it hit me like a beam of light
( "explain to me, one more time, why you thought it was appropriate to kiss me." | yuri and rita, fluffy. )
disclaimed.
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"Explain to me, one more time, why you thought it was appropriate to kiss me." Rita's face is almost as red as the fireball she's casting, reminding Yuri that he has a very limited time left to live if he doesn't explain himself soon.
"Number one," Yuri begins, only to have to swiftly duck out of the way of her spell. "Hey! Don't tell me to explain if you're not going to listen to what I have to say!"
"You!" Rita growls, gripping her scarf instead. "How dare you!"
"Number one," Yuri says again, talking over her. "I only kissed your forehead - "
"It doesn't matter where you kissed me," Rita cries, the tips of her ears going pink. "What matters is that you did, you perverted - "
"Number two!" Yuri proclaims loudly, cutting her off. "I had every right to kiss your forehead in a brotherly fashion - emphasis on brotherly, thanks - because you did something uncharacteristically nice for me. You're so sweet," he couches on with a self-satisfied smirk while Rita splutters something unintelligible. For a brief moment, he considers also ruffling her hair in a similar gesture of brotherliness, but decides, quickly, that he'd quite prefer to keep both of his hands intact.
"I am not sweet," Rita finally rebuts, fists clenched at her sides. "You're just an idiot!" she exclaims, pointing directly at Yuri, which. Rude.
He holds up his hands in mock-defeat. "My bad," he says, dodging another fireball.
. .
"Yuri," Estelle clips in a way that is almost standoffish. When Yuri glances up from his perch on the grass, he sees that her lips are pressed into a thin line, her hands clasped together in front of her and expression serious. He swallows uncertainly. "Yuri," Estelle says again, disapproving. "Did you really kiss Rita without her permission?"
Yuri fishmouths, blinking a couple of times in surprise. Furrowing his brows, he asks, "who told you that?"
Estelle sighs exasperatedly. "Rita did, Yuri." She hesitates, then barrels on unabashedly after a breath. "You do realize she's still underage, don't you? If what she said is true, she could press charges and you could be fined several thousand gald in addition to being jailed for - "
"Estelle," Yuri says, cutting her off with a wave of his hand. "I gave her a peck on the forehead because she brought me my bag."
"I - oh," Estelle says, frowning. "A-Are you sure? She made it seem as though..."
"Do I look like the kind of guy that would take advantage of a girl?" Yuri asks. Estelle casts her gaze sideways, biting her lip. When she finally opens her mouth to respond, Yuri mutters, "don't answer that," and gives Estelle a very unimpressed look. "The point is," he continues, "she's upset that I kissed her forehead and she's trying to get me in trouble. That's all."
"It does seem like something she might do," Estelle concedes. "Not that it makes her a bad person! Just..."
"Intense?" Yuri offers. "Vengeful?"
"Maybe you should talk to her," Estelle says, fixing him with a stern look.
"But mom," Yuri jokes, grinning.
Estelle hides her smile and leans over to nudge his shoulder with hers. "Honestly, Yuri," she says, lips quirking despite her best attempts at keeping a straight face. "I think it's important that you clear the air with her. She didn't seem very happy with you."
"Because of a kiss on the forehead?" Yuri guffaws, rolling his eyes. "Come on."
"Yuri," Estelle says, persistent. "She's sensitive."
. .
"I'm being forced to make peace with you," Yuri says through the door to Rita's room at the inn. "It'll go a lot faster if you just let me in."
"Go. Away," Rita deadpans from the opposite side. She sounds like she's a significant ways away from the door. "I'm not interested in talking to someone that treats me like a kid."
"Rita," Yuri enunciates clearly, "if you don't open this door, I'm going to knock it down. Don't think I won't."
"If you knock down the door, I'll climb out the window!" Rita informs him shortly. "Don't think I won't," she mocks.
"Don't be a brat," Yuri says.
