Private Finished How to Stop Circling

The taste of vanilla ice cream was still fresh on her tongue, laughter was still in her throat and her face was steady and didn't betray the emotional turmoil that swirled inside Tomo's mind.
Tomo had a plan. A plan she had been setting up for...embarrassingly long time. Ever since she learned that Lucas had gone through some shit, wasn't quite the same as before, she had been coming up with this plan. A plan to tell him about her feelings in the least stressful, chill and casual way possible.
Yes, there was the option of not telling him, letting their friendship go on and just keep circling, keep doubting and wondering. But Tomo was just so sick and tired of it. She wanted to get this off her chest, not to date Lucas or anything, not to see if he felt the same. Tomo had carried these feelings for two years now, she was done hiding them and was ready to either let them grow, or get over them. Depending on Lucas' reaction. But either option was fine with Tomo, as long as Lucas was still her friend. Crushes and other romantic stuff came and went, but in Tomo's opinion her and Lucas' friendship was something that wouldn't be ruined by those feelings.
Hopefully.

"I swear, if Shiro gets a full-body tattoo like she threatened she would I'm going to laugh my ass off."
Tomo said, they'd just been chatting and chilling casually on the grass for a while now. They had a full day of bonding behind them; they'd shopped, they'd eaten out, they'd gotten ice cream, the whole package. It was all part of Tomo's plan. And now they were at the park, Tomo had just finished her ice cream and was on her back on the grass. And she felt like right about now would be a good time to approach the subject she had planned this whole day for. She was feeling chill (more or less), Lucas was feeling chill (at least it seemed like it) and the mood and place were perfect. There weren't any people around, they were sitting just behind a small wall of trees and bushes that created a small private space. So, no curious onlookers. Great.

Tomo didn't sit up, but she started ripping blades of grass with her fingers subtly as she shifted the conversation carefully.
"Hey Lucas."
Tomo said, her voice bit soft, and she moved her head enough so she could comfortably look at him.
"Do you mind if I confess something real quick?"
Tomo made sure not to sound or look too serious. This wasn't a big deal, she'd just mention it. They were both teenagers and for teenagers crushes were a big thing, but Tomo refused to stoop down to that level. She would keep this casual and normal even if it would kill her.

Shit, that reaction wasn't good. Tomo had fumbled right at the beginning and she wanted to punch herself for using a word like confession. Well, too late to take it back. Lucas had become more fragile and Tomo didn't want to hurt him, but she had hurt herself a lot over this already, and Tomo knew that she needed to be a bit selfish. Just one more time.

Tomo turned her eyes away from Lucas, maybe he'd feel less self-conscious about this if she didn't look at him. And Tomo was partly afraid to see his reaction.
"Well, to call it a confession is probably not the right word to use."
Tomo admitted with a small shrug, as she toyed with a blade of grass between her fingers.
"It's more like...a notification, or an admittance. Some other long fancy word like that."
Tomo chuckled, and just stared at the blue sky.

"Just...know one thing, before I say anything. I know things are rough for you right now, Lucas. And I've told you that I am and will always have your back. That won't change, no matter what."
When she said this Tomo said it a bit more seriously. Lucas needed to know, that no matter how he'd react, how this would go, Tomo wouldn't leave him alone and wouldn't pull away her support. She was better than that now.
Tomo swallowed once quietly, took a small breath, and...
"It feels just a bit childish to say it like this, but...I like you. As in, have a crush on you. Have for a while now."
Tomo smiled just a tiny bit, when the words came out she was terrified and worried and anxious but also...relieved. Relieved to finally have it out. Because it had been much easier than she had expected.
But it wasn't over yet.

"But this doesn't mean you owe me anything, or that we have to be together in a romantic sense. I'm saying this out of my own selfish reasons, because I want to be honest and clear with you, Lucas."
Now Tomo slowly sat up, looking at Lucas with side eyes, the same small smile on her face.
"You're my best friend. You will always be. And this won't change anything if you don't want it to. Our friendship is stronger than that, I know it. I'm just happy to have my best friend back after so long, happy to help you, happy to support you. I know you'd do the same for me, and you have."
Now the ball was on Lucas' court. And no matter how he'd react Tomo was ready to receive it all. Whether it was rejection, apprehension or acceptance.

Tomo's heart broke a little bit when Lucas inched away, and no matter how much she told herself that she'd be okay with any result Tomo was still scared. Scared that she'd been wrong and this would ruin their friendship, ruin everything. Naturally Tomo would fight for them if that happened, but the fear was there. That fear made Tomo's eyes dodge down, not wanting to see the possible rejection on Lucas' face.

"Listen, I know this is sudde-"
Tomo started to say, attempting to inform Lucas that he wouldn't have to answer now if this was happening too quickly. But then she moved her head back up and Lucas was in front of her, they were face to face. Lucas' face and expression told a thousand stories, and you didn't need to be as perceptive as Tomo to tell that he returned the feelings, at least to some extent. And when Tomo saw that expression she felt like Lucas didn't need to say or do anything more. That expression alone was an answer enough to her.
But what Lucas did next completely blew Tomo away.

