It was a fact of life that Himari's first date would be with Tomoe Udagawa.

She could spin fairy tales and romcom plotlines out of this. If Tomoe were a transfer student, then Himari would be the protagonist, sitting at the back of the class and next to the open window. They would've made eye contact by accident, and that was only the beginning—at that moment, there would be recognition, an instant "I've known about you all my life and many lives over." Reincarnation, rebirth, the constant cycle of it, and having the courage to fall in love every time… wow, if only Tomoe really were a transfer student.

As it were, Tomoe was a girl she'd known her entire life. There was no reincarnation, no dramatic love triangle, or a drawn-out affair.

Falling in love with Tomoe was so, so painfully normal. Tomoe was on the phone when Himari cried, thinking she was bleeding to death on her first period. Himari was at the mall when Tomoe realized she needed new clothes, having grown out of her old ones too quickly. For the two of them, they had always been there for each other.

When Tomoe had come out to her, and Himari came to terms with the fact that maybe, somehow, she was gay too, then things returned to normal. In the end, despite tears and apologies and confessions, nothing changed.

Everything led up to this moment.

Himari clutched the hem of her denim jacket, before smoothing her monochrome miniskirt down. Tomoe had always preferred to wear more muted colors. And as this was their first official date, shouldn't Himari put a little thought into what she wore? Wanting to match was a very normal, and sincerely obvious thing to do in this situation. Himari pulled out her phone, swiping to the camera and giving herself a once-over. She had her sister do her hair up into a bun, leaving some strands to frame her face.

Jeez. She was overthinking it, wasn't she? Then again, who wouldn't want to look cute on their first date?! So, maybe Himari was thinking just the right amount, after all.

She was waiting at the train station for her date. Her date. Her girlfriend. The words felt tingly on her lips, leaving her lightheaded and dazed. Tomoe was her girlfriend. On a perfect Sunday like this, the crowd was larger than usual. There was an energy to it. Everyone was ready to enjoy the day, and that included herself. Himari slipped her phone back into her purse. She failed to calm her beating heart.

"Himari-!" a familiar voice then called to her.

She might be a little dramatic, but Himari allowed herself this, feeling like her eyes knew where exactly to find Tomoe. In the masses of the crowd, it was easy to spot the red hair.

Even Tomoe Udagawa was the type of girl to dress up for a date, Himari thought to herself. Her fragile, maiden heart seized at the thought, raising her hand as Tomoe made her way through the crowd. As Himari predicted, Tomoe wore a gray-blue button-up. Its sleeves hugged her arms comfortably. Red hair curled and wavy, she looked as if she'd aged overnight—which Himari knew, because they were on a video call last night. When Tomoe finally squeezed past the final group of rushing adults, she stood in front of Himari, a growing smile on her face.

"I didn't make you wait long, did I?" Tomoe asked, reaching for Himari's hand like she'd always done.

"Nope, you're good," she answered, but she wasn't thinking about the time anymore. Had Tomoe's hands always been this warm? Those were the callouses that Himari knew. This was Tomoe in front of her, alright. But everything about the girl seemed so different, so new, and Himari was having trouble keeping up. "Let's get going?"

"Sure," Tomoe's laugh sounded forced, and for the first time that day, Himari noticed that she was nervous as well. Neither of them had much experience with dating, huh? Why didn't she go on more before this?! Or, in the least, go on some practice dates. Or something. Anything. She didn't like heading into things unprepared at all. Then again, it wasn't like there were many girls in high school that advertised that they were gay and willing to practice dating.

Did straight girls go through this too? Himari was nineteen and though she loved romance and wanted to be swept off her feet, she felt inexperienced and at a loss.

Despite her qualms, Himari did want her first date to be with Tomoe. It was a weird, exhilarating feeling to look at her in a different light. It was like she was seeing Tomoe for the first time, but also not at all?

Maybe things had changed between them after all.

These were the thoughts that shadowed her mind as they neared the restaurant.

It was a new place celebrating its grand opening. It had a cute little patio with a veranda at its entrance and vines wrapped around columns. It had a homely, yet posh look to it, and not at all something that Himari imagined going to often.

"It, uh," Tomoe worried her bottom lip, sizing up the restaurant. "looks nice?"

"Oh, yeah! It does," Himari giggled, and oh what the heck, this wasn't what she wanted to do. She would've cracked a joke to ease Tomoe's nervousness, would've said she did prefer just buying something from the convenience store and eating at the park, but—that wasn't what a first date was about, was it?!

They entered the restaurant, silent after that exchange.

"A table for two," Tomoe told the waiter.

Soon after, they were led to the back of the restaurant, next to a large window that overlooked a garden in the back. The inside of the restaurant itself was cozy and warmly lit, preferring to use natural lighting.

Was she actually here? With Tomoe sitting across from her? With how blind she felt navigating this first date, with how foreign this dating territory seemed, it almost didn't feel like it could be Tomoe. But it was. And she was. Wow. Yeah. Tomoe was her girlfriend and they were on a date. This was real. Himari played with her hands in her lap.

