Three Kisses

Summary: Three kisses. Every time, he tastes different. To Misaki, Usui remains an enigma. OneShot.

Warning: Spoilers for Chapter 32, 36 and 46.

Disclaimer: I don't own Maid-Sama.


She cannot remember the way he tastes the first time.

There are too many new sensations: Usui's lips soft on hers, the closeness of his body, something she isn't used to even after they have spent so much time together, and the warmth of his hand on her cheek. The heat in her face multiplies and suddenly subsides as she closes her eyes and loses herself. It's too much for one day: finally being able to hold his hand, desperately trying to tell him what it is she feels every time he looks at her like that and then hearing him say those words she never believed he would say. Not with such an honest expression, at least.

Had it been someone else, she would have laughed and forgotten about it. But she has provoked it. Usui may tell many weird stories and hide the truth, but he does not lie.

Instead, he kisses her and she surprises herself: she does not flinch backwards. She does not move at all. The first thing she thinks is that she would have backed off if it hadn't been him. The second thing is that he kisses differently from what she always thought. Knowing him, she would have expected him to be demanding and teasing. But his lips merely brush over hers, careful and soft. It lasts a few seconds and the touch is gone again, and the only thing she sees is his face, smiling at her in a most defenseless and open way.

And she knows she is lost.

-V-

The second time he tastes like chocolate.

Every time she sees him with that look she knows something is wrong. But he never tells her what it is he is thinking about. I've already forgotten about it is his standard mantra and she has come to hate it as much as his playfulness. Is he teasing her or is he serious? She never can say. How can she take him seriously if he always grins like that after ending a sentence that seems to be serious? So when he kisses her this time, she doesn't know whether he has challenged her in order to tease her or because he actually wants to kiss her.

The chocolate stick is sweet and bitter at the same time and she cannot help but think that it suits him perfectly. He is nothing like ordinary chocolate, there is nothing bland and common and too sweet with him. Ten centimeters are not much if it is the distance between two faces, two pairs of eyes and lips. Ten centimeters feel like eternity while she waits for him to close in to bridge the distance between them. Why, she wonders, why does he never blush? Is he never embarrassed by his own actions or words? His face is so close she can see the golden flecks in his eyes and he is still closing in. Heat floods her face even more and she feels her teeth lose hold on the chocolate stick. She grabs his tie and pulls him closer and, at the same time, holds on to the thin stick left between them. And then he reaches her.

He tastes like chocolate.

His lips, again, are soft and warm and their only connection until he lifts a hand and touches her head to hold her close. This time, the kiss lasts longer, lasts until she gasps for breath and pushes him away. But he's not easily brushed aside: he plants a soft kiss on her head and smiles at her. You really hate to lose, don´t you? So had he been making fun of her? She can't tell this time, not even with the tender smile on his face. His thumb brushes away chocolate from her lips. She can still feel him there and what makes her angry is that she wants him to kiss her again. But he only smiles – such an open, honest smile – and leaves the student council room and she is left behind, wondering what she has gotten herself into. Maybe she will be able to think through their relationship in those few days left until election.

She hasn't taken into account how much she already misses him only minutes after he has left. Somehow, his presence in the council room has become a must for her.

-V-

The third time, she kisses him and she does so on purpose.

She just cannot tell who he is. She does not know what to think about him, and how. Whenever she believes she has figured him out, he turns 180 degrees and disappears from her line of sight again. Whenever she has the feeling she understands what he is thinking, he says something that confuses her even more. Whenever she believes she knows what he is about to say, he surprises her. He is an enigma, however much she tries to place him, and she hates the way he confuses her with his comments and his actions.

She is angry. Really angry.

Because something is wrong. She is not stupid; she can see it very well. He acts strange, even stranger than before. It is not only his worry that Maria-Sensei claims to have fallen in love with her. It is something else, something deeper and graver and he just won't tell her what it is. And then, there are all those stories about his past, about his childhood. People seem to enjoy throwing bits and pieces of his history at her without really explaining anything and he is not better. What disturbs her most is the fact that she is bothered by it. She wants to know. She wants to know about his relationship to Maria-San. She wants to know about his childhood and why he is fluent in English and why he and the new teacher are on first-name basis. She wants to know why he lives all by himself and where his parents are and why he is such a perfect cook and why he never talks about himself.

I'll tell you if you kiss me.

It's a test. Obviously. Even she understands that much. If she refuses, he'll know she is not that interested in his past as she claims. If she does so, he might believe she merely is curious.

She finds a way to solve her dilemma – by pushing him into a wall and hitting him hard – and now, so close to him, she knows he won't misunderstand.

So she kisses him.

She is vexed by how necessary his presence has become to her. It hurts physically to be in a room with him and not have him looking at her. She needs him besides her, with his stupid remarks and teasing words, his habit of eating snacks all around the school and his silly grin when he sees her blush. Yes, sometimes she is angry with him, and sometimes he is plainly annoying. But those times are weighted up against those times when he only looks at her and does so with the special look he only gives her, or when he takes her hand when nobody sees it, or when he waits for her after her shift to walk her home.

This time, he tastes like Usui.

It's a mixture of different scents and tastes she has come to associate with him. This time, she takes the initiative and is surprised by how great the difference is. Just when she wants to close her eyes and forget everything else, she remembers what she has come for. She breaks the contact and looks at him, feeling like curling in his lap and never getting up again. But she needs to know. She has to try to solve the riddle Usui Takumi is. It feels like she is losing him already and she has to stop the process. In some way or another, whatever it takes her to keep him by her side.

Keep your promise.