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It was late February, the seasons were starting to shift from winter to spring. The cold air swept through the backstreets of Yongen. It was a peaceful time of year, for the first time in months and months there truly was nothing going on. No more phantom thieves work to keep them all wrapped up. Those of them who did go to school had wrapped up their school year, thankful to finally be done.
In Futaba's case, not much had changed. She loafed around in her room without much of a care in the world. That couldn't last forever however, it wouldn't last forever. Her birthday was just last week, it was sweet, all of her friends gathered around her, friends she never knew she could have made. She was 16 now, in a month and a half she would be starting school. She almost couldn't believe it was real. It seemed like everyone else would be going somewhere and doing something. They hadn't all sat down and talked about it yet, but it was clear that the bulk of the group would be separated for a while.
She would be going to Shujin alone most likely, well, everyone but--
Her phone rang. Futaba broke out of her cycle of thoughts. Speak of the devil, she looked down to see "Sumi ♡" as she had named the contact on her phone. She felt embarrassed about the affectionate name, but once Sumire found out she had told her to keep it.
Futaba anxiously answered the call, worried that it might be something bad for whatever irrational reason would could to mind.
"Futaba-Senpai?"
Futaba flushed red, instantly thanking whatever gods were out there that they were on a call instead of in person.
"Sumiiiii... I told you not to call me that... just Futaba is fine, okay? We're gonna be in the same year in a month or so anyways..."
Sumire laughed from the other end of the phone, god she had a cute laugh.... Yggh stop Futaba stop.
"Sorry, sorry, just a habit. Anyways, um." Sumire trailed off. Futaba wondered what the purpose of the call was, hoping in her chest that the girl just wanted to speak with her. She flushed red again. "Well there's been a gas leak at my house... My parents are going to be staying in a hotel but, they wanted me to see if I could stay with any of my friends. It should just be for tonight."
Futaba grew even redder, Why am I so embarrassed ughhhh. She took a deep breath. A sleepover with Sumire? Easy mode. Easiest of modes. Nothing she couldn't handle.
"Oh, of course!! I'll have to ask Sojiro but he's gonna say yes."
"Great! Thank you so much Futaba-Senpai! I look forward to hanging out tonight <3." Futaba could almost hear the heart in her voice. How did she do that... "I should be over in about an hour or so, make sure you tell Sojiro, I don't want to come by unannounced."
An hour?! That wasn't enough time to mentally prepare herself...
"Yep, yep, yes, on it!"
The phone call promptly ended and Futaba fell back onto her bed. She wasn't sure whether to be elated or terrified. A sleepover with Sumire... She thought of seeing the girl lying down next to her. Sumire's beautiful hair falling upon her pretty face... Futaba squealed to herself. Why did she have to be so cute?!
"Calm down Futaba, you can do this." She readied herself. "She's just a friend, just a friend, normal friend thing, you can have normal friends without ruining it."
A knock was heard on her door, definitely produced by Sojiro.
"Futaba? You alright? I heard some yelling."
"Oh, it's fine, you can come in tho. I need to ask you something anyways..."
Sojiro pried open the door to find Futaba sitting upright in her bed. She was a mess, glasses crooked, hair all out of whack, and her skin as bright as a tomato. He stared at her with a smile while he awaited her request.
"Okay, so, um, Sumi, uh, you know her, um, uhh,"
"Futaba calm down..." Sojiro said with a contained laugh. "What's the matter?"
"She, uh, ummm, needs somewhere to stay, for uh, the night, and she called me and asked me and was like can I stay over and I was like yes you can but I need your permission so."
Futaba was out of breath, this was harder than she thought.
"That's okay Futaba, we should still have a matress in the closet for her to sleep on. I can make you both dinner too. Hope you girls have a nice night."
He closed the door and Futaba could hear his steps echoing down the stairs as he went about his day again.
Futaba had rushed out of bed without a care in the world for her appearance. She needed to make the most of the time she had before Sumire would arrive at her place. She had rushed over to leblanc and was freezing in the streets of Yongen. She had forgotten to wear her jacket, stupid.
