"Reimu?"

"Yes, Sanae?"

Reimu Hakurei and Sanae Kochiya were both inside the Hakurei shrine's living room. Reimu was writing out charms on ofuda. Sanae was looking over her shoulder at her as she sat on the veranda facing the outdoors. Outside, the late morning sun shined down on the clean shrine grounds the two mikos had cleaned earlier.

"Am I a bother to you?" Reimu abruptly stopped brushing on one piece of paper.

"What? No. No, you aren't!" Reimu said, a little too fiercely. Sanae nodded, although she looked a little sadder now. She turned away and laid on the veranda. Reimu opened her mouth to speak and closed it, unable to find the right words to say. Her shoulders dropped. With her heart painfully aching, she picked up her brush and began fixing her unfinished ofuda.

For the past two weeks, Sanae had been living with her "to help Reimu return to the ways of a shrine maiden." At least, that was what Sanae yelled when she blew away the front sliding doors with her danmaku. Not that she was wrong. Since there had been no incidents lately, Reimu lazily wasted her days away. She would simply clean the front of the shrine, check the donation box, and then sleep the rest of the day, remembering to cook herself meals in between. But she was even lazy about her laziness. Once, Reimu woke up to realize she was lying face down on the stone path leading to her donation box. When Sanae saw Reimu passed out on her donation box in a surprise visit, it greatly upset her. The next day saw the death of her sliding doors and the green haired miko's new reform regime.

Reimu protested at first, stating that she had put up with the other youkais' antics for a very long time and needed a long deserved break, but Sanae would have none of it. As if she had been planning it from the start, she brought in some of her things from Moriya Shrine and began to live with Reimu. What happened next wasn't what Reimu expected at all.

They did everything together. They swept the front of the shrine, prayed and offered blessings to the shrine's unknown kami together. They cooked, ate, played danmaku, relaxed, and bathed together. The first night, Reimu could hardly sleep with Sanae next to her. The feeling of someone else's warmth and closeness was alien and unnerving, never mind the fact that they were also sleeping in the same futon. Other than returning to Moriya Shrine for a few hours at the end of the first week, Sanae never left her side.

What Reimu found even stranger was that she could have blasted (scratch that, obliterated) Sanae away in danmaku just for telling her that she wasn't performing her miko duties. She certainly was so; the grounds were swept every day and the donation box was always checked! And she would have. But she didn't…because it was nice. It was something she had never experienced or remembered before in a long time. She was not used living with other people as if they were…a family. Sanae cared for her in a heartwarming and loving way. Not even Yukari or Marisa, on occasion, did a tenth of the things the other armpit shrine maiden did for her. Before she knew it, Reimu began enjoying spending the time with Sanae more and more.

Reimu involuntarily flinched as her mind recalled two nights ago, leading to the unsettling atmosphere today. They were drinking sake with Suika and Marisa, which was the first of two mishaps. Baited by Marisa into having a drinking match with her, she drunk far more than she was used to on a daily basis. And the more she drunk, the more Sanae became radiant. Suika cheered them on as they chugged disk after disk of sake and then bottles of it. Sanae, who became tipsy after her first few drinks, clung to Reimu and cheered her on personally. Bottles began lining up. Unable to finish her fourth bottle, Marisa collapsed in a drunken heap. Suika and Sanae yelled and applauded Reimu as she finished her bottle. With a final gulp, she smacked her lips and slammed the bottle on the table. And then she heard the sounds of sweet and beautiful victory. Reimu blurrily turned and saw Sanae's beaming face very close to hers. She saw Sanae's lips open and close in excitement, not comprehending what the other miko was saying. She felt the weight of Sanae's body rest on hers, warm and inviting. The heat and alcohol went to Reimu's head, and she lost control. It was the second of mishaps. As Suika started to drink from her gourd of never ending sake, Reimu kissed Sanae as her prize.

The kiss lasted only a second. But it felt like an eternity to Reimu. She pulled back, expecting the other girl's elation. Instead, Reimu saw a mixture of fear and confusion in her face. Sanae made a small sound, quickly stood up, and ran to their room. Reimu sat there confused and shocked at what she had done. Soon, her drunkenness was replaced with horror, sorrow, and regret. She did not dare enter their room and remained there in the living room until the next day, sitting alone and afraid with a drunk and passed out oni and a drunk and passed out witch.

Sanae did not emerge from their room, even after Suika and Marisa had left (forcefully by Reimu). Reimu cleaned the front of the shrine, checked the donation box, and gave a short prayer to the kami by herself. Reimu once again felt the harsh loneliness that she always shrugged away. It had been lying in wait for the shrine maiden, and it came with sharp, throbbing pains to her heart and a longing for the missing miko that used to be at her side. She cried quietly in front of the shrine, burying her head into her knees.

