Chapter Text
It’s normal to stare at the selfies your friend posts, wishing you had a reason to talk to them. It’s normal.
It’s a regular friend thing to lay awake thinking about what their lips would taste like. Just friend stuff.
Mizuki hadn’t really felt this way about friends before, sure, they’d hang out and talk to Rui and An without issues, not to mention Mafuyu and Kanade (even though it did get pretty quiet at times..)
So why was it when they thought of Ena, they got all nervous and self concious?
———
They checked the time again after what had only felt like half an hour or so..
02:36am
Oh. They’d stayed on call with Ena, trying to figure out what to do for the newest music video in terms of art and editing that they hadn’t even noticed almost 4 hours had gone by.
“Hey, Enanan. It’s getting pretty late, maybe we should call it a night? You do need that beauty sleep.”
“Oh! Yeah, I didn’t even notice. Time flies, I guess.”
A second passes.
“Wait, what did you mean by that last part??”
Mizuki chuckles and makes to log off Nightcord for the night.
They brush their teeth and change into a lighter nightdress. The summer heat has been getting to them, apparently.
All the while their thoughts are filled by a certain mock-angry face and a sweet voice.
———
“Amia, I saw this listing for a painting class that’s starting in a week or so. I know you’ve said earlier you want to experiment more with media so I thought I’d mention it to you.”
“Oh? And would you be interested in coming with me, then?”
“The great Amia wants to be accompanied? However could I refuse.”
“I hadn’t even asked yet!”
“Fine, I was kind of hoping you’d say yes so I had an excuse to go.”
“Hehe! Glad I could oblige. Could you send me a link for the listing so I could register?”
“Oh, yeah!”
“I’ll sign us both up for it, so now you can’t back out!”
———
Mizuki wasn’t sure why they were so very nervous about this painting class.
I mean, yeah, they didn’t really know how watercolors worked, but that’s why they were there!! To learn!!!
And because Ena had invited them.
They’d even put on extra nice clothes for this! After all, you’ve got to look extra nice for-
..why would they need to look nice for a painting class?
They suddenly felt very silly, standing in a frilly dress, alone, outside the public library.
Because yeah, the painting class was a volunteer-something from the public library.
It didn’t really change anything, though.
As long as they had a fun time Mizuki wouldn’t care if they were at a junkyard or a mansion!
A call from behind startled them out of their thoughts.
“Wah! I told you not to sneak up on me like that!!”
Ena, who had apparently appeared out of nowhere, hummed in response, looking awfully smug.
“Don’t be such a baby! The class starts in a sec, let’s go!”
Ena grabbed their hand and pulled them along, looking back and smiling.
Mizuki started to say something snide about not taking a selfie to commemorate the occasion as they followed the signs for a “Fun Colors Painting Class,” but stopped dead when arriving at the door.
“You.. didn’t think to check what age range this class was for..?”
“I.. suppose I didn’t..?”
Inside the room was what looked like a mismatched group of middle-schoolers and an already tired looking instructor.
“How did you-“
Mizuki’s question was interrupted by an elbow to the ribs.
“Excuse us.. is this the watercolor painting class?” Ena asked them.
“Ah, yeah, you got siblings to drop off?”
“Uh, well, we weren’t aware this class was for kids.” She said, scratching her neck.
Mizuki was standing a couple steps behind her and couldn’t help but adore how embarrassed Ena got when having to confront the misunderstanding.
“Oh! Well, I guess I didn’t state an age limit on the website. I didn’t think this many people would actually show up.”
The instructor looked to be around their age, so this was probably just their way of bringing others some happiness out of their own hobby. Mizuki smiled at that.
They stepped forward to stand next to Ena.
“Would it be fine if we stayed for the class? It’s a one-time thing anyway, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, go ahead. It’s pretty basic stuff though.”
“Oh- that should be fine. I’m not great with traditional art, and I think Shinonome here prefers working with oil paints.”
Mizuki glanced over at Ena, who flashed a smile at the instructor, wondering why their heart raced at such a simple thing.
Moving to one of the small, brightly colored tables and grabbing some paper and paints on the way, they both sat down to try some landscape paintings.
———
After an hour or so, all Mizuki had ended up doing to their paper was making it somewhat of a wet mess.
“Aw, that’s a shame! I really liked your sketch.”
Mizuki glanced up at Ena who was sitting across the table with a neat painting of a flower field in front of her and smiled.
“I think I used too much water..”
“Hm. I think I might have the opposite problem. The pigments get so bright, and they’re so hard to control once they’re down on paper!”
“Really? I thought you were doing well?”
“A compliment with no sarcastic undertones? I must’ve caught you in a good mood!”
“I can’t seem to stay in a bad mood with you, can I?”