She pried open the door to the restaurant, forging her way into the warmth of the place. It was a much needed reprieve from the cold. Leblanc was closed for the day, something about Akira wanting to spend time with a friend.
As she walked in, she noticed exactly what he was doing. Akira sat in one of the booths, chin resting on his hands and he stared at a chessboard in front of him. He seemed to be puzzling over the board, preparing for his next move.
"Good Afternoon, Futaba." A voice sounded from the other end of the table. Akechi. She still didn't like him, but tolerated his presence for Akira's sake. "What brings you here today?"
Akira looked over and smiled, before focusing back on his game. He took a deep breath in and moved a piece forward.
Akechi grabbed his queen and locked Akira's king in, dooming it to certain fate.
"Checkmate."
"Dammit, how did I not see that one..."
"Well maybe you should just acquiesce that I'm better than you."
"You'd like that wouldn't you." Akira threw over a look deep into Akechi's eyes.
Akechi looked over at his partner with a grin filling his face. Oh my god could they be any more obvious.
"Okay, okay, we get it, you two are fucking..."
"Futaba!" Akira looked over at her with scorn. She smiled back at him. He couldn't be mad at his sister for long.
"We are simply rivals Futaba, nothing more. Though with how our recent games have gone it seems I'm the one truly coming out on top."
Akira grumbled.
"The only place you're on top..."
"I am going to kill you."
Futaba laughed. As much as she loathed Akechi at times, she was truly grateful that Akira had found someone for himself.
"Okay enough innuendos with your murder boyfriend we have an emergency."
Akechi started to pack away the pieces of the chessboard, still glaring over at Akira, who still kept that signature grin plastered on his face. Akira spoke up.
"What's up sis?"
Futaba flushed briefly. The acknowledgement of their familiarity always made her happy.
"Okay so, things happened and," She took a breath in before relaying her issue. "Well, um... Sumi is coming over to stay the night. In like. An hour."
"Isn't that good news?" Akira said, ignorantly. "You two are becoming fast friends, I'm glad."
"Well, yes, I'm happy but. It's not that simple. I really like her, but I'm just nervous because-"
"You have a massive crush on her." Akechi cut her off with a smile. Futaba felt embarrassed, she wasn't planning on telling them that. If she was obvious enough for Akechi to catch on, did Sumire know too? "You'll be fine, I'm willing to bet she likes you too."
"Ohhhh, I get it now." Akira smiled at her, much more genuinely than Akechi. "You'll do just fine, I promise. Show off that Sakura charm!"
"Ugh, I just don't want to weird her out okay. Even if it's as friends I want her to like me you know... she's just so sweet and-"
"Sis, she's already agreed to have a sleepover at your house. By the sound of things it was her idea too, so don't be worried that she doesn't like you."
Futaba still stood in the middle of Leblanc, not really sure what to do. She wanted to take his words to heart yet there was still a burning feeling inside her that Sumire didn't like her very much, at least not in the way she wanted her to. Akira continued.
"You're a great person Futaba. You're incredibly funny, outstandingly smart, and very passionate. I think you have what it takes to steal her heart. Regardless, you're really fun to hang out with, okay? I'm sure you too will do just fine today, honestly."
His words meant a lot to her. Truly. Yet Futaba didn't feel quite convinced.
"What if she's like.. I dunno what if she's never touched a video game, and she hates them. Or what if I start going on about Featherman and and-"
Akechi stood up and walked over to her. He had packed his things into his bag which he held at his side as he walked. He ruffled her hair; she felt like she wanted to stab him. For Akira's sake she would refrain.
"Futaba, basically everyone likes video games, I'm sure you'll be able to find one she enjoys." He waved to Akira, who waved back with a smile. "Oh, and if she doesn't like Featherman? She's not a keeper."
Akechi walked out the door to Leblanc, a shit eating grin was no doubt plastered all over his face. Futaba could never really get a read on that guy. She scooched into the booth next to Akira and leaned in to him. He put his arm around her, it was nice, warm. She started to forget about her worries.
