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This was the first time they had held hands, Yui realized, and suddenly a rush of heat came to her face all at once like an avalanche, making her blushing wildly. It was like a red streak had parted its way over her, and Itsuka had laughed - she’d said she looked like a raspberry. Yui wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean, but it made her stuff her face into her scarf, even more, not wanting to be seen in public looking so embarrassed.
It was odd, she would admit. She’d kissed Itsuka before, been held in her arms, and had just done about every other thing any other couple would do, but that was all in private, in the recluse of their rooms or homes or anywhere else where they couldn’t be seen. Now, though, they were holding hands, and in public, nonetheless.
It was odd to think they’d never held hands before, walked alongside each other on a rather chilly November night. That, however, was just what they were doing.
Yui noticed, as she peered her head out of her scarf, that nobody was paying attention to them as they walked through the park, like lovers would do on cold evenings, huddled closely for warmth.
“Relax, Yui,” Itsuka had told her, which made her tensed up a little in surprise, straightening her back, and looking over at her…girlfriend, she supposed was the term, but it made Yui embarrassed to think about it like that. She still wasn’t used to thinking about it like that. Itsuka had giggled a little at Yui’s surprise but then relaxed her face, looking a bit more emphatic.
“You don’t have to worry about what people think. About us, I mean,” she said, her voice calm and smooth.
“We’ve never held hands before,” Yui whispered quietly, feeling herself wanting to physically retreat even more into the shell that was her scarf.
She looked at Itsuka, who went through a wide range of emotions in a matter of seconds. First, surprise. Then, confusion. Thirdly, a realization seemed to strike her girlfriend. Lastly, Itsuka seemed to look aside, her eyebrows furrowed downwards in thought.
“We haven’t, huh. I didn’t realize,” Itsuka seemed upset by this. She let go of Yui’s hand, which Yui realized she didn’t like. She fumbled slightly, pawing at it.
“I didn’t tell you to stop,” she commented, avoiding eye contact. She felt herself become even more flushed if that was even possible.
“Oh,” was all that Itsuka said in response, before holding Yui’s hand firmly. They weren’t wearing gloves, as it wasn’t cold enough for that yet, so she felt her girlfriend’s hands. They weren’t soft, but rough, worn because of the amount of work they were put through. There were band-aids around her fingers, to help stop with the cuts she had received when she’d sparred with Kamakiri the day before.
They weren’t perfect by any means, but they were Itsuka’s hands, so that was what mattered. Yui liked holding her girlfriend's hands, she realized, suddenly. It was nice. It felt normal.
“Hey, Yui?”
“Mhm?”
“Do you remember our first kiss?”
She resisted the urge to snort. “Mhm,” she hummed, affirmatively. Yui considered resting her head on Itsuka’s shoulder, but that’d make it uncomfortable walking, she realized.
They were walking across a bridge, now. It was getting dark, and the sun was setting. They stopped walking then and looked down at the calm river that There were people on the bridge with them, couples, most likely. Or maybe they were just friends. Or maybe they were just people standing next to each other. Possibilities flashed in Yui’s mind, but what mattered was that there were people there.
“I sat next to you-“ Itsuka let go of Yui’s hand, and she’d panicked for a second, grasping at air, as if her hand had been what was supporting her in reality “- and I leaned in-“
As her girlfriend explained what had happened, which Yui remembered rather well, she wondered what she was doing.
“And I kissed you.”
With that, Itsuka pecked Yui on the cheek. It wasn’t long, nor was it very dramatic, but it did enough for her. She found herself making a squeak, perhaps in surprise that Itsuka would do it in public, but her shock was quickly overcome by embarrassment. She felt her face become even more flushed than it had before, less an avalanche and more a volcano about to erupt, that was how hot her face felt.
She glanced at Itsuka, who was giving her a soft smile, her eyebrows curled upwards. It wasn’t her teasing, Yui realized, but she didn’t know what words to use to describe it.
“I love your eyes,” Itsuka whispered, barely a sound, but it was loud enough that Yui was able to hear it.
Whatever Yui might have wanted to say, about her smile, about the kiss, about hands or lips or whatever else, she couldn’t. Words were lost on her. Her mouth fell gently open, and she managed to croak out a sound. That made Itsuka laugh.
“I love you,” Yui managed to gulp down her fears, and pushed herself somewhat closer to her girlfriend. Now, now, now that word felt right, it didn’t feel wrong, Yui wanted to scream it out because her girlfriend was so sweet and kind and gentle and made her feel so, so right, it was frustrating, and it made her feel confident and hopeful, and she wanted to-
She wanted to-
She wanted to kiss her.
So she did.
Leaning forwards, she managed to push her lips onto Itsuka’s, who momentarily seemed surprised that Yui had taken the initiative, it was the first time she had done that but did nothing to stop it. Her arms slumped downwards only slight, and Yui felt too strong hands hold onto her sides, Itsuka’s hands. Yui felt her own hands claw upwards, her hands gently placing themselves on her shoulders, it felt like that was the right place to put them.
The kiss wasn’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it felt right. When their lips separated, Yui felt a warm breath coming out of both of them. That was when she realized people were staring. At her. At them.
Suddenly, she didn’t feel so confident anymore, and instead pushed her face down into her scarf. Itsuka let out a cheerful laugh, before taking her into her arms, pushing her closer. She rested her chin on Yui’s shoulder, they were practically the same size, after all, so it wasn’t hard. Yui didn’t look up, instead of pushing her forehead into Itsuka’s collarbone. She might have pouted a little.
“That was the first time we kissed in public, you know,” Itsuka mused, as they held each other for what seemed like forever.
“Mhm,” Yui let out a soft hum, almost as if it was a grumble.
“You want to go to my place, and cuddle in my bed, away from watchful eyes?” Itsuka suggested. Yui considered it for a moment.
“Mhm,” she hummed, moving her head up and down against Itsuka’s thick winter coat.
“Come on. Let’s go then,” Itsuka let go of her grasp on Yui, before shuffling to take her hand. Yui let her, and the two walked to her place together, to do just what had been offered.