A/N:
WARNING! This chapter contains M-rated content! There is a strong lesbian theme throughout, and there are explicit depictions of lesbian sex at various points in the narrative. Read at your own risk.
DISCLAIMER! I do not own any part of the K-On! franchise. Ownership belongs to Kakifly, Hōbunsha, and Kyōtō Animation. I do, however, own all original characters appearing in this fiction, and they may not be used elsewhere without my express written consent.
Chapter 4: Aishiteru
3/20/2016, 5:06 pm
The Carriage House, Kotobuki Family Estate, Naganumamachi 598, Hachiōji
"…please, tell me you feel the same."
It was what Azusa had been longing to hear. For months, she'd played the scene over and over in her mind, imagining what Yui would say, and carefully planning her response. Now, the day had finally arrived, and as Yui boldly declared her love, Azusa was so overcome with happiness that, for the briefest of moments, she thought she might melt away completely.
However, the never-predictable brunette had caught her by surprise by confessing in front of their friends, and the surge of joy that had swept through her was quickly neutralized by excruciating embarrassment. With all those eyes on her during what should have been the most private of moments, she felt even more mortified than she had during that college concert where Yui had hugged her on stage. It was too much for the reserved Azusa, and suddenly she wanted to be somewhere, anywhere, other than the basement studio. Without thinking, she turned and ran.
"Azusa! Azunyan! Come back!"
Ignoring Yui's words, Azusa took off through the studio door. She didn't think about where she was going. All she could do was to keep moving, stumbling up the stairs as fast as she could, barely able to see the steps through her tears. Climbing frantically until she found herself at the top floor, Azusa kept at it, tearing down the long hallway until she slid to a halt in front of the empty wall at the end. This part of the house looked familiar, but she was so distracted she wasn't quite able to place it. Unwilling to go back the way she came, she sank to her knees and huddled against the wall at the end of the hallway, trying desperately to collect her wits.
She felt like a complete idiot for running out on Yui like that, especially since she hadn't given the brunette an answer. What was Yui supposed to think? Certainly she'd be confused, and very probably hurt. She might even think she'd been rejected. If that was the case, Azusa didn't even want to consider what Yui might do, not after what had happened in Hong Kong. Part of her wanted to make things right by immediately running back downstairs to find Yui and throwing herself into the brunette's arms. And yet she held back, afraid to face Yui after making what she suspected was, in hindsight, one of the biggest mistakes she'd ever made in their eight years of shared history. Frozen by indecision, she remained right where she was for what felt like hours, on her knees at the end of the deserted hallway.
It was so deathly quiet she could almost hear her heart beating. Suddenly, the silence was broken by someone bursting through the stairway door she had run through earlier. There was an exclamation of relief, followed by the sound of rapid footfalls echoing off the walls as the person hurried down the hallway toward where she was kneeling.
As the newcomer came to a stop next to her, panting from the exertion of running, Azusa knew without even looking that it was Yui. Too ashamed to look her in the eye, Azusa remained kneeling in front of the door, head hung, waiting for the brunette to say something.
Still short of breath, Yui spoke in bursts. She seemed hesitant, as if she was afraid of how Azusa might react.
"A-…Azunyan? Oh, Azunyan…I finally found you…you got away from me…on the stairs…and it took me a while…to track you down…but I'm here now."
She paused for several moments, seemingly waiting for Azusa's response. When there was none forthcoming, she continued, and although she had managed to control her breathing, her voice trembled with barely-contained despair.
"Hey, it's okay if you don't feel the same way as me, as long as we can still stay best friends. We can, right? Please, tell me that's okay…I'm begging you. Don't push me away…don't give up on your Yui…I couldn't bear it…"
As Yui's words trailed off into a muffled sob, Azusa sprang to her feet and whirled to face the woman standing beside her. To her dismay, the brunette's chocolate-brown eyes overflowed with tears, and her bottom lip quivered as she fought to keep from sobbing openly. She was the very picture of heartbreak. A crushing sense of guilt descended on the younger woman as she realized it was all her fault. One moment of panic had led Yui to believe she'd been rejected. In the recesses of her mind, the distraught Azusa kicked herself repeatedly for hurting this woman she supposedly loved so deeply.
"Oh my God, what have I done?" she gasped. "I'm so sorry! It's not what you think! It's just that…I got so embarrassed in front of everyone. But your song was perfect, and what you told me afterward…it was…so beautiful…oh, Yui, I'm such an idiot…if I had it to do all over again, I wouldn't run…can you ever forgive me?"
The brunette sniffled, wiping unsuccessfully at her eyes with her bare fingers. When she spoke, the pain in her voice cut through Azusa like a knife.
"When you ran, I wanted to die. I thought, 'Azunyan doesn't return my feelings after all.' Then I thought you wouldn't even want to be my friend anymore. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost Azunyan. She's my fated person. My reason for being."
"Yui, you're not going to lose me," Azusa countered, her voice breaking. "I could never push you away…I…love you…more than anything or anyone…"
With that, her face crumpled, and her tears began to flow again. Without a word, Yui wrapped her arms around the tiny woman and pulled her close. Azusa didn't fight her; she couldn't if she tried. She merely clutched at the front of Yui's shirt and buried her head in the brunette's shoulder, dimly aware of Yui's own tears trickling down onto her neck. In the comfort of the warm, familiar embrace, the final emotional barrier within her broke, and all the frustration and longing of the past year came bursting out of her. In between the sobs that wracked her body, all she could do, over and over, was to profess her love for Yui.
"…aishiteru wa…aishiteru wa…"
Yui simply held her, nuzzling her cheek against the side of Azusa's head and whispering quiet reassurance.
