a/n: today's the two-year anniversary of the publication of the first chapter of falling in love at a coffee shop, according to my calendar, and that deserves a one-shot, doesn't it? so i put this little thing together in time.

Kumiko would've liked to believe in a happily ever after.

Things had turned out so well, so perfectly in every aspect, she would've been content to just live in that moment forever, when she got into the taxicab with Reina, sopping wet and nearly crying of relief, but she knew that was unrealistic. They'd reach the train station soon. They'd get on a train and go to who knows where, and on one hand she couldn't wait, but on the other she knew life would tumble on, and so she curled up next to Reina as the taxi bumped along the road.

"I wasn't expecting you to show up," Reina murmured. "Even when you started yelling like that, I didn't believe it was you."

"You thought I'd abandon you?" Kumiko's voice was soft, hesitant, but Reina held her hand reassuringly. The umbrella lay at her feet.

"After what I did? Kicking you out into the snow? Anyone would."

"I missed you so much, Reina." Kumiko looked out the rain-streaked window for a moment before she turned back to Reina. "A-and we both messed up."

"We did." Little droplets slid off of Reina's coat, dripping into the seat before fading away.

"It's okay now, though." The sky was darkening a little bit, though it was hard to tell with the rain. "We're okay."

"You left everything at your apartment," Reina pointed out. A slight mischievous grin made its way onto her face. "Always the hopeless romantic, hmm?" Kumiko flushed red.

"Hey, if I'd waited five more minutes you'd have been gone!" she yelped indignantly. Reina chuckled. "Besides, you were the one who took me up a mountain on a festival night as a 'shortcut' to a concert. That's something."

"I suppose it is." Reina leaned against her, looking up at the taxi's gray ceiling. "What would you have done if I'd just gone, Kumiko?"

"You weren't going to tell me." Kumiko pulled her knees close to her chest, ignoring the uncomfortable sensation of the seatbelt squeezing her stomach. "I wouldn't have known."

"Well, you do have a point there." Reina paused. "Wait, how did you find out?"

"I called." Kumiko recalled the scene as if it had happened years and years ago instead of earlier that day. "I, uh, I'd deleted your cell number - y'know, for a fresh start or whatever - so I called your house and your dad picked up?"

"Oh, no." Reina let out a sound somewhere between a laugh and an embarrassed groan. "What did he say?"

"He . . . he called you 'unruly?' It was weird."

"That sounds about right."

"I'm sorry, Reina."

"Don't be." Reina flexed her fingers in her lap - in the heating of the taxi, the color was starting to return to her hands, no longer a pallid, ghostly white. "We made mistakes. We're looking ahead, now."

"Yeah." Kumiko wanted to fall asleep next to her right there and then, so that maybe she'd be able to feel Reina's comforting, electric touch all through dreamland and for years to come, but her brain was still abuzz with thoughts of 'this is happening this is happening this is happening' as the love of her life watched hills roll by and the cab rolled closer and closer to the train station. The driver still said nothing.

"Was your roommate alright with all of this? She wasn't particularly . . ." Kumiko could practically hear the well roll off Reina's tongue. ". . . happy, the last time I saw her."

"Natsuki?" Kumiko said, as if she had another roommate. "Y-yeah, I think she'll be fine. I mean, she practically pushed me out the door, so it's not like I ditched her or anything."

"She's a good friend."

"She is." The cab filled with silence again, but it was a comfortable kind - the sort that promised it'd be swept away when the right time came, that there just wasn't anything left to say, and Kumiko took a deep breath after a few minutes to turn to her. "I love you, Reina, y'know that?" Reina's eyes widened, then settled into a soft smile.

"I love you too, Kumiko," she said, and as the taxi rumbled on, an immense peace surrounded the two of them, and Kumiko felt ready to face whatever came with Reina by her side.

a/n: thanks again to everyone who supported the coffeeshop au - writing that fic changed my life, and your support means the world to me.