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Tsubomi looked over herself in the mirror for one final time before she left. It had to have been the hundredth time she had done so this morning; she wanted her outfit to be absolutely perfect, so, for better or worse with whatever happened today, at least she looked nice.
“Yellow shows off confidence!” Erika told her. “If you wear yellow, Itsuki is sure to be charmed by you!” How fitting that of all colors Tsubomi should wear to impress Itsuki, it was yellow.
Her best friend’s words rang through her ears as she smoothed out her sundress. Erika was always so confident when she told Tsubomi she should just confess to Itsuki already, but Tsubomi herself wasn’t so sure. Itsuki was so beautiful, radiant like the sun, and Tsubomi was…
Tsubomi was Tsubomi. A small flower bud, overwhelmed by the sun’s rays, yet needing them to flourish.
She adjusted the lavender ribbon in her hair as she decided to finally leave her bedroom and brave her meeting. As she made her way down the stairs and towards the back of the flower shop, she passed her grandmother, tending to baby Futaba on the kitchen table.
“Oh, don’t you look absolutely lovely, Tsubomi,” Kaoruko commented to her granddaughter. “That’s a good color on you.”
“Are you really sure it’s okay for me to go out, Grandma?” Tsubomi asked in response. “Because the spring flowers are in bloom, Mom and Dad are so busy with the store, and there’s Futaba. I’d hate to keep you all so busy…”
“Of course it is,” Kaoruko confidently responded. “You work so hard, Tsubomi. You need a break. Besides, you can check up on the garden for me.” She gave Tsubomi a small wink.
“If you say so…” Tsubomi softened up as she forced a cheery demeanor. “In that case, goodbye, Grandma.” She gave Kaoruko a hug before she turned to kiss her baby sister. “Goodbye, Futaba. Don’t be too much of a hassle today, okay? I’ll be back to play with you later.”
“Remember to say goodbye to your parents in the store on your way out,” Kaoruko called to Tsubomi with a smile as she continued her way out of the building.
***
As Tsubomi basked in the fresh spring air while she walked, she was unable to get the text she received from Itsuki the other day out of her mind. “Can we meet at the botanical garden? Just me and you. I need to talk to you.” There were none of the usual characteristics of a typical text from Itsuki in it; no pet names, no awkward typos, no small, cute emojis littering every other sentence. Just a frank question and statement.
She knows , Tsubomi thought to herself as she walked through the streets of Kibougahana. She knows I love her. She doesn’t feel the same way, and she’s going to tell me it’s better if we had some distance . Tsubomi felt a knot come into her stomach as her chest welled with anxiety. There were so many things that could come from this meeting. So many things that could go wrong, so many ways she could end up hurt –
“Hey.”
As Tsubomi reached the botanical gardens and saw the other girl in front of her, it seemed as if her fears melted away in an instant.
Itsuki was just as radiant as ever. Her hair, at an awkward length where it was too long to pass off as her old boy-cut, yet too short for her to do anything she wanted with it; her blouse, a nice green that complemented her skin and hair colors well and gave her an earthy look; her smile, as big as ever, yet more awkward today. It all created a sense of comfort, and Tsubomi wanted to melt in her warmth.
“Your dress is so cute,” Itsuki said, her intonation sounding different, strained. “I like the yellow. It looks good on you.”
“Thank you,” Tsubomi managed to mumble. Erika had done multiple schemes in the past to get the two of them alone; partner fashion shows where she conveniently paired up Tsubomi and Itsuki in the “random” drawings, PreCure trips to the amusement park where she wanted to do “sisterly bonding” with Yuri and Momoka, study sessions at her house where she spontaneously needed to “help” with the boutique below them. Tsubomi had long gotten used to the awkwardness of being around Itsuki alone when there was so much she wanted to do, but couldn’t. The air felt different when they were alone now, though. The atmosphere was a whole different kind of awkward, and it gave Tsubomi a small panic at what was to come.
“So, what did you want to talk about,” Tsubomi asked, putting on a brave face as they made their way into the greenhouse. “It sounded serious.”
“Nothing much, really,” Itsuki responded, distantly. “I just realized new flowers were in bloom, and wanted to hear about them.”
Tsubomi made a concerned face at the blatant contradiction from the text, but tried to ignore it. “Well, we did get some Tulips recently…”
The air was painfully stiff as she told Itsuki about the flowers. Itsuki was clearly distracted, distant. What was she thinking of? Whatever her text was about, it was clearly hard for her to talk about with how she avoided the subject. Tsubomi wanted to just stop talking and ask her about it, but she reluctantly persisted with the small tour of the garden.
The two eventually made their way to a large tree in the center, colored pink in the early April light. “The cherry tree is in full bloom,” Tsubomi started, her gaze upward guiding Itsuki’s own to the petals spiraling down. “In floral language, the cherry blossom represents-”
“Kindness,” Itsuki finished.
Tsubomi looked at Itsuki in a mild amazement. “That’s right… How did you…?”
“For the most part, I like learning about flowers from you,” Itsuki said, a small smile covering her face. “But I felt a need to learn the meaning to this one on my own.” She turned, and her gaze met Tsubomi’s. “It’s fitting that this is your Heart Flower, Tsubomi.”
The smile Itsuki was giving was like nothing Tsubomi had ever seen before. The warmth, the affection, the way her eyes lidded ever so slightly as her cheeks grew pink – this was the real Itsuki. The Itsuki who didn’t force herself to act like a man to be strong. Who openly loved cute things just as much as much as she loved martial arts. The Itsuki who had decided recently she wanted to revisit Paris and be a model one day. More beautiful than any flower she had ever seen in her entire life, this was the Itsuki Myoudouin who had completely and utterly captured Tsubomi Hanasaki’s heart.
