Scattering Stars
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
XXX
XXX ScSt Miyuki Misao XXX
"Miyuki! Hurry up! Hurry up! We don't have a moment to lose!" the fanged woman bounced merrily along the road.
"Misao-san, wait up! I can't run anymore!" true to her words, the woman in the lab-coat had to lean on a nearby wall to keep from falling over.
It was an ordinary day for the students at the all-girls school, and most of them had long since gotten used to the two teachers and their continuous antics.
Apparently, the two of them had known each other since high-school and had never really broken off from each other since.
Miyuki Takara, the physics teacher, walking encyclopedia and yet adorable clutz. Misao Kusakabe, the P.E teacher, hyperactive, loud and always with a cheerful smile to throw in someone's face.
Whilst it wasn't true what a lot of people would say about all-girls schools, that didn't necessarily mean that the rumors were completely untrue, and with both of the two teachers being popular in their own way it wasn't surprising that many of the more enthusiastic girls would dream themselves away into the arms of at least one of them at some point.
Of course, neither of the teachers seemed to have noticed that some of the girls would do virtually anything to get them to touch them in some way. Even if it was nothing more than guiding their hands in something.
And then there were those who had been moments away from trying to confess their feelings, only to suddenly step back once they saw the two of them together.
Considering how Misao had at one point mentioned that she was fairly open to the thought of dating another woman – the entire school knew since her fan-club had in turn been quite open about their findings – it wasn't surprising that a lot of her admirers immediately drew parallels to the beautiful woman that was almost always by her side.
Miyuki meanwhile, didn't seem to notice even when males tried to ask her out, let alone females. She was simply air-headed enough to be a lost cause.
There had been a few students who'd tried to get the two of them together, many of them believing that Misao's openness on the matter was related to her closeness with the other woman, but so far all of them had failed.
The two of them simply seemed too mindbogglingly dense to notice that someone was trying to get them into each other's pants if someone didn't yell it at them using a megaphone. None had really tried to see if that would work, but they were fairly confident that they'd get that hint.
Probably.
XXX
Misao flung herself into the couch with a muffled thud, much like she always did after a night of drinking.
Miyuki knew that the other woman would be asleep within minutes, if not seconds.
It was a fairly ordinary day for her, she mused as she sat down on the floor next to the collapsed brunette. Pulling forth the blanket that she kept close-by for these kinds of nights, she draped it over Misao.
Her reward was a mutter of thanks that might have been a snore. And then a much more definite snore.
A small smile sliding over her lips, Miyuki watched her roommate's sleeping face with a fair amount of interest.
She wasn't sure when it'd become a habit to watch the always-smiling woman sleep like this, but it'd probably been years ago by now. She wasn't really sure why she did it, all she knew was that she enjoyed it far too much to give it up without good reasons. Reasons that she'd never bothered to acquire. Thus, she watched.
Misao's face scrunched up a bit in a small frown.
Blinking at the sight, Miyuki stretched out a hand, letting it gently play with the sleeping woman's unruly hair.
The frown kept its hold on her face for a brief moment, and then it melted away, replaced by the blissful look that she'd usually show towards sweets. Or meatballs.
Feeling her lips twitch upwards at the thought, Miyuki leaned her back towards the sofa and pulled a little on the blanket so that it covered her as well. Sleeping on the floor was hardly good for her health, and she'd definitely be feeling this in the morning.
Like she always did.
XXX
Miyuki's eyes slowly pried themselves open against the morning light filtering through the curtains.
The air was chilly, like it usually was at this time of year, and so she snuggled closer to the warmth next to her.
Wait... what?
Miyuki looked down at the warm blanket-covered lump next to her on the floor.
Apparently, Misao had fallen off the couch at some point during the night. It wasn't that unusual. The woman had a tendency to seek out the perfect temperature when she slept, which at this time of year would be any warmth she could get her hands on.
A day of rest after a week of work.
Miyuki considered simply going back to sleep, allowing herself to revel in the other's nearness, but she was feeling quite sore, and she was fairly certain that she wouldn't be able to sleep anyways, so she prepared herself for leaving the protective warmth of the blanket.
Two arms wrapped themselves around her waist as she started to move, effectively holding her in place.
Miyuki had to swallow the sudden 'eep'ing noise trying to escape through her lips. She didn't want to wake her up.
Remaining frozen solid for a few moments, Miyuki finally sighed and relaxed into the embrace.
Miyuki wasn't sure when she'd begun to actively ignore the attention she'd awake from those around her, but it was definitely the easier way of rejecting a student. She wasn't the brightest when it came to relationships, but even she wasn't completely oblivious on the matter. She just tried to make herself seem that way.
Not that it was very hard, after all, by the time that she'd started to understand it she'd already made herself the reputation, which basically meant that she could just continue to play along when they called her oblivious about these things.
Of course, it'd taken her a very long time before she'd noticed that she actually had a reason for it.
Misao made a content noise as her face burrowed into the other woman's back.
She was quite likely the densest person alive, to not see what she did to her, to not see how easily she had the long-haired woman wrapped around her finger.
Not that Miyuki would ever tell her that. This was enough.
