Disclaimer: I don't own Tekken, the usual. Oh, and here's an update after so long, cheers!
[Chapter 4 - l'amour de ma vie]
ASUKA'S POV
"Asuka Kazama, is there any particular reason for that non-stop gaze you've been directing at me? Hello, Earth to Kazama? Are you even listening to me right now? It's like I'm hopelessly talking to a wall of dry paint..."
Upon hearing her voice, I was brought back to reality. I also noticed that Lili had been waving her hand in front of my face, trying to catch my attention. 'Gosh, her skin looks so soft...'
Having to keep up appearances though, I stuttered out a reply.
"W-wha?! Uh... it's nothing, L-Lili."
Princess stared at me for a bit with questioning eyes and a raised eyebrow, before shrugging it off and going back to her jasmine tea. I could just stare at her all day sitting there and looking so pretty like that... Those lips of hers that had a light touch of lipstick...
'Gah! Stop that, naughty Asuka!' I sighed to myself. It scared me a bit, how far I was acting compared to my normal self. But it begged the question.
How could she be so calm like this?! Why am I the only one fidgetting like some fangirl crushing on their idol?! Wasn't she the one who kissed me? I mean, sure, she thought I was still asleep. But come on! I already know that she...
That Lili... likes me.
But she wasn't aware that I already found out about that. And I plan on keeping it that way for now.
Still... she looks so freaking pretty, it's crazy...
"You're acting pretty weird today, Asuka Kazama."
Upon hearing the remark, my eyes widened. I must've been caught staring dreamily at her again! "Ahahaha... don't mind me, princess..."
"Really? We're going with that? Who are you and what have you done with my foul-mouthed and boyish rival who wouldn't let even half a day pass without getting into a fight with me?"
I glowed in embarassment. Normally, I'd chime back at her with some kind of snappy retort, but today I found it really hard to do for some reason. Man, this love thing really sucks the fight out of you!
"Damn it, I need to stop these lovey-dovey thoughts before she finds out I actually like her too! Damn you Lili and your pretty face!" I exclaimed while palming my forehead in barely contained frustration. This was getting out of hand, and I needed to regain composure for now.
I took a deep breath, before facing the Rochefort once again, only to see her with an expression that matched that of a deer in headlights. Her eyes were wide, staring off into the distance with a blush dusting her cheeks.
Now it was my turn to be confused on what she was on about.
"Uh... something the matter, Lili?"
Hearing my question, she stared directly at me with what could only be taken as an 'Are you serious?!' look. She even tilted her head slightly to the side. It was like Princess expected me to know what was riling her up.
Being who I was, it annoyed me a bit. I wasn't that good with, what's it called? Oh, that's right. I wasn't that good with the whole 'reading between the lines' thing that a lot of people seem to do so easily. And so came the usual patented Asuka Kazama direct-style asking that I defaulted to instead.
"I can't really help you if you don't freaking spill out the beans you know, Princess."
She sighed, before gripping my shoulders. I mirrored her blush at the sudden touch.
"You do realize Asuka Kazama, that what I presume was supposed to be just your inner thoughts, had been spoken aloud? I'll repeat what you just said." she began, before doing a really crude impression of my voice.
"Damn it, I need to stop these lovey-dovey thoughts before she finds out I actually like her too! Damn you Lili and your pretty face!"
Letting go of my shoulders after making her point, she now had a smirk plastered on her face that drove me insane. And I wasn't even sure if it was in the good way, because she looked so damn beautiful while doing it. "So... you like me, Asuka Kazama?"
Aaaaaand there it was. I've been outed by my own carelessness. Curse my big fat mouth for blurting it all out into the open air. So much at keeping it a secret for now. God damn it all. Could this get any worse?!
"You think I'm pretty, huh? Ahahahahaha, it looks like you've fallen for my charms, my fierce rival!" she highlighted in a sing-song voice while circling around me and going into a dance routine once again like whenever she was in one of her monologues.
You all have to understand, I was rattled, okay?! I really wasn't used to this whole love thing just yet! And with that being how it is, I ended up giving in and confessing to everything. Might as well owe up to it, since there really wasn't any escape anyway. And besides, I was tired of obssessing over these thoughts to the point of it being stressful.
And besides, maybe everything would turn out alright in the end? Look, you've already been caught red-handed already Asuka, just tell her! It won't be the end of the world! I'm sure even Princess would understand if you just told her how you really felt without beating around the bush and prolonging the inevitable. You already know that she likes you too anyway...
"I... I do. I think you're pretty, and I think I... like you, Emilie." I tried saying as earnestly as I could, even using her proper first name this time.
However, I must've surprised her, because she fell silent after my proper confession. Gone was her teasing and instead, Lili was being pretty bashful all of a sudden. It even looked like she suddenly found the floor of our house more interesting to look at than making eye-contact with me.
"L-Lili...?" I prodded. I had to be very careful here and approach with caution.
Her confident aura had suddenly vanished, and I found my frenemy-turned-crush awkwardly hiding her face by burying it hidden in her hands. Her voice was a bit muffled due to her palms covering her mouth ever so slightly.
"That's the first time you've used my name..."
Man, I mean, just, goddamn if this wasn't the cutest fucking thing ever! Why the heck did Princess have to be so unexpectedly adorable this time instead of her usual snooty self?! But it's true though. I usually called her by her preferred nickname, "Lili", or my sarcastic term of "Princess" for her.
