Kazuha scanned herself as she looked in the mirror, twisting and turning in all types of ways to get a full feel for her outfit. “You sure this looks good?” She tilted her head towards Sakura, who was happily fawning over her. Kazuha wasn’t sure about this new attire of hers. She never really wore varsity jackets, or anything with much pattern at that, but she was at least thankful it wasn’t too colorful. Well, at least for her pants, chosen by none other than Sakura once again. Her pants were a strange, plaid pattern; she insisted it was tacky, but the older girl seemed to adore it. 

 

“I’m more than sure!” Sakura was laid down on her stomach against Kazuha’s bed, her face perched upon two hands as her feet ecstatically kicked in the air. She squealed before responding with a beam, “We haven’t even gotten to the best part yet.” 

 

“Do I have to?” Kazuha groaned, attempting to seem annoyed, but both of them knew she wasn’t good at feigning negativity. 

 

“It’ll be cute, trust me!” Sakura was giggling like a child who just got given a new toy, yet instead of a child, she was a 21 year old woman, and instead of a new toy, it was a bottle of black nail polish for none other than hers truly. Sakura had been wanting to paint Kazuha’s nails for the longest time, even before they had started being “involved”, but the urge only got stronger ever since the woman bleached her hair to a platinum blonde. It was something about matching opposite aesthetics and how “totally adorable” it would be, Kazuha recalled. 

 

The girl would’ve been lying if she said she wasn’t a little bit interested. Recently, the two had been matching a lot. Just a week prior, Kazuha had been gifted a pair of blue Air Jordan’s, ones to match Sakura’s own red pair. It warmed the girl’s heart, as much as it confused her. She didn’t want to think about such things though, since the moment unfolding before her was one she wouldn’t dare to miss out on. Kazuha walked over to the bed, sitting in front of the spot where Sakura had made herself comfortable. 

 

The blonde’s eyes were already staring up at Kazuha when she lifted her gaze from the sheets, up to make eye contact with her. It brought a lopsided smile onto her face, acting overly self-confident while she spoke, “I really look that good?”

 

“I guess.” Sakura chuckled. As she continued, she twisted open the bottle of nail polish, “I just like looking at you.” 

 

Though Kazuha knew the two were aiming for lighthearted banter, those words felt too heartfelt to be brushed aside. She didn’t know how to respond. She never did. The girl knew she wasn’t too good with her words, stumbling when she would even think of complimenting Sakura, or being witty with her words. It was embarrassing, but Sakura never seemed to mind. Kazuha’s silence seemed to speak numbers, because the blonde only grinned wider at the sound of it. 

 

“Give me your hand.” 

 

Kazuha was brought out of her daze at the sound of Sakura’s request, and she immediately adhered. The two sat cross legged, knee to knee while the younger girl’s hand rested atop Sakura’s palm. As soon as her hand went still, the blonde went to work. The brush grazed across the nail plate of Kazuha’s index finger, coating it a deep shade of black that matched perfectly with the varsity jacket she had on. She noticed the pattern on Sakura’s own nails, which was a bright white background decorated with black stars. Kazuha wasn’t sure if that was intentional, but it made her feel warm inside nonetheless. 

 

The air was calm between the two of them, nothing but the girl’s occasional sniffle to break the silence. Sakura was completely focused on the task at hand, but she found it in herself to speak after the first nail was done. “You have pretty hands, Zuha.” Her voice was but a whisper, quietly mumbling loud enough for Kazuha to hear. 

 

The brunette tried to hold back a grin, yet to no avail. The corners of her eyes crinkled at the comment, overwhelmed with how sweet Sakura was being to her. Once more, she stayed quiet, but her thoughts still wandered. Recently, the blonde had been so much more tender and loving towards her. For what reason? Kazuha wasn’t sure. The two weren’t dating, she knew that much; well, sort of. The two had been in some strange limbo for months at that point, yet it was no one’s fault besides Kazuha. Sakura was adamant that she wasn’t seeing anyone else, but the girl was stubborn. Though she believed her, Kazuha’s own worries outweighed any bit of trust she had in the woman. It was bittersweet, but whenever Sakura would get so gentle with her words, Kazuha couldn’t help but feel special. “You too.” 

