Chapter 6
Kyoko couldn't remember the last time she had a pleasant awakening.
If she wasn't snapping awake with adrenalin pumping through her body and fear clinging to her like a damp towel, she was probably awakening either hollering or with tears on her face. The memory of the dream usually escaped her in those few seconds of realization that it was all a dream, but the feeling always remained. She tended to try to avoid sleep because of this and her schedule mostly consisted of brief cat naps. But that style has its consequences. Like dropping off into a deep sleep when it all caught up to her, which is what happened when she was in the middle of a conversation with Sayaka. She remembered catching herself staring at Sayaka's tiny smile that she had managed to draw out of her, and then just tumbling into unconsciousness like a drunk off a cliff. Those usually led to the worst kinds of nightmares.
But now, now she was slowly drifting to the surface of wakefulness instead of pedaling to resurface and take that gasping breath. She was warm and comfortable. She felt safe and secure. Her breathing was deep and even and she wanted to stay there forever. It was a rare moment in her life where she was still and not bothered by it.
She couldn't remember the last time she had a pleasant awakening, which is why she became suspicious when awareness started adding itself to wakefulness. The moment she realized there was an arm around her, Kyoko immediately stiffened and had a brief silent panic attack. She didn't know where she was, who this person was or how she gotten in this position in the first place, but she sure as hell was going to kick this person's ass. Her eyes opened and immediately went to the face of the person whose ass she was going to kick.
'Oh, I've already kicked this person's ass.' was Kyoko's immediate thought upon seeing Sayaka's face.
Instantly relieved, Kyoko's head dropped back down on Sayaka's chest and she took a few calming breaths to slow down her heartbeat. "Asshole, you nearly gave me a heart attack." she said in a low voice riddled with post-sleep grouchiness. For a second there she had actually been a little scared of what she'd find. Knowing it was just Sayaka helped to relieve her anxiety and she was able to calm down. There was still confusion as to how she ended up in Sayaka's bed and on top of the other girl, but knowing Sayaka it was probably for a stupid half-assed reason that didn't make sense.
Lifting her face, she was able to get a good look at Sayaka's sleeping face. 'Wow, she looks,' Kyoko scrutinized Sayaka's face with a smirk. 'Unsurprisingly idiotic when she sleeps.' Besides the arm around Kyoko, Sayaka had her other limbs sprawled in random directions and her expression looked like a little kid without a care in the world. Kyoko tried her best to memorize the expression and took a mental picture for future laughs.
Done with that, Kyoko pondered what she would do next. She should move, she knew. Get off. Or write something stupid on Sayaka's face. 'Actually this is kinda nice.' she thought. Making sure of the fact Sayaka was fast asleep, Kyoko adjusted herself so she was more comfortable, tucking her hands in between her body and Sayaka's body for the extra heat it provided and curling her legs up. It had been awhile since she had any human contact like this. And that was an understatement. It had been years since she even allowed herself to have human contact like this.
Not since her family.
When that thought emerged unbidden, Kyoko slammed down a barrier in her head but it had been too late. She remembered. An unbearable sadness swept over Kyoko and she had to hide her face in Sayaka's side. If Sayaka had been awake, she would have never allowed herself to do this. But Kyoko wasn't made of stone, and even stone needed warmth sometimes. So she would take advantage of this and allow herself to be held for once in her life. 'I'll teach her a lesson later,' Kyoko compromised half-heartedly in her head as she fought off the darkness that threatened to overwhelm her.
In that moment of weakness Kyoko was able to note that Sayaka's hand was moving and she froze up, fearing that the younger girl had woken up. Sayaka's hand moved slowly and without purpose, indicating her still sleeping state. Kyoko tried to lie as still as she could when the hand finally settled on a place on her body. And started lazily stroking that spot. Kyoko's eyes widened in shock before narrowing in anger.
'Oh hell no.'
The lesson was taught early.
.~.~.~.
Kyoko narrowed her eyes, puckered her brow, and puffed her cheeks, aiming her comical glower at a frowning Sayaka. Yet again.
"Are you ever going to stop making that face at me?" Sayaka snapped in aggravation. Kyoko huffed and puffed her cheeks further, if that was possible. Sayaka made a noise that was the equivalent of a tired sigh and a groan of exasperation. "For the hundredth time- I wasn't molesting you while you were sleeping! My hand just happened to be, um, in that place when you woke up!"
"It wasn't just in that place!" Kyoko snapped out of her raging pout to point out. "Your hand was doing stuff while it was in that place!" A furious blush covered her features at the thought.
"I can't be held responsible for my actions while I was sleeping!" Sayaka said indignantly. "You didn't have to punch me in the stomach!" Her hand automatically rubbed at her throbbing middle.
"Yes I did! I have to protect my purity!" Kyoko said with a deep blush.
Sayaka had to quickly stifle a guffaw at the word 'purity', ruffling Kyoko already ruffled feathers.
"This isn't funny." Kyoko growled at her.
"Sorry! It's just that," Sayaka looked more amused than apologetic. "You're always saying all these dirty things, but when it comes to yourself you're all, you know," Sayaka gestured at Kyoko vaguely with her hand. "Pure." The last word came out as a snort of laughter which she quickly covered up with her hand.
Kyoko sat there and glared at Sayaka, regretting ever having mentioned her pureness to her. But she didn't deny the statement. "Shut up, Molester."
"If you have concerns regarding the state of your 'purity', why are we bathing together? Again?" Sayaka asked. They were, in fact, sitting in the same cramped bathtub made for one person. Again.
"That's not the point." Kyoko growled. "Why were you even sleeping with me? Why was I sleeping on your bed?" Kyoko asked.
