Chapter 32

Hitomi awoke as the rays of the morning sun hit her in the face. She felt something – no, someone - resting against her, their body weight slightly on top of her. Squinting one of her eyes open she saw Leifang sleeping half on top of her, head resting above the German's breasts.

She let out an amused sound and brushed a stray lock out of the Chinese's face with her finger. The movement caused Leifang to let out a small moan and the Karateka bit her lower lip.

Her gaze went over to the clock. It was just after 9 a.m.

She would need to get into her regular sleeping routine soon when classes began again. Which reminded her that she should ask Leifang what her classes were, maybe they shared some.

Looking down at her again Hitomi couldn't help but marvel at her luck.

Leifang's lips parted slightly as she watched her and she found herself unable to resist anymore, even though she promised. What she doesn't know... She moved just a little bit, careful not to wake her, and lowered her face to that of her girlfriend's.

Just when their lips were about to touch she let out another moan and her eyes started to open, causing Hitomi to double back. Damn

She let out a disappointed sigh, but quickly covered it up with a smile and chastised herself for being so impatient. Leifang opened her eyes.

"Morning, sleepy head." Hitomi said and Leifang stifled a yawn.

"Good morning." the Chinese said and gave her a quick once over. "And I think my hair doesn't look as over the place like yours"

"Yeah well, you don't have a mane like mine so I suppose that's true. Besides you always look pretty." At the compliment Leifang couldn't help but blush and for the first time Hitomi noticed that it made her ears flush a little bit too. How cute!

"A-anyway, did you sleep well? I-I wasn't too heavy was I?" Leifang asked and got a bit more flustered when she noticed that she was basically lying on her. Hitomi simply chuckled and ran a hand absentmindedly through the other's hair.

"Hmm yeah." she said and grinned, remembering something. "After all you didn't mistake me for a teddy bear that you wanted to strangle."

Leifangs simply gaped at her for a moment, trying to figure out what she should say to this. "I-I-I WHAT!?"

"You used a pillow like a teddy bear." Hitomi said, her grin growing.

"I did not!"

The Karateka simply grabbed her cell phone from the table, where she placed it sometime during the evening because it became uncomfortable to lie on the sofa with it being in her back pocket. She navigated through the menu until she got to the piece of evidence she took all those months ago and turned the phone around so that she could show Leifang.

"There you go."

Leifang didn't know what she should say as she saw herself hugging a pillow for dear life. When could that have been?

New York! She realized. That was when I had my hangover.

"You little sneak!" she exclaimed and slapped Hitomi's shoulder repeatadly. The German simply laughed it off and placed her cell back onto the table and made to grab Leifang's hand, holding it firmly in her grasp.

Leifang tried to break free and tried to look angry but after a while she couldn't stop herself and joined her friend in laughter.

"Why did you take that photo in the first place?" she asked once she calmed down. Hitomi took a little longer to do that but then replied.

"I actually wanted to use it to blackmail you a little." she admitted still giggling a little.

"Oh and what would've you tried to blackmail me into?"

Hitomi gave her a grin that quickly took on a flirty note. "Well." she drawled out. "I think I would've forced you to," she ran her hand through the Chinese's hair once more. "To lie here, with me. But it looks like I don't need to anymore, huh?"

"No I guess not." Leifang said and smiled, closing her eyes a little and resting her head against Hitomi again.

"So did you sleep well?" Hitomi asked.

"Mhm." the Chinese hummed in confirmation.

"Good, you had a great pillow after all." the Karateka teased her and watched Leifang flush again as she realized that she had been sleeping against her breasts.

"Come on now, we need to get up." Hitomi said and nudged her a little. "I'll even let you take a shower first."

With a sigh Leifang got up from the sofa and Hitomi immediately missed the warmth of her body. The Chinese stretched a little bit and yawned one last time. "Alright. Is it really fine if I go first?"

