"are you ready for tomorrow? i'm feeling a little jittery."

"same... i'm so excited that i'm kinda worried i can't sleep now."

"aww, you need to sleep well. don't want you dozing off on a special day now, do we?"

soft giggles filled her room, lying on her bed, kazuha rolls to her side with her phone resting on her left ear, a soft smile drawn on her lips. her fingers pick idly on her pillows, her eyes flitting across the room where her daypack sat on her desk, upright and ready to be worn.

tomorrow, their cohort will be going on a trip to a theme park. exam season is over and the third years were given the opportunity to spend one of the days to choose their type of fun for a post-exam activity. a vote was carried out by the student body based on the choices given, and majority had chosen to go on a trip to a theme park.

coincidentally — and this is what kazuha has been looking forward to — tomorrow would also be their (her and sakura's) fifth monthsary. naturally, she couldn't shake off the exhilarating tingles she keeps feeling everytime she thinks about it. and with the broad grin constantly straining her cheeks, you'd think kazuha won the lottery.

even when sakura was on the other end of the phone, the butterflies fluttering in her stomach never stopped. just hearing that low yet comforting, silvery voice of hers makes kazuha's heart swell.

"i just can't believe we've come this far, because you know... most highschool relationships tend to not last long." kazuha admits with a content sigh, the thought that they remained together for so long only made her crave for more days with sakura.

"i guess we're part of the anomaly then. the ones who are clearly meant for each other! cheesy but it's true...?"

kazuha laughs when sakura sounded embarrassed over the phone, her voice turned meek and it has kazuha internally gushing over the image of her flustered girlfriend. she reels her bolster in and wraps her arms around it, squeezing it briefly with an elated smile on her face, wishing that sakura was in its place instead.

"i can't wait to see you tomorrow," kazuha tells her, softly biting her lower lip when a warm melody of chuckles sounded over the phone.

"you see me almost everyday, zuha. but... yeah, i get you and i can't wait either. let's make tomorrow one of our best days together."

sensing that it was near the end of their conversation (they've been talking for 15 minutes now), kazuha pouts to herself, clutching her phone as she rolls on her back, staring at her ceiling with a slight frown on her face.

"i don't wanna hang up... wanna listen to your voice a bit longer." kazuha huffs in dejection, pressing her phone closer to her ear as if she was holding sakura close, reluctant to let go.

"you're always like this but it's cute really, having you wrapped around my fingers." sakura laughs at her again, cooing at the fact that kazuha just likes her so much, she didn't mind at all that the girl was clingy.

as a matter of fact, she secretly liked it. she was always open to receive all of kazuha's love and affection, even when she barely knew how to react sometimes and is reduced to a puddle of blushing mess.

"can we video call for like one second? let me see you before i go to sleep so i'll have good dreams, pleaseee?" kazuha pleads, eyes focused down across her bed where she could see her own feet wiggle in anticipation.

"fine, only because our monthsary's tomorrow so i'll let you have your way. i'm looking like a mess, just a heads up, don't break up with me after this." sakura jokingly says, feigning an upsetting tone.

kazuha shakes her head and laughs at her teasing, she pulls her phone away from her ear and puts it on speaker, staring at the screen with excitement bubbling in her chest.

"you say that and then-" kazuha pauses with bated breath when sakura suddenly pops up on her screen, with a goofy smile on her face, hair flared out across her pillow and a pair of lensless glasses sitting on the bridge of her pointed nose.

"...then you come on call looking so pretty..." kazuha dreamily trails off, blatantly captivated by the visuals of her girlfriend, lips parted as she shamelessly gawks.

even though she gets to see sakura everyday, the latter's beauty never fails to mesmerise her.

and maybe she had been too mesmerised because the next second, her phone manages to slip out of her hand and then she's frantically trying to catch it before it could smack her in the face.

(it still did.)

"ugh my face..." kazuha groans, face screwing up in pain, then her eyes widened in panic when she realised she had accidentally hung up the call in the midst of her struggle, "oh crap!"

sitting up on her bed in a hurry, kazuha hastily calls sakura again while rubbing her sore cheek with pinched brows. sakura picks up within one ring and upon seeing her girlfriend's face again, kazuha heaves a huge sigh of relief.

she's met with sakura's perplexed look when they reconnected.

"zuha? what happened? what was that? did i look so bad that you hung up?"

"what? bad? no! you look so good i just-" kazuha clears out of embarrassment, clutching her phone with both hands as she feels her face heat up, "...my phone slipped! i didn't mean to hang up!"

"okay okay, but why am i the only one with the camera on? let me see you too!" sakura points out, kazuha couldn't help but release a quiet chuckle when the screen is brought closer to sakura's face, whose big round eyes were squinting at the camera with a dubious look.