"That's, well, because," Sayaka stumbled over her words as Kyoko looked at her expectantly. "I just felt like doing something nice," she said quietly, averting her blue eyes away from Kyoko. "As for the sleeping with you part, I was just comforting you because you were having a nightmare…" She trailed off in embarrassment.
"So?" Kyoko asked as if she didn't understand Sayaka's reason.
"So?" Sayaka looked back at Kyoko with wide eyes. "What do you mean 'so'? Did you want me to just leave you there?" She asked incredulously.
"It's not exactly anything new," Kyoko huffed in annoyance. "I don't need you doing me anymore favors."
Sayaka looked crestfallen at the news that Kyoko frequently had nightmares. "I can't just leave you alone…" she said.
Kyoko smirked at her. "Don't act like your intentions were so noble. I totally caught you molesting me in our sleep."
"I did not molest you! On purpose! Wait, that isn't even considered molestation!" Sayaka couldn't decide what she should be most exasperated about.
"You don't consider that molestation?" Kyoko was shocked. "Then why don't I return the favor and we'll see if you feel violated or not!" she suggested, holding up her hands and wiggling her fingers suggestively at the other girl. It was Sayaka's turn to look shocked and she automatically tried to scoot away from Kyoko. Of course, there was nowhere to go in the tiny bathtub and Kyoko advanced on her eagerly.
"Wait, I change my mind! This is a bad idea!" Sayaka tried to fend off the redhead, who was trying to crawl on top of her.
"Why are you resisting? You know you want it!" Kyoko laughed heartily at the other's expense. It was difficult to squeeze in next to Sayaka, who proved extremely slippery and maneuverable. It was like trying to pin down a struggling octopus. Kyoko finally managed to wrestle in next to Sayaka in a tight squeeze.
Sayaka squeezed her eyes shut when Kyoko proceeded to do what she had apparently done to Kyoko in her sleep. 'Oh God, she's petting my… She's petting my..!'
"See, shouldn't this be considered molestation?" Kyoko asked as she pet Sayaka on the head.
"I guess… it's a bit… demeaning." Sayaka relented with a blush as Kyoko stroked her hair.
"Damn right." Kyoko grumbled, noticing just how silky Sayaka's hair felt in her fingers. She didn't have time to revel in it as Sayaka pushed her hand away and shoved Kyoko back to her side of the tub.
"Okay, okay! You made your point!" A blushing Sayaka huffed, trying to hide her blush by sinking up to her eyes in the water. She fumed in the water for a few moments before resurfacing with a curious thought on her lips. "Kyoko, what do you dream about anyways?" she asked. She wanted to know since she had heard her name spoken by Kyoko while in a breathless slumber.
"That," The bar of soap slipped from Kyoko's fingers and she scrambled to grab it before it hit the water. "I have no stinkin' idea!" she finished triumphantly as she snagged the soap in her grip. Sayaka stared at her in disbelief.
"You're kind of a mystery, you know that?" the blunette blurted out.
Kyoko raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you think that?" She thought she had been pretty open in voicing her thoughts.
"Why?" Sayaka looked bemused. "I don't know anything about you! Besides that you like food, fighting, and you consider head petting to be molestation."
"Isn't that enough? Stop being nosy." Kyoko grumbled, not liking where this conversation was going.
"How am I being nosy?" Sayaka said back. "I was just saying."
Kyoko sighed and averted her gaze as a frown pulled at the corners of her mouth. "Look, I usually don't remember what I dream about. And when I do, I wish I wouldn't." Her crimson eyes looked side-long at Sayaka. "Satisfied?" Sayaka shook her head no and Kyoko narrowed her eyes at her. "Do you want me to pet your head again?"
Sayaka glowered at her and said under her breath. "You're forgetting I pet you first."
"I heard that!" Kyoko busted out with motion, aiming to throw the bar of soap at Sayaka's head, but the blunette managed to send a big splash her way that blinded her for a second. Sayaka used that second to move in and started rubbing the top of Kyoko's head vigorously. The redhead let out a playful shout of indignance and attempted to dunk Sayaka's head under the water with her free hand, the other trying to stab Sayaka with the bar of soap. The blunette kicked out furiously with her legs when her head was dunked and managed to make Kyoko slip and fall on top of her. In their great effort to resurface both girls couldn't help getting entangled in each other.
With all the grace of thrashing fish the two girls managed to drag themselves up for air in an awkward position. Sayaka had managed to top Kyoko and was catching her breath against Kyoko's neck.
"Did you just," Sayaka lifted her head to shoot an incredulous look at Kyoko. "try to stab me with the soap?"
The older girl panted and couldn't help letting out a throaty laugh. Sayaka tried to look like she was not amused, but in truth she was and she couldn't keep the look in place when Kyoko laughed so genuinely.
"That's how fucking gangster I am," Kyoko laughed, lifting an arm around Sayaka's shoulders to steady herself in the water. "I shank people with soap!"
"You're ridiculous." Sayaka giggled, raising a hand to remove a pile of bubbles that had ended up on Kyoko's head.
"Yeah, well, you can kiss my perfect ass." Kyoko was laughing too much for the comment to sound biting and only managed to make them laugh all the harder.
"I can kiss your ass, but I can't pet your head?"
"Shut up! S'mah contradiction!" The sound of their laughter echoed loudly in the tiled room. In that moment, the two girls had neither a care in the world nor a bone of worry in their bodies. For that moment they relished in that joyous sound with each other.
Sayaka's hair was hanging in front of her eyes and Kyoko's hand absently swept her hair to the side, disliking the fact that she wasn't getting a clear view of Sayaka's sky blues. That's when she suddenly became aware of their proximity with startling clarity and her laughter finally died down as she stared at Sayaka's lips.
