Hi there! I know it's been a long time, and yes, I know I should be updating 'Once Upon an Autumn's Equinox' but this story I am posting today has imposed itself to me and I couldn't bring myself to write about anything else before this one was finished. Don't worry though,'Once Upon an Autumn's Equinox' will be updated eventually. I had a lot of fun writing this new story, and I really hope you will enjoy it too. Of course comments and reviews will be greatly appreciated.
I still don't own Digimon.
Rika Nonaka took a deep breath before finally pushing the door to the apartment complex. Slight apprehension tugged at her stomach.
It seemed that only yesterday she was a thirteen year-old girl trying to save the world with a bunch of other kids. Now she was eighteen and she was going to visit a friend's very first apartment.
She took out a piece of paper out of her jeans' pocket as she rode the elevator. Eleventh floor, apartment 1105, she read for the third time. The elevator came to a stop and Rika stepped hugged her package close against her chest as she slowly made her way towards number 1105. Taking another deep breath, Rika raised her hand and knocked on the door. Relax, she told herself, after all it's only...
The door almost immediately opened. "Hi Rika! I'm so glad you could make it, I couldn't wait for you to arrive!" said a grinning blue-eyed boy as he greeted her.
Ryo Akiyama.
Rika smiled back to him. "Hey Ryo. I'm glad to be there too."
"Please, come in!" he said, moving backwards and holding the door for her. "I can't wait to show you my home sweet home!"
"And I can't wait to see it, believe me" chuckled Rika as she entered his apartment and began taking off her shoes. "Also, I'm very sorry I missed your housewarming party. I hope you forgive me."
"Well of course I understand! You had university entrance exams, right? At least you missed it for a good reason! How did it go, anyway?" he enquired.
Rika shrugged. "Good, I think. It was harder than I expected but I think I did okay. I suppose I won't know for sure until I get the results, though."
"I'm sure you'll be just fine. By the way, you look very nice! Did you dress up for me?"
She rolled her eyes but blushed lightly as she looked down to her outfit, a grey cardigan over a silky purple camisole with dark blue jeans. "Don't be silly. I don't need to impress you. And since when do you even compliment me?"
"Well, a good host should compliment his lady guests, don't you think?" he answered, winking at her.
She shook her head, smiling.
"Come on, you dork, give me the grand tour. I didn't come here just for you to ogle me."
Still grinning, Ryo invited her to follow him. After a little corridor, they penetrated into the main room of the apartment. The room was quite spacious, with big windows on one wall that bathed the room in sunlight. In the middle of the room was a couch facing a television, and a corner held a desk on which sat Ryo' computer. The walls were painted a light shade of blue and were still bare. The open room was joined with the kitchen. A small table and two chairs were placed behind the couch.
"Bienvenue chez moi!" said Ryo as he grinned at her. Seeing her puzzled expression, he explained: "It means 'welcome to my home' in French."
Rika raised an eyebrow. "And since when do you speak French?"
He gave her a sheepish smile. "I don't. I asked a French exchange student to teach me that sentence so I would sound fancy."
She raised her eyes to the sky and made a mock sigh. "So typical of you. Is there more to see?"
"Of course!" he enthusiastically answered. "That corridor there leads to my bathroom..." He walked towards it as Rika followed him. "It's still clean for now," he explained, "but I plan on letting it get really dirty, just as the bathroom of any single guy should be!"
"Eww" said Rika as she frowned in mock disgust. "For the love of god, please get yourself a girlfriend then!"
"Are you offering to fill that position?" Ryo asked her, wiggling his eyebrows.
"Believe me; I have no intention of getting in any position with you, Ryo."
He snapped his fingers in disappointment. "Oh well, it never hurts to ask. Last stop on the Akiyama tour, my bedroom" said Ryo as he made his way to the last remaining room, Rika close on his heels. He turned on the lights in the room and Rika saw a well-proportioned room with dark green walls. A small window gave some light, but the room was still rather dark, hence the necessity of turning on the lights. On his neatly made queen-size bed laid a grey and black comforter. A few still unopened boxes rested in a corner, but otherwise the room was in order.
"So" began Ryo, "what do you think?"
"You seem to have found a very comfy place for yourself" she said, smiling at him. "Were the walls already painted like that, or did you repaint them?"
