A Little Love~ Celeste

(Thursday, 11.45am~ Okinawa)

Tachimukai wiped a bead of sweat from his brow, it sure was hot out, and it only seemed to be getting hotter.
"Don't worry!" Said a cheery voice from behind him, planting a hand on his shoulder. She beamed at him from underneath the rim of her sun hat. "It shouldn't be too hot for the big day, I checked the forecast- just sun and blue skies, perfect for the beach!"

The brunette sighed but smiled at her nonetheless, it was reassuring to hear, and at least he wasn't sunburnt anymore. That cream had really worked wonders. He went back to what he was doing; picking up yet another potted plant that had definitely seen better days- the garden was where the couple's plants went to die. "It's got weeds growing in it." He yelled to his fiancé, Tsunami just laughed loudly, walking over with two glasses of homemade lemonade "That's nature's way I guess, it's wild out here!"

It certainly was.
The garden needed a serious makeover; the grass was up to Tachimukai's mid-thigh, it was full of weeds, dead plants and Poppy's dog toys, surfboards, body boards and bits of old junk, it was a mess really. And they had to somehow transform it into a lovely venue to hold the Reception?
A daunting task indeed.

"Here, drink this." His fiancé said, handing the cool glass over to the other. "You gotta stay hydrated in this weather you know?"
Tachimukai took the beverage gratefully, letting out a small noise of delight when the cold liquid went down his throat. He really hoped he'd be acclimated but now, but his body still couldn't get used to the heat and humidity. "Mm-thanks Jousuke."
Tsunami smiled down at him, kissing him sweetly on the lips even though it made the other blush madly. "You're very welcome."

"Aw thanks Jou-nii!" Iako suddenly said, reaching between the couple and grabbing the other drink for herself with a sly grin. "You're so considerate!"
Tsunami just laughed at her, he didn't need a drink anyway. Iako supped the drink through the straw before remembering something. "Ah Yuuki! Forgot to say, but I ordered some more flowers for the day so everything's cool, we'll have them an hour before the wedding." Well that was a relief, one less thing for Tachimukai to worry about. "Oh and mum and dad loved the flowers, and the Yamada's." She said, chuckling a little- that had been their solution, give the flowers out to pretty much anyone who'd have them; well it gave Tsunami the chance to gush about his amazing fiancé to practically everyone in town, so he couldn't complain.

Iako handed the half-empty drink back to her brother. "But we do need to think about tables for the reception, chairs are no problem we'll just take the ones from the ceremony." She licked her lips, savouring the flavour before heading back into the house "I'll make some calls, don't you worry about it!"

Tachimukai looked up at his fiancé, a sad look in his eyes which the other immediately noticed. "Hey, what's wrong?" He asked in concern, Tachimukai reaching up to play with his chestnut hair.
He was trying so hard to be positive, he really was.

"I'm sorry Jousuke I'm just..." he sighed and grabbed hold of Tsunami's hand tightly, gently swinging them. "You and Iako, you keep saying not to worry and that everything will be fine, and I know that you are right but..." he couldn't meet his fiancé's eyes, the corners of his mouth turning upwards into a sorrowful smile. "I'm a worrier, you know that, and I can't help it. I can't help but think that something will go wrong. I know the two of you are trying to help by doing things yourself, but please keep me in the loop, I'd feel so much calmer if I knew what was going on." He felt Tsunami squeeze his hand gently, pulling him ever-so-gently into an embrace.

Tachimukai rested his head on his fiancé's toned chest, breathing in the calming scent; Tsunami always smelt like the sea, the sand they'd stroll along in the evenings, hand-in-hand. He smelled like home.
"I promise." Tsunami whispered into his lover's hair. "But even if things did go wrong..." he lifted Tachimukai's chin, their eyes connecting once more "I wouldn't care. As long as I can call you my husband nothing else in the world matters."

