no service

by usermechanics

Without a bus to take her to her dorm, Maki finds a place to stay the night. Too bad the closest place she could find was Nico's apartment. (Contains Content not suitable for children nor Critics United)

Why did I take a night class?

Maki mumbled as she tugged her scarf taut against her lips and grabbed the door, dreading the cold that was to envelop her.

As she tugged it open, in came the winds of the coldest winter she ever knew, scraping itself against whatever it could find and leaving little stains of snow in its wake. Through her hat Maki could hear the wind stirring, throwing more snow even though the sidewalk before her was already painted winter white. The blizzard made it hard to see meters in front of her, her vision pocked with fluttering snowflakes.

It was a journey that was painful even during the spring, summer, and fall months, the walk from the medical school to the nearest bus stop that would whisk Maki back to her dorm, where she could finally relax and get some well-deserved rest. Now that it was winter, the stakes were higher: the dorm was no longer a place of solitude but a place of comfort, where throwing a blanket over oneself wasn't in poor taste, nor was wearing comfortable clothes or even pajamas. And the last place that Maki wanted to be this late at night was walking down the streets of Tokyo to a bus stop in much-below-freezing weather, with only her sense of direction guiding her.

Maki braced herself; she couldn't spend any more time deliberating on her matter; if she wasn't taking her first step, the janitor behind her would make her take that step for her. She stepped out and let go of the door.

The winter winds embraced her, taking her hostage through her voyage and marking her coat with snow. Each step was filled with the sound of crushing snow beneath her boot, a calming rhythm which helped guide her through her journey. She had walked this walk many a time before throughout her previous terms, lampposts illuminating like tungsten stars for a wintery vagabond. It was muscle memory for her: she had learned the traffic cycles for the intersections that separated her from her destination, and no amount of snow would be able to deter her.

But that didn't mean that winter didn't try.

The winds that followed tried to pierce through her jacket like how they pierced her leggings earlier; in spite of ultimately failing, it left Maki clutching her chest. Rubbing her glove-clad fingers against her palms, she struggled to find more warmth. The wind was blowing directly into her face, leaving her cheeks and forehead as red as, if not redder than, her hair. She needed to look elsewhere; her face couldn't deal with the stinging cold.

She looked back at herself in the reflection from a window at a coffee shop, lights dark and chairs atop the tables. The old coffee shop that she used to go to after her classes was usually still open and going strong. Her class ended at 10PM, and she had spent several nights stammering out, jolting around from a cup of coffee too many, at three in the morning. She raised an eyebrow in concern and walked over to the door, where she was greeted to the following statement on the inside of the window.

Closed due to weather.

Maki grumbled. Why was it that the coffee shops are closing due to this but not the schools? After a bit of huffing, Maki kept walking, peering back to her reflection whenever the wind grew too hasty.

As she walked, she kept passing buildings; while most of them were closed, the cacophony of different conversations filled her ears. The ones that weren't closed had horrific lines that spread outside, filled with angry customers-to-be waiting to be seated. As she passed the door, Maki could smell rice, the one scent that she'd be able to smell during the entirety of her frozen odyssey. It came as quickly as it went, and she kept walking, away from the cacophony.

As much as she wanted to be inside, there was no point in standing in that line, especially because her destination was only a few meters away, on the other side of the road.

Besides, what was the point in eating out alone?

Maki looked back, at that line of customers waiting to be seated. Some people were walking out of it, but she noticed how they were walking in groups. Twos, threes, fours; from friends spending time together despite the odds and weather to love birds trying to spend time during their anniversaries even though their schedules conflicted. It was all a world that was alien to her, that social aspect of it.

Maki checked the streetlights. She was still stopped. She pulled out her phone.

The last people she really added to her phone were friends from years ago, a stunt which forced her out of her shell for the one moment that they existed together. She couldn't help but remember the day she was invited to that club for Idol Research . Whether or not they actually researched anything, that didn't matter: what mattered to her were the names on her phone, the ones that she talked with more than the people that she saw every day in her classes.

Ayase, Koizumi, Kousaka, Sonoda, Toujou, Hoshizora, Minami .

Those were the ones she remembered well, the ones she wanted to remember well. They were the ones who, for a brief moment, saw what could have been if she wasn't forced into pre-med, where she didn't have to face her parents about what she wanted to go into, or what school to go to (even though she was still in Tokyo, she mainly got the dorm to avoid her parents as much as she could).

The streetlight changed. She could go.

Slipping her phone back in her jacket, she walked across the slush-covered road and to her bus stop, where she saw a paper fluttering in the wind. Walking over to it, she squinted.

The bus service to this stop has stopped early today due to the weather. We are sorry for the inconvenience.

"What is this?"

She read it again and again, as if with each re-read the words would change to say something else or she'd find another line of text saying it was effective another day. There was nothing, and there would be nothing no matter how many re-reads Maki gave that paper. She wanted to pull it off the post it was taped to and throw it to the ground, but she knew that wouldn't do anything to change the schedule, and she was stuck, in the middle of a place she knew well, but without a way that she could get home.

After another angry mumble, Maki pulled out her phone, hoping that she could call Mama or Papa. As the screen lit up, she squinted, reading the words which were visible at the top left corner. As long as her service provider was working, she'd be fine; and considering that she was near the middle of Tokyo, of all cities, she knew she could bet that her service provider was contactable...

"Eh?"

No service.

She had no data, no connection, and no way to get to her dorm. Her phone was as useful as a brick. With her free hand, she brought a finger to some hair peeking past her hat, nervously twirling it around. There wasn't a hotel she knew about nearby, nor a motel nor any place she could stay for even a night nearby: this section of Tokyo was a maze of apartments and the occasional restaurant, being so near to the medical school. Did she even know anyone who lived around here?

Did she even know anyone who lived in an apartment?

A press of the home button led her back to her contacts, a list of the few friends that she had made throughout her college years. Even if she wanted to see if she could spend the night with any of them, there was no way that she could navigate through everything. She didn't know the whereabouts of Rin or Hanayo. There was no way she'd be able to find Honoka or Kotori or Umi. Hell, she had no idea if Eli and Nozomi were still in the city or even the country.

With a nervous fidget of her finger, she had one more consideration from that group. Someone she wanted to forget, but someone she wouldn't dream of forgetting. One new name at the bottom of the contact list, and one which made her eyes widen the moment she saw it.

Yazawa

Why the hell did she still have that name in her contacts? It wasn't even like she liked her or anything like that. The only time that she even talked with her anymore was when Rin would come to the medical school and drag her along some roads, and she only came with because she knew that Rin's grip was harder to break free from than handcuffs…

...wait.

Maki rewinded her thoughts until the painful realization that Nico lived near the medical school. She bit her tongue at the realization, the pain of that much less than the rearrangement of her guts. The last thing that she wanted to deal with was bickering, or that diabetes-inducing Nico-Nico-Nii crap. She had a face so soft and delicate, and she was adorable, yea, but her girlish cuteness was just as easily counteracted by how girlish she was as a person, stubborn and annoying and just an overall pain to deal with those three years ago when they met. But between whether she wanted to deal with freezing temperatures and no place to sleep all night, or if she wanted to deal with someone as painfully annoying as Nico with a roof over her head and heat, the answer was obvious to her, as much as she'd hate to admit it.

At the very least, she didn't have to tell a roommate she wouldn't be coming home.

---

"Delicious!"

Nico, even years after moving out from her family, was not exactly used to cooking for herself. Even if she wasn't able to gain any sort of weight and retained her small stature, it didn't stop her from cooking oversized portions. And even with her collegiate appetite, she was never able to finish a full meal; her omurice stared her back, with ketchup scrawled in the shape of the number 5 completely untouched.

"This'll be breakfast tomorrow," she mumbled to herself as she took her plate to the sink, ready to wash off a few tiny ketchup smears and rice grains that stuck to the dish. Grabbing a dish cloth and a bottle of soap from off the sink, she washed and dried it before sticking it into a near-full dish tray to dry.

Pretending to be exhausted from her work, Nico put a hand on her hip and looked out to her dining area: her table right next to a tiny personal refrigerator. It was a tiny nook, but it contained everything she needed to be able to cook for herself: a stove and oven. She didn't need anything else; microwaves didn't make the same kind of food that she could, and she had the time to cook.

Even if she hated having the time to pack her leftovers away, that was also a thing that she needed to do. She was used to keeping her food out for the rest of the family to enjoy-maybe if there was just enough, she would keep it out in the case that anyone wanted to snack on it or her mother came home early, but either way leftovers, like portion sizes for one, were alien to Nico's cooking. Pulling out a tupperware for the first time that semester, Nico prepared to pack up her food, knowing full well that she wasn't going to have anyone come over and take it from her.

Knock! Knock!

Nico's eyes widened at the knock. She swore that she cleaned her room enough for any resident assistant to be fine with it, and she swore that there weren't any conducting study groups. Hell, it was too late for choir practice or even lesson assistance. These were hours for herself, hours to bask in her own glory, for her to be the Nico-Nii that she wanted to be, and now those moments were being interrupted?

