Title: Album
Rating: K+
Chapter 2: Moving Day
X-X-X
The first page of the album contains a picture of an exhausted Natsuki relaxing on Shizuru's couch, worn out from moving all of her belongings into the house. A few boxes can be seen in the background, and a glass of ice water is on the coffee table in front of Natsuki.
Shizuru placed a hand on Natsuki's shoulder, gently massaging it. Natsuki let out a soft moan as Shizuru's hand helped to soothe her aching muscles. "Mm... that feels good. Thanks, Zuru..." she said.
"Of course," Shizuru said. She moved over and placed her other hand on Natsuki's other shoulder, working her girlfriend's muscles to try to ease out the tension. "You're working so hard today... you could at least let me help you out a bit more."
"You are helping..." Natsuki said, letting herself melt just a bit under Shizuru's touch. "Besides, I'm almost done." Natsuki's apartment had been almost completely destroyed during the Carnival, along with most of her belongings. She'd since moved into a dorm room, and she'd been slowly working to buy back some of what she used to own, but she hadn't gotten all that far before she'd made the decision to move in with Shizuru, and so she didn't have all that much that needed to be moved.
The dorm room was just too lonely over the summer, Natsuki had found, and the thought of letting another student move in with her just rubbed Natsuki the wrong way. At the end of summer vacation, she'd made her decision. Shizuru's house was far away from campus, but it was worth it. She'd been getting more comfortable with Shizuru day by day, and she'd found herself spending the night at Shizuru's place more and more often. It wasn't just after they'd been intimate, either. Natsuki just found herself wanting someone to hold while she slept. Of course, she wasn't going to admit this to Shizuru. She had her pride after all, even if it was taking a bit of a hit right now from the way Shizuru's massage had gotten Natsuki purring contentedly.
Natsuki felt Shizuru place a kiss on the top of her head, and her cheeks soon filled with a blush. Shizuru patted Natsuki's shoulders and headed off. From the sound of her footsteps, Natsuki figured that she was heading to the car to bring in some more boxes, so Natsuki quickly turned her head around and said, "Oi! Wait, Shizuru! Let me do that... Most of those boxes are pretty heavy."
Shizuru paused in her step and turned back. "I think I can handle it, Natsuki. I'm stronger than I look. After all, wielding a Naginata takes a fair bit more strength than a pair of guns."
Natsuki furrowed her brow at this. "Those things had a lot of recoil, you know," she said as she got up and began to follow Shizuru toward the car. "Besides, carrying my bike is where I worked up most of my strength, and that was definitely heavier than your naginata."
Shizuru smiled at this and let out a laugh. She leaned over and planted a kiss on Natsuki's cheek, much to Natsuki's confusion. "Alright," she said. "I'll let you bring in the rest of the boxes. But my offer still stands if you need any help."
Natsuki growled at this. She had a feeling she'd just been tricked somehow, but she couldn't quite put her finger on how. Perhaps Shizuru was just acting like she'd planned this, in order to save face. Yes, that had to be it.
X-X-X
Author's Note: Thank you all for the reviews! Yes, I am alive. I've been working on other projects recently, however. Perhaps I'll put up a link on my LJ in a few days, to satisfy your curiosity of what I've been putting my creative energy toward.
