Youko x Sei: 100 Moments, Part 3
Kisses, Absurd, Transmogrify, Night, Faith, Surprise, Perspective, Hardest Truth, Home, Hunger
013. Kisses - The Sweetest Thing
Sei held Youko gently, her hands wrapped around Youko's shoulders. She looked at Youko with an expression that few had ever seen, an expression of pure love. Under her powerful gaze, Youko could feel her heartbeat quicken. She had wished for the longest time that Sei would return her affections. But now that her wish had come true, she felt a jolt of fear in her chest, a realization that she would finally get to experience her greatest desires. Sei started to lean into her, but Youko quickly pressed her hands against Sei's chest, bringing her to a stop.
"Don't be scared," Sei whispered tenderly. She touched her forehead against Youko's with a smile that said "trust me," and Youko had no choice but to comply. She pulled gently on Sei's blouse, letting her know that it was okay to move closer.
They came together slowly, meeting each other in a soft kiss. Sei treated her delicately, pressing her lips against Youko's lips gently. Youko's mouth was filled with Sei's taste, and it was warm and inviting. This first kiss with Sei had been the first kiss of her life, and she would always remember it as the sweetest thing she had ever tasted.
016. Absurd - Lollipop
"Lollipop, lollipop, oh, lolli, lolli, lolli, lollipop!" Sei sang, as she entered the Rose Mansion. Youko, who instantly recognized the tune, raised an eyebrow at the strawberry lollipop that was dangled before her.
"Gokigenyou, Yumi-chan," Youko greeted Sei with a smirk.
Sei's bubbly mood was unaffected by the tease. "Yumi-chan should be more insulted by that than me. And besides," Sei said, unwrapping the sweet, "this is for you." She stuck the lollipop into a surprised Youko's mouth, but Youko's lips closed around the candy nonetheless. Sei appeared giddy with excitement as Youko sucked on the lollipop, and a sudden, paranoid thought came to Youko. What if Sei had done something to the candy?
Youko quickly pulled the lollipop out of her mouth, ready to ask Sei what she had done. But as the candy left her lips, Sei instantly snatched it out of her hand and popped it into her own mouth.
"Mm..." Sei murmured, with a satisfied smile.
"W-what are you doing?"
"Just enjoying my Youko-flavored lollipop. Anyway, see you later!" Sei waved, exiting the Rose Mansion with a grin.
055. Transmogrify - Past, Present, and Future
Youko loved the long-haired Sei of her distant past, a girl who was moody and opinionated, and wore her heart on her sleeve. Although this Sei cared very little for Youko's meddlesome behavior, Youko had watched out for her anyway, protecting her at every chance she received. Sei's heart had been broken by Shiori's departure, an event that Youko felt she could have prevented. But Sei's resilience through her sorrow had made Youko love her even more.
Youko loved the mid-length-haired Sei of her Rose days, a girl who smiled and laughed and made Youko's heart feel light. The post-Shiori, pre-college Sei carried the fresh scars of her past, but somehow learned to be more friendly and outgoing. She no longer needed Youko's protection, but had come to appreciate her friendship. Sei's newfound affection for Youko's meddling only served to fuel Youko's love even more.
Youko loved the short-haired Sei of her present, a girl who possessed a limitless supply of optimism and confidence. She knew the Sei of the present would soon be the Sei of the future, a woman who knew what she wanted and would one day see her dreams come true. As she looked at Sei, Youko realized that she loved every form of Sei, past, present, and future. And when she looked at the Sei of her present, she found that Sei now looked back at her. And more than anything else, Youko loved the Sei who loved her back.
063. Hunger - A "Good" Breakfast
Sei looked at the mangled pile of food in front of her. It appeared to be an attempt at omurice, an egg omelette stuffed with rice, but it was rather poorly made. Youko beamed at Sei as she set down the plate.
"Eat up," she told Sei with a proud smile. Sei bravely picked up a spoonful of soggy rice and charred egg before looking around.
"Where's your plate? Aren't you eating too?"
"Not this morning. I have a lecture I need to get to, but I wanted to make you a good breakfast first," she said, taking off her apron and gathering her books. "Taste it before I leave."
"Uh, sure..."
As Sei swallowed a spoonful of the omurice and forced herself to smile, Sei thought that she was a much nicer person than Youko gave her credit for.
028. Night - Moonlit Tears
Youko woke up in the middle of the night to discover she was not sleeping in her own bed. Quickly looking around the room, she found Sei sitting by the window and remembered that this was Sei's onee-sama's house, and that Shiori had left Tokyo only last night. Wordlessly, Youko crossed the room and came to sat by Sei. Tears were flowing freely down Sei's eyes, glistening in the soft moonlight, but she did not move to wipe them away or hide them from Youko. She continued to stare at the moon, releasing her grief quietly to the world. There was nothing Youko could say to comfort Sei at this moment, so she simply sat by her friend in silence, staring at the moon and waiting for night to turn into day.
