The park was quiet during the evening, it is a time where the grounds are less populated by children and more by older ages. This ranged from old couples walking together to enjoy the scenery and company, to young adults running through the park to stay in shape or walk their dogs.

There was a certain calmness to this kind of park, the playground was for the most part empty. Sometimes families would come during this time for some bonding so a few kids would end up on the playground.

These parks were also nice hotspots for young couples who want to enjoy their time together outdoors. A navy blue haired woman sat alone on a bench near the park's pond. She wore a dark maroon colored beret and dressed nicely as if she were going out with some friends for the night.

She constantly darted her eyes left and right in search of the company she was waiting on. Every several seconds that passed by would cause her to look down at her wristwatch and then back up.

She wiggled around on her seat and looked uneasy. However, all of that went away when her eyes gazed upon a silhouette in front of the sunset. It was quite a distance away, but she could recognize the hairstyle anywhere.

The uneasy look on her face was instantly replaced with a smile and a look of relief. Once the figure was close enough, she spoke first, "Nico! I was getting worried that you wouldn't show up."

Nico rubbed the back of her head and three small children popped out from behind her, "H-Hey Umi."

"Umi-nee!"

"Umi-oneechan!"

"Umicchi!"

The kids cried out.

Nico bowed, "I'm sorry, Umi. I know we were supposed to go on a date but Mama had to work overtime tonight."

Umi smiled apologetically, "It's okay, Nico, I don't mind the company."

"Umi-nee! Play with us!" Kokoro and Kokoa pulled on each of Umi's arms towards the playground.

"Kokoro! Kokoa! I told you not to bother Umi!" Nico yelled.

"It's alright, Nico, let them have their fun," Umi replied.

Nico let out a deep breath of frustration and felt a tug on her shirt, she looked down to see Kotarou, "Nico-nee, can I play with Umi-oneechan too?"

Nico couldn't bring herself to deny her younger brother so she pat his head and knelt down, "Go ahead and play with Umi-oneechan. Don't be too rough though."

A cheeky smile from the young boy helped her calm down, "I wanna do what Kokoro and Kokoa are doing."

Nico stared at the boy confused until she turned her head to see what her younger sisters were doing with Umi. Her jaw dropped when she saw them 4 feet in the air and spinning around like helicopter blades.

"Nico-nee! Look at how strong Umi-nee is!"

"I wanna grow up to be as strong as Umicchi!"

Kotarou rushed over and Nico followed behind, making sure to keep her hand on him, "Are you okay Umi? They're not hurting you, are they?"

Umi stopped twirling around and set Nico's sisters down, "No it's okay, they're lighter than you."

"W-who're you calling light? I can lift you up easily!" Nico replied.

"I wasn't saying tha-"

"Nico-nee, why the heck you lyin?" Kokoa asked.

"Don't you throw that meme at me, Kokoa..." Nico grumbled.

She felt a tug on her shirt, "Nico-nee, are you really as strong as Umi-oneechan?"

Nico scoffed, "Of course I am!"

"Prove it!" Kokoro shouted.

"Fine! Umi, lift your arms up!" Nico commanded.

"W-wait, Nico! I'm ticklis-"

Nico grabbed Umi's waist and attempted to lift her up. Umi fell down in a laughing fit instead, "Umi?"

"Ahh! Umicchi's weakness! Attack, Kokoro!" Kokoa yelled.

"Commencing attack!" Kokoro shouted.

The two sisters began their tickling assault on Umi's waist and the laugh that erupted from Umi's mouth brought all of the attention on them. Nico looked around to see others staring at them, and even she couldn't believe that something like that could be produced by Umi.

"H-help me, Nico! Please!" Umi cried between her laughs.

Nico couldn't decide whether to feel embarrassed or pleased with the enjoyment of seeing this side of Umi.

"Kotarou is joining too!" Nico's little brother let out a clumsy battle cry and helped his sisters attack Umi's sides.

Umi bursted into laughter, "Nico please help! I-I can't b-breathe!"

"Okay, okay, it's time to get off of Umi," Nico walked over and pushed her siblings off of her girlfriend who was struggling to breathe, "Are you okay, Umi?"

She wiped away her tears and took deep breaths, "Yeah... Yeah I'm okay. Thank you for saving me, Nico."

Umi's beautiful amber eyes shot right through Nico's heart and she found it hard for herself to breathe now, "N-No problem..." the two of them held hands and Nico unconsciously leaned in closer.

She snapped out of it after hearing the whispering and squealing of her siblings.

"Eww they're going to kiss!"

"Umi and Nico sitting in a tree~"

The siblings held hands and continued to sing, "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Why I ought a!" Nico scrambled to her feet and chased her siblings around. It would proved to be useless since they all separated into different directions.

Umi giggled at her small girlfriend who returned with her head hung down, "They're just having fun, Nico."

"I know but... I really wanted to spend time with you today..." Nico turned away to hide her blush. She didn't like being very truthful with herself, but somehow Umi was the only one to get her to do so.

"Nico..."

"Umicchi, come swing with us!" Kokoa pranced over and tugged on Umi's arm.

