Signals

Signals: Part 6 (END)

Karina heaved a deep sigh, looking away so Winter took it as a sign she can comfort her. Moving closer, she let go of Karina's wrist and held her around the waist instead. She studied her girlfriend's downcasted and annoyed expression, her heart heavy knowing that she hurt her feelings.

"I'm really sorry. Of course, I love doing things with you. You're my best friend, and my favourite person."

Karina didn't say anything, face still turned away. She leaned forward, resting her forehead lightly against Karina's temple and closed her eyes. They might still be in a fight but her girlfriend gave her warmth everytime she was near.

"Hey, I'm really sorry," she whispered, nudging Karina's cheek lightly with her nose. "Please forgive me?"

She could feel the tension leaving Karina's body and the latter finally relaxing in her arms. Relieved, she kissed her cheek softly, watching as Karina took another deep breath.

"I'm just a little grumpy," her girlfriend muttered.

She wondered if Karina was just brushing things off and if she should probe further.

"Are we okay?" Winter asked tentatively, tilting her head to look at her because Karina might seem more relaxed but the girl was still refusing to face her.

Karina shrugged, "I guess."

Winter reached out her hand to gently turn the older girl's face so that she can finally look at her properly, studying her expression. Her girlfriend seemed still a little gloomy but didn't seem to be mad or upset anymore. She leaned in and gave her a soft kiss. She held her hand and pulled her out of the room, leading her to the couch in the living room. Their friends were still gathered in the kitchen, now chatting about Yeji's multi-functional island. She sat down and made sure Karina sat close to her before she pulled out her phone and unlocked it to find what she was looking for.

Karina watched her quietly and when Winter found what she was looking for, she passed Karina her phone. "Look through it."

Karina raised her eyebrow questioningly but took the phone anyway. Winter leaned her chin on Karina's shoulder to watch the girl go through her phone. She had opened the photo folder she had labelled as just a red heart. She might have been giving Karina grief by playing around too much, but she had a folder of just candid photos of the girl.

Karina swiped through the photos slowly and quietly, before glancing at her. She had gotten to the part of multiple pictures of her sleeping, when she wasn't looking, her back while they walked, or when she was laughing at something.

"What is this?"

"This, is me taking secret photos of you, because I love you," Winter told her warmly.

She knew Karina was aware that she rarely took photos of anything, and if anything, she usually took photos of the skies, the food, or the scenery. She pulled away when she noticed a shadow of a smile on the girl's face.

"Sorry, I won't play like that anymore," she said, making Karina look at her. When the girl nodded and smiled properly, Winter felt relieved. "Do you still want to stay or do you want to go home?"

Her girlfriend pursed her lips, thinking as she passed Winter back her phone. "Can we go get Mcdonald's?"

They did have dinner a couple of hours ago, and Karina must have felt hungry again, which explained why she was so grumpy. They didn't eat much during the dinner since they had a late lunch. She thought of talking further about their fight but Karina looked like she had already completely gotten over it.

Winter grinned instead at her girlfriend's request. She leaned in and gave her another kiss. "Anything you want."

Karina nodded in response. She pulled herself out of Winter's hold and started walking towards the kitchen, presumably to tell their friends they were going off.