Their relationship grows stronger with every passing second!
Their cuteness! It's too powerful!
The cinema, a casual place for a couple to go on a date and experience joy in the presence of each other. It's brilliant for developing bonds further and proving to each other that they're comfortable in an environment like a cinema. A perfect way to experience a cinema date is to share a bag of popcorn and a large drink, rolling the dice on accidentally touching each other's hands when they reach for it, a romantic and somewhat humourous moment that is shared between both parties!
Darjeeling had been informed of such a date by one of her underclassmen. She looked forward to the closeness she would have with Kay, sharing a bag of popcorn. Sharing a drink didn't sound exciting to Darjeeling, she knew Kay was going to get a cola and she didn't like tea as much as Darjeeling, so that wasn't considered as much.
As Darjeeling had arrived earlier at the cinema than Kay, she sorted out their tickets to the screening and sat in wait for her late-but-not-actually-late girlfriend. A few minutes later, Kay made her appearance and an especially surprising one at that. Kay speedily wrapped her arms around the unsuspecting yellow-haired girl, eliciting a quiet squeak and making Darjeeling almost drop her phone.
"Hello Kay," Darjeeling sighed, pocketing her phone.
"Good afternoon Darj. Good day so far?"
"I would say so, yes." Darjeeling stood up from her chair, "oh, by the way... Because I had purchased the tickets, could you be a dear and get the snacks?" Darjeeling's eyes were wide and sparkly, much like a puppy's that was begging. Finding it impossible to say no to such cuteness, Kay heartily agreed.
"Yes. It would be my honour, m'lady," Kay clutched a fist and proudly walked to the counter that sold the food and drinks. Chuckling to herself, Darjeeling stood to one side and looked over their tickets. Kay told Darjeeling to just pick a random film and not let her know until they actually sat down and started watching it. For some reason, she liked the idea of being surprised.
Darjeeling worried over what movie to go and see for three hours in the morning. While she was struggling with which movie to watch, she put on British music to try and calm her senses. It didn't really work, much to her disappointment. In the end, she settled on a non-descript Second World War movie based on the American tank advancements in Germany. The title was 'Ferocity' or a word along those lines, it definitely started with an 'F'. It seemed relatively topical to Kay's school and it genuinely did look like a good film from the reviews and trailers.
"Hey, Darj, come here a sec," Kay called over to her, sorting something out with the person at the counter. Darjeeling walked over to her girlfriend and stood close to her.
"What's the matter?" Leaning towards Kay, Darjeeling inspected the items that Kay was meddling with.
"What do you want to eat?"
"We could share a large popcorn?"
"That's a much better response than what I was expecting, I love it. Let's go with that then, sweet or salted?" Kay turned towards Darjeeling with a raised eyebrow, like she was already prejudiced against her decision.
"Sweet? I've never thought that salt goes with popcorn, I always believed that it was sweet rather than savoury," a hint of confusion appeared on the yellow-haired girls' face, and she turned towards the boy at the counter. He seemed to be patiently waiting for the two girls to make a final decision.
"Sweet it'll be - just like you, and for a drink?" Kay watched the boy take out a large popcorn bag and start filling it.
"Oh, a tea please," The confusion on Darjeeling's face was replaced with a small smile, happily dreaming of having her third cup of tea for the day.
"How did I know you were going to say that?" Chuckling, the Sherman commander turned towards the boy and ordered the popcorn, the tea and a large coke for herself. He tapped in the order and stated how much it would cost. A deep sigh escaped Kay's lips as she brought out a card, then swiped it over the machine to pay. "All for love, huh?"
"You won't regret it," Darjeeling waited with Kay to collect their drinks, and a few moments later they could take them and move on so the next customers could get their food and drinks.
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say you got tickets to something... British?" Kay took the popcorn in her arms as Darjeeling carried both their drinks.
"You'd be incorrect in thinking that, but it's from the other side of the Atlantic"
"Ah, American? So is the other part... historical? Let me think, one of the world wars?"
"Are you guessing, or did you check the times before coming here? Also, the tickets are in my left jacket pocket, could you take them out for me?"
"Sure," Kay adjusted the popcorn so she could hold it in her left arm, then reached into her girlfriend's left jacket pocket to retrieve the tickets, "would you believe me if I said it's actually the first one?"
