A Token for Your Time Pt. 4

Before I could even register the beat, Lana was already guiding me—one step forward, a quick tap to the side, then a light bounce in place. It felt like my limbs were made of lead, each movement stiff and awkward compared to her effortless grace.

"Left! Right! No, your other left—ahaha!" she burst into laughter, nearly losing her footing as she tried to correct my clumsy attempt at matching the arrows on the screen. "You're stepping like you're dodging landmines!"

"What am I even supposed to do?!" I snapped, nearly tripping over my own foot. "These arrows are coming out of nowhere!"

She laughed even harder, grabbing my hands again and trying to swing me into rhythm. "No, they're literally coming from the exact same spots every time! Come on! Loosen up! You gotta move with the music, not against it!"

Easy for her to say—she moved like a breeze, while I looked like a malfunctioning marionette. Still, I tried. I really did.

"One, two—there you go! Not terrible!" she cheered, twirling beside me and pulling me gently to match her timing. "You're still terrible, don't get me wrong, but not terrible terrible!"

I groaned, but I couldn't help the crooked smile forming on my lips. With each missed step and awkward shuffle, she only laughed more, completely unconcerned with how ridiculous we must've looked.

Finally, the song came a pause, granting me a moment to breathe. But this position... wasn't necessarily ideal, to say the least.

As we were practically gasping for air, our bodies were together. I'm a bit taller than Lana, so her head of cyan hair was directly beneath my chin. Her arms were curled up on my chest while mine... were hanging around her hips.

Lana looked up with a playful smile, one that caught me completely off guard. "Not too shabby, eh? Aikami?"

"I... I tried my hardest, you know," I gulped, struggling to even maintain eye contact.

"Yeah, I'll say. You weren't even watching the screen."

"Well, how can I? You were right in front of me."

She blinked, her grin faltering slightly as a faint blush bloomed across her cheeks.

"What? Am I more important than the game?" she chuckled, looking away with a gentle smile.

"I... I mean..." I said, stumbling on my words. "I-if I had to choose between looking at you and a screen that literally makes zero sense to me... I'd choose the former."

"Hehe~ Saying stuff like that so casually... Getting a bit too confident there, are we?"

"...You're not exactly making it any easier for me."

"Well, you'd better prepare yourself then. Cuz the hardest part of any song always comes after the break!"

The song continued, but it no longer mattered how badly I danced. Lana leaned in closer, syncing her movements with mine, keeping our hands lightly clasped as if she were leading a ballroom dance instead of a rhythm game. Every now and then, she'd sneak a glance up at me, eyes sparkling with mischief and something warmer.

And strangely enough… I started laughing, too. By the time the song ended, the score screen popped up, taunting me with a glaring red D-rank.

Lana burst into laughter again, nearly doubling over. "D-rank! Ahaha~! That's amazing! You somehow managed to lose on a three-star song!"

I crossed my arms and looked away. "Hey. You were also dancing with me. Doesn't that mean you also scored a D?"

"Sure, sure. Whatever makes you feel better, buddy," she giggled, brushing her hair behind her ear, still catching her breath. "But honestly… that was way more fun than just dancing by myself."

She gave me a soft smile, one not full of teasing this time—just warm and gentle.

For a second, I forgot about the game. About the awkward dancing. Even about the headache I'd been carrying all day. All I saw was her—standing in front of me, a little disheveled, a little flushed from the exertion, eyes glowing under the arcade lights.

"...Yeah," I said quietly, more to myself than her. "It kind of was."

Her smile grew a little brighter.

"Alright!" she clapped her hands. "Next game!"

"A-already?"

"You thought we were done? Oh no, Aikami. That was just the warm-up~"

"...I should've gone home when I had the chance."

She laughed again and, once more, took my hand without hesitation. And I let her.

The next hour flew by in a haze of flashing lights and chaotic energy. Lana challenged me to a shooting game next—she won by a landslide. Then came air hockey—she cheated by distracting me with sudden, exaggerated victory poses. I tried my luck at a claw machine, only to fail miserably.

Lana, on the other hand, managed to snag a small plush bunny on her first try. That was a real slap in the face in the face compared to my ten attempts.

