a/n: school's started up again which means updates will be slower for a while, sorry about that! anyway here's some soft date vibes

Years of television should have prepared her for this.

This, of course, being Reina Kousaka splayed out on her stomach on the rug in her room, pouring over some magazine. A catalogue, she thought, but from her spot on the bed she couldn't tell, and the whole thing felt like something out of a teen movie. God, the light was hitting her perfectly, bathing her in that near-ethereal glow. Kumiko would've thought her an angel if she hadn't, at that moment, yawned rather loudly and pulled the edges of the carpet around herself like a cocoon.

"Kumiko?"

"Eh?"

"Is it drafty in this room, or is that just me?" Kumiko held out an arm, and indeed, little goosebumps rose all over her skin. She hadn't even noticed.

"Y-yeah, you're right. I'll go and fix it right now." She was already halfway out the door when Reina shook her head.

"It's fine," she said, standing abruptly. "You don't have to worry about it."

"You're sure?"

"I am, Kumiko." Reina sat back down, patting the spot next to her. Kumiko folded her legs and joined her. A soft song played on her aging, crackling radio - a hand-me down from Mamiko that she hardly ever used - and she found herself listening to the singer's gentle crooning. "This is nice. Do you know who the singer is?"

"No idea."

"Me neither." Reina started to pick at a peeling plastic tag on the rug, eyes not quite averting Kumiko's gaze but not quite meeting it either. "What now?"

"W-well, uh, what were you reading?" Kumiko lamely pointed to the magazine for emphasis.

"I've been thinking about getting a new trumpet case. My old one's more or less held together by duct tape at this point." Reina's eyes flicked to the page again. "Really, I should be looking at a new trumpet, too, but I can't really . . . see myself with anything other than the one I have. Do you get what I mean?"

"Not really," Kumiko admitted. "I mean, I've never had a euph of my own, so that's probably a part of it."

"Right." Reina ran her finger over one of the spreads, the smooth magazine paper crinkling a bit under the pressure. "Have you ever thought about it, though? Owning a euphonium, going into it professionally?"

"Hah, I've tried not to think that far ahead." Kumiko pressed a hand to her forehead as she laughed, strained, knowing from Reina's expression that she had and was most likely contemplating it right around now. "I'm not like you, Reina. I'm not set out on this straight-laced path to becoming special." Reina still kept her focus on the magazine, but Kumiko didn't miss how she scooted closer. "I don't . . . I don't really know what I want to do."

"That's alright, too." Reina squeezed her hand, grounding and reassuring, and Kumiko exhaled with a strange sort of relief. "It is, Kumiko."

"Still." Kumiko let it dangle there, not sure how she'd even continue. Reina let her head rest on Kumiko's shoulder. "I . . . geez, Reina, I'd like it if I knew what I was d-doing instead of seeing this - just having this nice, cozy afternoon in my room - as, y'know, the ultimate. The best thing ever. B-because that's what it feels like! It feels amazing, just being here with you, but everyone's saying there should be . . . I dunno, more. I like the euphonium. I just don't know how much longer I'll like it." Reina closed the magazine and slid it to the side, turning to face her.

"Let's make a deal, then."

"Eh?"

"When you graduate, if you still like the euphonium, if you still enjoy playing it just as much as you do now, you'll pursue a career in it."

"Or?"

"If you don't, you find something better and pursue that. Simple."

"Okay." Kumiko reached out her hand, and Reina took it with an overdramatic bow. "Deal." They shook hands, and Kumiko was prepared to let go when Reina held it for just a moment longer than usual.

"And, if it helps at all, I'm not as sure of myself as you might think." Reina was still as a statue, her hold firm but not uncomfortably tight. "I have . . . this sounds stupid, talking out loud about it."

"Reina?"

"I'm not special. Not yet, not for a long time, possibly, but I'm trying. It's never been like I just woke up one morning and decided I'd do this. It's been a long road, Kumiko, at risk of sounding pretentious. It's going to keep being a long road."

"Well, you don't have to do it alone." Despite their rather noticeable height difference, Reina's ramrod-straight back combined with Kumiko's slumped posture made it so that the two girls were just eye-to-eye. "Neither of us do, Reina."

"I'm glad to hear it." Reina pulled her into a hug, breathing in deeply, and Kumiko had to blink back tears for reasons she didn't even quite understand herself.

"Hey, Reina?"

"Hmm?"

"C-can we . . . can we do this again sometime?" The room was silent for a moment, save for the chirping of birds and rumblings of cars outside.

"Of course."

a/n: i love these two so much and kyoani will have to pry them from my cold dead hands