"Don't be a jerk," Rita rebuts, insult muffled by the door between them. "And go away!" she adds after a beat, sounding as if she's come closer. Yuri ducks down, checking underneath the door for her shadow, and spots her feet only a few inches away.
"You're right there," Yuri accuses, straightening up. "Just open the door."
"What's the password?" Rita asks.
"'Yuri's an idiot,'" Yuri says dryly, listening to the door unlock.
Rita cracks it open, smirking at him. "It was actually 'Yuri is a giant idiot', but that's good enough," she says, stepping back to let him inside. Yuri is too grateful about actually being let into her room to counter her; he makes his way to her bed, where he sits down on the corner of the mattress. Rita eyes him with apparent contempt, crossing her arms over her chest. "Well?" she says, finally. "Are you going to say something?"
Yuri arches a brow. "If you're looking for an apology, you're going to be disappointed. You're the one making a huge deal out of something small."
"Am not!" Rita says, stomping her foot petulantly. Yuri's eyebrows continue their ascent into his hairline. "Ugh, whatever!" Rita says, turning away from him. "You wouldn't understand," she mutters to no one in particular.
Yuri blinks, leaning backwards by balancing himself on his elbows. "What do you mean I 'wouldn't understand'? Try me."
"It doesn't matter," Rita says, waving her hand dismissively but still refusing to look him in the eye. "I don't care anymore, it's stupid."
"No, Rita - " Yuri says, deciding that this conversation would be better continued sitting up. "It does matter. What's up? Did I - " Yuri takes a breath and exhales a sigh, "did I really upset you?"
"It's - " Rita starts, then makes a discontented noise in her throat. "I don't know. It was just...weird, for me. I guess." Her face begins to heat up, a petal pink dusting the apples of her cheeks. "It was - like. That was..." she trails off, staring steadfastly at the ground.
Yuri furrows his brows, pressing forward where he sits. "That was...?" he prompts, curious.
"That was the first time I'd been kissed," Rita blurts, her face promptly going red. "I - I mean, it's not like I was waiting for the right person or moment or whatever, it just - I guess I wanted it to mean more, you know?" Rita's voice becomes incredibly quiet the further she explains and she's blushing all the way to her ears. "Sorry," she apologizes after a pregnant pause. "I know how stupid that sounds."
"No, no," Yuri says quickly, finding his voice. "It's not stupid at all. I didn't realize..." he trails off uncertainly, tongue darting out to lick his bottom lip from anxiousness. He takes a preparatory breath. "I'm sorry," he says quickly. "I wasn't being fair. I didn't take your feelings into account."
"You don't have to apologize," Rita rushes, embarrassed. "It's so - it's really stupid. It wasn't even a real kiss, it's not like you stole it from me..."
"Rita, really, I shouldn't have even - "
"It's okay," Rita insists, laughing nervously. "As far as first kisses go, it...could've been a lot worse."
Yuri swallows, suddenly amused. "...Oh?" he says as nonchalantly as he can.
"I - I mean! It's not like I - it's not like that, idiot, I just meant - " Rita takes a sharp breath, collecting herself. "I'm just saying that, out of my very limited options, kissing you would be...the least terrible," she admits, shuffling a bit and fiddling with the bows on her socks. "But that doesn't mean I want to kiss you!" Rita insists, the redness of her cheeks betraying her bravado. "So don't try anything funny!"
"Of course not," Yuri says, standing. He takes a few steps closer to her, regarding her curiously. "...Are you sure you don't want a real kiss from me?" he asks, cocking his head. "I mean, not to embarrass you, but you don't look all that opposed." At the panicked look on Rita's face, he adds, "I wouldn't mind, either."
"Wh-What are you saying?" Rita demands, voice wavering.
"S'just a suggestion," Yuri says, grinning innocently. "Completely up to you."
Rita appears to think about this for a moment. The next, Yuri is dodging the fireballs she casts.
a/n: ...there was going to be a real kiss. there really was, but it refused to cooperate. sorry for being such a tease.