An earlier upload this time! Approaching the end slowly, only a few chapters left. Hope you enjoy!

Luka woke up sometime in mid-morning. Her sleep had been so deep for so many hours that waking up was a struggle—an affront even—but eventually she opened her eyes to a dimly lit room, the blackout curtains only letting through a sliver of sunlight.

As the memories rushed back, she let out a huge sigh. It was a sweet sigh, and she touched her lips again, smiling faintly.

After a moment, she checked her phone and found dozens of texts from Meiko from earlier that morning. The messages contained a mixture of curiosity, dismay, assumptions, and surprise. The last text told her to call the first moment she could. So Luka cleared her throat, sat up, and did just that.

"Luka you better tell me exactly what happened or I will die," were Meiko's first words the moment she picked up.

Luka chuckled. "You'll never believe it."

"Tell me or I swear to god…"

"Uhm, do you want the short version or the long one?"

"Short. You can expand as necessary. Come on. What happened at the party?"

She grinned. "Want to guess?"

"Did you two fucking sleep together?"

Luka laughed, while Meiko made a bunch of indignant sounds on the other end of the line, demanding the truth.

"If that's not it, what is it?!" she asked, sounding at the end of her wits.

"You're not too far off," Luka admitted.

"What?!"

"We kissed again. Made out, really."

Meiko sounded stunned. "Luka, oh my God."

"And now we're dating."

"What the hell? You can't be serious. You're going out with your archnemesis."

"She's not my archnemesis," Luka said with a laugh. "Not anymore, anyway."

"How?! How did this happen?!"

Luka recounted the previous night's events in more detail, going from how she couldn't reasonably justify being there unless she liked Miku, to Miku's confessions, to how they parted ways, gazes lingering, hands held tightly.

"So, basically," Meiko started. "If I'm getting this right, she always thought you were a stud and has been trying to get a rise out of you for a year now."

"Her way of getting attention."

"And you played right into it."

Luka shrugged. "She's pretty. And kind, when she wants to be."

"'Kind when she wants to be', Jesus. It's almost like you like her being a brat."

"Well—"

"Oh my God, you do!"

"I—"

"But Luka, she's insufferable! You said yourself that she has a permanent selfish streak. How are you going to feasibly manage this?"

"She has an understanding side to her," Luka said. "She's not totally unreasonable."

"That's different from being understanding. Do you want that in a partner? Do you want to spend time with someone who is so far up their own ass that they can barely communicate honestly?"

"She can, though."

"Only with you. How will you introduce her to us? To your parents? How will you navigate life with her? My god, Luka, what if you ever disagree on something? How will you settle debates?"

"We've been through those situations on the raft, Meiko," Luka said softly. "We've cooperated before."

"And was it fun? Was it nice? Was it at least tolerable?"

"It wasn't an ideal situation," Luka said. "It couldn't be any of those things. We have our lives back, now. It's different."

"You're right, it's different. Now that she isn't on a raft, forced to listen to you, she's free to do whatever she wants. Plus, her life is so different from yours. Jesus Christ, Luka, you're her employee. Owed respect or not, there's a power imbalance here."

"I'm at her service, but I'm technically her father's employee."

"How is that not worse?! When he finds out—"

"Apparently, he won't care."

"Do you really know that? What happened to him being able to crush your career in seconds? Him being a mean motherfucker?"

Luka's smile faded.

"Is this even a long-term thing?" Meiko asked when Luka didn't reply. "Are you just a fling? A temporary piece of entertainment? One of her flighty pleasures?"

"I don't..."

"You didn't think this through at all," Meiko groaned. "Thinking with your ovaries..."

"Well, I mean...," Luka sputtered indignantly.

"You know what I mean. Luka, you put yourself in a real situation. You have lots of things to see through if you're going to come through this unscathed. Or even alive."

"Right. I think she and I may be due for a conversation."

"Overdue, even. You need a long and serious talk with her. I hope she can manage that."

"She can."

"For how long, though? Until she gets bored? Until she doesn't want to hear it anymore?"

Luka frowned. "We'll see, I guess."

