A/N: Whoops, dropped the ball on this. You know what I didn't drop though? The mailbag!
YoshiChain: I definitely should have elaborated on the babysitting part, but come on. It's Koei. Any chance to get wasted is a good one. Interesting method of reading the story though, having it done Audible-style.
Sociopath With a Spellblade: The Audiobook. Only £20.20!
Well, as that's the only review for this chapter, I have some room for some admin. You may have noticed the story cover has changed. Yup, I suckered some poor artist into drawing Koei. Their name is Velvet_Frame and they're a very good friend of mine. Please go check out their other work on Twitter or Furaffinity. Just uh… A content warning. Their work is rather lewd so reader discretion is advised.
Now excuse me, I have a hangover to nurse.
One hilariously unproductive night of getting absolutely annihilated later and IF and I woke up with some killer hangovers, judging by the chunni clutching her head.
Course, being in an unfamiliar bed, pantless and with no memory of the previous evening tends to ring alarm bells, but as IF's shorts were still firmly attached, I wiped my brow and let out a sigh of relief I didn't know I had.
I really need to stop getting wasted with IF around, lest I… do something I regret. Oh well, you only live twice. Death by Iffy would be far less embarrassing than death by truck, in my humble opinion. But I'm getting off topic.
Grabbing a Nep Bull from my inventory along with putting on some damn pants, I tried to figure out what the hell I did yesterday. Found Progression, fought Neptune, came to Lowee, bought as much cheap booze as I was allowed to, gave some to Iffy…
The various bottles of spirits scattered about the place indicated that we got pretty fucking wasted This wasn't just beer, we're talking hard spirits. Thankfully it seems we had some common sense, as there were some plastic bottles that were formerly filled with soft drinks, possibly to help it go down better.
And you know, not dying of a busted liver as fast helps. Still, cleaning up the bottles proved to be quite the task, even with the help of IF. Eventually the room was cleared as I downed the rest of the foul tasting drink, throwing the can into the bag before closing up entirely.
"Well, now that that's over with, what were we here for?" I rubbed my head in confusion as I tried to remember why we were in Lowee in the first place, aside from "the fun of it."
"Must be the concussion?" IF asked rhetorically, before laughing to herself. Head trauma is only funny when I make fun of it! "You forgot that we're here to look after… The… Twins... Aw fuck."
"Aw fuck." I parroted, realizing the error of my ways, rushing out of the now cleaned up room towards wherever the twins were.
Thankfully for my sanity, I managed to find the twins in a short amount of time, being in the local dining room and nomming on cereal like the scamps they were.
"Well, that's one disaster avoided…" I mutter, walking into the room, alerting the candidates to my presence. They seemed to be fine, at least. Wonder why Blanc dragged me down here in the first place?
Peace of mind, probably. Still, they looked alright, albeit a tad surprised at my sudden entrance. "G'morning Mr. Koei." Rom said adorably between bites of cereal.
"Well, that's one loose end tied up." I breathed a sigh of relief I didn't know I had. My life won't be cut short by a very angry big sister… Yet.
Also kind of anti-climactic. Still, I dodged responsibility and didn't get punished for it! Hell yeah! Time for a dri- No, no. Let's sober up first.
Walking to the nearest kettle, I poured two cups of tea out, for IF and I rather obviously putting the tea and water in first, before putting in a small splash of milk at the top, nicely filling both cups with that lovely tea-ish colour that I knew and loved. Taking a seat opposite the Candidates, I struck up a conversation.
"So, how did you two do last night?" I asked casually, trying not to admit my own failure as a babysitter.
Ram continued to be rude and not pay attention to the conversation, nomming her cereal quite noisally. "Usually Blanc just leaves us to do things while she works, as long as we stay in the Basilicom, so it was just like big sis not being around… Just louder."
