Work Text:
" Have I ever told you how pretty you are? "
Mahiru raises a brow. It's the third time in the past few minutes she's shifted her focus from the script in front of her. No, Hikari disturbing her from her reading wasn't the problem but there definitely was a persisting one she has no solution for yet.
"I can't understand you if you speak in English, Hikari chan." Mahiru whines. All she can do is judge the meaning of her girlfriend’s words through her expressions. Not that there were many facial cues to go by.
" Your smile is like the sun. "
There’s a glint in Hikari’s eyes and Mahiru wishes she actually paid a bit more attention in English class. She can partially figure out what she means but not completely. All she knows are a few basic pleasantries, enough to get an acceptable grade and somewhat manage in situations where someone spoke to her in English(which was an event that occurred once but thankfully Hikari who was soon by her side handled the situation quite well). Even so, her listening skills were not on par with the speed at which her girlfriend spoke.
And that accent was not helpful at all.
"Hikari chan, can you please translate."
Hikari lifts her head from against the table. Her lips curl upward and she cups Mahiru’s cheeks cheeks with both hands. Her thumbs outline the curve of Mahiru’s eyes and she smiles wider at Mahiru’s confusion.
Mahiru can feel her heart skip a beat. Hikari’s smiles have always been so bright and so-so powerful that there's an intense emotion that laps against her heart like the waves on a beach. There’s a variety of things she can call those feelings but one thing is certain; she loves that smile and wishes she smiled a bit more often.
“I love you.” Hikari says and Mahiru can finally understand. She knows these words and their depth. It's these words that make her heart flutter and fill with emotion. It's an arrow that goes straight through her heart but instead of dying(if she must then it would be in embarrassment) she’s decorated in the flowers that speak meaning. There's a hidden message that only the two of them know in those flowers. One day she’s sure she’ll get past that language barrier(although it's not a major concern since Hikari mostly speaks Japanese, she wishes to one day be able to speak English back. Perhaps those English dramas she’s been interested in recently would help.) and she’ll understand those flowers that bloom, ones from a different land and enjoy them just the same as the ones she knows.
Hikari leans in, pressing a slight kiss on Mahiru’s lips. Mahiru smiles, giddy with joy.
She loves her so much.
They separate after what seems like an eternity. They’re still staring at each other, basking in each other’s presence and there’s a breath of distance that separates them. Even if the kiss itself was short and sweet, they’re still giddy on its feeling, grinning like the idiots in love they are.
It's all so warm, like a greenhouse that grows plants. Just like that there’s warm words that seep from the depths of her heart to the tip of her tongue and into Hikari’s ear.
“I love you too.”
And Hikari is struck by the same arrow that hit her own heart, the same flowers that decorate her and Hikari reciprocates closing in the distance for just another short moment.
They are simply two idiots in love, with a language barrier(an avoidable one but it is one nonetheless.) and flowery words that strike hearts like arrows.
“Hikari chan.”
“Hmm?”
“Teach me English.”
“ Of course. ”