The clock on the wall ticked away nervously, seconds passing by quickly without hesitation or remorse, floating along to the past with a vindictive glee. Every once in awhile, a minute would pass, and Azusa would glance into the mirror in the hallway and make sure there was no dirt on her face, or hair popping out of place, or something of otherwise unfit nature to present to the guest of honor. The maid of honor.

"Seriously, it's like you are making sure a dirtball hasn't hit you," Azusa said to herself punitively, twirling a length of hair in her fingers as she glanced at her cellphone for the millionth time. Her maiden was running a bit late considering she had said she would be right over, but Azusa could have expected that. Azusa could also expect for her to arrive out of breath and hungry.

"I guess that would be kind of cute," Azusa slipped her phone back into her pocket, spinning around with a smile on the wooden floors. She had never been on a date before, let alone had taken an interest in someone. The feelings that had come with the new experience were... Hard to keep track of. They were happiness, they were definitely this wonderful, hopeful, anxious happiness... But they were also difficult to place. They were difficult to compare to any other kind of happiness, if only by the way they seemed so unreal and mysterious. So new.

There was a knock at the door, and just short of falling over mid-twirl, Azusa leapt for the door knob. She opened the door to find Yui standing happily before a backdrop of the quiet neighborhood in mid-afternoon light, a wide grin pasted on her goofy face and hair slightly disheveled from her less than unnoticeable recent running. Yui was of course out of breath and quite cute, something of which Azusa had quickly taken note of with a faint blush and embarrassed expression.

"Azunyan!" Yui greeted happily, bouncing forward without delay to give Azusa a hug. "I feel like it's been ages!"

"Yui-senpai, I'm glad you made it okay," Azusa replied, returning the embrace as the red in her cheeks spread. It was hard to know for sure if dates normally started with a hug and Azusa was simply too inexperienced to know, but it didn't stop her from enjoying the affection. There was something about Yui's warmth that Azusa couldn't say no to. Something that she couldn't simply deny from herself. "I guess it has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yup! Which is why today we are totally going to get an ice cream and spoil my dinner," Yui explained energetically, letting go of Azusa. "So that means you have to put your shoes on and we can go! I want to go to my favorite ice cream place."

Complying with a bashful nod, Azusa slipped on her shoes. Moments later and with a steady stream of babble from Yui, she was ready.

"Okay, off we go!" Yui took Azusa's hand and they left the dwelling at a lively pace, Yui leading the way with Azusa tagging behind at a lack of words. Abundant pleasantries flowing through her thoughts, Azusa had little brain power left to say anything, though perhaps speaking wasn't necessary. Just enjoying Yui's presence was wonderful. Just her small hand in hers, holding on tightly as they made their way to perhaps the only ice cream parlour open at that time of year. For that reason alone, no wonder why it was Yui's favorite.

It was only after several minutes of walking to Yui's idle chatter that Azusa was first subjected to irrational dismay: Yui released the hold of her hand, and Azusa could not immediately place the reason. The neurons in Azusa's brain began to fire rapidly as Yui began to talk about her last meal and how scrumptious the tenpura had been.

"It was like, an explosion of yumminess! You have to try it when you come over for dinner sometime!" Yui rambled, unaware that Azusa was frantically fighting an internal war.

"Oh, what's wrong! Does she not want to hold my hand anymore? Why? Is she embarrassed?" Azusa thought worriedly, glancing over to Yui seeking an answer. Seeking some sort of reasoning or excuse. Yui noticed her strange expression.

"Eh, is something wrong Azunyan? You don't like tenpura?" Yui asked, plowing herself into Azusa and wrapping her arm around the girl, hoping the curious expressions would turn back into a smile. "You probably had an allergic reaction to shrimp tenpura when you were young, didn't you? Oh, that is so horrible! To not be able to enjoy the lovely taste of shrimp and the crunchy tenpura..."

"Yui-senpai," Azusa started quietly with a hint of embarrassment, "That would be horrible, but I'm not allergic."

"Oh, that's great! I'll tell Ui that we should have shrimp tenpura then!" Yui resumed her normal walking posture, leaving Asuza a bit dismayed that their embrace had ended so quickly.

Maybe she should look sad and depressed more often? Certainly she would get more attention from Yui that way, right?

"You could just ask..." Azusa turned her eyes back to the sidewalk ahead, her mouth open slightly as she pondered the possibility of actually just asking Yui to hold her hand, or hug her. "You could just take her hand yourself instead of being a coward."

Glancing at her companion again, Azusa's step wavered slightly as the sight of Yui filled her vision. Her heart was beating in her chest rapidly, and it felt like it was much warmer outside than it actually was. Several more moments passed as Yui chattered away about a recent dessert she had eaten, interspersed with complaints about no longer having access to Tsumugi's cakes and pastries. "It would probably be okay to just take a hold of her hand..."

