I don't own these characters. Sunrise does.
10: Good times and bad
Shizuru smiled in her sleep. Last night was simply incredible and it put a delighted smile on her face for the whole night. She appeared quite peaceful and satisfied with Natsuki curled up against her. Natsuki had an arm wrapped around Shizuru, who also had an arm wrapped around Natsuki. Their legs were intertwined with each other, but covered by the dark blue blanket that barely hid them from the view of the walls in their room.
Natsuki's expression seemed different, yet similar. She also appeared to be at peace, like for once in a long time everything was all right. She had her head on Shizuru's shoulder, her mouth slightly open. Every now and then, a light snore came from Natsuki; a sure sign that she slept very well.
Even the air around the apartment seemed peaceful. Remnants of last night hung around, coating the room, hugging the occupants. The thin beams of sunlight merely seemed to join in rather than intrude.
As usual, Shizuru stirred first. Her face twitched and then her mouth fell into a frown. She was a bit upset to actually wake up as she realized that she was no longer locked in her fantasy. She had been having quite the good sleep with even better dreams. But, as she glanced down to see her sleeping lover, she decided that reality was better and she was glad to be awake, so she could stare at her beloved.
The tawny-haired Otome smiled again as she lightly ran her fingers across her lover's bare, smooth back. Her fingertips felt alive. I didn't get to really have her in her dress, but everything we did last night makes up for it. She made sure the pressure was not enough to disturb Natsuki's sleep, but it was enough for her to keep smiling. She contemplated waking Natsuki up in her usual manner, but in the end, she decided against it.
"Natsuki's earned her sleep for today," Shizuru commented in low tone. Yes, her love had certainly earned her sleep considering some of the things that she did last night. "Ara, ara, it was enough to make even me blush…" A rose pink hue rose to her cheeks for just a moment as she thought about last night.
Of course, she sort of egged Natsuki on considering the things that she did. She was not too sure what came over her last night. All she knew was that there was a fire burning inside of her and it was not the typical passionate lust that she held for her Natsuki. No, there was something more to it than that and she was not sure what it was. All she knew was that to appease the blaze in her heart, she needed to mark Natsuki, claim Natsuki, and make sure that Natsuki knew exactly to whom she belonged. She was pretty sure her mission was accomplished last night.
"Did I go too far?" Shizuru wondered, noticing the dark marks on her beloved's shoulder and breasts. Of course, it was not the first and probably not the last time she left love bites all over her lover. It was not her fault Natsuki was delicious.
She doubted Natsuki noticed the change. She recalled she had been quite rough and direct, but she could be that way on occasion, so it was not really that suspicious. She did not want Natsuki to think that there was something wrong with her, especially since she tried to convince herself that there was nothing wrong with her.
The fire that haunted and burned Shizuru was gone. She felt at peace, like she typically did when Natsuki was with her. She felt like everything was right in her world, even though Natsuki slightly drooled on her now. The older woman actually just smiled more as she realized that her love dripped spit on her shoulder.
"I wonder what came over me last night," Shizuru muttered to herself. She was not sure what that fire was, but she was a bit glad it was gone.
The burning actually had not felt good like her lust usually did. The only reason she even compared it to her lust was because of what happened last night. But, the burning was nowhere near pleasant and she would rather it never return. Sure, it made her do all sorts of delightfully naughty things to her Natsuki, but it was not really something that she was able to enjoy completely. All she kept thinking about last night was marking Natsuki as hers, not focusing on the pleasure of simply being with her beloved.
"Something was definitely wrong last night…" Shizuru sighed. "I could've easily lost total control of myself."
She glanced down at Natsuki and could see that she had done a good job at marking the principal. Natsuki's pale skin was covered in deep crimson marks. Upon closer inspection of her love's blemishes, part of her wondered if she had lost control of herself. Some of them were bite marks, some of them were hickies, and there were even a few scratches. She hoped Natsuki was not in any pain when she woke up, not that she looked like she was in pain right now.
