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Snow fell softly outside the windows, creating a blanket of white over every rooftop in the neighbourhood. The twinkling fairy lights decorating Ahko’s house’s windowsill cast a warm glow uponthe kitchen, where Ahko and Suu were. It was going to be a white Christmas, and Ahko and Suu couldn’twait for it to arrive. With the arrival of Christmas was the exciting Rentarou Family Christmas Party, and with this many girlfriends in the family, the preparations for the party were enormous.
Ahko and Suu had unanimously volunteered for the sweets-baking division. The thought of creating colorful, intricate designs on cookies and cupcakes filled Ahko with giddy anticipation, just like how the precise numerical instructions and measurements involved in the recipes made Suu fascinated beyond belief. It was perfect, really—that there was such an activity to not only embody the spirit of festive cheer, but also both their respective passions. Besides, the two of them would jump at any excuse to spend more time with each other. Baking sweets combined the things they loved most—cute things, numbers, and, of course, each other.
The kitchen smelled faintly of vanilla essence and flour as Suu perched on a stool, the baking instructions clutched in her hands like they were sacred texts. Her round cerulean eyes were scanning them over and over, lingering on the wonderful numbers present in the print. And oh, how numerous the numbers were! She stopped to admire the vivacious curves of the number 8, the exquisite sharp angles of the number 1… So enamoured by the numbers in the baking instructions was Suu that she was taking an awfully long time reading them.
“Soooo, what’s our first step, you number lover?” Ahko asked. She was leaning lazily against the kitchen counter, admiring her sparkly long nails. As usual, it was taking too much effort for her to stand upright on her own, and so she let the majority of her bodyweight rest against the edge of the counter. The glitter on her pink nails caught the light and reflected them most satisfyingly, but Ahko was barely able to conceal the fact that her girlfriend Suu was shining much brighter than her nails ever could.
Suu’s gleaming silver hair shimmered under the warm light, her sky-blue eyes sparkling with pure delight as she read the baking instructions out loud.
“Step one: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius. One hundred and eighty. Ahko, what a wonderful number this is! That 1 and 0 are pressing so tightly on both sides against 8…no wonder Usa-chan loves those kinds of hugs so much. When I look at the 180, I can envision and embrace this kind of closeness…”
Cuuute! Ahko chuckled inwardly. She could never appreciate numerals the way Suu did, but she could certainly appreciate the endearing way Suu’s face flushed whenever she was going on and on about her precious numbers. Most people would think it odd, or weird, but Ahko had only ever thought Suu’s obsession with numbers to be adorable.
“I guess I can see it? The way 1 and 0 are kinda huggin’ the 8 in the middle,” she told Suu.
“Kinda cute, actually. They’re like three lovers…kinda reminds me of us, and Rentarou, you know?”
“Yes, yes,” Suu went on. “Isn’t the intimacy of these numbers so clear to see?”
Suu’s legs, too short to reach the tiled floor, swung excitedly under her stool.
“Speaking of nine… I cannot emphasise enough just how magnificent the structure of that number is. Its perfect round head, counterbalanced by its long tail at the bottom, curved into an effortless flick… Ah! It gives me the shivers just thinking about it!”
You give me the shivers, Ahko thought silently. But she kept her sentiment to herself and didn’t say it aloud. Instead, she shifted her weight over to one hip and sighed, as if the act of leaning against the counter was too exhausting for her low-blood-sugared self. She surveyed her girlfriend through half-lidded eyes, stifling a yawn with her palm.
“Yeah, yeaaah, numbers are cool or whatever,” Ahko drawled, her tone playfully sarcastic, though her heart was thumping much faster under her sweater than she cared to admit. The way Suu’s face lit up every time she found beauty in something numerical was, frankly, adorable. Not that she was going to tell her that, of course.
Ahko tipped her body slightly to the left, her arm reaching out lazily for the dials on the oven, and twisted it to 180 degrees. “Alrightttt, I’ve done it. What's next?”
Suu’s eyes scanned the recipe, her excitement bubbling over again as she reached the next step. “We need 250 grams of flour! Two hundred and fifty—a quarter of a thousand. Such a perfectly round, wholesome number!”
Again, Ahko’s girlfriend couldn’t resist the charm of the numbers before her, and Ahko herself couldn’t resist the charm of her number-obsessed girlfriend. She leaned against the counter, watching Suu with a lazy grin as her girlfriend practically melted into her number-induced euphoria. She tilted her head, her blonde hair falling to one side, and her blue eyes sparkled with amusement.
