Best Mistake I Ever Made

Yamato is reckless and shallow; Kouya is a silent and reserved enigma before her. After a chance meeting, she can't get her off the brain. Slowly, she begins to realize that her wrongs finally led her to a right. AU-ish Yuri Three or Four-shot.

Disclaimer: I don't own Loveless.

Part One

"Did you see his hair?" one girl asked loudly, a giggle following immediately after.

"Oh God, what about that girl's nails? Weren't they gross?" another asked, and the small flock of girls fell into fits of high laughter yet again.

"Did you hear about the pop idol coming here for his next concert? I've already bought my ticket."

"Wow, really? You must have been saving for awhile, or making your dates pay for you!"

"Lucky you, make sure you get pictures. He's totally hot," a blonde girl said with a teasing grin before she bit into a cream filled pastry.

"Yamato, are you talking about the guy or your pastry?"

"Jeez Yamato, you're so piggish!"

"But I have great legs," she quipped back with a smirk.

A few more jokes were made, a few at the snacking blonde, but she grinned around her pastry and shrugged her shoulders. The conversation continued without her, and she just listened amusedly. The wind picked up and blew at them, fluttering their uniform skirts and musing their hair. Sighing, the blonde from before used one hand to brush her pale tresses back, and they fell into their proper place.

When her hand had passed through her hair, it had glided through smoothly and easily, unhindered by anything. Just like the other three girls she walked with, the blonde no longer had her childish cat ears. Though many might still consider them children, the girls knew they were women; it was what drew them together and kept them close. They were alike and they held onto that.

As the girls began talking about having an early dinner together, they noticed an old park on the other side of the street fashioned like a clichéd movie set. There was the playground for ankle biters, picnic tables for packed lunches, huge old trees dotting the bright green field surely used for Frisbee and dogs, and there was even a small pond down the hill with ducks of all things swimming across its surface. Like fitting into the picture, the only occupant of the park was a girl sitting on a bench overlooking the pond, something in her lap holding all her attention.

But what had caught the pack of girl's attention was the fact that atop the girl's dark mess of inky black hair perched two cat ears.

A shrill bout of laughter fell from a long haired girl, and she quickly spread it to her companions. Yamato felt her own laughter bubbling in her stomach, and she lifted her hand to her mouth. Blue eyes flashed at the notion of the girl being a virgin, and cruel words fell like water from the four teenagers' lips. Of course, being manipulative and hurtful young girls, their voices were loud enough so that their words were able to carry quickly across the street towards their victim.

Their giggles only increased when they saw the girl's reaction. Her head looked up, and she glanced at them slowly. Though her next action wasn't expected, it still amused the girls. The girl who still had her ears simply tucked the thing in her lap under her arm, slung her messenger bag over her shoulder, and slowly left her place at the park. Neither of her tall feline ears even turned to point in her tormentors' direction.

"Hey, wasn't that uniform familiar? I think I know that school…" the long haired girl spoke up.

"It's the uniform for Seiren Academy; the entrance exam is incredibly hard. My brother failed it when he tried to get in," a red head spoke up, her hand resting on the dark red skirt symbolizing their own school.

"That's no surprise, Juri, your brother is an idiot," Yamato chided with a grin.

"A cute idiot," the brown haired girl added in with a smirk as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. The red head threw a flustered glare at the two of them, but the girl with long black hair moved the topic before a squabble could occur.

The pack moved on from the corner across from the park, just as easily as they moved on from subject to subject in any conversation.

She'd woken up late and had to skip breakfast, but even after that taxing sacrifice, Yamato found herself missing her bus. Not quite able to recall which buses had stops nearby and which even went past her school, she decided to go by foot. Perhaps if she took that shortcut from yesterday, she could still make it to class on time.

While running, she shook her head, damp blonde hair chilling her scalp on that cool morning. She'd been in a rush ever since she'd fallen out of bed that morning, realizing her alarm hadn't been set the night before. Her mother had been in a rush as well and didn't even remember Yamato. The blonde girl couldn't help feeling that she wouldn't have minded the absence of attention if only it wasn't that morning. Really, her parents gave her no slack these days, always jumping on her at the worst times and constantly lecturing her.