The ruby-eyed female felt a bit guilty for a while as she inspected the marks. Yes, she had left a few marks here and there occasionally during particularly wild nights with her girlfriend, but nothing as extreme as she currently focused on. No, this was almost like she could not control herself last night and it was all thanks to that damned burning sensation. This did not feel right or good. She was not proud of the evidence she left behind. What was that feeling and why did it make me do this?
She traced a bite mark on Natsuki's shoulder and shook her head. She did not want to think about that bubbling burning that scorched her belly last night, but it was hard not to as her eyes followed the marks that she left on her lover. She gently caressed her sleeping love, as if to ease away discomfort in Natsuki from the marks, even though Natsuki did not appear to be in any pain. Still, the guilt-ridden woman continued to caress the principal.
Shizuru glanced at the clock after a while and saw that it was close to time for Natsuki to get up. She had work, after all. Oh, but Natsuki looked so cute and they were both so comfortable. She really did not want their state of bliss to end any time soon, but it would have to.
If they did not get up, Miss Maria or Youko would actually come to the apartment and knock until there was an answer. If Natsuki called in sick, it would be even worse. Well, it would be worse for Natsuki anyway. She would be harassed about symptoms and then teased about her sickness being "Shizuru-itis" or something of the kind. Natsuki hated going through that, which of course both Miss Maria and Youko knew; that was why they did it, after all. It guaranteed that Natsuki always came to work.
"Natsuki-chan," Shizuru practically cooed as she began to rub the younger Otome with a little more pressure than before. She kissed the crown of Natsuki's head.
Natsuki groaned in her sleep and clutched onto her lover tighter, but she did not wake up. Shizuru chuckled a bit and continued on, trying to wake Natsuki in a gentle manner. The principal made a few more sounds, clung to Shizuru, and kept her eyes closed tight.
"Natsuki, as much as I enjoy having you attached to me in such a loving manner, you do have work this morning," Shizuru commented, speaking at her usual volume with the hope that it would get her girlfriend up from her slumber.
Those words did not reach Natsuki's brain. She remained knocked out, curled into her love and still drooling a little. Shizuru sighed; she would have to be mean, apparently. Well, it was for the greater good, so she supposed that made it a little better.
"Ara, is that Miss Maria at the door?" Shizuru said with pretend shock.
Natsuki was up like a shot. "Miss Maria? I was just getting ready!" she shouted with a panicked expression as she leaped out of the bed.
Shizuru giggled as Natsuki made a mad dash toward the bathroom, butt-naked to add to the already humorous scene, to take a shower and get ready for work. The older woman was going to get up and join Natsuki, but she knew her presence would only make Natsuki late for work. Such a thing ran the risk of Miss Maria actually being at the door after a while.
Instead, she got up and laid out Natsuki's clothing for her. She examined the attire before placing it down. She wanted to see if it required ironing. She had to run the iron over Natsuki's precious blue jacket. Natsuki rarely thought to iron things and would go out in wrinkled clothing all the time if it was not for Shizuru.
Once she was done ironing, she checked the kitchen to see if they had anything she could use to make Natsuki for breakfast. She made sure to put on a short lavender robe to avoid tempting her beloved when she got out of the shower before leaving the bedroom. She then went on her search for breakfast foods, wanting to make sure her lover left on a full stomach because Natsuki typically had better days when she ate breakfast.
Shizuru tried to make breakfast almost everyday, but especially on days when it seemed like Natsuki might be late. She would rather Natsuki leave with food in her belly because being full helped mellow Natsuki out. She did not think it was healthy for Natsuki to stress so early in the morning.
"Oh, man! I am so gonna be late!" Natsuki could be heard panicking in the bedroom. There were a lot of crashing noises and swear words as well as threats on inanimate objects coming from in the room, also.
Shizuru chuckled while working and listening to her lover. A few minutes later, Natsuki charged out of the bedroom, shirt half-buttoned, and jacket hanging sloppily off of her shoulders. In such a state, Natsuki still tried to walk out of the door, but Shizuru stopped her.
"Ara, my dear Natsuki is looking to give everyone a show?" Shizuru remarked as she approached her beloved and fixed the buttons on Natsuki shirt, not to mention the button on her pants. She straightened out Natsuki's clothes, the jacket included.
