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“What are you reading?” Tae peeks over, curious, as she sets her guitar aside.
“A romance novel,” Saaya hums, flipping the book cover over slightly so Tae is able to see the title. “It's the author’s latest series.”
“Is it any good?” Tae tilts her head slightly, in a way that’s way too adorable than it should be.
Saaya nods, a little self-conscious, thinking of the small collection of novels she has in her room. “It’s kind of embarrassing but I like these kinds of stories.”.
“I think it’s great though,” Tae offers a reassuring smile before she adds, “Can I read it too?”
Surprised but nonetheless still willing, Saaya shifts a little to the side and gestures to the now empty seat next to her. “We could read it together, if you like?”
In the next instant, Tae’s next to Saaya, their shoulders and knees brushing against each others’ as Tae relaxes into her side.
“I’m fine reading from where you left off.” Tae leans in a little. Saaya doesn’t think much of it and sinks further into the couch, shifting the novel to her left so Tae is able to see the pages.
“Is this fine?”
Tae makes a sound of agreement.
Silence reigns in the room and soon, Saaya finds herself leaning comfortably back against Tae. It’s been a while since she’s this close to a friend, and Tae’s at a really nice height to lean against too. She soaks in the warmth next to her and the pleasantness of the quiet atmosphere as her mind wanders back to the world in front of her.
It is only when she finally looks up from the pages of the book that Saaya realizes that Tae had already dozed off, noting the light pressure and weight on her shoulder.
A fond smile slips from Saaya’s lips. It doesn’t surprise her that Tae had already fallen asleep, though It’s kind of a pity that she’s unable to observe what must have been a peaceful and serene expression that Tae has on her face right now.
And so Saaya leaves Tae be; her eyes return to where she had left off, until almost an hour later when the rest of Poppin’Party returns to find Saaya dozing off against Tae’s head in return, the novel she had been reading sitting on the table.
Often, Saaya doesn’t realize that she has a habit of staring at Tae until Arisa points it out one day, during their usual band practice.
“Huh? I’m not-”
The words of denial that had reached the tips of Saaya’s tongue immediately die when she finds (belatedly) that she is, indeed staring at Tae.
Tae, who often has her head in the clouds, always going at her own pace, yet someone who’s fiercely devoted to her guitar and the band.
It’s easy to tell how much Tae loves playing her guitar. Not only is she good, there’s always this sense of excitement that bubbles around her whenever Tae starts talking about the technical things, or when she reminisces about her experiences back when she was still working at Space. Her demeanor changes, and sometimes, her passion shows through the unexpected declarations of her dreams and aspirations. Saaya is almost sure that if Tae could, she would even marry her guitar.
Tae is weird in a way, Saaya thinks. Yet an enigma in another sense. It’s hard to tell what the guitarist is thinking sometimes, and the things she say may be baffling but - that’s also part of Tae’s charm, Saaya likes to think. And despite her presumed airheadedness, Tae is also someone who has a good head on her shoulders when the time calls for it.
It’s also always interesting to know what’s going on in Tae’s head since whatever’s on her mind is always something so unexpected or hilarious; there was never a dull conversation with Tae.
She tells Arisa just as much.
“I don’t get it,” Saaya hears Arisa say. Her lips are curled slightly in contemplation while she mulls over Saaya’s words.
Saaya’s gaze returns back to Tae and she lets it fall on the movements of Tae’s hands as she turns the pegs to tune her guitar. A contented smile spreads across Tae’s face when she hums a familiar tune lightly to herself.
Saaya continues to stare at Tae, unaware of the slight skip of her heartbeat.
She doesn’t really get it either.
“Ah- Saaya-chan!”
“Aya-senpai…?” When Saaya sees her senior waving at her, she halts in her tracks and greets her fluffy senior. It isn’t often she sees the vocalist of Pastel*Palettes by the first years’ corridors. The pink-haired girl also seems to be in a rush too.
“Great timing! Chisato-chan wanted me to help her return this to Tae-chan but I have to collect a new set of printouts from the staffroom now. You’re in the same class as Tae-chan right?”
“Yes, I am…but what is this?” Saaya accepts the thin CD case that Aya hands her. A plain disk reflects back - there isn’t even a label on it.
“Hmm… Some sort of video on rabbits?” Aya’s eyebrows scrunch in thought as she tries to recall any details that could she could offer the younger girl. “According to Chisato-chan, Tae-chan often records videos of her rabbits and Chisato-chan wanted to use them as a reference for her upcoming job. Apparently the character she’s acting as owns a rabbit too.”
“I see…” Saaya’s voice becomes a tad quieter.
It never did occur to her that Tae had been hanging out with Chisato. Was Tae always this close with Chisato...?
Aya, oblivious to Saaya’s thoughts, offers the younger girl an apologetic smile. Right. That was her cue to leave. Saaya manages a nod, dismissing the strange feeling growing within her and bids Aya goodbye before she mechanically returns to her classroom, her original goal already forgotten.
