The Best Choice
By: Escarlata
Precure belongs to Toei, plot is mine
~o~o~o~o~o~
Clear skies and a nice breeze were proof of a beautiful start to Summer. Nagisa was at the main entrance waiting for Honoka. A teacher had called her best friend for some lab issues, the nervous smirk on Honoka's face were enough to know that she made some mess over there. Again. Nagisa always chuckled at knowing the mad scientist side of Honoka. The girl was smart enough to blow up even the simplest experiment and still made it a success, Nagisa was always amazed at all the adventures that the other girls in the science club told her. Honoka was amazing, Nagisa could only smile at the image of Honoka smiling and making a mess in the room.
The last time, her best friend had to pay for lab equipment repairs. This time it could be the same case.
Some students greeted Nagisa from afar on their way back home and the girl waved back in response.
A deep sigh left Nagisa's mouth. That was a really nice afternoon.
She was ready to grab her phone and waste time playing games, Mepple was still asleep. But the athlete didn't have time to take her phone out of her bag, a voice calling her by her last name made her turn her head.
"Misumi, good afternoon!" Fujimura Shougo greeted her with a kind smile.
Nagisa smiled too, she couldn't help it. "Senpai! Good afternoon!" The guy stood next to her. "Didn't you have any activities with your team either?" She asked her with a relaxed pose. For some reason, she didn't feel nervous with the second-year boy around her like before.
"I don't, but I have a ton of homework waiting for me," Fujimura said with the same nice smile.
"Good luck with that, senpai," said Nagisa. She noticed her own usual mood, it wasn't normal to be so relaxed with him so close to her, Nagisa's confusion lasted only three seconds, Fujimura kept talking to her.
"How about you?"
"I have no practice today and, yes, I have a ton of homework too," she answered with a deep and tired sigh and then smiled at him with a big smile. "But I have Honoka with me!"
"Lucky you," the soccer boy chuckled. "And where is Honoka?"
"A teacher called her, something about a... Lab issue," Nagisa scratched her right cheek with a nervous smile, he made the same face but with his hand on the back of his head.
"Oh, I see. She..."
"Yes. She did it again."
There was no need to mention any other details on the subject, they both knew Honoka and her mad scientist side. A moment of silence and then both students laughed at the mental image of Honoka being scolded again, with no chance to say anything back, just resist.. Nagisa took a moment to look at the guy in front of her. Nagisa really liked his laugh, his smile, his calm face and everything about the guy. She sighed silently.
"Take care of her please, she surely will be upset after being scolded."
"I'll do, don't worry senpai."
Fujimura looked at Nagisa and his smile widened. "I don't want to be nosy but ... I'm so happy that you're both together."
"Excuse me?"
His words made Nagisa jump in surprise. The boy laughed.
"I mean ... You two have a lot in common, despite the opposing personalities of the two of you," he said and crossed her arms. "You two are hardworking girls at the things that you both love."
"I can't deny that," Nagisa replied, suddenly flustered.
"She never limits herself around you, right?"
Nagisa's answer was quick. "Never, she always talks and rants and get angry if she needs to... And I must stop her if a fool bothers her." Nagisa nervously smiled.
"I know what do you mean," he chuckled. "You two really love to share time together, right?"
"Yes, we do," Nagisa sighed. A quick thought of Honoka and herself studying, watching movies, eating takoyaki at Tako Cafe, doing nothing, walking side by side and texting before bed time every night, made her smile. "We share a lot of things." She was realizing that.
"And you feel comfortable choosing her every time, right?" he asked, still smiling.
"You talk about us as... As if you could see us."
"Misumi, everyone can see that," Fujimura laughed again. "And ... Every time I meet Honoka, she can only talk about you."
Nagisa blushed. "I..."
"She really cares about you," and the soccer boy kept his kind smile. "She really lov─..."
"Me too!" Nagisa almost yelled her answer. She was still blushing. The words that he was about to say, were words she suddenly wanted to hear from Honoka... Not him.
Fujimura put his hand on Nagisa's head, just a friendly gesture, a gentle caress. "Take care of her please, she is my little sister."
"I'll do..." Nagisa gulped.
What the heck just happened!? She couldn't believe it! Did her senpai make her confess? Did he make her confess her feelings for Honoka and not for him? Did he know something or...?
Nagisa panicked. "I... I just..." Her face felt like it was on fire, her heart was beating fast, very fast. "I... I can't believe this!" The poor thing covered her face with both hands.
"I'm sorry if my words bothered you, I thought you were aware of all this." Fujimura was embarrassed but... Misumi's reactions told him everything. She felt the same feelings as Honoka.
"Oh, geez! I just... I mean... Ugh!" Nagisa sighed very hard and rubbed her face to calm herself. "I… thought I… liked… I…" Nagisa grunted and looked at him. "I thought I liked someone else..."
Fujimura just smiled. "I see..."
"When Honoka is with me... Everything feels... Better." Nagisa confessed.
"I'm happy to hear it."
"So she... Honoka, really...?"
"Yes. I know her, she is my childhood friend after all. She already chose."
They were silent for long seconds... And Nagisa panicked again. "Oh my gosh, what should I say to her now!?" She began to ruffle her own hair. Her panic was cute in Fujimura's opinion, he could understand Honoka's fascination with Nagisa's gestures. She was cute!
"Just act normal, Honoka will kill me if she knows I poked my nose into her affairs", Fujimura smiled nervously, he also knew about Honoka's mood after all.
"I don't think I can act like always after knowing this," Nagisa sighed, her face still on fire. A sudden movement inside her pocket told her that Mepple was awake... Did he hear everything? She grunted. "Geez!"
