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Lisa’s birthday… It’s approaching.
Sayo frowned at her papers. Even with all distractions away from her as she sat in the lounge room at CiRCLE to schedule Roselia’s practices and various performances, she couldn’t help but go over her thoughts once again.
What should I get her? I don’t even know what she likes, besides baking goods, but that feels too small for a present, especially since… Since…
“H...Hikawa-san?”
Sayo blinked a few times, taken aback for a moment by the surprise. She turned her gaze upwards, across from her…
“Yes, Shirokane-san? What is it?”
“You seem… distracted. Is… is everything alright?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get distracted. It’s nothing—”
Rinko hummed hesitantly. “Y…You know that you can… Take a break, if you’d like to.”
“No, it’s fine. I was just lost in my thoughts.”
“Is it…” She paused, her eyes quickly drifting downwards, before she once again mustered up the courage to look into Sayo’s piercing gaze. “Is it… about Imai-san’s… birthday?”
Sayo sighed softly, and Rinko took it as a yes.
“M...Maybe you should… ask Minato-san. She’s Imai-san’s childhood friend, after all…”
“You’re right… but…” Sayo trailed off. Her mind was beginning to speak for her, even if she opposed it at all costs.
“As her gi—” Sayo coughed into her hand, which immediately alerted Rinko. Her shoulders tensed as her eyes widened in worry.
“I-I mean, as her bandmate…”
“...What was that?” Rinko tilted her head slightly.
Sayo felt her cheeks warm up as she looked away and back down at her papers.
“N...nothing. Anyways, maybe I should ask Minato-san as you suggested.”
“M...maybe a big present from all of us as a band would be good, too…”
“That does sound appealing. Something Li—” She coughed into her hand again, quietly this time. “…Imai-san would like.”
Smiling softly, Rinko nodded. “Yes! I’ll make a groupchat for us to plan something…”
“...Thank you, Shirokane-san.”
“...So, what are we getting? She never lets me do anything for her birthdays.”
“I-I don’t… know…. That’s why we’re here.”
“Hmmm…! We should go for something big! A devil’s gift, full of stuff like, like… uh…”
Sayo sighed quietly, her hands crossed over her chest.
The four members of Roselia sat across a round table at Rinko’s place… As she offered to initiate the discussion.
As the four of them discussed their possibilities, the rest of Roselia’s eyes suddenly switched to the guitarist.
“Sayo. Do you have any ideas?” Yukina crossed her arms, a brow raised at Sayo’s lack of participance in their plan. It felt unlikely for Sayo of all people to seem distracted.
“Ah—” Sayo blinked a few times, only now noticing the entire attention was directed at her.
“I’m sorry. I was just… Thinking.”
“Welllll? Any ideas?” Ako practically liquified over the table, making Yukina glare at her softly as she had to back away. “Aren’t you t— Ouch!” She hissed as Yukina swiftly elbowed her side, and yet her face remained expressionless as she sipped her tea calmly.
“Jeez…” Ako groaned as she rubbed her side.
“Udagawa-san? Is everything alright?” Sayo frowned.
“She’s alright. Back to our discussion… Sayo, do you have any ideas?”
“Hmm… I’m… Not sure?”
“Lisa likes fashion. We should probably have that in mind.” Yukina added.
Fashion… Accessories… I could… Buy her earrings… Or… A…….A ring, yeah. Just a normal one. But… Who else knows about accessories better than me… Maybe… I should ask Hina. ...But then she’ll tease me nonstop about it… Mmm… Worth it, I guess.
“Sayo.” Yukina repeated, her voice stern. “You’re spacing out. Is anything on your mind?”
“Ah, n…no, I’m sorry.” Sayo shook her head slightly. “Something for Imai-san… How about a cake?”
“Oh!! A big big biiiig cake! Like, a wedding cake size cake!”
“A-Ako-chan, we can’t do that…”
“We can’t? You sure we can’t ask King if she knows a way to? Lisa-nee is worth the effort, come on!”
Yukina hummed, and all the attention finally turned away from Sayo and instead to her now. She nodded suddenly and looked at Ako, determination sparking in her eyes.
“Let’s do it.”
“S...So, we’ll ask Satou-san for help…?”
“Yup! I can text her right now—” Ako pulled out her phone excitedly, punching in a text message and dramatically hitting her screen, shouting ‘SENT!’
“Ako, you’ll break your phone.”
Ako grinned evilly, a hand covering one of her eyes as she attempted to gain her demonic inspiration once again. “Nothing can escape the grasp of the Demon Queen. ”
“...”
“She… Meant it’ll be fine.” Rinko chimed in at the sheer confusion Yukina and Sayo showed.
“Yeah!” Ako beamed, immediately dropping her demonic chanting.
The rest of their conversation fell on deaf ears as Sayo dwelled back into her thoughts. The rest of the day was a blur as well.
A ring… Sayo thought again. Will that really be enough to show how I feel? What if she doesn’t like it…? And…
“Sis?”
“I don’t know if I should get her that…” Sayo mumbled, too deep in her thoughts to notice Hina had sat beside her on her bed.
“What? Oh, for Lisacchi?”
“Wh—”
And it finally clicked. Sayo jumped up from her bed, hand on her chest as she tried to calm her racing heart.
“H-Hina!! When did you—!!”
“Uh, I knocked like, several times but you didn’t answer so I kinda just got in? So, you wanna get something for Lisacchi?”
Knowing there was no way out of this, Sayo sighed and rejoined her sister on the bed. Arms crossed over her chest, she closed her eyes in an attempt to concentrate.
“...Yes.
“Ohh! And? Any ideas?”
“...” This was the moment of no return. If she lets Hina know about a ring , that’s it. Hina would be absolutely set on making sure it happens.
And that’s why she thought, maybe Hina could know.
“Well…” She scratched her cheek, looking away. “I thought… About a ring.”
Hina immediately gasped, holding onto Sayo’s shoulders. She lightly shook her as her eyes sparkled with pure joy.
“Really?! That sounds so cool!! She’d definitely love it! Ohhhh now we gotta go see what rings are there! Wanna go tomorrow?! Ohhh I could ask Chisato-chan or something if she has any recommendations!!! Ahh!!!!”
Too much… Sayo groaned, giving in to Hina’s hectic excitement.
“Hina, I’m busy tomorrow. ...But, next friday… Maybe.”
Hina gasped again. “And I can come with you?!”
“...Yes.”
“YAY!! WOO!!” Hina yelled, launching herself at Sayo and hugging her as hard as she thought Sayo could handle.
“Hi...Hin— I can’t— I cn…”
“Ah,” Hina said huskily. “Oopsie!” She finally let go, letting Sayo breathe again.
“Now get out. I’ll let you know when we go, okay?”
“Okay!” Hina jumped up, sprinting out of the room as soon her feet touched the floor.
In a second, she was already gone.
Hina doesn’t know we—
And the door opened again. “Oh yeah, nice attempt at hiding everything! I know it, though~”
And the door closed.
Did she… Did she read my mind? Was she reading my mind?! ...Honestly, I wouldn’t be that surprised… Sayo sighed, her cheeks heating up at the thought of her probably not so secret relationship with Roselia’s bassist.
