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“Seriously?? You’ve never had a crush on ANYONE?” Mizuki’s voice practically yelled through her headphones. Kanade recoiled a little at the outburst, confused.
“Yeah? Um… Is it that big of a deal?” She asked, looking at the others through the Nightcord call screen. Ena nodded her head, Mafuyu seemed just as confused as she was, but it was hard to see since she was right next to her.
“No way. I don’t believe you. I mean… yeah, I guess it’s possible, but… I don't know! You’re probably just a lesbian!” Mizuki said proudly, a triumphant smile on her face.
“Amia, calm down. We should be focusing on the song, not K’s love life.” Ena’s voice cut in. K breathed a short sigh of relief.
The conversation moved back to their current project, but Kanade’s mind remained on the topic. Was she just a lesbian? Or was she… nothing at all? She honestly didn’t know where to begin with attraction. She definitely knew the IDEA of it: butterflies, dizziness, blushing, stumbling over your words, all those little things she had picked up that let people know when they had a crush. But she herself had never been one to feel any of those things. Right..?
“I should find out…” Kanade decided.
“What was that K?” Mizuki said. Oh, did she say that out loud?
“Oh… I’ll find out. If i’m gay or not.” she said awkwardly, but she had one final question to ask. “Um… How do I know?” She asked, barely audible. Mizuki picked up on it anyway.
“Oh, well I’m pretty confidently reminded of my gayness whenever Shiho kisses me! Maybe you should try that?” Mizuki said, her tone indicating that it might be a joke, but knowing Mizuki, it could just as well be serious.
“Amia, don’t encourage her…” Ena said, sighing, half closed eyes showing her general disinterest. Mafuyu cocked her head.
“I think she’s right.” Was all Mafuyu said, leaving one grinning Mizuki in her wake.
“See? Even Yuki agrees! Go kiss some girls, Kanade. Try kissing a guy too. Just to make sure!”
Kanade flinched, but she wasn’t sure why.
Nightcord continued to work in silence for a while after that, with Mafuyu signing off first (She left the room, barely even saying goodnight to Kanade before doing so), followed by Mizuki not long after. This left just Ena in the call with Kanade. The two of them worked without many words, with Kanade showing Ena snippets of the song and Ena updating Kanade on her progress with art.
“Are you still thinking about what Amia said?” Ena interjected, breaking the trance Kanade didn’t even know she was in.
“Um… No…” Kanade lied, badly. Ena obviously didn’t buy it.
“You don’t need to prove anything to her, you know. Straight, gay, whatever you end up being… It doesn’t matter. Especially to us. We’re all gay after all.” Ena finished, rather eloquently if Kanade said so herself.
“Oh… you too, Enanan?” Kanade said, watching Ena’s face turn a bright red.
“Well fuck, I guess that’s one way to come out…” She finished, looking away from the screen. “I honestly was planning on telling you earlier I just…”
Kanade interrupted the spiral she could see her friend going down. “Hey, dont… Don't worry about it. I’m not judging you, Ena. I swear.” She smiled softly. Of course Ena was gay. Now that she thought about it the way she talked about Mafuyu certainly wasn’t platonic.
“Tha… Thank you Kanade.” Ena said, barely audible through her headphones.
“Of course, Ena. Any time.” She tried to make her voice as reassuring as possible.
Suddenly, Kanade had an idea. Probably not a good idea, but an idea, nonetheless. If Ena was gay… wouldn’t she be a good person to try kissing? Could they do that? Was it something people do? She could feel her face turn red with heat. They would just be kissing… as friends. It wasn’t like they would be dating or anything! Even if Ena was pretty…
“K? You look like you’re overheating.” Kanade wondered if she could bury herself under the earth here and now.
Well, might as well ask. “Um… Ena. About what Mizuki said…”
“Yes.” Ena said, before turning bright red and covering her mouth. “I mean… um… uh… I will. Not because… nevermind! If it’ll help you, um… yeah. Let’s do it.”
Well, that was easy. Kanade took a deep breath, trying to hide the burn that had undoubtedly spread across her face. “So… Sekai?”
