"i'm bad at this, zuha."

sakura's head flinches back as the ball made contact with her forearms, it bounces off in a stray angle to her far left, in a low yet swift consecutive bounces. she lowers her arms slowly with an irked sigh as she watches kazuha jog towards the ball with pursed lips, while the taller girl fills the empty sports hall with her laugh.

"that's okay." kazuha looks back with a quirky smile as she bends down to snatch the ball off the ground, swiveling on her heels smoothly before striding her way towards sakura, who scoffs jokingly in disbelief when she didn't deny the fact. 

"wow you know, i was expecting more of a gentle lie like 'oh no, you're doing great, so good!'" sakura fakes a cheer, flailing her arms lazily to add to her sarcasm, in which kazuha laughs at.

sakura rolls her eyes when the taller girl wouldn't stop grinning, actually she couldn't recall a single day where kazuha doesn't show off her pearly whites whenever they were together. most of the time, from afar, kazuha looks aloof, only talking whenever the situation prompted her to. 

when she's with the people she's close with though, her volume can go as high as a dolphin's scream. when she's with their clique (they share the same friend group), sakura thinks she doesn't smile this widely compared to when it's only the two of them. 

(she does laugh at yunjin's jokes though, but sakura thinks it's because they're so bad and corny that no one else would.)

just like right now, as kazuha is walking back towards her, in her volleyball attire, her heart-shaped lips beaming like the sun. sakura's heart swells, takes pride that only she could elicit such a pretty smile from the school's heart throb. except nobody calls kazuha that, but she might as well be with the amount of students that come flocking to her with love letters and confessions alike.

they find her quiet demeanor charming, gentle visuals pretty to look at, moreoever, what are student athletes without admirers?

sakura doesn't mind it all. because in the end, it's her that kazuha chose.

even though the doors of the sports hall were wide open and the fans were max, summer's heat is still stifling. sakura tugs on the collar of her summer uniform, feels the uncomfortable heat rising up her neck. it's a little embarrassing because she hadn't done much, merely being kazuha's rally partner and she only had to stand in one place with her arms stretched out as the ball went back and forth between them. 

all of that and she barely sees a single bead of sweat on kazuha's skin.

unfair.

now she wasn't part of the girls' volleyball team — she wasn't even part of any clubs — but it unknowingly became a routine between them after kazuha had shyly invited her to rally (without the net of course, she doubts sakura could even toss it over) on days when she had practice, just to kill time (and to spend more time with sakura). 

they would have that little moment to themselves before the rest of volleyball team would slowly gather as the time of practice arrives. even though it gets embarrassing when some of kazuha's teammates tease them about their little 'date', sakura finds them friendly and down to earth. in a way, they gave sakura a sense of belonging in the court, she never felt uncomfortable around them.

"sorry, didn't mean to make you sweat." with the ball tucked under her arm, kazuha uses her free hand to gently tug the back of sakura's collar, attempting to blow cool air into the latter's neck. 

"it's fine, it's not you. the weather is so hot lately." sakura sighs weakly, the little breeze coming from kazuha somehow makes her feel a little cooler. 

she giggles when kazuha starts blowing into her red ears, shoulders hunched up when the taller girl moves to blow on her forehead where her bangs are glued.

she presses a hand on kazuha's shoulder and pushes gently, craning her neck away when the girl continues to playfully blow a cooling breeze on her face. their giggles occupy the empty hall, and suddenly summer's heat isn't as bad.

"i know close to nothing about volleyball and you're making me do this with you anyway," sakura says, watching with soft eyes as kazuha grabs her hand that lay on her firm shoulder and lowers them, affectionately squeezing sakura's lithe fingers between her own. 

"well, you're better to concentrate on than a wall." kazuha shrugs nonchalantly, her corny but truthful response makes sakura's face scrunch up in embarrassment, though she was flattered.

"...stop it." sakura shoves her away with flustered cheeks, kazuha smiling sheepishly as she lets herself stagger back a few steps from the older girl's force. 

and like magnets, she naturally draws back towards sakura, a smitten smile across her face.

