AN: (Cross-posted on AO3)
I have wanted to write a TsuguLisa fic ever since I dreamed up of the pairing over their common baking mastery. Sorry for having ranted on and on about my theories of how these two can be so perfect for each other, la-comtesse. I've finally gathered the drift wood to craft this makeshift raft - hope it sails better than a rock.
This fic is a side story of my YukiSayo drinking fic which can be found here:
(FFN URL followed by) s/13172724/8/Happy-Smile-YukiSayo
It is not necessary to read that first, as this fic can stand alone individually. The first chapter features Lisa complaining to Tsugu about YukiSayo, while the second chapter will feature Yukina complaining to Sayo about TsuguLisa.
Tags: aged-up characters, love confessions, brief implication of homophobia
My Girlfriend's Childhood Friend
Chapter 1
"Let me do it! Just sit down and relax, Tsugumi."
It had been a slow day at the Hazawa Café. Lisa-senpai had come to help as promised, but there really hadn't been much for her to do – Tsugumi felt bad about wasting her time, though Lisa just shook it off and in her usual lovely smile said, "I'm happy enough to spend more time with you, Tsugumi." Seeing as the night had deepened and it was unlikely they would find more customers at this hour, Tsugumi closed the café early to enjoy the rest of the evening with her girlfriend.
Tsugumi still found it somewhat surreal to be watching Lisa make coffee like this from the customer side of the counter. She had always admired her senpai since they first met. Lisa had been a "famous" student at their high school for her bright and friendly personality. She always wore a beautiful smile which she displayed indiscriminately to everyone – strangers – she came across in the halls. The first time Tsugumi and she had talked had been when Lisa-senpai offered a helping hand to the student council for no other reason than having noticed their plight before the cultural festival. It was that time that Tsugumi realized her senpai's radiance was more than just a smile. Lisa-senpai was kind and gentle, but also assertive and capable when it counted. She was organized. She was dependable. And the way she just "understood" people made everyone gravitate towards her. She put the students to work on various tasks and nobody complained, for she had carefully gauged what their strengths and interests were and took care to make sure nobody overworked themselves. Lisa-senpai was amazing. Tsugumi wished she could be more like her.
That distant admiration soon grew to be something more as Tsugumi and Lisa came to know each other personally. At first, the two had few chances for interactions, belonging to different grades and clubs at school. But Lisa was a social butterfly. She came to be friends with Moca-chan through their part-time job, so on the occasion Moca would bring her along to the Hazawa Café to hang out. Then there was Sayo-san, Lisa's serious bandmate who Tsugumi had befriended by chance during the café's baking class. Sayo-san had taken a liking to the café's calm atmosphere and became a frequent costumer – she also made the café her base for whenever she wanted to complain about her younger twin sister - the eccentric Haneoka Student Council President Hikawa Hina-senpai - with Lisa, who was Hina's classmate. In the beginning, Tsugumi just listened to their conversations. Later, as her friendship with everyone deepened, her opinion would be solicited. She found herself often in agreement with Lisa. Compared to the hands-off'ish, happy-go-lucky kind of approach that Moca-chan endorsed, Lisa and Tsugumi probably cared too much about everyone and everything happening around them. Compared to Sayo-san's stubborn and headstrong attitude, Lisa and Tsugumi held milder opinions and were more willing to be swayed by alternative solutions. It wasn't that Tsugumi didn't enjoy interacting with people drastically different from herself. They were interesting in their own right, and each time she talked with them she felt like she learned something new. But sometimes, it was comforting to meet someone like herself, someone she could easily agree with. It definitely helped that Lisa-senpai shared her interest for girly romance manga and was also a busy baker with too many recipes to share. They could talk for hours without even realizing it!
Tsugumi didn't know exactly when it happened, but at some point, she started thinking of Lisa-senpai as someone more than a friend. Whenever she was with Lisa, she would feel warm inside. She wanted to spend more time with her, even if they were just in the same room doing their own things. When Lisa came in for a coffee, Tsugumi would catch herself stealing glances at her senpai. Lisa-senpai was beautiful. So beautiful it made her heart race. She didn't want to ever part from her senpai, but Lisa was graduating and Tsugumi was staying. It made her afraid that was how their relationship would end. Luckily, Lisa-senpai hadn't stopped visiting the café. When Tsugumi told her she wanted to go to the same college as Lisa, Lisa had looked happy. "Let me help you study then!" she offered. They ended up even closer than before.
