A/N: At the time this was released, Bloom Into You's chapter 40 has yet to come out and the wait time for it is 2 months. It's been a long wait, and since I can't wait any longer I just had to write something for these two. Apart from the stuff that's happening I wish that they had nicer, cutesy (?) moments together, and so I'm here to deliver some of that (mostly to keep my sanity), so here you go!
It had been a slow day. Time was going at what seemed like a much slower pace. Yuu sat at the register with her forehead pressed firmly against the cold counter, hearing the nearby clock tick. A bird outside chirped and the pencil she had placed on the edge of the counter fell and hit the ground with a dull sound.
Then, came the very recognizable sound of the front doors of the shop opening. Quickly raising her head up, she gave the general worker "Welcome." response with her usual tone. Inside, she just about lost her composure, but have kept it nicely in place, only for it to be almost destroyed again when she could hear the customer's voice being aim at her direction.
"Koito-san!" Dear lord, here we go again. Yuu faced Touko with a neutral look. There were sparks at the corner of her eyes as she approached the register. "It's been a while since I've last seen you."
That was true. It had been about a week and a half since they last saw each other due to summer break. Touko was practically leaning against the register at this point, gently grabbing both of Yuu's hands and lifted them up from the counter.
"I've missed you," Touko sighed in relief, her head lowering a little bit. "I'm glad I got to see you working."
Right, Right. "You could have contacted me, you know. We could have met somewhere and hanged out together."
She laughed. "I felt as if, I don't know, I was honestly too shy to ask!"
"You sound oddly proud of that," Yuu said to Touko, loosening the grasp she had on her upperclassmen's hands. "But don't be scared to ask me out somewhere or just request to hang out together. I've told you many, many times that you should not feel hesitant to contact me in fear that you might disturb me in some way. Especially since...you know, we're officially…"
"...going out?" Touko finishing her sentence nearly made Yuu jump out of her seat. She just wasn't used to it yet.
"Yeah, that."
It had been quite recently since they started dating. Yuu would say it's been around a month since it had become official and they both confirmed that they shared the same feelings for one another. It was still very much like a dream to Yuu, being able to grasp and finally be able to at least understand what it feels like to feel romantic love itself. It's such a beautiful, yet terrifying thing to give and take. Being able to show Touko some affection, finally, was such a relief.
And yet, Yuu still finds herself shaken trying to tell Touko that she loves her.
She has done so before. That horrid day she confessed and started the whole entire mess that pulled her into a state of darkness, so when they finally saw each other again after the entire incident, she had said it again. But those two experiences had shared something with each other, and that is that the fact that Yuu's state of mind was a blur in those moments. She wasn't thinking. Now, she definitely is.
Touko let go of her grasp and smiled, and Yuu smiled back, biting her inner lip as she did so.
"Any book recommendations, Yuu?" Touko asked, her smile still not fading away.
Yuu got up from her seat and began to leave the counter in order to assist Touko and at the same time, finding an excuse to be by her side.
"Is there something specific you're looking for? Like a certain genre?"
Touko hummed for a few seconds, thinking. "I'm not sure. Is there a certain book you've read recently that you like?"
"Oh, umm…" Yuu could feel a droplet of sweat forming on her forehead. "I guess...there is one."
And so Yuu, grabbed Touko's hand, the action surprising Touko herself. She guided her through the store until she stopped in front of a bookshelf, a little bit towards the corner of the bookstore. Yuu let go of Touko's hand, much to her disappointment, and began to stand on the tips of her toes, pointing to the book right at the top shelf. Its spine was nice and bright, and the title popped out quite nicely.
"This one," Yuu said, her feet starting to shake a little. "I finished this one a few days ago and I really liked it. It's a nice thriller. It's worth a read if you're interested."
"So this is what you like to read?"
Yuu nodded, going back to her original height. "Pretty much."
"I'll take it." Touko grabbed the book with ease without having to stand on her tiptoes, which made a vein pop on Yuu's forehead very slightly. She handed the book to Yuu, and as the working employee, she began to head her way to the register.
Before she could even take another step, however, Touko had grabbed Yuu's wrist to prevent her from going any further. Yuu, of course, had no other choice but to look back at Touko and simply ask with a firm tone, "Are you okay?"