... Maybe… I can try finding a sooner date than Friday to do it… If Hina even has the time for it. I’ll have to ask her band myself…
She lied down and stared at her ceiling.
I never manage to show affection like Lisa does… Especially in public. She always tries so hard to make it so I have the best experience… But she never thinks about herself…
With a deep internal sigh, she continued, If she won’t spoil herself… Then I should try to do it for her.
A week had passed. Maybe it was the sheer excitement that made Sayo daydream from time to time. Maybe it was the complete daze she felt from thinking about the perfect gift for the one person she oh so longed to please. Maybe it was just Hina bugging her in her mind and jumping around with her schemes and mischiefs. ...She couldn’t tell.
But one thing was clear to her; today, on the 22nd of August, she was going to get Lisa a ring. ...A normal ring. Yeah.
“Hold up, hold up!” Hina whined as she followed Sayo. She had to start running at some point to catch up with how fast her sister was walking.
Sayo abruptly stopped, turning around to face Hina with a soft scowl.
“How come you’re slow today? Usually you’d be in front of me.”
“You’re spacing out! I was trying to ask you a question!” Hina groaned as she finally caught up, hands on her hips as she huffed out a sigh.
“Since when have you been attempting to hide this relationship?”
“And why should I tell you that information?”
“Well! I’m just curious if I’m right about my guess!”
Sayo frowned. “And what do you mean by that, exactly?” She crossed her arms, raising a brow in annoyance at Hina’s choice of words.
“Oops, I mean…” Hina hissed quietly. “I’m just curious about your relationship! I mean, I know Lisacchi really well… And seeing you happy makes me really really reaaaally happy! So, like four months ago you started acting differently. I noticed it! You were softer! You scolded me less! You even agreed to go out for lunch together!”
“...” Sayo sighed, her frown softening as she shook her head. “...You got it right, then. ...15th of April.”
Hina gasped. “That’s long! That’s like almost five whole months!!”
“Hina, we’re on the 22nd. It hasn’t even been half a month since the 4th month— Why are we even discussing this?! Let’s go.” A slight blush now spread across her cheeks, Sayo marched forward, leaving Hina to stagger behind her in an attempt to catch up again.
…
“Hello! How may I help you two?” A woman quickly approached the twins as they entered the jewelry store.
“We need a ring!” Hina said enthusiastically, receiving a quick glance from Sayo for her tone.
“Of course! Follow me—” She led them through the store. Lines of jewelry laid inside glass vitrinas, awaiting those with curious eyes to land upon them. But Sayo came with a plan. She came with research. She knew what she was getting.
And as the woman explained the various stones they had in store and the type of rings, Sayo perked up at the mention of topaz.
“Topaz… Do you perhaps have blue ones?”
“We do, actually.” She nodded, leading the two further into the store.
And when Sayo’s eyes met a dazzling blue light, she immediately knew.
That’s it.
And noticing her fixation, Hina waved down the woman to ask about the ring.
The ring wasn’t even that expensive. Well within Sayo’s budget, even.
I also have to buy some cake ingredients later. But if Hina knows, she’ll definitely attempt to join the whole ordeal.
With the ring packed in a radiant red box, the Hikawa twins were soon out of the store. Hina grinned at Sayo as she saw her staring down at the box.
“Excited to give it to her?”
“...Yeah. Very.” Sayo nodded, her voice the softest she could ever make. The thought of Lisa’s smile when she sees it… The thought of her own response… Her chest was feeling all warm and fuzzy from those thoughts now…
Hina bumped her shoulder, drawing her attention back to her.
“So is Roselia plannin’ anything for a surprise?”
“Udagawa-san mentioned talking to Satou-san about baking a big cake…” Wait. I shouldn’t have—
But Hina’s eyes already shone in excitement. She gasped and held onto Sayo’s shoulder, shaking her slightly.
“I wanna help too!!”
“Hina, the last time I left the kitchen for five minutes , you already spilled flour all over the counter and were pouring tons of the rest of the flour into a bowl. Even the eggs were all over the place. And you want me to let you bake a cake for Lisa… How?”
“Lisa?” Hina immediately grinned. She successfully trapped Sayo, and Sayo quickly recoiled from the attack.
“I-I’m—”
“You call her by her first name… Gosh, you’re so in love. You kiss girls. Girlkisser.”
Sayo rolled her eyes and carefully placed the box in a small backpack she brought with her.
“So so, wanna go grab some fries? I’m starving!”
“...Fine, but then we’re going to buy some ingredients for the cake.” Sayo sighed as she checked her phone… Ako updated thar Masuki gladly agreed to help with a cake. ...Said they’d be doing it at Lisa’s house, since the cake would be too big to carry and too dangerous to, as well. The problem was… They could only be doing it on the 25th, and someone would have to distract Lisa and only bring her to her house when everyone is ready. ...And out of all people, Sayo was quickly chosen by everyone else to be the distraction. Protesting against it would be futile.
“...Crap.” She hissed at her screen.
“Wassup?” Hina peeked beside her, nodding and audibly approving that she had already read everything that was on the screen. “So you’d be Lisacchi’s distraction? Neat! I’m sure you can do it! Hehehe, you can just ask her on a date and she won’t suspect a thing! Sounds absolutely boppin’, doesn’t it?!”
“...But—”
“When was the last time you two went on a date?”
“...” Sayo crossed her arms, her lips curling as she frowned at her sister. “Our schedule is very tight. There isn’t much time for love.”
Hina groaned. “You say that, but…”
Sayo felt this was the perfect time to start walking again, once again leaving Hina to stagger behind and whine about it.
Arriving at the fast food area, they both quickly found themselves a place to sit at, and Hina volunteered to order their food.
Being left alone, Sayo sheepishly took out the red box again, carefully turning it in her hands. She felt her heart start racing at the thought of Lisa again.
What would she say? What would her expression be? Would that be a good moment to… Ask to kiss her? To finally work on acting like a real couple and not just coward behind the excuse of them both being in a band? ...Yukina would not allow this. This is what both of them were a bit afraid of.
Love gets in the way of practice.
“Oooooooh, what a shiny box you got there. Who’re you marrying?”
Sayo nearly jumped. She was so ready to run away, bury herself in a grave and never ever come out of it ever again.
Blushing already, Sayo quickly shook her head and hands to deny anything and everything thrown her way. “A-Aoba-san— Th-This is n—”
“Ohhh? Nah, now you gotta tell Moca who you’re dating. I’ll find it out myself if you won’t~”
“Ah,” Ran approached from behind Moca. “There you are, Moca…” She lifted her eyes to Sayo as her brow raised. Before she could pull the box away, Ran already spotted it. Even after the box was already hidden between her legs, it was too late to deny.
“What’s the deal with that box?”
“It’s a wedding ring for her secret lover~” Moca giggled.
“N-No it’s not, it’s—”
“Oooh! So many people here! Mind if we join?”
Sayo’s heart dropped.
“I-Imai-san… Minato-san…”
“Hi! And you two, too.”