Lucas' hand felt warm, even hot on Tomo's cheek. This was the first time Lucas' hand touched Tomo's cheek like this; softly, gently. The gesture was unexpected and made Tomo blush a bit, and she really thought it'd stop at that. That Lucas would speak and admit that he liked Tomo too.
But instead Tomo watched, unable to move and in awe, how Lucas leaned in and then they were kissing. Now, Tomo had kissed before. Not a lot, but more than once. Enough to know that this kiss was chaste and barely a kiss, more like a peck. But it was sweet and warm and it felt right, and Lucas' trembling has made Tomo's heart tremble in turn. Her brain was momentarily blacked out from surprise and disbelief, so her heart took the wheel and before Lucas pulled away Tomo pressed her lips against his just a bit, just to show that she wasn't against it.

Tomo's face was red as well, not nearly as red as Lucas' but still. And his words almost made Tomo laugh. The kiss had conveyed more than enough, so the words felt more like a formality at this point. But Tomo didn't laugh, instead she closed her eyes, leaned into Lucas' hand on her cheek a bit and purred softly. She was smiling.
"Cats are patient but even we want to end the hunt and go for the kill eventually."
Tomo said and chuckled. She opened her eyes to look at Lucas with a soft expression.
"That said, we don't need to date or anything, Lucas. You liking me back is basically a miracle by my standards. If dating me would be too much right now then we don't need to be a couple."
Tomo scooted just a bit closer and slowly leaned forward, until her forehead was against Lucas'. She let out a shivering relieved breath, as all the emotional and physical tension slowly left her body.
"Just...thanks for accepting my feelings, and responding. It means more to me than you think."

Tomo rolled her eyes fondly when Lucas used that cliche saying, but she didn't tease him about it. Tomo could see his tail wagging and it was so cute that she kind of felt like kissing the guy herself this time. But Lucas seemed like too much kissing might make him implode so Tomo made do with covering his hand on her cheek with her own.

"It's only awkward if we make it awkward, Lucas."
Tomo reassured and she managed to sound certain and confident despite she also having those same worries.
"It's the same thing as when some people stay good friends even after they break up. We can stay best friends even if we have feelings, at least I'm confident we can."

"You're not dragging me anywhere, I'm with you because I want to. And if I get hurt it won't be your fault."
Tomo murmured back at Lucas and this time touched her hand to Lucas' cheek. Her eyes were closed as she focused on Lucas' closeness and the warmth of his skin against her palm.
"I wouldn't even want to know about the future, all I care about is now. And right now I'm happy to be here for you, as a best friend and maybe as a girlfriend if you're okay with it."
That word felt strange to Tomo's mouth. Girlfriend. But...it didn't sound bad.

Lucas' suggestion made sense, in a way. A week's "test drive", so to say. Tomo idly intertwined her fingers with Lucas' as she considered it. If she was honest Tomo really wanted to try dating Lucas. She wanted to be able to express the kind of emotions and to do the kind of things that she couldn't do as a friend; hold hands, hug, maybe kiss, say the kind of mushy stuff Tomo always called gross(yes, she wanted to do it too, sue her).
"You won't lose me even if you tried. I've told you many times, you're stuck with me."
Tomo grinned a little, and then squeezed Lucas' hand.
"Okay, let's do it. Let's try it out for one week."
Tomo agreed, and then followed an impulse as she leaned forward and pressed another brief peck on Lucas' lips. She gave him a happy smirk, cheeks a bit blushed.

Tomo wasn't really offended that Lucas was kinda negative, or that he shrunk back from the peck she gave him. This was all new, especially for him. Tomo had all kinds of experience under her belt (which Lucas would never find out) and was otherwise the more touchy one. She'd be able to win Lucas over, Tomo was confident she would.
"We'll make it through, if that happens."
Tomo merely repeated with a determined tone. Tomo wasn't an optimist, not really, but with this she was ready to try.

Tomo chuckled at Lucas' words and stood up along with him. Her whole body felt light, and when Lucas offered her a hand Tomo took it with a happy smile, raising an eyebrow at his words.
"I wasn't planning on it, just like I'm not planning on letting something go terribly wrong. I can't even imagine something going 'terribly wrong'"
Tomo felt just a bit offended that Lucas was so adamant on no one finding out. She got the logic behind it, but if Lucas was gonna insist thay no one found out even after they started officially dating they were gonna have a problem.

"I suppose I can sacrifice my super important street playing time for you."
Tomo said with a dramatic sigh, but it was obvious she was kidding and Tomo did return Lucas' grin soon after.
They walked off together, Tomo holding onto Lucas' hand after making sure there weren't many onlookers. She swore she would make this work, because Tomo had been waiting for this for two years. And it would work out.