"All remaining passengers traveling on the flight to Hawaii, please board the plane through terminal 23."
Chisato and Takina both got up, both of them wearing a backpack behind them as they made their way towards their seats.
"I can't believe you managed to convince the others to go to Hawaii, let alone score tickets for us at the last minute!"
Takina gave a proud smile while responding.
"Well, they just had a few spots available, so I took them. They only had 2, though, so the others are taking a different route. It works out, though, since it means that they can set up shop before we get there."
"So, you gave us time to goof off?"
Takina rolled her eyes at Chisato's innocent look as they found their seats and stowed their bags under the seat in front of them..
"That's not exactly what I was planning, but sure. You could call it that."
"Oh, so it's couple bonding time?"
Takina stopped in the middle of buckling her seatbelt, snapping to look at Chisato with her face turning red.
"U-uh, I… uh…"
Chisato interrupted her thinking by flicking her in the forehead.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You're just too defenseless, Takina-chan~"
Takina grumbled at the jolly look that Chisato had on her face. For all that talk about loving her until the day she died, Chisato sure seemed like the only thing she loved to do was to torment her. Still, it wasn't as if this was too unpleasant as Takina found herself humming a tune while the plane taxied
"So what happened after I left?"
"Hm?"
A look of curiosity adorned Chisato's expression, prompting Takina to recount the events of the previous night.
"I convinced them to come with us on vacation."
"Yeah, but there's gotta be more than just that, right?"
"There is…"
Chisato listened with interest creeping into her expression.
"Yeah? There is?"
"Kurumi asked about the necklaces, so I told her about us."
"About us? But doesn't that mean-"
Chisato cut herself off mid sentence, her cheeks going red as her expression turned into an uneasy smile.
"O-oh, you told her?"
Alarm bells rang in Takina's mind as worry darted across her face.
"Was I not supposed to do that? Goodness, I'm so sorry, I should've consulted you first before-"
"No, it's fine! I-in any case, is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?"
Takina squinted at Chisato's face, growing more concerned by the second. It wasn't hot at all here; it was quite cold. In addition, Chisato seemed to be red-faced and sweating, her stammering not making things better at all.
"Are you alright, Chisato?"
Chisato stopped giggling to herself before giving a nod.
"The plane hasn't taken off yet, so I'm better than ever. Was there something- eep!"
Takina had leant in, brushing aside Chisato's hair as their faces got closer and closer.
"H-hang on, Takina! W-we're in public, and isn't it a bit early for this kind of-"
*press*
Chisato was all but struck dumb, only able to make an indecipherable squeak as Takina pushed aside her own hair, pressing their foreheads together. Their eyes were locked, neither of them able to look away before Takina broke the silence.
"I think you might have a fever."
"U-uh, maybe, but before that, uh…"
Chisato covered her mouth with the back of her hand, barely able to mutter out a complete sentence in a hushed yet flustered tone.
"Personal space? P-please…"
Takina's eyebrows raised as a look of realization swept across her face accompanied by a blush just as powerful as Chisato's. As they broke eye contact, Takina was only able to mutter out one word before both of them locked their gazes to the floor in front of them.
"Sorry."
"It's fine, it just surprised me. That's all."
After a few minutes where neither of them said a word, the engines roared to life, taking them into the air. Takina found herself distracted, her embarrassment being replaced by a sense of wonder as she stared at the ground rapidly disappearing beneath them.
"You glad you took the window seat now?"
Takina turned to see a smug grin coming from Chisato before rolling her eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, fine. I admit it, I'm glad that you forced me to take the window seat."
While purchasing the tickets, Takina and Chisato had argued over who would take the window seat and the aisle. Takina insisted on taking the aisle as she said that it was safer in the event of a crash, only changing her mind when Kurumi asked her if she would rather Chisato die in the crash.
"I'm curious though, why's it different now?"
Takina raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, when we do missions, we use stuff like helicopters and planes all the time."
Takina thought for a moment before giving a shrug.
"I guess it's easier to enjoy these kinds of things when you're not worried about getting shot at."
Chisato let out a loud belly laugh, clutching her sides as she kicked at the air in front of her (they were in business class and there was enough space between the seats for this).
"Pfft, ahahaha! Was that a joke I just heard? Are you sure that you're the real Takina?"
Takina grinned at this over the top reaction before feigning annoyance.
"Oh, come on. Even I know how to loosen up."
"And who's that thanks too?"
Takina looked back at Chisato to see a wide, overly innocent smile on her face. Breathing a sigh with frustration mingled with amusement, Takina spoke in a resigned tone.
"That would be you."
Chisato covered her mouth with her hands while giggling into them and kicking her feet (a gesture that Takina would never admit that she found adorable) before seeming to remember something and reaching into her bag.
"Need something?"
"Yeah. I remember packing everything I needed…"
Takina rolled her eyes. The 2 of them had gotten ready in a scramble in order to make it to the flight on time. Well, the more accurate thing to say would be that Takina had gotten ready in a scramble as Chisato had packed her bag with almost nothing, deciding instead to send the rest of her things with the others.
"I bet you wish you'd done what I did, hm?"
