Chilly Meeting
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summary: Fear the Frustrating Fluff
XXX(Konata POV)
A white cloud appeared from Konata's mouth each time that she breathed.
It was cold. It was very cold. In fact, it was so cold that she couldn't help but question what it was that she was doing.
Am I out of my mind? The small otaku thought to herself. I know that this is useless, so why can't I just give up already? It was indeed puzzling. Why should she have to withstand such terrible temperatures for someone whose only reaction would probably be bad? But I can't just leave, not yet. I want to see her face, even if she ends up getting mad at me for it… I guess I really am a sucker for her, aren't I?
Chuckling softly at the thought of admitting that to Kagami's face, Konata looked up at the sky. Snow would probably trigger a flag scene or two, at least in a normal game, but this tsundere was a lot harder to catch than those of her usual games, although, admittedly, that hadn't stopped her from practicing diligently by completing every tsundere route she'd been able to get her hands on – which were quite a lot.
She finally spotted her twin-tailed target, and, the cold long since forgotten, Konata began waving wildly, hoping to catch Kagami's attention.
"I'm certain that there should be some sort of limit as to how enthusiastic a person should be allowed to wave," despite her harsh words, Kagami was smiling a little. "So, why are you here?"
"I'm here because I wanted to see you Kagamin," she did her best to act innocent in front of the taller girl's doubtful expression. "I figured you'd miss me, so I thought I'd go meet you."
"W-What! Why would I miss you?" Kagami's face was growing increasingly red, and Konata was certain that it had little to do with the cold.
"Because you're a bunny Kagamin," she smiled teasingly as Kagami seemed to twitch a little. "You hate being lonely, right?" quickly deciding to be a bit less teasing, Konata continued, "Besides, I wanted to see you, we haven't been able to talk for a while."
"W-Why would I want to talk with you?" she put up a valiant effort, but her stammer kept giving her away, it was extremely moe. Then – finally – 'it' revealed itself, the reason that the small otaku teased her so much, a glimpse of her deredere side. "B-But I guess that since you're already here, we can talk if you want to."
Ah, I've really missed this, Konata was a little surprised at the thought. She really seemed to have fallen completely for the girl, because even though she'd seen her just a few days ago, during this time, she'd missed her so very much. I wonder if she feels the same…
XXX(Kagami POV)
Kagami had always prided herself at being able to work hard to reach her goal – whatever goal it might be at the time. So, she found herself to be somewhat peeved at realizing that Konata could reach most of the same results in academics, simply by cramming it the night before.
Of course, this was hardly anything new, but it still got on her nerves.
"Kagamin~ What are you pouting at?" the singsong tone was almost enough for her to start looking for a blunt object to hit her over the head with, but she'd gotten used to her over the years and simply frowned.
"I'm not."
"Liar, liar pants on fire~!" Kagami had a vague recollection of that being something American – not anime for once – and guessed that it was the result of the small girl spending a lot of time around Patricia as of late.
Kagami smacked her over the head.
Violence was not the answer, she'd been taught that from a young age. But since meeting Konata she'd learned that it was a great stress-relief. Not to mention that it actually forced her to stop spouting weird things – instead whining softly about 'tsundere' whilst rubbing her head.
This was the way things worked between them. Kagami worked, Konata made fun of her, Kagami got mad, Konata got smacked over the head, Kagami did something else than working, Konata made fun of her, Kagami got mad, Konata got smacked over the head. Repeat from start.
Basically, their relationship consisted of teasing and violence, and she sometimes worried that she might be killing off too many of the odd girl's brain-cells.
Sighing heavily, Kagami looked out through the classroom window.
She's irresponsible, annoying, and lazy... sweet, funny, and cute. Kagami frowned at the thought. Why does that last part seem to weigh heavier than the first?
Kagami had considered breaking it off with the lazily hyperactive girl several times, but for some reason, it felt... odd, without her around. It was like getting stuck at school without an umbrella when everyone else had already gone home.
It was a strange analogy, but it was the best way she could think of to describe it.
Konata started waving her hand in front of her face.
"Earth to Kagami, is anyone home?" Kagami blinked, and looked towards her.
"What is it this time?"