"you're actually getting better, even though all we did was passing." kazuha states, tossing the ball lightly at sakura, who frantically gets into position and manages to hit back the ball towards her perfectly this time.

"i know, i'm less scared of the ball now. aren't i the best practice partner?" sakura smugly says, eyes never leaving the ball as she looks at it soaring before kazuha effortlessly passes it back to her.

the confident smile that spreads across sakura's face makes kazuha overflow with adoration and pride. she taught sakura the basics of a volleyball passing form as a joke, never really knew or expected the girl to improve with the many times kazuha invited her to rally for fun. she still remembers how petrified sakura was every time the ball flew towards her, often abandoning her spot and running away squealing before the ball could even hit the ground. 

kazuha had insisted that she could practice with the wall while sakura would sit by the side and watch, not wanting to pressure her by having to know anything about the sport. it didn't matter anyway, because all she wanted was sakura to be by her side. the thought of the older girl's presence as she practiced made it less dull, and there was also the fact that she could show off her skills and maybe sweep sakura off her feet with it.

on the other hand, sakura didn't want to seem 'useless and unhelpful' — her own words — so she didn't give up for the sake of her girlfriend and motivated herself to learn at least something instead of just spectating.

although sakura's first few attempts had been a comical sight, with kazuha's continuous assurance and cheers, she grew less afraid of the incoming ball. 

"the best and the prettiest." kazuha's eyes doesn't leave the girl in front of her, hitting back the ball without even looking at it.

"okay, i'm gonna have to talk to yunjin about your increasing flirtiness." sakura catches it with both hands this time, stopping the rally, frowning at kazuha's cheesiness with reddened cheeks.

yunjin must have been an influence somehow.

"ha! i told you zuha's gonna be here with kkura! chae, i believe my five bucks is due." 

they turn their heads to the main entrance of the hall where the boisterous voice came from, and sakura's eyes light up seeing yunjin yelling into chaewon's poor ears, the two walking in donned in their respective volleyball attires.

"speaking of the devil." sakura puts the ball back into its pile in the cart, glancing back when she hears kazuha approaching. the raven haired heart throb walks past her and moves toward the stage stairs where her bag was placed.

"your team's coming in, so i'll take my leave." sakura gives the younger girl a thankful smile when she picks up her bag for her and holds it out for her to take.

"okay, walk home safe." kazuha nods and they fall into silence as they shyly gaze at each other, bashful smiles on their faces, reluctant about leaving the other. 

kazuha, who has been fiddling with her fingers, slowly opens her arms, lower lip pulled between her teeth. her head is tilted downwards, shy. sakura tilts her head, raising an amused brow as kazuha looks up at her in anticipation, eyes sending her a silent message. she finds kazuha's timid yet courageous side charming, understanding perfectly what she wanted.

so sakura propels herself forward, straight into kazuha's arms which instantly latch around her in a gentle hug. nevermind the balmy summer air, in kazuha's arms, the warmth feels comfortable and healing.

"make sure you drink lots of water during practice." sakura mumbles, one side of her cheek pressed against kazuha's sternum, slightly muffling her words.

"will do." kazuha smiles and anyone can see that it's full of affection, her cheeks lightly rubbing against sakura's head. for a brief moment, she tightens her hold against her girlfriend, wants to hold the beauty close forever and bask in her soft touches. 

"practice well," sakura tells her, pulling away and chuckles when kazuha squeezes her one last time before releasing her.

"can we... call later?" kazuha asks in a soft voice, eyes fixated on their hands that refused to let go. 

"i'll be waiting." sakura tugs on her fingers, kazuha finally looks up and is met with the prettiest cat-like grin. 

she returns the smile, walks a couple steps forward as sakura starts walking away, their fingers slowly untangling before she stops herself, until she only feels the imprint of sakura's dainty fingers lingering against her skin. she looks on with a fond smile as sakura shyly waves to some of her teammates when she walks out the hall through the side doors, bading her a final goodbye when sakura spares a glance back.

