Title: promising start
Rating: G
Fandom: Flowers
Relationship: Takasaki Chidori/Yaegaki Erika
Wordcount: 400
Short summary: Chidori and Erika look at the stars from just outside their tent on a cold November night.
“How is it?” Chidori asks, two thermos filled with reheated coffee keeping her bare hands warm in the otherwise cold autumn night.
“Freezing cold.” Erika eagerly receives one of the thermos and cracks open the top. “Thanks, Chidori.”
“You’re welcome.” Chidori takes a seat right next to Erika and puts an arm around Erika’s waist. She frowns. “You’re freezing. Can’t you at least put a blanket on yourself?”
“I was waiting for you.” Erika lifts a blanket with her free hand and tosses it over their laps. “Happy?”
“Yes.” Chidori sighs as she sets her thermos down, so she can properly fit the blanket over both of their laps. Then she puts her arm back around Erika’s waist. “Is the view worth it at least?”
Erika hums. It’s a non-committal answer, so Chidori looks up at the sky herself, takes a moment… And breathes.
“Okay, I see why you stayed silent.”
Breathtaking might be the word for the situation. The way the sea of stars lights up the sky in this cloudless night is much more impressive than any recreation at a planetarium. Being in a remote area, an hour from the city, camping tent just a few meters away… Sure, if she and Erika had been outside like this back in their school days, perhaps they could have seen something similar. Then again, they had curfew back then, and many other things on their mind…
“Although it really would be better if it wasn’t so cold out.” Chidori shivers even as she pulls Erika closer to her.
Erika grumbles. “You’re the one who had no breaks until now.”
“Yeah.” And as adults, the issue isn’t curfew but rather Chidori’s training and performance schedule. They had aimed for the little break in September, but then Chidori was called in as a last-minute substitute, and things rolled all the way until November…
“We’ll just try again, next summer?” Summer heat sounds so good compared to the current temperature.
“The stars will be different, and there’ll be more people then.” Erika takes a large sip of her coffee before snuggling up against Chidori’s chest. “Sure.”
Chidori laughs at that typical Erika response. Well, Erika’s points matter little to Chidori compared to having something to look forward to. As for tonight… Chidori wouldn’t necessarily call this camping trip a “success” but rather a promising start, as long as they survive the cold night…