AN: In this AU, Chika only knows Kanan, and You only knows Mari.
Chika was never one to sit around. For as long as Kanan had known her, the ginger was always the active type, a girl who ran though the sand and splashed through the waves with careless abandon. Her actions weren't constrained by discipline. Her movement was free and fun, the girl following her heart to the pattern of anything goes.
She wasn't one to, say, lie listlessly on her bed, idly scrolling through unfunny memes and love quotes on her phone as the afternoon sun warmed her room.
And yet, that was how Kanan found her.
"Yo, Chika-chan. Your sisters said you were up here lazing around. Wanna hang out?"
Without taking her eyes off her phone, even as disinterested as they were, Chika gave a halfhearted shrug. "Nah..."
Kanan frowned, her curiosity giving way to concern. "Chika-chan, what's wrong?"
The ginger sighed. "I'm lonely. I want a girlfriend."
"Huh? What brought this on?"
"Dunno. I just had a dream the other night, then when I went out I suddenly felt like my life was incomplete without someone special in it."
"Chika-chan..."
"So yeah. I want a girlfriend. But I know I could never get one. So now I'm sad and depressed and stuck in the mindset of wanting something I could never hope to achieve."
"You could date me," suggested Kanan flippantly.
Chika snorted. "Yeah right. Like you could handle another girlfriend."
"If I can handle two, what's a third?"
"Keep in mind your two girlfriends are dating each other too."
"Come on, join the polycule."
"Your ego doesn't need to get any bigger."
"Hmph. You'll join my harem one day Chika-chan."
The ginger rolled her eyes. "One day I'll take you up on that offer and you'll feel terrible when you have to reject me."
Kanan sighed. "Well at least let me get you out of your room. You've been here all day."
"I dunno. I've already booked the rest of today for pointless yearning. Gotta say, it's going well so far," she said wryly.
The blunette frowned. "Chika-chan, get out of bed or I'll carry you out myself. And it'll be a princess carry."
"You wouldn't," replied Chika with a noticeable timbre of discomfort.
"Try me," threatened Kanan.
A few beats passed in silence as the two battled wills through their staring contest.
Eventually, Chika sighed. "Fine. At least step outside so I can put on some pants."
As Kanan waited in the hallway, she made a resolution. She would get Chika a girlfriend.
Mari leaned casually against the side of the building, idling the time away on her phone as she waited for the inevitable. And sure enough, as she reached a new high score in School Idle Festival, she caught sight of another girl rushing away from school with tears in her eyes and sniffles in her nose.
She slipped her phone into her pocket and started walking to where the girl had come from, to the old cherry tree in the back corner of the schoolyard. It wasn't long before she found a familiar brunette, still engulfed in an aura of awkwardness from having gently let down another girl's feelings.
"Oh my! Look at You-chan the heartbreaker!" teased Mari, "How popular she is!"
The brunette only sighed. "Tone it down a bit, will you? I don't need people to start thinking I do this on purpose or anything."
"What, like you're not trying to add 'shameless playgirl' to your impressive list of accolades?"
"You know I'm not, knock it off already," snipped You as the familiar guilt of turning down another admirer set in.
Mari hummed in thought, before suddenly clapping her hands together as an idea set in. "Well then! To avoid having to break so many girls' hearts in the future, maybe you should do the sensible thing and get yourself a girlfriend!"
"Get a girlfriend? Watashi?" asked You, pointing to herself.
"Yes you! If everyone sees you've got a girlfriend, they'll refrain from confessing, and you'll be happier too once you've got some sweet thing on your arm."
The brunette rolled her eyes. "It might stop the confessions, but I doubt I'd be any happier. Not everyone is as easily satisfied as you, Mari-chan."
"Excuse you, I'll have you know my tastes are quite sophisticated. It's why I have two girlfriends while all the unwashed masses have at most one."
"No, you only have two because you're a hipster."
Mari let out a squawk of indignation. "I refuse to stand here and be insulted like this!" she declared dramatically.
"Then sit down instead," returned You dryly.
They shared a look, almost glaring at each other before breaking out into mirthful smiles.
"No but seriously," counseled Mari, "Next time a girl confesses to you, just accept it and see what happens. You never know, it might be wonderful."
"As if I could accept any of them. All those girls just know me by reputation. Passing familiarity at best. They see what they want to see."
"That doesn't mean they can't like the real you too," retorted the blonde.
But You waved her off. "You've heard them talk about me as much as I have. They treat me like an idol or something. Who wants to date someone who puts them on a pedestal?"
Mari hummed thoughtfully. "Well... then you just have to date someone who doesn't know you yet."
"Good luck finding a girl like that." She sighed. "But hey, we're hanging out today, right? Let's go already."
"Okay, okay," granted Mari. "But hypothetically, if I could actually find a girl who's yet to form an opinion of you, would you date her?"
"I don't see why you're so insistent, but you know what? Fine. If you can find a girl who's never heard of me, I'll give it a shot." With that admittance, You started walking off.
As Mari trailed after her, she made a resolution. She would get You a girlfriend.
"Is your sister dating anyone?" asked Kanan out of the blue.
