This drabble was brought to you by: random shower thoughts!

This one was SO MUCH fun to write, I love silly sappy shit like this and I ended up finding the cutest fucking vid while doing 'research' which heavily inspired the bit near the end! I kinda wanna continue this? like showing more scenes as the girls adjust to living together and stuff, dunno, I don't have any immediate ideas, but lemme know what you guys think, bc I think this could make a cute lil fic

I'm completely guessing the rough drive time between Tokyo and wherever the girls grew up, bc iirc it's never really been confirmed anywhere? feel free to correct me on this though!

Anyways, hope yall enjoy!

She was giddy, no, more than that, she was ecstatic; the kind of excitement that she felt whenever she got her hands on an unfamiliar new plant, or when watching her girlfriend utterly trounce her competition at an important race. It had her stomach feeling light and floaty, head both dizzy and burning hot, her blood fizzing in her veins like soda.

It was finally happening, after all this time, they were actually moving in together!

Yui didn't know if she wanted to cry, scream or laugh, so she did all three simultaneously, only receiving a mildly concerned look from Mikawa, as her friend pulled into the free parking-space just outside what was going to be her new home – with the same reckless disregard for road safety laws that she'd applied through the entire trip, much to Yui's dismay.

It was almost a little funny that the girl who was utterly terrified of flying became such a terror the second she got behind a steering wheel, Yui couldn't help but think, even as she clutched at her seat with desperate, stiff arms and stared unblinking at the parked car in front, unknowing of the danger rapidly approaching it, waiting for the inevitable crunch of steel.

Somehow though, they didn't crash – though the screeching halt they'd come to still had her heart stopping for a long, terrible moment – and her best friend cut the ignition with a triumphant grin and a hand smacked against her shoulder. "What'd I tell ya, flawless!"

"Mmhgk."

"Aren't you glad to have such a nice friend who can drive you around now?"

"Hnfsjks."

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad!"

"Fsgjk."

"…So, are we just gonna sit around all day or what? Kase-san should be here already, right?"

Suddenly, all thoughts of painful, crushing death were banished from her mind, instead replaced by images of seeing her beloved again, going into their home, seeing her girlfriend waiting to welcome her back, being able to see each other all the time, sharing a bed and-

"Let's go!" she yelled, completely forgetting about the seatbelt that she'd been so grateful for, for the last three-and-a-half hours, as she threw open the door and tried to jump out.

Mikawa was laughing way harder than necessary while she struggled with the belt's lock, but she was too excited to do more than pout briefly. Tomoka had already been settled in for a few weeks now – her academic year always started early so that training could start right away – she wondered how much she'd done with their modest little apartment already; they'd promised not to start doing any real decorating until they were both there, but still, she must've done a little bit by now.

She desperately wanted to just run up all the stairs and give her girlfriend a great long hug immediately, but caught herself just at the door, keys already in her hand. It would probably be best to start taking some of her stuff up now, after all, the sooner everything was inside, the sooner they could get to cuddling and having something to eat.

Her friend was only just getting out of the car, when Yui bounced back, opening the boot wide and grabbing the first two boxes in reach.

She flashed her a smile as she jogged back towards the building, calling over her shoulder, "It's room twenty-eight!"

"Got it, but I think I'll just stand guard over the car until you're finished… reuniting." Mikawa's voice was teasing, but her grin was genuine, sending her a short wave before the door slammed shut between them.

That was probably a good idea, she knew that she'd definitely be getting very emotional and teary, and there was a very good chance Tomoka would end up in a similar state.

Rushing up the stairs was a little harder than it would've been without her burden and she was finding it difficult to look around the boxes at the floor numbers, counting the steps until she reached the third floor. Her heart was already thumping in her ears and she could feel herself getting breathless from more than just exertion, as each quick step brought her closer and closer and closer-

Finally, she came to the door marked with a shiny twenty-eight. She really shouldn't be feeling so nervous, she'd been here before, she'd stayed with Tomoka overnight before, but now… she was struck with the sudden realisation that this was real.