"Guess we will." Meiko sighed. "I'm here for you, Luka. I support you, even if you want to go through with this. I trust you have a good brain in your head. But I swear to God, if you're doing something stupid, I'll call you out on it."

"I'll do my best to not be stupid, then."

"Sounds good. Have a talk with her. Keep me posted. When are you coming back again?"

"In about three days, I think."

"Okay. Straighten things out. And have fun, I guess. Congrats on the new girlfriend."

Despite the short sentences, her tone was genuine, and Luka couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Meiko."

"No problem. Listen, I've been holding things off while waiting for your call, and now I really gotta go."

"I need to go, too. I don't know when Miku will be knocking on my door."

"Okay. Good luck. Have fun. Keep me posted, et cetera."

"I will. Bye, Meiko."

"See you."

Luka hung up, then heaved a weary sigh. Then she went through her morning routine, opening the curtains, getting changed, brushing her teeth. She almost headed to breakfast but decided against it, electing to stay in her room and read one of the provided books.

To her surprise, it wasn't very long until there was a knock at her door; it was barely nine o'clock. She opened the door and sure enough, there stood Miku, looking fresh as ever, dressed in a black t-shirt and jeans. Though they looked standard, the quality of the fabric, cut, and design told her they were worth more than she could imagine.

"Good morning!" Miku said. "You're all dressed."

"As are you. Slept well?"

"Like a princess," Miku said, her tone flowery and sweet. "Do you want breakfast?"

"Sure, I'm starving."

"Let's go, then."

Luka pocketed her key, her phone, and that was it, following Miku down the long, straight, carpeted halls of the hotel.

"And how did you sleep?" Miku asked her, taking hold of her hand.

"Like a brick. Not a single dream."

The younger woman giggled. "My magic, surely."

"Perhaps," Luka said, giving her hand a squeeze. "How was the rest of the party?"

"Oh, it was absolutely divine. Towards the end, there was cake! I'm sad you missed that, but I saved you a slice."

"You did?"

"I did! I have it with me, in case you want it for breakfast."

"I won't say no to that," Luka said with a grin. "Did you get lots of nice presents?"

"More than I can say, darling. Plenty of things I'd had my eyes on but couldn't justify buying myself. I feel spoiled rotten."

Luka rolled her eyes with a grin. "Maybe you are."

"Just a little," Miku said with an impish smile. "But I'm cute, so I deserve it."

Luka could only chuckle at that. They got to the elevator by then, and talked more about the party on the way to one of the uppermost floors, where the hotel restaurant was located.

It was a luxurious buffet-style meal. Anything that people could conceivably eat for breakfast was there, ranging from cereals to cuts of meat and cheeses, from yogurts to eggs prepared all sorts of ways. There were pancakes and towers of honeycomb, along with bars of chocolate and muffins. There was brown sugar, peanut butter, and milk in half a dozen different forms. Luka had been almost overwhelmed by the choices the previous morning, but was now used to the display and decided on a very simple platter of scrambled eggs with bacon. Miku sampled from the various kinds of ham and cheese, with a couple slices of toast and a slice of fresh melon, topping it all off with a single cookie. Then they got settled on the outside balcony, under the morning sun. There was some wind at this altitude, but the view of the city and the surrounding hills was gorgeous, one that Luka didn't think she'd ever tire of.

As they got settled, though, Luka let herself linger on the view perhaps for a little too long, and couldn't quite savor her meal. Miku ate with plenty of appetite, which Luka didn't mirror. After a few minutes, she cleared her throat, getting the younger woman's attention.

"I know we didn't really get to talk about technicalities much, yesterday. We were a little, uhm, otherwise preoccupied."

Miku giggled. "Yes."

"But I can't help but wonder. Uhm. Is this a good time for a serious conversation?"

The younger woman's smile twitched. "Sure."

"I guess a good place to start would be, well, how serious is this, to you? I don't know about you, but I tend to date for the long term."

"And I date to get what I want," Miku said simply.

"And what do you want?"

"That depends on the time, darling. Until a few weeks ago, I was dating to get attention. Father's disapproval, perhaps. And to make you jealous."

