"WOOOOOOOOOOO!" Chena cried as she and Eva entered the Tetri Basilicom. Despite feeling absolutely drained from the battle, she felt adrenaline-fueled excitement coursing through her body as she ran around the room whooping.
"Shhh!" Eva replied as she closed the door behind herself. Though she was similarly exhausted, the black-haired scientist couldn't help but smile regardless as she watched her friend, Chena. "Didn't you tell me you were exhausted just a few minutes ago?"
"I mean I am, but how can you also not be excited about that!" Chena exclaimed. "Besides, it's just us, so I can be as loud as I want!"
"If you say so," Eva said, stepping closer to Chena. "For me at least, it's enough to see you back to your usual self." Due to both their wounds suffered in the previous war; their actions were temporarily much more limited as they healed, and though it had been a time since Chena had woken up, Eva was still relieved she was alright.
"How are you feeling, by the way?" Chena asked, eyeing the bandages wrapped around her partner's body.
"Oh, I'm much better!" Which wasn't entirely the truth, she was only putting on a strong front for her friend so she wouldn't have to worry. Eva's eyes then trailed down to Chena's respective bandages, then looked back at her eyes. "What about you, though? You have no idea how much I worried!"
"Oh, I'm fine, really!" Chena said. "Iris was fun to fight alongside!"
"Fun? What would I have done if I'd lost you!" Eva chided, then whined as she reached forwards and grabbed Chena's hand with both of her own.
"H-Hey, Eva, I'm fine, right? Besides, this isn't the time to worry about that stuff, it's time to celebrate!" Chena said, allowing herself to feel the girl's soft hands for a moment before she let go and started walking toward the fridge.
Eva's shoulders slumped as she exhaled, and followed Chena into the kitchen and towards the table in preparation. "Yes, you're right, I'm sorry for getting worked up."
Chena opened the fridge, and while smirking at Eva, gently pulled out a large bottle of wine she'd been saving for a special occasion. "Ta-daaaa~!"
Eva shuffled in her seat as she first stared at the bottle for a moment, then her friend. "Chena, I don't think we should be..." Her voice trailed off, initially, she wanted to say neither of them should drink; however, they indeed earned themselves a celebration, and Eva didn't want to ruin the atmosphere with her doubts. "Alright, but only a few cups!"
"You mean 'glasses'," Chena said as she pulled some wine glasses down from a cupboard. "Have you ever drank wine? I've only done it a few times myself, and only on special occasions."
Eva shook her head, her cheeks now slightly pink from embarrassment. "I haven't before, no. This will be my first time."
"Maybe you'll find out you're a lightweight and sing drunk karaoke~" Chena said teasingly as she set the glasses down and poured some wine for each of them.
"E-Excuse me?!" Eva cried, as her face became hotter at the thought. "I can hold my drink just fine!" With a huff, she then reached forwards and slid one of the glasses towards herself.
"We'll see." Chena teased as she took a sip, and immediately felt the delicious liquid slide down her throat and bring joy throughout it. "Ahhhh~!"
After Eva's respective first and experimental sip, the fruity flavor immediately took her by surprise. Instinctively, she coughed and then cleared her throat, uncertain of what to think at first. "Have you drank wine in the past yourself, Chena? Eva asked as she looked back towards her.
"I told you, yes, but only for special occasions." She said as she continued drinking. "Ahhhhh, it's so good!!"
For a moment, neither of the girls said anything as they drank. But as Eva finished her first glass, though she'd gotten more accustomed to the taste, she also felt her body warm already. "I'm more lightweight than I thought..." Eva thought to herself and decided the one glass was all she'd drink for the night. When she looked back towards Chena though, her friend was already halfway through the second. "Hey Chena, let's finish up after you're done with that glass?" Eva suggested.
"Ahhhhhhh~!" Chena said, smiling and not having any idea what the girl had just said as she poured yet another glass.
"Chena? Hey!" Eva called to her absent-minded friend, but seeing as she wasn't listening, she reached over and gently cupped her hand before she could drink from her third glass. "Chena, that's quite enough!"
"Come on! Let me have some funnnnn~" Chena said, already sounding a little bit tipsy. "What's the harm~?"
"I can't just sit idly while you indulge!" Eva informed and shuffled in her seat from the wine's smell on her friend's breath. "You're getting carried away, Chena."
Nevertheless, more wine slid down her throat, until the entire third glass was empty, and she began to laugh. "Sooooooo? It's a time for celebration! Who caaaaares~?"
"We can also celebrate through other means!" Eva said, as her friend's drunkenness became more apparent. She then reached for the wine bottle in an attempt to put it away.
Only for Chena to grab it and start pouring another glass, much more sloppily. "God it's so goood though~!"
"Chena!" Eva cried, but she wasn't listening as she continued to drink. She then stood and reached for the bottle again, but with haste this time. Fortunately, she found her grip, which earned a series of whines from her disoriented friend.
"Buzzzzzkillllllllll…" Chena said, her eyes now unfocused as she grabbed Eva's arm to try and pull it away from the bottle.
"No! No more!" Eva lectured. She tried to spin around and walk back towards the kitchen, but despite Chena's drunken state, her grip was surprisingly tight. So, as Eva spun around to walk back towards the kitchen, she accidentally nearly pulled her friend out of the chair, which would've made her sprawl against the floor. Eva gasped, quickly moved closer, and wrapped her free arm around Chena's waist, doing her best to ignore her breath, but unable to support her weight, both girls stumbled.
