~Assigned Seats~ Fpe ZipClaire fic

~Kiss of confession~

Zip walked nervously into the crowded mall. She's honestly never been here on her own before. Well, she wasn't completely alone. She had Chip by her side as she knew very well she couldn't leave him at the school or home alone and their mother had to stay after-school hours, most likely some sort of meeting or something.

She looked around looking for this secret admirer, her heart beating like the drums she'd hear in Mister Demi's class. She felt like the main character in one of those romance novels.

Finally, she made it to the Food Court area. Chip looked around, mostly staying silent before he tugged at her capelet. "Cookie," he whispered, pointing at the bakery.

She sighed before shaking her head at her little brother. "Not now, Chip," she whispered in response, only gaining a sad whimper from Chip.

Her eyes scanned the area for the secret admirer, but she couldn't tell. None of them looked like they were from her school.. was the note some stupid prank, did she just waste her time?

She was just about to leave the food area before accidentally bumping into something... or someone. She looked up to see... Claire? What's she doing here? Oh god...what was she supposed to say?

"Zip? Wha-" Claire's eyes widened in surprise as she looked down at the slightly shorter girl in front of her. "What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to keep her voice low to not draw attention.

"I-uh," Zip stuttered, her cheeks flushing a vibrant shade of hot pink. "I got a note......from a secret admirer," she murmured, almost mumbling the last part.

Claire's eyes widened even more. "You too?" she whispered back, pulling out the note from her pocket.

Zip handed her note out a bit shyly, and Claire took it gently, giving her note to Zip. Zip looked at it, the handwriting looking an awful lot like her own.

Claire seemed to notice the similarity of Zips' note handwriting to hers, but it was noticeably less neat, and then it hit her... someone set them up..

Zip's heart sank a bit, but she put on a brave face. "Looks like we both got played," she said with a small chuckle, trying to lighten the mood.

"No, wait," she murmured, looking around the area before leaning closer to Zip. "I..I have something to tell you..." Claire's voice was barely a whisper, her eyes searching the room for any sign of an audience.

Zip was sure her heart skipped a beat as she looked into Claire's eyes, searching for some sort of clue of what she was gonna say next. The mall's noisy chatter faded into the background as her focus was solely on the pretty girl in front of her.

"What is it?" Zip whispered back, her voice barely audible over the bustling of the mall.

There was a sudden awkward silence between the two of them. Zip's mind was racing, trying to piece together what could possibly be going on in Claire's mind.

"I... I don't know if this is the right place or time," Claire stumbled, her cheeks blushing a light shade of pink. "But I've had feelings for you..." she paused "for a while now..."

Zip's heart felt like it had stopped, and the noisy mall around them faded into white noise. She looked at Claire with wide eyes, trying to process the words that had just been said.

"You... you do?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. She couldn't believe it. The person she teased and somewhat bullied felt the same way she did. It was like a dream come true, but she had to be sure it wasn't some trick, though she wouldn't blame Claire if this was one.

"Yes," Claire nodded, her eyes never leaving Zip's. "I wanted to tell you myself, not because of some setup," she said, her voice a little stronger now. "But I guess the world had other plans."

Zip a wave of relief and surprise wash over her. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she shouted a bit, her tail starting to sway lightly behind her excitedly.

"I-" but before Claire could even get a word out, Zip had lunged onto her, surprisingly not knocking her over, and wrapped her arms around her in a tight embrace before planting a kiss right on her lips.

The kiss was soft, full of warmth and gentleness. It was a kiss that spoke of the emotions that had been brewing between them for too long. It was a kiss that was worth the wait.

When they finally pulled away, their eyes locked, and a smile spread across both of their faces.

"I-I've liked you too, Claire," Zip confessed, her voice a mix of excitement and nervousness.

The two of them stood there for a moment, just looking into each other's eyes with flustered faces before Chip tugged on Zip's capelet again. "Cookie," he said, reminding them of their earlier conversation.

They both giggled, the tension from the confession dissipating slightly. Claire looked down at Chip with a gentle smile. "Alright, little guy," she said, patting his head. "Let's get you a cookie. "