“Yo, you sound like you’re about to marry these numbers or something,” Ahko teased, her voice tinged with that unmistakable gyaru drawl. “Like, I caaaan’t with you right now. You’re over here makin’ love confessions to a five. A five, Suucchi. That sends me.”
Suu had come to learn that whenever Ahko used the phrase ‘sends me’, she was practically over the moon about the situation. It was Ahko’s own brand of unfiltered enthusiasm, casual and yet deeply genuine, and Suu had grown to cherish every instance of it. But the thought that her natural obsession with numbers—something she’d always feared might push others away—could tickle Ahko like so…It never failed to lift Suu’s spirits.
In truth, Suu had been nervous about her quirks at first. When she first met Ahko, with her effortlessly cool demeanor, trendy fashion, and laid-back charm, Suu had been certain that a girl like her—so confident and seemingly untouchable—couldn’t possibly have patience for someone as “weird”as her.
Numbers weren’t exactly a common interest, after all. In her case, it was especially off putting as her sincere attraction for numbers was on the same level as someone being attracted to the opposite or the same sex.
Suu had thought long ago that people could never be on the same level as numbers, but when she met Rentarou and Ahko, they were the only people who could get her to join in on their group activities.
She found them appealing, just as appealing as her dear numerals. Like she wanted to stare at them and admire them the same way she could stare at an accountants tax sheets all day.
“Two… Oh, the way it swells and swoops, and then ends in a definitive flat line! It really throws you for a loop. Five… Look at that perfect right angle at the top, and the delicious arc of its body below! And zero… Ah, the wholeness and completeness of it all. A full circle, starting and ending at the same point, except that you cannot tell where it begins and where it ends because it is that perfect.”
The numbers swam slightly before Suu’s eyes as she traced the outline of their figures over and over again. The sight of them called out to her sweetly, and she felt a tingle in the ends of her fingers and toes, as if the very image of the numbers were inciting a sort of pleasant itch in her. She mouthed the numbers, feeling the way her tongue curled and her mouth contorted to form the intonation and consonants, and when the sounds left her parted lips in a bare whisper, she felt a heartwarming shiver ascend through her ribs. She could stare at those numbers all day.
“Ahem,” Ahko cleared her throat softly.
“Oh, right! The flour.” Suu hopped off the stool and grabbed the weighing scale with a reverence.
Ahko usually reserved for cute accessories. It was the instrument that measured her sacred numbers, after all. Suu placed the big bowl carefully on the scale and tapped the buttons with a precision that could rival a scientist in a laboratory.
“Look at this!” she said breathlessly as the digits climbed up slowly. The more flour she added, the more the numbers increased, and watching them grow made her heart pound in a way that few things could.
“Twenty, forty, sixty—oh! Now it’s one hundred! Triple digits! Doesn’t it just feel so complete?” Ahko tilted her head, watching as Suu carefully poured the flour in small increments, her tongue poking out slightly in concentration. She paused at 248 grams, squinting at the scale like something rapturous was about to happen. Then, with a tiny, delicate shake of the measuring cup, she tipped in just enough to hit 250 on the nose!
“Perfect!” Suu exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “It’s so satisfying, isn’t it? The precision, the balance—it’s like the universe itself aligned for this!”
Ahko tilted her head, her pale blonde hair slipping over one shoulder as she watched Suu work. The tiny silver-haired girl’s focus was absolute, her tongue sticking out slightly in concentration as she carefully poured the flour in small increments.
Ahko’s blue eyes followed every movement—the way Suu’s hands adjusted the measuring cup just so, the little furrow in her brow, and the soft, almost imperceptible sigh of satisfaction she gave as the scale flickered to life under her touch. How could anyone bring such a pure, unfiltered joy to something as mundane as measuring flour?
Ahko shoved her hands into her hoodie pocket, her fingers clenching into fists as she leaned back against the counter, trying to play it cool. “Yeah, uh, super satisfying,” she muttered, her voice slower than usual, almost hesitant.
“You, uh, really love this number stuff, huh?” Suu was captivating, beautiful in her own quirky way. She was so damn cute. Dangerously cute. Right now, with her cheeks pink from excitement and her small frame almost vibrating with delight, she was utterly irresistible. And that was a real problem for Ahko.
