. Disclaimer . I do not own Azumanga. I'm just using the characters. (But wouldn't it be fantastically insane if I did, though?) However, this story I've created for them is totally mine. If anyone says otherwise, I shall smite thee!! – Love forever, me.

Note: Just a reminder that if you haven't figured it out already, this story features Tomo x Yomi and is currently rated Teen.

Poke-able

Chapter 4

Kisses and Bloomers

By Sailor Creative

When the school bell rang, all hell broke loose.

"Yadali! Kalableep, blip!"

Not only did Tomo eat her lunch yet again, but the girl was constantly running around her screaming random noises that Tomo and the other numb nuts had been chanting right before school was let out.

"Yakablip! Naakablip! Dalablip! Bleep, BLIP, Yaya-Yaka-"

Yomi's glasses fogged up, her fists were clenched, and a noticeable vein was pulsing on top of her forehead; however, none of these warning signs seemed to make themselves known to the annoying girl.

"Yakadity Yaya-Blip BLEEP, Daladity-"

"Shut Up, you annoying idiot!"

Tomo's eyes widened when she looked at her companion. What surprised her even more ws that her fist was curled up right in front of her face. Her left eye twitched a little, too…

"Um, was it something I did?" said Tomo.

Yomi shrugged and released a heavy sigh from her lungs, "Why do you have to be so…annoying?"

"I didn't call you any names today!" Tomo protested.

Yomi rolled her eyes, fully aware that no matter what she said, Tomo wouldn't see it her way. She sighed. The two girls continued to walk to Yomi's house in this same fashion. As soon as Yomi had taken off her shoes and closed the door behind her, Tomo had already tackled her onto the floor.

"Ow!"

Tomo snuggled up to the other girl underneath her.

"Snuggle time, Snuggle Time!"



She reached up to the back of her head and felt a small bump, "Jeesh, Tomo! Do you even realize what you just did?!"

Tomo blinked as she looked between the floor and the girl she had just jumped.

"You know… I think you're right. This would've been more appropriate on the couch," said Tomo.

"That's not exactly what I meant," Yomi admitted. A small blush crept up on her face.

The wildcat giggled, "I think we should move this conversation to the sofa, then…"

She leaned in, leaving a small kiss on Yomi's cheek. Tomo then reached out her hand to the other girl before leading her into the living room. As soon as the comfy kingdom was in sight, Tomo pushed Yomi onto the seat and climbed over her.

"T-Tomo!" she gasped.

Tomo smiled smugly at the other girl, as if to say 'You thought I was joking?'

Within moments, the scent of roses and strawberries filled her senses once more as she leaned in, careful to make sure that their noses didn't make direct contact this time. She took a moment took look into Yomi's eyes, which were half-closed and soft. Tomo smiled, softly this time, as she kissed Yomi's yielding lips. When her eyes closed, she felt a raw, kindling fire sparked by the kiss start to blaze inside of her body. Her left hand supported her body as her right hand cradled Yomi's neck as she deepened the kiss.

When they parted, Yomi's eyes fluttered open and her blush burned crimson into her cheeks. A small fire had also started in her chest.

"Tomo…"

Their first kiss was amazing, but this…

"…where, did you learn to kiss like that?"

Tomo smiled, "Well- that is a secret that you will never learn. Hehe…"

"Let me guess, you practiced on your pillow? Your hand?"

Tomo laughed, flinging her head back, "As if!"

"No, I bet you looked something up on the internet!" Yomi declared.

Tomo's face flushed bright red; of course, Yomi couldn't help but burst into a fit of tears and laughter, "You didn't?! Oh you so, did!"

Tomo grabbed Yomi's face and started to stretch it out as far as she could.

"Laugh at me all you want, Yomi baby! But you'll be begging for another one any minute now!"

Yomi raised an eyebrow at this comment, "Is that some kind of challenge?"



"You bet it is, Yomi-Baby!" Tomo shouted. She jumped up from the couch with both hands on her hips, "In fact, I can see it in your face. You need to touch these lips o' mine!"

The spectacled one couldn't help but rub her forehead at this point, remembering why she and Tomo were usually locked up in her room: every other room in the house echoed, and Tomo's shouting was nothing less of a headache-induced afternoon.