The scratching of pen against paper halted immediately, an unnatural silence rushing to fill the void as the very air chilled, like it was recoiling from the inferno firestorm that was building within the room's other occupant.
Emerald eyes turned to her, slowly, balefully, as the ravenette took the time to compose a response.
"What business is that of yours?" she inquired with a very obvious current of warning.
"I'm not asking for me!" defended Kanan, hands raised in surrender. She very much regretted not coming up with a better way of bringing up this topic. "And come on, I'm already dating you. I wouldn't do that."
"Then why are you asking?" hissed Dia, still suspicious of her girlfriend's intentions.
"Okay, so! You remember Chika-chan, right? My neighbor and friend? Well, Chika-chan feels lonely and wants a girlfriend, so I'm trying to find a special someone for her."
"And you thought you could enlist my dearest little sister to have an intimate relationship with a stranger like some kind of escort?!"
"Whoa, back up there! No one said anything about being an escort!"
The burning emeralds of Dia's eyes and the savage growl building in her throat told Kanan that maybe she should disengage and find another solution. Despite how good angry sex with Dia could be, it also led to a whole host of other problems that Kanan really didn't want.
She backed away, ever so slightly, giving off a sigh of surrender. "I'll admit, the idea was kind of a long shot regardless, but maybe they could be friends at least? Chika-chan just seemed so lonely... And Ruby-chan's such a wonderful ray of sunshine to be around I'm sure they'd get along as friends."
At the mention of the word friends, some of the tension drained from the ravenette, though she still leered suspiciously at the diver as if expecting a hidden agenda. After several seconds of scrutiny, she judged Kanan as suitably contrite.
Dia grunted. "Well, Ruby is truly as wonderful as you say she is," she allowed.
"Yeah!" chirped Kanan. "So what do you think? We can have a group hangout, introduce them, and see if anything happens. Worst case scenario, they don't like each other and we never have to think about this again. Best case scenario, we make them both happy."
The ravenette frowned, though it was a much less severe expression than what she'd worn earlier. "Perhaps. I will consider it."
"That's all I ask."
Just then, Kanan's alarm went off.
Silencing the noise, the blunette stood. "Darn, I gotta go. We're still on for tomorrow?"
"Of course," nodded Dia.
"Awesome." She leaned down and pecked Dia on the lips, a kiss the ravenette leaned into wholeheartedly. She threw on her bag and popped out the door, leaving Dia to her thoughts.
Placing her pen down, Dia sighed and ruminated on Kanan's suggestion. Perhaps Ruby could possibly, potentially, unlikely though it may be... hold some desire to begin dating. After all, Dia herself was much happier after acquiring her girlfriends, so it followed that her younger sister should also seek such happiness.
But such a notion came with its own share of risks. How could Dia protect Ruby from being hurt? From being emotionally enfiladed? From being devastated to despair by her own girlfriend? She couldn't. It was the dilemma every big sister faced.
It would only be a matter of time until Ruby found her special someone, and when that happened... well, Dia could only do her best to be supportive.
Letting out a soft sigh, Dia resumed her paperwork.
The door suddenly opened with a whirl as a familiar blonde hurricane announced her presence. "Dia~!" she sang as she swooped in for a hug.
An affectionate smile bloomed on Dia's face as she nuzzled against her girlfriend. "Hello to you too, Mari-san."
The blonde glanced down to see the form Dia was filling out. "Oh boo. You're still doing paperwork?"
"I'm almost done. Just a few more forms and I'll be ready to leave."
"Call it fifteen minutes?" asked Mari.
"I shall promise ten," rejoined Dia.
Mari pressed a light kiss to Dia's temple. "I can do ten."
Releasing Dia to focus on her paperwork, Mari took a seat, reclining her chair at a perilous angle as she set her feet up on the desk, idly blowing a lock of hair out of her eyes. She let out a low sigh as her mind wandered back to her friend's problem.
For a while, all was quiet as Dia scribbled away and Mari dwelled on her dilemma. Suddenly, Mari had an idea. Her chair hit the floor as she turned to Dia.
"Is your sister dating anyone?"
Dia's pen broke in half.
"Remind me again," started Dia, "Why is my presence necessary for this little plan of yours?"
"Because," answered Kanan patiently, "This is supposed to be a group outing so Chika-chan and You-chan don't get suspicious."
A few days had passed since Dia had nearly exploded in overprotective rage for her sister's well-being. Once Mari had explained her reasoning, the girlfriends had connected the dots easily enough, agreeing that surreptitiously setting them up was the easiest way to solve both conundrums.
"Then why didn't we invite my sister along as you initially proposed?" asked Dia.
"Because this is also a double date," replied Mari, "And we don't need to create any new problems by having any third wheels."
"I still don't see why I need to be here," grumbled Dia. "Besides, won't they suspect it's a double date if you've brought both your girlfriends along?"
"Not at all!" grinned Mari, "And you know why?"
"Because they'll be too busy falling for each other to realize we've set them up!" answered Kanan with a smirk.
"YES~!" cheered the blonde in English. They high-fived eagerly.
For her part, Dia merely sighed. "I'll just resign myself to being content that you're both happy."