"It's okay, Azunyan… koneko-chan, I forgive you…please, don't cry…"
As had so often happened over the course of their friendship, the mere act of Yui holding Azusa was all the reassurance the younger woman needed. Her tears soon passed, and the violent storm of emotion within her died away. The two remained in each other's arms for several minutes, in the middle of the empty hallway, until the quiet murmur of Yui's voice cut into the stillness.
"I'm…sorry, Azunyan. I guess now that I've finally worked through the issues that were holding me back, I just couldn't wait to tell you how I feel. But I did it all wrong. I should have waited until we were alone. When I said those things, I never meant to embarrass you. I wanted you to be happier than you've ever been. Look, there's no one around to hear, so let me make it right. Let me say the words again, just for you this time."
When Azusa nodded her agreement, Yui pulled back just enough to look into her eyes.
"I want to be the only one who protects Azunyan. As the song goes, 'Forever and ever, I will love you.' I promise."
This was the defining moment Azusa had longed for. Yui's words seemed even sweeter the second time around. With no distractions and no onlookers, they hit their intended target deep within her soul. There was no hesitation or uncertainty in her response.
"I love you, too, Yui. I'll never give up on you, and I won't run away anymore. Please…care for me well."
At this, Yui leaned downward, her lips searching for Azusa's. It wasn't a deep kiss – a mere gentle touch – but the obsidian-haired woman nevertheless felt Yui's love flood through her, the physical contact conveying a message that far transcended words. She was overwhelmed with a sense of peace, as though she had finally found her place in the universe. All the negative emotions vanished, replaced by a single thought: she belonged to Yui, and Yui belonged to her. In the face of this truth, nothing else mattered.
When their lips pulled apart, Azusa opened her eyes to Yui's usual winning smile. Under normal circumstances, the sight was like a bath in warm sunlight, but now, there was an even greater meaning to it, a glow not usually present in the smile Yui gave to others. Azusa sensed it was meant only for her, Yui's special person. It was then that reality sank in: after eight years of friendship that had grown to love, they were finally together.
Much to Azusa's reluctance, Yui released her from their embrace and began digging around in the pockets of her jeans. After a brief search, she produced a tissue, and dabbed lightly at the smaller woman's eyes to dry the tears, then wiped away what was left of her own.
"You know, you just happened to wind up in front of the entrance to my suite," she chuckled, motioning to the door on their left. "How about that? When my poor koneko-chan got scared, she ran straight home."
With a start, Azusa realized she was right.
"I knew this part of the house looked familiar," she admitted. "But I don't come here all that often, and every hallway looks the same to me. And I was a bit…preoccupied."
The irony was not lost on her that despite her initial impulse to run from Yui, she ultimately wound up running to her. Somehow, the image of herself as a lost kitten finding its way home by instinct seemed fitting.
"None of that matters now," Yui reassured her. "I found you, and we've said what needed to be said. That's what's really important."
With a grin, she took Azusa's hands in hers, palm to palm, taking care to interlock their fingers.
"You hungry?" she asked. "I hope so. I ordered dinner for 17:30, and it's almost that time now. I asked them to send up takoyaki and a few other things you like."
Yui was back to her usual enthusiastic self, and that lifted Azusa's spirits. Suddenly, the idea of a shared meal, with just the two of them together, seemed heavenly.
"That sounds really nice," she sighed. "I've been looking forward to it since yesterday."
With a flourish, Yui pushed open the door to her suite.
"Then come on in," she invited, taking Azusa's hand and leading her inside. "No sense hanging around out here in the hallway. It's been a tough day for both of us. Why don't we relax a bit before we eat? You can tell me more about the new band while we're waiting."
3/20/2016, 5:33 pm
Yui's Suite, The Carriage House
As the servant arranged the plates of food on the small dining table, a symphony of aromas filled Yui's sitting room. Azusa, sniffing at the air appreciatively, felt a sudden rumble in her stomach. It was a forceful reminder that she'd had nothing to eat since that morning.
To her delight, she saw that Yui had requested all of her favorites. Not only was there the promised takoyaki, there was also yellowtail tuna sashimi, a rare treat for a young schoolteacher without a lot of money to spare. Along with the fish came the usual complements of fluffy white rice, tsukemono, and the chef's signature miso soup with tofu and shiitake mushrooms that Azusa had so enjoyed on a previous visit. To top it all off, there were two slices of cake, white with strawberries for Yui and banana for Azusa.
The various courses were laid out in an eye-popping visual presentation, a riot of textures and colors that could only have come from the hand of a professional high-end chef like the one who served the Kotobuki family. It was not so much a meal as a work of art, and the two women took a moment just to appreciate its visual impact.
"Oh, everything looks so cute!" Yui exclaimed after the servant had excused himself. "And yummy, too. It's going to be a shame to have to eat such gorgeous food, but I'm starving. Come on, let's get started!"
At Yui's direction, their table settings had been laid out next to each other. The better to feed each other, the brunette had explained. As they took their seats and said the appropriate words of thanks, Azusa couldn't help but gaze longingly at the plate of sashimi. It had been so long since she'd had yellowtail, and her mouth watered in anticipation. Yui, seeing the look in her eye, flashed a smile, and immediately picked up her chopsticks.
"Azunyan gets the first piece," she announced. "Here, let me feed it to you."
With practiced ease, the brunette used her chopsticks to paint some wasabi on a piece of yellowtail. After a dipping the bottom of the chunk of fish briefly in the soy sauce, she held it to Azusa's lips.
"Say, 'Ah.'"
"Ah."
The sauces' combination of fire and salt offset the yellowtail's delicate flavor perfectly, and Azusa couldn't hold back a groan of delight as the fish practically melted in her mouth. It was beyond delicious, and the fact that Yui had fed it to her made it perfect.
