Gateway: Yoruichi/Suì-Fēng:
A/N: Yeeeaah, I'm onna roll. Just wanted to try out Yoruichi's POV for once. And a change of atmosphere. And it was quite fun, actually. R&R! :)
It began like this, really. Sitting under a tree, a cherry blossom tree to be exact, in the late afternoon, she just lazing about on her back, and her companion beside her sprawled out on her stomach, an open notebook lying before her.
Silent, though, the silence was peaceful- she believed everything was peaceful when she was with her Little Bee, except something was wrong. Almost always, something was wrong.
"Have you another pencil?" Yes. There. That's what was wrong. Her, always such a busybody, honestly her Little Bee, only having time for work, and homework, and housework, and all of that lame stuff.
"No," she replied, drawling slowly, pointedly, when perhaps she did have a pencil. And a pen too.
Her Little Bee groaned, glowering down at the broken piece of lead rolling across her notebook paper. "Now how can I expect to finish my homework?"
She really couldn't believe her. Trying to get her homework done when she'd already invited her Little Bee out to this park for a snack, just for some quality time and all, but was being neglected for homework.
She glanced over at her with an arched eyebrow, shaking her head disapprovingly. "You don't. You hang out and play with me, Suì-Fēng, cuz that's what I brought you here for."
Suì-Fēng didn't even bother to look at her, already occupied with peeling the wood away from the lead hidden deep in her pencil. "But we're just sitting here. I might as well be doing something productive."
"Yeah, but you're sitting here with me," she argued with almost a pout, "so I'd rather you pay attention to me than all of that lousy homework. That's what's more productive, Suì."
"That's what's more selfish, Yoruichi-san," Suì-Fēng muttered, though the slight flush to her cheeks didn't go unnoticed. It never went unnoticed.
Yoruichi playfully rolled her eyes, her smirk equally amused. "I'm not selfish. I invited you here."
Her Little Bee didn't seem too entertained, replying with only a grunt and resorting to writing with a dull, green crayon she'd pulled out from wherever when Yoruichi hadn't been looking.
And that didn't sit well with Yoruichi. Seriously, she was tired of Suì-Fēng never having time for her, which may really have been selfish (they were only friends after all), but she just couldn't stand Suì's business-like nature at times.
So she sat up and crawled closer in an angry sort of determination, poking mercilessly at the other girl's shoulder. Really, if Yoruichi didn't know one thing, it was the boundaries between one persons space and another's, and honestly, it didn't concern her either.
"C'mon, Little Bee, take a break already and play with me." She let her fingers trail down Suì-Fēng's arm, and it strangely pleasured her to see the lighter girl blush.
Suì-Fēng actually turned to regard her with eyes like silver coins, though fairly uncertainly. "Don't say it like that."
Yoruichi smiled impishly, her fingers still roaming. "Like how?"
"Like . . . you're purring."
"Does it bother you?"
A frown as gray flickered away. "Yes."
A sigh as molten gold rose to gaze at the lavender-orange sky. "Fine." Though her fingers' movement purposely didn't cease. "But really, can't we do something? Like tag? Don't you love tag? I love tag."
"We're not children, Yoruichi-san," Suì-Fēng deadpanned impassively, and Yoruichi hated when she was like that, cold, when she knew that inside, the girl was so warm, so beautiful.
And not just inside.
She actually deflated a little bit, though she knew that Suì-Fēng wasn't deliberately trying to be so difficult; she was just a perfectionist of sorts and needed to be early with her work. Some kind of OCD, Yoruichi was sure.
"But we're here at the park and I want to have fun with you." But you keep ignoring me.
Suì-Fēng didn't smile, not even an apologetic, sorry smile, or even something kind; instead, she gave Yoruichi a full out scowl, the kind of scowl that was rather disheartening as it practically screamed, "Please come off it."
But of course. If were Suì-Fēng were to smile, she would smile at her excellent report card, smile at something funny, smile at her teachers, her parents, her other friends, but never at her.