The love that had blossomed within Tsugumi sometimes made her so elated she couldn't believe it was real, but other times left her so scared and tender. Lisa-senpai was close to her childhood friend and band leader, Minato Yukina-senpai. They spent a lot of time together. Tsugumi would see them walking down the street hand in hand. Sometimes Lisa-senpai would snuggle close to Yukina-senpai – Tsugumi could only wish that Lisa-senpai would show a fraction of that intimacy with her. She imagined Lisa-senpai feeding her a cookie. The thought alone made her cheeks hot and her heart pound, but when she realized it was all in her head, her heartbeats started to ache with jealousy.
One time, Moca-chan had chanced upon her when she had been feeling that way. Lisa-senpai had just visited the café, and in an idle conversation, revealed that she would be spending Christmas Eve with Yukina-senpai. So the rumours must be true. Lisa-senpai was really dating Yukina-senpai. Why else would they be spending Christmas Eve together?
"Eh~ Why is Tsugu so un-Tsugurific today? I thought Lisa-san had just stopped by?"
"Wha…What are you talking about, Moca-chan? I am the same old. And what does Lisa-senpai have to do with this?"
"She doesn't?" Moca's smile turned to a sly grin. "I thought Tsugu has the huuugest crush on her though?"
Tsugumi felt her face burn from embarrassment. She should feel happy about having such feelings – one-sided as they were, they were still precious and not something anybody could possess. She was blessed enough to have met someone as amazing as Lisa-senpai and came to be close enough to her to develop such a crush. Still, she felt a pain in her chest. She couldn't help but wish for what couldn't be. It hurt.
"Moca-chan…I know you mean well, but…would you please not bring this up again?"
Moca looked surprised. Her expression then turned serious. "If that is what you want, Tsugu. But…would you at least tell me why?"
Seeing as Moca was worried about her, Tsugumi relented. "Well…my feelings would never be returned, you see? Lisa-senpai is dating Yukina-senpai."
"She is!?" Moca was shaking her head. "No, no…unless if Lisa-san told you that herself, you are probably mistaken. Just the other day she had been complaining to me about how she wished Minato-san and the older Hikawa-san would just get together already, because they were being idiots at band practice or something like that."
"But…"
Had Tsugumi really been mistaken? Did she still stand a chance?
"Honestly, you shouldn't overthink it, Tsugu. None of this changes your feelings for Lisa-san, does it? You should just leave it to her to decide how to respond to your feelings. That's how you usually are, right? The daring Tsugu is the most Tsugurific Tsugu!"
That was right. Tsugumi was no coward. With Moca-chan's encouragement she found the courage to confess. She was so nervous when she texted Lisa-senpai that her fingers shook.
Tsugumi: I would like to give Senpai a Christmas present. Is it okay if I stop by your home in an hour?
Lisa: A present? You didn't have to…
Lisa: Actually, I was going to stop by the café in a bit. I have something to give you too.
That night, they exchanged Christmas gifts at the Hazawa Café. Lisa had gotten Tsugumi a bath powder set she had been eyeing for a while. Tsugumi had knitted a rabbit amigurumi doll that a blushing Lisa had immediately clipped onto her purse with a wide smile. And with no surprise, they had also prepared a packet of homemade cookies to be exchanged, Lisa's was gingerbread dusted with cinnamon, Tsugumi's chocolate sugar cookies.
"They look so delicious, Tsugumi! I almost want to eat them now!"
"Um…thank you, Lisa-senpai." Tsugumi fidgeted. "Your cookies look really good too. How about we share them with some coffee?"
"Is that really okay?"
"Yes! I would like to eat them now too, so…if Lisa-senpai doesn't mind spending a bit more time with me…"
"Of course not!" Lisa turned a little abashed. "I'll always have time for you."
Lisa didn't say anything more, occupying her mouth with drinking coffee instead. Tsugumi watched her, admiring the way pink dusted her high cheeks framed by meticulously-styled copper curls. Lisa was watching the snow outside. Her eyes were contrastingly warm, a green that reminded Tsugumi of river reed.
Lisa turned at that moment, catching Tsugumi staring. Tsugumi looked away, but it had already been too late. Lisa addressed her.
"Tsugumi."
"Sorry, I had been staring…"
"No. It's okay. Actually, I…um…have something to ask. Would you happen to have the evening free on Christmas Eve?"
Tsugumi almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Chri…Christmas Eve? But I thought Lisa-senpai is spending Christmas Eve with Yukina-senpai?"
"Oh. I'm just going to make some food for her because her parents won't be home until later in the evening. She'll be spending the night at her parent's place afterwards."
"I…I see." Tsugumi fidgeted again. A very daring sentence formed in her mind and she felt embarrassed just thinking it. But Moca's words rang in her head. Think less. Do more. You can do it, Tsugu! "…By inviting me on Christmas Eve, Lisa-senpai, may…may I interpret this as a…date?"