"Oh jeez," she exclaimed when her feet splashed into a puddle leftover from last night's drizzle that soaked the bottom of her sock. It was one of those moments where she found fault in her uniform, despite loving it dearly. It was the reason she chose Tatsumi High, after all.

Pausing a minute to check her sock and make sure it wasn't totally dirty, she looked around and noticed she was at that same street corner that she and the girls had made fun of the girl with her ears. On impulse, her blue gaze turned to the other side of the street by the park, and the blonde's eyes widened. The girl was there, sitting on the bench while giving all her attention to something in her lap, acting as though school wouldn't be starting in a few minutes.

Realizing the purpose for her hurry once again, Yamato cursed colorfully and dashed off. She barely managed to slip past the school gates before the first warning bell rung, and she waved to her friends who were just turning to walk into the building. Hurrying up to them, they quickly asked what took her, and after a brief explanation that didn't include the girl in the park, Yamato fell into relaxed conversation as it was steered away from her and onto a show that had been on last night.

By the time she was sitting in her desk and waiting for the lesson to start, Yamato was discovering she'd left half of her homework unfinished and it was merely a passing thought whether or not the girl who still had her ears had gotten to school on time as well.

It was gray and dismal looking in the sky as Yamato made her way back home. 'It is getting into the rainy season,' she supposed, biting into a warm cinnamon bun she'd gotten at a café near school. She was alone today since the other girls had things to do, or in Juri's case, go to a motel with her boyfriend. Biting her tongue by accident as she stepped into a puddle, very possibly the same one she'd splashed in that morning, the blonde threw her head back and groaned aloud.

"Why does it have to be so icky out!?" she demanded the heavens as though they held an answer for her, but they seemed to have different plans. For some reason, the blonde felt compelled to turn her head over towards the park and her eyes widened for a second time that day at the same thing, or rather, person.

The girl from Seiren was sitting on the bench, just the same as that morning, almost as though she hadn't even moved at all the entire day.

Staring at her curiously, Yamato caught movement from the girl's hand over whatever was in her lap. Curiosity got the best of the cat, and Yamato bit into her bun again before determinedly stepping across the street. At this point, only satisfaction could bring her back.

Walking right up to the other girl, Yamato didn't stop till she was standing over her and peering down in curiosity much like that of a cat's. Blue eyes gazed at an open sketchbook flipped to a page that the dark haired girl was rapidly marking with a dark drawing pencil held loosely between her fingers. The blonde girl tilted her head slightly, and she recognized the sketch was of the park, and the girl was filling in the sky to make it look stormy…but it seemed that the sky she was drawing over had already been worked on.

"Hey, why are you filling in the sky?" Yamato asked suddenly, peering at the girl. She was a little ticked that the other didn't stop her work or look up at her before responding.

"It wasn't clear today, I had to fix it…" the girl whispered quietly, her eyes focused on the page.

Yamato stared at the page again and her lips pulled into a pout. "But there are ducks in the pond here. There aren't any ducks today." The blonde pointed out, gesturing to the pond not too far behind her.

The other girl didn't skip a beat. "But they were there yesterday."

Sighing and deciding she wouldn't get it, Yamato pivoted and looked as though ready to leave but instead plopped herself down beside the girl on the bench, bumping into her slightly and causing her to pause in her sketching. Resting back against the bench and leaning over till her shoulder was touching the other girl's, Yamato stared down at the page expectantly.

"Well, aren't you going to draw?" she began to ask, looking up, but she was surprised when her blue gaze met up with the other's pale green stare.

Well, it was actually a lot more like pale green glass, clouded with silver. A pretty almost-hazel, and all that sat between their eyes were the other girl's wire rimmed glasses. The girl was pale, and there were lilac bags just hinting beneath her eyes, and her mop of inky hair fell over her face in a strangely ethereal way. Her glasses, Yamato decided, gave her a more sophisticated look, though it was slightly more human with the surprise in her expression which was quickly wiped away and replaced with an indifferent mask.