“Y… Yeah. Sekai.” Ena stuttered out. Weird, she seemed even more nervous than she was
Kanade opened her phone to ‘Composing the future’, quickly pressing play and transporting herself into the Empty Sekai. A quick look around told her there were no vocaloids nearby, and no Ena either. So Kanade waited. And waited. And waited.
It took Ena 10 minutes to actually appear in the Sekai, and she looked even better than she did over nightcord. She had done her hair really nicely, plus glasses looked really pretty on her face. Kanade knew Ena wore contacts, but she had probably already taken them off before their call.
“Woah…” Was all she ended up saying. Ena was really pretty, after all. It made sense.
“Hi… Kanade.” Ena said in response. Why did SHE seem nervous? Kanade was the one kissing someone absolutely breathtaking, right?
“Hi… Enanan. Um… how do we…” She couldn’t finish the sentence. Ena picked up on it, however.
“Don’t worry, me and Airi did this experiment years ago.” She said, sounding a little breathless. Had she been running?
“What..?”
“Don’t worry about it.” Ena said, giggling slightly. Kanade wasn’t sure why, but she smiled too. The two of them found themselves leaning against one of the many black triangles that littered the area. It was almost peaceful, if it weren’t for the tension in the air.
“Okay… I’ll take the lead. Just… You’ll figure it out. Trust me.”
It was the last thing she heard before her heart stopped. She could vaguely feel the sensation of Ena’s lips on hers, but what she felt much more was FIREWORKS. The intensity behind her lips, the sensation of kissing in general, was far, FAR more electric than she could have possibly imagined. She felt almost limp, and vaguely sensed Ena’s arms wrapping around her, pulling her in tighter, before she let go of the kiss and sent Kanade back into reality.
Maybe it was just Ena though. Maybe kissing Ena was the reason it felt so nice. Either way, she wanted to do it again.
“Woah… Kanade… Have you done this before?” Ena said, dizzily. “Because you’re really good at this…”
“What..?” Kanade hadn’t even been aware she was doing anything, honestly. She was too distracted by how she felt to actually pay attention to the kiss itself. Which was as good of an excuse as any to kiss Ena again, right? At least, Kanade thought so. She also thought that it was pretty nice to sit on Ena’s lap.
“Um… can we do that again?” Kanade asked. She barely registered the nod from Ena before taking the initiative this time. The fireworks and sensations were back in full force, but Kanade tried to focus more on kissing itself. It was almost impossible to not get dragged under, but persistence had its own reward: Making Ena happy. She wasn’t exactly sure what she was doing, but since Ena liked it, or seemed to like it based on the noises she was making, surely it was correct. Her arms wrapped themselves around Ena’s body, one hand on the back of her head to bring the girl even closer than they already were. The slight tease of Ena’s tongue dancing against her lips almost made her gasp, and letting her in immediately supressed any sort of thought in her mind. Their time, however, was cut short by a rather disappointed looking KAITO, who Kanade barely saw behind Ena in the millisecond her eyes had opened.
“Are you two done?” He said, glaring at Kanade as if she had personally offended him.
“I suppose we are.” Ena fired back before Kanade had a chance to. Before she could say anything, Ena was gone, presumably having gone back to her room. She would have to text her later and make sure Ena was okay…
“You didn’t have to be mean about it…” Kanade said, halfway between returning KAITO’s glare and embarrassment. Unwilling to get into an argument with him, she followed Ena’s example and pressed pause on her phone, sending her back to her room. It was only then that her sleep deprivation hit her, and she almost fell over from the waves of exhaustion striking her all at once. She practically fell on to her bed, crushing a fair bit of sheet music that laid there, and fell asleep almost instantly.
“K-Kanade? Are you okay?”
Kanade could barely open her eyes, but she already knew that it was Honami speaking. Her soft, sweet voice and concerned tone were immediately recognizable.
What she didn’t expect was for the girl to be inches away from her face.
“Oh hello Honami. Um…” It was almost impossible to focus on anything while feeling the lightness of her breath against her lips. God… maybe she was gay.
Without even realizing it, still groggy from waking up a couple seconds ago, Kanade realized her lips were already pressed against Honami’s. Her gut reaction was to pull away… that is if Honami hadn't pulled her even closer.