"Sure. I'll just make some breakfast. Anything you'd like me to make?" Hitomi asked. Leifang tapped a finger against her chin.

"Something light maybe, but otherwise I'm fine with anything you like." she said and headed towards the shower. Hitomi watched as she went and her eyes traveled downward, watching as her behind swayed with every step she made until she came to a halt on Leifang's perfect calves.

Focus Hitomi she told herself and tore her gaze away from the Chinese. She was about to head into the kitchen when she realized that she needed to go to the baker.

But her hair was all messed up.

Oh well she thought and headed into her bedroom. She dressed into some simple jogging clothes and, to tame her hair a little more, put a beanie on her head. Deciding that she didn't need to bother Leifang about this since the baker was down the street, she headed for the door, put on some trainers and went to buy some buns.

"Hey say," Hitomi said while they were sitting at the table, taking a bite from her bun and looked at the Chinese, who was taking a sip from her freshly pressed orange juice. "You told me you got a place of your own."

"Yes I do." she said and took another sip, then placed the glass back onto the table. "Hmm. Why don't I show it to you?"

Hitomi smiled. Good, she didn't need to ask then. "I'd like that."

"Then let's go right after we're finished eating."

"Sure, but first it's my turn in the shower. Since a certain someone had spent so much time in it before breakfast." Hitomi teased her and Leifang stuck out her tongue at her. "Don't flaunt it if you don't intend to use it."

Flushing Leifang pulled her tongue back in and slapped the Karateka's arm. "I think that's my cue. Just put the plates into the sink, I'll take care of them later." Hitomi said and went into the shower, leaving Leifang to her own devices.

The Chinese held a hand against her heart, trying to get herself to calm down a little bit. Hitomi really knew how to make her feel embarrassed these days and while it did make her nervous it also made her feel happy.

She had a good feeling about them and they had been together only for a day now. Leifang didn't resist the smile that formed itself on her lips and gathered the plates. Putting them into the sink like she was told to do, she walked into the living room and inspected her clothes from yesterday.

They had put them into the dryer almost immediately after having gotten back, so they were completely dry now. Hmm, yes they will do for now she thought and pulled off the clothes she burrowed from Hitomi.

All the while Hitomi had just gotten into the shower and grinned from ear to ear. She hadn't have that much energy since... since the last time she had liked someone like that.

Back when Hayate had been the object of her affection she had practically bounced across the rooms. Until she couldn't take it anymore and asked him on a 'date', which was really just a little picnic with a friend for him, but to her it had meant the world. But that was the past and Leifang was here now and they both knew what type of relationship they were in.

She wondered where she should take the Chinese on their first date. A picnic wouldn't cut it, it needed to be special. It needed to be perfect.

Let's not get ahead of ourself now Hitomi. She told herself. First she needed to resolve her lawsuit, then Leifang needed to settle into her new life here, and Hitomi intended to give her that time.

She just hoped it wouldn't be too long.

Not wanting to travel down that road with her thoughts she concentrated on washing herself.

Hitomi got out of the shower and toweled herself dry, using the blow dryer on her hair to speed up the process while she wished her hair was as silky as Leifang's.

After a few more minutes she was finished. She put the towel around her body and headed out of the bathroom, giving Leifang a passing glance as she looked through her book collection while she headed to her bedroom to pick out some clothes.

Leifang realized that the German had left the bathroom, noticing the aromatic scent that Hitomi's soap had in the air. She caught a quick glimpse of Hitomi walking across the living room in nothing but a towel and she found her gaze darting to the ample chest of the brunette. Sure they weren't really that much apart in size, that much was true, but still. Leifang couldn't help but feel a bit envious and little by little she was drawn to them in a different way.

Blushing she quickly turned back to the bookshelf, chastising herself for ogling Hitomi so openly, then found it very silly considering that she had seen her naked before when they were bathing together and in the showers at the beach in Hong Kong.

She took a deep breath and ran a hand over her face.