"You know, I think this conversation really needs to be moved to my bed room," Yomi said.

"Tsk, tsk. You and those naughty thoughts of yours again. How old are you again, 15 or fifty? 'Cuz the more I'm around you, the more perverted you seem to get," replied Tomo.

"Just come on already!" she shouted, grabbing Tomo's slender wrist.

As soon as they were in the room, Yomi could sense the intense throbbing in the back of her head begin to recede. Just to be safe, she needed to get something to make sure it went away.

"I'm going to get some aspirin, I'll be right back," said Yomi.

Tomo yawned, "Yeah yeah." She waved off the other girl.

As soon as the door had closed, Tomo immediately started to rummage through the desk. Not to say that she hadn't done this sort of thing before. There were a few diet magazines, report cards, and a few pictures. Everything was so neat; Tomo couldn't help but mess things up. It was an amusing game, because every time she did this, the next time she opened the desk droor everything would be back in its proper place.

'You would think Yomi would learn to just leave things a mess. But no, she insists on keeping everything clean, and in "order",' Tomo thought to herself.

Something interesting caught the wildcat's eye.

"A letter?" she whispered to herself. Knowing she only had a few moments before Yomi would re-enter the room, she opened the letter and quickly started to read it. Not to her surprise, it was another letter to the radio talk show host describing her last few diets that had failed yet again. Tomo's expression drooped, and her ears had failed to notice that she was no longer alone in the room.

"Wh-what are you doing! Give me that!" she declared.

The letter was promptly ripped from Tomo's hands and was clutched against Yomi's chest.

"Yomi, I think you're beautiful."

Yomi sat on her bed against the wall, still holding the letter.

"Well, I don't think that I do. I love food, but I don't like how I look. Why does everything that tastes good have to be so fattening?"

Yomi looked down at the letter that she had written a few days ago. The shorter girl shifted in her seat at the desk until she could look at the other, a frown still playing on her normally energetic features.

"There's nothing wrong with eating. In fact, millions of people do it every day," she half-joked.



"But not all of them get fat," Yomi replied hotly.

"You're not fat, you're healthy, and… well, I think you have a nice body," Tomo told her. Yomi blushed at her last comment, but continued to stare at the piece of paper.

"I mean, your boobs are a lot bigger than mine, and you have wide hips. I'm as flat as a board and I don't have an hourglass figure at all."

This caused Yomi to blush even more, "Well, sometimes I wish I had smaller boobs. Then maybe that creepy teacher wouldn't stare at me so much."

"What was his name? Kimura-sensei? Yeah, I definitely get a creepy vibe from that guy, but I wouldn't trade in my boobs just to put up with him. I mean, he said he was even interested in Chiyo-chan! She hasn't even hit puberty yet, as far as we know!"

"I don't really think we should talk about Chiyo-chan like this, and you're probably right. But… still… I'm tired of feeling, so…"

"Beautiful? Charming? Intelligent? Kind?"

"Damnit, Tomo, let me finish a sentence-"

"Tall? Gorgeous? I could go on all day…"

"I'm tired of feeling hungry, and at the same time embarrassed. I see all the other girls at P.E. in their bloomers, and they're so sleek and thin… like you. And no matter how much I loose, I'm always afraid that I'll over-eat one day and gain all of it back…"

A few tears started to form in the corners of Yomi's eyes until the world became a blurry mess. Tomo almost immediately climbed onto the bed and started to wipe away the clear droplets.

"Yomi, even if you weighed a million, trillion pounds, I'm still going to think you're beautiful. But you don't, you're a nice-looking girl."

Tomo pulled back a few strands of Yomi's long, soft hair that had fallen out of place. Yomi sniffled and looked at Tomo for the first time, still in disbelief.

"I may call you thunder-thighs, but it's only because I'm jealous of your hips. I annoy you on purpose. I'm a jerk, and I know this. But how else am I suppose to keep people away from the person I like? You're very attractive."

The smaller brunette kissed Yomi's left cheek and tried to give her a reassuring smile. Somewhere deep inside, she knew their chat wouldn't completely clear Yomi's doubts and the girl's negative image of herself.

'Maybe I should do something… drastic?' Tomo thought to herself.