Kissing Honami was a lot less electric than kissing Ena. Ena felt like released passion and electricity. Honami felt more like a warm, nice hug. Everything about her was soft and comforting, from her lips to her hands that had begun to hold her face, to… wait, was she on top of her? Kanade found she really didn’t mind, not even a little bit. Her weight pressed against her like a blanket, and she melted into it like butter. Honami didn’t escalate the kiss any farther than lips pressing together. Kanade wasn’t sure if her heart would have been able to take it, anyway. It took Honami breaking the kiss rather frantically for her eyes to flutter open again, already breathless.
“Oh my god, Kanade, I don't know what got into me, I swear…” The words came tumbling out of her like a faucet, and it sounded a little like she was about to cry. Kanade couldn’t have that, not after what she had made her feel…
“Its okay, its… trust me, I liked it too.” She smiled, her heart still beating a million miles per hour. “You timed it pretty nicely too, I’m trying to figure out if… I’m gay.” She said weakly. She definitely was aware of Honami’s position on top of her now, and she blushed even more. She probably would like it either way, honestly, but she wanted to try something. She’d just need Mafuyu…
For now, though, she just wanted to test kissing Honami again. For the warmth, obviously. She was just cold. Right. She wasn’t sure if she was gay yet, either.
“Can we kiss again?” Honami asked, covering her mouth with embarrassment. Kanade nodded, and melted right back into the girl, and her warmth. It was both less and more intense than kissing Ena, as Honami never started making out, and yet the way she acted was almost more enticing. She could feel every movement Honami made, her soft breath against her skin, the way her hands brushed against her face. It was all so… so nice. When they broke contact, Honami managed to untangle herself from the hug (Something she barely realized she had been doing) and looked over at Kanade with such an intense, but unreadable expression.
“K…Kanade? Is everything alright?” Honami asked, her eyes still staring at her, almost boring into her soul with concern. Such pretty eyes… she could stare into them for…wait was she supposed to be saying something?
“I. Yeah. Everything’s alright. I promise. If it wasn’t, I would tell you.” She managed to squeak out despite her admittedly incredibly homosexual thoughts. Honami seemed satisfied for now, but there was urgency in her eyes.
“Um… okay… I…” Honami stuttered, avoiding her gaze “I finished everything I needed to… um… Sorry but I have to go… So i hope you’re telling me the truth” She finished, getting up and offering Kanade her hand to help, which she gladly took. Upon opening the door, she smelled the faint scent of coffee, and assumed Mafuyu had asked Honami to make it. Kanade wasn’t used to the taste, but because Mafuyu couldn’t taste at all, she had grown to like it since moving here.
“Bye, Kanade! Bye, Mafuyu! I’ll see you two next week!” Honami said, before rushing out the door. Kanade already missed her presence, but her thoughts were interrupted by Mafuyu’s voice.
“Good morning Kanade.” She turned around, spotting Mafuyu on the couch in her living room. She was laying down on her side, head resting against a pillow she had probably brought from her bed, holding a half empty coffee mug.
Since when was her voice so nice? Has her voice always been this nice?
Her mind was still foggy, almost clouded. Sure, she felt almost giddy with happiness, but given more time to think, she really began questioning herself. Why the fuck did she kiss Honami? Sure she was right there, and enjoyed it, and wanted to kiss her again, but WHY? She’d never been the type to do something like that before… had she? Was she just that gay? Had kissing Ena done something to her?
She was honestly a little scared of what she’d do if she saw Ichika, who Kanade was now certain she had a definite crush on.
Kanade sat next to Mafuyu, vaguely aware of their closeness but far more used to it than she had been with Ena and Honami. She and Mafuyu had developed a pretty… physically close relationship since she had moved in with her. Mafuyu was rather touch starved, and Kanade would happily hold her, if it meant she could work her way ever closer to eventually saving her, and understanding her. But she couldn’t deny that she also quite enjoyed the warmth.
However, they had never kissed. And suddenly, Kanade found herself wanting to. Wanting to? No, she just needed to see if she was gay. She wasn’t sure, yet. But asking Mafuyu would be a lot harder than asking Ena, or, well, she didn’t exactly have to ask Honami. Mafuyu wouldn’t say it for her, and Mafuyu wouldn’t make the first move. It would be on Kanade.
