WARNING: A tiny bit NSFW here and there.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Unfortunately for the oil slick that had been created in Rise's underpants, they only had enough time to share some bashful smirks before someone knocked at the door. And who should it be but…

"Goooood MORNING!" Chie announced with her hands on her hips. "Who wants to go for a run around Okinawa?!"

Rise's grin was a lot more awkward than she wished it was. Allegedly, she was an actor, right? Where did those skills disappear to? "Um, not right now. I was kinda in the middle of something. B-but thanks for like, thinking of me! Of us! Or…"

By now, Chie's eyes were narrowed very suspiciously. "In the middle of what, exactly?"

"Um… in the middle of… having a nice conversation?"

"Uh huh. Is that why your lips are all shiny like you've been making out with somebody?"

The sound of a throat being cleared drew both of their attentions to just behind Rise's shoulder. Ai was standing there, hair a little messy but still as nice as Rise's; Chie had actually worked on her hair before setting out and it remained unimpressive as ever. Plus there was the baggy t-shirt that somehow hung so well on her frame that she looked like she was modelling it.

"My God," was all Rise breathed.

"Can we help you, Bowl Cut?"

"Uh, no, it's no big deal," she said a little more nervously now that she was addressing someone who wasn't part of the Investigation Team, scratching the back of her head. Especially given all their bad blood lately. "Like, if you don't wanna go for a run, I'm not gonna twist your arm… into…"

For a second, it was a mystery why her words had faded out. But Rise noticed her line of sight was pointing in a downward trajectory, off to one side. Following it, she eventually noticed…

"H-hey!"

"Holy shit, it's real. I was still kinda on the fence whether or not I… but like, there it is! Right fuckin' there!"

Ai folded her arms over her chest — which did nothing to hide the minor bulge in question. Her cheeks were the tiniest bit rosy, which was the only thing that betrayed to Rise that this actually hadn't been done intentionally to wind up the tomboy; her girlfriend had probably been too distracted by having just enjoyed her first brief encounter with sex to remember to tuck.

"You wanna touch it?" she demanded.

"HUH?! Whoa, whoa, no way!" Then she held up a hand as an awkward smile flickered into being. "N-not that it's anything against you, bro! I'm just not, uh… I'm not into dick!"

"Suit yourself," Ai snorted with a shrug. "But you seem really fascinated."

Rise took a step to the side to hide Ai from view. It was like breaking a spell; Chie blinked and then snapped her eyes upward again, looking as sheepish as a person could. "Come back when you've decided you wanna touch it. Otherwise, like, if there's nothing else…?"

"Come on, Rise, don't…" She continued in a stage whisper, "I've never seen one on such a girly body before, it's not something you see every day! Or ever, probably, for some people! You don't-"

"Goodbye, Chie. Go take a cold shower!"

Once the door was shut and they heard a quavering whine accompanying the receding footsteps, Ai actually did chuckle a little. "Well, that was a fun diversion. This might even be the best day ever."

"You were mean," Rise said with a roll of her eyes. "And I thought you were trying to be careful with that thing!"

"Well…" That certainly took the wind out of her girlfriend's sails, and now she could see the anxiety in her eyes. "Yeah. I got so comfortable that I let down my guard. But it's all on me, not you, Kujikawa."

After taking a deep breath, she crossed to her suitcase as she offered, "Chie's not gonna be mean about it. I mean, she's where I was when you first told me, so she'll say something dumb sometimes, but c'mon, you can give her the benefit of a doubt. Right?"

"No."

"Ebi-chan!"

"Fiiineee," she drawled out with an exaggerated sigh as she began to strip. Rise averted her eyes automatically — silly as that was. They were dating, she had just gone down on her! Why was she still so shy?! "She's not gonna be my new best friend. Really, she's kind of a bitch, despite being family."

"So are you," she shot right back, and earned a little laugh from Ai. "Are… you going to shower first?"

"Oh — no, you can if you want," she automatically said, caught in mid-step toward her own suitcase.

"No, no, it's fine! I'm sorry, I just wanted to make sure."

Ai just dug out her things, not responding for the moment. But when she did… "Who says we have to do it separately?"

"Huh?" When she looked over to see the scintillating nude form of Ai standing nearby, smirking at her, she somehow managed to focus on her face. Even though everything was on display. Did she have to be so hot?! "Together? Like… washing each other, and… touching…?"

