Chapter 1: You Still Hate Green Tea, Don’t You?

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  The kettle whistled softly, just loud enough to break the stillness.

  Mio reached over, switching it off with a quick flick, leaning against the counter for a moment letting the steam rise around her for a moment.

  The wind drifted through the window softly, carrying that after-rain scent. Clean, gentle, almost nostalgic.

  The kitchen smelled faintly like peach tea leaves, yet sweet and floral, and a little too strong. Just the way Akari liked it.

  She poured the tea into two mugs, one with a little bear on it, while the other had a small artistic-looking crack near the handle.

  “You still hate green tea huh?” Mio announced casually like she already knew the answer to it.

  Akari voice came back without missing a beat from the living room. “I don’t hate it. I just don’t like the drink as much when drinking something that tastes like… like leaves?”

  She paused for a moment, wording it nicely without sounding too harsh.

  Mio smiled, like a sneer or a smug look if you didn’t know her better. She walked over, settling both of the mug on the low-lying table between them. “I like that you’re a little blunt and cute, but if you can’t describe it properly, why not just say you don’t like it? There’s no one else but us here.”

  “I don’t dislike it.” Akari replied affirmatively. Sinking into the cushion like she had all the time in the world. “I just prefer drinks that didn’t remind me of leaves brushing against my teeth.

  “That’s better. And why would you know whats it’s like to brush leaves against your teeth?” Mio said, handing her the peach tea.

  “No comments.” Akari replied almost like instinct.

  “You definitely did it because you were curious right?” Mio said with a held-back enthusiasm. “You wouldn’t have mentioned it if you didn’t experienced it.

  Akari just smiled into her tea. “You’ll only make fun of me if I do. Not telling you!” Akari refusing to deny or admit, playfully puffing her cheeks. It made her look like a hamster, and maybe she knew that, and maybe she liked that Mio noticed.

  Their tiny but cozy living room felt like a save haven, a hidden pocket, soundproofed from the outside world. Filled with only the clanking of ceramic and the faint hum from the spinning fan above.

  “I should be the one choosing the drink.” Mio muttered softly, sipping her own.

  “…What’s wrong with having a unique taste?” Akari replied, sharper than expected, startling Mio-who had assumed her remark blended into the moment perfectly like everything else.

  “…Except when it comes to green tea.”

  There was a short moment of silence, not the awkward kind where both parties didn’t know what should be uttered, but the kind where both had too much to say yet too little time, prioritising which should be talked about first. The kind that said “I could say more. I could say a lot. But I like this moment just as it is.”

  “Should our drink be bubble tea next?” Akari asked with a warm smile...but also felt like she “knew or have predicted” the answer which went unnoticed from Mio.

  “We’ll get fat if we drink so much,” Mio said a-matter-of-factly, not realising she had fallen into Akari’s trap.

  “Right. It’s not because you couldn’t make the pearls, stuck them all over your hands, and forced me to do everything after you declared you were going to impress me?” Akari said, her voice soft but sharp enough to bite, her smile a little too sweet but a little scary too.

  Mio blinked twice rapidly, caught. “When did that happen? I…I only remember enjoying it. She said in a rush, feigning ignorance, her voice slightly higher than usual-a faint blush creeping up her face. Truly a rare sight from her.

  Mio shifted, dragging her legs up the cushion and hugging one knee. The tea in her hand had cooled slightly, but the warmth still clung to the mug like it didn’t want to let go.

  “I.. wasn’t trying to impress you,” Mio muttered, eyes fixed on the swirl of colour on the tea, pushing through her embarrassment.

  Akari blinked slowly, and relaxed, resting her chin on her palm. “You told me ‘I’m gonna make the best bubble tea you’ve ever tasted, so you’ll rely on me forever.’”

  Mio let out a small cough. “I wonder who said that? Sounds like something I would say but not the last part.”

  “You wore an apron as well. With a cat on it.”

  “It was your apron.”

  ”You still wore it.”

  Mio looked away, sipping her tea like it might just cover her face. The fan overhead creaked gently, rotating in a lazy circle.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  “…I must admit…It wasn’t bad though.” Akari said after a beat, deciding to offer a little praise to Mio after the barrage of teasing. “Especially the tea. It tasted cozy even after the pearls chaos.”

  Mio gaze softened. “You even drank the whole thing. Even the ones that are stuck in a weird clump of mess.”

  “You made it, of course I did.”

  She said it like that was just how things were, if someone tried it, you appreciate it. And that was enough.

  Mio didn’t say anything, she didn’t need to either, but the mug in her hand felt warmer again somehow.

  “You know,” Akari added, swirling the tea in her cup gently. “There’s something kind of nice about messing things up together. It’s easier to get a laugh out of it, and…make you look even cuter. Knowing that you weren’t the only one to mess up.”

  ”…or choking on pearls.”

  “That’s not the part that matters,” Akari said gently, with a sort of mischievous smile like she had won this round of the conversation. “You managed to survive, and I get a good story out of it as well.”

  Akari looked genuinely happy about it, which made Mio a…little happy? Probably more than a little. She managed to make their days together brighter, before the doom of the endless threat of homework approaches.

  Akari stretched her arms over her head with a cute sigh.

  “We still got some homework left undone. Literature and math if I recall correctly.” Akari reminding Mio so she wouldn’t “accidentally” forget some homework again, just to end up rushing through it in the middle of the night, and the very next morning like always.