"They were already like that, but I liked the colours so I left them as such. The bedroom is pretty dark though, but then again all I do there is sleep, so it's not that much of a problem. At least, not one worth repainting the room for!" chuckled Ryo. Walking back towards the main area of his apartment, Ryo added: "By the way, why don't you eat with me tonight? I have a frozen pizza we could eat while talking about the good old days. I wouldn't mind the company." He looked at her with big, hopeful, blue eyes.
Rika gave a small shrug, smiling. "Sure, why not? It's been a while since I did something with another human being for fun, with all that studying for university entrance exams." Once they arrived in the living room area, she jumped slightly. "Oh, I almost forgot! My grandmother made spaghetti sauce and asked me to give you some, because she was sure that once you started living on your own you would stop feeding yourself properly" said Rika as she took a few Mason jars out of the bag she held.
Ryo's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? Wow, thanks! Please thank your grandmother for me; it's really kind of her to think about me. I'll put those in my fridge right away" he said as he took the jars from Rika's arms.
She followed him to the kitchen and watched as he put the jars in his refrigerator. When Ryo opened it, Rika shook her head. In it were only some bread, butter, milk, ketchup and sliced cheese. As for the bottom of the refrigerator, it was completely filled with beer bottles.
"So typical" she said dryly. "Good thing my grandma thinks about feeding you, because you obviously don't give it much thought."
"Hey, give me a chance, I'm still getting used to this!"
"Seriously, do you really need that much beer?" she pointed out.
"You will find out soon enough that a university student needs only two things to survive; coffee to wake up, and beer to sleep!" Ryo joked. Seeing Rika's unimpressed look, he quickly added: "Seriously though, those bottles are all leftovers from my housewarming party with the rest of the Tamers. Kazu and Kenta brought way too much. After all, you know that Takato, Jeri and Henry don't really drink much. That's why I have so much beer in my fridge."
"Hey, I'm not your mother. You don't need to justify yourself to me." After a pause, she added, a little embarrassed: "Well, um, since I gave you my grandma's spaghetti sauce... Well, what I mean is that I have a gift for you. You know, for your apartment?"
Ryo grinned to her with all the sparkle his teeth could offer. "Aww Rika, that is so cute of you! Thank you! What is it?"
She pulled a small box covered in sparkly blue gift-wrap out of her bag. "It really isn't much," she said, blushing slightly as she handed the package to him, "but I hope you'll like it."
"I'm sure I will," he assured her as he took the package from her hands. "Can I open it now?"
"Sure."
He then went to sit on his sofa. Rika followed his initiative. Ryo quickly but carefully unwrapped the box, and put the wrapping on his coffee table before opening the small box. In it laid a light green Digimon coffee mug with the whole cast of the first season printed on it.
"I know it's a little kiddy" hastily said Rika, pink still tinting her cheeks, "but I thought you'd like it..."
"Rika" he interrupted, looking at her straight in the eye, "this is the most awesome coffee mug in the world."
She gave a small embarrassed smile. "Really?"
"Really. I love it! I am so bringing my morning coffee to class in it" Ryo grinned.
Rika brightened. "Well I'm glad you like it."
"Wow, Digimon Adventure. It's been so long since I've watched that" said Ryo as he observed his new mug closely.
"Yeah, it's been a while for me too." She frowned and looked thoughtful. "Do you have it on DVD?"
He slid a look towards her. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I suppose we could watch some old episodes while eating pizza" she suggested, grinning.
"Oh, but I have a better idea. Let's enjoy Digimon as we never enjoyed it before. I've got a fridge full of beer; let's make this a drinking game" said Ryo, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
Rika scoffed. "That's stupid. Why can't we just enjoy Digimon as we did as kids? Besides, I'm only eighteen; I'm not supposed to drink alcohol."
It was the Legendary Tamer's turn to roll his eyes and scoff. "Come on Rika. Eighteen years old is the legal age for drinking alcohol in most parts of the world: China, North Korea, England, France, Canada..."
"Well, we're not there, we're in Japan" she countered.
"You can't possibly be telling me that at eighteen, you've never drank any alcohol. If you're that pure, then it's great time for me to corrupt you a little."
She reddened. "I'm not 'pure'. I've drank before."
Ryo raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really? Then what's the problem?"
The violet-eyed girl crossed her arms. "I don't think I want to get drunk with you."
Ryo brought his hand to his heart, in mock hurt. "You are so mean to me! But then again, maybe you have another reason for not wanting to drink..." he said slyly, baiting her.