"Hey, it's supposed to be normal for girls, right? I just…"

The way Ai's brow furrowed told the whole story; Rise found she couldn't bear to hear it aloud. As new and unexplored as her feelings were, she loved her so much and hated thinking about how she had to grow up as a "boy", never getting to share in the experiences that sisterhood brought. Rise herself had missed out on some of them due to her fame, but at least she had a fairly normal childhood up until her teenage years.

"Sure, I'd love to take a bath with you," she told her with a small smile. Ai returned it very briefly before looking away awkwardly — so she stood and left her toiletries behind for the moment to take up her girlfriend's hands in her own. "I would love to. Like, do you know how long it's been since I had a good back scrub?"

"Probably a whole two days," she joked, even though she was smiling more now that they were touching — awkwardly shifting near each other, toes brushing each other on the tatami… "You pampered little shit."

"Hey! I am not, I… even when I'm on tour, I work hard and don't have time for that. Well… okay, I get massages by my trainer, but it's more so I don't have any physical problems that keep me from doing my dance moves on stage, stuff like that."

Ai's playful smirk faded slightly. "You really do have to bust your ass, huh?" She bit her lip for a moment. "Sorry, it's just so easy to be a bitch and tease you… but you work hard. You just make it look easy."

"No, no, I know you're just teasing most of the time. But I also feel like, the sooner I tell you what my life's really like, the sooner you'll know me. And I want you to — I want to know you!"

"Well, at least we can agree on that one." She took another little step forward, and Rise tried not to focus on the way their breasts squished together, on the tiny bump of the bulge running into her panties — actually touching the insides of her thighs, she couldn't believe someone's dick was on her skin! Anyone's! This was too hot to be allowed. Perhaps if she had gotten off earlier like Ai did, this wouldn't be an issue for her, but right now she felt like the slightest spark would set her ablaze — and already was, more or less. Feeling the vague hints of moisture from her own mouth, and Ai's climax… "I'm loving getting to know the real you. Might seem like I don't care, or I just use it to give you hell, but…"

Rise giggled a little, reaching back to rest her hands on that firm little ass. Trying to give as good as she got, despite how distracted she was. "It does seem like that sometimes. Not all the- sheesh, what's your workout routine?! This is like, two little bubbles of granite!"

"Shhh," she half-chuckled as they leaned their foreheads together. "I've never heard of a bubble of granite before. But yeah, maybe I'll let you and Chie in on it. Might pick up some tips from her, too; she's pretty buff. Not that I want to be buff but fit, yes."

"Me, too; we both agree on that one." And because she was slowly starting to figure this shit out more and more… "Even though for you, it's a different reason. For me, it's part of my job, but it's your whole life."

Ai nodded approvingly — appreciatively. "Exactly. But that doesn't mean it's not just as ball-busting for both of us."

"Maybe a little less for me, since I don't happen to own any balls." They both laughed, then enjoyed a brief little kiss. "Mm… oh wow, that's so nice. Just getting to do that like it's no big deal anymore."

"Yeah?" Another one, and this lasted a few seconds longer. "Okay, I have concluded that… yeah, it's nice."

"Mmm, yeah…"

Honestly, Rise lost track the time after that. She just loved being so close to Ai, having the luxury of forgetting that the world might not exactly approve of their love, that they had nearly lost each other, that her friends didn't understand Ai… all of it mattered so little in the long run. Whenever they did finally come up for air, they were panting and their arms had seemingly been all over their backs and heads and chests. Rise wanted to ask Ai to return the favour from earlier, but was too nervous about what it would be like to actually give voice to her desires. So she just enjoyed the moment.

"Okay, we better shower before they beat us up for taking too long," Ai snorted.

"They won't beat us. Well… Chie might smack me, but only because we're friends. She doesn't know you well so she would never try even that."

"She'd better not smack you around me. I'll pull her hair out." While they talked, she even started trying to take off Rise's clothes.

"Oh."

Ai's hands stilled. "This… is okay, isn't it? You can stop me, but I figured we're… about to bathe…"

"N-no, no, it's fine! I just wasn't thinking… about it, um…" She cleared her throat, trying not to focus on how her heart was racing. "Can you go in and start the bathtub running? And I'll join you."

Ai smirked a little and patted Rise's hip. "Gotta psych yourself up? It's all good. Come in whenever you're ready."