"I guess Azunyan likes it," Yui giggled. "Oh, look. I got some soy sauce on your cheek. Let me fix that."
Azusa, thinking Yui was going to dab at the offending droplets with her napkin, was caught completely by surprise when the brunette leaned over and gently licked them off. She flinched, then blushed a bright scarlet. Yui merely smiled serenely.
"I didn't mean to startle you. But why are you surprised? After all, this is the kind of thing lovers do, right?"
Yui's use of the word "lovers" took Azusa's mind off the food and brought it back to the larger context. She was alone with Yui, and they were now in a formal relationship. The brunette was within her rights to do something so intimate. As she considered the possible implications of the word "intimate," her thoughts began to race, and she blushed even more deeply.
"N-no, it's o-okay," she stuttered, trying to suppress the fluttering feeling at the pit of her stomach. "I j-just need to get u-used to it, that's all."
Yui just kept on smiling.
"Okay, now you feed me," she prompted, and Azusa, glad for the distraction, responded by reaching for a takoyaki ball. At Yui's insistence, she dipped it liberally in hot mustard. Leaning against the brunette's shoulder, she held the morsel so Yui could take a bite, and tried not to laugh at the all-too-predictable result.
"G-good stuff," Yui wheezed, flashing a thumbs-up and grinning despite her mustard-induced tears.
They ate the rest of the meal in this intimate fashion, sitting as close to each other as they could, and taking turns feeding each other small bits of fish and takoyaki. Azusa, who had never really cared for being fed in the past, now discovered just how romantic it could be. When one's lover is doing the feeding, she found, even seemingly insignificant touches take on a whole new meaning.
After the initial shock of having the soy sauce licked from her cheek, Azusa quickly adjusted, and began to enjoy the little caresses she was getting from the brunette, and to return them actively. Before too long, the constant body contact between the two women began to take its toll. To touch Yui, and be touched in return, was exhilarating, and as the amount of affection they were showing each other began to increase, the anticipation began to build within Azusa over what the evening might hold in store.
Despite this, she still felt nervous, because she didn't really know what to expect once dinner was over. Azusa had long wanted Yui to do what lovers did: hold her, kiss her, and more. Now that this all seemed likely to happen, however, she felt a sudden apprehension. At age 23, she'd never so much as looked at anyone except Yui, and that lack of experience made her feel naive and inadequate. The kiss in the hallway had been her first, not counting the various attempts Yui had made in their early years. What if Yui kissed her again – not just a brush with her lips but a real, deep, adult kiss – and thought she was no good at it? Azusa thought about being naked in front of her new girlfriend – would Yui think her body wasn't attractive? Would she think Azusa's breasts were too small? And what if Yui wanted to make love to her? The thought of Yui's hands on her made her tremble, but at the same time she worried that her inexperience would hold them both back. And of course, as a virgin, she was worried about the first time being painful. As these thoughts crowded in on her, she wondered if she had the nerve to go through with it.
Realizing that her usual tendency to overanalyze things had kicked in, and that she was thinking too much, she steeled her resolve. She wasn't going to give in to her insecurities anymore when it came to Yui. It helped that her reservations were rapidly being overcome by the almost crushing sense of need welling up inside her. No, she thought, however the rest of the night was going to unfold, she needed to let things happen without thinking them to death beforehand. There would be no more running, and no more holding back.
Once Yui had eaten the final strawberry from her cake, she pushed the plate away and patted her stomach.
"Gochisōsama," she sighed, putting real feeling into the normally perfunctory meal-ending phrase."That was an awesome meal. Did you like it?"
Azusa, still working on her final bite of banana cake, nodded.
"Good," the brunette said. "I had a feeling this was going to be our first meal together as girlfriends, and I wanted it to be special. And now that we're done eating, it's time to, uh…relax."
Something about the way Yui said the word "relax" gave Azusa pause, but she really didn't have a chance to respond. Almost as soon as she swallowed her last mouthful, Yui grabbed her hand and began pulling her toward the nearby sofa.
"Sit here," the brunette directed, patting a cushion at one end. The younger woman complied, wondering what Yui had in mind. She didn't have long to wait to find out; Yui promptly lay down lengthwise on the sofa and settled her head into Azusa's lap.
"Now this is comfort," she declared, smirking up at her surprised girlfriend. "The only way this could be any better is if you were feeding me another piece of cake or something. You don't mind us being like this, do you?"
With Yui in such an intimate position, Azusa felt the room suddenly become uncomfortably warm. Aside from smoothing a stray auburn hair from Yui's face, she was unable to do much else but gaze down into the brunette's eyes. The adoration in those reservoirs of chocolate brown nearly drove the words from her mind, but after several moments of awkward silence, she managed to answer the question.
"I…really like it. And you shouldn't have to ask anymore. I know I didn't like to be touched or hugged or anything like that in the past, and I always made sure you kept your distance. But tonight…well, we're together now, so it's okay for you to, um, touch me and hold me as much you want. I won't push you away anymore, I promise."
A speculative look spread across Yui's face as she considered this statement. At the sight, Azusa began to have second thoughts, envisioning Yui tackling her with a too-enthusiastic hug. However, the brunette once again proved unpredictable.
"How about this?" she offered, smiling up at Azusa. "There's something I really wanted to do with you at Ui's wedding, but I didn't dare ask, because I was pretty sure you'd refuse. Now, tonight, it feels totally right, and I really want us to do it."
With a sudden movement, Yui sat up, and then jumped to her feet. Turning to Azusa, she smiled, and then extended her hand.
"Dance with me. A slow dance."
Azusa's eyebrows flew upward.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious," Yui pouted. "How can I not be at a time like this? Besides, you said I could hold you whenever I wanted now, right? Well, slow dancing is basically holding each other set to music, isn't it?"
