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Traveling by herself had to be one of Yachi Hitoka’s greatest fears but this trip is one that she had been waiting for her entire life. Ever since her mother told her about her exchange program when she was little it was all she could think about, but the opportunity hadn’t presented itself until her second semester in uni.
After highschool, most of her friends left for different universities or countries and that left a rather bittersweet feeling on Yachi’s life. She somehow felt stuck in her hometown, not that it was a bad thing, but she wanted to get out there before school and adult life consumed her completely. When she heard about the exchange program in Norway that her university was offering, she knew she had to go and she knew it wasn’t going to be hard convincing her mom since she had always been supportive of her future and dreams but the thing was that she didn’t want to go by herself.
Yamaguchi Tadashi and Tsukishima Kei had to be two of her best friends and people that she cherished the most, which is why they were the first two that came to mind when her mom said yes to the trip, of course it didn’t have to do with the fact that they were students at the same uni, yeah definitely not. Convincing Tsukishima was going to be a pain in the ass so she settled for Yamaguchi, because he was way more understanding and easy to approach.
When they were still in highschool all five of them got the habit of eating lunch together, these get togethers kept happening but with less and less frequency each time because of course, two people out of the five were playing volleyball in a different city or country but Yams, Tsukki and Yachi kept doing it whenever their school schedules allowed them to.
On one of their lunches Yachi finally dropped the information, she told them all about the program and how they allowed people from any major to apply, about how a great experience it would be for them and it would widen their knowledge. Both men listened carefully to what their friend had to say but seemed rather confused at her expression. She looked excited but something was off, as if she wanted to say something else.
“Hitoka” The blonde one interrupted, she turned to look at them. “You seem very excited about it and I’m glad you’re telling us all of this but what exactly do you want to say?”
Yachi sighed, she wasn’t being as subtle as she intended to.
“Well you see, you guys are like my best friends ever right?” Tsukishima and Yamaguchi shared a glare and nodded slowly. “Well I wanted to ask you— you know what, forget it, it isn’t that important” she rambled as she shook her head and hands in front of her.
“Spit it out Hitoka.” Tsukishima said, she sighed in defeat.
“I wanted to know if either of you wanted to go with me, like a friends’ trip.” she asked carefully and awkwardly smiled.
Tsukishima started going on and on about how hard it would be for him to balance uni work and pro teams tryouts but if it wasn’t because of that he would totally go with her. Yamaguchi tried to reject Yachi’s proposal but deep down he knew that he was eager to travel outside Japan and that maybe this was going to be the only opportunity for him to do so. After some more convincing, now with Tsukki’s help, Yamaguchi finally agreed to go with her on the big trip. She had never been happier and knowing that she wasn’t going to be all alone in a completely new country was such a relief.
The trip was scheduled for the entirety of April, a month-long trip to the coldness of Norway. This meant that they had only a few months to prepare everything that they needed for the trip, researching whether they needed a visa or the appropriate clothes or medicine she might need for any emergency. Yachi, somehow, had something to do all the time, making lists, working extra shifts to save money, spending countless hours on the phone with Yamaguchi to make sure she wasn’t forgetting something; she couldn’t allow her anxiety and overthinking to ruin this trip for her, everything had to be done to the letter.
When they had to book their flights the school gave them the option to join a group flight, that meant that every student from across the country that was taking the program had to meet in Tokyo and from there they would fly to Norway all together. Of course to Yachi this was the best option, that way nothing could possibly go wrong and she would be at ease for the entirety of the journey to get there, but her mother had a different view on the matter. The cost of the flights alone was exceeding their entire budget, which meant that if Yachi took the group flight she would have absolutely zero money to even eat once when she got to Norway, so she had to travel by herself. For the remaining 3 months Yachi stayed up all night almost everyday, she couldn’t fall asleep unless she made sure several times that everything for the trip was ready even if it made no sense worrying about that in that moment.
A 2 hour train ride to get to Tokyo, a 12 hour flight to Germany and finally a 2 hour flight to Oslo. All of that may not sound that much to anyone but to Yachi it was.
