How You Get the Girl

"Yep. You really did it this time, Aoi," Nagisa agreed.

"Nagisa!" Hiiro shot the smaller woman an exasperated look.

"Whaaat?" Nagisa shrugged, expression innocent. "No matter which way you look at it, Tsubaki freaked out because of her."

"But it wasn't intentional!" Hiiro cried.

"Of course it wasn't!" Nagisa nodded. "But beating around the bush won't bring Tsubaki back."

Although Hiiro hated to admit it, Nagisa had a point there. Hiiro's rebuttal died in her throat.

"So, what should I do?" Aoi sounded pleading as she looked to the other two for help. Before Nagisa could speak, Hiiro interrupted.

"You know where she lives, so just go to her! Talk to her! Comfort and reassure her! Tell her everything's gonna be all right, and that you aren't mad at her. Even apologize, if you feel like it's necessary," she advised.

Hiiro's suggestions started out well enough, but soon, her inner romantic took control. She started painting a poetic picture of the scene she thought ought to play out. Just as she said, Aoi would indeed go to Tsubaki, right now in fact. She would run to the other woman, and then she'd knock on her door and wait for an answer. She'd stand there like a ghost, shaking from the rain. Then Tsubaki would indeed eventually open up, secretly desiring this moment just as much as Aoi was.

Tsubaki would see Aoi there, rain-soaked and panting from her sprint across town, and she would ask, "Are you insane?!"

And Aoi would reply, "It's been a long few weeks, and I was too afraid to tell you how I feel..." Then she'd segue into the long-awaited confession!

"And that's how it works!" Hiiro concluded, clapping her hands proudly. "That's how you get the girl!"

"Wait... How I—?" Aoi suddenly narrowed her eyes and tilted her head in confusion. Wasn't this supposed to be advice on how to get Tsubaki back into RONDO? What was Hiiro talking about with confessions? This wasn't a prayer in a chapel!

Nagisa said nothing, only smirking as Hiiro prattled on, describing the next part of her vision for the "couple" in vivid detail.

Aoi would say, "I want you for worse or for better! I'd chase you forever and ever! I know I broke your heart, but I'll put it back together! I would wait forever and ever!" Maybe she would get down on one knee, maybe she would stay on her feet and join Tsubaki inside. Maybe she would hold Tsubaki's hand, or look at her intensely, eyes conveying more than what her words could say. In any case, as Hiiro asserted, that was how it worked. That was how Aoi would get her girl back. And even after Hiiro was finally done, Nagisa still only shook her head with a playful, unreadable smile.

ooo

A day later, Aoi still hadn't visited Tsubaki.

"What if she doesn't want to see me?" the leader of RONDO asked glumly. This time, Hiiro wasn't around. Aoi had swung by Nagisa's place after class, and she was currently chilling in a chair in her living room. There were pudding cups, music sheets, wrappers, and guitar equipment scattered about the floor. Nagisa's legs were crossed, and she strummed her guitar idly as Aoi confessed her fears.

It wasn't the confession Hiiro would've wanted to hear, and Nagisa had to admit that she felt the same way. Even though all four of them only met fairly recently, Hiiro and Nagisa were actually already dating. Unlike the other two, they weren't totally oblivious. And in the beginning, Hiiro and Nagisa even hoped that by modeling a healthy, open relationship, that would finally make things click for still-single counterparts. Nope.

Nagisa thought it was plain as day that Aoi and Tsubaki were into each other, but the least aware people of all were Aoi and Tsubaki themselves! But Nagisa knew, sometimes these things just needed baby steps. Some might say she was more immature and less pensive than Hiiro, but that wasn't necessarily true. It was more like they swapped their single shared brain cell, and today just happened to be Nagisa's day.