an: this was supposed to be uploaded several days ago but ff glitchedtf out, but now here it is! hope you guys enjoy.
"There you are. I was starting to think you wouldn't show up, since, you know, you're a deep napper."
Kumiko looked up from the ground as the train doors slid shut behind her. Her eyes drifted to the only other person in the train car. Reina was staring at her with an amused smile, her legs crossed to support the small novel she held in her gloved hand.
"Had to set up several alarms," Kumiko said, her voice rough with fatigue as she shuffled to sit next to Reina. The moment she sat down, she rested her head on Reina's shoulder. The fur lining Reina's white jacket left ticklish kisses on her neck.
"Mm"—Kumiko felt Reina's lips press against the top of her head—"are you going back to sleep, then?"
Kumiko fought through a yawn to say, "Prolly."
The train lurched forward soon afterward. The rhythmic ka-chak, ka-chak of the train slowly settled into a steady tempo. Kumiko felt her eyelids growing heavier and heavier as she listened to the mechanical metronome of the train. Her breathing slowed, chest rising and falling, taking in the scent of vanilla that clung to Reina during the holiday season. Fatigue weighed heavily on her, draping itself over her shoulders to keep her warm, comforting her, lulling her into slee—
Kumiko suddenly jolted away from Reina's warmth as the train went over a rickety track. Reina's arms flew out to catch her before she fell. Kumiko could barely register the faint thud! that filled the room when Reina's book hit the floor.
"Are you okay?" Reina asked. Kumiko felt goosebumps litter her skin as she dumbly nodded and sat back up.
"Y-yeah." She laughed shakily and picked Reina's book from off the floor. "Looks like I'm not goin' to sleep anytime soon, though."
Reina took back her book with an apologetic smile. "Sorry."
"'S fine," Kumiko said, resting her head on Reina's shoulder again. The mechanical ka-chak, ka-chak became the only sound that filled the car as Kumiko stared out the window. The sun was well above the green horizon of hills, and was beginning its descent to the west. Wisps of clouds decorating the orange sky whisked past. Buildings, cars, and people were nothing but blurs. The city of Uji suddenly broke into a field of almost barren highways, and for a moment, Kumiko felt a faint feeling of emptiness in her chest.
"It's pretty."
Kumiko blinked, Reina's voice suddenly pulling her from her thoughts. "Yeah," she finally said, "it is."
"It's weird to travel this way with the sun up."
"I know," Kumiko said with a chuckle. "I'm so used to seeing it at night because we always leave for competitions in the middle of the night."
"Or maybe we don't see anything at all—because we sleep on the bus the whole way through."
Kumiko chuckled again. "True."
Electronic taps echoed throughout the empty train car. "We should be approaching our next destination in about thirty minutes or so."
"Yeah?" Kumiko said, fighting through a yawn. "Are we getting off there?"
"No."
"…We're not?"
"No."
"Well"—Kumiko fidgeted in her seat—"when are we getting off?"
"At the end of train line."
"Which is where?"
"No idea."
Kumiko stared at Reina, completely baffled. It took a moment for Reina to realize that she was being stared at, but when she did, she turned to Kumiko with a confused, yet endearing tilt of her head.
"What?"
"You don't know?"
"Yeah." Reina blinked.
Kumiko narrowed her eyes in disbelief. "So…why're we here?"
The vibrant purple of Reina's eyes turned into a blinding amethyst as her lips curled into the smallest of smiles. Kumiko felt her heart fall into a sporadic beat, and a sense of familiarity washed over her.
"I've always wanted to do this, remember?" Reina said with the quietest of laughs.
And suddenly, Kumiko was reminded of her first-year in high school. She remembered the sense of awe that had washed over her. Reina's hair had drifted in the wind, her white dress fluttering in the sudden breeze that had passed through them, carrying along the warm scent of lavender.
Reina had felt so distant and cold, yet so close at the same time.
"Yeah," Kumiko breathed out. She reached out for Reina's hand, holding the back of it. It took a moment before Reina turned her hand and intertwined their fingers together, their shared heat thawing Kumiko's frozen fingers.
Times have changed since then; she's warm.
After a while, Kumiko softly added, "I remember."
-X-
"In the end we couldn't make it all the way through," Kumiko said through a laugh, meandering through the tides of people walking past them.
"Yeah." Kumiko took a quick glance and saw Reina wearing a sullen expression.
"I know how much you've waited for this." Kumiko said, squeezing Reina's hand—Reina faintly squeezed back. "But I know you're uncomfortable in crowds. It was getting pretty packed in there, to be honest."