"but then my face will block you," kazuha reasons, her lips breaking into a smile when sakura rolls her eyes.

"zuha, it's literally like... a tiny little square at the top and most of your screen would be my face anyway."

"well yeah but still i don't like anything blocking your face even just a bit."

"do you ever consider how badly i wanna see you too?"

an arrow shot straight through her heart, courtesy of sakura. kazuha dips her head as she bites her lip, feeling the warmth spreading from her chest upon sakura's suave reply.

she's trying so hard not to gush and kick her feet like she's lost her mind when sakura gives the camera a smug look, knowing her words have successfully swayed kazuha's heart even when she couldn't see her.

peeking at herself in her vanity mirror, kazuha briefly checks her appearance, smoothing stray strands down and brushing her hair over one shoulder. then when she turns on her camera, it's heartfluttering seeing the way sakura's face lit up, that pretty small smile spread out into an elated grin.

"hi, missed me?" kazuha says, showing off her toothy grin when sakura laughs at her silly confidence.

"hi, and yes i do, let me admit that," sakura says inbetween soft giggles, "i think you miss me more though. aaaaand... now that you saw my face, do you think you can go to sleep now?"

kazuha juts out her lip, dreading the end of the call once more.

"no, now i want you here beside me..." she admits, lying on her side and watches intently as sakura's expression soften.

her pout disappears as sakura gives her words of reassurance, even going as far as blowing a quick yet shy kiss to the camera — something she rarely does. so seeing an embarrassed sakura brings flutter to kazuha's chest, knowing that the older girl was looking forward to tomorrow as much as she was.

"sleep zuha, you'll get plenty of hugs and kisses tomorrow, okay?"

"yep!"

kazuha waits until sakura ends the call, merely smiling as they bade each other goodnight. with a satisfied sigh, kazuha puts away her phone on her bedside table.

she goes to sleep that night with sakura's smile welcoming her in her dreams.

the next day starts off brilliantly as anticipated— getting a morning text from sakura with a very cute selfie of her attached, kazuha wastes no time saving it to her gallery (after giggling to herself like a maniac), where a special album allocated to her favourite girl in the world is.

kazuha had returned the favour of course, with how she had dolled herself up with extra effort today since it's a special day for the both of them, she confidently snapped a couple selfies of herself to send to sakura before getting ready to step out of her house.

the first pleasant surprise occurs when her elevator doors to her apartment lobby slide open to reveal a familiar figure— sakura, with her back to her.

kazuha steps out with raised brows, hiking the strap of her small daypack up her shoulder as she slowly walks up to her girlfriend, who still hasn't noticed her presence. she didn't expect to see sakura waiting for her at the lobby.

most of the time, it was her who would merrily skip to sakura's house to pick her up so they could start walking to school together.

with sakura's hair tied up in a high bun, even from the back, her big ears peeked out so endearingly. kazuha smiles to herself, decides to sneak up and look over sakura's shoulder to see what she was up to.

turns out, sakura was on her phone seemingly in a sort of trance as she stared at their private chat. kazuha resists the urge to giggle when she realises the chat was paused at her own selfies she had sent to sakura a while back.

"who's that pretty girl?" kazuha suddenly mutters, and no surprise, sakura is startled and instantly turns around with widened eyes.

kazuha breaks into laughter, apologises shortly as sakura clutches her own chest and drags out a sigh. the look of horror on sakura's face immediately dissolves into relief seeing kazuha's bright grin.

"oh, her? well, she's my pretty girl." sakura plays along a while later, despite the mini jumpscare, a pretty smile stretched across her lips, proudly pointing to kazuha's selfies.

"i'm serious though, you're dressed to impress today huh?" sakura adds on, eyes darting across her tall girlfriend up and down.

their summer uniform and the plaid skirt itself were already pretty on their own, kazuha has done her hair differently today and it only added on to her gorgeousness. her long lustrous hair which was usually free and untied, is prettily done in a half-up hairstyle today and the black bow that sat on the back of her head was the cherry on top.

sakura thinks kazuha looks like someone who walked straight out of a manhwa.

"today's a special occasion so... i wanted to look a little prettier." kazuha turns shy at sakura's compliment and open staring.

her gaze shies away and she starts picking at her bag strap, lips pulled between her teeth. noticing the way kazuha turned meek, sakura smiles knowingly, she takes a step forward and uses a finger to lightly brush a stray hair out of kazuha's face.

"you're gonna turn heads 'cause this hairstyle is so pretty on you." sakura admits, huffing at the thought of others who would surely gawk at her girlfriend today.

kazuha chuckles shyly, feeling the heat rising to her cheeks. if she was going to get praised like this by sakura everytime she does something to her hair, she might just start styling it more often.

she clears , bringing herself out of her own reverie before gazing at the girl whom her heart belongs to. a warm smile makes its way onto her lips, eyes turning into crescents.

