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The other club members have all gone home, and Natsuki is just finishing putting her manga back into the cabinet. Yuri is just finishing packing all her papers and books into her bag, and is about to head out too.
It’s now or never.
“Uh, yuri, could you wait up a sec?” Natsuki asks her, already feeling her cheeks heat up. Her palms feel sweaty and she brushes them over her skirt to try to dry them and calm her nerves. It does neither.
Yuri stops and turns back towards Natsuki, long hair swaying around her waist in a way Natsuki can’t ignore. She wears a polite expression. “Of course, Natsuki, what is it?” she asks gently.
Natsuki has been carrying the note for a week straight now, folded carefully into a manga she’s been meaning to recommend to Yuri.
It’s her personal favorite; surpassing parfait girls as Natsuki found the relationship between the two girls similar to herself and Yuri. The manga is about two opposite girls- one nerdy and quiet, the other sporty and loud- who find an unlikely friendship and then begin to develop feelings for one another.
Folded up in one of the last pages of the book, the page where the two girls confess to one another, is Natsuki’s own handwritten note confessing her feelings for Yuri.
She’s spent hours agonizing over the right words, trying to put her feelings onto the page. In the end, she’d decided to keep it fairly short and sweet- like her own writing.
“I had this manga I wanted to recommend you. It’s a standalone issue, so it’ll be pretty easy to finish.” She doesn't know why she says that, it’s not like Yuri struggles to get into long books or series. Maybe she’s just that nervous.
Yuri looks at the manga in Natsuki’s hand, which is inconspicuous enough. She accepts it with a soft smile. “Of course, I'll read it.”
Natsuki nods, feeling nervous to have given Yuri the book that will reveal her feelings for her. She’s suddenly unsure of herself, worrying that this was all a bad idea. What if yuri doesn't feel that same? What if Yuri laughs at her? What if Yuri tells other people? But it’s done, and Yuri has both the book and the letter.
“I hope you like it, uh, it’s one of my favorites.”
-----
Yuri returns home that evening with the manga Natsuki had recommended to her. Yuri still isn't a huge fan of manga, but she’s grown to appreciate it much more than she had before. The art is always beautiful, and there’s a certain artistry to telling a story with only images and dialog.
Yuri works on her homework first, then begins cooking dinner for herself and her parents. Her parents both often work late, so Yuri had taken over making dinner for the family. She doesn’t mind it, though she’s not a phenomenal cook. And baking with Natsuki had revealed to her that she’s an even worse baker.
The memory of making cookies with Natsuki makes her smile. The two of them have grown much closer- going from strangers to rivals to begrudging friends. And now, when Yuri thinks of the pink haired girl she can't help but feel almost flustered.
Natsuki is cute- Yuri knows she hates being called that, but it’s true- she’s cute and spirited and she always brings energy to whatever conversation she’s in. Yuri had once disliked that, but by now she knows Natsuki well enough to know she’s just trying to express herself, and just like Yuri herself Natsuki worries what others think of her.
Yuri can't help but feel herself becoming fond of Natsuki, who’s so unlike herself but still so interesting to her. Once the two girls had stopped writing each other off, they’d realized how much their worlds could expand by getting to know each other.
Yuri never would’ve dreamed she’d feel this way towards Natsuki, who she once thought was annoying, but now found impossibly cute.
Once she’s eaten dinner she leaves her parents plates out for them when they return home, and heads up to her bedroom to get ready for bed, dressing in pajamas and opening up the manga Natsuki had recommended.
The book is primarily about two girls- one of which instantly reminds Yuri of Natsuki. Short and cute and loud, the manga character is obviously relatable to Natsuki. The two girls start out not getting along well- in opposite clubs, and excelling in opposite subjects in their classes. But when one girl begins to tutor the other, they become closer.
She’s certainly reading too deeply into it, but it reminds her of herself and Natsuki.
As she reads on, she begins to notice vague romantic subtext. She’s not well versed in manga, but she’s certain the writing is suggesting feelings between the two girls. Natsuki always reads literature about the relationships between people, but it makes her blush and squirm to imagine that Natsuki might read romances between two girls.
Yuri often enjoys sapphic romance novels herself, but has refrained from sharing them due to a fear of being judged. It seems that fear was pointless, as it’s an interest Natsuki seems to share.
Yuri reads on for hours, the two girls are just about to confess feelings for one another when Yuri sees a pink note folded into the pages.
It looks like paper from Natsuki’s stationary, the kind she often writes her poems on in the club. She carefully and curiously unfolds the note, eager to read its contents. Was this meant for her? Or had Natsuki just forgotten it in the pages?
“Yuri,
I’ve really liked getting to know you over the past few months. I really like spending time with you in the literature club, and when he had a sleepover at your house, and when we went out for lunch.
I know we got off on rough footing, and that’s probably my fault, but I'm glad we could move past it.
As we’ve gotten closer, I've started to develop feelings for you. I think I have a crush on you, Yuri.
I hope this doesn’t freak you out, let me know if you feel the same.
-Natsuki”
Yuri rereads the note three times over just to make sense of what she’s read. Was this a joke? Some kind of prank? Did Natsuki really feel that way about her?
-----
The next day in the literature club Yuri doesn’t act all that different, maybe a little awkward, more so than usual, but Natsuki feels her heart sink. Did Yuri get the note? Did she not feel the same? Waiting for her to answer was eating her up.
When the girls all break away for independent reading time, Yuri approaches Natsuki.
“I…. I really liked the manga you loaned me. Would you like to read together again?” Yuri asks, fiddling with her sleeves awkwardly.
Is that all she had to say? That she liked the book and wanted to read together again? She wasn’t going to mention the note? She wasn’t going to respond?
But Natsuki nods. “Yeah, alright.”
She follows Yuri to the corner where they always read together, settling into her spot, waiting for Yuri to pull out the book they’d been reading together. It was one of Yuri’s recommendations, but Natsuki was enjoying it well enough.
Instead, Yuri pulls out a note and hands it to Natsuki.
“Natsuki,
I have also enjoyed getting to know you, and spending more time together. I always look forward to our time together, and you never fail to brighten even my darkest days.
I feel the same as you, which is to say, I also believe I've fallen for you, Natsuki.
-Yuri”
Natsuki’s cheeks flush and a smile spreads across her face. “For real? You’re not joking?” she asks, looking both happy and a bit on edge. “You’d better not be joking.”
Yuri nods. “I’m not joking, I'd never do something so cruel to you, Natsuki.”
Natsuki blushes even harder, face red and eyes averted. “So, uh, would you wanna get lunch after this? Like, as a date?”
Yuri smiles, taking Natsuki's hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. “I’d love to.”