"But what about now? What do you want out of this?"

Miku chuckled. "You're so fun to tease. I'm dating you because I like you, silly. I want to spend a long time with you. I want to get to know you. See where this carries us."

Luka tried to stop her leg from bouncing. "Really?"

"Of course. You've been my obsession for a year now. I'm not going to take this for granted, now that I have you."

Luka let out her breath. "Okay."

"Did you think I was toying with you?"

"It's hard to guess what you think sometimes," Luka admitted. "You're prone to playing mind games I don't even know exist. That you dated people just to get a rise out of me never even registered. I just thought you had poor taste."

Miku chuckled. "It's fun."

"In that vein, I think I would appreciate it if you were a little more direct with me. You don't have to play games with me. In fact, I strongly discourage it. If you fool around with my mind too much I'll just drop you."

The mirth was gone. "What? But that's—"

"Boring? Maybe. But you know me by now. I'm not your plaything."

After a few seconds, Miku nodded. "Fair. I'll do my best."

"Thank you."

Luka found the appetite to eat then, particularly enjoying her scrambled eggs. Miku ate her melon with ham, then started on the toast with cheese.

At one point, Miku giggled. "I like how assertive you are."

"How so?"

"You're so in control. So commanding," Miku said, looking at her through lidded eyes. "Are you always like that?"

"I... I guess. It comes with the job, I suppose."

"Hm. Even in bed?"

Luka would've choked on her food had she taken a mouthful of it. Instead, she coolly said, "That's not appropriate conversation for this venue."

Miku giggled. "I look forward to it."

The blush returned, and Luka tried hard not to be too flustered. "Have you ever dated a woman before?"

"No. You're my first."

Luka hesitated. "Am I?"

"Yep."

"I'm not just some experiment, right?"

"Oh, no, not at all. At first I was just curious, tantalized I suppose. But I've wanted you more than I've wanted any of the men I've ever dated. It's all rather obvious to me."

"As long as you're sure you won't eventually regret this."

"Not in the slightest. Don't you get it by now, darling? I do what I want."

Luka nodded slowly. "I suppose. Though you sometimes have interesting ways of getting there. Using people. I worry sometimes that I'm being used."

"Not at all, darling. I promise, henceforth, you're immune to these games of mine. I won't use you like that. I plan to keep you around for far too long to risk damaging our relationship in such a way. You have my word."

Luka relaxed, her leg no longer bouncing. "Okay."

"Is there anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Uhm. I know that technically, I also work for you. Will—"

"Doesn't matter. You fly well, you do your job well. We date when you're not on the job. Is that fine?"

"That's... That's fine, yeah. Because when I am flying, I am responsible for you."

"I figured as much. No, that's easy. Anything else you want addressed?"

Luka bit her lip. "Yesterday you said your parents wouldn't care. Just now, you said you dated to annoy your dad. Which is it?"

"Easy. I did it to annoy my dad. It never worked. He doesn't care."

"So, it's not going to be an issue? Even if I'm supposed to be his employee? If I hired someone to be at the service of my daughter and they started dating, I'd be more than a little upset."

Miku shrugged. "Maybe. I don't know. He never cared until now, so I don't see why he'd start."

"Maybe because you almost died and he has a newfound appreciation for your relationship?"

She blew a raspberry. "Hardly."

"Oh, okay." Luka sighed. "You have to realize that I have reason to be scared, however. If he does hate this, for whatever reason, he can ruin my career. He can fire me and make sure I never get hired again. I'll be honest; he terrifies me."

Miku's enthusiastic eating slowed. "Hm."

"So it's pretty serious."

"I'll take care of it," Miku suddenly declared.

"If you're sure—"

"Do you trust me?"

Luka paused. "What?"

"I said, do you trust me?"

"Well... Yeah. I suppose I do."

Miku smiled. "Don't worry about it then. You worry too much. Let's have fun, okay? 'Cause that's what relationships are all about! Having fun together!"

