//

"are you sure about sneaking out tonight?"

like every (most?) rebellious teenagers, sakura and yena are venturing out for their once-in-a-blue-moon night time escapade. sneaking out — especially at stupid o'clock, meant trouble for both of them. that is, if they were ever found out. 

and the previous times, they were mostly yena's initiatives (sakura only initiated one time and yena labels her as a wimp), and tonight's no different. none of them had initial plans to sneak out, it was only when sakura received a text from yena in the middle of class (to which she failed to hold back from looking) that they happen to amble about in the streets right now. to be frank, yena has a valid reason for them to sneak out tonight. 

"oh you're worried now? who was the one that sent me endless ugly selfies of herself to persuade me to sneak out in the first place?" sakura rolls her eyes, sending a playful smack to her nape. usually, yena would retaliate, but today just wasn't the day. today (and tonight), she relents to her girlfriend's antics.

because for unknown reasons, sakura hasn't been well today. she had checked her temperature but the japanese seemed fine during school. it's been going on since the beginning of the day, yena immediately sensed it when they walked to school together. she was careful not to pry, because if sakura chose not to say it, then she shouldn't be a busybody. she'll wait for the right time, or maybe sakura will open up about it tonight (this she hopes).

it's heartening hearing sakura's baby-ish whines whenever she walks too fast intentionally, even more so when she grabs onto her pullover sleeve so that she doesn't lose her pace (and pulls her back in place). yena teases her a little more, content that she's able to draw a smile on her face, because she didn't get to see it the whole day.

it's only when they've almost arrived at the skatepark that yena properly intertwined their fingers, her other hand clutching her skateboard. cold hands met warm ones, even with long sleeves, yena wonders how sakura gets cold so easily. maybe because they ate ice creams and went to a cold arcade prior to this. 

so when they reached the park, yena abruptly drops her board and engulfs her girlfriend in a bear bug, nearly toppling themselves over in the process.

"GAH! YENA! what the hell are you doing?! i almost fell-"

"your is cold even with sweaters, so keep quiet and let me warm you up." yena claims, effectively shutting her girlfriend up upon her reasoning. being the same height, sakura's head is buried into her shoulder, yena feels her hands gripping onto her sides, pulling her a little close.

"feel warmer?" she asks tenderly, rubbing sakura's back.

"i think i'm going to get heatstroke staying like this any longer."

"then-!" yena doesn't even warn sakura beforehand, quickly turning around and pulling her arms over her shoulders, lifting her up on her back.

that earned her a cute squeak... but also a sudden backache because yena didn't know sakura is actually weighty. (she forgot the last time she carried her girl— pretty sure it was during their peculiar confession.)

yena is visibly suffering, struggling to control her footing with sakura her back.

"ugh what? how are you so heavy for someone so bony?!" 

"try me you idiot!" 

of course, it's not them if they don't at least have useless banters every now and then. yena instantly drops sakura when her lips got pinched by the latter. luckily, equipped with reflexes (thanks to soccer), sakura managed to land on her feet.

she roars with laughter when yena rubs her lips, grousing about how she didn't like her precious duck lips to be harassed like that. with sakura doubling over with laughter, yena takes this chance to circle around her and hop on her back as revenge. 

"holy , you call me heavy but you're heavier than the grand canyon- get off!"

"you're just weak! besides, i'm heavy because i'm full of muscles unlike you!"

young love, anybody?

.

aside from her soccer skills, yena likes to flex on her skateboarding expertise. there's probably more skateboarding content than selfies in her social medias, or maybe sakura's just exaggerating yena's love for the sport. the park is dimly lit, the streetlights barely look alive, it's chilly but the place has a nice, relaxing ambience to it.

while yena's skating on the ramps, there's sakura squatting on the ground and grinning behind her phone. she's taking pictures and videos of her beloved duck as per requested. and it's amusing because yena would pause in between her cool tricks just to execute silly poses for the camera, effectively entertaining the one behind it.

she would roll her eyes when yena blows her a flying kiss or does something cheesy directed to her, but the smile on her lips merely stretches. 

it wasn't long until yena comes skating towards her, her messy purple strands flying about under her pink cap. sakura got a little distracted looking at her through the phone, until her girlfriend claps in front of her face.

"what's with the heart eyes? i know i know, i look really cool when i skate, right?" yena folds her arms, closes her eyes and huffs through her nose smugly.

she expected sakura to deny and be stubborn— saying all kinds of playful insults or anything to deny that she's all but impressed. but when no reply came from the japanese, yena raises a brow and opens her eyes only to be greeted with a flustered sakura, who looks away with a timid nod.

"eung."

her unexpected reaction was small yet too powerful that yena herself ended up blushing, breath hitching as if something clogged up her lungs (it's sakura's charms). once again, she's hit with the feels.

sakura is actually honest, and it makes yena's heart swell. 

"oh... th-thanks..." 

they're kind of thankful their classmates aren't here to witness such rare scene. (not like they'd believe it anyways.)

yena breaks the awkward silence by taking her phone from sakura's hands, pointing the camera close to her face. 

"but babe, you're prettier so smile!" 

"noo... stop shoving the camera in my face!"

"how about you stop covering your face-"

"no! you're gonna post it on your social medias!"

yena stops her persistence after sakura's whines, her eyebrows knitted,"love, whoever said that i'm gonna share this beautiful craft to the world? this is only for me to see."

this sakura knows, that yena doesn't post any pictures or videos of her online. the reason is as cheesy as it gets but hearing it from yena makes her stomach flip knowing that her girlfriend isn't like one of those idiots who would show off their lovers as if they're merely trophies.

