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Izumi Yuki had no doubts that this was the most humiliating day of her life, and it was all her own fault. At least it was almost over now… but unless the next day they were magically thrown back to their own time with their memories of their time in the Narashino dome wiped, she'd still have to live with it.
I want to go home already, Yuki thought to herself pitifully while staring at the ceiling in the apartment they were borrowing, unable to fall asleep, the shame still too fresh in her mind. The fact that the reason for everything that had happened earlier was sleeping right next to her, wearing only a swimsuit, certainly wasn't helping.
Seriously, how could this have happened to her? Maybe she had resolved herself to be a little more honest about her feelings, but this was like going from taking a sip of water straight to jumping into a lake while not even knowing how to swim! And if she were to follow that analogy, right now she really wished she'd drowned in that lake!
Letting out a sigh of frustration, she turned her head a little to glance in Ruka's direction. Thankfully, the girl was lying with her back towards Yuki, meaning she was at least facing the more clothed side. She seemed to be fast asleep, her breathing peaceful and quiet… but thinking about that only reminded Yuki of what she'd blurted out that evening, once again making her wish the ground would open up and swallow her whole.
Just when she was about to turn away from the other girl too, hoping it'd let her calm down, a quiet voice almost made her jump.
"Can't sleep, Yukkie?" Ruka whispered, then slowly turned around before Yuki could even think that maybe she should pretend to be asleep. But what would be the point of that? Ruka would probably easily be able to tell she was faking it.
She couldn't see all that well in the dark and without her glasses but she knew the girl was staring at her, waiting for her to respond.
"I-I suppose…" Yuki muttered reluctantly.
"Why? Are you not tired?" Ruka asked, and Yuki could sense no mockery in her tone, but-
"Why, you ask?! Like you don't know it's all because of you?!"
"Me?" Ruka said in response, sounding surprised, as if that didn't even cross her mind. "It's our third night sleeping next to each other like this, and we've shared the bed before. Have you still not gotten used to it?"
How am I supposed to get used to something like this?! And it's not even about that right now! Well, maybe it is to an extent, but not for the most part! But even if that disaster today hadn't happened, there's still no way I'd be calm about this! We're wearing swimsuits, goddammit!
"W-We might've shared the bed, but not while we're nearly naked…" Yuki mumbled in the end.
"Is that really that big of a deal? We bathe together, we've seen each other naked many times already."
"It might not be a big deal to you, but it's very different for me!"
"Mmmm. I see," Ruka said, and now Yuki was almost sure she sounded amused. The girl seemed to shift a little closer to her, and a second later Yuki felt a hand on her bare shoulder. Ruka didn't do anything beyond just placing it there, but it was enough to make Yuki's heart beat faster. "Well, you should start getting used to this too."
"Why in the world should I start getting used to something like that?!"
All Yuki could hear in response was a quiet laugh before silence fell between them again.
But just when she was beginning to think this brief conversation was over-
"Yukkie, what do you think is a good time for a wedding?"
…
"…Huh?" Yuki only uttered, too taken aback by the sudden question.
"Don't girls often say they want to be a June bride? So I guess June is a popular month to get married, but is it really all that?" Ruka continued, as if oblivious to her confusion. "I mean, it's the rainy season… but I guess that's not an issue if you're having an indoor wedding. But why June in the first place? Do you know, Yukkie?"
"W-Well… Aside from the rain, the weather is warm… and at that time of the year a lot of flowers are blooming, which are used for things like decorations or bouquets…"
"Is that really all?" the girl asked, as if disappointed by the answer.
"What more do you want? If it's useless trivia, you should be asking Tojo, not me," Yuki sighed. "But… the month June in many languages is named after Juno, the Roman goddess of love and marriage… I guess it's meant to serve as a blessing for the couple."
"So Yukkie knows some random trivia as well," Ruka commented happily. "A blessing, huh…? Well, that sounds nice."
"W-Why are you asking me about that anyway…?"
"Hmm? We're going out so we can get married in the future, right? So I'm asking to know what you think about when the wedding should be," she said casually, and Yuki-
Yuki wished something would knock out either of them.
"Waaaah! Don't bring this up! Forget it, forget it!" she snapped, and the hand resting on her shoulder quickly moved to her mouth, covering it.
"You're too loud! Even if the two of us aren't asleep, everyone else is!" Ruka whispered in panic, but then laughed again, probably noticing Yuki's pathetic expression. Maybe she thought it was safe to let Yuki go and she wouldn't scream again, because she moved her hand to Yuki's cheek instead, gently rubbing her fingers against her skin. "I suppose we will forget it all in the end though…"
"H-Huh?"