“Hey Kanade…” Mafuyu said, leaning against her shoulder. “So…” She hesitated. Kanade looked over at her friend, noticing the slightly red tint on her cheeks. “I don’t know anything about romance. I don’t think…” She hesitated again “I don’t know exactly what a crush feels like. I think I’m in the same situation as you.” Mafuyu said, no longer averting her gaze. The two of them locked eyes for what felt like an eternity.
“Kanade, I want to kiss you. Can I kiss you?”
“Oh!” She hadn’t seen that coming at all. “Um, you know… I was going to ask you the same thing…”
“Is that a yes?” She said, eyes widening.
Kanade smiled, “It is.” And this time, she wouldn't let Mafuyu be the one to take the lead.
If there’s one thing she’d figured out about the girl through touch alone, Mafuyu wasn’t very dominant. She always preferred being held over holding, and would never be the type to offer otherwise. Some might call it selfish, how she wanted attention and touch without being very giving, but Kanade found it cute.
Time to make use of her prior knowledge. She managed to get Mafuyu below her, which wasn’t nearly as hard as it should have been. Mafuyu didn’t seem to expect it whatsoever. Her eyes grew even wider and yet she didn’t resist it either. She took control of Mafuyu’s hands, grabbing both of them while she kissed Mafuyu harder than she’d kissed anyone before.
Mafuyu was… Mafuyu was something else. She was almost- passive, but with an intensity that bordered on need. And her kiss… was… wow. She tasted like coffee, but sweeter and less bitter, and the faint scent of apples barely broke through the barrier the closer Kanade got to her. Her hands naturally moved to Mafuyu’s face, caressing her cheek while Mafuyu seemed to be searching along Kanade’s back for… something. Kanade was caught in the moment, unsure of where to go next, but Mafuyu answered that for her once she reached her hand underneath her jacket.
Oh… Was essentially her last coherent thought as she felt her fingernails brush her back, causing her to arch closer to Mafuyu’s body. Her hands were like ice and yet had warmth to them that she had absolutely never felt before, as they traced along her spine and the side of her stomach, slowly and lightly. Kanade’s breath hitched a little at the sensation, completely overwhelmed. She decided returning the favor was probably a good idea, as she moved one of her hands under her shirt collar to her shoulder. Mafuyu’s entire body seemed to still as soon as her fingers touched skin, and as she traced along the very top of her back, Mafuyu pulled a little away, but she seemed to be… smiling?
“Oh wow…” Was all Kanade could think to say. Mafuyu’s face was as red as a tomato, but Kanade didn’t think her face was much better.
“I think I figured it out…” Mafuyu said, before sighing. Kanade tilted her head, taking a second to understand what she meant.
Oh. The lesbian thing. Was kissing her really all it took?
“I think I need to… Keep trying.” Was all Kanade could respond with. She wasnt… sure if she was gay or not! Was she… or did she just like making people happy? That always seemed to be her favorite part, after all. But… Mafuyu. How was she supposed to deal with all this? What if she’d hurt her? “Are you okay, Mafuyu?” Kanade said, suddenly concerned as the full weight of their actions hit her.
Mafuyu giggled. Wait, Mafuyu did WHAT? “I think so. Thank you Kanade… that was really nice.”
Kanade was sure her face was actually on fire at this point. Her and Mafuyu were never THAT touchy until now, and it was hard for her mind not to wander a little. That was certainly not a straight thing to do.
“Um… You’re welcome, Mafuyu… You too” She finished awkwardly, still sitting directly next to her. As her mind cleared and her homosexual thoughts slowly dissipated into the background, she managed to stand up and take herself into her room.
Kanade never had much to do on weekends. Most of her time would end up being spent in front of her computer, composing new music, but she didn’t feel like composing much of anything right now. Maybe it was another case of writer’s block, or something similar. Whatever it was, she needed proper inspiration, and she certainly wasn’t going to pull from her current… lesbian experiences. Not exactly her style, honestly. She needed inspiration from elsewhere. And the first place she thought of was the music store. Maybe she could find a new album that would help…
Kanade threw on a presentable outfit and began brushing her hair. Having so much of it generally made that necessary, as otherwise it would get in her face and annoy her. She wasn’t the best at self-care sometimes, but the combination of Mafuyu’s watchful eyes and her own annoyance at feeling dirty had made her a little better at it over time. Even if it took her far too long to get her hair to agree with her…
When she finally managed to brush that annoying mop on her head out, she was basically ready to go. Grabbing a small bag and slinging it on her shoulder, she called over to Mafuyu.
