Chisato's sandals went tumbling across the floor as she flopped back on her futon. "Man, what an exhausting day!" she proclaimed as she stretched and yawned. "We did so much fun stuff!"
Takina was very glad that her fellow non-assassin had her eyes closed, because she couldn't imagine that her stare at the band of soft skin stretched across Chisato's belly and hip bones that became visible as her shirt rose with her shoulders was inconspicuous in the slightest.
"You are clearly attracted to girls, and Chisato is very attractive so these feelings are normal" was trying to shout down the "You are a focused professional and something is clearly wrong with you!" panicked voice in her head. As usual when Chisato did something that simultaneously solicited a response and filled her head with soft static, Takina grasped at what felt like a reasonable analysis.
"We really didn't exert ourselves nearly as much today as we would have on a mission" she observed. "Maybe you're just sugar crashing from that entire plate of berry pancakes you ate *after* we'd had lunch?"
Chisato popped open an annoyed eye to glare at her teammate. "Listen Takina, have you been learning anything from our time together. A girl simply cannot pick out the cutest outfits without having something sweet in her stomach!" The mock-consternation on her face didn't hold as she cracked her room-brightening smile. "And, even you have to admit we found some really cute outfits today."
Takina reflected as she seated herself demurely next to her sprawling friend. "That we did, didn't we?" she responded with a smile.
"Oh my god, you really do like them?" Chisato asked excitedly. "It's so hard to tell with you sometimes."
Truthfully, I still don't have the slightest understanding of what makes an outfit 'cute' or not and feel indifferent about the clothes… except for thinking that they're all very impractical. But, I like how happy Chisato is shopping for them, and how she looks at me when I try them on. I should practice being more enthusiastic. "I really do!" Takina consciously widened her smile. The "And I enjoy spending time with you, Chisato" that followed felt unbidden, but genuine, on her lips.
Chisato eyed her for a second, reminding Takina that, for all her giddy energy, Chisato was by far the best Lycoris in the service, and an expert at reading people. Does she really understand what she does to me, though? The black-haired girl pondered. Or am I just her weird friend who's a pity case?
What does she do to me?
Seeking to break the moment of tension, Takina did what felt entirely reasonable and bent over, putting her ear to Chisato's chest.
"Wha-?" the other girl tensed with a warrior's reflexes at having her personal space invaded, but relaxed just as fast. "Oh, that's right, you wanted to try and listen to my artificial heart!" Her hand wrapped idly around Takina's shoulder, sending a jolt down through her body that worked its way back up as a gradual warming.
Chisato smells so nice. Is it the perfume she's wearing, or those pancakes? Or… is it just her?
"Amazing" Takina whispered as her ear was met with silence.
"I know, isn't it?" Chisato said quietly. "It feels even weirder when it's inside you." The girls sat like that for a moment, and Takina closed her eyes in contentment.
Mizuki's dirty stories all say that hearing someone else's heartbeat is supposed to be very intimate and make you feel good, but I feel good just being close to her like this. Is that normal?
"Oh!" Chisato jumped a little with excitement. "Let's try something!"
Takina sat up and looked at her quizzically. "You saying that usually ends in something very strange and frequently uncomfortable happening."
Chisato's blonde bangs bounced as she giggled. "Yeah, but then you're always glad you tried it in the end."
Mostly because whatever it is is with you , Takina thought.
She couldn't contain her blush though when Chisato began to casually strip off her blouse, leaving her top clad in a lacy pink bra dotted with cartoon koala bears. "Um, Chisato?"
"This one time, my doctor had me use a stethoscope to try and listen to my heart pump, and I swear I could hear a little hum inside. I bet you could hear it too with less in the way!" Her hand, far stronger from a lifetime of combat training than any teenage girl's should be, was on the back of Takina's neck and pulling her head to her chest before the other girl could process what was happening. "Anything?"
Takina could only hear the static buzz of 'Chisato panic!' in her head, driven by an incredible awareness of the soft warmth of Chisato's breasts compared to the painfully-burning heat of her cheeks against them."Uhhh…"
"Shh, listen close!" Chisato's hand was gently stroking Takina's raven-black locks now. How is this calming me, this is still so awkward! But the effect on Takina's intimacy anxiety was undeniable, and a quiet happiness washed over her. Her brain, constantly boiling with analysis, reduced to a low simmer as she couldn't help but focus on how Chisato's skin felt against hers, and how nice her hands stroking her head were. She closed her eyes.
There is was. Almost imperceptible, a faint electronic whirr rising out of Chisato's chest. That she could hear the miraculous piece of technology keeping her friend alive must have been conferred by her sudden sharp intake of breath, and she lost it against as Chisato laughed lightly. The sound somehow still filled the room for Takina, like birds coming out again after a spring rain.
"What's it like, Chisato? Not just not having a heartbeat, but… knowing there's a machine in here?" Takina's hand had risen to lie next to her face, fingers lightly brushing the other girl's clavicle. She felt a little shudder go through Chisato's body. Oh no, did I do something wrong? No, wait… that was a good kind of shudder. The kind she gives to me. Warmth swelled in Takina's own chest at recognizing the response she'd solicited from her usually in-control friend.