"happy five months, kkura." kazuha says, almost breathlessly because she herself couldn't believe it.

sakura nods in elation, eyes twinkling with mirth as she wraps her arms around kazuha for a quick embrace. no matter when or wherever it was, being in kazuha's arms always manages to fill her with vigor. it was the kind of loving touch you'd never want to let go and let yourself nurture in its vitality.

"i'm looking forward to many more with you, zuha."

kazuha hums in content, eyes closed in heaven as she tightens the hug and nuzzles her cheeks against the crown of sakura's head. maybe if she sneezed now, all the butterflies swarming her stomach would find their way out. but for now, she treasures them.

"oh yeah, i got something for you-"

after their warm embrace, kazuha reached for her bag's zip with the intent to show off the gifts she had gotten for sakura, only for the latter to grab her hand and halt her actions.

"ah hold on!" sakura suddenly yelps, earning a confused look from kazuha, "at the park- we'll surprise each other at the theme park."

kazuha mumbles a quiet 'oh' before nodding in agreement, letting her hands fall to her sides as she smiles sheepishly.

"right, okay. sorry, i got a little excited-"

"and that's fine, 'cause you have no idea how excited and impatient i am too. i've prepared quite a bit for you."

sakura tells her, smiling slyly and winks out of the blue.

kazuha tilts her head, when realisation hit, she gasps and points out alarmingly.

"oh! you winked!"

"eh? i did?!"

sakura couldn't wink anymore after that.

between the two of them, kazuha is evidently the one who has a profound love of showing affection through skinship. in the eyes of others, she probably isn't as clingy but to sakura, they were like pen and paper.

you'd never see one without the other.

today isn't an exception— not that sakura disliked kazuha's fondness of physical affection— it was just that, perhaps due to the amount of time they've spent with each other, some of their traits have slowly started to permeate into the other.

exhibit a:

sakura doesn't and/or rarely initiates hugs, yet she's been finding herself embracing kazuha first more often, much like this morning.

exhibit b:

right after their morning meet up, sakura is the one to slip her hand into kazuha's as they strolled to school together. they never really hold hands when they walked side by side, she promises this, but maybe because it's a special day for the both of them that she's feeling a little more brave.

that, or kazuha's been influencing her these days. not that she minded, sakura thinks that through kazuha, she's been getting better at expressing herself emotionally, be it through heart-warming words or physically.

when they do gather in the school's foyer along with the rest of their classmates and teachers though, they remember to tone it down a notch. even so, the sight of the two of them without the other would probably be more bewildering than seeing them joined by the hip to their classmates. that was how close the two were in the eyes of others.

had one of them been a boy, they probably would have dating rumours circulating from the start.

that aside, sakura was right when she mentioned that kazuha's pretty hairstyle would catch the eye of many. she's lost count of times of when the girls in their class would gush over how ethereal kazuha looked today, and the many pairs of eyes and whispers coming from starry-eyed boys whom sakura had unconsciously stared a little too intensely at.

(they turned quiet in the blink of eye simply because none of them wanted to be the second boy to be sent to the hospital by sakura.)

"do you wanna sit on the inside?"

kazuha taps sakura's shoulder and asks her attentively just as their class started boarding the chartered bus one by one, smile as sweet as ever when sakura glances over her shoulder.

"nah, but i'm sure you'll be happy to." sakura replies with a warm smile of her own, knowing how much her girlfriend likes window seats.

so it was no surprise when kazuha's eyes flickered with glee upon her answer, corners of her lips almost reaching her ears. truthfully, sakura liked it when kazuha sits at the window seats too, mainly because it's merely another reason for her to quietly admire and adore kazuha as she takes in the scenery outside.

while kazuha was enchanted by the passing view, sakura was often enthralled by her and the way bliss would paint itself onto her face.

"sakura, come look," kazuha calls out to her in a gentle yet excited tone in the midst of their bus ride, her hand automatically grabbing sakura's for attention.

"hm? what's up?" as always, sakura is quick in responding to kazuha's gentle prodding, big eyes settling their warm gaze onto their object of affections and pupils ballooning within a matter of seconds.

(not that sakura is aware of it.)

kazuha eagerly points out the window, finger tapping lightly against the glass as her eyes look up, a puppy-like grin on her face. sakura follows her gaze up into the clouds.

