Who was Nadeshiko talking to on the phone?

Marriage

"Ah! Sakurako is not here yet. You can come in, though." Nadeshiko spoke neutrally as she stepped aside, letting Himawari into her house.

"Excuse me." Nadeshiko waved her off as she went to the fridge and searched for something to eat. Maybe her mother had left some cake for them; something unlikely but the hope was always there. If only Sakurako hadn't inherited her bottomless stomach the fridge would probably be half full instead of empty.

"We have orange, milk and... that's it." She told Himawari as she pulled out two small boxes of orange juice. After so many years of knowing the blue-haired girl, she was able to read the younger girl easily.

After handing the juice to her guest, her drink was rudely interrupted by her Street Fighter ringtone. A small smile appeared on her usually stoic face. The person who had changed the ringtone was the same one that was calling. There were only two people who called Nadeshiko: her mother and her.

"Ah, someone's calling me" She picked her phone with a small, warm smile, which was widening second by second. She peered at the number and, indeed, it was her. She turned to Himawari "Do you mind if I answer?"

"Of course not!" Himawari smiled cutely as Nadeshiko flipped her phone open, inevitably stopping the weird sound. What kind of ringtone is that? Himawari couldn't help but wonder. She hadn't imagined that Nadeshiko would be into fighting sounds.

"Hi?"

"Are you in your house?"

"Yes." Nadeshiko smiled once more as she heard the voice. She started pacing around the house, playing with a lock of her short, platinum hair.

"Great. I kind of forgot my hoodie over there." The voice sounded partially ashamed. Nadeshiko could practically see the blush on the other's face.

"Eh? Are you kidding? You forgot?" Her tone was teasing. She loved to molest the other, since the reaction would always be the expected blush or huff of indignation. She was too cute for Nadeshiko not to tease.

"Your fault!" The other whispered-yelled, making Nadeshiko snicker at the expected answer.

"Do you remember were you used it the last time?" She stopped pacing.

"Well, I think it was behind the washing machine. I'm not sure though..." The voice trailed off, probably remembering what they had done in the mentioned place, while waiting for the drying machine to finish with their spoiled clothes.

"Behind the washing machine? I'll search for it."

"Great. Thank you, Nadeshiko." The older girl restrained herself from telling her for the umpteenth time to call her something different, since she didn't really like her name that much. She wasn't about to show that side to her little sister's friend, though.

"I'll give it to you tomorrow at your school."

"Really? You don't have to trouble yourself. I'll pick it up some other day at your house." Her voice was hurried. She always worried about Nadeshiko getting carried out when it came to her. No matter how many times Nadeshiko told her 'it's okay', she would never listen to her.

"It's okay." There she was again, repeating herself like a parrot.

Not too far away, Himawari was looking at her perplexed. It was not every day that the usually emotionless Nadeshiko showed so much of herself in less than five minutes. She couldn't help but wonder who this person was.

A friend from school? She had mentioned something about her school, but it was very vague and ambiguous.

"I hope I didn't trouble you."

"No, I'm happy that you slept here."

Eh? Unfortunately, Himawari had heard the blonde clearly, leaving her to imagine what was going on.

"Well, I'm glad that we could talk things over."

"We had much to talk about" Nadeshiko conceded, blushing just lightly as she remembered what had happened when they 'talked things over'. "We could finally be alone." It had been the first time that they were left truly alone to be themselves.

"And we took advantage of that fact, didn't we?" The voice sounded mischievous, and Nadeshiko blushed facing the opposite side to Himawari.

"Don't say that. It's embarrassing" She mumbled, unaware that the younger girl in her house was listening attentively to everything the older blonde said.

"Oh, now you are embarrassed?" The voice sounded amused.

"We slept in the same bed." She deadpanned, trying to make her point clear to the other girl. Behind her, Himawari choked on her own orange juice."And you were the one embarrassed." She continued, suddenly remembering the face of the other during those moments.

"...Idiot." The other whispered, voice neutral. She was reproaching her, it seemed. About what, Nadeshiko wasn't so sure.

"You don't have to whisper." The older blonde spoke warmly, loving every second of their talk.

Himawari, still stunned in her place, couldn't help thinking: Are they really just friends?

"I'm home!" Finally, Sakurako arrived, her voice loud and clear resounding through the house. Himawari nearly sighed in relief.

"Welcome!" She greeted her all too happily. Sakurako looked at her oddly, as if she didn't recognize her at all.

"O? You're in the wrong house." She commented. Himawari twitched in her place, not amused at her 'friend's' antics. Sakurako suddenly ignored her and diverted her gaze to her older sister.

"Eh? She's talking on the phone?" She sounded surprised. Apparently it wasn't often that the eldest sister talked on the phone. Himawari pulled Sakurako aside so she could talk to her in private, away from Nadeshiko's blushing ears.

"Sakurako. Does your sister have a friend?" She emphasized the word 'friend', so the blonde would understand what she meant. However, Sakurako didn't seem to be listening, and got awfully close to the taller girl, sniffing her face with a frown.

"Eh? Oranges! Did you drink my juice?!" Himawari blinked twice, before sighing in exasperation. "You did!" The smaller blonde accused, ready to start a fight.

After calming Sakurako down, they sat down in front of the table, taking out the book they were supposed to analyze for homework.

"Bye." Nadeshiko mumbled in front of them as she plopped down on the couch lazily, sighing in contempt.

Watching the two struggling girls in front of her, Nadeshiko was suddenly pulled into the past when the two girls had practically confessed their undying love for each other and signed a fake marriage certificate as wife and wife. Looking at it from the outside, it seemed like the girls had changed completely. But, if you looked deeper, you could see that they were pretty much the same as seven years ago.

Nadeshiko's face turned completely red at the thought of marriage. She had never considered it until that day. Marriage seemed so bizarre in her opinion, much more so if she was the one actually committing to it.

She wondered... Maybe Yui and I could do it... someday...