Rika narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Well, I think the Digimon Queen can't hold her alcohol and she's afraid that she'll start dancing in her underwear on my kitchen table once she has a few drinks down her throat" he teased her.
She flushed an even darker shade of red. "That's not true" she said, gritting her teeth in irritation.
Ryo held back a smile. Almost too easy, he thought.
"Or," he continued, "maybe you're the kind of girl who professes her love to everybody once she's tipsy enough, and you're terrified that you might do or say something to me that you might regret..."
Rika was infuriated. Without a word, she abruptly got up. Ryo heard her walk a few steps, then he heard the sound of his refrigerator being opened and the sound of glass being hit together. Two seconds later, Rika was back and roughly shoved a beer in his hand.
"You're on, you cocky, annoying, dumb, pesky, big-headed bane of my existence!"
Ryo grinned, victory sweet on his lips. "Now, not so quickly, wildcat. We have to pick the rules of the game."
"Okay" she said slowly, calming herself. "How do we do that?"
"Let's just name some rules until we feel we have enough" was Ryo's suggestion. "Let's take a swig whenever a Digimon digivolves. Two swigs if the digivolving Digimon is not a partner of the DigiDestined."
Rika thought for a moment. "A drink every time Tai and Matt fight or disagree about something."
"How about two swigs if they actually hit each other?" suggested Ryo.
"Sounds good."
"Then next rule: a swig every time Izzy techno-babbles without making any actual sense" announced Ryo.
"And every time Joe or Mimi complains." Rika was beginning to enjoy herself.
"I just thought of something. You know, my digivolution drinking rule? Let's make it so that we have three swigs if it's the first time that this particular digivolution happens."
Rika's eyes widened. "You've got to be kidding. The first episode alone will kill us!"
"Fine, then. Let's make it two swigs."
"That's still a lot..."
"Well, if you think you can't handle it..."
Rika glared at him. "Fine" she said. "My next rule: a drink every time Gennai gets screen time."
"How about a solemn drink for every Digimon who dies? To honour their sacrifice" proposed Ryo.
"But what if an evil Digimon is killed?" asked Rika, frowning.
"Then we cheer and drink to his downfall" was Ryo's reply.
After a thought, Rika said "I can't think of anything else. Do you think we have enough?"
"I think we have more than enough rules to keep ourselves drinking the night away. Now," said Ryo while looking at his watch, "It is almost four o'clock. Is it alright with you if we eat towards five thirty?" When Rika nodded her consent, he continued: "Great then! Let's warm up the TV and get this party started!"
When Rika opened her mouth, the blue-eyed boy quickly cut her. "Now don't you give me any of that «isn't a little early to start drinking? » nonsense. If it helps you sleep better at night, just tell yourself that it's five o'clock somewhere in the world right now. And now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go and get a bottle opener."
As he rose to make his way towards the kitchen, Rika raised an eyebrow. With a deliberate motion, she placed the neck of her bottle against the table, the edge of the table resting just below the bottle cap. With a quick hit of her free hand, Rika popped the cap off her bottle. She gave Ryo a glance. "I won't need an opener, but thank you" she said as the corner of her lips curled into a smile.
Ryo burst out laughing.
"My, my, aren't you full of surprise, Pumpkin? My little wildcat is so wild! And you acted so pure and innocent, too! But seriously, use an opener next time. It would be a shame if you dented my brand-new coffee table. After all, you don't need to impress me, do you?"
The violet-eyes girl's smile grew bigger. "True" she agreed.
From his kitchen, Ryo called "Do you want me to bring you a glass?" as he rummaged for his bottle opener.
"No thanks, I'm fine drinking from the bottle" she called back.
He grinned. "So wild and so cute, who would have thought," he muttered to himself.
He then made his way back to the living room area. Ryo plopped down on the couch after securing the aforementioned bottle opener and, after opening his bottle of beer, placed it on the coffee table so as to be sure of always having it on hand during the evening. Grinning, he raised his bottle towards Rika. "So, what do we drink to?"
"Drink to..?" she asked while raising an eyebrow.
"Well, we can't drink just for the sake of drinking. That would be sad. We need a reason, and a new one for each bottle we drink. Something to celebrate, you know?" he explained.
"I see." She was thoughtful for a couple of seconds. "I say we drink to your new apartment. May you have many happy days in it" Rika finally pronounced, raising her bottle to his.
