Chapter 3

-ooooOOOooooo-

"Robbing the cradle?! No way!" Natsuki protested a little too loudly. She was lazing about in bed with her younger lover one morning; they were talking and teasing each other, when their topic veered into their age-gap. "Nao, you were only one year below me in high school you know."

"That's right… but that's only because you flunked all your classes the year before," Nao said teasingly "Weren't you already a year behind even before that? So technically…"

"Why you little brat!" Natsuki shot up at that comment, and began playfully attacking Nao with a body pillow.

"But I'm your little brat…Natsuki-sama" Nao said batting her eyelashes, barely containing her laughter.

"Really huh?" Natsuki now pinned the redhead down and started tickling her mercilessly. "Then take that cradle robber comment back…I'm not old!"

"I can't…I…promised myself…I…would never tell another lie" Nao continued to tease her lover even as she squirmed and giggled at the older girl's assaults.

Natsuki could have continued with the tickle torture for hours. Her view from atop a helplessly giggling Nao was priceless. It was true that the other girl was slightly younger, but no one would have guessed it. This girl pinned below her was a woman in every sense of the word, perhaps even more so than Natsuki herself. In the last few years, she has grown a bit taller than Natsuki, and developed a breathtaking physique. She exudes confidence and unmatched sensuality. All those supermodels in magazines had nothing on this girl…and she was a badass to boot. To top it all off, she belonged to Natsuki.

The blue-haired woman finally let up with the tickling, and as the "assaultee's" laughter died down, Natsuki reached to sweep red locks away from Nao's face. "Why do you love me?" Natsuki asked with softness and sincerity.

"That question again, 'Why do I love you, How much do I love you'…what a pain in the ass…" Nao teased again.

At this, Natsuki blushed slightly but quickly wiped the lovey-dovey look on her face and replaced it with a playful scowl, "Reaaally…you want more huh?" She began to tickle her lover once more.

"I give up, I give up!" Nao almost choked on the words. "Geez, woman you're so relentless!" she said with a grin and a flicker in her eyes. This didn't go unnoticed by Natsuki for the older woman inched her fingers dangerously close to Nao's sides again.

"Well, little brat, if you would give me a serious answer, I wouldn't ask so much!" Natsuki poked at Nao's sides a few more times before getting serious again.

"Seriously, Nao, why?"

"Well, if you must know, Natsuki-sama," Nao pulled herself up to where her green eyes were level with emerald eyes. She lighlty placed one slender finger on Natsuki's nose, still not dropping her playfulness, "I love you because I love you…I love you because you're you…No need to get mushy, ne?" With this, she replaced her finger with her lips on Natsuki's nose before giving her girlfriend a long kiss.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to get ready. I promised Mikoto I would go with her to shop for a present for Mai's grandparents. Apparently, they live so far away, and this is the first time they are meeting her. " Nao gently got up from under Natsuki, and made her way to the bathroom. She muttered something like, "God knows the girl's got no clue about anything that doesn't have to do with food…"

Natsuki watched her satin negligee-clad lover walk towards the bathroom. The redhead paused at the door, and then turned to face her again.

"You don't have to get up now though…" Nao said, mischievous grin already on her mouth "I know how hard it is for old people to get up in the morning"

"argh…just get in the shower!" Natsuki quickly threw a pillow at Nao, but the girl was quicker at closing the frosted glass bathroom door.

Natsuki collapsed back onto the bed she has shared with her lover for over six weeks now since Mai and Mikoto's engagement party. She stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before slowly smiling to herself. She already knew the answer to her question afterall.

-ooooOOoooo-

Nao's thoughts in the shower…

Why do I love you, Natsuki? Do you really not know the answer?

Hmm…One day, my pet, I will tell you everything. I'll tell you that I've loved you even before all this HiMe crap…That the only reason I hated Fujino Shizuru was that I knew she was in love with you…That I only antagonized you all the time because I couldn't accept how important you were becoming to me. You see, I was supposed to focus on Mama, she was supposed to be the most important—no—the only important thing in my life. Afterall, how was I supposed to be ruthless enough to do what I had to do for Mama if I allowed myself to be a lovesick teenager…the puppy chasing after the wolf? What a joke!

But you crept into my heart anyway…you and your mysterious aura, and the "me against the world" attitude you always had. I was like that too, you know. Just like you, I didn't want to get close to anyone, at all. Yet at the same time I also desperately wanted to get close to you. So I tried to drive you away, hurt you even. Chuckles. I'm twisted, aren't I?

I guess I should have known it would never work. No matter what I did, I kept being drawn to your dark, and lonely past, and the strength with which you tried to bear all of that. I wanted to free you…free you of all that burden you carried. Little did I know that freeing you also meant freeing myself. It's just so uncanny, Natsuki, that the only heart that was able to awaken my own dead heart, was your cold and lifeless one. I guess it was alright, because somehow, even then, I knew what was behind all that…tough girl exterior. Deep down you had the same kind of softness I tried to bury deep in my heart.

Then what do I love about you? Hmm…What do I not love about you?