“Are you okay, Saaya?” The concern in Tae voice shakes some of the sleepiness off her and she nods slightly.
“It's probably just a cold.” Saaya attempts to smile, though her efforts are instantly wrecked by a coughing fit.
Tae is instantly up on her feet, rubbing Saaya’s back gently and soothingly.
“Saaya?” Tae’s voice grows even more concerned.
Saaya only shakes her head. The drowsiness is now back with vengeance and she has to struggle to keep her eyelids open. It doesn’t help that her head’s getting a little fuzzy. Her voice is also slightly hoarse and when she speaks, her throat burns.
“Sorry, O-Tae. And...thank you for bringing me here,” Saaya offers a weak smile. It probably was a bad idea to even come to school today.
Tae shakes her head. “It’s fine. Just rest, Saaya. The nurse said that you probably overworked yourself. Kasumi, Rimi, and Arisa will take care of the notes in class for you, so don’t worry.”
Saaya imagines how concerned the rest of Poppin’Party would be and tries not let her guilt show.
Almost as if she could read Saaya’s mind, Tae takes her hand, squeezes it reassuringly and her voice softens, “It’s alright.”
It doesn’t ease much of Saaya’s worries but her head feels too heavy, and she only manages to murmur a muffled response before exhaustion and sleep overcome her.
When Saaya wakes up, she finds a warmth wrapped around her.
She blinks several times, trying to orient herself to her surroundings and finds that she’s unable to move. Her face rapidly reddens when she finally takes in the sight before her.
The source of warmth came from Tae, who had fallen asleep next to her, half hugging her and Saaya finally notices that their bodies are pressed against each other. In other words, Saaya is now completely stuck, trapped by Tae’s arms around her waist.
Her heart speeds up too much for her own liking and Saaya swallows the dry lump in her throat. Tae’s really close - too close for her comfort and though she ought to wake the other girl up, Saaya finds herself unable to do so.
There’s something about watching the calm rising and falling of the quiet breaths before her that makes her unable to tear her gaze away from Tae. Her entire body grows hot, from the cold or from the closeness to Tae, Saaya doesn’t really know but all she hears is the loud thumping of her heart against her chest, and the clamminess of her hands that are fidgeting near the fabric of Tae’s uniform.
She loses track of how long she has been staring in a daze; her face is furiously red when Tae finally wakes up, removing her hands from Saaya in the process. Tae blinks, seemingly unaffected by their closeness, not even questioning why Saaya’s face is so red.
“G-Good...morning.” Saaya barely chokes out.
And when Tae returns the greeting with a bright smile, Saaya’s breath catches in her throat and she almost forgets to breathe.
“Um…O-Tae?”
Saaya stills, trying not to breathe when she feels a cool hand against her the area a little below her stomach. It feels a little ticklish but Saaya resists the urge to move.
“Ohhh...” Tae’s eyes light up. “It’s hard.”
“Ahaha...isn’t that kind of an exaggeration?” Saaya breathes out. Her abs aren’t even pronounced.
A shiver runs down Saaya’s spine when Tae runs her fingers slowly down her toned muscles again. The way the rest of PoPiPa is staring at them makes her even more self-conscious and she tries not to blush (failing terribly).
“Y-You- Hanazono Tae, what are you doing?!” Arisa blurts out, and if it’s any consolation to Saaya, Arisa’s face is just as red. Arisa almost sounded scandalized and Saaya can only let out an awkward laughter. From the other corner of the room, Saaya hears Kasumi and Rimi, who are also in their outfits, chiming in. She barely catches words like “touch too” and “work out” but Saaya isn’t really paying attention, too focused on the fact that Tae’s hand is still on her.
They had been changing into their stage outfits for a full dress rehearsal for an upcoming live, and while the color palette for the costumes is much bolder than their first stage outfits, Saaya thought that attaching a star to the suspenders was a cute idea. And with the way their tops are designed, it had left their stomach exposed.
It isn’t something that typically bothered Saaya but she certainly hadn't expected Tae to come up to her out of the blue asking if she could touch her abs.
Tae finally removes her hand and nods to herself, murmuring about how she should start working out too after her morning runs.
Saaya finally exhales.
The memory of the event lingers in her mind longer than it should, and she finds herself unable to concentrate during their rehearsal.
Saaya’s fingers brush over the group photo lightly. A small smile curls at the end of her lips as she recalls the events leading up to the taking of the print at the arcade- and what happened when they were taking it.
Despite her (embarrassing) blunder in drawing a mustache instead of whiskers on Tae’s face on the photo, she really had enjoyed herself. It’s been awhile since Poppin’Party had hung out together for the entire day like that.
Thinking about the looks of joy and delight on everyone’s faces throughout the day causes a wave of affection to well within her and she giggles. Poppin’Party is really precious to her after all, and she treasures all the time they’ve spent together. She couldn’t have asked for a better group of friends.
