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Being with Niigo sometimes made Kanade regret her old lifestyle a little. She lacked the skill to cook or bake something nice for her partners every once in a while (which Mizuki did), didn't have any nice outfits to go on dates with (though Ena and Mizuki were on a mission to change that, one shopping trip at a time), and needed extra break time whenever they went somewhere that required a little more walking than usual.
Like today.
She might have gone on picnics before — way, way back when she had still been young and carefree, when her mom had still been alive and her dad had still been able to smile. But she had certainly never gone this far, never been so isolated from modern commodities, never seen such vast, endless expanse of trees stretching towards the horizon ("You have never seen a forest before?!") where the only things visible were ranges after ranges of mountains.
Mizuki handled all the cooking herself — pointing out Ena and Kanade's inability to cook to save themselves and Mafuyu's inability to taste — though she let Mafuyu help with the prep. Mafuyu brought a camp stove along because he trusted none of them to handle a live campfire. Ena packed with her the group's accommodation for the night — the tent her own family used to bring when going camping.
Kanade had been told to just "bring yourself" — her lack of experience with camping being the reason they were having this trip in the first place.
Though, sitting here — by this campfire Mizuki had eventually managed to convince Mafuyu to start ("for an authentic camping experience!"), in front of the old, weathered tent she and Ena had spent all afternoon struggling to set up before Mizuki and Mafuyu had to lend them a hand, eating food Mizuki had cooked, roasting marshmallows Ena supplied — Kanade could not help but wish she had been able to help out a little more.
"Do you know that white and pink are the most common colors for marshmallows to have?"
Kanade turned her head to look at Mizuki, who was sitting by her side. Her pink marshmallow was still being rotated evenly over the fire, but the pinkette herself was facing Kanade, smiling at her.
Kanade looked at her own used-to-be-white marshmallow. Despite her best effort, the burn was still uneven — one side was too black, while the other side had seemingly not been touched by the fire at all — even though she was sure she had been rotating it evenly. She turned the marshmallow around, making sure the white side faced the fire.
"No, I didn't."
"They are! White is the default color, but it’s not often alone. Manufacturers like to pack white marshmallows with another color — you know, to make it look more appealing — and pink goes well with it. Of course, there are other colors a marshmallow can have,” Mizuki gestured towards the other bag of marshmallows Ena had brought, where little snowy white and chocolate brown balls of fluffy sweetness intermingled, “but white and pink are the supreme duo.”
Kanade nodded along, not understanding where this was coming from but intrigued nonetheless. “Interesting.”
Mizuki's grin spread. "And it's not just marshmallows! Cotton candy comes almost exclusively in white and pink. All kinds of confectionery have a white-pink color combo as well: wagashi, peach bun, dango, candy cane— okay, candy cane is more like red and white, but red is basically a distant relative of pink, so…"
"Uh huh."
"My point is," Mizuki's soft pink eyes twinkled playfully. "White and pink are meant to be together." She shuffled closer, knocking their shoulders together. "When you think about it like that, the fact that we're here together is fated, don't you think?"
The silver-haired girl blinked.
"Oh."
Mizuki giggled, then turned her attention back to the fire — missing the slight tinge of her color on Kanade's pale cheeks, the way the composer's blue eyes glowed and shimmered in the campfire light as they followed her.
Mizuki withdrew her stick of marshmallows and started blowing on it. Kanade’s white marshmallow was now somehow completely black. She didn’t know what else to do but withdrew it as well.
Mizuki handed her her pink marshmallow — now roasted a nice golden color. “Here, you can have this one.”
“Oh, thank you.” Kanade accepted the stick. Mizuki winked at her and took out another white marshmallow. She stuck it through a clean stick, and started roasting it.
Kanade watched, thoughtful.
“Mizuki.”
“Hm?” Mizuki glanced at her, curious and attentive.
“I want to learn how to properly roast a marshmallow.”
“Oh!” Mizuki’s eyes lit up. She smiled brightly. “Sure!”
Kanade set her two sticks aside. Mizuki handed her her newly prepared white marshmallow and took her hand, gently guiding it.
“Okay, so you keep the marshmallow around this far from the fire — not too close! — and just like— rotate it like this… You don’t have to do it too frequently, just turn and watch the marshmallow closely until it reaches your desired color… there! See, it burns really quickly. Let’s try again…”
The pinkette pressed close as she instructed, turning her body so she could guide Kanade’s hand better. Soft, cotton candy pink hair tickled Kanade’s cheek. Kanade focused on the warm feeling of her hand on her own, and tried her best to follow along.
Several failed marshmallows later, Kanade held in her hand her first successful, unguided attempt at roasted marshmallow. The perfectly golden brown coat of caramelized sugar glistened brilliantly in the campfire light. Kanade stared at the result of her hard work, transfixed.
Beside her, Mizuki cheered. “You did it!” She wrapped her arm around Kanade’s shoulders and pulled her in, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she did. Kanade leaned into the contact and allowed herself a small smile, grateful that Mizuki let it linger before pulling away.
Mizuki reached over, and picked up the previously pink roasted marshmallow on Kanade’s other side. By now, it had most certainly gone cold — which was perfect for the pinkette.
When Mizuki had it on her hand again, Kanade moved over and knocked her own roasted white marshmallow against it.
Mizuki turned to look at her quizzically.
“To white and pink duos.” Kanade smiled. “Cheers.”
Mizuki stared at her, before doubling over and hiding her face in her hands.
“Mizuki, what’s wrong?”
“N-No, nothing.” She was shaking. “It’s just—” She let out a muffled squeal. In a flash, Kanade was engulfed in excited pink, cheek smushed against soft cotton candy and nose invaded with the sweet smell of strawberry scented shampoo. “Kanade, you’re adorable! Oh my god!”
Kanade chuckled sheepishly, arms bringing up to return the hug. “I don’t know what I did, but okay.” She wasn’t complaining. Mizuki’s warmth felt nice in the night chill.
“It’s okay, just— Good Miku above." Mizuki sniffled. "Keep being you.”
Kanade still wasn’t sure if being her was such a good thing. Being her was hurting others, being her was burdening others with her inadequacy. But if Mizuki — if her partners said it was, then she would try to believe it.
She held her marshmallow up again, admiring it over Mizuki’s shoulder.
It felt easier to believe it right now.
The sound of leaves and twigs crunching beneath footsteps sounded behind them. Kanade and Mizuki released each other and looked up, spotting Ena and Mafuyu drawing closer.
“Took you two long enough!” Mizuki greeted, leaning back to smirk at the approaching duo. Kanade immediately missed her warmth. “Was the bathroom that far away?”
“Shut up,” Ena grumbled. Her hair had a few strands out of place. Her shirt was slightly rumpled.
Kanade blinked. She hoped she didn’t need to get up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
They joined up around the campfire. Mafuyu ate the burnt marshmallows Kanade had made. Mizuki told horror stories about campsites, much to Ena and Kanade’s chagrin. They shared two sleeping bags between the four of them — Kanade and Mafuyu in one, Mizuki and Ena in the other — trying to stick as close to each other as possible.
In the soft morning light of the forest — with Ena still sleeping and the sound and smell of Mizuki and Mafuyu cooking breakfast outside — Kanade found a sketch of the four of them the night before, the happiness on their expressions so palpable it sent warmth up from where Kanade’s fingertips touched the page.
She hoped they would go on many more trips like this from now on.