“Suppp” Moca grinned. And then she seemed to realize something. She quickly looked between Sayo and Lisa, before gasping quietly. “Hold on—”
Sayo glared at her, and Moca simply nodded, a serious (not so) expression on her face. “I see, I see…”
“Ahaha…” Lisa scratched her arm awkwardly, now receiving a weird glance from both Yukina and Ran.
Hina… Where are you…… Save me… Sayo begged for her to return. This situation was too much. Not only was the box still right between her legs where it was still quite visible, Moca also probably figured out they’re dating from how Sayo reacted. How? She wasn’t sure, but Moca’s grin said everything she needed to say without outright saying they’re dating.
“So, what are you all doing here?” Balancing a bag on her shoulder, Lisa tilted her head slightly as she looked at Sayo, specifically…
“Me and Ran were just around… And then I saw her just staring at this b—” Another glare from Sayo. “This b...ird, and just got curious! Yup, yeah. Mhm~”
“...Hina dragged me out.” Sayo simply said, looking to where Hina was still waiting to receive their food.
Feeling a pair of eyes at her, Hina turned around to look at her, and waved. Upon spotting everyone else, she gasped and jumped in place, seemingly really eager to approach… And just in time, a tray was placed in front of her, and she quickly grabbed it and ran across to the rest.
“Woah! What’re we all up to??”
“Hmmm~ what are we up to?” Moca hummed, scratching her chin.
“I don’t know, but the two of us have to go. Come on, Moca.” Ran grumbled, hurrying Moca away as she apologised to Sayo for the disturbance… And greeted Yukina. Kinda.
“So you two? Wha’chu doing here?”
“Bought some new nail polishers, and other stuff. Yukina here helped me pick some~” Lisa nudged Yukina’s side, who timidly nodded in approval.
“Oooh! Nice!”
“Well! We gotta go. We’ll see you two around sometime!” Lisa said, once again awkwardly smiling at the twins. She grabbed Yukina’s hand and quickly began walking away, waving at the two as she disappeared behind the corner…
Sayo put her head on the table. Forehead against the surface, she let out a long, frustrated sigh.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t notice everyone got here… Did Lisacchi see the ring?”
“...Luckily, no, but Aoba-san has her suspicions about me dating her now…”
“That’s Moca-chan for you! But I’m sure she saw how cautious you are, she won’t tell anyone! I’ll probably call her over to the student council room to ask her some questions. It’ll be fine!”
“Hina…” Sayo lifted her head up, a small smile quickly surfacing. “Thank you…”
“Of course!” She put the tray in her hands on the table in front of Sayo and sat across from her. “So you call her by how you usually call people around others?”
“...Honestly, sometimes I don’t pay attention to that, so she ends up… Making me say her name.”
Wait, why am I telling her that? Sayo frowned slightly.
“Hina! Don’t…”
“Hey, I didn’t do anything! You voluntarily told me!” Hina grinned, her chin now propped up in her hands as she leaned closer to Sayo. “Tell me more, though! This is interesting!”
“...” Sayo rolled her eyes. “Not a chance. Keep dreaming.” She said huskily, taking her share of fries.
“Huh?! Meanie! Fine. I’ll just ask Lisacchi instead! Maybe I’ll call her to the student council room, too~”
“Dear god, please don’t.” Sayo groaned, holding two fingers to her temple.
“Sooo… Gonna invite her on a date on her birthday?”
“...M...Maybe.”
Hina gasped. “Really? You sure you’ll manage with your whole ‘We don’t have time, we’re in a band.’ thing? Maybe you want some love advice from your dear younger sister?~” Hina grinned, causing Sayo to let out a sigh of complete and utter frustration.
“As if you’re better than me at this.”
“You don’t know that!” Hina pouted slightly, before shoving a bunch of fries into her mouth. Sayo hit the spot. She knew she did. “...Anyways,” Hina coughed for a moment after gulping down the rest of the fries in her mouth. “You sure you can manage? I’m just worried about you, sis!”
“...I-I’ll manage it myself, yes.”
…
Is what she thought.
Sayo has never initiated the dating part, nor did she know how to even approach the matter at all. She sat in front of her desk, glaring at the phone in her hand.
How do I even start?! “Imai-san,” ...No!
She paused, taking a deep breath to relax herself.
...“Lisa. Would you like to go somewhere together on the 25th? Minato-san mentioned we can take that day off, for your birthday. …Although we do have practice that evening, the rest of the day is free for us to enjoy something together…”
She took another deep breath… Before hitting the send button.
Her message was immediately marked as read.
“Oh! Is this a date invitation I hear from you, Sayo?”
“...Yes.”
“Well, of course! It sounds good. Any ideas?”
“Wherever you want to go, I’m fine with anything. It is your birthday.”
“So kind! Well, how about an aquarium? Heard they have a new big tank with a bunch of sharks! Do you have anything about sharks?”
“Quite a bit, actually. An aquarium sounds wonderful. Does 11AM sound good to you?”
“Perfect, actually! We’ll meet at the station?”
“Yes. Goodnight, Lisa.”
“Night! Love you~”
Sayo paused, before a soft smile spread across her lips.
“I love you too.”
And with that, she turned off her phone. Her heart raced faster than a horse. She sat down on her bed and took yet another deep breath.
I did it. She fell face-flat on her pillow, hugging it tightly. I said it. I invited her on a date. Why is my heart beating so fast? I’m going to… Faint.
The next two days went by in a flash. Sayo barely remembered anything. Only preparations and double checking on cake ingredients and decorations. Ako nearly ended up complaining about all the numbers she had to calculate, but luckily a glare from Yukina and Sayo made her distract Lisa with something else.
Today was the day.
The 25th of August.
Sayo woke up at exactly 6AM. She nearly forgot they planned to meet at 11AM…
Oh well. Might as well practice for now. She told herself… But even with her blue guitar in her arms, all she could think about was Lisa.
It felt weird. She felt weird. Yes, they have been dating for quite a while, Sayo has been developing a softer side for someone who wasn’t Hina, finally… And it felt weird. Her heart beat fast when she thought of Lisa. Her mind would go blank sometimes, and stuff she usually knew… She wouldn’t be able to remember.
Love was weird, she knew that… But… At least she felt like she could finally smile. She felt like she accomplished something other than her guitar skills and her bond with Roselia overall… Like the warmth Lisa was providing her heart had a very significant meaning. It felt different than the happiness she felt around other people.
And just like that, she ended up mindlessly playing a melody as she scrolled through her phone.
Oh, it shows her online… And it’s barely 7AM. ...I should probably message her.
“Good morning.”
“Ah! Good morning, Sayo! Awake early, as usual?”
“Naturally.”
“Excited for today?”
“Of course.”
“So am I! Sorry, everyone’s sending me happy birthdays and congratulations! Jeez, I just woke up, too…”
“Seems like you’re already having fun.”
“You bet! Ah, I’ll be right back-”
Sayo waited patiently… Although, her mind screamed impatiently.
“Sorry, family time. I’ll see you in a few hours. Bye! Sorry again!”
“No worries. See you later.”
Her message was left on read… And with that, she decided it was time to get up.
Walking out of her room, she already knew someone was up.
“Oh! Sis! Good morning!” Hina waved from the kitchen, holding her phone in her other hand above a bowl of cereal that probably stayed that for a good amount of time already.