Kyoko's heart started pounding in her chest as she began noticing the way Sayaka's body was flush against her own in such a bare state. The way one of her legs rested in between Kyoko's and how her bust was pressed to the side of her modest chest and the way her breath felt against her neck. The unfamiliar feelings made Kyoko's body temperature shoot up and her mind became hyper-aware of their skin. The sensations were entirely new to Kyoko and her breath caught in her throat as she stared at Sayaka with wide uncomprehending eyes. Her heart was hammering so hard she thought it would make waves in the tub. Her hand lingered a few seconds too long in Sayaka's hair and the blunette merely tilted her head with an inquiring smile. The look made something tighten in Kyoko's chest.
"H-Hello…" Was all Kyoko could muster up to say at that moment. It was strangely appropriate. Sayaka snorted at the random greeting.
"What, no physical attack to go with that? I'm surprised!" Sayaka said sarcastically, shifting on top of Kyoko to sit up, missing Kyoko's sharp intake of breath and flush of her cheeks.
"Keep talking and it can be arranged." Kyoko grumbled, quickly withdrawing from Sayaka and standing up from the tub. She stepped out and hurriedly grabbed a towel to wrap around herself. Sayaka's questioning gaze followed her in confusion, noting the sudden change of mood in Kyoko and infinitely unaware as to what possibly caused it.
"Hurry it up, will ya? I'm hungry!" the redhead groused, leaving the room before Sayaka had an opportunity to formulate a response along the lines of 'you're always hungry', or 'don't eat the towel'.
Kyoko felt jumpy after what she had just occurred in her body. In the moment she had been surprised and caught off-guard with her own responses. Now that she was up and about and not under Sayaka's body, she realized with stark clarity that she had been aroused. Seriously aroused for the first time in her life.
By Sayaka.
Kyoko actually laughed out loud. "Damn, I have bad tastes." she joked to herself in the mirror. However, looking in the mirror she could see the unmistakable look of hunger in her eyes. And not the usual hunger she felt. "Something is seriously wrong with me today." she muttered, looking away and going on the prowl for some clean clothes.
Honestly, Kyoko could admit she was sort of an anti-social person with a pension for isolating herself, and meeting Sayaka was probably the first positive human contact she's had in a very long time. Besides fighting, that is. Even being seventeen years old, Kyoko had no prior experience with attraction. Actually she had tried to avoid it most of her life and had been doing a pretty fine job of keeping her physical 'purity' exactly that.
Sayaka was the first person she has allowed herself to be so at ease with. But that was no reason to automatically lust after the first person to come into contact with her! Kyoko became disgusted with herself, mentally cursing her reaction. 'I'm not like that. I should hang out with more people more often.' she concluded bitterly.
Not that she didn't consider Sayaka pretty. Far from it, Kyoko thought of Sayaka as very pretty. She almost couldn't help staring when Sayaka grinned fetchingly at her. She blamed it on her inexperience at controlling her impulses. Even Kyoko resisted some of her stronger impulses, like the ones insisting her to do crazy things to Sayaka-
"You can borrow some of my clothes, you know." Kyoko's heart nearly popped out of her mouth and her body lurched to keep it inside when Sayaka suddenly appeared behind her. She knew she must have been pretty damn lost in her thoughts if she didn't notice Sayaka approach, since the other girl was generally unsubtle when it came to her movements.
"What's wrong? I didn't even try to sneak up on you." Sayaka looked hopeful for a second. "Or maybe I'm actually naturally sneaky?"
"Um, no and no." Kyoko shot Sayaka a deadpan look to scatter any hopes of sneakiness away. "I just find the thought of borrowing clothes from you to be really disturbing!" she lied through her teeth, taking a few cautious steps away from Sayaka's towel-clad body.
"I find it more disturbing that you insist on wearing the same clothes." Sayaka responded, moving towards her closet and opening it. "Let's see!" Kyoko watched Sayaka rummage through her clothes, getting a little nervous at the eagerness on Sayaka's face. "You should fit into my clothes. I think you're only a couple of inches taller than me." Sayaka glanced at Kyoko, bringing her fingers together as if she was looking at Kyoko through a camera lens. "Probably a little leaner and smaller in the chest area."
"Hey!" Kyoko barked at her in displeasure. "It's nothing a few good meals can't fix!" she said defensively, growing self-conscious at the observation. Sayaka grinned mischievously at her and muttered a quick 'sorry' that didn't sound that apologetic.
The blunette resumed her rummaging and grabbed something. "What about this? It's not really my style so I've never worn it." Sayaka said, throwing a piece of garment at the other girl. Kyoko caught it automatically and stared at it.
Looking dubious, reluctant and embarrassed rolled into one, Kyoko glanced at Sayaka through her lashes with a touch of pink on her cheeks. "I don't think I can pull this off." she said uncomfortably.
Sayaka was taken aback for a second at how adorable Kyoko looked at that moment. She renewed her smile enthusiastically. "I think you might be surprised." she said, turning back to the closet to retrieve some clothes of her own. "It's only for now, later we'll see what we can do about getting you some more clothes."
Kyoko shifted on her feet in discontent. She wasn't sure how she felt about getting more clothes. She didn't really need it, did she? She would rather put money to better use, like buying food. And she didn't want to impose on Sayaka anymore than she already was.
"What are you waiting for? The sooner you change, the sooner we can go out and eat," Sayaka said, picking out some clothes for herself.
Kyoko's stomach promptly perked up and begged. "We're going out to eat?" Kyoko asked excitedly, mood shifting quickly and saliva gathering at the thought.
"That's the plan!" Sayaka confirmed. "We'll eat, and then we'll go to, you know, whatever it is that circus is called." she said, running her hand through her hair and shaking out the leftover droplets.
Kyoko put a hand to her hip and cocked her head. "You know, you seem, I dunno. Happier? It's freaking me out." she said with a suspicious look, although she was smiling when she said it.
