. Disclaimer . I do not own Azumanga. I'm just using the characters. However, this story I've created for them is totally mine. If anyone says otherwise, I shall smite thee!! – Love forever, me.

Poke-able

Chapter 3

Cold, and Distance

By Sailor Creative
(Revised May 5th, 2008)

Tomo couldn't forgive herself for acting on impulse. The way that everything had slowed down, and how everything else in the entire world seemed to fade away… They were so close, and it wasn't like Yomi didn't kiss her back or anything – not to mention how supple her lips were… The flavor of her bubble-gum chapstick… Or how hard the floor was… How cold it was… Her hand reached up to dry her eyes, but they were already too sore from rubbing them so much. She settled with patting them down with a part of her shirt.

"Yomi…." She whispered, trying to accumulate her thoughts.

The brunette turned to her side to face the wall.

'I should have… asked her first,' she thought grimly. 'But… it felt so right. I didn't mean to go overboard it's just…' She ran her fingers through her hair and tugged at the ends, 'I… thought about … it for so long and when it happened I guess… '

She shrugged and rolled onto her other side, stating, "I'm such an idiot!"

Her petite, delicate fingers curled up into a ball. She let out a small scream as she pounded her fist into the pillow, accidentally hitting the wall next to her bed in the process. A second later, she regretted doing this, remembering that it was almost midnight. Her eyes studied the wall and was somewhat relived that she hadn't left a mark.

'Queen of the Numb-nuts strikes again…'

She closed her eyes as she slowly retracted her fist and laid it over her heart. The scene in Yomi's bedroom replayed itself over and over in her mind. The same emotions flooded her senses as she remembered her heart banging so loudly in her chest: How close their faces were and that tiny voice in the back of her head urging her to make a move to just 'do it already' still lingered.

'What…kind of idiot am I?'' she thought again, bitterly.

When their lips touched, Tomo was the happiest girl alive. Nothing else existed except for them. Her heart leaped out of her throat as she put all of her repressed emotions and passion into a single kiss. She could still recall the scent of roses and Yomi's fingertips tenderly caressing her back.

The warmth that engulfed her earlier that night left. How an everlasting moment could end was still a mystery. But it ended. There was nothing else left to do about it now. When it all came down to it, Yomi had… rejected her.

All those years of wondering, hoping and wishing were over. She would never have to lie in bed through the wee hours contemplating if Yomi felt the same and if she did- what it would be like if they could share their lives together. She wouldn't have any more random excuses just to be by her side. 

Everything must've seemed so obvious now. All the small gestures, her hand lightly brushing against Yomi's and stealing glances at her every chance she got… What could she possibly do now that wouldn't make Yomi hate her even more?

'Maybe… we could pretend like nothing happened?' Tomo chewed on her lower lip. 'No… doing that… would be like throwing all of those feelings away. I wouldn't ever want to give those up… Even… if it means hurting like this…'

She brought up her already soaked pillow up to her face to subdue the cry that escaped her lips. As soon as her sobs subsided, they were followed by a few violent coughs that wracked her entire body.

'I need to stop moping like this. This isn't me…' she argued with herself, drying the last of her tears.

Tomo soon found that she had become quite exhausted. Besides all the crying, she didn't sleep very well the night before either. She glanced up weakly at the clock sitting above her desk and read that it was almost twelve-thirty now. 'I might as well try to sleep,' she thought groggily.

Her hand fumbled for the switch to the light and clicked it off. She then pulled the covers from underneath her and flipped the pillow. As the darkness welcomed her, Tomo found herself stifling a yawn.

' I'm tired…' she thought to herself.

Just when she thought that sleep had come to her, there was a small noise just outside of her room. Startled, Tomo tossed the blanket off of her and stood up to see what it was.

"If it's a bunch of cats out there…" she mumbled groggily.

Before she got a chance to walk over to her window, a shadowy figure had already opened it and attempted to step through. "Ack!"

"What the hell?" the wildcat half-whispered. She flicked the lights on. The girl squinted and waited for her eyes to adjust to the blinding light.

Her voice was incredibly tiny when she saw who it was, "Oh… it's you."

There stood the girl in question; Yomi, who was still fully dressed in her uniform. Her eyes were cast down and blood-shot. Her cheeks were flushed too, and her long dark brown hair was tangled with leaves. However, she was apparently stuck in the window.

"Um… do you… want help getting in?" Tomo asked timidly.

Yomi nodded quietly as she continued to press her body through the small opening.

Tomo sucked in her breath as she drew closer to the other girl. She hesitated for a few moments before placing her small hand around Yomi's waist.

"I'm… not trying anything… just so ya know," she assured her. Yomi nodded in understanding.