Considering my lack of memory, that could mean many things and I wasn't about to start questioning them for the sake of Rom's innocence. "What does she do when she's here, then?" I ask nonchalantly
Rom shrugged her shoulders, but not much else. "Not much, really. She tends to yell about ties for hens or something. Also she's really bad at it."
I resisted my urge to burst out laughing at that tidbit of very pertinent information that could be used as blackmail down the line. Then again, Vert probably knows already, being the minx that she is. I can only imagine what the two get up to in private.
Would make for a hell of a scandal. Maybe I should hang out here for a bit longer, see if I can't pick up on some spicy rumor or other. Gossip pays big in Gamindustri, or at least that's what I assume with how much of the garbage I rea. Makes sense, they're goddesses and all and any way to make them seem more human. Probably good for Shares.
"Mr. Koei? You're making a lot of weird faces…" Rom interrupted, a scared look on her adorable face. I guess I did with my diabolical planning inner monologue and all. I really need to break that habit, it is not useful in the slightest.
Neither is my alcoholism, I guess. I'll drink to that! "Yeah, sorry about that. Force of habit." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly.
"Blame the concussion." IF smirked to herself. "He's a bit of a nutcase, don't be like him, kiddo."
I punched her in the arm in response. "I learn from the best." I responded, smiling myself as the two looked on in confusion.
Love is confusing, but so am I. Still, after making yet another mistake in the long line of mistakes that is my life and chugging tea like it wouldn't somehow burn my throat, I gently tossed the teacup in with the rest of the dirty dishes, scarcely keeping intact from the impact. Why I did this, I have no idea. I thought it'd be funny.
And I was right. I chuckled to myself as I returned to the table. "So, can I trust you two to say nothing about yesterday?" I asked very pointedly, staring them both in the eyes.
"And why should we do anything, d-dummy?" Ram suddenly burst out, dramatically slamming her hands on the table as she stood up. "You had one job and couldn't even do that right? You expect me to keep quiet?"
She had a point, but also… "I saved your ass from a kidnapper. Your sister too. You owe me." I state simply, crossing my arms, with a glare to boot.
A moment of staring at each other later, Ram relented and sat back down. "F-Fine…"
Phew. Threatening children aside, I needed to do something with my day and going back to Planeptune seemed a bit too much like seeing Neptune again and that was not a good idea. Pondering my thoughts further, IF placed her cup daintily on the ever increasing pile of dishes that the cleaning staff were obligated to well, clean.
Throwing my hands up, I gave up trying to think. "Fuck this, I'll be in the shower." I stated simply before tromping off to wherever the guest bedroom was.
A few minutes of aimless wandering and I came across not a bedroom, but a dedicated bathing facility, complete with basket to put "used" clothes in. Dunno how they'd sort through them and figure out what belonged to who, but it seemed creepy and privacy violating. Whatever, I'll just let them figure it out while I showered or bathed or whatever this place had.
Reading the guidelines carefully, I gave a sigh of relief that there was in fact, a shower in this bathhouse. Baths are cool and all, but after a while you realize that you're relaxing in water filled with dead skin and dirt. Yeah, this is why I preferred showers.
Doing the mandatory thing of stripping naked, I stepped into the shower and let the hot water blast my tired body, simultaneously tensing and relaxing the muscles on my shoulders. Kinda forgot how nice this felt. Nobody to talk to, no monsters to slay, just me, myself and I.
Without getting into excessive detail, I deeply cleansed my body using the scented soaps and shampoo helpfully provided by the Basilicom staff presumably, thinking of… Things in general. I hadn't had time to sit around and contemplate. Or stand in this case.
It's weird, despite my frequent drinking, partying and general asskicking, I haven't really taken a day off in… a while. The last 3 days have had one pretty brutal fight a piece each and now that I'm finally taking some time off, I could see and feel the bruising all over my body as the water forcefully hit the tender spots. I really didn't take care of myself, even discounting the scar across my chest from all that time ago. It had healed up now, but the slash mark is still there to serve as a grim reminder to my own mortality.