The gyaru girl’s lips tingled as she parted them slightly, sucking in a laboured breath. Her slender fingers toyed with the various ribbons and pins that she’d fastened onto her uniform, her desperate attempt at distracting herself from her girlfriend’s incredible allure.
Ever since Suu started dating Rentarou, Ahko has really enjoyed her time getting closer to her, especially beyond the friendship that they had built. Ahko had gotten to know the various sides of her cute and energetic girlfriend, and she loved every one of them. Almost a little too much.
“Of course! Numbers are so reliable, so constant and elegant!” Suu burst out.
“They’re everywhere, Ahko. In everything! Isn’t that amazing?”
Ahko leaned against the counter, crossing her arms and tilting her head as she watched Suu with a grin just fighting to spread across her face. “Yeah, babe, totally amazin’”, ” she said, her tone light and teasing. But inside, she felt like she was walking a tightrope, her heart pounding harder with every second that Suu continued to gush.
And here came Ahko’s greatest challenge– keeping her hands off of Suu. Ahko couldn’t help being physically affectionate– it was just her nature. She had always been the type to admire cute things with a kind of unrestrained, almost magnetic affection. It wasn’t enough for her to just look at something adorable—she had to touch it, hold it, and make it feel cherished and loved. Whether it was a fluffy stuffed animal, a tiny kitten, or even the delicate bows and trinkets she used to accessorize her outfits, Ahko’s first instinct was to reach out and embrace it. And with Suu? It was the very same.Suu was cute. Too cute. Unfairly cute. It wasn’t just the way her voice pitched up when she got excited, or the way her silver hair seemed to catch every ray of light in the room. It was the whole package—the way she was so unabashedly herself, so completely enamored with something as nerdy asnumbers. Ahko wanted to wrap her arms around Suu right then and there, to hold her close and let her know just how much she adored every part of her.
But she didn’t move. The last thing she wanted to do was to make her girlfriend uncomfortable. They were just baking cookies, for goodness’ sake! Surely she could contain herself over Suu’s cuteness long enough for them to get these sweets out the oven. Don’t get all spacey now, Ahko chided herself.
So instead, she forced herself to take the bowl of perfectly-measured flour from Suu, grab the paddle from the cabinet, and whisk it with the cocoa powder and baking soda.
“So, uh, what’s the next step once the dry ingredients are done?” she asked, her voice deliberately casual, as though she wasn’t fighting the urge to grab Suu by the shoulders and kiss the words right out of her mouth. The more she tried not to think about kissing Suu, the more her mind only wandered towards that direction.
Her stare lingered on Suu’s mouth as she spoke, every syllable melting and dancing right out of those lips. Ahko shook her head, forcing her stare down into the fluffy pile of flour and powder.
“Baking is so wonderful! Why don’t we do it together more often?” Suu exclaimed, her face practically glowing as she scanned the next line of text on the sheets of paper in her hand. There were so many numbers for her to enjoy in such a short span of time that the only other thing that could rival this activity was doing math calculations. She sure was enjoying herself.
“Okay, the next step is to cream exactly 225 grams of butter and 200 grams of sugar together!” Ah, fuck, Ahko cursed internally. Suu was having that look on her face. It was the look that only appeared whenever she was totally bewitched by the sight of some particularly attractive numbers. It was a look that made Ahko want to kiss that adorable little bespectacled face all over.
“225…” Suu whispered, with such awe that it sounded like she was practically on the verge of spellbound tears.
"Oh, just look at it! Those beautiful curves of the twos, all graceful and elegant, and that bold, dramatic five right in the middle! It’s the perfect mix of flair and poise—I love it!” She turned her attention to the number ‘200’ next.
“Ah, now this is a classy number. So clean, so round, so... timeless! The two are standing tall and proud, and the two zeros. Doesn’t it just feel so regal? I could stare at it all day!”
Ahko shifted her weight quickly from left to right, rubbing her lower back against the edge of the kitchen counter as if it could scratch the unbearable itch in her to kiss her girlfriend.
It was an admiration came with an ache, a push-and-pull that she couldn’t quite resolve. Ahko’s fingers curled into fists in her hoodie pockets. For once in her life, she lamented the fact that her admiration and appreciation was so attached to her inherent need for physical affection.
She and Suu weren’t just friends anymore—they were something more. And that something brought a new set of rules, ones Ahko wasn’t sure she’d gotten the hang of yet. She’d always been the touchy-feely type, quick to throw an arm around a friend’s shoulder or pull someone into a hug. But this wasn’t just any friend.
