Author's Note: My apologies for the delay with this one; I was travelling yesterday and couldn't find time to write.

I should note that most of these scenes are based on RP I've done with Raijin Tora, so a big thanks to her for all of the ideas. This chapter in particular includes a fair bit of her writing, so thanks especially for that!

X-X-X

Title: Album

Rating: K+

Chapter 4: Stories

X-X-X

The third page of the album contains a picture of Natsuki and Chisato sitting on the couch together. Shizupuppy is curled up in Natsuki's lap, being stroked by the woman.

Things had gotten lonely around the house after Chisato's puppies had left. Natsuki found herself glued to Shizuru more than usual, which resulted in more than one tease about her being Shizuru's puppy. Shizuru did notice that something was on Natsuki's mind though, and they'd ended up having a good conversation about getting a dog. As it turned out, they had enough spare money to afford it, so it was simply a matter of figuring out what breed they wanted, and where to get it.

But in the meantime, Natsuki was quite fortunate that Chisato was willing to bring the puppies over for a playdate. As much as she'd missed them though, they just seemed to have far more energy than Natsuki did, and so eventually she'd ended up taking a break, and simply chatting with Chisato while Shizuru had gone off to the kitchen to prepare some tea.

"Shizuru told me that you were thinking of getting a dog of your own," Chisato said.

Natsuki nodded. "Un. We are thinking about it, and we will eventually." She gazed out towards the other side of the living room. "We're not sure what we'll get yet, but that's okay. We'll figure that out when we get to that point."

Natsupuppy hopped up onto the couch beside Chisato and lay down. Chisato tickled the back of Natsupuppy's neck in just the right way to get the puppy to roll over onto her back, where she gave the dog a nice belly rub. "I'll be sure to give you the numbers of the breeders I got these two from, in case you decide on a Norfolk or a poodle. Who knows, you might even be able to get one of their cousins."

"Shizuru and I will appreciate that," Natsuki said. Shizupuppy hopped up onto the couch to join her friend, and Natsuki reached over to pet Shizupuppy on the head, scratching behind her ears. "We'll keep our options open," she said.

"Oh, of course." Chisato said. "This isn't a decision you want to rush. You're adding a member of the family after all."

"Of course it isn't. It's a big step and we need to make sure we're both ready for the addition and that we'll be able to support it and ourselves," Natsuki replied.

Chisato spent a few moments just patting Natsupuppy, and eventually she said, "Natsuki-san? You mind if I ask how you and Shizuru got together? I love a good romance story, but Shizuru has been tight-lipped about it all."

Natsuki's eyes glanced over to Chisato at the inquiry. If Shizuru had been refusing to tell her, then her cousin didn't know anything about what had really happened. Most people weren't aware of the HiME anyway, so it wouldn't be any surprise.

Natuski sighed and said, "There are parts that she doesn't wish to recall." She closed her eyes, deciding that, at least, she could omit a lot of it and shorten it so that she didn't have to reveal too many bits of information she'd rather not reveal outside of her own circle of friends. "We met in middle school. I was a couple grades below her, but I was going through a really tough time in my life. She managed to befriend me and worm her way into my heart, and, over time, we became friends.

"Shizuru... she helped me open up and listened to me. She helped me with a lot of other things, and even if I didn't tell her everything, she continued to stand by my side. We went through a series of rough patches, and it wound up with me confronting her. I was still at a time when I was trying to figure myself out, and even though I knew she loved me, I did care about her. We started over, and our relationship improved after her graduation. A while after she had been in university, I began to figure out my feelings towards her. Through a series of events, I knew for certain that I was in love with my best friend and confessed to her in one of the only ways I felt was perfect for her - what she deserved." Natsuki leaned against the back of the couch and let out a sigh. "We've been together ever since."

Natsuki glanced over at Chisato, noticing that the story had brought a smile to her lips. "Thank you," Chisato said. "I'm really glad you got together. Shizuru's seemed so different since she hooked up with you. She's certainly been a lot less distant."

Natsuki sent the older girl a questioning look. She had always wondered what Shizuru had been like before they met. "Was she... always like that?" she said.

"Not always..." Chisato said. "I think it was around middle school or so that something seemed to change in her. She was trying to be the perfect daughter and student, but I think it was around then that she started to realize she was gay. I didn't see her through all of it, so I don't know exactly how she changed, though. It went from her being herself, and honestly trying to be the best she could be, to her wearing a mask of being perfect while she tried to forget about the fact that she could never actually be the 'perfect' woman she used to imagine herself as. I think she did accept herself, but she still had it ingrained into her that her love was wrong - I know that's certainly what my parents tried to teach me. You just can't avoid that message these days.

