A/N: not enough mutual pining roseknight in this world. i need more sapphic longing. it gives me power.
Whenever Sherry wasn't looking, Aki would take a picture of her. It was always of the little things, the wistful smile the blonde would get when she saw a lonely wildflower blossoming by the road, the warm look in her eyes when the sunset greeted them after a road trip to the coast, or the way she gently held the kittens Aki's parents were fostering.
Even now, as Sherry was helping Yusei prepare the watermelon for everyone else in the garage, Aki picked up her phone and set it to the camera mode. She stared down at Sherry through the screen.
"What are you lookin' at, Aki?" Rua asked, interrupting her concentration while trying to look over her shoulder. It'd been nearly two years since Aki had last seen him and the boy had shot up in height. He was nearly as tall as her now. Aki put the phone down quickly, her face red with embarrassment.
"Nothing. It's nothing," she lied, so blatantly that even the naïve boy could tell.
"It doesn't look like nothing, Aki..." he insisted. "C'mon, spill it! I promise I won't tell."
A hand grabbed Rua by the shoulder and pulled him away from Aki. Ruka had graciously come to Aki's rescue. "Stop bothering Aki, Rua. If she doesn't want to tell you, don't keep asking," she scolded. "C'mon, let's go help Crow set up." The younger twin dragged Rua away despite his insistence that he needed to know Aki's secret.
Aki inhaled and exhaled. She raised up her phone once more and took a picture. Sherry looked beautiful even when she was concentrating on cutting apart a fifteen pound watermelon with nothing but a handsaw and a screwdriver. Aki sighed wistfully and put her phone back down. The watermelon snapped in half and both Yusei and Sherry scrambled to keep it from spilling juice all over the garage
"The watermelon's ready!" Yusei called out as Sherry turned both halves into neat triangular slices.
"Watermelon!" Rua yelled, running up to Yusei to grab as many slices as his hands could take.
Watermelon was messy, a misbehaving fruit, and an unruly guest that stained clothing every summer. Aki pressed her lips in a flat line. Could she ask Sherry to cut some into cubes for her? No, that'd be asking for too much. Crow and Jack argued over each other's portion sizes like usual and Yusei and the twins helped themselves. Mikage and Ushio stopped by for some as well, driving off in their Security cruiser after helping themselves. Even Martha and some of the children she was raising came by the garage for a visit.
Aki slowly sipped on her dwindling iced tea, trying not to think about how sweet and refreshing the watermelon smelled. The mess wasn't worth it. She made small talk with the others and had a lengthy conversation with Sherry about air travel and its inconveniences. The trip from Germany to Japan was only two hours by flight now but the jet lag was still the same. The evening rolled by and the twins left to go home, Rua nodding off on his sister's shoulder. Jack retired to bed as well, Crow following him shortly after. Aki checked the time and decided she'd get going. She picked up her purse and checked to make sure she had all her belongings.
Yusei took the empty cups and plates into the apartment and then, it was just Sherry and Aki. The blonde put a metal tin into her shoulder bag and she looked directly at Aki for the first time that day. "Aki, would you like to take a small trip?" Sherry asked, approaching Aki. The redhead felt lightheaded from how nice Sherry smelled.
"Where are you taking me?" Aki asked, following Sherry to her D-Wheel.
"Somewhere we can be alone," Sherry replied simply with a small smile. Aki internally screamed. Sherry reached under the seat and gave Aki one of the helmets. "I promise I'll bring you back home before midnight." With stiff motions, Aki put the helmet on and put her arms around Sherry's waist. A multitude of thoughts flew by Aki's head as Sherry drove them to their destination. What was going on? Why did Sherry want them to be alone? Was that watermelon to blame?!
Aki didn't recognize the area that Sherry had driven them too. It was a lonely little bench by the bay that had sunflower shells underneath. The setting sun refracted off of the murky ocean waters. Sherry shut off the engine and stuck out the leaning leg for her D-Wheel before taking off her helmet and shaking out her hair. The orange light made the blonde's long hair glimmer and shine and Aki had to do everything in her power to not to touch it.
"We're here." Sherry put her helmet on the bench and took out the metal tin from her shoulder bag. "Come, sit." Aki sat on the bench next to Sherry, the helmet still in her hands. She popped open the lid and inside was cubed watermelon. Sherry handed Aki a fork. "Help yourself. I know you don't like to eat messy things in front of others so I prepared this for you in advance."
Aki speared a cube and put it in her mouth. It was weirdly warm but still crunchy. "It's warm," she noted, spearing another one. Another one down the hatch. "You didn't have to save this for me."
"I wanted to. You didn't have any and I know you like watermelon." Sherry picked up one with her fingers and tossed it into the air, catching it in her mouth. Aki cursed quietly because 1. that was really impressive and 2. she really wished she wasn't so occupied with warm watermelon and had taken a picture. Sherry noticed her frowning and picked up a cube and pushed it towards Aki's mouth. "Here, before the sea bugs get too opportunistic."
The redhead blushed and hoped Sherry didn't notice with the setting sun's glow on everything. She opened her mouth and bit down on the side of the cube to pull it away from Sherry's hand, fingertips gently brushing Aki's lips.
"That felt embarrassing..." Aki thought, chewing on the fruit. Her lips felt warm where Sherry had touched them. She felt warm in the face anyway, what did it matter.
Soon, the watermelon was finished and the sky above them became blanketed in stars. Sherry was the first one to stand up. "I'll drop you off back home," she said, facing the ocean. The ride to Aki's parent's home was quiet and Aki felt herself nodding off as Sherry made gentle turns and braked slowly. Before she knew it, she was home.
"Did you have fun with your friends today, Aki?" her mom asked, helping her with the purse.
"Yep. I'm going to shower and sleep immediately. Night, mom," Aki said sleepily. After a hot shower and more internal screaming, she changed into her pajamas and flopped face first into bed. She turned over onto her back and looked through the photos she'd taken of Sherry. She was saving these photos. For what, she didn't know. She only knew she was saving them for later, whether to throw away or to keep for a bigger collection. But for every photo Aki took, she got closer to knowing what exactly she felt for Sherry.
Across the city, Sherry leaned over the balcony of her apartment to stare at the crescent moon. She mindlessly pressed her fingertips to her lips before pulling them away in embarrassment. She sighed and went inside, closing the balcony door behind her. "I'll save that conversation for later," she thought. Her fingertips still tasted like watermelon.
A/N: Thank you for reading my gay ass fanfiction.