"You should probably get back to the house. You don't want Sumire to show up with no one there, right?"
"Just a few more minutes, okay..."
A ring sounded on the doorbell. It was game time. Futaba took a deep breath in, feeling refreshed from her conversation with Akira. Akechi had helped too, maybe, whatever. In the time since their conversation she had made herself as presentable as she could. She slowly approached the door, her hand was shaking as she reached out to it. The knob was cold, Futaba wanted to scream. She was not ready, but there was no more time.
Futaba pulled the door open.
The most beautiful girl she had ever seen stood in the doorway, smiling at her. She was dressed in a warm winter coat, all wrapped up in a scarf. A large bag was thrown around her back, no doubt carrying all her necessities from home. Her hair was down, and glasses adorned her face. Futaba liked her ponytail, but she liked her better like this. Small freckles danced over Sumire's face, it was absolutely adorable.
"Hello Futaba!" Sumire said with a smile. Too cute, not fair. "The circumstances are a little rushed, but I'm glad to spend my day with you!"
Futaba felt like she had died and went to heaven.
"Futaba?"
A silence filled the room as Sumire stood outside the entrance to the Sakura residence with a concerned look on her face.
"Oh uh, sorry sorry sorry, I just, um." Futaba tried to find an excuse for her silence. "You look really good today! Did you do something special?"
"I kinda had to rush out of bed this morning so uh, not really. Thank you anyways though!"
Futaba stepped to the side, letting Sumire enter the house. Futaba was super embarrassed, but she had to keep herself chill. She could do this.
Sumire looked around the entrance area to the house, before quickly slipping off her shoes. It was cramped, not much room throughout the halls, but this place always felt like home.
"It's a really nice place Futaba, I've been here before, but it feels different with just the two of us."
Sumire had been here before. A week ago, on her birthday. Sumire had bought her a bunch of really sweet items, a shirt, a hairpin, a pair of earrings, (Even though she wasn't pierced yet. Sumire apologized incessantly) it was a lot from someone she didn't know for that long. It made Futaba really happy.
"Welcome to my abode, mwehehe." Futaba said craftily as she started towards the stairs. "Sojiro is in the other room making dinner I think, oh ho ho you are in for a treat."
"His cooking is rather good, yes, I'm glad to be eating it."
Futaba reached out her hand for Sumire to grab. She instantly felt wildly embarrassed. There was no need for her to lead Sumire anywhere, it was stupid. Sumire looked surprised. Good job Futaba! You've already weirded her out. While she was pondering whether it would be worse to retract her hand or not, Sumire giggled and grabbed on. Her hand was soft, a little cold, but it felt perfect in her grasp.
"Where are you leading me, my lady."
Futaba did her best to not collapse there and then.
"Um...." Futaba.exe was having a hard time running properly. The (gay) panic was overwhelming her. "To my room. That's where we shall go!"
Sumire smiled as she followed Futaba up the stairs. They held hands the entire time. It felt like an eternity. Eventually they arrived at the door to Futaba's room. The keep out sign had been taken off the door and cast away. She still barely allowed people in there, but there exceptions were common enough to warrant its removal.
Futaba opened the door slowly, holding it open while she stood off to the side. She slipped her hand out of Sumire's grasp, she missed it immediately. Motioning towards the entrance of her room, Futaba kept up the impromptu roleplay.
"Maidens first!" She declared. She felt silly, but Sumire was playing along. She took a bow before entering the room, and Futaba followed along, shutting the door behind her.
"Oh wow." Sumire had never been inside Futaba's room before, and it was a sight to be seen. More monitors than you'd think someone could own covered her desk and back wall. Posters for this that and the other thing adorned the walls of her room. Figures were set up upon her desk, with other knickknacks and doodads. Various manga and other books were shoved into her drawers with some finding their way onto the floor. "It's very... you, in here Futaba!"
"Believe it or not, it was worse before Akira cleaned it up."
Sumire slowly set aside her bag by the door, and made her way to sit on Futaba's bed. She looked around, before realizing something. She started to remove her heavy jacket she was wearing.