Reina hummed. "Well, if it counts for anything," she began, smiling slightly in Kumiko's direction, "we still don't know where we are. Since we couldn't hear the train announcement."
Kumiko laughed nervously. "I don't know if that should be a good thing."
"It is."
"Whatever you say, Reina."
Hand-in-hand, they fought through the crowd without another word. The both of them took a breath when they reached emerged from the train station, relishing in the way the cold air faintly burned the back of their throats.
"Looks like we're in Osaka," Reina said, pointing to a nearby sign.
"Really?" Kumiko's eyes flitted to the glowing sign. "Huh. Looks like we are."
"We didn't travel far."
"I mean, look at the bright side," Kumiko said, nudging Reina with her elbow. "At least we went somewhere."
Reina's stoic mask broke into a small smile as she quietly said, "Yeah."
"Wanna look at the sights?"
Kumiko felt a faint squeeze on her hand. "Nothing better to do," was all Reina said before walking forward, taking Kumiko with her.
Christmas lights, brilliantly shining gold and silver, hung between the streetlamps, illuminating the sidewalk. Passersby were bundled up, burying their noses into their scarves and shoving their hands into their pockets. Couples snuggled up against one another, sharing quiet conversations and laughs as snow floated gently to the ground.
Kumiko took a breath and held it. The faint smell of peppermint and chocolate lingering in the air was masked by the trail of vanilla Reina left in her wake. A cloud escaped her lips as she exhaled, taking one last sweep of her surroundings before settling her eyes on Reina's back.
She smiled to herself.
With the way Reina was leading her in that white coat of hers reminded Kumiko of their first hike to Mount Daikichi.
Some things just don't change.
Reina took a turn, somewhere away from the crowds of people heading deeper into the urban areas. The bright lights dimmed, making way to only street lights. The noise of the city turned into a small drone as Reina led her to a bench, illuminated by a single lamp, like a little brown island in the sea of white snow.
Reina let go of Kumiko's hand to brush off the snow dusting the bench before sitting on it. She patted the spot next to her. Kumiko happily complied.
From where they sat, Kumiko felt that she was staring at the gates of heaven: trees flanked either side of the path they just walked, disappearing once the path spread out to connect with the main street, the bright lights of apartments and shopping complexes shining gold and white. The Christmas decorations they passed by winked at them, like the stars hiding behind the clouds.
"Reminds me of our usual place," Reina began quietly, "but it's on the ground."
Kumiko laughed. "Well, that's certainly one way to put it."
"…We're graduating this year."
A breeze passed between them before Kumiko replied. "I know."
"Do you have your colleges set in mind?"
"Yeah. Think I might go in undeclared."
Reina hummed thoughtfully, her hand finding Kumiko's. At the touch, the both of them laced their fingers together.
"You're studying music, right?" Kumiko asked.
"Mhm."
"Like, musical performance?"
"Mhm."
"…Still planning on going abroad?"
Reina stayed silent.
Kumiko turned to look at her, only to find Reina staring straight at her. Reina features were as stoic as one would expect, but Kumiko caught the sad glint of apology dulling the brilliant purple of her eyes.
"I've accepted it, you know," Kumiko said quietly, squeezing Reina's hand.
"I know, but"—Reina's eyes broke contact as a cloud escaped her lips in a sigh—"I wish you could come with me."
"My parents don't have that kind of money. And there's no way I could ever amount to the amount of talent they're looking for, no matter how hard I practice."
Reina visibly winced, as if Kumiko's words had slapped her. Still, she said nothing.
Kumiko let out an inaudible breath as a small smile tugged on her lips. "I guess that just gives us all the more reason to cherish what we have now, right? So we can keep these memories once we graduate."
That was enough to coax a tiny smile onto Reina's face. Slowly, she met Kumiko's eyes again, her smile growing bigger as she did so.
"Yeah," she began, "it is."
Reina began to move closer, gently resting her head on Kumiko's shoulder. Warmth washed over Kumiko as she rested her head atop Reina's, ticklish strands leaving pecks on her lips. Kumiko returned them with a soft kiss on the top of Reina's head.
"Merry Christmas," Reina whispered. Kumiko didn't need to look at her to know there was a smile on her face.
The thought left Kumiko's heart soaring in her chest.
"Merry Christmas, Reina."
and to those that don't celebrate christmas, i hope all of you had a great day 3 happy holidays, and have a happy new year; all of you deserve to make great memories of your own.