So this is going to be ChikaruXShion, with maybe a few minor side pairings thrown in. It takes place immediately after the Etoile Election and goes from there.

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Love Me Least

Prologue

iAtethePoisonApple

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"And maybe my love will love me not,

But at least she won't love me least."

It was so predictable. It was a rush, yes, and there was the exhilaration and the hesitation and the heartbreak for not one girl but two.

But Chikaru had known it would happen in the end. Because Nagisa wasn't meant to be with Tamao- Tamao had much greater things awaiting her in the real world, and one day she'd be greater than Shizuma ever was, and Nagisa would want her, one day, but it would be too late. Miyuki…she wished she could say there was a happy ending for her. She wished she could say there was a Prince Charming waiting to steal her away from her evil Mother and Father, but there was no prince, and, in the end, there was no future. That fairytale was reserved for Hikari and Amane, the new Etoile, but even that hadn't been so pretty and painless, because behind Hikari stood Yaya, forever watching, forever pushing until she realized that she was pushing her the wrong way and tried to pull her back too late. And behind her stood a small, loyal pinkette who would remain by Yaya's side forever, even if she never left the cave she'd buried herself in.

And then there was Shion; tall, proud, noble Shion dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief because all of her dreams had finally been realized. It made Chikaru feel sick to her stomach. There were flashes of when they were younger, when they'd been inseparable, and once upon a time, Shion had pledged her loyalty to Chikaru, her princess. Once upon a time, politics was the last thing on their minds and Shion was her knight in shining armor, protecting her from bullies and boys. But now they were just Chikaru and Shion, and now Chikaru was the one watching Shion, waiting for her to be ready. Waiting for her to remember.

But she never did. Even after years of subtle glances and innuendo hidden beneath sweet, innocent smiles, Shion never remembered her princess, and all that remained were the gray-scale memories and the one kiss that Chikaru still tasted on her lips.

Was it worth it, Shion-koi?

Was it worth it, kaichou?

"Touching, isn't it?" she said aloud, her gaze resting on Shion, who was still quietly sniffing. The Spican's head swiveled to face her and Chikaru offered her a sweet, innocent smile. It was too easy, this pretending. "Your wish has been granted, Toumori-san."

Shion frowned slightly- they hadn't talked outside of the council room in what felt like forever. "Well, yes," she said after a moment. She had a strange feeling that Chikaru was baiting her. There was something about the way she smiled that struck a chord within Shion, something that told her she'd be better off if she left while she could. "But I should really go now."

Chikaru's lips formed into a just barely-there pout as she took a small step closer to the blonde. "Leaving so soon, Shion-koi?" she asked, her eyes taking in Shion's reaction. The Spican's eyes widened at Chikaru's unfamiliar tone and use of her childhood nickname, and she took a step back, unconsciously wetting her lips. "Always somewhere to be, always someone to meet…" Chikaru continued in that same gentle, unhurried tone, her eyes flashing with something that she almost recognized, though Shion felt a little more trapped with every step she took.

"Um," she began lamely, "is there something wrong, Minamoto-san?"

Chikaru's eyes flashed once again at Shion's words. "Minamoto-san," Chikaru murmured. She raised her chin to look into the Spican's eyes, just barely registering the question she had been asked. "Wrong…I wonder…"

Shion's brow furrowed in confusion. "Maybe I should go," she began, the nerves in her body pricking at her skin with tiny electric shocks, the way they always used to whenever…

"Won't you kiss me before you go?"

A smile, a giggle, and kind amber eyes flashed with happiness and energy as a pair of arms was thrown around her neck.

"Won't you kiss me before you go, my prince?"

It was soft and awkward- a foreign sensation against the young girls' lips.

"That was weird."

"Yeah."

"Want to do it again?"

"Chikaru," Shion choked out as the memory rushed, unbidden to the surface of her mind. "Not now." She'd forgotten it all- forced it to the back of her mind with the coming of high school and her stepping into her father's shoes, preparing to take on his legacy. There was no time for silly childhood games. And there still wasn't.