When the awaited day finally arrived she was scared to death, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi and her mom were all kind enough to get her to Tokyo. She shared an embrace with her mom, who was panicking making sure she had everything she needed. She hugged her and kissed her forehead a million times.
“Hitoka-chan, please take care of yourself and call me if you need anything. You are a strong girl and I will miss you very much.” Her mother told her with tears in her eyes, she then moved towards Yamaguchi. “And you Tadashi-kun, take care of yourself and make sure Hitoka stays safe.” she said before hugging him as well. After exchanging goodbyes with her mom, they walked towards Tsukishima who was standing a few steps behind her.
“Be safe you idiots” Tsukki said as he spread his arms open for a group hug. Tears forming on Yachi’s eyes, she started sniffling.
“What is it? Weren’t you excited to do this?” he asked and slowly started rubbing circles on her back, he felt her nod, “Then what is it?”
“I’m going to miss you idiot.” she laughed.
“Aw, I’m going to miss you too but don’t worry 14 hours isn’t that much and besides we are rooming, you will have to deal with me 24/7 for an entire month.” Yamaguchi joked to lighten the mood, which earned him a soft giggle from the shorter one and a slap on the head from the taller.
“Let’s take a pic, I wanna show Tobio and Shoyo that we’re leaving” she said.
volleyball idiots + me
Yams 9:30am
[Photo]
guess who’s leaving?
Shoyo 9:31am
you leave for norway today?!
have a safe trip!!! and send many picss
Tobio 9:31am
have a good one.
You 9:31am
we will let you know when we get there :)
Tsukki 9:32am
Hinata, shouldn’t you be sleeping?
Shoyo 9:32am
aww worriedshima
i’m sorry to tell you but it is only 9 pm here
(っ ͡❛ ₃ ͡❛)っ
Passengers of flight 4017 with destination to Frankfurt, please go to gate 25
“That’s my flight” Yachi announced before giving each of them a big hug and leaving to get to her gate.
✩ ☽
Oslo was cold, colder than she had expected, even if she was in the airport it was freezing cold. Yachi had been waiting in the airport, seeing luggage go round and round the baggage claim bands for almost 3 hours, it was starting to get annoying. When she got to Frankfurt she received a message from the teacher organizing the program stating that the group flight got delayed and that they wouldn’t arrive in Oslo until 3 am. She couldn’t exactly go and explore the airport because that would mean potentially getting lost in a country and not being able to talk to anyone so she sat in a chair next to the bathroom.
The first hour passed by rather quickly, eating snacks she had packed from home in case something happened, but of course she didn’t think anything would actually happen. The second hour, she started getting a little antsy and sleepy but even if she wanted to sleep her brain wouldn’t let her because of the thought of someone stealing anything from her luggage. She couldn’t stop thinking about Yamaguchi and whether he was safe or not, to silence her thoughts she put on her headphones and played a playlist with music that kept her calm. The third hour, she decided to video call her mom. Bad idea. As soon as her mother picked up the phone she started bawling her eyes, telling her how much she missed her already. The fourth, and hopefully, final hour started and all she could do was scroll down her social media; seeing pictures and videos of Hinata at the beach with little kids made her smile instantly; seeing the texts Kageyama had sent to the group chat stole a giggle from her, she was glad she had friends like them.
When the clock struck 2:30 am a big group of people started entering the room, Yachi figured it was her group. She stood up from where she was sitting and tried to spot Yamaguchi from the crowd. There were a lot more people than she had anticipated, she thought that maybe around 30 people would be in the program but it seemed to be almost double. When she spotted her friend she walked as fast as she could towards him.
“Tadashiiii!!!” she softly yelled until she got his attention, he was walking next to two girls almost as tall as him.
“Oh, Yachi!!” he said and hugged her tightly “I’m glad you got here safe.”
One of the girls that were with him cleared her throat, catching Yamaguchi’s attention again. “Oh right. Yachi, these are Yonezawa-san and Kanoka-san” Yamaguchi introduced them. “This is Yachi-san, we were together in highschool. She was Karasuno’s volleyball club’s manager.” Yamaguchi continued talking with a big smile on his face.