To spend the night, huddled together in their apartment under the same blanket, after a night of laughter and drinking. To be held so tightly in her arms in the mornings.
There was only friendship between them, but this should be enough... right?
XXX
"Did you get one too?" Miyuki looked over at her fellow teacher.
"The reunion invitation? Yeah." Misao waved a identical letter in the air.
"It sounds like it'd be fun. I'm curious to what happened to everyone."
Misao nodded, agreeing, and continued with making airplanes from the mail that wasn't important.
Miyuki had learned not to ask.
XXX ScSt Kagami Minami XXX
Sharp eyes that seemed to glare their way into the deepest reaches of your soul. A steely expression devoid of emotion. And, added to that, the height to tower over any who were brave enough to try and approach.
Truly, Iwasaki Minami was an amazing woman. Because even if she could make even the most daring people hesitant in approaching her, she still worked tirelessly to improve their lives. Already knowing from experience that they would not understand her. And accepting that.
The clinic often needed a pair of extra hands, even managing to rope in their easily-embarrassed accountant at times. Which made it obvious that the kindhearted veterinarian would work overtime far too often for her own good.
The others worried about her, but would always leave convincing her to rest to Kagami in the end. Their reasons were simple. They'd heard that they knew each other from before, and had come to the conclusion that it'd probably be best for a familiar face to be the one to attempt to rein her in.
Unfortunately for Kagami, this usually ended with her helping out, rather than having Minami rest.
She didn't really mind terribly, since she didn't have much else to do besides paper-work, but that didn't mean she was pleased when she was called in to try and corner a deer. A deer that'd given her quite a number of bruises already, if she might add.
Regardless, the capturing had been successful, and they were both on break.
"Iwasaki-san, if you don't sit down right now, I swear I'll show you something else that Minegishi taught me."
Minami quickly sat down, not wanting to be subjected to teachings taken from the girl who'd apparently developed a secret technique for wrestling with deers – Kagami had been too embarrassed to admit that it was originally developed for an over-enthusiastic classmate of hers, and that it was only re-developed towards large mammals, when it'd been noted that Misao was simply too straight-forward to go for any of the feints that were incorporated into it.
The sky was a pale blue, the air was chilly, and the tea from the nearby vending-machine was wonderfully warm.
It was a good day.
If you ignored that she was definitely going to be feeling all of this in the morning.
Still, the deer wouldn't be getting into any more trouble, that was good.
To this day, Kagami wondered about the obvious lack of males in her life. She was happy even without a relationship, but that didn't mean the thought of her being unattractive wasn't bugging her. A lot.
She chanced a glance over at the taller woman.
Then again, her luck in romance could be worse.
Minami didn't attract boys. She did however, attract a steady trickle of girls. Many of whom were very enthusiastic about getting into her pants. To the point where fights would sometimes break out amongst them.
She usually got mad at them for that – she didn't want anyone to get hurt, even if they had peeked at her in the shower.
Truly, the woman was a saint.
Kagami suppressed a smirk at the thought. She'd almost said something about how she'd already taken a bath with her, just to see whether they'd attack her or demand explicit descriptions. She must've spent way too much time with that crazy otaku back in the day.
Whilst it was true that she probably would've stopped any fighting as well if it had been her, that would be because she would've already beaten the poor girl senseless, and didn't think you should pick on someone with crutches.
She didn't really approve fully of that part of her personality – even if punching a perverted guy in the nose was pleasing, it also made the nicer ones terrified to approach her afterwards – but it was important to know yourself.
Still, whilst she had definitely taken a bath with the other woman, it hadn't been nearly as intimate as telling it with that timing would've made it seem. It had been related to skunks.
In hindsight, Minami hadn't seemed quite as dedicated to getting clean, but then again, she'd probably known that they'd have to fight them again all too soon.
One month filled with fanatical cleaning of her hair later, Kagami was roped back into volunteering by use of an owl.
They were good at roping people in. You had to give them that.
XXX
"You got an invitation to a reunion?" Minami looked at her with a curious expression – well, curious for her anyways.
"Yeah, that's what it says." Kagami sighed.
"You don't want to go?" Minami absentmindedly scratched the dog behind the ear as her attention was focused on her friend.
"Ah, well... that's not really true... I want to... but I kind of get the feeling that it'd be embarrassing." Kagami blushed slightly.
"I see." Minami nodded.
"I hope none of the others have gotten boyfriends..." Kagami groaned.
Minami just smiled in response, having already figured out the reason for her friend's uncertainties.
"Oh yeah, why don't you come too Minami?" the tall woman twitched.
"Eh?"
"I'd feel weird going there all by myself, and there might be a few familiar faces, you know?"
Minami considered this for a while, a small blush making its way across her face as she did, but finally, she nodded.
XXX ScSt Konata Hiyori XXX
The beeping noise entered the comfortable blackness that surrounded her. So she killed it. She killed it with a vengeance.
Or, well, she tried. Hammering on it blindly didn't seem to be doing anything.
Shut up you stupid thing!
Konata frowned. She was going to need something more hammer-usable. Like a hammer. Or a sledge. Or one of those long axe-thingies with lots of sharp, pointy, and generally evil-looking stainless steel.