"You keep saying that, right? That since it's the world of the past, we'll most likely forget it," Ruka explained. "But for now, until we do, it all stands."
"Enough! Stop talking about it! I've already humiliated myself enou-"
"Turn the volume down, Yukkie!" the girl interrupted her in an accusatory tone, the hand returning to her mouth immediately.
As if any of this is my fault!
For a moment Ruka seemed to wonder about something, then she spoke again.
"If we're not sleeping anyway, maybe we should go outside for a bit? Catch some fresh air. It's probably cooler at night there than it is inside, and we won't have to worry about waking up the rest."
"If we do that, we're not sleeping for sure," Yuki muttered in response.
"It's fine, we're on a vacation after all," Ruka said, already getting up from the floor and extending her hand to Yuki to pull her up too. It seemed like she had no intentions of taking 'no' for an answer, so all Yuki could do was accept and follow her.
Can this really be even considered a vacation when we got transported into the past by unknown means and don't even know the point of it? And in the end, we're still fighting cancers too, Yuki thought to herself, sitting down next to Ruka on one of the benches in front of their borrowed apartment.
"Now you can scream all you want and you won't wake anyone up, isn't it great, Yukkie?" Ruka said cheerfully, as if screaming was something Yuki wanted to do.
"I don't know about that! Would you really not wake up if someone was screaming outside your window in the middle of the night?!"
"Hm, I don't think I would? You know what I'm like after all."
"Okay, that's true. Almost nothing can wake you up." Yuki gave up immediately. "Your experiences are not universal though."
"Well, I think this is still better than waking Rumirumi up, after Yukkie carried her all the way back home from the bar without her as much as stirring. You handled her so well," the girl replied. "It made you look kind of like a mom!"
"Stop it, I'm way too young to be a mom," Yuki said with a scowl. Even if her squadmates sometimes acted like a bunch of unruly children, it still didn't count, and neither did her AI assistant. "And I didn't do anything, she was already asleep. It must be nice, to be able to sleep so soundly…"
"Really? Isn't it just normal?"
"Yeah, yeah, it is. For you. So hurry up and go to sleep."
Ruka only laughed in response, obviously having no intentions of going back so quickly.
"I wonder if we'll really go home tomorrow. We were supposed to, but… I wonder if Megumin and Cappy are okay with that," Ruka said after a moment, turning towards Yuki with a slightly concerned look on her face. "What do you think, Yukkie?"
"Well… I'm wondering about that too, but Aikawa seems convinced this is a trial for her, so I'm not sure if there's anything we can do besides tag along with her. It's not like we can stay here forever, and I'm sure she knows that, so… I suppose we can only wait for tomorrow," Yuki replied, trying to sound reassuring even though she was a little worried about them too. It seemed like it worked though, as Ruka smiled at her cheerfully, and Yuki couldn't help but answer with the same.
This sort of expression really suits you the best after all.
"That's true," Ruka agreed with a nod. "Still, these three days weren't so bad. I had fun. Plus, it's still summer here, and it's already getting cold in our time."
"You were right about it being cooler outside at night though," Yuki pointed out, wrapping her arms around herself. It probably wouldn't bother her if she was dressed normally, but the swimsuit really covered very little.
"Are you cold, Yukkie?" Ruka asked in a surprised tone.
"Not exactly, but… Wait, why are you stripping?!" she yelled the moment the other girl began to take take off her hoodie.
"Huh? I just realized that me and Karerin are the only ones with any sort of outerwear, so I wanted to lend it to you."
"No, no, there's no need for that, I'm not that cold! Besides, what about you?!"
"I'm not cold at all, so it'll be more useful to Yukkie anyway," Ruka said, ignoring her protests and moving closer to her, then draping that damn hoodie over Yuki's shoulders. "No need to be shy about it, just take it."
You're not even giving me a choice!
As Ruka let go of it Yuki was forced to hold it in place herself so it wouldn't just slide down her back, which effectively resulted in her pretty much wrapping herself in the piece of clothing Ruka had been wearing for the past three days. Even though it had been hot the whole time and all of them were probably sweating buckets, as always, Ruka's lack of body odor seemed like something that should be studied and the hoodie didn't smell at all…
No, it's more like… it just smells like Ruka… in a good way? Wait, no, what am I even thinking about!
"In the end, you still haven't answered me, Yukkie," the girl suddenly spoke after a moment of silence.
"What are you talking about now…?"
"About what time you think is good for a wedding."
"You still haven't moved on?!"
"Well, you still haven't answered me, so I haven't moved on. Come on, I responded to your proposal," Ruka said, seemingly completely serious.