  Mio flinched, her face darkened with betrayal, like she was silently saying ‘you were supposed to forget that.’

  “I almost forgot” Akari added thoughtfully. “But hmm that clutter on the table, in bold that says “literature assignment” just reminded me of it.

  Mio took a small quick peek towards the pile.

  The worksheets glared back at her, untouched and judgmental.

  She wasn’t bad at school. In fact, she was good at it, annoyingly good according to some.

  She was observant and could pay attention even during the most boring lectures. Sit through hours of studying a day if needed and stay consistent. And yet… she hated doing homework with a passion. It wasn’t because it is difficult, but because of its repetition, the effort to start.

  She always liked to leave homework for later, rushing through it at the last moment, like some last-minute genius getting mosts of it right except some carelessness here and there.

  “If you don’t finish, your “quick” dinner(to save time) is going to become instant noodles again.” Akari said firmly but couldn’t hide the softness in her eyes. “We can’t survive with only eating instant noodles. So please get your work done.”

  Mio, blinded by Akari, didn’t want to do homework.

  But she didn’t want to say no either.

  She stared at her tea like it would magically make the homework complete.

  Before Akari could suggest helping Mio with something like preparing ingredients for dinner since Mio always helped her with academics, Mio cut in with a sigh

  “Fine I’ll do it now so we can enjoy our dinner later.”

  She really did not want to do homework, but couldn’t back down after making the promise either. It was a quiet sort of surrender, the kind you make when someone sees through your habits or excuses but stays close anyways.

  Akari smiled, the kind that’s warm even without trying.

  “Ganbare, Mio.” (Ganbare -> 頑張れ – do your best/good luck)

  “Remember to actually study as well. We’re in our last year, we can’t afford to slack off anymore.”

  Even though Mio grumbled something under her breath as she stood, but she was smiling too.

  Akari was popular with no discrimination of gender, or crowd, always having that infectious but warm smile.

  She was the opposite. She didn’t get too close to anybody. She didn’t liked to go out either. And she especially hated visiting other people’s home. It meant figuring out how to act, how to speak politely to the adults, how to perform. While Akari would have people visiting her instead.

  Their lives are different. completely different. Yet they still live under one roof together. To save money, to support each other when needed, and maybe because neither of them liked being alone. Opposite, yet complement each other well, somehow they fit.

  The mechanical clicking of the pen echoed in the quiet room as Mio finally sat down at the desk. Flipping open the worksheet like it had done something wrong to Mio.

  Leaning slightly forward with the usual “I don’t want to do this but I’m doing it anyways” face.

  Akari sat close to her, on the couch, reviewing her own notes as well. Curled loosely with the book of notes on her lap. Flipping the pages slowly like she wasn’t reading. Her hair leaning in front, messy from the quick re-adjustment of the hair and leaning on the cushion too long, but she didn’t seemed to mind at all.

  For a while, nothing happened, completely peaceful. Tea cooling beside them, and the soft hum of the fan spinning above, and occasionally bird chirps from the trees outside.

  Mio worked through questions by questions, her eyes focused, but her hands slower than usual. The kind of slow like ‘I’m trying, but only because I said I would.’

  “You often times look a little different when you’re studying” Akari said, watching her from the corner of her eyes, with a gentle half-smile.

  Mio didn’t look up. “Different? How?”

  “Like you’re quietly battling a war that no one can see.”

  “I’m battling integration.”

  Akari giggled. “You’re very brave and persistent. And that’s what I like about you.”

  Mio didn’t respond right away. She just smirked, maybe a blush, then continued solving the next question like Akari didn’t just sudden dropped a confession-like line into the middle of their quiet routine.

  After scribbling for a while, Mio finally sat her pen down. She leaned back in her chair, arms stretched over her head.

  “I’m done.” She muttered, slightly cheerful, but held-back as well.

  “How done?” Akari peeked from her notes.

  “Enough to deserve food.”

  Akari laughed and stood up, clearing the mugs. “Then I’ll reward your bravery with dinner prep and one peach candy.”

  ”One?”

  “You didn’t show enough workings for question 8. You’ll be penalised if you actually forget to show in exam.”

  “That’s cruel. Is that how you treat a soldier who just fought through war?”

  Akari gave her a bright grin, one of those overly bright ones like opening your phone in the middle of the night when its brightness is maxed. She walked towards the kitchen while saying “fine, two piece, show your workings next time and I’ll give you more. Maybe even a kiss?”

  Mio stayed at the desk for a moment longer, staring at the small pile of worksheets and half-solved equations. Her body felt a little lighter now. Not because the work was done, but because Akari had been there through it, in her own quiet way.

  Akari returned, leaning against the counter, arms folded casually. “Hey… next weekend.”

  “Hm?”

  “Let’s go somewhere. Just us, like a… date. It’s been a while since we last went anywhere other than school and the grocery store.”

  Mio turned to face Akari. “Where?”

  “You can decide where.”

  Mio contemplated for a moment, then smiled faintly, “I’ll think of something.”

  “You promise?”

  ”Yeah I promise.”

  Mio smile softened, not brighter, not louder, but calmer. Like something special have just been placed between them.

  Outside, the breeze fluttered the curtains, and the last bit of light cast a soft glow across the room.

  And inside, the world stayed still. Just for them.

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  Thank you for reading chapter 1! Feel free to leave any thoughts or comments, I’d appreciate any feedbacks and hear your opinions :DD.