“Hey, Mafuyu, I’m going out. I’ll message you when I’m coming back.” She said, waving at her friend, who was still sitting at the same spot she had left her at.
“Okay. Ena’s coming over, by the way.” Mafuyu said. Kanade breathed an internal sigh of relief. She wasn't the biggest fan of leaving Mafuyu alone, still, and Ena cared a lot about her. She was the first person Kanade would leave her with.
“Okay… Bye, Yuki.” She said with a smile. It was a little cute to see the tinge of red on Mafuyu’s cheeks at her voice.
“Bye K.” Mafuyu almost whispered. Kanade opened the door and shielded her eyes at the brightness. When was the last time she’d left the house? A week, when she and Mafuyu got groceries? She should probably try a little better to do so in the future, at the very least to stop Mizuki’s teasing.
It was warmer than she thought it would be, and she took her sweatshirt off to tie it around her waist. Not her favorite look, but Kanade was already sweating, and there’s not much she could do besides that. The walk wasn’t far, but she wasn’t used to going out this way, as the path to the record store was out of the way compared to other places she frequented. She’d been there before, but she kept pulling her phone out to check directions anyway.
But the walk itself wasn’t that long, and before she knew it, she was standing in front of the record store, suddenly doubtful. Where would she even begin? How would she find anything to listen to?
“Kanade! Hello!”
Oh. She knew who this was. Her voice alone was already making her blush. Bracing herself, she turned around, only to be wrapped in a tight embrace by one Ichika Hoshino, which, once she got over the shock, she returned.
Ichika and Kanade had increasingly become closer over the past month or so. The two of them worked on music together and learned from each other’s differing styles and composition techniques. Well- for a while that was the reason. Then Kanade just… wanted to see her more often. She hadn’t been sure why that became the case, or why she had suddenly grown a little nervous around her, or why it became so much easier to tell her things, or why she wanted to listen to every word she had to say…
Until today of course. When she learned this was most likely… the result of a pretty intense crush on the girl. Her face was probably red. She hoped Ichika wouldn’t notice…
“Ichika? What are you doing here?” She asked, breaking the embrace. She was reluctant to do so, but they were kind of in an awkward spot in the middle of the sidewalk.
“Oh… um, an artist I follow released a new album, so I wanted to see if they had it here.” She said.
Kanade barely heard her, because Ichika was still holding her hand.
Kanade blinked, then smiled, snapping out of her trance. “I came here to see if I could be inspired by new music. But then I realized… I don't know where to look…” She finished, slightly embarrassed. She always seemed to just say anything to Ichika. Words came so easily to her, like she could truly tell the girl whatever came to her mind. It was… nice to have someone like that outside nightcord.
“Well, I can certainly show you some. Would you like to come by my house after i pick up this CD, Kanade?” Ichika smiled, a hint of bravado in her tone. Kanade could tell she was trying to put up a front of bravery, but was unsure why. Was the prospect of her saying no scary? Why would she ever say no? This was Ichika… she couldn't say no if she tried.
She settled for nodding her head and smiling, causing Ichika’s visible anxiety to dissipate. She was prettier when not tense… Kanade really needed to shut her inner monologue off sometimes.
Ichika led her over to the new arrivals and picked out the last copy of the CD she was looking for. The way her eyes brightened when she saw it almost made Kanade explode.
And she still hadn’t let go of her hand.
It was so hard not to blush. Was she really this bad? Was Ichika this bad? Kanade was no expert, but best friends didn’t hold hands this long…
“Kanade? Is me holding your hand okay? I… um… don’t want to lose you in the crowds.
Ichika was certainly lying. There were no crowds around them at all, even though it was a weekend, and the lack of conviction in her tone was another indicator. But if she felt the same way Kanade did… that meant…
“Oh, I have no problem with it.” She said lightly, squeezing her hand a little harder. Ichika smiled and squeezed her hand back.