I wonder if CPUs can sustain injuries like this? Sure, knee'd Blanc's nose back in Ultradimension and Rom was pretty banged up all that time ago when I first helped out the other Blanc, but they didn't seem to scar, or sustain crippling injuries like I did.
Maybe I wasn't cut out to be the hero? The CPUs seemed to have a grasp on things now that they weren't trying to murder each other. The Candidates would make good backup when and if they ever stepped up to the plate. Is there no room in the world for someone like me?
Hell, would the world be safer if I just hung up Serenity and retired before I managed to cause disaster?
Shaking my head, water flew everywhere as I forgot I was in the shower. Good thing the curtain was up. Still though, what am I going to do?
Sighing, I turned the shower off, letting the water drip off my body as I considered my options. Patting my chest and feeling the scarred tissue, wincing a bit as the tender nerves responded to my touching, I steeled my resolve. Whatever choice I made, I wasn't going to go back on it.
One overly contemplative shower later, I slipped on my UI Gloves and swapped to my Planeptune duds, before stepping out of the bathing area, dried up and ready to face the day.
What I didn't expect to face so soon was IF, who was waiting right outside the showering room for me. "Okay, I know the whole Stalker thing was basically dropped after I started working for Planeptune, but how?"
"You said you were going for a shower." She shrugged, before putting a hand on my shoulder. "That and you look… Worried? What's up?"
Rubbing the back of my head, I didn't want to spill the beans to her so soon after just trying to figure out if I wanted to continue down this path or not. But on the other hand, I wasn't going to be able to hide my feelings that well, right?
"Nothing?" I asked meekly, knowing that my attempted lie would be in vain. IF responded with a blank stare.
"Koei… Don't be dense." She put a hand to her face, before removing it again, proceeding to put it on my shoulder reassuringly "Come on, you're not usually one to look so down."
I blinked. "IF, we've known each other for like a week. Two at most." Keeping track of time was hard, but it hasn't been that long since I first got my ass here.
IF grinned smugly. "Funny, weren't you the one saying that we had a connection all that time ago?" To my chagrin, I remember that pit in my stomach I had when she broke the news that we were going our separate ways.
Sighing in resignation, I decided to cut to the point. "Iffy, I don't feel cut out for the hero role." I stated simply. My gaze not leaving hers as she processed what I just said.
"Oh." Was all she said in response, removing her hand from my shoulder. "I see." Taking one of her many phones out, she called a number as I stayed silent.
"Hey, this is IF. I'm going to have to take a few days off." An inaudible voice came from the other end as she nodded. "Yeah, some… Personal things have come up. I'll be back to work soon. Apologies for the recent inconsistencies." The voice mumbled again. "Thanks. See ya." She put down the phone back into her pocket before walking up.
She stood right in front of me for a moment, frozen before blushing, stretching out her arms and giving me a hug, stroking my head as she did so. "You've been through a lot. I think it'd be great if you took some time off with me. I'm sure Blanc wouldn't mind us staying for a few more days."
Why she was doing this I don't know, but I appreciated the concern. Holding her back, we embraced for a time before separating, both of us blushing rather heavily after that embrace. Some things never change.
"So... " I rub the back of my head sheepishly. "Want to… Spend the day together then? I mean, if you have nothing better to do..." I offer my gloved hand, which despite the embarrassment of both of us, she took gratefully. Admittedly, while I wasn't completely on board myself with this, she needed reassuring. Plus, it was warm and while my Planeptune clothing provided enough heat inside the Basilicom, something about being able to squeeze her hand and make her blush made that feeling so much better.
With that… Awkward part out of the way, we headed back to wherever the next adventure was. Well, hopefully not adventure. Just some rest and relaxation before the next one.
Yeah, that sounds great.
