Shizuma looked at her watch. She and Nagisa had reached the summer home half an hour ago, even though they had stopped to buy some wine and groceries on the way. Miyuki and Tamao weren't there yet.
"Well, sweetie, I think Miyuki and Tamao were…held up by…something." Shizuma grinned suggestively. "Let's leave the door unlocked and share a bath."
Nagisa blushed.
"Hai. But…what if they walk in on us?"
Shizuma shrugged. "Then we're even."
"True." Nagisa laughed, remembering the incident after the winter ball.
A little while later, she and Shizuma were sitting in the bathtub, enjoying the warmth and the fragrance of the water. Shizuma slipped her arms around her girlfriend, who was sitting in front of her, her back turned toward the former Etoile.
"I've missed you so much," Shizuma whispered into Nagisa's ear as her hands wandered over the red head's body, gently stroking her breasts. Nagisa's breath quickened.
"I've missed you, too. I'm so happy we're here together," she murmured, enjoying Shizuma's intimate touches. When she couldn't stand it anymore, she turned and kissed her girlfriend passionately, returning the caresses. Finally, they were together again, close to each other.
An hour later, they climbed out of the now rather chilly water.
In the living room, they met Miyuki and Tamao.
"Oh, there you are. We didn't go looking for you because we didn't want to disturb you." Miyuki grinned.
"Well, we would have gone looking for you, but we didn't feel like driving back and checking every piece of forest on the way," Shizuma answered. "We bought dinner and some bottles of wine." Nagisa added.
"Wow, that's cool." Tamao exclaimed. "I'm really hungry!"
The four girls piled into the kitchen and began cooking their dinner, which they ate in the living room, drinking the first bottle of wine. After dinner, Miyuki opened the second bottle.
The four girls were comfortably draped across the living room furniture, sipping wine and chatting about the last few weeks. Tamao and Nagisa were curious about their girlfriends' college experiences, while the older girls wanted to know everything that had happened on Astrea Hill.
"…so then, Kaname found everyone laughing and stormed out of the room. She was so angry." Tamao finished her story, while Shizuma and Miyuki were laughing like crazy. When they finally calmed down, Miyuki said: "Well, you should have seen Shizuma when she tried to sign herself in."
"Miyuki!" Shizuma exclaimed, looking totally mortified.
"Come on, Miyuki, go on", Tamao said, a mischievous smile on her face.
"Well, she was supposed to go to the student's office, to meet with the professor who takes care of the signing in. She was late, as always, and ran up the stairs, knocked on the door and stormed into the room, without waiting for an answer. There was a woman in the room, sitting behind the desk. Shizuma went over to the desk, apologizing like crazy, not giving the poor woman a chance to speak."
Miyuki paused to heighten her listeners' expectations. Shizuma groaned and hid her face in her hands.
"Then, Shizuma pulled out all her documents and presented them to the 'professor', talking about her achievements in school and explaining how interested she was in the subjects she wished to study. When she finally closed her mouth and looked expectantly at the woman, she was quite surprised to see her grinning. Then, our former Etoile and top student of St. Miator took a minute to look around the office and finally noticed the cart with the cleaning supplies standing next to the desk and the rag the woman was using to clean the desk."
Tamao and Nagisa were giggling uncontrollably.
"Shizuma, I don't quite remember what exactly the woman said…can you help me out?" Miyuki innocently smiled at her best friend.
"She told me how flattered she was that I confused her with a professor, even though she was wearing an old cleaning smock. And she said how much she regretted not being able to help me with my signing in, but she would be sure to give my regards to the professor when she saw him. I managed to ask for the opening hours of the office the next day and got away as quickly as I could."
Shizuma looked at the laughing faces of her friends, very annoyed. Finally, she gave in and started laughing herself.
"Did you manage to sign in eventually?" Nagisa asked, still giggling.
"Yes, I did. The next day. And the professor didn't mention anything about his cleaning lady talking of my little fauxpas."
"Shows that he's a real gentleman." Miyuki stood up and stretched, a little wobbly after the wine. "I'm going to bed, it's late. Are you coming along, Tamao?"
"Of course I am!" She jumped up. "Good night, Nagisa, Shizuma." She turned towards the door and left the room, accompanied by goodnight calls from Miyuki, Shizuma and Nagisa.
"So, what do you want to do? Stay here or go to bed?" Shizuma gently stroked Nagisa's cheek.
"Well, going to bed would be nice…but it's so comfortable here." Nagisa closed her eyes and snuggled closer to her girlfriend.
"Then we'll just stay here." Shizuma whispered and leaned closer to the younger girl for a passionate kiss.
The next morning, Tamao and Miyuki came down to the living room to find Shizuma and Nagisa draped across each other, barely covered by a blanket, their clothes strewn across the floor.
"We should let them sleep a little longer and make breakfast." Tamao whispered into Miyuki's ear.
"That's a good idea." Miyuki didn't move, didn't look away from the sleeping couple. She had known for a long time that her best friend and the red-haired beauty were a couple, had seen them together, talking, playing around, hugging, kissing. But to see them like this seemed much more intimate, much more definite. Miyuki couldn't place the emotions she experienced at the sight.
Her thoughts were interrupted when Tamao gently pulled her towards the kitchen.
Nagisa awoke to the wonderful smells of breakfast. She opened her eyes, not quite sure where she was. Then she saw Shizuma lying next to her, still sound asleep. Nagisa's eyes drifted over the clothes on the floor. Quickly, she slipped out from under the blanket and pulled on her underwear, her t-shirt and her skirt. She then followed the delicious smells to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Nagisa-chan!" Tamao hugged her best friend. "Did our breakfast finally wake you up?"
"Good morning, Tamao-chan, Miyuki-sama. Yes, it really smells wonderful. Can I help with anything?"
"You could help me set the table. Since the weather is so gorgeous, we thought we should eat on the patio." Tamao pointed to the door in the kitchen, leading to a large wooden patio doused with sunlight.
"Hai." Nagisa reached for a tray and carried it outside.
Tamao turned to Miyuki.
"I think Nagisa and I have the table-setting under control. Will you go and wake Shizuma-sama?"
"Umm…sure…Give me a moment." Slightly dazed, Miyuki left the kitchen and went into the living room.
She knelt down next to the couch and looked intently at the sleeping Shizuma. The smooth skin, the long, dark lashes, the beautifully shaped lips. Acting on an impulse, she leaned forward and gently kissed the other girl's cheek. Shizuma stirred, making the blanket shift slightly, so that it slid down, revealing her to her waist.
Miyuki stared. No matter how well she knew Shizuma, she was always startled by her beauty. Noises from the kitchen shook her out of her observations.
"Shizuma! Wake up!" she called. Shizuma stirred again and mumbled something unintelligibly.
"Shizuma, come on! Breakfast is ready!" Miyuki tried once more.
"What?" Shizuma's eyes opened and she gazed blearily into the sunlight.
"Oh, good morning Miyuki", she added when she spotted her friend.
"Good morning to you, too. Come on, get up, put on some clothes and come out to the patio. Breakfast is ready and we may have to hurry if we want some. Nagisa and Tamao are already outside."
"Okay, I'll be out in a moment." Shizuma pushed away the blanket and began to collect her clothing. Miyuki stood in the doorway, watching her. A few minutes later, Shizuma was dressed enough for breakfast. The two young women went outside and joined their girlfriends.