Maki flushes and looks away, tugging at her costume self-consciously. “Sh-shut up, this is just what Kotori gave me.”
“Yeah, but like....” Nico’s gaze is most definitely not on Maki’s face and she doesn’t even seem to be ashamed of it. She shakes her head. “Okay, wow, so I’m not saying you look good, but—.”
“Save it,” Maki grumbles. She turns to check herself in the mirror once more, whimpering slightly when she realizes that even that bit of movement has caused her skirt to flutter up a bit. “Ugh, this has to be some kind of mistake! Are we sure this isn’t Rin’s costume?”
Nico is still staring. She gives no indication that she even heard Maki’s question.
“Stop.” Maki glares at her. Nico snaps out of her daze apparently just to grin cheekily at her. Maki rolls her eyes and pulls out her phone. “I’m calling Kotori.”
Is it Maki’s imagination or did Nico just whisper oh, fuck under her breath? Maki arches a brow. Nico hurries to explain.
“I mean, you know, she’s probably really tired after all that costume-making and stuff, like, classic Kotori, working so hard, making all our costumes, it’s kinda messed up that we always push her to do all that, we should really let her rest, like, free her, all that stuff, and—.”
Maki holds the phone to her ear. “Yeah, hey, Kotori? Hey, sorry to bother you, but I just tried on the costume you gave me, and the skirt seems really short, so I was just wondering...”
“Don’t ignore me!” Nico says unnecessarily loudly. It doesn’t work — Maki obviously heard Kotori’s answer, and Nico can hear the countdown of her last few minutes on this planet.
Maki puts down her phone and crosses her arms. Nico fidgets. Maki doesn’t move.
“Okay, fine, so the skirt’s short on purpose!” Nico snaps. “Sue me.”
“I literally can,” Maki reminds her bluntly. “Why would you even say that— no, don’t answer that.” She closes her eyes and pinches the bridge of her nose. “You’re unbelievable.”
“...ly amazing for working so hard to make you a costume that not only shows off how hot you are but also ups your image points to almost the same level as mine?”
Maki has already tossed the skirt in Nico’s face and pulled on a pair of sweatpants. “Fix it.”
Nico makes a face. “Technically, there isn’t really anything to fix—.”
Are doing some prompts? Can I request YohaRiko with “That is the tenth demon summoning this week holyshit.” ? :)
Yoshiko, magical and angelic and powerful as she is, is not generally one to ask for help. Let alone from demons. Or maybe, rather, through demons.
But there’s a first time for everything, she figures, and she guesses this can be her first time for this. It’s kind of an emergency. Not a very urgent one, but those exist, too.
She dons her robe, brandishes her spellbook, lights her candles, and the ritual begins.
-
Riko opens the door to a chorus of demonic chanting.
Yoshiko, standing in the middle of an oddly intricate circle, doesn’t notice.
Riko closes the door.
-
“So, uh, what was that in the clubroom just now?” Riko asks later on their way to practice.
Yoshiko doesn’t seem bothered that she’d been seen. She waves it off. “Demon summoning,” she answers.
“Ah,” Riko says, as though that explained anything.
They continue on to where the others are. Riko doesn’t see Yoshiko’s private fist pump.
-
After practice, Riko goes back to the clubroom. Her notebook is still in there, as she’d missed her chance to get it when she decided to avoid Yoshiko’s apparent demon summoning, and she wants to work on some new song ideas tonight.
She opens the door to see Yoshiko, somehow already back in her usual black robes, in the process of some sort of dance around the circle.
It’s not a very charming dance.
It resembles, Riko thinks, a wounded chicken. Vaguely.
This time, Yoshiko does see her. If she’s embarrassed, she doesn’t show it. “You’re free to watch,” she calls, “but close the door behind you. Too much light makes it harder for the demon to come out.”
It’s said so matter-of-factly that Riko is almost inclined to agree. Instead, she excuses herself and leaves. She supposes the notebook can always be picked up tomorrow.