Without another second to lose she used all of her strength to pull her in as carefully as possible. As soon as Yomi was inside, she noticed that Yomi had been holding something tightly in her hands.

"I… brought this back for you."



She held out the object she was holding. It was Tomo's white sneakers, which she had left at Yomi's house.

"Thanks…I suppose."

Tomo carefully took them from Yomi and placed them next to her bedroom door. Her heart panged painfully just from being in her presence. New tears started to well up inside of their glass prison.

"Is… that all?" the shorter girl asked somewhat tearfully.

'Please don't let that be all…' her heart begged in secret.

"Um… I really… ah…No, it's not," Yomi said. She sat on Tomo's bed and motioned for her to join her. Tomo tensed up at this request, but obeyed and sat on her bed keeping a distance from her friend, or former friend – or whatever they were now.

"Tomo… I'm really sorry about earlier…"

For the first time since she got there, Yomi finally looked Tomo directly in her eyes. She winced when she noticed that Tomo's eyes were as red and swollen as hers were. Yomi also noticed how white and fragile the younger girl looked just now.

Tomo looked away, realizing Yomi's observations, but made no other indication of a reply. Yomi gripped her skirt as she continued on, taking a deep breath. "I… I was really… surprised that you did that…"

Her voice trailed off. To Yomi, she was sounding more ridiculous by the minute. "But… Tomo…I shouldn't have pushed you away. I'm really sorry for that…"

The wildcat hadn't moved, but listened intently. Her shoulder twitched and shivered when Yomi's hand placed itself firmly upon it.

"But I…I… I was really surprised…. " She repeated, waiting for Tomo to say something – anything at all, but she was answered with silence once again.

"Happy…I was also really happy… Happy that you had kissed me. That… you were my first kiss." Tomo shot a sympathetic look in her direction, her eyes pooling with reluctant tears and watched as Yomi's face got redder by the minute.

"I was… confused and… I was shocked and happy and then I just shut down or something. At first I jumped into the moment… But then…I was scared and I hurt you, and I'm really sorry…! The truth is… Tomo.. I… I think that I might really like you too….In that way." Yomi released her grip on her skirt and looked up to Tomo, waiting for her answer.

"Yomi…" she began quietly as she fidgeted with her pajamas. "You… don't have to do this for me. It's okay."

"What… do you mean?" Yomi asked with a quizzical look evident on her face.

"I mean that… You don't have to pretend to like me just because I like you!... I.. just don't like you… I… really…" Tomo's face flushed with color. Just as she was about to sob she was cut off by Yomi's lips being pressed against hers.



Tomo formed an 'o' with her lips as the older girl pressed firmly against her mouth to deepen the kiss and wrapped her arms around her slender shoulders.

Tomo gasped, "Yomes…" She couldn't resist the scent of roses that accompanied Yomi and kissed her back. When Yomi finally pulled away, fear clenched her heart.

'What if… she pushes me away again?'

Yomi gazed deeply into Tomo's chestnut-colored eyes. "Tomo… I thought about this for a long time tonight… That's why it took me so long to come back… To come back to you," she told her sincerely.

"…Are you sure… that this is what you want?" she asked doubtfully.

Yomi nodded, "I'm not completely sure, yet. But...When I kissed you then, it felt wrong. But, it also felt… right."

The older girl leaned in and captured Tomo's soft, pink lips in another kiss. Yomi then turned her body so that the smaller girl was underneath her as she stroked her hair and ran her fingers along Tomo's collarbone. Tomo's chest burned once more as she welcomed the other's advances and pulled her down to press their bodies together.

When one kiss had ended, another started in its place. The entire time, their long slender hands explored the other's arms, legs and necks. Everywhere their fingers touched a spark of electricity made them shiver and hunger for more of the same. Unfortunately, their last kiss ended in a nose-to-nose collision. Yomi rolled over as she rubbed her nose.

Tomo of course turned to her side and pulled Yomi back to her and buried her face into Yomi's shoulder. She sighed.

"Are you okay?" the spectacled one inquired. She blushed when she finally noticed how damp the two of them were, and being compressed together like they were didn't exactly help – not that she minded.

"Yeah… As long as I don't wake up and find out that this was all a cool New Year's dream," she replied, giggling softly. She lifted up her head and placed a quick peck on Yomi's lips.

"Tomo… I'm still really sorry about everything," she said once again, her eyes full of worry. Tomo laughed.

"C'mon Yomes… You know I have a short attention span. I'm over it and so should you." She winked playfully. "Besides… it was all worth it when you and your hippo-hips got caught in the window!"

Yomi glared, but only for a second. "Alright. I deserve that one for being so rude to you earlier." Her fingers rubbed Tomo's right ear between her thumb and index finger. "But … try to be a little more… Just don't call me names so much anymore, okay?" she requested.

