Author's note: I'm back, now with the final chapter of this story. I felt kind of sad (while I wrote this chapter) but felt happy over all with how story went. The feedback and reviews I've received for this story gave me so much motivation to continue writing, and hopefully as I go into a break (for the time being) I would be able to write new material again. I hope you all enjoy the final chapter of this story and please don't forget to R&R. Here it is, The Final Chapter of Tea And Biscuits. Enjoy!

The Final Chapter

"Wow!"

The Spican couple arrives at the park. The place is simple, yet clean and beautiful. A fountain is found at the center of the park. Little kids can be seen playing on the swings, the seesaw and the slides on one side. On another side, there are benches where little girls sit. Young women can be also seen sitting down on the grass, playing along with pet dogs and cats. As Yaya and Tsubomi continued walking, they see a wooden bridge above a clear pond.

"This place is beautiful." The pink-haired says as she looks down on the pond from the wooden bridge. She sees her reflection in the water, with Yaya's reflection just beside hers. The dark-haired Spican smiles and drapes an arm on Tsubomi's shoulder.

"Glad that you like it here."

"Honestly, it's my first time to see this place." Tsubomi admits.

"Really?"

"Yes, it is. I've always wondered what this place actually looks like."

"Now you know." Yaya chuckles.

"Do you often visit this place?"

"Not really. It's only my second time going here." Came Yaya's answer. "There's actually a place I want to show you."

"Then let's go see it!" Tsubomi exclaims.

Yaya holds on to the rose-haired girl's hand and they continued walking. People stare at them with smiles on their faces.

"Look at those two." A young woman notices.

"How cute! They're holding hands." Came another woman's comment.

Tsubomi somewhat blushes and bows her head. Yaya notices this and squeezes her hand gently.

"You okay?"

The pink-haired girl nods weakly.

"Don't tell me you're embarrassed." Yaya slightly frowns.

"N-no! I'm not!" Tsubomi defends herself.

"You better not be…" Yaya hugs the pink-haired girl close to her. "…because I'm not. I'll never be."

"Yaya-chan…" Tsubomi's cheeks continue to redden as she heard those words.

"There it is." Yaya stops and points to the big cherry blossom tree. The said tree is on an elevated part of the park. Tsubomi's eyes widen in amazement and runs up to reach the tree.

"Hurry, Yaya-chan!" The rose-haired girl waves a hand at the older girl.

Yaya heaves a sigh and continues walking. Upon reaching the tree, the pink-haired girl pulls onto Yaya's red shirt in excitement.

"Look over there!" Tsubomi points a finger at the view down below. The great view of a lake can be seen from where they are.

"It's so beautiful." The rose-haired girl breathes the fresh air. Yaya sets up their picnic mat under the tree and prepares the tea and the biscuits. A smile forms on the raven-haired girl's face as she glances on Tsubomi who still marvels at the view down below.

"Pinky, come sit here with me."

As Tsubomi sits on the picnic mat, she gets something from her bag. Yaya continues to serve the tea for the two of them. The raven-haired girl is surprised to see Tsubomi's sketchbook on the mat. Yaya recalls seeing that same sketchbook one night—while Tsubomi slept soundly on the study desk.

"Yaya-chan…" Tsubomi's tone is hesitant.

"Hmm?"

"Can I…draw you?"

"Sure, little one." Came Yaya's happy response. "But first, let's have our tea."

"Okay!" The pink-haired girl happily exclaims.

They continue to enjoy their tea and biscuits with laughter. At times, Yaya would comment on Tsubomi's stories, which makes the latter frown slightly. The older girl would always laugh when she'd see Tsubomi getting flustered. At one point, Yaya gave the pink-haired girl a warm embrace.

"Don't ever change, Pinky." The older girl whispered lovingly.

Tsubomi blushes, with her golden orbs brighten in happiness. She holds onto Yaya's hands and puts them over her chest.

"That's impossible. I'd still be the noisy, bratty little girl you've come to love." The pink-haired girl answers.

Yaya lets out a soft giggle.

"But I know one thing that won't change." Tsubomi mumbles.

"I know." Yaya nuzzles her cheek on Tsubomi's pink hair. "Your heart will keep beating like this for me."

Tamao can be seen sitting under her favorite tree—her head comfortably resting on Miyuki's shoulder. At this point, they hardly ever care about any speculation. Miyuki's popularity somewhat got boosted as the rumored cancellation of her engagement is made known to the whole Astraea Hill.

The two of them spent their cozy morning under the same tree: the very same spot where the young poet realized her true feelings for her former mentor. They also shared their first kiss under this tree, which is a cherished memory for them.

After they have finished discussing Tamao's latest poem, the younger girl pauses and retrieves a small box from her pocket. With her old shyness returning, Tamao hands the box over to Miyuki and begins to explain.

"It's my graduation present for you. I know it's late, but it took a while for the shop to get me exactly what I wanted."

Miyuki opens the box…and retrieves a locket on a delicate silver chain.

"Well, for some reason," The younger girl continues. "I thought you're the sort of person who would look really good with a necklace on."

The older girl opens the locket and smiles at what she sees inside it.

"I love it. It's so beautiful, Tamao-chan. Mind helping me putting it on?"

Tamao happily takes the necklace and kneels in front of the older woman. Miyuki slightly bows her head as Tamao fastens the chain around her neck. Soon, loving brown eyes meet loving gray ones, those eyes close as their lips touch for a sweet, tender kiss.

As we all know, the locket contains twin locks of blue hair.