It seemed the other was scrutinizing her as well, and Yamato couldn't help smiling and then taking a bit from the remains of her cinnamon bun, surely smearing icing on her lips. Licking them clean like a kid, Yamato lifted an eyebrow at the girl who was still staring at her, and gave her a look as though to repeat her question. The other pursed her lips but bowed her head and returned her concentration to the drawing. She barely flinched when Yamato leaned closer, her right arm brushing against the girl's left as she watched in awe as the sketch changed.

"That's pretty good, no, more like really good," Yamato offered, her eyes turning back to the girl's face that was conveniently shielded by her hair for the most part.

"…Thank you." The girl replied after a pause. But she then sat up and closed the sketchbook, tucking it under her arm and grabbing her bag like yesterday before standing. "Goodbye," she said just as quietly and then began to leave, walking in a slow yet purposeful manor.

Yamato stared after her in surprise till she was out of site, then chose to lean her back against the bench. Stuffing the last of her bun into her mouth, she chewed it thoughtfully while staring up at the sad looking sky. Swallowing, she sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Was it something I said?"

Yamato wasn't late for her bus the next day, or the day after that. She walked home the long way with her friends, and even got Juri to treat her to dinner when it was just the two of them. Sure, Juri bailed to go meet up with her boyfriend, but she left enough money to cover them both so it was fine. 'Not like our conversation was anything important anyway,' Yamato had recalled as she finished her noodles.

But one morning, just as she was about to step on the bus, something compelled her to step back onto the sidewalk, much to the driver's chagrin as she was somehow stalling him. Turning, she began to walk quickly towards the route of the short cut, not really knowing what she was hoping to find. When people became scarce and cars even rarer, she began to run, almost. Why, she didn't know, but she did know that she felt like running so she did.

Reaching the ever more familiar corner, she stopped and rested her hands on her knees as she looked across the street. Panting, she scanned the park with her azure gaze, and saw that it was empty. Frowning just a little, the blonde kicked at the sidewalk glumly and worried her lip. Not like she was hoping to see the other girl there again or anything…she was just curious if she showed up there often in the mornings…had to be.

Spotting a loose piece of concrete that had come up from the sidewalk, the blonde teen kicked at it, and sent it towards a wide alleyway where it hit a rusting trashcan and made a loud echo. A yowl followed it, and a black cat darted out from the alleyway and hissed at the high school girl who'd dare interrupt his rest. Yamato stared at it shocked for a moment, and her gaze became a thoughtful one when she noticed the cat had silver green eyes just like the girl with the sketchbook.

Kneeling down, she clucked her tongue and held out her hand. The cat gave her a vicious look, but drew closer nonetheless till the tip of his nose was curiously sniffing her outstretched fingers. Yamato smiled slightly and went to try and pet the thing when it grew antsy and growled before snapping its head and biting down on her finger. Her cry of pain surprised it, and the feline darted away back into the alleyway, leaving the girl to peer at the small teeth marks the little beast had left on her finger. Questioning whether she should lick the blood away, she threw away reason and did it anyway. Might as well get sick from rabies and stay out of school later: she had a test coming up anyway.

After school, with a powdered doughnut in her hand and a Band-Aid from the nurse on her finger, Yamato was walking home alone again. Licking the sugar off a small section of doughnut with a content smile, Yamato bit into the confection and made a sound of pleasure. Nothing, not even cinnamon buns with raisins, was as good as a doughnut. A powdered one at that!

Her feet had guided her along the short cut again, and Yamato found that she was enjoying the way since it avoided the heavy crowds of people on the more scenic routes. Ever since a girl came to school sobbing that her cell phone had been stolen right out of her purse, Yamato was rather hawkish when walking in a crowd. Even worse was that she knew walking in a group with her friends meant she was heavily distracted and not nearly as watchful. Getting her cell phone stolen would certainly go great with her parents, her father complained enough about the bill, then alone if he had to buy her a new one.

She wasn't quite at the park when a familiar sound met her ears. Looking behind her, she saw that the same black cat from that morning was hiding behind a fire hydrant not far behind her. Clucking to him, despite her finger throbbing just then to remind her what the little demon had done earlier, she knelt down and offered her hand. The jerk took his time before slinking up to her, and he took one quick look at the pastry she held in her hand before mewing cutely and rubbing his head against her offered hand sweetly. Smirking, Yamato broke off a piece of her precious doughnut and offered it to the beast.