"I dunno…" she began. Yomi caught the hint and kissed her once more, which was followed by a succession of a few more soft, awkward kisses and a few rounds of tickling until the wildcat finally surrendered.

Tomo sighed, "If you insist."

"Thank you."



"Ah… All in a day's work. It's nothing really…"

Yomi smiled. "Are you really sure it's alright?"

The other girl beamed, "Of course it is! Especially since you're my girlfriend now!"

She giggled and started tickling her in all the right places. Being friends for so long meant learning just where the girl was ticklish. Yomi kicked her legs in the air in protest as she laughed, trying to evade Tomo's attack.

"Okay, okay. I believe you, I believe you," she told her breathlessly. The wildcat grinned and squeezed her tight.

"Good then." Tomo stretched and attempted to stifle a yawn. The girl raised a lazy eye to glance at the clock on her nightstand.

"Wow, it's almost two-thirty!" she gasped before yawning. Yomi nodded, "We better get some sleep, we're going to need our rest."

"What are you, my mom?" Tomo joked.

"Don't be cross with me," Yomi warned. Tomo giggled and poked Yomi in the ribs. "Did you know that you're just so… poke-able?"

"Didn't you already tell me that?" she shook her head, "Well, that explains why you were poking me so much..."

"Did I really make you that angry?"

"Well…" she paused thoughtfully, "Yes and no…"

Tomo poked her in the side, "Doesn't matter. I get to poke you as much as I want now."

"Who says?"

"Me! Queen of the Numb-nuts," she decreed proudly, lifting her chin into the air with her eyes closed. She had that smug look of hers again.

Yomi couldn't help but laugh, "Sure, whatever. I really have to get going though…" She sighed. "Awww why?" she asked.

"My mom will probably be home soon. She'd be worried if she came home and I wasn't in my room sleeping. Plus, I think your parents would be surprised to find me in your bed…" Her voice trailed off.

"If you really have to… fine. But promise to wake me up in the morning tomorrow. Okay? You never do that anymore…"

"That's because you're too hard to wake up. You almost killed me one time."

"Almost, dear Yomi. Almost."

Yomi sighed. If she didn't know better, Tomo planned to argue with her all night just to keep her there.



"I promise to wake you up tomorrow," she agreed, standing up. The shorter one sighed and stood up beside her. Her heart was beating against her rib-cage once more.

"Alright," she whispered. Her arms wrapped themselves around Yomi's neck and brought her down into one last kiss as the other pulled her close into her embrace. As tempting as it was to stay there forever, she knew she had to leave eventually.

"C'mon, I'll tuck you into bed."

"Wow, now you're really starting to sound like my mom."

"Oh hush up you. You're such a handful."

Tomo giggled, but obliged. She lied down on her bed and watched Yomi bend over and pick up the blanket that had been forgotten on the floor. When the blanket had been pulled up to her chin, Yomi ruffled her girlfriend's hair and gave her a quick kiss. "Now go to bed, sleepy-head."

Tomo yawned, "Alrighty then. Nighty-night Yomi… "

Yomi clicked off the light in Tomo's room and carefully began to exit the room via the window. Just before she left, Tomo turned to her side and looked up at Yomi,

"Goodnight, Yomes."

Yomi smiled.

"Goodnight…"

x.x.x The Next Day

Yomi woke up and looked around her room. It was about ten minutes before she was supposed to get up. She blinked hard, trying to regain conscious thought.

'Did all of that… really happened?' she asked herself. Her hand found her glasses and put them on before turning off the alarm.

When she got home last night, her mother still wasn't home, so it wasn't that big of a deal that she left. As soon as she got to her bed, she was out like a light. Even though the event happened just a few hours ago, it was like it had just happened.

'Mm… I better get up,' she told herself.

Yomi got dressed, cleaned and rotated her earrings before walking out into the kitchen. On her way ,she peeked into her mother's room and found that she was sleeping soundly. Carefully, she raided the fridge and pulled out a banana and made herself some cereal.

Normally Yomi didn't eat breakfast, but she needed some extra energy today to make up for the lack of sleep. She blushed. As she began to ate, her thoughts started to swirl around Tomo again.

'I wonder… If things are going to be different between us now?...' Her stomach curled up into a tight knot. 'What if things get awkward or something?' She bit her lip. 'What if… Tomo isn't the same anymore?'



Her long fingers tightened their grip around the silver spoon, 'What if things… don't work out? I'm not even sure how I feel about her just yet… I want to… but then…' Yomi looked up from her food and noticed that it was about time that she started walking to school.

