"Subaru-chan…"
That voice. That soft and ever so slightly seductive tone. It brought a twitch, a flutter in her stomach, a shortness of breath. Just one little word bouncing around inside her head like an echo wandering up and down a darkened passageway, whispering through the hallways of her mind, filling her thoughts, clouding her senses.
What did she think she was doing?
The night was calm and humid. The smell of rain lingered in the air. The sky was a brilliant field of stars speckled across the eternal darkness of space. The city glowed in the distance like a second sun just over the horizon.
Distracting. That was what it was; distracting. Not the kind of thing that should have been going on during a training exercise, that much was certain.
That voice…in her head…haunting her.
"Subaru-chan…"
Haunting her.
Subaru squeezed her eyes shut and shook the thought from her head. Pointless. The faster she walked, the more she could hear that voice calling out from somewhere out of sight.
Moisture speckled her face and hair. Cool, damp, refreshing. She looked up towards the sky and saw the thick, dark shapes of clouds obscuring the familiar constellations. Drifting slowly past, casting shadows on the ground. Mesmerising.
"Subaru-chan…"
"Damn it… Why do you do this to me?"
The door slid open with a quiet hiss. Outside, the rain was rustling through the trees and soaking the ground. Inside, all was silent and peaceful.
Subaru turned the lock with an absent flick and stepped, panting lightly, thoroughly moistened from the rain and her brisk midnight jog. Her fingers wandered over her uniform buttons and managed to loosen a few before giving up. She stepped into the main room without bothering to turn on the light and toppled over onto the nearest couch.
"Subaru-chan…"
The voice again. It tickled inside her mind. She closed her eyes, determined not to hear it.
"Subaru."
A shuffling of feet. The familiar sound of skin brushing against the couch fabric. Subaru sat up, slowly.
"Tia," she mumbled to the dark shape parked just by where she had lain her head moments ago. "Did I wake you up?" The shadow moved, shook its head.
"You know I can't sleep alone in such a big bed."
Subaru licked her lips. They were suddenly very dry.
"Why, Tia?" She looked back at the shadowed figure beside her, though neither could see the other's face.
"I just…felt like it, that's all." As if she could read her partner's mind. Wasn't that how it had always been? The redhead always seemed to know, instinctively, what she was thinking.
Subaru reached out and slid her hand into her partner's lap. Their fingers intertwined with a familiar ease.
"I'm glad." And she was, that much she could be honest about at least. Tiana, the emotional recluse, was not the one with the problem after all.
There wasn't enough light to see by beyond the vague outline of form and figure, but somehow they found one another in the darkness. The sweet, delicious flavour of her love delighted her tongue.
"I can wait," the silhouette whispered. With a contented sigh that was obviously exaggerated for her partner's benefit, Tiana laid her head in the other girl's lap and turned till her nose brushed the fabric of Subaru's shirt.
"Subaru-chan…"
Always her. Always, it was always her. She was always starting it, pushing, probing, teasing every last morsel she could from her partner.
Tiana sighed, and closed her eyes. The rain was still falling even now, splashing on her upturned face as she looked toward the starry sky above. So serene and beautiful. The night was warm, and humid, and still. Just the way summer should be. And yet…
"Tia."
She turned with a start at the sound of a voice behind her. Only a familiar half-shadowed figure stood on the grass not a metre away.
Tiana gave no reply. Her attention wandered back to the stars instead.
"It's different now," Subaru muttered as she sat down in the damp grass.
No reply. Let her talk her way through it. It would be counter-productive to interrupt anyway.
"I'm sorry…" Biting at her lower lip like that, how does she do it? How can she make something so mundane, something subconscious, look erotic? "…I'm sorry we started off…the way we did…but I really think we've made progress these last few months."
Easy for her to say. Tiana pressed down a brief feeling of petty discontent at the memory of so many one-sided conversations, half-hearted confessions, half-serious words and half-kisses…
…kisses…
"Please, Tia." Breaking the background again, bringing her out of her reverie. Again, as always, doubt was the first thing on Tiana's mind. "Please, just…have a little more patience. I promise I'll try, I promise, I can do that much for you."
For you.
It happened the same way it always did. One moment they were sitting side-by-side on the wet grass, silent, together, staring up at the sky full of stars as if it were a brand new sky.
Then a hand on her shoulder. A promise, she could never resist that. Fingers that always knew how to get through her clothes with an effortless grace. The uniform buttons came undone in no time at all and then Tiana was on her back, her shirt spread open wide, the moisture of the grass soaking through the her back and dampening her hair. Her face was hot and flushed. Always the same.
This time it would be different. She could do that much, she could.
