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teimaku fic
It was a breezy morning, the wind rustling the fallen autumn leaves on the pavement. Tokai Teio leaned on a lamp post, staring at her lock screen– a photo from her past Halloween date with Mejiro McQueen. Behind her was an empty, yet cozy cafe. She counted the minutes as they went by, impatient for her lavender-haired date to arrive.
“She’s punctual, right?” Teio thought, staring at the numbers on her phone.
11:58.
11:59.
Still no sight of McQueen.
Maybe she’s running a bit late?
Or what if she forgot?
Am I just anxious?
“Teio!!”
She whirled her head around. In the corner of her eye, she spotted McQueen, bolting down the uma-designated lane. Her amethyst hair glided smoothly in the wind. Teio’s heart melted at the sight of a breathless McQueen. Shaking those feelings off, Teio called back.
“McQueen!”
“I’m s- so sorry,” she panted, “I was busy picking an outfit!”
“It’s fine, as long as you’re here! Let’s just go inside now, no need to be all flustered out here,” Teio reassured her, linking their arms together teasingly.
“Not in public!” McQueen reflexively tried to pull her arms out, only to be met with a tighter link. “...Fine.”
They both strolled inside– a gust of air-conditioned wind blowing on them. Inside was an empty coffee shop, except for some baristas at the counter. The two of them sat down in the corner of the room, then a waiter came to their side.
“Hello! What would you two like?”
“Just a… honeyade for me.”
“I’d like to get a large milk tea, extra vanilla, extra caramel, add some boba, and blended ice, thanks!” McQueen requested, like it was muscle memory. Teio squinted at her, trying to make sense of what her partner just ordered. As the waiter left their table, McQueen noticed Teio staring at her.
“W- what? I didn’t order much…” McQueen defended herself.
“Nothing, I just wanted to look at you!” Teio smiled, then blushed after she realized what she had just said.
“W- well, I- I also want to…!” McQueen responded, way too loud. Teio’s tail wagged incessantly while she tried to gesture to McQueen to tone down the flirting.
“You know, this feels like when we went on that Halloween date a couple months back,” Teio said, trying to cut down the awkward silence.
“Well, we’re lovers now, aren’t we?”
“Yeah, but you still gave me butterflies during that date…”
“And, how long have you liked me?”
“Uhmm… a- about a y-” Teio stuttered before getting cut off by the waiter returning with their drinks.
“Here you go! One milk tea and one honeyade, right?”
“Yep!” McQueen said, receiving both of the drinks and setting them down on the table. “Thanks!”
McQueen immediately started slurping her milk tea at record speed, while Teio was taking small sips, too entranced by her to focus on drinking. After McQueen was done drinking faster than any other uma Teio had ever seen, she continued asking.
“So, how long did you really like me for?”
“A- about a year,” Teio stammered, sipping her honeyade. “I thought you just… didn’t like me back.”
“Well, you were pretty obvious,” McQueen gazed deeper into Teio’s amber eyes. “But I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”
“When did you start liking me?”
“After your first fracture, and when you still got back up. That was like, so inspiring. When you ran on the race after, you looked… so pretty.”
“Don’t say that in public!” Teio whispered, her face turning a light shade of pink, trying to continue to slowly sip her honeyade.
“Fine, we’ll take it to my dorm.”
“What? Won’t Ikuno be there-” Teio reminded, putting down her honeyade slowly.
“Ikuno’s out right now, she said she was going out until 8 o’clock.”
“Well, if you insist…”
The two of them went out of the cafe together. Teio still held her honeyade in one hand whilst trying to interlock her fingers with McQueen’s on the other hand.
“We can do it in the dorm!” McQueen tried to pull away her fingers, yet Teio only tightened up.
“I’m impatient! I can’t wait until the dorm…” Teio glared at McQueen with a pout on her face.
“...Fine.”
They swayed their interlocking hands together, all the way back to McQueen’s dorm.