It was totally random, but also totally Yui. Azusa wasn't about to refuse her. If this is what it took to get back into the brunette's arms, where she felt so right, so be it. After a moment, she nodded her agreement, and took the outstretched hand. Yui pulled her to her feet, then clapped her hands in delight.
"Awesome! I have just the right song in mind. The words are perfect, and the music will really set the right mood."
She fished her phone out of a pocket, tapped at the screen, then placed the device in the dock on the nearby end table. As the song began to play, Azusa recognized it at once: Aishiteru, a popular love song. The lyrics had a wistful beauty that had always strongly appealed to her. There were very few choices Yui could have made that would have been more appropriate for the moment.
Yui wrapped Azusa in her arms and began to sway back and forth to the song's gentle rhythm. Almost without thinking, Azusa melted into the embrace, molding herself to the brunette. Yui felt so soft and warm, and she smelled so nice, like a combination of the cherry blossoms in her shampoo, the strawberries on the cake she'd just had for dessert, and a half-dozen other things that evoked her in Azusa's mind. Yui's scent, and the feel of their bodies together, sent her heartbeat into overdrive.
As the song headed into the final chorus, Yui began to sing along with the recorded vocal, just loud enough for Azusa to hear her. The glorious lyrics were yet another expression of the feelings behind her confession, and they resonated deeply within the younger woman.
…I love you, I love you
Until the end of the world…
These heartbreakingly beautiful words, sung just for her by the woman she so desperately loved, nearly overwhelmed Azusa. For a brief moment, she wished that she could stay just as she was, right there in Yui's arms, for the rest of her life.
The song finally ended, much to Azusa's deep disappointment. Before she could give voice to her frustration, however, Yui's lips found hers, and any thought of protest fled.
The kiss was deep, far deeper than the brief, almost chaste kiss in the hallway. A surge of white-hot desire flashed through Azusa as Yui's lips gently stroked hers. After a moment, she felt the brunette's tongue searching, and she reflexively allowed her own to meet it. When they finally touched, her knees suddenly weakened, and she clung to Yui as if for dear life.
The avalanche of sensations threatened to bury Azusa as the kiss seemingly went on and on. Yui was doing such wonderful things to her that her rational mind couldn't function. All she could do was give herself over to pure feeling. Lips on hers, a tongue slow-dancing with her own, fingers fluttering up and down her spine, hands pausing only to gently stroke her buttocks…all these combined to ignite a raging fire deep inside Azusa, a blaze that threatened to sweep out of control and consume her entirely.
After what seemed like an eternity, the kiss ended, leaving her with sense of loss that made her feel like crying. She leaned against Yui, struggling for breath, her pulse roaring in her ears. After a few moments, she realized her lover was trembling just as much as she was. She could feel a heart pounding, but wasn't able to concentrate enough to tell whether it was hers or that of the woman holding her.
"My Azunyan's…lips taste…so sweet," Yui gasped. "Like bananas…and milk tea with sugar."
Azusa smiled at the metaphor. It was so like Yui to describe anything that gave her pleasure in culinary terms. Unfortunately, she was unable to think clearly enough to return the compliment. Only a single word came to mind.
"More."
Yui needed no further encouragement, and she immediately pressed her lips to Azusa's again. This time, the kiss was demanding, and Azusa returned it hungrily, grinding her body against Yui's as the need within her began to intensify. In short order, the two women were back on the sofa, lying on their sides, their bodies pressed tightly together. Azusa eagerly matched Yui caress for caress as the ache within her built to a nearly unbearable level. Finally, the thoughts swirling in her brain converged to one single realization: she wanted Yui to make love to her, right then, more than anything. Whatever misgivings she might have had were long gone, replaced only by desire.
With supreme effort, she pulled her lips from Yui's. The brunette looked shocked, and appeared to be about to say something, but Azusa laid a finger on her lips to silence her. She got to her feet, tugging at Yui's hand to signal her to follow, and, without a further word, led her bemused girlfriend from the sitting room.
As the two stood in the stillness of the darkened bedroom, the sexual tension settled over them like a thick mantle. Azusa was transfixed, unable to tear her gaze from Yui's face. The brunette, having finally grasped her lover's intent, didn't speak. However, her eyes, glistening in the dim light of the nearby table lamp, sent a clear, unmistakable message.
I love you. Please, let me show it. Let me touch you.
By way of answer, Azusa took Yui's hand and placed it on her breast, barely suppressing a hiss of pleasure as Yui's fingers made contact. It was as clear an answer as she could give.
Touch me, Yui. Make love to me.
With her free hand, Yui tenderly smoothed a stray lock of hair out of Azusa's eyes, then pulled her into yet another embrace. However, her lips didn't linger on the younger woman's. Slowly, gently, they began to trace along her jawline, and when they finally reached her earlobe, a gentle nibble made Azusa's breath hitch. As she fought to keep her knees from buckling at the wonderful sensations rocketing through her, Yui whispered almost inaudibly into her ear.
"Don't worry, koneko-chan. I'll go slowly, and I'll be gentle."
With that, Yui's lips continued their journey down the side of Azusa's neck, slowly kissing their way to the collar of her t-shirt. The sensation of hot breath on her skin was almost too good, and it made her desperately want those lips to keep moving downward. Without warning, however, Yui abruptly pulled away, forcing a groan of impatience from her shaking partner.
"Your clothes are in the way," the brunette observed, smiling mischievously. "And so are mine. We'll have to fix that."