Luka smiled a bit. "It's also about mutual support. Being there for each other."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Miku said, waving it off. "Enough about these little worries. If you have more, I'll hear about them later. Now, I want to have breakfast, then we'll go shopping."

"Sounds good to me."

"Oh, before I forget!" Miku leaned over the side of her chair to retrieve her bag, from which she pulled a massive Tupperware container. "Your cake!"

"How big is this slice?"

"I didn't know how much you would like, darling, so I made sure to bring enough," she said, pushing it over to Luka's side of the table. "Try it, it's exquisite."

Luka opened the container to find a huge, dark piece of cake. The outside had chocolate sprinkles, and the top had a generous helping of ganache. It was layered, too, the sections of cake interspersed with a thick and creamy filling. It was all massive though, the slice at least five centimeters thick, twice as tall and almost three times as deep. She couldn't imagine the cake it came from.

Luka took a piece with her fork, trying to include a little bit of everything: the sprinkles, the ganache, the different layers. And Miku was right; it was the most exquisite chocolate cake she'd ever tried. Rich, flavorful, and moist, it was perfect.

The best money could buy, as expected when it came to Miku.

"It's amazing," Luka admitted. "Thanks for saving me a piece, although I'm not sure I'll be able to finish this right away."

"Don't you worry. It'll stay good for a while, so feel free to sample it throughout the day." Miku looked at her. "You like it, then?"

"I do."

"Good." She smiled, then returned to her breakfast. "Now, what kind of shops should we visit?"

As Miku promised, after breakfast they went on a shopping spree. For the most part, Luka walked around with Miku latched to her arm, while the younger woman went from window to window, store to store, looking at fancy jewelry, expensive shoes, and high-end clothes. She didn't actually buy that much, to Luka's modest surprise. But she did acquire some new shoes, which hadn't been gifted for her birthday, and a new dress, both of which hung from Luka's free arm. They talked about what they'd worn at the party, how they had mutually surprised each other, Luka not meaning to, Miku hoping to knock the wind out of her, grinning when she'd learned she'd succeeded. It was a cute date, easy and fun. And to Luka, far too short.

Later that afternoon, Miku wanted to go find her friends to hang out, so she dropped Luka off at the hotel, gave her a quick kiss, then left again in the back of a limousine as expected. Luka didn't mind too much; shopping tended to exhaust her, especially after that task of finding 'a little thing' to get her. She had wound up discovering a cute keychain for her bag that wound up costing over fifty dollars, and though it was pricey, Miku wanted it and it was within Luka's budget. But all that meant that she was back at the hotel, spent, with three bags in her arms, plus a container of cake. She dropped those off in her room, then collapsed on the freshly made bed. She pulled out her phone and found that Meiko had sent her a few messages. She read them, replied, hesitated, then called her friend.

"Hey, what's up?" Meiko asked.

"Nothing much. You busy?"

"Not at the moment. You're catching me at a good time. Is something wrong?

"No, no. I just wanted to talk."

"Yeah?"

"I spent the morning with Miku. It went well, don't worry. We had a serious, if short conversation about things."

"And?"

"She listened. She heard my concerns."

"Oh. That's... That's actually more than I expected from her," Meiko said. "So why are you sounding so blue?"

"I guess those concerns started digging a little deep. I know it's really early to have relationship blues, but..."

"Hey, better early than late. What's wrong?"

"I just wonder if I fit in her world. If she can fit in mine. She navigates life in such a different way than I do. I'm starting to fear we might be doomed before we even get started."

"Hey, it's better to have these realizations before you get too invested, but..." Meiko sighed. "You really like her. These aren't fun feelings you're having."

"Yeah."

"All I can say, really, is to have fun. Have those conversations as they come up. Maybe it'll be best to face the fact that you're more physically compatible than anything else, and maybe it'll be worth the shot to try all or nothing. It's up to you to get a feel for that as the days pass. You can't make these decisions on the first day."

"I guess not. I just don't know what I'd do if we end up finding out that we just can't fit together completely."

"Then make the best of it."

"I suppose I could try that, whatever that means."

"Maybe instead of a girlfriend she can be the booty call," Meiko said with a knowing chuckle.