"the sky, no pun intended- but there's a cloud shaped like a cat and it kinda looks like you."

it's little things like this that moves sakura's heart. it's endearing having someone think of you in an instant when they find or see something that reminds them of you.

intrigued, sakura leans in to get a better view outside the window, eyes tracing cloud after cloud.

on the other hand, kazuha couldn't help but smile silly to herself when half of sakura's body crossed over her seat, peaking at the clouds hanging above their heads. sakura's position inevitably brought her lithe body close, and kazuha lets her eyes trace her girlfriend's defined side profile while her hand subconsciously places itself on sakura's ant-sized waist to secure her.

she smells so good.

her own thought brings colour to her cheeks, and as if on cue, sakura chirps when she finally spots the cloud the taller girl was talking about.

"ohh, you're right there's a cat up there!" she says in surprise, eyes doubling in size as she giggles at the accuracy despite its cotton candy shape.

kazuha nods, chuckling at the look of fascination on her girlfriend's face.

"there's one right in front of me too." she quips teasingly, earning a slow head turn from sakura, who puffs her reddening cheeks before returning to her seat.

kazuha giggles at her adorable reaction, reaching for sakura's hand to hold them in hers loosely. while the bus was engulfed in the chatters of their classmates, the two remained comfortably silent in their own world. they sat in the middle of the bus so it wasn't too loud or too quiet.

(sitting in front meant sitting near the teachers and sitting at the back meant having to endure ear-piercing decibels of noise.)

when kazuha felt something light landing on her right shoulder, she tears away her gaze from the window and glances at sakura, who had her eyes closed with a content smile on her face. kazuha knew she wasn't sleeping and it reminded her how she had pressing questions regarding sakura's state days before this.

"i noticed you're looking sleepy these days... please don't tell me you've been gaming overnight again." kazuha says, sounding worried but also held a steadfast tone because she's been wondering about it for a while, wants to pry about what's making sakura look like she's losing sleep.

"not really," sakura answers curtly.

kazuha feels the soft caresses of a thumb against the back of her hand, which does little to none in easing her concerns.

"watching dramas?"

"kind of,"

"no way... studying? even when exams are over?"

"hm... i'm not that crazy."

kazuha hums and narrows her eyes at sakura in suspicion. it only increased seeing that lopsided smile never disappearing from sakura's face.

"very vague answers." kazuha pouts, knowing she wouldn't get answers with the curt replies she's getting.

perhaps later when sakura feels like sharing it.

"shh, just be my pillow for a bit." sakura tugs their joined hands and adjusts her head which fit perfectly on kazuha's shoulders, the comfort of having the warmth of her lover so close continuously pulls at her heartstrings.

so kazuha yields and takes out her earphones instead— with a little struggle since it was wired earphones and they were all tangled up. she ought to buy airpods sooner or later, but according to sakura, there was more charm in wired earphones when listening to music with someone. something about the way each cord respectively would meet in the middle, connecting them to a world of comfort and solace.

"what do you wanna listen to?" kazuha asks, scrolling through her list of saved music mindlessly.

"hm... maybe sarah kang or laufey? i'm fine with anything not too noisy." sakura shrugs, putting in her side of the earphones.

kazuha nods, taps on a playlist she's made specially for a more relaxing genre and then tapping shuffle. she stares at her phone blankly for a while, steals glances at sakura who seems satisfied and is probably going to fall into a nap seconds later.

kazuha bites her cheek, realising that her playlist was looking rather barren— that relaxing playlist was the only one she made. maybe she should consult yunjin about making one for a loved one. after all, that girl's got a pretty damn good taste in music, what more when it came to love songs?

"there's still a crowd even on a weekday..." sakura mutters as she uses her hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

she was grateful that despite it being bright out, there was the occasional strong and cool breeze hitting their faces.

they had only just arrived a few moments earlier and after a quick briefing and very stern caution from their teachers, they were given the freedom to roam around the theme park. provided that they return in a few hours back in the same place they gathered near the entrance, where a merchandise shop also sat.

while they did earn invitations from several of their classmates to join along in their respective friend groups, sakura and kazuha insisted on going off with just the two of them— and that was the start of their (secret!) theme park date.

"so, where do we start?" kazuha asks with anticipation, eyes gleaming as they dart around all the different ways they could go about.

"wherever you want." sakura nudges her, urging her to decide first with an encouraging smile on her face.

kazuha grins, immediately pulls sakura by the elbow and drags her into the souvenir store to purchase their 'theme park starter kit'. instantly, their gasps and gushes fill the store as they looked around at the plethora of trinkets with starry eyes, occasionally cooing at the adorable character plushies and merch.

they eventually came out adorning hairclips with distinct animal characters that bounce with every slight movement of their heads, each of their hands holding a tiny pack of candies the store happened to sell at the counter.

"sakura! watch watch!"

