"Mio?"
Yui had just snapped back to the present—and found Mio staring at her with a conflicted expression.
Her stomach jumped. Did I make it too obvious? Mio was looking at her like she had something to say but couldn't decide whether to say it.
Actually, thinking about it—what I said just now was way too transparent. Even I would've gotten suspicious.
So what do I do? I'm not ready for Mio to know yet.
Her plan had been to make Mio fall for her first, and then confess. She wanted to do this right.
Yui's brain kicked into overdrive.
Mio, pulling herself out of her own thoughts, looked at Yui and hesitated—then opted for her usual playful tone: "Yui. You asked an awful lot of questions just now. Don't tell me you've gone and fallen for me?"
If Mio had asked seriously, Yui would have had no idea how to respond.
But joking tone? She could work with that.
Yui leaned in with exaggerated sincerity, matching Mio's energy perfectly. "You got me. I like you so, so much."
Even Mio couldn't quite tell if that was genuine or a bit. The delivery had been too good—that faintly soothing, there, there kind of tone you'd use to humor a child.
Did she just... out-tease me?
Mio had always been the one doing the teasing. Slowly, at some point, Yui had learned to fire back. And now she was apparently capable of reversing it entirely.
At this rate, we're going to swap roles.
Either way, Mio figured she wasn't getting anything useful out of pushing further. If Yui had feelings for her, they'd show eventually. Feelings had a way of leaking out.
Then Yui remembered—she'd come here to walk a dog. She'd been sitting on this bench for a while now.
She stood up. "Mio, I still need to take Sablé for a proper walk. Want to come?"
Mio considered it, then shook her head. She wasn't going to get anything more out of tonight. Better to let it sit.
"Then... see you at school tomorrow~"
Yui gave her a little wave, gathered Sablé's leash, and walked calmly out of the park.
If Mio could have seen Yui's face in that moment, she would have noticed that Yui's cheeks were absolutely burning.
After Yui left, Mio stayed on the bench for a while longer before finally heading back.
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Back at the apartment.
She'd been planning to shower first—but the moment she stepped into her room, she found Mashiro already sprawled across her bed, chin propped on her hands, reading a manga. Two long, pale legs swayed lazily in the air. The image was distractingly appealing.
At the sound of the door, Mashiro glanced over. "Mio. You're back."
"I'm back." Mio walked over to the bed and peeked at the manga Mashiro was reading. "No drawing tonight? You're over early."
"Wanted to take a bath."
"If you want to take a bath, you could just—" Mio stopped mid-sentence and processed what she'd just said. Oh. And then why Mashiro was lying on her bed made perfect sense.
This was basically Mashiro hinting that she wanted to bathe together.
Ever since Mio had bathed with Mashiro for a task a while back, it had become something of a recurring event. She'd long since given up being surprised. She just smiled a little and said, "I was about to shower anyway. Want to join me, Mashiro?"
Mashiro nodded without a moment's hesitation. She was already pulling off her clothes as she drifted toward the bathroom—unhurried, completely at ease, like she'd done this a hundred times. Because she had.
Mio trailed behind her, picking up the garments she left scattered on the floor. "Mashiro! I've told you so many times—stop undressing while you're walking. Do it again and I'm not bathing with you."
"You said that last time too."
Looking at Mashiro's perfectly serene, perfectly cute face, Mio sighed and followed her into the bathroom.
They rinsed off first, as usual. Then Mio helped wash Mashiro's hair before they settled together into the bath.
As the warm water closed around her, Mio let out a long, satisfied exhale. The heat soaked into every tired muscle. Perfect.
And then she noticed that Mashiro wasn't sitting with her back to Mio the way she usually did. Instead, she had turned around—and was looking directly at her.
"Mashiro? What's up?"
"Mio." Mashiro's voice was as unhurried as ever, carrying none of the weight of what she was actually saying. "I want to try something. I want to know what kissing feels like."
Mio blinked. She had no idea where this was coming from. Still, she answered as calmly as she could: "You kiss me on the cheek all the time."
"Can I kiss you now?"
"Now?"
Mio thought for a moment, then nodded.
She was already tilting her cheek toward Mashiro when Mashiro kissed her directly on the lips.
Mio's eyes went wide.
She's more daring than I gave her credit for.
But at least—after the initial surprise—that was all it was. Just a kiss. Nothing more happened.
For a second, with how determined she'd looked, I thought I was getting pushed down.
When it ended, Mio needed a moment to come back to herself. A faint flush had spread across her face—whether from the kiss or the heat of the bath, she honestly couldn't tell.
"Mashiro... where did you learn to do that?"
"The manga."
"I told you," Mio said, voice going just slightly stern, "don't import scenes from manga into real life. Kissing is something you only do with someone you actually like."
Mashiro looked at her.
"I like you."
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