"Oh, I should have made you hang that up by the door, ugh sorry!" Futaba apologized, reaching for the jacket. Sumire handed it to her. "We can just put it up in the room."
"You don't need to keep apologizing for things, Futaba, we're friends you know. We can be a little informal."
They were friends at this point, that was basically undeniable. Futaba had a crush on Sumire ever since they were first introduced in Leblanc back in November, but barely got a chance to see her for a while. They managed to bond quite well during the exploration of the last palace. Futaba remembers the two of them chatting off to the side about this or that. When the group got together to hang out, Futaba was always the first one Sumire went to for conversation. It made her happy.
"I'm guessing you want to do some gaming together right." Sumire giggled. Futaba really was that easy to read. "I brought my switch, figured I might be needing it."
"You're a gamer?!" Futaba gasped, Sumire just went from amazing to perfect. Futaba almost dropped the jacket she was supposed to be hanging up.
"Uh, Futaba, I've shown you around my animal crossing island before, did you forget?"
Oh god, she did forget. "What if she's never touched a video game?" Why did she think that, how stupid could she get?
"I totally forgot, I'm so sorry. I really should pay more attention to your interests and I remember you were super passionate about it and I can't believe I forgot I'm so sorry and-"
"Futaba, it's okay, relax. You're obviously pretty worked up today, it's alright if one thing we've done slipped your mind. It's not going to make me hate you or anything."
Futaba sighed, the girl she brought into her room was truly an angel. Sumire started to giggle again, her laugh was incredibly adorable.
"Besides, I get to hear your reaction to me being "a gamer" twice, you're so enthusiastic! It's endearing."
Futaba sat down on the bed as well, however, a ways away from Sumire. After unzipping her bag and grabbing her switch from it, Sumire scooched in closer to Futaba. Futaba looked over to see Sumire fiddling with the device, she was so close. Their legs were touching each other, and Futaba could feel Sumire's breath on her face, she wanted to scream again, but held it in.
"I'm not much of a gamer really, not nearly as much as you are anyways. But I've been trying to get into it more, since you're such a big fan!"
Sumire looked over at Futaba, who was having a hard time processing what she was hearing. Sumire wanted to get into things because of her? Futaba breathed in slowly, trying her best to calm herself down.
"I'm... flattered, thank you Sumi! I'll be your guide to the great world of gaming, mwehehe!"
"Girls! Dinner's ready!!"
A voice shouted out from below them. Futaba had just finished showing off one of her favorite games to Sumire, who intently listened to everything she said. It was so nice to have someone who would actually listen to her insane ramblings. She wanted to keep going, but dinner sounded great too.
"Ooh dinner time lets goooo, I have been hungry!" Futaba said as looked over to Sumire. She could hear her stomach growling. "You have too, it seems, lol."
Did I really just say lol out loud, oh my god get it together Futaba.
"Eheh... yes, I have been quite hungry too. I hope Sojiro made enough for me."
"He should know by now to cook extra for you."
Futaba stood up, her back not feeling nearly as sore as it usually did after a gaming session. Sumire had taken it upon herself to correct Futaba's posture every now and then, and it paid off. Sumire sat up too, and offered Futaba her hand, paralleling to when she first arrived; it was adorable. They walked down the stairs hand in hand just like they had walked up them.
Sumire bowed to Sojiro before they sat down to eat. She was always extremely respectful, something Futaba could really learn from. The two girls took their seats around the small table, sitting next to each other opposite of Sojiro. An extra helping of curry had been set aside for Sumire, he was learning.
"Thank you for the food!" Sumire said, looking down at her meal. Before digging in she added, "Your curry is amazing Sakura, but you should really make more diverse food for Futaba. She's a growing girl you know."
"Oh boy, you should know I've tried," Futaba was embarrassed again, it really was her fault. "Good luck getting her to eat anything else."
"I shall take that as a challenge!" Sumire looked over to her with a genuine smile, she was always genuine. "Maybe she'll eat my cooking?"