Yachi was caught off guard, she definitely wasn’t ready to see the most beautiful woman she had ever seen in her life on a cold Tuesday night in Oslo out of all places. Kanoka had beautiful dark chin length hair and gorgeous gray eyes, they shined so bright under the bright white airport lights. She had a beauty mark on her cheek, just underneath her left eye; it looked astonishing and matched her soft red cheeks perfectly. Her lips were glossy and Yachi couldn’t seem to stop staring at them.
“Yachi, are you listening to me?” Yamaguchi interrupted her thoughts, she blinked a few times and then nodded her head.
“I was telling you that they are from Miyagi too, they went to Niiyama and went to nationals like all the time.”
“Oh, I guess that’s why you both seemed so familiar” Yachi nervously said, avoiding eye contact with either of them.
“So nice to meet you Yachi-san! Let’s make the most out of this trip” Kanoka said, her voice was so sweet and kind, her smile so welcoming, Yachi had never seen anything like it before, her heart skipped a bit.
…
The first night was tiring, they ended up getting to their hotel room until 4 am and all they could think about was sleep. The room was big enough for them to share, it had 2 beds, a small sofa placed in the corner and a balcony that had a wonderful view of the city lights. As she laid in bed, all she could think about was the pretty girl’s eyes and how her piercing gaze was making her feel something , at that moment she didn’t know what it was but she would come to terms with it as the trip progressed.
The teachers let them have a free day between their arrival and the first day of school so that they could adapt to their rooms, weather and time difference. Both Yachi and Yamaguchi slept in that day, they woke up at around 6pm and since they hadn’t eaten they went out and explored the restaurants and shops around the hotel. They decided to eat in a small restaurant a few blocks away from their hotel, it wasn’t that expensive and was open until late. They sat down and analyzed the menu for a few minutes until a raspy voice interrupted them.
“Yamaguchi-kun, is that you?” Yonezawa asked as she walked inside the restaurant, Kanoka following close behind her. As soon as Yachi noticed both girls she, unconsciously, tensed up.
“Oh girls, you’re here! Do you want to join our table?” Yamaguchi asked and offered the two available seats for them to sit.
Yonezawa next to her, in front of Yamaguchi and Kanoka next to him, in front of Yachi. They sat in silence for a few minutes, it was awkward until Yamaguchi broke the silence. He asked about their majors and how school is in Tokyo. Kanoka stayed quiet for most questions, making her friend answer for her.
“We have some friends that are going pro, do you plan to do that as well?” Yachi dared to ask, hoping that the girl in front of her would answer. As soon as the question left her mouth, Kanoka’s eyes started shining, finally interested in the conversation. She smiled softly at Yachi before answering.
“Yeah! After I finish college I want to go pro, I actually have been looking at the team proposals I have. I wanted to go pro straight after highschool but my parents wouldn’t allow me to.” She said, the shine in her eyes slowly shutting down, it made Yachi want to keep that shine there, it made her think about what could possibly keep it there for as long as she could.
“I remember watching one of your games when I was a first year. Tanaka-san told us a lot about you! What team are you aiming for, Kanoka-san?” Yachi carefully asked, not wanting to open some sort of wound at the mention of her upperclassman but to Yachi’s surprise, Kanoka smiled widely at the mention of Tanaka.
“You did? He did? That’s so nice. I’m aiming for Hikari Red Rabbits, I’ve been watching their games and really enjoy the team dynamic that they have!” She explained with a subtle smile. Kanoka kept going on and on about all the things she wanted to do once she was finally free from her parents and how eager she was to live on her own.
With every word that came from the taller woman’s mouth Yachi was getting more and more interested, the way Kanoka explained things and talked so passionately about her interests, her voice so soft and sweet, it only made Yachi want to listen to her talk forever.