Exploring the Basilicom a bit, we did manage to figure our way back to the front entrance, at least. This was rather inconvenient, as Blanc decided to enter right when we reached the bottom of the staircase that served as the way to the living quarters. My hand was still in Iffy's so this would have led to embarrassment if Vert wasn't doing the same. Oh and Vert was here too. Instead of her more.. .Revealing, outfit, she opted for a basic sweater which while covering her nicely… Well, needless to say she can't hide her assets well. Feeling a burning sensation, I looked down at her legs, which were now covered in tight-fitting jeans to emphasise her figure as much as possible.
Taking the opportunity to remove my hand from IF's (Blanc did likewise and we had a silent pact not to bring it up.) I greeted the CPUs with a friendly wave. "Hey Blanc. Hey Vert. I must say, you really pull off that look well."
Placing one of her arms under her breasts and the other to her mouth, Vert giggled politely. "I thought this outfit would attract a few male gazes, but I didn't know it'd work so well on you, Koei. Turns out you are a man of culture!"
I had little time to process that as I felt the cold embrace of death staring me right in the eyes with her own single, crimson one. That along with the burning gaze next to me indicated that I should move this along before I found out how many holes a katar can make before my body becomes a pin cushion.
Seeming to notice the tension, Vert started to walk towards the stairs, maintaining her composure. "Of course, you have to learn to dial back the compliments at some point. Never know when somebody might take your flirting seriously.~" She walked up the stairs, heading towards the clearly marked guest bedroom, leaving me to deal with the two.
"So… Mind if I stay here a few days?" I shrug at the CPU of Lowee, who seemed hellbent on kicking me out as soon as possible, but looked at Vert presumably, before calming down.
"Fine." She stated simply. "Flirt with Vert again and your girlfriend will be the least of your problems, fucko." She sternly and coldly said, before following Vert up herself.
Rubbing the back of my head, I pondered what to do next, when I started to hear faint singing.
Hashire sori yo…
Huh, the tune's familiar, but the lyrics aren't. Putting a hand to my chin, I dug around for whatever it could be.
Kaze no you ni…
Wait a minute… It couldn't be.
Tsukimihara wo…
Oh fuck. "Iffy, get down." I quickly ducked behind a nearby tablle, pointing the top of it towards the double doors to act as a shield while IF looked at me in confusion.
All hell proceeded to break loose.
"PADORU PADORU!" Neptune's ungodly shrill voice echoed through the hall as she quite literally kicked the doors open. Hiding behind the table was a precaution, but thankfully she didn't seem to cause any noticeable damage with her insane stunt.
"G-goodness Neptune!" Nepgear's panicked voice popped up, causing me to peek my head out from my makeshift barricade, finally seeing the Planeptunian CPUs in all their glory.
What a sight they were. Neptune had appropriately dressed herself up in a typical Santa outfit, though as this was Neptune, her dress didn't go below her thighs. Aside from that, it was pretty typical red and white fare. Nepgear was dressed as an elf, as per her helper status would indicate and looked damn cute to boot, even if her taller stature did ruin the image slightly.
Taking the opportunity to stop staring at the festively dressed lolis, I placed the undamaged table back on its legs, now that the imminent threat was now over with and walked over to Neptune, stopping short of smacking her across the face.
"The fuck." I said simply. Not even a question, just a statement. "The fuck."
Neptune for her part, acted unaware of her idiotic behaviour. "What? Can't a gal spread some Christmas cheer around here?"
"Yes, as long as don't kick the frigging doors open like you're about to spray and pray into a crowd, you sociopath!" I answered rather clearly. "I was prepared to use a table as a makeshift barricade and start shooting myself if I didn't recognize your voice at the last moment."
Neptune rubbed the back of her head nervously, seeming to realize her own fuckup. "Right. Yeah. Well, I figured that now that Gamindustri is at peace I could pull something like that without getting shot?"
Dramatically sighing, I went over to help Nepgear close the doors. Thankfully despite her impressive strength for a loli, the doors remained intact, save for a mark where she kicked the center of the door.