"Jousuke, you're getting a Skype call. Zaizen Touko." Iako called from inside the house. Tsunami smiled sweetly down at his fiancé before quickly heading inside, Tachimukai trailing behind him. The older man sat down, patting his thighs to which Tachimukai smirked but sat sat himself down upon anyway, giggling a little when his fiancé's arms snaked around his hips.
Their friend's face appeared on the screen, grinning happily at the couple and waving. "Hi guys!"
"Heya!" Rika's face suddenly popped up next to her girlfriend, practically taking up the whole screen, causing Tachimukai to chuckle despite the nervousness he was still feeling.

"We're gonna go pick up Endou and Haruna in thirty for the fitting." Touko remarked, moving so she back in the frame again.
"Oh I'm so excited!" Rika squealed, wrapping her arms tightly around her girlfriend's neck. "And thank you so much for letting me be ring-bearer you guys!"
Tachimukai gave her a small, exhausted smile "Well the other option was Kogure and I didn't trust him enough for that so..."
"You know..." Touko began "it's cute that you both decided to make Endou your best man."
Tachimukai smiled lightly, it had been a no-brainer, he'd always looked up to Endou his whole life. The man had been ecstatic when he heard the news.

Tsunami frowned however. "Endou? No I've got my own best man-Tobitaka."
Rika scrunched her eyebrows together in confusion. "We didn't know that?"
"I hate that I have to ask, but does Tobitaka know?" Said Touko, pinching the bridge of her nose. The surfer scoffed "Of course he knows, I told him a week...ago..." he stopped suddenly, thinking hard.

"Oh no." He mumbled before getting his phone out and calling the number that was on his speed dial. It rang out for a couple seconds before the distinctively gruff voice appeared on the other end. "Dammit Jousuke what do you want I'm just about to do the lunch service." Tobitaka said, sounding more annoyed than usual. Tachimukai could hear the sound of happy customers in the background which meant the restaurant was definitely packed and he was definitely busy.

"Ayy Tobi, glad I could catch you. I was thinking, how would you like to my best man!" Tsunami exclaimed enthusiastically, Touko pinched the bridge of her nose harder, feeling a headache coming on.
"Your best man? Tsunami, how can I be the caterer if I'm also your best man?!" He grumbled, partly because this whole wedding situation was really starting to stress him out- Tsunami had made the catering arrangements with him only the other day- talk about last minute! He tried to calm down a bit, truthfully he was happy that the other had asked him to be best man, even if that was a last-minute decision too. "That's a lot of responsibility you know."
Tsunami waved a hand at him, even if the other couldn't see. "Pssh, you'll be fine! You're multi-talented Tobi."

Tsunami put his phone down, grinning at the two women on the screen. "Change of plans guys, Tobi's gonna come with you! I'm sure the tailor can fit him in at the end!" Tachimukai just sighed- this was exactly the kind of problem he was talking about. His boyfriend nudged him slightly, mouthing "It'll be fine." "Anyway, bye girls!" He remarked with a grin, ending the call just as Touko opened her mouth. "Woo! Glad that's sorted now!"

"Well, I'm going to go clear some more stuff from the garden." Tachimukai said, getting up from Tsunami's lap. He bent down, kissing his fiancé beside the ear "Can you make a start on lunch please, I'm getting hungry."
"Sure thing." Tsunami replied with his signature grin, heading off into the kitchen when his arm was suddenly grabbed by Iako.

"I was starting to wonder when I'd be able to snatch you away to talk!" She joked but her brother could tell she was hiding something behind the smile. "What's up?"
Iako shrugged her shoulders as if it didn't matter "I mean I've already fixed it so-"
"Iako?" Tsunami asked again and his sister sighed quickly, checking to see that Tachimukai was safely out of earshot. "Well...I noticed the other day that we forgot Tachimukai's parents from the invite list- an easy mistake to make of course. I didn't want to stress Yuuki out more than necessary, which is why I didn't say anything before. But it's okay because I did some detective work and sent the invite to their address. No need to thank me!"

Her brother cringed, rubbing his forehead. "Oh Iako, that wasn't a mistake. His parents aren't coming."
"Oh really? They won't be able to make it or something?" She enquired, but her brother shook his head, placing his hands on her shoulders and letting out a long sigh. "No. They're not coming because they're not exactly supportive of-" he shook his head again, there was no point trying to sugarcoat it "-They're both homophobic. Yuuki and his parents had a massive fight just before he moved in with me actually, they aren't on speaking terms. He didn't even want them knowing." He explained, Iako's face dropping with each passing moment.