After dinner, they decided to go back to their hotel, so that they could get some more rest and get ready for school the next day. On their way back the sun was starting to set and the sky was filled with beautiful tones of pink, orange and a hint of dark blue, almost purple. Yachi stopped walking to admire the view, to breathe the fresh air, to try to capture that moment in her mind. Kanoka walked towards her once she realized that they had left her behind, she waited for Yachi to be done looking at the sky, so that they could walk back together. No one had ever done that for Yachi, she had grown used to being left behind, to catch up to others but this time she had someone waiting for her, it felt nice.
“The sky is beautiful, isn’t it Yachi-san?” Kanoka asked, she could only nod in response.
“You know, back in Miyagi I used to live in a little house in the mountains, the sky there always looked beautiful. Have you ever seen the sky from the top of a mountain?” She asked as they walked next to each other back to the hotel.
“I haven’t but I live in a building and seeing it from the rooftop always brings me some sort of peace. I imagine it can be the same feeling? '' Yachi said, stealing a glance of Kanoka’s beautiful eyes.
Kanoka smiled and nodded, “Just like that! I get to experience that kind of peace when I see the sky from my dorm in Tokyo. So different yet so familiar.” She giggled.
They stayed quiet for the rest of the walk, enjoying the somehow comfortable silence between them. Kanoka walked Yachi all the way to her room and quietly said good night to her, a soft smile painted on her face, Yachi couldn’t help but to blush a little.
As soon as she closed the door she ran and jumped to her bed, squealing, giggling and kicking her feet as if she was a teenager in a romcom.
“Falling from someone you just met? That’s very in character for you Hitoka” Yamaguchi said all the way from the bathroom.
“Shut up Tadashi, she’s just being nice and I will not fall for her.” She said deadpan serious, as if her tummy and mind weren’t filled with butterflies at that very moment.
“Sure, whatever you say Hitoka.”
✩ ☽
Classes were a little boring because she didn’t have anyone that she knew, Yamaguchi was in a completely different major and Yonezawa and Kanoka were studying something simple just to get college over with but Yachi was stuck in a graphic design class with people that were way more talented than her. The first week, she tried talking to her peers but they would simply ignore her or be rude for no reason so she stopped trying. It was quite overwhelming even if these classes were only going to be for a month. All Yachi could do was doodle in her notebook and look out the window, trying to distract herself for the hours to pass by quickly so that the tour around the city could finally start, that’s what she was the most excited for every single day, not some stupid graphic design class.
Everyday, they got the opportunity to go and explore the city in groups of four so naturally Yamaguchi, Yonezawa, Kanoka and her stuck together, they walked everywhere together, they ate lunch everyday together and it just felt right. Getting to know both girls was so much fun and exciting but Yachi noticed during that week that Kanoka seemed a lot more comfortable when it was only the two of them. They talked about silly stuff and quickly started having inside jokes between them, they realized that they had a lot in common. Kanoka made Yachi laugh; she made her feel at ease, as if she didn’t have to worry about anything else but the moment that they were living, it was nice.
Usually, when it was time for the sun to set, they would drift apart from their other two friends so that they could whack the sun together. Those colors in the sky had become a part of their routine, they would watch them before heading back to their rooms, they would put music on and just stay quiet. It felt right, sitting there with Kanoka by her side felt safe, if she was honest it was the best part of her day. Kanoka’s gray eyes reflected the beautiful hues of red and pink of the sky, truly a sight that was going to be hard to erase from her memory. If she could, she would freeze time at 8:04 pm so that she could stay there forever.
The first two weeks were fun and easy, she had nothing to worry about, her mind would let her enjoy every moment, that was until the second Saturday of the trip. A trip to Bergen was scheduled and Yachi decided to sit next to Kanoka on the train. The first few hours were a lot of fun, sharing snacks, listening to music together even sharing a few secrets; Kanoka made Yachi smile, a lot, and it was then that she started getting the urge to hold her hand, to lay her head on Kanoka’s shoulder, she wanted to be close.
Once they arrived in the city, they visited a museum and Yachi took her distance from the group, scared that she might do anything that would make Kanoka uncomfortable but Kanoka would just move her closer, taking her by the arm and walking side by side. Yachi’s cheeks burned. Even when she tried her best to stay apart, somehow, the other woman would find a way to keep them together, it was tormenting.