"You know I don't do this sort of thing casually."

"I know. You're a romantic. But see where this takes you. Have the difficult conversations. Don't close too many doors too soon."

"Okay."

"It's a good sign that she can listen," Meiko said, her voice gentler. "It means there's somewhere you can start. And that she actually takes things seriously is great."

"Yeah..."

"So, and I can't believe I'm saying this, don't worry too much. You're very different people, but clearly there's a lot more to this than just the fantastic chemistry you two have. It's a good start. Work with it."

"Yeah, okay. I'll do my best."

"It's not a test, you fool," Meiko said with a laugh. "But yeah. Do your best, as long as she's doing her best, too."

"I'll keep an eye out for that. Thanks."

"No problem. Anything else I can help you with?"

"No. I think I just needed to hear this."

"Great. When are you seeing her again?"

"I don't know. She wanted to spend the afternoon with friends, so I guess I'll just go hit the gym."

"Fucking gym rat is what you've become. Have fun, though!"

"Will do. Bye, Meiko."

"Bye!"

Luka hung up with a heavy sigh, spent some time digesting the conversation, then got changed into her workout clothes.

The hotel's gym was truly expansive and impressive. There was muscle toning, cardio, and everything in between, from leg crunches to rowers to treadmills. Luka started with a nice warmup for ten minutes, before going from machine to machine, working up a sweat, minding her limits, and staying focused.

It was a good distraction. It was a way to kill time.

Two hours later, she was back in her room, showered and dressed, with nothing to do but sight-see. She did just that, wandering around the city and admiring its many facets, ranging from the luxurious areas that Miku was obviously drawn to, to the more normal, down-to-earth ones that Luka enjoyed. She had a casual dinner in a hole-in-the-wall joint, something uncomplicated and tasty, before wandering around some more. Eventually, she did return to the hotel, where the clerk in the lobby announced that there was a message for her: Miku wanted her to knock on her door the moment she got back. So Luka navigated the long halls until she arrived at what ended up being the penthouse suite, surely the largest room in the entire hotel.

Luka knocked, then swallowed nervously, standing a pace away from the door.

Miku opened the door moments later, a wide smile on her face.

"Luka! Where have you been?"

"Out sight-seeing."

"You can't just do that to me," the younger woman pouted. "I waited for you for hours!"

"I'm sorry. I thought you would be out for a while, since it's so far—"

"Just come on in, Luka. No use talking in the hall."

Luka obeyed, and sure enough, this penthouse suite was everything that luxury stood for. The unit consisted of two floors and included a fully equipped kitchen, a balcony, and separate living and dining areas. There were even two bathrooms, if Luka had to guess, one for each floor.

"Did you have fun with your friends?" she ended up asking the younger woman.

Miku sauntered to the living area, sinking into one of the large chairs there. "Oh yes, it was fine. Rin told everybody about us, though," she said with a slight pout. "Totally stole my chance to break the news myself."

Luka followed her over, though she didn't sit just yet. "Guess we might be a little gossip-worthy."

"Perhaps. But, darling, I wanted to show you off! Not for the news to be circulating like common chitchat."

Luka grinned. "Hey, as long as they respect us. Do they?"

"Oh yes. My taste in women got many compliments. I suppose that by extension, as did you," Miku said.

"Well, if that's what counts."

Miku stood then, suddenly, and walked over to the stairs. "Come on. We're going swimming."

"Now? They might be closing the pool soon, it's getting kind of late—"

"The pool is open until midnight," Miku said, already halfway up the stairs. "Go get your things, and come right back here! I want to walk there with you."

Luka chuckled. "All right. I'll be right back."

Miku gave her a little wave as she left, then Luka hurried down the halls towards her room. There, she quickly fetched her bathing suit, a robe, some slippers and a towel, before hurrying back to rejoin Miku. The younger woman was all ready to go once she got there, so together they walked the halls back towards the elevator, arm in arm.

"Have you used the pool already?" Miku asked.

"Yeah, it's really nice."

