Chapter Text
It was starting to get colder outside, indicating the end of summer. It was Higuchi’s first day back at her dorm and she was so excited to be back in Yokohama again. She had missed her friends so much but that trip with her family was pretty much a necessity. She was grateful that things ended on good terms with Tachihara because the last thing she wanted was to turn her friend group against any of them or have an unwelcoming environment.
She decided on having a relaxed day unpacking and listening to music, just enjoying her time alone. Yosano and Kouyou told her they were getting to the dorm during the weekend so that meant she had two complete days all by herself before chaos ensued. She loved her friends so much but it could get pretty wild with all three of them together so she wanted to make the most of that couple of days all by herself.
The fridge was unsurprisingly empty so it was best to go shopping before opening any boxes. Without thinking twice she put on the first pair of shoes she saw at her door and headed to the nearest convenient store. It was pretty early so there weren’t many people around, perfect to enjoy the music playing in the background.
Lately she was really getting into this new very popular band so it wasn’t a surprise when she heard their songs everywhere she went. She was just vibing with the music while deciding on which pack of cup noodles would turn out the cheapest. She was so immersed in the different types of flavours there were that she didn’t notice someone else in that same aisle. She suddenly felt someone bump onto her.
“Ah, sorry, I didn’t see you there” A man spoke. “No no, it’s- oh hey Akutagawa!” She didn’t recognise his voice at first but when she did she showed a bright smile. “How have you been during the summer?” Higuchi asked politely, small talk never got easier with time.
“It was fine I guess, I really didn’t do much” he replied coldly, no news to anyone that Akutagawa Ryuunosuke wasn’t the friendliest person but she knew he wasn’t a bad person.
“Well, I’m glad you’re okay then” She really was glad but there was someone she was more interested in. It was his sister Gin. It’s not like she had a crush on her or anything but the girl wasn’t ugly herself and the few times they spoke she seemed way more nicer than her brother. Not that it was actually a challenge. She wasn’t sure if she should ask about her. Would that be too awkward or out of pocket? Or maybe it would give the wrong impression? Akutagawa was very protective of her in fact.
She finally settled on casually asking about Gin when suddenly the raven spoke again. “And how are you doing? You know, after the break up and everything” Oh, right, he was friends with Tachihara.
“It’s been fine, we ended on good terms after all and he understood when I told him I was actually a lesbian” Akutagawa seemed surprised, maybe Tachihara didn’t mention that part. He hummed in response not knowing what else to say and Higuchi took that as the cue to ask about Gin.
“So…” She hesitated a little trying to choose the correct words. “So how’s Gin doing? I haven’t seen her since the last day of class” She tried to sound as casual as possible, not knowing the exact reason she felt her face grow hotter. Akutagawa’s expression didn’t even remotely change, answering as simply as possible. “She’s fine, I guess”. She smiled, not very pleased with the lack of information. But it was no surprise nonetheless, knowing Akutagawa doesn’t really give any information he finds unnecesary.
Higuchi didn’t wanna push harder so she just told him to have a good day and to say hi to Gin for her. They parted ways and she quickly ended her shopping to head home fast. On her way back she analysed the conversation, why did she act so awkward? It was a genuine question any decent person would do so there’s nothing weird about it. She was the one making it weird.
The reason though? She wasn’t sure of it. Was it weird to think about how your classmates' hair sways from side to side with the soft breeze of spring while you’re having lunch on the rooftop? Because if it was then she was totally fucked. But Gin was just so pretty and so effortlessly funny. She didn’t talk much but when she did she really made sure for it to be worthy.
They weren’t even that close, maybe not even to be considered friends but she just felt so drawn to her. Being in her company just felt natural even if they weren’t that close at all. What would she think though? That’s something really bothered Higuchi, having absolutely no idea what was going through Gin’s mind. She was really good at getting people, knowing how they were the way they were but with her? She just couldn’t, it almost felt like an impossible puzzle.
After not seeing her all summer, the amount of time she spent thinking about her was unusual, taking into account she probably didn’t even think about Higuchi once. She really didn’t see the reason behind all of this so pushing it to the back of her mind would be the best idea.
Once back in her dorm she unpacked two boxes of clothes before making lunch. She had this really bad habit of postponing lunch until she was pretty much starving and she really needed to change that this year. But god, was cooking overwhelming. She really didn’t enjoy it one bit, always opting for ready-to-eat meals at the convenient store. Gin though, her lunches always looked so yummy and fresh, as if her parents had cooked it right before leaving for class. She was always so jealous of how good her food smelled but always refused when Gin offered not wanting to look needy.
