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She’s the sun and the moon. The rising and the setting. The bright horizon and the starry night.
There’s a lot of duality to Kugisaki Nobara. Duality most wouldn’t see if they didn’t look beyond the surface. On one hand, Nobara can be brash and rough, on the other she could be caring and soft.
The moon is often overshadowed by the sun, coming out and being ignored by most. Few relish its beauty though.
Maki is one of these few.
Brash and rough, the sun. Caring and soft, the moon.
That’s the simplest way Maki can describe it.
The person Nobara projects to the world is still Nobara, don’t get it twisted. It’s just not all of her. Layers, like everyone else, she has layers. Hers simply being more complicated than most.
Maki understands why Nobara is the way she is. For she’s that way herself.
If you hide how you feel people will have a harder time hurting you.
Maki is a strong and confident individual. She can also be weak and insecure. There is no facade to be broken, no walls that are meant to crumble, just layers that only the most privileged can see.
They have a lot in common, too much in common, that’s why neither of them has confessed yet. That’s what Maki thinks at least.
Part of her knows that her Kouhai harbors some feelings for her. But what if she’s imagining it all? What if Nobara has never seen her in that light? But why does she blush so much when Maki compliments her hair?
She hates and loves the uncertainty. If she doesn’t confess her heart won’t get broken, but she also won’t ever know the true feelings that reside deep inside Nobara’s heart.
Maki is brave but she is also a coward.
She always hated those stupid rom-com movies Nobara made her watch. She thought they were cliché and redundant.
Given her current predicament, she’s grown to appreciate them more.
They often get her more alone time with Nobara too. Alone time like right now.
“Maki! Ready for movie night?” Nobara smiles brightly and the green-haired girl can’t help but get lost in her eyes. Have they always sparkled so much?
“Yeah, your room or mine?” Maki asks. Nobara rubs her chin and ponders, completely oblivious to her senpai’s previous thoughts.
“Yours if you don’t mind.” Maki has the sneaking suspicion Nobara’s room is in shambles from her recent shopping spree but she won’t voice it.
She simply nods and starts walking off, Nobara in tow.
It’ll take about ten minutes before they get to her room since they’re on the other side of the campus. Maybe right now is the time to confess? No, maybe she should do it when they’re watching the movie, but what if that makes it awkward?
Her thoughts are quickly interrupted when their hands brush, this isn’t a new thing, not in the slightest, but it always seems to make the Zenin blush.
She isn’t moving her hand away, Maki notes. Maybe...
Maki decides to take the plunge and intertwines their hands together, slowly, giving Nobara enough time to pull away if she’s uncomfortable. To her utter surprise and joy she doesn’t, linking their hands with relative ease. But the subtle gulp that comes from Nobara’s throat isn’t lost on Maki’s ears.
There’s something so natural about the way Nobara’s hand fits in hers. She likes it, so much so that Maki thinks she wants to hold her hand forever.
And she could only imagine what it’d feel like if they were together.
The images that flood her brain fuel her with hope. So much hope that she decides to be brave again.
“Nobara,” Maki whispers. So quietly in fact, if Nobara was a few more inches away she probably wouldn’t have heard.
“Yes?” Nobara sounds just as quiet as her, just as unsure.
Maki stops walking, her head downward, not brave enough to face Nobara yet.
“I-” god, what does even she say? Is there a proper way to confess? “I see a lot of myself in you Nobara.”
“You do?” Maki looks up and sees a shy yet smiling girl. One trying her best not to blush.
Time to stop being a coward Maki.
“Yeah, that’s what I love about you,” She says whilst smiling. The smile immediately disappearing when she realizes how conceded that sounded. “Wait-”
Nobara bursts into laughter, no longer the shy blushing girl from before. “Jeez, Maki-San you’re really bad at this.”
If it were anyone else Maki would have felt insulted. But it’s Nobara so she isn’t.
Instead, she smiles softly and gently holds Nobara’s hands. Treating them as if they were fine china.
“Help me out then?” At this point, Nobara has stopped laughing, instead of going back to her previous blushing state. And once again Maki can’t help but admire her duality.
“I don’t know how to do this either...”
“Maybe we should both come out and say it then,” Maki suggests, squeezing the ginger’s hand in an attempt to be comforting.
“Okay,” The first year agrees.
‘On the count of three.’ The air around them is tense and she swears there’s a sudden shift in the atmosphere. ‘1... 2... 3...’
“I love you,” They both say out loud. And Maki hears her heart exploding.
The look in Nobara’s eyes only makes the experience all the more worthwhile. She looks at her as if she’s the sun and moon itself. The rising and setting. The bright horizon and starry night.
“How long?” Nobara whispers. Her eyes are glistening, on the verge of tears.
“I realized after the exchange event, I think I’ve felt it for a lot longer.” Nobara simply hums in response. “You?”
“I don’t think there’s an exact moment I can pinpoint, one day I just found myself thinking about you all the time, and the next thing I knew I was in love.” A small chuckle escapes her mouth. “You sorta just crept up on me.”
“I’m good at doing that huh?”
“Yeah,” Kugisaki agrees and not so subtly looks at Maki’s mouth.
Tired of talking, the Zenin girl cups her girlfriend’s (?) cheek and leans in. Not before looking her in the eye and silently asking her for permission.
Nobara nods and their lips connect. It’s slow and sweet, everything Maki ever dreamed it to be and more. The shorter girl’s lips are probably the best thing she’s even had the pleasure of tasting. And Maki wonders if she could stay like this forever.
As they pull away Nobara connects their foreheads and they stay there, taking each other in.
“So... you my girlfriend now or what?” Maki snorts, leave it up to Kugisaki to be so blunt.
“Yeah, I’m your girlfriend.”
Her duality comes in again, this time in the form of blushing cheeks and adverting eyes. And Maki can’t help but look forward to forever.