AN: This was basically just an exercise for me to see how many different ways I could describe Mio's eyes. Another late-night write so if there's random grammar errors or just general mistakes, I apologise.
"Mio... You know..." Ritsu began, words catching halfway out of her throat as stormy silver eyes met her own. A slight tilt to the head, a river of silky night cascading down over the curve of a shoulder.
"What is it, Ritsu?" The rich, gentle alto voice that warmed ever so slightly at the brunette's name. Quiet crinkling of sheet music as long, fine yet powerful fingers carefully folded and creased the paper before tucking away the black and white music into a book. Ritsu swallowed, then turned away from the moonlight storm-cloud gaze of the taller girl and exhaled quietly.
"I read on the Internet somewhere that if you're not careful, centipedes could crawl into your ears at night and-" she turned back to the dark-haired bassist with a grin, receiving a particularly vicious whack to the head as the terrified Mio lashed out instinctively, hugging herself and pressing back into the wall.
"Th-that was totally unnecessary Ritsu! And here I was thinking you were going to say something serious!" The brunette smiled to herself. She hadn't been able to say it, but at least she'd had a wonderful view of idle curiosity to white fear to blushed embarrassment. And the smack was well worth it for that show.
"Who, me? I'm always serious!" She winked, still nursing the back of her head.
She tried again after school, on the way home.
"Mio."
God damn those eyes of hers! So gorgeously smoky-grey in the gilded afternoon sunlight. They spoke the question before her mouth did most of the time.
"Hm?"
The same tilt to the head, the same river of dark hair flowing over and back.
She just couldn't say it, not when those eyes made her mouth go dry ad her voice squeeze.
"...Can I come over tonight?" Ritsu asked instead.
Mio blinked, long lashes down and then up and framing the steel gaze again. Ritsu usually just followed her home, she didn't usually ask.
"Sure, if you want. Mama and Papa are going out tonight I think, so I'd be glad for some company." Her cheeks grew rosy when she realised the way she'd called her parents, but it was only Ritsu who heard, and Ritsu had heard her call them that more often than she had seen her blush.
Alright, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration. Mio did blush an awful lot. The drummer grinned, tossing an arm around the taller girl.
"That's my Mio-chuan! I knew you loved spending time with me!"
"Don't push your luck." The dangerous queen warned, but allowed the shorter girl to lean on her a while longer
They were studying. Or correction; Ritsu was reading manga, Mio was studying. Actually scratch that, Mio was studying, Ritsu was staring at Mio. Subtly of course, or at least as subtly as Ritsu could be.
"Hey, Mio." She started, placing her comic down slowly. A quiet "hmmm" (rich, chocolatey, velvet smooth and low, the brunette idly took note.) told her that the bassist was listening, if not looking at her yet. Good, those -damnable- gorgeous eyes weren't on her for now.
"I wanted to tell you..." The curious storm cloud gaze came up and strangled her voice. Ritsu wanted to scream. Mio, you may as well slit my throat because I can't say it if you look at me like that.
"Tell me what? You better be being serious.."
The drummer shook her head.
"Tell you-" no good, the sounds kept tumbling to a halt before they made it around her tongue.
"That I..." Well that was a start.
"Really." Oh screw it close your eyes if you can't say it when she's looking at you.
"Really really like-" a calloused finger gently pressed against her lips.
"I know."
Ritsu blew air, confused.
"I know that, stupid."
The brunette opened her golden eyes and met silver.
Sparkling storm cloud silver, with raised eyebrows and adorably coloured cheeks and something between a smirk and a genuine laughing smile.
"Of course I know that."
And Ritsu creased her brow in confusion and puffed out her cheeks in slight irritation at the finger still held against her lips. And Mio just laughed, a reckless laugh that only the drummer could coax out of her, and then she dropped her finger and cupped the brunette's face, and kissed her.
And of course five minutes later her whole face was aflame and flushed and she was hiding under her pillow and Ritsu was grinning like an idiot, trying to coax her out of her hiding place. She couldn't, so she settled for snaking her arms around the taller girl and resting against her.
"Of course you knew."