She wasn't sure what to say. Or well, she wasn't sure how to say it.

She'd spent a lot of time thinking about how to confess her feelings, but most of her ideas had just sounded corny and she knew that things always sounded better in one's head than when you said it out loud, so it would probably end up sounding awful.

Thus, she had decided to improvise her confession, but now, as that moment was just around the corner while she was waiting for Haruki to arrive, she regretted it. She had no idea what she should say. Heck, it wasn't as though she'd confessed to anyone before. She'd never even felt that way about anyone before she met Haruki.

She could still back out, though. She could pretend she hadn't wanted to say anything in particular; just make small talk and joke around like they usually did. But she didn't want that. She wanted to tell Haruki how she felt, put all the cards on the table, and see where things went from there.

In a way, it was a gamble. All or nothing. Either she felt the same way, or she'd flat out reject her.

The possibility of the later scared Isuke, but she'd never been one to back out because she was scared. Many things about her had changed since she met Haruki, but she wouldn't let that be one of them.

She wasn't backing out now.

A short while later, a person rounded the corner.

"You're late, Sagae," she spat venomously as the girl approached her, munching on some pocky.

"Ah, sorry. I had some things to take care of."

Isuke was always late, yet it seemed Haruki always arrived even later than her. Usually, it was annoying to no extent, but today she guessed maybe it was for the best. At least it had given her some time to think.

"I'm sorry about the dinner," she apologized, most likely for the hundredth time.

"Knock it off already," Isuke whined, "Isuke is getting sick of that stupid word. No one blames you for anything."

The redhead seemed to become more at ease after Isuke had said that, as though she finally understood that she wasn't at fault.

Haruki settled beside her on the park bench, placing her hands behind her head as she leaned back. She closed her eyes so that the sun wouldn't bother her so much.

"It hasn't been that long," she stated out of the blue.

"Huh?" Isuke looked at the other girl questioningly.

"I mean, it's been less than two months since we met," she explained, "But it feels like forever, ya know."

Thinking about that was strange. She'd met this girl just a few weeks ago, yet it felt like so much longer. There was so much that had happened since then.

She'd already fallen in love, in a matter of less than two short months. After going so many years without being in love with anyone, this seemed odd.

"Ugh, don't go all sentimental on me," she snorted habitually. Haruki chuckled at her predictable response.

"Like you haven't had any fun," she teased with a devious grin.

"It's not like I denied having enjoyed these last few weeks," Isuke stated bluntly, making her grin falter.

Haruki had expected her to get all embarrassed, maybe blush and stutter something about her being an idiot. But she sure as hell hadn't expected her to admit that. It wasn't like her at all.

Isuke got up and gestured for Haruki to do the same.

They began walking through the park, side by side.

"It really has been fun," exclaimed Isuke thoughtfully, "Our arguments and banters, the festival, Otoya beating the shit out of you-"

"Hey now," Haruki stopped her, "I didn't think that one was all that funny."

Both of them laughed at that.

"But you tending to my injuries afterwards wasn't half bad, if you leave out the fact that you probably made them worse," she joked, making Isuke pout adorably.

"Isuke tried her best. You should show some gratitude."

"I'm not about to kneel down and kiss your feet, but thanks, I guess," she said, not sounding very thankful at all. However, Isuke figured most people wouldn't muster up even that amount of appreciation for her healing skills, so it was good enough.

"So, where do we go from here?" Haruki asked after a while, "'Cause your parents hate me and stuff."

Isuke wanted to deny it, but there was no hiding Mama's dislike towards the girl.

She was not entirely sure how to answer that question, seeing as she hadn't bothered to tell her about the entire ordeal between her and Sumireko. They had agreed to somehow sort it out as quickly as possible, so she hadn't felt the need to mention it. Especially considering that Haruki already seemed to have more than enough to worry about.

"We'll figure something out," she shrugged, hoping to avoid having to explain about Sumireko. "Besides, it's not like it matters what Mama and Papa think. I can be with whoever I want to."

Haruki gazed at her, a strange glint in her golden eyes. Isuke wasn't sure if she had realized what she'd hinted towards or not.

Only now did she notice that they had stopped walking and were standing down by the river. They were facing each other, Haruki's face so close to hers that it made her face heat up.