The two of them paid and walked out of the store, still grasping each other’s hands like they were trying to squeeze the life out of them. Kanade found it cute, how once she asked about the artist, Ichika had started immediately talking about compositions and tuning techniques and mixing Miku’s voice with instrumentals, and how all of this created the very specific melodies the artist went for, in a way Ichika stated was unique to them.
Kanade found most things about the girl cute, though.
“Okay, we’re here. My parents won’t be home for a while, so we have the house to ourselves.” Ichika said, squeezing her hand. Kanade’s face went right back to being red.
To ourselves? What did she mean? Did she want Kanade to do something? Was she insinuating something that she was missing entirely?
Or was she just overthinking it? Mizuki said she tended to do that. Personally thinking too much couldn’t be a bad thing…
“Kanade! Are you okay?” A mildly entertained Ichika sat in front of her, waving an arm in front of her face. She snapped up, face even redder than before.
“Wait… what? Was I out that long?” Kanade said.
“No, not really, maybe 10 seconds. I just wanted to mess with you.” Ichika giggled, and it took all of Kanade’s energy to not kiss her right there. This sort of casual intimacy… the way Ichika talked to her in a way nobody else did… Kanade smiled. It was nice, in a very Ichika way.
“Okay… so are we going inside now? I’m actually…” Ichika shivered. “I’m a little bit cold, you know…”
She nodded, following her friend inside, before shutting the door behind the two of them.
Ichika’s house wasn’t new to her. She’d been here a couple times before, and even had dinner here once. THere was a sort of constant organized chaos to the layout, as nothing remained in a consistent place, and yet nothing ever seemed to be lost. Ichika herself led her to her room, grabbing her hand again to do so.
“Your hand is cold.” She said, as soon as they sat on Ichika’s bed.
“Yours is, conversely, quite warm, Kanade.”
Was she flirting with her? What? The warmth spread across her face, and she almost buried her head in her hands before looking at Ichika’s face and noticing it looked… practically the exact same as hers. Like a mirror, she was as red as a tomato, and looked away as soon as Kanade looked at her.
Maybe she should say something back…
“You don’t look very cold, Ichika.” Was about all she could come up with. It did seem to work, as the girl only went redder, but Kanade felt the need to speed this up. When Ichika turned away to hide her face, Kanade wrapped her arms around her waist and nuzzled in. her chin resting on the taller girl’s shoulder, sighing contently. She could probably rest on these shoulders forever, if only she was allowed
“W.. um… Kana- de?” Ichika cried out, but there was no fear in it, just confusion.
“Yes, Ichika?” She said innocently, head still resting on her shoulder.
“I- what are you doing?” Ichika seemed to not exactly mind her touch, at least not from the way she was holding her, but more- caught off guard at her forwardness. But Kanade was a little tired of waiting, she admitted, and that probably didn’t lead to the most “careful” approach.
“Oh, nothing, just warming you up. You did say you were cold, after all.” She smiled into Ichika’s sweatshirt. This was- almost fun. Was this what flirting was? If so, she certainly needed to do it more often.
Ichika didn’t say anything, but Kanade felt her arms wrap around her, and Kanade snuggled in closer. Ichika wasn’t really cold anymore, but she was so nice to hold… and so gentle… and she smelled nice. Kanade had never noticed that before, but Ichika smelled like… cinnamon?
“Ichika…” Kanade started, then stopped. She found the words stuck behind her throat, face burning as she thought more about it. Asking Ena wasn’t as hard… Ena had basically asked her, and also was one of her closest friends. Ichika was a close friend too, for sure, if not closer at this point, but… Ichika…
“Kanade, what…” Ichika trailed off and her face turned bright red. “Kanade, I… I want to kiss you.
Oh. That was easy.
It didn’t take long for her to grant the girl her wish. Their wish. Kanade pulled Ichika’s face closer to her with one of her hands, the other one brushing against the taller girl’s cheek. Ichika was very soft… no, she was supposed to kiss her, not get distracted caressing her face.
And so she did. And everything stopped.
Ichika…
So this is where Kanade belongs. Good to figure that out. In the arms of Ichika Hoshino. It felt very right. Almost perfect. Maybe it was perfect. She was barely aware of the sensation of the kiss itself, because at that moment, every physical sensation faded away. Her entire life had led to this moment. This was her entire life. Nothing else could feel like this. Nobody else felt like this. Just- just her. Only her. Just the two of them, forever.