"Welj, if youf mad iyf..." Futaba said, her mouth stuffed with curry. The whole table laughed.
Sumire started on her curry with a passion. She ate an insane amount, but worked hard enough to justify all those calories. Futaba really wanted to go to one of Sumire's gymnastics events at some point. She told herself it wasn't just to see Sumire in a leotard, but she had to stop herself staring at Sumire's legs numerous times while they were metaverse... Ugh, I need to stop being a creep.
"So," Sojiro started. "You two have been hanging out an awful lot lately haven't you. I'd always see you two talking together at Leblanc when everyone meets up."
"We have been! I really like spending time with Futaba!" Sumire exclaimed. Futaba really hoped that she wouldn't look over to see her bright red face. "We haven't had the chance to actually hang out, just the two of us, that often though."
"The two of you are going to be in the same school year next semester right?" Sojiro said, looking up from his plate. "I hope you can keep an eye on her, Sumire. She's really anxious about it."
"Sojiro!" Futaba interjected. "Don't embarrass me, I'll be fine."
"I'll look after her Mr. Sakura, don't you worry!" Sumire said, basically ignoring her. It did make Futaba happy that Sumire would be there to watch over her, but she wouldn't openly admit it.
After a short while, all three of them had finished their plate. Well, in Sumire's case, two plates. The meal was delicious, as Sojiro's cooking always was.
"Well I'm heading to bed after I do the dishes." Sojiro said while standing up from the table. "I'll leave you girls to it. Oh, and don't stay up too late, okay?"
"We won't!" Futaba called as she began her way towards the stairs, knowing full well she was going to stay up as long as she could. She looked over to see Sojiro whispering something in Sumire's ear, she couldn't hear a word of what it was. Sumire looked back at him and nodded. What could they be talking about?
Sumire rushed up to her with a smile, and reached out her hand again. Their tradition of walking the stairs hand in hand wouldn't be broken just yet.
They had brought out the matress for Sumire to sleep on and placed it on the floor. There was just enough room for it to fit inside her cramped room. Futaba had offered to take the matress for the night and have Sumire sleep on her bed, but Sumire insisted on it being the other way around. It was getting quite late, but for a sleepover it was common to stay up long after your average bed time.
The two were huddled together on Futaba's bed, a blanket wrapped around them. Futaba felt incredibly warm this close to the other girl, but she liked it that way. An anime played on the monitor in front of them, a blinding flash of colors filled the screen as a fight scene played. Sumire had insisted on watching Futaba's favorite anime, so they were huddled close together, late at night, watching Featherman. It was perfect.
Without realizing it, Futaba had started to lean in on Sumire, too exhausted to keep herself up. She was dead tired, a day of excitement had wiped her out. She didn't want to admit it, forcing herself to stay up as long as she could to spend time with Sumire.
"Getting tired 'taba?" The nickname woke her up, it was so cute. Sumire looked over at the girl practically falling over on her. "We can end here for the night, the episode is just wrapping up."
"Do you like it?" Futaba yawned. "And I'm... not.. 'eepy..."
"It's really good! I can see why you like it so much. I'm happy to keep coming over to watch it with you." Futaba internally swooned. "We really should get to bed though, I know you're "not tired" but you don't have to force yourself to stay up.
Futaba smiled, as much as she could in her drowsy state. Sumire was on to her, huh...
"Let's just take these off." Sumire leaned in towards Futaba, taking off her glasses. They were so close. Too close? Not close enough? Futaba wasn't sure. They stayed that way for what was either a second or a millennia before Sumire blushed and pulled back. "Oh, um, sorry about that."
Sumire took off her own glasses and set them aside alongside Futaba's on her desk. She was still blushing, hard. Futaba didn't get it, was she? No, just wishful thinking...
Futaba reached over and turned off her monitor, the only light in her room was moonlight shining in from outside. It was illuminating Sumire before her. They were both in their pajamas at this point, Futaba squealing when she saw the cute little bunny that was displayed on Sumi's. The girl beside her looked cute, adorable, beautiful, amazing, fantastic; Futaba couldn't find the adjective.