"Isuke-sama, are you…" she trailed off. In case she was just reading things into it, she didn't want to finish that sentence.

"Haruki, I-" she started, but cut herself off immediately.

What should she say?

"These last couple of months…" She must have sounded like a complete idiot, clumsily stuttering as she desperately searched her mind for the right words. She bet she sounded like Mahiru usually did right now.

"Since I met you I… You turned my life upside down, you know," she sighed, finally feeling like she found something, however stupid it was, to say, "But I guess I liked it. It was different; you were different, but I've felt more like myself around you than I've ever had before."

Damn it, this was way too sappy and cheesy for her. It all sounded so lame, like some clique soap opera.

"So ever since we started "dating" I've…"

"…wanted it to be real?" Haruki finished for her.

She was taken aback by how the girl had taken the words right out of her mouth, and now, she wasn't sure what to do next.

"I don't want it to be fake either," she continued, "I want it to be for real."

Isuke was frozen in place. She couldn't move or speak, her mind to preoccupied with trying to make sense of Haruki's words to do anything else.

She really did feel the same way.

When her mind could finally comprehend this fact, a comfortable warmth spread through her body, and it felt like a heavy load was lifted off her shoulders.

In that moment, looking at Haruki's smiling face, all she could feel was happiness.

Haruki, being the boldest of the two, was the one who moved first.

Very slowly, she leaned closer to Isuke, fearing rejection even at this moment. There was a chance that Isuke would be too embarrassed and move away, or even punch her in the face, but she didn't.

Her lips gently touched Isuke's, and she took a moment to savor their incredible softness.

At first, the kiss was tender. Both of them were careful, fearing that the other would move away, but as they realized that this was not the case, their kiss deepened.

Isuke entangled her fingers in Haruki's wild hair as she drew her even closer, making her moan softly against her lips. Haruki wrapped her arms around Isuke's bare waist, now more grateful than ever for the girl's revealing clothing style.

Yet, the pleasure was short-lived as Haruki's cell phone began ringing. She broke away from the kiss and picked up her phone.

"I'm really starting to hate those devices," Isuke muttered, this not being the first time someone called and interrupted her.

"Hello," Haruki said as she answered.

"Hey, it's Aki," greeted the voice, "Fuyuka told me to tell you that dinner is ready."

"Okay, I'll be right there, so don't you dare eat my portion," she laughed as she hung up. While she was with Isuke, she had completely forgotten, but now she felt the intense hunger returning. With all the bills coming in lately, they'd been forced to skip a couple of meals, which was already starting to take its toll on each and every one of them.

"I gotta go," she told Isuke, "Dinner's ready."

"Ok. But Haruki, are we…"

Instead of replying, Haruki planted a quick kiss on her cheek before she left. As she turned back, she could see Isuke blushing furiously.

"See you later," she laughed as she waved goodbye.

"Idiot!" Isuke yelled after her.

"I'm home!" Haruki yelled as she threw her bag on the floor and kicked her shoes off. She entered the living room where all her siblings had already begun eating.

"I tried to save you some, but they're like animals," Fuyuka apologized when Haruki noticed there was barely anything left.

"Oh well, guess it's my fault for being late," she said, ruffling Aki's dark hair playfully. She then put some rice and vegetables on her plate and began eating.

"Nee-chan, aren't you mad?" asked one of the twins.

"Yeah, food is like the only thing you get worked up over," agreed Aki, after swallowing a piece of meat.

"It's ok," she smiled. Right now, she couldn't care less if there wasn't much food left for her.

Fuyuka raised her eyebrows, looking at her older sister with a knowing smile.

"What's gotten you in such a good mood?"

"Nothing," she shrugged with an innocent grin, that her siblings saw through easily.

"You're lying, nee-chan! Something happened."

"Or maybe someone?" Fuyuka inquired teasingly.

Swallowing the remaining food in one huge bite, Haruki stood up and headed for the kitchen to wash her plate.

"Seriously, you guys are embarrassing," she sighed.

"Come on, you can tell us," said Fuyuka, "Family doesn't keep secrets, after all."

Knowing she simply couldn't win this argument, she walked back to the living room and sat down between Aki and Fuyuka. All her siblings looked at her expectantly.

In a way, this was a good thing. Maybe it could take their mind off the bills for a while.