Another hand joined hers in hammering the source of the ungodly beeping noise into oblivion. The other hand proved itself to be far better suited for the task, as silence soon reigned once more.
Still, even if there was silence, Konata couldn't fall back asleep.
She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but something was definitely wrong somehow.
She pondered this for a moment. A very long moment.
She'd been sleeping, nothing wrong with that. There had been the beeping noise, annoying as all hell, but not strange enough to warrant the feeling of wrongness. And then another hand had killed the sound...
Wait, rewind that. Another hand? A hand that didn't belong to her? Why was there such a hand in her vicinity upon waking?
Going against everything she believed in, Konata forced an immensely heavy eyelid open through sheer force of will.
Hiyori made a content noise as she snuggled deeper into the blankets.
Ignoring the small twitchy feeling that seemed to be developing in her eye, Konata sat up.
This was clearly her room, which meant that there really shouldn't be a Hiyori in the bed. Unless, of course she'd gotten amnesia and forgotten that they were now a couple and that it was therefore normal for them to share the bed. The bed was technically big enough for that to happen, she supposed.
Konata glanced at the calendar across the room.
Nope, definitely not amnesia.
Then maybe she'd simply forgotten something really interesting that had happened last night?
Both of them were still wearing clothes.
Konata made an annoyed sound.
Hiyori must've crawled into her bed again.
Sighing at the thought, Konata pushed the other woman out of the bed. She hit the floor with a loud thud, but didn't seem to wake up.
Konata had gotten more or less used to having her crawl into bed when she'd fallen asleep. She didn't approve of it, and had been trying to find some way to cure her from this habit. Unfortunately, as this morning clearly proved, Hiyori still couldn't sleep alone during thunderstorms. And, equally unfortunately, she didn't even seem to seek out the company needed for sleep consciously so there was little chance that she'd ever stop doing this.
Grumbling to herself about sleepwalking scaredy-cats, Konata made her way out of bed.
They'd been sharing an apartment for several years. But, despite what her dad would sometimes hint at, there was nothing going on between them. They were simply coworkers, friends, as well as roommates, and Hiyori sneaking into her bed in the middle of the night wasn't in any way related to more intimate things. Even if the mangaka did have a tendency to cling to her.
There were quite a few rumors at their workplace about their relationship. Perhaps largely due to the specific genre that Hiyori would usually write for. From what she'd heard, there was actually a betting pool going on about when and how the mangaka and her editor would finally confess to their mutual love. Konata had considered betting on 'never' until she realized that she wouldn't get her money until she was already six feet under, making it somewhat pointless.
Having finally finished with preparing for the day, Konata made her way over to the woman that was still sleeping, curled up on the floor.
She stepped on her.
Her response was a strangled whining-noise and some random batting of the woman's arms.
Konata repeated the process.
It wasn't a nice way to wake someone, she knew that, she was however, also very much aware of how hard it was to wake Hiyori when playing nice.
Her cruelty was quick to yield results as the woman on the floor finally sat up, looking a lot like a zombie. A zombie with a seriously bad hair-day.
The zombie blinked, and then looked towards the clock, or rather, where the clock should've been had she been located in her own room. Hiyori paused. Hiyori looked at Konata, who nodded in response. Hiyori's face turned red, and then she shot away to her own room at phenomenal speeds, crying apologies the entire way.
Konata sighed theatrically at the response, the woman really never learned.
"Hiyori, hiding under your blankets won't make it un-happen! Now get up! We've got work to do!"
XXX
Konata stared at the letter in front of her. It was rare to get letters, and she had to admit that she was curious to its content and purpose.
Turning it around in her hands, Konata made her way towards the kitchen, the only place that important papers didn't risk disappearing into the sheer mass of other papers that littered the apartment.
Stepping over Hiyori in that absentminded manner that could only stem from getting used to finding the girl lying on the floor in a mass of strewn around papers, Konata sat down in front of the table, giving the letter a final calculating look before opening it.
Hiyori was roused from her sleepy embrasure of the laws of gravity as Konata's outcry spread across the apartment.
Fearing that the world had come crashing down their heads, or that someone had actually admitted to enjoying the Endless Eight, Hiyori rushed to her feet and into the kitchen.
"What's wrong! Are we under attack!"
"It's a reunion! A reunion!" Konata waved the letter around with a large grin. "We've been invited to a reunion!"
Hiyori blinked, tilting her head in confusion for a moment, before realization dawned on her.
"A high school reunion?" Konata nodded happily. "Umm..." feeling a nosebleed coming on, Hiyori picked up her pen, and hurriedly made her way to the nearest bunch of papers.
Konata understood her reaction completely. No matter how you looked at it, this was definitely a flag.
XXX ScSt Tsukasa Patricia XXX
Tsukasa Hiiragi had always wanted to stand on equal footing with her sister. Therefore, it wasn't surprising that when she'd finally found something that she truly could out-do the hardworking girl in, she'd decided to go all out.
Still, to think that the meek little girl who always fell asleep in class was now the proud owner and chef of a successful restaurant was indeed somewhat awe-inspiring.
Patricia smiled at the sleeping woman in front of her.