She reached up to touch and found a hand meeting hers, fingers intertwining as they had back on the couch however many hours ago, tight, clinging. Clinging together, like souls lost in the endless sea. Always the same.
"Subammf…" As always, her protests were cut short by those soft, familiar lips. Another kiss; how many now? How many times had she given herself up so completely?
This time it would be different.
There were no curious, tentative touches, no exploration, no investigation. Her fingers slipped underneath Subaru's unbuttoned shirt and traced a line down between the young girl's perfectly formed breasts, down her toned, muscular stomach and across her abdominal muscles. The touch of a skilled professional, of a person who knows exactly what she's doing. Her fingers knew every millimetre of her love's perfect body and could trace every contour, every line, every sensitive spot with ease. Her lips touched the edge of one ear as they pressed together closer, until their breasts were squashed into one another in a rather ungainly manner.
Different.
Arousal was sudden and swift and overwhelming. Nothing could stop her now. Tiana swung her body over and took her partner with her, flipping them till she was on top and straddling Subaru's midsection with her bare nether regions. The skirt bunched up around her waist, flesh kissed flesh. Another kiss.
Tiana let out the moan she had always stifled as she rocked her hips to grind her naked sex against her partner's lower belly. The other girl, for her part, wasn't far behind. Familiar the touch of those strong yet gentle fingers winding circles round her bare nipples, teasing at her most sensitive spots. Wilder and wilder it grew, raging inside her, begging and screaming to be let out.
"Subaru…"
This time it was a moan, slipped from her lips in the heat of her incredible arousal. It sang every bit of her emotion plain to hear. Who might care if someone heard? What would it matter?
This time, it was passion behind her lips, pouring into her love. The taste was always sweet and delicious, always the same, a comforting constant. Now it would be different, but the kiss would always be the same. Because some things didn't need changing.
Fingers pinching, squeezing on her nipples until she could stand no more. She tossed back her head, feeling the long, thick mass of her hair falling down her back, and a whimpered moan escaped her lips more like a half-heard squeak. Just when she thought it could get no worse…
Subaru put her lips to that tender, nubile flesh along the side of her partner's neck and bit down gently. The sharp prick of teeth brought a gasp. The soft suction drew a long, gurgling moan from Tiana's throat and sent a spasm along the redhead's spine from base to head, rolling and arching her back rhythmically. Her hips continued to rock and thrust, grinding her frothing sex against the mound of Subaru's pelvis.
The feeling of those hands roving her body, the flavour of that familiar, welcoming mouth, the scent of her own tremendous arousal. Her love's warmth, a half-naked body pressed against her own, she could recognise that body by touch alone now. Feeling the sweat trickling down her back and over her breasts as she bucked and writhed in place, crushing her own sensitive slit against Subaru's crotch through the smooth skirt fabric. Different.
Tiana put her hands on Subaru's shoulders without warning and dug her fingernails into that perfect skin. Screw explanations, to hell with the trainers, who cared about cover stories. That was a love-bite on Tiana's neck and these were claw marks on Subaru's collar, that was that. Let them ignore that.
She pressed forward into her love and took the edge of Subaru's left ear in her teeth, bit down sharply. The blue-haired girl replied in kind to her neck, until she was sure those teeth must be drawing blood. All the better. Give me a beautiful scarlet medal for my love so they can all see what I do with you when no one else can see.
Her orgasm was almost blinding with that thought lingering in her head. She might have snapped her own back with her spasms had those strong, gentle arms not been wound so possessively around her naked upper body. Her innards convulsed and spewed out a thick spurt of sticky, sweet-smelling fluid all over the front of Subaru's dress skirt.
Tiana lay heavy and exhausted atop her, soaked with sweat, breathing slow and deep. Her scent filled the air, her arousal, her recent climax. Now her hands rested limply either side of Subaru's neck, not quite hooked round behind, and her head laid side-on against those firm, full breasts.
Her heartbeat was almost deafening. That slow, monotonous thump-thump of life beating away within its skeletal cage. The deep rush of her breathing. Her.
Her.
Tiana felt intoxicated in a way she had never known even existed. Subaru was suddenly her entire world, her entire life, as if she had disconnected herself from reality and all that was left floating in the endless void along with her was that beautiful blue haired stranger, no longer a stranger.
No longer.
"I love you."
Same as always. She let her eyelids drift shut, her breathing cycle down to a slow, shallow rhythm. She could feel her own heart beating in time with her lover's pulse. The same as always, and that warm glow filled her from end to end just as ever.
"I love you too."
It would be different. From now on, it would always be different. Only the kiss remained.
In one another's arms they slept, and it was different. It was better.