"Why, thank you" Ryo said, clinking his bottle against hers. They drank. Ryo put his beer on the coffee table and rose to start the DVD player. He looked at Rika over his shoulder and grinned. "Be ready to be transported back to childhood!"
And to childhood they did go back. They went back to the TV series that made both start playing the Digimon card game; that got them their very own Digimon partners; that made them travel to the Digital World, and that made them save the world. They listened to the dialogues which, as kids, they found so full of spirit and humour, and which they now admitted to be kind of corny. But, the joy and appeal of nostalgia was too strong for them to dwell much on the show's imperfections.
And they drank. To their first bottles, many succeeded. They could watch about three episodes in one hour, and depending on the content, a beer would last for more or less two episodes. As Ryo planned, they ate pizza and some leftover chips and pretzels from his housewarming party towards five-thirty. And as they kept on drinking, laughing and joking, the evening slowly but surely turned into night.
To Rika, the experience was liberating. Having lived very strictly with little leisure time in the last couple of months in order to prepare for university entrance exams, she felt that drinking and joking with Ryo while watching Digimon was the perfect way for her to unwind and get rid of all her pent-up stress and fatigue. With each gulp of beer and each laugh, she peeled off a little bit of her layers of pressure and anxiety. She hadn't felt so free in a long time.
The situation was a little different for Ryo. To see Rika laughing so freely was more intoxicating for him than the many beers he had ingested. Never before had he seen the Digimon Queen so relaxed, so at ease. Although the Rika Nonaka of today was far from the Ice Queen persona of her youth, she had always retained a certain aura of reserve; something indescribable, between elegance and coldness. But now, that reserve had been dulled away by alcohol, and there she was, folded in two and laughing her heart away at a joke Ryo just made about the show but that he forgot as soon as he saw her laugh like this.
"We're out of beer" announced Rika, whose cheeks were flustered by alcohol and laughter. As Ryo started to rise from his seat, she lightly pushed him back. "It's alright, I'll go get some more" she said, rising and struggling to keep her balance. Ryo chuckled as he watched her knock her leg against the couch's armrest as she turned towards the kitchen, and laughed when he saw she was almost zigzagging her way to the refrigerator.
"Rika, I think you're drunk" he told her, grinning.
"No I'm not" she protested as she made her unsure way back to the couch, fresh beers in hand. "My body is pretty drunk, I'll give you that, but my mind isn't."
"Really" he said while raising an eyebrow. "Okay then. Two muffins are cooking in the oven. One muffin turns to the other and says: 'Man, it's hot in here!' The other muffin says: 'Oh my god, a talking muffin!'"
Rika burst out laughing. Ryo joined in too. "Maybe my mind is getting a little drunk too" she admitted between bursts of laughter. She fanned herself, still chuckling. "God, all this laughing is making me way too hot" she said as she proceeded to take off her grey cardigan, revealing the satiny lilac camisole underneath. Ryo whistled appreciatively. She hit him lightly, still chuckling.
"Don't you get ideas now, hero-boy. I'm not putting on a show for you" she said as she opened her beer. She brought the bottle to her lips.
"No!" shouted Ryo, lunging and putting his hands on her bottle to stop her from drinking.
"Hey!" she protested. "What's the big idea?"
"You can't drink without chinking drinks first! That's seven years of-". He stopped himself.
Rika looked at him curiously. "Seven years of what? Bad luck?"
He looked away, embarrassed. "No. Well, uh... Argh, I can't tell you. Just, believe me; it's in your best interest."
"Well, you can't just say something like that and not tell me the reason" she countered. "Come one, spit it out, I want to know. Seven years of what?"
"Alright..." he sighed. "When you drink without chinking your glass with another... Well, it's supposed to bring you seven years of bad sex."
She blinked. "Seven years of bad sex" she flatly echoed.
Ryo nodded and looked away, embarrassed.
Rika burst out laughing.
Now it was Ryo's turn to blink.
"Seriously" the violet-eyed girl hiccupped between fits of laughter, "you were worried about my sex life? When I don't even have a boyfriend? Hahahahaha!"
Still embarrassed, Ryo nevertheless chuckled. "Well, in seven years from now, you'll be twenty-five. I figure you might have a boyfriend somewhere in that period."
"True" she conceded. Her hilarity had slowed, but her shoulders still shook with quiet laughter. "You are so funny Ryo. You just crack me up. Now can we drink?" she giggled, holding out her bottle to him.
He smiled at her. "What do we drink to this time?"