"It's indoor, but it'll do," Miku said, adjusting the weight of the bag on her shoulder. After a moment, as the elevator doors were closing before them, she said, "Carry this for me."

Luka grinned and accepted the bag. "Sure."

"And the gym? Do you still do that?"

"All the time. I'm addicted now," Luka admitted.

"I stopped once I felt like I was back to normal. Only took a month or so."

"Yeah, it's crazy how fast it goes."

"Do you plan to get all big and strong?" Miku asked.

"Oh, no. Just to stay in shape, get better cardio. It's good for me."

"Hm. I found it so boring. So dull."

"I guess it's a lot of time spent in your head, as well."

"Which is the worst."

Luka laughed. "It's nice when they put up TV screens by the treadmills. It gives you something to watch."

"Hm. I'd rather watch you."

Luka rolled her eyes as the elevator doors opened again, this time to the underground level of the pool. The humidity hit them right away, heavy and oppressive, and as they neared the pool, the smell of chlorinated water tickled their senses as well.

As far as Luka could tell, the place was deserted. There was no splashing, no conversation. No machines thrummed from the gym at the end of the hall. A quick glance at the pool showed that nobody was in the water.

It was a bit later, past what most people would consider bedtime, so she couldn't be too surprised.

Each took to a changing room to put on their swimsuit. Luka was done first, so she grabbed her bag and her towel and placed them by a random chair, so she could keep an eye on it, just in case. Miku emerged moments later, and followed suit.

"A one-piece?" she asked Luka when they were once again side-by-side.

Luka looked down at her monochrome dark blue swimsuit. "Yeah?"

"Unacceptable. We need to get you proper swimwear," Miku said, turning her nose up at it.

The pilot laughed. "What, like your own?"

"Yes! Isn't it lovely?"

It was a two-piece bikini, black and blue, the same blue as her hair. It was perhaps a little bit on the skimpy side, but it was a beautiful bikini and it suited Miku perfectly.

"It is," Luka admitted, her eyes lingering. "I'm afraid I can't comfortably wear those things, though."

"Whyever not?"

Luka looked around. Finding that nobody was there, still, she leaned forward and whispered, "I tend to fall out of them."

Miku laughed. "That means you don't have the right size, darling! We'll get you proper swimwear tomorrow, you'll have my word."

"No, it's fine. I'm more comfortable in one-piece swimsuits anyway."

"But it's an eyesore!"

"A comfortable one," she insisted. "I'm fine. I don't need a bikini. In fact, I'd rather not have one."

Miku pouted, but relented, following the pilot towards the shallow end of the pool. Luka eased into the water gracefully, letting the buoyant feeling of the warm water surround her.

She sighed. "This is nice."

Miku wasn't far behind, though a little more hurried. "It is. I've always found that the temperature of the pool here is exquisite."

"It really is."

Luka started for the first lap of the pool, but Miku protested, "What? Are you leaving me?"

"I'm just swimming," Luka gently said. "It's what you do in a pool."

"Without me?"

"You're free to join me."

Miku pouted again, and again she relented, following the other woman to the opposite end of the pool. Then they swam back, slowly and relaxed, Luka keeping her eyes almost entirely closed, listening to the soft noises of Miku gliding through the water.

"Where did you learn how to swim?" she asked the younger woman at some point. She turned around, and back to the deep end she went. "You have excellent form."

"My parents paid for swimming lessons when I was very young," she said simply, following her example. "You?"

"Same. My parents really wanted me to know how to swim as early as possible."

"Hm. Something we have in common," Miku said.

They arrived at the deep end of the pool again, and as Luka clutched the edge, getting ready to turn, there were suddenly two extra arms around her.

"Wh—"

Miku cornered her against the edge of the pool, a devious grin on her face.

"Did you really think I came here for a lousy little swim?" she asked the pilot.

"Well," Luka stammered, "I don't know. Maybe."

"I came here to get closer to you, silly," Miku said softly, her voice barely carrying over the water. She drew in, almost pressing her body against Luka's, tucking her chin on her shoulder.

"Oh, is that so," Luka whispered. She could barely touch the bottom of the pool, but she let Miku surround her, arms blocking her in. "Exactly what were you planning?"