She covered her mouth, looking horrified. "Oh no! I was just trying to help and I've gone and made things worse!" Her brother pulled her into a small hug. "It's not your fault, we forgot to tell you." He said. Speaking of, he hadn't even told his own parents yet 'That's going to be a tough conversation...'
"Classic me-ruining things as always!" She tearfully exclaimed "I thought I was helping and- oh how am I gonna tell him?!" She looked back anxiously, watching her brother's fiancé busily pulling weeds out of the ground. She chewed her fingernail before her brother quickly held onto her hands, reassuring her. "Hey, it's okay." He said, stopping down to her height "I'll explain it all to him, he'll understand it was just a mistake."

"But-"
Tsunami just shook his head, grabbing a sun hat from the table and walking out of the room into the Sun's piercing hot rays. He placed a hand over his forehead to shelter his eyes from the glare as his fiancé came into view. "Yuuki, here." He said, handing the straw hat to him.
The other took it with a grateful smile before noticing Tsunami's expression. "Jousuke, what's wrong?"
He took his fiancé's hand lightly, leading Tachimukai over a small bench which sat under a wonky beach umbrella.

"Yuuki." He said lightly, turning so he was facing the other and smiling softly. "It seems like Iako accidentally sent an RSVP to you parents yesterday."
Tachimukai's eyes widened in horror as Tsunami spoke again. "It was my fault, I forgot to tell her we agreed they weren't coming." He said solemnly, Tachimukai placed a hand on his cheek, hazel eyes full of fear and sadness. "No Jousuke, please don't blame yourself." He muttered, stroking his fiancé's cheek. Tsunami let him do it, sit there for a moment taking it all in.

"It's done now, we can't change that." He said. The brunette looked down, not knowing how to feel, eyes now obscured under the large brim of the sun hat. Tsunami was right, there was no use trying to blame anyone, he'd explained that it was just a simple mistake, and Iako was only trying to help. Tachimukai knew he couldn't be mad at her, and he wasn't. He was mad at himself.
His parents were going to find out. Surely they'd be furious, hurt; it was supposed to be a secret, the one special day his parents couldn't interfere with, couldn't take from him. But now? Now he couldn't help but feel the whole day would be ruined.

And he hated himself for thinking like that.

"The way I see it, there's a few different outcomes to this situation." Tsunami's voice and soft touch brought him a little comfort. He looked up at him, lost. Tsunami gently moved the hat aside and kissed him on the forehead. "You could call them, tell them not to come?" He suggested firstly. The brunette thought about it, as satisfying as it would be, Yuuki really didn't think he had the strength to talk to his parents again. It would only be more painful.
"Or..." Tsunami remarked "They may just ignore it and we might not get an answer."
"Or they might send it back with 'no' written in big red capital letters." Tachimukai let out a low laugh, trying not to show how much the thought of that actually hurt him.

He gripped the hem of his shorts tightly. 'You don't even want them there, so who cares if they say no?'
Of course, he couldn't hide it from his fiancé- Tsunami knew all his tells by now. He pulled the smaller male close to him, despite how hot it was out Tachimukai was shaking with nerves. "Yuuki, my love, please try not to worry. Whatever happens the important thing is that we're getting married. Nothing's going to change that."
Tachimukai sighed deeply, mustering a small smile as he snuggled up to his soon-to-be-husband. "You're right Jousuke, you're always right..."

(12.20pm)

Queen Haruna 🌸 added Raimon Natsumi
Raimon Natsumi changed their name to Natsumi 💋
Queen Haruna 🌸 changed the chat name to ✨The Golden Girls✨

Queen Haruna 🌸: I'm so excited you guys! Gonna get measured and fitted for my dress today!! 👗

Kino Aki: Ah that sounds fun!

Natsumi 💋: You will make a wonderful maid of honour Haruna.

Queen Haruna 🌸: awww tysm Nats!

