Sara Kitajima was in distress. Now, it wasn't the worst situation, she has ever been in. It may not even be comparable to the one time, she accidentally broke the camera of an important person. At least, this matter couldn't hurt her model career. However, she feared that it may hurt her relationship with her cousin. Who was also her lover.
It's been a while, since Sara came back to her old home. Before, she started a career as a model, which was also quite successful. The people loved her cute face, her long brown hair and blue eyes. So, when she enrolled at St. Michael's Girls Academy, the other students were heads of heels over her. But Sara only had eyes for one person. Her cousin, Kaede Kitajima. She was the reason she came back and enrolled here in the first place. She didn't recognize her at first and Sara had trouble to get closer to her. But over time, the two fell in lover with each other. That is, Kaede did, Sara had feelings for her, since their childhood, when she saved her from some bullies. Since then, she admired her cousin. And even when she was a normally plain-looking and rather reserved girl now, there was not doubt that she was still her beloved "prince".
But what do you give a prince for Christmas? A princess? She already had one and while Sara planned to give herself to her, it won't be enough. Not to mention, that she did that pretty often anyway. Some clothes? That too, is something she did often enough. Granted, she could get her some normal clothes, instead of costumes that were based on Sara's own sexual kinks, but it would be rather plain. Especially for that occasion. Jewelry? Kaede really wasn't the type for that.
Sighing, Sara laid down on the bed in the room the cousins shared. That was harder than she thought. She really couldn't come up with anything. At least, nothing that seemed right. Just why was it so hard? Everything she wanted is to give something to her beloved Kaede.
"Sara? Is something wrong?"
Speak of the devil, said beloved person just came in. Sooner than she expected, but then she was only away to buy groceries. That nearly was enough to make Sara miss her, though, and she felt rather happy to see her again. Not too much, though, since she was also the source of her problem. Not that she actually blamed her though.
As usual, Kaede, while being pretty, looked rather ordinary, as her red hair was tied into a single braid and hung over her shoulder and she wore glasses, which made her look really smart. But Sara knew that she was actually drop-dead gorgeous, a real beauty, more than she even. But she also knew that some of the other students knew it too and that they didn't keep quiet about that. Since then, Kaede was somewhat popular, even the ones who didn't see her the one day, she opened her hair and didn't had her glasses on, adored her and wished to see her like that themselves. It really made Sara jealous and worst of all, it was her own fault, since she convinced her cousin to change her appearance for one day, back then. That was pretty stupid of her, she really should have seen that coming. But then, she had no idea that it would bug her that much.
"Don't worry, Kaede-chan, everything is alright!" Sara answered, trying to appear as carefree as usual.
She didn't seem to be convinced. "Are you sure? You looked as if something worries you."
Did she really? "I am. You don't have to worry about me."
Kaede still doubted that, but didn't press the matter. "If you say so. Anyway, I think we should decide what we'll do on Christmas."
Exactly the topic, Sara rather didn't want to talk about. It only reminded her of the lack of a present. "Um, didn't your mom want to make a Christmas cake?"
Her cousin looked at her oddly. "Yes, but it turned out that she had to work on Christmas and doesn't have time to make one, after all. She actually said that yesterday." Her worries seemed to grow. "Are you sure, you are alright?"
Of course. Since she was thinking so deeply about a present, it completely slipped her mind. "Absolutely!" Sara replied, maybe a bit too loudly. "But, um, I'm not sure what else to do." Especially, since something else occupied her mind.
"Well, Yuuna-san offered me cinema tickets. Apparently, it's for two movies, she liked very much and thought that we should watch them too. Together, they are four hours, though, I'm not sure if that isn't too long. But if you don't mind, we could go there."
"That sounds great, Kaede-chan!" Just the thought of sitting beside her beloved one, watching a romance movie that would get them into the right mood... Or maybe a horror movie, where she could act scared and cling to her. Cliche as it may be, she liked that thought.
"Alright, then I'll ask her for the tickets tomorrow and we can go on Christmas."
Ask? "Of course!" Sara suddenly exclaimed, startling Kaede. If she has no idea what to give to her, she should ask somebody else for help. Why wasn't she come up with that herself?
"S-Sara! Are you really alright?" Kaede asked dumbfounded.
"Yes, all thanks to you!"
Now, Kaede was really confused. But since Sara was happy, she didn't ask further. Still, she really wondered what was up with her.