"If there weren't witnesses here…" I mutter under my breath, loud enough for Nepgear to hear as the doors closed, allowing heat to envelop the lobby once more. She just looked at me with a combination of fear and confusion.
Turning back to the other psychopath in my life, I stared at Neptune. "So, aside from scaring people half to death and dressing like a slut, why are you in Lowee?" I was so tempted to say "I was here because I wanted to get away from you" but that would be rude. Also not exactly true, mostly because I forgot she existed. I blame the concussion.
"Well, after the drama in Ultradimension, I thought you deserved a break. Annnd after that farce that was the Halloween party, I thought you needed a real break." Neptune exposited as she put down the bag on the floor. "What better way to give the protagonist a break than to force a holiday episode… Again!"
I put a hand to my face and regretted drinking all the hard liquor the day prior. My feelings could be summarized as "I am too sober for this shit" but this was my typical feeling around this time of year. That or it could be the baseline for hanging around with Neptune, it was hard to tell at this point.
The green elf Nepgear pulled out a device from… a pocket, I guess and started a video call. The device itself seemed to be custom built, as it had the N iconography I had come to know while living in Planeptune, as she sat down on a nearby chair and started talking to… Uni I presume. Well, we already have three of the four CPUs here, might as well make it a full house.
"So, Kopey!" Neptune suddenly wrapped her arm around my shoulder, spooking the shit out of me, more than likely intentionally. "What do you want for Christmas?"
I sighed. "Is that what we're going with? Not even Nepmas?"
Neptune, hand still on my shoulder, brought me in closer. "Nah, you can't put a copyright on the holidays, so we don't need to make an obvious expy of said holiday!" Neptune beamed, seemingly unaware of the bullshit coming out of her mouth. "Now come on, Kopey, get some holiday cheer in you!" She pulled a typical Santa hat out of nowhere and placed it on my head, adjusting it so it'd cover my scalp and not fall off so easily, much to my chagrin.
"Thanks." I snark, head hurting from both her antics and my hangover. Pushing the bobble out of my face, I put my hands in my pockets. "What's in the bag, anyway?"
Meandering over to the bag, Neptune sealed it tight, before flinging it back over her shoulder. "That's for me to know and you to find out!"
Expecting Neptune not to be coy at this point was pretty much a Christmas miracle, so I left her to go find the tree to put the presents under while I contemplated how she knew about both Halloween and Christmas.
This brief contemplation was interrupted by the doors swinging open yet again, revealing the cheery, busty nurse known as Compa. Aside from some earmuffs, she seemed to be in her usual outfit, which was slightly off considering how bastardingly cold Lowee is, but nobody seemed to feel the cold anyway, aside from IF and I.
"Hey everyone! I bought eggnog!" Compa announced, carrying a pair of bags with her. I hoped there was more than just eggnog in there, but it wasn't likely, considering that there are minors here.
IF for her part, strolled to Compa immediately and started chatting casually. It made sense, they hadn't seen each other in a while and they were friends long before I was isekai'd here, so I put my hands in my pockets before Blanc and Vert returned from upstairs, now wearing Santa outfits themselves, just decked out in their Nation's colours. It looked more like weird nightwear if I'm being honest, but it fit the theme at least.
"Ho. Ho. Ho." Blanc monotonally bleated, not giving a single fuck about the outfit she was wearing. She clearly needed some Christmas spirit.
Heading towards Compa's fabric bags, I took a peek inside and- OH YES, SHE BROUGHT BOOZE. If she wasn't in the middle of chatting with IF I would have hugged her. Sneakily attempting to pry some of the liquid out of the bag proved to be more difficult than expected, as despite my best efforts to remain sneaky, Compa's hand immediately squeezed on my arm as soon as I touched the bag, not even moving her head while she talked to IF. That's not terrifying at all!