"What kind of response was that even supposed to be?! 'Should we, Yukkie?' I have no idea! I wasn't thinking what I was saying back then! You should've just said 'no' and let me move on, it'd be less humiliating! 'Should we, Yukkie?', she says!" Yuki rambled, her face feeling like it was on fire.
"S-Sorry," the other girl choked out through laughter. "But I just couldn't help but entertain the thought of saying 'yes', you know? Yukkie was so cute when confessing after all."
"How was that cute?! It wasn't! Damn it… Even though you're the one who's…"
"What is it?" Ruka prompted her when Yuki failed to finish the sentence, leaning against her a little. "Am I cute?"
"I-I mean! Anyone would tell you that, you're a former celebrity the whole country was crazy about!"
"But I don't normally look like I did on stage or in magazine photos, right? You said so yourself."
"H-Huh?"
"When we first met. You said you didn't recognize me at first because I look completely different now," Ruka reminded her. "It's fair though. Back then I had professionals doing my hair and make-up for me just to make me stand out more, and I don't really do any of that myself."
"W-What are you getting at…?"
"That to most people I probably look like just some girl? You heard the Scrap Collector guy. I wasn't his first, second, or even third choice. And that's fine, I don't really care about it," she explained. "But Yukkie is different, right? Because Yukkie sees me everyday without all that, just being myself, and you still called me a beauty and said all those surprising things about me. I was pretty shocked!"
"Wait, wait, wait-" Yuki tried to interrupt her to spare herself any more embarrassment, but Ruka paid her no mind.
"You could've kept the part about me snoring to yourself though," Ruka continued, her expression turning into a pout. "It makes me sound like a terrible bedmate."
"D-Don't phrase it like that! And it's the truth though…" Yuki muttered. "But it's only for a moment, right after you fall asleep..."
The pout immediately disappeared from Ruka's face, giving way to a teasing smile.
"And then my breath turns quiet, like an angel's?"
"Waaaah! Forget about that, forget, right now!"
"Eh? But I don't want to forget it yet. It still made me happy, because… it means I'm Yukkie's first choice, right?" she said, and Yuki couldn't help but think that she actually did sound happy. "That's why I wondered, maybe since we'll forget all about our time here in the end… it'd be okay for me to accept the proposal."
"So you'd only say 'yes' because we won't remember about it anyway?" Yuki asked with a sigh, trying not to sound disappointed. It's not like she even expected Ruka to take her ridiculous stunt seriously, or dared to hope Ruka would genuinely consider marrying her, but…
"Well, yeah," the girl confirmed, and Yuki couldn't deny that her just flat out saying it like that did sting a bit.
"Figures," she mumbled to herself, but then, Ruka leaned into her field of vision, their eyes meeting.
"After all… I've already told you I'll ask you myself one day," Ruka said softly, smiling at her the way that always made Yuki's heart beat faster and barely register the girl's words. What? What are you saying? "If I already said 'yes', I'd be depriving myself of that, because what's the point of proposing if you're already engaged? So, normally I can't do it. But here… "
Huh?
Huh???
"W-What kind of logic is that?!" Yuki managed to stutter out.
"My own."
"I can tell as much, b-but… Are you sure you should be saying something like that to me…?"
Ruka raised her hand, reaching out to touch Yuki's face again, caressing her cheek affectionately. She could probably tell how warm Yuki's skin was, and the thought of that made Yuki feel even more embarrassed than before.
"It's okay. Yukkie will forget after all, but nothing will change for me," Ruka said.
How can you just say something like that so easily?! How can you sound so confident about it?!
"I know it's me who has been saying that, but how can you be so sure we'll forget it…?" Yuki asked nervously.
"Hmm, I just have a feeling that something like this has happened before? It's like something weird happens anytime we try on the swimsuits Merry is selling. Actually, what is this all about…?" she replied.
"What if we don't forget this time?"
Ruka's eyes widened at the question.
"Huh?"
"What if we go home and still remember all of this? Will you just break up with me, so you can follow that logic of yours?"
Only now it looked like the realization of what this could mean had dawned on Ruka.
"Uhm. Eh…" she uttered, seemingly at loss all of a sudden, looking away awkwardly as if this was something she hadn't even considered. "Yukkie… If that's the case… would you mind pretending none of this ever happened?"
"That's what I wanted to do from the start, but you just wouldn't let me!" Yuki snapped. She really wanted to bury her face in her hands, but she was still busy holding that damn hoodie in place. "I get embarrassed like this, and for what…"
"…I'm sorry. I haven't thought of that," Ruka mumbled in an apologetic tone, her hand falling from Yuki's face onto her bare thigh, and Yuki couldn't help but think that was worse, but…
That pitiful look on Ruka's face somehow bothered her more, so she pushed her embarrassment back for the time being. Letting go of one side of Ruka's hoodie, she placed her hand on the girl's head instead.