And yet…

"When, then?" Chikaru asked, tilting her head ever-so-slightly. "Surely there won't be a better time."

"Never," Shion said coldly, turning so that she was facing the chapel doors. "It was a long time ago, Minamoto-san. The time for games is over, at least for me." But the thought of Chikaru playing those 'games' with someone else made her feel as though acid were eroding at her stomach. So she hadn't forgotten enough. "I have to go, Chikaru."

Chikaru smiled her usual serene smile, but her eyes glistened with an unspoken sadness. "Why is it," she began softly, stepping forward until she was only a foot from Shion, "that you always have to go?" She looped her arms around the frozen Spican's neck, staring into Shion's eyes and watching as they darkened from lavender to a deep violet, her lips quirking up into the smallest of smirks when she saw the blonde unconsciously lick her lips. "But you don't want to go, Shion-koi," she murmured, sliding her hand down Shion's collar and easily unbuttoning the top few buttons, tugging at her bow tie, leaving a small amount of fair, flawless skin exposed.

"Minamoto-san," Shion began in a warning tone, her body rigid, but from her close embrace, the president of Le Rim saw the nervous gulp, felt the acceleration of her heart. She pulled Shion closer with her right arm, allowing her left to slip down, her hand poised at the base of the smooth column of the Spican's neck. Her thumb rubbed the warm skin rhythmically as she buried her face in the crook of Shion's neck, pressing the lightest of kisses to her collarbone and reveling in the barely perceptible shudder that the Spican gave. "Stop, Chikaru," Shion said, her voice significantly lower as her eyes fluttered shut, her words, a final plea.

"Won't you kiss me, my prince?" Chikaru whispered, her breath unbearably hot against Shion's exposed shoulder as her left hand slipped further, caressing the Spican's taut shoulder blade. "Won't you kiss me before you go?"

Chikaru felt the intake of breath more than she heard it, and her lips curled into the first real smile she'd displayed since her first year at Astraea Hill. But the moment was short-lived, because in the next, a firm pressure drove her further into Shion's arms and the Spican had leaned down to her left and captured Chikaru's lips in her own, her thumb massaging the small of the brunette's back in an almost possessive embrace. Chikaru tightened her hold on Shion, melting into the warm, familiar feeling. Shion had always been so possessive over the things she cared for the most. Chikaru remembered teasing her about it- remembered the way Shion had looked at her like she was crazy that day.

"If I don't hold onto them, they'll be taken from me. That's how it works in this world. Nothing's ever fully yours, and the things that are are taken from you all the same unless you hold on."

They broke apart to take a breath, chests heaving. Chikaru rested her forehead against Shion's, content in the moment, content in the arms that she'd missed so dearly. But she'd woken the insatiable beast residing within Shion, the one she knew all too well, and before she had a chance to react, she was pressed against the back wall of the stage, directly beneath the beautiful stained glass window she'd always loved so much, Shion's hands around her wrists in a vice-grip.

"I told you to stop, Chikaru," the Spican whispered, pressing a trail of rushed, heated kisses down her neck, pulling her sweater down past her right shoulder, her hands balled up in the light fabric. "I told you…" She frowned, staring down at the ground, her eyes wrought with a cross between lust, desire and guilt. "I…"

"You told me, Shion-koi," Chikaru whispered softly, causing Shion's head to snap back up. She gazed lovingly into the same confused violet eyes that she'd fallen in love with that day by the lake, with that first kiss. "I was the one who wouldn't listen."

Shion's eyes cleared, if only by a little bit, and she needed no further encouragement. The blonde let go of Chikaru's arms only to feel those delicate hands instantly clamp down on her shoulders as she held the brunette possessively by her hips, kissing, sucking, biting until Chikaru let out a hollow moan and sunk to the floor, dragging Shion down with her.

The prologue- and the prologue alone- is a (partial) repost of a story I didn't expand on a while back. It was meant to be of their lives outside of Astraea Hill, but I've decided I want it to revolve around their final year. Please leave a review so I'll know whether to continue or not!