Grasping the hem of Azusa's t-shirt, Yui pulled upward, and once the garment was off, Azusa responded by unbuttoning the front of Yui's blouse. The pile of clothing on the floor grew until the two women finally stood naked in front of each other, flushed with arousal. Azusa had seen Yui unclothed many times in the communal bath, but it was her first time looking at her as a lover, and the sight sent her heart into her mouth. As her eyes lingered on the curve of Yui's breasts and the flat expanse of her toned stomach, she wondered what they would feel like under her fingers. Suddenly, Yui's voice startled her out of her reverie.
"My Azunyan is so beautiful."
Yui stared back with equal appreciation. As her eyes swept across Azusa's body, the tiny woman felt one last surge of self-consciousness, and she instinctively covered her exposed breasts and groin, shielding them from Yui's sight. The brunette was having none of it, however. She gently pulled Azusa's arms away from her chest.
"Don't hide from your Yui, koneko-chan," she pleaded.
"But…but…it feels..w-weird when you…l-look at me like th-that," Azusa stammered, her face flushing an even deeper crimson.
Yui merely giggled.
"Azunynan is so cute when she blushes. Hey, there's no need to be ashamed of anything. We're allowed to look at each other like this. It's our special privilege as lovers, right? Here, you can look at Yui all you want."
The brunette did a slow pirouette so that Azusa could get a complete view of her naked form. In spite of her sudden attack of modesty, the younger woman couldn't tear her eyes away.
"See? All this belongs to Azunyan now. And Azunuyan's body belongs to Yui."
Without waiting for a response, Yui grabbed Azusa's hands and led her to the bed. Almost before she realized what was happening, the younger woman was on her back with Yui kneeling next to her. The brunette didn't stay idle for long, however.
With a light trace of her lips over Azusa's stomach, Yui began an agonizingly slow exploration of seemingly every square centimeter of her lover's exposed skin. Azusa gasped and squirmed as the brunette searched for and found every sensitive spot she could. Yui seemed instinctively to know just where to touch her and how, and with each succeeding discovery, Azusa's need grew more and more intense. By the time Yui's mouth reached her breasts, she was groaning and shuddering at practically every touch.
Yui gave the small mounds careful attention, now kissing and nibbling, now squeezing and palming, now gently flicking the nipples with her tongue or fingers. Azusa filled the room with her moans as she writhed and arched under Yui's relentless ministrations. Desperate for release, and unwilling to wait any longer, she grabbed one of Yui's hands, trying to force it downward, but the brunette pulled it away with a chuckle.
"Patience, koneko-chan."
With that, Yui knelt between Azusa's legs, pushing her lover's knees up and apart as she did so. She began to plant light kisses along Azusa's inner thighs, alternating from one side to the other, moving with maddening slowness toward her ultimate target. Azusa was convinced she would die from the anticipation. With a whine of protest, she again tried to force the pace by pushing her hips upward toward Yui's face, but it was to no avail. Yui refused to move any faster, and it made the tiny woman practically weep with frustration.
"Yui…please…don't tease me anymore…"
Finally, just as Azusa was about to give up hope, Yui's mouth reached her core. At the moment of contact, she cried out, and her mind went blank. The brunette's lips called a devastating cadence as they marched back and forth repeatedly across Azusa's nexus of pleasure, and the younger woman clutched at the bed sheets, rolling her hips in response to every flick of the brunette's tongue. Rapidly approaching her limit, she sobbed for breath as the waves of pleasure crashed through her.
The climax, when it finally came, was far more intense than any self-induced peak Azusa had ever experienced. Her vision tunneled as the spasms ripped through her, and with a wail, she arched her back until her entire body was bridged off of the mattress, supported only by her feet and shoulders. Yui's mouth remained locked on Azusa's pleasure center the entire time, serving to prolong the ecstasy for what seemed like hours until, unable to take any more, the exhausted guitarist finally pulled Yui off of her. With a grunt, she collapsed to the bed, spent for the moment, her chest heaving and her eyes staring vacantly at the ceiling.
She wasn't really sure how long she lay that way after the shattering orgasm robbed her of her sense of time and space. When she finally regained awareness, she found herself once more in the warmth of Yui's arms. Her lover held her close, stroking her hair and nuzzling her cheek, and whispering words that melted Azusa's heart all over again.
"I love you, Azunyan. You're Yui's precious koneko-chan, and she'll always protect you."
Rolling onto her side, Azusa tenderly brushed the auburn bangs out of Yui's face so she could look into those shining, chocolate-brown eyes once more. She saw love in them, pure and unconditional, that mirrored the deep feelings surging through her. Wanting to express those emotions, she lightly caressed Yui's lips with her own. The kiss didn't seem sufficient, however, and she decided she needed to say something meaningful to go with it. Unfortunately, her recent climax had left her struggling to frame coherent thoughts. In the end, the words she managed to come up with seemed inadequate, even trite.
"Yui, I love you, too. That was…so beautiful."
True to her nature, Yui didn't seem to care whether or not the statement was profound. She simply smiled that sunny smile of hers.
"My Azunyan is so pretty, I couldn't help myself. I just wanted to keep on touching you and tasting you. I couldn't stop."
Azusa let out a deep sigh of satisfaction.
"I'm so glad one of us has experience. You know this is my first time, of course. I was really afraid I wouldn't be good enough, but it turns out I had nothing to worry about."
Yui propped herself up on one arm, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
"Want to know a secret? This is my first time, too. And those kisses before? First time as well."
Azusa gaped at her, dumbfounded.
"But…but…at JWU, you went on all those gōkon. And all those individual dates, too, with both men and women. Sometimes you were out all night. And besides, what rock star doesn't party? I mean, we've never really talked about any of this, and I didn't really want to know the details anyway, but even so, I just naturally assumed…"
"Oh, Azunyan, I thought you knew me better than that," Yui interrupted with a dismissive wave of her hand. "I've never been in love with anyone besides you. I didn't really care to be. I just went to those gōkon so Akira-chan wouldn't have to go by herself. No one else would go with her, remember? Those 'dates' weren't really dates at all. Those people were all just friends. I never even held hands with any of them. And you know all about how I am on tour – I go straight back to my hotel room after every show to have dinner. No, I've been saving myself for someone special. And when I look back on it, I guess my kisses and touches were meant for you all along."