The youngest member of the Hiiragi family was currently occupying the couch. This was a definite problem for Patricia, but she had been having a hard time keeping her lips from twitching upwards, and had simply given up.
Shaking her head slowly, the blond-haired woman worked her hands in underneath Tsukasa, and then hefted her up into her arms. Thus loaded with her fragile cargo, Patricia made her way into the bedroom.
The bedroom. There was only one bedroom in their apartment.
Hiyori would've been scandalized – at least until she was able to locate a pen and paper.
Unfortunately, Patricia had not found herself inside of Tsukasa's pants.
Okay, fine, she'd tried the other woman's pants on occasion, but the metaphor hadn't happened.
She wouldn't have minded if it had happened – she was willing to admit that, just not to the woman's face – but she wouldn't push the issue. Maybe drop a few hints every now and then. Nothing more. Definitely wouldn't make jokes about how she would be punished by sleeping on the couch. Often. At least not twice in an hour. Or sniff her panties. Twice. On separate occasions.
Patricia made a small groan of frustration.
They'd been living together for a few months now, ever since Patricia's last apartment had burnt down – her neighbor's fault, not hers – and the only real change in the situation to crashing on her employer's couch whilst she looked for a decent place to stay, was the fact that she had made herself a fortress out of manga.
It was a good fortress.
Tsukasa had told her to keep it in its designated corner, and in that designated corner it had stayed, all by its own will. Not at all related to the fact that Tsukasa had microwaved the first – and also last – book foolish enough to venture outside of its protective walls.
She was lenient on many points – one of which being that this apartment was clearly only designed for one person – but she was iron when it came to house-chores. As well as Patricia staying the hell out of the kitchen, unless she was only planning on using the fridge, and even then, she should only do so under supervision.
Patricia thought that was a bit overkill, but considering how long it'd taken her to clean up the mess she'd made when she'd wanted toast, she wasn't going to argue. Besides, it had given her lots of material for jokes, most of which were embarrassingly accurate for Tsukasa – it wasn't so much a lie as it was a different phrasing of the truth.
Tsukasa made a small noise in her sleep as Patricia placed her in the bed, mumbling something a bit too quiet to hear, and then smiled as she snuggled into the blankets.
Patricia would also not undress the woman in her sleep.
Even if she asked for it.
And that wasn't because it would be to her sex-drive what a flamethrower would be to a house of cards. Cards that were made from toilet paper.
Say what you will about how she'd been adorable as a girl, but as a woman... Patricia tried not to think about it too much. Losing control would end badly.
… Unless she returned-...
No. Better not think about it.
Tucking the short-haired woman in, Patricia made her way back to the couch, fished out her pillow and blanket, and marveled to herself at how perfect Tsukasa's couch was for sleeping on.
XXX
"Tsukasa-sama. I hereby present to thee thine mail." Patricia bowed, holding the letter out to the other woman.
Tsukasa looked at her employee with a critical eye, knowing that any word she said about the way of address would just make it worse.
With a sigh, she accepted the letter.
Patricia quickly returned to her manga, easily locating a crack in her cleaning-supervisor's defenses. The woman really hated doing her chores.
The towel that Tsukasa had been using to dry the dishes made impact with the woman's head with a small thud, eliciting in turn a startled cry about how she'd turned blind.
Tsukasa's lips twitched upwards at her theatrics, and she turned back towards the letter.
A relative silence stretched through the apartment as she read.
"I've been invited to out high school reunion." she finally stated.
Patricia blinked, slowly tilting her head whilst trying to comprehend what she'd just said.
"Can I come too?"
Tsukasa raised an eyebrow, somewhat startled by the question.
"Sure."
XXX ScSt Yutaka Ayano XXX
Ayano glanced over towards the smaller woman as she kneeled in front of the crying girl.
The girl stopped crying in no time at all.
Ayano tried to hide the smile that snuck across her lips as she watched Yutaka holding the small girl in her arms, comforting her as the girl buried her head in her chest.
Lucky kid.
Suppressing that thought, Ayano turned towards the ones responsible for the tears in the first place.
She smiled. Those who witnessed her smile shivered, and then they did the only thing that they could do. They prayed.
Fights weren't really unusual in the daycare center, and this was usually how they divided their attention. Yutaka comforted the victim, and Ayano made the offenders apologize.
As a result, it seemed as if they'd been given nicknames by the children. Yutaka the angel, and Ayano the witch.
Nobody ever dared to mention that latter one in front of her though. Something about fearing for their lives, she hadn't really been paying attention.
Regardless, the role of an angel seemed to really suit Yutaka. Kind and benevolent, gentle and caring.
The woman was far out of her league, yet she couldn't help but chancing glances at her every now and then. You always wanted what you couldn't have, she supposed.
She could still remember the first time she'd come here, and found what was once the small and innocent girl from her high school days trying to keep some semblance of order as the children sped around her.
Ayano had been wondering if she really wanted to work with taking care of other people's children until that moment. She didn't care what the work was, as long as she could spend another minute with that woman.
It had been a love at second sight, of sorts.
Dismissing that thought before she got distracted, Ayano nodded contently as the offender apologized to the little girl. Yutaka glanced up at her with grateful eyes, and a joyous tingle made its way down her spine in response.