-
The next day, Riko is with Chika and You when they enter the clubroom.
Riko thinks she really shouldn’t have been all that surprised when they open the door and find the room pitch black and ringing with voices speaking in some sort of Satanic language.
As expected, Yoshiko is there, arms spread open in front of her and eyes closed as her robes billow in the wind of the electric fan before her.
Less expected and off to the side of the room, Hanamaru and Ruby are sitting against the wall, watching her with nothing less than adoration and encouragement in their eyes. When they see the second years, they wave them over eagerly.
“Isn’t she amazing?” Ruby squeaks, and is it Riko’s imagination or was that question oddly pointed at her?
She’s saved from answering thanks to You’s nervous agreement of, “She’s certainly… something.”
Riko turns to look at Yoshiko again. She doesn’t seem bothered by her growing audience. In fact, she looks pleased— almost triumphant.
If nothing else, Riko thinks, she is truly impressed by Yoshiko’s ability to not die of embarrassment every time someone walks in on her… whatever this is.
-
“Demon summoning,” Yoshiko says again when Riko asks after the whole thing is apparently over.
It’s the same answer, but this time Riko furrows her brow and prompts, “Demon summoning?”
“Yes. I will be holding another ritual later after practice. All of you are free to come, of course.” Here, Yoshiko nods at everyone else in the room.
Ruby and Hanamaru are quick to stumble over excuses on why they can’t make it, which strikes Riko as a little strange considering how enraptured they’d seemed only a few minutes earlier.
Chika says something about needing to help out at the inn later (”Busy time of year, you know!”) but You is watching the RubyMaru pair with a thoughtful expression, and then suddenly she grins and gives Riko a hearty slap on the back.
Riko yelps.
“Sorry, I can’t make it, either,” You says. “But Riko, you’re free, right?”
Riko feels a crushing sense of betrayal, and also overwhelming confusion. She can’t recall ever telling You, or even Chika, that she was particularly free later today.
But now Yoshiko is looking at her expectantly (hopefully?) and, well, she doesn’t want to hurt her friend’s feelings, especially after You volunteered her out of nowhere like that.
So she agrees.
-
“May I ask what you’re summoning demons for?” Riko asks a couple hours later, sitting in the corner and watching Yoshiko set up for her second ritual of the day.
Yoshiko strikes a match. “I require their assistance,” she responds.
“Oh,” Riko says. She pauses for a moment to mull this over. “What for?”
“I am presently caught in a dire situation. Painful as it is to accept that even I, the fallen angel Yohane, need help, it is a reality we all must face someday.”
“I see,” Riko says, even though she doesn’t, really. Timidly, she offers, “Is there anything I can do?”
Yoshiko freezes in the middle of lighting a candle.
Riko clarifies, “I mean, just because it seems a little dangerous to… you know… ask a demon for help. Like, if it’s anything I could maybe help out with—.”
“There is no need for you to concern yourself!” Yoshiko declares, a little too loudly. Perhaps realizing this, she falters, and then scrambles to explain herself. “Er, that is… well, this fallen angel is, of course, grateful for your offer, but it’s entirely unnecessary… not to say that you’re unnecessary! Not in the least! But….”
Yoshiko’s voice has turned high-pitched, as it usually does when she gets flustered. She’s waving her arms frantically, unwittingly extinguishing the match in her hand as she does so, and her face is getting redder by the second.
It’s kind of cute.
Riko smiles. “Alright,” she says, stopping Yoshiko before she can panic any further. “That’s fine. But if the demon thing doesn’t work out, I’m always here, okay?”
Yoshiko looks like she’s about to overheat. Riko thinks she understands a little bit more now.
-
It becomes kind of a routine. The whole demon summoning thing, that is.
Riko doesn’t really know just how many demons Yoshiko has to summon before her supposed dilemma gets resolved (or even if there’re any demons being summoned at all in the first place) but she thinks it’s not really a bad time regardless.