Yachi had to contain her urges and desires for the entire train ride back to Oslo, it was the longest day out of the two weeks they had spent in Norway.
…
Attraction had a strong meaning inside Yachi’s mind, it wasn’t a word that she would randomly use to describe how she felt about someone but it was starting to feel right to use it to describe her feelings towards Kanoka. She was the first thing Yachi would think of in the morning and the last at night, whenever something funny happened in class, Kanoka was the first person Yachi wanted to tell. Yachi Hitoka had had many crushes on many girls but none of them felt the way that she felt about Kanoka Amanai.
Many girls had given Yachi lots of mixed signs when it came to flirting and getting together, they would always treat her nicely and say cute stuff to her, making her feel as if she was the most important person in the world just to later reject Yachi’s confessions and say that they were just being nice. In Yachi’s mind, what Kanoka was doing was no different. The one thing she feared the most was falling for someone and it being unrequited, it had happened many times before, but she was scared a connection so strong that she had built with a beautiful and caring girl would end up the same way. She was not sure if her heart could handle another heartbreak.
Laying on her hotel room bed a million thoughts came running through her mind but she couldn’t keep them to herself any longer, she needed advice, she had to tell someone so she did the best thing she could possibly think of at that moment. She took out her phone and started texting.
volleyball idiots + me
You 10:30pm
i fell in love with a city girl
Tsukki 10:31pm
??
Yams 10:31pm
tsukki, why are you awake, isn’t it like 5 am there?
Tsukki 10:31pm
i have class at 7 you idiot.
Shoyo 10:32pm
In response to you
what’s her name??
You 10:35pm
her name is kanoka and i can’t stop thinking about her
what should i do?
Yams 10:35pm
she’s not even a city girl hitoka -.-
Tobio 10:36pm
you mean kanoka amanai? as in niiyama’s kanoka?
You 10:36pm
…
Tsukki 10:37pm
well i can tell she likes girls, sooo it’s a win for you
Shoyo 10:38pm
what i’ve learned from traveling the world is that
you should give everything a go or you’ll regret it later on
kiss her yachi ( ´ ▽ ` )b
You 10:40pm
but i don’t want her to get uncomfy
what if she doesn’t like me like that
Tsukki 10:40pm
i can’t believe i’m saying this but i agree with hinata
Yams 10:40pm
i’ve seen the way she looks at you
she likes you
You 10:41pm
ahhhhh
She left her phone on the side table and rolled over so she could look at Yamaguchi from her bed.
“What Shoyo is saying is right, don’t stop doing something just because you’re scared of the outcome. I know Kanoka likes you and not just in a friend way. You have two weeks left, do something about it” Yamaguchi said and threw a pillow at his friend’s face, Yachi covered her face with it.
“AHHH I hate this so much!” she confessed.
The following days were a little awkward for Yachi, she tried everything she could for her feelings to remain a secret to everyone, she hoped that Kanoka wouldn’t notice the fact that she had been a bit distant. Yachi's mind was working a million miles per hour thinking about every single interaction she had had with the older girl, about everything she had ever said to her wondering if there could be even a slight bit of hope that she might like her back but all of the possible scenarios led to the same outcome, unrequited.
Yachi stopped eating dinner with them before going back to the hotel; she stopped walking next to Kanoka and started walking with Yamaguchi again, she even stopped watching the sunset, every time giving an excuse that was hard to believe. It was really not her intention to make things awkward between the four of them simply because she had a silly little crush but all of them, including people they didn’t talk to, noticed that something was off with her.
During one of their walks back to the hotel, Kanoka decided to do something about it. She wanted to find out what was wrong with Yachi and if she had done anything wrong.
“Yachi!” Kanoka called out for her from behind, Yachi turned around and waited for her to catch up to her.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked, Yachi hummed, her hands held together, sweating, scared.
“Did we do something wrong? We’ve noticed that you’ve been a little umm distant” Kanoka said before stopping and taking both of Yachi’s hands in hers. Their eyes meeting for the first time after what seemed like months.
