Dating is uncharted territory for Rin and she's a mess. She just hopes Nadeshiko doesn't notice.
Rin has a problem. It's a small, infinitesimally, insignificant problem, not even worth mentioning if she's being entirely truthful. But it's still a problem nonetheless. What kind of problem is it? Simple.
Her girlfriend is too cute.
Granted, as far as problems go, it's as first world as you can get and in any other case, it's more of a nice bonus that comes along with dating the literal personification of cotton candy. Really, it only becomes an issue for Rin when her girlfriend uses (inadvertently) that same cotton candy personality to drag them into going along with whatever whim has caught her fancy.
Rin-chan, let's go get ice cream! It's the middle of January but why not? Hey, Rin-chan, did you know they opened a puppy cafe all the way on the other side of town can we go check it out, can we, pleeeease? Sure thing. Rin-chan, do you wanna go camping in Nagano a week before finals? Absolutely.
That last one is the reason Rin finds herself after school dragging two foldable chairs, a portable burner and an outdoor blanket to the dirt courtyard behind the school. Because while Nagano is out of the question, her girlfriend still somehow manages to convince her that the next best way to get some R&R in before the finals is to go backyard camping. Backyard. Camping.
The outdoor purist in her shudders with no small amount of self-loathing, but her girlfriend had been insistent. And then she did that pouting thing with her entire face and cheeks, the one that made her look like like some upset pink chipmunk and well, Rin pretty much had to say yes at that point.
It wasn't always this way, Rin thinks, a tad hopelessly as she plods ever forward. I used to be able to say no to her. Used to. What happened?
"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiin-chan!"
Right. Dating happened.
"Hey," Rin pants in way of greeting, not even noticing the smile creeping its way on her face at the sight of her girlfriend rushing over to her like an overeager terrier high on sugar. She lets the chairs fall into an unceremonious pile at her feet, savoring the feeling of sweet release in her liberated shoulders. "I brought the stuff."
Her girlfriend positively beams. "I brought the snacks!" she says in a way that means she brought the snacks and only the snacks and absolutely nothing else.
Rin glances at Nadeshiko's junk food laden arms just to make sure because making coffee with just the grounds and the burner seems pretty impossible by her standards. "What about the kettle?"
Her girlfriend pauses, glances down at her arms sans hot water kettle. Her expression turns into one big horrified 'O' of despair.
"Oh no!" It's like watching a child whose ice cream scoop has just fallen to the ground. "I forgot it back in the club room!"
She looks so comically disheartened that Rin opens her mouth before she can stop herself. "It's okay. I'll go get it."
Instantly, her girlfriend perks up, her earlier dejection forgotten in a flash. "Oh, would you? Thanks a bunch, Rin-chan!" She moves forward and gives her a peck on the cheek before darting back with a shy giggle. "You're the best!"
Rin is still trying to get used to the whole physical affection part of dating, so she thinks she keeps her cool reasonably well. Exceptionally well, in fact. She just nods once, twice, turns around and begins walking robotically back to the school. So cool. Cool as ice.
It's only when she's back in the privacy of the school building does she bury her face in her hands.
くぁwせdrftgyふじこlp!
Too cute. Too. Cute. It's legitimately dangerous how cute her girlfriend is, and it's getting to the point that Rin's starting to feel bad for Nadeshiko. Because while Nadeshiko is vibrant, outgoing and exciting, Rin is… not. Nadeshiko wears her feelings on her sleeve. Rin wears the emotionally expressive equivalent of a wet fish on hers.
At this rate, I'm going to be dumped for being the world's most unexciting girlfriend. The thought sends shivers down her spine before she resolves herself. She lifts her head, a determined fire in her eyes. When Rin gets back, she's going to be the most charming, most engaging girlfriend for Nadeshiko because that's what she deserves. A charming, engaging girlfriend. With a decisive nod, she sets off to the club room, eager to put her plan into action.
"That was quick!" Her girlfriend remarks when Rin comes back. She's finishing putting the finishing touches on their backyard camp, and she takes the kettle with a grateful smile, fingers dancing just for a second on the back of Rin's hand. "One cream and one sugar, right?"
Rin opens her mouth, ready to spew out the charm and effortless charisma, and then stops. "I never told you how I take my coffee," she says, feeling ridiculously touched at the small gesture. And then she mentally kicks herself because, hello, charm and charisma, remember what that was like?
Her girlfriend grins cheekily. "Secret talent." She taps the side of her head. "Limitless capacity for all things Rin-chan likes."
More like the powers of attentive observation. Rin doesn't even know how Nadeshiko likes her own coffee! Disgruntled, she sits down in her chair and wraps the blanket around her. After a second, she takes out the book she'd been reading earlier from her backpack and begins flipping through it. Maybe some inspiration will pop up somewhere between the lines.
Her girlfriend busies herself with making the coffee, humming a cheery little tune under her breath. She pauses and then sneezes three times in rapid succession into the crook of her arm. "Brrrr!"