Once she stepped through that door, it would become official.

Taking a deep breath and awkwardly shuffling the boxes in her arms so that her key could fit into the lock, she pushed open the door and took a careful step inside.

"I'm home!"

She'd barely had time to realise what she'd actually just said, before her girlfriend had skidded into the cramped hallway, hair messy and t-shirt still damp in places and looking utterly perfect.

"Yui!" She practically threw herself on her, long arms reaching awkwardly around the boxes the shorter girl still held in front of her, wrapping them in a deeply uncomfortable embrace, that nonetheless made Yui want to cry tears of joy.

Reluctantly pulling away, Tomoka started talking all in a rush. "Man, you should've called to let me know you were here! I thought you'd be another twenty minutes, at least."

"Mikawacchi… drives fast," she muttered – feeling slightly ill at the reminder – "and I wanted to surprise you!"

Tomoka laughed softly, the sound slipping easily under Yui's skin to leave her tingling all over. "Well, I'm glad you're here. Welcome home," she said; with her gentle smile and her tanned cheeks lightly flushed, looking like she'd probably just come home from a jog and still hadn't cleaned herself up… it was quite honestly the most beautiful sight she'd ever been lucky enough to see.

Her eyes were already watering, she wanted to pull a tissue out of her bag, but the load in her arms was still in the way, so she settled for a few hard sniffs instead.

"Oh, crap, sorry, here give those to me, I'll find a place for them and we can get everyth- hOLY!" The grunt as her girlfriend nearly bent over double under the weight of the boxes was enough to distract her from fumbling in her backpack for something to wipe her eyes with, she flapped her hands around uselessly as Tomoka carefully straightened up. "'m ok," she said, voice caught between a laugh and a wheeze, "I really wasn't expecting that, what's in these?"

Biting her lip as she followed her girlfriend into the living area, she frowned at the boxes that had dared hurt her beloved. "Just my textbooks, and a few recipe books and novels and I think the top one is trinkets and stuff."

There was a thud as the boxes were dropped to the floor and a sigh of relief from Tomoka. "Damn, how'd you carry them all the way up here so easy?"

Yui blinked, staring down at them, before glancing back up to her girlfriend. "I… don't know? I mean it wasn't easy, but I guess carrying around bags of soil and fertiliser and huge plant pots a lot has made me kinda strong."

"I'll say," Tomoka snorted, but her expression quickly fell into one of careful consideration as she looked her up and down.

She squirmed under the attention.

Finally, after what felt like minutes, her girlfriend glanced away, finger scratching nervously at her cheek, her cheeks slightly pink. "D-do you think you could lift me up?"

Blinking, Yui gave it some thought. "I think so, it'd probably be difficult since you're so much taller than me though," she eventually said, tapping at her own lips – the body suddenly pressing close to her own quickly jolted her out of her mental calculations though.

"Try it!" Tomoka said, grinning face an inch away from her own, arms already wrapped around her neck.

"Right now?"

"Yeah! C'mon it'll be funny," her voice was starting to shift to a slight whine, but she was still grinning and pressing ever closer against her.

Fighting the furious heat on her face, Yui carefully manoeuvred her arms around her tall girlfriend, wondering where the best place to hold her would be. She settled for hooking them just at the top of her thighs – ignoring the little voice in her head pointing out what a convenient place she'd chosen – took a deep breath and started to lift, bracing her feet against the floor and bending back a little so that Tomoka's feet completely left the ground, dangling a few inches in the air.

Huh, it was actually surprisingly easy, Tomoka might be all muscle, but she was lean and didn't carry much extra weight, the only thing that made it truly awkward was the significant height difference between them, but she wasn't feeling tired at all; apparently, she was stronger than she'd realised.

She tilted her neck to grin up at her lover, ready to make a triumphant comment, when-

Wait… why is she blushing so much?

Tomoka's face was stained completely red and she was looking down at her with something like… awe, her eyes wide and mouth just slightly open.