"Then how…I mean, you're just…so…good," Azusa stammered, still unable to believe Yui's contention that this was her first time in bed with a lover. "Those kisses…the way you touched me…I thought I was going to melt, everything was so wonderful."
"I had a feeling this would happen tonight, so I went to Mugi-chan for advice," Yui explained, smirking as she traced a finger over Azusa's cheek. "She, um, knows a lot about this sort of thing, you know, so I figured she would be able to tell me what I needed to do to please you."
"And what did she say?"
"Not a lot," Yui admitted. "She just got all starry-eyed and told me, 'Touch her the way you'd like to be touched.' But the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Fortunately, I have a good imagination, so I just thought about how I would want Azunyan to touch me, and that's what I did."
"Kind of like the way you learned to play guitar," Azusa grinned. "You just sort of went for it and hoped for the best, right?"
Yui simply shrugged and smiled back at her.
"Yeah. I guess it worked, huh?"
"It worked spectacularly well," Azusa agreed. "Remember what you said before about making me happier than I've ever been? You succeeded, because I've never been as happy as I am right now."
"I guess we have Takeda-san to thank for that," the brunette mused, looking suddenly thoughtful.
Azusa frowned at the seeming non-sequitur.
"What's Tori got to do with you and me?"
"Think about it. Before she came onto the scene, you and I were kind of stuck between being best friends and being girlfriends. Then, within a week of you guys meeting up again, she shook things up between us completely. Yeah, it was because I got jealous for no reason and wound up acting really dumb, but the point is if it wasn't for her, we'd still be waiting around for something to happen. That's why I said we should find some way to thank her."
"You're probably right," Azusa conceded. "But it doesn't really matter to me who gets the credit. All I care about is that we're together."
With that, she wrapped her arms around Yui and pulled her into yet another kiss. As their tongues met, Azusa felt a surge of desire. She wanted to make love to Yui, and to return in full measure the pleasure her lover had lavished on her earlier. With a swift movement, she rolled Yui onto her back, straddled her waist, and pinned her wrists to the mattress. The brunette, caught off guard, nevertheless squealed with delight.
"Woah! Azunyan's so forceful! I'm going to have to start calling you kotora-chan."
"So now I'm a tiger cub instead of a kitten, huh?" the younger woman smiled as her lips descended toward Yui's. "Fine. I can be a tiger cub for tonight. But don't worry. This tiger cub promises to be gentle."
3/20/2016, 10:56 pm
Yui's Suite, The Carriage House
As Azusa slowly came to consciousness out of a quickly-forgotten dream, her eyes struggled to focus in the dimly-lit room. For a moment, she wasn't sure where she was, but her disorientation soon passed, and she realized she was lying in Yui's bed.
Instinctively, she reached out to wrap an arm around the brunette. Disappointed when her hand found only empty space, she rolled over and sat up.
Yui was lounging in the nearby easy chair, hunched over her tablet computer. Her face was a study in concentration. Every so often, she would stop to hum a few quiet bars of melody to herself, but then she would go back to tapping at the screen, the touch of her fingertips barely audible in the quiet of the late evening. She was totally focused on what she was doing, and therefore appeared not to notice that Azusa had awakened.
A smile crept across Azusa's lips as she recalled their coupling of earlier in the evening. They had made love without a break for nearly two hours, and the memories of them together flashed through her mind in rapid succession: the way Yui tasted, and the sounds she made when Azusa touched her; the way she arched her back when she reached her peak, and how tightly she clenched around Azusa's fingers; how glorious it felt the first time Yui entered her; and how effortlessly Yui drove her to climax after explosive climax, until she had finally collapsed from exhaustion. Their lovemaking had been deeply satisfying on a level she'd never felt possible, and through it she felt more tightly bonded than ever to this woman who was the center of her universe.
Having had enough of watching Yui work, she stretched and let out an exaggerated yawn in an attempt to get her lover's attention. It didn't work, so she moved to her next alternative.
"Yui."
At the sound of her name, the brunette's head snapped upward. When she saw Azusa was awake, her face filled with delight.
"Azunyan!" came her cheery greeting.
"You left." Azusa's response was more a question than a statement.
"I didn't want to bother you," Yui replied, staring appreciatively at her girlfriend's naked upper body. Azusa pretended to ignore the brunette's gaze, opting instead to rub her eyes again.
"Wow, I must have been out cold. What time is it?"
"Almost 23:00," Yui informed her.
"What?"
Instantly, Azusa was wide awake. She sprang from the bed and began to search frantically for her clothes in the pile on the floor.
"Good God, Yui…why didn't you wake me up? I have to work tomorrow! I should have been home by now!"
"Relax," Yui soothed. "I took care of everything while you were asleep. I called your mom about an hour and a half ago and explained that we had a welcome home party, and that we'd invited you to stay over."
Azusa stopped what she was doing and turned to face Yui with her bra in one hand, her panties in the other, and a panicked look on her face. Heaven only knew what Yui had said to her mother. For a brief moment, she had visions of her parents calling her into the living room for the dreaded heart-to-heart talk the moment she got home.
"You…called Mom?"
"Sure did," Yui grinned. "But don't worry. I didn't tell her exactly how we celebrated my coming home. Anyway, it was nice to talk to her again. When I told her what was going on, she packed an overnight bag with your work clothes and some toiletries. One of the staff went over to get it a while ago, and it's downstairs waiting. We can have it brought up in the morning. Don't worry about getting to work – you can take the train from Naganuma to Keiokatakura and be at the high school in no time, or we can ask Nakayama to drive you."