"It really feels like we're on a date now," Himari said below her breath, just enough for Tomoe to hear.

"Huh?! It does, huh?" Tomoe exclaimed, her eyes going wide.

Jeez!

Tomoe was too wrapped up in her head about this! They were getting nowhere with this.

The waiter appeared by their table again with a platter, setting glasses of water down and handing each of them a menu. After that, he placed a basket of breadsticks between them. "I'll be back shortly to take your orders, but please enjoy these in the meantime," he bowed his head.

Once he left, they flipped open their menus. It wasn't despair that consumed Himari, no, it was a nervousness that gave her tunnel vision. It was the way that Tomoe scrunched her nose as she looked at the menu, or how her eyes widened as she read something. Tomoe never thought to do much with her hair, but she had today, and the thought of that made Himari's tongue twist.

She felt so nervous, so aware of Tomoe, that she wasn't sure how to talk to her, now that they were here.

Himari was staring, wasn't she? Tomoe's face reddening gave it away.

She ducked her head behind her menu, calming the flutter of her heart with a hand on her chest. Somehow, even if their feelings were the same, and confessing had been the easy part, going on a date was a different ball game altogether.

Himari focused her attention on the menu. Then she read the menu again, and a third time. Her eyes went from the appetizers to the main dishes, then to the back cover to read the desserts. Himari did a little mental math. The price tag at this restaurant seemed to only rise.

"Isn't this way too expensive?" she blurted out.

Tomoe breathed a sigh of relief. She tossed her menu onto the table, reaching for her glass of water. "Good. I thought I was the only one thinking that."

"Oh my God," Himari whispered. Though Tomoe's family was well-off, her parents had raised a frugal kid. Tomoe never imposed anymore than was necessary. She'd even taken up a part-time job after graduating high school, insisting that she didn't want to be a burden. But for all the kindheartedness and goodwill of her girlfriend, that meant outrageously priced restaurant food was just out of the question.

Himari leaned towards Tomoe, scared that the other customers would hear—or even worse, the restaurant staff. What if the waiters could already sense her indecisiveness? The breadsticks in between them only mocked her further. "Aren't we underdressed for this? Why didn't we look up the menu before coming here?"

"It's a new place! We wanted to go somewhere new," Tomoe replied in an equally hushed and urgent murmur. Tomoe's gaze flicked downward before their eyes met again. "But, uh, I do think… you look really good today."

Himari sat down on her chair. Her face felt warm. "Oh, you dummy. You were better with your compliments before we started dating, you know."

"Was I?" Tomoe chuckled, a hand coming to the back of her head in her embarrassment. Was Tomoe always this bashful? The girl lowered her arm, letting her shoulders sag. She aimed an apologetic smile her way. "Sorry… I didn't realize—or, I wasn't ready for everything to feel so, uh. New?"

New? That was a good way to put it.

"I think I know what you mean," she smiled in return. It was like Himari was learning about Tomoe from scratch. It was exciting, just as much as it was stressful! That was the hard part. They'd been friends for years, and now there was this new side to Tomoe that she had to figure out how she matched with.

If they at least had this in common, then they already had a better chance of working this out.

"Anyway," Himari raised her menu once more. "What are we doing about this? They already gave us breadsticks!"

"We can—uh, let's," Tomoe scrambled to pick up her menu too, looking through its contents. She was nearly glaring at its words. Despite trying to cover for it with action, her anxiety betrayed her as she spoke at a fast pace, "We're here for, you know, like. A date. So, I think we can splurge a little? It's a special thing for the both of us."

Toommmoeee! Stop making me nervous! Himari wanted to yell at her, if not for the fact that they were in a restaurant and restaurants expected things like etiquette out of them. It felt like they were conspiring against the restaurant, a corporation that was out for their money. How much cheaper would it have been to just cook at home? "H-How about we split a dish? They're giving us free breadsticks anyway. We're just… accepting what they're giving to us."

"Yeah, uh, sounds good to me," Tomoe mumbled, folding the menu again. Neither of them wanted to look at that thing much longer.

A waiter stood by their table, seemingly out of nowhere. Whether he had heard their conversation or not, he did not show it, carrying a pitcher and gesturing to Tomoe's half-empty glass. "Would you like a refill, miss?"

"Yeah! Sure!" she answered, much too enthusiastically.

Himari reached for a breadstick.

…

By the time they paid the bill, Tomoe stifled her laughter. Himari had a hand covering her smile. She bowed her head to the waiter at the desk. "Thank you," Himari couldn't hold back the remark. "for the breadsticks."

They nearly sprinted out of the restaurant. Tomoe jumped off the first step of the patio, reaching a hand back for Himari to hold onto. When she did, Tomoe pulled her close, and then they walked briskly away from the restaurant, before the manager decided that they had committed a robbery via free breadsticks.

