Someone walked into the coffee shop, triggering the bell chime at the door, and my eyes shot up to check if it was the girl I had called and invited earlier. Despite never having met her before, and only seen pictures of her when she was much, much younger, I recognized her immediately. The girl I had been led to believe was my cousin had the same face as I, though it was already apparent by the exuberant expression that came over her when she spotted me that our personalities were very different. My twin sister rushed over to my table as I stood to greet her.
"Misaki?" I asked, though we both knew it could be no one else.
"Mei," she stated, grinning. A small look of concern swept over her face as she noticed my eye patch for the first time, but she dismissed it quickly. She took my hand in her own, warmer one, holding it tightly to her chest. "I'm- I'm so, so glad to finally meet you," she gushed. "If you hadn't called me, I don't think I would have ever found out about any of it..."
"Yeah..." I felt my face heat up as I gazed at her. It was, I knew, strangely egotistic to think of my identical twin sister as being incredibly beautiful, but she was.
I sat down in the booth, sliding over when I noticed Misaki wanted to sit next to me, her slender fingers still holding onto my hand loosely.
"I have so much to tell you..."
By the end of the night Misaki had even a depressing person like me giggling at her stories. We had been there for five hours already, talking the whole time, and only left when we realized our mothers might get suspicious if we didn't get home before sundown. We agreed to meet there again the next Saturday, and Misaki gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, tears brimming in her eyes as we said our goodbyes. It was obvious emotions ran strongly in her, though I admit I felt a strange stirring in my heart as well as I watched her walk away.
After that we made plans to meet every Saturday, though we didn't confine ourselves to the little coffee shop where we first met. Misaki wanted to see what the town I lived in was like, so we visited the various shops and restaurants when she came. A couple of times, when I knew Mother wouldn't be home, or I was confident she wouldn't come out of her workspace for a few hours, I even sneaked her into my room.
Once, on such a day, we were sitting on my bed and talking when she suddenly pulled me down on top of her, a playful smile on her face. She then twined her fingers in my hair, playing with it
Unsure what to do, captivated by the sparkling eyes staring up at me, I said the first thing that I could think of that might sound normal, "What do you want for your birthday?"
She blinked up at me, apparently surprised by the question. "Well, it's still a few months away, but..." Misaki took on a thoughtful look. "Something pretty," she began, "that will keep me company at night."
"A doll?" I inquired.
Misaki grinned, then leaned up at the same time as she gently pulled me down by the locks of hair she was still holding and kissed my lips softly.
"A doll will do," she said when we separated a second later, letting her head fall back down on the bed, "for now."
I was sure my red face was very visible to my sister, though as I turned away quickly to hide it I thought I spotted a deeper than normal color on her own skin.
Following that event, I resolved to invite her into my room more often. If such a thing happened again, I would be ready to reciprocate, perhaps even start things off by pushing her down myself. The fact that we were flesh and blood never really entered my thoughts, at least not at the time.
Unfortunately school had already started by that time, leaving both of us with little time to see each other, and then, the next time I saw Misaki was when she called me from her hospital room.
"Mei," she greeted me casually when she saw me, though the smile gracing her face was sad. "I didn't want to worry you, but it looks like I wont be out any time soon, so I figured I should tell you before you started thinking I was avoiding you," she finished with a grin.
"You should have just told me earlier, I'd rather be worried than not see you for a month," I reprimanded her mildly, sitting on a chair next to her hospital bed.
She smiled again. "I'll keep that in mind for the future."
Silence descended as we were both unsure of what to say. I figured I shouldn't ask about her condition; she would tell me if she felt I should know.
"I picked out a cute doll for your birthday present," I said, breaking the silence. "I asked Kirika, and she said I could pick one of the newer ones."
"Oh, the doll. I'm looking forward to seeing it. But speaking of our birthday, what should I get you?"
"I-" I stopped to contemplate it for a second. This was my chance, but was I brave enough to do it? My nervousness showed as I stood abruptly, the chair making a loud sound as it was pushed back.
I didn't need to push her down, as she was already laying sick on a hospital bed, so I leaned over her, placing both hands to the sides of her head.
"I-I-" I still couldn't really articulate what exactly I wanted, but Misaki, with a curiously pleased and surprised expression adorning her face, seemed to understand, taking my face in her hands and drawing it towards hers, kissing me deeply. Was this that twin ESP I had heard about so often, or had I just been that obvious all this time? I didn't matter, and I stopped wondering about it completely as the kiss deepened.
We parted after a long moment, and I sighed happily and leaned back, glad that my goal had at last been reached. I was satisfied, but then I felt Misaki's small hands tugging at my shirt.
"Um," her eyes were cast downward, and her face had acquired a nice, pink tint to it. "I think I'd feel better if I could touch you..." she trailed off, then, looking up at me pleadingly, started again, "Wanna get in with me?" She moved aside to make space on the bed, letting go of my blouse.
I nodded, not really thinking, my head still swimming from the kiss a moment before. I took off my shoes and joined her on the bed, even getting under the covers with her.
As soon as I was settled she kissed me again, this time moving her hand under my shirt at the same time. I gasped into her mouth at the sudden contact, not used to being touched.
"I've been attracted to you since I saw you," she gasped as we separated, her hand going to my chest. "I knew I wanted you by the end of the first day we met," she continued, her eyes roaming my face, her one hand on my chest and the other at my waist, "you weren't only cute, you were smart and funny..." she leaned towards me again, "and totally my type," she finished as our lips met again.
With my eyes closed and my mind swimming from her kisses, I didn't notice that her own eyes remained open, looking at me, until she spoke.
"I want to see all of you..." she breathed, and for a second I thought she wanted me to undress, until I noticed she was staring intently at my face. The face that was half obscured with an eye patch. She reached up, then, seeing I had no problem with it, cupped my face with one hand and used the other to pull off the patch covering my left eye. A bright, unnatural green greeted her. I was mildly surprised when all she did was smile when she saw it.
"It suits you," she said simply, fingers tracing my sensitive lips, drawing me in again...
Just as I was thinking of stopping her from going too far before someone inconveniently walked in, Misaki drew back herself.
"Sorry," she breathed, "can we continue this some other time?" She lay back against her pillow, her eyes closing. "I'm just feeling a little weak..."
"...Ok, rest up," I murmured, feeling a twinge of disappointment as I sat up and adjusted my bra.
"Mm... I'm glad your heart was beating as fast as mine," Misaki whispered, eyes still closed, her lips curving up just slightly. Well, that explained the surprise chest grab, I guessed, my face coloring.
Strange, I thought, looking down at my sister's face. Misaki had acquired a curious tint in a color I couldn't quite recognize. I decided to leave to let her sleep off her sudden fatigue, and ask the doctor to check in on her on my way out. I put my eye patch back on, kissed her cheek, and whispered a quick goodbye, getting a murmur in return. I was relieved to see her color had already gone back to normal. Maybe I had merely imagined it. I left the hospital then, with plans to return the next morning.
During the short walk back to my house I had some time to think. Despite her current illness, I was happy. Things seemed to finally be looking up for me, and even if my classmates were pretending I didn't exist, I didn't care as long as I had Misaki by my side. As as bonus, since the hospital was close to where I lived, so I could visit every day after school until she got better.
I had honestly never imagined meeting my twin sister would have resulted in all of this, I thought, laughing softly to myself in the empty street. It still amazed me how it didn't bother me at all, or either of us, it seemed, that we were blood related or that we were both women. Well, whatever. I stepped through the doorway, into my house and closed the door behind me, looking forward to what tomorrow would bring.