And she was supposed to push Gin back in her mind so no more thinking about her yummy food, it was good enough with her lunch. It had already gone cold though, but heating it again was such a bother she just chose to eat it cold.
It wasn’t the first time this had happened. Her mind drifting onto what Gin liked, what she’d do or what she was doing at that moment. It was all useless though, knowing their relationship was strictly at uni, if you could even classify that as a relationship of any kind. It wasn’t as if it was a big deal anyway. It wasn’t like she liked her or anything so she was safe.
Enough.
She just wanted to eat lunch in peace before going back to organising her stuff so she just turned the TV on to distract her mind from drifting back to the raven again.
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It had been a few days since her encounter with Akutagawa in the convenience store and it was already the first day of class. Yosano and Kouyou were still asleep but she found herself wide awake at 7am so she had plenty of time to get ready. She settled on having a big nutritious breakfast while reading a light novel to pass the time.
She couldn’t really pay attention to the book though, too busy thinking about her outfit for later. She had to look quite good to give a good impression to her classmates. Even if the only person’s opinion that mattered was from a certain someone. Not in a weird way of course, she just valued Gin’s opinion because she knew her fashion sense was impressively good.
Her mind started going places instead of focusing on the words in front of her like what would Gin wear? Would she still wear a mask to class or allow herself to show her face? Higuchi knew Gin was very shy, hence the mask, but she was just so pretty she didn’t understand why she wouldn’t want to show it.
She took a liking to discreetly stare at her when she wasn’t looking. That face she made when she was focusing in class or the amused look on her face when the teacher misspelt a word. She was so easy to look at, closer to a hobby than whatever she was reading. She would never admit it out loud though. Even if she just came out she was still very shy about it and Higuchi knew that the moment she spoke about any girl her friends would tease her to death.
She was kind of the reason Higuchi started thinking about the idea of being a lesbian. Because even if she identified as bisexual before it never felt completely right and with time she realised that whatever she had going on with Tachihara wasn’t going to last. She just didn’t feel that thing everyone says you’re supposed to feel when you’re in love. Never felt that with any of the boys she had been with before. But oh was she sure she’d feel that with Gin.
Oh
Oh
She had to admit that if she ever admitted to that out loud there would be no going back. But even after thinking that she barely knows Gin, like she only knows about the little information Gin dares to show her so it was probably the idea of her in her mind that was making her feel like that. She would have to get to know her better before jumping into conclusions.
“Hey” Yosano said, peeking through the door. “Are you okay? Seems like you were spacing out” She was so immersed in her own monologue she didn’t even realise she wasn’t alone in the kitchen anymore.
“Yeah yeah, absolutely fine. Just thinking about my outfit for today” Higuchi replied, finishing her breakfast before it got too late. “Just wear whatever you want, you always look cute anyway” commented Kouyou joining the conversation. “Thank you very much, Kouyou” she gave the redhead a sweet smile. “But I fear I’m not just going to choose whatever, I wanna look really good for the first day” She continued, getting up from the table and heading to her room.
Ideally she’d like to get a reaction from Gin but she knew that would be an impossible mission, seeing that her reactions are barely noticeable unless you’re looking at her really closely. As long as she was comfortable with what she was wearing she’d be fine. It wasn’t as if she’d like to stand out, not at all. All that extra attention could go for someone else, just not her. But the idea of Gin looking at her from head to toe? That sounded way better than it should.
After what it felt like an eternity she had finally chosen her outfit with her friends’ help, and she had to admit it did look really good.
“You look amazing” Yosano commented while hurriedly sipping her coffee, now starting to get ready herself. “You think so?” Higuchi responded. She knew she looked good but some affirmations never hurt anyone.
“Come on, you look great and you know that” she replied with a hint of a smirk on her face. “Is there anyone you want to impress?” she freezed. How could she know that? It’s not like she was being obvious about her reasons.
“What? No, I just wanted to dress nice for the first day” that sounded way more defensive than she had ideally wanted. Hopefully none of the girls would pick up on it. And just like reading her mind Kouyou spoke. “No need to get all defensive” she commented half laughing. Well, it was her friends she was talking about, of course they’d sense it.
“I wasn’t being defensive” she lied. “Just stating a fact” which wasn’t necessarily a lie. She didn’t really know what else to say. She knew her friends would tease her to death if they knew about her potential crush on Gin so she had to keep it a secret. Or at least until she fully knew what was going on there.
“We should get going, it’s getting kinda late” Higuchi hoped that was enough to change the subject and hopefully it was. “You’re right, give me a minute and we’re out” Yosano said while getting her bag ready. Higuchi headed to the front door with Kouyou waiting for Yosano. And that was it. They were ready to go to end their vacation and greet their new beginnings.