"Ah, there it is! Behold the power of ice cream!" Yui said excitedly as her eyes grew big. The wonderful ice cream dispensary loomed before them like a beacon of sugary divinity, but as Azusa already had a source of confectioneries in her field of vision, she didn't notice. The wellspring of sweetness herself again took hold of Azusa's hand once more, and before anything could be said they were dashing across the last few meters to the parlour.

The feelings running through her faster than her legs carried her in that moment, the attachment she felt during that mad rush... Certainly it was bliss. Certainly this was what Azusa wanted to hold on to, to cherish...

The yearning in Azusa's chest for Yui's tenderness was overwhelming her as they entered the cute ice cream shop. The happiness of being with Yui came with the ever surmounting desire to claim her. To call her her girlfriend and hold on to her, if for no other reason, because the gift of Yui should be hers and only hers.

"Ah, I want the super chocolaty one! With the cute sprinkles please!" Yui said as she ordered her ice cream, letting go of Azusa's hand to fish around for the money Ui had given her. "Azunyan, what ice cream would you like? I'll buy it for you!"

"Oh, you don't really have too, Yui-senpai..."

"Just order! It's okay, Ui gave me money for both of us!" Yui explained happily, giggling. "Ui is so cute, don't you think? She just reads my mind sometimes and it's like... Oh! A new flavor!"

It was so incredibly difficult to say no to Yui, and it prompted Azusa to wonder how Ui managed to do it on a daily basis. Especially with Yui constantly bombarding her with various irrelevant infatuations, particularly those concerned with cuteness.

Azusa smiled bashfully and she turned her attention to the shop clerk to make a request. Minutes later, after they had received their ice cream cones, and after Yui had successfully completed the payment ritual for their desserts, they found themselves wandering the sidewalks and headed in the general direction of the local park.

"Thank you Yui-senpai, you really didn't have to," Azusa said appreciatively, glancing at Yui to find the girl happily licking away at her ice cream. Her tongue was rather cute and small, and as Azusa noticed this she returned her eyes to the sidewalk ahead with another blush. "Well, Yui-senpai does have a really cute mouth in general..."

"Aww, don't worry about it! Normally I get ice cream with Ui, but she is busy tonight. I'm glad you weren't doing anything, I was kind of scared that I might have had to go alone," Yui replied as she glanced at Azusa. "But... You have been kind of quiet this afternoon, are you thinking about something? You never did tell me what was wrong."

"Yui-senpai, perceptive? Impossible." Azusa couldn't help but smile. Perhaps there was more to Yui's goofy grins and stories than met the eye.

It didn't change the fact that there was indeed something on Azusa's mind. Furthermore, of that something, there was only one answer to Yui's question, and that answer was substantially more embarrassing than Yui's adorable insistence from only a moment ago.

"Yui-senpai..." Azusa started, her hand shaking with the ice cream cone. She took a small bite of the confection out of nervousness. There was only one thing going through her mind. One thing and a million possibilities. For several moments she was quiet, and after the silence, she continued softly once more, "Yui-senpai..."

It was rare for someone close to Yui to be so serious, and that might have been because Yui was generally not in the least bit serious, but she was not a fool to miss it completely as some might think of her to do. Glancing worriedly at Azusa again, she watched as the younger girl took another small bite of her ice cream.

"She's watching me," Azusa thought to herself nervously, "She waiting for me, she's wondering about me, she's thinking about me..."

"Azunyan, you know you can talk to me if something is bothering you," Yui said softly, "I'd like to think that you like me enough to talk to me."

"Somehow that made this even harder," Azusa sighed nervously. The thought that perhaps Yui had an inclination as to what she wanted to say was a difficult feeling, and Azusa had to wonder that if that was the case... What was Yui's answer? Had she thought about such a proposition before? Buying herself another moment of time, Azusa brought the ice cream back to her lips for another bite, however her judgement of the trajectory to her mouth was quite miscalculated and a smear of sugary dairy ended up on her cheek. Yui giggled cutely at this.

"Aww, Azunyan you have ice cream on your cheek..." Yui pointed out with a goofy smile. She leaned in closer to Azusa's face. "You know, this is the point where Mugi is like.. blush blush blush and all happy, right?"

The characterization of Tsumugi wasn't completely off, but of course Azusa had more pressing concerns to occupy her thoughts with, like the proximity of Yui to her, the people that were probably staring at her, and the ice cream on her face that probably looked ridiculous.

"It's cute when your face is dirty Azunyan, and..." Yui began, peering anxiously at the blushing girl next to her as she sniffed the air, "You smell like mint ice cream! So yummy!"

"You could just lick it off my face already, Yui-senpai. You could just practically kiss me and bathe me in one simple, quick motion..." Azusa thought to herself anxiously, her eyes transfixed on Yui with the hope that her marginally air-headed and personal boundary ignoring senior would do such a thing. "Let's see, I'm pretty sure that's the next line to cross and we are still just friends!"

