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"When did you realize you were a lesbian, Toyama-san?"
The sound of some pop ballad is fading out, but all Kasumi can focus on is Yukina. To be fair, the song isn't really Kasumi's bag, too slow, and dramatic.
Also, she has a mouthful of at least two onion rings, possibly three. She peers over at Yukina across the Karaoke booth's table, a way too large plate of overpriced but still kinda tasty food between them.
"I'm a lesbian?" is what Kasumi wants to ask, but given the oniony goodness currently muffling her voice, it comes out as more "Ahm lesbib?"
Well, obviously, Kasumi wouldn't want to date a guy or anything, but she hasn't given that much thought to it. Why would she? She's got Poppin' Party, and all the other bands, and CiRCLE, and onion rings. Why would she think about guys?
Yukina seems about as confused as she is. She's tilting her head at Kasumi, slowly reaching for the same single onion ring she's been nibbling at for the last ten minutes. She gives it another small bite, chews purposefully as she thinks it over. Kasumi can't help but watch - the small, mousy way Yukina eats is really adorable.
"Well," Yukina finally starts, once she's chewed her snack thoroughly. "You flirt with women so much, I simply assumed that you were lesbib - lesbian, yes."
Kasumi sure doesn't feel lezzan. Actually -
"I hit on girls?"
The look Yukina gives her in response is so incredulous that Kasumi almost feels like she should be leesan. Lesbian. It'd make more sense than anything else.
"Toyama-san, just the other day..."
"Yoohoo, Sayo-chan! That blouse looks really cute on you!" Kasumi announced as she burst into CiRCLE, a somewhat red Sayo glancing over at her. "Thank you?" She finally said, but it was too late - Kasumi was already on the move, leaning over the back of Sayo's chair.
"Hey, hey, you wanna get dinner or something? You like fries too, right, Sayo-chan? There's this great burger place that just opened and they have these super good, super crispy fries!"
"One time!" Kasumi protests, back in the present day, but Yukina shakes her head.
"Sayo-san felt very awkward about turning you down, you know. She'd never been hit on before," Yukina says at length, reaching to adorably nibble at another onion ring. Kasumi doesn't even want to eat another onion ring. She just wants to sit here for the next seven hours and watch Yukina work her way through them.
But there's... not exactly more important things, but more immediate things to worry about. "I wanted to talk about guitar with her!" Kasumi whines, hands on her knees.
"And how cute her blouse was? Toyama-san, you aren't very good at pretending," Yukina counters, then hesitates, adding, quieter. "You don't have to pretend with me."
"It was a really cute blouse!" Kasumi argues back, all subtlety in this conversation soaring approximately the height of the Tokyo Tower above her head.
"Mm. Then, why did you..."
"Lisa-chan!"
Kasumi's voice rang out in the convenience store, a little too loud for such a small space. She was already leaning over the counter, a few snacks for practice that evening laid out for Moca to ring up.
Lisa was a little too busy to do that, seeing as Kasumi was running her fingers along..... her fingers. To be fair, Lisa didn't seem to mind.
"Your nails look super nice, Lisa-chan!" Kasumi sing-songed, eyes flitting from her nails up to the other girl's face. Lisa laughed, pleased but awkward.
"They're just press-ons, you know," Lisa shrugged, not too put out by the compliment, near as anyone could tell. It was probably a nice break to the monotony of work.
Kasumi gave a way too long, way too awed 'oooohhh,' in response, as if the idea of press-on nails had never occurred to her. "Right, right, because - Roselia. Right. Press-ons. That's neat! Where do you get yours from?"
"Usually just the cosmetics store in the mall?"
"What time do you get off? Wanna hit up the mall together later?"
Lisa did show some surprise in response to that, at least - blinking over at Kasumi, glancing over at Moca. Moca, for her part, just grinned, slowly. "Wooowww, kitty Catsumi gettin' that milk..."
Kasumi blinked over at Moca, too. Lisa finally broke the silence as she bagged Kasumi's groceries for her, handed them over to her. "Kasumi-chan, weren't you buying these snacks for practice tonight? Aren't you busy?"
"Oh, shoot, right... I really wanted to go to the mall with, you, too!"
"Lisa-chan and I did go to the mall another day! Not in a date way! - wait, she told you about that?" Kasumi argues back, then blinks, tilting her head.
Yukina's still nibbling on the exact same piece of onion ring she was before. Scratch seven hours, she'd be in here seven days if she waited for Yukina to eat all the food. That doesn't sound bad, though, minus having to pay for that much time in the booth.
"She didn't think it was strange," Yukina assures her, with a tone of comfort and reassurance that Kasumi doesn't quite get. Why would it be strange for her to tell a girl how nice her nails were? "And she enjoyed that trip. She just thought it was... amusing? How obvious you were."
