Having a friend like Sakurako is...complicated. She does have a tendency (though Himawari would never admit it) to make things more fun, and sometimes her presence causes the bluenette's chest to tighten in a not-all-together unpleasant way, but that's only when she isn't being rude, obnoxious, and excessively lazy! Having a neighbor like Sakurako, however, is almost exclusively terrible.
Take today, for example. With Himawari's parents gone on a business trip and Kaede sleeping over with Mari-Chan, the Furutani residence should, for all intents and purposes, be quiet, clean, and warm. In other words, perfect for actually sleeping in for once.
Of course, she wouldn't be Sakurako if she didn't come bursting through the door, trailing mud and soaking wet as she rushes clumsily to her best friend's room and throws open the door at 7:05 in the morning. However, this is the one day Himawari can't find it in herself to be upset because...
"Himawari! It's snowing!"
No, she isn't being rude, or asking for food, or picking a fight. Sakurako is bursting with a genuine, child-like excitement for the thick white powder piling up outside, and with that innocent sparkle in her eyes as she waits silently for the answer to a question that doesn't need to be asked, even the groggy Himawari can't help but find it infectious. After all, she knows that part of that excitement, that smile, is for sharing the snow with her.
And so she smiles sleepily back at her friend and sends her downstairs so she can get dressed.
There's a satisfying crunch beneath her feet as she walks out the door for the first time that morning, and she can't help the soft giggle that escapes her lips as she beams at Sakurako. Yes, the blonde may be the more childish and immature of the two, but they both know that Himawari loves snow just as much, if not more so.
"Eww. You're being excessively happy over there, Himawari. It's kinda gross," Sakurako teases, but there is no real punch to her words.
"Oh, shut up," she replies, still smiling, as she grabs a fistful of snow and throws it at her companion.
Sakurako's eyes glint dangerously after she manages to wipe the shock off her face, a devilish half smile taking over as she responds in kind.
Three hours, one snowman, countless snowballs, and at least two all out wars later, Sakurako and Himawari collapse on the bluenette's couch with a mug of hot chocolate each and the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender.
AN: If you're starting to wonder if anything will ever actually happen in any of these, the answer is probably no. I get to about this point and then freak out and start pulling my hair out because I can't figure out what to do next (or...you know...in the middle) and everything just comes out wrong. Besides, I'm afraid I may have accidentally cornered myself in deredere territory and I don't know how to escape! But yeah, I need to write longer things with more stuff going on. Also! I recognize that this story requires Himawari to have not locked the door while home alone and I hate it just as much as you do. In other news, snow is great. I can't imagine Himawari not loving snow so I wanted to write something cute with them and snow. There are a lot of instances where I feel like I could write a lot more of what I want if I just assumed they were already together, but I'd feel kind of bad doing that. I feel like I need to actually write them getting together in order to earn the right to write them together. You know? Feel free to hate me for my ridiculously long author's note.