So calling her "Emilie" felt just right, since it was a serious moment. I wanted her to know that these feelings of mine were true down to the very last bit.
It also made me realize that I really did, freaking love this girl. She was annoying at times, and gave me tons of headaches in more ways than one. But ever since she moved here with me, I'll admit that I've grown to really like her company. We were already frenemies anyway.
Sure, we called each other rivals and stuff, and we even bickered a lot. Still do actually now that I think about it. But really, we were already friends. It was just that somehow, that friendship had turned to a mutual crushing spree that was just...
I gave into my lovestruck instincts, and scooped her into one big old hug. My brash action caused her to let out an audible "Eep!", before Lili started burying her face into my shoulder in further embarassment. It wasn't just her though, the mere act of actually hugging her this close made my face shine like a bright red tomato. We were both too embarassed and flustered right now to talk properly, I could tell.
So I took this chance to hold her in my arms for as long as it took. 'God, she smells so good too... I bet I also have a weird fucking look on my face right now...' these were the thoughts that danced in my brain as my nostrils inhaled her sweet scent. It made my head spin, especially since we were this goddamn close to each other! Good grief!
'I can't believe this is actually happening. Oh my Kami-sama!' I smiled awkwardly while still being very much embarassed about this whole thing going on right now. But at least I got the message across pretty clearly!
Yes, I really did like Emilie de Rochefort. Maybe, it was even love.
The Asuka a couple of months ago would be shaking her head at how l'm acting like a lovestruck shmuck right now, but screw it! I'm in love with you Princess, god damn it!
*****By Your Side*****
LILI'S POV
'I am having trouble comprehending the fact that this... this... this was actually happening! This isn't some lucid dream I'm having, right?!' I thought in mild panic to myself. To think that Asuka Kazama, the same girl known as the "Gang Mediator", that same slightly brutish girl would be the one to break from our normal status quo and actually confess first that she likes me!
Now I, Emilie de Rochefort, was a proud and confident woman. I rarely feared anything and I had much pride in the usual calm and collected demeanor that I carried without fail. A dignified and elegant lady, that was how I would usually be described by my fellow peers back in Monaco.
And yet, as I say that, here I am rendered mute because of Asuka's sudden attack! Gah, this isn't how I pictured the admission of the feelings I had for her to play out! Not at all, I say!
In the first place, never in a million years would I have guessed that she also liked me back. Now that in itself would normally have been cause of celebration, and I actually did express that quite a bit. I even managed to tease her about how she thought I was pretty, ahaha...
But to think she'd follow out her embarrassed stutter with such an earnest admission of her feelings... and the way she said my name...
Oh perish the thought! There was no possible way even I, Emilie De Rochefort, could've remained perfectly calm and poker-faced when presented with such an overbearing conundrum like this! Matters of the heart are no joke, I tell you this oh readers. And dear me, my heart is beating quite rapidly at all of this! Euphoria, oh such blissful delight!
'And now she's hugging me this close... Asuka... Hnnnnnnnngggggghhhhhh~!' I must tell her. Now was the perfect time to tell her everything. It was only fair after all, especially since Asuka took the initiative and confessed first no matter how shy about it she must've been.
Thus, I decided to break off from my personal heaven of being in Asuka's arms in order to properly convey my thoughts to her in reply. My heart skipped a beat when I saw she looked a bit disappointed that our embrace had been cut off.
'You are going to be the death of me, Asuka Kazama! I'm gonna get a heart attack if you keep giving me such adorable faces like that out of nowhere!' I blushed even further before sucking in a deep breath and steadying my tone. This had to be done, post-haste.
And so began the defining moment in my life, where my formerly heated rival-slash-friend, had now fully transitioned into becoming something more.
"I guess it's obvious by now, but I too, feel the same."
She smiled at my reply, and I returned it with as much glee. Finally, after so long, I'm finally able to come clean with my feelings towards you, Asuka.
Asuka Kazama, my former rival.
The goal I used to be so distant from. An opponent that I struggled my hardest against. And the girl who had changed my life forever, the moment she had stepped into my world that fateful day. Even though I used to hate your guts, things are pretty different nowadays. We're even living under the same roof now, ahaha.
Asuka Kazama, my best friend.
You've always been there to listen to me. Even if I can go off on various tangents at times, you were there. And as much as I would've loathed to admit it in the past, you were the closest friend that I, Emilie de Rochefort, has ever had. No one has ever come close, and you've given color to my otherwise rigid life of being not much than a rich girl who snuck out to compete in Tekken tournaments.
From here on out, I won't be supressing my feelings anymore. No more self-imposed control. This was now the time to act upon my love for you, dearest Asuka.
"Yes indeed, I, Emilie de Rochefort, want to stay by your side."
And as our lips met, I knew it to be true for Asuka as well. And it made me very happy, from the bottom of my heart.
-Chapter 4 END-
A/N: Hopefully this chapter was decent after such a long wait, I'm very sorry about that. *crying face* But yeah, next chapter should be the start of their relationship. Look forward to some awkward hijinks and interactions between our pair. My utmost gratitude to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed this story despite the lack of consistent updates. Once again, thank you all!
Oh and a special shoutout goes to jettmanas, whose PM I haven't replied to yet for some reason. That goes to several other PMs I've received from others actually... anyways, I was reminded that I haven't updated this in a while, so thank you for that.
See you all in the next update. This has been DaMastah101. Peace!