Rika shrugged. "I don't know. We drank to your apartment, the Digimon TV show, the tamers, Italia for inventing pizza, Renamon and Cyberdramon, to alcohol... Did we drink to something else? I forgot now."
"Hm, let's give it some thought."
"Quickly, though. I feel that my beer is getting less cold."
"Actually, real beer connoisseurs drink it at room temperature" said Ryo.
Rika's eyes widened. "That is so gross. You've got to be kidding me."
"I'm not. Apparently it really enhances the aroma of the beer."
"Well, I don't plan on becoming a beer connoisseur; I just want to drink this one right here. So hurry up and pick something we can drink to," she replied.
Thoughtful, he gazed at her. Suddenly, his breath caught in his throat. They had dimmed the light in the apartment in order to watch Digimon, which played on unnoticed by either of them. The main source of light in the room, besides the running television, was Tokyo's millions of city lights which played their nightly tango. They reflected in Rika's eyes, making it seem as if dozens of tiny stars were dancing in her eyes.
"I drink to your eyes" he said without thinking.
"My eyes?" she said in surprise. "What about them?"
"Um, the light from outside reflects in them, and uh, the effect is really nice" he stammered. "I wish you could see it, but uh, I guess you can't."
Rika giggled. "That's silly. I can't drink to my own eyes. That sounds so vain."
"Then drink to something you like about me" helpfully provided Ryo.
She nodded. "I guess that's fair. In that case... I drink to your stupid oh-so perfect sparkly teeth. I swear, they glow in the dark. I don't know how you do it."
Ryo laughed. "Cheers then" he said while chinking his bottle to hers. They each took a long gulp.
"Ah," Rika sighed with contentment. "That felt good. I was beginning to sober up."
He snorted. "Yeah right. Why don't you try and walk into a straight line? I'd like to see you do that."
She stuck her nose in the air. "I totally could walk into a straight line right now. I just don't feel like it." She shivered. "I'm a little cold."
She reached out to her discarded cardigan. "Oh no you don't" objected Ryo, and before she knew it, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him so that her back was against his chest, half lying on the sofa.
"Hey!" she protested, though not very strongly. "Let me go. Why are you so touchy-feely?"
"I'm drunk. I'm allowed to have a few strange impulses when I'm drunk, am I not? Plus, I'm cold too."
"Then get yourself a jacket or something!"
"But you're so much closer than my jacket!"
"I suppose I can't argue with that" conceded Rika.
Ryo pulled her closer and rested his chin on her shoulder. After a second or two, Rika relaxed into his embrace. She took a sip of the beer she still held in her hand.
"Do you want to know a secret?" Ryo said against her ear.
"Sure."
"You drank to my perfect smile, but I wore braces until about three weeks before we met in that Digimon card game tournament."
She half turned towards him, gaping at him. "No way."
He grinned. "I swear. My teeth were really bad when I was a kid. I destroyed most of the pictures, but there's still some around to prove it."
"Whoa," Rika whispered as she slowly turned around and took another sip of beer, a gesture Ryo imitated. "You, with imperfect teeth. You just destroyed my whole conception of the order of the universe."
A silence passed, each Tamer sipping their beer, lost in their thoughts and unaware that their current Digimon DVD had ended and that the DVD player had entered sleep mode. Suddenly, Rika broke the silence.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course" Ryo answered, looking at her.
"Let's pretend we don't know each other. If we met for the first time today, would you think I'm pretty?"
"What sort of question is that?" he exclaimed, surprised. "Of course I'd think you're pretty: you are. Why do you even ask?"
"Well, I actually never really had a boyfriend, you know. So I just wanted to be sure it was just my bitchy personality that was the problem."
Ryo scoffed. "You're being ridiculous. There is absolutely nothing wrong with either your looks or your personality. You are you, and you are perfect just the way you are."
"But I just can't giggle and be cute all the time, like some girls at my school. I know. I tried once" she said in a sad voice before taking a long gulp of beer.
He frowned, looking puzzled. "What do you mean, you tried?"
"Oh, there was this guy at my school last year that I kind of liked. A soccer player, but really smart and studious, too. And he wasn't disagreeable to look at. But he was always surrounded by this herd of giggling fangirls, so there was no way for me to approach him."
"Let me guess; you tried to become like them" Ryo deduced.
"Yup. Believe it or not, he got interested in me and we started, well, not dating, but hanging out together."
"Where did it go wrong?"