"Did you remember your umbrella?" another blink, then she looked outside again.
It was raining.
"Yeah, why?" a small smile appeared on Konata's face.
"Lets go home together!" Kagami stared at her for a moment, annoyed at being taken advantage of, but then the smaller girl started using her puppy-eyes.
"Fine. But if you start being annoying, I'm leaving you in the middle of the street."
"Yay!" Kagami raised an eyebrow at the absurd amount of joy that the loud girl was displaying, but decided not to mention it.
Knowing that there was no way that she would leave her in the street no matter what Konata did to her, she sighed again. How in the world had it come to this? Then, as Konata took off somewhere, she felt a small smile forming on her face.
Sharing an umbrella, huh? Yeah, that didn't sound too bad...
XXX(Yutaka POV)
She looked like a knight in shining armor as she stood there. She seemed calm, but Yutaka knew that it was a mere trick of the light, Minami was terribly nervous.
Yutaka felt a smile trickling onto her lips as she watched her noble figure.
She'd always admired her, ever since the first moment they met, but sometimes she'd be reminded of just how beautiful the taller girl was.
It was an odd feeling, mostly because she felt as if she should be feeling jealous, rather than proud, of her friend's beauty.
No, she didn't feel jealousy when she watched her lone figure, that feeling only seemed to surface when Minami stood next to someone other than herself.
Yutaka might've asked someone to explain this to her, but she would always hesitate at the last moment, as if she was afraid of the answer that she'd be given. So, she continued to watch her, admiring her whenever she was distracted by other things, and feeling jealous whenever she talked to someone else.
Yutaka sighed quietly, just before Minami turned towards her, and smiled a proudly beaming smile at her friend.
Friend. Yutaka felt her brow furrow as the taller girl began making her way over. Friend. There was something about that word that didn't sit well with her for some reason. Friend. She was Minami's best friend. A slight hesitation, it felt a little better, but still uncomfortable.
'Friend' wasn't nearly enough. 'Best friend' was better, but still not enough.
Yutaka knew that she was probably mumbling to herself in a concentrated manner, and looked very odd in the process, but she couldn't help herself. She was on the brink of a very important realization, she could feel it on the tip of her tongue.
"Yutaka," Minami's voice echoed inside of her head, making her feel dizzy all over, "Are you alright?"
Something more than 'best friend'. What in the world could be more than best friend?
A part of her knew that she was currently ignoring Minami, and was starting to feel somewhat guilty about it, but she didn't have much of a choice. She needed to know.
She could hear the taller girl's kind voice sounding vaguely worried as she continued to be ignored.
There was an answer to what she felt for her, she knew there had to be an answer. She just couldn't put her finger on it, and it was starting to become very frustrating.
Yutaka suppressed a low growl of frustration.
Minami put her hand on her shoulder, and the world stopped.
"Are you alright?"
All thought process stopped as Minami's worried voice resounded in her very skeleton.
Lover.
The world crashed into focus, as Yutaka's face exploded into a deep blush.
'Lover', it felt... right.
She wanted that.
Staring up at the taller girl in newfound shock, Yutaka realized that she was in love with her.
"Yutaka? Your face is kind of red, do you have a fever?" Minami tilted her head in a way that made Yutaka's heart race through her chest at mind-boggling speeds.
"I-I'm fine..." a hand was resting comfortingly on her shoulder, and for a moment she thought that she would melt in front of those beautiful eyes of hers.
This was going to take some time getting used to.
XXX(Minami POV)
She smiled, and Minami's heart took off once more.
She'd never been good at relationships with others, and over the years she'd come to accept that she would be misinterpreted by her surroundings, but Yutaka always understood, and yet she still admired her.
It'd taken her a long time to realize that the feelings of wanting to protect the frail girl had turned into a wish to keep her to herself. She didn't want anyone else to touch her, and she felt a sting of something dark whenever they had.
For how long did I know of those feelings before I realized what they meant? Minami sighed at the thought. It'd taken her much too long. But when she'd realized it, a large part of her simply wanted to forget. Terrified of ruining the friendship that had grown between them.
Always worrying about the smaller girl, whether it was her health or her closeness.