Queen Haruna 🌸: I'll send a sneaky pic of the dress later

Fuyuppe: I'm sure you'll look so cute.

Queen Haruna 🌸: ofc was there ever any doubt?? Alsoooo speaking of cute...have you seen Gouenji's kid??

Fuyuppe: Gouenji-kun has a child? :0

Queen Haruna 🌸: Yeah from his previous marriage- name's Sacha and he's a complete split-image of Shuuya- less intense tho. Absolutely adorable

Natsumi 💋: You seem to know a lot about it.

Queen Haruna 🌸: Did you guys forget I used to be a journalist? I have a knack for figuring out people's secrets 👀 not that it was really a secret, just something no one ever brung up.

Kino Aki: Gouenji does tend to keep his personal life to himself, I can respect that.

Queen Haruna 🌸: I saw them shopping in town the other day with Shirou

Kino Aki: They make such a nice couple 😊

Queen Haruna 🌸: I mean I was always sure Fubuki would end up with Someoka 🌚🤪 but that's none of my business...

Kino Aki: Actually, have you heard from Someoka lately?

Queen Haruna 🌸: Not since I got him that interview with Mainichi, why?

Fuyuppe: Wasn't he at the wedding?

Kino Aki: Just something Domon said, I'm sure it's fine.

Queen Haruna 🌸: 💅🏻

Kino Aki: I haven't seen him for a while, maybe I should check up on him.

Natsumi stared at the screen as Haruna's name popped up once again, now she was talking about something completely different- 'the attention span on that girl...' she couldn't help but laugh. Though she had to admit she was a little curious she knew it wasn't right to pry into someone's personal life. 'I'll leave that to Haruna.'

Natsumi knew first-hand how difficult secrets could make things...

Her phone suddenly vibrated. The number flashed on her screen as the chat continued on in the background. For a moment she considered not answering, but doing so would just lead to more headaches. With a deep sigh she answered.
"Yes?"
"That necklace, you still have it don't you." The voice on the other end said, sourness lacing each word.
'Well, looks as though we're skipping the pleasantries then.' She sighed tiredly. "You're going to have to be a lot more specific than that. I own quite a vast array of jewellery."

He sounded like he was rooting through a box. "The topaz and sapphire one." He answered frustratedly. "The one I got you for your birthday."
Natsumi scoffed. "Oh? The one you gave me as an apology after you abandoned me in Saint Lucia for three days whilst you attended urgent business."
"You know I'm a busy man." Her ex replied, the young woman stalked over to her bedroom, already done with the conversation.
"You went partying with your friends for two days straight before I found you with one of the maids from the resort."

Yosuke grumbled a response, muttering curse words under his breath. "Point is- do you have it?"
"No. I sold it." She answered plainly.
"You!! Argh do you know how much that stupid thing cost?!" He seethed, but not daring to raise his voice (Natsumi guessed he was at his parent's house). She looked at her nails, at the manicure Haruna had done for her at their last get together. The black paint was beginning to chip. "I don't actually, but I don't care. I'm sure you can find something pretty for your mother's birthday." She remarked, knowing the day (unfortunately) off by heart "Send her my regards."
She hung up before he could say another word.

She took a deep breath in and out, hand instinctively resting itself on her growing bump. Her hazel eyes veered towards her jewellery box, opening it up she carefully pulled out the gold and navy necklace, the gemstones catching the light of her chandelier.
"Maybe it is time I got rid of this after all." She muttered. There were one too many bad memories attached to it...

(17th Annual Innovators, Leaders and Entrepreneurs Evening, Nagoya~ 2 months ago)

"My my Natsumi, it's been so long since you've come to visit us, we were beginning to worry we had offended you!" That sickly-sweet voice sang, the woman playing with the pearls adorning her pale neck.
Natsumi strained a smile, hand clenching ever-so-slightly around the glass of champagne she had no intention of drinking. "I apologise Asaka-San, Yosuke and I have been very...busy lately."
The older woman rested her hand on her cheek, laughing daintily. "I can imagine! Our son has always been such a hard-worker, we're so proud."