 

Sakura’s lips stayed curled in a giddy smile as she moved on to the girl’s other hand, letting her other palm rest on her thigh. 

 

Kazuha felt somewhat awkward as they sat in silence, yet she didn’t have the words to make it sound pretty. felt dry as she spoke up, “I feel like I should be saying more.” 

 

“Why’s that?” 

 

“I don’t know,” she meekly chuckled, “it’s just too quiet.”

 

Sakura hummed, waiting until she had finished completing the coat of nail polish to reply. “Well that's okay, isn’t it?” Her gaze lifted to meet Kazuha’s more nervous eyes, her tone only becoming softer with each word. “Whether we talk or not, I don’t mind. Just being with you is enough.” 

 

And there it was. Another set of heartfelt words that the brunette would replay in her mind for the rest of the week. 

 

Then Sakura moved on as if nothing had been said. She brushed away at the rest of Kazuha’s nails, not another word to be said. 

 

Kazuha felt so head-over-heels, it made her sick. 

 

—

 

Body against body, shaky breaths and huffs filling the air around them. Kazuha laid comfortably beside Sakura, one arm resting underneath the blonde’s head while the other was slung lazily around her waist. She felt as though she needed to keep her closeby, like she would disappear in the blink of an eye if she didn’t. Kazuha’s eyes stared at Sakura, who was cocooning against her frame, as she caught her breath. 

 

This time, it was the girl who smiled first. She still had her tacky plaid pants on, though they were ed and ped around her waist in order to properly cuddle the ex-cheerleader in her bed. Plus, after their antics, she hadn’t really thought to straighten up her attire. Her varsity jacket had been long forgotten, paired with her black t-shirt that was also flung onto the floor. She donned a bra, and so did Sakura. Kazuha made a note that she’d have to change the sheets, seeing as the two of them had broken into a sweat. It didn't matter though, it was undeniably worth it. 

 

A kiss against her bicep snapped Kazuha out of her thoughts. Sakura’s expression was soft, her dazed out eyes spewing poems of love with just a gaze. “You’re the best.”

 

The brunette’s grin lifted, yet all she could reply with was a light bow of her head. Sakura scooted closer to the taller frame beside her, nuzzling her head into the nook between Kazuha’s shoulder and collarbone; seeing such a sight and not replying at all would’ve been a waste. Embarrassingly, after was when Kazuha could be most vulnerable. “You too.” Her voice caught in as she tried to continue on. After some stutters and trailing off of her words, she mumbled, “I…like you. A lot.” She was too chicken to say those incriminating words. 

 

“I love you, a lot more than you’ll ever know.” Sakura ended her words with another peck, this time against the girl’s neck. 

 

Kazuha wanted to seem indifferent. She wanted to stick with her instinctive reactions to shy away from responding, but she couldn’t. She craned her head downwards to leave a kiss against Sakura’s ear. “I love you too.” Kissing trails from the blonde’s earlobe to a corner of was a process filled with giggles, but it ended once Kazuha spoke up once more. “I don’t want you to go.”

 

The older girl pouted, the tips of their noses resting against each other as she tilted her head upwards. “I need to go to work, Zuha.” 

 

“Stay, please.” Kazuha had never felt so desperate for Sakura before, but something was different that day. Something was changing, and she knew exactly what it was. She felt like if the two separated, if Sakura really did go to work, everything would just fall apart. She knew it was an exaggeration, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling regardless.

 

The blonde’s lips parted to instantly reply to Kazuha, but they closed after a mere few seconds. Her doe eyes seemed to shine as she gazed up at the girl, hints of a smile showing on her face. She nodded her head ever so slightly as she mumbled a quick “okay”.

