The warm, gentle ocean breeze tickled Chika's cheeks. The all too familiar scent of the salty water filled her nostrils with its calming scent, her memory going through the many different instances of when she had stood here before. Her bare feet dug into the went sand of the ocean, a sensation she was all too incredibly used to. She wiggled her toes to keep them from falling asleep under the pressure of the sand. Her dress gently blew in the breeze, as she did her best to keep it from flying too high up her legs.
Chika smiled, a certain softness emanating from the edge of her lips.
Her lips were coated with a salmon coloured lipgloss today, that tasted of mikan. She had to stop herself from licking her lips all the time.
Suddenly, soft footsteps could be heard behind her. Chika turned around, her hair blowing into her face. Adjusting her hair to be behind her ears and flowing behind her again, Chika grinned, seeing who the footsteps belonged to.
"You're late, Riko!"
Riko, dressed in a simple, yet soft pink dress, looked at Chika and laughed nervously. She could feel her stomach twist inwards, as if to tell her, hey, you're pretty damn nervous, calm down. Trying to ignore the feeling in her gut, she walked closer to where Chika was standing.
"Sorry, I'm so late," she apologized formally. After silence of Chika's end, she began twiddling her thumbs, but eventually continued. "You wanted to see me?"
Chika only smiled, offering a hand out to Riko.
"Eh?" Riko questioned, unsure of what to think of Chika's sudden gesture. She could feel her heart start to speed up, thump, thump, thump. This entire situation was eating away at her poor nerves.
Chika only laughed at Riko's inability to discern her intent. "Take my hand, silly."
Take her hand...? Riko thought, her heart speeding up even further at the thought. Her cheeks were starting to warm up just at the idea. After a few moments, she dug up the willpower to grab Chika's hand with her own. Her hands were so sweaty and clammy, and Chika's were... soft. Warm. Very soft.
"Follow me!" Chika exclaimed, leading Riko even deeper into the waves of the ocean. "Now, take your clothes off."
"Ch-Chika!" Riko shouted, embarrassed. What was Chika thinking? "I can't just t-take my clothes off!"
Before she had the time to process what was happening, Chika had begun stripping. She whipped off her dress, tossing it further up on the beach. What was revealed under her dress was a orange bikini, a small mikan decorating the left corner of the bottoms. It was plain, but it was very cute. It was very... Chika. She was so cute.
"Don't tell me you're not wearing a bathing suit, Riko?"
Blushing, Riko finally found her words. "I-I am, but still! This is so sudden!"
"Aww come on, Riko. Off with the dress! Off with it!" Chika playfully teased, poking Riko's stomach and hips. "If you don't take it off, I will!"
The idea of that made Riko even redder than she was before. Her face was probably the colour of her hair by now. Her heart too, felt like it was pounding out of her chest. "Chika, please! I'll take it off myself..." Riko trailed off, turning around to slip off her dress. She tossed it close to the area where Chika's was. She was still a little uncomfortable in a bathing suit, especially a bikini, but if Chika insisted...
"That's better," Chika said, smiling at Riko. Her bikini was a soft pink, with a simple flower design on her top, embroidered in white. It suited Riko so well, despite how uncomfortable she knew Riko was wearing it. She and You had helped pick it out for her earlier that month. She looked more dazzling in it than Chika remembered. Her cheeks turned a light pink after fully taking it all in. "Now, follow me!"
Riko was a little disappointed Chika didn't ask her to hold her hand again, but she followed. The water steadily rose on her body, little by little, as they walked deeper into it. When it reached their necks, Chika finally stopped, and turned around to face Riko.
"Is this what you wanted to show me?" Riko asked, curiously. There wasn't really anything special about the ocean--she and the rest of Aqours would regularly take swims, just to switch up their exercise regimens a bit. You and Kanan especially loved it.
Chika only smiled, but her smile radiated with a softness Riko hadn't seen before. It was different from her usual brightness--the brightness that she always had around her when she was dancing and singing as a school idol. It was different too, from the brightness that she showed when with her friends. It was a kind of gentle warmth Riko hadn't seen Chika show at all before this moment.
Poking Riko in the nose, Chika declared, "You're it!"
"Huh?" Riko said mostly to herself, as she watched her friend swim off even deeper into the ocean. Did she really just get brought here to play tag?
Rising to the surface, Chika saw Riko hadn't moved from the spot she left her. What a silly girl. "Riko, you'll never catch me like that!"
Riko decided to go along with Chika's game, despite how weird she thought it was. Maybe Chika was just feeling lonely and wanted to have fun in the ocean today. "You better swim faster then, or I'll catch you!" Riko yelled so Chika could hear her, as she flew into a swimming stroke to chase after her friend.
Chika continued swimming farther ahead of Riko, but it wasn't long before Riko caught up to her and tagged her foot.
"Gotcha, Chika!"