“Good morning.” Sayo responded, walking past her into the kitchen. “What are you doing awake this early in the morning?”
“Well! It’s your gir—” She began excitedly, but Sayo aggressively shushed her.
“Sh! Calm down, people are asleep and nobody else needs to know this…”
Hina pouted, sulking down onto the table and pushing her bowl of cereal away. “Boo, coward.”
“I’m not! ...Anyways, I’m going out in a few hours.”
Hina grinned as she looked back at her sister.
“What, with your best friend Lisacchi?”
Sayo rolled her eyes. “Go back to calling her my girlfriend. Just… Quietly.”
“I told your girlfriend happy birthday! That’s why I’m awake!” Hina whispered, her eyes practically shining with excitement Sayo even admitted to it this much.
…
Sayo got to the train station 20 minutes early. Standing in the shadowed part of the station felt better than standing in the sun, and given where they were heading, Sayo decided to bring a simple coat with her, just in case she got cold inside. The station looked relatively empty… But given it was the end of August, Sayo wasn’t surprised at all. The less people, the better she feels expressing herself today around Lisa.
And now, it was 10:58AM… And she finally heard her name being called. When she lifted her head up from her phone, all she could see was brown hair in front of her face.
“Sayo!” Lisa giggled, wrapping Sayo in a tight hug.
“I-Imai—”
“Hmm? What’s that I hear? Who’s Imai?” Lisa murmured, now wrapping her arms around Sayo’s neck.
“...L...Lisa.” Sayo almost whispered, trying to look away as her cheeks glowed red in embarrassment.
“There we go.” Lisa giggled, letting go of Sayo.
“Happy birthday.” Sayo said, opening her arms for another, more planned hug.
Lisa’s smile quickly grew into one of the biggest grins Sayo has ever seen her have. She launched herself at Sayo and hugged her tightly again.
“Gosh, you have the best timings, don’t you?”
“...You think so?” Sayo smiled down at Lisa, holding onto her hips.
And Lisa immediately took note of that. “...And also affectionate today! Wow.”
“It is your birthday, Lisa.”
“Oho? Are you sure? Are you gonna let me do anything I want today? How about I drag you out to the mall later? Got plenty of stuff to buy~”
“...Well, I’m not opposed to it, but...”
“I’m kidding!” Lisa laughed, shaking her head. “We’ll find the time to do whatever we want to today before practice... We should focus on the aquarium first~”
“...You’re right.”
“Hmm~ So when’s the train coming?”
“Should be here in a few minutes. We can sit down if you want.” Sayo looked to the railing as she let go of Lisa, letting the brunette stand beside her now.
“Hmm… I’m too excited to sit! Mind if we stand ’till the train comes?”
“I don’t.” Sayo shook her head.
And the second she agreed to Lisa’s request, she wrapped her arms around Sayo’s, cuddling closer to her.
“Mind if I do that?”
Now Sayo’s heart was definitely racing.
“Go ahead.”
Lisa gladly rested her head on Sayo’s shoulder, closing her eyes. She hummed softly as she leaned against her partner.
But Sayo’s heart kept racing.
“Oh, yeah, Sayo… The other day, did Moca realize we’re dating? She was looking between us like some bulb lit up in her brain.”
“Probably. ...Does Minato-san… Know?”
“Honestly, I have no idea…” Lisa sighed, although it sounded… Sad, to Sayo. And that’s the last thing she wanted Lisa to feel.
“...Lisa. Um…” Sayo snaked her hand between one of Lisa’s, intertwining their fingers together… “I want to tell them. I’m… I’m ready.”
Lifting her head up, Lisa looked at Sayo surprisingly. “...Are you sure? You don’t have to do it just for me, you know…”
Sayo shook her head.
“No, we can’t just keep dating in secret forever like this. This relationship… It means a lot to me, Lisa.”
“Sayo…” Lisa’s voice barely came through. She could barely even speak. Instead, she gripped Sayo’s hand a bit more and rested her head on her shoulder again. “...You’ve no idea just how happy I am. Seriously…” She murmured. Reaching up to Sayo again, she gave her a soft peck on her cheek. “You’re the best, Sayo.”
Sayo hummed in response. Internally? She was running circles around her brain trying to figure out what to even say. Or think, for that matter.
At last, the sound of a train approaching pulled her out of her melty state. The train was not so packed either, it seemed.
Sayo has never been to the aquarium. Or rather, Hina never dragged her there. She knew it would be cold there… And the moment they entered the facility, the moment Lisa felt cold.
“Aw man, should’ve brought something with me…” She whined quietly, rubbing her arms to try and warm herself a bit.
“Here,” Sayo stepped closer, gently placing her coat on Lisa’s shoulders. “I brought this with me just in case.”
“But… Isn’t that for you?” Lisa looked up, concern written all over her face.
“Don’t worry. I don’t get cold that easily.”
Lisa gladly accepted the coat, hugging it around herself. “...Well, if you say so. But if I see you being cold I’m giving it back and you have no say in it!”
“Sure thing.” Sayo smiled and offered Lisa her hand. “Should we go?”
“Yup! Wanna check out the sharks first?”
“Shouldn’t we just go through everything? The sharks are pretty close to the end.”
“Hmm~ You’re right.” Lisa giggled as she took hold of Sayo’s hand, intertwining their fingers together again.
Walking through the dark corridors of the aquarium, all the two could hear was distant chatter and otherwise the silent ambience of water.
Even with people around, all Sayo could see was Lisa.
Being this close to her, Sayo was absolutely mesmerized. Her hair shone with the water’s silhouettes, giving it a lighter, more blue tone. Her grey-green eyes shone as she scanned the various jellyfish that swam in a glass container.
Well, now that Sayo was close enough to Lisa— Oh god their shoulders were nearly touching. Sayo was going to absolutely combust oh my g— Well, she finally noticed something else different.
“You changed your earrings?” Sayo asked, bringing her face closer to Lisa’s to see the earrings properly.
“Oh! I did~” Lisa hummed, shoving back a bit of her hair behind her ear to let Sayo inspect her earrings better. “Just bought them like two days ago! That’s why I was in the mall, too.” She paused, and then fully turned to Sayo. “By the way,”
Sayo gulped. This sounded bad.
“Why were you there?”
“I told you, Hina dragged me out.”
“Hmmm~” Lisa smirked, stepping closer to Sayo. “Is that really it? And you agreed?”
Sayo was beginning to sweat a bit. This situation was too much. Lying was never her best feature. Usually she wouldn’t even need it. Lying is bad, but here…
She refused to answer Lisa’s question, her eyes drifting away slowly to not see her smirk anymore.
“Something tells me you’re hiding something from me.” Lisa crossed her arms, but her smirk didn’t go away. She was totally playing with Sayo right now.
“...I, well…” Sayo played with a loose lock of hair that fell down her shoulder, her face heating up with a slight blush. “I-It’s your birthday, a...and…”
“Oh my gosh, you seriously didn’t—”
“As your…….girl...girhl....” Sayo coughed into her hand swiftly. “Girlfriend, um,” Sayo took a deep breath. She said it. Wow. Lisa also looked a bit surprised. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, I guess you’re right… But still!” Lisa sighed, shaking her head. “Honestly, you’re the best present I could ever have, you know.”