He sniffed it curiously, pulling back to sneeze when his nose touched the powder, but he came right back to lick at it next. The blonde waited patiently till he took the chunk from her fingers between his teeth and darted away to go eat it. Brushing her powdery fingers against her skirt, she stood and resumed walking, a small grin on her lips. Cats were manipulative yet loveable little jerks.

Reaching the corner, she glanced over at the park, partly from habit now, and wasn't sure if she was pleasantly so or just surprised when she saw that the girl was back, and her hand was flying across what she now knew was her sketchbook. Feeling a spark of determination, she marched right across the empty street and plopped right back down on the bench beside the girl. Mumbling a quick 'Hi' to the girl, she set her back down and leant against the other's arm while munching on her doughnut quite comfortably.

"Uh…"

"I didn't get to watch you draw for very long the other day, what are you drawing today?" the blonde explained and then asked, peering at the page curiously. She saw the beginning lines of the cattails rising from the pond's surface near the water's edge before the girl jerked her arm to cover the sketch slightly.

"I'm Yamato. Nakano Yamato, what about you?" the blonde asked pleasantly, biting into her doughnut classy as ever, this time smearing powdered sugar on her lips and cheek, just a bit on the tip of her nose.

The girl's brow knit together, and she lifted the hand holding the pencil to carefully adjust her glasses while she looked away. Yamato thought she might have to invade some personal space purposefully and ask again, but the girl moved her arms back into their original places and began drawing again, making a few more quick lines that slowly began to add definition to the picture.

"Sakagami…" she murmured quietly, not stopping her pencil. "Sakagami Kouya."

Yamato beamed satisfactorily as she settled herself on the bench, much like a chicken returning to its rightful roost. Biting more of the doughnut, she chewed slowly while watching Kouya sketch, and swallowed. Leaning a little closer, she watched as one of the cattails earned a bent leaf.

"You're drawing the cattails?" Yamato asked after a few moments of silence she didn't quite appreciate.

"Yeah…"

"Well…did you hear about the school whose swim team made it into that tournament? It's not even a really great school, but they managed that…pretty amazing, huh?" the blonde asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Ah."

"Um…that new mall that opened in the northern part of the city has a new restaurant that serves a lot of foreign food, even those French snails…Pretty gross if you ask me," Yamato sniffed, smiling hopefully.

Kouya stopped drawing for a moment and the blonde beside her thought that she was going to say something, but she was only looking up at the pond again. She quickly went back to work, a small noise like a thoughtful hum serving as a response to her companion.

"I'm seventeen and a senior at Tatsumi High, what about you? I know you go to Seiren…" the girl said, fishing for some topic that Kouya might actually respond to.

"I'm eighteen, also a senior." was the simple, ever quiet response she received.

Yamato's blue gaze flashed to Kouya's partially hidden face, and then out over the park. Frowning slightly as though the lack of conversation was really bothering her, the blonde worried her lip again.

"Is it better to keep talking?" the younger girl asked curiously, a troubled look on her face.

"Not if it's something stupid…" Kouya replied back softly, her tone not showing any amusement or annoyance. Just the same indifference as the mask she wore.

"Good…" Yamato murmured with a half-hearted smile and a strange mixture of relief and discomfort swirling in her chest.

They didn't say even a word after that. Yamato sat there staring at the same things Kouya did, but feeling as though she wasn't seeing what the other girl saw. But, watching the sketch unfold in Kouya's sketchbook was worth the silence between them. The blonde actually felt herself being lulled into a relaxed state from not needing to speak, to entertain, to distract…

When Kouya closed her sketchbook not long after the sun began to set, she silently stood and began to walk away. Yamato looked after her wide eyed and hopped to her feet. Wondering if she'd somehow done something wrong like last time, the blonde called after the pale girl.

"Hey! Why didn't you even say goodbye!?" she demanded, surprised and pleased when Kouya turned slightly to look towards her. The sun was reflecting off of her glasses and kept Yamato from seeing her eyes, but the girl's words struck a chord somewhere inside.