"hm?" sakura whips her head to look at kazuha who suddenly threw a piece of candy in the air, trying to catch it with her open mouth.

with how confident she looked, sakura was honestly convinced that she would be able to do it on her first try. alas, the candy barely touched her lip before dropping to the ground, skipping a few blocks away.

"okay nevermind..."

kazuha stares at it in dismay, mouth still open but now in disbelief. she feels her cheeks heat up when sakura's laughter enters her ears, the latter clutching onto her for support.

"pretty sure i can't do it either..." sakura gives it a try this time, trying to be empathetic just for the sake of not wanting her girlfriend to be more embarrassed than she already was.

sakura doesn't think much about it when she does it, she throws the candy up a little too high and it doesn't even end up anywhere near them when it falls. the revelation that the candy disappeared to god knows where makes them crack up, both simultaneously bending over in laughter.

"do you wanna ride the rollercoasters?"

"nope."

"good, i don't want to either."

safe to say none of them wanted to throw up their breakfast.

(totally not because they're cowards.)

"hope you don't mind me snapping pictures of you."

sakura says with a shy smile on her lips a while later, slowly pulling a pink compact camera out of her bag. kazuha makes an excited sound, looking at sakura in anticipation.

she knew of sakura's little photography hobby— there were times when they were out on spontaneous dates after school, she'd fish out her phone and start snapping pictures. be it a selfie, something she'd find pretty or even kazuha, sakura cherishes every single moment she manages to capture digitally.

the thought of being someone's muse— especially sakura's, it was just a special kind of feeling. kazuha thinks that being able to see herself in the eyes of her girlfriend, how sakura frames her and how even for a brief moment sakura's world revolved around her, there were sides to herself that she would begin to find beautiful thanks to sakura.

"capture me all you want, i wanna know how you see me through your eyes." kazuha encourages her, she starts walking backwards and it becomes the cue for sakura to start taking candid shots of her.

seeing kazuha's broad and blatantly happy grin through her lens, sakura couldn't help but share the same joy. the constant bliss bubbling within her chest as she merely watches kazuha walking around carefree, more often than not glancing over her shoulder just to smile for her, it was a scene sakura wished to put in a time capsule.

kazuha was a timeless beauty.

"let's take one together!" kazuha urges moments later, earning an immediate nod from sakura who wasted no time to stand beside her for a twoshot of them.

being the one with longer arms, kazuha takes the compact camera into her hands and holds it up high above them. they threw in the typical peace sign pose for their first few shots, until kazuha musters her courage to sneak in a quick kiss on sakura's cheek for the last one just before the camera snapped.

kazuha laughs when sakura quickly turns demure, ears growing red as she touches her cheek, where she still felt the ghost of kazuha's warm lips. browsing through the photos of them in her compact camera then, sakura couldn't do anything as her face turned scarlet when her eyes caught the recent photo where kazuha's lips were firmly pressed against her cheek, just milliseconds before her own face morphed from a huge smile into a flustered mess.

kazuha, who had been looking over from her shoulder, kept giggling throughout, enjoying sakura's state of embarrassment a little too much. she makes a mental note to herself to ask sakura to print that particular photo out, just so she could frame it.

"back in the bus when you told me i've been sleepy these days," sakura utters in the midst of their stroll in the theme park, smiling sheepishly, "well actually, i did stay a lot of nights awake."

kazuha's ears perked up instantly, eyebrows pinched.

"eh why-

"listen to me first," sakura presses a forefinger to kazuha's lips, effectively silencing the taller girl.

when kazuha heeds her words, sakura smiles sweetly and proceeds to swing her slingbag to her front. she gives kazuha a knowing glance, the lopsided smile on her face that tells the taller girl to anticipate whatever comes next.

"i picked up a new skill recently," sakura says softly, clearing just as nervousness creeps up on her again.

from her bag, she slowly takes out another seemingly knitted drawstring bag which was plump due to the things stored within.

"tada! i can crochet now! it was tough at the beginning but i didn't want to give up so easily just because i failed a few times... so i thought, okay i failed again— but if i stop now, what are the chances i'll succeed on the next one? what if i do it right on the next try? and that if i had stopped then, i would have never known i'd be able to do this!" sakura enthusiastically shows off the handmade drawstring bag first, a bright grin on her face.

it was made with different shades of beige and brown yarns to give it a little warm and pleasant personality, having just the right appeal. the strings each had a fluffy pom attached, and then it also had another type of multicoloured string where one could simply sling it over a shoulder instead of wearing it like a backpack.

kazuha watches with a slack jaw, incapable of speech as she remains unblinking. sakura chuckles and takes this as an opportunity to continue introducing her gifts for her girlfriend.

so she gently opens the drawstring bag, revealing its contents one by one.

