Date Her Instead Vol. 2

Chapter Nineteen: Love, A Small Step Forward, And Failure

"If it's that uncomfortable then sleep without it on," Haruna snarked. Kanako stared for a moment before realizing where Haruna's attitude was coming from. "Oh, no! I-I didn't mean it like that!" Kanako panicked, then in a quieter, but also more nervous voice, "I-I'm sure yours will grow out t-too..." All Haruna could do was sigh in response. "Whatever. It's not like I really care." And that was the truth. Haruna didn't really care much about her own chest size. The only reason she ever reacted to comments about it was mostly due to Chiyo. The way she'd poke fun at Haruna about it just always seemed to irk her.

But, the view of Kanako in Haruna's clothes had been the other the reason she had opted to stay downstairs while Kanako bathed. "I've seen scenes in movies and stuff about the girl wearing the guy's clothes or whatever, but who knew it really was so..." Haruna thought, allowing her mind to trail off. "U-Um, Haruna? You're kind of... s-staring a lot..." Kanako said. "Oh, I-I am?" Haruna said, feeling embarrassed now herself. "Well, I know it's probably weird right? These clothes don't really suit me," Kanako said. "Does it matter? You're just going to sleep in them anyways," Haruna said plainly. "That's true," Kanako agreed. "Well, I guess as long as you're the only one that see this, it's fine."

Haruna was surprised by that statement. "Only... me?" she repeated in her head. While she wanted to bask in the joy of hearing something that fell under the umbrella of "As long as it's you..." another thought came to mind instead. "I wonder... if she'd say the same thing to Miyashita-kun..." It wasn't something Haruna wanted to think about, but it was worth considering. After all, for as much as Haruna was in love with Kanako, that was still a one way road.

Deciding that they were both ready for bed, Haruna went to turn off the lights. While she did, Kanako had gotten into her futon, and shortly after, Haruna got into her own as well. It was only once she had laid down that Haruna realized how close together they were.

Lying next to her, Haruna watched as Kanako's chest and shoulders rose and fell with each soft breath. She had already closed her eyes and seemed to be fast asleep, lying on her side and facing Haruna. The longer she stared, the more she noticed. Kanako's long eyelashes, her peaceful expression, her small and now make-up-less lips. Her hair was undone as well, causing it to cascade down around her face and neck. All in all, it was a scene Haruna didn't want to pull her eyes away from.

While she watched Kanako, Haruna picked up a couple of smells as well. The first was naturally Kanako's shampoo and soap from her bath. They were pleasant scents, combining to form a fragrance one might come across in a field of flowers. Complimenting that well was one other smell that Haruna noticed. It was one she was quite familiar with, and in the category it came from, it was one of the few she didn't mind.

For most of Haruna's life, perfumes and colognes had been something that caused her to feel nauseous. Part of that was a true feeling of sickness, but the other had to do with their associations. It often seemed like whenever Haruna came across someone wearing enough to be noticeable, it was someone that Haruna didn't like. They tended to be pompous or overbearing, thinking they were cool or refined but really just coming off as arrogant assholes. So while it was true that the smell of most perfumes and colognes affected Haruna physically, it was really more of a mental problem.

That is, however, until that one fateful day in a shop that sold such items. After finding one she liked, Kanako had asked Haruna to try it too. Surprisingly, she hadn't minded it. Whether or not Kanako knew about Haruna's aversion, she didn't know, but it still appeared that Kanako was being considerate of that fact. In the end, Kanako had bought it continually, even now.

The name of the perfume was Lilac, and it smelled mostly the same as the actual flower, though there was a touch of bitterness added to it to make sure the sweetness of the scent wasn't overwhelming. And now, even after taking a bath, that scent continued to linger on Kanako. In Haruna's case, she found it to be quite pleasant. Putting the sight of a sleeping Kanako together with the Lilac perfume was almost too much.