"Saying 'goodbye' would be stupid if we're just going to see one another tomorrow. I thought you agreed to not say stupid things," Kouya explained, and turned on her heel to make her exit, just as graceful and calm as before.

Even though her words could have been seen as an insult, Yamato grinned anyway and turned herself to begin the short walk home.

It became a habit for Yamato to walk to school rather than take a bus. Her efforts weren't aimed towards saving the environment or getting exercise she'd surely need if her metabolism suddenly faltered, but for only one reason.

Kouya was often along the way.

She didn't often stop in the mornings when she saw the Seiren student sitting in the park, but she did wave or call out to her. The blonde wasn't sure if Kouya registered she was there, since the bespectacled girl was always diligently drawing in her sketchbook, but it was enough to give the gesture. Her days at school just weren't quite the same when she didn't see Kouya in the mornings.

She often wanted to ask Kouya why she was or wasn't in the park on some mornings, but kept wondering if the other would merely group such a thing under the stupid category she'd apparently designated for much of Yamato's babble. The blonde knew what was stupid when she received one word responses or less, but Kouya didn't exactly talk much about other things, either.

So Yamato took it upon herself to sometimes carry on a conversation when she was feeling especially talkative. Kouya never asked her to stop or told her to be quiet, so Yamato carried on just as she pleased. The blonde felt she'd scored a small victory when she received an amusing reaction from Kouya as a response to one of the blonde girl's conversation topics.

Yamato had decided to talk about lingerie, specifically her own and her preferences and debates about styles. When she mentioned to Kouya that she was wearing her favorite red lace set, and then asked if Kouya wanted to see it, it earned her a choked gasp from the otherwise stoic girl and a bright red flush. Yamato had laughed and nudged the other's shoulder playfully, saying between her giggles she was joking. But Kouya's blush had remained and taken some time to cool down, and Yamato had wondered if the subject pushed her so because she was still a virgin.

That one main difference between them had become so small in Yamato's eyes, and the blonde had felt more than a little strange at the realization. She had clutched at her own absence of virginity like some sort of prize or lifeline. It was the link between her, Juri, and the other girls. Hell, Yamato and the others had taunted Kouya the first time they saw her because she had something the four of them had given up so readily. But often, Yamato didn't even see Kouya's ears; she didn't see what she thought of as childish in Kouya. Even if Kouya was still a virgin, her ears were the last thing that came to mind when Yamato thought about her, which was far more than she seemed to think about her friends as of late.

She saw them at school, and had begun spending her weekends with them, but they had questioned the change in her transportation arrangements, though treasured her absence from when they took turns treating each other to dinner during the school week. The blonde had also been skipping time with the guy she usually fooled around with. Sure, she saw him on the weekends sometimes and had gone with him to a motel a few times or so, but she'd changed her entire schedule around just so she could spend nearly every afternoon at an abandoned park with ducks and a mostly silent girl for company.

She supposed it was a good thing that the summer break was coming up. She could look forward to a month of no school, sleeping late, spending time with her friends, and…and…what about the afternoons she'd grown so used to? Looking over to Kouya, the blonde stared at her for a few moments, feeling the heat of the approaching summer already swimming in her veins.

…But where would Kouya be?

"Nee, Kouya?" Yamato asked, not waiting for a response that wouldn't come till after she'd said something that wasn't stupid. "This summer, what'll we do?"

"Huh?"

"Ya know…our routine will be out of whack…so…" Yamato's glance at the green eyed girl didn't give her any assurance that she'd receive help with this one, and she quickly dug through her bag to pull out her cell phone, two cutesy charms dangling from it. "We should exchange numbers, so we can make plans." The girl said, hoping Kouya would agree to the idea.

The other sat there and thought about it for a few moments, eyeing the other girl's red phone as though a monster that might bite her. But she seemed to relent and dug a blue and white phone from her bag, flipping it open. The two exchanged numbers and Yamato happily put her phone back in her bag, hopping in excitement over the new ground she'd gained with Kouya.

She had her number, she could talk to her…well, at her, whenever she wished. She'd never be without a way to contact the solemn girl.