She huffed and walked over to her door before checking in the peephole, where an annoyed, but familiar, redhead was trying to break down the door with her fist.

"What do you want?"

"Nico-chan, please! I know I don't ask a lot from you, but I need you to open the door."

If that voice wasn't as familiar as it sounded, she wouldn't have dared open it. But the voice was too familiar for her not to, and the face was too easy to match with it-with her slanted purple eyes and short, fire-red locks-and she opened it, taking in the one time she would ever expect to see Maki begging for someone.

"What do you want, Maki-chan?"

And Maki explained herself, about the lack of phone service and the bus schedule and the extreme cold, but what Nico was more focusing on was how Maki had changed over the years. Usually, she was forced to deal with a much taller Rin screwing about in her quarters so she never had a moment to just appreciate how Maki, too, grew taller, bustier, curvier; the maturity that radiated from her was more similar to Eli back in high school as opposed to that redheaded brat she knew Maki to be.

"I don't know what you think of me right now, and I don't care! I just need a place to stay the night!"

And after a few seconds, Nico closed the door.

Maki stayed silent for a few seconds, processing what she might have done wrong, but before she could start screaming through the door, telling Nico about how big of a bitch she was being, she opened the door again with a sly smile.

"Gotcha. I don't see why you can't stay the night."

Maki let out a low growl as she walked into the room, shooting daggers into the back of Nico's head. Some host she was being.

"Don't do that, Nico-chan!"

"I don't know why you thought I would actually let you freeze out there, Maki-chan! Lighten up a bit."

"Hmph."

Maki kicked off her shoes and pulled her coat off, which immediately Nico took from her hands along with her bag. As Nico headed off to her room, with coat and bag in hand, she yelled over to Maki.

"Make yourself at home, and there's omurice on the table if you want it."

As Maki sat down at the table, with the omurice in front of her, she couldn't help but feel claustrophobic. Even though she had a single dormitory, somehow Nico's apartment felt even smaller than that. It might have been the amount of decoratives like flowers in vases or the sheer amount of kitchenware that Maki didn't have in her place that made it feel smaller, or it could have been that Nico was just used to living in a smaller place because of her size and class. What was more important to her, however, was how warm it was: it was almost overbearingly hot, especially combined with how she stepped out of the freezing cold of outside. She headed over to the thermostat, right next to the door she stepped into, to see exactly how hot Nico liked her room.

25 degrees. How Nico.

As derogatory as she tried to make that thought in her head, Maki couldn't help but chuckle at how she had her temperature like that. It was the perfect Nico temperature, and it was a pretty cute thing to see her dedication to that number. Returning to her table, she noticed the shape of the ketchup on the omurice, and she chuckled again. Nico was as Nico as they came.

And there Nico was, walking out of her room and shutting it behind her.

"Your place is pretty small, Nico."

"I prefer cozy , Maki."

"It suits you."

After a moment of fuming, Nico looked at the omurice in front of Maki, the exact same amount that she had before she washed her own plate. "Do you not like it, Maki?"

"Ueh?"

"The omurice, I mean."

Maki hadn't realized that she didn't touch the food in front of her, and her eyes widened. She wasn't a stranger to Nico's food, and there was no way that she didn't poison it: she already ate half of it, and she knew that Nico wasn't the worst in the world when it came to cooking.

"Oh, yeah. That." Maki mumbled. "Itadakimasu."

After a quick clap of her hands, Maki grabbed a fork and took a bite into the omurice. Months of dormitory food left her palate as low-class as it could be, with flavor being an afterthought over more important things such as presentation. Hell, even her own bentos, which were more or less cooking experiments gone awry, couldn't hold a candle compared to the explosion of flavor from one bite of omurice. There was no way that someone like Nico could cook this well.

"So, Nico, what are you going into?"

"I'm going into vocal performance. Why do you ask?"

Maki couldn't just ask her why she wasn't going into culinary school with this kind of cooking skill, where personal butlers and chefs would have trouble making food coming close to this, so she went to a more default answer, one which involved her finger twirling some hair.

"I'm just wondering. That's all."

"Do you want to get out of med school or something?"

Maki stood up in anger, her hands grabbing roughly onto the table. She was less insulted at how Nico thought she didn't want to be in med school, but more frustrated at how Nico was able to read her that easily; how she was able to easily pry into an argument that had crafted a rift into her family until she gave into her parents' desires. As much as being rich was fun, it was impossible not to be jealous of Nico, whose parents let her go into music school, who let her attain her own dreams, and not to be an extension of the family just because she was a firstborn.

"No! That's not it at all!"

"Calm down, Maki. I wasn't meaning any trouble."

Maki realized how she was acting in front of her guest and she sat down, nervously blushing and twirling her hair. She didn't want to look at the omurice nor did she want to look at Nico. Even if she was sitting down in front of her and trying to get in her face, she wouldn't have any bit of it.

"Med school's stressful, isn't it?"

Maki would have expected that question to have at least a slightly-teasing tone to it, but the lack of that, the slight amount of care that Nico put into her question, made her feel more welcome to answer, more at home, more cozy . She slowly straightened up and grabbed her fork, answering between forkfuls of omurice.

"It really is. Is music school?"

Nico splayed her arms on the table with a sigh, fingers almost touching Maki's plate.

"You don't even want to know, Maki. I'm usually at the school singing into the night, but I decided against it because I wanted a bit of peace of mind. You never get that there."

Maki pulled her plate away from Nico's arms and scooped some more omurice in her mouth. As much as she wanted to argue against it, how medical school was more stressful, it seemed unnecessarily inflammatory. Nico was once again opening up to her, for some reason.

"I wouldn't have expected music school to be stressful."

"Maybe if you weren't the princess-"

"Don't call me that!"

"-the heir of a fancy hospital which would leave me broke to spend one night in, it would be a different story."

Maki let go of her plate, with one of her hands balling up into a fist; if Nico wasn't going to stop moving her pretty little mouth, then maybe she could shut it for-

"Maybe you could see the stresses firsthand."

-her?

"Five-seven to one this, supertonic that, dominant preparation this, chromatic harmony that..."

Nico kept going, with Maki able to understand about half of what she was talking about; she talked about her theory classes, her history classes, classes that nobody else in the school would have been expected to take, but were general classes that literally everyone in the music department had to deal with. Even with her piano background, and her composition for Muse, terms like retrograde sequences were nothing more than jargon.

"I see…"

"And I'm not smart, Maki! It's hard for me to learn things, but in order to keep up in school, to be able to pay for it, I'm on scholarships! Every day is a struggle for me to keep them, and then there are other people who not only pass their classes without studying, but can also hold up social lives! Some of my friends even have boyfriends."

Maki choked down her most recent bite, timed right when Nico said that. Once more did visions of Mama and Papa trying to dictate her life fill her mind. Instead of dictating her major, however, Maki remembered the plethora of conversations about trying to find a good husband, and finding a nice boyfriend in the medical school during her time away from home so that the hospital could keep thriving. It wasn't enough that she couldn't go into the careers that she wanted; they also had to make sure that she didn't even necessarily like the man-hell, the boy-whom she was going to marry.

Nico sighed. "I guess you have one too, Maki."

"Eh?"

Maki flushed. What bothered her more than Nico being wrong about that was the disappointment in her voice, almost as if she wanted to hear the truth that she didn't have one. Of course, that didn't mean that she was available , even to someone like Nico.

"A boyfriend, Maki. Do you have one?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Thank goodness that question shut Nico up. Instead of coming up with a comeback, it looked like she struggled to come up with words; a pink flush had started to fill Nico's cheeks, and she slowly slid her arms back to her sides, sitting up in the process.

"B-b-Because I'm curious, Maki-chan."

There wasn't that indignance that defined Nico's tone whenever she argued with her, the same sound that filled her ears a bit too much during those practice sessions years ago. It was the same Nico that she knew from that long ago: same black hair and red eyes, same high twin-tails and light skin, same flat chest, same youthfulness. And with her sitting there, bringing her fingers to her lips for something to cover them, it was almost weird seeing someone who was so used to being almost a brat acting like this, opening up, warming up.

Was that why she asked that question?

The tear-stained pout Nico had on her face was enough to make a rich man poor, one that would make even the most hardened of men cry and one which she hoped would have an effect on Maki. Even when she tried looking away from her, she felt it piercing through her; just knowing it was nearby was enough to get Maki moving. Of course, it started with a finger twirling at her hair, followed by her gaze darting towards every direction except forward, and the once-ignorant expression was growing more and more concerned. It took everything for Nico not to break that facade, knowing that the longer she kept it up, the shorter time it would take for Maki to crack.

She just couldn't say no to a face like that no matter how stupid its owner was.

"No, I don't, Nico."

And suddenly, Nico was cheery again.

" Idiot… " Maki huffed under her breath, moving her fork to her plate. Instead of the sound of a fork slicing through the omurice, the sound of metal against plastic. Looking down, she saw that she, in her conversation with Nico, ate all of the food that was in front of her. Her eyes widened, and she looked back at Nico, who was leaning atop the table, with a wide smirk.

"How was the omurice?"

"Eh?"