"It really wasn't until you accepted her that she started to change back into the person she used to be, where she could actually be proud of her love for you." Chisato smiled softly. "You can see the change in her eyes, if you've known her as long as I have. They have that sparkle again, that they aren't trying to hide anything. I was so happy for her, and thankful to you, that... well..." She glanced down at the two puppies. "It just might have influenced my choice of names for these two. Maybe."

Natsuki let all of this information sink into her head, and then it dawned on her that she might have noticed the change if she hadn't been so focused on herself during their first few days together in middle school. Emerald eyes glanced out towards the kitchen, where she knew Shizuru would be. This really reinforced how important it was that what she was doing for Shizuru was a lot more than Shizuru had expected. She had apparently helped Shizuru to fully accept herself and realize that her love was healthy. Natsuki's expression softened merely from the thought, though she wasn't aware that it had changed "Then it all makes sense..."

"Puppy treats are coming~" Shizuru called out as she passed through the door into the living room. She held a bowl a green-tea-flavoured water in one hand and a bottle of mayo in the other. While the puppies were visiting, Shizuru and Natsuki realized that the puppies shared their favorite foods, though oddly their preferences were reversed from the human Shizuru and Natsuki. Natsuki suspected that it was a subconscious cue from Chisato that led to this, but of course, there was no way to test that theory.

As Shizuru circled the couch, she put the bowl on the floor, which very quickly grabbed Natsupuppy's attention, while she held up the bottle of mayo in front of Natsuki and Shizupuppy. Natsuki immediately perked up at the sight of mayo, though her thoughts and attention remained mainly on Shizuru. She felt like sweeping her off her feet and kissing her senseless, but that wouldn't quite work. Natsuki had had no idea that she'd struggled for much longer about her feelings, before they'd even met. She couldn't relate because she hadn't had that influence on her when she was growing up.

Shizuru raised an eyebrow at Natsuki, but her attention was soon stolen by the two puppies. Both were quite excited now, judging by their wagging tails, but neither had made a move for their treats yet. "Ara, so well-trained you two are." Shizuru said, patting Natsupuppy's head and smiling at Chisato. "Would Natsuki like to help them earn their treats?" she asked, turning to Natsuki.

Natsuki didn't even know why she'd had that conversation with Chisato in the first place. Maybe everything had a reason... or maybe they just had a conversation just to get to know one another better. Either way, Natsuki's understanding for Shizuru had been strengthened, even though her girlfriend was completely unaware. Suddenly, in what she suspected would surprise Shizuru, Natsuki smiled. She didn't say anything - she simply smiled.

"Ara?" Shizuru smiled back and tilted her head at Natsuki, though she quickly glanced away for some reason. She cleared her throat and said, "Or perhaps the puppies have already earned their treat by cuddling my Natsuki so well..."

Perhaps Natsuki should wait until Chisato and the puppies had left before she acted. But whatever she did, she wanted to affect Shizuru without having to reveal much "Hm... they've certainly been giving me attention this whole time," she said, keeping to Shizuru's subject so her love wouldn't suspect anything just yet.

"Perfect," Shizuru said with a smile. Glancing at Chisato to get a nod of approval, she gave Natsuki the bottle of mayo so she could feed Shizupuppy, while she brought the bowl of tea-water up to Natsupuppy and gave her an encouraging, "Good girl!"

Natsuki put a small amount of mayo on her finger and offered it to Shizupuppy, while sneaking in a little bit for herself, savoring the taste. "Mm~"

"Oi!" Chisato said. "Don't you steal mayo from my puppy!" She gave an exaggerated pout, and Shizuru broke out into laughter at this display.

Natsuki made a face "B-but... you mean this wasn't MY mayo container?" Her gaze turned towards Shizuru. She didn't mind sharing with Shizupuppy out of her own container, but if this wasn't hers to begin with...

"No no, that's yours, Natsuki," Shizuru said with a smile. "But you do have to work on your teasing resistance. Against people other than me, that is."

"Erk." Natsuki looked at her girlfriend bewilderingly. "E-er..." She didn't really care, actually. Shizuru seemed to be happy, and that was all that mattered to her right now.