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When Thoma returns to their meeting spot in the shade of the large oak tree on the campus grounds, Ayaka’s heart sinks at the stress evident in his expression.
“Thoma. Did it not… go well?”
Thoma plops down onto the grass next to her with a heavy sigh. “Okay, I’m going to preface this by saying that you should have never trusted me to be a good wingman for you, especially when you didn’t tell me that Lumine has a very pretty twin brother!”
Ayaka blinks, tilting her head in question. “I apologise, but where is this going?”
“So I went to talk to Lumine, right, and give her your letter, but I’d barely greeted her before pretty boy showed up!” Thoma throws his hands into the air. “And she’s like ‘oh Thoma, this is my twin brother, Aether’ and he gives me the most dazzling smile and a cute little wave. I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful in my life!”
“I suppose Aether is objectively very attractive,” Ayaka agrees. “If you didn’t give Lumine my letter because Aether was there then that’s fine, not that I mind him knowing my feelings for her but--”
“Oh no, I gave Lumine the letter,” Thoma cuts across her.
“Ah. Did she not accept my feelings, then?”
“No! I mean, I don’t know!” Thoma sprawls back on the grass, covering his face with a groan. There’s a long moment of silence, and then he mumbles so quietly that Ayaka isn’t sure she hears him properly, “She thought it was from me.”
“I’m sorry?”
“She thought it was from me!” Thoma exclaims. Though most of his face is hidden behind his hands, Ayaka doesn’t miss how red his ears are. “I lost all ability to think properly when Aether turned up and kind of just shoved the letter at her like ‘this is for you’. And, well, it was pretty obvious what the letter was. She took one glance at it and was all ‘I’m flattered Thoma, but I’m not interested in men’ and I was so embarrassed that instead of correcting her, I just bolted! Now Aether is going to think I’m straight and into his sister. Ughhhh, what a way to make a first impression.”
Ayaka opens her mouth to respond, then closes it, then opens it again. Never has Thoma rendered her so speechless before. The whole thing was a disaster, evidently, and she’s going to have to find Lumine herself before the misunderstanding spirals any further. But despite that, laughter bubbles in her throat, and she slaps a hand over her mouth in an attempt to hide her growing smile.
“Wha-- don’t laugh at me!” Thoma says indignantly, rolling over so he can swat at Ayaka’s legs.
“I’m not,” Ayaka giggles. “Sorry! You have to admit it is a bit funny though. You are usually such a smooth talker.”
Thoma pouts at her, but his eyes betray his relief at her reaction. “You’re not mad that I messed up?”
Shaking her head, Ayaka gives him a reassuring smile. “Of course not. Admittedly, I asked you to do something that I really should have done myself. I was just too nervous.” She takes a deep breath, steeling herself. “I need to go and speak with Lumine.”
“Are you sure?” Thoma asks. “I can go back if you want, try to actually explain--”
“Don’t worry, Thoma.” She pats the top of his head and suppresses a laugh at the way he instantly brightens. “I can do this. And perhaps at the same time, I can put in a good word about you with Aether, no?”
Thoma splutters, his cheeks growing red. “I, uh, I mean! If you could clarify that I am very gay and definitely not in love with his sister, that would be great! And maybe say how cool and nice I am too?”
“I’ll do my best,” she tells him, rising to her feet. Thoma grins as she loops her bag over her shoulder.
“Go get your girl, Ayaka! You’ve got this!”
Nodding resolutely, Ayaka walks off in the direction Thoma came, debating where she might locate Lumine. If she remembers correctly, Lumine doesn’t have classes this afternoon, so she’s either still enjoying her lunch break or has retreated to the library to study.
As luck would have it, Ayaka runs into Lumine on her way to the library. Lumine almost walks straight past her, her eyebrows furrowed in determination and a familiar pink envelope clutched in her hands. Ayaka calls out to her to catch her attention.
“Ayaka!” Lumine draws to an abrupt halt in front of her. For some reason, her cheeks are a little pink, and she looks away sheepishly. “I was just coming to look for you.”
“Ah, what a coincidence. I was looking for you too.” Ayaka steals a glance at the letter, surprised to see it in pristine condition despite Lumine rejecting it from Thoma. In hindsight, she probably should have signed her name on it, but Thoma losing his composure in Aether’s presence wasn’t exactly part of her plan either.
Lumine laughs somewhat nervously. “Shall we go somewhere more private, maybe? I feel weird having this conversation around so many people.” Indeed, there were plenty of students entering and leaving the library in front of them, and the expanse of grass behind was occupied by several groups enjoying the sunshine.
There’s a restless sort of energy thrumming under Ayaka’s skin as Lumine takes her hand, leading her to a quieter area. Her grip is loose, tentative, but her hand is warm and comfortable and, not to sound cheesy, but they fit together perfectly like puzzle pieces slotting into place.
When they reach the back of the buildings, Lumine stops, turning to face Ayaka. However, before she can fit a word in edgeways, Ayaka blurts out, “the letter is from me, not Thoma!”
Lumine coughs and she’s definitely blushing now. “I know, I know. I, uhm, looked at the letter properly after he left and realised it was your handwriting. I hope I didn’t embarrass him too much. He ran off so fast.”