"what the hell? this is monopoly money!"

"we never said it was a bet on actual money."

"please stop betting on me and my girlfriend..."

*

"sakura, i have an urgent conference to attend right now. could you help me bring these to the teacher's office?"

"oh, of course!"

at once, the teacher hastily shoots out of his seat and packs up his things just as the final dismissal bell rang. sakura, who seized erasing the whiteboard gave him a subtle bow, a small smile on her lips.

"ah thank you kindly, just put them on my desk. i'll be off now." he thanks her with an apologetic smile plastered across his face, pushing up his glasses that had slid down the bridge of his nose. 

with his laptop tucked under an arm, he scurries off shortly after, and so does the rest of her classmates. the chatter that filled the room like white noise slowly begins to dissipate just as they leave one by one.

sakura glances at the stacks of papers on the teacher's table, then spots a forgotten hydroflask beside them and couldn't help but let out a small sigh at the familiar situation. she shakes her head, returns to erasing the board again but finds herself barely reaching the words at the very top.

"hey, i got it." 

kazuha comes to her aid, appearing by her side out of the blue and sakura thinks — maybe the universe was considerate of her, allowing her to date someone undoubtedly tall like nakamura kazuha so she could help her in areas where her 'vertically challenged' self couldn't have done alone.

their fingers brush when kazuha takes over the duster, maybe brush is an understatement, because sakura felt the girl's huge hand enveloping hers. kazuha's grip was loose, but there was no doubt that the gesture was deliberate, given the slightest curl on her lips, and sakura's small hand slips out.

"thanks, although that hurt my pride a bit." sakura playfully narrows her eyes at the taller girl, who chuckles at her antics as she wipes the board clean.

"he forgot his water. again." sakura deadpans, holding up the hydroflask languidly in her hand, lips drawn in a thin line.

"that's mr. park, alright. i wonder if he'd forget to come for class one day."

"you'd do anything to escape dealing with numbers, wouldn't you?"

kazuha doesn't reply, but the crooked grin on her face tells sakura all she needed to know. 

knowing it was useless to protest, sakura lets her girlfriend help with the papers she was supposed to carry. she ended up carrying the poor forgotten hydroflask and a single folder in another hand, while kazuha took the bundles of papers with ease.

the walk to the teacher's office was calm and pleasant, the two frequently exchanged small talks here and there. despite the school grounds being far from empty, with a couple of students running along the hallways, nonstop chattering between friend groups crowded in certain spots, sakura and kazuha remained blissful in their own world, minds devoid of the chaos outside of their own bubble.

"why didn't you bring your bag along? you could've gone straight to the gate after this and go home." sakura nudges kazuha with her elbow after they bowed to the teachers who were present in the office before leaving the room.

there was a staircase beside the teachers' office that led to the nearest pathway to the school gate, compared to their classroom which was located a floor above and placed almost at the end of the corridors.

"oh, i don't want to." kazuha replies shortly, earning a questioning look from the cherry blossom.

"and why not?"

"...'cause you left yours in class too." kazuha shrugs mindlessly, she wasn't planning on leaving right after anyway.

"i'm on the roster for today's cleaning duty so i'm staying back for a little bit, yours isn't until this friday." sakura informs her, a finger on her chin as she recalls the duty roster, one side of her lips pulled up as she pondered. 

kazuha gushes inwardly at this, finds her expressions cute. almost as if she was looking at a thinking cat.

"oh yeah, that. where's your partner?" kazuha asks, she doesn't remember seeing anybody else who stayed in the classroom besides them.

"absent today, so it's just me." sakura answers her with an indifferent shrug, not looking bothered that she would have to clean their classroom alone. 

honestly, she didn't mind doing it alone, in fact, she prefers it that way. not having to worry about awkward silences, lazy twits and unsynchronised teamwork was a plus in her book.