"Maybe you should try getting naked?" asked Tomo.

Yomi nearly jumped out of her skin.

"And you call ME perverted?!" she demanded.



"Well, maybe not naked, but at least down to your underwear. I mean, we've seen each other change in the locker rooms before. We're both girls, and besides… "

She gave Yomi another reassuring kiss on the cheek, "I'm your girlfriend. You're just going to have to get used to this kind of thing."

Tomo winked, drawing on her more cattish, smug features once more.

"N-n-no way! H-hold on a minute Tomo!" Yomi protested, "I… I'm not even sure if… aren't you going a bit fast on that anyways? We haven't even gone on a date yet, let alone do this sort of thing. And my mother could be home any minute now!"

'In conclusion, you're saying that you could be up to this sort of thing…' the wildcat thought to herself.

Tomo rested her head on a single finger, pondering her options.

"Well when she comes in, you should just tell her that it's a new fad."

"You know my mother! That would never work. And the answer is still, no!"

Tomo laid down on the bed, resting her head on Yomi's lap. "I'm just trying to help you realize how beautiful you are. We've had P.E. with each other ever since I can remember…"

Tomo blushed, remembering all the glances she had stolen over the years. By now, she had pretty much memorized Yomi's outline and knew what kind of brand of panties and bras Yomi liked to wear. She could even guess what sizes they were.

'I am a perverted person,' Tomo realized, continuing her thought processes in another direction.

"I can remember how nice you always looked in those dumb bloomers. Besides, those things are designed to make everyone's legs look fat except for maybe Osaka and Chiyo-chan."

Yomi nodded in compliance, finally giving in to Tomo's argument.

"As for our other predicament…" Tomo started.

"Koyomi, I'm home!"

Yomi immediately sat up, leaving Tomo's head to drop onto the mattress as the door opened. In the doorway was an older, more mature version of Yomi, otherwise known as Yomi's mother, Ko. The only difference between the two was that Yomi's mother was dressed in a white coat and had her hair cut just above her shoulder-blades. She also didn't wear any glasses, which made the dark rings under the woman's eyes visible. The only other aspect that ever struck Tomo was the stern look that Yomi's mother had permanently etched into her tired face.

"Oh! Hello Miss Tomo. I am surprised to see that you left your shoes by the front door, today."

Tomo gave the woman a small, sheepish smile. Under normal circumstances, the wildcat might have shouted something like "Well gee, isn't this a Christmas miracle?" in her favorite sarcastic ringtone.

"Not to be rude, but since it is a rare occasion that I'm home, I'd like to spend the rest of the evening with Koyomi. Is that alright with you, Miss Tomo? I'm terribly sorry if I interrupted your studying…" the woman stated.



'Meaning, you are annoying to me Tomo, so please leave my house!' the wildcat thought to herself. Tomo would have given anything at that moment to say what she really wanted to say, but knew better. She learned from her past when she first started coming over in middle school. Yomi's mother wasn't a woman you wanted to mess with.

"No problem at all. In fact, I was just about to leave," said Tomo. She waved goodbye to Yomi and started to head towards the door. Yomi followed behind to at least see her off.

'Sorry about that,' she mouthed to Tomo.

Tomo playfully shrugged it off and winked at her.

'I wish I could kiss you goodbye,' she mouthed back.

Before Tomo could even bend down to retrieve her other shoe, Yomi placed a warm, quick kiss on Tomo's lips. This made the shorter girl smile for more reasons than one.

"I told you that you'd want another one," she teased before slipping out of the door.

Yomi pouted, but she couldn't help but smile if even for a moment. Even though her newly found girlfriend had been rushed out of the house, at least she could spend some time with her mother for once, and it would be a quiet evening…

But what was it that Tomo was trying to tell her before? Yomi knew that it wouldn't be long before she'd find out.

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

To be continued…

There really isn't an excuse for such a huge gap between chapters, but I thank everyone with utmost humility. To spare you a long story, just know that I should finish this story before August as an apology, and there are still many more chapters to be read in the future. For those of you who are still reading and even those who have read in the past, thanks again!!

As always, I am open to your comments and constructive criticism!

x3 Love Forever, Sailor Creative

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The drought passed, and there were reviews again…+