Sayaka shrugged with a slight blush. After her talk with Kyoko, her heart felt a little less heavy. "I guess I just had a really nice nap, that's all." she said almost shyly, eyes flitting away as she implied that she had enjoyed sleeping with Kyoko. "Rude awakening aside and all."
Kyoko flushed at her words, also averting her eyes from Sayaka's cute expression. "I guess, me too…" she admitted bashfully, fumbling with the clothes Sayaka had given her. They glanced back at each other at the same time almost timidly to see if the other would crack a joke and ruin the moment. Neither of them did, because it was true. The both of them weren't familiar with peaceful nights, and had shared a very deep nap when they happened to sleep together. They shared a hesitant smile before Sayaka excused herself from the room to change.
Kyoko took a deep breath through her nose and held it in for a few seconds before releasing the breath. A weird feeling was gnawing at her. The kind of feeling that made her want to grin until her face split. 'Could this be,' Kyoko allowed the thought to flit briefly across her mind. 'What having a friend is like?'
"Shove it, Softie." she said to herself in the mirror while throwing off her towel. She put her hands on her hips and had a 'Damn, I look good' moment. Then she went back to dubiously eyeing the clothes Sayaka had lent her before shrugging.
In the next room Sayaka got dressed as well in cute denim overall shorts with a white tank top underneath. She was just placing the yellow clips in her hair when Kyoko hesitantly stepped out of her room. The redhead was wearing a simple yellow sundress with flower print at the hem. The dress hugged her chest before flaring to mid-thigh. Kyoko was fingering the hem of the dress and looking at Sayaka uncertainly.
"I don't know about this outfit…"
Sayaka smiled in satisfaction when she saw her. "Wow! It's actually not a complete disaster!" she said teasingly. Kyoko glared at her and turned around to walk away saying choice profanities under her breath. Sayaka took a few jogging steps to catch her hand.
"I'm kidding! It looks really cute on you!" Sayaka reassured, wanting to keep Kyoko in the outfit. And maybe take pictures in case this never happened again. Kyoko glanced at Sayaka suspiciously.
"… Really?" she asked, a note of shyness in her voice betraying her.
Sayaka's look softened and she nodded vigorously. "Really!"
"Okay then." Kyoko tried to stuff her hands in her pockets only to realize she didn't have pockets and tried to play it off like she hadn't just done that. She looked even more uncomfortable when she realized Sayaka was looking at her with a goofy smile on her face. "Shut up." Kyoko said before Sayaka could open her mouth to say something.
The blunette's mouth closed automatically and she playfully narrowed her eyes at Kyoko, who mirrored the look warningly. Sayaka rolled her eyes and held up her hands in mock surrender until Kyoko looked satisfied. Their nonverbal exchange amused the younger girl and she started smiling goofily again. Kyoko raised an eyebrow at her and she just shook her head and turned away, looking for some shoes for them to wear.
"Hey, I was wondering," Kyoko finally spoke up, reaching out to take a pair of shoes handed to her. "Can you cook?"
"Eh? Sure I can. Why?" Sayaka responded, pulling on a pair of boots.
"Well, considering the basis of our current circumstances was you going to the store to buy shitty food," Kyoko answered in a smart-ass tone.
"Hey, that's just because, I was, well," Sayaka didn't want to say 'depressed over Kyosuke' so she stumbled over her words a moment. "I can cook just fine, okay!" she sighed. "I'm just not particularly talented at it like Madoka is. So I prefer eating out." She shot a mild glare at Kyoko. "Got a problem with that?"
Kyoko smirked at her. "It's probably better this way." she said, before dodging a playful shove from Sayaka.
"Shut up and comb your hair!" Sayaka commanded, pointing at Kyoko's cascade of drying crimson hair.
Kyoko had a blank look about her. "Comb?"
"… Seriously?" Sayaka asked in mild disbelief.
Kyoko ran a hand through her hair. "Don't worry about it; it practically takes care of itself."
"If you say so," Sayaka eyed Kyoko's hair before shrugging noncommittally. The disheveled look worked for Kyoko, and if the system wasn't broke she wasn't going to fix it. "Do you want anything to cover up the..?" Sayaka gestured to Kyoko's face, indicating the yellowing and green bruises outlining her features.
Kyoko shook her head to decline the offer. "No need for any fancy makeup, Sayaka. I'll deal with it the old fashioned way." She rubbed a hand over her face. "Besides, I heal fast." she said with a proud smirk. Sayaka decided not to mention that she had applied bruise ointment earlier and kept her mouth shut.
"Whatever. Let's go before your stomach yells at me some more." Sayaka glanced slyly down Kyoko's abdomen and the redhead's stomach rumbled violently on cue. Kyoko looked at Sayaka unapologetically while the blunette had a short laugh over the promptness of her stomach's answer.
"Yeah, yeah. My stomach blames you." Kyoko muttered, moving ahead for the door. The two left the apartment exchanging quips and taking jabs at each other, though they seemed to be enjoying themselves. Any passerby would have thought they had known each other for years with the way they seemed familiar with the other.
Sayaka led them to the restaurant where she wanted to eat. "This is my favorite place to eat!" Sayaka said as they rounded a corner, pointing to a small restaurant on the corner. Kyoko immediately tensed up when she saw the place Sayaka was referring to and paused in her tracks.
"Um, about that," Kyoko said slowly and bashfully. Sayaka finally noticed Kyoko wasn't keeping pace with her and looked at her questioningly.
"What's wrong?" she inquired.
"We should probably eat somewhere else." Kyoko said, looking around to see if there were any other places to eat nearby.
"Why, I thought you were starving?" Sayaka said, turning away to continue walking and not noting Kyoko's slightly panicked expression.
"Wait wait wait, just wait." Kyoko huffed in annoyance as she finally got Sayaka's full attention. Sayaka looked wearily at Kyoko, steeling herself for anything Kyoko threw at her.
