(College, First Year – September, Middle of Second Trimester)
"I'm home," Natsuki announced quietly, stepping into the entryway and closing the door behind her. When only silence greeted her, she sighed. 'Not here yet. Ok. Gives me a little time to clean up.'
She kicked off her shoes and made her way to the living room area, dropping her messenger bag on the small couch. Quickly gathering up various empty soda cans and snack packages from the table, she disposed of them in the kitchen garbage can. That's when she noticed a few forgotten pots and plates around the table and stove. Once the dishes were left drying on the rack, she returned to the living room to tidy up her game systems and DVD's.
Stepping back to view the results of her labor, she nodded once. 'Good enough in here, I guess.'
The bedroom wasn't too messy. Some clothes were lying haphazardly on the floor; she quickly tossed those into the laundry hamper. Then she changed the sheets and made the bed, carefully straightening the blankets before retrieving a clean set of Shizuru's lavender-colored sleep-over clothes from the dresser.
Despite herself, Natsuki grinned softly. 'Who'd have thought she'd agree to wear a t-shirt and shorts to sleep. Then again, I did have to agree to wear a yukata when staying over her place.'
A quick glance at the clock reminded her of the time. 'She'll be here soon. Gotta get ready. Time for a shower…?' She thought about it for a moment, considered the potential consequences, blushed ever-so-slightly, but ultimately discarded the idea. 'Never mind. We'd be late, and I don't want to deal with that. Again. I'll just practice the guitar a bit…'
She made her way back to the living room, to the corner that had been officially delegated as the "music area" - her guitar hung from the wall here, next to the music stand and the small bookshelf with various music books. 'I swear, that woman needs to have things so orderly,' she thought, shaking her head affectionately. While Natsuki might occasionally complain about it, she didn't really mind. 'Much.'
As she grabbed the guitar, she noticed that the sheet music on the music stand was new. 'Ah, I wonder what it is this time…'
Over the past year or so, it had become something of a game between them. Whenever Shizuru found a song she particularly liked, she would find sheet music for a guitar version and leave it somewhere in the apartment for Natsuki to find. Usually it was something sweet and melodic. Sometimes it was something embarrassingly romantic.
And Natsuki, being neither completely dense nor particularly immune to the cuteness of the situation (although she'd die before admitting it), would spend the next few weeks learning the song, practicing until she felt ready to play it for her one-woman audience.
With a soft smile, she scanned the music, wondering what song she'd be learning next.
An eyebrow twitched involuntarily when she recognized the tune.
"You have GOT to be kidding me…" she muttered aloud to the empty room.
(Same Day, Fuuka University)
Friday. Date night. Shizuru grinned, even as she gathered her belongings. Or, as she had once teasingly called it, "spend affectionate quality time together with Natsuki in a completely non-datelike manner night." Rather predictably, the tease had earned not only a blush, but also a half-hearted glare tinged with resigned amusement.
Still, for all that it had taken almost a year before Natsuki could call it anything other than "hanging out," their Friday night tradition had been the younger woman's idea. About a month into Shizuru's first year at Fuuka University, both of them had been extremely busy trying to adjust to the changes in their lives. The new school year brought new classrooms, new apartments to move in to (Natsuki's old one having been completely demolished by the rampage of a certain claw-wielding HiME), and new neighbors to meet. Not to mention a whole new relationship they were both tentatively exploring the limits of - a relationship what was being sorely tested by their lack of time together.
And so Natsuki, blushing profusely, had boldly proposed that they both set aside Friday nights to spend together. They took turns deciding what to do that night for their "not-a-date" activity, whether it be watching DVD's at home, going to try some new fancy restaurant in town, or joining Mai and the others for the semi-monthly "HiME sentai" karaoke gatherings. And when the cruel reality of exams and term papers reared its ugly head, they at least tried to have a meal together, then shared space at the table while each studied their separate subjects.
'Of course, the late study nights led to the occasional unintentional sleep-over nights, which led in turn to the occasional intentional sleep-over nights...' she could feel the grin on her face took take on definite smirk-like qualities, and dutifully restrained herself.
Of late, their Friday nights had consisted mostly of quiet evenings at Natsuki's apartment - a simple meal, followed by watching movies, or television, or sometimes just cuddling while Natsuki played on her game system. When Natsuki had asked why, Shizuru had smiled brightly and replied:
"Because Natsuki does not cuddle in public."
The resulting blush and accompanying stuttering protest had been utterly adorable, of course. 'Then again, Shizuru, you find ALL of Natsuki's blushes adorable,' she chided herself, then gave a mental sigh. 'Regrettably, these idle meanderings, while pleasant, are NOT helping you to navigate through this crowd any faster. And Natsuki's blushes in real life are so much more fun than memories of blushes past, yes?'
