Umi fidgeted with the hem of her skirt as she waited for Honoka to arrive. She knew that Honoka always sat under the tree, sneaking some kind of treat in the mornings. To get a moment alone with her, she'd elected to wait there. It seemed that she was taking an especially long time today though Umi was sure that was just her impatience making it seem like a long time.

"Just give her the bread and then say it." She mumbled to herself as she stared at the ground beneath her feet. It would be fine, Honoka would understand what she was trying to say. Even she couldn't be that dense. "It'll be fine."

"What will?"

Umi let out a sharp gasp at the sound of Honoka's voice and looked up sharply. Honoka was standing near her, her hands clasped behind her back and a bright smile on her face. The sun created a halo of light around the ginger girl and for a moment, Umi forgot to breathe.

"N-Nothing!" She stuttered finally, getting to her feet. "Why did it take you so long to get here? You're late!"

Honoka looked surprised by Umi's outburst. "We were supposed to meet?" She asked, trying to remember whether something had been arranged.

"No, it's…never mind!" Umi exclaimed loudly, growing more flustered by the second. Thankfully, Honoka seemed too distracted to notice anything was wrong. She was sniffing at the air, her brow furrowed slightly as she tried to identify the mouthwatering smell.

"Here." Umi thrust a paper bag toward Honoka. "I got this for you this morning."

Honoka carefully took the paper bag and opened it to find two crusty bread rolls waiting for her. "Erm…I thought you said I'm not allowed to eat so much bread, Umi-chan."

"You've been working hard so you deserve a treat." Umi answered, doing her utmost to sound casual. The careless tone she was aiming for said nothing for the twenty minutes she'd spent debating with herself about what to get. Her eyes widened in surprise when Honoka flew forward and hugged her tightly.

"Thank you, Umi-chan!"

Umi returned the embrace, her cheeks flushing at the feeling of her having her best friend so close. She was both relieved and disappointed when Honoka pulled away and pulled a bread roll out of the bag. She watched as Honoka began to eat the roll, a blissful expression on her face.

"H-Honoka…" She braced herself for what she was about to say. "I-I um…" She shifted awkwardly as Honoka raised an inquisitive eyebrow, all the while still eating her bread. Umi clenched her fists and raised her voice a bit. "Is your mom a baker because you have really nice buns?!"

Honoka blinked at Umi in surprise. "My mom makes sweets, remember Umi-chan? You once said I always smell of red bean paste." She wrinkled her nose at the thought and went back to eating her bread.

"No, that's not what…" Umi threw her hands up, at a loss. Honoka was so dense sometimes. "I'm going back inside. Just forget I said anything!"

"Eh?" Honoka's eyes widened at Umi's angered tone. She watched as her best friend turned and stormed off. Silently, she nibbled at her bread and replayed the conversation in her head, trying to figure out what she'd done to upset Umi this time. It seemed she was always doing something wrong.

"What's wrong, Honoka?"

Honoka looked up at the sound of the familiar voice and found Nico and Eli walking toward her. She brightened slightly at the sight of them but upon remembered what was wrong her face fell again.

"Nothing."

"Really?" Nico rolled her eyes and gestured toward Honoka's face. "Then why do you look like someone just tried to take that bread from you?"

Honoka clutched the bag closer to her chest as if Nico had just threatened it. "I think I made Umi mad again. She said something odd and then ran off when I answered her."

Eli made a sympathetic sound. It seemed that Honoka angered Umi without meaning to a lot. "What did she say?"

"She said 'Is your mom a baker because you have really great buns' and then she ran off." Honoka huffed under her breath. Somehow her reaction hadn't been what Umi was looking for obviously.

Nico and Eli's eyes widened simultaneously and for a moment they stared at Honoka in absolute silence until the former burst out laughing. "What did you say to her?"

"I reminded her that my mom isn't a baker?" Honoka replied uncertainly. Maybe Umi had hit her head or something. She frowned as Eli covered her mouth with her hand and laughed silently. "What?"

She was distracted by her confusion as hands came around her bag and grabbed her chest. She let out a scream and struggled briefly against the hold before she heard a familiar laugh.

"That's the wrong answer, should have at least let her feel for herself."

"Nozomi." Eli stared at her girlfriend, an unamused expression on her face.

"Eh?!" Honoka stumbled back when Nozomi finally let go of her. "What do you mean?!"

"Umi-chan was talking about your…"

"Nozomi!" Eli cut in again as she stared at Nozomi with another disapproving expression on her face. "I don't even think Umi knows what she was saying. And do you have to grope other people right in front of me?"

"Sorry, Elichi. You'll get your turn later." Nozomi grinned over at Eli, not looking very sorry at all. Eli knew she didn't mean anything by it.

"So we're not going to tell her what Umi meant?" Nico smirked, clearly happy that she knew something Honoka didn't.

"No." Eli answered resolutely. If nobody else was going to protect Honoka's innocence she would have to do it herself. "We're not." She turned to the distressed looking second year and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Honoka."

"What?" Honoka watched as Eli turned to walk away, Nozomi and Nico following after her. "Worry about what? Eli-senpai!"

Sighing when the three older girls disappeared, she sat back down and continued to quietly eat her bread.

—

It had all been Kotori's idea, to do nice things for Honoka to make her see how she felt about her. It wasn't working at all. Umi continued to do so, bringing Honoka, bread, chocolate and being extra nice to her. Honoka accepted the gifts with warm gratitude, despite being puzzled. She never seemed to understand what Umi was trying to tell her. The exuberant hugs Umi's gestures were answered with almost made everything she was doing worth it. But not quite. It was frustrating.

