Title: Riding the Roller Coaster (Part X)
Author: ficeler37
Note: Don't own Mai-Hime. I'll let Sunrise take the credit.
Rating: PG
Word count: 1119

Summary: Chit-chat over ice-cream.

A/N: I hit a writer's block earlier this evening, and almost decided not to update tonight. But somehow a miracle happened and this chapter came out. (phew)

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"An extra large vanilla sundae, please." After the waiter had rushed over to their table to investigate the commotion (A.K.A. Natsuki's head banging), Shizuru had taken the liberty of ordering dessert. I gotta cool down that fire in my stomach. Nobody is ever going to make me take another bite of that pizza ever again! But on second thought, if that means getting another passionate kiss from Natsuki, ho ho …An evil smirk crosses the porcelain skin of the Kyoto beauty as she sneaks a glance over at the blue haired girl.

Natsuki has been silently examining the rapidly changing facial expressions on Shizuru's face since she ordered dessert. Why do I feel like she just undressed me with her eyes? An eyebrow twitches at the titillating smirk.

Soon, the waiter comes back with a glass of sundae with two spoons placed neatly on the table. However, one of the spoons is quickly pushed towards the server by the mayo addict. "You can take this away. I'm not having any ice-cream." Never been into sweet stuff anyways. "Shizuru, you can have it all for yourself."

"Ara, does Natsuki wants to share a spoon with me, but is too embarrassed to say it in front of the waiter?" Shizuru picks up her spoon and starts drawing small circles in the air with it. "Honestly, I don't mind sharing indirect kisses with Natsuki. I mean, it's not like we've never …"

"AHHHHHHHHH!" Natsuki cuts off the older girl and hurriedly presses her hands against her ears. Why are we talking about this again? I'm already having enough trouble NOT to think about it. "Fine, fine, I'll have some ice-cream. Happy?"

Shizuru flashes the green eyed girl a bright smile. "This is just like what a couple would do on a first date, sharing the same glass of ice-cream." She tips her head a little to point out some obviously dating customers who are sharing food around their booth.

"WE'RE NOT ON A DATE!" Scared of attracting attention to themselves, Natsuki whispers harshly across the table. Why does she have to tease me like that all the time? Can't she give it a rest for a change?

A hint of sadness surfaces behind the elegant mask on the chestnut haired girl's face, but it soon disappears without a trace. "Of course." I have always known the truth. But hearing it? … It hurts so much …

Even though Shizuru's voice is still as cheerful as ever and the corners of her lips are still forming a beautiful crescent, for someone like Natsuki who had been with Shizuru even in the darkest of times, the blue haired beauty can tell right away that the chestnut haired girl is suppressing her feelings again.

Silence falls upon the duo, who are each deep in their own thoughts. Unlike the previous period of silence following the kiss, this time the distance between the two girls are gradually increasing as each second passes by. The glass of ice-cream remains untouched while both girls struggle to avoid each other's gaze.

Good job, Natsuki. Your wish came true. Shizuru is taking a break from teasing you, and how do you feel now? On the inside, the younger girl laughs bitterly at herself. Why do I feel like shit when she agreed with me that this is not a date? Isn't this what I wanted to hear? Can someone please tell me what is going on?

Finally, Natsuki cannot bear the uncomfortable silence anymore. "Shizuru!"

The Kyoto woman raises her head rapidly at the sound of her name and is met with shifty green eyes.

"Maybe we should start eating the ice-cream before it is all melted away…" THAT'S THE BEST YOU COULD COME UP WITH! Jesus, Natsuki. You are truly the queen of small talk.

As the girls silently dig into the glass of ice cream in front of them with their respective spoons, Natsuki suddenly remembers a question that she had been meaning to ask the older girl. "Ne, Shizuru. How come you are so good at pool? I just can't imagine it being on the training menu of a proper traditional Japanese woman."

"Well, maybe I'm not as proper as you thought." The older girl relapses into her usual banter with a raised eyebrow. Screw it. Who cares if it's not a real date? The feelings that I've been having today are real. That's all that matters.

Shizuru's unexpected reply makes Natsuki almost choke on a spoonful of ice-cream. Gosh, that was close. I am so not ready to die of a freak accident. (Uhm, I don't think you can die from choking on ice-cream … unless it's some extra-terrestrial crap that explodes in your throat, haha. ficeler37)

Images of Shizuru hustling sleazy men in dimly lit bars speed through the blue haired girl's mind. "Please tell me you don't go out and hustle people at shady bars."

"Ho ho, Natsuki worries too much. I don't even go to the pool halls usually, let alone shady bars. My parents bought me a pool table that is placed in the basement, underneath our traditional Japanese mansion. I've been playing pool since I was a little girl."

"Well, I'm glad to hear that you didn't play pool with sleazy men." Thinking back to the scandalous view the chestnut haired woman offered when she was playing pool, a shade of red attacks Natsuki's cheeks.

"Define sleazy."

"Uhm, ok? You know, like men that stare down your shirt to look at your black Victoria's Secret Winter Collection limited edition lace bra when you make a shot."

"Ara, since when does Natsuki know what bra I wear?" Shizuru lazily points her spoon at Natsuki and gives out a seductive smile.

"Huh? Uhm … I …" Unable to come up with a reasonable answer, Natsuki lowers her head to stare at her lap in shame. Damnit, Natsuki. You're just like those sleazy men you described to Shizuru. What kind of a friend are you?

Seeing how Natsuki is distracted and her spoon is lying still in the glass, Shizuru quickly spins the glass around so that her spoon is now facing the blue haired girl.

"Natsuki, let's finish the ice-cream right away and head out. There are a lot more rides I want to go on before the park closes." Shizuru tries to sound as nonchalant as possible.

Relieved that the chestnut haired beauty isn't pressing for the embarrassing answer anymore, Natsuki uses 'her' spoon to take a big scoop of ice-cream and shoves it in her mouth cluelessly.

"Gotcha! Our first indirect kiss of the day!" Shizuru exclaims excitedly while spinning back the glass to the position it was in before.

"SHIZURU!"

TBC.