You were so nervous at this very moment. Last night you’d lamented over every possible situation that could stem from this date and by the time you fell asleep were almost confident that nothing could screw this day up. But now that you were here, waiting at the gates of the arboretum and surrounding park, your nerves were getting the better of you.
‘Stop that.’, you thought,‘She said yes to this whole date thing in the first place, you have nothing to worry about’. After some deep breaths you pulled your head out of the clouds and looked around for any sight of your date. ‘Could you even call this a date?? What if she doesn’t see it like that???’. ‘Chill out brain, you specifically called this a date when you asked her out-’.
“Hey (Y/n)”, a voice cut through your thoughts, dragging you back to reality.
“Hi Tsu! How are you doing today?”, you chirped.
“Great, you?”, She replied.
“Just peachy”, you beamed at her, already cursing how awkward you felt.
“Well if you’ve got the passes we should get going.”,Tsu said as you two strode through the gates.
As you walked alongside her, you had the time to take in what she was wearing. The weather was warm but not sweltering and you saw Tsu had dressed accordingly. Your heart just skipped a beat seeing her in a light green sundress that ended just past her knees, her hair in that signature bow, (you still had no clue how she managed to style it like that). Her big black eyes scanning the picturesque park view beyond. She looked so pretty, right here, right now, especially with the scenery behind her. Then again you thought she looked gorgeous anywhere. ‘Damn really going all out here with the romantic thoughts huh’, you pondered.
“Is there anywhere you want to go first?”, you asked, standing next to the map of the grounds.
“The greenhouses look interesting..”, Tsu suggested, doing that cute thing where she rested a finger on the corner of her mouth.
“Let’s head over there now, and then maybe we can grab lunch afterwards?”,you proposed, seeing a cafe marked on the map nearby.
“Sounds great!”, She remarked.
And off you went, strolling through green houses filled with all varieties of fauna. There were palms and small trees with waxy leaves, as well as exotic flowers in vibrant shades of red, yellow, and purple. You two marveled at the rainforest’s worth of cool plants that lined the designated pathways. The air was humid inside with the scent of damp earth mixed with the occasional sweet aroma of flowers, but the well curated collection of plant life really made up for a bit of sweat. Not to mention seeing Tsu so enamored.
As you walked through the tropical biosphere Tsu and you, wow that rhymes, chatted about nothing in particular including her siblings, how pretty those flowers looked, the weather, and the latest episodes of a show you both watched. You really loved the sound of her voice as she went on about something or the way she smiled and giggled at something funny you said or did. Though as you walked alongside her, you couldn’t help but let your eyes linger on her hand laying at her side. You had finally worked up the nerve to ask her out after being a pining idiot for months, and here you were incredibly nervous but still desperately wanting to hold her hand. Not just like platonic or spur of the moment hand holding but the slow kind, like you see in movies. You wanted to intertwine fingers and walk beside Tsu, hand in hand. But you were anxious as hell and barely keeping your cool as you walked alongside her in conversation, inches apart under the greenhouses glass dome.
After you’d seen almost everything those domes of plants had to offer you decided to head to a nearby cafe to grab lunch. Both of you were growing hungry after walking around for quite a bit. In minutes you arrived at the Lily Pad Cafe. (Which you honestly thought was really ironic considering the whole frog thing Tsu had going on.)
The Lily Pad Cafe definitely lived up to the name though. The outdoor seating consisted of a patio that stretched out over a large pond. In clusters across the deep green water were bright green lily pads with the occasional white flower resting atop the water. Looking into the pond you could spot the occasional fish, while iridescent dragonflies skimmed the water.
You dug into a meal of sandwiches and gazed across the lake as it reflected clear blue skies on the surface. After some more idle chatter and once Tsu had finished her jelly cup. Then Tsu led you over to a bench that sat atop a hill under a shady tree. From this point you could see the lower lying hills where people walked and picniced.
“Today’s been really nice, thanks for inviting me out here (Y/n).”, Tsu exclaimed.
“Thank you for coming with me!”, you replied, smiling at her.
“No worries, You know I was thinking about that plant we saw-”, as she started talking about a tropical tree you had seen earlier your eyes went back down to her hand sitting right next to yours on the bench.
‘Well it’s now or never y/n’, you thought, mustering all your courage you moved your hand just a bit to the side and on top of hers.
“And the sign said that-”, she paused and looked down at your hands.
‘Oh crapcrapcrap you’ve really done it now’, you panicked moving to pull your hand away and apologize. But then as you inwardly cringed, Tsu beamed at you and laced her fingers between yours.
“I was beginning to think there was something wrong with my hands, you should have just told me you wanted to hold them.”, she laughed.
“Haha, sorry bout’ that.”, you said sheepishly.
“You seem really nervous but I assure there’s nothing to worry about. This place is wonderful and I do really enjoy spending time with you.”, Tsu said, grabbing your other hand and turning to face you.
“Same here, though I guess you know that because I asked you out and everything..”, you nervously rambled, becoming a blushy mess at her kind words.
Tsu beamed at you and turned to face the scenery again, a satisfied smile on her face.
The rest of that sunny day passed, with you and Tsu walking around the ground, smiles on your faces and hand in hand.