I love you.

It was a normal evening on the beach of Uchiura where Chika and Riko spent a lot of their time together. Riko was sitting on the sand, while Chika was dancing, feet in the water, saying... something... about training tomorrow in preparation for their future concert.

It was hard for Riko to focus at the moment.

The evening sun was reflecting unto Chika's pink eyes while also creating in the water multiple spots of lights – not unlike the ones on the stage they performed on as idols – and Riko was, simply put, mesmerised by the spectacle unfolding before her eyes.

"Riko-chan?"

Chika words, accompanied by a concerned look pulled Riko back towards the present.

Right. Training. Concert.

She had to focus on something, anything, other than the woman before her eyes.

But she couldn't.

"Riko-chan, are you all right?"

"Chika… I want to be with you, always."

She blurts out the words without thinking. For an instant, she almost regret pronouncing them. And for an instant, it seems these words are resonating in the whole area, accompanied only by the gentle sound of the waves crashing on the beach.

Chika looks at her, with an inscrutable expression. Looking like she's processing what Riko just said, or waiting for… something.

"I-I… mean…" Riko start to stutters, panic slowly taking hold of her brain.

"I shouldn't…"

She looks down at the sand and close her eyes while tears start to form at the corners of them. She feels like the stupidest woman in the world. Of course Chika didn't...

Suddenly, sounds of footsteps in the water. Before Riko has time to see what is happening she feels herself being tackled into a hug. With a yelp, Riko falls unto the sand and when she finally opens her eyes again she find Chika nuzzled against her, hugging Riko like if her life depended on it.

Out of instinct, or out of pure yearning perhaps, Riko close her arms around Chika tightly.

A few moments of silence, until Chika's head move and two bright eyes fix themselves on Riko's.

"I want to be with you too, Riko-chan."

Riko close even more tightly her arms around Chika.

For a short instant, everything feels right in the world.

They stay like this for a few minutes and then spend a few hours more talking, laughing and in a few instances teasing each others.

Chika cheering for Riko next piano competition, even suggesting a few melodies the redhead could play, while Riko was snorting imagining the prestigious crowd of these classical competitions being enthralled by what was definitively the beat of a new Aqours song brewing into Chika's mind.

Faster than the two realized, night was there. But they didn't care. They were together and that was the only thing that mattered for the both of them, right now.

At some point – after some arguing ending in Chika pouting because Riko forbade her from going swimming in the middle of the night – both of them end up fighting an imaginary battle between Riko-beam and Chika-beam, a battle ending on an inconclusive result except for the both of them falling head first into the sand, laughing.

"You're a weirdo." Riko say between two fits of laughter.

"Say the one yelling in the middle of the night Rikooo-beaaam." Chika answer while trying – in a losing battle – to straighten her hairs.

She grins, and soon enough Riko hears a soft giggle. A sound she learned to cherish more than anything in this world. Every laugh coming from her friend is a little miracle she gets to enjoy. And tonight, she think a bit selfishly, that miracle was only for her.

She opens her mouth to answer but her heart skips a beat and her words stop. Her eyes just caught the moonlight reflecting into Chika's eyes and, even with loose hairs and still some bit of sand on it – or maybe because of it – Riko find herself enthralled once again by Chika's sight.

Suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious, a blush slowly starts to creeps on her face.

"Riko-chan?"

"Y-yes?"

"Are you ok? You have… that look…"

"What… look?"

Another, bigger this time, grin from Chika.

"You know, the one you have when you're looking at these maga-"

"RIKO-CHAN BEAM!"

Riko's on Chika in an instant and she flicks her friend forehead, determined to not let the orange haired woman finish that thought. Surprised, Chika fall with a yelp on the sand.

Two pinks eyes look at her in fake anger.

A pout.

"Aaaaaaaaah, Riko-chan, you meanie! I just got the sand out of my hairs!" She laugh. Riko can't help herself from laughing too.