"Did you like it?"

Maki flushed, darting her gaze from empty plate to Nico repeatedly.

"Yeah, sure. I was hungry."

The air was growing uncomfortably heavy with small talk, something which would have suffocated Maki for any bit further if she needed to continue it. She hated how they were talking about nothing when there was all of what happened back in high school looming over them, like a cloud of smog. All of that happened and now they were expected to talk about all these other things, the unimportant minutiae of life, without giving it any bit of afterthought?

And Nico knew . Nico was playing those notes and tugging at Maki like a damn fiddle. She was blowing at the few sparks that were there, trying to ignite that flame that was underneath her. Certainly, she thought, Nico had to be over it, but she was the one who asked all that time ago.

She needed out. She needed a moment to do anything but suffocate underneath the smog that Nico was blowing her way, the weight of what could have been forcing her into that chair. Yet, as much as she wanted to leave, there was no way that she was going to leave the warmth and coziness of Nico's apartment for the cold, desolate, lonely outdoors for the night. Privacy was at the very least what she wanted.

Maki eyed the bathroom door.

"Um, Nico, would it be alright if I-"

"Took a bath? Of course!"

Maki stood up, and Nico followed in her actions, something which Maki immediately shut down with a:

"Can I go alone? I need to think about a few things."

"Med school things? Sure, go ahead."

If Nico wanted to believe that she wanted to reflect on med school things , then it was fine by Maki; the only thing that she cared about was that she finally would have a few moments where she wasn't in her hair. She headed to her bathroom and made sure to close the door behind her.

Nico's bathroom was, surprisingly enough, not as compact as her main living space. Maki thought that she would step into the room and bump her foot on a bathing stool, but that wasn't the case. White walls making the place feel more spacious, the bathroom was almost in the shape of a square, with a bathing stool in the center and the bathtub-something that someone of her height could use, even-could fit into. It was a smaller bathroom than what she was used to, even at her own place, but it was nothing compared to the baby-sized bathroom that she thought Nico would have.

Maki stripped herself before slipping her clothes into a cubby hole next to the door and walked to the tub. As she filled it up, she couldn't help but notice the few bottles that were standing next to her, tall and clear, with only a slight amount of pink collected at the bottom. Maki curiously picked one of them up, reading the label to herself.

Strawberry Bliss Body Wash

It was a far cry from the cinnamon scents she preferred to wash herself with, but she had no choice: either smell like strawberry or like herself. She put the bottle down and looked at the other ones: shampoo and conditioner, complete with tiny strawberries adorning the sides of the labels.

At the very least, she wouldn't be smelling like an orange.

Maki eyed the bath once more, with the water just about ready to start overflowing from the tub. Turning the water off, Maki stepped into her own personal onsen, letting the heat of the water rid her cares from her calves and, as she lowered herself into the waters, her entire body.

It was a tough break if Nico wanted a colder bath than her; the warmth of the water was enough to start melting her stresses away, and after a few minutes of laying there, with only her head out of the water, she felt the knots of medical school starting to undo themselves. It was almost like a sauna, where she could let all of the thoughts of everything that bothered her fade from her mind, and she, for once, started to feel as if she could be at ease.

Then, in the corner of her eye, those bottles stood, the bottles which Nico would clean herself with.

The bottles of what Nico smelled like .

Maki grabbed the bottle of Strawberry Bliss, taking note of how little there was.

She must use this every day. I wonder…

There was nobody watching her, there was nothing to be ashamed of: if Nico was going to subtly nudge her mind towards the memories of what happened after graduation, then she was going to do so as well.

She opened the bottle and took a deep breath, taking in the scent of Strawberry Bliss…

Strawberry Bliss was how Nico smelled the day after her graduation.

With a few more breaths on that bottle, Maki was able to make out that day as if it were yesterday. She huffed it, wanting to take those images and replay them, to hear those words that felt so wrong coming from her…

---

"Maki-chan, will you, um…"

Nico sounded almost like Hanayo in how she worded her question, struggling to get to her main point. She remembered how Nico tried to make herself look smaller, feel smaller than she was; her eyes were wide and with feigned idol innocence, those light cheeks of her were flushed disastrously red, leaving her sticking out in the cherry blossom-laden air. And for once, instead of the almost-arrogant poses she adored to strike, she had her feet together when talking with her. It was too different for her to take her as joking, even when compared to that Nico-Nii attitude she adored showing off. This wasn't her trying to emulate anything similar to that; she was biting her tongue on something, even if they were the only people there.

And, honestly, why would anyone want to be behind their school the day after graduation, after classes, after there was any reason to be there, other than to leave some baggage behind?

"Do you…" Her voice was nearly creaking, her speech as cloudy as the sky.

Another pause. Nico looked away but stepped forward, leaving barely any space between them. If there was a doubt of Nico's genuinity, then Maki would have pushed her away, but this was different, something that she wanted to keep secret.

Something neither of them wanted to spill.

"What do you want, Nico?"

Her actions were childlike, less like a high-school confession and more something akin to a joke crush more appropriate to an elementary schooler. As adorable as the sight of a Nico trying to choke out words which didn't feel appropriate to say was, as precious as the moments that she spent with her, moments she believed were final, it was growing almost disgustingly sweet, like the taste of a spoon of sugar too many in a cup of tea. Even if she were wearing just a tee shirt and skirt, clothes much more appropriate for the summer, Nico's closeness made her feel like the sun moved closer, leaving her cheeks to turn a color close to her hair.

"Do you want to, maybe, go out?"

Maki stepped back, her vision growing blurry as Nico's words pierced her like a series of gunshots. Go out , like go out go out? Certainly, it was difficult finding someone to go out with in a school like Otonoki, where everyone was a girl, and even if there were the rumors spreading around like Eli and Nozomi, or Rin and Hanayo, they had to be just rumors, and not the actual truth. There certainly weren't any people going out with other students at this school, and even if there were, what would her parents think about not having a boyfriend, not a potential husband, not having an heir to lead the family hospital?

"What do you mean, go out?"

"Like Kotori and Hanayo."

Maki was speechless, wondering if she wanted to ask if Nico wanted to be her girlfriend , or what the heck happened with Kotori and Hanayo. She was certain that Hanayo wanted to be with Rin…

...but whom Hanayo was with didn't matter when Nico was clinging to her from the front, their faces mere centimeters from one another. There it was, that Strawberry Bliss, that scent that screamed Nico as much as she wanted to. She didn't know what she wanted; it was so sudden, so new, with someone clinging onto her like this, so alien compared to the solitary life that she once thought she'd live throughout high school.

"Maki-chan, are you okay? You're looking a bit pale."

Nico's voice sounded slightly fuzzy, but with a few moments to think about herself, to start breathing again, to calm down from what she was being given, things started to make sense to her again. Even then, she felt frozen and confused. As adorable as Nico was, she didn't think that she'd be asking her this kind of thing. She thought there was no chemistry, that it was impossible to be together with someone as insane as her, that she would want to end up with someone who gave her a moment of relief every once in awhile.

But, as she learned in science that year, chemistry doesn't relate to magnetism as much as she thought it did.

And, for that moment, like magnets they were, with Nico trying, if even for a moment, to have her body against Maki's. It wasn't in a way to compare themselves; Nico wanted to, for the moment, take in Maki's warmth as her own, take in her scent and enjoy the moment. It didn't matter to her whether or not Maki pushed her off or not. All the cards were on the table and Nico had nothing more to lose; the privacy of behind the school doubled as a way to preserve her dignity.

"I'm fine, Nico, but I don't think it could work out, not even for a day."

She felt Nico's face push into her shirt, mumbling something that she couldn't understand. She needed to explain herself. It was more than just saying that she was annoying; it was more than that, and it was more annoying trying to hide just how much Nico's antics warmed her heart (nobody knew the wrath of a joyous Rin trying to squeeze out information like that, not to mention the relentless amount of teasing from Nico's classmates). She wanted them to be compatible, but…

"I'm not sure my parents would allow it."

"You're just saying that."

"Nico-chan," Maki wanted to pull Nico off of her so that she could look into her eyes and tell her just how wrong she was, but with a few yanks, it was clear that Nico was truly magnetic. "I don't usually open up to people, and I'm opening up to you for this. If things were different, then I would have said yes in a heartbeat. It hurts me to reject you."

If only the Maki from then would have realized what was to come from her family, the countless arguments about where she wanted to go, the desire to break free from the near-puritan rules of being a Nishikino, the hospital deal. If only she knew the hell that was sneaking in a few music ensembles so she could keep playing piano, to practice it in spite of the empty seats that would have went to her parents every concert she went to, and the sadness that was denying the spot in the piano studio that the professor requested she take, even if she were just a minor student.

If only Maki knew that the next time she'd see Nico, she'd end up in her bath, silently regretting that moment where she rejected her, and if only she knew a way to let it all out, that aching feeling that she wronged herself as much as she wronged Nico that day.

It wronged her the moment she heard Nico whimpering. And the whimpers evolved into cries, cries which she swore that even now she could hear. "Maki-chan! Maki-chan! I wish we could be together! Maki-chan! Maki-chan…"

---

"Maki-chan! Are you done yet?"

