Tarutaru sits in the classroom looking around confused. The Teacher just marked both Lily & Rose as missing for today. Tarutaru looks out the window, but doesn’t see anyone. "What are those two up now?", she mutters under her breath.
Meanwhile, outside. On the bench at the park, Lily sits and chews at a lock of her hair. She fiddles with her uniforms’s hem and taps the ground nervously. She stands up and tugs on her skirt. She walks around the bench a dozen times and keeps glancing toward the path that goes around the school’s principal building. She sits down, but then bolts up suddenly and turns toward the path. From behind the corner comes a tiny faint pink glow. She walks - almost runs - toward the glow.
Behind the corner, Rose leans to the wall, her eyes closed. Her arms, wrist and ankles are filled with swirling, glowing patterns, her hair glows faintly and there’s a veritable cloud of tiny little glowing specs around her. She takes deep breaths and keeps letting them out slowly. "I can do this," she mutters under her breath. "Control. I can do this," she says and takes a deep breath and then holds it for a few seconds. She opens her eyes and sees Lily standing not five feet from her. She has her eyes half closed and a gentle smile on her lips. Her cheeks are pink, almost red.
"Hello Cotton Candy," she says, and Rose’s hair glows brightly and her lips turn upwards. Her face is full of glowing patterns and the heart-shape on her left temple glows brightly.
"H—Hel—Hello," she stutters nervously. Lily takes the few steps that it takes to reach her. Hesitantly, she moves her hand toward Rose and places it on her arm. Rose closes her eyes and blushes wildly, her hair glowing so brightly it casts Lily’s shadow in the sun. Lily shades her eyes with her other hand and strokes Rose’s hand with the other.
"Shh.. Cotton Candy, it’s okay…" she says.
"Lili…" Rose says quietly. "Lili, I’m scared," she says and opens her eyes. They’re bright pink and glow slightly. "I can’t control my emotions with you around. This is the first time in my life when I—Eep!" she says, as Lily steps closer and wraps her hands around Rose and pulls her close, then puts her hand around the back of Rose’s head and gently pulls her in so Rose’s head rests against her chest. She strokes her hair gently and kisses the top of her head. Lily pulls away slightly, but doesn’t let go of Rose’s arm. She moves her hand lower and takes her hand in hers. Lily brushes Rose’s cheek lightly with her other hand and puts it under her chin, then lifts her face up so she’s looking directly into her eyes.
"It’s okay, Cotton Candy… I’m here. I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Relax, you’re okay. This won’t hurt you," she says. She smiles at Rose and leans closer, still holding her chin with her hand. Rose closes her eyes and her whole body shivers. "Can I?" Lily whispers to her. Rose nods almost imperceptibly. Lily smiles at her and touches her lips with hers, but only briefly. She takes a step backward and pulls lightly on Rose’s hand. "Cotton Candy…" she says, "can we just walk a bit? And can I hold your hand?"
Rose smiles at her and nods. Lily leads her around the corner and into the park. They walk in silence, holding hands. After just a little while, Rose shuffles closer to Lily and grabs her arm better. Lily glances at her and smiles widely.
"I love you," Lily says and moves her hand so Rose is almost leaning on her. They stop and Lily spins Rose around so she’s in front of her, and her hands are around her. Rose smiles contently and leans her head to Lily’s chest.
"I could get used to this," she says, and wiggles closer to Lily. "You’re so warm and soft," she says and closes her eyes. Lily leans down and kisses the top of her head gently. "I love you, Lili," she says and wraps her hands around Lily.
Above them, behind a window in their classroom, Tarutaru is looking out the window and smiling widely. She leans her hand on the windowsill and looks down at the two. The Teacher continues the lesson, and Tarutaru turns her gaze away from them and concentrates on the lesson.
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