Kanade gasped. Opening her eyes, she saw Ichika, who honestly looked the same as she felt. Her eyes fell on their lips immediately, and the two of them went right back to what they were doing before. Kanade shrugged off her sweatshirt as she felt herself warm up, losing herself in the feeling of the other girl entirely.
It took her a while to regain her ability to think critically
She wasn’t sure how it happened, but the two of them had ended up on Ichika’s bed. Kanade was half on top of the girl, half on her side, and Ichika was looking at her like she wanted even more. It was almost impossible for her to hold her hand up and tell the girl to wait, but she had to check the time. The sun was going down already, which didn’t seem right. Kanade looked around for her sweatshirt… and her shirt. Her shirt? What? Was she… Kanade looked down and confirmed that yes, she was. At least from the waist up, that is. Ichika was too, and her face made it clear that she was just as embarrassed by it.
“Wow… that was…” Ichika began, breathlessly. Kanade wasn’t sure if her face could feel any hotter than it did right now. Sweat beaded on her head as she located her shirt and threw it on, tossing Ichika’s back over to her in the process too.
“Kanade, um… Can we… do this more often..?” Ichika laughed nervously, before continuing. “Well, I guess what I’m really asking is… do you want to go out? With me?”
The room went still. Or at least, Kanade did. She didn’t think much about her answer, because she already knew what she wanted to say.
“Yes, I would like that a lot.” Kanade said, smiling at Ichika softly. The girl launched herself at her unexpectedly , wrapping her tightly in a hug. Kanade stumbled back, bracing herself against the edge of Ichika’s desk as she accepted the one-sided embrace. She kissed the girl on the cheek, watching the blush spread further before she let go.
“It’s getting a little late… want me to walk you home?” Ichika said, almost delicately.
Kanade grabbed her hand with a slight nod as the two of them headed out towards the door.
Kanade opened her door softly. She wasn’t sure if Mafuyu was asleep yet, or if Ena had left yet. Ichika stood behind her, waiting for the all clear. With the entranceway silent, Kanade gestured for Ichika to come closer.
“Next week?” Kanade asked, trying to keep her voice down. Ichika nodded, and kissed her lightly on the cheek before supporting the suddenly dizzy younger girl with a hug. Kanade watched her leave wistfully (still slightly dazed) before she closed the door.
Walking into the living room, Kanade looked around.
Just to see the two girls MAKING OUT on HER COUCH. Sure she wasn’t mad, but it definitely caught her off guard.
“Ena? Mafuyu?” Kanade interrupted. Ena let out a yelp before launching herself off of the purple haired girl, falling on the floor with a thud. Kanade rushed to check on her, as Ena released a stream of apologies and explanations that she couldn’t really understand.
“You took too long.” Mafuyu said, with a hint of what sounded like… amusement..? In her tone. Kanade blinked.
“I… its okay. I’m not upset Ena, I promise.” Kanade said, while fixing Ena’s hair. Mafuyu’s eyes narrowed in the corner of her vision.
“We’re dating.” Mafuyu said, her face unreadable but her eyes bright.
Kanade blinked. Dating? Already?
“Um… Kissing you gave me the courage to ask her out.” Ena said, before Mafuyu could interject.
“And kissing you let me figure out how I felt about…” Mafuyu trailed off, the faintest hint of a blush coloring her face.
The room was silent for a moment. Did i really have that much of an effect on them? She supposed it made sense, in it’s own way. It also made her feel less bad about dating Ichika. Oh, right.
“I’m… Dating Ichika now…” She said, trailing off. Ena brightened, and even Mafuyu smiled at her.
“Well, that makes things easier! I was worried this would be… sudden…” Ena’s voice trailed off into a whisper, as she looked down. Kanade hadn’t even thought of that when she had agreed to date Ichika- how would Honami feel? Was she leaving her behind in a way? Right after kissing her, too…
Kanade’s phone buzzed.
(Honami) Thank you for today, Kanade,
(Honami) Me and Emu are dating now! I hope you don’t mind.
She let out a sigh of relief. Things really did work out in her favor, after all.