 

“Let’s go out.” 

 

“Go out?”

“Yeah, like, on a date.”

“Oh.” Sakura dryly chuckled, though it was clear she was expecting something. Clearly embarrassed, hoping the girl didn’t notice, she hid her face underneath Kazuha’s jaw once more and continued on. “I’d love to.”

 

The brunette felt her heart swell. It was a bittersweet feeling after seeing Sakura’s reaction. “Just trust me.”

 

The blonde hummed in response.

 

—

 

Kazuha and Sakura sat hand-in-hand, the sun setting right before their eyes. Sitting atop of a lonely hill, it was a surreal experience. The birds of nighttime began to sing, their silhouettes disappearing in the myriad of warm colors transitioning into the darker ones of the later hours. Kazuha would’ve been able to account for every little detail if she wasn’t preoccupied with the gem sitting beside her, in the form of Sakura. Truthfully, their date wasn’t all too eventful, with the majority of it being taken up by the amount of time it took to drive to their hill. They had decided months back that it was their hill, seeing as they were always the only two who frequented the location. The first time they had traveled there was only two weeks after they professed their abstract feelings for one another, back in May when it came time for Sakura’s graduation ceremony. After that, they had seen the budding plants of springtime bloom into beautiful flowers in the first three months of their relationship of sorts, and, now, two months later, those same flowers were slowly withering away as the harsh weather of October came with a vengeance. Kazuha hoped that their spark wouldn’t fade away with the blossoms that died out leading up to wintertime. She was sure it wouldn’t. 

 

Kazuha stayed glancing over at Sakura, making sure she wasn’t shivering, or uncomfortable with the winds blowing against their faces. That face that carried a million memories was one that the girl would never get tired of seeing. Whether it was in the mornings, when the blonde was barefaced and too tired to utter a single word, or in the afternoon when she was far too content with teasing Kazuha, or deep in the night when she was sound asleep, Sakura was always gorgeous. Even during the hardest trials of their situation – the summer months, when both of them were too busy to even call each other, let alone see each other – the girl would’ve never given their bond up for the world. That was why, as her eyes couldn’t stray away from Sakura, Kazuha grinned to herself. They had come a long way (especially Kazuha, seeing as she was much more tidy than she had been five months prior), and she wanted their path to only continue. “Kkura?” 

 

Sakura’s head turned towards Kazuha, their fingers still intertwined atop the grass below them. “Hm?”

 

The girl shifted her hand until the blonde’s fingers rested inside of her palm, able to caress the dainty digits with her thumb. “Do you want to make things official?”

The expression upon Sakura’s face went from blank, to pure shock, to excitedly surprised. No words escaped her lips until Kazuha gave her a nervous, lopsided smile. “Do you?” The blonde was smart to ask such a question, seeing as it was obvious that Kazuha herself was the main roadblock over the past months.

 

The taller girl gave a soft nod. “Yeah, I do.”

 

“Really?”

“Really, I promise.”

 

The two of them were completely still, until Kazuha found herself tackled onto the ground by a hug from none other than Sakura, who was happily kissing all over the girl’s neck while mumbling sweet “I do’s”. 

 

The girls burst into a fit of laughter, pecking any bit of skin their lips would make contact with, until Sakura gleefully squealed. “I have a girlfriend! And, I’m your girlfriend!”

Kazuha’s heart skipped a beat after hearing those words, and, in that moment, she was sure she had never been so proud of committing to something in her entire life. “That’s right.” Her arms were wrapped around Sakura’s frame, bringing her closer to cuddle away the cold, harsh breeze. “Took me long enough.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.” The blonde sarcastically muttered.

 

As Kazuha’s eyes looked up at the stars peeking through the dark sky, she was sure that none of those stars would fade away, not in her lifetime at least, and she hoped that her relationship would do the same.