She…she said it! Her face was burning so hard now that she wanted to bury herself in sand like an ostrich. To her surprise, Lisa-senpai was wearing a matching expression. Lisa's eyes wandered, her finger picking at an invisible something on her cheek.
"Um…yes. I…I would like to go out with you, Tsugumi. As…girlfriends. If that is okay."
"Yes!" – Tsugumi hadn't ever answered so quickly in her life.
That was a month ago. Since then, the two had gone out on dates whenever they found the time, just doing simple things like watching their favourite romantic comedies at the theatre, checking out local bookstores, shopping for bath salts and the like. Lisa came by to help at the café on occasion like she had done earlier tonight. She was a quick learner, having already mastered the art of coffeemaking and all the recipes for their café's signature baked goods. Be it working in the kitchen or out waiting on tables, she was fantastic. The customers loved her, but nobody loved her more than Tsugumi of course.
Lisa had finished making the coffees and came to sit with Tsugumi at the table. Tsugumi took a sip. It was perfect, with just the right amount of milk and sugar already blended in. Was it just her, or did the coffee taste warm and sweet just like Lisa herself? Tsugumi giggled at the thought.
"What is so funny?"
"Nothing much. So, how was your live the other day? I am sorry I couldn't make it."
"Don't worry about it. There is always next time!"
And then Lisa told her all about the live, how Ako-chan hyped everybody up with her energetic drumming, and how Rinko-san was smiling when she was playing even though she had been quivering in a corner when she peeked out at the sold-out stands right before the show. There was also Sayo-san and her amazing performance, though of course she would find something to nitpick about it and apparently had been upset after the show. Tsugumi made a note to cheer up her friend next time she saw her. Then Lisa got to Yukina-senpai, the heart and soul of Roselia. Even without Lisa's admiring commentary Tsugumi could imagine the way Yukina-senpai shone. Yukina-senpai had always been gorgeous, but she was even more so under the spotlight, her features delicate as a doll's but holding such power it was like she was both ice and fire at once. Her voice would captivate anyone. Such was her talent, which made Tsugumi feel somewhat inadequate in comparison.
"…And then we had a yakiniku party to celebrate. You're not going to believe this."
"Is it something to do with Sayo-san?"
"Wow, you are smart! Yes. Sayo. The ever serious Sayo. Got dead drunk at the restaurant and started screaming for more beer. And guess who took her home. Yukina! Oh my goodness, it was a disaster. You know how unfit Yukina is, okay. And she is puny. Imagine Yukina trying to drag a drunk Sayo all the way back home. She even refused our help! 'I can handle this' – she said. Ako was rolling her eyes, haha. I also bet Yukina didn't know she herself was the reason why Sayo was so drunk in the first place. Yukina is so dense that she'd put lead bricks to shame. I swear, even Kokoro knows about Hikawa Sayo's not-so-secret crush. Just when are those two gonna get together? This soap opera has dragged on long enough…"
Tsugumi smiled. "Lisa-senpai really loves Yukina-senpai and Sayo-san, it seems."
"Of course! Yukina is my best friend since childhood, and Sayo is my buddy." As though sensing something concerning, Lisa moved over and placed a hand over Tsugumi's. "What's wrong? Something on your mind?"
Tsugumi knew she had no reason to feel insecure. She trusted Lisa, and it was definitely not her intention to take Lisa away from her friends. Just as her Afterglow friends were important to her, Yukina-senpai was important to Lisa-senpai. She understood that.
"I…I'm just wondering when I can also come to be so close to Lisa-senpai. I know it's not a contest or anything! But…like…Yukina-senpai and you seem to understand each other so well. I wish I could be a little more like that. I'm sorry, it's such a silly thought."
"It's not silly."
Lisa intertwined her fingers with Tsugumi's and snuggled into the crook of Tsugumi's neck. The feeling was soft and warm – it calmed Tsugumi's heart.
"We can't come to an understanding if we keep things from one another, so no matter how trivial a concern you may think it is, please share it with me. I, too, want to understand Tsugumi more and more. Okay?"
"Un."
Lisa raised her head. Their faces came so close they could feel each other's breaths. Tsugumi's heart started skipping faster. She gripped tighter onto Lisa's hand as they crossed the remaining distance.
"I'm sorry if this sounds like a sappy line from a shoujo manga, but I really think…that…that Tsugumi is the most beautiful," Lisa whispered, clearly embarrassed by her own words. "Nobody can compare. Not Sayo. Not Yukina. Just you."
As though to shut herself up, Lisa pressed her lips against Tsugumi's. Sure, the lines were sappy, but Tsugumi could not feel more contented. She returned the kiss, once more thanking the heavens for the wonderful gift that was her girlfriend.