"aaaand that's why people don't believe we're dating." they laughed.

.

there's a playground at the park, just a few metres from the skateboarding ramps. if anyone passes by at this ungodly hour, the first thing they would see is two overgrown children having the time of their lives chasing the hell out of each other. 

they were like literal monkeys, climbing up and down the slides, the jungle gym, hopping over spring riders, basically anything else you'd find at a playground.

a game of tag, a trip down memory lane. honestly, if anyone had a choice to remain in their childhood days, they'd do it in a heartbeat. wouldn't you? everything's just so carefree.

"damn it choi! i already caught you, why are you still running away you cheater!"

"you don't want me to run? okay!" 

yena suddenly halts and turns around with her arms spread out, a mischievous grin dancing on her lips as she intended to be tackled into a hug. but seeing the twinkle in sakura's eyes as the girl ran towards her at full speed, her grin turned upside down.

"wait wait-" 

fortunately, the ground is a patch of grass, though that didn't lessen the impact of their fall that much. 

yena guffaws when her pink cap went flying, coughing in between to catch her breath as sakura lays on top of her. then she realises she's the only one laughing, and sakura's arms that wrapped around her neck seem to tighten. she glanced down, but sakura's face is buried in her chest.

"hey, you're kinda strangling me here." yena points out, and sakura loosens her grip at once, but remains unmoving.

"sorry," 

"something wrong?" yena asks gently, sensing the heavy feeling suddenly clouding above her.

"nothing. just wanna hold you a little longer."

yena lets her, and they lay immobile on the ticklish grass for a while. she fixates her gaze on the pitch-black night sky, holding her lover close as she plays with her hair. who knew it could be so peaceful laying on an open ground? 

she'd joke about it, but she knows sakura isn't really in the mood for it right now. so she stays quiet a while longer, wondering if sakura fell asleep on top of her. but yena catches her blink, inhaling a lungful of air before letting it all out. 

she's got a lot on her mind today.

"you reckon someone's gonna phone the police if they see us motionless on the ground like this?" 

yena tries to make light of the situation, and out of the blue, sakura responds something else unrelated to her question.

"i love you."

it was so abrupt that it surprised her, but nevertheless, yena's really happy to hear it. it instantly traces her lips with a huge smile.

"suddenly?" 

then sakura lifts her head, brows creasing with her piercing gaze boring through yena's eyes. from her point of view, sakura is still beautiful from this angle. she went tight-lipped, cheeks searing just tracing sakura's features with her eyes. this is exactly why yena says this beautiful craft is only for her eyes to see. 

"i know i don't say it enough, but i mean it when i say i love you." sakura breathes out, lips trembling as if she would break down in tears any time.

yena stares up at her for a long time before chuckling. so this is what she's worried about. and the topic probably swarmed her thoughts because it's nearing the end of the year, and the following year will be their last year of high school. and then they would proceed on to their own paths- yada yada yada... a possible break up, you could say. yena thinks it's too far to think about now. call her ignorant, but she's someone who would rather enjoy the present than worry about the future.

"i don't say it all the time either." yena uses her thumbs to ease out the frown on sakura's forehead. when she leans into her touch, yena's lips curl up. 

"you say it more times than i do." her girlfriend sulks, sounding upset at herself more than anything at the moment. but yena refuses to let sakura feel that way about herself.

"you don't have to say it for me know. i know exactly how you love me." yena cups her jaw, having to resist placing those lovely lips against her own because she has to clarify some things verbally first.

she looks at sakura pointedly in the eyes, locking their gazes, like she's about to spit out a whole impromptu essay about how much she loves this girl on top her (hell, she probably would, but the world wouldn't be ready).

"you show it through your actions, or say simple things. it doesn't have to be 'i love you's all the time you know." 

sakura looks at her questioningly, but yena pinches her lips together to prevent her from interrupting her words.

"take for example... what you always do. you hit me a lot, i mean i do too but you hit me a lot more for sure." sakura rolls her eyes, moving yena's hand away from her lips. the smile on her lips shows that she's amused.

"you really think all those whacks meant i love you?" yena ignores the weird look sakura gives her, only nodding in agreement.

"yup, even when you accidentally or not, kick a ball to my face." sakura recalls this one time she actually kicked a ball to her duck face, though she remembers that it was more out of anger than anything else. (yena was consecutively getting goals, she was pressed okay.)

"you're making me sound like a sadist." but yena didn't catch that because she was still busy thinking of what to say.

"or or! when you explain science to me!" 

yena's face when she hits a brainwave is wholesome, instead of a 'thinking cap', she has this 'thinking duck lips'. so many times sakura has asked herself if she was dating a child in a teen's body.

"but yena, that's called teaching." she vocalises, though yena's face only seem to brighten.

"exactly! it's because you love me that you do those things to show me. if you didn't love me, you wouldn't have done it. ah- you get the gist." yena huffs, after all that running (plus the weight on top of her), she barely has energy to speak. sakura is smart enough to know what she means anyway.

and it hits sakura that yena seems to know more about love than she does, the way she perceives it is intriguing and it touches sakura's heart. it's making her choke up because she's unable to find the right words to respond. but yena knows her best and saves her from all the talking, because she doesn't need to.

"but i like it best when you show me this kind of love." 

she's pulled into a chaste kiss, and her worries just disappears into thin air when their lips molded perfectly into each other's. she smiles against the healing kiss, yena giggling as she pulls her in for another. 

(roses are red, violets are blue. don't you see? they're each other's one and only.)

~