“I’m not that good, you know…” Sayo frowned slightly.
“Nuh uh! No self loathing!” Lisa booped Sayo’s nose, making her flinch at the touch. “You’re caring, you’re sensitive to how I feel, you always try to do your best... “
“Lisa…”
“And…” Lisa smiled gently. “Our relationship means everything to me, Sayo.”
“L...Lisa… Um.” Sayo’s face was too hot. Her heart was racing so fast. People were starting to get curious about them.
She held onto Lisa’s hand again and led her ahead. “This relationship means the world to me, but we should… Take this talk elsewhere.” Her face was red.
“O-Oh! I’m sorry—” Lisa quickly joined beside her, laughing awkwardly. “So~ Am I going to get my present?”
“...You will.”
“Will? You mean, in the future?”
“Don’t worry about it for now. I have a perfect time for it.” Sayo smiled slightly, catching Lisa off guard.
“So romantic~” Lisa murmured, leaning against Sayo’s shoulder as they walked along the exhibits of different fish and oceanic organisms.
“I-Is it?” Sayo whispered, crossing her arms as she looked into Lisa’s eyes.
“Of course! You’re better at this than you give yourself credit for, seriously! You’re great.” Lisa whispered as she walked closer to Sayo.
If Sayo’s face wasn’t red yet, now it definitely was. She felt it. And as they continued walking through the different water tanks and attractions, reading the text about what creature dwelled within the waters in front of them… Sayo still couldn’t pay attention to any of it.
Her mind kept drifting between Lisa and the ring… And occasionally checking for updates from Yukina.
But when she finally had the time to let her brain relax and glance over to Lisa beside her… It was like a thousand butterflies just appeared in her stomach.
They walked by the seahorses’ tank, and Lisa slowed down her pace suddenly.
Looking back at her, Sayo raised a brow.
“Is everything alright?”
Lisa pointed at the glass, a wide smile on her face.
“Look! These two are holding tails!”
Sayo walked beside her, nodding. “Indeed.”
“It’s like when we hold hands!” Lisa giggled, holding onto Sayo’s hands as she intertwined their fingers together.
Blushing intensely, Sayo quickly turned to Lisa, yet didn’t say a word.
Confused, Lisa tilted her head slightly. “Sayo? Everything’s okay?”
“O-Oh, yeah, everything is completely fine, just…” Sayo sighed quietly. What was there even to be embarrassed about? “You’re right. These two seahorses are together, that’s how they show affection and love for each other.”
“Oh my god…” Lisa gasped. “That’s… So romantic. Maybe we should hold hands like this more to be like these seahorses~”
“W-We don’t have to be seahorses to show these emotions…” Sayo looked away, her blush only becoming more present. With the dimly lit space they stood at to see the sea creatures properly, she at least hoped it wasn’t that obvious…
Lisa giggled lightly, nuzzling closer to her girlfriend. “Oho? We don’t?”
“Lisa… Seahorses do that when they reproduce. We aren’t seahorses and we definitely don’t need to reproduce.”
“ Oh .” Lisa’s eyes widened in realization, letting go of Sayo’s hand in embarrassment. This was totally not her intention... “How do you know that?”
Sayo pointed at a board beside the tank, which conveniently explained some facts wbout seahorses, including their reproduction behavior.
“O-Oh! Haha, oops~” Lisa chuckled quietly.
“Don’t worry about it.” Sayo smiled, offering her hand to Lisa once again. “We aren’t seahorses, I think holding hands is still alright.”
“...Jeez, dummy.” Lisa sighed and shook her head, a wide smile quickly appearing on her face. She held onto Sayo’s hand as they kept walking through the aquarium.
Ultimately, the sharks were the same as the other fish. Lisa seemed excited, and Sayo could only focus on that. It seemed like a small shark decided to watch Lisa be excited along with her. They looked kind of similar, staring at Lisa as she watched the diver inside the tank play with the sharks and do various tricks with them. …Why was that diver there? Sayo never bothered to question. It seemed like the sharks were the best thing Lisa saw in this aquarium. Her eyes sparkled brightly with excitement and anticipation as she observed them.
The aquarium idea was a blast. It totally was. Heck, Hina even annoyed Sayo in text enough to make her tell her how it went. Heck, the rest of Roselia also did that. Of course, they all cared for Lisa… But it felt… Awkward and embarrassing for Sayo to even respond with anything but ‘Yeah, it went well. When can I bring her to her house? Are you guys doing okay?’
‘We need you to keep Lisa away for a bit longer. We’re finishing the final layer soon. Oh, it seems your sister came to help, too.’
‘...Oh, god, I’m sorry. I hope she isn’t making a mess.’
‘It’s fine, we’re managing. She’s a great help to us, to be honest.’
“Never seen you stare at your screen for that long. What’s up?”
Lisa’s voice quickly drew back her attention to her, making her jump slightly in surprise as she held her phone clutched in her hands.
“It’s nothing,” She shook her head as she placed her phone back in her jeans’ pocket. “Is there anything else you’d like to do together? We still have time.”
“Are you sure? I wouldn’t—”
“Lisa, this is your birthday.” Sayo put a hand on Lisa’s as they sat on a bench not too far from the aquarium. She scooted closer to Lisa, her eyes fixated on hers. “I want this to feel special for you.”
Speechless, Lisa opened her mouth to speak again… But nothing came out. Instead, it turned into a gentle smile.
“Jeez, did I tell you you’re such a romantic yet?”
“You have.”
“Cheeky.” Lisa giggled, teasingly punching Sayo’s shoulder softly.
“Trying my best.”
They continued to sit in silence, staring at the sky as Lisa decided to rest her head on Sayo’s shoulder.
It felt relaxing. It felt… Romantic, somehow.
Romance was never Sayo’s great part. In fact, it was probably her worst… And yet, Lisa was patient with her.
But today…
Today she felt like she could finally return the favor for all of Lisa’s patience. She had a plan.
“Sayo,” Lisa murmured, nuzzling Sayo’s neck briefly to make sure to get her attention.
“Yes?”
“Hmm… Do you want to come to my place? We’ve been out all day, I kinda just miss relaxing at home with you.”
Oh no.
“Well… If you want to, we can, but…” how do I excuse this without giving away that something is going on?
“What’s up…?” Lisa sat back up straight, raising a brow at Sayo.
“Um… Is it okay if we go to mine instead?”
“Hm? Well, I don’t really mind, but why not mine?”
“W-Well, uh…” How can I excuse this?!
“Sayo… What’s going on?” Lisa crossed her arms, her expression turning slightly sorrow.
Sayo finally thought about something. Just the thought of it already relaxed her heart, although, the more the thought about it in the short span of time she had to think about it, the more it seemed... Plain. But that was all she had.
“I have been practicing on a melody that I recently thought about and... I would like you to hear it, but my guitar is at home.”
“R-Really?! Woah, that sounds really nice! ...And I get to hear it?” Lisa’s eyes lid up with excitement. Her smile was so big it was causing Sayo’s heart to go crazy again...
“Yes. It would be lovely and I’d definitely like to hear some feedback from you.”