She felt jealousy, she felt fear. But they only surfaced when she thought of Yutaka turning her back on her.
Yutaka was frail, and so she'd decided to protect her from anything in the world that might wish to hurt her. She'd heard Hiyori speak of being a knight in shining armor, and ever since then, Yutaka would forever remain a princess to be rescued when she entered into her dreams.
Dreams which were appearing with increasing frequency.
Minami felt a blush rising to her cheeks at the thought.
"Minami?" Yutaka looked up at her face curiously and Minami felt herself twitch.
"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" the smaller girl looked at her with a hesitantly relieved expression, and then she continued with her story.
She was in love with her. And some days, the thought made her smile.
XXX(Ayano POV)
Ayano was a surprisingly jealous person.
It wasn't that anybody had told her that, it was just a conclusion that she'd come to by herself.
Kagami shook her head, as she kept the fanged girl from jumping her with an outstretched hand.
"Sorry, but I need to get to Tsukasa's class. See you guys later," she sidestepped as she let go of Misao, sending her crashing to the floor in a very unrefined manner.
It was a fairly common exchange of words, Misao wanting to keep her in the classroom for lunch, and Kagami leaving regardless.
Ayano was already packing up her lunch, having already known what the outcome would be – it was always the same outcome, so she was having some trouble seeing how the fanged girl could still be surprised.
Then again, that was one of the things about her that she'd fallen for. Absolute confidence in her own abilities, despite being continuously proven otherwise.
She smiled as the girl she loved rose from the floor, athletic experience causing her to move in perfect balance and as calmly as flowing oil.
Ayano never grew tired of watching her move like that, and she felt her cheeks redden at the thought.
She wasn't sure of when she'd realized that she was in love with her, but she'd loved seeing her move for as long as she could remember.
Misao slumped into her seat in a casual way, and Ayano was finally able to snap out of her trance-like state.
As usual, Misao was left in a daze by her shocking defeat, and spent most of the lunch sniffing quietly to herself as she ate – Ayano would've been worried, but this was the way she always reacted.
And then, as the lunch finally drew to a close, and Ayano weren't forced to ask herself if the fanged girl would have as strong a reaction if she'd been the one changing classrooms, Kagami returned, just in time to suffer a little under Misao's whining before class started once more.
Ayano tried to pay attention in class, but Misao had fallen asleep by her desk, apparently more tired from the lunch than the lessons before it, and she was having problems concentrating when the girl's peaceful face was just an arm's reach away.
She loved her with all of her heart. But sometimes she really wished she didn't, and that she could have woken the poor girl up, before their teacher turned towards her and saw her sleeping.
It felt like a betrayal to put the poor girl through that simply because she couldn't bring herself to give up on that sleeping face of hers.
Ayano sighed as Misao continued through the lesson, sitting rigid in her seat, and turned towards the blackboard. She might as well pay attention.
XXX(Misao POV)
Another desperate attempt was thwarted as Kagami turned around and left.
The classroom was still filled with those that didn't have any better place to be during lunch, but she barely recognized them.
Once again she was alone with Ayano, and the thought nearly made her heart jump out of her chest.
How was she supposed to act calmly when she was alone with the girl she loved? Especially considering how that girl knew nothing of her feelings, and weren't supposed to know them either, Misao had put in a lot of effort to hide them away from her long term friend.
Sitting down across from her, she tried not to notice the miniscule things about the girl that proved that she was enjoying herself profoundly. Misao had never understood exactly why Ayano seemed so amused by her attempts to keep Kagami in their classroom, but she suspected that it might be related to how she always seemed to mess up somewhere along the way.
Trying very hard not to feel jealous of every single morsel that passed through those beautiful lips, Misao began eating her own lunch.
She could act like the possessive friend everywhere but here. Here she could only hope not to grab the beautiful girl and have her way with her. Which, in a way, was really dumb since Ayano could probably beat her senseless if she really tried. Or at least she hoped she could. Because it was one of the corner stones to keeping herself restrained.
Misao knew that Ayano had been able to do it – and in fact done it a few times – when they were children, but she'd had a lot of training that her calmer friend hadn't had since then. So it wasn't all too improbable that their power balance had shifted, she just tried to ignore that it might have.