No answer, at first.
"Hey, is anyone from your family going to come down here?"
That didn't answer Yuu's question, but looking at Touko's face, she seemed pretty okay, apart from the growing blush rushing across her face. Scratch that, she was not okay.
"I don't think." Yuu knew where this was going, and she held her breath for a few seconds, waiting for her response.
And the only response she got, was not spoken by words, but by actions. Touko pressed her lips onto Yuu's, the gentle contact making Yuu's shoulders shoot up in reflex, but calm down as seconds passed.
It was quiet in and outside the bookstore. The clock was still ticking, the birds were still chirping, a car passed by the building, and yet, Yuu could hear absolutely nothing. Her mind went blank, and her heart began to race. All she could hear now, was the sound of her own heartbeat, beating in her ears madly as if it were going to explode at any minute.
These feelings were setting off like fireworks at a local festival. They went off with a bang, and therefore came such pretty colors dying the night sky. This kiss, oh, Yuu had already lost track of time. It was just as magical as that. Such a simple kiss, and yet, here she was, drowning in a sea of love, drowning in the feeling that felt like fireworks.
Just like fireworks, they fade, and it's done. Touko separated from Yuu, and the kiss had ended. The crimson red shade of blush Touko had beforehand had spread to Yuu. It was difficult to make eye contact, and Yuu held on tighter to the book she somehow still had in her hand.
"I'll go ahead and check out now." Yuu shook her head trying to shake off the jittery feeling in her head.
"R-right."
Time passed by, with the book being bought and being placed securely in a plastic bag, it was time for Touko to go. That made Yuu, undeniably glum.
"Hey, about what you said about hanging out, why don't we do so this weekend?" Touko asked, grabbing the bag containing her newly bought book. "It can be anywhere, your choice."
"I'll take you up on that."
Yuu looked at Touko as she began to increase the distance between them, stop right at the entrance, and wave goodbye.
"See you later, Yuu." And with that said, Touko began to step out of the bookstore.
And Yuu, herself, was having an internal crisis.
"Wait! Touko-senpai!" Touko's attention was immediately obtained at the usage of her first name. She looked behind her, to see Yuu with a rather insecure face. Or at least she assumed at first.
There was a spark at the corner of her eyes.
"I.." Yuu almost lost her words, but she was able to get them back.
"I love you."
God, those words were a killer. Touko felt like she was going to pass out. Her heart was just starting to calm down, and yet here it was again, beginning to race. She just about almost had a heart attack when Yuu placed a kiss on her cheek, one with the right amount of gentleness and affection.
"See you."
Touko smiled. She couldn't help it. Bending down, she returned the kiss, placing it nicely on Yuu's cheek.
"I love you too. See you later, Yuu."
The last firework was launched up in the night sky, and it faded away, but the thrill of it remained. With a smile still on her face, she turned around to return to the register, calming down a little bit.
"So things went well with Nanami-chan, ey Yuu?"
Shit. Yuu was just about shut down when she saw her sister, Rei, leaning against the wall with the biggest smirk she had seen on her face in all of the years she had known her. This scared Yuu quite a lot and she was already beginning to shake a little.
"I-I don't know what you mean."
"Oh, you sure do know what I mean little sis," Rei's smirk only grew even more. "There's no way I can ignore the fact that you, my sweet Yuu-chan, has not only called Nanami by her first name but has told her 'I love you' and even given her a ki-"
"God, please don't say anything Rei," Yuu felt like she was on fire. "Especially to mom and dad."
"Oh, please, Yuu, I'm not that terrible of a sister to go tattle on you for making out with a girl."
"I did not! Stop making this worse! How long were you even here?!"
Rei hummed, waking over to Yuu until she was only a few inches away from her.. "Since you ran up to her while she was leaving the store. Dear lord Yuu, I should have recorded that! It would have been a great memory! How long have you kept this secret from your big sister?"
"Please Rei, shut up!" Yuu placed a firm hand on top of Rei's mouth for good measure. "It's only been around a month, so please stop asking so many questions that I don't have the mental strength to answer at the moment, so I'll tell you later this evening!"
The front doors closed automatically, and all was done.