Ena coughed, looking a shade pinker than before.
“Hm. I think I’m pretty much finished. How are you doing?”
Mizuki shook their head slightly and replied.
“Well, I don’t think this is going to win me any awards. If you’re done, we could start packing up.”
“Alright. It’s getting pretty late, though. Wanna grab dinner with me?”
“Sure thing! Now let’s get this mess sorted.”
———
After cleaning up their station (to the many thanks of the poor instructor,) they made their way to leave the building.
Walking outside, Mizuki noticed the slighest drizzle.
“Looks like the weather’s turning on us.”
“Hm. We should hurry.”
As Ena had said that, the sky opened.
Without really thinking, Ena grabbed Mizuki’s hand and started sprinting in the direction of her own apartment building.
It wasn’t a long way there, and once they were at the port, they both burst out laughing.
“I’m sorry!! I wasn’t thinking! Now it’s probably gonna be more trouble for you to get home!”
“Oh, don’t worry about that yet! We can order dinner from yours, right?”
They were both wiping rainwater from their eyes and patting down their clothes to see just how bad the rain had gotten to them, and not really thinking of the implications of a dinner alone at Ena’s home.
“Yeah. I just hope you won’t mind my mess of a room.”
“We’ll see.” Mizuki laughed, as they followed Ena through the door.
Reaching the fourth floor, Ena pulled out a keychain and unlocked one of the doors, reading “Shinonome.”
“I’m home!” Ena called as they entered. No reply.
“Hm. I guess Akito’s out with Toya again. Dad’s on a business trip, I hope you won’t mind it’s just us.”
“Not at all. What do you wanna get for dinner?”
“..I could kill for some good pizza.”
“Pizza it is!”
———
A shared hawaii’an pizza later (to Ena’s loud protest. She did NOT think pineapples belonged on pizza and was not afraid to say so,) they were both on Ena’s floor, leaning against her bed.
“Oh, crap! I forgot to check buses for you!”
“It’s okay, Ena. The buses go pretty much any.. time..”
Mizuki stopped halfway through the second sentence as their phone blinked multiple notifications of commuting services being down for the time being due to such heavy rain.
They looked over at Ena, laughing.
“Uh. Do you have an umbrella I could borrow for the way home..?”
“Don’t be silly! You can stay here. It’s not like there’s anyone to say no.”
Mizuki looked around the empty room.
“..You’re sure?”
“Of course. I wouldn’t want you to catch a cold in this weather.”
Mizuki’s face heated up. She really cared.
Ena was so different from all other friends they’d had before. Not only because of the butterflies she’d send through Mizuki’s body unknowingly, but in the small things too.
She had always had their back. Never prying too deep when it was obvious Mizuki didn’t want to talk about something but always insistent enough for them to know she cared.
She still invited them out even after getting some no’s when they weren’t up for it, and didn’t drift away when things got hard to handle. It had been a long while since Mizuki had trusted someone as much as they trusted Ena.
Mizuki was watching her back while she was digging through her closet for clothes they could borrow for the night and felt so very warm and fuzzy inside.
After rifling through a couple drawers Ena pulled out a set of pyjamas.
“Ah! These should work!”
Mizuki was once again startled out of their thoughts.
“I- I forgot to ask earlier, are you fine with sharing a bed? I don’t know where we keep our extra matresses so unless you’re more comfortable sleeping on the floor then..”
“Oh- yeah. It’s fine. I’ll go and change.”
Mizuki’s heart was racing. Just slightly.
———
Inside of the bathroom they started getting out of the clothes they’d put on this morning. The clothes Ena had handed them were a regular set of pj’s. They were slightly wider and shorter than what’d usually fit Mizuki, but they were fine with that.
The fabric smelled sweet and they paused for a bit, just breathing in the air around them.
Washing their face in the sink and letting out their hair, Mizuki waited for the pink on their cheeks to disappear before walking back through the corridor to Ena’s room.
“Oh! Mizu!”
She looked nervous. She’d also changed into a set of pyjamas. She looked very cute in it.
“It’s only 8. Wanna watch something?” Mizuki suggested. Partly to distract from the heat rising to their face from seeing both Ena’s thighs and stomach.
“Yeah, sure!”
They moved closer as Ena grabbed her laptop from her desk and moved to sit down on her bed.
“Did I tell you about this new anime that started releasing a couple months ago-“
———
The rest of the evening passed in somewhat of a blur. The both of them laying in Ena’s bed, watching whatever show had caught Ena’s interest. As time went on, Ena inched closer and closer, until she was laying partly on top of Mizuki.
They were already feeling pretty tired and getting more and more flustered as the credits rolled for the second cheesy romance show they’d finished tonight.