What can I say? I love your badass coolness, contrasted with your sizzling hot body. And your piercing gaze when you get serious… I get all hot and bothered just thinking about it. I love how clueless you are sometimes…you're just a little better than Mikoto…or Suzushiro chuckle. You're so cute when you blush…just like Fujino says. And about Fujino…well…I even love the fact that your heart is big enough for the two of us. Big enough that I will always know my place in it even if you never completely let her go. But don't get any ideas… I'm perfectly happy that you did let her go...

Anyway, I love that you bring out the caring, understanding and vulnerable side of me—the part that both scares the crap out of me and exhilarates me—yet somehow make everything feel OK. Most of all, I love that you and I are so connected, that I know what you're thinking before you open your mouth. That's why, Natsuki, I will always do what makes you happy even before you yourself realize what that is. I just love you that much.

So why do you even ask me how much I love you?

You see, Natsuki, if I were to answer your question seriously, you'll get all sorts of mushy crap out of me. Yuck, right? So if you don't mind, I'd rather not tell you all of this right now…maybe years from now…laughs when you really are old and hard of hearing…But for now, you'll just have to read between the lines. Besides…don't I "show" you ALL the time?

-ooooOOoooo-

"Just stop fussing already, Mikoto!" Mai scolded her black haired lover. "You've changed your shirt four times already… since when did you care so much about how you looked?"

"Since Mai decided to spring this 'meeting the family' business on me… that's when" Mikoto said not looking away from the mirror, trying to fold the sleeves of her black button down shirt up to her elbows.

"I told you last week didn't I?" Mai protested.

"One week? Mai one week is not enough time!" came the frantic response from the handsome young girl. "I didn't even know you had other relatives until last week...How am I supposed to learn everything I have to know about in laws in one week?!"

Mai had to laugh at this. Really, this girl…she's still so innocent afterall.

When the two first met, Mikoto had been the most sheltered person Mai had ever met. Everything around her was like a new discovery, and Mikoto always made mistakes in social situations. Because of this, she would often get nervous when she knew her behavior could potentially embarrass or upset Mai. In her attempt to avoid being the laughing stock of her peers, the girl tended to overcompensate and go overboard at times. Just like she is now with her outfit, and like she did with the present she bought for Mai's grandparents today. Much to the chagrin of Yuuki Nao, it took Mikoto over five hours to select a suitable present for her soon-to-be-in-laws. And when the feral girl finally did find some to choose from, she obsessed over which item was more perfect than the other. Apparently, Mikoto could not pick between an antique tea set, a small collection of fine china, and an elaborate Kutani porcelain vase…so she bought them all.

When Mai heard the story, she did not know what to say. Mai always knew Mikoto could get overzealous, but didn't think she was still this bad. Afterall, the girl had been adjusting so well and making such great strides with her social skills the past few years. In fact, she has mellowed quite a bit, and has become quite the charmer these days. She wanted to scold Mikoto for spending over 120,000 yen from their shared bank account on her welcome presents, but quickly decided against it. The young girl seemed extremely proud of her purchases. Mai did not have the heart to burst her bubble, especially since the younger girl was nervous enough about meeting her grandparents.

"Gomen ne, Mikoto. I didn't mean to forget to tell you about my grandparents." The older girl said with much softness in her voice. "I haven't seen Obaachan and Ojiichan since I started attending Fuuka Academy, and I barely keep in touch with them as it is. Last time I talked to them was before Takumi's operation a few years ago."

"They hardly ever leave Hokkaido for any reason not even when Takumi was ill, so I'm a little curious why they are choosing to visit us here now…" Mai continued self-reflectively. She left out the part where the elderly couple seemed to be in a rush to see her after hearing about Mikoto, and the odd feeling she was getting out of the whole situation.

"What am I saying? I sound like I don't want to see them, ne? chuckle That's not true, at all. I'm excited to see them both. They're the only family Takumi and I have left…and I love them both very much." Mai finished.

Mikoto paused from fussing with her tie to face Mai with the most earnest and sincere expression on her face.

"I love Mai, and I love everyone Mai loves. That's why I want Mai's Ojiisan and Obaasan to like me… I don't want to make anyone sad."

Mai was touched by this sentiment, she was glad her lover was still the same innocent, sweet and unassuming girl she fell for. She decided to help the younger girl out a little, so she took the skinny black and red tie from Mikoto's hands, and began to tie it loosely around her collar. When she was done, Mai was absolutely enthralled with the handsome and beautiful figure in front of her.

Looking at Mikoto, it was hardly believable that she was the same petite girl who bounced off the walls all the time, This person in front of her was now a tall, well built eighteen-year-old, fresh out of high school, with just the right amount of masculinity and femininity. With her androgynous look, slightly overgrown spiky black hair, and infatuated girls offering her treats left and right, Mikoto often became the subject of Midori's teasing. "How's my rockstar neko?" Midori would say. Indeed, the eighteen-year-old girl was quite princely in a manner rivaling her own brother, Kanzaki Reito. No wonder she has become so popular with the girls at Fuuka. Still, the newly graduated Kendo club captain remained oblivious to any advances from other girls. In her world she had only two obsessions: Mai and food.

"Just the way I like it…" Mai thought, blushing slightly at how possessive she has become of the younger girl. Making an effort to focus on the current situation, Mai gently stroked her lover's hair. She looked straight into Mikoto's eyes and smiled.

"You're perfect, Mikoto."

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Next Chapter: Find out how Shizuru is doing plus there's a new character... See you then!