Tsubomi was so entranced by her beauty that she almost couldn’t focus on the words still coming out of Itsuki’s mouth.
“You’re so kind, Tsubomi. You were always so open and welcoming to me when I was too afraid to join the fashion club… Erika was, too, but you felt different. I felt safe around you.” Her shoulders slightly eased up. “When I became Cure Sunshine, I was happy. I was so happy I could spend even more time with you. That we could bond over something secret like that.” She smiled as she looked Tsubomi over. “You’re so cute, too. I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything I wouldn’t find you absolutely adorable in. It goes farther than that, though – your laugh, the way you get flustered, hearing you talk about flowers – everything about you is cute, Tsubomi.”
Tsubomi short circuited for a moment as she tried to process everything she’d just heard. When it all came through, she came to the conclusion that any minute now, she’d be in her bed, pulling down the blinds to hide the sun that woke her up from the dream she was clearly in.
That moment never came.
“…I said something weird, didn’t I?” Itsuki asked, breaking the silence as she tried her hardest to casually look away and hide her face. “…Forget I said any of that. Let’s just change the subject.” Her cheerful tone was clearly forced. “How do you think the fairies are doing tending to the Heart Tree? I’m sure poor Potpourri has to be crying like a baby-”
“…Itsuki, did you mean everything you said?” Tsubomi asked, taking her hand.
Itsuki’s pathetic facade came down, her face going red. “Y-yeah… I did.” Tsubomi’s grip on her hand tightened as her face went as red as Itsuki’s. “Tsubomi, do… Do you like me?”
Tsubomi’s entire form shook as she forced eye contact. “Yes… I do. At first, I thought it was just because I thought you were a boy. After finding out you were a girl, I thought my feelings would fade. But they didn’t… As I got to know you, the real you, they just got stronger.” She looked away, her voice going so low it was barely audible. “You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met, Itsuki.”
Itsuki eased her hand from Tsubomi’s grip, then placed both her hands over Tsubomi’s now-free hand. “Tsubomi… That makes me very happy.” She pushed away a stray lock from Tsubomi’s face as she held her cheek. “You’re so beautiful, Tsubomi… To hear you say you feel the same way as me… I’d never even imagined you would.”
This had to be fake. Itsuki was so strong, so mature, so much more amazing than Tsubomi in every way. Not to mention much more popular; she used to be student council president, and she only stopped when she personally stepped down. There was a good chance Itsuki could get anyone she wanted.
And yet, here she was, saying she wanted Tsubomi.
Tsubomi couldn’t take it anymore. She couldn’t handle not knowing or believing if this was real. She moved Itsuki’s hands away from her, then took her into a close embrace.
“Tsubomi…” Itsuki looked at the other girl, then held her back just as tightly. “Tsubomi, I’m so happy right now.”
For several seconds, the two stayed like that as they took in each other’s presence. There was no need for words. Everything they had wanted to say was now in the open, and they were perfectly fine just taking in everything. Tsubomi felt so… calm. At ease. Everything she had ever wanted had fallen into place, and she wanted to stay in this moment forever. She knew she couldn’t, though, and ended up pulling apart.
The two girls smiled at each other for a minute before an awkward silence fell over them.
“...So, what do we do now?” Itsuki said, clearly inexperienced in this kind of situation. That side of her was cute, too, Tsubomi noted to herself.
“Well,” Tsubomi started, scanning the botanical garden to get an idea. “There are still lots of new flowers in bloom we haven’t seen yet. Do you… want me to tell you about them?”
Itsuki smiled. “I’d like that.”
***
“It’s just like I said,” a smug Erika started as she walked forward. “If you just tell her how you feel, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised!”
Tsubomi sighed, easing her hand into Itsuki’s as they made their way to school. She had expected absolutely no less of a response from Erika, but the girl’s unending energy was still exhausting.
“You’re in a good mood this morning,” Itsuki commented with a smile.
"Of course I am!” Erika stopped and swiftly turned to face her friends. “Do you know how long I have had to listen to both of you talk about how you like each other?!” A hand snapped onto her hip as she squinted her eyes in annoyance. “Every single day, ‘Oh, Itsuki’s so cool! She’d never fall for someone like me. Are you sure I should say something?’ ‘Tsubomi is so cute, I can’t even believe it! I just want to kiss her cheeks!’ And neither of you ever used the opportunities I gave you guys to just say something !” She sighed frustratedly, but quickly snapped up, a twinkle in her eye. “Wait a second. Your guys’ love blossomed like a flower! We should make floral print dresses in Fashion Club to celebrate!” And with that, Erika darted off, clearly feeling responsibility for the beginning of this relationship and wanting to monopolize on it.
“Erika sure is a handful,” Itsuki chuckled as she turned to look at Tsubomi after a moment of silence. “It’s nice to have someone who’s so supportive, at least.”
“Yeah,” Tsubomi said, fatigued from just that one small conversation. “She is an amazing friend, but she’s so tiring sometimes…”
Itsuki blushed slightly, smiling at her girlfriend’s exasperation. “I don’t think it’s all bad. You’re so cute when you get flustered like that, Tsubomi.”
Tsubomi’s entire face went red as she looked away, “Don’t say things like that!”
“Sorry, sorry! I just can’t help myself.”
As the two made their way to school, having talks about nothing in particular, Tsubomi realized she’d never been happier.