"well that's perfect. i'll help you then." kazuha beams, slides open the door to their classroom and allows sakura to enter first.

the latter looks back at her with a surprised look, eyes wide upon her offer. 

"eh? you really don't have to zuha, you had practice yesterday. i don't wanna tire you." sakura tries to object, eyebrows knitted in a frown. she crosses her arms against her chest, posture looking as if she was reprimanding someone. 

"plus, since you're on this friday then i can't return the favour because i have to prepare for a family dinner." sakura says, her eyes fixated on the floor as she sighs.

kazuha hums in question, closing the door behind her. she wondered why sakura often thought she has to reciprocate every favour, even sincere ones that come from her heart and wants nothing more than to lend a helping hand, never expecting anything back.

"you don't need to return anything though? i'm just doing this to accompany you and... well..." kazuha pauses, eyes darting up the ceiling as she scratches her nape.

"...it's normal to want to help the people you like, and i like you. isn't that right?" she says, her gaze falling back into sakura's eyes who's looking back at her with flushed cheeks.

kazuha doesn't think it requires an explanation, she says it so blatantly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world (isn't it though?). doing things for your significant other was also a sign of affection, that and the fact that she wanted this opportunity to spend more time with sakura (but she doesn't have to know that).

with the silence that grew after her response, kazuha begins to worry. she sees the way sakura was frozen in place with parted in surprise. surely she hadn't said something wrong?

"...i would kiss you right now but there's a camera in the classroom." 

kazuha's ears perked up when sakura spoke, it was then she realised the tips of older girl's ears were red. with her hair tied up, they were so easy to spot, prominent and flustered at kazuha's sweet words. the latter breaks into a giddy smile, partly because she was the reason sakura was blushing madly (ah, she looks so pretty when flustered) and mostly because of the implications of a kiss.

with that, kazuha quickly glances at the doors and upon seeing both were closed, she grabs sakura's hand and drags her in the corner of the room where the teacher's table was.

"how about now?"

sakura scoffs in disbelief, looks up at kazuha who has trapped in the corner, and right underneath the camera, which was a definite blindspot. there's that cute cartoonish smile on kazuha's face, anticipation written all over face and who is sakura to refuse?

"sometimes i wonder if you'd faint if i refuse to give you kisses." sakura chuckles, poking a finger on kazuha's chest playfully. it's heart-fluttering when kazuha's eyes visibly soften for her, so smitten, her coy gesture only causes the taller girl's smile to widen.

"oh just the thought of it is giving me a migraine..." kazuha feigns a depressed look, earns a light slap on her shoulder due to her exaggeration.

they erupt into a fit of giggles, and when it subsides, they're left to stare into each other's eyes, opting to let the moment carry itself forward. 

sakura leans in — smiles when she sees gentle eyes already trained on her lips — and pulls kazuha lightly by her shirt, letting their lips meet gently, tentatively at first. warmth blossomed in sakura's chest, kazuha's lips feel impossibly soft against hers, the adrenaline surging through her veins was dizzying, butterflies dancing in her stomach. with kazuha's hands snaking around her waist as she leaned into the kiss, they seem to flutter vigorously.

sakura breaks away first, lips parted as small pants escape . at the same time, kazuha draws back, letting her eyes take in the sight of the flustered cherry blossom within her arms. she's so easily swooned by everything the older girl does. even now as she looks down into clear doe eyes, pupils blown.

kazuha smiles in amusement, she looks so much like a cat.

"did you know that you look like an excited puppy every time i give you a kiss?" sakura tells her, a hand reaching out to smooth out the taller girl's hair.

"really?" kazuha tilts her head, and sakura laughs at the irony.

"it's true. anyway, we better clean up, got a little carried away, didn't we?" sakura clears , patting the hands on her waist and they release her immediately. 

kazuha grins cheekily,"ice cream after?"

"great idea!"

perhaps it's time sakura should propose the idea of being able to choose your partners for cleaning duty.

—