“I-I’ll do my best with the feedback! Oooooooh now I’m all excited! We should go! I can't wait~”
Crisis avoided… She mentally sighed. All she had to do was distract Lisa until she had approval from Yukina to bring Lisa back to her house. How would she do that without suspicion? …That was a task for future Sayo. For now, she could enjoy the rest of the day with her girlfriend.
“Ako. What are you doing?” Yukina approached from behind Ako, glaring down at what she was trying to make. Eatable food color flasks were all over the counter, making it seem like Ako was almost trying to paint with these.
“Icing!” Ako exclaimed, grinning at Yukina as she stirred the bowl in her hands.
“Hey, let the kid be.” Masuki joined the two, holding the last layer of their three-layered cake in her hands.
“I-Is that all we need?”
“Kinda. We need to make sure it’s in place.”
“It’s gonna be really fun!! Hehehe, I can’t wait to see how Lisacchi reacts to this. If sis knew I’m here she’d be so mad, though…”
“She knows.” Yukina turned to Hina, who was… Messing around with icing just like Ako… But ten times messier.
“Ooooh how did she respond?”
“How she would usually respond.”
“...” Hina stopped stirring the bowl like the maniac she is and looked back at Yukina. “Huh?”
“...” Yukina thought for a moment… Before deciding to just show Sayo’s response directly to Hina.
Meanwhile, Rinko was keeping track of all the decorations and checking everything was in place for when Sayo and Lisa arrived.
“What are they even doing? On a date or something?” Masuki finally assembled the cake, clapping her hands together as she stepped back to look at the entire cake. ...It really did look like a wedding cake, now that she thought about it more than for a single second.
Yukina shrugged at that, pulling out her phone again. “I don’t know, and Sayo hasn’t updated on anything since… An hour ago. I sent her a message to ask how it was going… But she didn’t respond yet.”
“Weird. She usually responds really quickly when it’s something this important!” Hina hummed, bringing the icing to Ako for them to take it to the cake together. “But I’m sure they’re just having fun together!”
Yukina frowned slightly, rubbing her chin. “Still, it’s not like Sayo to not respond.”
“It’ll be fineeee, don’t worry!” Hina patted Yukina’s back, giggling all the while Yukina could only sigh.
“Alright! You. Blue one.” Masuki pointed at Hina, who immediately skipped over. “You wanna decorate the cake?”
“Oooh! Yeah! Sounds good! Ako-chan, let’s do it together! For Lisacchi!!” Hina pumped her fist into the air as Ako excitedly joined her. “THIS IS GONNA BE BOPPITY BOPPIN’!”
…
“Huh! You two are damn good at this!” Masuki frowned slightly, completely making the wrong expression for what she just said.
“Phew!” Ako wiped her forehead, turning to Hina with probably the biggest grin she ever made. “We did it!”
“We sure did! It totally looks boppity boppin’!”
“N-Now we need to… Clean… And then I think we can signal Hikawa-san that she can bring Imai-san here…”
“Yukina-chan,” Hina walked back over to Yukina. “Did she answer you?”
“Hm. Didn’t check.” Yukina once again pulled her phone… “She hasn’t. I’ll text her again and ask if she’s ready to bring Lisa here.”
The moment Yukina sent her message, it was immediately marked as read.
‘I apologise for not answering earlier. Everything is going alright. We’re just relaxing at my place for now. I’ll wait for a signal to bring her now.’
“Hm.” Yukina hummed, scratching her chin.
“Wassup?” Hina looked at Yukina’s screen, mimicking Yukina by scratching her chin the same way… In hopes of mimicking her thoughts as well. “Hmmmmmm.” Hina hummed. “Seems a bit suspicious. ”
“It does.”
“What are you two doing?” Masuki stepped behind her. She completely towered over them as she glanced down at Yukina’s screen. “Oh shit. I don‘t even know her and she’s suspicious. Damn.”
“G-Guys, we should be… Cleaning, actually…” Rinko piped up, drawing everyone’s attention back to cleaning the kitchen as fast as possible. She quickly walked over to a different table with a number of gifts— from the three of them and Hina.
After doing so, Yukina sent Sayo a message that she could bring Lisa to her house. Her message was immediately read and answered with a simple ‘Got it. Thank you.’ from Sayo.
Hina quickly appeared behind Yukina to read Sayo’s text. She scratched her chin again.
“Man, this is so suspicious.”
“Yes. You’re right. What are we going to do about it?”
“Well! Obviously interrogate!”
“Hm. You might be onto something.” Yukina nodded, crossing her arms over her chest after she put her phone away. Surely nothing could go wrong with this.
Rinko hurriedly handed everyone a pair of poppers— Hina brought her own to give everyone else so now, well, they had too many.
“Wait, KING, are you staying?” Ako turned to Masuki.
“That girl’s suspicious! Now I kinda wanna see what happens. ...You don’t mind me staying, do you?”
“Not really. We need to interrogate Sayo and Lisa after all, and…” Yukina glanced at Masuki. “Intimidation might be our play.”
“A...Are you guys sure it’s a good idea to do this? They… They deserve their alone time and… Everything…” Rinko’s voice only lowered the further she made it into the sentence. She hid her face embarrassingly behind her poppers, her entire face being red now.
Yukina shook her head. “I think all of us know they’re dating. I do need to discuss it with them, since it can definitely interrupt our flow and sync in practice. Love distracts.”
“Oh, believe me, nothing is stronger than my sis and her guitar. She won’t let anything distract her!”
“Have you seen her when Lisa-nee even accidentally touches her shoulder or something? She absolutely melts and even I notice this!” Ako whined.
“They’re pretty bad at hiding it, especially with the amount of times Sayo almost calls Lisa by her name… And Lisa gets really close to her too sometimes. And also—”
They suddenly heard a pair of voices from behind the front door as it slowly clicked.
Everyone positioned themselves around the door, readying their poppers… And Hina holding two in one hand.
“Hm? I thought I heard something…” Lisa’s voice came from behind the door as she slowly opened it…
“Hold on, let me—” Sayo’s voice came next, and the door opened, Lisa stepping inside.
Pop!
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!” Everyone shouted in unison, releasing their poppers and letting the confetti fly all over Lisa.
Shocked, Lisa turned back to Sayo. Another pop was heard as Sayo released a smaller popper, her smile gentle as she looked into Lisa’s confused eyes.
“Happy birthday.”
“You guys…” Lisa turned back around to the rest of the group. “You really didn’t… Weren’t we going to practice this evening?!” Tearing up slightly, Lisa quickly wiped her eyes.
“Your birthday means much more than our practices, Lisa.” Yukina stepped forward, taking Lisa’s hands into hers. “So we made you something.” She led her inside.
The first thing Lisa could see was the absolutely towering cake standing behind Yukina.
Moving aside, another thing jumped from behind Yukina.
“LISACCHI!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Hina yelled, wrapping Lisa in a big, tight hug, nearly knocking both of them over to the ground.
“WOAGH—” Lisa yelped, catching Hina in her arms as she struggled not to fall down with her. Sayo quickly came to aid them by holding onto Lisa’s shoulders.