One ritual before practice, and one ritual after. Sometimes the one before practice attracts a bit more of an audience (Ruby and Hanamaru, who are always off to the side giggling; You, always giving Riko an expectant look that Riko pretends not to notice; Chika, who’s actually just really genuinely into it) but the after-practice rituals are always just the two of them.
At some point, Riko thinks to bring some snacks. Demon summoning sounds like it consumes a lot of energy, and it’s dangerous to exert oneself too much, especially after an hour or two of workouts developed by an overzealous Kanan.
Chocolate cake with strawberries sounds good, Riko thinks. She stays up a little later than usual baking it, but the look on Yoshiko’s face when she presents it the next day kind of makes Riko want to do it every day.
Yoshiko’s smile makes her feel warm inside. She likes it.
-
“Sorry, Chika-chan, but are you alright heading home by yourself today?”
Chika pouts. “Again?”
Riko smiles apologetically. “You know Yoshiko.”
“Geez, this is the tenth demon summoning this week,” Chika grumbles, but her eyes are bright and her tone light-hearted. She grins. “Welll, I guess I can survive.”
Riko nods. “It’s getting dark, so be careful, okay? I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yup! See ya!” And then, just before she turns to leave, Chika winks and waggles her eyebrows, nodding at the pieces of paper in Riko’s hand. “And have fun~”
Riko rolls her eyes and shoves her friend away. Bursting with laughter, Chika dashes over to where You is waiting, and the two of them wave goodbye before heading off.
-
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Yocchan.”
“Oh! Lily!” Yoshiko brightens the moment Riko enters the room. “You’re just in time. I was thinking of trying a different approach this time — something more like, bam! gwaah! pyohh! You know?”
Riko laughs. She gets the feeling that somewhere along the way the rituals have gotten a whole lot sillier.
Yoshiko is absolutely glowing, pleased to be the reason behind Riko’s laugh. “Prepare yourself! This one will be the ritual to end all rituals!”
“That’s great,” Riko says warmly, and she means it. “But first, Yocchan, would you mind bearing with me for a bit?” Her hold on the papers in her hand tightens.
Yoshiko blinks. “Bearing with you?” she repeats. Then she grins, striking a grand pose. “Such a foolish question! For you, my number one little demon, the fallen angel Yohane will grant anything!”
Her words catch up with her after a moment. Her face reddens considerably, but to her credit, she doesn’t fall apart into a mess. She coughs once to cover up her embarrassment and then looks at Riko expectantly.
“Well, I mean, just because Lily’s been a good… friend all this time… if you need anything, I’m right here,” Yoshiko mumbles.
It’s a little anticlimactic. Riko wouldn’t have it any other way.
“In that case,” Riko says in a delicate voice, “would you do me the honor of accompanying me tonight?” She holds out the tickets in her hand, smiling softly and trying to ignore how loud her heartbeat sounds in her ears.
Yoshiko is staring uncomprehendingly.
“They’re for an orchestra concert.” Riko finds herself answering a question that was never asked. “I know that might not sound all that interesting, but I got an extra ticket, and I wanted to invite you.”
“Me?” Yoshiko splutters.
Riko nods. It might be a little arrogant, but she’s certain that the hunch she got only earlier this week is correct.
“I like spending time with you, and I think you like spending time with me. That’s why you’re going through all this trouble, right? With the demons and everything?”
“It’s not—!” Yoshiko begins to protest, but her legs are shaking and her eyes are looking everywhere but Riko’s direction. “I mean… I….”
Riko waits for a few moments. Yoshiko still doesn’t seem to know what to do. Finally, Riko reaches out and presses a ticket into Yoshiko’s hand. Startled, Yoshiko looks at her, and Riko offers a kind smile.
“Am I being presumptuous?” Riko asks.
“You—… no….”
“Is this alright?”
“It—! Y-yeah… it’s… good.”
Yoshiko looks like she wants to die at her own incompetence. Riko squeezes her hand gently.
“I’ll pick you up at seven, then?”