Rin shoots her a sympathetic look. Even under the blanket, she can feel the chill all the way down to her bones and her girlfriend is wearing just a thermal coat and a scarf. Maybe the backyard camp wasn't such a good idea.
Suddenly, Rin sits up straight. What is she thinking? The backyard camp is actually a brilliant idea! With the cold comes the perfect opportunity, if not to be suave and sophisticated, then to at least be a thoughtful girlfriend.
And to maybe... cuddle… a bit. Just a bit.
Rin clears her throat. "Kinda chilly today, isn't it?" she asks and then winces at her very-subtle-not-obvious-at-all approach. Nice.
Her girlfriend nods vigorously, sniffling again. "It really is!" she says before her eyes suddenly light up in realization. "Oh, are you cold, Rin-chan? Hang on!" Before Rin can say anything, her girlfriend unwinds her puffy scarf and throws it around Rin's neck. "There! How about now?"
...Ooooookay, so maybe not obvious enough. It's a sweet gesture and all but the outcome is the complete opposite of what Rin's aiming for. "Er… yeah. Thanks. But I kinda thought…we could… instead." She holds open her blanket, hoping that her girlfriend will take the hint.
Nadeshiko tilts her head before her eyes light up again. "Oh, duh! You can't read like that with your fingers all cold." She takes off one of her gloves and slips it over Rin's hand. "Here you go!"
…
How? How? The plan was foolproof and yet somehow, her girlfriend managed to foil it just by being sweet and attentive. How is that even possible? There's a higher power out laughing at Rin right now, she's sure of it.
"N-no, that's not what I- what about your other hand?" she settles on asking instead. A glove on the one hand isn't going to be much use to either of them if the other hand just freezes instead.
With a grin, her girlfriend reaches out with her gloveless hand and wraps it around Rin's own. "I got you covered!" She gives their entwined hands a wiggle and giggles. "Get it? Got you covered? Eheheh."
All Rin can do is stare. And stare. And stare some more. Her free hand slowly reaches up and she gives herself the most discouraged facepalm of her entire life. That's it. She gives up.
"Rin-chan?"
"くぁwせdrftgyふじこlp"
"Um, w-what?"
Rin just sighs and lifts her head up. It was a stupid plan anyway. "Do you wanna cuddle, maybe?" she asks bluntly.
Her girlfriend has one comical second of confusion before her eyes widen in realization. "Oh. Oh! That's what you meant!" She turns away, but Rin can still plainly see the smile on her face, a cross between being flustered and pleased. "So bold, so forward!" she says, playing coy as she covers her mouth, mock-scandalized. "I never expected that from you, Rin-chan!"
"Forget it, changed my mind," Rin deadpans, closing the blanket.
"No, wait, I wanna cuddle!" she cries and nearly bowls Rin over as she all but leaps into her arms. It takes some maneuvering but after a brief struggle, Nadeshiko pops her head out of the blanket, just underneath Rin's. "Ahhhhh," she sighs, content. They look like some bizarre two-headed totem pole covered by a blanket, but her girlfriend doesn't seem to care in the slightest. "Comfy at last…"
Rin wishes she can say the same. There's an elbow jammed right into her stomach and that's definitely a cramp developing in her neck. But she keeps quiet and smiles faintly instead and pulls Nadeshiko just a bit closer. "Welcome back to the Secret Society, private."
"Good to be back in the fold, cap'n!"
"Okay, two puns in one day is pushing it."
"Mueheheheh," she chuckles smugly and snuggles deeper into her arms. The cover of the book catches her attention and she asks "Whatcha reading?"' She scans the cover, noting the picture of the UFO on the front and her expression turns wary. "It… it's not a scary story, is it?"
"Not really. It's mostly just stories about crop circles and farmer's losing their cows in them." She reassuringly rubs her thumb over her girlfriend's hand and feels her relax. "Do you want to read it together?"
Her girlfriend thinks it over for a second and shakes her head. "Could you read it out loud instead?" At Rin's quizzical glance, she elaborates. "I like listening to the sound of your voice. It's nice. And soft. And you make everything sound really cool because you're just… really cool, Rin-chan. Like… super cool." She buries her face in the blanket, having said too much. The only thing visible is the embarrassed pink of her ears. "I'm going to stop talking so you can read now, 'kay."
Funnily enough, Rin doesn't feel very cool at the moment. In fact, all she feels is very warm, warm enough that the cold wind biting against her cheeks doesn't even register in her mind.
My girlfriend is too cute.
And I'm super cool.
"Well, when you put it like that…" she mutters, trying to keep back the silly, wobbly smile threatening to spill over her mouth. She has an image to keep up after all. Her girlfriend pokes an eye out and smiles for her as Rin clears her throat and begins.
"Chapter Three: Questionable Encounters of the Third Kind. So you think aliens may be the cause of your cows tipping over, what do you do? Step one, let them. If an extraterrestrial being traveled light years from a galaxy or two away just to tip your cow over, the very least you can do is humor them. Step two…"
AN: Oh boi here I go again doing dis to myself ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