"Look, I'm probably not going to be welcome in that place…" Kyoko explained briefly and awkwardly.
Sayaka frowned at her and crossed her arms. "What did you do?" she ground out, not liking what Kyoko was implying.
"Because." Kyoko said stubbornly, sweeping her arm around her. "Let's just go anywhere else, okay?"
"No." Sayaka responded, equally if not more stubborn. "This is my favorite restaurant, and I'm not going to let anything you did prevent me from going there!" The blunette whirled around and marched toward the restaurant. "C'mon, I'll handle whatever it is you got us into." Kyoko stared after Sayaka looking disbelieving. But she followed her after a few seconds, curious as to how Sayaka would 'handle' this situation.
Sayaka looked flabbergasted when the restaurant owner finished his angry ranting at Kyoko. She was standing in between the chef and Kyoko, blocking the large man's way when he unexpectedly charged her companion the moment she stepped through the doors. Sayaka held the man back and the owner started yelling and pointing at the redhead, who made herself appear bored and disinterested with what he was saying.
When the man was finished yelling, Sayaka looked over her shoulder to stare at Kyoko incredulously. "You stole his Chunky Monkeys?" she in bafflement.
"He can't pin that on me, he has no proof." Kyoko responded, crossing her arms and eyeing the man behind her.
"I know it was you!" the chef yelled. "That day you said you'd get my Chunky Monkeys, the next morning the entire fridge was gone!"
Sayaka looked back over at Kyoko, eyebrows disappearing under her bangs. "You stole his fridge?"
Kyoko shrugged. "I might've said that." she stated blandly. Sayaka looked at her reproachfully and turned back to the man who was gaining the attention of the entire restaurant.
"Hey, HEY!" Sayaka snapped, getting the cook's attention since he was glaring daggers at Kyoko. When his eyes met hers she lowered her voice to sound as adult as she could muster. "You don't have any proof?"
The man before her fumed. "I know it was her!"
"But you don't have any proof, right?" Sayaka asked with a cool stare, confirming what Kyoko had said. The man's brow darkened as he stared at the small girl in front of him, stubbornly protecting the delinquent behind her.
He took a deep breath to control his anger and shook his head no. "I may not have proof, but I'm not serving her any food."
"That's fine." Sayaka responded, stepping further into the restaurant to take a seat.
"Eh?" Kyoko exclaimed. "If he's not serving me any food, than why the hell am I here?" Sayaka turned to glare at her over her shoulder.
"Shut up, Kyoko, just shut up." the blunette growled quietly, clearly controlling her own anger. Kyoko gulped back nervously. Sayaka led them to a booth and sat down as if she weighed a ton. Kyoko tentatively sat across from her.
"Did you steal a refrigerator full of Chunky Monkeys?" Sayaka had to ask, rubbing her forehead as if a headache was coming on.
Kyoko couldn't help the amused gust of breath escaping from her lips. "Well, yeah. But the guy totally deserved it!"
"Oh for the love of!" Sayaka threw up her hands in an act of extreme annoyance. "Why? How? No wait," Sayaka held up her hand when Kyoko opened her mouth to answer her questions. "I don't want to know. It'll make me feel like your accomplice."
"Ha. So dramatic." Kyoko half-smiled, both amused and embarrassed at having exposed Sayaka to one of her past deeds. It wasn't like she was sorry she did it or anything, she completely believed the bumblefuck of a cook deserved what she dealt him with. And those weeks of Chunky Monkeys were totally worth it.
A waitress approached their table. "The owner says he's not cooking for this one, sorry." She seemed embarrassed by her employer's attitude but had ignored Kyoko when she spoke.
"I know, I'll be ordering for myself." said Sayaka, ignoring Kyoko's sullen glower on her. "I'll have an extra large plate of fries, the triple stacked bacon cheeseburger and the ultimate lover's banana sundae." At the waitress's look Sayaka blushed slightly. "I'm just really really hungry today!"
The waitress left with her order and the two were left with an awkward silence.
"So, what am I supposed to eat?" Kyoko asked, irritated that she had been ignored in regards to a meal.
"Oh, just," Sayaka waved a hand dismissively at Kyoko. "Sit there and think about what you've done."
Kyoko really wanted to punch Sayaka in the face. Reigning herself in she put the palms of her hands against the surface of the table and rose from her seat. "I'm leaving." Sayaka's eyes widened in surprise when she did just that, walking away from their table without pause. If she wasn't there to eat, she didn't see a reason to be there at all.
Grinding her teeth together and closing her eyes, Sayaka took a deep breath to get her pride under control and spoke loud enough for Kyoko to hear. "Isn't it obvious I'm going to share with you?"
Kyoko stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at Sayaka in time to catch the girl open a single eye to her to see if she'd stopped. She looked flustered and irritated that she had been provoked to speak the words aloud, but mildly hopeful that Kyoko would come back to the table. Albeit, Kyoko was a bit caught off guard by the information. To her it hadn't been obvious at all. Sharing food wasn't exactly something that ever occurred to her. Becoming a bit flustered herself, Kyoko fidgeted for an uncomfortable moment before she reluctantly turned back around and walked back to Sayaka's table. Sayaka tried not to let her relief show itself as Kyoko sat down across from her once more.
"You could've just said so." Kyoko said sheepishly, looking off to the side.
"Yeah. I just figured you'd catch on with the whole 'ultimate lover's banana sundae' thing." Sayaka said, a smile tugging at her lips and a teasing glint in her eye. "I don't exactly have the bottomless stomach you do, you know."
Kyoko appeared to become even more embarrassed at the mention of sharing a lover's banana sundae with Sayaka and continued to stare off in some direction that Sayaka wasn't in. "It's not bottomless. I'm just deep like that." Kyoko wanted to throttle herself after the words escaped her mouth. 'Stupid!Sutpid!Stupid! Am I so nervous I'm spouting shit like this now? Shut up. Shut up.'
