Title: lost in waiting
Rating: G
Fandom: Flowers
Relationship: Komikado Nerine/Yatsushiro Yuzuriha
Wordcount: 553
Short summary: While Yuzuriha waits for Nerine, she remembers the past.
Yuzuriha stands by the lamppost, idly twiddling her thumbs, watching two girls in school uniforms walk by. It makes her feel nostalgic. She doesn’t know how long she’s been waiting. She could find out by looking at her watch, but she doesn’t want to know. Because she trusts Nerine.
Even if she’s waiting for a long time, it’s fine. At least today is a warm day, so she doesn’t have to think about losing feeling in her fingers due to the biting cold. Actually it’s a little too warm out. Perhaps she should go seek out some shade and…
“Neri?” Yuzuriha exclaims as she sees Nerine behind her, close enough that she could have bumped into Nerine if she had turned around with a wider arc. How is Nerine here? Yuzuriha had been listening for the sound of footsteps but…
Nerine laughs. “I was wondering if you would ever notice me.”
Yuzuriha blushes in embarrassment. “I… I was lost in thought.”
Maybe the wait had been too long, to allow Yuzuriha to start thinking all the way back to their St. Angraecum Academy days. To how heavy her own footsteps had sounded in the snow, and yet Nerine’s had been… Well, Yuzuriha had been lost in thought then too, lost in memories, in hopes and dreams. Lost enough to only notice her freezing self only half an hour late, and lost enough not to actually hear Nerine’s footsteps clearly after clapping her heels, even if they should have been audible. Just like today.
“Good thoughts?” Nerine asks as she reaches out to brush a flower petal out of Yuzuriha’s hair. Of course there is something in Yuzuriha’s hair, another sign of just how deep Yuzuriha had been in her thoughts.
“Maybe.” Yuzuriha gives Nerine a small smile. For Yuzuriha, the wait for Nerine on that cold snowy day is both a happy and a painful memory. She never wants to feel that level of anxiousness, of desperation. And she’s not sure she ever wants to feel that level of relief either. She prefers a more relaxed, even, content and happy life. But the proof that Nerine would be willing to sacrifice everything for their love… How can that not keep Yuzuriha’s heart warm every time she remembers that?
“Maybe?” Nerine frowns. “You aren’t excited about our reservation at the limited sweets café?”
Yuzuriha laughs. “How could I not be excited about that? An excuse to see your blissful expression when I feed you a piece of exquisite cake with my fork…”
“Yuzuriha!” Nerine gives Yuzuriha a light smack in response. Yuzuriha is still grinning though because they are now standing side by side. They are now walking forward side by side, the sound of their footsteps in sync. Yuzuriha reaches out with her hand and…
Nerine grasps it firmly. Hands that are only separated temporarily. Hands that will hold tightly, for as long as they can, for as long as they want. The painful snowy day memory is far in the past now that Nerine is here at her side once more.
(Yuzuriha will learn later that Nerine had actually sent a message informing Yuzuriha she would be unexpectedly late, which will cause Yuzuriha to feel even more embarrassed about her deep reminiscence, but in the end it all turned out okay, right?)