Yoshiko’s hands are soft and her expression flustered and really, it’s so opposite from all the magic circles and detailed artifacts decorating the room, so different from the loud confidence of Yohane summoning from the underworld, and Riko kind of feels like she wants to see more, know more, about this side of the fallen angel, this girl who worked so hard and did so much just to get the attention of the upperclassman she had a crush on.
It’s also just ridiculously adorable, to be honest.
“S-sounds good…” Yoshiko finally manages.
Riko beams. “Great. Then it’s a date.”
-
The rituals stop after that.
Yoshiko explains that the demons did their job and their help was sufficient. Her dilemma has been solved.
Riko goes with it. It’s kind of true, she figures. She wonders if she should try thanking the demons sometime.
“Who wouldn’t be angry you ate all of my cereal and faked your death for three years!” in honor of ep 10, this w kanadia??
Dia probably should’ve figured that it wasn’t going to be a good day when she opened the cupboard to find her cereal box missing.
Her first thought was that Ruby had finished it off, but then she remembered, oh yeah, it’d been years since they’d lived in the same house, what with each of them growing up and living life and finding their own paths and whatnot, and gosh darn was she proud of her little sister for chasing her dreams, but wait, right now wasn’t the time to get caught in memory lane, not when she had a cereal box to find.
Her second thought was that she’d finished off the cereal and just forgotten to buy a new box, but that was ridiculous, because she was Dia Kurosawa.
Her third thought — that a thief had broken in for the sole purpose of taking her near-empty box of cereal and then left without a speck of dust out of place — was just beginning to form in her head when she turned around, saw the last person on earth that she’d ever expected to see again, and then, only then, did she realize that today was absolutely going to be a bad day.
“Oh, you little fucker.”
Kanan raised her arms placatingly. “Okay, you’re angry, I get that—.”
Dia snarled. “Who wouldn’t be angry!” She jabbed an aggressive finger at the empty bowl in Kanan’s hands. “You—! You ate all of my cereal, you, what, you faked your death for three years, and now you have the audacity to speak to me?”
“Is the cereal really what you’re mentioning first?”
“The nerve to eat all of it!”
“Oh my god, Dia, there was like, half a cup left anyway.”
“Half a cup that should have been mine,” Dia insisted.
“Since when did you care so much about cereal?” Kanan was bewildered. “Come on, I’m back from the dead here!”
“Yes, and it’s about time.” Dia huffed, marched over, and snatched the bowl from Kanan’s hands. She gave it a distasteful look. “I don’t suppose you used up all my milk while you were at it.”
Kanan rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “You have plenty of milk left, don’t worry.”
“I’d better.” Dia placed the bowl in the sink to rinse it.
Behind her, Kanan smiled. “So, do I get a real greeting now? Something like, I dunno, hey, hello, glad to see you’re not dead?”
Dia turned around. “Frankly... no.”
Kanan made a face.
Dia smiled sweetly. “I’m still mad at you for that part, too,” she reminded. Then she whisked away to prepare the coffee.
She had just filled the pot with water and turned the machine on when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist and a high-pitched voice whine in her ear, “Diaaaa, come on, you’re making me feel left out here.”
“Aw, am I?” Dia matched her tone mockingly before dropping her pitch to growl, “Try going through that for three years.”
Kanan said in a solemn voice, “That was a bad choice of words on my part,” but her arms remained firmly around Dia, even pulling her closer when she was done speaking so she could rest her chin on Dia’s shoulder.
Dia stiffened instinctively, bit her tongue when she felt her throat closing. “I thought you were dead.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I put you through so much for the past three years. I know it was hard for you. I’m sorry.”
Dia had to wait for several moments before she could speak, drawing in a shaky breath just to mutter, “You’re terrible,” and even still her voice cracked and her face grew warm.
Kanan nuzzling her neck didn’t help things in the slightest.
“I think I’m pretty great at what I do, considering,” Kanan replied thoughtfully, mumbling into Dia’s skin. She paused. Then, “But I guess not to who I do.”