'He works so hard he's hardly ever around...' Natsumi thought to herself 'Though sometimes I wish he wasn't around at all..' she hadn't decided yet whether her boyfriend's knack for disappearing was a blessing or a curse. Speaking of, that man was currently walking over from the cocktail bar, a blank look on his face.
"Mother." He said politely, offering the woman a Bellini. "Natsumi, my darling." Yosuke put a hand around her waist and kissed her cheek, accidentally stepping on the hem of his girlfriend's evening gown in the process, Natsumi smiled through gritted teeth.

The older woman looked at the two of them together and sighed wistfully, calling her husband and over and gasping dramatically when he did. "Oh Takeo, have you ever laid your eyes on a more perfect couple?"
"No I have not." The man replied plainly, he'd never been that expressive. His wife was the complete opposite. "The two of you will bring us all much fortune. A union of two perfect families can only bring perfect children!" She remarked, nodding her head like she was delivering pearls of wisdom, when really everyone involved knew this was nothing more than what was expected of those born into a certain social standing.

It was a business transaction.
A contract.
No room for love, or care, or understanding.
The two would get married, have kids, and fall into the neat roles society had carved out for them.

"And might I say that is a gorgeous necklace Natsumi, you are so lucky to have such a doting partner." The woman remarked at the dainty sapphire and topaz necklace that adorned the redhead's neck.
"Well of course, it is the man's duty to provide for his wife after all." Yosuke's father added, rubbing his greying facial hair.
'Who said anything about marriage? And I would hardly call him doting.'
"By the by..." Mrs Asaka said, gently grabbing Natsumi's wrist and pulling her away from her husband. "I have to ask, have you put on weight?"

Her jaw was getting tired from clenching her teeth so hard. 'Maybe it's the fact that I am concealing a pregnancy?!'
"I can put you in touch with my personal dietician if you desire?" She continued "And while we're at it..." she muttered, leaning in closer to the young woman "I should give you the number of my aesthetician as well; sort out those crows feet dear."
'Crows feet! I'm in my 20s, I do not have crows feet or wrinkles!' Luckily (if she could call it that) her boyfriend suddenly appeared by her side. "Apologies mother, may I borrow my darling for a moment?" The woman nodded her head and left them be- but not before opening her purse and slipping Natsumi a platinum-coloured business card.

"How charming of you to actually want to speak to me instead of pretending as though I do not exist?" Natsumi enquired, crossing her arms. Her boyfriend just rolled his eyes dismissively. "Hardly." Yosuke drawled and took a sip from his champagne flute "I just wanted to avoid mother asking any more prying questions of you. You can be a bit of a blabbermouth after all."
Natsumi breathed deeply out of her nose, knowing better than to cause a scene-that's what Yosuke wanted- cause her to flip out and embarrass herself. No, she wouldn't let him get a rise out of her.
Besides, there were more important matters to discuss.

"This whole baby situation is not going to solve itself you know?" She uttered quietly, Yosuke moved closer to her, lowering his voice but not changing his stoic expression. "I already told you my answer." His girlfriend's fists began to shake as she tried to calm her nerves. "That's not good enough." She seethed and tried to walk past him before he roughly grabbed her arm. The champagne tipped to the floor, dripping down the right side of her fuchsia gown. He held her right to his body and narrowed his eyes, fury in both of their eyes.

"I'm afraid you're just going to have to accept it." His whispered roughly, still holding her tightly to him. "Be smart about this. You wouldn't want to disgrace yourself, would you?" He asked impishly. Yosuke finally released her, smirking at the glare she sent him.
"Now I suggest you make yourself scarce for the night." He took her now-empty champagne glass from her still trembling hand "Before you end up embarrassing yourself further."

"Father? Are you working? I need to speak to you." Natsumi sniffled, bringing her knees up to her chest. It was some sort of a study, but it was far enough from the other guests that she would not be disturbed. If anyone found her like this...there'd be all sorts of rumours flying around.
"Sweetie, is everything alright?" Her father's concerned voice came through the phone, she smiled trying to hide just how desperately she wanted to cry. "Oh yes it's um...it's just..." she steadied herself, the last thing she wanted to do was upset her father, but how could she not? It was all such a mess...
"It's fine, you must be busy so..." She couldn't bring herself to say it. Her father sounded as though he was shuffling papers around on the other end, packing up his bag "No, I've finished for the day, what did you want to talk about? I hardly hear from you these days!"

