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Ichika doesn't think she'll ever grow tired of watching the girls do... well, anything, really. Both inside and outside of the band, she can't help but fall in love with everything they do. Between Saki's boundless enthusiasm, Honami's calculated kindness and Shiho's practical honesty, she can't help but feel like she makes heart eyes at them just as often as she does at Miku, if not more.
To be frank (as she tends to be), Ichika doesn't even mind that she's bit of a loser around them. They're the same around her, are they not? They're practically made to be together. In fact, she might go so far as to call them soulmates. She doesn't necessarily believe in those, but she can't see a life without the girls in it, and that has to mean something, surely?
Even now, doing nothing but lying on Saki's couch, she feels so odd. She doesn't want to call that sensation love, because that's nothing more than a word, and her feelings can't be condensed into just that. Saki is sat back with her head on Ichika's shoulder, so Shiho, almost childishly, had decided to sit closer to her, and she feels a warmth in her chest that she can't describe.
"The cookies are ready to decorate! I lit candles to make it more romantic," Honami calls from the kitchen, audibly smiling. Immediately, the smell catches Ichika's attention - it's like Valentine's Day, making candles and finding flowers that mean something to the girls, soft on her calloused fingers.
"Saki, hurry up, or we're starting without you," Shiho calls, not much louder than Honami. As annoyed as her words are, her tone is playful.
Saki's head snaps upwards, eyes wide. "W-What? Hona-chan~, tell her to wait for me!"
Ichika giggles. In so many ways, they've changed and grown over the years, and yet they've truly never changed.
"Give her a chance, Shiho," she says, trying not to sound too much like she's teasing her. If her tone saved her, Saki grinning in Shiho's direction gives her away, and both girls receive that you're making up for this in practice look. They can live with it. Practice is a form of quality time, is it not?
Saki hops off the couch gleefully. "Thank you, Icchan ♪ Look, I'm here, I'm here, let's go!"
Ichika gets up too, walking over to the cookies laid out on the kitchen counter. Honami may not be particularly confident in her artistic abilities, but Ichika can see the affection and care put into shaping these cookies, and she's sure she'll be able to taste it later, too. 4 of the cookies are all shaped (vaguely) like their heads, with the others being star-shaped.
Saki, enthusiastic as ever, snatches various colors of frosting. Her eyes are darting between their homemade frosting bags (made from her own sandwich bags) and the cookie in front of her, as if carefully calculating how she's going to use every color there. Ichika has no idea how she could pull that off, but it's Saki. She'll find a way, no matter how absurd.
"Hey, Saki," Shiho mutters. "You don't have to hog the frosting, y'know."
Saki glares at her. She's grabbed a variety of colors, hiding them behind her back, and pouts slightly. Shiho is not amused. "Shiho-chaaan~", she whines, "it's for the artistic vision!"
Shiho rolls her eyes and takes one of the only bags left on the counter, beginning to decorate her own cookie. Ichika looks over to Honami. She doesn't want to see any of their creations until they're done, but from a brief glance, she can see that she's already halfway done. Sure, it's not some incredible work of art, but it's Honami, right? That's more than enough for her. She was smiling while Shiho and Saki bickered, and she's smiling now, not a care in the world. Not anymore.
Ichika gets to work on her own cookie. Hers is Saki, though, given that it's just a blob with two more blobs on the side, it could easily be Miku. She doesn't quite manage to pull off the fade from blonde hair to pink, but she can live with that. As long as it's Saki, she's happy.
So, what makes Saki Saki, in her eyes? She looks at her again, hard at work, probably not even aware of her massive grin. There's a strand of hair in her mouth and her hands are, somehow, covered in frosting already. Occasionally, she'll whisper something in Shiho's ear, and she's roll her eyes and tell her to focus on her own cookie. When she whispers to Honami, she gets a giggle, sometimes even accompanied by tears. It's messy, it's fun, it's about impulse and emotion and heart, and that's what makes her Saki.
Once they've finished decorating, they step back to see each other's work, and Ichika instantly feels a smile spread across her cheeks. It looks just like us.
As expected, nobody has to ask whose is whose. Only Saki would include a detail like a vibrant apple charm in Honami's scrunchie; only Honami would give Shiho a poker face, rather than teasing her with a smile; only Shiho would be so precise with Ichika's hair, down to each strand; and only Ichika would mix the messy, reckless side of Saki with her more gentle, affectionate side.
"These are beautiful, Honami says softly. The other two smile up at her (the height difference is more obvious than ever), and Ichika does too. Words don't do them justice. They're not stunning, they're not groundbreaking, but she just can't look away.
Surprisingly, Saki is the first to avert her eyes. "You guys are the best," she mumbles, her voice trembling.
"Are you crying?" Shiho asks, leaning over to see her face. It's no surprise that Saki would be the one to get emotional, but nobody quite expected it, either.
Saki shakes her head violently. "No, please, there's just... joy in my eyes! Can we have hot chocolate now?"