...Maki opened her eyes, introducing herself to the alien bathroom. A few more knocks on the door, and then a voice:

"Maki! You've been in there for a long time! Are you done washing yet?"

Maki's eyes widened as she pulled her other hand from out of the bath, pruned from the time she wasted just imagining what could have been. She spent more time with Strawberry Bliss to her nose than with it on her body, and hastily, she squeezed some out of the bottle and started rubbing it into herself, not caring if it would end up making her smell like Nico.

"Give me a few more minutes, Nico!"

Whatever bickering Nico gave after, whether she called her a princess or a diva or a beauty , didn't matter to her. What mattered was getting out of the bath, lathering her hair with that matching strawberry shampoo and conditioner, scrubbing out all the dirtiness and sweat off her body, and rinsing herself off before giving herself one more minute in that bath, just to make sure that she was clean.

And then, a moment of realization: Nico was going to bathe in the same water.

Maki immediately shook the thought before it could even become pervasive or perverted, and she stepped out of the bath. She made sure to dry herself before she put her clothes back on, and like nothing happened before, she stepped out of the bath, completely cleansed.

And there stood Nico, with furrowed eyebrows and a tiny, adorable pout, dressed in an oversized white t-shirt which covered and hid every contour of her body, like pajamas.

"You sure take a long time in there, Maki."

"Eh?"

"I don't know anyone else who takes such long baths…"

"I don't want to stink up whatever I'm sleeping on, that's all!"

Before Maki could ask what that was going to be, Nico stepped into the bathroom, pushed Maki out, and closed the door behind her. It would take a few minutes for her to clean up if she egged her on for being in there for how long? Maki looked at a clock: she was in there for ten minutes.

Yet, what mattered more for her was what she was going to sleep in, and on what she was going to sleep. Maki looked around the room, seeing that there was nothing that was comfortable for resting on: with plush seats but wooden backs, the chairs were the closest thing to comfort that Nico had in her apartment. The rest of the apartment was covered in kitchen accessories or worse, tiny tables used as shrines for her favorite idols (not to mention an absurd collective of Nico-Nii figurines, both official and bootleg). Nico had a bed; what else would she need for sleeping?

And with Nico's outfit, Maki was concerned about her own: a skirt and shirt wasn't something that she could sleep in, and with how little time she had to prepare for this impromptu sleepover she didn't have any sleepwear on her. And she knew that Nico would probably mind the one thing that she could constitute as sleepwear on her. She knew how Nico felt about her body, and she didn't want Nico feeling unwelcome or intimidated in her own house.

Actually, no; she wasn't sleeping in her skirt. Nico would just have to deal with that. There was no way that she'd fit into any of Nico's clothes, so it was either wearing just the shirt or only her underwear.

The bathroom door opened before Maki could finish her internal monologuing, revealing Nico in her own sleeping wear: a pastel green tee shirt that would have been a much more appropriate fit on someone like Eli, which, on Nico, dangled off her shoulders smoothly down her torso and hung at her hips. It almost looked like a dress.

No wonder why she was pestering Maki ten minutes into bathing .

"I think it's about time we get to bed. What do you think, Maki?"

Maki froze; she was far too used to her flood of homework to consider falling asleep before midnight, but at the same time, she was exhausted from it.

"...uh…"

Nico tapped her foot. It looked like she was ready to yawn in Maki's face, or at least try to convince her to go to bed with her.

"I guess we can…"

Nico almost leapt for her bedroom door. Opening it, she revealed the final part of her apartment: a tiny room with the walls completely covered in posters of idol groups, professional or otherwise, with figurines to match. However, the multitude of figurines on the desks were ignored by Maki, who was much more interested in the electronic piano right next to the door, an easy piano piece on top of the keys.

Nico, however, looked at the bed. There was one, a twin-sized mattress pressed up into a corner suspended on a frame. It was perfect for someone of Nico's size, but she had a guest; having both her and Maki fit onto it comfortably seemed unlikely. The only way that Nico could see them fit would be to wrap herself in Maki's arms, completely embraced by her when she slept, with her ear to her chest, listening to her calming heartbeat, her soft breathing against her forehead…

"Hey, Nico, do you have a futon I can sleep on?"

Nico's imagining was interrupted by Maki's question, which was less pointed and more curious that she ever expected it to be. Nico flushed, trying to figure out a way that she could say that she didn't have one, and that there was no way that she was going to let one of them sleep on the the cold tile floor underneath their feet.

"...No, I don't. I'm sorry, Maki, your arrival was short notice, and I think the only thing we can do is sleep together for the night."

It was Maki's turn to flush. She knew she heard Nico correctly, but she didn't want to believe what she heard. The idea of being in the same bed as Nico was ridiculous, especially with how tiny it was; it was smaller than the bed she had to herself at her own apartment.

Yet again, there was something to be said about having Nico in her arms, taking in deep breaths of that Strawberry Bliss for, at the very least, one night. And who else would know about it other than themselves? It could be a night where the first words said in the morning would be along the lines of, "we will never talk about this again."

She heard the springs of Nico's bed squeaking; Nico was sitting on top of the bed, effectively ruining Maki's chances to make any form of remark. And she was patting on the bed with a coy smile, almost ready to start asking why she wasn't interested in sleeping in a bed for the night.

"Come to bed, Maki."

"Nico!"

Maki wanted to say something about how ridiculous she was looking, almost as if she was beckoning her to bed like a newlywed on the night of the honeymoon.

The ping-ponging of taunts that they performed in their high school days was now a ping-ponging of inadvertent teasing and advances; Maki realized this as she pulled off her skirt and shirt and placed them aside, atop the piano bench, leaving herself in her only appropriate sleeping clothes: her bra and panties. She knew Nico's face was in a pout, jealous that Maki had a bra that she could at the very least fill out. As a consolatory measure, she turned off the lights, leaving the moonlight to illuminate her path to Nico's bed, where she slipped under the covers.

"Maki! Why are you wearing that to bed?"

"I couldn't just go to my dorm and get my pajamas, Nico!"

The distance between them was now mere millimeters, and more damningly, their chests were at about the same level, where Nico could swear she could feel Maki's chest grazing against her own with every breath she took.

"You got a point."

They grew comfortable in the bed, with not much room for their arms; Maki at least had the luxury of dangling her arms off the bed if she wanted, but she was adamant on reaching towards Nico, the backs of her hands grazing her thighs. With literally no other place to go, Nico's hands ended up around Maki's neck.

With Nico so close to her, Maki didn't know of what to say. All she could think about was Nico, about her imagination running wild in the bathroom, and how cute she looked in the moonlight. She wanted to turn her gaze away, to try to think of a way out, but there was nothing she could do except stare. She was in her bed, the hostess' bed, with her clinging tighter to her than the blanket could ever. She didn't know what she could say, but she needed to break the silence.

She just needed to say something.

"Hey, Nico, thank you for letting me stay the night. I appreciate it."

"Maki-chan, you don't need to thank me," Nico whispered proudly, but that pride diminished as she mumbled, just loudly enough for Maki to hear her:

"I did this because I love you."

Each word, despite Maki struggling to hear them, was heard clearly. It took her a few seconds to process what she said, and even then…

"Nico… what? "

Nico didn't want to repeat herself, and she didn't. She didn't care anymore: Nico knew that what she said would have pissed Maki off further, and there was a good chance that she could have walked out on her if she said it again. And with Maki in her sheets, tainting her air with her annoying, aromatic scent, clad in nothing but shameless lingerie, she was driving Nico crazy. It wasn't the crazy that they paraded in every conversation back in high school, the ones that needed explanation on how it wasn't like that …

...except how it was like that. It was that kind of crazy from when she kept her mouth shut and when she spent tender moments with her, and the kind of crazy that led to the confession from then, and from just now.

Yet, there was no way that Maki would have been like that, too: Nico was insane for thinking that could ever be the case. And in her insanity, Nico grasped onto Maki's forearms, using them as a leverage point as she pulled herself closer to her.

If it weren't now, it wouldn't be ever, and even if Maki threw her out of the bed and stormed out in fury, Nico didn't care.

It was totally worth it.

"Nico, what the hell are you-"

Before Maki could finish her question, Nico answered her, sealing her lips with her own, and savoring that moment where they were together, connected like this. She couldn't see the bewildered expression, but she knew that Maki's eyebrows were furrowing in anger, her face as red as her hair, and she was ready to throw her off her body.

She felt Maki's hands sliding up her arms, trying to find the right hand-holds so that she could throw her little body out of bed, or at the very least push her away.

She knew that the moment was far too good to last for that long, and she braced herself.

She was ready for the worst.

...so why was Maki pulling her in?

The shock was enough for Nico's eyes to snap open, where she was met with a sight she never thought she'd see: only Maki's eyes, fluttered shut as she indulged herself with Nico's lips. The hands on her arms pushed forward, capturing her between Maki's arms; she was as adamant about letting go as Nico was, who followed suit, closed her eyes, and fluttered her eyelids shut. There was no need to stare; all Nico needed was to revel in the taste of Maki's lips, the hints of omurice and ketchup on her breath.