Chisato was thoughtful as she answered. "It's a… constant reminder of how precious my life is, and how I want to use it to help as many people as possible. Not just keep them safe, but help them be happy, yeah?"
Takina lifted her head away from Chisato's chest. She'd be drawn in so fast that she hadn't really had a chance to study the large vertical scar there. The dark red line was an angry ridge across soft, pale skin. Some people would probably think a scar like that is ugly, especially in such an intimate place , she thought. But I can't even begin to see anything that's part of Chisato like that.
"I'm sorry, that's probably as sappy as the syrup I had on my pancakes! No wonder you think I'm just a sugary mess" Chisato giggled with an undertone of anxiety that told Takina the statement was actually an important question. She locked her eyes on Chisato's.
"Not at all. I think it's really beautiful. Like everything about you."
Chisato's breath visibly hitched in her chest and her eyes widened. "Takina…" she murmured as her hand cupped her teammate's face. Takina leaned into it, wanting to take in the look in Chisato's eyes more than she wanted to close her eyes and sigh.
"Did I leave you speechless for a change?" Takina whispered, voicing her inner thoughts in a moment of daring. Chisato was blushing fiercely. Having this effect on her… it's intoxicating! I think I understand part of why she's so outgoing and touchy now.
Chisato's hand that wasn't still in Takina's hair rose to rest against her chest. "Takina… can I listen to your heart?" she asked timidly, her eyes wide and voice stripped of her usual bravado.
"Of course, that's fair." Takina said, breaking eye contact to sit back. Ouch, that was a stupid way to put it, you idiot she hissed at herself.
The blonde's eyes were indeed immediately downcast. "I mean, you don't have to let me if you're not comfortable… god knows I've pushed your boundaries enough today" she murmured.
"No!" Takina said quickly, urgently. "No… I want you to." The two girls' eyes met again as Takina undid her button down and opened it back over her shoulders, biting her lip nervously as Chisato leaned in. The brush of her platinum-yellow hair across the tops of Takina's breasts was electric.
"It's racing" Chisato whispered softly as her face settled against Takina's skin. Takina felt a warm breath exhale across her. She hadn't even realized Chisato had been holding her breath. "I didn't even need to touch you to hear that".
I'm glad you did though, thought the girl with the wildly-thumping heart. Should I say that, or is that too much? Her lips hung parted in indecision. Her hand, which had found its way independently to cupping Chisato's face, squeezed her friend against her. I want to be so close to her that I could squeeze her into me.
"Chisato… can I lie with you?"
Chisato sat up with an immediacy that made Takina immediately curse her word choice. "Do you mean, like… sex stuff?" she asked breathlessly.
Takina's brain was a muddled fuzz of panic as she gulped. Lycoris instruction at the DA training facility had included a very clinical overview of sex, including interactions between all genders. It had all seemed so odd, veering towards outright gross, at the time. But now, there was a distinct voice inside her screaming "Yes! Yes!" , but another one murmuring that that wasn't it.
"I… I don't know. I don't think so." Their eyes locked, and the words just started to tumble out as her brain frantically scrambled to measure and regulate them. "I just know… I feel… that I need to be with you somehow, Chisato. That I want you to be a part of me that I'm never without… and you to feel that with me…" What felt like the most important question she'd ever asked hung in her last words.
Chisato didn't even hesitate. She put her hands on Takina's shoulders, leaned in, and kissed her.
Warmth coursed through Takina like a liquid flame as their lips came together. Her senses were all alight, moreso than even in the heat of a life-or-death gun fight. But the kiss wasn't lurid, or… …what's the word Mizuki's romance stories always use? 'Hungry'? It didn't feel like an opening move to something more, but instead like a resounding "Yes" to the question she'd asked. Their lips were soft and interlocked, and the light taste of each other that flowed between them was a taste of sincerest affection. Takina felt herself melting into it.
It could've been an eternity and still not been long enough when Chisato pulled back, just barely, and fluttered her lashes against Takina's face. "Yes, Takina. Absolutely, yes. Now, and for as long as we have!"
The girls didn't need to communicate verbally to lie down together, squeezing tight on the narrow seat of the futon. Somehow, their pants came off, and Chisato's thighs became part of the warmth and fulfillment enveloping Takina, and hers Chisato. The younger dark-haired girl turned over, pressing her back into Chisato as the later groped for and found a blanket sprawled over the back of the furniture. She settled it over the two of them, a container that made the heat of their bodies blend together as one, blissful warmth that Takina had never even imagined until she'd been thrust into Chisato's life.
Her friend's hand arm wrapped around her midriff and pulled her in tight, her breath a light breeze across Takina's neck. She closed her eyes and sighed. "Just like this. Forever."
"Forever" Chisato murmured back, with scarcely a hesitation in her voice.