With Chena now on top of Eva, Chena blushed deeply. Their bodies were smushed together, their chests touching. She could feel Eva's heartbeat through their clothes and skin, and their eyes met. Chena felt her heart race as she leaned in, her lips puckered, but while she had aimed for Eva's own lips, her drunken state left her lips to instead touch Eva's cheek.
Eva gasped and blushed profusely. The girl was momentarily idle, as she attempted to process everything, but then began to stammer. "Um..! C-can you…try and get up?" She hoped Chena was sober enough to understand, as Eva shuffled underneath her in embarrassment.
"But why…I…I wanna kiss you!" Chena said as she went in for another.
Eva cupped Chena's cheeks with her hands to prevent her from closing the distance, this time between their lips. "I-I can't!" Eva cried. "I'm taken, and don't like girls that way!"
"Awww but girl love is hot and fun, don't you want to at least tryyyy~?" Chena said as she leaned down again and started kissing Eva's neck.
Eva immediately squealed as she felt both her cheeks and body burn. She quickly moved her hands to Chena's shoulders but caught herself from shoving her friend off. She didn't know if she could control how much strength was used in her current state, and didn't want to risk hurting her best friend. Yet, Eva couldn't help but think to herself, "Does Chena feel this way about me?" But quickly dismissed the thought as actions in the drunken haze. "Ch-Ch-Chena!" Eva sputtered. "I'm not- I don't want to-!"
"But Evaaaa…I like youuuu, you're so pretty and cool and such a good friend, I just want to kiss you all dayyyy~" Chena said before she resumed kissing her as her hand slid against Eva's body, slowly moving up over her stomach until her fingers brushed the bottom of Eva's breasts.
Eva gave another high-pitched squeal, yet…Chena was gentle, was she starting to feel- "No! I need to stop this!!!" Her thoughts interrupted. "Chena wouldn't do this to me, and Mojin…oh god! What would Mojin think if he knew?! AAHHH!" Eva quickly moved her hands from her friend's shoulders to the arms so she could find an, albeit weak, grip before she pushed upwards just enough for Eva to try and shuffle upwards and free herself.
"Evaaaaa, why are you leaving meeee?"
Eva at first didn't respond, as she focused only on removing herself from underneath Chena. Once she did, however, Eva let go of her friend and shot to her feet. "I-I'm sorry! I'm taken and I can't do this with you Chena!" She repeated, then winced upon the realization she said it louder than she meant to.
The girl paused, and stared hard at Eva, before she finally looked down, and got off of the girl, climbing back up to her seat, and sitting silently, looking down at her hands.
Eva took a moment to catch her breath, though her temperature was slowly beginning to cool down; she still felt the same emotional distress. Of course, now was the concern she'd hurt Chena; what she wanted to always avoid, which was an accurate thought. Eva stepped forwards and wrapped both arms around Chena in a gentle hug. "I'm sorry," she apologized again. "I didn't mean to shout at you like that."
"Do you love me?" Chena suddenly asked.
"H-Huh?" Eva responded, surprised. But right afterward, she nodded without hesitation and embraced Chena tighter. "Yes! I do love you!"
"But not in the way I want you to…" Chena said too quietly for her to hear. "Sorry for…that." She said, tears forming in her eyes.
"It's okay, Chena." Eva said and kissed her on the cheek. "I was just...surprised."
The girl sighed as the tears formed anyway. "Maybe…maybe I shouldn't have drank so much…"
Unsure how to respond, Eva slowly unraveled the embrace. She then sat on the chair beside Chena, reached over to remove her glasses, and gently brushed a tear away from her friend's eye. "Please don't make it sound worse than it was, Chena," Eva responded gently. "Besides, I..." Her voice drifted off, but a light blush reappeared on her cheeks, as she thought about it, and how it felt again.
"You…what?" Chena asked softly.
Now it was Eva's turn to look downward, but out of embarrassment. "I'm not…sure, because…it felt good," Eva admitted in a similarly soft tone, as she moved one of her hands back to the side of her neck.
Chena paused, and for a moment, she had clarity. "I…should go to bed, shouldn't I? I don't want to…do anything else I could regret."
Eva was unresponsive, it seemed she was deep in thought about… something, but her expression was hard to make out precisely what it was. However, when Chena stood up to leave on her own, Eva followed, and once again wrapped an arm around her backside as the two walked towards, and into the CPU's bedroom.
"Can you…forgive me?" Chena asked softly as they entered the bedroom.
Eva grabbed her friend's hand and gave it a tight squeeze. "I forgive you, Chena," she responded with a reassuring smile. As both girls then sat on the bed, Eva looked down at their linked hands, then back towards the CPU. "Chena, can I ask you a question?"
"Anything."
Eva stared at Chena's eyes for a moment. Perhaps knowing the answer may only hurt her, yet she wanted- no, she had to know. "Do you love me as…more than friends, Chena?"
Chena didn't speak for a while. "I…" She sighed. "I want to go to bed, Eva. I want to…hopefully, forget this ever happened. Please."
Eva respected her friend's wish and nodded in response. "Okay, Chena." She then shuffled closer, and gave another kiss on the CPU's cheek, before Eva stood back up.
"Goodnight…Eva." Chena said softly as she prepared to get changed, already stripping off her clothes before Eva had even left.
"Goodnight Chena, please sleep well," Eva replied and gently closed the door behind herself as left the room.
As Chena grabbed her pajamas, she paused again and sighed. "I love you…Eva." The girl said as she finally got dressed, and went to sleep, ready to forget everything that happened tonight and resume work in the morning.