"Uh… thanks…" Natsuki blushed from embarrassment. Really, what would she do without Shizuru sometimes?
"I am here to assist Natsuki, after all. Now, take breakfast," Shizuru ordered while passing the younger woman a bagel with a fried egg on top.
"Thanks," Natsuki said while taking the food and she was about to run off, but she was stopped once again.
"Na-tsu-ki," Shizuru hummed the name.
"Eh?" The principal craned an eyebrow, not sure why she halted this time. She turned around, breakfast in one hand, the doorknob in the other.
"My kiss?" Shizuru requested with a pout.
"Oh, right!" The principal actually slapped herself lightly in the forehead for forgetting such a thing.
Natsuki gave Shizuru a quick peck on the mouth, which was good enough for the older Otome. After that, Natsuki was off like a shot to avoid being late; the last thing she needed was to put up with Miss Maria. She did not know, but it would be even worse if she got busted that day because she had a huge hickey on her neck. Luckily for her, Shizuru had the presence of mind to close her jacket for her or she would have been displaying more maroon marks on her body than just the large love bite on her neck.
"Ara, Natsuki seems so much like a rushing husband in the morning," Shizuru remarked with an amused smile, just to tickle herself. She then decided that she needed to get ready for her day, too.
-8-8-8-8-
Natsuki yawned, stretching out her arms as far as they could go and flexing her hands, too, to relieve them of any knots. She glanced at the clock and smiled as she realized it was almost teatime. She could use a break from her work and she was in a very good mood, so seeing Shizuru would only help that. She felt like she might even be able to take some teasing with a smile on her face.
"Maybe I'll even humor her a little," Natsuki muttered. "Well, more than I usually do anyway."
Before Shizuru came in with their usual tea, the phone rang. She answered it, figuring since she was in such a good mood, she would not be annoyed with the call, even if the call was not for business reasons. She even sounded polite when she answered, not even using her forced businesslike tone that she generally used when answering the phone.
"Garderobe, Principal Kruger speaking."
"Natsuki-san," Takeda replied, sounding quite happy.
"Takeda-san. How're you doing?"
"I'm fine. Just finishing up some work and I remembered your invitation to call you. I was wondering if you're free this afternoon and maybe we could get together again," he suggested, sounding quite hopeful and delighted. He was happy over the fact that he had worked up the courage to call her and to ask her out for the afternoon.
She made a face, scrunching up her mouth. "Well… I dunno. I usually spend my afternoons with Shizuru." If she finished with work soon enough, anyway, or if Shizuru decided to come sit with her until she finished her work.
"Oh…" he sounded quite disappointed. He really had little desire to be within a hundred yards of Shizuru again. She frightened him, a lot actually, and his soul still quivered from just meeting her last night. "Well, maybe some other time when you're free…" he proposed in a slightly low tone.
Before Natsuki could answer, the door opened and Shizuru came in. Natsuki smiled rather brightly at her lover, who smiled softly in return while bringing in their usual tea. She shut the door behind her while Natsuki turned her attention back to her phone call.
"I guess we could do it some time when I'm free. I'll call you and let you know, okay?" the principal asked her friend.
"Sounds good."
"Okay, well, I've got to go, Takeda-san."
The sound of the name made Shizuru flinch slightly and her smile faltered for a brief moment. By the time Natsuki hung up the phone, her smile was back in place, but it was certainly forced. The fire that had been so satisfied and put out last night relit in her belly, blazing hotter than before because it sounded like Natsuki just agreed to get together with Takeda. The fire made her heart beat rapidly, like it planned on exploding sometime soon. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the blaze devoured all of her insides, so she tried to force it away. It merely burned more intensely, as if trying to put the sun to shame.
"Hey, Shizuru, I've been waiting for you," Natsuki said, still smiling so brightly her words were obviously true, which doused the fire in Shizuru a little, but certainly not enough.
"Waiting for me to do what? Was my Natsuki thinking naughty things?" Shizuru inquired, teasing smile in place, even though on the inside she really wanted to know what Natsuki was doing on the phone with Takeda. The teasing kept her from making such an inquiry, though. She wanted to be normal. She wanted things inside of her to be normal.