"H-hey, no fair calling me out when you have this going on." But when Ai took an instinctive step back the moment Rise's fingertip came into contact with the tip of her semi-arousal, she winced. "I'm sorry."

"No, no, you're fine. No big deal, I just… it's not easy getting used to this. We're both awkward, it's… yeah." Then she smiled a very warm, un-Ai smile as she backed toward the bathroom. "See you in a minute?"

Again, trying to keep her eyes pointed up at her face instead of elsewhere, she managed to breathe, "Yeah."

Which only left Rise trying not to pull her hair out, literally shaking from the force of her anxiety. When they first embarked upon this little vacation, her greatest hope had been that she and Ai might kiss and make up — in a literal sense. That was it. How had they gone so far past those expectations that she had literally gone down on someone for the first time? And sure, she knew bathing with another girl was no big deal; she had done it before, many times. But with Ai… that was going to be different for a multitude of reasons.

Maybe it didn't have to be. Taking a breath, she finished slipping out of the rest of her clothes and grabbed for a towel to wrap around her body, feeling light-headed and awkward but excited. So what if more ended up happening? This was her girlfriend; if it had been a boy, she would have been a little more worried she was being taken advantage of, but she knew Ai was a lot more concerned about letting someone get too close than about "getting pussy". Everything would be fine; she had to believe that.

"H-hello?" she called out as she knocked lightly on the door.

"Are you room service?"

"Huh?!"

"Get in here, you idiot."

Feeling adequately chagrined, Rise slid the door open… and gulped when she saw Ai's nude form again, already perched on the low hinoki stool, knees up close to her chest. Though she was leaning forward slightly, it looked more like it was for comfort than out of modesty. Still, somehow the sight of Ai's silky smooth back hit her differently than seeing any other girl in such a position.

"Wow…"

"Sh-shut up already," Ai sighed, trying to appear unaffected. And failing spectacularly. "You said you'd wash my back… you don't have to if you-"

"No, no, I want to." So she shut the door behind her and reached for the washcloth and the showerhead. When Ai yelped from the feeling of the water hitting her back, she hissed, "Sorry!"

"Don't you check the temperature before you get started?!"

Again, she felt like she was a little kid being yelled at by her mother. So she cleared her throat and whispered, "Y-yes…"

Taking pity on her, she looked over her shoulder. "Will you relax? Like, anybody could tell you're freaking out. Just take a breath, dude."

"I'm not a 'dude'," Rise grumbled as she felt the water hit a comfortable temperature and moved it to splash over Ai's back, wetting down the bottom half of her hair. When she felt that, Ai pulled her hair up and out of the way, though she didn't seem to have… "Where's your shower cap?"

"My what? Oh… I never use one."

"Really?!" When Ai shrugged, Rise said, "But what if you have to take a quick shower and don't want to worry about your hair?"

"Uhh, I just always wash my hair? Or I don't shower if I really don't have time; just use a little deodorant and an extra spritz of perfume."

Rise almost said aloud that it was such a boyish attitude toward personal grooming. But she caught herself; Ai would not appreciate that comment, and she didn't want to hurt her girlfriend or start an argument. "Right, right, it's… that works."

"Don't sound so superior," she accused her with a tongue stuck out as she turned back, letting Rise begin to scrub her skin with her soap-lathered washcloth. "That's only happened a few times. Well… since I started transitioning, anyway. Before that, I hated how I looked so much that I didn't care if I showered more than once a week."

"EW!" Rise burst out. Ai chuckled a little, which at least let her relax and laugh with her. "Well hey, I'm glad I caught up with you after you stopped living like a troll under a bridge. Wow, that's nasty."

"Right?" At least they were in agreement; no arguments. Rise didn't think she could handle another one. "Like, I feel so much better about myself now that I'm literally taking care of myself. Sounds so obvious…"

The pop star shrugged as she picked up the bowl and used it to rinse off her back, watching the suds cascade down every curve and line, every slight dimple in the flesh. "Well… I was never raised as a boy, so I guess…"

"That's not all of it, though. Like, yes, boys aren't held to the same standard, but I was pretty nasty even for a boy. Society is way too easy on them."

"Yeah! I so agree, like, it always feels like boys get away with whatever they want! God, I would never choose to be a girl if I could have been a boy, it's like, a trade-down."

Ai was quiet for a moment. Rise gulped; here it comes… but all she said was, "You have a point. But I didn't want to deny who I was just because it's easier in some ways."

