Mai Otome
Under the Blankets
Natsuki's POV
"I love you, you know."
Three simple words. I was so used to hearing them, but they never sounded dull. Beneath the blankets I met her gaze, those wine red eyes connecting with mine and seeing further inside than I could look myself. Her mouth, turned up in a cheeky grin. What was she thinking?
I gently curled my fingers around hers. "I know, and I love you too. But I think we're beyond saying it. Everyone knows, especially us."
"True," she agreed, closing her eyes. "But I like saying it and hearing it from you. Its... refreshing."
I tightened her hands around hers. Where did I ever find her, my perfectly shaped other half? She fit me without leaving any gaps. We slid together like two puzzle pieces, completing the image of love. When did this woman enter my life? I couldn't even remember living without her. She had just turned up one day and from that moment on I really started living.
"You're blushing, Natsuki."
I could feel the heat in my cheeks and tried to hide my face. "Am not."
"Are too." She giggled. "You can be so easy to excite sometimes, my Natsuki."
She broke down all of my walls like that as though it were no effort at all, but I didn't feel afraid or weak. I felt naked, but confidently so. She would never judge me or ridicule me. Would never pole and prod. She would just love what she saw like she always did. She knew me inside and out. She knew every corner of me.
I leaned forward and kissed her gently, unsure of how far she wanted to go. She deepened the kiss and I could barely contain my relief.
"Headmistress, are you still in bed? It's chaos out here! Student Arika is, as usual, in an uproar about our Otome ways. And Princess Mashiro is visiting in ten minutes."
"Maria," both Shizuru and myself, and we sighed. I pulled the blankets down and let the sun shine over us. Morning had come and our romance would have to wait. Shizuru looked at me with a smile that said we would have time later.
My heart skipped a beat. Later was better than never.