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Gray clouds filled the sky, obscuring the morning sun. A cold wind blew down the street, and as Maki walked along, she buried her face further into her scarf. Another gust whooshed by her, and its bite rendered the scarf next to worthless. She curled in on herself, wanting this walk to school to just be over already. Maki had never liked the cold, and not even its broader implications could make the misery bearable this year.
For the first time she could ever remember, Maki didn't feel excited for Christmas.
Many factors contributed to this lack of holiday spirit: constant student council duties, cram school somehow sucking up even more of her free time than normal, her father getting on her case—again!—about entrance exams, and a decided lack of any time to play the piano, just to name a few. All of that, though, paled in comparison to the main reason that dominated her ire.
She hadn’t seen her girlfriend Umi in months.
They had been doing what they could in the time since she had left for university, but the lack of anything more substantial than a nightly (if they were lucky) phone call had taken its toll. After almost two years of seeing each other practically every day, Maki keenly felt Umi’s absence. Her calmness, her quiet strength, her dedication, her smile, her laugh, her very being…. At the moment, Maki would give almost anything to have Umi by her side for just five minutes. Like that would happen anytime soon. Umi had already stated her intention of only returning home during summer breaks.
The wind changed directions, and the shifting cold pulled Maki out of her negative spiral. She picked up the pace, wanting to get to school to escape the cold.
Soon enough, though, her thoughts returned to her girlfriend. It sucked because on the one hand, Maki knew she was being selfish and childish. She knew Umi was off learning exciting new things, and Maki didn’t want to take that from her. On the other hand… Maki had feelings, too….
Ugh, why did this have to be so hard?
The miasma hung around her even after she reached school, and it didn’t dissipate all day. Classes offered no respite; cram school had already covered pretty much all of her regular curriculum, so she barely had to pay attention. More time to wallow. At least she’d be on winter break after today.
When the final bell rang, Maki made her way to the student council room with something approaching anticipation. Even if the work were long and boring, it would at least give her mind something else to focus on. Opening the door and finding Hanayo and Rin already there surprised her; normally she arrived first.
“Good afternoon, Maki-chan,” Hanayo said, looking up and smiling at her.
“Took you long enough!” Rin added. She cocked her head to one side. “What’s wrong?”
Maki furrowed her brow. “What? Nothing’s wrong.”
“No, something’s definitely wrong,” Rin insisted. “Your whole mood looks droopy.”
“A mood can’t look droopy, Rin.”
“Even if Rin-chan didn’t word it very well, she’s right, Maki-chan.” Hanayo pushed the paper in front of her to the side, giving Maki her full attention. “You’ve seemed really out of it the past few days.”
“Normally you’re like, super excited this time of year! It’s almost time for Santa to visit, right?”
Clearly these two had no intention of letting the subject drop. Maki heaved a sigh and took a seat across from them. She let her head fall forward, and the little thump it made against the table sounded too loud in the quiet room.
“You two are too observant for your own good sometimes.” Her voice came out muffled, squished as her face was against the wood.
“We’ve had a while to learn what to look for,” Hanayo said, kindly.
“So what’s wrong, Maki-chan? Maybe talking about it will help!”
“It’s stupid,” Maki mumbled. A dusting of red colored her cheeks, and she felt grateful that Hanayo and Rin couldn’t see it.
“That doesn’t mean it’s not still important to you.” How was Hanayo such a literal angel?
Heaving another sigh, Maki sat back up. Her friends looked at her with understanding smiles. She couldn’t possibly say it while looking at them, so she averted her eyes.
“I… I miss Umi.”
“Oh, is that it?”
“Rin-chan!” Maki heard a quiet bonk as Hanayo gently chastised her girlfriend. “I’m sorry, Maki-chan. It’s completely understandable that you’d miss Umi-chan after being separated for so long. I know I’d be really sad if I couldn’t see Rin-chan for even a couple days.”
“Right! Right! And I’d be really sad if I couldn’t see Kayo-chin! I’m sorry for making it sound like it wasn’t important.”
Maki put her head against the table again, wanting nothing more than for all three of them to forget this ever happened. “Ugh… thanks. Can we just get to work, though? Surely there are things I need to sign or something.”
Papers slid across the table, and Maki looked up again to see Hanayo moving a small stack towards her. “These all need the council president’s signature,” her vice president said. “Rin-chan and I will keep working on the rest.”
“Thanks, Hanayo.”
Even though she hadn’t really wanted to be student council president, a single suggestion from Umi had convinced her to do it. At least it wasn’t exactly a hard position. If Honoka had been able to do it, it couldn’t be. Then again, Honoka had Umi and Kotori to help her. Then again, Maki had Hanayo and Rin….