"The breadsticks!" Tomoe leaned into Himari, gasping between laughs.

"They were pretty good, weren't they?!" Himari wrapped an arm around Tomoe's waist. They were making their way back downtown, and to the train station. "I'd even say it was better than the actual main dish."

"How many baskets was that? We can't go back there ever again."

"We will! We have to," she bumped hips with Tomoe. A smile spread on her face, and then Tomoe was beaming back at her, and—oh, this felt right. Himari felt warm all over. "Let's bring everyone else next time. We'll make it a party!"

"They're gonna hate us for it," Tomoe rested a cheek atop of Himari's head. They walked down a quiet side street, coming up to a park with a playset. "I think Moca'll like it, though."

They lingered by the empty park. In the restaurant, Himari had been so aware of the others around them, but by themselves, it was as if someone had pulled away the curtains and blinded her with the evening sun.

"Tomoe."

"Huh?"

"Where was this Tomoe the entire time?" Himari stopped walking, bringing Tomoe to a halt beside her. She looked at their arms; they were wrapped around themselves, as if they couldn't keep away from each other. They never had a problem with personal space, but they'd been dancing around each other all day. Breaking it now felt like they were stepping into something new altogether.

Himari stepped forward, so that she was even closer to Tomoe. She tilted her head upward.

"I think. She was with wherever this Himari was," Tomoe said, breath caught in her throat. Oh, wow. Tomoe stared at her so intensely, like the rest of the world had drifted away and then it was just the two of them.

Himari felt her pulse in her ears. "She was waiting for you, but she got a little impatient watching you at the restaurant."

"Sorry for being late," Tomoe whispered.

"I miiight just forgive you," she teased, poking Tomoe on the forehead.

Wasn't this what she wanted all her life? Someone to sweep her off her feet, someone who was romantic enough and wonderful enough to go along with Himari's antics? Well, yeah, but looking at the real deal now, Himari understood why it was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. She wasn't sure if her heart could handle another person treating her like this.

Himari glanced away from Tomoe, overwhelmed with how much of everything that her girlfriend was to her. That was when her eyes passed over the playground, with the see-saw, and the monkey bars, and then she found herself looking at the orange sunset.

The same sunset that gave Afterglow its name, promising to Ran that they and the rest of their friend group would never be alone. The same sun that overlooked their high school selves as they apologized, as they swore to be better. It was the same sun that they snuck onto the school roof to see on their graduation, and it was this same sun that she now watched in Tomoe's arms.

Tomoe had followed her stare. "Man, I'll be old and wrinkly and the sun won't change a bit."

"Aren't we doing our usual thing?" Himari asked abruptly. The sun seeped into her bones, and it was as if the world around her had gotten brighter.

"Are we?" Tomoe raised an eyebrow at her.

"We were so awkward today, Tomoe," she moved in for a hug, squeezing her arms around Tomoe's waist. "It was so excruciating…! We had to steal breadsticks to break the ice. Breadsticks! Look at us now, we've just been acting—"

"The same as always?" Tomoe interrupted her, smiling at her fondly.

Himari pouted, before nestling against Tomoe. "Yeah."

Whatever tensions were left dissipated, and suddenly, Himari felt like she could breathe. Even better yet, it felt like things were falling into place. This was where they were supposed to be, who they were meant to be and with. Tomoe led them so that they were leaning against a railing, neither wanting to let go of the other.

"Ugh," Himari sighed. "why were we so nervous, if nothing's actually changed?"

Tomoe tightened her arms around Himari, bundling her up and making her stand in front of her. She raised her hands to cup Himari's cheeks. Tomoe made no signs of being subtle as she stared at her lips. "Hey, at least one thing's changed."

Never one to break the act, Himari pondered aloud, "And what's that?" as she leaned in.

Tomoe never had the chance to answer, their eyes fluttering shut as they closed the distance. Himari planted a soft kiss on her lips. She felt Tomoe's thumb brush along her cheek, and her other hand sliding down to rest on the curve of her back. At that, Himari withdrew, but kept her lips near enough to Tomoe's that they were nearly touching.

Her kisses were always so eager, Himari thought to herself. It might've been Himari who initiated the kiss, but it was Tomoe who always sought more. Tomoe's hands tugged her closer. She craned her head, deepening the kiss and surrounding Himari with all of her. And Himari let her take the lead. It was easy, so easy, to talk to Tomoe about every little thing, but it was just as wonderful for the words to slip away and focus on each other.

Himari opened her eyes halfway to peek at Tomoe, only to find that she'd done the same. Tomoe broke out into a grin, and they pulled away, dumb smiles making their way onto their faces.

It was one moment among many, but it was theirs. With the sun on their backs and surrounded by a playground, it was equal parts a childhood crush, and something Himari wanted for the rest of her life.

"I think I need more of this," she stated. Her hand was at Tomoe's collar, directing her in for another kiss.

Himari didn't need the dramatics for this part. She just needed Tomoe.

Thank you for reading!