This was Suu—her girlfriend.
What if Suu wasn’t ready for the way Ahko showed affection? What if she misread the moment, her slow, lazy expressions making her seem indifferent or worse, unclear about what she wanted? What if Suu took a step back, confused or uncomfortable, and the fragile, beautiful thing they were building together shattered before it even had a chance to grow?
Ahko swallowed hard, her grin slipping a little further. She hated second-guessing herself, hated the way doubt seemed to creep in and twist her usual confidence into knots. But when it came to Suu, she couldn’t help it. Suu meant too much to her to risk getting it wrong.
Fortunately or unfortunately for her, her discomfort didn’t have to last long.
“Ahko… You look weird. What’s wrong?” Suu looked up from the recipe sheets.
Ahko blinked, realizing she’d been quiet for too long. Suu was looking at her now, her eyes curious but soft, her head tilted just slightly in that way she always did when she was trying to puzzle something out.
“Yeah, babe?” she said, forcing her grin back into place. Her heart stopped for a second– she would’ve thought that her girlfriend would be way too engrossed in the numbers to even realise what was happening with her. She leaned a little more casually against the counter, trying to mask the internal storm raging in her chest.
“You look very uncomfortable, as if you have a very bad itch but can’t scratch it.” Suu continued, surprising Ahko with how astute she was once again. “Almost as if you want to do something so badly, but can’t…”
Dammit! She was literally calling her out.
“Can’t help it,” Ahko mumbled, slumping dramatically against the counter, her blonde hair falling over her face as if to shield the constipated expression on her face.
“Baking’ is, like, so exhaustin.’ I’m deadass startin’ to feel faint.” She waved a hand weakly, as if the mere act of existing had sapped her last bit of energy.
“Low blood pressure strikes again.” But Suu caught her lie red-handed in the blink of an eye.
“You’re lying!” she said, her voice rising with a mix of accusation and triumph.
“Your blood pressure has nothing to do with this!” Ahko’s head snapped up, her eyes wide with panic.
“I-I… What? Suucchi, what’re you talkin’ about?” she stammered, her lazy demeanor cracking under her girlfriend’s unrelenting gaze.
“I’m totally serious! This bakin’ stuff, it’s, like, real hard on me. You wouldn’t get it.”
Suu tilted her head, her expression sharp but still endearing. “Oh, really?” she asked, crossing her arms and tapping her foot.
“You’re fine when we’re hanging out or decorating things, but now you’re
‘faint’? What’s really going on, Ahko?” Ahko gulped. She should have known better than trying to hide from Suu, who was always watching and always observing. Damn those numbers! They had certainly played a part in increasing Suu’s observational skills!
“I know you’re lying!” Suu repeated, standing square with one hand on her hip, and one hand still clutching the recipe sheets.
“I know you better than that, Ahko. I know something is up. Y ou always make that constipated face whenever you’re trying to hide something from Rentarou. Or me, as is the case right now.”
“Constipated?!” Ahko gasped, touching her face lightly as if it wasn’t too late yet for her to change her expression. How dare her dastardly face betray her true feelings!
“Yes! I’ve seen it too many times to count. C’mon, I’m not going to bite. Y ou can tell me the truth, Ahko.” Suu urged. Her pale blue eyes widened even further, its depths promising that she would listen to Ahko without judgement, and the way she was looking at Ahko… Well, Ahko couldn’t stand it anymore.
“Fine, fineeeee, you soooo got me.” Ahko sighed tiredly, her face heating up.
“like, it’s not a big deal or nothin’. I was just… thinkin’, okay?”
“Uh-huh?” Suu asked energetically. She was beyond excited for the news that Ahko was going to break to her
“I…” Ahko started wringing her hands, which was uncharacteristic of her. Wringing hands was a waste of energy, after all. It truly showed how nervous she was, and that only made Suu all the more excited to hear what she had to say.
And then Ahko was unable to stop them anymore. The words tumbled out of her mouth one after another like water gushing through a broken dam. “I want to kiss you, Suucchi.” The air between them seemed to still, Suu’s eyes widening in surprise. Ahko immediately looked away, scratching the back of her neck with a nervous laugh that didn’t match her usual laid-back demeanor.
Baking cookies may have been alright for her blood pressure, but being Suu’s girlfriend certainly was not! “Like, reaaaally bad,” she added, almost as if she were trying to laugh it off, but her voice wavered slightly. “But… when I get in the mood for that kinda stuff, it’s, uh, kinda hard for me to stop. I’m for real.”