With a sigh, Maki's tongue delved into Nico's lips, hungrily slathering her tongue with saliva. Their tastes were mutually intoxicating, with the two of them desperately trying to push themselves closer together; Nico's shirt was taut against her body while Maki's chest was squished between their torsos, and Nico wrapped her legs around Maki, making sure that if, at any moment, Maki were to change her mind, there would be no way that she could be freed; no matter what, Nico wasn't going to let her go.

Nico was the first to break the kiss, taking a few moments to catch some air; it was bitter compared to the air she breathed from Maki's lips. The sight of Maki's eyes slowly opening, the way that her kiss-swollen lips were pursed, and how the last strands of saliva broke between them; it was enough for Nico to feel heat creeping up her back. Yet, she continued eying downward, where hidden by blankets was the rest of Maki's body, one which she would eye with her hands instead.

"Maki-chan…" Nico huffed, the heat of her words fanning across her lips. As she huffed her name again, it fanned against Maki's ear in barely a whisper before she let out a whine.

"Nico-chan," Maki whispered in return before she pulled back from Nico's ear, her lips softly dragging along Nico's cheek before she captured her lips once more, restarting their kiss.

In that kiss, Nico grew more eager; the feeling of Maki's warm skin against her hands, only barricaded by bra and panty, enticed her to feel around, to run her fingers along the softness of her curves and claw at her spine. Nico was hungry to hear the whimpers and pants that would only fuel her desires more; it had been forever since she heard Maki sing. As much as she wanted to dig her tongue in her mouth, she didn't want to ruin the sanctity of her voice; there were things that Nico dared not to stain.

And in her revelling, Maki took control, control which she wanted to take all those years ago, and a control which she felt comfortable in taking. And it was a control she established by grabbing the blanket which covered them both and throwing it off the bed, letting her take once more eyefuls of Nico's entire body.

Maki's lips met Nico's jawline just underneath the ear, hungrily taking in the taste of Nico's skin and Strawberry Bliss. She kissed down her jaw, down her neck, and to her throat. She eagerly kissed and sucked at her throat, loving how she felt the vibration of every moan that poured from her lips, and the slight tang of sweat starting to fill her lips with each kiss. Her hands grew busy working on Nico's shirt, ready to hike it up so that she could keep kissing her, cover her entire torso in marks that Nico was hers and hers alone.

This wasn't a kissing session between high-school sweethearts. They were never meant to be that. This was the collegiate passion that her parents warned her time and time again about, the kind of passion which she was told to avoid for the sake of her classes. But her parents weren't in the room, leaving Maki free to live out her wishes.

She wished to be a musician; no, she was a musician, and for the night, Nico was her duet partner, one with whom she was going to make the sweetest of music.

"Maki-chan…"

Nico's voice was but a hushed whisper, but Maki knew exactly what she wanted. It was a want accentuated by what she saw underneath the tee: two perky peaks beckoning for freedom. That freedom she granted as she pushed Nico's shirt up and exposed her breasts. Nico's hands reached for her breasts to cover them; Maki responded by grabbing her by the wrists, taking in the sight of her lackluster chest.

"It's embarrassing, Maki…"

Nico wanted to say something about her size, but the only thing which could come out was a moan, as it should have been; Maki didn't want to hear about how Nico was too small or too flat or anything like that. All that mattered was the nipple she suckled upon was part of Nico, and how the heartbeat that fluttered against her lips was that of Nico. She looked up, letting her gaze meet with Nico's. She pulled away as she kept eye contact with her, and gave a more proper reply.

"Embarrassing or not, Nico, I want you."

And after a few moments, she added.

"To be happy, of course."

"Make me."

Nico hissed her line, but her lips parted to moan as Maki's lips returned to that tiny nipple, staining it with saliva and relishing in every moan Nico gave her. She was surprised at how sensitive she was, with even the slightest of toggle leading to a moan or hitched breath.

Maki's hands found purchase right underneath Nico's butt, fingers close to scraping along the one garment left on her body. And she felt Nico's hands on her, digging into her hair, making sure that she couldn't leave her breast. Maki mumbled, feeling Nico's hands almost tugging at her hair. That pain was nothing compared to the sweetness of Nico's skin, or how the first beadlets of sweat rolled down her neck and left trails in the moonlight, the first signs of dirtiness on her form.

Maki breathed in, her forehead pressed up against Nico's collarbone. Her hands trailed up, giving soft and adoring squeezes to her waist, until she palmed what little there was of Nico's untouched breast. Nipple against palm, she dug her palm into the skin as her alternate of squeezing her bosom; time slowed down for that moment where Nico's heartbeat skipped against Maki's lips and her legs wrapped around her waist, locking her further into her.

And there, right underneath her navel, did Maki feel the rest of Nico's want, manifested in a pooling, slick heat which was busily wicking itself into her panties. She felt that wet heat pressed into her tummy, rubbed mercilessly into her, feeling that friction that her symphony of moans beckoned her to concentrate upon.

As much as it enticed her, Maki wanted Nico to know one thing: she didn't care if Nico was as flat as she was or as busty as Nozomi. She wanted to lavish her breasts as the breasts they were. It didn't matter that when Maki pulled away her nipple was reddened with pleasure and twitching; it was the appreciation she wished to show.

And, pulling her hand away from Nico's chest, she appreciated the other nipple with the same dedication, lathering it with saliva and suckling upon it. The grinding grew hotter, faster, more intense; Maki could swear that Nico's juices were seeping out from the garment and with each rub she was moisturizing her belly. The cries grew louder and more uneven, matching the rising and falling of her chest, and the trickling of sweat increased, with her collarbone shimmering with rivulets. She palmed the breast she wasn't lavishing, slicking the heel of her hand with her saliva, and it was with that motion that Nico squealed.

"Maki-chan!"

Nico's legs broke their grasp around Maki's waist, and her grasp in her locks weakened. Maki was free to roam her body, but instead of the downward that she expected, Maki returned upward, her lips ready to mesh with Nico's once more, pursed and swollen. Nico accepted that kiss, and she wrapped her arms around Maki, leaving the coarse material of her brassiere to rub against her overstimulated nipples.

While Maki was moaning into the kiss, mufflings of Nico's name, Nico breathed heavily, trying to keep her bearings as straight as she could. It didn't matter how many times she heard Maki moaning her name, or the amount of times she screamed Maki's: she felt suspended in her own bed, as if being here with Maki was a dream-like state. Her hands roaming down Maki's back, she knew it couldn't be the case. Maki's skin was too warm, too damp, too real , and the feeling of her bra against her hands felt just as real, with the clasp ready to be undone.

As her fingers ran across it, she could almost hear it beckoning to join her shirt atop the blanket, and she obeyed, pulling it off of Maki's body and tossing it aside. Maki hissed into the kiss as her bra was undone, her hefty bust scraped by Nico's twin peaks. Nipple against nipple, they exchanged their standard moans mixed with punctuated huffs and whimpers.

Like her breasts against Nico's, Maki's size was overpowering, and with a push forward, she rolled Nico onto her back, leaving her to rest atop of her. This was a far cry from the sleeping she expected, but their sleeping stance was unnecessary. Her hands dug into Nico's hips, pushing them into the bed, and once more did she pull away from her lips, a circle of pink glistening with spittle.

Nico's legs parted with the push, almost knowing that finally would Maki give her what she desired. And just to make sure that she and Maki were on the same page, Nico leaned in and whispered in her ear.

"Maki-chan, please , make me feel good…"

Her hands grasped Maki's wrist, tugging it to her crotch and letting Maki's fingers simmer in the pooled heat. Her panties clung taut against her body, not yielding to any of Maki's scrapes bar thrusts of her hips every which way. She mewled with every contact, even the slightest rub sending shocks which lit up every synapse on the way up her spine. Nico's hands grew shaky, but they rose Maki's hands up her lower torso, and slowly, she slid her fingers into her panties and down her shaven core, where her digits immediately became saturated with her juices.

"Ahhhn…"

Nico bit her lip as she felt Maki's fingers dancing against her folds, the soft squishes easily distinguished as the sounds of wanton need, desperately waiting to be sated. Maki wanted to tease, but Nico was adamant against it, rolling her hips almost to tell her to stop playing games with her, but at the same time…

"Nico-chan, you're really wet."

Nico was brought back to reality as Maki's fingers pulled away, tips glistening eagerly in the moonlight. She wanted to taste the flavor that literally rolled down each digit like the honey it was, but Maki was already cleaning her fingers, slipping them past her lips and licking them each clean. It was smoothly done, with Maki's fingers practically dry when she pulled out; she wanted to know how she did that, but what mattered more to her was why she stopped.

"I don't want you making a mess on the bed, Nico. We need to get some sleep soon. Should I get a towel?"

"Mess?" Nico panted. "I don't need one, but if you insist…"

The thought of Maki squirting all over her bed filled Nico's mind, one which was intensely hot until she thought of the aftermath of cleaning her bedsheets and, worse, sleeping with her toes digging into damp sheets. There was no other reason why Maki would ask about making a mess; she knew that in any of her frequent masturbatory sessions, there was no need for a towel.