Ayano's face looked so blissfully peaceful when she ate, and sitting across from her, Misao could hear her heart thundering away inside of her.
Remaining calm was impossible in this situation, and that was the reason that she tried so desperately every lunch to keep the third wheel present. Someone that she could distract herself with.
That it had to be Kagami was mainly because the girl had a tendency to react to provocations in wonderfully distracting ways.
Misao suppressed a sigh, turning it into a sniffling sound instead, and began eating her lunch.
XXX(Hiyori POV)
Hiyori had a vague realization that her chin had hit the floor, and that her eyes were probably staring with enough force to drill holes.
Which would be a shame, because they looked so very soft.
Hiyori could feel her face growing steadily redder as the American turned towards her in a way that reminded her an awful lot of pudding.
"Hiyori, are you alright?" her words were worried, but her tone seemed fairly amused.
Hiyori was definitely not 'alright'. She was doing everything in her power not to faint, and the way Patricia was leaning forward wasn't helping at all.
This onsen trip might've been a bad idea after all.
Smooth legs, bright blue eyes, and a body with an uncomfortably pleasant amount of curves.
Patricia was standing naked in front of her, and it took every ounce of her willpower not to simply force her down and have her way with her – she supposed that doing that might be quite difficult unless she either caught the girl completely by surprise, or if Patricia allowed for it to happen.
It hadn't really crossed her mind that she'd be with Patricia whilst naked, until just before entering the dressing room. Needless to say, she'd been pulled into the dressing room since she'd blanked out completely for several minutes at the realization.
Temptation incarnate giggled – causing a wave to move across her ample hills in a very captivating way – and started to undress her.
Hiyori's brain fried a circuit, or maybe that was an entire brain – it was hard to tell what with all the smoke coming out of her ears.
It took her a moment to realize that they were supposed to be having a bath, and that they were sort of on a tight schedule since they'd wanted to surprise Yutaka and Minami who were already inside, soaking, and that she was being undressed purely out of practical reasons, which were not in any way related to... well, you know, that.
The thought made her feel vaguely disappointed – vaguely because she was still quite busy feeling dazed.
Another few moments were needed to recover from the shock, and then the two of them made their way towards the open-aired bath.
Hiyori made sure that she was the one walking first, because though she might've recovered somewhat from staring at the American's front, she wasn't going to trust herself with her back – and all that it entailed – just yet.
XXX(Patricia POV)
Patricia had always guessed that Hiyori's dedication to manga had been related to the famous words of a certain Guardian Spirit – which had gone somewhere along the lines of "You're good at one thing, improve that until perfection," – but now she was having second thoughts.
Hiyori was definitely good at at least two things.
And one of those things didn't have anything to do with drawing.
Patrica stared in wonder as the girl in front of her continued to sing with a voice that couldn't possibly come from something as lowly as a common mortal.
She was vaguely aware that the others around them were equally surprised at the beautiful music that was emerging from between Hiyori's soft-looking lips, but she couldn't really pay them any mind since she was currently trying to keep herself from drooling.
Patricia had always suspected that the fujoshi actually had a very good voice for singing, but she'd never imagined that it would be anything like this.
Her eyes were closed, her long hair was moving fluidly with the music, and her face was still blushing heavily from the enthusiastically embarrassing cheers she'd attained on her awkward walk towards the stage.
She looked absolutely stunning.
And that wasn't even counting the voice that would make an angel jealous.
Patricia's heart was racing through her chest at breakneck speeds, and all she could do was stare at the beautiful girl in utter awe.
Then, when the music finally stopped, there was an odd pause of perfect silence before anyone even remembered that they were supposed to applaud.
Patricia didn't applaud.
Patricia was still busy staring, even though the image was blurring somewhat.
It took her a moment before she realized that the blurring was because of the tears running down her cheeks.
Hiyori had stopped singing.
The voice that had sounded so beautifully had stopped, and that in itself was actually enough to make her cry.
But as Hiyori made her way towards her through the crowd, she was quick to wipe away any traces that might be left from the tears.
