#its sweet tinged with a bit of sadness she's all dressed up to marry him. gathers flowers along the way with-

[bittergloss]

--I only wish to be with you from dusk to dawn, watching the world's frost and snow. Just want to wander long streets and narrow alleys with you, watching the moon on the eave.--

THE LAST IMMORTAL 神隐(2023) - EP. 14 Dir. Chan Ka Lam

[shingeki-no-scenarios]

Title: First Love

Characters: Connie Springer x Sasha Braus

Genre: Fluff

AU: Modern

Summary: She was and always will be his first love.

A/N: No one really asked for this, and I still got requests to work on, but I really wanted to write something based off this video orz Let me know if you want me to translate the narration in the video :)

The boy fidgeted restlessly while he longingly eyed the play area. It was bad enough that the line was long and moving slowly, but to make matters worse, he was dying to run over and jump in the ball pit. However, his mother was firm on them grabbing something to eat first before giving him the freedom to play. He groaned and buried his face in his palm, knowing that he could have made tons of friends and played lots of games in the time they spent waiting in line.

“My, my. Look who it is.” a voice of a seemingly mature woman broke his reverie, making his snap his head to the side. A frown made its way to his face upon seeing the smiling face of a woman he’s never seen in his life. Was she even referring to him?

“Oh, my days!” his mother exclaimed; she seemed to recognize the woman based on the way she squealed and threw herself in the woman’s embrace. “It’s been forever since we last saw each other!” she tightened her hug and fought back tears of joy, while her son rolled his eyes and let go of her hand. He knew that this meant they would need plenty of time to catch up, and he would never get the chance to play given that there wouldn’t be anyone to watch him.

“Are you here alone?” the woman asked upon breaking the hug and smoothing out her dress.

“Oh, no! I’m here with Connie. Do you remember him? He was 4 months old when you last saw him.” she grinned and urged Connie to step forward. He resisted at first, embarrassed and reluctant to interact with a total stranger, but the forceful push from his mother compelled him to go closer and put on his best smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ma’am.” he greeted and held out his hand for her to shake. However, all he got was a rather harsh pat to the head and excited squeals from the older lady.

“Is this really Connie? He’s so big now! Polite, too!” she chuckled and pinched on his cheek hard, making the boy wince. It was one thing to invade his personal space, but physically overwhelming him was another thing.

“What about you? Are you here alone?” his mother asked, returning the question thrown to her earlier.

“I’m here with my daughter, Sasha. Remember her?” was the woman’s reply, making Connie quirk an eyebrow. If this girl was his age, maybe he could convince his mother to let them play together. They could look after each other, after all. Curiously, he peeked over to see this Sasha girl they were talking about, only to find a girl staring longingly at the overhead menu. She looked like she was around his age though she was a bit taller, and had an adorable ponytail on her head.

What took him by surprise, however, was how she had the most beautiful face he’s ever seen.

“Sasha, dear? I’d like you to meet Connie. He’s my best friend’s son.” her mother called out, abruptly snapping her out of her trance. She met eyes with him and offered a warm, friendly smile.

“Hi, Connie. My name’s Sasha.” she greeted through her wide grin.

He was young and had a lot to learn, but at that moment, his fluttering heart and warm cheeks told him that he was in love.

––

The slow service was more than enough to make the kids’ stomachs growl in hunger, which is why the moment they got a seat and was served their food, they immediately dug in, not even bothering to say grace.

“I love ketchup with fries.” Connie commented, happily munching on his food. The women were too absorbed with catching up to notice what he said, leaving Sasha to react accordingly.

“I agree. It’s the best.” she replied in between huge bites of her burger. The way her cheeks swelled made her even cuter in his eyes, thus making him avert his eyes to his meal lest he creeps her out. “Have you heard of fries and ice cream?” she asked, wanting to keep the conversation going.

“What now?” he looked up, face filled with bewilderment. Instead of meeting her eyes, he found her dipping fries into her chocolate sundae. While the normal person would be disgusted, he was amused and curious.

“Ah, as expected.” she hummed, relishing the delicious marriage of sweet and salty once she got a bite. She wasn’t quite sure how she thought of it, though she was glad that she did.

"That’s new.” he commented. Chuckling, he imitated what she did and found himself in paradise upon discovering how delicious it was. She was not only a pretty face, but she also knew her stuff.

Sighing in content, he leaned his cheek on his palm and watched her enjoy her meal. He felt full just from looking at her eat, thus letting his mother have the rest of his fries and half his burger. He was so absorbed with watching her eat that he didn’t notice that she had eaten everything.