Natsumi chewed the inside of her cheek awkwardly; she hadn't meant for them to drift so far away from each other lately, she'd always had such a close bond with her father. Though she had to remind herself that that was to be expected, she was a grownup after all- she couldn't stay a Daddy's Girl forever. "Sorry father, you know how it is, always busy..." she mumbled, pulling her high heels off her swollen feet and gently massaging her ankles.
Her dad spoke quietly on the other end, a somber note in his voice. "We may not talk as much anymore sweetie, but I can still tell when something up with my baby girl. Now what is it?"

The auburn-haired woman sighed, he was always able to read her like an open book. There was no point trying to save face. "Father, I'm pregnant." She blurted out.
"And is that a good thing, for you?" He asked without missing a beat. She smiled despite how she was feeling. "Well, it's a good thing for his parents, they've been harking on about it for an age." She lowered her voice a little "Yosuke's not thrilled though, he doesn't want it."
"I see. And what do you want?"

The woman pushed a strand of red-brown hair behind her ear. "I...I'm not sure...I don't know what to do." She could already feel the tightening in her chest, the way her breath stuck to the back of her throat, the tears wellling in her eyes as she tried desperately not to start crying. 'You're supposed to be stronger than this, crying isn't going to solve any of your issues. Father is probably already disappointed in you, crying like an infant is not going to help.'

She was Raimon Natsumi after all, the strong, determined girl who never stood down, never let people walk over her. How could she suddenly have changed so much?
'When did you become so weak? How can you let some man break you down so easily? You're pathetic.'

She had to be logical, clear about this situation. Maybe she could resolve things with Yosuke? Maybe he'd come around to the idea? Maybe they could get married? Surely that would make things easier at least? Maybe she could stay with Yosuke, and just have the baby quietly put up for adoption?
Maybe-

"Natsumi, my dear." She looked up quickly, almost expecting her father to be in the room with her. His voice was low and quiet- surely he was disappointed. "Oh my little Angel, I know this situation is not ideal..."
Natsumi's lips trembled, but she kept the tears at bay "I'm sorry father, I let you down." She tried but her dad cut her off, his voice taking on a distinct lightness. "Why are you apologising Natsumi?"

"This has nothing to do with myself or Yosuke or anyone, it is about you. Take your time, and whatever you you ultimately decide to do, I will support you and your decision. You are my daughter and I love you, unconditionally. Nothing can change that."
The young woman hadn't realised the tears that had fallen down her cheeks until a droplet landed on her dress.
"Truth be told, I never much liked him." Her father explained "He may be the heir to the Asaka Technical Corp but that doesn't change the fact that he's a terrible person." His voice softened as Natsumi held the phone in her trembling hands. "You deserve so much better dear."

'He's right, you deserve better than him, you deserve someone who will treat you right.' She smiled gently to herself, wiping a tear from her eye before thanking her father and ending the phone call. She had a lot to think about, and she needed peace and quiet to do so.
The door suddenly opened, a woman with pinky-red hair stumbling in and startling Natsumi momentarily.
"Ah sorry, was looking for a way out." The woman said before the two quickly recognised each other. "Oh good, it's just you Natsumi. Hey if anyone asks, you haven't seen me." Touko explained, closing the door quickly behind her.

Natsumi hadn't seen the other in quite a few years, but the woman still held the same strong look about her; even if her hair was done up in a pretty bun fastened with a yellow bow instead of down like she usually had it. She was wearing a pale yellow cocktail dress too, with black flats. Natsumi's tried to ignored the throbbing pain in her feet.
Touko took a peek outside the window where it seemed many of the guests had moved their conversations out onto the lawn now that the evening was drawing nearer. Hanami season was coming to an end and the air held a comfortable warmth to it.

