at Riko’s mortified face. In fact, her entire body seemed to have frozen stiff.
“It’s ok, I’m joking!” Chika bumped their shoulders, and Riko visibly softened.
“You’d better be!”
Chika laughed again, until Riko started giggling as well.
When they had finally settled down, they continued walking in silence, save for Chika’s humming and her occasionally swinging their arms.
Riko stole a sidelong glance at Chika. Although she would die of embarrassment if Chika were to do it, the fact that Chika would be willing to profess her “undying love” in front of everyone made her heart ache with adoration.
Next to her, Chika was practically bouncing in anticipation of next week. She radiated energy and cheerfulness, as naturally and inescapably as the sun giving off rays. Riko wished she could be as straightforward with her feelings, but she also knew Chika loved her all the same. It was why she acquiesced to not do all that and cause her so much embarrassment.
Her heart swelling, Riko realized she was looking forward to next week too. She moved a bit closer to Chika and leaned against her.
Chika gave her hand a squeeze in return, and they walked the rest of the way home, shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand.
“Hey, Riko-chan,” Chika said sitting from opposite Riko’s desk. “What’s your favorite kind of chocolate?”
Another sudden question from Chika.
Riko’s chopsticks stopped halfway to her mouth. “Is this for Valentine’s Day?”
It was three days before the holiday. Sharing her desk as a table, Chika was eating lunch with Riko in the classroom during the midday break.
“Ehehe yeah, we already said we’re getting each other chocolate,” Chika explained. “So since it’s not a surprise anymore, I want to make sure I get you something you like.”
“Oh…then, I like dark chocolate,” Riko answered.
Chika pushed back on her chair. “Ah, I should’ve expected from a city girl!”
“What’s with that?” Riko giggled. She thought that she didn’t fit the ‘city girl’ image at all. Or rather, she didn’t know what the image of a ‘city-girl’ was that Chika had in her head.
“Dark chocolate is so bitter, though!” Chika said, sticking her tongue out to demonstrate her distaste. “Only grown-up girls from Tokyo could like that stuff.”
Riko sighed, knowing she would never stop hearing things like that from Chika.
“I’m sure some girls here in Numazu must like dark chocolate too,” Riko replied. “Maybe you’re just the childish one, Chika-chan.”
“Whaaat? Me? No way,” Chika said, dragging out her words in exaggerated disbelief. She then spotted a mini tomato in Riko’s bento box. “Oh hey, let me have that! Ahhn…”
Riko stared amusedly at Chika’s wide-open mouth. Not only was her action in complete contradiction to what she just said, but her unquestioning assumption that Riko would go along with it and feed her was just too much.
“This is exactly what I mean,” Riko said, chuckling. She picked up the tomato with her chopsticks and placed it delicately into Chika’s mouth.
“’hank ‘ou,” Chika said, chewing, and her face beaming as she enjoyed the snack. Riko’s heart fluttered in her chest, and she looked to the side to hide the smile creeping up the corners of her mouth.
“You two sure are lovey-dovey today,” a classmate snickered from off to the side.
It took several seconds for Riko to process just what they had said.
“N-no! That was just…!” Riko sputtered in a panic. She mentally slapped herself for forgetting where she was, and that there were other people around.
“It’s ok, Sakurauchi-san, we’re only teasing,” her classmates laughed. “You and Takami-san sure are good friends.”
Riko didn’t know what to say back, and eventually they returned to their own conversation.
As Riko waited for her heart to settle, she pondered whether she should’ve agreed with what they said or not. Lovey-dovey. Good friends.
Part of her reveled in the fact that they seemed so close that they could be lovers. But the fact that they then brushed it off so quickly made Riko’s heart sink. The possibility that they really could be lovers…it was that far-off to them, huh?
And still, another part of her wasn’t sure whether she was ready for people to know about their relationship. In her panic, she had automatically tried to deny it herself. And Riko hated that part of her, as though she were ashamed of being with Chika. The thought darkened Riko’s mood considerably.
Riko suddenly felt something cool brushing against her hand.
It was Chika’s hand, she realized, as Chika snaked her fingers under Riko’s and intertwined them.
Chika gave her a small smile that seemed to say, “It’s alright.”
Chika rubbed her thumb across the top of Riko’s hand. The gentle back and forth motion was comforting, slowly drawing Riko out of her muddled thoughts.
“So, dark chocolate?” she said, her voice gentle.
“Huh? Oh, yeah…” Riko replied.
“You sure? Don’t blame me if it’s too bitter.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
The fog in Riko’s mind dissipated, like vapor. Riko exhaled slowly and smiled back, realizing yet again that she was overthinking things. As long as her hand was in Chika’s, as long as they were together, everything would work out, everything in its own time.
It seemed she was always being comforted by Chika. She needed to pay her back somehow.
“What kind of chocolate do you like, Chika-chan?” She asked.
“Mmm, it doesn’t matter to me!” Chika said, after thinking for a second. “As long as its sweet! None of that bitter, dark chocolate for me.”
Riko laughed, covering her mouth with her free hand.
“Hey, what are you laughing for,” Chika whined, but her grin said she was anything but annoyed.
“You’re acting like a kid again,” Riko said.
“Fine, maybe I am one,” Chika turned her head and huffed. “It’s whatever! Just make sure the chocolate’s good.”
“Okay, I’ll get you the sweetest milk chocolate I can find.”
“Yay! Goodie!”
They both dissolved into giggles. Now knowing what to get each other for Valentine’s, they were both looking forward to the day even more.
On Valentine’s day, the first words out of Riko’s mouth weren’t the most romantic words one could say.
