Shiho playfully dips her gyōza in the same little pot of sauce, grinning when Akira catches her doing so.

Akira ducks her head and smiles. "Yeah, sure, steal my dip too."

She looks away.

"I, um. You're really good at kissing."

Shiho blushes brightly. "I... um. Ann and I got a lot of practice."

Akira doesn't quite meet Shiho's gaze. "Would... Would you like to... Would you like to get some more? Practice, I mean."

She grins, still blushing, and nods. "I—um—where?"

And then she quickly eats another dumpling.

"I, um." Akira flushes. "I guess Leblanc's attic is the only obvious place we could likely get some privacy, huh, what with Ann being on a date with Ryuji and all. I mean, we were going to have to go there eventually anyway, so..."

She nods and eats her last two dumplings swiftly, then stacks up the trash.

Akira is going to just say nothing and take a deep drink of her ramune right now.

Honestly she can't believe she's doing this...

Shiho stuffs the trash into the bag everything came in, then gives it a sharp swing with a flick of her wrist, throwing it to land perfectly in a nearby trashcan. She grabs her ramune with one hand, her girlfriend's hand with the other, and gets up. "Wanna get going?"

Akira nods sharply and gets up, linking hands with Shiho. She doesn't trust her voice right now.

She leads the way down into the underground, then nods her head at the various staircases down to the platforms, as if to ask which one, before taking a drink of her ramune. Maybe she doesn't trust her voice either.

"Le... Leblanc's in Yongen-Jaya. I'll lead." 

Akira steps out in front and leads Shiho to the transfer platform, along the familiar route she's taken many times before. 

Shiho follows, hand intertwined with Akira's.

A train arrives fairly promptly.

Akira pauses. 

She was going to go to the bookstore —

Nnnnnnnot important. She will cope.

She gets on the train, trailing Shiho behind her.

Shiho folds herself into a seat next to Akira, and squeezes her hand.

Akira tentatively interlaces her fingers with Shiho's. 

As the train sets off down the tracks, she tentatively clears her throat. 

"... Guess I'll have to go book shopping another day." Akira takes another drink of her ramune.

She blushes, running her thumb over the back of Akira's hand. "Oops?"

Akira suppresses a laugh. "Yeah, um. I think you're more important than any book." 

"L-likewise."

She rests her head on Akira's shoulder.

... Akira smiles tenderly, and releases Shiho's hand to instead drape her arm around Shiho's shoulders. 

She sighs gently and leans a bit closer.

Akira kisses the side of Shiho's head, in her hair, and holds her close.

She feels calm and light. The soft jostling of the train lulls her, and having Shiho in her arms feels so reassuring.

"You get it," Shiho breathes, her voice full of wonder and barely audible over the sound of the subway.

"Yeah," Akira murmurs. "I do." 

The train rocks softly. Shiho is still in her arms. She can feel their connection strengthen with each moment they spend together like this.