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“Come, come!! I have something for you!” Yoimiya squealed, hand-in-hand with the younger Kamisato. Her blonde hair, polar opposite of the light blue that shone on Ayaka’s head, was loose for a change- tumbling around freckled and marked shoulders.
Pink blossoms fell from the trees, fall arriving on Inazuma’s islands. Branches and leaves crunched underneath the two girl’s feet, Yoimiya urging Ayaka along to lead her to a quiet spot in the forest. Ayaka’s face lit up, spotting a steaming hot bath amidst the trees.
“Oh!” The Kamisato girl gasped, slowly smiling.
“I know you don’t get to bathe with other people ‘cause you’re a young lady and all that but i figured i’d at least try this and it’d be just the two of u-” Yoimiya spat out hurriedly, cringing and expecting a decline of her offer.
Ayaka turned, letting go of Yoimiya’s hand to wrap her arms around one of Miya’s.
“Miya.. Thank you so much.” Ayaka grinned, the touch calming all of the firework girl’s doubts and anxieties.
“Is that a yes?” Miya smiled cheekily, the two practically face to face from the little distance between them. Ayaka nodded cheerfully; after a pause widening her eyes in shock.
“O-oh, it just occurred to me I have no idea how to do this-!” Ayaka squeaked.
“No worries!! It’s pretty simple, actually, you just strip down to your undergarments and jump in. The steam hides most everything, if you’re worried about it! I’ve done this dozens of times with my friends and family and never had any issue at all.”
Ayaka seemed to hesitate, a feeling of dread entering Yoimiya’s stomach. But the dread was dispersed when Ayaka resumed eye contact, nodding with a sweet smile that turned her previous feelings into a churning feeling of joy.
“Okay, great! If you wanna strip down in the trees over there, there’s pretty good cov-“
Before Miya even finished her sentence, Ayaka was pulling off her armor and slipping off her blouse. Yoimiya was left in a temporary sense of awe, quickly turning her head away and taking her jacket and accessories off. Both girls laid their clothes off to the side and slipped in, sitting in silence for what must’ve been a few minutes, two pairs of eyes attached to the water.
“Soo.. What do you usually do when you’re in here?” Ayaka smiled, water rippling from what must’ve been some sort of leg movement.
Yoimiya, still a bit stunned from Ayaka’s quick removal of clothing, looked up and then away. “With the littler children we’ll usually splash around and play games like Marco Polo.. but you’re not a kid, and this pool is too little to really play any games.”
Ayaka was suddenly very aware of how little the hot spring truly was. “Right. What do you usually do with the adults?”
“Talk.” Yoimiya shrugged. “Well.. Actually, a lot of the time I talk and they listen. Hey, why don’t you pick a story to tell, and I’ll listen this time around?”
“A story?” Ayaka giggled, gentle and melodic. “I don’t think I’ve any memorized.”
“I’m sure you have some sort of drama you can tell me.”
To that, Ayaka smirked.
“There it is! Tell me, tell me!”
“Well..” Ayaka started, leaning in.
For the next hour, they chatted, Yoimiya doing the listening for a change. When the time came for them to get up -their fingers and toes were pruning and both girls were beginning to get lightheaded- they changed and walked to the estate together.
“Hey, Ayaka.. Today was nice.” Yoimiya brushed her hand against the girl’s shoulder, watching as Ayaka’s eyes grew thoughtful.
“It doesn’t have to be over just yet.” She smiled, in that sweet way of hers. Damnit, Yoimiya was helpless with her around. “I don’t have anything to do today.”
“I don’t want to ruin your energy. You have a party to go to tomorrow, right? I know being around large crowds is hard for you.”
“But being around you isn’t.” Ayaka raised to her tiptoes and kissed her cheek.
“Oh.” Yoimiya breathed, speechless for the first time in her life. “Oh. Oh!”
The blonde covered her cheek, beginning to grin like an idiot. “Oh my gosh. Did that just happen? It totally did. Oh my Archons.”
Ayaka laughed, fan whipping out and covering her mouth. Yoimiya stood like a statue in place, face red. She was beginning to realize just how frequently this happened around Ayaka.
“W-Wait-”
“If you’d like our hangout to end here, I am alright with that.” Ayaka spoke, fan waving below her eyes, meaning something else with her words.
“Y-You! You and your speaking in double-entendres!” Yomiya sputtered, going red. She rubbed her cheeks so hard that it hurt. “I’ve been into for like.. Years! I thought you didn’t like me-! Oh my Archons, of course I don’t want it to end! Ayaka you are the most beautiful girl on the planet and I am hopelessly in love with you! I always have been! I love the way you look when you dance and I love your smile and if I could spend every minute of my life taking you in and just being next to you I could die happy! Ayaka, I love you so much it hurts-! Please, Ayaka, I just-”
Ayaka kissed her. Yoimiya felt all the tension she’d felt in her body uncoil and float into the clouds. Quite frankly, she herself was floating into the sky. Having her lips on Ayaka’s was the same feeling as stepping into a particularly sunny day with bare shoulders, preparing to dive into the water.
When Ayaka stepped back, face pink and eyes wide, Yoimiya felt lightheaded.
“Woah.” She squeaked.
“You look stunned.” Ayaka laughed, leaning into Yoimiya’s shoulder. Yoimiya’s skin, as always, was warm- a contrast to Ayaka’s always-chilled body.
“I am stunned.” Yoimiya flushed even deeper, having to step aside to steady herself against a wall.
“Is that a good thing?”
“A very good thing.”
“About what you said earlier, Miya.. I love you too. I have for a long time.”
Miya paused, then laughed, tackle-hugging Ayaka so hard they both stumbled and landed on the floor.
“I’m so glad. Oh my Archons, Ayaka, if I’d just spilled my guts out and you didn’t like me like that-” Yoimiya breathed, taking in the smell of sakura blossoms, and wishing she could stay like this forever. Laying in the leaves, holding onto Ayaka, the trees blowing in the wind. A pink blossom landed on her cheek, and she scrunched her nose, brushing it away. Ayaka looked her in the eyes and picked it back up, then carefully tucked the flower into Yoimiya’s hair.
“I’m never getting rid of it now.” Yoimiya laughed. “It’ll sit on my nighttable until i accidentally crush it with something, and then i’ll put the pieces in some sort of box.”
“That was oddly specific.”
“Because I know it’ll happen.”
“You’re awfully cute for a girl who always smells like gunpowder.” Ayaka teased, tucking her head into Yoimiya’s shirt.
Yoimiya laughed, lightly whacking Ayaka. “You’re awfully mean for a girl who was raised in a Commission.”
And it was just them, in the leaves, underneath the sakura tree. Just the Pyro commoner and the Cryo commissioner.