“….you have bags under your eyes, Chika-chan,” Riko said, after exchanging their good mornings.
“Do I? Aww…” Chika groaned, but opening her mouth made her yawn.
“Did you stay up late?” Riko’s voice was small. She hoped she didn’t sound too hopeful over what she suspected was the reason for Chika’s late night.
“Um, yeah. I was still…making your chocolate. I wanted it to be perfect!”
Her hope confirmed, Riko felt like her heart could leap out of her chest at that very moment. Chika didn’t just buy her premade chocolate, but tried to make some herself, and stayed up late doing it.
Her chest swelling, and feeling emboldened, Riko walked up to Chika and planted a quick peck on her cheek. “Thank you, Chika-chan, you’re so sweet.”
Chika’s face turned bright as a mikan. “Ahh, it’s not that special.”
“You’re sweeter than chocolate, Chika-chan.”
Chika looked away, playing with the ribbon in her braid. “Your chocolate isn’t even that sweet to begin with, so I don’t know about that.”
“It’s true! I could just eat you up.” Riko laughed at as Chika’s face seemed to flash through six different shades of red in the span of a few seconds.
“But…your chocolate,” was all she could force out, and Riko chuckled at her loss of words.
“Here, I have your chocolate too,” Riko said, to take her mind off the embarrassment. Riko had made the chocolate herself as well, but she started early enough in the afternoon to be able to finish at a reasonable time and get some sleep.
She unzipped her school bag and reached in to pull out the gift, but Chika suddenly waved at her to stop.
“Wait! Let’s not do it here!”
“Eh? Why not?” Riko looked around, it was the perfect opportunity.
They were all alone at the bus stop, and the sun had only just begun to rise. The air was calm and peaceful. Riko couldn’t think of a more scenic, not to mention private, spot to exchange chocolates, before the business of school caught up with them.
Suddenly, before she could even register what was happening, Chika grabbed her hand and started running. “Let’s go down to the beach!”
“Chika-chan, wa–!” Riko shout was cut short as they took off down the sidewalk, Riko being dragged along, just barely managing to hang on to her chocolate.
They came to an opening in the rails separating the sidewalk from the beach and ran down the stone steps, finally setting their feet on the orange sand. Riko let go of Chika’s hand, and bent on her knees to catch her breath.
“Seriously, Chika-chan, you’ve got to give a warning before you do these kinds of things!”
“Sorry! But I really wanted to do it here.”
“We’re going to miss the bus for school!”
Recovering enough to breathe properly, Riko straightened and finally noticed their location. And suddenly, she couldn’t care less about making the bus.
The small parse of shrubbery behind them. The familiar curve of the beach front. Uchiura’s pier to their right. This was the spot where they first met, where Chika quite literally tackled her way into Riko’s life and nearly drowned them both, and where, cold and wet and huddled next to a trash fire, Chika first exposed her to the world of idols.
“See? This is the perfect spot!” Chika said next to her. “Now we can exchange chocolates.”
Riko looked into Chika’s eyes, glistening like the sea in front of them. The corners of her mouth perked up, and Riko let out a sharp breath, and another, and then more and more until she burst out laughing. She laughed at how innocent and oblivious Chika was, as to how irresistible a force she could be, how she was always sweeping Riko up into her own pace.
“You don’t have to make such a big deal out of the location,” Riko said between gasps of air.
“No, everything needs to be perfect!” Chika said emphatically, with a little stomp of her foot. And then, quieter. “Because you deserve the best.”
Riko finally was able to quiet her laughter, dispelling the last of it with a sigh of happiness. “I don’t deserve you, though.”
“And I don’t deserve you, my miracle,” Chika replied. She scooted closer to Riko, only an arm’s length apart, and Riko found herself sucking in a breath from how close they were.
Chika took out her box of chocolates from her bag and held it out, and Riko did the same with hers.
“Happy Valentine’s day, Riko-chan,” Chika said, her voice soft and gentle and full of love.
“Happy Valentine’s day to you too,” Riko returned.
Breathlessly, they passed their boxes into each other’s hands, and it felt as though they passed along something of themselves too, to each other.
“I love you,” Riko whispered.
“I love you, too.” Chika leaned in and kissed her quickly.
Riko flushed, and she felt dizzy with happiness. Her body felt so light that the barest hint of a breeze could set her drifting off in the wind. Again, Riko felt like she could stay in that moment forever, drinking in the sun’s rays, the lull of the ocean, and most of all, Chika’s presence, her love, her affection, and her admiration.
But once again, she was shaken from her stupor from the roar of engines.
“Aw, crap, there’s the bus!” Chika cried out, grabbing Riko’s hands again and starting to break into a run. “C’mon it’s going to leave without us!”
“Ah, Chika-chan! Wait!”
Riko wished she could’ve tried some of the chocolates first, in the privacy and intimacy of the empty beach, before being hauled off to school. But that’s alright. They can eat their chocolates on the bus. And maybe, if there weren’t too many people on the bus that morning, Riko could feed Chika one of her chocolates.
The thought put a small smile on Riko’s lips as she ran, staring at Chika’s back and their connected hands before her. And she realized – she was always being pulled along by Chika. But Chika always, always led her to just where she wanted to be, where she needed to be. To hear the sound of the ocean, to be on stage again facing the piano, and finally to shine with Aqours. And for that, she would be forever grateful.
The chocolates she gave to Chika were a testament to her feelings. And the chocolates Chika gave her were, hopefully, only a taste of what was to come.
Riko squeezed Chika’s hand even tighter, hoping that this, them running together, hand in hand, would never change.