"Wow," she breathed, before dipping enough to catch Yui's lips with hers, arms tightening around her neck as she pushed herself as close as possible, skin warm and soft, lips slightly chapped, but leaving pleasant tingles against her own. She wanted to shiver, but was careful to keep her grip on her girlfriend's legs tight as they explored each other again, for the first time in so many weeks now, that Yui wondered how she'd ever managed to survive being apart.

It was only when her arms were threatening to drop off that she reluctantly pulled away, panting as she dropped Tomoka back down gently. "Ah, sorry, couldn't keep holding you up much longer," she muttered, hiding her face behind one hand, as she shook the cramps out of the other.

"No worries, I'm super impressed though, you're so strong!" Tomoka was grinning once more, wide and lips slightly redder than usual.

A tongue darted across them, drawing her eye, but she supressed the urge to lean up and do the same, instead letting her eyes fall back to the boxes off to the side. "Ah, we should probably go get the rest in now," she said, spinning on her heel before Tomoka could do something to distract her again. Like lick her lips again, or smile, or breathe.

"Hold on, I wanna try something out-" a hand caught her wrist before she could flee, gently pulling her back into the room.

Before she could ask what she was doing, her girlfriend was lying on her back, arms stretched up and giving her the same look she would give the track as she prepared for a race.

"Lie across my hands, I wanna see if I can bench you."

The immediate rejections were ignored, as she was gently, but persistently, brought into position, bending backwards until she was being supported by only her feet lightly touching the floor and the two hands pressed against her, one between her shoulder blades and the other directly on her behind – she decided to let that one pass, since she'd done much the same just a few minutes ago – her own arms flailing awkwardly at her sides as she tried to find her balance.

She almost immediately fell straight down, Tomoka cackling beneath her as she tried to find better positioning.

"Try crossing your arms and ankles," she managed to say, through breathless giggling.

Yui followed the orders, wondering how this would ever work with both of them shaking so hard. Every time her body was lifted just a little off the ground, another round of laughter shook her balance and she collapsed back into Tomoka's chest, knocking all the breath out of her once more. Her apologies were probably not intelligible, but with how her partner just kept on laughing and dragging her back down for another go, she couldn't find it in herself to feel guilty about it.

"Ok, ok I think I've got it this time, if I just grip your legs a little further down…"

"Nooo, I can't stay straight!"

"One more try! We're so close I can taste it!"

"Maybe if I get balanced first?"

She could barely see through her tears now, but she couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed so hard, or felt so much joy at how her life had turned out. Strong hands that felt completely natural against her, a throaty laugh that filled her with warmth, the determination that she so adored; this was perfect, this was all she ever needed.

"Ok, for real this time, we can do this Yui!" Tomoka choked out, already positioning her hands once again.

Yui made her body straighten as much as possible, holding her breath as she kept her limbs tightly together and held her back as stiff as it would go. There was a terrible wobbly moment as she was lifted, already preparing herself for falling again, but miraculously, she stayed in place, not daring to breathe as she was slowly lowered, then lifted again.

She felt weightless and floaty, like she might just drift right up to the ceiling if Tomoka let her go, it was incredible.

The bang of something dropping against the floor shattered the moment and she immediately toppled once more, her girlfriend's arms collapsing as she rolled over, landing heavily on her face.

She would've been concerned if she couldn't feel the howling laughter against her stomach.

It was only then that she glanced over to the doorway. "Are you two seriously gonna make me carry everything in here by myself while you're doing… what the hell are you two doing?"

"Oh! Sorry, Mikawacchi, we were just-"

A hand was waved to cut her off, which was probably a good thing, because she didn't think she'd be able to get through that explanation without breaking down into hysterics again – she was already halfway there now, the lightness still bubbling in her lungs, threatening to escape any second.

"Actually, never mind, I don't even wanna know, but if you don't get downstairs to get the rest of your stuff in the next two minutes, then I'm driving off with it and you can carry it back here from my place."