"Obvious about what?"
Yukina blinks over at Kasumi, and this time Kasumi challenges her gaze, unflinching, her own bright eyes into Yukina's cold ones.
"Obvious about the way you've been flirting with me for the past month," Yukina finally says.
"Waaaiiit. I've been hitting on you?"
Yukina nods as she starts to explain things - it's a cute, small gesture, and for a moment Kasumi is more focused on the way her hair falls than her explanation.
"Yukina-chan, your hair looks so pretty! Is it okay if I touch it? Just a little! I promise I won't mess it up!"
"Yukina-chan, that outfit's so cute! Where do you usually shop? Would you wanna go together?"
"Yukina-chan, what sort of food do you like? Ohhhh, ohhhhhh, tea? Arisa-chan mentioned a place for some western-style tea to me! We should hit it up!"
"Yukina-chan! Your voice is so beautiful! We should do karaoke sometime!"
"Yukina-chan, you -"
"Waaaaait!" The present-day Kasumi protests, crossing her arms like an umpire midway through another of Yukina's examples. Yukina pauses mid-sentence, catches herself, then glances over at Kasumi.
"You think I was hitting on you," Kasumi slowly pieces together, having to physically move her hands to sort through the point she's about to make.
Yukina nods, is the thing. "Badly, at that."
"Haaarsh," Kasumi whines, then shakes her head. "Wait, I mean - okay, I was hitting on you. When I asked you to let me brush your hair?"
"You were," Yukina agrees.
"And you let me brush your hair," Kasumi realizes, the pieces starting to fit together like a jigsaw. "And then when I asked you to that teashop, I was also hitting on you?"
"The tea was quite nice there. Give Ichigaya-san my regards."
"Oh, yeah, eheh, those little teacakes they had were nice too..." Kasumi grins, then trails off, then shakes her head. Then trails off again before shaking her head a second time. "Wait, no, hold on, the fashion thing, I forgot that!"
"I'm afraid I don't have too much of a fashion sense, honestly, but you seemed to enjoy it," Yukina hums, reaching down to brush out her skirt, indicating her clothes as she talks.
Kasumi has to shake her head again at that, so hard that her hair-ears bounce. "Ehhh, all your outfits are super pretty! You look so elegant all the time!"
Yukina puts her fingers to her chin, at that, looking Kasumi over in return. "Your clothes look convenient to move around in, though," she starts, then chuckles, softly. "I'd have to blame Lisa for my tastes."
"Eheh, sometimes I worry I dress a little too -" Kasumi starts, then recrosses her arms, forcibly removing herself from the flow of conversation. "Wait! Just now! Here! I was hitting on you when I asked you to karaoke?"
"Yes," Yukina nods.
"And we're at karaoke."
"Mmhm."
"And you thought I was asking you on a date?"
"Because I was under the impression that we had already been on several."
That sentence hangs in the air, quiet, for a moment, as Kasumi works out the implications of it. She isn't sure what they are. She isn't very good at implications. Or multiplication, but that's an entirely different problem.
"Sooo we're on a date right now?" Kasumi asks, nervous but excited, like it was a possibility she'd never considered before.
Because it kind of isn't? She wants to spend time with girls, see them being cute, talk to them about things they like, get to know them better, but she's never thought about doing that in a romantic context. That's a thing she can do? Well, obviously it is, she's seen it on TV and stuff, plus some manga Rimi likes, but she's never put herself in that kind of position. It's always seemed so distant -
"Yes," Yukina agrees, completely cutting off Kasumi's train of thought. She's on a date? With a girl. With a girl! Girl date! Date girl!
At that sudden realization, Kasumi leaps to her feet, pumping her fist. "I'm gay!" She declares, like it's a victory. Actually, it totally is.
"You are," Yukina agrees, chin in her hand, looking up at the other girl. Kasumi suddenly feels filled with a nervous, excitable energy - something combustible, maybe. Or whatever stars are made of. She hops in place twice, shadowboxes for a moment before hopping back towards the door, all the energy pouring out of her in waves. She doesn't know what she's gonna do with all this. It feels like the first time she picked up a guitar. "I'm gonna get an extension! I wanna spend more time with my girlfriend! Which I have now!"
"You've had a girlfriend for the past three weeks," Yukina informs her, waiting until Kasumi's back is half-turned to reach for another onion ring.
"I'm lesdan!" Kasumi agrees.
"Lesbian."
"That too!"
Yukina snickers, at that, and it's such a cute sound that Kasumi's heart physically aches. Just like the first time she picked up a guitar, she's gonna spend the rest of her life soaking in this feeling, huh. It's just who she is now, the same way that starry sky became a part of her, the same way music became a part of her.
Of course she's gay. Why would she be anything else?
Though she should probably stop asking out girls that aren't Yukina, huh.