She couldn't allow her to see this. Though she wouldn't know the reason for it, she couldn't let Hiyori see her cry like this.
After all, she didn't want to worry the girl of her dreams.
XXX(Tsukasa POV)
Studying had never been one of Tsukasa's strong suits. This might partly be due to how her sister had spoiled her somewhat, but she still thought that the main reason behind it was that she simply wasn't made for it at all.
This personal lack of capability was one of the very first reasons she'd had for admiring Miyuki.
The things she'd admired her for had since then grown substantially, but her first reason was still high on the list.
"Yuki-chan, can you explain this part?" the long-haired girl turned towards her with a calm elegance and began to show her how it was done.
Another of her reasons was that, no matter what she did, Miyuki always seemed refined.
Listening to her calm, fluid voice was enough to send shivers down her spine, despite the room being as hot as you'd expect from a summer without an AC.
Her sister hadn't been able to make it, having instead some sort of errand to run with Konata, and so they'd been the only two people to show up at this study-circle of theirs.
Not that Tsukasa minded in the least.
Simply being allowed to sit next to her, to be able to catch a whiff of her fragrance whenever the girl moved, was enough to make Tsukasa feel very appreciative towards the world and its potential creator.
She supposed that she should be feeling a little guilty for not actually thinking about studying, but she was getting work done, even if it was simply to have Miyuki smile that joy-filled smile at her whenever she answered something correctly.
Miyuki's smile was actually proving to be an incredible motivator, as it seemed as if the homework ended long before it should've been possible in normal circumstances.
But Tsukasa could only feel wave upon disappointing wave at the realization of this wonderful time together drawing to a close.
Until she remembered that they were supposed to make dinner by themselves today.
She could feel a smile forming on her lips before she knew it.
She wouldn't have to say goodbye to Miyuki's elegant movements and her calm voice just yet.
They would be able to spend some more time together, and she should be able to catch that fragrance a few times more before the day drew to an end.
XXX(Miyuki POV)
Tingles made their way up Miyuki's arm as a soft hand gently moved her out of the way.
Miyuki had never been very good at housework, and though she took a certain pride in being a quick study, she knew that she'd never be able to match Tsukasa in cooking.
Despite this, she didn't really mind helping out. Because even though she knew that the short-haired girl could make it a lot quicker without her interference, it was worth it to be able to watch her up-front when she was in her element.
Everything happened smoothly, and the only time she really slowed down was when she was giving Miyuki pointers – or in some cases, guiding her hands.
It reminded her of a dance.
And when she thought of it that way, she couldn't help but wonder what she might look like if she were to move with such gentle grace on the dance-floor. The result of her imagination running wild was a brilliant image of Tsukasa in a dress, curtsying with an embarrassed blush, before flowing out onto the floor like a flower caught in a stream.
Miyuki knew that she wasn't the 'smartest' of people, in that she would easily be left behind due to her innocence in many matters. For example; it was one thing to read about love, and a different thing entirely to experience it.
Which was why it'd taken her so long to realize her reason for always making time to meet the other girl, and why she'd always be completely fine with being ignored by the other two at their lunch-table in school as long as she could sit next to Tsukasa.
When she finally had realized it, she'd felt somewhat guilty about her apparent ulterior motives towards the cute girl.
She'd never been very good at using the knife, and just as she realized that this might end with bandaged fingers for her, a soft hand closed over hers, guiding her gently.
Miyuki fought desperately against her desire to simply melt on the spot as Tsukasa's calm breathing tickled her neck, and did her best to follow the way that her hands were being guided.
It was a failing struggle, but she was certain that she might've learnt something from it that wasn't related to how soft Tsukasa's chest was when it pressed up against her back.
The thought made her blush.
She wasn't sure of how long she'd be able to hold out against the kindhearted girl before she confessed to her what was really hidden in her heart, but she'd enjoy this time for as long as it lasted.
XXX
A/n: Konata's part was originally written for the Harem Route, but since the story progressed quicker than anticipated, it was omitted. I didn't really know what to do with it, until I came up with the idea of making a series of short POVs in which the characters confessed their feelings to themselves, but where nothing actually happened.
I hope that it was enjoyable despite any potential frustration.