"It'd be difficult, but I would,"
"It's the first one," handing the tickets over to the 'ticket collector', the two girls watched as the tickets were marked and they were allowed to go to the correct screening. "I'm excited about it, I heard Naomi and Alisa talk about it. They invited me to watch it but I turned them down."
"Hm? How come?"
"I was going to invite you to go see it, but you beat me to the invitation," laughing to herself, a light pink hue arose on Kay's cheeks. The two of them entered the assigned screen to the movie and quietly continued up to their seats. Once they sat down, they made themselves comfortable and Darjeeling gave Kay her drink.
"I'm sorry that I cut off that opportunity,"
"Don't apologise for it, we're here now and that's all I could ask for. Either way, we're together," Kay softly held the British commander's hand and gently squeezed it. Darjeeling smiled sweetly at her and received a large grin. The grin elicited a light giggle from Darjeeling, and then she leaned her head on Kay's shoulder.
"Kay?"
"Hm? 'Sup?"
"Thank you."
Without really knowing what she was thanking her for, Kay went along with it and nodded, "You're welcome."
The trailers started, and their cinema date officially began.
~ funky time skip ~
"Ahh, that was such a good movie, it had me crying," the blonde couple walked hand-in-hand out of the cinema, happily chatting about the film.
"It was rather upsetting, wasn't it? It really opens your eyes on the war,"
"I want ice cream now," Kay pouted, swinging their linked hands between their bodies.
"Although this isn't Anzio, there is somewhere that sells Gelato," Darjeeling gripped Kay's hand and stopped the swinging, feeling like her shoulder was about to dislocate from the constant movements.
"Mmmm, soft ice cream... I'd love that," Kay was already daydreaming about the cold dessert. Darjeeling smiled warmly and took out her phone. With her free hand, she found directions to the nearest shop that sold the Italian dish. Kay suddenly became nosy and watched what her girlfriend was doing rather than watching where they were walking. Although Darjeeling was often looking ahead of her, Kay was fixated on the screen in Darjeeling's hand. The Sherman commander somehow managed to trip over nothing, but magically steadied herself before she fell on the floor.
"Are you ok there?" Darjeeling asked, an inquisitive eyebrow was raised in the direction of her blonde companion.
"Mhm, yup, fine. Totally didn't almost trip up," Kay laughed off her nervousness and embarrassment, but Darjeeling couldn't help but stifle a giggle. "How far away are we?"
"Not far, it's just down this road on the right, I've never been but the name rings a bell," squinting at her screen, Darjeeling tried to remember where she had heard the name of the cafe before. The blonde couple continued in near silence as they walked, stealing glances at each other with small smiles.
"Ah, I see it," Kay pointed at the sign outside of the shop and looked at the menu of desserts on a blackboard. Darjeeling scanned over the desserts and knew instantly what she was going to get: tea. Whether Kay was going to get something small, or large, or something for them to share, she had no idea. Kay let go of Darjeeling's hand to open the door, then motioned for her to enter first.
"I feel like 'ladies first' doesn't really apply here, huh?" awkwardly realising the situation and the pointlessness of saying 'ladies first' even if in jest, Kay held the door open for her girlfriend.
"Although it may not apply, I still appreciate it, but I feel like I may be more lady-like than you," Darjeeling quickly stepped in, a smug grin on her face from the comment she just made.
"I can't really argue with that, that's why you're in St Gloriana's and I'm not. But! There's nothin' wrong with Saunders either," Kay couldn't possibly make her point clearer, and Darjeeling fully understood it. A moment passed and both of them let out a small laugh before finding somewhere to sit down. As Darjeeling looked around, she recognised two faces that she didn't exactly expect to be in this place. However, that was when it all came together: it was those two faces that recommended this cafe to her. Maho Nishizumi and Erika Itsumi.
Maho and Darjeeling locked gazes, and they exchanged light smiles to greet each other. Kay noticed this and saw the two Kuromorimine commanders in the booth at the back of the café. Her brows furrowed, and she led her girlfriend to a booth that was on the opposite side of the shop.
"I didn't expect them to be here, I'm sorry," Darjeeling sat down on a red leather chair, with a grey table between herself and Kay.
"Neither did I, but we don't care that they're here. We're here for ice cream and a good time," Kay put on a large smile, but Darjeeling didn't reciprocate it. Darjeeling seemed like she bore an inner conflict and wasn't sure what to do. "Hey, are you ok? We can go somewhere else if they're in the way."