Maki pulled away from Nico and ran off to the bathroom to get a towel, leaving Nico once more alone with her thoughts. With the heat coursing throughout her body, those thoughts were ones which matched, ones about what was going to happen the moment that she stepped foot back into this room. Lifting her hips from the bed, she gave her panties a quick yank down, her toes curling as the cool air kissed her pussy, and she tossed the garment aside, letting it splat against the tile.

And Nico knew that Maki was only a door away, half-naked, where her form wasn't but a silhouette from the moonlight. She knew that the ending part of her puberty was something she missed, where Maki's curves finished filling out and leaving her looking more of a woman than a first year could ever dream of being. She wanted to see that growth, feel it in her hands, and touch her so she could hear that sweet, womanly voice. The thought of it alone made Nico shiver, and to sate herself, she dragged a finger along her swollen clit, letting the sensations numb her mind and let out a moan loud enough that Maki could hear it.

If the neighbors heard it, she didn't care: the neighbors were far less important than Maki. She whined and rubbed, rolling her hips and grinding them against her hand. Her free hand reached for a breast, palming what little she had and tweaking her nipple between her thumb and forefinger. She rubbed and whined, tweaked and squeaked, all while waiting for that towel to come her way, one to rest under Nico's hips when Maki's hands replaced hers.

One to rest under Maki's hips once she got that luxury of lapping at her pussy; she knew that she wasn't going to be sated just fingering her.

Once her bedroom door squeaked open, Nico smirked, trying to maintain eye contact whilst in the position she was in. Instead of digging into herself, Nico opened her fingers, spreading herself as much as she could, hoping that her glistening pussy would be the centerpiece of her pose on the bed. With a push back into the bed, her head rose up the headboard, letting her take a good glance of Maki's form, back-lit from the apartment room, and just as delicious as she expected her to be. What she enjoyed most was her slightly-appalled expression, one which immediately turned into a lewd smirk as she stepped forward and closed the door behind her.

"Were you thinking of me while you were doing that, Nico?"

"Maybe…" She pulled away from her breast and coaxed her forward with a curling of her fingers and a lift of her hips for that towel draped over her arm. She slammed her hips down after Maki placed the towel on the bed, pinning it as she spread her legs, preparing for whatever she was going to receive for her naughtiness.

Nico squealed as Maki's fingers prodded at her sex, the squishiness telltale of her arousal.

"You're so cute even when you're lewd…"

Nico squeezed her bottom lip between her teeth, trying to avoid letting out just how she felt about that statement; she wanted to yell at Maki for saying something like that, how it felt so weird coming from her. But those words would have fallen on deaf ears, obscured by moans which were bubbling up in her throat with every prod and poke at her pussy. Her core was throbbing, with each poke rattling throughout her entire lower body.

Maki leaned down, and took a huff of Nico's pussy. It was a far cry from the strawberry scent that she was used to; it was much more than that, something far beyond words, but the one that Maki knew she could use was intoxicating. One whiff alone was enough to make her lightheaded, not to mention how it looked, with Nico's struggling fingers framing herself and exposing all of her slick, hairless pussy to her. Rivulets like sweat rolling down her body, Maki couldn't help herself, catching them with her tongue and rubbing them back into her heated folds. She fought the pulses against her tongue, and the drive to stop as the flavor grew more overpowering; Nico tasted phenomenal , and she wasn't going to let a single drop go to waste. Grabbing onto Nico's hips, Maki pulled herself deeper, her tongue assaulting Nico's folds and lathering her with saliva.

And Maki feasted. Tongue pressed against her pulsing entrance and her nose rubbing against her swollen clit Maki feasted savoring every drop that graced her palate. Her head was clouded enough with lust, this desire to keep doing whatever she was doing, without question, without asking herself questions or bothering to hear what Nico was saying. Nico's requests, ones to go faster, harder, to dig at certain spots, fell on deaf ears; she knew about erogenous zones and how the female body worked, if not from her own personal study than from her classes. But this was the furthest from a class she had: it was less a study on how Nico's body worked and more a moment about how her body felt .

She felt as her tiny legs wrapped around her head, thighs pressing against cheeks and locking her into her folds, making sure that she couldn't pull away no matter what. As she dug her tongue into her, finally slipping past her tiny entrance, she felt her walls squeezing dangerously against her tongue, drooling her quim all over the tip of her wet muscle. She felt Nico's orgasm approaching, with the speed of her pulse against her nose and tongue, her moans' volume and pitch growing louder and higher, and the redness that spread through her.

Nico's body quivered, almost fighting itself as she tried to keep Maki as locked in as possible with her legs. Her hands found purchase at her bust, grinding her nipples against her palms as she made use of what little she had. Every spark she felt almost seemed visible, further hazing the clouds which preoccupied her head. With every opening of her mouth, she let out noise; trying to say something to Maki, whether it was a plea of stopping or a request she kept doing whatever she wanted, was impossible. And as if Maki could reply back; what she did see in her haze whenever she looked down was a forehead and a forest of red between her legs, with her tongue seething its way into her pussy, dangerously close to her g-spot. There was nothing left for her to do but look down at her, Maki, and watch her as she dug into her, leading her towards an orgasm far beyond anything which just her fingers could possibly give her.

Maki opened her eyes, peering beyond the horizon of Nico's hairless belly; the closeness of Nico's orgasm made her poetry in motion, a poem which worked coming from only her own mouth. She watched as each flick of the tongue deep inside her brought her hips in a new direction, subtly lifting her until her fingers cupped the underside of her butt and her arms grew heavy trying to support her. She watched as, right at the tip of her nose, Nico's clit, a flushed pink, seemed to pulse in its desperation for her release, and how Nico's hips wiggled that fleshy bulb against her nose's tip. And she watched as Nico's grasp on her breasts grew weaker until her arms fell to her sides, not caring to do anything else but let the waves of pleasure rush through her.

And Maki watched as Nico's own gaze rolled up into the back of her head as Nico rode through her orgasm.

Nico's hips plummeted to the bed, breaking Maki free of her grasp. Maki observed with wide eyes as Nico writhed, not needing any more external pleasure to ride out, and how the towel stayed completely dry as she came, with barely a trickle of juices coming out of her entrance. Maki lowered herself and, doing her best to pin Nico's hips, licked at her clit, giving it a bit of attention while Nico rode herself out; it was the least she could do, and she adored the screams of pleasure Nico gave as she indulged herself for a few more shameless moments. But still, she didn't feel any fluids come up to her neck or stain her chest; most of it lamely rolled down Nico's taint and to the towel below.

Even when Nico came back to her senses, observing as Maki suckled upon her clit as if it were her third nipple, the towel was, compared to how Maki it expected it to be, dry.

"Maki, please…" her words were huffs, her brain still trying to work post-orgasm. "I need a moment…"

Maki heeded and pulled away from Nico's pussy, crawling up her body until their lips were flush against one another. The moment their lips touched, they kissed again, trading saliva and transferring Nico's flavor past her own lips. Maki didn't care about Nico's whimpers, final lewd titters from riding the tongue she diligently suckled upon. All she cared about was Nico returning somewhat to baseline, to know that even after her embrace with her climax, Nico was still able to move.

...at the very least, Nico could return the favor if she were still awake…

And as if Nico had heard Maki's thoughts, her hands grew more adventurous on Maki's body, pulling away from her back and exploring the gracious curve of her sides. She envied the pinch of her waist and the wide hips that followed, making her jealousy known by sending squeezes as she descended. She relished each gasp, the spittle that sometimes accidentally leaked into her mouth that followed, and the nervous quasi-twitching Maki gave. She needed to find a way to get into control of the situation. Or at the very least, she needed to get on top of her without peeling out of her intoxicating embrace.

Hands on Maki's backside, Nico pulled away from her lips, her lips in an eager smirk ready to return the favor. The first mark she left on her new canvas, her truest labor of love, was a faint smear of light pink lip gloss against Maki's cheek, followed by another adjacent to her jawline. Nico didn't expect to hear Maki breathing so early, but the shudders she gave fueled her, taken in more than the tang of sweat and her own juices. It further enticed her to descend upon Maki, her lips quickly making purchase down that soft jaw and to her chin, leaving a wake of damp lip marks in her path.

It was when Nico descended to her neck where she felt fingers digging into her hair. She nudged her glance towards Maki's face, who was not only looking away from her, but craning her head in the direction opposite her, exposing all of her neck for ravishment. Nico heeded, her lips carelessly caressing every millimeter of skin that she could, lathering her with a slight coating of saliva and picking up any rivulet of sweat she found with her lips. And Maki grew louder, her heavy breathing just enough to excite her throat and let out her first moan; Nico stopped at the sound, suckling against her collar as she took it in. It was the sound of relentless pleasure and enjoyment breaching through a tsundere's strongest defenses. It was the sound of need and desire for her to keep going. It was the sound of Maki in heat, a heat which she wished to extinguish, or to potentiate. Now she had a goal, and that goal was to keep hearing that sound, to keep hearing that sweet, sweet music.