"An idea for a present?" Yuuna asked. "I'm not sure, if I can help you with that. After all, you know Kaede-san better than I do."
Sara was disappointed. She thought it was a really good idea to ask her upperclassman, who seemed to be experienced in such things. She even waited until after the school, to go to the Environmental Protection Committee and when most other members left, until only Yuuna and another girl, with pink hair, that was tied into two ponytails, remained. Sara figured, it would be alright if only one person overhears it. However, the answer of the older girl was not encouraging. Especially, since she had a point.
"But isn't there anything that could help me picking a present?" Sara said, sounding somewhat desperate."I really have no idea..."
"Well..." Yuuna said, thinking a bit. "As the saying goes, 'it's the thought that counts'." She looked over at the other committee member. "When choosing a present for a loved one, you should consider your own feelings. Of course, you have to also consider what the person in question likes, but your present should also show your affections for them. A present, that basically says 'I love you', is better than one, that is just expensive." The girl with the pink hair blushed heavily.
"So, to find a present, I should let my heart guide me?" Sara asked.
Yuuna smiled. "That's a very nice way of putting it." If only rather sappy.
She got help, but she still had no idea what to give Kaede. Actually, she got encouraged by Yuuna's advice, but after searching through several shops in the mall, without any result, she got discouraged again. "It's just no use..." she muttered to herself and sat down on a nearby bench, tired from walking around like that. Whatever she did, she just couldn't find an appropriate present and by now, she doubted whether she would ever find anything. The mere thought made her sad and soon tears rolled down her eyes. "Uh... A great girlfriend I am..."
"Sara!" she suddenly heard a voice. When she looked up, she saw the person, she looked a present for. And she was obviously very worried to see her like that. "What is wrong? Did someone something bad to you? Did you hurt yourself?"
"Kaede-chan..." Sara said weakly. "No, I'm," she sniffled, "I'm is alright..." Even she was aware, how unconvincing she was.
"Sara, don't lie to me! You are obviously not alright. What happened with you?"
What should she say? As dejected as she was, Sara didn't want to give up just yet and she didn't want Kaede to know what she planned. "Nothing. I'm alright, really," she responded, again, rather weakly.
"You don't actually think that I'm going to believe this, do you? Look, nobody just cries like that because of nothing. Why don't you tell me what happened?"
"It's..." It was no use. Of course, she couldn't convince her that she was alright. "It's got nothing to do with you." Bad start. "I mean, it's something I have to do myself." She stood up, her determination growing again, as she tried to convince her lover. "Kaede-chan, please trust me, I have to bear it on my own and it's important that I won't tell any other person about it." Actually, it was really only Kaede, who shouldn't know about this, but she thought it sounded better that way. "I have to deal with it myself. And I will deal with it. I can tell you afterward, but for now, you have to trust me."
By now, Sara's eyes seemed to radiate with new-found strength. At least, it seemed like that to Kaede, who was a bit taken aback by her determination. "I..." She rang with herself. On one hand, she was worried about her, but on the other hand... Well, if she couldn't trust her now, when she is determined like that, when could she trust her at all? "Alright, I'll let you deal with this by yourself. I just hope you won't do anything that you will regret later."
Relieved, Sara sat down again. It didn't solve her problem, but at least it prevented Kaede from finding out and pulling her out of her mess again. As much as she loved her "prince", she couldn't just rely on her all the time, could she?
"By the way," Kaede said, changing the topic. "I got the tickets from Yuuna-san. It's some kind of anime and the tickets are... kind of odd, but she said that it's a good one." She gave on of them to here.
Sara looked at her ticket. A girl with blonde hair, tied into two drills was on it. The odd thing was that the ticket was perforated along her neck. Devaluated, it would look as if the girl was decapitated.
"Oh, I think that is the movie." Kaede suddenly said, pointing to a nearby poster. It seemed to be some kind of magical girl anime. The girls looked quite cute, especially the one with pink hair, who seemed to be the main character.
But as Sara looked closer at the girl, it hit her. That was it, now she knew what to give to Kaede! Quickly, she got up from her seat and took her lover's hands in her own. "Thank you, Kaede-chan. You helped me again!" Sort of, at least the idea itself was Sara's own.
"Uh... You're welcome?" Kaede said, dumbfounded. She really had no idea what this girl was up to. Nor, why she suddenly stormed off, running into a clothing store.