The redhead forced herself to look at Sayaka's face, beating down her sudden shyness and urge to look away again. When she looked Sayaka was grinning at her with a blush on her cheeks, exasperated but glad, shy yet happy. A renewed blush flared up on Kyoko's face but she refused to look away. 'I think… I might be in trouble.' she thought, taking note of her own reaction.
The food arrived just then, before Sayaka could point out the weird look Kyoko had on her face, which looked like a deer caught in headlights while her face became progressively redder. So Kyoko was very relieved when their American food was placed on the table to distract her. Her hand immediately went for the fries, grabbing a handful and stuffing them into her mouth before Sayaka had the chance to say "Itadakimasu."
Their waitress looked about ready to protest Kyoko's eating, but Sayaka looked at her with such a fierce glare that even Kyoko paused in chewing. The waitress shut her mouth and walked away, muttering something about expecting a hefty tip.
"I'm surprised you're actually defending me here." Kyoko admitted after she swallowed her food down.
"I'm not." Sayaka said, grabbing a knife to cut the burger in half. At Kyoko's confused look Sayaka explained. "Don't worry, I'm not going to let you get away with this scot-free, but I'm not going to let you go hungry either." Sayaka said, shooting Kyoko a look that promised punishment.
Kyoko snorted. "Oh, so scared of the girl whose ass I trumped."
"Oh, says the one who got her butt handed to her at DDR." Sayaka retorted, snatching up one of the fries herself.
Kyoko grinned. "Touché." They split the burger between themselves and ate. At one point when Kyoko was licking the ketchup from her fingers she spotted that cook guy glaring at her from behind the counter. "Geez, that guy hates me for no reason." she muttered.
Sayaka looked over to see what the redhead was talking about, seeing the cook turn away when she looked over. "I say he has plenty of reason. You stole his fridge and Chunky Monkeys."
"If he was going to hold out on me, then what did he expect me to do?" Kyoko responded in an annoyed tone. Sayaka raised an eyebrow at her. She looked reluctant to ask, but in the end curiosity got the better of her.
"What do you mean by that?" the blunette asked, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. Crimson eyes peered at her a moment before Kyoko shrugged and sighed.
"A few weeks ago I had scrounged up some money. It had been kind of a bad week so I was looking a little shabby. I came to this place to buy some legit food, but that asshole practically threw me out calling me a street rat and that I'll scare the customers away. And while I know I'm pretty intimidating," Kyoko thumbed her nose proudly and Sayaka rolled her eyes. "I still thought that was pretty stinking rude. So I stole his fridge!" She punctuated the short story with jabbing one of her fries at Sayaka. She popped the fry into her mouth and regarded the girl across from her to gauge her reaction.
Sayaka played briefly with the food on her plate, face pulled in a contemplative state. "I guess I see your point. What he did was wrong."
"Right?" Kyoko smiled a little in relief until Sayaka frowned at her.
"But what you did was wrong too."
"I could've done a lot worse, you know." Kyoko stated seriously.
"You shouldn't have done anything at all." Sayaka said in exasperation. She seemed to have that feeling a lot around Kyoko.
"And let the bastard get away with his discrimination?" Kyoko countered.
"No, he shouldn't have done anything to you either! But, well," Sayaka made motions with her hands as if trying to grasp something. "I don't know. The world should just treat each other better." she finally settled on muttering. Kyoko blinked at Sayaka, her lips having a slight downturn. Sayaka's sentiments sounded way too familiar to her.
"Well, the world isn't like that, Sayaka. It doesn't know better." Kyoko said, feeling like she had some sort of responsibility of breaking Sayaka's idealism.
"Yes it does. The world does know better!" Sayaka disagreed strongly, shaking her head. "They just choose to do bad things and hurt each other." She looked pointedly at Kyoko.
"Then that just makes the world even worse, doesn't it?" Kyoko responded, leaning forward in her seat to look into Sayaka's eyes more clearly. "And while this stupid and brutal world keeps turning you gotta learn to roll with it, or else the world crushes dimwits like you who get stuck on every little bad deed done."
Sayaka shook her head insistently, rejecting Kyoko's view. "You're wrong. If the world goes on stupid and brutal like that forever, than I don't want any part of it." she said earnestly, meeting Kyoko's eyes. "I would rather stand up to it."
"And get crushed like the insignificant bug you are?" Kyoko was starting to get really frustrated with this girl. Everything Sayaka said sounded like something she would have said in the past, and it disturbed her. It disturbed her a lot. "Go ahead and tell me how exactly you plan on standing up to the world, hmm?" Kyoko leaned forward even more as if eager to listen to all of Sayaka's deluded plans.
"… I don't know." Sayaka admitted begrudgedly.
"See? You don't know. People like you aren't standing up to the world for the world's sake; you're just doing it to prove something to yourself." Kyoko said, looking at Sayaka pointedly. " But all you gotta know is that life sucks hard and you just have to deal with it. That's the type of person who makes it without going crazy." Kyoko bit angrily into her burger, finishing it off in a few tearing bites of her fangs.
The blunette looked at Kyoko thoughtfully, brows drawn together. "I might not know how I'm going to do it, but I guess I'll start out small. I'll start with you."
Kyoko would've outright laughed in her face if Sayaka hadn't sounded so serious and looked so goddamned cool when she said that. Kyoko eyed the blunette as if measuring her mettle. This was getting ridiculous. She decided that if Sayaka was going to do dumb shit like this, than she better crush her completely before the world does. As a favor, of course.
A humorless smirk appeared on Kyoko's face. "Look at you getting worked up over Chunky Monkeys. You're a real hero." she drawled sarcastically.