"One day we were talking together and he started saying stuff like, 'at the core, all girls are really dumb and ditzy and conditioned to only please men". He even said I was a perfect example of that, since I had acted tough and cold but that he only had to smile at me once turn me into a brainless bag of giggles."
"What a jerk. What did you do?"
"I punched him in the face and broke his nose."
Ryo laughed and hugged her close. "I wouldn't have expected any less from my favourite Wildcat. He deserved it, too."
"The point is," Rika said while taking another sip of beer, "is that I am incompatible with romance."
"Correction: you are incompatible with what is stereotypically associated with romance" said Ryo. "You are not some passive shojou manga heroine who just reacts either by giggles or tears. You are much cooler than that. You're caring, but you're no push-over; you're tough and smart and that's why you're great."
"Maybe, but as long as guys will prefer passive and giggly shojou manga heroines, well, you shouldn't have to worry about my love or sex life..." She took a long gulp of beer. "Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm desperate for a boyfriend. It's just that, well... Sometimes I look at Jeri and Takato, and they are just so happy together... It just feels so right for them to be together, you know?"
Ryo nodded. "I totally know what you mean."
"So sometimes I wonder," she continued, "wouldn't it be nice if I could be so happy and so right with someone, too?"
"Aw, don't worry, Rika," softly said Ryo as he hugged her. "Someday you'll meet that person just right for you, and when you do, you'll know he'll be the one." I know I have, he silently added to himself.
Rika squeezed his arm with her free hand and rested her head against the side of his. "Thanks Ryo" she whispered.
They rested in the embrace of each other for a few minutes, in silence. Eventually, Rika turned around to face him and looked at Ryo.
"Are you very drunk?" she asked seriously.
He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"
"Are you very drunk?" she repeated.
"Well, yeah, I guess?" Ryo answered, unsure of what to say.
Without a word, Rika put her beer on the coffee table. She then turned around and, almost straddling Ryo, pressed herself against him in a deep hug.
Ryo's breath caught in his throat. He did not think about how unexpected it was to see Rika so physically forward, or how she must really had one drink too many. He could only think about the feel and the warmth of her body as Rika pressed herself against him. In a daze, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back, inhaling deeply in her scent as she whispered in his ear: "You're a really great guy Ryo. I'm so glad I came here tonight."
"You're welcome anytime," he whispered back, slowly rubbing her back. Rika's silky camisole felt so thin under his hands that he could almost feel her skin. It took Ryo every ounce of self-control he possessed to not slip his hands underneath.
"Ryo?" she whispered.
"Yeah?" he whispered back, his heart beating wildly.
"Are you very, very, very drunk?"
"I think so..." he answered shakily, not so much concentrated on Rika's question as on the feeling of her back under his hands.
"Not-going-to-remember-what-happened-tonight drunk?" she insisted, pulling back a little in order to look at him in the eye.
"I think..." Ryo never finished his sentence as Rika silenced him by pressing her lips against his. Completely taken aback by this, Ryo's brain reacted to this unexpected turn of events by the only logical course of action; it completely shut down.
As he gently met her kiss through the confused haze of his mind, Ryo half-expected her to pull away, but to his surprise Rika hesitantly yet firmly deepened the kiss. He became keenly aware of the feel of her lips moving against his, their coolness, their fullness, their softness. Tentatively, their lips explored each other, trying to find a rhythm.
Every time she pressed her lips a little more firmly against his, Ryo felt his blood run cold and then suddenly boil to a fever. As Ryo lifted a hand to caress her cheek, Rika let out a small sensuous sigh which sent chills down his spine. The softness of her cheek under one hand, the warmth of her back under the other, the feel of her legs wrapped around his waist; Ryo was overwhelmed by the sense of her.
Deep down, Ryo knew that this was wrong. Rika was drunk; so was he, in fact. Maybe they would regret this tomorrow. Well, he certainly wouldn't regret it, thought Ryo, but she might. But it felt so right.
And it felt so, so, so good.
Growing increasingly bolder, Rika had started to gently nibble on his lower lip. The moan that Ryo then let out pleased her immensely. She delighted in the effect she was having on him. Through the drunken haze of her mind, Rika managed to ask herself, why did she never do that before? As she felt Ryo's hand leaving her cheek to grab her waist instead, Rika decided to leave thinking out and just feel.
And it felt so, so, so good.