Dia spun around and shoved her away. “I literally hate you so much.”
“I’m sorry, it was right there.”
“I’m going to destroy you.”
Kanan flashed a grin. “You wouldn’t be the first to try.”
Dia grabbed her collar and yanked her forward. Kanan let her, and the adoration in her eyes was so clear Dia almost faltered.
“I’m happy to see you again, Dia.” Her voice was soft and her words painfully honest. “I missed you.”
All at once, Dia’s strength left her body, and her arm dropped back to her side. Her lips pressed together, and her eyebrows crinkled, and her cheeks reddened considerably, and then finally, she sighed, and shook her head, and smiled in resignation.
“Welcome back, Kanan. I missed you, too.” An afterthought: “You still need to buy me more cereal, though.”
may i request "I may have accidentally sort of adopted five cats.” kotoumi please? :D
When Umi first steps through the door to their apartment, she doesn’t think too much about the sound of clattering plates ringing through the air. Never mind the fact that it’s takeout-and-Disney-movie night, or the fact that Kotori is nowhere to be seen, or the oddly fishy smell that’s filled the small living space, or the steadily rising chorus of... meows?
She enters the kitchen to find Kotori, which isn’t too weird, surrounded by a huge, squirming mass of cats, which is definitely weird, and actually a little illegal when she thinks about the rental agreement on their place.
Kotori, busy at the counter scraping heaps of pink-and-brown mush on a plate, doesn’t notice Umi staring at the scene in horror. The cats are all brushing against Kotori’s legs, pink mouths gaping open in unnervingly loud complaints. Honestly, the audacity.
It isn’t until Kotori has cleaned out the entirety of the small tin can and turned to put the plate on the floor that she sees her girlfriend standing a few meters away. Umi has barely moved since discovering the sight. Kotori’s face lights up brilliantly.
“Welcome home!” she says in delight, and it’s almost enough to make Umi forget about the creatures. Almost. Umi opens her mouth to say something, but Kotori rushes to cut her off. “Don’t freak out.”
Umi pauses. She takes in a slow breath. “Kotori—.”
“Promise. That you won’t freak out.”
Umi stares. Kotori raises her eyebrows expectantly.
“I... will not.”
“Not what?”
“Freak out.”
“Okay.” Kotori beams. “So! Welcome home!”
“... Yeah. I’m back.”
Umi’s gaze lowers to where the cats are hunched over the numerous plates on the floor. They’ve quieted down to eat, but they’re also kind of gross about it. Morsels of... whatever it is in those cans drop from the cats’ jaws to land forgotten on the tiles. Umi grimaces.
“Now, I’m sure you have a lot of questions,” Kotori says. She squats down to pet a nearby tabby. The thing purrs happily at the attention and actually pauses its meal to push its head back into Kotori’s hand.
Kotori giggles. Umi wonders for a brief moment if she’s honest to God feeling jealous of a cat.
“I certainly have... questions, yes.”
“And I will answer them,” Kotori assures her. She picks up a small orange cat and stands back up, cradling it in her arms as she delicately makes her way over to where Umi is. “But first, I have a confession to make.”
Umi arches an eyebrow. She tries not to make eye contact with the cat. It’s staring at her with these wide, green eyes, though (and weirdly looks a lot like Rin? Damn Kotori knowing all her weak spots.) Umi clears her throat and looks pointedly at the floor. “And?”
“The truth is,” Kotori holds the cat closer to Umi’s face, and Umi doesn’t have the heart to push it away, “I may have accidentally sort of adopted five cats.”
“Kotori, that’s a lot more than five in the kitchen.”
“Well, I mean, yeah, but...” Kotori smiles sheepishly. “You know.”
Umi doesn’t really know, but Kotori has a truly lovely smile, and that little Rin-like cat is reaching out with a paw, and she figures that’s probably the best she’s gonna get for now.
“Someone just left all of them in this box on the side of the road,” Kotori is explaining, “and I guess maybe I was only supposed to take one or two, but how could anyone leave any of them behind? How could anyone abandon them in the first place?”