XXX
Ayano looked at the letter in her hand and took a deep breath, she was sure that the girl would want to know, and that she might very well be interested in joining her, but asking like this still took a lot of nerve.
It was almost as if she was asking her out on a date.
Suppressing that thought before her face turned red, Ayano opened the door to the daycare center.
She'd gotten the letter yesterday in the mail, and whilst it was only for her own year, she doubted that Yutaka would pass up on the chance to see her cousin's friends again. Besides, there might be someone from her own circle of friends appearing as well.
So it definitely wasn't a date.
… Not that she really believed that she'd be able to convince her racing heart of that though.
An invitation to a high school reunion. It didn't say anything about bringing a date, though she suspected that at least one of them would be trying to acquire one for the event.
XXX
XXX ScSt Reunion XXX
XXX
"Heh, you haven't grown a bit." Kagami smirked evilly at the short woman in front of her.
"Well, at least I haven't grown sideways." Konata responded with an evil smirk of her own.
Tsukasa had to stifle a laugh as her sister disappeared into a corner and started mumbling about cruel cakes that lied to her. Patricia didn't even try to hold back, opting instead to simply fold herself double and laugh until tears came to her eyes. Tsukasa smacked the curvy woman lightly over the head, she really should learn to show at least a little bit of tact.
Minami and Yutaka were catching up by talking of everything from smelly things, to their work, to the weather. Ayano was trying to keep herself from laughing at her old friend as she explained that it really was complicated to be a PE teacher – considering the twitching of her lips, she was trying very, very hard. Miyuki had appeared at Kagami's side in an attempt to comfort the other woman. And Hiyori was sketching on something, red-tinted tissues stuffed into her nose.
It was a lot like the old days.
Sure, they all looked different. Patricia had grown curvier than ever, with both Ayano and Miyuki fitting into the same category. Yutaka looked sort of motherly. Misao somehow looked a bit taller than she remembered. Minami seemed more mature than before – even if she still hadn't filled out that much. Hiyori had thicker glasses, but otherwise looked much the same. Konata had through some insane twist of fate grown her hair even longer and had been forced to tie it up to keep it from dragging along the ground. And whilst Kagami might believe differently, she looked fit enough to be almost comparable to Misao.
But in the end, they were much like they had always been.
Silly, teasing, strange, bizarre, somewhat responsible, and filled with laughter.
They'd grown apart, true. But meeting like this... it was a lot of fun.
XXX
"So the two of you are living together?" Hiyori asked incredulously.
Patricia nodded seriously. "I sleep on the couch. But Tsukasa insist on making me breakfast."
As Hiyori twitched – in that way that made it obvious she was looking for a pen and paper – Tsukasa frowned as a small blush spread across her cheeks.
"That's just because you keep demolishing the kitchen when you try and make it yourself... besides, breakfast is important, you shouldn't just skip it." Hiyori twitched in a way that meant that she was now also looking for tissues.
Patricia grinned, but before she could respond another voice cut through.
"What! You've been using Ayano's techniques! Think of the poor animals!" Misao sounded honestly upset whilst Ayano was blushing madly from embarrassment.
"It's better to bring them down quick with some pain on their part, than to stress them out completely and risk them seriously injuring themselves." Kagami stated simply, but she was blushing too.
"Still! Those techniques hurt like hell!" Misao glanced over at Minami. "Oi! Iwasaki-san, you're a veterinarian, right? Tell her!"
Minami squirmed a little at being put on the spot, but spoke up. "I agree with Kagami, it's more important to keep an animal from injuring itself badly, than to keep it from experiencing a bit of pain."
Misao blinked dumbly for a moment, before she threw herself at Miyuki with tears streaming from her eyes. "Uwaah! Miyuki! They're being mean to me! Make them stop!"
Miyuki seemed to have gotten quite used to the hyperactive woman, simply patting her on the head with a small smile, and not saying anything in her defense. Yutaka on the other hand seemed to be struggling to keep herself from giggling herself half to death at the look on Ayano's face.
Hiyori was sketching something down in a small notebook furiously, and Konata and Patricia shared a knowing smirk.
"However, I really don't believe you should threaten to use them on tax-collectors." Minami continued with a very well-hidden smile.
"They annoy me, okay?" Kagami muttered to herself, an embarrassed blush starting to spread across her face.
Yutaka's giggling finally burst free as Ayano's face exploded into red once again, causing her to collapse to the floor from helpless mirth.
XXX
Konata looked at her cousin, feeling a small smile spreading over her lips as she talked with a certain other person.
She seemed happy. Unusually happy. The kind of happy that had once upon a time been reserved for a certain classmate.
The classmate that she'd admitted to having a crush on, back in the day. Even if she'd only really realized that that was what it'd been a few years ago.
She never would've guessed that they could make a couple. They clearly lacked the 'princess and her knight'-feeling that had been radiating from her friendship with Minami, but they still somehow complimented each other wonderfully.
Shrugging at the thought, Konata opened her mouth.
"You two make a really cute couple."
