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Finishing her last lap, Fuji nearly collapses on the turf. Breathing heavily, bent over with her hands on her knees. Alia had upped the training, as per Fuji’s request, and she didn’t go easy on her that’s for sure. Shoes step into her vision and she feels the weight of something on her neck. Glancing up, Alia is standing there with a water bottle in one hand, leaning back from the towel she just put on Fuji. Alia does this thing when she smiles, no matter how small, there’s a warmth in her eyes Fuji never tires of seeing. From the first time she saw it to this moment, the warmth is there. Fuji discovered long ago that she likes being the reason for the warmth. Affection brims just under the surface of her skin, and in an effort to play it cool in public, she takes the water bottle gratefully, standing up fully and chugging.
“Great work out there,” Alia beams at her, “Keep it up and your next race will go smoothly.”
Fuji chuckles, “It’s thanks to your training I’ve made it this far, thank you my lo—dear trainer.” She corrects herself mid sentence.
She sees a twinkle of a tease in her girlfriend’s eyes, but she makes no comment on Fuji’s almost slip up.
“Feel free to come over for dinner tonight, if you can.” Alia invites her, arms crossed in contemplation, “I was thinking of making curry.”
Fuji is tempted, she can’t lie. Alia had been cooking more lately and has been getting very good at it, too. “Perhaps, I’ll let you know. There’s some duties I must catch up on as a dorm lead.”
She doesn’t miss the flicker of disappointment that passes by Alia’s face, but she bounces back fast. “Alright, if you say so. See you tomorrow then, Fuji.” She reaches and gives Fuji’s arm a small squeeze, the most contact she’ll allow herself in public.
Fuji really wants to pull her in and kiss her senseless.
Instead, she puts a hand on top of Alia’s, grabbing it and bowing down slightly, “I look forward to it.”
Alia shakes her head fondly before retrieving her hand and walking away. She gives a single glance back and Fuji lets herself do a small wave to her.
Fuji makes her way back to her dorm, she needed a shower and new clothes badly. Then she had to fill out a stack of paperwork she had been neglecting for far too long. Her own selfish desires of staying with Alia at night made it so that she’s gotten far closer to deadlines than she’d like to admit.
Fuji didn’t think it would ever end up like this, if she’s being honest. When she first met Alia, the poor trainer looked to be an anxious mess. She had a furrow to her brow and she was scanning the ground like her life depended on it. It wasn’t hard to put two and two together, the trainers badge she had found earlier most likely belonged to this girl. So, with her usual theatrics she bumped into her, slipping the badge into the trainers pocket. She felt slightly bad for scaring her, but the smile Alia gave her in return for finding her badge had been worth it. She had the warmth in her eyes, her dimples Fuji hadn’t noticed before showing. Fuji remembers feeling her heart stutter, chalked it up to nerves.
How wrong she was.
As time went on, she discovered just how kind Alia was. She kept her distance with most people, but for reasons unknown to Fuji, went out of her way to help her. Alia kindness was the reason Fuji asked her to be her trainer. Alia did the same smile then as when she found her badge.
Fuji wanted to keep her smiling from that moment.
It’s been…a whirlwind to say the least since then. Even though they saw each other daily, Fuji could tell Alia was keeping her distance. There was a wall Fuji couldn’t get over. Sometimes it would crack, Alia would laugh louder than usual, or she would even match Fuji’s energy and tease her just as much. Just as quickly as it would come, it would vanish again.
Fuji can’t really pinpoint when things started to change. Suddenly, Alia’s smile became less guarded and Fuji’s heartbeat would flutter. She had trusted Fuji enough to open up, even just a bit. It made her giddy, she was making her trainer happy. Her thoughts started revolving solely on Alia, and not just how to make her smile. How she would look when focused on making a training regimen. The concentration on her face when studying old races. The way she clung to Fuji once when a beetle was in her office, leaving Fuji to be the one to deal with it. How her hair fell onto her shoulders, her bangs more often than not getting in her eyes when she’s looking down doing paperwork and how Fuji just wanted to brush it behind her ear. How she would bite her lip when lost in her own head…
She realized she was crushing, hard, on her trainer, no less.
Other than being less guarded though, Alia showed no inclination that what she was feeling for Fuji was more than platonic. So, Fuji didn’t act on any impulses. Sure, she may have been a bit more extravagant with her, Alia was cute when she blushed. But she never crossed the line.
And then Alia crossed it first.
Fuji wasn’t expecting it. After seeing Romeo and Juliet she was just feeling particularly…theatric. When Alia stepped into her space, confronted her with emotions she had been trying to bury for months, Fuji was absolutely flabbergasted. All of a sudden there was a chance that it wasn’t just Fuji who felt this way. In fact, with how close Alia’s lips had gotten to her own Fuji was very positive that it wasn’t just a chance.
So Fuji decided to take matters into her own hands. She had to wait for the perfect moment, the hot spring ticket she gotten the year before burning a hole in the back of her drawer. She knew Alia’s discomfort in public bath houses, she also knew of some more hidden springs thanks to her mother’s connections. She hoped and prayed that Alia would agree to go with, even creating a back up plan in case she turned down Fuji’s invitation.
She remembers the day she asked Alia, the look in her eyes before. Alia had been so overwhelmed in a way Fuji had only ever glimpsed in passing, before she would steel herself. But this time she let Fuji hold her through the storm. She just wanted to tease Alia a bit that day, to bring her smile back, she didn’t expect to accidentally take a nap with her on the couch.
When she agreed to go to the hot springs with her, Fuji nearly sighed in relief.
When she kissed her back under the fireworks, Fuji could’ve jumped in joy.
In the time since the hot springs, she doesn’t think she’s ever felt this happy in her life. The only drawback is that it’s getting harder for her to sleep in a bed alone.
Fuji arrives in her dorm, grabbing a new set of clothes and heads to the shower. Being the dorm lead had some perks, such as not having a roommate. The other perk is having her own bathroom.
It’s especially nice after…some nights with Alia. No wandering eyes can ask where the multiple bite marks on her shoulders came from.
Fuji stands under the hot water, letting her muscles relax and the grime wash off her. If she had showered at Alia’s she would be greeted with arms around her waist, a face nuzzling into her neck when she got out. Alia would say something about how she likes the smell of Fuji’s shampoo. Fuji would chuckle, retort with something like Alia’s scent has always been gentle and calming to her. Alia would roll her eyes and Fuji would double down, make her girlfriend blush with praises.
Washing the shampoo out of her hair, she wonders what it would be like to live together. A big house in the country? Perhaps a small apartment closer to the academy. Alia would insist on buying a few plants to make the place cozier, and Fuji would inevitably be the one taking care of them as Alia would forget if she watered them that day or not, not that Fuji would mind. Cooking with music playing in the background, grabbing Alia and twirling her around in the kitchen. Laughing when the food gets burned and having to order takeout instead. Not worrying about a curfew, nor about people seeing them. Waking up and falling asleep next to her girlfriend every day.
She imagines how Alia would look wearing white.
She wonders if Alia imagines the same.
Fuji steps out of the shower, putting on her clothes and walking into her room. As she’s drying her hair, Fuji looks at the stack of papers on her desk.
Well. It’s not like she has to finish them in her room.
She packs them up in a bag, sending a quick message to her girlfriend before stepping out, ideas brewing in her mind and a smile on her face.