"Ruka. I'm not not really that upset, you know?" she said, patting her gently.
"Really…?"
"Well, my dignity did suffer a little, but… really. So, don't worry. I don't actually believe we'll remember this. I was just pulling your leg."
Looking content with that answer, Ruka closed her eyes and leaned into her touch like a big cat. She really is incredibly cute, Yuki thought.
"Yukkie?" Ruka spoke after a moment of silence, looking her in the eyes again. "To make it fair… Is there anything you'd like to do knowing we'll forget and there will be no consequences?"
"No, no, I think I've already had enough of that for one day," Yuki protested immediately, her spontaneous confession still fresh in her mind. Even if the consequences weren't permanent they still felt very much real for the time being.
"Come on, a chance like this might not happen again!" the girl encouraged her, leaning in even closer to her face. "There has to be something?"
Too close! This is way too close! Yuki thought, wishing she could escape this situation, but at the same time… unable to look away, too captivated by the way moonlight glimmered in Ruka's eyes, by the way she smiled at Yuki like this was the exact situation Ruka wanted to be in.
They were so close that Yuki could feel the other girl's breath on her skin, and, against her own will, her gaze wandered towards Ruka's lips. Noticing that, Ruka seemed to realize what it meant faster than Yuki herself did, her eyes sparkling with joy.
"Sorry. This… is something I want to remember next time."
Next time?! There was no first time! I know what you mean, but that doesn't count!
"W-What are you talking about…?"
"That I'm sorry for making you wait, but… I want to do it the right way. Both kissing Yukkie and proposing," Ruka whispered, and Yuki wondered if she imagined the affection in Ruka's voice simply because she wished it was real.
"H-Huh?!" Yuki let out a rather undignified noise, feeling as if all her blood had suddenly rushed to her face. "N-No, wait, wait, neither of these things is something I'm waiting for, so don't apologize for it and let's just forget, okay?"
"Is that so," Ruka muttered quietly, her expression shifting into something Yuki couldn't quite read before the girl leaned back. For a moment relief washed over Yuki, thinking Ruka finally had had enough of teasing her, but then-
She felt Ruka slump against her side heavily, and after that a hand slide under the fabric of the hoodie behind her back, only to finally wrap around her waist.
SHE HASN'T HAD ENOUGH AT ALL!!!
"Y-You… What the hell are you doing?!" Yuki cried, trying to squirm away from the other girl, but Ruka simply grabbed the sleeve of the hoodie on her own side and tried to pull it over herself as well, huddling close to Yuki as a result.
"In the end I got a little cold too," she replied, absolutely no remorse in her tone as she pressed herself against Yuki's side and rested her chin on Yuki's shoulder.
"T-Then you should've just asked me to give this back!"
"No need. Yukkie is warm, so I'm fine like this."
I'M THE ONE WHO ISN'T FINE! THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH SKIN ON SKIN CONTACT FOR ME TO HANDLE! EVEN IF YOU TELL ME TO GET USED TO THIS, THERE'S NO WAY I CAN!
"Oh. I can feel your body temperature rising… Are you feeling okay?" Ruka asked, her quiet voice dangerously close to Yuki's ear.
DO I SEEM OKAY TO YOU?! STOP TALKING TO ME LIKE THIS!
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." She forced herself to lie. "But don't you think we should head back already? I-I think I'm feeling a little sleepy, what about you?"
"Hmm. I think I'm sleepy too," Ruka replied. "But I don't feel like going back yet…"
"C-Come on, I won't be able to carry you back like I did with Rumi if you fall asleep here..."
"So you'll leave me here if I do?" Ruka asked.
"That's not what I said…"
"Then what would you do?"
"…I'd just sit with you here until you wake up, I suppose," Yuki sighed eventually.
"Then… it wouldn't be so bad," Ruka said in response, and even though Yuki couldn't see her face, she could tell the girl was smiling.
"Of course it'd be bad, I don't want to sit here until morning! Ruka? Hey, Ruka!"
"…I think the wedding has to be in summer after all," the girl muttered sleepily.
"H-Huh?!"
"It's the flower blooming season… Yukkie will make a beautiful bride…" she mumbled out a barely cohesive sentence.
Those few words were enough to make Yuki's heart beat as if it wanted to leap out of her chest and turn her thoughts into a jumbled mess though. And then, before she could come up with anything to say-
"Zzz…" Ruka let out her usual weird snore.