As she felt his tongue tentatively dart out to meet her lips, Rika welcomed it with a deep sigh of contentment. Opening her mouth further, she sent out her tongue to meet his. Caught in a lascivious dance, their tongues rubbed and twirled around each other, softly at first, then with growing hunger. The sound of their heavy breathing filled the room. Rika felt with pleasure that Ryo's hands were tightening on her waist. Liquid fire seemed to course through her veins. More. She wanted to feel more of him against her. With a small moan, she buried her hands in his hair while kissing him even harder and pressing herself against Ryo's chest, closing any distance remaining between them.
As she did so, her camisole rode slightly up and left part of her lower back exposed; Ryo's hands on her waist therefore suddenly found themselves against her bare skin. This, coupled with the feeling of her hands in his hair and on his neck, sent shivers down his spine. As their lips continued to move against each other with increasing speed, Ryo slowly began to caress her bare back and waist. Rika let out a small moan and pressed herself even harder against him in appreciation. Ryo was keenly aware of her breasts moving against him as she breathed. As their kisses were growing frantic with need and desire, time ceased to exist; there were only each other.
Neither of knew or cared how long they had been making out, but eventually, their frenzied kisses slowed down to more gentle ones. Somehow in the course of their little session Ryo and Rika had come to lie down on his couch in each other's arms. Finally, Rika broke the kiss. Looking at him, she smiled. "That was nice," she said. "I liked it."
As she yawned and laid down her head on his shoulder, Ryo hesitated between possible answers. He didn't want to risk scaring Rika off with something along the lines of 'Are you kidding? That was amazing! Please marry me now' but 'Sure, like, whatever' didn't exactly sound like a winner either.
"Yeah, it was nice" Ryo finally answered before planting a small kiss upon Rika's forehead and hugging her closer.
Rika snuggled closer in response. "You know Ryo..." she said, yawning again.
"Yeah? What is it?" he asked, stroking her hair.
"Sometimes... I think..."
When only silence followed, Ryo shifted his head in order to better look at her.
Rika had fallen asleep.
Ryo allowed himself a slight chuckle of amusement and shook his head. It was to be expected though; it was very late and his coffee table was about to give way under the weight of their empty beer bottles. Turning his gaze back to the red-head lying in his arms, Ryo was amazed at how small she was. Without her confidence, her attitude and her big mouth to make her appear taller and fiercer, she looked almost fragile.
God she's beautiful, he thought. Oh well. Maybe I'll get to hear what she wanted to say another time. Sighing, Ryo slowly disentangled himself from Rika, careful not to wake her. Once up on his feet, he stretched then checked his watch. Seeing the time, Ryo cringed. Best to call her mom so she doesn't worry. Retreating to his bedroom, he took out his cell phone and dialled Rika's home number.
"...Hello Mrs Nonaka? This is Ryo Akiyama, I'm sorry to call so late, I hope I didn't wake you... I just wanted to tell you that Rika fell asleep on my couch as we were watching movies, so she's going to stay at my place for tonight. ...Yeah, I think she was really tired from studying for her entrance exams. I didn't have the heart to wake her. ...Hehe, no, I suppose I wouldn't want her to walk home alone this late at night either. Anyway I just wanted to let you know so you wouldn't worry about her. ...Okay. Alright then, goodnight Mrs Nonaka. Bye."
Grabbing the comforter off his bed, Ryo made his way back to the living room. Careful not to wake her, he spread the cover on Rika and gently tucked her in. Kneeling beside her, he pressed a light kiss to her forehead.
"Goodnight my little wildcat" whispered Ryo, smiling.
-*-*-*-In the morning-*-*-*-
Feeling the sun's rays upon his face, Ryo sleepily opened his eyes... and immediately closed them again. As he reached for his covers and failed to find his comforter, last night's events forced themselves back into Ryo's mind and he woke with a start. He dressed himself quickly and made his way to the living room.
His couch was empty, and his comforter was neatly folded upon it.
Ryo sighed in disappointment.
However, Ryo then noticed that a small folded piece of paper, neatly labelled 'Ryo', had been left on his kitchen counter. He reached out to it and eagerly began reading the note. As he read, a smile made his way to his mouth, which then turned into a merry laughter.
Dear Ryo,
Thanks for letting me stay over for the night, and for calling my mother for me. I had fun with you yesterday. We should hang out more.
Also, I probably don't need to say this to you but I'll say it anyway just so we're clear on the subject. Should you speak about this night to anybody, someone will be clobbered. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out who.
Love,
Rika