"Lucky~"
First try.
The claw descended, the machine clunked, and out came one very small, very soft cat plushie.
Yumiko retrieved it from the prize slot—then immediately stuffed it into Mio's arms.
"A gift."
Mio hugged the plushie and looked up at her with eyes that had gone inexplicably warm. "Yumiko... you know what? That whole sequence just now was genuinely a little heart-fluttering~"
"...Did your heart actually speed up?" Yumiko asked, before she could stop herself.
The words left her mouth and she immediately registered that they might have been a mistake. But she wasn't the type to take things back, so she just held her ground and watched Mio, trying not to look as tense as she felt.
Mio blinked—seemed genuinely caught off guard for half a second—then broke into a sweet smile.
"Of course. My heart's going pretty fast right now, actually." She tilted her head. "Want to feel?"
Yumiko's gaze dropped, involuntarily, to Mio's chest.
They were both girls. She knew that. She was fully aware of that fact.
And yet there was a very sudden, very inconvenient impulse to reach out and—
She yanked her eyes away.
"So, um." Her voice came out slightly wooden. "It's getting late. We should head back."
Mio checked the time—just past five. For a practice date, this was a reasonable endpoint.
That didn't stop her from wrapping both hands around Yumiko's arm with a theatrical, helpless expression.
"But what if I don't want to go home yet~?"
"Why don't you want to go home?"
The question was out before Yumiko registered the obvious implication. She caught up a moment later.
Right. Of course that's what she meant.
She was not going to let herself get steamrolled on this one.
"If you don't want to go home," Yumiko said, meeting Mio's gaze evenly, "you can come to mine. Do you want to?"
Mio pouted. "Yumiko knows that's not the answer I was going for."
"I know." Yumiko glanced at the time again. "Come on. It'll be dark soon."
"...Fine."
They retrieved the shark plushie from the coin locker and caught the train back. By the time they stepped off near school, the sky had gone soft and orange at the edges, the streetlights just beginning to flicker on.
Mio looked up at the last of the sunset. "And that's a wrap on today's date~"
"I'll walk you back."
"You don't have to—I didn't even buy anything heavy."
"I was your girlfriend today," Yumiko said flatly. "Walking you home is the minimum."
Mio's expression shifted into something a little too knowing. "Is Yumiko perhaps not ready for today to end?"
Mio was obviously joking.
Yumiko knew that.
She also knew, quietly, that there was in fact a small part of her that wasn't ready for it to end. A very small part. Barely worth mentioning.
She said nothing, and kept walking.
Mio fell into step beside her and tucked herself against Yumiko's arm again without comment.
The walk should have taken under twenty minutes.
It took over thirty.
By the time they reached the apartment building, the streetlights were fully on and the sky had gone a dark, clean blue.
Yumiko took a breath. "This is it, then. I should get going."
"Wait."
Mio unhooked the shark plushie from her bag and pushed it into Yumiko's arms.
"A gift. From today."
"...Huh?"
"Doesn't it kind of look like you?"
Yumiko turned the plushie over in her hands, frowning. "How does this look like me."
"Super fierce face." Mio tilted her head. "But actually really cute."
Yumiko had reasonable grounds to suspect this was a dig at something. She had evidence.
But the shark was soft, and it had been a good day, and she let it go.
She squeezed the plushie once—the way you'd squeeze someone's cheeks if you were feeling petty—then said: "Thanks for the gift. I'm heading out."
"Want a goodbye kiss?"
Mio had already started leaning in before she finished the sentence.
Yumiko stepped back on reflex. Looked away. "N—no thank you!"
She turned and left before the conversation could develop further.
"Be careful on the way home," Mio called after her. "Text me when you're back!"
Yumiko lifted a hand in acknowledgment without turning around.
She walked for a while.
And then, somewhere along the way, she sighed.
Hm.
She was, if she was being honest with herself, just a little bit reluctant for today to have ended.
Just a little.
She shook her head, pushing the thought aside, and looked down at the shark tucked under her arm.
"How does this look like me," she muttered.
Then someone tapped her shoulder.
Her first thought was Mio—but when she turned, the person standing behind her was distinctly not Mio.
It was her sister.
The grin on her sister's face was the specific kind that meant trouble.
"What are you doing here?" Yumiko asked, already on guard.
"Stuck at home all day. Came out to stretch my legs." A pause. "Any objections?"
"Not to that. To the look you're giving me."
"Oh, this look?" Her sister gestured vaguely at her own face. "Just happened to spot my darling little sister walking around hand-in-hand with a silver-haired beauty, looking absolutely cozy—smiling, chatting, the whole nine yards." She clasped her hands together with great drama. "I'm so jealous. Why don't I have a best friend who holds my arm like that and looks at me with such gentle eyes? I want a friend I can be close with—"
"Stop. We're just friends." Yumiko crossed her arms, keeping her voice steady. "Normal friends."
How did she miss her own sister standing there? Had she really been that focused on Mio?
"Oh, relax—I'm your big sis, I'm not telling Mom." Her sister wiped away nonexistent tears with tremendous theatrical commitment.
Yumiko looked at her with the flattest expression she could manage. "Believe whatever you want. I'm going home."
"Whaaat, already?! At least give your big sis some tips—share the secrets~"
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