“I don’t want to force you to tell me anything you don’t feel comfortable with but I wanted to let you know that you can trust me” Kanoka offered a kind smile to Yachi.
The kindness offered by Kanoka was something Yachi had never received before, of course she had friends that cared for her but nothing could compare with the warmth that Kanoka made her feel. It was then when Yachi realized that she didn’t care if Kanoka was going to break her heart, no one was ever going to make her feel that way, no one was going to see her the way that Kanoka did.
“I’m just feeling a little homesick, that’s all.” she lied, Kanoka smiled.
…
“So? Did you talk to her?” Yonezawa asked from across the room as Kanoka walked to her bed. “I did.”
“And?”
“She said she was homesick, then we went to the rooftop to watch the sunset.” She sighed. “Maiko, she is so beautiful, I don’t think I will be able to survive another week hiding these feelings from her.” Kanoka confessed.
“Then just… confess? You have nothing to lose.” she said.
“Oh yeah because we live in the same city, right? Long distance doesn’t work.” Kanoka rolled her eyes and sighed.
She had only been in 2 relationships, one of them being long distance and the heartbreak that came from it was one that Kanoka couldn’t bear to repeat.
When it came to Yachi Hitoka, everything seemed fairly easy, as if they had met a lifetime ago. Whenever she was with Yachi she felt at home, which was strange because she had never felt anything like it, not even when she was at Miyagi with her family. The peace and warmth that Yachi brought her was one that Kanoka wanted to be able to feel for as long as she was allowed to, she never wanted it to end.
She had tried to send signs to Yachi, to let her know that she had feelings for her. The signs were a huge deal to Kanoka because that was the only way she knew how to flirt. Touching pinkies, grabbing her by the arm and walking together, letting their feet touch from beneath the table. Nothing seemed to work, Yachi always seemed tense whenever Kanoka did something to stay close to her but whenever she walked up to her to talk, Yachi had the biggest smile on her face. There were a lot of mixed signs.
Kanoka wasn’t even sure if Yachi liked girls. She was scared that anything she might do could lead to Yachi completely cutting her off. She had dealt with straight girls before and every single time it ended terribly, she didn’t want that to happen with Yachi, if she could, she would do anything to at least keep their friendship strong.
Every night, Kanoka stared at the ceiling, thinking of Yachi’s eyes, those glossy brown eyes of hers that saw right through her; if glances and looks were the gate to your darkest and deepest secrets, Yachi would know every single one of hers.
✩ ☽
After the talk they had, Yachi started feeling comfortable again hanging out with them. She figured that making things awkward between them was the last thing she needed and actually trying to enjoy her interactions with Kanoka would be the best option.
After talking and talking with Yamaguchi, Yachi decided to finally start flirting. Now, she would be the one to initiate physical contact, she would link their pinkies together or (whenever she was feeling bold) hold hands. Yachi would try to keep up with her whenever they were walking together, she would listen to whatever she had to say. Listening to Kanoka speak was her favorite thing to do.
There were several occasions in which both of them ended up being so close to each other that their lips were only inches away, of course they would quickly move away from the other and it ended up being a little awkward but the tension between them grew and grew each time.
The clock was ticking and soon enough they would be separated from the other. Destiny somehow had created this opportunity for them and not taking it would be stupid. They had met years before and now something had brought them together once again, 8.330 kilometers from Japan, they didn’t know if they would ever see each other ever again., not taking the risk would be an act of cowardice.
6:30 pm, half an hour before she agreed to meet Kanoka at the rooftop. Half an hour in which Yachi had to collect all of her courage to formulate some type of confession. All of the midnight thoughts, texts with friends and convos with Yamaguchi had prepared her for what was about to happen, she could no longer keep her feelings to herself.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of notification coming from her phone.
volleyball idiots + me
Shoyo 6:30pm
you’re almost going back to japan, aren’t you?
Yams 6:31pm
yup, we leave in 4 days
Shoyo 6:31pm
hitokaaaaaaa
You 6:31pm
yes?
Shoyo 6:32pm
did you kiss her??