SHE FELL ASLEEP AFTER ALL! HOW CAN SHE JUST FALL ASLEEP LIKE THIS AND LEAVE ME ALONE WITH WHAT SHE JUST SAID!? AND SHE'S STILL HUGGING ME!
Not knowing whether she should be more impressed or upset, for a moment Yuki simply sat there, feeling like if any gods existed, they were probably laughing at her. If they really were going to forget their time in the Narashino dome, there would be no moment for that to happen more perfect than this, so at least she'd be spared any more of this torment. She should be able to close her eyes now and wake up back in her own bed at the base, remembering none of this.
What was she even supposed to do now? Yuki tried to think of anything but was coming up blank. Surrounded by near total silence, all she could focus on was the sound of Ruka's quiet, rhythmic breathing right next to her ear, forcing her to admit to herself that she fully meant it when she'd said even that was precious to her.
"Really, what am I supposed to do with you…?" she mumbled pitifully, raising the arm Ruka wasn't glued to to gently touch the girl's cheek. Ruka let out a quiet sound, something in-between a hum and a laugh, but otherwise kept sleeping peacefully.
Adorable.
It's not like Yuki wasn't happy right now, even if she didn't know how to cope with her own feelings. Who wouldn't be happy about someone they loved being so affectionate towards them? Definitely not her. Every word she'd blurted out during her embarrassing outburst a few hours earlier was true after all… She really did adore Ruka that much. Though when it came to things like marriage… She knew it wasn't so easy. They weren't even in a relationship like that in the first place, and Yuki knew better than to trick herself into thinking she was the right person for Ruka, no matter how clingy the girl could act with her sometimes.
But Yuki couldn't deny the fact that if that was also something she had said on the spur of the moment back then… it meant that some naive part of her also wanted it, didn't it? To get married to Ruka.
I'm sorry for making you wait, but… I want to do it the right way. Both kissing Yukkie and proposing, she had told Yuki.
Believing that it could actually happen felt like a beautiful but incredibly unrealistic dream, but… maybe indulging these thoughts was something she could do without any consequences right now. And if there was a chance for it to ever come true…
"You want to remember it, you say…"
Resting her cheek against the side of Ruka's head, Yuki closed her eyes.
"Me too."
***
"Can I ask you why you're frowning at your breakfast like that? Did it offend you somehow?" Yuki asked the girl sitting next to her by the cafeteria table, receiving a surprised look in response.
"Was I really doing that? Sorry," Ruka replied. "The breakfast committed no crime, but… I've been trying to recall details of the dream I had last night ever since I woke up, but it keeps escaping me."
"Did you have a nightmare…?"
"Hmm, I don't think it was a bad dream, but it was a weird one for sure," she said. "It had us wearing swimsuits into combat! We went fishing, too."
"And is a dream like that really important enough to be straining your brain over it so much?" Yuki sighed.
"Dunno, it just sorta feels like it is…" the girl muttered, the frown returning to her face. "I suppose I'll have to accept it's just not coming to me, since I really can't recall anything else… but I have the feeling I lost something I'd rather keep."
"…Don't worry about it too much," Yuki said, hoping it sounded reassuring enough. "Dreams are essentially just something our brains conjure up with no rhyme or reason in particular. There's a high chance it wasn't important at all."
"Well, if Yukkie says so, it's probably true," Ruka agreed without needing any more convincing, smiling brightly. "Maybe I'll remember it when I least expect it."
"That's possible too," Yuki replied, smiling back at her.
Strangely enough though, she also felt like she'd had a dream last night that kept slipping away from her if she tried to think about it. Surely it couldn't be related though…
"Hey, Yukkie?"
"What is it?"
"What do you think is a good time for a wedding?" Ruka asked her our of nowhere.
This question sounds familiar… What was it…?
"…It has to be in summer, huh?" she muttered without thinking, as if simply repeating something she'd heard.
"Right?! I'm glad you think so too! We really are a great match," Ruka said cheerfully, snapping Yuki back to reality.
"Huh?! W-Wait, why were you asking me that in the first place?!"
"No reason. I just woke up wondering about that too, so I had to ask," the girl replied with a shrug, her attention returning to the plate in front of her. "Now I can focus on my breakfast! Let's eat before it gets cold!"
"As always, you just do whatever you want…" Yuki commented with a wry smile.
Really, what it was all about…? she wondered, but couldn't help but think that maybe it was better to let such dreams be forgotten. Even if Ruka claimed it felt important, Yuki wasn't one to believe in something like prophetic dreams, so whatever happened in them had no effect on reality anyway. But…
Unexplainable things happen to us all the time, so who knows what the truth really is. If they end up coming true…
So be it.