x*x

The walk to the restaurant is filled with silence, only interrupted by Tiffany asking Taeyeon where they would be eating.
 

“Hmm. I’m craving for some sushi. Do you know a good place?” Taeyeon asks, in which Tiffany replies with a nod and a small smile before leading the way.
 

Tiffany brings her to one of her favorite sushi places only a few blocks away from their office building, and once inside, they immediately settle down and take a look at the menu.
 

“Their crunchy spicy tuna roll is to die for,” Tiffany tells her as a suggestion.
 

“Okay, but if I don’t feel like fighting anyone who even tries going near my food, you’re to blame.”
 

Tiffany blinks in surprise in response to Taeyeon's (fairly awkward) joke, rendered a bit speechless. “Uh…”
 

“…I’m sorry,” Taeyeon apologizes with a bow, cracking Tiffany up.
 

“No, no, I’ll take full responsibility,” she says with a laugh.
 

Taeyeon coughs to hide her embarrassment, and Tiffany bites her lip to stop herself from teasing the blonde a bit more. They call the waiter’s attention and state their respective orders: a sushi set for each one and a crunchy spicy tuna roll set to share between the two of them.
 

Two glasses of water are set on the table before Taeyeon speaks up again. “So, where did you finish college?”
 

Tiffany doubles back a little, caught off-guard with the casual question. “Um…in California.”
 

“You moved back there immediately from Seoul…?”
 

“Yeah, I lived with my dad again…although the university does have a campus dorm, so I stayed there.”
 

“Oh.”
 

Before Taeyeon could ask anymore follow-up questions, Tiffany asks her some of her own. “How are you feeling?”
 

“…Better,” Taeyeon replies.
 

Tiffany nods. “That’s good.”
 

“Um…thank you…for the scarf and coat,” Taeyeon shyly says, gesturing to the respective items draped over the back of her chair.
 

“No problem. They look g- I mean, they fit you very well.”
 

Taeyeon bites her lip and rubs the material of the scarf between her fingers. “They probably cost you a lot.”
 

Tiffany studies her for a few seconds. “Do they keep you warm?”
 

Taeyeon exhales a short laugh. “Unbelievably so.”
 

“Then they’re worth it.” Tiffany shrugs offhandedly and takes a sip of her water. She knows that Taeyeon is staring at her, but she doesn’t meet her eyes and takes in the interior of the restaurant instead. The ambience is great, but she hopes that Taeyeon will like the food here too.
 

“I saw you yesterday.”
 

Tiffany turns her head back to the blonde in front of her.
 

“With a dog,” Taeyeon adds.
 

She blinks in surprise. “Oh. You went out yesterday?”
 

“Yeah, I needed some fresh air,” she replies. “I went to the park and…yeah.”
 

Tiffany bites back a smile. Kim Taeyeon really will be forever adorably awkward. “I was with Prince.”
 

“Prince?”
 

“Prince Fluffy, actually.”
 

A bubble of laughter comes out, but Taeyeon quickly transforms it into a cough.
 

Tiffany narrows her eyes. “Are you laughing at me? At my dog?”
 

“No, of course not,” Taeyeon says with big, round eyes and as much sincerity as she could muster.
 

All it gets her is a scoff. A playful one, at least.
 

“Really, it’s cute, and…I remember you’ve always wanted a dog.”
 

And suddenly, Tiffany finds it a little harder to breathe.
 

She really tries to detach herself from this woman in front of her—this woman whom she had felt so much for in such a short amount of time years ago—but