a/n: i remembered reina's birthday way too late and pulled this from nowhere but i knew that i needed to write something for it so here it be
on a completely unrelated note captain america civil war is a Really Great Movie and you should all see it
"Kumiko, I understand that you're attempting to do something spontaneous, but this is somewhat extreme, don't you think? We've been walking for about twenty minutes now, and I still haven't the slightest clue as to where we are, thanks to the blindfold."
"Just a few m-more steps, Reina! I promise you'll like it!" Oh, god, what if she doesn't like it? What if she hates it? What if she hates me? Crap, what have I-
"We've stopped. Is something the matter?"
"No, it's all f-fine, don't worry! I'm, uh, I'm just catching my breath, yeah! Just catching my breath, n-nothing more, heh." In truth, Kumiko had stopped to think about the potential consequences of the small display in front of her, fear (irrational fear, she told herself, fear that had no reasoning behind it) twisting itself through her veins, goosebumps springing up on her skin. This could either end as the best thing she had done, or the worst. I could mess this up. I could mess this up so badly. Crap.
"You've been standing here for far too long to only be catching your breath." Reina interrupted Kumiko's thoughts with that edge to her voice that had always reminded her of how temporary this all could be, how Reina could fall from her grip at any second if she misstepped. It scared her, it left her shaking and weak just to think about what would happen if Reina left her, and so she continued on just barely taking risks, always just a little bit afraid of the possibility of abandonment.
"W-well, okay, you can, uh, take off your blindfold now." Reina slipped the cloth off of her face with an air of effortlessness, her hair gently blowing in the wind, and Kumiko had to take a moment to catch her breath and remind herself why she was here. Surprisingly, she didn't seem like the only breathless one at the foot of the mountain.
"Kumiko, what is this?"
"Happy birthday, Reina."
It hadn't been a gigantic present, really, it was nothing more than a table that Kumiko had hauled over to the base of the mountain - her mountain, as she thought of it now, hers and Reina's - with two chairs, a few balloons, and a small cake, but Reina stood in shock at the sight, pale hands clasped over her mouth.
"You did this, Kumiko?"
"Y-yeah, I'm really sorry it's not much, I'm p-probably overstepping here and-" Kumiko never got to finish her sentence. Reina had pulled her into a hug, tightening her grip around the soft fabric of Kumiko's shirt and murmuring "thank you" in hushed tones, as if she was just as afraid to let go. It was moments like these, Kumiko idly thought once Reina had finally let her go, that made her realize how little she knew about the girl now sitting across from her. A round table and a cake at the foot of a mountain meant nothing to most, and yet it meant everything to the two girls sitting in comfortable silence as the sun sank below the horizon and Kumiko kept hold on Reina's hand while she adjusted her cone-shaped party hat.
There was so little that she knew, but for now it seemed to be enough.