From the looks of it, Ayano's brain screeched to a halt quickly enough to cause whiplash. Yutaka's, on the other hand, seemed to have sped up to the point where there should be worries about sonic-booms.
The result?
"That's not it! She's way out of my league!"
The three women blinked. Konata's lips twitched upwards as she watched the two of them realize that they'd just declared their interest in each other, in chorus. Loudly.
It was the perfect time to just sit back and relax, allowing herself to revel in how the two of them was currently telling the other person why their reason for thinking the other was out of their league was the only sensible one.
Basically, they were currently very busy trying to tell the other woman that they should be worshiped as a goddess, and that they were their biggest fan.
Konata could see Hiyori spasming slightly as she dedicated her entire being to drawing this scene, even if it meant that she ignored the rushing nosebleed. Hopefully, her favorite mangaka wouldn't die from blood-loss. That would be a shame.
XXX
"So, did you bring a date or a friend?" Misao asked Kagami, glancing meaningfully towards the blushing new couple who were currently trying to hold hands.
"Wh-Wha-! She's just a friend! A friend!" the woman waved her hands in front of her in denial.
"Heeh? But that means I owe Miyuki ten bucks..." Misao pouted unhappily, "You sure?"
"Yes I'm sure! There's nothing between us! I'm not like that!" her face was a clear color of red. She paused for a moment, apparently only now realizing what the other woman had said. "Wait. What do you mean you owe her money?"
"Oh, we had a bet going on if you'd be able to get a date to come with you..." the teacher looked at the other woman warily, remembering that she knew Ayano-fu.
Kagami opened her mouth to say something, closed it, opened it, and then closed it again.
"Don't bet on things like that!" she finally blurted out, her face a deep shade of red.
Misao tried her best to placate the woman, not wanting to risk being on the bad side of her rage, but caught something odd from out of the corner of her eye.
Did Minami look strange? Kind of like someone had slapped her?
Wait. There was some sort of connection here, she was sure. The PE teacher might not be the brightest crayon in the box, but she wasn't a complete idiot. All of the time.
Nobody had actually slapped the tall woman, she had good ears, she wouldn't miss the sound that that would've made. Wait. Sound. She'd heard Kagami. And looked as if she'd been slapped.
… Maybe she didn't really owe Miyuki those ten bucks after all...
Kagami finally noticed that her old friend hadn't been paying attention to her for some time now, and followed her eyes. Towards Minami. Who looked hurt.
There was a twitch in Kagami's hand.
Misao recognized that twitch. It was the patented, You Have Hurt My Friend And So I Shall Impose Bodily Harm Upon You Until They're Going To Need A DNA Sample To Identify The Body-twitch.
Unfortunately for the twitch, there was nobody that she could aim her imminent rage towards.
And then Minami turned around and started moving away from the crowds.
Caught between mauling someone half to death, and comforting an apparently hurt friend. Kagami quickly excused herself and hurried after the other woman.
Bet or not, Misao hoped that the two of them would hook up. They would make an interesting couple.
XXX
Kagami finally caught up to the taller woman as she arrived in another room. A very empty room. That was good, she got the feeling that whatever it was that had hurt the other woman it wasn't something she'd be willing to discuss in front of an audience.
"Umm... Are you alright?"
It wasn't the smartest of questions – it was obvious that she wasn't 'alright' – but it was a start.
Minami winced as if she'd been caught doing something that she shouldn't be, and then slowly turned towards her.
Kagami had grown to know the other woman over the years and had learned much of how she acted. This was going to take a while, and she got the distinct feeling that she would be forced to deal with something that she really didn't want to by the end of it.
"I'm fine." her voice was calm in a way that just made it that much more obvious that she was keeping it from shaking.
"No. You're not." Kagami met her eyes, not backing down. "Talk."
And then, amazingly, she did.
It felt like hours passed, but she was fairly certain they were still counting minutes. Minami talked, Kagami listened.
Finally, they reached the conclusion and Kagami blushed. Heavily.
Butterflies exploded through her stomach as the woman in front of her said those three words that she'd always wanted someone to say.
Minami caught her eyes with her own, and Kagami swallowed.
What did she feel for her? Did she love her back? Was she just a friend?
She needed an answer. She needed an answer now.
The memory of the two of them sharing a bath sparked through her head. Minami hadn't been paying attention to cleaning herself. And considering how crystal-clear the image of the tall woman's naked body was imprinted on that memory, Kagami had also been a bit distracted.
She was going to need a stick or something. A heavy stick. The kind of stick that was suited for batting away females.
After all, Minami's fanbase weren't going to take their idol dating someone other than them without a fight.
"I'm kind of easily jealous." she pointed out.
"I'm aware of that." Minami's voice sounded strained from keeping itself steady.
"I'm a bit too focused on my weight."
"I don't care."
"I threaten tax-collectors with violence."
"I know." a small smile started dancing across her lips.
"I-... I'm going have to say it out loud, aren't I?" Kagami tried to look pitiable.
"Yes."
"Damn..." Kagami took a deep breath, trying to force down her rising blush. "... I love you too."
XXX
Patricia stared at the two of them, feeling her jaw drop open, but not really remembering how she was supposed to close it again.
Minami and Kagami. As an item.
