So because this is more going to concern the older ranks of Spica (for the time being), I've changed the description :P Don't worry, Chikaru and Shion are still a major couple. I'm not promising anymore couples, because God knows that's ruined a bunch of my stories so far, but please keep reading and make sure to review!
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Love Me Least
Two: Love Games
iAtethePoisonApple
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"Let's play a love game, play a love game;
Do you want love, do you want fame?"
-Lady Gaga
Pathetic.
They were all so pathetic, standing around, crying as if they knew anything.
Crying as if they knew what it felt to be broken, as if they weren't just in love with the idea of it.
It was all so pathetic, but Kiyashiki Momomi stood back, watching their tears with apathetic eyes. If they only knew how much pain Aoi Nagisa was in for, well maybe they'd stop swanning around after Hanazono Shizuma, throwing snide, bitchy remarks at Nagisa like teenage girls do.
But they didn't know.
They didn't know anything.
You don't truly love somebody until you knew them—until you're in too deep to have any hope of swimming back out, and then it's like you're stuck, drowning at the bottom of the pool and hoping somebody will save you, though you can't say a word.
That was love.
Bitter, spiteful, and weak.
Momomi had never been one of those girls herself—true, she had been too blinded by her love of Kaname to notice that it wasn't…requited…but when she'd learned the truth, had she stood around and glared at Amane, as if it were her fault (even though it really, really was)? Had she spat snide comments—started childish rumors?
No.
Because Momomi knew better.
Because Momomi would get her revenge, and it would hurt Kaname.
It would hurt her like she hurt Momomi, and then maybe (maybe) she'd regret stringing her along like the second place trophy that she had been.
Rumors wouldn't hurt Kaname—the idea of it was laughable, actually. Because Shion didn't rule Spica, not really—she and Kaname did, and split apart, they could not expect to have power over each other. Kaname could easily crush rumors, or perhaps even bask in the attention.
No, Kaname would regret (hurting) humiliating Momomi.
She would regret (using) taking advantage of her, and she would regret that she didn't see what she had in Momomi.
Momomi leaned back against the marble stairwell out in front of the Strawberry Dorms, eyes narrowed and jaw tense.
And the strangest thing happened.
Her eyes just happened to fall upon the saddest face she'd seen all day.
And there were no tears, no spiteful comments—just those heart-wrenchingly sad eyes, so large and confused that Momomi swore she saw the same expression on a puppy that had been left out on the street.
And for the first time since…that day, Momomi's lips twitched into the beginnings of a smirk as she pushed away from the wall.
"Suzumi!" she barked, delighting in the girl's startled squeal. Smirk firmly in place, she sauntered up to the quivering girl, folding her arms over her chest and leaning forward, deliberately invading Tamao's personal space. "Jumpy, are we?"
Tamao sighed. "What is it, Kiyashiki-sama?" she asked quietly.
Momomi leaned back, her lips pursing into a small, amused smile. "You don't seem too happy to see me," she stated with an unconvincing tilt of her head.
"I'm sorry, but I'm running late to class…"
The blunette attempted to hurry past the honey-blonde, but Momomi was quicker, and, having more experience with confrontations, darted out in front of Tamao, pressing her well-manicured fingers against the girl's collarbone and forcing her to take several paces back. "I find myself in need of your assistance," she cooed in a syrupy-sweet voice, the one that gave all the girls nightmares.
"Please leave me alone, Kiyashiki-sama," Tamao said quietly. "We've hardly ever even talked before, and I'm not exactly good company at this point, what with…everything that's happened. Why would you need anything from me now?"
"Ara, but that's exactly why I need you, Suzumi," Momomi purred, running her delicate hand over Tamao's pale shoulder, smirking inwardly when the girl shuddered beneath her touch. "You know what it's like to be heartbroken, Suzumi—wouldn't you like to make her regret it? You know, after Shizuma dumps her on her ass?" Momomi spat, deliberately goading the girl, amber eyes flashing in amusement.