“Hina! Let her go!” Sayo frowned at her sister, causing her to leap backwards in excitement.
“Oops!” She giggled, bobbing in place as she tried— well, not really— to hold her excitement.
But slowly, as everything calmed down around them and the rest of Roselia and the two other gremlins were absorbed in the movie presented on the screen, Lisa busied herself in the kitchen for the moment to see what else she could bring for the rest of them. Sayo felt this could be her moment.
She tapped Lisa’s shoulder and looked into her eyes. She wasn’t sure how to express herself… She could only look at her pleadingly and hope she understood her.
Lisa tilted her head slightly in confusion.
“Is everything alright?” She whispered.
“Um… Can we go somewhere else? ...I… I want to… Give you something…”
“...O-Oh! Sure! Um…” Lisa awkwardly grabbed onto Sayo’s hand and sneakily led her to her room. She knew Sayo needed privacy even if she didn’t know what her gift was yet…
As Sayo sat down on Lisa’s bed, she suddenly felt so nervous. Her heart felt like it was squeezing into a singularity, her mind became foggy… How would Lisa react? Was a ring really enough? Or, in contrast, was it too much? Maybe it would be different if it was a necklace or something… But a ring ? It was so random and, wow, now that Sayo thought about it, would Lisa think she’s proposing? ...Hold on, why did the rest of the group bake a cake that looks like a wedding cake? Hold on…
“Sayo? ...Are you okay?” Lisa sat beside her, concern written over her face. Her eyes silently searched for an answer from Sayo.
“...I…” Sayo took a deep breath. She reached for her purse, sitting it in her lap. “W…Well.”
Lisa waited patiently while Sayo tried to find the right words. After a bit of mumbling and some hand gestures even Sayo wasn’t sure how to describe, she finally calmed her racing heart… And turned to Lisa.
“Lisa. I told you earlier… How much our relationship means to me… And,” she pulled out the red box… Oh this really looked like it could be taken the wrong way.
… And Lisa immediately gasped, covering her mouth in utter shock and disbelief.
“S-Sayo, a...are you—”
“N-No! ...N...Not……...y...yet…” Sayo looked away sheepishly, her face quickly gaining a red color to it. She offered Lisa the box, her arms almost shaking…
“Sayo…” Lisa took the box in her hands, delicately holding it up to her chest. “You seriously didn’t need to…”
“I felt like this was a perfect one. One that… You could look at and… Hopefully smile. You mean the world to me, Lisa, even if… I’m quite bad at expressing it. And…” She paused.
“...And?” Lisa repeated, hoping it would encourage Sayo to finish the rest of her sentence.
Sayo took another deep breath before turning back to look into Lisa’s eyes. Her face beat red, she put her index finger on her lips. Her eyes quickly drifted away in embarrassment as she sat in silence, waiting for Lisa to respond.
“...Are you sure? Is that… Okay with you?”
Sayo nodded slightly and put her hand down beside Lisa’s. She looked back into Lisa’s eyes… Pleadingly, for the second time this day.
Lisa put down the box beside them and scooted a bit closer to Sayo. She put her arms around Sayo’s shoulders, as Sayo put hers around Lisa’s waist gently…
And nothing happened, for approximately five whole agonizingly long minutes. They looked into each other’s eyes, searching for what the other was thinking…
“...D...Do you want me to do it? Um… Ahaha… This is……. Awkward.” Lisa recoiled slightly, her face turning almost the same shade of her bass.
“...Y-Yeah.” Sayo whispered, her mind and heart unable to do more than just a small whisper her vocal chords still somehow managed to make. As Lisa placed her hands on Sayo’s shoulders, they quickly jerked up. She backed away slightly, a small smile on her oh so pretty lips.
“Sayo~ you gotta relax a bit, you know…”
Sayo shut her eyes entirely, trying to hold herself together as much as she could, albeit her slight trembling.
Lisa sighed quietly, shaking her head.
“What if you think about playing guitar instead? It ought to calm you down.”
And as soon as the word guitar left Lisa’s mouth, Sayo immediately seemed to improve. Her brows relaxed and her shoulders loosened up.
“...Seriously?! Soon you’ll have to choose between me and guitar if this continues!”
Sayo forced her eyes open, ready to protest and deny such an outlandish claim.
However, she was quickly silenced as a pair of lips pressed against hers, causing her brain to hit a blank point.
Drawing away from the soft kiss, Lisa grinned at Sayo.
“Guess I’ll just have to kiss you until you think about me more.”
Speechless, and probably brainless at the moment too, Sayo put a hand on her lips, her eyes fixated on Lisa. It felt so… Soft. It made her heart go crazy the moment she realized what happened. Lisa kissed her. It was like a fire lit inside her stomach.
She wanted more of that feeling.
Lisa pressed her forehead against Sayo’s, nuzzling her nose with hers briefly. “How did it feel?”
“...Magical.” Sayo whispered, wrapping her arms around Lisa’s waist as the brunette cupped her cheek in the palm of her hands.
“Wanna try again? This time without the guitar distraction.”
Sayo simply nodded, pushing herself forward towards Lisa. She closed her eyes again, this time much more relaxed and confident. There was nothing to fear anymore. The first time was over. ...Not that it mattered much, but Sayo felt much better now.
Lisa smiled calmly, pulling Sayo closer…
But she felt weird. Was someone else here?
She glanced over to the door. It was open. She swore she closed it before…
She quickly noticed a pair of green, shining eyes staring right at her. The blue bangs accompanying it gave away who it was immediately.
“...Lisa?” Sayo cracked an eye open, confused as to what could stop her from continuing… She tried turning to the door, but Lisa quickly squeezed her cheeks to look back into her eyes.
“J-Just focus on me, okay? Everything’s fine—”
Except that a pair of yellow piercing eyes joined below the green ones. And then red ones. And then a pair of other yellow ones— And then a pair of hands were quickly slapped on the red pair, preventing them from seeing this shameless display of affection.
Lisa couldn’t take it anymore. She swiftly wiggled out of Sayo’s embrace and leaped at the door, closing it and leaning against it.
Sayo turned to her, frowning slightly.
“Lisa… What happened?”
“Nothing!” she’s going to be so mad at them if she finds out… Especially Hina…
Sayo walked over, arms crossed over her chest.
“What’s behind the door, Lisa?”
“N-No o— Nothing!”
“...No one?!”
She realized too quickly. Lisa barely had time before Sayo managed to gently move her away and open the door ajar, revealing the rest of Roselia and a pair of two other gremlins that happened to end up here. She glared down at the crouched group.
“Oh,” Hina looked up, staring up into Sayo’s glare. “Well! Nice seeing you here, sis! …Come here often?”
Sayo’s glare turned to the rest.
Rinko quickly hid behind Ako, whimpering quietly as Sayo’s glare pierced through her entire soul.
“H-Hold on! What’s going on! Rinrin, I can’t see anything!!” Ako whined, finally managing to remove Rinko’s hands from her eyes… And then put them back where they were. “Nevermind.”
“See I knew they were suspicious.” Masuki scratched her chin, turning to Yukina, who nodded calmly.
“You’re right. Our hypothesis was correct after all.”
