Why on Earth did Ymir agree to take Christa shopping? More importantly, why did she let her go into a store alone and then wander off herself? She was practically asking to lose her. Ymir should've known losing sight of Christa's tiny self would be easy, and going to different directions in a newly-opened mall neither of them had ever been to before wouldn't help things. Dammit, agreeing to shop with a friend (though admittedly, Ymir liked her as a bit more than that) and then losing her. Great job.
So now she was looking through some of the stores she knew or thought Christa would like in order to find her.
Then she got a glimpse of blond hair and a brown t-shirt. The girl's head was turning from side to side, as if looking for something. Of course Ymir recognized her crush immediately.
"Christa!" she called out. The girl turned around, spotted the source of the voice that had called her name and hurried to Ymir.
"Where did you go! I thought you'd wait for me outside the first shop I went into but when I got out you were nowhere to be seen!"
Ymir raised a brow at her scowling.
"Chill, Christa. I just happened to spot a GameStop and couldn't resist dropping in for a while."
Christa stared at her, brows furrowed, as if not believing.
"... Aand I may have popped in a couple of other shops nearby. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have. Sorry, I guess. And you know, you're pretty hard to find, being so short. It's not entirely my fault that we got separated." Yes it is, Ymir thought to herself. She felt guilty for leaving Christa, even if just for a while, but she wouldn't admit that to her.
Christa huffed at this, but then shot a sharp look at Ymir.
"I know how we'll stay together. Take my hand," she stated and offered her hand. Ymir just stared at the aforementioned body part. How do normal people handle these situations? Where is the line that separates platonic and... non-platonic gestures? What if she was flirting?
Christa continued her request to get your attention back.
"Since I'm so 'hard to find', it's best we stay together. And if we hold hands, there's no way one of us will get lost." A little reluctantly, Ymir took Christa's hand and the two of them continued their shopping.
As they were looking for a place to eat, a girl (probably a college student) with a camcorder approached them.
"Hello! I'm sorry to disturb, but I'm working on a school project which includes interviewing couples. I couldn't help noticing you two were holding hands and you seem kind of close, so, um, are you together?"
Ymir opened her mouth to deny since they were (unfortunately) just friends, but Christa was faster.
"Yes, we are!" She answered and gave the interviewer an angelic smile. Ymir was overwhelmed by this and had no idea what kind of game Christa was playing but thought it best to play along. College girl set her camcorder ready, asked for their names and started speaking.
"Great! To start with, Christa and Ymir, how long have you being dating?"
"Around two months," Ymir said, the certainty of her words surprising even herself. The girl made an approving sound and then moved on to next question.
"Mm-hmm. So, how did you relationship start? Had you known each other for a long time before?"
This time Christa took the lead.
"We're classmates. I can't remember how it started, but we became friends first and then, about tow months ago, Ymir invited me to watch a movie at their house and, well, things happened." She gave a wink to the camera and Ymir nudged her arm. The girl on the other side of the camera tried to contain her grin to keep her voice steady.
She made a few more generic questions and Ymir and Christa improvised fake answers. This is actually fun, Ymir thought.
"Christa, what do you like the most about Ymir?"
Ymir froze a little on her place and hoped she'd be able to keep her poker face. That question might prove to be difficult; it already felt like acting, making up a character as they spoke, and Ymir were unsure of whether Christa would come up with something new or actually name some of her personality traits.
"Um, what should I name..." Christa pondered for a minute before reclaiming her cheerful face.
"Ymir is carefree and likes to act tough at times, but is super cute and gentle when it's just the two of us, she knows how to cheer me up with stupid jokes and seems to really get me better than others. I'd say that what I like the most is that Ymir makes me feel like I matter as who I am and that I am special in my own right."
Ymir stared at Christa (not like it was the first time she did that) feeling a little conflicted. They were currently faking to be an item and had already lied on stuff, so she had absolutely no idea if Christa actually felt like that in her presence. However, she didn't have a lot of time to stick on that issue, since the next question was aimed at her.
"And Ymir, in turn, what are your favorite qualities in Christa?"
Ymir felt her friend's eyes on her. She saw Christ looking at her encouragingly, and decided to be honest.
"Well... Christa's caring, always putting others' need before her own. She's not a push-over, though, and despite being smaller she could easily kick my ass. Somehow she's able to put up with my bullshit when I act distant or even rude. I guess she's able to see under my surface and break the figurative walls I've built around myself. And probably literal ones too, if she had a reason to."
The interviewer thanked them both and switched off the camera.
"That's all. Thank you for participating, I'm sorry if this caused any inconvenience in you schedule." Ymir and Christa assured her there was no problem, and said goodbye.
Ymir turned to Christa, allowing her confusion to show for the first time since Christa confirmed they were a couple.
"Dude, what was that all about?" she asked. Christa looked at hr in turn.
"What was what about?"
"Why did you say we were a couple? Not that I think it'd be wrong or bad or impossible or anything and it's not like I don't like you but, just, we're not. A couple." Ymir spoke fast, just spitting words out without thinking. Christa smirked at her mischievously.
"Oh, but we are a couple. We've been dating for two months, remember?"
Ymir's conflicted feelings only increased. Was Christa fucking with her or did she actually mean what Ymir thought she did?
"Since you seem to have nothing against it, yes, I'm asking if you'd actually want to date me now," suggested Christa, confirming Ymir's assumption.
Almost not believing her luck, Ymir was somehow able to exhale the sentence "I absolutely would". Christa gave her the widest, happiest, most adorable smile she had ever seen and started to drag her along towards a Subway restaurant. Maybe losing a small girl in a mall had its benefits, after all.