Sadly I lack the attention span and patience to keep track of the entire conversation, so I'm just gonna talk about some of my thoughts and hope they're relevant (and coherent :P) enough to mean anything at all.
To me, it's not necessarily that they don't need to take "the next step". They've already taken it, and they continue to take them. Those steps just manifest differently from people's expectations. What, where, if, and when the next next step will be isn't something they're worried about as long as it includes the other. The two frequently mention how they can't even imagine a life without the other beside them. Wherever the next step is, they'll always be together in finding it.
It differs from, say, their friends, whose relationships follow a more standard, predictable pattern. It's not my place to make judgements on which is better, but for what it's worth Sakurako and Kasumi have always been happy with each other right from the start, and they've only gotten closer over time.
What can be read as Sakurako being anxious about losing Kasumi, I've read as being in disbelief that she's been so lucky to have found Kasumi. That moment in Hawaii is one example of these different readings.
Part of what makes this series so interesting and special to me is how it takes a strong look at different ways relationships can form and show themselves, and the ways they progress. I've never seen such a range of views and feelings and motivations across so many characters. For something that is, at it's core, a 4-koma gag manga, the depth and breadth of it is truly amazing.
At any rate, I'm glad that the debate has almost entirely moved on from "are they actually in lesbians tho??". Talking about the nature of the relationship they have is so much more interesting (and worth having) than arguing about whether there's any relationship at all.
Time really does fly. I was surprised as well to realize even Hinako is already old enough to drink even in Japan...
That one really caught me by surprise as well. It's been years, yet it feels like it's been hardly any time at all. A lot of people have gone from one decade of their life into the next reading A Room For Two, myself included. That's quite something.
And definitely not terrifying.
At all.
Nope.
No siree.
I'm perfectly calm about this.
edit: damn, this ended up way longer than I thought it would...
last edited at Jan 6, 2022 5:20PM