"No, it's fine. I'll just pretend she- they aren't there," Darjeeling breathed deeply before neatly setting her hands on the table, "shall we order?"
"Sure," Kay smiled, "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say you're going to get a tea?" The Saunders commander decided to ignore the slip-up Darjeeling made, silently hoping her strangeness wasn't caused by Maho being here. She knew they were friends, but she didn't how far their friendship went.
"Am I that predictable?" An adorable pout appeared on the lips of Darjeeling, and Kay could swear her heart skipped a beat.
"N-no, you're not predictable... just... cute- ahem!" Kay fake coughed, pounding her chest and trying to maker he cough believable. She diverted her gaze away from Darjeeling's smirking face and glanced around the cafe.
"What will you be getting? I can't really see anything on here that I would like."
"I'd feel awkward if I was the only one getting something,"
"Oh, hm," Darjeeling took a closer look at the menu in front of her, placing a slender forefinger on her chin as she decided. After a couple of seconds of waiting, Kay leaned back and looked over at the girls in black and red. They seemed deep in conversation. "Ah, that one sounds nice." Darjeeling showed Kay her menu and pointed at a peanut butter and salted caramel dish.
"Ooh, that does sound quite nice actually. I'm going for the chocolate though, can't beat chocolate," focusing now on Darjeeling, Kay tried to ignore everything else other than the girl sitting in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Maho sneaking a glance at them, probably to judge them. Darjeeling put down her menu and smiled at Kay, signalling that she was ready to order.
"Thought of what you're going to get?" Darjeeling straightened her posture and relaxed her shoulders a bit.
"Definitely, you've decided haven't you?" Kay smiled back at her companion, raising an eyebrow at her sudden back-straightening. Darjeeling nodded to her question. Kay grinned and gained the attention of one of the waitresses. Kay spoke of what they wanted and the waitress wrote it down on a notepad. Recognising the waitress as one of Darjeeling's underclassmen, she looked at the commander and saw her hiding her face behind her menu. Kay giggled, then thanked the waitress.
"I didn't think she worked here, that's embarrassing," Darjeeling sighed, rubbing her temples.
"Heh, you thinking she's going to talk about us to her friends?"
"No, That's the underclassmen that helped me with date suggestions," Darjeeling looked down at her hands, a pink hue rising on her cheeks. Kay couldn't help but chuckle, not rudely, but it made her happy knowing that Darjeeling makes such an effort as to ask her underclassmen for help.
A couple of minutes passed and the waitress came back with their desserts, two extravagant gelato dishes that looked mouth-wateringly delectable were placed in front them along with a cup of tea for Darjeeling. Kay almost drooled at the sight of her dessert, yet Darjeeling stayed graceful and composed.
The St Glorianas commander took the small spoon beside the bowl and dipped it into it, then took some of the peanut butter flavoured gelato with it as she raised it. She inspected it, then offered the first bite to her girlfriend.
"Hm?" Kay had already began eating, not bothering to be proper about it. She looked at the spoonful of gelato Darjeeling was offering and gulped down the chocolate dessert that was in her mouth. "Oh, sure, you making me taste test it?" Without waiting for a response, she closed her mouth around the spoon, pulled away and thought about the flavour.
"I simply just wanted to let my girlfriend have the first taste. I wasn't so sure about it and since our food palettes are relatively similar I assumed if you liked it, I might like it," Darjeeling put her spoon back into the dish and took her own spoonful, then awaited Kay's opinion on it.
"Can I have another one? Just in case, y'know?"
"It was good then, let's see," Darjeeling popped it into her mouth and focused intently on the flavouring, swallowing it and then getting another spoonful.
"Not bad?" Kay leaned forward on her elbow, digging into her chocolate dish with her spoon.
"Not bad at all," Darjeeling said in English, a warm smile now on her face. Kay couldn't help but smile too, her girlfriend was just too damn cute not to reciprocate the smile.
"Has anyone told you before that you're too damn cute?"
"Yes, you, on numerous occasions," Darjeeling offered another spoonful to Kay. She gratefully took it and made a noise that told Darjeeling it tasted good. Darjeeling's phone buzzed, a message notification appeared on her screen. She looked at it and saw that it was from Maho. Knowing that it would be suspicious if she looked up to meet the gaze of the Kuromorimine commander, Darjeeling kept her eyes on her screen and read the message.
