Yoruichi is a wild creature. She cannot be tied down, and Soi Fon would be a fool if she wanted that. Lucky, Soi Fon thinks, that she is not a fool.
Oh, sure, sometimes the poison of her jealousy eats away at her when she looks at Yoruichi looking at anyone else, but Soi Fon has spent her whole life letting her body get used to poisons. And anyway, she knows when to look away. Like this moment, when Yoruichi is talking, quietly, to Kuukaku, both of them smiling slyly, heads close. Perfect moment to look away.
Soi Fon clenches a fist and turns to look at the hallway.
How many times have they been close like that, or closer? Soi Fon tries not to imagine. Yoruichi wouldn't want her to. But were they ex-lovers, or was it an ongoing thing? Were they loud together in the dark? How much closer to Yoruichi's skin was Kuukaku allowed to get?
Soi Fon shakes it off and walks outside.
She's been squinting against the sun, arms crossed, for a while by the time Yoruichi comes outside.
"No need to look so sour. My business in there is done."
Soi Fon tries not to look at Yoruichi illuminated against the sunset, her sharp points painted soft and golden by the slowly lowering sun. "Did that woman know where to find the person we're looking for?"
"Ah, it was a different kind of business I was dealing with. Let's go track that thief down on our own."
It's not a trial to nod and follow.
#
It's only later, long after they've caught the person they're looking for and administered justice, and the day has given way to night, that she figures out what Yoruichi's secret business was.
Soi Fon isn't so young and naively infatuated any more, but when Yoruichi holds out a hand to take her somewhere, it's only natural for her to grab on and follow. She barely notices where they're going, too distracted by the warmth of Yoruichi's skin, as if she's stored up all the sun's warmth inside her. They run through the spaces between clumps of trees, until they reach a clearing. Soi Fon almost bumps into Yoruichi when she stops, only gathering control of herself a breath away from Yoruichi's body. She looks up at Yoruichi's face in the moonlight and waits.
Yoruichi doesn't let go of her hand.
"You're not a butterfly," Yoruichi says, "and I'm not always a cat, but neither of us should be pinned down. Even so, I wanted to take a moment to catch you before it's time to let go again."
"Catch me as many times as you like."
Yoruichi smirks, and then, with a loud bang, a firework paints the night pink and blue. Soi Fon looks up to catch the sight of another, red and gold, spreading like a chrysanthemum across the sky.
Ah, so that's what Yoruichi and Kuukaku had conspired about. It would be pointless to feel guilty about her jealousy that afternoon, so she just doesn't feel it.
The sky is beautiful, but Soi Fon would rather watch the fireworks reflect in Yoruichi's eyes. She sways towards her, and they catch each other with a kiss. For a moment they can enjoy the wildness in each other.
Yoruichi will always dance away when she needs to, and Soi Fon will grow angry waiting for her to come back again, but in this moment they are here, hot against each other. For just this moment, it's enough.