“Ena. Hey, Ena.”
No reply.
Mizuki smiled to themselves and had the urge to smooth through her hair.
Instead, they closed the laptop on top of the blankets quietly and put it over on Ena’s bedside table. They fell asleep to the sound of Ena close to them.
———
Sun peeked through the curtains and Mizuki slowly came to.
As some of the fuzziness of sleep had left them they realized the position they were currently in.
Some time during the night they had turned around to face Ena, and their arms had snaked around her waist, just as Ena’s was lightly embracing theirs.
As this registered, Ena stirred in her sleep. It soon became clear that she was waking up.
Slightly shifting backwards, Mizuki watched as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked up to Mizuki’s face.
Ouf of nowhere, she smiled, and reached out a hand towards their face. Mizuki could feel as the tips of Ena’s nails scratched across their temple, tucking a stray strand of hair behind their ear.
Their breathing hitched, yet they felt that if they looked away, something bad would happen. Or maybe something good wouldn’t.
Ena’s hand shifted to cup the side of Mizuki’s face.
“Oh” was all they could think.
And then Ena kissed them.
It was quick. They didn’t even have time to close their eyes before she pulled away.
“I’m sorry! I don’t know why I did that. I’m sorry! I don’t even-“
She was scrambling to throw the blankets off her and stand up. Mizuki felt their heart ache.
They started sitting up too, maybe to try and unravel some of what was happening.
They grabbed Ena’s arm and tried to say something, but didn’t have the first clue as to what that would be, and just ended up looking like a big questionmark.
“I didn’t mean to-“
Her breathing was quick and it looked like her eyes were glossing over with tears.
Mizuki was stumped on what to do, and in their moment of confusion Ena had tugged free of their loose grip and rushed out the door.
Hearing the lock of the bathroom door click, Mizuki let out a shaky breath.
Their thoughts were a complete mess and they could still feel where Ena’s lips had pressed against their own.
———
They knocked on the bathroom door.
“..Ena?”
No reply.
“I’m not angry, you know that, right?”
Some shuffling from behind the door.
“Could you let me in?”
“..Give me a second.”
Her voice was low, it sounded as if it’d break with just one loud word.
They let out a sigh of relief. There were some more sounds of movement from inside the bathroom, and then the lock clicked open.
Pulling open the door Mizuki saw a red eyed Ena, and without any hesitation they pulled her into a hug.
After a few seconds Ena’s hands came to rest on Mizuki’s lower back, reciprocating the gesture.
They pushed her away by the shoulders and tried to make eye contact, searching for some hint to what she might be thinking.
“I’m sorry.”
Her voice was small.
“You.. didn’t mean anything by it?”
“That’s not- I don’t know.”
She sunk down onto the bathroom floor and Mizuki followed suit.
“I’ve been so confused about how to feel about you. I thought I just cared about you a bit more than others- and that I wanted you to feel better and I want that- of course I do.”
“But?”
“But then I started thinking about you more. And more. And then I couldn’t stop- I’m sorry. This is coming out so strangely- I don’t mean this in a bad way I just really, really like being around you.”
They were too stunned to say anything.
Something inside Ena faltered then.
“I’m sorry- I get it if you feel weird about this and-“
Mizuki had cut her off with a kiss.
This time it was Ena’s turn to be surprised, however, she quickly caught on. She pulled away slightly, with Mizuki’s hands cupping her face.
“You’re sure?”
Mizuki nodded. They were so close that it ended up brushing the tips of their noses together and Ena laughed lightly.
The sound only was enough for Mizuki to pull her in again. Both of them were smiling, flush against eachother.
Ena was just as soft up close as they’d imagined. One of Mizuki’s hands came to rest at her waist. They could feel where the short t-shirt gave way to warm skin. Only when Ena took the lead to push back against Mizuki did they both realize they were still sat on the bathroom floor. They broke apart, both laughing quietly.
Ena broke the still silence.
“We should probably get breakfast..”
“Can’t it wait?”
She smiled shyly at Mizuki and their chest felt as if it was boiling. They stood up and reached out a hand towards Ena. She took it and promptly started pulling them back towards her bedroom.
They both collapsed onto the bed, Mizuki holding themselves above Ena. The view of her laying underneath them, red faced and giggly made them swoon.
This time when they bent down to kiss Ena, her hands caught their face on the way down and tangled in their hair. Mizuki tilted their face until their lips slotted together. They slowly sunk down on top of Ena, running their hands from her waist to cup her cheeks.
———
An indiscernible amount of time later, the kisses were interrupted by a growling stomach.
Mizuki let out a breathy laugh.
“Breakfast?” they asked, having pulled back.
“Breakfast.” Ena replied, a silly smile on her face.