Natsuki turned her nose up at her love. "I… idiot," she muttered.
Shizuru was a little disappointed by that response. There was no blush to go along with it. She almost pouted, but caught herself. Her smile stayed in place while her mouth jumped out ahead of brain, asking questions she really did not want to even admit were on her mind. After all, Natsuki was hers and she did not need to worry.
"Natsuki was speaking with Takeda-san again. What did Natsuki discuss this time with her friend?" Shizuru inquired in a pleasant tone while pouring the tea. Her grip on the cup almost shattered and the handle hung on by a hope and a prayer. So much for being normal.
"Nothing really. He wanted to do something this afternoon, but I told him I was hanging out with you," Natsuki answered honestly.
Ha, take that! Shizuru's mind declared. Natsuki was hers and Natsuki would stay with her. Natsuki was hers!
Shizuru celebrated in her head for all of two seconds before that fire roared within her, feeling like it scorched all of her organs. She realized that Natsuki said that she would spend time with him some other time and that she would call him. That certainly would not do.
"I'm glad that Natsuki decided to spend time with me instead of going on a date with Takeda," Shizuru remarked. The teasing came too easily, too naturally. It seemed like the only thing she could do because she did not want to just tell Natsuki not to see him. Natsuki could have friends, after all.
"What?! I'm not dating him!" Natsuki threw her hands up in a panic. It was a good thing she was not sipping her tea or she would have spit it all in Shizuru's smiling face.
"But, Natsuki is always on the phone with him. And not to long ago, Natsuki was saying she was sick of being an Otome. Takeda-san can fix that, right?" Shizuru asked with such innocence in her voice that she should have been ashamed of herself.
It's only teasing, Shizuru mentally insisted for the simple fact that a small voice in the back of her head told her that she was really scared that could happen. I am never scared, she reminded herself; not to mention, Natsuki was hers. That big red mark on Natsuki's neck told the world that she was Shizuru's.
Natsuki nearly fell out of her chair from those words. She had to stand up to catch herself. She looked so indignant that Shizuru could not help thinking it was cute, but there was still that almost violent swirling inside of her soul that prevented her from enjoying how adorable her lover appeared.
"I'm not always on the phone with him! It's only been a few times and I got over that crap about being tired of being an Otome!" Natsuki declared. In the back of her mind, she reminded herself that she played into Shizuru's little game, getting worked up over teasing. She tried to calm down because, for once, she wanted to come out of the thing unscathed. Well, less scathed than she already was.
Shizuru giggled. "Natsuki is so hotheaded some times."
Natsuki frowned; apparently, the battle was already over and she had lost once again. Score – Shizuru: infinite, Natsuki: subzero. She sighed and flopped back into her seat while Shizuru gave her the cup of tea. Shizuru also patted Natsuki on the head and kissed her temple, which caused Natsuki to sigh again. There was a small smile on the principal's face, though, which seemed to help ease the fire blazing inside of Shizuru.
-*-(New day)-*-
Natsuki sighed, her shoulders slumped, and she pouted. Her good mood for the past few days was gone because Shizuru was gone. The Third Column was off to investigate some strange occasions and Natsuki was not sure how long she would be away. Shizuru left that morning and Natsuki was already bored.
The principal had surprisingly breezed through her work. Well, it was not really a surprise considering the fact that her chief distraction was gone, but that was a distraction she rarely genuinely minded. So, she really did not have anything to do for the rest of the day. She supposed it would have been nice for her to get everything done one day when Shizuru was around because they would have been able to go for a bike ride. But, even without Shizuru, she figured she could go for a nice bike ride. It would help relax her and keep her from missing Shizuru, at least for a little while.
She wasted no time rushing out to her motorcycle. It's the perfect day for riding. She mounted the bike with a smile and rushed off down the road. She did not know where she was going and she did not care. All she knew was that she had time to do the one hobby that she had. She would take full advantage.
Natsuki smiled as she whipped down the roads, the wind zipping by her, seeming to almost caress her since she was so happy to be out. Her hair trailed behind her, like an ebony flag. She neglected to put on a helmet, which was becoming the norm for her. She guessed that dream that haunted her not too long ago was still with her. She still needed to ride her bike.