“Ohhhh, Ahko!” Suu burst out in a fit of exhilarated and relieved giggles. “Here I was, wondering you were worrying about.”
“Hey! It’s reaaaally bad, alright?” Ahko groaned. “I mean, like, once I get into a touchy-feely mood… one kiss turns into ten, then twenty, then thirty. Y ou ever seen me stop at one cookie? Same thing, but, like, waaay worse.” Ahko gasped at the end, as if she’d just run a marathon, as if the confession, this release of truth she’d let out of her mouth was too long for her to catch her breath.
A blush colored Suu’s cheeks, but a small, thoughtful smile played on her lips.
“That’s what we do with Rentarou almost every day,” she pointed out matter-of-factly. “You’ve been there, Ahko. We all kiss him multiple times. It’s kind of like…multiplication, what you’re saying. One kiss turning into many. Isn’t it perfect?”
Of course, Suu would bring numbers into this too. The thought both soothed and amused Ahko.
Ahko’s heart skipped a beat, and she immediately shook her head, her expression turning more serious. “Yeeeeaaah, but, like, that’s different,” she said, her tone soft but firm. She leaned back against the counter, shoving her hands into her hoodie pockets as if to keep herself in check.
“This isn’t Rentarou. This is us.” She rubbed her cheek, trying to find the words to express how she would truly feel without sounding overly cool or indifferent.
“It’s easy kissin’ Rentarou, y’know? It’s normal, even,” Ahko started, her voice quieter than usual, but still tinged with her familiar casual tone.
“We’ve all been doin’ that for a while, so it doesn’t feel weird or… heavy. But—” She hesitated, glancing at Suu, her blue eyes soft but conflicted.
“But we haven’t gotten there yet. You and me. We’re newer.”
She leaned back against the counter, crossing her arms like she was trying to hold herself together.
“We’re not at that stage where it’s, like, second nature or somethin’” Not like it is with Rentarou. And I don’t wanna rush it, y’know? I don’t wanna push you into somethin’ you’re not ready for or make it weird between us.”
Suu’s expression softened. “You’ve been thinking about this for a long time, haven’t you?”
“Ahko…” she said in quiet understanding.
Ahko chuckled softly. She had shown more expressions today than she usually ever did, all because Suu was making her heart run marathons.
“Course I ammmm. I know I don’t always look it, but
I care about this kinda stuff. About you. I don’t wanna mess it up by gettin’ ahead of where we’re at.”
“Oh, silly Ahko, you’re so adorable. How can someone so lazy still steal my heart every day?” Suu grinned with fullblown affection.
“Ahko, it’s totally fine. I kiss Rentarou that much almost every day anyway! I want to do the same with you!”
“Nooo, Suucchi. It’s not the same—waaaiit, are you for real?” Ahko’s head snapped in Suu’s direction. “You mean it?”
Suu’s smile grew as she reached out and gently touched Ahko’s arm.
“I appreciate that. Really. But… you don’t have to overthink it so much, you know? I trust you. And I trust us.”
Ahko’s heart skipped a beat at the words, and she found herself grinning despite the vulnerability still bubbling in her chest. It gave her a burst of energy to reply almost instantly.
“You trust me, huh?” she said, her tone teasing but softer than usual.
“You’re not just sayin’ that to butter me up, are you?”
Suu giggled, her blush still lingering but her eyes steady. echoing Ahko’s favorite slang. “Deadass,” she said with a playful lilt, And god if that didn’t nearly make Ahko’s heart explode.
“You can’t just say things like thaaat!” she gasped, both her own declaration and Suu’s forwardness making her weak at the knees.
“Suucchi! You’re gonna give me a heart attack or somethinnn’!”
“With your low blood pressure? I think not!” Suu looked at her beautiful girlfriend, who was so much taller than her but could look so small sometimes when she was shy. She lifted the sheets of paper in her hands that contained the baking instructions, looking at the captivating numbers before her. And then she looked back at her girlfriend again.
“Look, Ahko… Each number here has their own sexy appeal, and that feeling is only natural.” She waved the sheets of paper as if to prove her point.
“But you know, I find you just as sexy, if not more! Your style, your flamboyancy, the fact that you don’t give a damn what others think about you… All of it. It’s all so incredibly attractive to me!”
