Tsubomi sat at her bureau, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Damn it, why did Yaya still hold the power to fluster her and make her feel thirteen all over again? She grabbed her hairbrush in one hand and drew it through her pink hair in firm, even strokes. It was just a fluke, she decided, calming down with each brushstroke. Yaya held no power over her. She would just put in the requisite three days of supervision and then she'd be done. She sighed again and peered at herself. Honey colored eyes stared back at her from underneath pinched eyebrows. Damn it she thought ruefully, smoothing the wrinkles in between her brows with a fingertip. At this rate I'm going to have permanent lines by the time I'm eighteen. On a whim, she removed the headband she always wore and clipped one side of her hair up with a sparkly clip. Then, straightening her tie, she went to collect her sempai.
Yaya flung open the door as soon as Tsubomi knocked. "Let's eat! I'm effing starving! Do you know what they're serving?"
Tsubomi was taken aback at the sight of Yaya in her Spica uniform. It was like seeing a ghost, a painful little trip down memory lane, like Yaya had never left, like she was not standing in front of Tsubomi now, three years later. She looked even more beautiful in the uniform then she had then, if that was possible. The skirt hugged her hips so perfectly. Tsubomi swallowed hard.
"Kawaii barrette, Tsubomi-chan." Yaya said, brushing past Tsubomi in a flower scented haze, "Let's eat, I say!"
Tsubomi absentmindedly reached up and fingered the clip. Yaya had noticed….? She shook her head, plastered an indifferent look upon her face, and followed behind Yaya to the dining room.
Yaya looked glumly at her plate, shoving the limp noodles around with her fork.
"Wha?" asked Tsubomi, shoveling a forkful of spaghetti into her mouth. "Wha's the matter?"
Yaya sighed deeply. "I forgot how much I did not miss the food here. I was kinda hoping for beef…." She sighed again and nibbled at a dinner roll.
"What?" Tsubomi snorted and took a sip of water. "You know beef is expensive. Why the heck would they be serving it for no special occasion?"
"I know." Replied Yaya mournfully "But it doesn't keep me from hoping does it?"
Yaya looked so sad that Tsubomi almost felt sorry for her. "Aw sempai. Do you want me to get you more salad?"
"Noo…" sighed Yaya. "I want meat!"
Tsubomi grunted and shoved more noodles into her mouth.
"Oh." Said Yaya, "You have a little…" she gestured at her chin.
"Eh?" said Tsubomi and swiped at her sauce spattered chin with a napkin.
"No… it's a little more…" Yaya gestured again, then smiled and rolled her eyes. "Here…" she deftly reached out her hand and wiped Tsubomi's chin. "I swear. It's like you haven't changed at all."
Tsubomi flushed and gulped some more water. "Screw you." She mumbled.
"Oh really?" Yaya smirked. "No thanks. I am your respectable sempai. Such things should not be done." She fluttered her eyelashes. "But if you ask nicely…"
"Gah!" Tsubomi reached across the table and smacked Yaya's shoulder. "Shut up!"
Yaya batted her hand away and looked around the dining room. "I was expecting to see more people I knew… where is everyone?"
Tsubomi had lost her appetite after Yaya's flirtatious comment, and she pushed her plate away. "Most of them will get in late tonight. And then the rest will trickle in all day tomorrow. Plus, you know, most of the girls you knew back then have already graduated. Shizuma, Nagisa, Tamao, Chikaru..." she ticked the names off on her fingers, purposely leaving out Amane and Hikari. "Is there someone in particular you were looking for?" Tsubomi sneaked a glance at Yaya's face, trying to gauge if it was indeed Hikari that she was on the lookout for.
"Nah." Yaya waved her hand dismissively. "I don't really care. I was just wondering. Hey, what's for dessert?"
Yaya sighed and looked at the tiny bed. No good. How am I supposed to fit two people on this thing? They are seriously throwing off my game. She frowned and pulled the covers back, trying to gauge exactly how much room she'd need. Oh well, there's always the floor. She smiled wickedly. Or the shower… or the library… or… Her head jerked up at the knock sounding on the door. What now, she groaned inwardly and got up to answer. Tsubomi stood, clutching a pillow, looking for all the world like her little thirteen year old self, headbandless and pajama clad. "What now? You coming by for one of our tea parties like old times?" Yaya stepped back from the door and inclined her head for Tsubomi to enter. "I'm sorry, but I don't have any damn tea."
"Just making sure you're comfortable before I turn in." Tsubomi let go of the pillow, dropping it away from her chest. Damn! Yaya's eyebrows flew up in surprise. Gone were the men's pajamas Tsubomi always used to sleep in, replaced by something shimmery and short. Yaya squinted. Oh my God! She stared at Tsubomi's much more amply endowed chest, and could definitely see Tsubomi's nipples through the material. Time has been kind to that girl… Tsubomi realized where Yaya was looking and flushed, shielding herself again with the pillow.
"Um." She said, as Yaya's eyes lazily met hers once again. "Wait! You still have that thing?!"
Yaya looked down. "What this?" She pulled at the material of her red sleepshirt. "Yeah. It's so freaking soft! Feel!" She offered the hem.
Tsubomi rubbed the cloth in between her fingers. It was soft. Horribly stretched and faded, but extraordinarily soft. And it still slipped down over one of Yaya's shoulders in quite a seductive manner.
"Wow." Stated Tsubomi, forgetting to hold the pillow to her chest. "I don't think I have any of my clothes from three years ago." She looked at the butterfly silkscreen, once pink but now so faded it was almost white. It was so short now that if Yaya turned around Tsubomi would have seen buttcheek. "But maybe that's a good thing."
"I couldn't bear to get rid of it. It's like, my favorite thing ever. It soothes me and comforts me, you know? And it just kept getting softer every time I washed it. It's the next best thing to sleeping naked." Yaya's eyes strayed back down to Tsubomi's chest.
"Ah." Tsubomi cleared her throat and clenched the pillow back to her chest. "Well goodnight sempai." She said formally. "I'll be here in the morning to escort you to your first class."
"Oh?" said Yaya, raising one eyebrow, "I am perfectly fine on my own, you know. I can handle it I think. And God knows you don't want to be doing this."
Tsubomi's breath caught. How did Yaya know? She didn't even think to deny the comment, and she could've sworn that Yaya's face fell just a little.
"Good night then, Tsubomi-chan." Yaya murmured in a low tone, and before Tsubomi could protest, she leaned over and planted a chaste kiss on the younger girl's forehead. Tsubomi eyes closed automatically and her head swum with Yaya's scent enveloping her nostrils.
"Um, yes. Night." Tsubomi stuttered and fled.