Azusa's attention was suddenly diverted from her thoughts; Yui had purposefully taken a rather messy bite out of her ice cream, and the melted dairy now encircled her mouth. Besides the fact that she couldn't even begin to keep track of Yui's antics, or even understand what thought processes provoked Yui to act upon such randomness, Azusa couldn't help but notice the cute and rather enticing chocolate all over Yui's lips. The milky mess on her own face was suddenly forgotten amidst her rapturous gaze and Yui's giggles.

"Oops!" Yui said with a smile, grinning as the chocolate began to dribble down her chin. She stuffed the rest of her ice cream cone into her mouth and furiously devoured it before continuing. "I made a mess... Azunyan I'm all messy!" Yui cried, eyeing Azusa expectantly with a wiggle.

Azusa had seen this expression before. It was the 'Please treat me like a young innocent princess' look. Snapping out of her reverie, Azusa realized that a seemingly harmless opportunity to touch Yui had presented itself.

"This is almost like grade school... In some perverted, alternate universe kind of way." Azusa reached into her pocket for her handkerchief, because unlike the bouncing Yui next to her, she had the sense to carry one like most other girls her age. "Yui-senpai isn't... actually your age though..."

"Here, Yui-senpai..." Azusa began, lifting the handkerchief higher than necessary as an indication she was catering to the childish interests of her senior. Yui whimpered happily and leaned forward.

The warmth of Yui's skin through the thin cloth was wonderful. Azusa wiped the ice cream away, and hoping to draw the experience out for a extra few moments of closeness, she made sure to move her hand particularly slowly. Her fingers grazed Yui's bare cheek, and while it wasn't clear whether it was on purpose or by accident, she blushed at the contact, and her body filled with a quite enjoyable tingling sensation. Her bashfulness, which would have normally driven her to withdraw her hand at such a misstep, abated itself in lieu of the warm feelings.

"Aww, Azunyan... That was cute," Yui said contentedly, putting her own hand to her face and taking the cloth from Azusa. "Now it's your turn!"

"Eh?" Azusa didn't have time to react in any other way. Between the sudden pleasure of having Yui's hand against hers, and then subsequently the feeling of Yui pressing the handkerchief against her cheek, Azusa was far too paralyzed to have any sort of formidable reaction whatsoever, but... Certainly it was heaven. As her face became ice cream-less and substantially redder, Yui withdrew the soiled linen and craftily tucked it in to her pocket with a smile.

"Yui-senpai..." Azusa started, a driving pressure in her chest suddenly screaming at her to speak. "Do it now... Say it now while she's thinking fondly of you..."

"I don't have it!" Yui replied back quickly, grinning ear to ear.

"Actually..." Azusa began again resolutely, completely ignoring that Yui had just swiped her handkerchief, "I was going to tell you that I'm going to miss you."

"Miss me?" Yui replied, her tone dropping suddenly, "You mean, umm... When I go to college...?"

"Yea, I'm going to miss you," Azusa looked at her feet.

"You can visit me whenever you want! I know it's kind of far away... But..." Yui turned her gaze to the sidewalk even though they still remained stopped. "I would like that a lot!" Yui turned to Azusa with another smile.

"I actually, well.. I kind of wanted to..." Azusa fumbled for words. Certainly she had managed to finagle visits to see Yui over the course of the next school year, but perhaps there was room for more. Perhaps it was okay to tell Yui she wanted to see even more of her. Azusa took a breath and cautiously returned her glance to Yui's pensive face.

"Yui-senpai I want to go to the same school as you!" Azusa had said it. The words had come out quickly and in a torrent. She had looked back at the ground before the last word had even escaped her mouth, and now another blush crept upon her cheeks like a voracious breed of English ivy, even while the rest of her body shook with nervousness.

"Azunyan, I would..."

"That isn't strange is it?" Azusa blurted suddenly. She couldn't stop herself from legitimatizing her desires. "You wouldn't think of me as weird for wanting to go to the same school as you, right? We could play guitars still, and have lunch together, and make new friends, and..."

"Wait, what she was going to say?"

Azusa let her eyes shyly wander upwards to Yui's face, idly gazing upwards until they found focus on Yui's chin, and then her mouth, and then her nose... And then her gaze fell upon Yui's shining eyes. In the split second when their stare had locked, Azusa stopped. Her heart, her breath, her thoughts... Everything had stopped. She had expected to see Yui's lovely smile, her cute face still a bit sticky from ice cream, her expecting, waiting expression...

She didn't expect the tears in Yui's eyes.

...o.o.o.o...

My First: Chapter 4 is scheduled for August 24th.

Hungry for more? This story is being released concurrently with Hidamari Sketch: Sunshine!

Know When This Storyline is Continued! Add me to your favorite author or author alert list. You will also be able to track updates and releases for other fandoms. I also post updates in my profile.

Get sneak-peaks at the next chapter and discuss My First! Visit the website in my profile. There is a section on the forums specifically for My First. The preview for Chapter 4 will be online approximately 24 hours after this chapter is posted.

Beta: Kuchibiru (Presently missing in action - I miss you! heart!)