All too soon Sumire slipped off the bed and onto the matress that lay on the floor. Futaba's bed was relatively low to the ground, so they were still close enough to look at each other with what little light permeated the room.
"Goodnight Taba." Sumire echoed from her spot on the matress. She was looking over at Futaba's position on the bed. She lay on the very edge, as close as she could get before falling off.
"Night Sumi..." Futaba managed to mutter out.
She wished they could be closer. Wished she didn't have to sleep up here alone. Wished she could hold the other girl in her arms. Sumire wouldn't feel the same, obviously. Futaba was pretty sure she wasn't even into girls. Why then would she like a girl who could barely get out of bed and spent all day playing video games. It was laughable Futaba even thought she had a chance with Sumire. She was a world class athlete, insanely pretty, and way more talented than she could ever be.
Futaba was wrapped up in her thoughts, not focusing on her position. Before she knew it she had fallen out of her bed, landing right next to Sumire on the matress below.
A light yelp escaped Futaba's mouth.
"Futaba are you okay?!" Sumire moved in close. "That must have hurt."
Futaba was on the brink of tears. She must have looked like a goddamn idiot. She fell off her bed while wide awake, how stupid can you get.
"I'm... fine. It wasn't that much of a fall." She tried to sit herself up, but she was dead tired, falling right back down next to Sumire. "God I'm pathetic."
"You're not pathetic Futaba, don't say that about yourself." Sumire pulled back the blanket and threw it over top of Futaba. They were mere inches apart, both under the covers. Futaba wanted to stay like this forever. "Here, you can sleep right here tonight, okay? I can take the-"
"don.. go..." Futaba muttered, it was barely audible. It was pathetic. It was wrong of her to request that. If she didn't already, Sumire probably thought of her as a creep. The tears started to seep out. She hated this.
"Oh." A silence filled the room. For once in your life Futaba don't be a fuckup. How did you manage to ruin this, ruin it like everything. "It's okay Futaba, don't cry. I'm here."
Sumire pulled her into a hug, Futaba was stunned. This wasn't what she expected. They stayed like this for a few seconds, everything else didn't seem to matter; it was just the two of them.
"Are you feeling better?" Futaba nodded. Sumire wiped the tears out of her eyes. "We can stay like this as long as you like."
"I..." Futaba started, trying to keep herself from crying again. "Just thought. I thought you didn't like me very much."
Sumire looked at her, a shocked expression covering her face.
"Futaba, that's not true. I spent my whole day with you because I wanted to. I played games with you, I watched anime with you, all because I really really like being around you. You're incredible Futaba, you're so smart, so passionate, so..." Sumire stopped herself, growing red again. "beautiful..."
Futaba was stunned. Sumire thought. She thought. She thought that Futaba Sakura was beautiful?
"W-wha... I'm not attractive at all.. All skin and bones, messy all the time.. why do you think that-"
"You're really pretty Futaba. I don't get why you can't see it. When I see you I get..." Sumire paused. The silence filled the room as Futaba lay right in front of her, closer than before. "All warm and fuzzy inside..."
Futaba's higher brain functions were starting to malfunction. A pretty girl in front of her was being so sweet, it broke past her inhibitions.
"Sumire I-I....." Futaba started to speak before stopping. At this point the two of them were both thoroughly red, so close that their noses were touching. "I.... fuck... I can't.... um.."
"It's okay Futaba, you can do it." Sumire's words filled her with courage.
"Ihaveareallyreallybigcrushonyou!"
The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The only sounds were those of the two girls breathing. Sumire stared at Futaba, her eyes wide open. Fuck, did she not understand her. Did she not like her? Oh god that was embarrassing.
"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry. That's really weird of me I. Um. God I'm--"
Sumire leaned in and pressed her lips against Futaba's. All of her brain functions had ceased proper working order at this point. The kiss was amateurish, both of them not really sure how to do it, but it was the best moment of Futaba's entire life.
After a while they pulled apart, and they stayed wrapped in each other's arms the entire night.