"What…is this?"

A feeling of befuddlement washed over Umi as she gazed down at the scene below her.

In one futon, with one person leaning on the other with an arm stretched across the other's stomach, was Honoka and Chika.

For one, she had expected Honoka and Chika to already be gone. They had already said their goodbyes the night before, after all. So, it seemed as if Chika would end up being late for school.

And another thing…

To think…to do such a shameless thing in a home that wasn't theirs…when they even laid out two futons…

Umi sighed quietly, then turned to Kotori, who was aiming her phone's camera at the pair.

"You're okay with this?" Umi asked quietly, though she already knew the answer.

Kotori smiled happily.

"Mhm! They're in love, right?" Kotori asked as if it was obvious, and Umi crossed her arms as a faint blush appeared on her cheeks.

"W-Well, that's true, but there's such a thing as moderation…" Umi trailed off as she averted her eyes from the pair.

A few moments later, arms were wrapped around Umi's stomach and Kotori's head was gently rested on her shoulder.

"You're feeling lonely, right Umi-chan?"

Umi's expression turned to surprise as she quickly looked toward Kotori.

"What?! I never-" Umi started, but was cut off as Kotori lightly kissed her cheek.

After a quiet laugh and removing herself from Umi, Kotori walked in front of her and smiled.

"Let's make breakfast for them," she suggested cheerfully, then without waiting on an answer, headed toward the kitchen.

Umi placed her fingertips on the spot Kotori kissed her, then after a few more seconds, took another glance at Honoka and Chika as she smiled as well.

"Okay," Umi announced with a nod, then followed after Kotori, now with a spring in her step.


Honoka's eyes slowly opened, and the smell of food being cooked woke her up further as she slowly sat up.

Still half-asleep, she gently rubbed her eyes then looked to her left, only for her eyes to widen in surprise when she saw Chika's sleeping face.

She was only confused for a moment before the events of yesterday came back to her. She smiled warmly, then her eyes started to glow as she suddenly got an idea.

She pulled out her phone, aiming to take a picture of Chika, but was surprised when she noticed an unread message notification from Kotori.

When she saw what it was, she had to stifle a laugh.

Kotori was already way ahead of her.

After setting it as her new wallpaper, it only just then occurred to Honoka to look around the room, and she finally noticed Kotori and Umi.

"Ah! Umi-"

"Shhhh," Kotori and Umi sounded in unison, both with fingers to their lips, and Honoka immediately brought her hands to her mouth as she realized it.

But the damage was done.

Chika slowly sat up, then turned her head toward Honoka.

"Honoka-chan, good-wait, Honoka-chan?!" Chika began, then quickly shouted in surprise as she leaned away from her in a panic, almost falling over in the process.

"What are we-why are we-what is-!"

"Good morning, Chika-chan," Kotori called out casually with a smile, and Chika was silent for a moment as she blushed.

"G-Good morning…" she replied sheepishly, slightly bowing her head as she began to calm down and remember what happened last night.

Honoka gleefully latched onto her, a wide smile on her face.

"Good morning, Chika-chan!"

She was stunned for a brief second, but then gladly smiled back.

"Mhm, good morning," she murmured happily.

Kotori and Umi were watching the exchange, then Kotori turned back toward the kitchen and widened her eyes.

"Oh, Umi-chan!"

Startled, Umi turned around as well, only to see the food starting to burn.

"Ah! Kotori, get that one, quick!" she panicked, and Honoka and Chika laughed with a hint of concern.


After eating breakfast, apologizing for oversleeping, and fielding some embarrassing questions that nobody else would ever know the answers to, Honoka and Chika stood at the entranceway of the apartment, ready to leave.

They had already talked about everything they needed to. Umi and Kotori were at ease, and Honoka felt as if a giant boulder was lifted from her shoulders. She couldn't remember the last time she had made Umi react so seriously, but she vowed that she would never let it happen again. Probably.

They said their goodbyes, then parted. Honoka and Chika walked hand-in-hand toward Honoka's car, but before getting in, Chika suddenly stopped in place.

"Honoka-chan!" she suddenly yelled energetically, resulting in a small jump of surprise from Honoka.