"They don't call me the Chunky Monkey Savior for nothing." Sayaka tried to say with a straight face but the corner of her mouth was cracking a smile. She drew a laugh from Kyoko, which instantly alleviated the atmosphere.
Sayaka found it interesting how infectious a laugh from Kyoko was when it was genuine. She couldn't help but laugh along and be drawn in by her. When Kyoko was angry she had such a heavy presence like that of a predator, but when she was relaxed she was like an entirely different person, laid back and sunny. Sayaka preferred the happy Kyoko over the one that would kick her ass without hesitation.
"Ah, the sundae is melting!" Kyoko suddenly noted in distress. Sayaka glanced down to see that the huge sundae was indeed melting. She also noted that there only one spoon. "Hey, there's only one spoon!" Kyoko noted as well.
"Because it was just meant for me." Sayaka pointed out.
"Ah. Oh well." Kyoko grabbed the spoon first. "We'll just take turns then."
"Huh?" Sayaka watched as Kyoko took a huge bite of ice cream, then dipped the spoon back in the sundae and held it out to Sayaka. The younger girl stared at the spoon being held out to her and then looked at Kyoko questioningly.
"Go on, I'll feed ya!" Kyoko said with a grin. Sayaka immediately blushed and leaned her head back.
"What? No way! That's embarrassing!" she exclaimed. "And plus you just used that spoon!"
"What's the problem?" Kyoko looked genuinely confused.
Sayaka blinked and started fidgeting. "You know, it's just weird…"
Kyoko didn't really get it until the term 'swapping spit' registered in her brain and her face exploded with color. Normally she wouldn't really care, but with the way she'd been looking at Sayaka recently her innocence trigger was switched on. But looking at Sayaka now, looking adorably uncomfortable, also triggered Kyoko's 'tease' setting.
'Ah, fuck it.' Kyoko thought, not wanting to pass up the opportunity to make Sayaka yield to her.
"Do it." Kyoko said dead seriously.
"Huh?" Sayaka looked even more bewildered as the spoon was held in front of her mouth insistently.
"Do it!" Kyoko had an oddly patronizing yet scared look on her face as she goaded Sayaka as well as herself into this stupid act.
"No! Get that thing away from me!" Sayaka yelled, eyes locking on a drop of ice cream that dripped from the spoon and onto the table.
"DO IT!" Kyoko wiggled the spoon in front of her face. "Do it~. Do it! DO IT!"
Completely fed up, Sayaka chomped down on the end of the spoon in a surprise move. Kyoko was stunned that Sayaka actually did it. The blunette stared impudently at Kyoko as she swallowed the offered spoonful of sundae, before pushing the plate at Kyoko. "Thanks for that. You can have the rest of it." she said in a low and embarrassed voice. She couldn't believe she had ended up doing that either.
"Ah." was Kyoko's mollified response. She had not thought past spoon-feeding Sayaka and wasn't sure what to do next. "Thanks." She dug into the over-sized sundae, aware that Sayaka now had nothing to do other than watch her finish the meal.
Sayaka rested her chin on her palm, looking over to the side and catching the chef eyeing them yet again. She frowned to herself. She was uncomfortable defending Kyoko, to say the least. Sayaka had been a regular customer at this restaurant for years and she couldn't stand the idea that the owner of the restaurant probably wouldn't trust her again. But then again, if what Kyoko said about him was true then she wasn't sure she wanted to be trusted by the likes of him either.
Her blue eyes settled on the redhead once more, watching with mild fascination as Kyoko went through the huge sundae effortlessly. It bothered Sayaka that such an innocent looking girl was capable of stealing an entire refrigerator and its contents as an act of revenge. The whole situation bothered Sayaka greatly. She had already resolved on taking responsibility of their actions, but she didn't have the slightest idea on how to go about. 'What would Kyosuke do in this situation?'
"Puhaaah!" Kyoko made an overly satisfied sound and the spoon clattered into the empty bowl, startling Sayaka from her thoughts. "That was freaking good! We should always order a lover's sundae together!" She grinned her sharp fanged grin, but without any hint of hostility the canines became cute and charming. It threw Sayaka off for a moment and she removed her hand from her chin.
"It wouldn't really count if you eat the whole thing." Sayaka pointed out, cracking her own grin from Kyoko's infectious mood.
"Well, you can spoon-feed me next time." Kyoko suggested with the barest hint of flirtation in her eyes.
Sayaka signaled the waitress for the bill. "Maybe I'll just feed you the spoon." she said, not taking Kyoko seriously.
Instead of responding, Kyoko lowered her head a little and muttered at herself to cut it out. They collected and paid the bill quickly, realizing the designated meeting time Madoka had given them was almost upon them. Passing by the counter and feeling the restaurant owner's glare on them, Kyoko let Sayaka walk past her a few steps before stopping and turning around and smiling sweetly at the guy.
"You know, this restaurant wouldn't be nearly so shitty if you had any Chunky Monkeys available." Kyoko said as innocently as possible.
"WHY YOU!" the man snapped, rushing to get in front of the counter where Kyoko waited for him.
"What the heck is wrong with you!" Sayaka yelled, grabbing Kyoko by the wrist and yanking her behind her as she made a run for it. Kyoko didn't resist, but was flashing her middle finger at the man while laughing boisterously as Sayaka practically dragged her hurriedly out of the restaurant.
"NEVER COME BACK HERE AGAIN, YOU STINKING CHUNKY MONKEY THIEF!" the cook roared as they took off.
"HAHA, he called me the 'Chunky Monkey Thief'! That's hilarious! Hell, I'm so badass that I make that sound badass!" Kyoko couldn't stop laughing as she ran behind Sayaka. She was laughing so hard she failed to notice Sayaka's darkened face.