She extend her hand to help Chika get back up, but is surprised when she ends up being the one pulled down towards the ground, while also hearing a sound that was something in the middle of a laugh and a snort.

Yet the snorting quickly stops when Riko find herself on top of Chika, their faces very close, eyes gazing upon each others.

I love you.

A long silence.

It feels like they were suddenly in a bubble, the only sounds left being both of their breath quickening progressively, and, accompanying it, the feeling of warm air on each other skin.

Suddenly, it's like the words pronounced earlier in the evening hang in the air between them.

I want to be with you, always.

Neither Chika or Riko really thought about them. Until now, in that moment lost in time. Both are staring at each other lying down on the sand. Almost afraid of making a move of any kind to not break anything between them.

A slight blush was spreading slowly on Chika's face and Riko was sure she wasn't faring any better.

I love you.

Still, in the background, there was only the sound of the waves. Part of Riko wanted nothing more than to get up as fast as possible and pretend nothing happened… but a bigger part of her just wanted to stay there and nuzzle herself into Chika's embrace.

Her orange haired friend is the first one to break the silence. Chika's eyes staring – almost feverishly – at Riko's.

"Riko-chi… Maybe we should-"

I love you.

Riko couldn't lie to herself any more. She loved Chika. With all of her heart. With all of her being.

And so, she decide to not lie and to follow the advice she once gave to Chika: to follow her heart and express her emotions.

Passing one hand behind Chika's head, she kiss her tenderly on the lips.

Chika's eyes go wide.

At first, it's a soft, tentative kiss. Riko note amusedly that Chika, unsurprisingly maybe, has a taste of mikan. And as the woman under her start to kiss her back, she thinks that all the magazines she ever read never prepared her for this.

They never said that her heart would beat this fast, but also feel so full. They never prepared her for the warmth spreading trough her body, for the butterflies in her stomach, for wanting to laugh and to cry of happiness at the same time.

They never told her that to love and be loved back was the most beautiful feeling in the world.

They stop their kiss after a few moments, the two women breathing heavily.

"Riko…"

In the background, it feels like the sound of the waves crashing on the beach became far louder, almost following the sound of their beating hearts.

Neither women move for a few moments, enjoying each other glow and warmth. Chika start caressing Riko's back while Riko nuzzle her head against Chika's shoulder.

"You know" starts Riko "You… did you… hmmm…." Another moment of silly self-consciousness.

She blushes harder.

"N-N-nevermind."

Chika's hand move from her back to caress softly Riko hairs.

"Riko-chi… what did you want to say?" Chika ask in a whisper.

"I… did you… mikan… you… t-t-t-tasted…"

Riko feels the vibrations under her, before hearing the same beautiful laugh from before. At the same time, she feels a warm hand grabbing hers before being pulled to the side, rolling unto the sand and finding herself under the gaze of two mischievous pink eyes.

"You're such a weirdo, Riko-chi."

"Me? YOU are the o-"

Her protestations are drowned in another taste of mikan. Another kiss. More tender, more sure of itself. This time it's Chika's hands in her hairs, keeping her from falling apart right on the spot.

Again, time outside their little bubble seems to stop.

Again, they separate only not to drown on themselves.

Chika looks at her, with a pensive expression. Until it turns into a grin.

"Hmmm… strawberries."

"Straw… Hey!" Riko gives a soft little slap on Chika's shoulder.

Chika giggle. Riko gaze into her eyes.

And then, everything that just transpired comes back to her mind. She feels an immediate blush on her cheeks. A primal yelp comes from her lungs and she rolls immediately away from Chika, head facing the sand.

A laugh.

"Riko-chan, are you embarrassed?"

"Nooooo. We… I… Nooo." Riko answer, while almost trying to hide her head into the sand.

Riko feels a warm hand touching her arm from behind, and soon after she feels some soft caresses on the back of her hand, soothing her.

"Riko…" Chika's voice cracks a little. "Do… do you regret kissing me?"