"H-Huh?! What is it?" Honoka asked, but then wore a troubled expression when she heard Chika's idea.

"Ehh? But we're already late," she answered worriedly, keeping Umi's advice in mind.

'Try to be responsible. You're their advisor, so you need to make sure they're not getting in trouble,' is what Umi said to her. And now she was already being put to the test.

But Chika made a convincing argument.

"Please? It won't take that long! And I bet there are some really cute ones!" Chika pleaded, and after mulling it over for a few seconds, Honoka quickly nodded.

"Okay, let's go!" she announced excitedly, and a big smile appeared on Chika's face.

It didn't take much to convince Honoka to do something fun.


"Ah, jeez…" Honoka murmured to herself as her eyes repeatedly scanned the rows, desperate to find one that seemed like it would fit.

Sure, she was interested in this type of stuff, but she wasn't particularly good at picking the ones that suited her best. She'd always leave those details to Kotori, Nico or Eli. They were the most knowledgeable about these items.

Every time she glanced at one, she'd take a moment to envision how it would look, then always shook her head, thinking it didn't quite fit. This wasn't herself that she was shopping for, so she wanted it to be perfect. Especially since it was for Chika.

With that said…

"Ugh, which one do I pick?!" she complained loudly as she held her head, earning her multiple odd looks from other customers.


As for Chika...she seemed to be having a different issue entirely.

She had lined ten of them up next to each other on a counter, carefully considering each one, but she was quickly becoming frustrated.

"This one works…but this one's really pretty…and this…hmm…"

Chika gently scratched the back of her head as she continued to examine them, a faint blush forming on her cheeks as she imagined Honoka with each of them.

She had to shake her thoughts away when the Honoka in her imagination started talking to her. She couldn't get lost in her thoughts, she had to focus and choose one quickly.

But really…

"How am I supposed to pick just one?" she complained aloud, then buried her head in her arms on the counter.


It was time for them to meet again, and as they approached one another, Honoka waved at Chika while holding something in her hand.

"Chika-chaaaaaann!" she called out happily.

As for Chika, she was calmly walking toward Honoka as she held her hands behind her back.

When they reached each other, Honoka breathed a sigh as she showed off the small hair accessory, a sky-blue flower-decorated hairpin.

"There were so many, I didn't know what to pick, and- ah!" she cut herself off, her eyes widening as she realized what she was doing. She immediately brought her hands behind her back as her face became flushed with embarrassment, but it was too late.

"You…you saw it, right…?" Honoka asked nervously, her eyes focused on the ground.

Chika was only able to stop herself for a few seconds, then her laughter filled the air. Honoka brought her gaze back to Chika, stubbornly watching silently for a moment, then smiled as she laughed herself at how ridiculous that was.

Chika brought a hand from behind her back and slowly wiped her forming tears as her laughter finally died down.

"Sorry, sorry. It was just…" she tried to explain, then began laughing again as she recalled the panicked expression on Honoka's face.

After finally calming down, Honoka presented the hairclip again, and Chika showed the one she decided on, a light-gold star-shaped hairclip.

They happily exchanged them, and after putting them on, gazed at one another.

"Well? How does it look?" Honoka asked cheerfully and a bit playful, performing a quick twirl before smiling at Chika.

"You look great, Honoka-chan!" Chika immediately replied, full of excitement as her eyes practically dazzled.

She didn't want to praise herself or anything, but she couldn't believe how cute Honoka looked in that moment. Well, maybe it had something to do with Honoka naturally looking cute…well, it didn't matter! The hairclip fit her!

As Chika beamed with energy, Honoka nervously scratched her cheek, a blush present on her face.

She hadn't expected Chika to be so upfront and honest about it. It had caught her off-guard.

But those words made her extremely happy.

Honoka smiled, then quickly pulled out her phone, the smile turning to a smirk as she took a picture of Chika.

Chika stared at her blankly for a moment, then finally processed what happened as she slightly tilted her head and looked quizzically at Honoka.

"Huh? What was that for?" she asked curiously, and as a response, Honoka turned the phone around and showed the screen.