Her eyes darts back to the figure next to her in the photo and Saaya once again notices their close proximity. Something between them seems to have changed - Saaya doesn’t really know when that started or if it’s a good thing or not but there are times where she finds it hard to look at Tae properly in the eye.
She remembers the way Tae had snaked her arms around her shoulders, her breath against her neck, tickling her skin. She remembers just how close Tae was, the warmth that traveled spreading across her cheeks, as well as the tingles that ran across her arm as Tae pressed further in.
It doesn’t leave her mind - the soft pressure of the curves against her own body, and the coolness of Tae’s arms that burns against her warming skin.
Her face grows hotter, and Saaya has the sudden urge to hide under her covers.
The signs are there - Saaya knows that she had been in denial; just seeing Tae is always enough to subconsciously cause her to smile, and the way her heart constricts at the thought that she may have fallen for her friend is the only confirmation that Saaya needs.
She finally buries her face into her pillow in embarrassment to squash down the heat that's still creeping up her neck.
“Hey, O-Tae?” Arisa finally decides to ask the burning question that’s been in her mind for a long time.
“What is it?”
“You...Do you l-like Saaya?” Arisa pretends that she didn’t stutter her words, no, she definitely isn’t embarrassed by the topic she brought up herself.
Sometimes, watching how oblivious the two of them could be when they interact makes her hands itch. Seeing how Tae doesn’t seem to have any self-awareness, and how Saaya gets uncharacteristically flustered- Arisa wonders if she had offended any of the Gods in the past for her to suffer such second-hand embarrassment like this. Kasumi hadn’t seemed to notice anything- and Rimi, oh innocent Rimi, Arisa doesn’t want to drag her into something as silly as this. So that left her to clear things up.
“Yeah, I love Saaya!”
Arisa gapes at the ease at which Tae admits it. It’s amazing how she’s able to say something like this out loud without hesitating. Then again, it is Tae after all. Tae doesn’t seem to have any shame and is often so forward with her feelings. And if Arisa is to be perfectly honest and free herself of any biases, someone like Tae - who’s always looking forward, who though seems to be in her own world at times, yet is much more perceptive and serious than she’s often given credit for - is good for Saaya.
“...Does Saaya know this?”
“She doesn’t?” Tae looks genuinely surprised at that thought.
Arisa decides to take all of her words back, suppressing the urge to sigh. She swears Saaya is a morosexual for falling for the idiot before her.
“If you don’t tell Saaya, how would she know?” Arisa is highly aware of the irony of her own words.
“Oh.” The sudden understanding that crosses Tae’s face causes Arisa to finally sigh out loud.
“Thank you, Arisa.” A genuine smile from Tae a moment later.
A retort is almost out of her lips but Arisa stops herself in time, realizing that she really did want to see her friends happy, and a hint of a smile begins to crawl up her lips.
Well, her job here is done.
“Saaya.”
“What is it-” Saaya’s words die in her throat as she finds herself staring into a pool of green. The way Tae stares into her eyes makes it suddenly hard to breathe, and she feels herself shiver as a blush rushes up her cheeks. The intense yet unreadable look in Tae’s eyes traps her, and she can’t seem to look away, completely entranced.
And as with most things that Tae do, the kiss happens suddenly.
It takes her two whole seconds to register the fact that Tae’s lips are against hers, and her face immediately bursts into flames.
The words that Saaya never thought Tae would say - words that she only dreams of and read about in her novels - are whispered against her lips, and a warmth, akin to the first breath of spring, blooms from within Saaya, and she finds herself unexpectedly choking up.
Tae gently closes into her again, and this time, Saaya reciprocates, slightly hesitant. It isn’t something that’s earth-shattering - Saaya doesn’t really know what’s doing, really, and her mouth moves in an awkward way - yet, she feels the sparks that run through her body, and the flutters in her chest magnify by a thousand.
When Tae finally pulls away, Saaya’s breath is shaky as her mind reels. Her knees feel weak, and if not for Tae’s strong hold on her, she would have collapsed on her knees.
“Did that make your heart sparkle and pound?” Tae’s voice is barely a whisper, but Saaya catches it and nods against the other girl’s shoulder, the tips of her ears burning. Her heart continues to race when she feels Tae’s arms around her back, being pulled into an embrace.
“Mmm...Saaya smells really nice,” Tae murmurs affectionately against the crook of Saaya’s neck. “So nice that I could eat you up-”
“O-Tae, s-stop, stop!” Beyond flustered, Saaya half-flails about, her words tumbling out in stutters. “Y-You can’t just say that!”
“But Saaya really smells delicious…” Tae only clutches Saaya’s back even tighter, oblivious as usual. “As expected of the Yamabuki bakery’s daughter.”
“P-People will misunderstand!” The blush never really did leave Saaya’s face and it only grows redder. Even though it is after school, there might be students who are still around.
Tae doesn’t seem to mind, nor does she seem to be in a hurry to let Saaya go.
And honestly, Saaya wouldn’t have it any other way.