Holy crap. Her friends were pairing off left and right.
Yutaka and Ayano congratulated the other couple as one, as the two at the center of attention tried to suppress their blushes.
They looked kind of adorable together.
Tsukasa greeted her sister's admission with a joyous smile, satisfied as long as she was happy.
A deep part of Patricia's brain pointed out that this meant that she might not reject her on the grounds of calling it disgusting, at least. Another part pointed out that Minami probably hadn't been sniffing her girlfriend's panties when she was supposed to do the laundry.
If it was one thing that Patricia had come to realize over the years, it was that Patricia Martin was not good at thinking things through. She'd met people who were worse, one of them were currently cheering about some kind of bet, but that didn't change the fact.
"Tsukasa, I've kind of sniffed your panties."
Thankfully, she'd managed to keep her impulsive side down until they were at least a little bit removed from the crowd, meaning that only the one she was currently facing had actually heard her.
Tsukasa's eyes widened at her admission.
Patricia looked at the woman, not wanting to push the issue and upset her any more than necessary.
A hand shot out, grabbing her by the collar, and suddenly Tsukasa was walking away, dragging her along for the ride.
Once they'd slipped from the public, Patricia's back slammed into a wall.
Then something very soft, and very warm pressed itself against her front.
Hungry eyes met her own, and then things started to go a bit fuzzy around the edges.
The amazingly, hungry, yet pleasant blankness continued for quite some time, until finally Patricia managed to gulp in a breath of air.
As she sat with her back against the wall, she wondered absentmindedly if her employer was going to be terribly upset with her for snapping off all of those buttons.
Then again, she'd been the one starting it.
Tsukasa sat in her lap, her face buried between her breasts, breathing heavily as they tried to recover their currently lacking brain-power. Ruining their clothes outdoors. Bad Patricia. Silly Patricia. This couldn't be allowed to turn into a habit. She should bring a change of clothes next time.
XXX
Yutaka and Ayano, Kagami and Minami...
Clearly, either Konata was dreaming, or she'd died and gone to heaven.
Either way, this definitely called for drinks.
Even if Hiyori would probably get really upset at her if she got too drunk and started flirting with everything that moved. Again.
That had been one hell of an office party.
Konata made a mental note to make sure to kill off any cameras as she called in cheers and congratulations on the increasing amounts of couples.
Mistakes were all about learning how to avoid them, after all.
Out of the corner of her eye she could see a certain professional chef dragging away a certain waitress by her collar.
There was a certain glimpse in the older woman's eyes.
Konata grinned. It looked like it was time for another drink.
Unfortunately for the size-stunted otaku, she wasn't the best at holding her liquor. In fact, with the obvious exception of her younger cousin, she was probably one of the worst people she'd ever met when it came to that.
So, it wasn't very surprising, as Miyuki finally excused herself from the party, that Konata just nodded sagely and told both of her that she'd only allow their early escape if they swung their hips as they walked out, because it would make her feel better inside.
As Kagami's righteous fist connected with her head, Konata's last thought before everything turned black was that she really should invest in a helmet one of these days.
XXX
Miyuki choked out another perfect congratulation, and forced that happy smile to stick to her face as she watched her friends finding the love that she herself would never have.
They were simply friends. Coworkers, roommates, drinking partners. Only their aged friendship bound them to each other.
Blushing as she tried to force Konata's drunken response to her excuse for leaving from her thoughts, Miyuki made her way into the chilly air of the great outdoors.
Normally, Misao and her would've left together, but she really couldn't stand the thought of watching so many of her old friends finding happiness where she would just find emptiness.
So, she made up an excuse for leaving early. She'd probably have to explain herself to Misao later, but she had a few hours to think of a decent reason for leaving before the other woman would finally tire and turn back towards their apartment, and even then she might just be tired enough to let an extremely flimsy excuse slip by unnoticed.
A few stars were peeking down from the blackness through the thin veil of silvery clouds.
She could see her breath turn into sparkling puffs of mist as she started walking. It was true that there was no snow on the roads, but that didn't make it any less cold.
Not wanting to linger in the wintery chill, Miyuki quickened her pace, taking a few shortcuts to make it back to the warmth of their home sooner.
Of course, shortcuts were probably famous somewhere for actually taking more time in the long-run.
It was a safe place to live, it really was. However, some days, you're just completely out of luck.
A handful of menacing men suddenly freed themselves from the shadows, cutting off any potential she had of escape.
Straightening rigidly as one of the men in front of her opened his mouth and began the stereotypical speech of little girls who should be more careful of where their feet carried them at night, Miyuki tried not to show any fear.
If she could just look confident enough, the thugs might be unnerved enough to leave her alone. It wasn't a perfect plan, not even by a long shot, but it was the best one that she could think of.
Unfortunately, the men didn't seem to be all that easily intimidated.
Abandoning her previous plan for something with bigger chance of success, Miyuki screamed.
A hand rushed out to block her mouth.
And disappeared from view.
So did the rest of the man who'd been attached to it.
There was also the distinct noise of breaking bones.
Miyuki blinked, not sure what had just happened.
"Who-!" another crunch stopped the question before it could form, sending the second man sprawling to the ground.
