a/n: it's not cold enough here and i like writing fall aesthetics
It wasn't often that Kumiko had time to herself, these days, busy with life and school and everything that came in between, and so she breathed out long and steady as she stood over the bridge. Orange leaves drifted through the water, peaceful, and she let her shoulders fall and relax.
"Do you come here often?" Kumiko turned around, and she came face-to-face with Reina, wrapped up in a red scarf with her cheeks pink and nose runny from the weather. If she didn't know better, she'd have made a quip about the great snow queen taken down by some chilly winds. She did know better, however, and so she just kept her mouth shut and shook her head.
"I don't take this route home that much."
"Why today, then?"
"I dunno." Kumiko leaned on the railing, careful not to lose her balance. The thought of tumbling down into that river made her shudder. "I g-guess it's kinda pretty?"
"It is."
"I wanted to see it before everything got all bleak and cold. I mean, I love the winter! It's, uh, it's my favorite season, but still. I like the leaves."
"Me too." Reina's hands were covered by a pair of white gloves, silken and fitting over her fingers so tightly that Kumiko didn't even realize she was wearing them for a moment. "I like it here, you know." Someone played a violin in the street - adding to the atmosphere, Kumiko thought. It was impossible to be with Reina and feel like she wasn't in some kind of movie.
"Hey, are you g-going anywhere after this?" she asked, a spur-of-the-moment thing that made her feel just a bit giddy with excitement. It was the cold, she figured, impairing her judgement. That was it.
"I don't think so." Reina stepped a bit closer, and Kumiko wanted so badly to lean against her. It was cold weather like this that made her so touch-hungry. "As long as I'm home before dark." Kumiko looked up.
"Yeah, we still have some time."
"Where were you thinking of?" Reina started down the sidewalk, and Kumiko matched her step easily. Reina was fast, nimble, a killer in the laps Taki made them all do every so often, but Kumiko was tall, and that made up for a lot of it.
"Uh, there's a coffee place down the street, how's that?"
"Perfect."
It seemed like the same idea had occurred to more than just the two of them - the line nearly reached the door, and it moved forward at a glacial pace.
"Y'know, Reina, sometimes I get worried that it's not going to be like this forever." Kumiko twiddled her thumbs nervously, looping one over the other, one over the other.
"I hope not," Reina joked, halfhearted. "I'd hate to be in this line for much longer."
"You know what I mean."
"I do." Reina took a deep breath, folding her hands together and exhaling long and slow. "The leaves falling and everything, it's all very . . ."
"Symbolic?" Kumiko offered.
"That."
"You'd be right at home with cheesy romances, Reina."
"Maybe I like living in one." Kumiko's breath hitched, as it often did around Reina, and she looked around nervously.
"Not in here," she whispered, though Reina was already wrapping her scarf around Kumiko's neck in that way that always, always meant she was just about to pull her in close with it. It was a trick Kumiko never got tired of. "There's, uh, a lot of people."
"I'm aware."
"You're not worried?"
"I'm not planning to do it out here," Reina huffed, loosening her grip on the scarf. An older woman looked at the pair in curiosity, then turned her back again. "I'm not shameless." The line moved again, and Reina's breath was intoxicating. The coffeeshop seemed to fall away, the people not much more than blurred, faceless figures. "In a few minutes, though?" She looped her fingers through the scarf, letting them dance along Kumiko's neckline. Oh, she was in love. "Most definitely."
Needless to say, hot chocolate was the last thing on Kumiko's mind at the moment, and she gently tugged Reina out of the line.
"We can come back later," she whispered.
"Giving up our spot because you can't wait a little while?" Already, they were heading for the door. Reina knew a great spot where nobody could see inside. "You're terrible."
"Hmm, but am I as terrible as you, teasing me like this?"
"You might just have a point there." A cold gust of air hit the pair as soon as they went outside, and Kumiko relished the feeling, the way it battered her cheeks and made her even more grateful for the girl next to her.
"We're away from everyone, now, right?" Kumiko looked around at the little alcove - a spot between two shops, shallow enough that nobody used it for anything like drug deals but deep enough that nobody every paid it any heed.
"Mm-hmm." Reina slipped off her white gloves and let them fall to the pavement, and Kumiko was a complete goner. She let Reina tug her down by the scarf, holding her and embracing her, letting the wonderful sensation of Reina's lips on her own take her far, far away from this cold little alleyway.
She thought that she might like the fall more than she used to.
a/n: long time no kumirei, huh? even though this one was short, i felt like i owed it to these dorks to publish something.