#bittersweetshipping | nyabby-keromatsu-kimori (2024)

Bittersweetshipping Week 2021 - Day 5 - Confession

“So, um…here we are,” Lana muttered, stepping into the field of flowers hidden away in the forest where she and Mallow had spent so many hours together when they were younger. Having come here so many times, Mallow had recognised where Lana had been leading her about 15 minutes ago, but had decided not to comment on it at the time – Lana seemed nervous enough as it was, the last thing she wanted to do was make it any worse. What exactly it was that was making her so nervous, she had no idea, all Lana had said was that she had to tell her something and that she wanted to go somewhere private to say it.

“Soooo…why did you bring us here?” Mallow asked, trying to sound as casual as possible despite her own nervousness.

Lana shrugged. “It’s quiet…barely anybody else ever comes here, so there’s privacy…and I mean…it’s special to us, right?”

“Yeah…it is…”

Mallow followed Lana out into the flowers, both of them stopping around the middle of the field. The clearing was peaceful and quiet, and the silence was filled by the calming sounds of the surrounding forest. In the past, they’d both been content to just sit together and listen to the sounds of nature, relaxed in each other’s company…but right now, both girls were very much aware of the tension hovering in the air between them.

“So, uh…” Mallow cleared her throat, trying to think of something to say.

Lana wordlessly turned to face Mallow, reaching up to put her hands on her shoulders. Due to the height difference between them, this ended up being a somewhat awkward position, so she slowly moved her hands down to hold onto her arms instead, trying to steady her nerves.

“I…I’m…”

“Lana?”

“I have to tell you something…” Lana said, repeating her words from earlier in the day. “A-and it’s hard, because I’ve been hiding it for so long…years, actually.”

“It’s okay,” Mallow said, giving her a smile that she hoped was reassuring. “Just take your time, no pressure.”

Lana returned the smile with a shaky one of her own and nodded. “Y-yeah…it’s just that, well…I’m, uh…” she lowered her head, focusing on the flowers at her feet as she started to flush pink. “It’s- I mean- I-”

Her gentle grip on Mallow’s arms suddenly got a lot tighter as her words kept getting stuck in her throat. Mallow couldn’t tell exactly what she was thinking, but she could see the rising anxiety in Lana’s eyes as her face got redder with each passing second. Mallow could feel Lana trembling, and decided that satisfying her curiosity wasn’t worth all this anxiety.

“Lana? Are you oka-“

“I’m fine! I-I’m fine, I just…”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to…”

Lana faltered, and for a moment seemed to consider taking the offer, but shook her head. “No. You deserve to know…”

“Are you sure?”

Lana nodded. She took a deep breath, letting go of Mallow’s arms and slowly moving her shaking hands to hold both of Mallow’s.

“I, um…I mean, you- we- I’m-” Lana’s voice got quieter with each word, but with so little background noise, it was still pretty easy to make out what she was saying. “I…I’m in love with you…”

Mallow’s heart leapt, barely noticing her face growing three times warmer. Part of her was in complete disbelief, she must’ve misheard her – Lana had been pretty quiet after all and she shouldn’t just make assumptions, but then, when she really thought about it, and thought back on their past interactions, so many things made so much more sense…

And she knew that Lana was waiting for a response, but her brain was barely able to keep up with what was happening amidst all the thoughts racing through her mind, and she was barely even able to choke out a single word.

“w-what..?”

Lana gulped, repeating herself in a louder voice than before. “I-I love you. I’ve been in love with you for years now…”

There were so many things she wanted to say, she wanted to pull Lana into a hug and hold her in her arms, she wanted to kiss her, wanted to tell her how long she’d been dreaming of hearing those words, wanted to tell her how much she meant to her, but for a moment, all Mallow could do was stand there in shock and awe.

“You d-don’t have to respond or anything, I just-”

Lana was interrupted by Mallow pulling her into the biggest hug she’d ever given her, pulling her as close as possible with a joyful laugh.

“M-Mallow…?”

“I love you too.”

“W-wait, you- you do?” Lana pulled back slightly, not enough to break the hug but enough to be able to look Mallow in the eye. “I-I mean…are you sure?”

“Of course I’m sure. I love you,” Mallow repeated, her heart soaring at how right it felt to finally say the words out loud.

Mallow watched Lana’s eyes light up as the realisation dawned on her, and the smile that followed was the most beautiful thing Mallow had ever seen. Lana flung her arms around Mallow’s shoulders, pulling her closer, and Mallow barely had the time to process what was happening as Lana pulled her down into a kiss.

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okay yes I did steal the backgrounds from the show itself but in all fairness this is practically a very short comic with full colour and shading and I did it all in one day so. I think it’s fair enough