Ahko jolted in pleasant surprise as these words washed over her in a wave of warmth. Before she could register it, her body had started to move and she skipped forwards to hug Suu. But wait! Her treacherous mind thought. I shouldn’t give Suucchi any more physical contact than what she is comfortable with… Right as she was about to wrap her arms around her, she froze in her tracks and tried to back off.
“I didn’t mean to… I mean, I wasn’t tryin’ to… y’know, overstep or somethin.’”
Her voice, usually so confident and tinged with lazy, playful sass, was soft now, tinged with uncertainty. It was rare to see Ahko, so flamboyant and self-assured, look so vulnerable. It made Suu’s chest ache in a way she hadn’t quite felt before.
Suu stepped forward, closing the space between them through the thick tension in the air. “Ahko,” she said gently, her voice cutting
Ahko blinked, her gaze snapping to Suu’s face, her expression a mix of surprise and apprehension. “Yeah?”
Suu lifted a hand to Ahko’s sleeve, tugging lightly to catch her attention.
“You don’t have to be so careful,” she said, her voice quieter now but steady.
“I know you’re always thinking about how I feel, but… right now, I want to think about how you feel.”
PBefore she could finish, Suu leaned up on her tiptoes, her free hand resting gently against Ahko’s arm to steady herself. Her silver hair brushed against Ahko’s cheek as she pressed a soft, warm kiss to herlips. It wasn’t hurried or clumsy—it was deliberate and tender, a silent reassurance that Suu trusted her,that Suu wanted this.
“Oh!” Ahko eyebrows changed slightly in surprise.
“--Oh!” Suu gasped too, surprised at how good the kiss was. A deep rosy blush coloured her cheeks, and she looked even more enamoured by Ahko than she could ever be at her favourite numbers.
Ahko’s breath hitched, her body stiffening for a split second before it melted into the moment.
Her arms moved instinctively, wrapping around Suu’s smaller frame in a gentle embrace, careful not to overwhelm her. She kissed back, slow and tentative, as if savoring every second.
When they finally pulled apart, Suu’s face was bright red, but her eyes shimmered with warmth. “See?” she said softly, her voice pleased despite her shyness. “You don’t have to hold back so much, Ahko.”
Suu had turned her gaze downwards, too shy to look Ahko in the eyes despite her straightforward and encouraging words. Her hand had clutched the recipe sheets so tightly that they were all crumpled.
She cleared her throat loudly, flattening the papers against the counter and frantically turning her attentionto the instructions once more. Quick, she had to look for numbers, any numbers…
Ahko stared at her for a moment, her mind racing before a lazy, adoring grin spread across her face. “You’re such a flirrrrrrty flirt,” she murmured, her voice returning to its usual teasing tone but with an unmistakable softness beneath it.
“You’re full of surprises, huh?”
Suu looked up in surprise and giggled lightly. It wasn’t everyday she heard something like that about herself. She liked that she could surprise such a bold girl like Ahko.
“Can I…can I like kiss you again?” Ahko whispered, her hands already twitching at the urge to grab Suu and capture her lips once again. “You can say no, ‘kay?”
“Why would I?” Suu chuckled. And then they fell into each other’s lips. Ahko swore she could hear the angels sing, relief and joy and warmth coursing through her chest all at once. Suu’s lips were soft, so incredibly soft, and Ahko felt like her lips had been pressed to a cloud.
The feeling of one of the most sensitive parts of their bodies pressed against each other sent sparks flying through their veins. The world was silent in an instant, and nothing else existed except them, except their kiss, in the here and now.
The quiet warmth, the tender feelings…it was enough to warm Ahko’s soul, to banish all the doubts she had up till this very moment. Suu wanted this, just like she did. The revelation made her heart flutter and kick at the same time as she cupped Suu’s chin and leaned down to deepen their kiss.
Ahko would have never imagined that baking cookies for their Christmas celebration could have led to this, but she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. The moment was perfect as their mouths tangled and their bodies pressed clumsily against each other. Just the right amount of hurried and desperate and needy, and warm and loving and affectionate. It was hard to imagine that her fear of ruining things even existed in this moment when they were getting lost in each other’s mouths.
“Mmm…” Ahko’s head had started to spin. She couldn’t get enough of Suu, and the taste of her lips. She wanted to exist in this moment forever, to keep kissing Suu again and again without either of them ever tiring of it. Her hand wandered up Suu’s jaw as their lips melded against each other, stroking and patting at her silvery hair.