Her phone buzzed, and she paused her work to check it.
Umi: I hope you’re having a pleasant afternoon, princess.
A smile bubbled up through the layers of Maki’s bad mood. How could one text message have so much power?
Maki: I am now that I’m talking to you, my ocean <3
Umi: <3
Umi: Has cram school started for the evening?
Maki: I don’t have it today. Just finishing up some student council work before heading home
Umi: Oh, so you’re still at school?
Maki cocked her head at that one.
Maki: Yeah, for another little bit. Why?
Umi: No reason! I should stop bothering you and let you get back to work.
Maki: It’s never a bother talking to you, love
Umi: While I appreciate the sentiment, I feel bad knowing I’m keeping you from completing your duties.
Maki: Fine, fine. Thanks. I’ll text you when I’m done. Maybe we could video call tonight?
Umi: Maybe. I’ll talk to you soon. I love you. <3
Maki: Love you too <3
“Think she was texting Umi-chan?” Rin muttered, just loudly enough for Maki to hear.
“Definitely,” Hanayo responded.
“Sh-Shut up! Get back to work!” A lock of hair found itself curled around Maki’s finger before she caught herself and turned her attention back to the papers in front of her. Hanayo and Rin simply giggled to each other and did the same.
It took almost another hour for Maki to finish her work. Rin and Hanayo had finished earlier, and she told them to leave without her. No sense making them wait around just for her to finish. With one last look around the room, she packed up and left.
The sun had mostly set, but the clouds from that morning had parted just enough to let a faint pink hue color their edges. Maki let out a slow breath and watched as it traveled upwards into the darkening sky. In the glow of the streetlights, she saw tiny snowflakes drifting down. The gentle wind had none of its previous bite. Compared to the walk into school, the walk out of it almost felt pleasant.
As Maki descended the stairs leading away from Otonokizaka, she noticed a figure standing at the bottom. The beige jacket with fur collar looked tantalizingly familiar, but it wasn’t until the figure turned that it clicked into place.
Maki froze on the third step. She stared down, directly into hazel eyes.
“Hello, princess.”
Goosebumps prickled across Maki’s body.
“Umi?” she whispered, watching the words escape into the air between them.
Umi smiled, brightly and warmly enough that Maki almost mistook it for the sun she had been longing to see all day. “Surprise.”
“Wh—What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t coming back for winter break.”
“I changed my mind. My parents wanted to see me, as did Honoka and Kotori.” She paused and looked away, hiding part of her face behind her scarf. “I also… really missed you.”
Maki flew down the remaining steps that separated them and pulled Umi into the tightest hug she could remember ever giving. The clean, understated fragrance of Umi’s shampoo filled Maki’s senses as she buried her face in the crook of her girlfriend’s neck. Umi’s arms wrapped around her waist.
Months of tension, of stress, of worry gradually evaporated into the cold night air. Maki stood in the one place she wanted more than anything else.
“I missed you, too,” she whispered, tightening the hug. “I missed you so, so much.”
The two remained like that, completely lost in each other’s presence. The wind felt distant and unimportant; the cold night air no longer stung Maki’s lungs; the ever-present sounds of the city faded into the background. The only things that mattered in this moment were the warmth of Umi’s embrace, the smell of her shampoo, and the sound of her heartbeat.
“Come over to my place for a while?” Maki asked, her voice muffled against Umi’s neck. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized how forward that must have sounded. She flinched, tightening her hug. “I mean… I wanted to play my piano some tonight, and… I haven’t had an audience in way too long.”
Umi very slowly tightened her own side of the hug. It calmed the shaking that Maki hadn’t even realized had started. “I would love nothing more. It has been entirely too long since I’ve had the joy of listening to you play.”
They finally ended their embrace, but they didn’t let go of each other’s hands. Maki looked down into Umi’s eyes, and she couldn’t help but smile at what she saw in them. Umi smiled back. Without giving herself any time to think better of it, Maki leaned in and placed a quick, chaste kiss to her girlfriend’s lips. They tasted sweet, even though she knew Umi didn’t wear lip gloss. Umi was sweet all on her own.
A blush crept onto Umi’s face, but her smile remained. “I will admit, your kisses were right beneath your piano on my list of things I missed dearly.”
Maki felt a blush color her own cheeks as she glanced away and muttered, “Sh-Shameless.”
Umi giggled, and Maki soon joined her. Their laughter carried upwards into the night sky, dancing on clouds of their own making. Though the clouds eventually dissipated, the joy that created them lingered as they finally began their trek to Maki’s.
With an arm wrapped comfortably around Umi’s waist, Maki never wanted this walk home to end.