Fixing the image of her blushing biker firmly in her mind, Shizuru reigned in her thoughts to focus on the task at hand.
Arriving at Natsuki's apartment complex, Shizuru quickly pulled into the designated parking and made her way upstairs. She paused for a moment upon reaching the door, juggling with both her overnight bag and purse to reach her key. As always, a bright flash of wonder came over her as she held that one key in her hand.
'She gave me this key. My very own key. To her apartment.' Even though it had been almost a year since she'd received the key, it still brought a giddy smile to her face every time she thought about it.
She was still standing there, bemused, when the door abruptly opened.
"Hey," Natsuki greeted her casually, leaning against the door frame and smirking. "You coming in? Or were you gonna just stand there all night?"
'Ah, someone is feeling playful tonight, I see.'
"Oh, do I have that as an option?" Shizuru inquired, eyes wide in feigned innocence. "Is that what Natsuki has decided upon as tonight's entertainment?" Her voice dropped into a teasing purr. "Or is Natsuki intending for us to BE the entertainment, for all her neighbors, this evening? Not that I would mind, of course... would Natsuki like to start now?"
'Ah yes, and there is that adorable blush I was thinking of earlier.'
"No, no, and DEFINITELY no," Natsuki grumbled back, then sighed in slightly-amused resignation at the other's quiet laughter. After a moment, she reached over and relieved Shizuru of her overnight bag. "Hurry up and get in here, idiot. We're going to be late."
Still chuckling quietly, Shizuru followed, closing the door behind her.
"Did you need to change?" Natsuki asked, already on her way to drop the bag off in the bedroom.
"I believe this is casual enough, no?"
"It's up to you, Shizuru," came the answer from the other room. "I'm not the one with the reputation for cultured perfection. But if you want me to drive, you might want to grab your jacket."
She considered a moment, weighing the pros and cons. 'If I drive, traffic and parking may be an issue, but we will be able to chat along the way. If Natsuki drives, there would not be as much chatting, but we would get there faster, and parking would be easier to find. Not to mention the bonus of being able to cling to her rather tightly during the drive...'
"Hey, Shizuru!" The growled admonishment brought her out of her slight daze.
Blinking, she found herself face-to-face with Natsuki, those amused green eyes staring directly into her own. 'Ah, she's so close...'
"No time for your pervy fantasizing now," Natsuki scolded with feigned sternness, struggling to keep the grin off her face. "We'll never hear the end of it, if we're late. Again."
"Ah, then will there be time for my 'pervy fantasizing' later? Or maybe something... better?" she asked suggestively, arms snaking around to pull the blushing object of her affections closer still..
'Blushing, but not struggling to get away,' she noted to herself, there very thought making her feel giddy.
"Depends," came the laconic answer, those startling green eyes alight with laughter, even though the face framing them was tinged slightly pink.
Shizuru raised an eyebrow. "Oh ho? And upon what, dear Natsuki, does it depend?" she asked with a sly grin, as she felt familiar hands settle comfortably on her hips.
"Oh, I don't know. Maybe on how much trouble..."
The sound of two different ringtones, chiming almost simultaneously, signalled an end to their playful banter. 'For now, at least.'
"Dammit, already?" Natsuki growled irritably, not even bothering to check her phone as she quickly reached into her pocket to silence it. She spared a moment to glare at her now-giggling, still-clinging companion. "YOU are a magnet for trouble. And not the good kind!"
"Hmmm... but I thought Natsuki liked a little bit of trouble?" Shizuru countered playfully, drawing the other woman's hands back to her hips.
A new beeping noise from Natsuki's phone brought a real scowl to the biker's face. "I wouldn't call this phone harassment 'a little trouble!' Geez, we aren't even late yet!"
Gently but firmly, Shizuru found those those strong hands push her gently away. Her artfully-crafted pout at this disagreeable situation was promptly ignored as the other quickly turned away - after all these years, Natsuki knew better than to be caught by a full-fledged Fujino pout.
"Quit pouting, woman! And grab your jacket - I'm driving. But no groping! I'm not gonna be some roadside peepshow for some horny prepubescent boy."
"Ara, what dirty thoughts Natsuki has of late," Shizuru lamented as she moved towards Natsuki's closet, where she knew her spare jacket was. "Where oh where could she have picked up such things?"
"Gee. I wonder," Natsuki replied dryly, grabbing the two motorcycle helmets and waiting by the door.
As Shizuru made her way back towards the door, she noticed a familiar music book sitting on the kotatsu table. Glancing at it briefly, a bright yellow sticky note with Natsuki's bold writing scrawled across it caught her eyes.
CHOOSE SOMETHING ELSE.
The message brought an immediate pout to her face, even as she followed the quickly retreating back of her girlfriend. "NATSUKI!