Suu seemed to echo her sentiment as she wrapped her arms around Ahko’s hips, hands resting at the small of her girlfriend’s back, rubbing at the skin right under her jacket and above her pink belt. She seemed to explore Ahko’s body with her hands, feeling for herself the numerous buckles and pins that accessorized her girlfriend’s outfit today.
Even though it was just the two of them in the kitchen, Ahko had dressed up to the nines, in her signature bold style that screamed of her, right down to the heart-shaped clips keeping her bangs out of her face. Suu loved it. She loved how much Ahko cared about her fashion, about her aesthetic, and how she always dressed up for Suu. It was one of the things that made Ahko so Ahko.
The thought of it made her kiss Ahko harder, jamming their lips together until they were both gasping for air. Ahko didn’t want to pull away. She kept kissing Suu, pulling the smaller girl into her embrace until her chests bumped and they were slotting together against the kitchen counter. Her kisses had gotten
slower, more languid as the lack of oxygen made its way to her head—but she didn’t mind.
She just wanted to keep enjoying the softness of Suu’s lips, the gentle warmth of her breath against her own. Her knees wobbled slightly as a dazed expression overtook her usually-confident features. Her eyes were starting to glaze, though she still grinned against Suu’s lips. Oh, she could die happy here, kissing her cute little girlfriend.
“Ahko!” Suu gasped, snapping out of her own kiss-drunk daze as Ahko began to sag in her hold. Her gyaru girlfriend had gone lightheaded from all the kissing, her mouth still opening and closing as if begging for more. Suu hauled her up by the waist with some effort and propped her against the counter.
“You’re going to faint at this rate! Y ou didn’t breathe at all, did you?”
“Didn’t… think I needed to,” Ahko muttered with a lazy grin, though her legs gave out slightly as she leaned more heavily on Suu.
“Goodness,” Suu murmured, half-exasperated and half-fond as she guided Ahko to a nearby chair. She gently eased her down, making sure she was seated comfortably before crouching beside her. “You’re unbelievable sometimes, you know that?”
“Yeeeeaaaah,” Ahko said with a chuckle, her breath still coming in shallow puffs as she slouchedagainst the chair. Her cheeks were flushed—not just from the lack of air but also from the sheer intimacy of the moment.
“Guess I got a liiiittle too into it, huh?”
Suu sighed but smiled, her fingers brushing a stray strand of blonde hairaway from Ahko’s face. “You think?” she chided, though her fondness did not go unmissed.
Ahko let out a soft laugh, her head lolling back for a moment before she looked down at Suu. Her blue eyes softened, and she reached out, her hand brushing against Suu’s cheek. “Thanks,” she said quietly, her voice carrying an uncharacteristic sincerity.
“For… for bein’ cool with all this. With me. I know I’m, like, a lot sometimes.”
Suu’s smile grew warmer.any other way. ”You’re not ‘a lot,” Ahko. You’re… you. And I wouldn’t want you to be anyone else.”
Ahko felt her chest tighten at the words, a lump forming in her throat that she quickly tried to “Damn, Suucchi,” she said, her grin returning. “You really know how to make a girl feel special, don’t you?”
“That’s because you are special, ” Suu said simply, her tone unwavering.
“But you have to take better care of yourself, okay? I can’t have you passing out every time we kiss.”
Ahko laughed, the sound light and genuine as she leaned forward slightly, her forehead resting against Suu’s. “I’m sooooo down with that. Next time, I’ll pace myself. Promise.”
Suu giggled, her cheeks turning pink again. “Next time, huh?”
“‘Like yeah!!” Ahko replied mischievously. “Like I said…I can’t be satisfied with just one. One turns into ten, and twenty, and then thirty…”
“You’re going to get me all worked up over numbers again!”
“We’re better off gettin’ all worked up about cookies!” Ahko shot a glance at the clock.
“We’ll never finish baking at this rate!” Suu gently patted Ahko’s back, her small hand moving in soft, reassuring circles as she took another look at the recipe sheets.
“As much as I find numbers attractive,” she said, her voice light but tinged with honesty, “what’s equally attractive is someone like you who cares about me.”
Ahko blinked, her head tilting slightly as Suu’s words settled over her. Her lips parted like she wanted to say something, but no words came. Instead, her expression grew soft, a faint blush dusting her cheeks as she dropped her gaze. When Suu turned back to the counter to grab the hand whisk, Ahko’s fingers fidgeted in front of her. She pressed her two index fingers together, a pout forming on her lips as her shoulders slumped in a dramatic display of dejection.