Sanae finally left their room after Reimu knocked on their door and called her for dinner. It was a quiet and uneasy dinner. Reimu tried to strike up conversation with her, but Sanae only half-heartedly nodded or shook her head. When the last bits of food disappeared, Sanae thanked her for the food and slowly returned to their room. Looking after her retreating back, Reimu's soul nearly broke again from longing for her. She tried to fight back the new tears like the shrine maiden she used to be, but Sanae was a part of her now.

When it was getting quite late, Reimu reluctantly went to their room for a change of clothing, since she had not bathed the day before. She knocked on the door, which opened after a few moments. There Sanae stood, but Reimu could not meet her eyes. She stammered out that she needed to bathe and quickly got in to get her change of clothes. As she was leaving, she felt a tug on her shirt. She turned and saw Sanae pulling while looking at her with slightly pleading eyes and a hint of longing. Reimu felt a strange heat come up inside her chest as she said that she had to take a bath. But neither of them moved to let go of the other. Finally, Sanae let her arm fall, but as she let go a tiny "Sleep with me" was spoken in earnest. Reimu felt her chest tighten and faintly heard herself saying that she will.

It was a restless sleep. Reimu laid awake in their shared futon, and she could sense that Sanae was also awake. Her heart was pounding, but for better or worse she did not know. She felt Sanae rustle a little. Then she felt something else. It was warm and soft. Reimu realized that Sanae's right hand had crept into her left hand. Reimu turned and saw Sanae's soft green eyes staring at her. Although she couldn't see well in the darkness, she thought saw the slightest hint of a smile before Sanae closed her eyes and fell asleep. Their hands remained together long after Reimu herself had finally fallen asleep, comforted by Sanae's warmth. But when morning came, both of the mikos acted as if last night had not happened. The uneasy, gloomy atmosphere settled in again as they swept the front of the shrine in silence.

"Reimu?" Reimu blinked and looked up. Her ofuda stack had hardly grown. She realized she had been staring down and leaning over the table while remembering. Her brush had created a large puddle of ink on the paper. Sanae was sitting next to her, their knees almost touching.

"I…want to apologize." Reimu looked at Sanae in surprise.

"But what for? You haven't done anything wrong," she said, her voice trailing away, knowing that it was her fault. Sanae shook her head in sadness.

"I'm sorry for running away that night and leaving you. It was, it was because I…I was just so happy," Sanae confessed. Her head bowed slightly. Reimu's heart sped up a little. Did that mean…?

"To be honest, returning you to a proper shrine maiden was just an excuse. I just wanted to be closer to you ever since I came here to Gensokyo. Every time I saw you, there were these feelings I couldn't ignore. I thought that, maybe if there was any reason to come here and…live with you, I would do it," Sanae said, a few tears being shed as she released her inner turmoil.

"Sanae…" Reimu didn't know what to say. Sanae drew an unsteady breathe.

"Then, when you kissed me, I was so happy. I was so happy, that I became scared. I was scared about how you really felt about me or if it was just the alcohol and I didn't know what to do and eventually I just avoided you out of pain and fear and loving you. " Sanae began shaking, and the tears started to flow. Without thinking, Reimu drew her fellow shrine maiden into a comforting embrace. Sanae sobbed and shook in Reimu's arms as her emotions and guilt overwhelmed her. After ten minutes, she calmed down, sniffing a little. She started to wipe away her tear stains. Reimu raised one of her arm sleeves and wiped her face gently. When her stains were gone, Sanae looked back up at Reimu with red but soft eyes.

"Thank you," she said. She pulled away and put her hands in her lap. "I guess I should have told you directly." She took a deep breath, soothing her nerves, and smiled.

"I love you, Reimu." With those simple but heart-throbbing three words, Reimu also let go. She leaned forward and embraced and kissed Sanae. With no resistance, the green haired girl wrapped her arms around the other girl and kissed back. They indulged in each other's love and warmth, both of them giving herself to the other wholly. They kissed and held each other as if they never wanted to be separated again. But finally, Reimu broke their kiss, the lack of air forcing her to move back. A thin strand of saliva trailed and fell away. Sanae sat there dazed but happy. As she basked in the glow of their mutual love, Reimu realized that she herself had not given a proper confession either. She gently held the other girl's hands.

"I love you, Sanae."

Sanae blushed a deep red and then laughed a little out of embarrassment. She drew her lover into a hug.

"I guess this means we are a couple now." Reimu smiled and kissed Sanae again.

"I guess we are."

.

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