Never at Yoruichi, and it hurt her to a certain, painful extent, because weren't they friends? Friends, even though Yoruichi would stare too long, perhaps, whenever Sui-Fēng entered a room; friends, even though Yoruichi loved to see Suì blush and squirm because of her; friends, though Yoruichi's skin prickled with exhilaration when making contact with Suì's; friends even though Suì-Fēng's lips would enrapture her at times- just Suì-Fēng in general would enrapture her, all stormy gray eyes and lovely, pale skin, the way she would act so imposing when she was so small, and . . . and Yoruichi just wished that she would smile at her.
Her hand finally left the smaller girl's shoulder as she leaned back against the tree. Suì-Fēng appeared vaguely relieved.
"Hey, Suì?" She hated it, really, how timid and little she actually sounded while almost nervously shattering a stray twig. It was not her.
"What is it?" That irritating briskness in her tone, always present when work needed to be done. She hadn't even spared her a second glance.
Yet, Yoruichi didn't bow, didn't break nor falter because that was not her either. She asked, peering over at her Little Bee with a gaze unyielding, "Why don't you ever smile at me?"
Suì-Fēng froze, dropping her crayon. Probably the first time she'd quit writing since her pencil broke. Yoruichi stiffened as well, since Suì freezing up like that wasn't necessarily a good sign.
And then Suì-Fēng let out a laugh, rather a short cackle, which was obviously insincere as the Shihouin discerned the uneasiness within her smoky orbs. "You're really asking me that?"
Friends smile at friends, though with Suì-Fēng, it was always inexpression, or a glower, or a blush . . . mostly something unpleasant. The darker girl had never seen her throw her that sign of glee before, never smile even if her eyes were blazing with happiness.
Yoruichi wouldn't back down. "It's not something I just came up with out of the blue, I'm sure you know."
The other girl stopped again, this time sitting up so that she was against the tree along with Yoruichi, side by side.
The sensation as their shoulders brushed . . .
Suì-Fēng wouldn't look at her, even as the sudden silence droned on, plucking the grass out from underneath them in clumps, her long braids whipping in the gentle wind, orange rings clacking together.
Yoruichi had always been fond of that noise, but she didn't really fancy hearing it now; what she longed to hear was Suì-Fēng's voice, her response.
And then . . . "Do you want my honest answer?" Her voice had wavered for a moment, the red hue in her cheeks highly visible.
"Please." Nearly whispered, but uttered with all earnestness mustered.
Her Little Bee avoided her eyes, staring down at her knees. Bashful. It was the Suì-Fēng she preferred the most, as she was not frigid or unreadable. She was just undeniably sweet. (And Yoruichi had quite a sweet tooth.)
"It's just . . ." Silver flicked over to gold for a second or two, and the Shihouin felt her heart jolt, her breath stammer as Suì finished, "You make me feel things that smiling doesn't express well enough, Yoruichi-san."
And then her lungs just decided to stop altogether, and she blinked, all too aware of the way Suì-Fēng was watching at her now, with that shy, expectant look, her lip between her teeth.
The sight wrenched her heart, truthfully, in the most blissful of manners.
"What kinds of things?" Yoruichi decided to venture breathlessly after a moment, and her Little Bee appeared startled, as if not anticipating further questions.
But she should have, really. Because why would she stop there if there was a chance that Suì-Fēng grew excited when she was near, if she thought about Yoruichi's lips at times, or even more parts of her anatomy . . . if there was a chance that what she was feeling, has always felt, was returned?
Yoruichi saw it when Suì-Fēng swallowed. "N-Nice things."
Nice things . . . .
The Shihouin shut her eyes for a second, savoring those words and unconsciously sidling yet closer.
"Nice things like . . . this?" Somehow, despite that her eyes were still closed, Yoruichi's arm found its way around her Little Bee's waist.