Finally stopping, Sayaka dropped Kyoko's hand like it was a filthy rag and rounded on Kyoko. "What the heck is your problem, why did you do that!" she yelled. Kyoko had the decency to at least try to suppress her humor and attempted to sober up in the face of Sayaka's anger.
"Hey calm down, it's not that big of a deal," Kyoko tried to reason.
"That was my favorite restaurant! I can't believe I got kicked out of my favorite restaurant because of you just HAD to have the last word!"
"Like there aren't a dozen places just like it." Kyoko muttered from the side of her mouth, eying the people that were stopping to stare at the scene they were making.
Sayaka didn't appreciate Kyoko's informative comment. "That's it!" she snapped, glaring icy blue eyes at Kyoko. "You can just stay here! I'll be going to Wajimacallit by myself!" She proceeded to stomp off in a huff. Kyoko stared after her with raised brows, bewildered, bemused, and baffled. She didn't understand why Sayaka was so mad.
"Oh well, it's not like I wanted to go to a stupid circus anyway." she said to herself in annoyance, turning around and walking away in the opposite direction Sayaka had gone. She really really wished she had worn her green hoodie. She couldn't sulk properly in this yellow sundress. She kind of had been looking forward to going to the circus and all the carnie food that came with it.
.~.~.~.
"Are you sure it's this way, Homura-chan?" Madoka asked a little uncertainly as the dark haired girl led them to Walpurgisnacht.
"I'm positive, Madoka." Homura assured her once again.
"You're not lying to me again, are you?" Madoka asked suspiciously. A tiny smile emerged on Homura's lips. So it seemed Madoka knew about her white lies.
"I promise I'm not lying this time." For the past half hour Homura had led Madoka through the city telling the small girl that statistics told her the circus would be in a different part of town, when in reality she had just been making up excuses to spend some more time alone with Madoka.
The pinkette had suspected Homura's motives, but let herself be led around since she thought Homura's round-about way of spending time with her was oddly adorable. But the meeting time was quickly approaching and she had to insist Homura take her to the right location since she didn't know where it was herself. Homura had reluctantly agreed.
"I can't wait to go to Wall-, erm, the circus!" Madoka took a few quick steps to match Homura's even stride and walk beside her. Homura noticed and slowed her pace to accommodate. "Do you like circuses, Homura-chan?"
"Not in particular." Homura answered.
"Oh," Madoka looked crestfallen and Homura tried to think of something better to say.
"All that matters is your enjoyment, Madoka. If you enjoy it, then I'll enjoy it."
"That doesn't make me happy." Madoka looked at Homura imploringly. "I want to have fun with you, not for you, Homura-chan!"
Homura's expression didn't change, but there was no denying the happy blush that quickly spread up her neck and across her face.
"Hey, isn't that Kyoko-chan?" Madoka suddenly pointed out. Homura's violet eyes peered in the direction Madoka pointed in and spotted the redhead in question. Kyoko was wearing a cute dress but her dark demeanor made people steer clear of her. Her head was hunched while she appeared to be angrily grumbling to herself.
"Hey, Kyoko-chan!" Madoka called out and waved. Homura grabbed the girl's hand and proceeded to stride in the opposite direction.
"My statistics say Walpurgisnacht will not appear in this sector." she stated as she tried to avoid Kyoko's detection.
"Gosh, Homura-chan!" Madoka whined in vexation.
"Yo, Madoka!" Kyoko's voice reached them.
Homura unwillingly slowed down and released Madoka's hand. 'Damn, spotted.' she thought to herself in displeasure. She had been hoping to avoid running into people on the way there.
Kyoko jogged up to the pair and slung an arm around Madoka. "Hey, waifu." she said playfully.
Homura burst into flames.
Kyoko immediately retracted her arm and blinked in alarm for a second. "Oh, it's just Homerun!" she finally took note of the bespectacled girl. For a second there she had mistaken her for an angry bull. Homura was not amused.
Madoka laughed uncomfortably. "Homura, this is Kyoko." she introduced the two.
"We know each other." the two said at the same time, though one voice sounded much darker than the other.
"Oh." Madoka blinked in surprise. "Well, that's good!" She suddenly gasped. "Kyoko-chan, what happened to your face?" she asked when she noticed the bruises. Her hands reached up to grab the redhead's face in concern, and Homura staggered as if mortally wounded by the display.
"Oh, these?" Kyoko smiled sheepishly. "I got in a fight." she admitted honestly.
"With Sayaka?" Madoka asked with a disapproving look.
Kyoko snorted. "As if she can cause this much damage."
Madoka looked around the area. "Where is Sayaka-chan anyway?" she inquired. Kyoko's brow furrowed and the corners of her mouth pulled down in discontentment at the mention of the name.
"Oh, I don't know!" Kyoko waved her hand dismissively. "Probably having a hissy fit somewhere and contemplating the meaning of Chunky Monkeys in our lives."
"Um…" Madoka said in polite confusion. "Maybe you should start at the beginning?"
"Maybe you should tend to Homerun first." Kyoko suggested, looking over the girl's shoulder. Homura was standing off to the side, staring into the distance with such a cold and beautiful look on her face that she appeared statuesque. She was focusing all her energy into not murdering Kyoko in front of Madoka.
"Ah!" Madoka flitted to the other girl's side. "Homura, you're doing the Batman thing again!"
Kyoko watched the other two and shook her head. "Freaking small world."
A/N- Yeah, so I had been planning on having the circus stuff happen in this chapter, but apparantly just getting there gives me the longest chapter yet. And I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer. This is officially the longest fanfic I've ever written! (word-wise as opposed to chapter-wise) And yet I'm still barely scraping the beginning.
You guys have been really awesome with reviews, I appreciate them! I really do reread them and take into consideration any suggestion in improving the story, because I want this one to be a good one. So keep feeling free to send me those insights!