"I thought I'd never escape." She said wistfully moving away from the window, it was only then that she noticed the other woman had been crying. "Woah, you okay?" She asked gingerly, Natsumi retrieving a lilac handkerchief from her purse and dabbing her eyes. "No." There was no point trying to act tough now.
Touko slid down next to her, a stern look on her face as she clapped her hands together. "Alright, who do I need to punch?"
The other woman smiled a little between sniffles. "Thank you for the offer, though I'm not sure that would do much good." She replied. The shorter woman shrugged her shoulders "Probably. But I'd sure enjoy it." her tone softened and she placed a hand on the Natsumi's shoulder. "So, what happened?"

Natsumi lifted her head up, unsure of the answer; truly she wanted to vent, but that would mean revealing something that even she herself had not made a decision on yet. It was too personal. Touko, sensing her nerves, flashed her a small smile. "You can be as vague, or as specific as you want. Or we could talk about something else entirely."
"Like why you're hiding?" The other woman countered. Touko laughed and tapped her nose "That's a secret! I meant more like, how can you walk in those killer heels? And is it a bad idea that I wanna try them out?"

Natsumi found herself laughing for the first time that night.
"Be my guest." She said, wanting rid of the knives masquerading as footwear all evening "In fact, you can have them if you want." Yosuke had pestered her into wearing them after all. Touko grinned brightly, taking the black stilettos for a wobbly trial run around the room as Natsumi urged her on from the sidelines.
"I've seen Rika sprint in heels you know-it's pretty scary actually." Touko chuckled once she'd practically managed to walk in them "Since we're swapping, you could wear my flats if you want."
To the maroon-haired woman that sounded like an excellent idea.

"And for the finishing touch." Touko announced, reaching up into her hair and unclipping the bow. "Here." She said, leaning over and carefully plaiting a side-portion of the taller woman's hair and fastening the bow to it. Natsumi smiled and reached over, fluffing out Touko's hair now that it was down. "There she is." She said as the two of them chuckled happily before their laughter died down. Natsumi couldn't help but smile, it had been a while since she'd had any kind of meaningful interaction with someone she considered a friend, hell, anyone who wasn't affiliated with the Asaka family actually. It felt nice not to be judged.

"This label's been driving me mad all night and I just want rid of it." Touko complained, fidgeting about.
"Come here." Said the other, pulling a small cherry red case out of her handbag. Touko looked at her, perplexed, before the other woman opened it up, taking out a small pair of scissors.
"Oh, a manicure kit!" She replied before Natsumi motioned for her to lift up her dress.
"There you go." She said casually, carefully snipping away the threads that held the label in place. She handed the label back to Touko.

"I borrowed the dress from Rika- uh because I mean we're the same size and all!" She quickly corrected herself, laughing awkwardly. Natsumi raised her eyebrow "So the rumours are true then?" She asked suspiciously "The two of you are together."
Touko just sighed, figuring there was no point in dispelling the claim. "Yeah, you got me." She looked down at the floor "I'm introducing her to my dad tomorrow, I'm a bit nervous about it. Well, more than a bit." The woman admitted; she'd only just recently come out to her father as bisexual, that was already a big enough step.

She drew her knees up to her chest, the previous excitement in her voice lost. "He was pretty supportive, once he got over the shock of it. But I've been with Rika for over a year now, we didn't want to hide it from our parents anymore." She muttered. Natsumi let out a wistful sigh, staring up at the chandelier above them. "Well...I say go for it." she said with a small smile "Parents are supposed to love their children, unconditionally."
Touko followed her gaze, feeling a little warmth flood back into her body. "I hope you're right about that."
Natsumi smirked. "I know I am."

((Oof this was a long one lmao, and that's after I literally had to cut a whole section out 🌚, also sorry it's been SO LONG (no like the last chapter was literally published in October 2020 💁🏽‍♀️) but yeah I've been real busy working and moving to a new flat and also working on earlier chapters of this book as well as on other fics- but I hope you enjoyed it anyway! I really liked coming back to this again actually, feels nice to be writing new material rather than just re-editing.
Anyway I love you all, look after yourselves, peace out! ♥️))