"and then... i made bracelets for each of us! couple bracelets!" sakura holds out two different coloured crochet bracelets, each decorated with a tiny red ribbon and a single, silver letter charm dangling off of them— the first alphabet of their names respectively.

sakura's eyes gleamed with pride and content knowing her efforts had turned out so great. wordlessly, sakura takes kazuha's hand and puts on her bracelet with her initials for her.

"ah, this one... it took me a few tries because i kept messing up its face and the head shape," sakura chuckles sheepishly as she takes out something resembling a white ball, with particular soft jagged curves almost resembling a whisker.

it's a crochet keychain about the size of a palm, has the face of a content looking samoyed with its signature pink pointed ears, eyes in crescents showing its utmost delight. all in all, it's literally kazuha's spirit animal.

"cute right? everytime someone with a samoyed walks by, it seems inevitable that i think of you. this little ball of fluff is literally you! oh, i named it 'zuzu', because i think it's cute how my little brother calls you that." sakura giggles into her dainty fingers, placing it on kazuha's open palms, who still hasn't utter out a word.

"i promise this is the last one," sakura tells her, "i baked cookies! with a little something on top... it's a little corny though but you like corny stuff. plus, i know you're always weak for desserts."

finally, she takes out a few plastic wrapped cookies, each with different decors as icing.

with a shy smile, sakura places them in kazuha's hands in order, facing the latter's direction so she could read it. the first simply said, 'happy 5th monthsary' with a myriad of hearts surrounding them. the second simply had a big red heart, while the third and final cookie simply had one letter which was a capitalised 'U'.

'happy 5th monthsary

(love), U'

simple is the best, sakura muses.

even after she finished presenting her gifts to her girlfriend, kazuha hasn't spoken a word. naturally, sakura grew worried over the fact that maybe kazuha didn't quite like her gifts, hence her lack of response and reaction.

but when she carefully scrutinizes kazuha's face again, she's startled to see an aquarium in kazuha's eyes— a glassy wall of unshed tears, her trembling chin which crumpled like a walnut trying to hold herself back from outright bawling.

"eh?! k-kazu-"

without warning, kazuha lunges at her just as the dam burst, embracing sakura with glistening tears trickling down her rosy cheeks. the older girl shrieks in surprise and staggers back due to the sudden weight but manages to catch herself in time and holds kazuha to steady herself.

for a moment, sakura went into panic mode, hands frantically patting kazuha's back so as to soothe her muffled cries. had sakura known her gifts would turn kazuha into a sobbing mess, she probably would have given them to her somewhere more... private. away from the eyes of the public where curious stares linger.

but that didn't matter then, so sakura sighs and smiles gently while holding kazuha close. in a sea of crowd, they were the only ones standing still.

"i love you," kazuha mutters when her sobbings dwindled, chin still tucked on sakura's shoulder, eyes looking down at the things which were carefully crafted for her in her hands, and then she tightens her hold on the cherry blossom, "...so much."

"me too," sakura tells her with a blissful smile gracing her lips, "i love you too, you big crybaby."

sakura playfully pats kazuha's when she hears a series of mufffled whines as a response. when they pull away, sakura has to bite her lips to suppress her giggles.

kazuha sniffles, her eyebrows furrowed, eyes red from shedding happy tears. sakura reaches out and wipes the last of her tears with her thumbs, grinning up at her girlfriend.

then with a determined look and upturned, trembling lips, kazuha looks at her square in the eye.

"can i kiss you?"

sakura blinks in surprise, then her lips parted while her eyes begin to dart to their surroundings. she feels sorry but she knew better than to take risks.

"maybe not here... there's too many-"

kazuha silences her with yet another hug, gentle this time and with a soft smile on her lips.

"thank you, i promise i'll treasure them."

"i know you will."

they found refuge on a vacant bench after that, near a carousel where they spotted some of their classmates happily enjoying the ride, pure happiness painted on their faces and joyous laughter filling the air.

it's also when kazuha takes the time to admire sakura's love bestowed within her palms, the crochet drawstring bag with the rest of her gift in it sat cutely within her palms. she wastes no second to hang the adorable keychain to her beltloop of her plaid skirt, planning to hang it on her school bag when she gets home. for now, she lets it hang cutely on her hips.

and everytime she glances at it, she couldn't help but mirror the smile it has, the sight making sakura gush internally. mentally, sakura gave herself a pat on the back, told herself that she did a darn good job.

they took a selfie of themselves showing off their matching bracelets too, kazuha smiling the widest in the photo that it made sakura laugh heartily when she looked back at it.

"you should have let me presented my gifts to you first... they're nothing compared to yours..." kazuha pouts, hand in her daypack as she hesitates to take them out.

sakura shakes her head and chortles, "oh come on, i wouldn't even mind if you didn't get me anything. you being here, spending time with me on a special day like this, is more than enough really."