Someone in the crowd pulled out a crowbar, but he fell too. Just as quick as the first two.
At this point, the thugs seemed to be seriously regretting their choice of victim.
Thankfully, they joined their comrades into unconsciousness before they could dwell on their own failings for too long.
Left standing, was a single figure, that rolled its shoulders as it finally concluded that there were no more threats.
Misao grinned at her.
"Yo, little missy, you come here often?"
As relief choked off her words and brought stinging tears to her eyes, Miyuki grabbed onto the fabric of her roommate's shirt, and cried.
A calloused hand slowly descended on her head, silently stroking her hair.
Miyuki wasn't sure how long the two of them stood there. With her clinging to Misao, and Misao making soothing sounds as she held her close. But finally, she managed to rein in her tears.
Misao looked at her for a moment, then, once she was confident that she wasn't about to start crying again, she pulled her back towards their apartment.
But, as they walked, there was something about her that made Miyuki feel like she was going to be scolded when they finally made it home.
A thought that actually made her really not want to make it back home any time soon. Even if it meant walking in the cold for a few more hours.
Misao wasn't the type to scold people, after all she was much more suited for being scolded by others. However, that didn't make her any less capable of it. In fact, it actually made it worse. A lot worse.
Of course, wishing for something wasn't enough to make it happen, and so they arrived back home all too soon.
As the door closed behind them Miyuki suddenly found herself face-to-face with a frowning Misao.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" her voice was quiet, but that didn't make it sting any less.
Miyuki opened her mouth to apologize, and words uncalled for started rolling from her tongue.
Too shocked to rein them back in, they told Misao of her jealousy, of her reason for leaving, of her fear in front of the thugs, and finally of her greatest secret.
The secret that she could never tell anyone.
The secret that explained so much.
The secret of why she never answered confessions.
Misao's eyes widened as she finally ran out of words.
And then Miyuki ran.
She took half a step before her arm got stuck on something.
And then she crashed into something warm and soft.
Glancing up in confusion, she found Misao's face inches from her own.
"Sorry I'm sort of bad with reading people... and I'm going to forget valentines. And your birthday. And probably Christmas too. But if that's alright, then-... then I'm going to kiss you now."
Tears breaking free once again, Miyuki kissed her first.
XXX
"Are you awake now senpai?"
Konata groaned at the sharp noise, and the sharp light, and the generally sharp smell, and the sharp taste, and the sharp... what was that other sense now again? Regardless, it was painful. Much, much too painful.
"You really shouldn't drink so much, senpai." Hiyori's face was floating above her, with a somewhat scolding expression.
"I won't, I didn't, I taste colors... Could you stop hitting me in the head with that hammer?"
"You've got a hangover."
"That's not a good excuse and you know it."
"I'm not hitting you on the head. I don't even have a hammer. You've just got a hangover. From drinking too much and passing out. Though, now that I think about it, that last part was because Hiiragi-senpai hit you over the head."
"She knocked me out with a single punch? That woman should become a martial artist, she could take the world with storm..."
"I believe Minegishi-senpai wouldn't approve of that."
"Oh yeah, she said something about learning her techniques, didn't she? Damn."
Konata closed her eyes again.
Wait. She could feel her pillow's heartbeat.
"Please tell me that I'm in your lap, Hiyorin."
"You are." she sounded a bit confused. "Why?"
"I was really worried that inanimate objects had hearts. That would totally make me feel bad for treating them like things all this time."
"Umm... senpai, you take care of all of your things. In fact, I think you're already on the way to giving your collection items nicknames and celebrating their manufacturing dates."
"It's the point of the matter. Besides, I'd never celebrate something like that, I'd never have a peaceful day on the year."
"You'd also run out of money from celebrating all of those triplets."
"See, you understand why I'm so worried that they'll come alive now?"
"Yeah, yeah, I understand. I won't mock the danger of that again."
"Good, you may still learn, young padawan."
Hiyori chuckled lightly in a way that sent oddly comfortable vibrations through her lap.
Konata wasn't sure how much time passed as she lay there, not wanting to move from the comfort of not having her brain spontaneously combust.
"Hiyori?"
"Hmm?"
"Would you marry me?"
There was a silence, easily compensated for as the woman's heartbeat sped up, before she finally voiced her thoughts.
"Sure."
A silent spread between them once again.
"We're going to need a bigger bed."
"We wouldn't be able to fit one into that room."
"New apartment?"
"Sounds good."
They both lapsed into silence once more.
"I'm sorry, but if you try to kiss me right now, I might throw up in your face."
"Got it. I'll wait."
"... How do you think our coworkers are going to react?"
"I'm guessing most will grumble and one of them will shower us in praise." Hiyori stated plainly.
"Oh yeah, the betting pool. Kind of forgot about that part."
"Think we can cheat them into giving us their money?"
"By betting on ourselves?"
"Think it'd work?" the younger woman smiled deviously down at her.
Konata made a thoughtful noise as she thought about that one.
"I doubt it, but hey, stranger things have happened."
XXX
A/n: Birthed from the idea of pairing them off in regards to their future jobs. I didn't expand on all pairings as much as I'd have liked, but that's life for you.