"Okay, so I met this girl-" she started.

"What's her name?" two of the younger kids questioned.

"Is she pretty?" asked Aki.

"How did you meet her?" spoke Fuyuka, a little more calmly than the rest of them.

Haruki already felt a little dizzy, and she knew answering all their questions would take a while. Satisfying the curiosity of a bunch of children was no easy task, that she could say out of experience.

"I'll tell you everything, alright?" she chuckled at their eagerness, "Please, just ask one question at a time."

Haruki spent the rest of the evening telling them about Isuke, and even thought they didn't manage to wait for their turn to ask something, she somehow managed to answer all their questions. Seeing how interested they were she also figured she'd have to bring Isuke over sometime. She thought that would make them really happy. Maybe even almost as happy as she was in that moment.

"Sup?" spoke Nio's voice through the phone. Isuke thought she sounded half-asleep, which would make sense considering it was way past midnight.

"Did I wake you?"

"What ya talking about?" the peppy girl yawned, "I'm wide awake."

Isuke snickered to herself. Nio could be pretty weird sometimes, or more like all the time, and at times she was a little creepy, but there was something sort of stupidly adorable about her, as well.

"Did you need something?" she asked, probably eager to get back to bed.

"What? Can't I call my best friend without needing anything?" she joked sarcastically.

"Not if you're you," she replied sleepily, yawning yet again.

She really was no fun messing with when she was tired, Isuke thought, so she decided to get to the point.

"I promised I'd get back to you after I talked to Haruki, didn't I?"

"You confessed?" In a split second, Nio went from sounding like she was sleep talking, to sounding like she'd had ten energy drinks.

"Guess you could say that," Isuke muttered. She wasn't quite sure she could call it that, seeing as Haruki had been the one finishing the sentence for her. Yet, she'd gotten the point across, so it was more or less irrelevant.

"What did she say?" urged the blonde nosily. She rolled her eyes and snorted at her.

"I'm not about to give you all the details, idiot," she stated coldly, "That doesn't concern you."

"Now you're just making me more curious," whined Nio disappointedly, her voice exactly like that of a little kid whose parents had rejected her candy, "You're so terrible, you know."

"That's Isuke in a nutshell. The wicked witch," she giggled, thinking back on Sumireko's comment.

"Huh?" Of course Nio wouldn't quite get it, and she didn't care to explain it to her either. That'd mean she'd have to tell her everything about Mama and Papa trying to pair her up with Sumireko and all that, which she really wasn't feeling up to right now.

"Nothing, nothing," she waved it off, "But do you want to know how it went?"

"Of course!" came the reply, not a split second after she'd finished her question. Hadn't she been certain that Haruki felt the same way? If that was the case, why was she even curious to hear how it had gone?

"Well, she feels the same way about me."

"I knew it!" chirped Nio excitedly. She almost seemed happier about this than Isuke herself. Then again, she was more the type who showed her feelings, while Isuke kept her cool and didn't let her emotions show.

"Sure, who could possibly resist my charm," she smirked, making Nio laugh heartedly. After she'd quieted down, she spoke up again.

"But really, that's great," she said seriously, "I'm happy for you, Isuke. And for Haruki too."

Yeah, it really was a moment of happiness, wasn't it?

It felt sort of foreign to her, though. Not only being in love, but actually knowing that the one she was in love with felt the same way. It was something that she'd never experienced before, and there was something so reassuring and yet so thrilling about the entire thing.

She definitely felt different. She felt like an completely different person than she had a month or two ago. She even felt like a different person than she was this morning, but it felt good. She was content.

"But happiness aside, I'd really like to go back to sleep now," informed Nio, the drowsiness gradually starting to return to her voice.

"Sure," she agreed, "Goodnight then."

"Goodnight."

After she hung up, she lay down on her bed and pulled her covers up under her chin. Her fingers softly touched her lips as she thought back to the kiss earlier that day. Knowing there were many more to come, she smiled to herself. When she eventually fell asleep, the smile was still on her lips.

Not a very long chapter, but oh well. I kinda struggled with this one for some reason, so I'm sorry it took a little while extra. Next chapter will probably feature Isuke visiting Haruki's family, 'cause I think that'd be kinda cute and fluffy. Bye!