Chapter Text
Honoka pulled back from the hug a bit, hesitantly looking at Rin, their arms still loosely wrapped around eachother.
"So uh... when do you want to go?"
Rin looked thoughtful for a moment, still looking Honoka in the eyes. "Whenever Honoka wants to go is fine!"
Honoka chuckled nervously. "We can go whenever you want! I'm free all day today," she insisted.
"Then... let's go right now!" Rin said excitedly. Honoka could feel the girl's grip tighten slightly.
"S- Sure!"
After talking a bit longer, the two girls went their separate ways to change from their sweaty practice clothes into something more presentable.
"Nozomi!" Rin nearly shouted into her phone.
"Is something wrong, Rin?"
"I have a date to go out for ramen, but I dont know what to wear! I need help!" Rin said, the desperation apparent in her tone.
Nozomi laughed. "It's okay, Rin. I'm sure anything will be fine with Honoka."
"Yeah, I guess you're right... ah, wait, how did you know it was Honoka?!"
"Well. I'm the one who helped her work up the courage to ask you out."
"O- Oh..."
"Anyway, if you really need my opinion, a simple skirt might be nice, with maybe a hoodie or something. I really don't think Honoka will mind!"
"Alright..."
The two girls sat across from each other in a booth seat, looking over their menus carefully.
Rin stole a quick glance at Honoka, becoming more nervous by the second. What were they even supposed to talk about?
"So, Honoka... have you decided what you want yet?" She asked, trying to start up any kind of conversation.
"Ah, not yet," Honoka said a bit quickly, her face still hidden behind her menu.
Rin made a 'hm' sound, going back to examining her menu. There was a picture of a large ramen bowl with all sorts of things in it, with a ridiculously long name and description.
"All of this stuff looks so good, I can't decide what to get," Honoka complained. "What are you getting?"
"I think I'll go with this," Rin said, turning her menu around and pointing to the picture.
"Oh, that looks good! I think I'll go with that too," Honoka decided. The two of them smiled, their nervousness slowly fading.
"Um, you know, Rin, I--"
"Are you two ready for me to take your order?" Honoka was interrupted by the waitress.
"Uh, Yeah," Honoka tore her gaze away from Rin. "We're both getting this."
The waitress looked to where Honoka was pointing on the menu, before nodding and writing it down.
"Anything else?" She asked in an overly-cheerful voice.
"Nope, that's all."
As soon as the waitress left, Honoka let out a sigh.
"Is something wrong, Honoka?" Rin asked before taking a sip from her glass of water.
"N- No, it's nothing. So uh, how was school today?"
Rin sighed. "It was really boring. English is so hard!"
"Yeah," Honoka agreed. "But at least practice was fun."
"Yep!"
They fell into silence, though it wasn't completely uncomfortable.
"Hey, Rin, I--"
"Here you go!" Honoka was interrupted by the waitress yet again, who placed the two bowls of ramen on the table.
"...Thanks," Honoka said, her finger tapping on the table unconsciously.
"You guys are from Muse, right? I'm a big fan!" The waitress said excitedly.
"Uh... yeah, thank you," Honoka said with a forced smile. Rin tilted her head slightly. Honoka usually greeted fans with a lot of enthusiasm.
"Do you think I can get an autograph?" The waitress asked, offering her pen and notepad to Honoka.
Honoka signed it without saying anything, before handing it back to her. "Well it was nice meeting y--"
"Can I get yours too?" She interrupted again, handing it to Rin.
"Sure," Rin said, signing her name with a smiley face next to Honoka's signature.
Honoka cleared her throat as Rin handed the notepad and pen back to the waitress.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, but we should probably start eating before our food gets cold."
"Oh, right! Enjoy, then!" The waitress said, before walking back to the kitchen.
Honoka tore her chopsticks apart with much more force than necessary, digging into her food as if it were the first meal she'd eaten in days.
Rin watched Honoka for a moment, before taking her chopsticks apart as well, taking a bite of her ramen that was just as delicious as she'd imagined it would be.
"Er, Honoka, are you okay?"
"Y- Yeah! Just really hungry," the older girl said with a nervous laugh, eating slower.
Rin watched Honoka curiously. She still seemed upset about something.
The two of them walked out of the restaurant, their shoulders brushing.
"That was really good," Rin said lazily, rubbing her stomach for emphasis. Honoka giggled, nodding in agreement.
The setting sun illuminated the area around them, reflecting off the lake nearby and making Rin's eyes shine.
"U- Uh, Rin?" Honoka asked, her face growing red as the other girl turned to look at her.
"I had a lot of fun... and... we should do this again sometime! Because, well, y'know, I really, uh, I really like you and I think you're cute and stuff...!"
Rin tackled Honoka into a hug, a smile on her face. "I like you too! And you're super cute too!"
Honoka smiled, returning the hug and blushing when Rin rubbed their cheeks together.
"I can't wait to brag about my new girlfriend," Rin teased. Honoka laughed, hugging Rin even tighter.
The two pulled apart, still weakly holding onto eachother, their faces inches apart.
"I... um..." Rin's eyes travelled downward, before quickly darting back up again. "Can I, er..."
Honoka brought her hand up to rest on Rin's cheek, both of them closing their eyes, leaning forward until their lips met.
Rin wrapped her arms around Honoka again, the two of them staying like that for several moments before finally breaking apart, pressing their foreheads together.
"I love you, Honoka."
Honoka smiled.
"I love you too, Rin."