“Done!” she exclaimed, raising a hand and grinning widely. “Now, come on, let’s play!” she hopped off her seat and grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the direction of the play area.

While his mother called out to tell him to take it easy, he didn’t hear anything but his heart pound wildly in his chest as he let her drag him into the ball pit.

––

Twenty years later, nothing has changed. She was still the same– energetic, jolly, and dragging him towards the play area the same way she did when they were younger.

“Slow down, girl!” he called out, feeling his supply of air dwindle. However, what really took the air out of his lungs was how beautiful her smile was after all this year.

“I can’t help if I’m excited!” she replied with a giggle. Ever since that day their mothers ran into each other, the pair have become the best of friends, no matter how much distance got in between them as a result of university and career choices.

As soon as they got to the play area, she halted and grinned even wider, making him cock his head to the side. He was hoping that she wouldn’t get the idea of jumping into the ball pit, given that they were physically too big for it. Nonetheless, he hoped that she was thinking of it for nostalgia’s sake.

“Uh, Connie.” she started, voice going softer and shyer. He let out a calm hum in response despite his heart going wild once more. Albeit rare, she was so adorable whenever she was shy and rather timid the way she was now– it made his heart beat of control. “There’s... There’s someone I want you to meet.” she uttered, making his heart drop to his stomach in a split second.

Before he had any time to react, a man approached them, immediately asking Sasha where has she been and if she’s eaten yet. The way they seemed to be more than friends made him nervous, but he noticed a little girl clinging onto one of the man’s legs, making him pale with anxiety.

“Oh, Connie, this is Marco, my husband.” she started, making every sensation he had in his body disappear. She’s married, the thought played again and again in his head like a broken record.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Marco courteously shook hands with Connie, who had a sunny expression painted on his face though his heart cracked with every second that passed. “She’s told me so much about you.” he added with a light chuckle.

“This here is my little girl, Connie.” Sasha interjected before Connie could process the fact that she has a husband. “Say hi, sweetheart.” she cooed at the little girl, who took one glance at the stranger before burying her face in her mother’s leg. She muttered an apology before scooping her daughter in her arms, pressing a loving kiss to the child’s heated cheek.

“She’s shy.” he muttered, smiling at her daughter fondly. She looked just like Sasha in her younger years, making his heart warm up even more to the child even if he wished that she was his. “Shall we go eat now?” he offered, wanting to distract himself with a meal before his heart could break even more.

“Oh, you know it!” was Sasha reply before she happily skipped over to the counter; her daughter squealed and delight and clapped her hands, excited by her mother’s happiness. The two men chuckled lightly and shook their heads before following her.

––

Though the scene in front of him was filled with nothing but love and happiness, he couldn’t help but feel a tinge of bitterness and sadness in his heart. While he has dated quite a number of girls in his younger years, none of them were able to made him feel the way she made him feel. He wished that he realized that sooner so he could tell her.

“Are you alright?” Marco’s voice broke him out of his mindless trance, slightly startling him. Chucking lightly, his dismissed his question and assured him that he was fine and just a bit tired.

However, Sasha knew that something was up– she knew him like the back of her hand, after all. As much as she denied that she could have waited for him, the sadness and hurt she was sensing from him told her otherwise. Despite living a perfect life with her husband and daughter, there were times wherein she wished she could have ended up with her first love.

Like a psychic, Connie picked up the sudden drop in the woman’s disposition, making him internally panic. He didn’t mean to let all his emotions out and ruin a perfect day like this, but he couldn’t help it. Never mind what he felt, he was now on a mission to bring back her beautiful smile.

“I’m sorry.” he muttered low enough for only Sasha to hear. Thankfully, Marco was preoccupied with feeding and cleaning up their little girl, giving the other man a chance to lock eyes with her to show how sincere he was.

“It’s fine.” she whispered with a warm smile, albeit having sadness still evident in her eyes. She never meant to hurt her best friend like this, but she did.

“Don’t cry now.” he softly chided, eliciting a laugh from her. Grinning at how she was able to perk back up, he reached over for a handful of fries and dipped them in his chocolate sundae while she watched in amusement and shock. He remembers.

In that moment, all memories of their childhood came flooding back to them like a high quality movie, making them feel giddy and young once more. In that moment, they were able to feel what first love was like.

They may not have ended up together, but they would always love each other the way they did when they first ate ice cream and fries together.