Riko feels her heart freezing. Did... she... regretted it?

"No!"

Riko perks up immediately and turn herself to look seriously into Chika eyes.

"No."

Why was she so embarrassed about it? She just kissed a beautiful girl on a beach under the moonlight. A girl who had stolen her heart since the first day they met. A girl who makes her laugh. A girl who showed her how to keep moving forward, how to live. A girl that sometimes was making her a bit mad, but somehow Riko always ended up loving Chika even more afterwards.

Chika was her everything, and she never regretted any instant passed in her company. And she wanted to spend as much time as she could with her. So why was this so difficult for her to say? Why couldn't she just…

"Chika, I… I…" Tears began to form in Riko's eyes.

I love you.

She wanted to say these words so, so, much. And then, suddenly, a finger on her lips.

"Riko… Before you say anything, I want you to know that I love you. With all my heart. Take your time. I'll be waiting for you. Always."

"Chika…" The tears start flowing from Riko's eyes.

And then she tackles her friend.

She hug tightly Chika, who close her arms around her.

"You… idiot…" Riko sniffles.

And after some time nuzzled into her shoulder, she feel hands starting to caress her hairs softly.

She was her Chika. Chika was her beautiful, kind mikan. She was always the one picking her up when she had fallen.

In her arms, she feel the safest woman in the world. She moves her head to look at Chika's face, and move a strand of hairs before Chika's eyes who were looking back at her.

Riko takes a deep breath.

She was an idol, she had sung before thousands of people. She was Riko Sakurauchi of Aqours, and she was going to do this.

"Chika… I… love you."

A giggle followed by a sniffle. Riko sees tears forming in the corner of her orange-haired friend. (girlfriend?) Chika's arms are back against her, tightly embracing Riko.

"Hehe…" Chika's voice is full of warmth again. "It's a bit selfish of me, especially after saying I'd always wait for you… but I'm happy Riko-chan loves me."

In that moment, there was something in the eyes of Chika that Riko knew was reserved for her : vulnerability.

Riko laugh. Her heart feels light and yet full. She kiss Chika's forehead.

"And I'm happy Chika-chi the normal monster loves me back."

And then she claims Chika's lips again.

I love you.

Another few hours later, the both of them end up before the door to Chika's house. They sat down for a few moments, their hearts still full from the earlier events of the night. Riko has her head on Chika's shoulder, and an arm around her waist, just enjoying her presence and her warmth, never wanting to let go.

"Riko…"

"I know. Just let me enjoy this for a few minutes."

She feels a kiss on top of her head.

"You're so unreasonable, Riko-chan…" A soft laugh. "I love that new side of you."

Riko nuzzle her head a little bit more into Chika's shoulder.

"You're a bully… But... it's only for you."

A short silence. Riko stands up, and kiss Chika on the cheek.

"Come on, Mikan-chi, we have to wake up early tomorrow to practice."

A puzzled look meet back her gaze.

"Mikan-chi?"

"It felt right. You're my little mikan." Riko giggle.

"That's not fair, what do I call you in return? Chin in hand-chan?"

"Hey!"

"Love you." Chika says mischievously.

"I don't know if I still love you now..." Riko pouts.

"Too late, you're stuck with me, Riko-chan."

It's Chika turn to stand up and to kiss Riko on the cheek and her pout, seemingly with her heart, look like it's melting.

"Good night."

A kiss on the lips, and reluctantly, they separate to each go on their own ways.

After a shower, Riko goes to bed. But sleep doesn't seems to find her, images of the evening with Chika playing in a loop in her head.

I love you.

She feels so embarrassed thinking about saying these words, but also so happy when thinking of Chika's reaction to them.

She loved her too, and she was the happiest woman in the world right now. They spent hours together in their little bubble tonight, and yet, she somehow was still yearning for Chika's presence against her.

She stretches out, looking at the ceiling of her room, waiting for sleep to take her in. But it seemed like it wasn't coming.

