The three people that sat curled around the short table talked amicably, their conversations interrupted with outraged objections, laughter, and odd questions, and despite the rain outside, they were all in a rather sunny mood completely unaffected by the change in plans due to the weather.
"Ne, Riko," Maki said, her hands balled up into overly excited fists, her eyes sparkling in unsettling curiosity. Riko looked over at Maki in slight fear, worried about what absurdity would come out of her mouth this time. She glanced over at Nagino, who was giving her an amused look, before answering.
"Uh, yes?" Riko answered, preparing herself mentally for Maki's question. Puckering her lips sheepishly and looking back and forth between the wall and Riko, Maki began talking.
"So, ah, you and Nagino are dating, right?" Maki started, and Riko nodded her head in agreement to the statement, arching an eyebrow as she waited for the real quetsion. "So you guys, uh, know about dating, right?" Maki continued, a strand of dark hair loosely falling over her face, her blue eyes twinkling in unexpected shyness (most likely because of the presence of a boy). Riko's previous worry melted almost immediately, noticing how genuinely shy she looked, and instead she blushed and gestured for Maki to continue. Maki then looked between Riko and Nagino, her lips slightly curled.
"Could you help me find some potential dates?" Maki asked, grinning in hopefulness. Nagino's eyes widened in surprise, his cheeks slightly heating. He looked over at Riko, seeing her confident expression and feeling more at ease.
"Sure! Nagino here knows a lot of guys, I'm sure he could help with that!" Riko said, her mouth spreading in a proud grin, happy to be of help. Nagino nodded his head in agreement, looking at Maki and smiling when he sees her excited expression.
"Yay! Great! So, Riko, Nagino, since you both know a lot about this kinda stuff, give me some good first-impression advice!" Maki said, eliciting a unanimous blush from the cute couple across from her. Riko laughed worriedly, thinking about when she asked out Nagino not too long ago and how completely weird it went… aside from how it was the exact opposite of a story-book confession, in that Riko confessed and asked out Nagino, it still was rather confusing and sometimes awkward. She knew better than to say that to Maki, since it might disappoint her, so Riko was at a standstill.
"Uhhh, hm. Start with making sure you look good? Wear cute clothes and remember not to smudge your makeup during the day… and, stuff," Riko said ineloquently, looking over at Nagino for support. Nagino looked back in a startled manner, his mouth slightly agape. He then cleared his throat and looked back at Maki.
"Um, I always thought girls that aren't afraid to take the initiative were the best," Nagino said sheepishly, avoiding eye contact with Riko. Maki made appreciative noises and glanced between the two.
"So I should look really cute and not be afraid to ask him to a date?" Maki said and smiled happily, not noticing the flustered expression on Riko's face and the shy one on Nagino's.
"Yeah, perfect! Let's, uh, continue this discussion tomorrow! Me and Nagi will brainstorm later, okay?" Riko said, standing up and gesturing for Nagino to do the same, waving goodbye as they both left Maki's house quickly. Shoving a hand deep into the pocket of his light coat while another held the recently opened umbrella, Nagino glanced over at Riko curiously, watching as he gave him a teasing look and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
"I didn't know you liked assertive girls," Riko said, her twin-tails blowing slightly in the rain-filled breeze. Nagino felt his entire face burn in embarrassment, nearly regretting having blurted that out. Looking away from Riko, Nagino replied.
"I only figured that out after you asked me out," Nagino said, his voice higher in pitch than usual and obviously flustered. Riko chuckled happily, her pink cheeks bright in the rainy October weather. She leaned her head over and rested it on Nagino's shoulder, her hand moving from his opposite shoulder and to his free hand where she intertwined their fingers.
"That makes me happy," Riko muttered, almost incoherently, her pride dropping just enough to let that comment slip through. Nagino let out a puff of air in surprise and blushed heavily, gripping back Riko's fingers tightly. Girls with initiative really were the best.