"Look how cute you look!" she announced excitedly, and Chika's eyes widened as she stared at the picture.

She wasn't sure if it was the hair accessory itself, or possibly the fact that Honoka was the one who chose it, but…

She loved how it looked on her.

Chika slowly reached up and clutched the hairclip for a second, then smiled warmly.

"Honoka-chan, let's take a picture together!" she suddenly suggested, and Honoka immediately nodded in agreement.

The two squeezed together as Honoka held the phone above them, then both performed a silly pose as the picture was taken.


After some very not-so-tough consideration, the pair decided to play around a bit more before heading back to Numazu, deciding that they'd just show up for practice. However, to Chika's surprise, she had received some odd texts from You:

'You: Hey, Chika-chan! We're cancelling practice, so don't worry about that!'

'You: Oh, but when you're back, come to my place! We gotta' talk about something.'

'You: And bring Honoka-san too!'

Confused, she tried to message back to ask why, but she didn't receive a response. So, just as they were told, when they arrived back in Numazu the first thing they did was head over to You's house.

And when they opened the door…

"Congratulations!" was cheered in unison, and Honoka and Chika stood in the entrance starstruck as bits of confetti rained down on them.

"H-Huh? What's going on?" Chika asked half confused and half excited, eyes darting from person to person.

Kanan walked around to get behind them, then inserted herself in the middle as she put her arms around their shoulders.

"Well, you two are dating, right?" she asked as if it was obvious, which caused Honoka and Chika to instantly become red.

"And you didn't even tell us!" Mari chimed in as if she was angry, but then smiled.

"How did you know?!" Honoka asked, embarrassed, and Kanan showed a smirk as she nodded toward Riko and You, who both looked slightly apologetic.

"Sorry…everyone was concerned when you didn't come to school…" Riko explained in a murmur as she averted her eyes, but then You suddenly gave a thumbs-up and smiled brightly.

"At least you don't have to hide it anymore, right?"

You's words and the celebration helped matters, and the situation seemed fine, but it was still a bit embarrassing.

Suddenly though, Chika spoke up.

"And you're all fine with it?" she asked confused, surprised that there wasn't any discussion compared to the incident at Umi and Kotori's.

Dia sighed quietly in response.

"…while I'm not thrilled at the idea, there's no reason to stop it. Unless…something were to happen," Dia added on as she suddenly stared directly at Honoka, which sent a shiver up her spine.

Honoka could practically feel sweat drops forming as she looked back at Dia. It seemed like she was really protective over those close to her. However, Honoka could somehow tell Dia was just saying it as a precaution. She hoped.

"I think it's fine too!" Ruby added from behind Dia's back, peeking her head out to watch the pair.

Yoshiko noticed the small exchange between Honoka and Dia, then decided to bring the attention to herself as she laughed haughtily.

"Yohane doesn't usually share her little demons, but she'll allow it this once," she announced with a grin, and Hanamaru smirked.

"That's sweet of you, Yoshiko-chan," Hanamaru said sarcastically and playful, but Yoshiko blushed at the compliment.

"Wha-?! Sweet?! Well, I-" Yoshiko cut herself off as she realized, then frowned as she fully turned her body toward Hanamaru.

"It's Yohane!"

Laughter filled the room, and after a short moment, Honoka and Chika finally began to relax, and a warm smile appeared on Chika's face.

"Everyone…thank you," she whispered to herself, then suddenly broke away from Kanan and ran toward everyone, excited to celebrate with them.


Ending Notes:

Hello everyone!

Apologies for no ending note last chapter, I know everyone's tired of me apologizing for being late with chapters so I held myself back and simply tried to push forward. Hopefully this chapter came out at a more reasonable speed.

Anyway, this small drama segment is done, and now even everyone in Aqours knows they're dating! Or is it still pretend dating? They didn't bother to correct them, so who knows?

Just as a small disclaimer I want to announce now, this series will be more focused on the couple itself and the events of the fic rather than all the events from the anime, so it won't be too long. No concrete details on how many chapters left, but it'll definitely be shorter than my TsubaHono story, which was 31 chapters.

Thank you everyone for reading!