What A Girl Wants

Fifteen

"Oh shit," Oliver said, her gum smacking between words. "Don't tell me little Rin's got a wildcard up her sleeve too. You got your own little demon?"

"Nobody could hold a candle to me," Ryusei said, lifting her head, winking at Oliver. But then, her face fell, and she tilted her head all the way back towards Rin. "Wait. Rin-Rin, don't tell me you're going after my flyer."

Rin didn't respond. She didn't even look at her.

Neither did Sae. She was still looking at Rin, seeing how important this was to her, and how unapologetically she was asking for it.

And maybe Sae was in a particularly good mood, or maybe she was just invested in getting the hell out of there so her and Ryusei could indulge their daily walk to her house for their not-date that consisted of rolling around in Sae's bed for a few hours, but she relented.

"Fine," Sae told her sister. "I'll give Niko to Aryu."

Rin didn't say anything else, but there was thanks in it. She didn't have to say it and Sae didn't have to acknowledge it. It simply existed. And as much as it pained her to admit, and regardless of the fact that a stunt group was four people, those two did make an incredible pair.

So, the routine was going off without a hitch. They could all basically do it in their sleep. Everything was smooth. Nationals was creeping towards them at a quickening pace, and Sae was not at all worried about the team. The date loomed on her calendar in an ominous manor for an entirely different reason.

"So," Ryusei started one day when they were in her bed, clothed in nothing but sheets and afterglow, lacing their fingers together. "For our date. I need to know. Are you, like, a big romantic gesture kind of girl, or more low key? Because you come across like you're hard to impress, but I think underneath that tough exterior, you're pretty easy to please."

Sae shot her a look. Ryusei didn't see it. She was too busy leaning into Sae's neck, biting it. Playfully. Kind of.

"I mean," Ryusei went on. "You finish so fast."

Which was true, but also besides the point.

Sae groaned. A little loudly and dramatically, but enough to get her point across.

"I don't know why we have to date," Sae said, for what felt like the millionth time. "Why can't we just keep doing what we're doing? What's wrong with this?"

Ryusei pulled her face back, genuinely surprised. "Nothing's wrong with it. I mean, shit. Nothing is wrong with it. It's fucking awesome. But, you know."

"But what?" Sae demanded, glaring. "But it's not enough?"

"It's not that," Ryusei said, shrugging. Like it was really just so simple and Sae was the idiot for having absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

"Then what is it?" Sae said. Because it was not that simple, and she did indeed have no fucking clue why this was such a hill to die on for her.

"Because I like you, idiot," Ryusei said.

"Yeah," Sae said. "You mentioned that."

"And you're my girlfriend," Ryusei said.

"Debatable," Sae said. "I never even agreed to that. You didn't even ask me."

"Not debatable," Ryusei said back, shaking her head and smiling like she was just so damn sure. "You are."

Sae glared, but she didn't feel all that inclined to fight the point further, so she didn't.

Instead, she said, "Well, if that's true, why does it matter if we go on dates?"

"It matters," Ryusei said, mocking her with every syllable that those two words were made up of. The hand clutching Sae's squeezed. "Because you deserve to be taken out on dates."

Sae fell silent. She didn't really have any clue in the world how to respond to that. Because it wasn't really something she could fight back on. No, I don't. I'm undeserving. It wasn't quite right. Sae wasn't undeserving of anything. She deserved anything and everything she wished. That was more so the issue. Whether or not she actually wanted it. Which...did she? She tried to picture it. She didn't know.

"Well," she said, hoping to put an end to a conversation that she wasn't quite sure she was ready to have. "I guess we'll see what happens at nationals."

"I already know what's going to happen at nationals," Ryusei said, her grin wide across her face, her pink eyes dancing in mockery, or something like it. "You've been running us like racehorses. We're going to win. That's why I'm asking."

Another corner Ryusei backed her into that she had no way out of. Again, she glared.

"I don't care," Sae said.

"Alright," Ryusei said, leaning her face back down into Sae's neck. "I'll surprise you."

Ryusei seemed satisfied enough with her non answer, which was good, because it was the only one she could hope to get out of her. It was also, technically speaking, the truth. The only lie in it was one of omission, which Sae found embarrassing, and therefore not worth speaking aloud.

I don't care what we do, as long as I'm with you.