And then, with a final kiss, Nico's chin bumped into something soft and fleshy. She knew exactly what she came into contact with, and as she pulled away from Maki's neck, her gaze fell down upon it. Maki's chest. As big and bountiful as she thought they were, Nico couldn't help but flush at their proximity to her. They intimidated; Maki grew some sizes in her last years of high school, with her tiny hands just a bit too small for her to properly fondle her.

Nico couldn't help but muse about what she thought about when Maki was bathing, about those breasts, almost heaving in size, and the curves she gave attention towards earlier. She was in disbelief at they were at face level with her, that she was being given this opportunity. She shyly toggled one of her nipples with her thumbs, rolling it around as if it were a joystick, and she took in the sounds that Maki made whenever she did, breaking the otherwise silent room.

They felt real underneath her fingers, and Maki's music was too real for her to make up.

And with the feeling of a nipple between her lips, Nico knew that she wasn't dreaming.

Fingers digging into the pliant flesh of her ass, Nico felt fingers coming through her hair and down her sides, until they met up with her wrists.

She looked up at Maki with a quizzical expression, wondering if she had overworked her breasts already. Maki wordlessly responded by pulling Nico's hands away from her ass and tugging down on the black fabric which covered her ass. Sliding it down her legs, she kicked them off the bed and returned Nico's hands to her ass, where she could freely feel it up without that garment infringing on her.

But what was more important for her was what was between her lips, and with fingers returning to her hair, she was given the green light, almost as if Maki was asking why she stopped.

So Nico continued, wrapping her lips around Maki's areolae and slathering her with her tongue. She rose and fell with her hitched breathing, not wishing for a single moment where her lips broke away from her breast. A hand crawled up Maki's side and cupped the untouched breast, her fingers deliberately avoiding her other nipple. Nico hadn't expected the hefty flesh to be so accommodating in her hand; it was almost as if the underbreast was meant for Nico to hold. And with a soft squeeze, she started teasing Maki's breast, hoping for the rest of the flesh to glow as brightly pink as the protrusion between her lips.

Maki's thighs around Nico's hips were almost crushingly strong, the fingers in her hair balled up into fists; the one time where Nico's twintails would have been useful, they were gone. She didn't quite understand what teasing Nico was giving to her unsuckled breast, but was it working, her nipple growing to be quite the obstacle as it hardened into a pink fleshy diamond, with any accidental scrape causing the urge to moan to flow through her entire body. The ever-growing heat between her legs was intensifying quickly, and she felt her fluids starting to drip out of her and onto Nico's hips, where the slightest rock of the hips would smear her with her lust.

Even before orgasm, Maki knew she was messy, but this was far beyond anything she expected.

And she knew Nico felt it; she knew the moment she pulled away from her breast and blew on her aching, spit-covered nipple. She knew from the smug look she was pulling off from the valley between her breasts as she descended from her breasts down her belly. As Nico adorned Maki's belly with kisses, untouched by the infamous freshman fifteen, she rubbed at Maki's rear, her tiny palms reveling in its size and giving herself a moment to enjoy. She enjoyed the feel of her toned abs, and how her rear seemed to jiggle in her hands at the slightest provocation.

But Nico wanted to go lower, and as she sat between Maki's legs, she had no reason not to. Nico was free to access her pussy, where weeks of winter and isolation provided a decently-sized, but well-maintained, patch of red directly above. Nico gave the sides of the rectangular patch kisses, much to the sound of a shocked gasp.

"Maki-chan is so cute down here…" Nico said as she anchored her grasp on Maki's thighs and spread them further open, letting her bloated, pink lips part and show off the quim-coated folds which beckoned that her tongue taste her. What excited Nico the most, however, was that pink bead atop her folds, poking out just enough to be prominent against even this scintillating backdrop, and glistening with the same juices which the rest of her pussy were coated with.

Nico looked back up, as if she was asking for the green light if she could do this. As her eyes scanned back up Maki's body, she saw that Maki's hands were cupping her breasts and she was looking down at her with dark eyes, the clouds of lust not even trying to be hidden. It was as if she was asking her wordlessly what she was waiting for between her pants and moans.

Nico didn't want to break the haze that Maki was reveling in, but the trepidation still filled her. She was nervous that she wouldn't bring Maki to the same bliss that Maki brought her to, that she wouldn't be a good host for being unable to bring her guest to orgasm, especially after she did the same thing to her not long ago. It was a trepidation that manifested itself in how Nico squeezed Maki's thighs tightly. And it was a trepidation that manifested itself in the first lick up Maki's folds, apprehensively collecting her flavor. As that flavor coated her palate and filled her nostrils, that fear slowly dissipated, aided by Maki's moans, and a certain whimper which Nico immediately picked up.

"Nico-chan…"

Nico dived in, pulling a hand away from Maki's thighs to rest it against her folds. Lips wrapping tightly against her clitoris, she suckled, feeling it throbbing against her. She made sure her tongue lavished what her lips didn't cover, aided by how Maki's hips were already pushing upward and pressing her chin into her swollen sex. Nico still looked up, stealing glimpses of Maki's face growing redder, those lips growing ever-wider to let out harsher moans, her hands moving faster on her breasts. Nico even noticed the slight flexing of Maki's abs, clenching and unclenching, as she dug her tongue into her clit. Nico could feel every single spark of pleasure which racked up and down her body, the building heat continuing to grow almost dangerously.

And she hadn't even stuck a finger into her.

Nico pressed her middle finger against Maki's entrance, and when she dug in slightly, her finger was sucked in, until she felt her other fingers slapping wetly against her folds. Gently, she pulled out, watching as her finger glistened with her juices. She pushed in with a second finger, feeling Maki tense up as she was sucked into her. She kept her fingers deep inside of her, letting the warmth of her juices coat her second finger, and slowly did she begin thrusting the fingers inside of her, hoping that Maki was the same in that two fingers would be enough to stimulate her.

With her free hand pulling away from Maki's thigh and onto her hip, Nico tried grounding her, but every touch she gave was more incentive for Maki not to thrust upwards. Pleasure wracked her throughout, with every scrape of fingers in her folds causing her vision to grow slightly more cloudy. She could hear how wet she was, she could hear herself panting and moaning, and she heard Nico's lewd slurps and moans of pleasure, as if she were the most delicious food she ever ate. Nico was giving her a treatment far beyond that of a princess; she felt like a queen under the ministrations of her tongue, with her body readily following every motion she knew to milk just a bit more pleasure. She rolled her hips, rubbing her clit against Nico's tongue, and letting her fingers dig into her folds. She wanted Nico to grow more intimate with her nether regions, more intimate with herself.

She wanted Nico to be more passionate, like the feeling of passion that was bubbling in her throat, ready to be expelled. And it was as she felt Nico's free hand squeezing her ass.

Maki's moan reverberated throughout the room, and Nico's eyes widened, knowing that the entire apartment had just heard Maki's moan. However, as quickly as that fear came to her, it passed through her. Certainly, Maki didn't care; she only stopped her moans to catch her breath. It was a sight that Nico was completely unused to; she never thought of Maki being a passionate woman, but there she was, letting out heated howls towards the ceiling, rocking her hips dangerously against her, milking all of the pleasure that she could herself. In that moment where she stopped, she could have sworn she heard Maki's desperation rising, that Nico wouldn't help her cum.

And she wasn't going to let that be the case.

Nico's fingers found a newfound vigor inside of Maki, her hand smacking against her womanhood. Her fingertips scraped against new areas, loving the warm, velvety feeling which coated her. It didn't matter the feeling of cramps; she could care about those, if they still gave her pain, in the morning. There was one goal on her mind: she wanted to make Maki feel great, and she was so close to having that happen. All she needed was just a bit more pleasure, just enough to send Maki over the edge…

...and then Nico's fingers grazed Maki's g-spot. Maki stopped, almost as if she were suspended in her position. Her moans became a near-silent whine, with her hips' quivering the only show of liveliness left in her. It was like she accidentally pushed a button, one that sent her into complete over. Curiously, Nico rubbed around it, letting the moans return to their loudness before digging into this rough texture and once more hearing it cease. The bridge that Maki's torso was shaped in made it impossible for Nico to see Maki's gaze, but the flip of red hair made one thing obvious: nothing that she had done before had made her feel as good as that one contact.

And Nico was going to take full advantage of that. She started rubbing.

In less than five seconds of Nico rubbing that rough patch inside Maki's walls, her fingers were forcefully ejected by a gush of fluid which splashed Nico's face and fell to the towel below. The heat and scent made it clear what it was: it was more of Maki's flavor, thin and watery, forcefully sprayed. Nico flinched and pulled away, and as she realized what it was, she opened her mouth, letting the stream cascade around her tongue. As those gushes subsided, Maki's hips returned to the bed, almost as if they were twice as heavy as they once were. Her body was drained from the feeling of pleasure wracking her like it did, and she didn't mind her butt digging into the dampened towel. Parting Maki's legs for her for one last time, she pressed the towel into Maki's sex, looking up at her with concern.

"Maki? Are you okay?"