Still, after letting her iron grip off, I shook my hand to try and heal it up. For a nurse, she grips hard. Once she finished her conversation with IF, she turned her head ever so slightly to see me, hand now firmly away from bag and she smiled in a slightly sinister way. "Oh, Ko-Ko! It's nice to see you again! Would you mind if I checked up on you in another room?" Her innocent voice dripped with malice as nobody else seemed to notice that the medical professional had a target painted on me and wasn't about to let her prey go.
Walking randomly to the most soundproof room she could find, Compa opened the door before motioning for me to go in. Before I could so much as yelp, she dragged me in by the collar giving me no time to call for help before I was dragged into darkness.
Closing the door behind her, Compa turned on the light before slipping on some plastic gloves. "Now, Ko-Ko. Open wide…"
Doing as she asked out of primal instinct and previous trauma caused by dentists, I closed my eyes and braced myself before a polite and adorable giggle broke my tension entirely. "Just a little medical humor to break the ice. How are your wounds doing?"
Opening up my purple shirt, Compa inspected the scarred skin carefully. "Hmm, seems it's done as much healing as it will be able to. A shame it won't fully heal, but it shouldn't cause you too much trouble anymore." Compa pulled my shirt back down before learning closer, inspecting my face up and down before walking around to the back and lifting my shirt up to inspect my back, presumably. After a moment or two and some inappropriate touching, she put down the back of my shirt and walked back into view.
"Alright, seems you haven't hurt yourself since your last check-up… Surprisingly." Compa's tone turned surprisingly deadpan for a moment.
Getting up, I prepared to leave the room, passing the nurse by, but she grabbed the back of my collar again before I could open the door, tugging as I turned to see her with a look in her eyes. I can't really describe it, but it's the sort of thing that makes you want to run. Far away. As fast as possible.
"So I haven't really said anything about you and Iffy being a thing…" She started, tone as innocent as ever as I mentally prepared a will. "Just so you know, if you do anything to hurt her, make her cry, or otherwise do something bad to her, I will find out and I will make it look like a suicide. Don't fuck with my BFF, Koei."
I blinked and instantly, Compa's eyes softened back to her usual state as she let go of my collar. I stared at her for a moment or two before chalking it up to the concussion as I left the room back to the party at hand.
Time passed. Time always passes, but in this case it passed rather uneventfully as the party-goers talked amongst themselves, while I hung out in the corner, reading the news. Mostly business talk these days. Out of the corner of my eye, I did see Rom and Ram finally walk down the stairs, in matching Santa outfits, in that pale pink and pastel blue I knew. Combined with Blanc's it was pretty adorable I must admit. I might have even cracked a small smile. Seeing the larger Lowee CPU approach me, I shut off the UI Gloves and prepared to communicate with her.
"Bad news. Noire and Uni are going to be late. Something about having the perfect outfit. I need you to stall for time with Rom and Ram while we set up the food."
I blinked, temporarily forgetting that Blanc was the one who asked me to look after them in the first place and didn't know of my… Less than stellar job in doing that. Oh well. Getting up, dusting myself off as I headed to the twins, who were chatting to themselves. "Hey. Wanna have a snowball fight?" I ask, not suspiciously. They nodded eagerly as we headed out of the Basilicom to prepare to throw frozen water at each other.
Regrettably, I didn't have my Lowee duds on, so the cold bit hard into my clothing, but I'd have to bear it, as this was my stupid idea. For their part, the twins were already excitedly making balls to throw, with their hands covered in lovely mittens to protect their hands.