Yaya and Tsubomi spend the rest of the day under the big cherry blossom tree. The pink-haired girl sketched her raven-haired love whose back is leaning against the tree. Yaya's eyes are shut, as if she seemingly fell asleep. She was not asleep during the time her pink-haired artist sketched her. Tsubomi took her time to make that sketch beautiful, hoping that once Yaya sees it, it'll make her proud.

After several moments, the rose-haired girl pulls onto Yaya's red shirt. "It's finished."

"Let me see."

Tsubomi hands the sketchbook over to Yaya. The pink-haired girl somewhat felt nervous while Yaya stared at the just finished sketch.

"I love it." The raven-haired Spican praises her girlfriend's work.

"Really?" Tsubomi seems to be in disbelief.

"Yes. I really love it." Yaya says as she moves closer to her.

"Thank you."

"Looks like I'll get to appreciate art more. I've always thought of it being boring and all." Yaya grins wryly. The pink-haired girl suddenly hits Yaya's cheek with the sketchbook causing the latter to fall flat on her back.

"Ow—!" Yaya exclaims.

"So what do you mean by that? That I'm boring?"

"Hey, I didn't mean that." The older girl tries to defend herself and holds onto the younger girl's right hand. They tussle for a few moments until Tsubomi's hand touched the older girl's cheek. Both of them went silent, but soon enough, Yaya feels Tsubomi's fingers touch her cheek. The raven-haired girl takes Tsubomi's hand and kissed it, leaving the younger girl stunned.

"So…warm…" Yaya cradles the hand on her cheek. The younger Spican continues to gaze onto Yaya's amber eyes with love.

Yaya sits back up and stares at the setting sun. "It's already sunset. Let's go near the lake and watch the fireflies."

Tsubomi nods happily and holds on to Yaya's hand.

They came to the lakeside just in time. There are little kids, young men and women eagerly waiting for the fireflies to take flight. Yaya and Tsubomi sat themselves on a wooden bench—both of them waiting for sky to darken. A few moments later, the fireflies take off, with the little kids staring at them in amazement. Tsubomi marvels at the beauty of the fireflies around them.

"Look, Yaya-chan! The fireflies took off!"

"They're like stars flying all around." Yaya remarked.

Soon enough, moving bright lights filled the dark sky. The Spican pair continues to watch the sky brighten; the fireflies continue shining through the darkness.

"I've never seen so many." Tsubomi stares in astonishment.

"Amazing, right?" The dark-haired girl wraps her arms around Tsubomi, leaning the latter girl's head on her shoulder.

"The sky's so beautiful."

"Just like you." Yaya kisses Tsubomi's hair, smelling the fragrance of cherry blossom on her pink locks. The younger girl blushes at this, remaining herself locked in Yaya's embrace. Amber and golden eyes gleam in brightness as they continue watching the fireflies. They seem like moving stars in the sky.

"Thank you."

"Eh?" The pink-haired girl felt startled. "For what?"

"For everything." Yaya spoke softly. "You've given my world a new light."

"Yaya-chan…" Tsubomi's golden orbs began welling tears.

"I thought I was meant to live alone and in the dark." Yaya continued. "Thank you for reaching out to me and I'll never ever regret holding onto your hand. Thank you…for coming into my life."

"Yaya-chan…"

Yaya let out a soft laugh. "Oops! Let me correct myself. You've been there for me all along. I was just dumb for not noticing it sooner."

The pink-haired girl shook her head to protest.

"I'm just glad it wasn't too late for me." Yaya's tone was grateful and sweet. "Thank you. Thank you, Pinky."

Touched by those words, Tsubomi looked up and lovingly gazed onto Yaya's amber eyes. "I love you, Yaya-chan."

"I know." Yaya tightened the embrace. "I love you, too."

The younger girl felt something being fastened around her neck. It turned out to be a silver necklace with a pink sapphire pendant. Tsubomi stared at the pendant in amazement.

"It has partner. And I'm wearing that right now." Yaya showed Tsubomi her necklace with an amber pendant.

"Thank you, Yaya-chan." The rose-haired girl smiled. "We're like newly elected Etoiles."

"That doesn't seem a bad idea." Yaya laughed again, and gazed lovingly into Tsubomi's gold orbs. "I'll like it very much to be elected as Etoile with you."

"Eh?" Tsubomi could only stare in disbelief. "Yaya-chan…are you…?"

"Yes." Yaya took Tsubomi's hand and put it over her chest. "I'll enter the Etoile election next year. And I want you to be my partner."

The younger girl's eyes met Yaya's amber orbs. "Yes. I also want to be your partner." Just as Tsubomi finished saying this, Yaya leaned in closer and gave her pink-haired love a warm, sweet kiss.

The fireflies continue to move around them, like twinkling little stars continuing to light up their night.

~ FIN ~

次回予告

"Now it's really the end."

"I had the best time of my life."

"I feel sad we have to close the curtain."

"But like what they always say, "There would always be a new beginning." "

"Yes, that's true."

"Soon on Strawberry Panic!: "[ 夢が叶う。] A Dream Come True." "

"It's someone else's turn to shine, Yaya-chan."

"I'm looking forward to it."

Author's note 2: And there you have it, the final chapter and the ending for Tea And Biscuits. Just like what I mentioned on the author's note above, I will be taking a break. It won't be long, though. As you have seen in the 次回予告, there will be a third story coming pretty soon. Thank you very much again for the positive feedback and reviews. For now, this is theSlytherin022 saying, "See you all again next time!"