They continued holding hands throughout their walk. Even when their hands started sweating, they held on stubbornly, as if it was a silent competition between them.

They went through a series of small talk, both had too many accumulated stories - updates they had missed and lives experienced separately. The neighborhood was quieter than expected - which was probably why Tiffany chose it in the first place. Besides a few joggers who passed, the other occasional presence were expensive cars that sped by, mostly with heavily tinted windows. It contained a sense of freedom that was hard to come by. Taeyeon felt like she could breathe again.

“Why did you kiss me?” They had been walking in silence for a few minutes before Tiffany interrupted it.

They could not have continued avoiding this topic even if they wanted to. She considered saying something clever, or annoying, or both, but nothing she could think of seemed appropriate.

“Was it a spur-of-the-moment thing?” Tiffany asked again which made her realise she had been quiet for too long.

“Yes.” She answered truthfully and felt Tiffany’s grip loosen.

“Can we pretend it never happened then?” Tiffany had stopped walking, the abrupt halt causing Taeyeon to meet her eyes.

“No.” She admitted, remembering a similar conversation she had with Jessica all those years ago, a futile attempt to save their relationship and their band. “We can’t come back from that.”

Tiffany seemed taken aback by her answer and pulled her hand back to cross her arms.

“You’re worrying me.” Her expression softened, but a light frown was still present.

Before she could respond, a drop of rain fell straight into her eye, forcing her to look down. More and more drops stained the pavement, increasing in velocity.

“Damn it” Tiffany murmured and she took off her sports jacket and placed it over Taeyeon’s head, blocking her sight of the road ahead. She felt one hand holding her head down to block it from the rain and an arm wrapped around her shoulder, and they ran alongside each other back towards Tiffany's house.

When they arrived at the porch, the jacket covering her front vision was promptly lifted off her and placed on the hood of the car. She was relatively dry, the waterproof jacket managed to do a good job of keeping her upper body away from the rain. A sudden wind made her shudder, to which Tiffany reacted by rushing into the house and coming back with towels. 

“You’re drenched,” Taeyeon observed as Tiffany wrapped a heavy towel around her, so tightly that she might start sweating instead, while the other woman was dripping in rain.

“Here,” she managed to unravel herself and pulled Tiffany into a hug, feeling the wetness seep into her clothes.

“Nooo... I kept you dry the whole time. You’re going to fall sick again, you idiot!” Tiffany struggled against her, but her hold remained. The space between them shrunk as the fight left Tiffany. She could feel Tiffany’s heart beat fast against her.

“Are you nervous?” Taeyeon asked, teasingly, and felt Tiffany hold her breath. She isn’t sure why she’s enjoying the complete shift in power dynamic. Tiffany’s American ways used to make her flustered due to her relatively conservative upbringing. Tiffany was the one who initiated their first hug, their first “I-love-you”, their first hand holding, and even their first kiss, so to see this normally confident woman lose her breath in this innocent proximity was amusing.

“Are you messing with me?” There was now tension in the way she stood, as if Tiffany had reclaimed herself.

She slackened her hold to meet Tiffany's eyes.

“A little bit,” Taeyeon admitted sheepishly. “We’re not exactly acting like ourselves. I’m nervous too.”She brought Tiffany’s hand up to her heart to prove it. “This is why we can’t go back to before. I don’t think it’s normal, given our closeness over the years, for our hearts to race like this.”

“That’s what I thought too!” Tiffany said excitedly, as if it was an idea she had been holding on to for much too long. Her smile had returned.

Taeyeon could have used the opportunity to probe further, but she decided to let go, both literally and figuratively, as she released Tiffany from her embrace. She picked up a towel and offered it to Tiffany.

Tiffany took her time while taking it off her hand, as if deep in thought.

“What is it?”

“Please don’t mess with me.”

“I’m not… I won’t.“ She knew that if the roles were reversed, Tiffany would have been much kinder. “Sorry, I was being inconsiderate.”

“You’re going through