“Suucchiii…” Ahko mumbled, her voice low and trailing off, her eyes peeking up through her blonde bangs in a way that could only be described as pitiful.
“That’s so sweeeet…”
Suu turned her head slightly, catching sight of Ahko’s downward expression, and sighed softly through her nose. “Ahko,” she started, her tone somewhere between exasperation and amusement. But her eyes betrayed her, shimmering with affection, and her mouth curled into a smile she couldn’t quite suppress.
“Are you going to be this clingy now that we’ve talked about showing your true affection?”
“Suuuuuccchiiii…you’re callin’ me clingy already?!”
“Don’t stop, though,” Suu murmured shyly, as if admitting defeat. She loved the way Ahko dragged out her nickname like that. She started up the whisk, creaming the butter and sugar in whirlingpeaks.“I like this side of you.”
“Does that mean you’ll give me another kiss then?” Unable to resist, Suu stepped forward, her silver hair shimmering as she tilted her face up to meet Ahko’s.
“Alright,” she said softly, her cheeks already starting to flush. “Just one more… but only one.”
Before Ahko could react, Suu leaned in, her lips brushing against Ahko’s in a quick, delicate kiss. It was brief but warm, a promise of more to come, and when she pulled back, her blush had deepened to a furious red that spread across her cheeks and to the tips of her ears.
“But that’s all for now!” Suu blurted, holding up a finger as if to make a point.
“More will come as soon as we have all the cookies ready.”
“Who was the one gettin’ all distracted from the baking?” Ahko huffed.
“You and your numbers! I hope I don’t get jealous of them.”
“You won’t,” Suu whispered. “Because I like you just as much.”
Suu turned her head slightly, just in time to see Ahko nearly topple off the kitchen counter, her arms flailing for balance.
“SUUUUUCCHIIIII!” Ahko exclaimed, her voice loud and dramatic as she grabbed the edge of the counter to steady herself.
Suu turned her head just enough to glance at her flustered girlfriend, a sly smile tugging at her lips.
“Yes, Ahko?” she asked sweetly, as though she hadn’t just witnessed Ahko completely unraveling. Ahko slumped back against the counter, her hand dramatically pressed to her forehead.
“You’re killin’ me here, babe. Deadass, how are you so chill after sayin’ stuff like that? You’re a menace.”
Suu chuckled softly, her attention returning to the mixing bowl as she added the flour with careful precision while mixing them all in.
“It’s not my fault you’re so easy to tease,” she said. They continued to tease each other all the way through putting the cookie batter onto the baking sheets, and all the way through waiting for the cookies to finish baking in the oven. And if they snuck a few more kisses in along the way, that was their business.
“Finallyyyy! We get to decorate them!” Ahko squealed in excitement, grabbing a piping bag. “Ilove making things look cute!”
“Is there a method to it?” Suu asked.
Ahko’s face lit up instantly, her earlier embarrassment forgotten.
“Oh, Suucchi dear, you’re in for a treat,” she said. “Lemme show you how it’s done.”
Suu blinked, her curiosity growing as she watched Ahko pick up a piping bag filled with colorful icing. Ahko’s hands moved with surprising deftness, her usual lazy demeanor replaced by a focused energy as she carefully piped an intricate snowflake onto one of the cookies. She sprinkled silver edible glitter. over the top to complete the look, to simulate a real snowflake.
“See?” Ahko said, holding up the cookie with a proud grin. She was practically buzzing with excitement at the potential for so many cute designs to decorate these sugar cookies with. “Cute, right?It’s all about the details. Y ou gotta, like, feel the vibe of the cookie and go with it.”
Suu stared at the cookie, her eyes wide with awe. “That’s… amazing!” she exclaimed, her voice soft with genuine admiration. “Is this how you feel about me getting excited over numbers?”
When Ahko pulled back, she smirked, her lazy grin returning. “You’re waaaay too cute when you get all worked up over numbers.”
Suu blinked up at her, her cheeks flushed a bright red that rivaled the measuring cup on the counter. “I-I don’t get that worked up,” she protested weakly, though her voice wavered, and she instinctively touched her lips.
Ahko chuckled, grabbing the bag of flour. “You’re such a nerd. But, like, a really hot nerd. Lebake somethin’ so cute it makes Rentarou cry.”