"Aww...." Chika whined, stopping swimming to stand up next to Riko. "I'm just no match for anyone when it comes to swimming."
Riko giggled, patting Chika on the shoulder. She could feel her friend's warmth from swimming in the warm ocean, her body dripping the water they were in. "Did you really just take me out here so we could chase each other?"
Chika smiled, that glow surrounding her again.
"I wanted to be alone with you because I have something I want to tell you." Chika paused. "Will you take my hand again? Actually, this time take both of my hands!" Chika asked, extending her hands out to Riko to take.
The usual energy Chika had wasn't present right now, and it alarmed Riko. Chika was so serious. What was going on? I mean, of course she wanted to hold Chika's hands--it was something she wanted more than anything. To feel the warmth and softness of Chika's hands was a dream come true. It was something Riko had only dreamed of before today.
After brief hesitation, Riko took Chika's hands in her own, walking towards her. Though she was unsure of what was going on, Riko went along with Chika simply because she liked holding her hands.
When Riko was less than an arms reach away, Chika entwined her fingers with Riko's and looked at her friend in the eyes. Whispering, she said, "Come closer."
Going along with Chika, Riko's mind was going wild with ideas of what was going on. It could all be some elaborate prank, or maybe something had happened to Chika and she needed the help of her friend. Or maybe...
No, there's no way, Riko thought.
She walked closer to Chika until their faces were only inches apart.
Being this close to Chika, she saw the remnants of the orange lipgloss on her lips. They looked so soft.
"Riko, can I ask you something?" Chika asked.
"Of course," Riko replied. She felt a knot in her throat being this close to Chika. Her heart wouldn't stop pounding, and her face felt incredibly hot.
Chika looked down before asking her question. She was unsure of herself, unsure if her words would get through to Riko. Unsure if she was making a huge mistake and this would cost her, her friendship with Riko. You had helped her come up with this plan, so she couldn't back down. But she was so unsure if things would go the way she wanted. Chika was so plain and ordinary, and Riko was... she so much of everything. Chika couldn't even formulate everything she liked about Riko. She wasn't good with words, anyway.
Her heart was pounding so hard it was getting hard to breathe.
Right now was what mattered, though, and Riko's hands felt so warm. She never wanted to let go of them.
"Holding your hands like this... it feels so nice, doesn't it?"
Goddammit Chika, stop skirting around the issue!
The question caught Riko off guard, but she answered nonetheless. "It does feel nice. I like it..."
Chika's cheeks began heating up, flushing a brighter pink than before. "Th-then..." She started. She was having a hard time formulating words, because all she could focus on was her pounding chest. Chika just couldn't get any words out. She probably looked like an idiot, and that's all she could think about when trying to form her words.
Riko gulped. "Chika? Are you okay?" She squeezed Chika's hands to try to help her friend. No matter what way she spun it, she felt like Chika was about to confess to her. And that thought made Riko's stomach get even more queasy than it already was.
Finally, Chika was able to get words out, but it wasn't how she was planning to get them out. She nearly screamed, "Can we kiss?!"
Her face turned beet red.
"I- I didn't-- that wasn't supposed to happen! I- Um..."
Riko's face turned an identical shade of red. She swallowed the knot her throat. All she could do in this situation was laugh. Finding out her feelings were reciprocated was beyond comprehensible. But the way Chika blurted out something like that made her giggle.
Chika wasn't smooth, but Riko never expected her to be. It wasn't in her.
"Hey! That's mean, Riko..." Chika whined, accepting defeat. She had all the words planned to woo Riko, to win her affection, to plant a kiss on her lips at just the right time and now it was all ruined. She was so upset at herself.
She continued to watch Riko laugh, her defeat soon turning into determination.
"Sakurauchi Riko!" Chika said, a tone of authority in her voice.
Riko finally stopped herself from laughing. "Yes, Chika?" She wiped some tears from her eyes that had slipped out when she was laughing so hard.
"Close your eyes!" Chika demanded, her expression so determined.
"Eh?" Riko questioned.
"Just close your eyes!"
Seeing the determination in Chika, Riko complied. She closed her eyes, knowing exactly what awaited her when she did so. Before she had time to think, she felt a warm sensation on her lips.
Chika leaned forward as soon as she saw her close her eyes, and planted her lips on Riko's. She wasn't sure if she was doing this right, but she wanted to kiss Riko more than anything in that moment. Riko's lips were so warm, smooth, and sweet and she never wanted to stop kissing her but that might be a little bit weird.
When their lips parted, both of them opened their eyes and stared at each other for a while. Chika broke the silence.
"Was that... okay?" She asked.
Riko smiled, imitating the warm glow that Chika had illuminated. "Can we do it again?"
Chika smiled back at Riko, her teeth showing through her smile. She leaned forward to kiss Riko again, but this time she kissed her cheeks a number of times before moving on to her lips.
The two of them stayed out in the ocean, kissing each other until the sun set.