027. Faith - See You Soon
With her diploma in hand, the finality of Youko's last day as a Lillian student finally sunk in. Sei stood beside her, smiling at Youko as she waded through her thoughts. There was so many unfinished moments within their relationship, but there was nothing they could do about it. With an apologetic smile, Youko leaned into Sei and kissed her softly, her lips barely leaving a touch on Sei's. "Thank you for all of the memories, Sei. Sayonara," she said, turning away.
"Sayonara?" Sei asked, catching Youko's wrist and turning her around. "You make it sound like we'll never see each other again."
Youko couldn't help but scoff at her naivety. "This is where we part ways, Sei. We're going to different schools, pursuing different futures. I doubt we'll be seeing each other again any time soon."
"You don't want to see me again?" asked Sei, her brow furrowing with concern.
"Well of course I do, but sometimes life doesn't go the way you want."
"And sometimes it goes exactly the way you want. Just have a little faith," Sei smiled confidently. "If you want to say a good-bye, then use this. 'Ja ne,'" she said, using a gentle tone that gave Youko hope. See you soon.
079. Surprise - Birthday Gift
On her 17th birthday, Youko was surprised to find Sei approaching her with a beautiful red rose in hand. Although the Lillian campus was a bit chilly today, Youko suddenly found that it wasn't quite as cold as she had initially thought.
"Happy birthday," Sei smiled, handing her the rose. Youko received it with a shy "thank you," feeling very much like a princess who was being courted by a handsome prince.
"I'm surprised she actually remembered," Youko marveled a bit later as she walked back to her classroom with her lovely gift in hand.
"Mizuno-san!" a voice called out to her. Youko turned and saw one of her teachers rushing toward her with a stern look on her face. "Mizuno-san, is that one of the expensive red roses that were stolen out of the headmaster's private garden this morning?"
"W-what?" Youko asked stunned. She took a closer look at her gift, an untrimmed rose and with its thorns intact, and realized that the surprise gift was truly full of surprises.
072. Perspective - Order of Importance
There was a period in Sei's life where she truly believed that Shiori was all she needed to survive. After Shiori's departure, it was Youko who taught her that there was more in life to care about. There was the Yamayurikai, her friends, her classmates, her education, and her future. But as time went on, bits and pieces of the list fell away. She graduated from the Yamayurikai and her classmates. Friends grew apart and she finished college. And suddenly, like some kind of trick, Seei found that her list of things to care about consisted only of Youko. As long as she could see Youko in the morning, Sei would have a happy day. As long as they met for dinner or shared a phone call, the night wasn't so lonely. The irony was not lost on Sei that, under Youko's guidance, a list consisting of solely Shiori grew and shrank until it again consisted of only one person. But whether it had been Youko's intention or not, Sei now felt that the list of her most important things in life was now complete.
007. Hardest Truth - I Wish You Well
Sei broke up with Youko. It was the hardest thing she had even done, even harder than mustering up the courage to return Youko's feelings just shortly after graduation.
But she was bad for Youko, and Sei knew this for a fact. Youko wanted something more, something lasting, something with a future. She wanted love and family, and Sei was too selfish to offer any of that. All she could do was take Youko's love until Youko had nothing left to give.
So she said her goodbye and turned her back on Youko's tears, praying that Youko would be well. In time, Sei knew that Youko would be fine without her. But Sei wondered what would become of herself without Youko at her side.
010. Home - Feels Like Home
Youko opened the door to her apartment to find a drunken Sei standing in the hallway. She rolled her eyes at the too-familiar scene, but invited her in all the same.
"You've got to stop doing this," Youko scolded her friend as she began to lay pillows and blankets onto her sofa. "I'm starting to feel like you only ever visit me when you get too drunk to make it back to your own apartment."
"That's not true," Sei laughed with a bit of a slur to her voice.
"Are you sure? Because it seems-"
Youko was cut off mid-sentence as Sei pushed her onto the sofa and climbed on top. She pressed Youko deep into the cushions and lay her head between Youko's breasts.
"...Sei?" Youko asked, gently stroking Sei's hair.
"I don't come here because I'm drunk," Sei answered softly, closing her eyes. "I come here because it feels like home."
Author's Notes: I never did get around to writing notes for the last chapter. I can't even remember what I wanted to say.
Well in this batch, we get to see a kiss between Youko and Sei. More than one kiss actually. I didn't even realize it, but none of the first 20 stories contained a kiss! It wasn't on purpose, but I was pretty amazed that I managed to write 20 scenes between Youko and Sei and none of them contained a kiss.
The lollipop story was inspired by P.D. Pirl's "Rosa Chinensis Flavor" one-shot. Go read it. It's hilarious. :)
Anywho, read, enjoy, comment. In that order, please!
