When Height Doesn't Matter

AN: This plot bunny popped up while I was watching episode five of Rabucom. It glued itself to my brain, I swear it, and would've gnawed me into a coma. Could be set some time after episode five, and before chapter 15 of the manga. Crack fic. Be warned.

Disclaimer: Lovely Complex and all its characters belong to Nakahara Aya-san. The idea for this fanfiction though, belongs to the plot bunnies living under my bed.


It had turned into a slumber party, except without the sleeping.

Everyone had gathered at Nobuko's house, her parents having gone away for business, and the impromptu party that started didn't seem to be stopping any time soon. Anyone who was able to had decided (or been coerced) to stay for the night. Unsurprisingly, it was only Chiharu and Ryoji who left early; Chiharu because she had a curfew (no one really wanted to force Chiharu into anything – she was too pure and innocent for that type of treatment), and Ryoji because he wanted to walk Chiharu home (…Ryoji was too tall for anyone except Heikichi to force into anything, and Heikichi isn't really the forceful type).

The only ones left were Nobuko, Heikichi, Risa, Atsushi, and Seishi- erm… Seiko.

As the party dwindled down, they had resorted to board games, then, after that had lost its appeal (you can only play Monopoly so long… Nobuko owned more than ¾ of the board already, and Risa and Atsushi, the only players left besides her, were only too ready to start tearing the board apart), they decided on the one game every slumber (not really) party had to have: truth or dare.

The game had been going fine for a while. Everyone had been dishing out fairly harmless dares, and the truths exposed were about childhood things, rather embarrassing though some of them may be. It wasn't until it was Atsushi's turn, and Nobuko's turn to give that dare, that things started turning awry.

"You want me to WHAT?!" "You want HIM to WHAT?!"

Risa and Atsushi's simultaneous shout and similar gestures – arms upraised, eyes bulging, mouths hanging open, and eyebrows twitching in disbelief and irritation – would have been funny if they weren't in this situation.

"You heard me. Otani, I dare you to kiss Risa." Nobuko looked too nonchalant about the entire matter, as if it was an everyday thing to force friends to face their awkward feelings for each other. Well, I think it's about damn time they come to terms with each other, she thought with an irritated huff.

"What the crap kind of dare is that?! Are you serious?!" Atsushi had broken out of his stupor and was getting angrier by the second. Risa was still doing a very good imitation of a salmon.

"Why not? It's not like I'm daring you guys to make out, or have sex. It could be just a simple peck…"

Atsushi's shoulders slumped in relief. Just a kiss on the cheek. Nothing to be worked up about…

"…on the lips."

Atsushi went back to bristling. Nobuko's grin was sly. She wasn't letting them get out of this one. Everyone had already divulged too much embarrassing information from they were kids, and she could easily spread some through the school's gossip vine as a form of punishment for Atsushi.

Atsushi had hung around Nobuko long enough to realize it as well.

"Gah!!! Why would I want to kiss a giant?!" He was nearly tearing his hair out of his scalp. "It'd be too weird!"

"Who the heck would want to kiss a midget?!" Risa had apparently shrugged off her shock, and was now engaged in a shouting match with Atsushi. "Damn right it'd be too weird! I'd have to bend half my body down!"

She tried to bury the twinge of hurt she felt at Atsushi's words under a mountain of indignation.

"Nobu-chan what the heck?! Are you seriously out of your mind?!"

Nobuko was nearly snarling. "Goddamnit! You two act like old prudes! You should be thanking me I didn't dare for more!" Heikichi was keeping her down next to him, one hand rubbing her back in comforting circles while he murmured calming words to deaf ears.

As the three raged on, no one noticed the contemplating look on Seiko's face. If they had, they could've done something to prevent what happened. But alas, chaos had been given free reign by the several bottles of what suspiciously looked like alcohol left scattered across the room. They were still teenagers after all, and still curious.

"Do you want me to tell everyone about that incident with the mop and the ribbons? Because I would do it, you know!"

Atsushi gasped. "You wouldn't! That's blackmailing!" He tried to squelch the urge but failed. He stomped his feet in annoyance.

"Aaargh!!"

Risa tried a more diplomatic approach. "Come on, Nobu-chan. Why don't you just dare Otani to wear lipstick for an entire week at school? That sounds better right? More embarrassing too," she reasoned in a soothing voice.

Nobuko wouldn't let go of the idea. She beat her fists on the floor in childish protest. "No! I want you guys to do the dare now!" She shrugged off her boyfriend's attempts to calm her down. "Now Risa! Or I tell everyone about that incident back in middle school!"

Risa had turned white.

Atsushi stopped his stomping to give Risa a curious stare, "What incident?" and got a hard fist on the head.

"Nothing, idiot! And it's your fault you're too small, damn it! This wouldn't feel weird if you were taller!"

"My fault?! It's your fault you're too tall!"

"Don't ask for the impossible stupid! You want me to hack my legs off?!"

"Ack! What kind of brain do you have?! What, were you Hannibal Lecter in another life?!"

The All Hanshin-Kyojin was in full effect.

