"Well, that was unexpected, you asking me to stay on the roof with you so we could have a nice picnic," said Nico, as she watched Maki unroll a cherry blossom themed blanket from her bag, lift it way up in the air and contemplate the slowing down motion of the cloth as it quietly made its way to the ground. They sat together on the thin blanket.

"Well, I forgot my keys and my parents are working at the moment so I can't really go home, I would usually lock myself up in the music room, but this time I thought it would be nice to have some good company for a change" Maki replied, with a shy smile hidden by the bento she took out of her bag, handing it to Nico with both hands.

"Thank you," she said, feeling sorry about not having her own. She took the bento, revealing Maki's shy smile, a smile that would not faint. "So, hum, if I understand everything, you just picked me because I happened to be there when you realized you had forgotten your keys, huh?"

"Basically, yeah."

"Thanks for nothing!" she snapped, followed by a well-covered smirk.

"C'mon, I was just joking, it's good to have you here, even though I don't admit it a lot."

Nico saw an opening, so she dove straight in.

"About that, I wanted to ask you something... we're good friends, right?"

"Yeah, I guess," she answered, trying to do it as nonchalantly as possible, and also attempting not to choke on her saliva. She was caught off-guard but still managed to keep her cool.

"Okay," she started, "I wanted to tell you something that was bothering me for a while, please don't laugh, I think I'm serious about this, actually, I am. It's just, I feel ignored, a lot, by the girls in the band. And I know they don't mean to hurt me or anything, they don't actually hurt me, it's just... I feel useless sometimes, as if I were just here because I'm the president of this club. I know I'm being too irrational here x'). I know that from outsider's point of view, it must be a fun runnning gag, I could be a fun anime character, but still, I can't help thinking that -"

"Okay," she interrupted, "first of all, ew. Please don't make me imagine us as anime characters, I feel like it would be too easy to make me the tsundere, and I don't think millions of people are interested in seeing that, at least I am not interested in seeing that," she said, repressing a laugh.

That made her smile, the idea of Maki as an anime character made her smile, "How annoyingly cute would she be?" she thought.

"Cracked a smile, huh? That's better, much better," she breathed, relieved.

"Of course, you're funny, not my fault," she said, as she repressed a soft giggle. "But seriously," she continued, getting back on the not-so-funny track, "I feel like this... filler friend, like, I never really contribute to a conversation when it comes to practice or what we should do in general, and when I want to, when I do, no one really notices. Maybe I'm just being paranoid about all this, because I know I brought a few good things to this club, but..."

As Nico unravelled the complexity of her anxiety, she could not look at Maki directly in the eyes, she could not stop touching her hands and stretching her fingers, she could not stop her heart from racing, a word after another, she was giving herself to her. Maki didn't know what do to, but somehow, she just... did it. She pushed aside the unused chopsticks and the sealed bentos, and reached out to her, for her. She could not watch Nico let herself go without attempting to cushion her potential fall. She slid a hand behind her head and the other behind her back, and pulled Nico onto her, buried her face against her chest, and held tight. It lasted a whole minute, everything went silent for a whole minute. Maki could feel her shirt getting wet, but it was still silent. She held her tighter, and broke the silence, gently, with a whisper, a whisper was enough.

"You're important, you know? Every single person in our band is important. µ's needs 9 members, and you are one of them. Honoka is the most important part, but so is Kotori, so is Eri, so is Rin, so am I... so are you, Nico-chan. You are the most important part, and nothing would be possible without you."

Nico smiled. Her smile was so wide. With the wetness of her shirt, Maki even felt like she painted it, the universal picture of happiness, a smile. Nico held her back, tight. She felt safe in her arms, welcomed even. But she couldn't resist trying to get back into character, no matter how sloppy it would be. She pulled back, just enough to look at her eyes.

"What's with you? Trying to be all cool and profound?" she asked, as she wiped a tear off her eye.

"Even a tsundere can not be a walking stereotype and actually have a well-rounded personality," she said joyfully, winking.

"I think you just broke the fourth wall here by saying that."

"Damn right I did girl!"

"You're getting out of character!"

"Nico Nico Nii!"

"And now you're stealing my identity!"

This fast paced exchange brought tears to their eyes, tears of joy and laughter. They couldn't stop laughing, this is the kind of intimate moment that people overlook sometimes, laughing to tears with someone can be a great bonding experience. And it just happened to them, and obviously, it felt amazing. After getting back to their senses and somehow regaining their composure, Maki wiped one last tear off Nico's face with the side of her forefinger.

"How are you feeling now?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer, she wanted to hear it.

"Better. So much better, thank you," she answered, grateful.

"I don't know how it is for the others, but I, personally, am sorry for not showing how much I can care, especially about you. Maybe I'm unconsciously trying to keep my tsundere character in front of people, that could be a possibility, who knows?... But, when I'm alone with you, I can be something else, I'm not going to say that it's my true self or that it's another person, but it's a side of me that I... well, never knew about, never showed anyone before. And it feels amazing, yet so frightening, because I am discovering parts of myself at the same time as you do, and I just hope I won't mess up in the process..." She paused, just realizing how far she went. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, this is so embarrassing, I shouldn't have said that all of a sudden," she concluded, with her eyes closed, and fists clenched, thinking of how much damage this declaration could make.

Nico could not believe what just happened, so much so that Maki's apology hit her ten seconds after she actually stopped talking. After realizing that she had to talk now, Nico gently lifted the apologetic face with the back of her thumb, greeting her with the most heartfelt smile Maki has ever witnessed.

"It's okay, everything's okay. I feel the same. I wouldn't have been able to talk to you about my insecurity if I didn't feel the same. And I wouldn't have been so easily reassured if I didn't feel the same. I wouldn't be here, in your arms, if I didn't feel the same. Everything is so... simple, when I'm only with you, I don't have to care about anything else but you, and oh God do I care. "

This physical closeness could make anyone uncomfortable, but not them. They set foot in each other's comfort zone a long time ago, and it could not be more outrageously peaceful. Their faces were so close that a tiny flick on the back on their head could make them touch. It could make them close the gap. They could close the gap, and it would be fine. Anyone could make the first move, and it would be fine, with no dire consequences. Just another step forward on this mutual comfort zone.

Any second now.