“If anything, his embarrassment came more from your brother being there,” Ayaka admits. “He is rather distressed by the fact that Aether might be under the impression that he is both straight and attracted to you.”
“Thoma’s not into girls?”
Ayaka muffles a giggle behind her hand. “Not at all.”
“Oh,” Lumine blinks. “My gaydar is off, clearly. I even thought there was something going on between you two when we first met.”
“I love Thoma to death, but absolutely not,” Ayaka smiles wryly. “Our lack of attraction to the opposite gender is quite a bonding point in our friendship.”
Lumine lets out a long-suffering sigh and mumbles something under her breath that sounds suspiciously like, “damn, I would’ve asked you out so much sooner if I’d realised.”
“You... “ Ayaka trails off.
It’s a rare phenomenon to see Lumine looking so flustered. She’s very popular, and therefore receives no shortage of confessions from men and women alike. As far as Ayaka is aware, she hasn’t accepted any in the several months that they’ve known each other, instead turning them down politely without any sort of break in her composure. In fact, the only times Ayaka has seen Lumine blush…
“I like you a lot, Ayaka,” Lumine confesses in a rush. “Reading your letter, it felt too good to be true that it was from you. But I’m really, really happy it is. Um.” She fiddles with the hem of her t-shirt and gazes up at Ayaka through her eyelashes. “Do you want to go on a date with me this weekend?”
A giddy smile spreads across Ayaka’s face, heat rising in her cheeks. “I would love to!”
Lumine beams, and Ayaka can’t stop thinking I’m the reason she looks so happy, I’m the reason she’s become all flustered. It's a wonderful feeling, having such an effect on the object of her affections. “There’s a cute cafe by the river that I’ve heard is really nice. We could go there for lunch if you’re free on Saturday?”
“Sounds perfect.”
“I’ll text you the details later, then,” Lumine tells her. “I, ah, wish I could stick around longer but Aether is waiting for me in the library. We’ve got a project…”
“Oh!” Ayaka had almost forgotten Thoma’s request. It’s a bit awkward to mention, but it’s the least she can do for him after all the support he gives her. “It’s alright, I won’t keep you. But, ah, speaking of Aether, Thoma wanted to clarify to him that he’s gay and definitely doesn’t have any feelings for you. He’s embarrassed that Aether’s first impression of him was like that and really, he is such a wonderful person. If Aether would be willing to give him a chance.”
Lumine chuckles, realisation dawning in her expression. “I catch your drift, don’t worry. I’ll make sure to put in a good word for him with Aether.” She winks and Ayaka tries not to swoon.
“Thank you.” Oh, Ayaka can’t wait to tell Thoma about this. “See you on Saturday?”
“See you on Saturday,” Lumine agrees. They stand there for a long moment just looking at each other, neither quite wanting to leave and silly smiles upon their lips, until Lumine takes a step forwards and kisses Ayaka’s cheek. Before Ayaka can fully process what just happened, Lumine is waving at her and walking away. .
The phantom warmth of Lumine’s lips still lingers on Ayaka’s cheek as she lifts up a hand to touch it gently. A date. She’s going on a date with Lumine! She feels like a teenage girl in high school all over again, butterflies fluttering in her stomach over her crush.
As Ayaka heads towards her afternoon lecture, she’s lost in her own little world, warmth blooming in her chest and mind filled with daydreams of Lumine. When she arrives outside the lecture hall, Thoma is there waiting. He takes one look at her face and attacks her into a celebratory hug.
“You look happy,” he comments as he pulls away.
“Lumine asked me on a date,” she giggles breathlessly. “Oh my, that went better than I could have hoped. I have a really good feeling about this.”
Thoma’s expression softens into one of gentle fondness. “Yeah? I’m glad to hear that.”
“I appreciate your support, Thoma. And,” Ayaka’s smile turns teasing, “Lumine said she would make sure to tell Aether all good things about you, so perhaps it will be my turn to wingman soon.”
Thoma laughs good-naturedly. “After that initial disaster, I might have to hold you to that. I need to learn how to talk to pretty boys without saying something stupid.”
Nodding in understanding, Ayaka pats his shoulder. “I believe in you, Thoma.”
(Bonus:
“She’s so cuteeee!” Lumine whines, letting her head fall against her textbooks with a thunk. “Aether, I must be dreaming. There’s no way Ayaka just said yes to a date with me. There’s no way I kissed her cheek- ow!” She shoots up, rubbing her arm with a glare at her brother. “What was that for?”
“I pinched you, you felt it, so you’re not dreaming,” Aether grins, tongue between his teeth. “Honestly, for someone who gets confessed to every other week, you’re hopeless. I should go ask this Thoma guy on a date and show you how it’s done. He was cute.”
“You are the worst.”
“No, I’m very cool and better at flirting than you are.”
Lumine points a finger at Aether threateningly. “Mark my words, I’ll kiss Ayaka before you get to kiss Thoma.”
“Hey! That’s unfair, you have a six month headstart. I haven’t even had a conversation with this guy yet!” Aether protests. Lumine sticks her tongue out at him.
“Well, you’d better up your game then, huh?”
“Oh, you’re on.”)