Seiko let out a delicate cough, trying to get their attention and failing. He said, almost to himself, "Well, it wouldn't be too weird, really."

A stun grenade wouldn't have had the same effect. Everyone had immediately stopped what they were doing, and a set of four heads slowly turned to stare at him.

"W-what did you say, Seiko-chan?" Atsushi managed to stutter.

"I don't think it would be too weird. The height difference, I mean." He had a finger on his lips in a contemplating gesture. The different possibilities were already going through his mind.

Risa sighed. "That's because you're a girl!" She amended after some quick consideration, "Erm, I mean, you look like a girl who likes guys!"

Seiko shook his head. He was already wiping off some of his make-up with a handkerchief.

"No, even if I was a guy liking a taller girl, I don't think it would be too weird. You just need to know how to position yourselves while still creating a romantic mood."

Nobuko nodded her head, delighted. "See? You guys can get pointers from Seiko-chan! You'll teach them, right Seiko-chan? Uh, Seiko-?"

He had already pulled out his hair from its pig tail, tying it in a low pony tail instead. He was half-way out of his cute button-up blouse too.

Risa started backing away. "Seiko-chan? W-why are you getting undressed?"

Seiko paused, thinking. "Well, this way it feels more real right? I can demonstrate better like this!" He giggled, and tossed his blouse to the side.

Risa's back met the wall and did the only thing she could do in this type of situation: she gaped.

Seiko kept clearing his throat experimentally as he walked over to Risa. Without his make-up on, and with his hair tied back like that, he really did look like a boy. A very pretty boy, but still male nonetheless... Are those abs I see? Risa swallowed a lump in her throat, and tried to signal Nobuko for help with her eyes but to no avail. Nobuko was also stuck gaping, frozen like the other two occupants in the room.

"Now," Seiko's voice cracked, caught in between a high, girly pitch and a lower, more boyish pitch as if confused of what it should actually be. He cleared his throat again.

"Now – ah, that's better – let's proceed to demonstrate this, Risa-chan."

And he promptly tugged on one arm hard enough to cause Risa to stumble down, her eyes scrunched shut already anticipating to meet the hard wooden floor of Nobuko's room.

She opened one eye tentatively and found herself cradled on Seiko's lap, one cheek resting against his chest. Being held like this, she felt Seiko's body warmth envelope her. Risa blinked. It felt really comfortable.

"This is one way I could think of, but it's not as romantic as the other one."

In a matter of seconds, Risa found herself lying down on the ground, Seiko's left hand cradling her head. He was straddling her hips, blond head bent towards her dark one, his right hand slowly caressing her cheek.

"This is more like it," he murmured, low voice rumbling in his chest.

"After all," his head lowered, "on the ground like this," Seiko's dark brown eyes were half-lidded, focused intensely on her lips, "height doesn't matter at all…"

Risa closed her eyes, steeling herself for the worst, when she felt soft lips fall to just the corner of her mouth… And then a sensation of having her personal space back as Seiko stopped hovering over her.

"There! See?" He chirped happily, sitting up beside Risa with a big smile on his face.

Risa's eyes snapped open, her face stuck in a picture of horror.

Atsushi spluttered back to life. "Y-y-you IDIOT!" He smacked Seiko at the back of the head. "Why'd you do that?!"

Seiko wailed. "You're not supposed to hit girls, Otani-senpai!"

"Shut up! You're a guy, and you even look like one right now! And why the heck did you do that again?!"

"Because!" Seiko dragged out the word in a pout. "I wanted to show you it could be done, and I was really curious what it was like to kiss a girl… Ara, does that mean I'm a lesbian?"

"You're a guy, dammit! You can't be a lesbian! And you're already gay!" He smacked Seiko around some more for good measure.

"Otani-senpaaaaiiii! You're not usually so cruel! You're acting like a jealous madman!" Seiko tried to cover his head with his arms.

Atsushi froze, stuttered "W-what do you-"

"Or maybe you're just a closet S&M fetishist?" Seiko giggled.

"GAH IDIOT!!!"

From the sidelines, Nobuko was still petrified, hand twitching in Heikichi's grasp. "Da-darling…"

"Yes, Nobu-chan."

"My-my eyes…"

"Yes, Nobu-chan."

"R-risa-chan…"

"If we give her a signed Umibozou CD, she'll probably forgive you."

"Aa…"

"We better get something for Otani too, now that I think about it."

"Okay darling…"

Heikichi sighed. Alcohol, boredom, and plain old teenage curiosity really don't mix well. Maybe he should stop Nobuko from even thinking about getting anything alcoholic for next time…

On the ground, unnoticed, Risa continued to twitch.


cackles madly The damn bunny made me do it! It was the bunny's fault! Mwahaha!

I decided on using their first names to create a more objective feel. Since Lovely Complex is told in Risa's point of view, the reader gets used to calling certain characters a certain way (i.e. Nobuko – Nobu-chan, and Atsushi – Otani). This way, it's more uniform. So to anyone who's wondering who the heck Heikichi is, Nakao is his last name.