"Aw come on Dia, it'll be fun!" enthused Mari. "Haven't you ever wanted to play matchmaker?"
"No, but perhaps you'll convince me," said Dia in a tone that conveyed that she in no way believed they could convince her that matchmaking was fun.
"Challenge accepted," chirped Mari, latching onto Dia from behind. "What do we get if we win?" she teased suggestively.
"Alright, that's enough of that," interrupted Kanan. "Let's get ready to go, yeah?"
Dia and Mari looked at her as she emerged from her closet. Or more specifically, they stared at her shirt.
"...what sort of abomination are you wearing?" demanded Dia in poorly concealed disgust.
"It's a clown fish," replied Kanan simply. "Can't you tell?"
"I mean, yeah," said Mari, "But it's... not shiny."
"What?!"
"Kanan-san, you cannot wear that."
"But it's a casual shirt for a casual outing!"
"Oh?" Dia raised an eyebrow. "I thought this was also a double date?"
"Dia's right, Kanan. Dates do have dress codes, and double dates even more so."
"But all my good clothes are in the wash right now!"
Dia and Mari exchanged a look. "Then it's time to excavate your closet."
Kanan sighed. "We're gonna be here a while, aren't we?"
Indeed they were.
People-watching wasn't an activity You engaged in often. But it wasn't as if there was anything else to do while she waited here all by herself for Mari and friends to arrive. Some might prefer to pass the time by scrolling through their phone, but You was an active girl, so constantly scanning the environment around her at least felt like she was doing something.
Her eyes passed disinterestedly over the masses of people, not a one of them holding any lasting interest for the brunette as she idly wondered when Mari was getting there. But then she took note of a smartly dressed ginger walking through the crowd. You took care to look away periodically; she didn't want anyone to think she was a creep. She watched as the girl took a seat, a hand reaching up to brush away a stray hair, and You felt her heart skip a beat.
The brunette didn't much care for her reputation of being gallant, charming, and perfect (not that she would ever describe herself in such terms, but those were the words most often passed around), but as she looked at that beautifully reserved girl with gleaming eyes of scarlet, she suddenly found she wanted to live up to every reputation she'd garnered.
As the mystery girl glanced over to her, their gazes met, and the ginger blushed and looked down to her phone.
Perhaps she was interested too? There was only one way for You to find out. It was time to go full speed ahead, into the rest of her life.
Chika wasn't one to leer at strangers. Her parents had taught her better. But the girl sitting on the opposite side of the water fountain was breathtakingly beautiful. Wavy brunette hair capped beneath a signature snapback framed an adorable face as gorgeous blue eyes looked outward, sparkling like the sea.
Then the girl had noticed Chika staring.
A ring of notification drew Chika's attention to her phone, the ginger hurriedly looking down at the device. Her face was an embarrassed flush, her heart beating quick as she thanked whatever high powers existed for the interruption.
Kanan: Running late, b there asap
The text made the ginger uneasy. Part of her appreciated that she had more time to yearn after this mystery girl, but she'd already been caught once. She didn't think her heart could handle another.
A shadow fell over her, and Chika looked up into those gorgeous blue eyes.
"Hello there!" greeted You.
Chika startled so much she leapt to her feet. "H-H-Hello..." she stuttered out.
"I'm Watanabe You. I saw you sneaking glances at me earlier, so I thought I'd come over and introduce myself."
"T-Takami Chika," returned the ginger.
"A pleasure to meet you. Can I call you Chika-chan?"
"You can call me whatever you want," breathed Chika.
The brunette leaned in with a smile. "Then, can I call you mine?"
"...I think I'm gonna swoon." And down she went.
...into You's waiting arms.
"It's okay," murmured You softly, "I've got you."
"Wow... Hey, so this is really sudden and all and I know I'm not exactly the greatest catch or anything but you're really pretty and I wanna get to know you. Do you maybe wanna go out somewhere after school?"
The brunette blinked as she processed Chika's stream of consciousness, but recovered easily with a smile. "It's a date."
"Awesome!" cheered Chika as a stupidly big grin crossed her face.
"But since we're both here..." pondered You, "Do you want to go on a date right now?"
There was only one answer Chika could give, and it wasn't long before the two of them were walking off hand in hand as attraction blossomed between them.
And somehow, Chika knew: her life would never be incomplete again.
~END~
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Epilogue:
When Kanan, Dia, and Mari arrived at the meeting place, they were curious to find that neither of their friends was there. A quick glance at their phones cleared that mystery up.
Chika: I got a GF! \(OwO)/
You: I met a girl. We're hanging out. I'll tell you how it goes l8r! *O*
"Huh," mused Kanan as they compared messages. "You don't think...?"
"Ah, it must be destiny!" remarked Mari. "It reminds me of when we got together... We were so young back then!"
"We did a good thing today," smiled the blunette. She turned to Dia. "And since our double date has fallen through..."
"Then we may still have a romantic outing of our own," remarked the ravenette, perking up at the thought. She took each of her girlfriends by the hand and sent them a small but earnest smile. "Kanan-san, Mari-san. Shall we date?"