You 6:35pm
i haven’t, not yet
Tobio 6:36pm
yachi, please don’t waste this opportunity
if you don’t at least tell her how you feel
you will regret it for a veeery long time
i know what i’m talking about, don’t let it
go to waste.
i’m telling you this as your friend
i care a lot about you.
Tsukki 6:38pm
he is right
You 6:39pm
i’m going up to the roof to see the sunset
i’ll talk to her
but i don’t promise anything
so don’t get your hopes up
Yams 6:40pm
go for it yachi <33
You 6:41pm
thank you guys, for being such good friends
especially you @Shoyo and @Tobio
your words really encouraged me to do sth
<3
Yachi made her way to the roof, not even ready for what was going to happen, everything could go extremely well or extremely bad. Her entire body felt cold, she once read that cold hands and limbs was a sign of nervousness, she trembled at the thought.
“A penny for your thoughts Yachi-san?” Kanoka says from behind her, patting her head and sitting next to her, admiring the sunset on the hotel rooftop in Oslo. Yachi sighs and questions every single moment of her existence, every decision she has made has led her to that moment, every thought running through her head was worthless, the only thing that mattered was the fact that she was with her, that they were together.
Yachi closed her eyes and took a deep breath before complying to Kanoka’s demand.
“Kanoka-san, you know that feeling when you can’t do anything else but think about a certain feeling?” She started saying, her breath shaky, Kanoka nodded slowly. “You remember that night a week ago? When we were walking back to the hotel? I told you then that I was just feeling a little homesick. I lied.”
She turned to look at Kanoka, at her beautiful eyes, the sun embracing her soft pink-tinted cheeks, her eyes glowing by just looking at her, she was gorgeous.
“You see Kanoka-san, ever since I met you and I got to know you, I can’t seem to stop you from being in my head, my thoughts are for you and for you only.” Yachi confessed. “I was being distant because the thought of my feelings being unrequited made me feel sick but after this week I realized that these feelings might be the ones that you’re feeling a-and it’s okay if they are not, I just wanted to tell you. I want everything with you Kanoka-san.”
Kanoka stayed there, in complete silence, just staring directly into Yachi’s eyes, her beautiful brown eyes. “Yachi-san, ever since I met you, I felt a spark between us” Kanoka’s eyes started watering, she laughed softly, “I was just scared that you didn’t feel the same way so I wasn’t going to say anything. But I’m so happy to hear that you do.”
“Yachi-san, I don’t think I could live a life without you.” she confessed, moving closer to the shorter woman, linking their fingers together.
Yachi laughed and laid her head on Kanoka’s shoulder, hearing her rushed heartbeat, she stayed there for a bit before pressing her forehead against hers. Having her so close brought an infinite amount of thoughts to Yachi’s head but she wasn’t going to let any of them happen before being 100% sure that Kanoka wanted to do it too.
Kanoka placed her hand on Yachi’s cheek, softly caressing it, her touch so gentle. She moved a strand of hair behind her ear, stared directly into her eyes. They were barely inches away, either of them could close the gap between them.
“Yachi-san, can I kiss you?” she whispered softly, Yachi nodded.
Kanoka pulled in, their lips finally touching. It was soft and gentle, Kanoka tasted like strawberries and Yachi tasted like vanilla, the perfect combination. Their lips matched perfectly together, as if they were made for each other. They moved perfectly in sync, exchanging breaths, it felt like home. Yachi smiled into the kiss, finally being able to be as close as she had always wanted felt relieving.
When they finally pulled apart they couldn’t help but smile, wider than either of them had done in the past month.
“Kanoka-san, what are we going to do? We live like 400 kilometers away from the other” she quietly asked.
“Future Yachi and future Kanoka, can be the ones to worry about it. I just know that it doesn’t matter how far away from me you are, I will feel you close, always. You make me feel at home, you are my home. And I know that we will be able to do this, okay? We just gotta trust.” Kanoka said before kissing Yachi again, hungrier this time, desperate.
“Okay.”
Under the sunset, they confessed to each other, under the sunset they promised to be together, under the sunset they allowed themselves to trust wholeheartedly, under the sunset they fell madly in love.