Umi let out an exaggerated sigh and followed along until she arrived at the swingset with the three siblings. Each one plopped themselves on a swing and Umi gave each of them a push to start off.

"Push harder, Umi-nee!" Kokoro shouted.

Umi did as she asked and pushed the young girl with more force.

"Me too Umicchi!" Kokoa yelled.

Again Umi did the same thing.

"Umi-oneechan!"

She rushed over to Kotarou and applied the same force. It wasn't that hard to do, but seeing the siblings smile and laugh made up for what they had done to her earlier. She stayed by the swingset and helped them swing.

Nico watched as her girlfriend played with her younger siblings. She would have to admit that it was nice to be the one watching for once. Her siblings were always happy and they helped her push on in life, but ever since Umi came into the picture, things have been livelier than usual.

She sighed and walked over to the pond, although her siblings were happy, she wished that she would get some alone time with Umi. They rarely get the chance to spend time alone together and she admittedly wanted to do more romantic things with her girlfriend.

She wanted to do everything that she saw on TV. Going on on dates, having romantic candle lit dinners, having picnics, cooking together, watching movies together. She wanted the whole romantic package but ever since she graduated from Otonokizaka she had been busy taking care of her siblings and attending University. Umi on the other hand was busy with her student council work so a day like today was rare.

Nico felt a pair of arms wrap around her and a head rest on her shoulder. She could see the familiar navy blue hair from her peripheral and placed her hands on the arms that wrapped around her, "Hey Umi."

"I'm sorry that your siblings want to play with me so much," Umi replied.

Nico sighed, "Jeez, I'm your girlfriend aren't I? Shouldn't you spend time with me?"

Umi rubbed her head against Nico's cheek, "I'm spending it with you now."

"What about the kids?" Nico replied.

"They're hiding and I was deemed seeker." Umi admitted.

Nico giggled, "Shouldn't you go find them?"

Umi squeezed tighter, "I don't want to."

Nico giggled and turned around to face her girlfriend. She felt herself getting pushed against the small fence as her usually shy girlfriend became assertive.

Umi couldn't control herself that well, it had been a few months since the two of them had time alone like this and she wanted to show her love for her girlfriend, even if it went against her usual demeanor, "Nico..."

Umi leaned in closer until their bodies pressed against each other and kissed her small girlfriend. It was a long and passionate kiss to show how much she had missed and yearned for the twin tailed girl.

When their lips parted the only thing that kept them connected was a string of saliva. Umi went in for another kiss but heard giggling from behind her. Nico stood on her toes and glanced over her girlfriend's shoulder to see her siblings laughing mischievously.

"Hey!" Nico yelled.

The kids bursted in laughter and quickly fled the scene.

"Have fun Umi-nee and Nico-nee!"

"Umicchi is so bold!"

Her sisters teased the couple and Nico went to chase after them. She was stopped when the arms around her waist pulled her back into a warm embrace.

"Umi let go! Those brats are going to get what's coming to them!" Nico struggled to pry away Umi's iron grip.

She felt a soft and warm tingling sensation on the back of her neck and she suddenly felt weak, "They're giving us time alone, Nico."

Umi let go of her girlfriend and their hands locked together, "Let's walk around a bit," Umi looked down at her girlfriend and smiled.

Nico blushed, "I-If you insist..."

The two walked hand in hand along the path, the fall season had just rolled by and the brisk wind sent a chill down Nico's spine. Umi noticed the small girl shiver and she started unwrapping her scarf, "Here Nico, if you're cold, wear this."

"N-no, I'm fine," Nico remained stubborn.

Umi frowned, her girlfriend was still as stubborn as she remembered. Umi let go of Nico's hand and started wrapping the scarf around her without permission.

"Umi! I said that I don't need it!" she protested and tried to stop Umi from completing her objective.

"Nico, let me take care of you!" Umi continued to wrap the scarf around Nico.

"Would you stop?!" Nico shouted.

Umi stopped and stepped back, "N-Nico...?"

"I wanna be the one you can lean on, it's cold so I want you to keep your scarf!" Nico unwrapped the scarf and wrapped it around Umi, "I'm the older one... I should be the one taking care of you."

Umi look down apologetically, "Nico..."

"Let me have this one moment..." Nico begged.

Umi nodded and reached for Nico's hand again. They locked together and continued their walk. It was nice and peaceful, they had their own stories to tell although Umi's stories pretty much involved Honoka and her shenanigans.

Despite Nico's usually talkative behavior, Umi noticed how quiet she was, "Is something wrong, Nico?"

"... Can we talk about someone else other than Honoka?" Nico turned her face away.

Umi panicked, "O-Oh I'm so sorry Nico!"

"You dare to talk about another woman in front of your girlfriend?" Nico questioned.

"I'm sorry, it was just second nature," Umi reasoned.

"Hmph!" Nico let go and crossed her arms.

"Please forgive me, Nico."

"...Only if you say the thing..."

"The thing? What th-" Umi gasped, "Nico... you know that it's hard for me to say that..."

"Then I guess your feelings aren't as strong as they used to be," Nico turned her back to Umi.

"Nico..."

"Hmph!"

Umi sighed and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend once again. She brought her lips close to her ear and whispered,

"I love you."