"Oh, that reminds me," Yamato said as she curled up against Kouya, her cheek resting on the other girls shoulder and her body pressed against her left arm, "What times would be bad to call you? You only have to tell me once, I'll remember!" the blonde assured her with a chuckle. She'd gotten used to Kouya's momentary tensing of her body whenever she touched her, judging it to be a usual response of a person who wasn't touched by other people often.

"I'm not as airheaded or stupid as you probably think," the girl added, easily joking about herself when the older girl took a few moments to contemplate. Yamato gazed at her with slight concern when Kouya pursed her lips and stopped sketching.

"…You're not stupid…" Kouya whispered, her face flushing from behind the curtain of dark hair. Yamato smiled brightly at her and she ducked her head.

"Oh? You, Little Miss Genius, don't think so? Why, I'm flattered!" the blonde purred, wrapping an arm around Kouya's shoulders. "Tell me what makes you think that, huh?" Yamato chirped.

"Ah…it's nothing, you idiot." Kouya snapped, struggling in Yamato's almost-embrace till the blonde released her laughing.

"Okay, okay…" she replied back, smiling. "Sheesh, someone's a little grumpy pants…"

"You can call me whenever." Kouya said sharply, returning to her drawing. Yamato glanced at her and looked surprised.

"Really? Like, you're parents won't mind?"

"Don't see why they would," Kouya murmured.

"Soo…I can call you at like…two-thirty in the morning?" Yamato said, a devilish smirk on her lips.

"I would hope that you wouldn't," Kouya said, looking up to eye Yamato curiously. It was the first time Yamato saw that look and she wanted to lock it away safely in her memory. "Why would you call that early, anyway?"

"Phone sex, obviously." Yamato said with that half serious smirk of hers that left Kouya blushing and returning to her sketching busily.

"…You're such a pervert…" Kouya grumbled quietly.

Yamato grinned, eyeing Kouya sideways. With a laugh, she leaned over to nuzzle her shoulder, getting her to flinch. "But you love me," Yamato giggled.

Whether or not she realized that Kouya tensed and held her breath at the comment, Yamato snuggled against the other girl, happily content to sit there and watch as Kouya paid homage to the weeds growing in the grass just a few feet away that sprouted tiny but cute little yellow flowers. With a calm look on her face, Yamato realized that Kouya could make anything special in that sketchbook of hers, whether it were the old cattails growing in the pond, forgotten flowers that grew in the shade of an oak, or even weeds.

When they decided to part for the evening, they avoided saying any sort of goodbye, and Kouya for once stood to watch Yamato rush off. From what she knew, Yamato's mother was constantly harassing her about getting home earlier to take a turn at making dinner.

"…Must be nice…" Kouya murmured softly as she turned to go back to her own apartment. She wasn't sure what she wanted for dinner…maybe she would just skip. Not like she hadn't done it before. Besides, her stomach felt strange anyways, and she had an inkling as to why.

Though, just as she set foot on the sidewalk that would eventually lead to home, a sound caught her ears and Kouya glanced down at her bag. Fishing through it with her hand, she pulled out her cell phone and flipped it open, her eyes widening slightly when she saw the text message waiting alert. Opening it, she looked it over and the corner of her mouth twitched.

Im bringing you a doughnut tomorrow! You seem like the glazed type~ xoxo

It was then that Kouya was hit with the realization of what she'd done, and for the rest of the walk home she contemplated the repercussions of giving one Nakano Yamato her private cell phone number. It didn't really matter that the whole while she was weighing the cons, her free hand was tightly clutching her cell phone like a lifeline.

A/N: I'm not sure how many parts this will have…it was supposed to be a one-shot would say my original outline, but I've got nine pages that say otherwise. Well, I'll administer it in parts or after a certain number of reviews…probably four reviews per part, because I love my reviews and this couple too much to not get the proper attention Yamato and Kouya deserve.

So, review and let me know what you think! And I'm sorry about the fluidity, everything was supposed to be in the small splurts but if I posted the whole thing (which isn't even done yet) then it would be like…a twenty page or more one-shot, and last I checked one-shots were convenient when they were shorter…but nonetheless, I'll try to find proper places to stop between each part, and I can't wait for your feedback!

Love,
Sam