You Don't Mind

“Where are you taking me?” you ask her as she holds your hand and guides you through the dog park.

Tzuyu grips your hand a little tighter and glances at you for a moment. “Just somewhere I like to go when I need to decompress,” she says softly, almost like a whisper.

You nod in response and she doesn’t say anything after, you just let her guide you the rest of the way.

It’s dark out, probably past ten in the evening. Ever since you guys decided to have dinner together, you never once checked your phone.

Being with Tzuyu alone like this is like a prayer that’s been answered. You liked her for a long time. Maybe when she was assigned to your department.

And everyone from your friend group knows how much you like her. But she’s a hard cookie to crack. She doesn’t talk much, nor does she ever show much emotion even when the mood was lively and chaotic.

If anything, you tried every trick in your book to make her smile, or laugh, or even chuckle. And sometimes it worked. Sometimes it didn’t. But you didn’t mind. She didn’t tell you to leave her alone and she likes talking to you even if it wasn’t related to your work.

She knows your feelings and a part of you wants to believe that she likes you back. Because she wouldn’t ask you to have dinner with her nights in a row for nothing.

Right?

And she’s holding your hand.

You had to admit, this is new, since she doesn’t usually show any type of affection to anyone. Not even to her friends.

But you restrain yourself from succumbing to your giddiness. Her hand fits perfectly in yours. You honestly wished she could hold it forever. A part of you actually doesn’t want to wash it once you get home. But that would be unsanitary.

She finally stops by a tree, and she lets go of your hand momentarily to check the grass. You feel slightly empty at the loss of contact. But soon it’s filled again when she comes back and takes it.

“We can sit here, it’s not dirty,” she says, then you sit next to her.

A comfortable silence fills the air and you’re genuinely enjoying it. Being someone who enjoys talking a lot and would rather fill the room with excited banter and laughs, you don’t mind this.

Maybe this is what she wants and you give it to her immediately.

But then you suddenly realize that the sky is clear of clouds and stars fill your eyes. It’s beautiful. You didn’t know how much of it is there because of the busy skyline and buildings that usually surround you.

“I like looking at the stars,” she suddenly tells you. You turn to look at her, but she simply stares up at the sky. “I always go here alone and I look at the constellations, trying to figure out what’s up above me.”

The information she shares makes you smile, you nod your head. “So what’s up in the sky right now?”

She takes a moment to think, then she grabs her phone, opens an app and then goes back and forth from the sky to her phone. She hums.

“I think that one up there is Jupiter.”

You look up with her, sadly, they just look like glowing specks in the sky, nothing tells you what you’re looking at. But you didn’t want her to think you’re dumb.

“Where is it exactly?”

Tzuyu immediately points it out with her finger, then to your surprise, she talks. Non-stop.

Nothing but information on constellations and at one point about planets and then about the Milky Way or something.

You’re not sure anymore. But you don’t care. Because of the time you’ve known Tzuyu, this is the first time she spoke so much to you. Or to anyone.

She’s just talking about stars and shows you her app so eagerly, like she’s happy to know you’re listening and asking her questions.

There’s something about the way she says her words, or how her expressions change so quickly when she does. You’re mesmerized by the way she smiles, or how her dimple shows or the way her eyes turn into crescents when she laughs at something.

You don’t mind.

You don’t mind.

You don’t mind.

If anything, it’s as if your feelings for her are starting to grow more and more with each word she says and each small smile she shows you.

“Sana?” she calls out to you, and you quickly snap out of it.

You blink. “Yes?”

She smiles at you warmly, the kind where your heart starts skipping extra beats because you aren’t prepared to handle it. Then she squeezes your hand again, leans forward and lets out a breath.

“Thank you,” she whispers softly.

You blink again, a little confused. “Why?”

“Because… I feel like I can be myself whenever I’m around you,” she says, eyes staring back at you, it locks you into place, and then she leans in a little closer.

Your breath hitches, unsure what to do with yourself with the sudden close proximity. Tzuyu can probably hear your heart beating so loud, you feel it thumping wildly in your chest.

She takes your hand up and she pressed her lips gently onto the back of it. Then she gingerly lets go and looks at you again.

The fast rhythmic beating of your heart makes you aware that you are alive, that you are awake and you feel your blood rush through your veins. The kiss burns your skin in the most wonderful way possible. Your hand moves on its own, like her skin is its home. A finger trails her cheek, down to her own lips.

Your eyes finally meet hers and it stuns you. They’re just as beautiful as the stars above you.

Her smile is just for you.

But your heart is hers if she’ll take it.

You’re in love.

You’re falling in love with her.

And you don’t mind.

You don’t mind.

You don’t mind.