KotoUmi, requested by Unknown1314

*Disclaimer: I do NOT own Love Live!

We have known each other for a long time now. Together with Honoka-chan, we became the closest of friends. But recently, some things have started to come up. Lately, I've been wanting something else. Something more. I don't want to just be friends with you anymore. I want us to be closer. Closer than best friends. I-

Her hand froze, the tip of the pencil hovering just above the paper. She knew exactly what she wanted to write. She knew, but she couldn't. She just couldn't bring herself to write those fateful words. Brushing strands of her ash-blond hair from her face, Kotori sighed.

"What am I doing?"

She already knew the answer to that, too.

How long has it been? A month? Maybe two now? Ever since she started seeing the bluenette differently, time just seemed to blur. She couldn't help it. If she was completely honest with herself, she's probably had these feelings for her dear friend for much longer. She just couldn't put it into words until now.

These feelings of love.

"But what am I going to do?" Kotori thought out loud. "How am I going to tell her, the way she is now?"

There was another issue Kotori was dealing with aside from just a confession. Umi was born and raised in a traditional family. In that sense, Kotori's feelings would almost be forbidden. Love was something that never came up in discussion between her, Honoka, and Umi. yet Kotori had no doubt that Umi would find this very weird.

This is probably hopeless.

Kotori sighed again and looked at her desk clock. It was almost time for her to leave for school. She folded the paper she had been writing on and placed it in the drawer. She stood up and stretched, then grabbed her bag and left her room. Her mom had left early as usual, so the house was quiet and empty. She headed straight for the front door, put her shoes on, and left.

"Class is finally over," Honoka sighed happily.

"All you did was sleep though," Umi pointed out.

"Well, I can't help it if the lessons are boring."

"Honoka..."

Umi sighed, and Honoka played it off with her usual laugh. Kotori just smiled while this conversation played out as it always does.

Maybe it's better if I leave things the way they are now.

Kotori found herself thinking that once again. It was the biggest reason she's held back as long as she has. Confessing has some risks just by itself. But here she would be risking their friendship with Honoka as well. If things didn't go well, they may not be able to all stay friends. And that was far worse than rejection for Kotori.

"Kotori-chan?"

Honoka's voice snapped Kotori out of her thoughts. "Y-yes?"

"Are you okay? You don't usually space out like that."

"Ah, yes. There's nothing to worry about."

Both of her friends exchanged concerned glances. Honoka was the first to accept it though.

"Alright. Well are we ready to go?"

Kotori and Umi both nodded. They rose from their seats and left the classroom together. Honoka was cheerfully chatting away as she tends to do while leading the trio anywhere. They were getting close to the lockers when a familiar voice stopped them.

"Honoka! Kotori! Umi!"

They turned to find Eli approaching them.

"Hi Eli-chan!" Honoka greeted.

"Are you three leaving already?" Eli asked.

"Yup! Since there's no practice today, we were going to spend the day at Kotori-chan's house."

"Oh, I see."

"Did you need something?" Umi asked.

"Well, I needed Honoka's help with a few things."

"Eh? Me?" Honoka repeated.

Eli nodded. "Yes, but if you're busy, I can ask another time."

"Well..."

Honoka turned to Kotori and Umi. Before she could ask anything, Umi gave her an answer.

"Yes, you can go and help."

"Eh? Are you sure?"

"We both know you can't say no when someone needs help," Kotori said with a smile.

"Eheh... Sorry." She turned to Eli.

"Follow me," Eli instructed.

They waved each other goodbye before the pairs split and left in opposite directions. Kotori and Umi switched to their outdoor shoes and proceeded outside.

It wasn't until they were walking that Kotori realized what had just happened. Through some power or miracle, she was now alone with Umi, and they were on their way to Kotori's house. And endless stream of thoughts began to flood her mind.

"Kotori?"

Now Umi's voice ended her thoughts. She turned and saw that Umi had stopped walking.

"What is it?" Kotori asked.

"Umm, we're here," Umi responded.

Kotori looked, finally realizing that they had arrived at her house.

"O-oh."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Umi asked.

"I'm fine, really! Come on, let's go inside."