She was barely on her bike for a few minutes before she was in the city. She blew through a busy intersection with skill, not even gazing one of the pedestrians. She also avoided other vehicles with expert care. She continued that behavior, unknowingly going by just the person she was thinking about not too long ago.
"Natsuki?" Shizuru muttered to herself with an arched eyebrow. She was in casual clothing with a bag in her hand. She wondered what Natsuki was doing in the city and why she seemed to be in such a hurry, not to mention grinning from ear to ear. She had to find out what was up with her beloved, so she turned around to go in the same direction as Natsuki.
Natsuki continued on until she nearly did hit someone. Damn it, the guy came out of nowhere! Or so Natsuki would have argued if asked. She applied the brakes as the pedestrian seemed to just appear out of thin air. The bike stopped short, nearly bucking Natsuki off. Somehow, she maintained her balance and control of the vehicle as it grinded to a halt. The man she nearly hit fainted as he realized what almost happened.
"Oh crap," Natsuki muttered as she quickly dismounted her motorcycle right in the middle of the street to check on the guy. "I know I didn't hit the slow-poke," she commented as she walked around the bike to get to the fallen fellow.
Natsuki took a step back as she saw a familiar form prone on the ground. She had almost killed Takeda. His eyes were closed, but he was moaning, so she was pretty sure he was alive.
"Takeda-san, are you all right?" Natsuki inquired as she fell to his side and lifted his head. If she were someone else, anyone else more than likely, she probably would have put his head in her lap to comfort him, but being Natsuki, she just held his head in her hands before she started shaking him with the hope that he would wake up. Wait, wait, wait, I probably shouldn't be shaking him. But, it looks like it's working.
Takeda groaned loudly after a few seconds. He realized he was being rocked rather hard, so he slowly opened his eyes to see what was going on. He was surprised to see that an angel was manhandling him.
"Did I die and go to heaven?" he murmured in a dazed tone, but Natsuki heard him.
"Idiot!" Natsuki huffed and dropped him, satisfied that he was all right if he could say such stupid things.
Takeda yelped as she released him. He knocked his head against the pavement, which caused him to wince. Natsuki climbed to her feet and looked around for a moment because she did not know what else to do. Takeda got himself together and immediately rose to his feet, too. He did not want to seem weak in front of Natsuki, so he knew that he had to be quick to stand up, especially since he had already fainted in front of her.
"Natsuki-san, what're you doing here?" Takeda asked, trying to seem as normal as possible. He brushed his clothing off, hoping he looked presentable.
"I was out for a bike ride," she answered, motioning to her bike.
"Oh. So, you're free this afternoon?" he inquired, hope fluttering inside his chest and causing his heart to race.
"Yeah, I guess." She shrugged half-heartedly. She was kind of free and she was kind of bored.
"Then perhaps… we… could… hang out?" he proposed, using all of his willpower to avoid trembling while he asked that.
Natsuki shrugged rather nonchalantly. "I guess. What do you wanna do?"
"We could have lunch or go for a walk in the park or something," he replied. His eyes were slightly wider now, wishing for her to respond in some positive manner.
Natsuki shrugged once more. It seemed like something that would be good to kill time and relieve her boredom. She picked up her bike and moved it to the side of the street to park it. She then walked off with Takeda. He practically screamed for joy on the inside, but remained calm on the outside. He had a date with his angel! Well, that was what he thought anyway.
-8-8-8-8-
Shizuru watched as Natsuki walked into the nearby park with Takeda. She had not seen Natsuki almost mow the guy down, getting over to them just in time to see the pair agree to go off into the park. The popular Otome found she could not breathe, her heart seemed to stop beating, and that fire ignited in her stomach like a nuclear reaction. She dropped her bag; a box wrapped in light blue paper was revealed to any that decided to look at the ground at that moment.
"Natsuki…" Shizuru muttered in a tearful tone. The expression in her crimson eyes was so hurt and crushed that it seemed as if her life was coming to an end. It was almost like she was mourning.
-8-8-8-8-
Next time: Natsuki goes for a walk in the park with Takeda. Does Shizuru follow them?