It was a spur of the moment decision, one Umi regretted as soon as she found herself standing outside of Honoka's bedroom door, having been told by Honoka's mom to go on upstairs. It was silly of her to be so nervous. She had been in Honoka's bedroom a hundred times. She knocked briefly on the door and waited for Honoka to call for her to come in before she entered.

"Umi-chan!" The way Honoka's face lit up at the sight of her always made Umi feel as though if she confessed she wouldn't be shot down. "What are you doing here?"

"My parents have gone away for the weekend." Umi lied, averting her eyes. She held up the bag in her hand. "I was wondering if I could stay with you, just for tonight."

"Of course!" Honoka reached out and grabbed Umi's hand, tugging her into the room with her. She closed the door behind her as she released Umi's hand.

Umi took a moment to look around the room, taking in the familiar sight of Honoka's belongings before she turned back to the ginger haired girl. She couldn't help but smile softly at the sight of Honoka clad in her nightclothes. She noticed right away that she had her hair completely down too. Maybe she had taken a bath fairly recently.

Remembering what Nozomi had said about being direct, she took a deep breath and spoke quickly. "You look cute, Honoka-chan."

Honoka blinked in response, clearly surprised before a gentle smile tugged at her lips. "Thank you, Umi-chan. You look cute too."

Umi felt a flare of heat spread over her face and watched as Honoka giggled and edged past her. "H-Honoka…" She followed Honoka with her eyes. She was so bad at this. At all of it. She should just give up on Honoka and resign herself to never being with her. "My attraction to you is an inversed square law."

"Eh?" Honoka turned to stare at Umi, confusion clear in her eyes. "I don't know what that means, Umi-chan. And I already studied so I don't need you to help me tonight."

Umi stared hard at Honoka's shoulder and tried again. "If you were a triangle you'd be acute one."

Honoka's lips twitched for the slightest of seconds before she forced herself to look baffled again. "Umi-chan." She sighed and wandered over to Umi, coming to a stop right in front of her. "I feel like you're trying to tell me something. Whatever it is, just say it. I'm listening."

Umi swallowed heavily. She felt like she wanted the floor to open and swallow her up, she was so embarrassed. Nozomi had said these 'pick-up lines' were a good idea. That Eli loved them. Maybe it was because Eli was a bit better at picking up subtle hints than Honoka was. "I can't."

Honoka stared at Umi intently for a few seconds before she offered up a soft smile. "Alright." She lifted her hand, her fingers dancing reassuringly over Umi's jaw. "Whenever you're ready, Umi-chan."

Their eyes locked and Umi felt lost in the familiar pools of blue. It wasn't working. Nothing she was doing was working. It was so frustrating. Spurred on by her own panic, she leaned in, her hand going to the back of Honoka's neck and she pulled her in to kiss her square on the lips.

Honoka let out a tiny squeak at the sudden movement, her eyes going wide until she felt the softness of damp lips press against her own. Unwittingly, she melted against Umi and hesitantly returned the almost chaste kiss. It was nothing more than the gentle movement of their lips against each other and yet it seemed to send tingles shooting through Honoka's skin. It was the perfect first kiss, that is until Umi pulled away rather abruptly. She opened her eyes in time to see Umi stumble back and trip over her own feet.

Umi fell to her knees, her hands pressed against the floor as she felt her cheeks burn. It was so shameless. She had kissed Honoka without permission, stolen her first kiss from her. Honoka would probably hate her now. Not only would she not get the chance to be with her romantically but she'd probably just lost one of her best friends. She wondered if Kotori would be angry with her too. They both cherished Honoka, just in different ways, it seemed.

Her chest constricted with panic but before she could lose herself in the thought of what might happen, a hand was gently cupping her cheek, encouraging her to look up. Once more she found gentle blue eyes staring back at her.

"It's alright, Umi-chan. I know." Honoka leaned in slowly and Umi waited with baited breath until lips slid gently against her own. She parted her own with a slight inhalation and leaned into Honoka, carefully capturing her bottom lip. She held it between her own, taking in the taste that was uniquely Honoka. She tasted like something else too, though Umi couldn't put her finger on what it was. Something sweet.

One of them whimpered at the touch, though she wasn't sure which of them it was. A hand came up to rest gently on the back of her head and then Honoka was kissing her properly, the movement of her lips a bit firmer than a few minutes ago. Umi kissed her back, her arms sliding around her friend to keep her close. When they pulled away they were both red faced and breathless.

"I love you, Honoka." Umi breathed. She didn't know how she mustered up the courage, only that Honoka's close proximity was most likely the reason. "Please say you'll be my girlfriend."

Honoka smiled broadly. "I've been waiting for you to ask that. I thought you'd try a few more pick up lines first though."

Umi smiled at the answer and began to lean in for another kiss only to suddenly realize exactly what Honoka had said. "You knew and you didn't say anything?!" She shoved lightly at Honoka's shoulder. She had been agonizing over it for weeks. "Honoka!"

Honoka giggled and launched herself forward, tackling Umi to the ground. She fit snuggly on top of her and unable to resist she leaned in, kissing the tip of Umi's nose. "You're just so cute when you're embarrassed, Umi-chan. I couldn't help it."

Umi pouted though when Honoka leaned in to kiss the pout away, she quickly forgot what she was irritated about.

THE END.