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The four members of Happy Around were spending time in the town center near Arisugawa Academy. They were doing a favor for Lyrical Lily, a fellow DJ unit, in helping them revitalize their town. Their job was to taste the local food, which Rinku was ecstatic about. She led her friends from stall to stall, happily munching on one delicacy after another. After several delicious food stuffs had been consumed, Rinku pointed at Muni with the hand holding half of a red bean paste-filled treat. "Muni-chan," she tittered excitedly. "What do you want to try next?" Muni thought for a second, then pointed at a sign advertising an ice cream cone.
"I want to try that." So she went to the ice cream stand and got herself a cone, filming herself licking the creamy vanilla ice cream. "It's so good!" she exclaimed, smiling brightly for the camera. "It's the perfect combination of creamy and sweet." Once she'd finished hamming it up for the camera, she shut it off and continued to eat her ice cream, only to be stopped by Rinku.
"Hey hey, Muni-chan, can I try your ice cream?" Thinking nothing of it, Muni offered her cone to Rinku. Rather than take it for herself, she leaned in and licked the exact spot where Muni had been licking. "Mmm, that does taste good! Eh? Muni-chan, are you okay? Your face is all red." It was true: Muni had begun blushing the moment Rinku's tongue had touched her ice cream. They had shared an indirect kiss, and Rinku was being so nonchalant about it! Had she just not noticed? "Oh, I know!" She shoved her own food in Muni's face, beaming her usual megawatt smile. "Why don't you try mine too?"
"I-I..." Muni gulped as she stared at the food, the part where Rinku had taken a bite pointed right at her. She hesitated for a moment longer, then closed her eyes as she took a bite. It was good, but the warmth that flooded her mouth wasn't because of the food. Now she had had an indirect kiss with Rinku! Her face was completely red by that point, burning for everyone to see.
"What's wrong, Muni-chan?" Rinku got up in her face, trying to figure out what was going on.
"N-Nothing!" No matter how many times Rinku asked, Muni refused to tell her. Standing behind them, Maho and Rei just sighed.
The next day, Muni's lips still tingled with the thought of Rinku's indirect kiss. She touched them gently with her pointer finger, sighing happily. If only Rinku would kiss her for real... That was too much, though. She wouldn't dare ask for such, lest she die of embarrassment. So indirect kisses were the next best thing. She decided to try it again at lunch. Munching on her sandwich, she gazed longingly at Rinku. She was slurping up spaghetti, eating like a pack of dingos. It was disgusting, but because it was Rinku, it was also endearing.
"Rinku." The girl in question stopped mid-slurp, looking over at Muni with spaghetti hanging out of her mouth. It made her look like an eldritch horror. "Do you want a bite of my sandwich?" She offered the sandwich to Rinku, trying and failing to tamp her blush down. Luckily Rinku didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were on the sandwich as she sucked the rest of her food into her mouth.
"Sure!" Without hesitation, she leaned over and bit into Muni's sandwich, right where Muni had taken a bite. "Mmm, that's good! You always have the best sandwiches, Muni-chan!" Muni blushed, then took back her sandwich and took another bite. She put a hand to her cheek and sighed happily, savoring the indirect kiss she had just gotten. Rinku's lips... They weren't hers, but it felt like she owned a little stake in them. She thought no one had noticed her odd behavior, but when she got to the practice room after school, Maho and Rei were waiting for her.
"Okay, what's going on, Muni? You're acting weird." Maho got straight to the point, hands on her hips. "You've been blushing around Rinku ever since you shared food yesterday. Is this because of your crush on her?"
"Wh-What?!" Muni sputtered, turning a dark shade of crimson. "I don't have a crush on Rinku!"
"It's a little obvious," Rei chimed in, looking a little awkward about confronting Muni on the situation. She was still going to stand behind Maho, though. Two against one... How was that fair? "Why don't you ask her out?"
"I-I couldn't do that!" Muni then sighed, ducking her head. "I don't know how she feels. What if she doesn't like me like that? Our friendship would be ruined." It didn't sound like a very Rinku thing to do, to end their friendship over a difference in how they wanted to proceed relationship-wise. What if it ended up happening, though? Muni was terrified of losing Rinku, her first and best friend.
"So you do have a crush on Rinku." Maho chuckled as Muni scowled at her. "You seriously should just talk to her. Rinku would never throw away what you two have, even if she didn't feel the same way. This is Rinku we're talking about, after all." It sucked to say it, but Maho was right. Still, that didn't mean she wanted to risk it. Maybe there was some way of finding out without admitting to her deepest desires, though. Maybe...
Later that week, Muni found herself alone with Rinku at Café Vinyl. They were seated at a two person booth, with Muni absently sipping from her drink. She was thinking about what she wanted to ask Rinku, but was riddled with nerves. What if her worst fears came true? She still had to know, though. If she was careful... "Hey Rinku?" she began, drumming her foot nervously underneath the table. "What do you think about dating friends?"
"Huh?" Rinku stopped in the middle of eating a sandwich, staring at Muni. "I'm sure it'd be fine! After all, I love my friends most of all! And my parents, of course." She went right back to eating her sandwich, which ended up making her a little choked up. Hitting her chest with a fist, she pointed at Muni's drink. Rolling her eyes, Muni passed her the drink, which she gulped down through the straw. "Ahh, so good! Thanks Muni-chan!" She handed back the drink, while Muni was just staring at the straw. Another indirect kiss... She sucked on the straw eagerly, feeling heavenly.
"So you would be okay with dating a friend?" she probed hesitantly, twirling her hair nervously.
"Yeah!" Rinku replied, going right back to eating her sandwich as if she hadn't just choked on it.
"E-Even someone like me?" That made Rinku pause as she stared at Muni curiously.
"Of course. I love Muni-chan most of all!" That made Muni go bright red, but she felt her heart fluttering at the realization that Rinku loved her the most. It almost made her feel dizzy, but she remained in the moment long enough to say a little more.
"R-Really?" Rinku nodded hard, beaming. "Th-Then you should kiss me. Indirect kisses are only so- R-Rinku?!" She nearly shouted as she watched Rinku climb up on the table, pushing aside their food and drinks as she crawled towards Muni. On her hands and knees, she gave Muni her first ever real kiss, and that truly did make her feel dizzy. Unconsciously she kissed Rinku back, her head spinning and her heart bursting with warmth and love. When Rinku pulled back, Muni felt electricity crackling along her lips. "Rinku..."
"Wow, you taste even better than my sandwich, Muni-chan." Rinku giggled as Muni blushed harder, staring cutely at her longtime friend. "Does this mean we're girlfriends?"
"I-I think so," Muni breathed, unable to quell her crazy heartbeat. She was on cloud nine. She'd kissed Rinku, and they were going to be more than just friends. Their relationship hadn't been ruined. Thank the gods! Though there was one thing... "Rinku?"
"Yes Muni-chan?"
"Get off the table!"