Still the same images playing into her mind.

After a few minutes turning in her bed, she sees light coming from the building across, in the room that was opposite to her own balcony. Chika's room.

Could she be...?

She stands up and open the door of her balcony and yes, here she was, in all her sleepy glory : Takami Chika. Her little mikan.

"Hey." Chika says, in what is almost a whisper.

"Hey. You should be sleeping."

"But I missed you."

"We quitted each other 15 minutes ago."

"Yes."

"And you miss me already?"

"Well… I missed your flushed faced when I'm saying something nice to you."

"You bully… If you can't say anything nice, good night!"

Without meaning it, Riko goes back into her bedroom and start to close the door of her balcony.

"WAIT! Riko-chi, don't go! I was teasing you!"

"And?"

Chika grunts.

"And… I'm sorry."

Riko turns and look at Chika with a big smile on her face.

"Good Chika."

"Who's the bully now?"

"Did I just heard something?"

She turns back to close the door again.

"No ma'am." says Chika in a defeated voice.

"Hehehe."

"That's another new side of you I didn't knew about."

A sly grins appears on Riko's face.

"You'll see all of my sides Chika-chan… if you're lucky." She winks.

Chika's face suddenly turns a deep crimson shade. And at the same time Riko realize what she just said.

And what it could imply.

"No! What I mean is… that… my…"

A laugh from Chika.

"See, I did say you're so cute when you are flustered, Riko."

"And you said I was the bully?"

They both laugh.

They spend a few minutes gazing at each others, in silence. A question between them stays in the air, but neither seems ready to ask it. But then, suddenly, almost in unison :

"Hey can I-"

They stop. They laugh again.

"Riko-chan?"

"Yes?"

"I…" Chika blushes makes it return.

"Now it's your turn to be cute when you're flustered."

"Humpf… Can I… Can I..."

"The answer is yes, Chika."

Two beautiful pink eyes look at her, almost in awe. Chika turns from Riko to go back into her room. After a few instants, the lights of Chika's room are turned off.

Then, silence.

For an instant, Riko is afraid she said or understood something wrong.

There's only the sound of the wind into the night.

Then, she sees a blur of orange coloured hairs coming fast towards her. The jump is impressive. And reckless.

That's Chika for you.

In an instant, Riko find herself tackled by Chika into a hug. Riko catches her so that she doesn't fall face first into the ground. But, off balance, it's Riko who fall with Chika and a loud thud is heard.

She opens her mouth to complain about the rough landing, but the words die on her lips when she feels the warmth of Chika against her.

"I'm home, Riko-chan."

"You're an idiot, Chika-chi."

She caress Chika's face.

"You could have hurt yourself."

"I knew you would catch me."

"And what if I didn't?"

"Well... I guess I would have crashed into your wall and that would have made for a funny story!"

Riko kiss Chika's forehead.

"Idiot."

"You already said that."

"My idiot."

"Not sure that's any better."

Chika moves a little bit up and kiss her on the lips.

"Riko-chan, can we stay like this?"

"Come, let's go inside. Otherwise you're gonna catch a cold and then how do we explain that to the others tomorrow?"

"I'm sure I could invent something…"

"Shush."

It's Riko's turn to put a litle kiss on Chika lips.

"As much as I would like to stay like this, we do need to get some sleep. Chika…"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to sleep with me?"

A grin on Chika's face.

"Don't even start or I'm launching you back to your own room." warns Riko.

The grin transforms into a pout.

"Fiiine. Yes I would love that very much." Chika kiss Riko's cheek.

They both get up, Riko closing the door to her balcony. Snuggling together on Riko's bed, and the both of them finally being at ease with each other warmth, sleep finally comes to them fast.

Before sleeping, one of the last thoughts in Riko's mind is being unsure of what the future would bring for herself or Aqours, but it was accompanied by knowing that she was ready to tackle it with Chika.

Whatever the world would throw at them, they would go through it together.

I love you.