"I really should stop being so silly. It's only natural." she said to no one in particular and ran a finger along one of the book's spine. "We're together now."

She smiled as she said "Together" and decided that simply looking wasn't going to hurt anyone. Who knows, maybe Hitomi was doing the same? The thought alone made Leifang's insides tingle pleasantly.

"Hmm yeah we're together." a voice said from behind her and Leifang spun around to see Hitomi standing there smiling, her hand on her hips and dressed in jeans and a sky blue, long sleeved sweatshirt. When she saw the look on Leifang's face she asked: "Something the matter?"

Leifang shook her head and returned the smile. "No. I guess I just realized something." she said and moved to hug the German.

"Well whatever it was, I'm not complaining." Hitomi said and returned the hug. "Are we ready to go?"

"Yeah."

They left the place and hailed a cab to drive them to the location of Leifang's apartment. Hitomi watched as Leifang gave the driver the direction and was marveled at how good her German was. It shouldn't come as a surprise to her, the Chinese did have a knack for languages after all. Of course it needed a lot of practice to be close to perfect but she would manage.

Hitomi recognized the part of the city there were driving into and it didn't really surprise her that Leifang had an apartment in one of the places that was known for its high real estate prices.

Not that she really minded. It was close to the university and she could simply ride her bike and be there in about thirty minutes.

They got out of the cab and Leifang paid the driver before leading Hitomi into the six story apartment building. They rode the elevator up to the top floor.

The two of them stopped in front of the door and Leifang turned towards her. "Well here we are." she said and unlocked the door with her key.

As they stepped in Hitomi was surprised by how small it actually was. Smaller than her apartment for sure. The first thing she noticed was the small kitchen on the right of them and just ahead was the living room, that was more long than wide and led to a small terrace that had two deck chairs on it as well as some plants.

The living room was already richly furnished with a sofa that looked like a smaller version of the one she had in Hong Kong. There was a small table with place for two people to sit at and a huge plasma tv on the wall just near the door that led to the rest of the apartment. Hitomi walked through it and saw the bathroom right in front of her, as well as a small storeroom on the right.

And on the left was the bedroom with a huge bed and filled with various boxes that Leifang hadn't had time to unpack yet. Probably her clothes she figured as she spotted the large wardrobe.

She returned back into the living room where Leifang waited. Leifang herself was quite nervous even though it shouldn't be a big deal. She hoped that Hitomi would like her place.

"It's a nice place." Hitomi said finally. "A bit smaller than I thought though. Cozy."

Leifang let out a sigh of relief. "Yes. It's not like I need that much space." She walked over to the terrace. "And the view is great."

Hitomi walked up to her and stood directly behind the Chinese, looking over her shoulder, taking in the view herself. Then she noticed something.

"Hey," she said and pointed slightly to the right with her left hand. "That way's my apartment."

"Oh you're right!"

Hitomi smiled and circled Leifang's waist with her right arm, pulling the taller girl closer and putting her head on her left shoulder. Leifang smiled to herself and touched the Karateka's right hand with her own, not resisting at all. "Guess if I ever feel lonely I just look in that direction and think of you huh?" she asked.

"You could also call me over." Hitomi pointed out.

"So I could just phone you, in the middle of the night, to ask you to keep me company?" Leifang asked, her voice going lower and Hitomi felt herself growing hot at the implications in that statement.

"Y-yeah" Hitomi said and was happy that Leifang couldn't see the blush on her face. Damn her imagination. It was probably not even meant the way she perceived it. "Of course I would."

"Hmm. I'm glad." Leifang said and she knew that she could get used to all this in time.

They stood there for the longest time and then decided to unpack Leifang's things and put them in the wardrobe.

And to really settle her in Hitomi decided to make her a special dinner that evening.

Ha, and that whole photo thing finally went full circle!
Also Hitomi's a little sneak :P

Again nothing much to say from me. I hope you're enjoying the story and we'll see us next week!