"don't make me cry again..." kazuha trails off with a trembling voice.

sakura gasps, her face blanching when she sees the tears welling up in kazuha's eyes again.

maybe she should just stop talking...

the whole thing, although endearing, was also comical to sakura, who swore she had the hardest time trying to hold back her laughter and at the same time, felt her heart melt. it wasn't mocking in any way, kazuha was simply too cute for her to handle that one minute sakura is gushing over her girlfriend being touched and then the next, trying to hold back her laughter.

and with kazuha insisting on showing off her gifts for her while still teary-eyed and explaining them one by one between sniffles, sakura could only rub her back to soothe her.

honestly, sakura would have cried too if it wasn't for kazuha being effortlessly funny.

"i got you-" a sniffle.

"...dark chocolates because you like them as snacks... and a chi-" another sniffle and a wipe of a stray tear off her cheek.

"and two chiikawa blind boxes because you said they were cute... and then i bought th-this because i thought they were cute and we could match-"

sakura lets out a series of 'aww's as she patiently listens to kazuha's teary stuttering but endearing presentation. the urge to kiss those tears off her erubescent cheeks was so strong but she constantly had to remind herself that they weren't alone, and that she could reward kazuha all of those sweet, well-deserved hugs and kisses later.

kazuha holds out the matching flower earrings she bought for them, sakura's one being a pair of pretty cherry blossoms while hers were a pair of dainty leaves. they'd probably start wearing the earrings tomorrow, and only to the perceptive eyes, one would know they were matching.

"i also wrote a letter for you, it's kinda long and has my favourite photo of us pasted at the bottom..." kazuha exhales in content when her tears finally stop, taking in sakura's anticipating eyes when she waves the pink envelop in her hands, where her carefully written letter was safely kept.

and before sakura could take it, kazuha pulls it out of her reach, lips pursed.

"but you can't read it yet, not now," kazuha slowly lowers her arm, "read it when you're home and safely tucked in bed before tomorrow comes."

sakura looks at her with confusion at first, then seeing the seriousness on kazuha's blushing face, she breaks into a smile and nods firmly once.

"promise." sakura says, placing a hand over her heart.

kazuha hums when she's satisfied with sakura's answer, watching as the cherry blossom takes it from her and holds it in her hands with utmost care— as if it were delicate. and perhaps to her, it was. anything from kazuha, she deems priceless and something to be cherished.

"wanna get cotton candy?"

"oh yes! a must in a theme park!"

"weren't you just crying earlier? you're so cute, you know that?" sakura says with a fruitful laugh just as she drags kazuha along to the nearby cotton candy stand, equally bright smiles on their faces.

"is it just me or did it kinda feel like we were on a honeymoon?" kazuha asks with a tilted head just as she takes a bite out of her pink cotton candy.

with only less than an hour left into their trip, they opted to spend the remaining time to watch their classmates on some of the extreme rides they dared not to venture on.

upon kazuha's random blurting of questions, sakura finds herself blushing, half hiding her face behind her blue cotton candy.

"h-honeymoon..."

"just me?" kazuha turns to look at her with an arched brow, genuine as ever.

"you're thinking so far ahead already... you're still gonna follow me till then?" sakura laughs wryly but her cheeks remain the colour of kazuha's cotton candy.

she nudges an elbow to kazuha's side with a quirky smile on her lips. kazuha simply hums in delight and looks at her with her pretty eye smile.

"of course, my mom did tell me to follow my dreams after all."

ah... sakura's eyes grow wide at kazuha's straightforward answer, it leaves her speechless and causes her to tear away her gaze from kazuha to the pendulum pirate ship ride in front of them.

kazuha doesn't say anything more, relishing in sakura's flustered state and finishes her cotton candy with a satisfied smile on her lips.

"can we go on a date after this?" kazuha asks, glancing at her girlfriend who gave her a surprised look.

"after all that? you're not tired?" sakura turns her body towards the taller girl, her side leaning against the railings.

"with you? never. but... you though, look like you're going to pass out." kazuha looks at her with worry, reaching out to rub sakura's shoulder for comfort.

"ah... i can't hide anything from you anymore, zuha." sakura chuckles, acknowledging the fact that kazuha has certainly gotten better at reading her nowadays.

"it's okay, you spent a lot of time making these precious things didn't you? you should go home and rest." kazuha smiles warmly at her, happy enough to spend a meaningful day with her girlfriend.

"normally, i would agree but it's a special day today... can i be clingy for just one day and go on that date with you?" sakura admits, her answer surprising kazuha who looks at her wide eyed due to her initiative.

then kazuha giggles, "you can be clingy anytime."

sakura rolls her eyes, chuckling when kazuha wriggles her eyebrows.