Since Yui seemed to have everything arranged, Azusa relaxed, and decided there was no point to worrying about the situation any further. In fact, once she thought about it, she decided things had worked out better than she'd hoped, since she'd get to spend the night with Yui, something she'd thought wasn't going to be possible. She could only see one down side to the situation: if their earlier lovemaking was any indication, she was in for precious little sleep. After a moment, she decided sleep was overrated.
She looked at the lingerie in her hands, then at Yui, and then back at the lingerie. Then, with a shrug, she tossed the bra and panties back onto the floor.
"Looks like I won't need these, then," she announced, climbing under the covers and peering coyly over the blanket at Yui. "Are you going to join me, or are you just going to sit there reading manga on your tablet? I assume that's what you've been doing all this time."
Yui puffed out her cheeks with false indignation at the gentle teasing.
"Azunyan is so mean! For your information, I have not been reading manga. I've been writing a song. A song about you and me. I want to show you the lyrics, but only if you're going to be nice to me."
Azusa pushed herself up into a sitting position, gaping at Yui in astonishment.
"A song? But you haven't written anything since high school…"
"…and the last lyrics I wrote were for you," Yui reminded her. "Remember Tenshi ni Fureta yo?"
"There's no way I could ever forget that song," Azusa smiled. "I can still hear it in my mind."
Her voice trailed off as she remembered how she had put the sound file on loop as soon as Mugi had emailed it to her.
"Tenshi was really important to me," Yui explained. "I wanted you to know how much the four of us treasured your friendship. After I wrote those lyrics, I never really had any motivation to write any others. But things are different now. It's like something snapped inside me tonight, something that's been holding me back for years. That's why I couldn't sleep. After you dozed off, I got up and started writing. After everything that happened today…I mean, just knowing for certain how much you love me, and how much love I feel for you right now…the lyrics just won't stop coming."
Azusa felt humbled by Yui's words. The brunette had always been an inspiration, musically speaking. To know Yui felt the same way about her was an honor.
"I don't at all mind being your muse," she answered quietly, trying with only partial success to keep her voice even. The two women smiled at each other for a moment before Azusa's curiosity got the better of her. "Why don't you bring the tablet with you, and you can show me what you've got? Lose the bathrobe, though."
Showing no hesitation whatsoever, Yui jumped up out of the easy chair. With a wink at Azusa, she shrugged her bathrobe to the floor and joined her lover under the covers, placing the tablet on the nightstand as she settled in.
"Before I let you see what I wrote, there's one small thing I need to take care of," the brunette declared with a sly look that made Azusa wonder what she was up to. "I've been waiting for two and a half hours to do it."
"What's that?"
"This."
Yui reached her hand around the back of Azusa's head and pulled her into a deep, searching kiss. After a moment of resistance, more out of surprise than anything else, she returned the kiss eagerly, luxuriating in the feel of soft skin under her fingertips as she ran her hand gently over the brunette's back. In response, Yui moaned into Azusa's mouth and deepened the kiss further. After a few moments, however, Azusa pulled her lips away, causing her frustrated companion to grunt with displeasure.
"Don't stop now," Yui complained. "It was just getting really good!"
Azusa propped herself up on one elbow and cocked an eye at her companion.
"Um, the lyrics? A couple minutes ago, you seemed to think they were pretty important."
"Ooh, right, the lyrics," Yui suddenly remembered. "My Azunyan's lips were so soft that I got distracted."
She ran her fingertips playfully across Azusa's chest, earning a gasp and a half-hearted scolding for her efforts. Then, with a smirk, she sat up, reached for the tablet, and tapped at the screen.
"I'm still tweaking the verses, but the chorus is done. I'm pretty pleased with it, actually."
Azusa wasn't so sure.
"How can you write lyrics with no melody? Lyrics aren't really complete until they fit with the music."
"Oh, I have music already written," the brunette explained, leaning back against the headboard, folding her hands behind her head, and ignoring her companion's expression of surprise. "I came up with the hook for the chorus and the melody for the verses last year. Mugi-chan and I were hanging around in the studio one day, and the music just sort of came to me. Mugi-chan really liked what I wrote, but she said I should save it until I could think of my own lyrics rather than letting Mio-chan write them. Tonight, at last, the lyrics came to me while I was watching you sleep."
Azusa sat up alongside Yui, and leaned over so she could see the tablet screen.
"Wings of an Angel," she read aloud, and as she studied the lyrics further, her eyes widened. It was radically different from the usual fluffy HTT offering. These were the words of a grown woman who was absolutely sure of her feelings. They were forthright without seeming blunt, and passionate without coming across as overblown. She had not expected such sophistication from Yui, and it left her deeply impressed.
"These lyrics…they're really good!"
"Thanks, Azunyan," Yui grinned, basking in the praise. "But how could they not be good? They're about you and me, after all. They sound even better than they read. Want to hear the chorus, at least?"
When Azusa nodded, the brunette began to sing softly, as if the words were only meant for the two of them.
Your love lifts me up
Like the wings of an angel
Nothing can hold us down
We'll touch the sky together…
Laying the tablet aside again, she looked at Azusa expectantly.
"Well, what do you think?"
Something about the way words and melody worked together touched Azusa deeply. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because the song was about their love, hers and Yui's, or maybe it was of Yui's poignant a capella delivery, or maybe it was some combination of the two. Whatever the reasons, she was so overcome she had trouble forming a response to Yui's question. All she could do was lean over and brush her lips ever so lightly over the brunette's, and then whisper three words into her ear.
"I love you."