“What are you even talking about?” Sayo grumbled, her arms crossed.
“Oh we totally didn’t see Lisacchi kissing you, that never happened! Anyways did she say yes to the ring—”
“Wait what ring? Hold on, are Lisa-nee and Sayo-san getting married?!” Ako gasped, once again removing Rinko’s hands from around her eyes.
“...A ring? ...So that’s what I saw between your legs a few days ago.” Yukina stood up, crossing her arms to match Sayo. “You better t—”
“IT’S NOT— Th-That was not it!!” Sayo’s face heated up, and yet her glare remained… Albeit losing its scary nature. “Wh-Why, how did you guys even get here?!”
“Hina spotted you two leaving the kitchen and it has been a while since you left… So.” Yukina shrugged.
Lisa came beside Sayo, a look of guilt on her face. “Yukina…”
Yukina sighed softly. “Yes, I know.” She smiled at the couple, placing a hand on Lisa’s shoulder gently. “But that is a discussion for later. Today is your birthday, Lisa, and… You two did a very poor job trying to hide it, we thought that, well,” She glanced at Hina, letting the chaos child proudly introduce herself back into the discussion with the biggest humanly possible grin.
“Are you two ready for your honeymoon ???” She held herself from outright yelling, instead just quite subtly vibrating in place.
“H-H-Hone— Guys, we’re not—” Sayo panicked slightly. A what now?!
“W-We thought… That you two would like to have something… Together, alone, too. S...So we asked Tsurumaki-san about her cruise ships and she just… Let us have one, kind of.” Rinko began explaining, seeing as Hina would never do that.
“Kokoro offered it and since she couldn’t meet today she asked me to let you know.”
“Yeah! Just letting you know of a honeymoon .” Hina added cheerfully, earning yet another glare from her sister.
“Guys…” Lisa’s smile became droopy. She looked like she was about to start sobbing in a second. “You really don’t have to give me anything… You know playing together with you and spending time together is more than enough…”
“Yes, but a small token from the rest of us is still an important part of this.” Yukina stepped forward; closer to Lisa. “You mean everything to us, Lisa. I‘m sure Sayo can agree as well. Maybe even more than we can.”
“Guys…” Lisa couldn’t hold herself anymore. She launched herself at Yukina, hugging her tightly, burying her head on her shoulder as she teared up. “Seriously…”
A bit surprised, Yukina staggered for a moment, but quickly recovered. She patted Lisa’s back, hugging her back as best as she could.
“Oh! A group hug!” Ako gasped as she hugged around Lisa, nudging Rinko to do the same.
The three Roselia members suddenly looked at Sayo, all expecting her to do the same without saying anything.
Blushing slightly, Sayo hesitantly stepped closer and hugged the rest of them beside Lisa, who quickly found a way to cuddle closer to her.
“Whelp! It’s getting kinda late, I think I’ll be goin’ home. Hey, you, blue one,” Masuki turned to Hina. “Need a ride?”
“Oh! Sure! ...Sis, you’re staying here?”
Sayo backed away from the group hug, looking over at Lisa.
“...Just a bit more, yeah.”
“Gotcha! Ill cover for you if needed~” Hina thumbed up, grinning widely and proudly as Sayo let out a soft sigh.
“I think we’ll leave as well. It’s late.” Yukina stepped away from Lisa, as did the rest of Roselia. But... She swore she was forgetting something.
...T he interrogation… Hina forgot about it too. But they seem fine. It doesn’t really matter... Maximum Ill ask Lisa later. Been a while since we talked through our balconies, anyways.
…
They were alone again.
It was kind of awkward, being in a room together with your girlfriend, especially after such an eventful evening.
They sat on Lisa’s bed in silence for a while, both trying desperately to find something to talk about.
“Um…” Sayo began, looking away sheepishly. “...We didn’t really get to… Kiss, actually… And… If you want…” She trailed off, her face quickly heating up as she felt her ears lit on fire from the sheer amount of embarrassment she felt saying her thoughts out loud.
“I-If you want! Um… I don’t… Mind.” Lisa said in the same awkward, embarrassed voice, her own face gaining a soft shade of red.
“...Actually, you still haven’t really… Seen the ring, correct?”
“O-Oh! You’re right! I’m sorry, I—”
“...Is it… Okay if we put it on your finger? ...J-Just to see… If it… Um, matches and all…”
Lisa blinked for a moment. Seeing the great opportunity to tease, a smirk quickly found its way to her lips.
“You just want to put it on me, don’t you?”
“N-N—” Sayo was quick to try and deny, but seeing the smirk Lisa gave her, she gave up as quickly as she reacted. “...Maybe.”
“Well,” Lisa murmured, extending her right hand in front of Sayo. “Go right ahead.”
Sayo hurriedly took the box, opening it and carefully taking the ring out of its foam enclosure. She very carefully slipped it onto Lisa’s ring finger. It fit her just right.
“Wow…” Lisa’s voice barely came through. It was so full of awe, so full of amusement… It was lovely . “And it fits me just right, too…” She observed her hand as if it was a delicate piece of art. The sudden splash of blue against her red colored fingernails stood out to Sayo, even.
“It’s… Really amazing, Sayo…” She put her hand down, now smiling brightly at the bluenette in front of her.
“W-W-Well, since you and Hina are almost the same height and your hands would be the same size, we let her try it on and it fit her s-so we—”
A finger was gently placed upon her lips, stopping her from talking now. Lisa’s smile only grew as their eyes met.
“Sayo.” She whispered, scooting closer to her. “You’re amazing. You’re really amazing.” She murmured in another whisper, slowly and gently wrapping her arms around Sayo’s neck again.
Sayo felt ready now. She felt confident, although a bit embarrassed… She slowly calmed down, taking deep breaths as she readied herself even more, all the while Lisa patiently waited.
“Are you ready this time? I won’t let guitar win again.” Lisa teased one more time, receiving a small pout from her girlfriend.
“Yes.” She said, leaning forward to meet Lisa’s lips. She closed her eyes… And when she felt soft lips against hers, she was quickly overthrown with just how… Better it was.
She gently held onto Lisa’s waist, keeping her in place as they went for another one.
Once again, it felt better than the last one, but Sayo soon felt like it was starting to overwhelm her. She broke away, looking into Lisa’s eyes. They shone. They shone brighter than any star in the night sky, brighter than any constellation she knew… Brighter than any light Sayo has ever gazed upon. It was truly amazing.
Taking the hint, Lisa instead buried her head in the crook of Sayo’s neck, nuzzling her gently.
“Wow,” She breathed out, comfortably swapping her arms under Sayo’s to hold her closer. “That felt…”
“...Magical.” Sayo completed her sentence, receiving a small hum of approval from the brunette.
“Yeah…” Lisa sighed dreamily.
Honestly, it did feel like a dream.
“This is probably the best day of my life…” She added, once again gazing into Sayo’s bright green eyes. “You truly make me the happiest, Sayo.”
“Lisa…” Sayo slowly began to smile. It spread like a wildfire as she held onto Lisa’s right hand. “The feeling is mutual, then.” She said softly.
She pushed herself forward, once again letting her lips meet with Lisa’s.
“Happy birthday. I love you, Lisa.”