It was Christmas and Sara just couldn't stop crying. She wasn't crying because of the day itself, but they just got home from watching the movies they wanted to see this day and they still had an effect on her.
"Uh... Did you see, Kaede-chan? She did so much for her and in the end..." Again, the tears rolled down her face.
"Yes, I did," Kaede said gently, holding her into her arms, while they sat on her bed. "But I really think you should calm down. It ended nearly half an hour ago."
Not that she was crying all the time. But every time, they talked about it, she began again. And here, Kaede thought she was not such a big crybaby as she was, when she was still a child. She had to admit, that the movies were quite well-made and sad, though, so she could understand that reaction.
Finally Sara managed to get herself under control, if only with some trouble. She wiped away the tears in her eyes and smiled at her girlfriend.
"That's better," Kaede said, smiling herself. "I think, now is a good time to give you your present."
With that, she stood up, walked to her desk and pulled something out a paper bag that stood under it. Sara had no idea what she would give her, so she was rather excited. When Kaede came back, and sat down on the bed again, she handed her something, that looked like a photo album.
"Merry Christmas," Kaede said, blushing. "I-I hope you will like it..." She was a bit bashful.
When she opened the album, Sara could clearly see why. There were several pictures of Kaede in various costumes, posing on her own bed. Costumes, that Sara brought home herself and ones, that were completely new to her. But all of them fitted her tastes. Not to mention how cute Kaede looked in them. Sara only barely suppressed an urge to squee at the sight. Of course, the photos were rather amateurish, something that a professional model like Sara saw immediately, but she certainly didn't mind.
But when she got to the later pages, she began to blush herself. The pictures were now naughtier, with Kaede showing more and more skin, until she was only in her underwear. "I thought that you may like this," Kaede said, a bit uncomfortable. "And so... Wah!"
She got interrupted by Sara, who tackled her on the bed, cuddling her rather forcefully. "I love it!" she exclaimed. "It's the best present I ever got!" As if to emphasize it, she gave her a kiss on the lips. Kaede was rather unprepared, but she certainly didn't dislike it.
But soon, Sara broke the kiss and got up again, as she remembered that she had a present herself. Quickly, reached into one of the pockets of her skirts and pulled it out. It was small, but it still made Kaede curious. Unlike hers, this present was wrapped into red present paper. When Sara gave it to her with a happy "Merry Christmas, Kaede-chan", Kaede opened it, patient, but still quickly, revealing a white box, which she opened. In it was a red ribbon, one that one would put on their hair.
"It's really nice, thank you, Sara" Kaede said, picking it up. "But I'm not sure if something like that suits me."
"It will look great on you, I'm sure of that!" Sara said quickly. "When I decided for it, I knew that it couldn't be anything else! To be honest, I had trouble choosing something. I was actually even about to give up, when you helped me."
"I helped you? I don't know..." Suddenly Kaede remembered. "Don't tell me... Was that the reason you cried the other day? Because you couldn't pick a present?"
"Um, yes." Sara was aware that she must have made a pathetic sight. "I really wanted to give you something, but I really couldn't find anything until then."
"Silly, you don't have to cause yourself so much grief over me," Kaede said with a smile. "But I'm happy that you are so thoughtful." Looking at the ribbon, she continued: "And even if it doesn't look good on my hair, I think I could wear it in another way. Maybe I tie it on my wrist." She thought that it would look quite nice. But she wasn't sure if it isn't too flashy.
But there was another thing, Sara wanted to give her. And the mood seemed right for that. Again, she pounced Kaede, who let out a loud "Kya!" in her surprise and fell on the bed. Again, she gave her a kiss, this time longer and more passionate than before. She only broke it to whisper "Kaede-chan, I love you!" and her hands made their way towards her clothes.
This time, Sara wouldn't get off her so fast again. And Kaede wouldn't want it any other way.
A/N: My first story here (not the first I ever wrote, though) and it's just a small, fluffy one, that I wrote rather quickly (although it took longer than I expected) for Christmas. I don't even like Christmas. So, I guess I just wanted to make a small SaraXKaede thing and Christmas was a good excuse. Even though that comes with the pressure to finish it "on time", which can end badly. I'm not sure if this is the case here.
As one could guess (if you know about them), the movies are the Madoka ones. I never actually saw them myself and don't know if there are actually any double feature showings, but it would make sense. And yes, the mentioned tickets are actually a thing.