She sighed, 'I should stop being so negative…'

After she cleaned up the kitchen, Yomi grabbed her schoolbag and walked out the door. The sun was warm and bright again like it was yesterday morning. For some reason, it seemed more pleasant than any other day.

Scenes from last night flooded into Yomi's memories as she recalled it. Her heart fluttered and skipped as she brought her fingers to her lips. 'We did… We really kissed… and…'

She shook her head. 'Get it together Yomi…' Yomi pursed her lips together as she neared Tomo's house. As she walked up the sidewalk, her ears picked up the sound of a few doors slamming within the household.

'What on earth could that be?' she wondered.

The din died away for only a moment until the front door swung open as Tomo jumped out with a huge, smug grin on her face. The door slammed, and the wildcat was already half-way down the driveway.

"Yoommmi!" the girl squealed.

Yomi smirked as she watched her run and skip to where she was standing. Everything pretty much… Seemed to be normal.

"Hey Tomo," she replied coolly, biting her lower lip.

Tomo's low stamina had quickly given out at this point as she staggered over to her. "H..H..Hey." She rested her hand on Yomi's shoulder, trying to catch her breath.

"What was that all about?" she inquired, raising a brow.

"Oh..that…Well," she began between gasps for air, "I was just… excited to see you… is all.."

The spectacled one could've swore that her cheeks had taken on a bright cherry color," Oh. I see. You're usually not up so early."

Tomo nodded, "Yeah I know, but… I dunno, I just couldn't wait to see you so I got up and got changed and everything!... It was really weird."

Yomi chuckled. 'Yep, she's still Tomo…'

Still lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that in a single instant Tomo looped her arms around the taller girl and pulled her into a kiss. The later girl blushed intensely and pulled her away a second later. "Tomo!" she whispered harshly as she unlocked the girl's hands.

"What… are you doing?"

It was Tom's turn to raise an eyebrow,"Err… what do you think? I was trying to find candy or something? It's just a ki-"



Yomi clamped her hand over the girl's mouth. "Hi Kagura!"

Tomo stopped struggling and looked up to see that the athlete was a few feet away, but soon became annoyed with Yomi's hand over her mouth. Her tongue darted out and started licking it until she pulled away.

"Eww..." she complained, waving her hand in the air. "That's just gross Tomo."

Tomo's eyebrows knitted together. "Yeah well-"

She stopped herself, and instead she glared in Kagura's direction. "Yeah well at least I get better grades than this big-breasted bimbo," she mocked, with one eye open.

Kagura's face became beat-red, "Why you..!"

"Is something wrong?" she asked blankly. Before Kagura could react properly, the wildcat knew better than to stick around for long.

Yomi sighed as she watched the bronzed girl run after her target who was giggling happily until her legs gave out on her. She shook her head in amusement…

x.x.x In Class

When class actually began, Yomi couldn't help but feel Tomo's eyes burrowing into the back of her head. Though curious, she didn't want to turn around and find out she was right. Tomo had acted chipper despite almost being clobbered by Kagura, but Yomi could still sense something was up.

The muscles in her body tensed for a moment. 'I wonder… if she's mad that I stopped kissing her?' She winced. 'But… it's… just not proper to show affection… like that in public… She's so… rash. What if Kagura had seen us like that?'

Yomi shook her head, 'I'm still trying to figure… "us" out…' She took her pencil and started to tap it lightly on the desk. Not a second later, she could feel something persistently prodding her in the small of her back.

She blushed a little, remembering what had happened just a few days before… 'Tomo's…!' The rosy hue reddened.

"I see someone is having naughty thoughts again," she heard someone whisper into her ear. She almost jumped.

"Tomo!" she whispered in shock, trying to keep her voice down. She glanced between Tomo and their instructor. "What are you up to now?"

"Nothing," she replied oh-so-happily. "Did you know that you smell like roses…? And sometimes strawberries?" she inquired playfully as she released her grip on the other girl.

Yomi bit her lower lip and blushed, "Ah… not r-really…"

The wildcat giggled, "Just wondering… Um, would it be okay if I could come over after school again today."

Yomi thought about it for a few seconds. "Sure… My mom should be home tonight."



"Right… Your mom…" her voice died in her throat.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked, noticing the hint of sadness in the other's voice.

"Hm? No."

"We'll… talk more after school okay? I really need to concentrate…" said Yomi.

"Kay." She rested her head on her arms and looked at the back of Yomi's features she had memorized so long ago.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

To be continued….

Actually, I only like cliff-hangers if I'm the one who's writing them. teehee I'm really grateful for all of the wonderful reviews that I've received for the last two chapters. I didn't mean for the next chapter to take this long! I just didn't want to rush it… Oh well… I promise to have plenty of funny and serious moments for this couple in future chapters! D Until next time!

x3 Love, Me.

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