Kotori’s voice is mild, but Umi doesn’t miss the anger that flashes in her eyes before it fades back into affection as she plays with Rin-cat.
Umi sighs. “People are irresponsible,” she murmurs. She reaches out to scratch under Rin-cat’s chin, and goodness, she never knew cats could purr so loudly. She offers a soft smile. “You did the right thing, Kotori.”
When Umi looks up again, Kotori is absolutely glowing, as though she’d been waiting all along to hear Umi’s reassurance.
“I knew you’d understand,” Kotori tells her, and Umi’s chest tightens (and it’s not the first time it’s happened, not at all, but two decades of knowing her and Umi still feels like a lovesick kid every time she sees her.)
Clearing her throat, Umi folds her arms against her chest and says in a stern voice, “Of course, there’s still the matter of our apartment not allowing pets.”
As expected, Kotori doesn’t look concerned in the slightest. “We’ll figure it out,” she promises, and then she puts down Rin-cat gently on the floor and grabs Umi’s hand, tugging her deeper into the kitchen. “But first, I want you meet the rest of them!”
Umi opens her mouth instinctively to protest but it turns into more of a yelp as she narrowly avoids stepping on a gray cat’s tail. The gray cat looks at her lazily, apparently not interested in its near-horrific experience or Umi’s valiant efforts to spare it.
Umi groans, but Kotori is laughing, and, well, maybe it is okay to leave their problems for another day. The cats are cute, Umi admits, almost as cute as her girlfriend, and maybe it’s not the worst idea to let them stick around for a Disney movie night or two.
What about Umi-dad and Hono-Son relationship? With Koto-Mom?
“Umi, I just want to let you know... I’ve always seen you as the dad I’ve never had.”
“Honoka, your dad is literally downstairs. I just saw him, like, two minutes ago—.”
“And Kotori,” Honoka turned to the other girl seriously, “you... you’re like the mom I’ve always wanted.”
Kotori beamed. “Aw, thanks, Honoka! I always knew my being lenient and spoiling you would pay off someday.”
“You were right. I’ll never forget this, Mom.”
Umi wondered if she should just get up and leave. Against her better judgement, she stayed. “Honoka, why are you like this.”
“I can’t help it, Dad, it’s just who I am.”
“Don’t call me dad.”
“Now, now, honey,” Kotori chided, “there’s no need to get so worked up.”
“Kotori, don’t play along with her.”
“I have to support my daughter.”
“Stop.”
“Are you....” Kotori faced her with wide, tearful eyes. “Are you saying that this isn’t working out? Are you leaving us?”
Umi blinked. “What?”
“You can’t!” Kotori cried. “Think of the children!”
“Think of me!” Honoka quipped.
Umi glared. “Why do you think I’m here.”
“Aw, thanks, Dad, I knew you cared.”
Umi stood up. “I’m leaving.”
Kotori gasped. “Umi, no! You’re tearing this family apart!”
“Call me when you’re ready to start studying seriously.” Umi paused at the door. Her ears glowed a faint pink and then she muttered, “I’ll... be in my office... family....”
She left the room to cheers and hoots of “Go, Dad!”, “Bring home the bacon!”, “Let’s play a rousing game of catch later!”, and “Sasuga Umi-chan!”
any muse pairings of your choice + harry potter au :D
“We’re doing this!” Jaw set determinedly, Nico shoved the small box in Kotori’s direction and shook it once for good measure. “Come on!”
Kotori looked at it carefully and then back at Nico with a hesitant smile. “Again? Are you sure...?”
“Of course I’m sure! If I say I’m gonna do something, I’ll do it! No backing down!” Nico yelled every word as though the volume of her voice somehow contributed to the resolve of her words. “I’ll go first if you’re too chicken.”
Without waiting for a response, Nico shut her eyes tightly and jammed her free hand into the box. After rummaging around for a bit, her hand emerged clutching a sickly green-colored jelly bean.