"Shut up," Tamao growled under her breath, suddenly animated, and Momomi raised a thin eyebrow.
"Not feeling particularly articulate, are we?"
Tamao raised her eyes to the Spican, glaring at her from under her eyelashes. "Whatever you want, I'm sure I won't be of any help to you, Kiyashiki-sama," she said in a measured tone. "I'm sorry Kaname broke your heart, but, unlike you, I'm not bitter about-"
Tamao gasped in pain as Momomi shoved her up against the stone wall. The girl was much stronger than she looked. "Kaname didn't break anything," she growled, her hands tightening around Tamao's wrists as she pressed them back against the cold stone. They stood there for a moment, Momomi pressing into Tamao, who, despite being in pain, refused to look away from her cold amber eyes.
All at once, Momomi surged forward, capturing Tamao's lips in a forceful kiss. The girl was paralyzed for a moment, and then seemed to come to life, straining against the hands that held her and kissing back with a vengeance. Quite literally. Momomi whimpered softly when the girl bit her lip, and, growling, flexed her hands, grinning into the kiss as the girl hissed in pain.
As quickly it had begun, Momomi pulled back, smirking, and flicked her tongue out to lick away the pinprick of blood welling from her lower lip. The blunette was panting beneath her, violet eyes shocked and angry all at once. "You need to forget Nagisa—don't look at me like that, you know you do," Momomi scoffed as Tamao's eyes widened. "You need to forget Nagisa, and I…" she paused, running gentle fingers down the blunette's delicate curves, "I need to get back at Kaname."
"By using me?" Tamao asked bitterly. "Because I've had about enough of that to last me a lifetime."
Momomi's eyebrow shot up. "Kitten's got claws," she murmured after a moment, eyes flashing with arousal as she looked the angered blunette up and down.
Because hey, she was still used to living in constant satisfaction, and Tamao was turning out to be quite the little tiger. So maybe this plan could have more than one benefit in the meantime—it just kept getting better.
"Come on, kitten, what's the harm?" she continued. "You've got nothing to lose—if anything, Aoi will realize how big of a mistake she's made and get jealous, right?"
Lies.
"You're lying," Tamao replied, deflating. Momomi blinked-this girl really was as smart as everyone said, maybe even more so. Perfect. Momomi really did hate to be bored, and all these teenage girls were all the same, really. "You know as well as I do that even if Shizuma-sama does break her heart, she'd never come to me. Even if Shizuma-sama doesn't love her, she loves Shizuma-sama with all her heart."
"So you need to forget her," Momomi purred, switching tactics easily. "Who's it going to hurt, Suzumi, really? And look at the benefits," she added, gesturing to herself, ignoring Tamao's eye roll. "I don't do things halfway, Suzumi—if we're going to do this, we'll do it right."
"Fine, I'll do it," Tamao muttered, continuing quickly when Momomi's smirk widened, "to forget Nagisa—you can keep the rest to yourself." Usually Tamao would never have said yes to such a proposition, not in a million years, but it wasn't as though she were worried about Kaname's wellbeing after the way she'd treated Hikari. And besides that, the pain she felt inside—the ache of inadequacy, the sting of the look Nagisa had given her that night, the look that told her that yes, she would stay by Tamao's side, but that she wanted to be with Shizuma—was becoming too much for her to bear. At least Momomi seemed to be somewhat attracted to her, given the completely unsubtle once (twice, thrice) over she'd given her.
Momomi watched as the thoughts seemed to race through Tamao's mind at an alarming pace, but that didn't matter. She had what she wanted, and she was going to get her way, one way or another.
Oh yes, Kaname would regret humiliating Momomi.
Shion stood at the immense bay window of her office at Spica, her eyebrows furrowed as she watched Momomi talk to the girl that Nagisa had run out on the night of the Etoile Election. She was up to something, but that was hardly a matter that Shion could spend time worrying about—she had already lost Kaname and Momomi as a team. Anything that Momomi did to get revenge on Kaname would hardly affect Spica any more than their constant bickering did.