M. Nishizumi - It was unexpected to see you here, but it was a pleasant surprise.
Darjeeling was t sure what to make of the brunette's message, it confused her and she thought about the reason why she would contact her. However, it had been a while since they had talked properly outside of Sensha-dō. Darjeeling replied vaguely, not sure whether to fully engage or focus on her date with Kay.
'Oh buggar, how could I think about another girl while I'm on a date?' Darjeeling screwed up her face and cursed herself before pocketing her phone.
"Everything alright?" Kay asked, shovelling another spoonful of chocolate gelato into her mouth, quickly nearing the end of her dish.
"Yes, everything is just... dandy," Darjeeling realised that after saying that, it was clear as day it was a blatant lie. She couldn't think about anything else at this moment other than Maho and the look she was probably giving her.
'Is this all part of a plan? To make me act up? Kay would hate it if she knew I was talking to Maho behind her back. Should I tell her the truth? No, it would ruin the date, Kay would become more paranoid of Maho than she already is. It could also spell doom for my friendship with Maho, I've known her since the first year of juniors and I couldn't just let it perish like this. What do I do?'
"Darj, you sure? You don't look well," Kay placed a hand on Darjeeling's left forearm. The yellow-haired commander shook herself out of her own thoughts and pressed her palm against her forehead. She was heating up.
"Sorry, I need to go to the bathroom momentarily, I'll be right back," Darjeeling stood up out of the booth and walked towards the ladies' lavatories, pushing open the door and then disappearing inside. Kay tried to say something but no words formed. Kay glowered, overthinking the events that just passed. She looked over to where Maho and Erika were sitting, but only saw Erika staring at her phone.
~ holy fuck ~
Darjeeling hurriedly entered the bathroom, stepping in front of the mirror and gripping the edge of the sink. She was breathing heavily and she had no idea why. She undid the top button on her shirt and closed her eyes, trying to control her breathing. The door could be heard opening, and Darjeeling set to cleaning herself up. Peering through the mirror to see who entered, Darjeeling's eyes widened.
"Darjeeling, we need to talk," Maho let the door close before stepping closer. She checked the stalls for other people before continuing. No one else was in here. The older Nishizumi sister stepped closer to Darjeeling.
"Talk about what? How you're interrupting my date with Kay?"
"Is that what it is? It looks more like you pushing your own boundaries to suit the needs of that energetic, loud, obnoxious Saunders commander," Maho kept closing the distance between herself and Darjeeling. She was a little taller than Darjeeling, and it made it ever so slightly more intimidating. The St Glorianas commander stood her ground and clenched her fists, not letting herself get thrown.
"I wanted to come here, I felt it would be fun for both Kay and I," Darjeeling faced Maho head-on, "and just to let you know, she isn't obnoxious. Yes, she can be loud but it can also be endearing,"
Maho kept stepping closer, and Darjeeling had retreated into the cold tiled wall of the bathroom. Maho held her right arm against the wall beside Darjeeling's head, keeping her from quickly escaping.
"Is that right? And you love her?"
"I..." looking back, she had never once thought about something like that. She liked Kay, a lot, but did she love her? She promised that she would make memories with her so she had to commit to her promise. She couldn't lie to Kay. She couldn't lie to her girlfriend. "Yes, I do, I love Kay."
"I see." Maho looked into Darjeeling's eyes, her face creeping closer to hers. Darjeeling felt her breath on her lips, it smelled like vanilla. It was preferable to chocolate, vanilla was one of her favourite flavours of tea. Darjeeling's head started spinning and her breath quickened. Her mind raced and she couldn't focus on a single thing, Maho was getting too close.
That was when she felt her soft lips against her own, and Maho's left hand caressing her cheek. Darjeeling didn't know what to do, she froze, Maho just kissed her!?
"Darj?"
Darjeeling recognised that voice, it was Kay's. Guilt and regret filled her mind as she ducked under Maho's arm. Before she could do anything, the door had already closed, Kay had left.
"Kay!" Darjeeling stumbled as she left the bathroom, throwing open the door and chasing after her girlfriend. She wasn't in the café. Darjeeling looked outside and didn't see her. She opened the front door and ran outside, looking left and right down the road.
The Saunders commander was nowhere to be seen.
A/N: this took way too long to update/upload, I apologise immensely for this! Expect more chapters soon.
I hope everyone is coping well with COVID-19, please stay safe everyone. Remember social distancing!