An observant viewer might have noticed the flash of concern in Kotori’s eyes at this sight, but in any case, the two of them didn’t have an audience in the slightest, as most of the other Slytherins tended to do their best to avoid Nico no matter what the cost.
But concern or not, Kotori kept her lips sealed as Nico tossed the candy into her mouth without abandon and began to chew. She promptly gagged.
“Grossgrossgrossgrossgross that was definitely a booger!”
Hiding a laugh behind her hand, Kotori offered delicately, “Bad luck?”
“What’s new,” Nico grumbled. She scrunched up her face and then shook her head and held out the box to Kotori. “Okay, your turn. Go.”
Knowing better than to argue with Nico by this point, Kotori obediently closed her eyes and stuck her hand into the box, picking out a pale yellow jelly bean (Nico’s eyes narrowed considerably at this) and putting it into her mouth without a shred of hesitation. She began to chew, and her face instantly lit up.
“Buttered popcorn! My favorite!”
Nico immediately slammed the box onto the table between them in outrage. “Why do you always get the good ones? I call bull!”
Slay me omg pls write cute domestic KotoUmi!! It's so good to see you back in business :')
Kotori wakes up to the smell of brewing coffee and toasting bread, and she has to bury her face in her pillow to stop her growing smile because, gosh, even after all these years, is this all really, honestly, truly real?
Footsteps approach the bedroom and Kotori snuggles deeper under the blankets. The door opens a crack, allowing the morning light to spill into the room.
“Kotori?”
Isn’t it amazing how someone’s voice can still sound so magical, even after you’ve known them, heard them, been with them for as long as you can remember?
“Breakfast is ready.”
Kotori thinks it is.
She rolls over, waving a hand lazily in the air. “Umi-chan... it’s so early.”
“It’s eleven.” Umi’s voice is fond, and even with Kotori’s eyes closed she can see her girlfriend’s gentle smile clear as day.
She hears footsteps again, getting closer and closer until they stop right by the bed. Kotori cracks open one eye. As expected, Umi is standing there, gazing down at her with a look so affectionate it’s almost embarrassing. Kotori doesn’t bother trying to hide her smile anymore.
She pats the empty space next to her. “Come back to bed?” she asks quietly.
“The food will get cold,” Umi responds, but she’s already sprawling out next to her.
kanadia in their second year ;; "we don't talk anymore."
Kanan smiles uncertainly, and Dia scowls and turns away.
“Do you take me for a fool?” she hisses. The papers in her hands crinkle as her grip on them tightens.
Kanan shrugs, her gaze slipping away from Dia and down to her own stack of papers. They walk in silence for a few more moments before she responds. “I dunno. I didn’t realize I was trying to fool you.”
“Then stop forcing yourself to make such an ugly face.”
Kanan pauses to absorb this. “Ugly, huh?” Her laugh is dry. “I guess it has been a while. You were never this dishonest before.”
“You’re talking to me about dishonesty—.”
“You can just tell me that I’m making it more awkward. I won’t be offended.”
“And you can tell me that you’re unhappy with my volunteering to help you with this.” Dia sounds like she’s speaking through gritted teeth. “I won’t be offended, either.”
Kanan looks at her, and Dia immediately averts her gaze.
“Come on, Dia, you know it’s not like that.”
“I don’t,” Dia mutters. “I don’t know anything that’s going on anymore.”
There’s an aching gap between them. Kanan shifts the load in her arms. She tries to focus on counting her steps as they walk. Dia falls silent, too.
They’ve almost reached the teachers’ office when Kanan speaks. “I have missed you. I miss... before.” Her voice is small. “I guess I just... don’t really know what to do anymore.”
Dia stops in her tracks. She takes in a deep breath, and she holds it for a long time. Then she exhales, slowly. Her shoulders sag.
“Yeah,” she murmurs. “Me, neither.”
They drop off the papers and excuse themselves from the office. The walk back to the classroom is spent without a word.