"Penny for your thoughts, kaichou?"
Shion jumped, whirling around to face a gently smiling Chikaru leaning in the doorframe of her office. "Um…no," she replied lamely, averting her gaze, her cheeks flushing in that infuriating way they had begun to every time Chikaru so much as caught her gaze. "I mean…" She sighed, gesturing out to the courtyard and stiffening as she inhaled the familiar sweet scent that she'd come to associate with Chikaru's nearness.
Chikaru made a quiet noise of discontent, and the Spican turned to her, arms folded over her chest. The dark-haired girl was staring out at the scene with a small (adorable) frown. "We don't need any more broken hearts," Chikaru murmured in a sad tone.
Shion stiffened reflexively, but Chikaru didn't turn to look at her. "I, um…I think she's just getting back at Kaname," she replied, unsure of whether Chikaru's statement was rhetorical. "It doesn't really look like Suzumi-san is in love with her or anything."
Chikaru giggled, finally facing the Spican and leaning up to press a brief kiss to her cheek, causing the tips of Shion's ears to turn pink even as she stared determinedly at the ground. "No, it certainly doesn't," she agreed after a moment, having used the momentum the kiss had given her to lean against Shion's arm. The blonde shifted slightly, uncomfortable with the action, but basking in the feeling. "Still, hearts are fragile things, Shion-chan."
Chikaru's eyes darkened with sadness for a moment before she looked back up and pulled away from Shion. "I did have a reason for coming here, though," she said, as if the encounter had been her plan all along. "Miyuki-chan would like your help in training the new Etoile, along with mine."
"And 'Miyuki-chan' couldn't ask me herself?" Shion replied, raising one eyebrow, unable to keep the somewhat less than subtle trace of jealousy out of her voice. "And when did you start calling her that, anyway?"
"When did you start caring what I called her, Shion-chan?" Chikaru asked, hopping onto her desks, legs folded over each other. She seemed innocent enough, but the glimmer in her eye told the Spican that she was well aware of what she was doing.
Shion turned slowly and stared at Chikaru, her eyes narrowed slightly. "I'm not going to play your games, Minamoto-san," she said, sounding far more decisive than she felt. "And I don't care what you call her," she grumbled as an afterthought.
"Of course you don't, Tomori-san," Chikaru replied with faux formality, smiling slightly as she slid off of the desk, stepping into Shion's personal space and straightening her tie. "Why would you?"
"Chikaru…" Shion stated tiredly, reaching up to massage her temples. "What happened the other night…"
"Was never going to amount to anything, Shion-chan," Chikaru replied gently, ignoring the stab of pain that was the knife twisting in her heart at her own words. She could tell that the Spican was having a hard time adjusting to her more burdensome roll, and no matter how much it hurt her, Chikaru wouldn't add more weight to her shoulders with an issue that had always been moot.
There was a pause in which Chikaru could have sworn she saw pain flicker through violet eyes, but then Shion was back to herself in no time flat. "Right," she said briskly. "About the Etoile training—I'll assist Rokujou-san, but only on the condition that she listens to my ideas. I get so tired of her bossing me around all the time with her false superiority…"
Chikaru smiled sadly as she listened to Shion rant. The dark-haired girl knew she was letting her mask slip, but a selfish part of her wished that the Spican would look at her for just a moment and notice that maybe she wasn't so okay.
She didn't, of course. She was too busy grumbling about Miyuki and Miator supremacy to notice much of anything else.
It's always about politics to you, isn't it, Shion-chan?
I never stood a chance, did I, kaichou?
So it's Tamao and Momomi, guys! I always wanted to explore this pairing, and it seems a few of the reviewers on my other stories (don't know if you're reading this) wanted it too!
Review, pretty please! I need to know if you guys are liking it, especially with the new addition of Tamao/Momomi! Reviews are my motivation to write these stories!