Takina turned away, making an irritated noise. Sure, she had spent about an hour making sure that she had packed everything she needed in addition to another half hour checking her baggage, but that wasn't her fault!
"Shut up, Chisato."
The seatbelt symbol turned off and Takina looked out the window, becoming immediately distracted.
"Look, Chisato. Doesn't that cloud look like a poodle?"
Takina waited for a few moments only to get no response. She looked over at Chisato who still seemed to be looking around in her bag.
"Chisato?"
Chisato flinched before looking up with an apologetic smile.
"Ah. Sorry about that. What were you saying?"
"Doesn't that cloud look like a poodle?"
When Takina turned around, however, she found that the cloud had either dissipated or been turned into something incomprehensible.
"Huh. I guess it does."
Takina gave Chisato a slightly confused look as she leaned past her to look out the window from the aisle seat.
"Is something wrong, Chisato?"
That's when Takina noticed that Chisato's skin seemed to be oddly pale. In addition, her hand felt cold as it brushed past her thigh and her face seemed to be sweaty, glistening in the sun.
"Huh? Oh, I just forgot my motion sickness meds, heh."
Chisato gave a weak laugh before slumping back into her seat. Seeing this, Takina reached into her own bag, pulling out a box of pills.
"I've got some you can use."
Chisato lit up as she began to reach over.
"Really?! I guess wasting 2 hours to prepare isn't such a bad thing after all!"
An irritated expression immediately formed on Takina's face as she pulled her hand back, eliciting a confused look from Chisato.
"What are you doing?"
"Remember to ask politely with a 'please', ok?"
Chisato blinked twice before continuing with a shaky grin.
"Ehehe, very funny, Takina! Now, if you excuse me-"
Chisato tried to snatch it again only for Takina to again pull her hand away at the last second.
"C'mon, just hand it over!"
"All you have to do is say 'please'. Is that so hard?"
"Just give it to me already!"
Whether it be because of Chisato's weakened condition or dumb luck, it was fairly easy for Takina to keep the bottle away from Chisato. Takina felt a strange sense of glee welling up inside of her as Chisato's cries became more and more desperate.
"P-please… Can I have the bottle, T-Takina?"
Takina's eyes went wie and her mouth opened in surprise. Between Chisato's renewed sound of desperation mingled with defeat and humiliation, a feeling that Takina hadn't experienced often before crept into her mind: a feeling that she couldn't quite describe due to the lack of 'education' that Lycoris received on this topic.
"I-I said please already, so could you…"
"Ah, right."
Takina handed over the bottle, her mind filled with a strange mixture of confusion, excitement, and embarrassment. She was snapped out of her trance by a tap on the shoulder as she turned to see an indignant Chisato with a furrowed brow and a pout.
"You really loved to see me defenseless like that, hm?"
And that's when the realization hit Takinia like a truck, the meaning of what she was feeling finally clicking which caused her cheeks to burn bright red as she mumbled out a shaky apology.
"I-I'm so sorry, I was being selfish. I shouldn't have acted like that; it wasn't professional-"
"Woah, slow down there."
Takina stopped as Chisato began to speak in a matter-of-fact tone.
"First, you don't really need to apologize. After all…"
Chisato seemed to struggle to continue for a moment before giving a sigh.
"...I kinda brought this on myself. Second, you don't have to worry about being professional since this isn't a professional relationship."
Takina felt a tinge of embarrassment but nodded nonetheless.
"Third, we're in the kind of relationship where that kind of 'selfishness' you mentioned is completely ok. Just maybe let me know when you're feeling 'selfish'."
Takina went bright red but Chisato continued for whatever reason, seemingly having something more important to do than teasing Takina.
"And by the way, if you're still feeling apologetic, then…"
Now it was Chisato's turn to blush as she extended her hand out to Takina who stared at it for a few seconds before Chisato clarified:
"I'm still feeling a little bit unwell, but I think I might feel a bit better if you held my hand for a bit."
A look of realization hit Takina before she spoke in a slightly nervous tone, her voice shaking as she spoke.
"In that case…"
Takina's blush intensified before she took Chisato's hand, their fingers interlocking as they shared the armrest.
"Is this much ok?"
Chisato looked at their interlocked hands before giving a few quick nods and a smile.
"Mhm! This is perfect!"
They stayed like that, their fingers intertwined as Takina tried and failed to distract herself with the clouds. Eventually, Chisato let go as she stood up.
"Hm?"
Chisato simply gestured to the bathroom. After a few minutes, she came back to find that Takina's arm was no longer on the arm rest. Upon seeing her return, Takina muttered out a brief explanation.
"You seemed better, so you don't need to hold my hand, right?"
Chisato stayed seated, taking her time buckling her seatbelt before speaking in a somewhat shy but also playful voice.
"I don't need to, but…"
Takina let out a gasp as Chisato reached past the arm rest, her fingers brushing over Takina's thigh before she found Takina's hand and took it in her own with a smile, placing it back on the arm rest.
"...how about I do it anyway?"
Takina's cheeks burned as she gave a quick nod.
"Of course, you can…"
They stayed like that for the rest of the flight.