sweetdevil | 75th ♫ | Shall I name this heart-rending pain "Snow Halation"?

Well...

[ She casts around for an excuse and realizes as she does so that she's really only trying to drag this out because she's embarrassed and apprehensive. What if Kana's embarrassed? What if she hates it? What if getting a gift from Ai is the last thing she wants?

The only way to find out is to actually get it over with, of course. So with her smile turning a little sheepish, she pulls out the brightly wrapped gift from behind her back for Kana to see. ]

I guess I was hoping you'd have enough time for this?

Cold?

[They look down at them self. Their jacket is leather, so it's very very sturdy and waterproof... but honestly it's not especially thick. Very good for what it is, but not a winter coat, exactly]

Ah... well, I don't mind it.

So that means you are cold?

[ Jiiiiiiiiii. Her big worried eyes bore right into them. Come on, Ao, can you really lie to those puppy dog eyes? ]

[They shift foot to foot]

A little? But it's not an issue. I promise.

Huh?

[ She's just caught completely off guard when she sees the gift. Sure, sometimes people would try to get her stuff, but most of that was for B-Komachi. Not really her.

Even her mother hadn't gotten her a gift in a very, very long time. ]

You really didn't have to...

[ At their admission, her expression immediately brightens back into a smile. ]

It's okay! I was asking because, um...

[ She reaches down to dig into her handbag (which is one of those truly offensively cute picnic basket style ones) and emerges with a scarf... pink, of course. ]

You can borrow this. I'm warm enough with my coat.

...!

[They take it, rubbing it between their gloved hands for a moment before wrapping it around their throat.]

....how do I look?

[The dab of pink stands out quite a bit from their clothing... yet oddly sits well with their bright eyes. Pink and Blue like a spring day]

Oh come on, I couldn't just leave you out, could I? What kind of a senpai would I be if I did that?

[ Is this a senpai thing? It feels a little easier to make out like it is rather than admitting the truth: that she's heard exactly enough things about Kana's family situation in little bits and scraps through the grapevine that there's no way she could pass on at least trying to make this time of year a little less lonely.

That's what idols are for, right? ]

I just thought I should get you something to open too.

Oooh, it suits you!

[ It's Sakura's scarf so it's obviously as pink and girly as it gets, which you think would clash with Ao's usual butch realness but the contrast is nice. Sakura has no idea what gap moe is, but she's sure experiencing it right now. ]

Maybe while we're out looking around, we could buy you a scarf of your own to keep?

. . . Well. Ruby is your daughter. And Memcho is Memcho.

[ There's literally no other way to describe her. She's just simply like that. ]

Do you mind if I open it now?

Don't see why not. But if we do we should find you something too.

[they've gotten more used to gift giving as a concept but can get pretty hung up on equality in regards to it]

[ it says something about the b-komachi state of affairs that the youtuber is the most normal person in the group, huh ]

Mm, go ahead! Ah, actually I was kind of hoping you would...

[ She fiddles nervously with a lock of her hair, for lack of anything else to do with her hands. ]

I asked Ruby and Memcho to help me pick it out but if it's not the right one, I can change it for you!

Ah, you really don't have to...!

[ Her protest is a little token though, because her eyes are sparkling a bit. A gift from Ao...! ]

Um, then again... I think people are supposed to give each other gifts this time of year... so maybe we could watch out for some while we're walking around?

Okay. Let's see what this is, then...

[ She's going to open it. But she's very much being delicate about it, not trying to tear it too much. ]

Is that what all this is? Some kind of gift party?

[they pinken, like she just told them this was an outdoor orgy]

Mm! I... think so? [ With Ao protected from the elements, she starts leading the two of them down the street. ] I don't exactly get what it's all about but... I think it's to do with celebrating winter and the end of another year with all the people you care about?

[ Not pictured: the strategy meeting the other girls definitely had during which they had to decide whether or not to try and explain Jesus to Sakura. ]

So I think the presents are a way of saying... "thank you for being with me". Or something like that...?