Fujimura noticed something from afar and took two steps back. "I'll see you later, Misumi!" And he ran.
"Huh? Senpai! Where are you going? Senpai!"
"By the way! Thanks, Misumi!"
"Thanks for what!"
He ran away laughing.
A blushing Nagisa scratched her cheek in confusion and then she could hear some light steps. Honoka was there. Nagisa turned around and looked at Honoka walking towards her. Nagisa's first impulse was to act nervous and even uncomfortable, but Honoka's gaze told her that she wasn't in a good mood. Completely forgetting her own nervousness, Nagisa met Honoka and her first impulse was to take her hand and smile tenderly at her.
"Hey..."
Honoka gave her a little and quick smile, "hey," and then she sighed.
"Wanna talk about that?"
"Yes," she replied and allowed herself to be led by her partner to the main path to the train station.
"I'm all ears."
"Our teacher said that he was going to ban me from the lab after school hours if I caused another explosion," Honoka complained as she squeezed Nagisa's hand. "It's unfair, I don't put anything on flames... This time."
Nagisa almost laughed, instead she just smiled. "What happened at your last science club activity?"
"We were making a mechanical arm with a programmed AI and a voice detector. The hand will make gestures in response to your words," every word about the project made Honoka's smile grow bigger. "For example, if you say 'Hello', the hand will wave to you or if you are rude, then it can respond rudely."
"Cool!" Nagisa laughed.
"The project is still in process, but we want to be ready for the Cultural Festival," Honoka finally smiled. "Yuka senpai suggested a program that allows the machine to play rock-paper-scissors," her eyes sparkled with sincere emotion. "This is really fun!"
Honoka's happy face made Nagisa happy.
"And what was the problem?"
"I overdid it with the 3D printer... Just a little," she growled, "Maybe a lot, but I didn't think the printer would be damaged and shut down when the teacher used it this morning for his class. He called everyone and the girls of the science club tried to cover me, but I confessed my fault and... I have this," she showed her a receipt of payment.
Nagisa gave it a quick look and smiled. "I see," Nagisa pressed her forehead to Honoka's head. "You must pay it, right?"
"Yes. I will," money wasn't a problem for the Yukishiro family, their parents were always surprised and had fun listening to her stories., "but I don't want to be banned from the lab."
"Asking you to be more careful is no fun for you, my dear Honoka," laughed the lacrosse player.
"Yes, but I must be careful now. I will," the scientist turned her head to look at her best friend. "Thank you Nagisa, I feel better."
"I'm with you, never forget that."
"Okay."
Nagisa sighed. Her partner's face was very close to hers. The girl gasped, Honoka's beautiful eyes were looking at her. She didn't want to, but her cheeks turned red and hot, her heart was beating hard and fast.
Honoka noticed Nagisa's reactions and also blushed. "Nagisa?" the dark haired girl could feel her nervous demeanor.
"I... Just..." Nagisa remembered her senpai's words: Honoka liked her.
"Are you okay?" Honoka was still nervous, but she was more concerned for Nagisa's well-being.
No, Nagisa wasn't well, she was about to have a panic attack. "I can't believe this!" the girl screamed and led Honoka to an area with more privacy. Honoka followed her without asking anything or letting go of her hand. An alley between two buildings became their hiding place. Nagisa stopped and sighed, then she faced Honoka.
When was the last time she tried to open her heart to her partner? It wasn't difficult to remember it. It happened when Honoka's parents asked her to go live in Paris with them. On that occasion, Nagisa couldn't tell her face to face that she didn't want her to leave, she didn't have the courage to tell her that she would miss her very much, much less was she able to confess that she would feel incomplete without her. Instead, Nagisa apologized for her first insensitive response, then babbled a bit and then invited Honoka to play catch ball with her for the first time.
Even if Nagisa couldn't tell Honoka anything, her friend understood her, she could understand her silence like always and...
She loved that.
Would the same happen this time?
Nagisa hoped that was the case, because her tongue wasn't working properly to say anything. She let her own body speak for her.
Honoka's eyes widened when she felt Nagisa's warm embrace. "Nagisa..."
"Let me stay like this a little longer... Please."
The scientist gulped but she hugged her too. "You can stay like this as long as you want."
"Thanks."
Nagisa sighed, Honoka too. Nagisa's hands were clinging to Honoka's sweater. Honoka gently stroked her friend's back and hair. They were silent for a long time, ten minutes or so. Both girls seemed to enjoy the close embrace and the warmth that both provoked with their physical contact. None of them moved an inch from their place.
Honoka had her eyes closed, but she opened them again when she heard a sigh from Nagisa in her ear. The girl smiled. "I like this."
"Me too."
Nagisa took a deep breath. "Say, Honoka..."
"Huh?"
"Wanna stay with me like this?"
Honoka tried to face her, but Nagisa tightened her embrace and didn't allow her to move. "Nagisa..."
"I... I choose you."
Honoka felt as if something had hit her head, her heart beat harder and her arms clung to her partner's body. What was she trying to tell her? Honoka didn't have to think about it too much. She could understand the way Nagisa clung to her body, she could interpret her tone of voice, her silence and her deep breathing. Honoka pulled her closer to her body with both arms.
"Can we...?" The incomplete question was asked by a desperate Nagisa
"Yes, we can."
"Great. Now let's go home and─"
Without further words, Honoka pulled away from her, grabbed her cheeks with both hands, and kissed her. Nagisa closed her eyes and kissed her back.
They had already chosen.
FIN.