Kotori made her way to the front door before Umi could say anything. After opening the front door, they proceeded straight to Kotori's room as they always do when Umi and Honoka come over.

"I'll go get some drinks," Kotori said before walking back down the hall.

Umi put her bag down and looked around the room. It had been a while since she was last here. Not much had changed about the room, making it easier for Umi to find comfort.

Her eyes wandered to Kotori's desk, spotting a few picture frames resting on it. She went over to look. They were various pictures of the three of them as they were growing up. She smiled as those memories filled her mind.

Umi tried to turn, but her hand hit something. Looking down, she saw that the drawer was opened slightly. A piece of paper caught her eye. She pulled it out of the drawer. Her name was written on top. Curious, she unfolded the paper, finding it to be a letter. She started reading.

The next thing she knew was a thud from behind her. She turned around and found Kotori standing in the doorway, the tray of two glasses she had been carrying now fallen onto the floor.

"Oh no..." Kotori uttered.

"Wait, Kotori-"

Umi realized Kotori was about to misunderstand. She quickly closed the gap between them before Kotori had a chance to turn and run. Because of the drinks on the floor, Umi slipped as she reached Kotori and they both fell onto the floor.

"I'm sorry," Kotori said. "I shouldn't have written that. You shouldn't have seen that. I-"

At that moment, Kotori was silenced by the last thing she was expecting. It was Umi's lips, pressed against her own. Kotori was completely lost.

W-wait. Is... Is Umi-chan... But this can't be...

It took Kotori a few more moments of shock before she finally reciprocated the kiss. But Umi never pulled away. She waited patiently, sneaking bits of air in until she finally felt Kotori kiss back. It only lasted for a couple of seconds before they parted, both with a blush across their faces.

"Umi-chan..."

"Thank goodness," Umi breathed. "You don't know how long I've been waiting."

"Waiting? You mean..."

Umi nodded. "I love you, Minami Kotori. I have for a long time now."

Kotori didn't know what to do with herself. She couldn't believe what was happening.

"K-Kotori-chan?"

Tears began to drip slowly from Kotori's eyes. She wiped one away, then went to wrap her arms around Umi, bringing her close. Not wasting any time, she joined their lips once more. As they continued to kiss, Umi wiped away the tears from Kotori's face. Once she was done, she mimicked Kotori, wrapping her arms around and caressing the ash-blond.

It was a while before they separated again. They breathed heavily, having barely stopped for breaths the entire time. They stared into each other's eyes. Umi saw an overwhelming amount of Joy in Kotori's as the ash-blond was close to tears once more.

"Feeling better?" Umi asked, simply smiling.

"Well..." Kotori hesitated.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you really mean what you said? I mean, isn't this weird for you?"

"Well... it was before..." Umi was choosing her words carefully. "But after I talked about it with someone, I realized that it wasn't a bad thing to feel. Which made me happy."

"It made you happy?"

Umi nodded. "After that, it was clear how much you meant to me. And I realized my own feelings as well."

"I see... So-"

"So now I can confidently say that I love you, Kotori."

"And I love you, Umi-chan," Kotori said, a big smile on her face.

They lay comfortably in each other's embrace for some time. Finally it was Umi who suggested they get off the floor. They remained connected by the hands as they took a seat on the bed.

"By the way, you said you talked to someone who helped you out. Who was it?" Kotori asked.

"You should know, we ran into her earlier."

"Earlier? You mean Eli-chan?"

Umi nodded. "She offered to help me out today because it played into her favor as well."

"What do you mean by-" Then it clicked. "W-wait. Does Eli-chan-"

Kotori was cut off by her phone before she could finish her question. She pulled out her phone from her pocket and opened the text message. It was from Honoka.

I need to talk to you later. I have big news!

Just then, Umi's phone rang. Another text, this time from Eli.

Got her

Hey guys, nobodD here!

So I actually had most of this written last week. But I got really busy lately again so I only found time to finish now. Really short, but I hope you liked it anyway.

I had realized while wanting to do a oneshot that I haven't done this pairing yet aside from it being a side pairing in True Feelings. Since it was requested, I thought I could do it. Just needed a simple idea, like a letter, and the rest wrote itself :D

Short and sweet from me. See you next time~