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These are the afternoons she lives for.
When Tsubaki sprawls out on her floor and tells her about her day in the most casual tone decorated with laughter every now and then. Sunlight streams in through her window, cascading Tsu’s dark hair in different hues of black if that’s even possible. It illuminates her face and highlights the perfect contour of her makeup, her high cheekbones, and dark blue eyes. Even her smile seems to brighten up her face and dance around as she speaks.
The word beautiful crosses Liz’s mind about a dozen and one times in the span of ten minutes. She’s barely listening to Tsubaki. Her focus is mostly on how well her friends features compliments her quiet personality and imaging her best friend in a field of blossoms.
Liz is utterly and undeniably infatuated with her friend. Her heart soars, her worries become meaningless, and the warmth that spreads across her chest is all so comforting. It’s afternoons like this that she wishes she can keep forever.
Or at least spend them doing more than just talk.
Sometimes Liz wants to sit by her friend on the floor and run her hands through her long black hair. Sometimes she wants to cradle the nape of Tsu’s neck and rub her fingers across her scalp to give her goosebumps before pressing her lips to hers. Maybe kiss the freckles across her nose and cheeks, the corners of her mouth, the indent of her jaw. Anything, really, that will let her friend know how she really feels about her.
“Is everything okay?” Tsubaki asks, drawing Liz out of her daydream.
“Yeah. Of course. Why wouldn’t it be?”
Tsu squints at her, the slight disbelief evident, before saying, “You seem different. What were you thinking about just now?”
Her cheeks flush, and Liz draws her legs to her chest, burying her face behind her knees. “Nothing. Just… stuff. I guess.”
“You guess?”
“Yeah. It’s nothing important.”
Picking herself off the floor, Tsu sits down next to Liz and smiles. It’s that small, sweet smile that she reserves for stray puppies and small children. The smile that’s motherly and warm and sets Liz’s heart on fire because it’s really an enticing smile that she would give anything to feel beneath a kiss.
“Come on, Liz. We’re best friends. You can tell me anything.”
She hesitates for the briefest of moments before dancing around the topic of them because that’s dangerous waters she isn’t ready to tread in. Tsubaki isn’t the type of girl to have a crush on her friend. At least, not a friend who’s a girl.
“Just… us. I guess,” she chokes out, avoiding eye contact with Tsu. “And how I’m glad you’re my friend and… stuff. Like… really glad.”
“I’m glad you’re my friend too.” Tsu rests her hand on Liz’s, and a surge of electricity shoots up her warm that makes it difficult to swallow without some struggle.
“That’s not what I meant,” Liz chances because honestly, she can’t go on forever like this. She has to know. “I don’t just like you as a friend. I kinda like you as–”
Her words are cut short when Tsubaki leans over and kisses her. It isn’t a deep or passionate kiss like in the movies; it’s sweet and brief but still leaves Liz melting right there on the spot. She blinks the shock away before meeting her friend’s gaze which is warm and gentle, a perfect reflection of the smile she gives her.
“What–”
“I like you too,” is all Tsu says, and it’s enough.
A goofy grin that she’s only seen Soul give Maka spreads across her face. Her heart is a hundred times lighter, and she cups Tsu’s face between her hands and pulls her in for another kiss. Except this time it lasts longer than just a second. It’s deeper and more passionate than the one Tsu gave her and butterflies flutter around in her stomach. The corners of Tsu’s mouth perk up in that smile Liz loves, and suddenly she’s floating on cloud nine.
It’s so much better than hat she imagined, what she dreamed of, because this is real. And her friend’s arms wrapping around her waist is so comforting, so perfect, that she doesn’t want them to ever leave.
They both break away from the kiss, pressing their foreheads together and giggling in the space between them. Neither say a word and only express their feelings through more kisses and touches until it doesn’t become enough and they’re both laughing on Liz’s bed and sharing how long they’ve crushed on the other and have waited for this very moment.
These are definitely the afternoons Liz lives for.