I suppose CPU biology wouldn't be the best thing to teach a chi- OH FUCK. Dodging a pair of snowballs in the nick of time, I braced myself as I dug into the pristine white ground and started throwing balls of snow at them. Predictably, I missed dramatically. Look, if I can't aim frigging pistols…
Dodging yet more balls of snow, I realized I was hopelessly outmatched. That and I saw small casts of magic between the barrage of snowballs, as they had pulled out their staffs to spawn snowballs. Cheating little…
Ducking behind a snowbank I pulled out Serenity. Two could play at this game. Leaping out from the makeshift cover, I felt mana coursing through my veins as snowballs started to launch from the tip. The surprise attack managed to nail Ram in the chest as I turned to Rom, understandably caught off guard as another snowball nailed her in the shoulder. Smiling smugly, I ducked behind my new favourite snowbank as shards of ice were flung in my general direction now. I'd say things are heating up, but they seem to be throwing colder things at me. Also those icicles look sharp, Waiting for the barrage to end, I followed up with my own barrage of snowballs towards the twins, but they expected my counter attack, as a snowball nailed me from the side, knocking me over. Before I could get up, I started to feel my legs freeze over. Lifting my head, my legs were in fact, being encased in ice. Fuck.
Staring at the magic casting Ram, she quickly hid her staff in a vain attempt to seem innocent. Simply heating up Serenity, I did the logical thing and put the red hot blade between my legs, waiting for the ice to melt. The ice slowly dissipated, but my legs didn't feel any wetter, which was odd. After a few moments, my legs were entirely free, unharmed by either the intense heat of Serentiy or Ram's attempt at giving me frostbite. Using Serenity as a crutch, I struggled to get back up, my legs numb from the cold as I glared at the pink twin.
Thankfully for all involved, Blanc popped her head out of the front entrance and motioned to me that my stalling was over. Meandering my way back into the Basilicom, the twins happily followed as I desperately needed a drink.
Ahh, so warm and cozy compared to the white hellscape outside. If I closed my eyes I could almost see this place being some log cabin in the wilderness, cut off from civilization with only a roaring fireplace between me and the untamed nature outside.
Of course, the Basilicom was the exact opposite, bustling with life as Noire was talking to Vert and Uni to Nepgear, having arrived during the snowball fight, it seems.
The feeling of a heavy coat being put on to me kicked me out of my thoughts as I turned around to see IF, now minus her trademark jacket, giving a wink despite her more exposed body. Guess the Basilicom was just that warm.
"You looked cold." She said simply, pointing to my arms, which were instinctively crossed across my chest.
Looking back up, I shrugged, fitting my arms into the sleeves simultaneously. "Course I am, my legs were covered in ice." I joked, shaking my still numb left leg for emphasis.
IF rolled her eyes playfully. "It's not like magically created ice leaves anything but numbness after it "melts" anyway, stop being a baby." She punched my shoulder lightly. "Come on, I got a nice spot to show you upstairs." She started to walk up the stairs as I followed, still in her jacket.
Our journey was made in silence as we headed through the Basilicom, eventually happening on the doors to a balcony. Opening it up, we were blasted with cold air as I handed IF her jacket back. Taking it gratefully, she walked out before leaning on the balustrade. I mirrored her movements, now looking out at the pristine Land of White Serenity.
"So…" I start, after a moment or two of awkward silence, staring at the landscape before us. "Why did you bring me here?"
"To talk." IF said simply, turning to meet my gaze with a glint in her eye. "I've been thinking a lot since yesterday. You passed out rather early, so I had some time to myself to down some whiskey and be alone with my thoughts and…"
Silence.
"And?"
IF sighed. "We're in this weird quandary, aren't we?" She looked down and away from me. "We're more than friends, anyone with more than a passing glance at us together can see that, but neither of us has made that step towards becoming… You know."
I blinked. I had been so focused on being with her that I forgot entirely about that. "I'm… Not exactly sure if I'm ready." I admitted honestly, my words blowing off into the wind.
I felt a hand on my back. "Maybe I should help with that." Suddenly I was pulled into a hug by the chunni, who squeezed me tight for a few moments as I embraced her back, feeling the warmth of her body heat and even the thumping of her heart while our bodies intertwined. Before she let go, she did something completely out of left field and kissed me on my right cheek. Smiling broadly despite her absolutely crimson blush, she started to walk back inside. "Now we're a thing." She simply stated before disappearing entirely.
Using my hand to rub my now moistened cheek , I leaned over the balcony again.
Did… Did that just happen?