"I'd say that means I was successful," the brunette decided. "I'll sing it all the way through for you tomorrow, with the guitar part, once I polish up the second verse a bit. I just know you'll love it!"
Azusa couldn't suppress a smile at Yui's enthusiasm.
"You should put this on the new album, Yui. I can tell just from the chorus that it's going to be a really good song."
"Oh, this song isn't for HTT," the brunette replied, flashing that trademark smile. "I wrote this for you, and I want Steelflower to be the first to perform it. Takeda-san's voice is a bit lower than mine, but you guys can transpose down."
Azusa sank back against the headboard, dumbfounded.
"Yui…but…what…are you serious? The first song you write in years, and you're giving it to us?"
"I'm completely serious," the brunette replied, locking eyes with her flabbergasted girlfriend. "This is my gift to you. Call it a celebration of us being together. I could buy you just about anything you wanted, but this is one thing that I can give you that I could never pay money for. Something that's straight from my heart."
"But you should be writing songs for HTT," Azusa protested. "You guys have another album coming up."
"I will be," Yui assured her. "This song is only the beginning, I promise you. I have all sorts of ideas for lyrics in my head right now, thanks to you. All I need is music, and I can work with Mugi-chan on that part. But as for this song, it's yours. Just listening to Steelflower play…you guys are good, Azunyan. I want to help you succeed any way I can. How else are we going to play Budokan together? That's what we both want, after all."
"It is," Azusa affirmed.
"Then please, Azunyan, accept this song as a first step. It's really important to me that you do."
Yui's eyes had such pleading in them that there was no way Azusa could refuse her. In fact, it was such a generous gift that she could still hardly believe it, and to know that Yui was thinking in terms of their shared dream made it even more significant. Overcome with gratitude, all she could do was pull Yui back down to the mattress and into her arms again, stroking her hair and back, and savoring the feeling of their breasts and stomachs pressed together. They lay that way for some time, content simply to be in each other's arms, until Azusa finally felt Yui stir.
"You know what you said about being happier than you've ever been?" the brunette murmured into her ear. "It's the same way for me. This is perfect, the two of us just like this. I wish you could live here with me so we could do this all the time."
In response, Azusa gently kissed her lover's cheek.
"You know I can't do that, Yui. What would people say? Your fan base likes its female rock stars young, cute, single, and definitely straight. Your sleeping with another woman violates those last two rules. Besides, we're going to have enough problems from being in a same-sex relationship without having to worry about damaging your image on top of it all. We also have to think of our parents, and of how the people at Sakuragaoka might react. No, I may be your lover in private, but in public I need to stay your close friend from high school and college. It's better this way."
Yui considered this for a moment.
"You're right, of course," she admitted ruefully. "You usually are. It looks like the only way to show the world how I really feel about you is through my music, at least for the time being. And I love you so much that I have a lot to say."
"And I'll never get tired of listening," Azusa declared. "But there's something you need to consider. The press and the fan sites are going to wonder why you suddenly started writing songs after all these years, and they're certainly going to ask you some tough questions about where you're getting the inspiration for your lyrics. They're probably going assume you have a secret boyfriend or something."
The idea clearly struck Yui as hilarious, because she burst into a fit of giggling. Unable to resist the almost musical sound, Azusa soon joined her.
"Me with a boyfriend?" the brunette cackled. "Oh, that's a good one! Well, if the press wants to think that, let them. If they ask me about it, I'll just smile and give them my standard non-answer. It's part of my mystique to keep them guessing, you know."
When the laughter had subsided, Azusa pulled Yui close again, and pressed her lips against Yui's neck. The brunette's breath hitched, and she shivered with pleasure.
"I'm trying to inspire you some more," the younger guitarist said in between light kisses to Yui's jawline. "Is it working?"
"It's an excellent start," Yui gasped. "I think I'm going to need more than that, though."
Azusa's fingers fluttered over Yui's skin, and her mouth trailed downward, kissing and nibbling as it went. When the smaller woman's callused fingers found Yui's breasts, the brunette groaned and arched her back, pushing her body against Azusa's.
"Oh, God yes, koneko-chan…just like that…"
A/N:
− Thanks go to my creative partner Musician74 for her valuable assistance. This chapter was a tricky one to write, and her patience and persistence helped me see it through to the end. Thank you, Beta-chan, for everything.
− A traditional Japanese meal centers around rice, with side dishes (okazu) consisting of meat (most commonly fish), soup, and tsukemono (Japanese-style pickles). In meals prepared at home, there will typically only be one meat dish. On more formal occasions, however, when fish is served there will sometimes be two dishes, one hot and the other cold. The meal Yui orders reflects this.
− Because sashimi (raw fish) requires special training to prepare, it is almost never eaten at home. Not only that, it is quite expensive. Because of this, most Japanese can only afford to eat it infrequently, maybe two or three times a month at the most. Some sashimi is more expensive than others, making it a rare treat. This is why Azusa reacts to the yellowtail the way she does.
− Takoyaki (octopus balls) are a common snack food in Japan, although they are sometimes eaten at a meal as a side dish. The simplest kind are made of chunks of octopus covered in batter and cooked in a special pan that produces their spherical shape.
− Aishiteru, by the acoustic duo Kōrin, was released in 2009. Originally the ending theme for the anime Natsume's Book of Friends, it has become an extremely popular song for women to sing to their significant others during Valentine's Day karaoke. YouTube clip 3-I-lfjNg2Q has English subtitles.
− EDIT, 11/17/2012: Genki fan Captain Ritsu has contributed fanart for this chapter (warning! NSFW!). You can find it on deviantArt at the following address (remove the spaces): jaja-sick-bear. deviantart #/d5l98jw .
Thanks for reading this chapter! Like it? Have some constructive criticism? Submit a comment below!