She listened intently to the hitch in her companion's breathing, relishing the wonderful warmth radiating from the body next to her.
"Y-Yes . . . ." The voice was in her ear, directly in her ear so that it tickled, and Yoruichi inhaled deeply, strongly to take in the scent of the girl beside her, her fingers travelling idly along Suì-Fēng's spine.
Something soft grazed across her face, and when the darker girl's eyes shot open, the lighter girl had her lips against her cheek. "Nice things like that . . . ."
Oh. Suì-Fēng so brazen with anything that weren't insults . . . it astonished her. It excited her. It made her smile a slow, lazy smile and admit with a purr, "You make me feel things too, actually."
A light pink dusted across her Little Bee's nose. "W-What sorts of things?"
Yoruichi grinned at the role reversal. "Very nice things."
The pinkness grew darker yet as a pale hand reached for the Shihouin's hair, only to pause hesitantly for a bit before resuming and running her fingers through purple locks. "Nice things like . . . t-this?"
Yoruichi found her irrefutably cute, and also found herself melting into Suì Fēng's touch. "Oh, yeah." She then smirked, turning so that she could murmur in her Little Bee's ear, "I like you a lot," which caused a lot of blushing and stammering on her part. "Nice things like that."
Suì-Fēng didn't reply, and allowed herself to continue to be held by a appreciative Yoruichi, who decidedly stretched an arm across and tossed the green crayon somewhere unknown.
The shorter girl blinked. "That was uncalled for, Yoruichi-san."
Said girl made a face. "It was too. Not like your teacher was going to take up work hand-written with a crayon."
"I was going to redo it!"
Yoruichi could only stare at her. "You are something else entirely." Her grin was fond. "But that trait of yours is very important to me, Suì-chan. Rather . . . attractive."
Suì-Fēng averted her eyes, closing her notebook. "Alright, Yoruichi-san. You have my attention. What is it you want to do?"
That fond grin . . . well, it turned mischievous. "Tag?" Her Little Bee opened her mouth, face in an objective expression, and the darker girl was quick to cut her off. "Oh, c'mon, Suì Feng, it's like a favorite game of mine and I've never even gotten to play it right when I was smaller since I was faster than everyone!"
Suì-Fēng still appeared dubious.
"Listen, don't even worry about childishness," Yoruichi added with a seductive wink, her triumph card, "because you always make me feel very much adult."
Especially in my dreams . . . .
Though that was left unsaid, it still seemed to be heard, as that skepticism dissolved into another blush whilst Yoruichi took her hand and tugged. "F-Fine."
"Yes! I'll be 'it', okay?" And she had to repeat the 'okay' a second time because Suì-Fēng had this weird expression on her face, a mix between elation and nothing, really, as if she were just trying to stifle that same elation, turn it back into that mask of no emotion, like always.
Yoruichi cocked a hip, as well as an eyebrow. "What's with that face? You look constipated." Her eyes softened at the slight indignant look the other girl shot at her then, and she sighed, telling her genuinely, "It's alright. I just want you to smile for me."
Her Little Bee seemed to study her a moment before lowering her eyes and releasing a resigned chuckle. And with that chuckle came a smile, a smile that the Shihouin couldn't look away from, and it wasn't that Yoruichi had never seen Suì-Fēng smile before . . . just that she'd never smiled at her, such honest beauty, and . . . well, she was not into clichés, but it was like the gateway to heaven had opened then and there.
The gateway to heaven had opened with its guiding, ethereal light, leaving Yoruichi stunned and blind, blind so that she did not see when Suì-Fēng had disappeared, already tearing down the field of the park.
Thus, taller girl was brought back to earth with a start. "Ah- hey! I wasn't planning on giving you a headstart, but go on ahead!" Lantern eyes narrowed competitively. "You're going to need it."
Another laugh was her Little Bee's only answer.
A/N: Urgh, endings . . . but yay for YoruSoi fluff! And wooow, hyperactive Yoruichi . . . . Review? :p