"Yeah… I, um… I've been hearing a lot about that lately. Embracing who you really are." Way too much about it, and from sources so supernatural that it would make Ai's head spin; she didn't need to hear all that. "Like, I wasn't trying to say you should have stayed a boy. Just that being a girl is way harder."

"Yeah? Try being one with a dick," she snorted, and Rise flashed an uncertain smile. "Not that there's that much difference; it's just… some things don't come as easily. This voice takes practice. Plus, um… my walk. I'm sure you also had to learn how to walk in a feminine way, but you did it gradually over time, and I had to kind of take a crash course. Classes; in fact, I'm upset about missing some of them this week. Little things. Not that much was expected of me when I was in elementary school, but I had to do some hellish catching up — like, studying for a test every day is hard, but so is cramming at the last second. It's just a different hard."

As she spoke and Rise moved around to wash her girlfriend's legs, she listened and appreciated what she meant. Classes, even! She could vaguely remember Ai telling her that she had some kind of "special class" once, and it had mystified her at the time, but now she understood: Rise knew she would definitely have to take some remedial courses if she started living life as a boy from now on. Common knowledge could only cover so much. That really did spell it out well enough that she didn't even have questions; just accepted the reality of what Ai must have gone through.

"You poor thing," she whispered as she kissed her freshly-cleaned knee. "I'm so sorry…"

"You better be. I mean, how dare you go back in time and change my chromosomal makeup?"

"Shut up," she sighed, and then Ai laughed. "Wow. But… if I could, I would have. To a girl, I mean; not the other way."

"Yeah… so would I. But thanks, even though that sounds like a waste of the ability to time-travel."

"No way! Of course it's a good use! You deserve to have been who you are from the beginning, a-and not have to suffer through… well, all that you did!"

The teen queen shrugged carelessly, as if this weren't all that important. Even though by now, Rise was beginning to be able to tell when she was putting on airs; now was definitely one of those times. "Like I said, I appreciate that. But… I probably needed that shit in my past. I'm already a horrible person. Imagine if I didn't have skeletons in my closet and trauma; I'd probably be a real harridan."

"Or… you wouldn't have to be so defensive to protect yourself, and it wouldn't be as hard for you to let someone in." She rinsed off her other knee before leaning up to kiss it tenderly. "To let me in."

"Mm…" Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure out how she felt. All she wound up saying was, "Fine. I guess." But then she felt the washcloth pushing between her thighs and she yelped, "Whoa, where are you going?!"

"Oh! I, um… I figured…" Her cheeks began to flood with colour, even though she tried to sound casual when she said, "What? We're dating and all, and I went down on you, s-so it should be… normal for me to wash all of you. Shouldn't it?"

"You could at least warn a girl!" But when Rise gulped and looked away, she sighed and said, "Okay, okay, sorry. I'm not really mad at you, I'm just on edge — wasn't expecting that. You may proceed."

Rise bowed low and said, "Thank you." Which only got Ai pushing her backward with her foot, making them both laugh quietly. "You ready?"

"Yeah." As soon as the washcloth reentered her space, she let out a soft "Mmm…"

This was a new level of closeness neither of them were ready for. Even moreso than just rolling around in a futon and letting their urges run wild; this was domesticity, with a component of physical intimacy. Ai's thighs began to part as she washed, and she carefully watched her expression slowly move from passive to… the only way she could describe it was "distracted". She looked distracted by the pleasant sensation.

"Okay, um… is that good?"

"Actually, no. But I can do it." She took the washcloth, and Rise looked on in fascination as she pushed back the wrinkled skin that was hiding the rounded tip. She hadn't even really noticed that it was different than she had seen in health class diagrams before until that moment; probably had a lot to do with how intimidated she was by the thought of being in close proximity to someone else's anatomy in the first place, much less it being something different than her own. She just had been avoiding inspecting her too closely, even when she was actually looking.

"Ohhh…" As Ai finished with that area, she remarked, "I would have totally missed that."

"Yeah, it's cool." But now that she was done, the skin didn't quite stretch up as high as before. Because…

"Ai?"

"What?"

"Are you like… do you need me to do it again?" She licked her lips as she moved into position in front of Ai's again-firm flesh, so she wouldn't mistake what she meant. "Should I take care of you? Because I absolutely will. All you have to do is let me make you feel amazing."

To Be Continued…