[they nod along, seeming to understand the basics. Or at least just accept them.

After a moments thought though they cock their arm at the elbow. A clear invitation for her to take it]

Well then... thank you. For being with me.

Awawa— um— [ Perhaps unsurprisingly, she flushes pink all the way up to the roots of her hair. Maybe she should've seen that one coming but they said it so smoothly, it completely caught her off guard. ] Y—yes...! Thank you for being with me as well...!

[ Still just as pink as her outfit, she loops her arm through theirs and falls into step with them. I—it just makes sense for them to stick close together when it's so cold out, right??? ]

[ It's a glossy hardback book, complete with dustcover and fancy bookmark, centered specifically around mysteries and bizarre occurrences from all around the globe. The focus seems to be on solving them or at least providing reasonable explanations, with a whole lot of research and associated trivia. It's pretty chunky!

Ai fidgets a bit as she watches her open it — it's the sort of thing she'd thought about buying Aqua and according to Ruby, he and Kana were always gravitating towards the same books so... it should be fine, right? ]

Is that the right one...? I was really trying not to get you one you already had, ahah...

[ if ai asked, she'd say she hadn't had it ready to go, of course. but—

sei. 星. not just her surname, but—

the way she lights up a room. the way kotone feels lit up and warmed every time ai's near, every time her eyes are only on her. it's all senseless, lovestruck rambling, best left in scribbled, halfbaked lyrics in notebooks that will never see the light of day.

she squeezes ai, laughter finally dying down as she pulls back to look at her. ]

You definitely did! Hope you didn't have to wait too long...? [ she laughs a little as she says it, but she's sure to feel guilty over it if that's the case. ] Soooo, where to? Since you went to all the trouble?

[ kotone grins sideways at her, adjusting one of the straps on her guitar's gig bag. ]

[They look quite proud of themself: they can be a bit dense with people, but it's very obvious they got just the reaction they were aiming for]

It's... really pretty out, isn't it? With the lights. It's like... stars.

Nope! Actually, I got a little turned around on the way here so I took a bit longer than I wanted to, but I set out early just in case — so it kind of all balanced out?

[ She giggles, looking all sorts of proud of herself. It's not necessarily that her sense of direction is that bad but she's so used to being chauffeured around from job to job that actually making her way somewhere by herself without Miyako at the wheel is a bit of a challenge. But Kotone's happy! So that's the important part. Never mind the truly embarrassing amount of time she spent desperately squinting at train routes and her GPS app. ]

A-ny-way! ★ The surprise iiiiiis... [ She dips her hand into her pocket for a second and produces two bright and poppy tickets for... something that has an incomprehensibly cutesy logo font. ] Tah-dahhh! Tickets to a sweets buffet! Christmas is the best time of year for sweets, isn't it?

Mm...

[ She's pulling up the collar of her cute cape so it covers the bottom of her face, like she can try and conceal her blush like that. She gets along with Ao just fine and she's so used to them that it doesn't always catch her off guard but... Ao's got so much of a cool gentlemanly sort of vibe when they feel like turning it on. ]

I think... because it gets dark so early this time of year, they want to brighten things up a little. If you're going to be in the dark that much longer... you'd want it to be pretty, right?

[ She's quiet and wide-eyed for a couple of moments as she takes the book out of its packaging, fingers lingering on the cover for a few moments before smiling fondly. ]

It is. Thank you.

Ah, really? [ It's almost a little sad how relieved she looks... ] Phew...! They're not the kind of books I read so I didn't know what would be good. Oh, but—

[ She puts up both hands almost a little apologetically — so this is what it looks like when a so-called invincible girl's off her game. ]

Don't feel like you have to keep it if it's really no good! I can change it for something else — I just wanted to get you a present, that's all.

75th ♫ | Shall I name this heart-rending pain "Snow Halation"?

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