"Never better." Partially, the cloud of lust from her afterglow wasn't subsided, but at the same time, Maki had never made herself squirt so hard. She was never able to dig into the areas where she wanted to dig most, and she never knew exactly where that one spot was, but Nico, as amateurly as she found it, found it. And she was even cleaning her up, letting the towel soak up the rest of her quim. Chills ran up her spine as she did so, her pussy still sensitive from the orgasm.

After Nico finished cleaning Maki, she cleaned her own face and tossed the towel aside. She laid down next to Maki and wrapped her arms around her, nuzzling her as if nothing happened.

"So, uh, Nico…"

"Yes, Maki-chan?"

Her arms tentatively wrapped around Nico, returning her tight embrace. "Should we tell the others about this?"

"Do you want to, Maki? I mean, I don't think any of them would care that much."

With a sigh, Maki nuzzled into Nico a bit more. "It's just that, well, they all thought-"

"You're thinking a bit too much about this, Maki. Do you feel good?"

"Well, yeah, I do, but-"

"Then don't ask about it. If you feel good about it, then there's nothing to worry about."

Maki rolled her eyes, but before she could retort, Nico gave her a kiss on the lips. When she pulled away, Maki was blushing.

"Well, um, I'm sorry for what I said all those years ago, about not wanting to be with you. I didn't think it would work out."

"If you think it might, then you know where to find me. Either here, or the music school. I'll make sure to leave some special time with you if you want."

Maki was speechless. She didn't think that she'd be let off the hook so easily; in one day she went from blissfully apathetic to doing that with her.

Nico nudged in her arms, almost as if she was pulling away.

"Maybe you should think about this over some sleep. Do you want the blanket?"

As Nico tried to leave the room to grab her blanket, Maki held her closer. Maki was plenty hot already; the blanket would only make things worse. She knew that letting Nico sleep on the other side of the bed would help with cooling down, but why would she want to let go of her?

Nico yawned. Maki yawned after she did.

"I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep. Night-night, Maki-chan!"

Nico sunk into Maki's collar and drifted to sleep. Maki lowered a pillow for Nico to rest upon, and laid there for a few moments, thinking about how this was like how they embraced that one time. Nico definitely didn't smell like Strawberry Bliss, but the scent of a passionate night between two hormonal, but amateur, lovers. She snored softly, just enough to give the room a bit of ambient noise, and in that noise, Maki found herself growing more drowsy. She fell asleep in the comfort of Nico's arms, the most calm she had ever been in her year of college.

---

Maki woke to the smell of eggs, her own nudity, and a new room.

Her eyes widened. Certainly, she wasn't facing any form of hangover, and she could have sworn that last night she didn't have a single drink. Yet, it looked like she had suffered, with a towel, blanket, and her panties flung carelessly aside on the floor. Never mind that this was the floor of someone who felt it to be necessary that every square inch of space on their desk, every bit of wall space possible, was dedicated to idols. Posters which looked back at her with wide, demure eyes; whether it be those of some professional idol making six figures a day, or her own school idol group, with her eyes looking back almost in shame of what she had done.

It was a room that screamed Nico. The many get togethers with friends like Rin, Hanayo, and Honoka gave her enough insight into their rooms, completely barren of idol merchandise even compared to the oasis that Nico had. It carried throughout her college years, almost a banner of what could have been if she kept on with her major and eventually got the gig of her dreams.

Vocal performance.

Sitting in Nico's bed, Maki stretched and yawned, not caring about how many cracks came from her neck and back. Even if she had just woken up in a strange land, she woke up the calmest she had felt in awhile, with her feet carelessly dragging along the tile.

She definitely did it with Nico.

As much as she wanted to stay there, just wishing she could take in the fact that she was alone, naked, in Nico's room, but the scent that wafted underneath the door was growing more unbearable. It reminded her of the breakfasts she had at home, where she'd awaken to a large, glorious breakfast that she alone couldn't possibly eat without feeling sick. Her stomach growled, trying to lunge at that door and take what she could get, but decency got ahold of her before she could, and she slipped on her clothes before she stepped out into the kitchen, where Nico was cooking a few eggs on her stove.

"Good morning!"

"Nico? What are you doing here?" She said, her voice groggy.

"What do you mean? I live here. You crashed for the night because you didn't have bus service!"

"...Right," Maki sighed before going to the table. Nico had thought ahead about her guest, leaving a platter of tomato slices right in front of one of the chairs. Maki sat down there eagerly, grasping her fork and taking one of the slices for her appetizer. "My memory's a bit hazy."

Nico stayed quiet, not wanting to immediately set off this ticking redheaded time bomb by making a joke about spending special time with the legendary Nico-Nii.

"Did you sleep well?"

"I think. I dreamed that we did, well…" Maki started blushing as she spoke, realizing that it was almost difficult to even dare say what they did; those memories of licentiousness, of hands on thighs and tongues where they shouldn't have been even though they felt so good. It was off putting, hell, it was embarrassing , to consider that they did things like that.

"Was it a good dream?"

"Why do you want to know!?"

"No reason," Nico chuckled. "Look like these are ready. You like them over easy, right?"

"Eh?"

"You like your eggs over easy, right, Maki?"

"How do you know?"

"Lucky guess. You seem like you'd like them over easy." Nico pulled out two plates and split the eggs among them; two and two. She set one down in front of Maki and sat down across from her.

" Itadakimasu! "

Oddly enough, Nico was the quiet type when she ate, letting her emotions flow only to how she felt about her food. Nico was also a rather fast eater, finishing her eggs before Maki could finish just one of her own. Maki's brow furrowed at the sight of Nico eating so quickly. "Don't you want to enjoy your food?"

"I'd prefer enjoying the rest of your time here with you."

"Eh?"

"Also, Maki-chan, I want to tell you something."

"W-what?"

Nico leaned in, her smile softening just a bit. Her eyes grew wider, vulnerable, as if she was hurt by how Maki asked. "You can come back here whenever you need a place to stay, you know. It's close to the medical school, after all."

Maki stayed silent, eating her eggs and tomatoes, but the flush that rushed throughout her cheeks made it certain that she heard what Nico said. There would be no reason to accept her offer, she thought, but she realized that just yesterday she needed it; if there truly were no reason, she wouldn't be eating Nico's eggs and tomatoes.

"Only if I really need it." Maki knew that to be a lie; she would only really need it this one time, but this was a change of pace she enjoyed a lot. It was a place which freed her from the restrictions of her life, leaving her at ease with someone who loved her for who she was and not who she was going to be. Nico cared too much about where she herself was going, and it was a nice change not having to listen to, for hours on end, the pride of being the heir of a hospital that really didn't interest her all that much.

"You can even play my piano. I remember you liked playing piano a lot."

And now she had sanctuary for piano, with someone who didn't mind if she played contemporary or classical. It gave her more freedom, more of a reason to come back.

"I'd love to play, but I have class to get to. I'm probably late as is, and I can't afford to miss it for anything!"

Nico shushed Maki, not wanting to hear anything about missing class. "You can just call in sick and ask a friend for the notes you missed."

Honestly, as much as she didn't want to hear about how her attendance was slipping by her parents, it was just one class she had to deal with today, and she was already late; there wasn't a point in trying to go already if she could just spend a bit more time with Nico, who was wide-eyed.

"Just one song?"

Maki finished her food and nodded. "Just one."

Nico took her plate, and Maki was off to the piano. Slipping its cover off and hitting a button, she turned it on, making sure that it made sound by plucking at a few keys. Knowing that it worked, she sat down on the chair behind the piano, and she pushed at the pedal with her right foot. It wasn't a grand that she was used to, nor was it an upright like in her practice rooms, but it was good enough for her. There was only one person who needed to listen to her, and she didn't care about the piano: she cared more about the person playing.

And for that, for that person who let her play piano, for that one who let her be free in college, she sang:

" Aishiteru Banzai… "

Nico caught on immediately; that wasn't a melody which anyone in her graduating class could possibly forget. It hit her like a pound of bricks that this was far beyond just a random selection. It was Maki giving thanks; her cheers for love. The way her voice soared seconded this, far beyond the strength she gave even when she was singing for the club all those years ago. It was meant for them, it was everything she needed to say: gratitude, romance, and a hope for the future that, even if she seemed in a dark corner, there'd be a way out.

That's was Nico's room was for her. That's what Nico was for her.

And to thank her, she joined in for the rest of the verses, and she kept singing. She yielded the melody to Maki, letting her be the one who lead. She did so not because she thought Maki's voice to be more beautiful than her own (even though it was insanely close, even for her ego), but because in the coda, she knew she would be choking out cries. This was why Nico became a musician; she wanted to light hearts aflame with emotion, just like how Maki's chords and voice made her feel heavy and her eyes were now tear-stained. These were those cheers, the love that brought them together.

It felt like a new chapter in their lives were beginning, a chapter in their lives they wished to live together.

After Maki finished, Nico was spellbound to see Maki patting the bench next to her. It seemed so strange to see her acting like this, but she couldn't say no. She sat down next to Maki, hip against hip, arm against arm, and fingers to the keys.

And they played, free from everything but each other's tempo.