As expected of Saki - as soon as they're done with one thing, they have to move on to the next. There's no point in arguing. Saki always gets her way in the end.
"In a few minutes," Ichika promises. "Let's relax for a bit first."
They head over to the fireplace. The fire hasn't been going for long, so none of them are too warm yet. Saki flops back down onto the couch, wrapping herself in a thin blanket decorated with stars, and Shiho nudges her. Honami gives her a poke, too.
"Saki-chan, we need room to sit too," she insists. Saki is obstinate, spreading herself out to maximise the amount of space she takes up, but she knows it's pointless. Honami smiles, grabbing her by the collar, and drags her to one end of the couch. Part of Ichika wishes that was her.
Even then, Saki refuses to share the blanket. Ichika sits next to her, leaning over to smile at her and laugh as she turns away with playful indignation. Honami takes her place next to her, and Shiho sits on the other end of the couch, staring into space.
For someone so down-to-earth, she was in her own world a lot. Then again, there were more surprising things about her, like her thinly veiled of cute things. In just a few days' time, she'd be giving her a phenny plush she wasn't able to get that year. Hopefully, she'll let herself smile. She's been doing it more than ever.
For a few minutes, they seemed to communicate without words - glances, nudges, giggles, small gestures - in such a wonderfully childish way. Saki tries to draw letters in the air, but keeps getting them flipped; Shiho gives them looks of all sorts, blushing every time someone giggles at them; Honami makes various creative shapes, using shadows to make animals; and Ichika shows letters and shapes with her hands, barely keeping up with the conversation as she tries to figure out how to make stars and which heart shape looks best.
As expected, it's Saki who breaks the silence. "Hona-chaaaan," she says, lying on Ichika's lap and looking up at Honami. "Is the frosting dry yet?"
Honami, barely succeeding in her attempts to avoid laughing, nods. "It'll be a little longer than 10 minutes, Saki-chan," she replies, twirling Saki's hair.
With an impatient groan, Saki rolls onto the carpet. Honami and Ichika giggle, and Shiho rolls her eyes.
"Saki, come over here."
Her eyes immediately light up, and she scrambles over to Shiho, grinning. Shiho pulls her hands out of her pockets, and both girls lean forward. What on Earth are they doing? While Saki continues leaning in, Shiho stops, and puts both of her hands on Saki's cheeks with a grin.
"SHIHO-CHAN!" she yelps, falling backwards onto Honami's lap with a groan. The girls laugh, though Saki's cheeks are bright pink. "You owe me a kiss now, y'know!"
Shiho grimaces. "Hang on– what?"
Saki crosses her arms and squeezes next to Ichika again, refusing to make eye contact with Shiho. "I thought you were gonna give me one just then! I think I'm being fair!"
Shiho sighs, rolling her eyes. "Not really... but fine, later. When it's warmer."
Ichika's not entirely sure what time she's suggesting - how much warmer can it get when they have the fire on? - but if she's just trying to delay it, fair enough. When Saki said "a kiss", she never actually meant just one.
"Hey, don't you think it's time for some hot chocolate now?" Ichika says, getting both girls' attention (as well as Honami's).
Saki instantly sits up and gets to her feet, grabbing her mug and the whipped cream, turning away from everyone as she sprays it onto the drink.
"Saki? What're you doing?" Shiho asks flatly, unamused.
Saki mumbles something, but nobody can quite make out the words (assuming that's what they were). Finally, she turns around slowly, and reveals a copious amount of whipped cream on her chin.
"I'm Santa Claus!" she cheers, holding her hands out underneath her chin in case it falls. Shiho sighs, although she can't hide her smile. Ichika and Honami don't make an effort to, and their laughter quickly spreads to the other two.
"I don't know if Santa looks like a highschooler with twintails," Shiho says with a laugh. Saki frowns at her, and turns towards the table, wiping off the whipped cream.
"Icchan, Hona-chan, she's bullying me~!" she whines. Ichika doesn't pay attention - just like Shiho had been, she appears to be staring into space.
Her eyes are fixed on the window. It's hard to see outside with the cold weather, and she might be imagining it, but she swears she can see it–
"Look outside-!" she whispers, almost involuntarily. The others immediately shift their focus to the window, gasping as soon as they notice.
"It's snowing!" Saki yelps, rushing to see. They quickly follow her, pressing their hands to the window as if it makes them closer to touching it. It truly is so childish, staring out the window watching the snow as if they've only heard of it in stories.
"The snow is beautiful, isn't it? Just like stars," Honami whispers. Ichika looks at her for a moment. She sees it in her eyes, and smiles.
"Yeah. It is," she murmurs in reply, looking back to the snow. There it is again, that strange warmth in her chest, despite the cold outside. Watching the snow, seeing it reflected in their eyes, hearing them laugh, smelling the cookies they decorated together and the candles they lit... now she realises. It's more than love. It's them. As long as they're by her side, she'll feel that warmth forever.