"You... tampered with fate again, didn't you?" I muttered, suspicious.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she mused, fully aware of how guilty she sounded. "Anyway, here. A consolation prize for your endless suffering.”

"What? You won it, so you keep it."

"Nah. I want you to have it. So next time you're tired or down, you can look at it and remember how you survived a full arcade raid with me.”

I paused, looking at the bunny in her outstretched hand. It was nothing fancy—just a small white plush with long floppy ears and a stitched smile. But the warmth behind her gesture… that was real.

"…Thanks," I said, taking it awkwardly.

She smiled again, softer this time. "You're welcome."

We ended our impromptu adventure with one final stop at the in-store café, grabbing bubble tea and settling into a booth tucked away behind a low fence. The soft hum of arcade noise filtered in from the distance, but here, it felt like we'd carved out a quiet little pocket just for ourselves.

"See?" Lana said, taking a satisfied sip of her tea. "Told you it'd be better than a nap."

"Oh, I don't know about that," I scoffed, leaning back in the seat.

"Aw, come on. It was fun, wasn't it? If you say no, then I'll just have to try a little harder next time. Though, fair warning… that might involve some complications."

"Pfft~ At this point, I shouldn't expect anything less."

"That's why we're your favorite goddesses!"

For a while, we sat in a comfortable silence, quietly sipping our drinks. The chaos around us faded into background noise, like the bubble we'd been in all day had finally popped—leaving just the two of us in the calm that followed.

I glanced over at Lana just as she turned to look at me. Our eyes met and lingered. One second… two seconds… far longer than I expected. And right as I began to awkwardly shift my gaze away, she flashed a mischievous grin.

"W-what…?" I mumbled.

"Heh, nothing," she giggled. "I just had an idea. Something to remember today by."

She stood up, only to immediately slide over to my side of the booth and plop down beside me without hesitation. Then, without a word, she grabbed my arm, leaned in close, and held up her phone.

Snap.

"Perfect!" she said, proudly admiring the picture. "My photography skills are top-tier."

"That was your big idea?" I sighed. "You made it sound like you were about to blow a hole in the roof or something."

"Hey now, give me a little credit. I'm not that chaotic." She poked my shoulder and held the phone out to me. "Oh! Hey! Take one of me!"

"Huh? Wait, what am I even supposed to do?"

"Have you never taken a photo before?"

"Nope. Never."

"And for some reason, I don't doubt that," she sighed. "It's easy. Just hold it up and press the little button at the bottom when you think it looks good. That's it."

Reluctantly, I raised the phone as Lana leaned her cheek in one hand and held her bubble tea in the other, striking a casual pose.

But just before I could press the button… my hands stopped moving.

I lowered the phone slightly, nearly losing my breath altogether.

She was just sitting there. That's all. No flashy smile. No teasing expression. Just a simple, quiet smile that could stop time if you let it. Her serene eyes looked straight ahead, so peaceful and radiant that everything around her seemed to blur away.

My chest tightened.

She's... gorgeous.

"…L-look at the camera, Lana," I muttered, noticing her gaze had drifted a little.

"What do you mean?" she replied, her voice gentle. "I'm looking exactly where I wanna look."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and refocused. Somehow managing to steady myself, I tapped the shutter button. The phone gave a quiet click.

"Phew... That was harder than I thought,” I exhaled, handing it back. "Here… your phone—"

Once again, I froze. Lana was still in that same pose. Still staring at me with that same calm, sincere expression on her face.

"The fatigue finally catching up to you, Aikami?" she said with a small chuckle. "Your face is… It's glowing like a tomato, you know."

"…Y-yeah. Let's just say that."

"Hehe~"

She stood up again, stretching with a contented sigh, one hand still holding her drink.

"Well, that's that, I guess," she said softly. Then, she turned to me with a smile that was so warm, so effortlessly genuine, it made my heart skip a beat. "Today was shorter than I expected, but… thanks to this—thanks to you—it was even more fulfilling than I thought it'd be. So… really. Thank you, Aikami."

I couldn't say anything.

Not because I didn't want to… but because I couldn't. My throat felt tight, my thoughts tangled, my mouth dry. All I could do was look at her.

Shit… There's something seriously wrong with me.