"for your sake, we'll have that date at my house."

sakura gives kazuha a weird look, suspicion bubbling in her chest. kazuha is quicker to explain herself, hands waving in front of her dismissively.

"not what you think. i just think that you really need to chill for this one, you know? i was thinking of kinda giving you a relaxing date, where we'll cuddle and then i read to you until you fall asleep or if you feel like watching something then we'll do movie marathons until you sleep! oh and my mom bought caramel puddings and i think you'll really like them!" kazuha raves on excitedly, flashing her bright grin at the cherry blossom.

could she be any more sweeter...? honestly, sakura is starting to wonder if she had won a war in her previous life for her to be bestowed such a wonderful, thoughtful girlfriend in this life. and to refuse such a sweet, cozy offer would certainly make her a fool.

after what felt like an eternity, they finally gathered as one class again at their meeting spot. it's also when kazuha realises that she should have a zipper for a mouth.

because some of their classmates had noticed the cute crochet keychain hanging by her waist, and being the proud girlfriend that she is, told them that she had not, in fact, gotten it from a shop but better yet, from sakura.

it evoked a series of marvelled expressions from their classmates, and soon, the couple was staring at a sea of stars with how their classmates' eyes were glinting at this newfound information.

(sakura was hiding behind kazuha, too embarrassed.)

that was nothing, until one of them had suggested for sakura to start a crochet commission, thus leading to a sudden influx of requests.

kazuha's smile dropped then, disbelief written on her face when she realised what she had done.

there was no way that she was going to let anyone else get a piece of sakura's love other than herself.

kazuha's fifth monthsary letter to sakura

( dear kkura

to my love saachan

to the prettiest cherry blossom

to: my reason for living

if i had a flower for everytime i thought of you, i could walk through my garden forever.

^ i'm sure you heard of that somewhere ^^; sometimes, i wish i was a poet so i could come up with something as original and beautiful as that just to express how much i like love you in profound words. but i think you would do it better than me because you love reading and have a way with words. it's a pity i'm bad at stuff like that haha (you know how i am in literature, yikes) but i guess there's more charm and affection in original handwritten letters from someone who could barely write essays without the assistance of grammarly every five minutes.

(i'm penning this down instead of sending a text so no grammarly... crossing my heart for the best. btw, do u like the little stickers in this letter?? i bought it from your favourite arts and craft shop :))

happy 5th monthsary! i probably should have said that first, but i think ive been worrying too hard on how to start this letter. when you read this, it'll be our 152nd day together (i'm writing it on the 149th day as i am texting u goodnight, have i told u that u looked pretty today? that's right, you're pretty everyday), and i still find it hard to believe that i can call you mine.

either way, i've never been so thankful to the universe when it introduced you to me, when you accepted my confession no matter how silly and awkward i was, when you were patient whenever i had a hard time expressing myself when we first started going out officially. thinking back, even i cant believe i was super shy, not when i'm always kissing you every chance i get now.

i wish for more days with you, really. (seriously, very seriously) i wish you'd let me stay by your side as long as you would let me, through better or worse, because i know i'd love you either way. i hope that what we have now stays strong even though times will change and we'll eventually grow up.

did you know? everytime i see a shooting star, i have only ever made one consistent wish ever since we started dating. and it's for us to be together for a very, very long time, i wish that your most precious person would only be me, just as you are to me.

it's selfish, but i think love itself has an essence of selfishness in it. else, i don't think i'd be where i am now, and my confession would have just meant as much as a fleeting breeze.

ah... why does it feel like i'm writing a five year anniversary letter instead of monthsary? (i pray we would last that long, or better yet, even longer haha ^^; i hope i don't sound too ambitious... sorry if i'm scaring you...)

to my five months girlfriend (<3 <3 <3) miyawaki sakura, a walking daydream, smart, pretty, caring, a warm loving robot who put someone in the hospital just to protect me (i would do the same for you), who's always thinking of others first before herself, i'm always thanking the lucky stars that i'm yours, and you, mine. i hope you like the gifts that i got you, they're not much though... i can't think of giving anything better than just my love for you. (yes it's that big)

i like you that much and so much more

i hope you can feel all the love i transmit to you when i write this letter when you read it, and i hope that it makes you happy, just as you make me happy.

ps. i actually enjoyed writing this letter... should i make it a tradition haha

pps. if i do, you can't though, because i know you will out-write me... pls gimme mercy ･᷄-･᷅

ppps. i love you.

(below is my fav picture of us, love u lots)

all my love,

nakamura kazu

miyawaki kazuha

your zuha ૮ .◜◡◝ ა )