"First, to see you in a bikini. Well, that fell through," Miku pouted, and to Luka's surprise, the younger woman suddenly bit her ear, nipping at it gently.

"Ow!"

"Punishment," she said, her tone light. "That didn't really hurt, did it?"

"No, but it caught me off guard."

"Good." Miku pressed up against her. "Second..."

Luka felt her back stiffen, her limbs freeze, when Miku pressed a kiss to her neck. Her arms flew to Miku's back, holding on as the younger woman started an exploration in earnest, trailing kisses up and down her wet skin.

"This... We're in public," she said weakly.

"Nobody is here," Miku sang between kisses. She changed sides by traveling over Luka's collarbone, before kissing her way back up towards Luka's ear.

Luka had to bite back a groan. "If you'd wanted to kiss, then—"

"It's not just about the kissing, though," Miku whispered directly into her ear, before nipping at that one, too, making Luka jump. Miku chuckled, going on to say, "It's also about..."

One of her hands released the edge of the pool to rest on Luka's waist, just the way she'd done at the party.

Miku's hand was so close, only shielded from her bare skin by a millimeter-thin layer of swimsuit. And it trailed up, up her side, over her ribcage, going up her back, to the base of her neck. Luka felt each finger, the way they pressed against her, feeling her every curve, every bone and muscle.

Luka grinned to herself. She stood on her tiptoes, freeing her hands to return the favor. Except she didn't have a swimsuit against her palms; it was Miku's bare skin, apart from the nearly non-existent strings holding her shred of a bikini in place. She explored down Miku's back, feeling strong muscles under her skin, before suddenly pulling her close at the waist so they were hip-to-hip.

Miku shivered, and it was so obvious under Luka's touch.

"Two can play at this game," the older woman whispered, pressing a kiss to Miku's bare shoulder. Miku's legs intertwined with Luka's, and she let it happen, making sure to hold the younger woman close.

"You devil," Miku hissed, but her voice was one of pure delight.

Luka chuckled to herself, before nibbling at her shoulder, which got her an undignified squeak.

"You can't bruise me!" Miku admonished her, but Luka didn't listen, holding her tight, letting her teeth kiss the soft skin of Miku's neck. She bit gently, just enough to make her feel it, just enough to make it sting.

"I'm merely returning the favor," she said sweetly, and Miku hummed lowly.

"You can't," she said weakly, yet the hand at the back of Luka's neck pulled her closer, doing nothing to stop her.

Luka kissed where she'd bit, soothing it, before repeating the process, alternatively biting and kissing all over her neck. Whenever Luka would hesitate, wondering if she'd gone too far, the hand on her would draw little circles, would pull, would jerk, showing nothing but encouragement. Their limbs under the water were tightly intertwined, knotted together, meaning that Miku hung on to Luka almost like a dead weight, her head leaning to the side, granting Luka all the access she could ever want. Luka held her as close as she dared, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other keeping her from leaning away, bracing her between the shoulder blades.

Miku's skin was so warm, even under the cool water.

As Luka explored, listening closely to the little gasps that Miku tried to hide, she watched the skin redden, even bruise at some parts. She smiled at how helpless the younger woman had become, putty in her arms, barely even hanging on to the edge of the pool, clinging to her like nothing else existed. Luka supported her, kept her close, even when Miku wriggled and whined, her legs pulling, her hand tugging gently at Luka's hair.

Things came to a screeching halt when Miku started grinding her hips against Luka's.

"Please," the younger woman whined, pulling her close.

"I'm stopping here," Luka whispered, trying to keep her voice gentle.

"Please...!"

"No."

Miku moaned, now almost clawing at Luka's back. "You can't! Ugh! How can you do this to me?!"

Luka chuckled. "Easily."

"You didn't even…! Ugh." Miku released Luka, untangling their legs, and she swam away, splashing water everywhere as she went, her face crimson.

"Are you okay?" Luka asked, swimming after her. The water suddenly felt much cooler.

"I need to blow off some steam, duh!" Miku said, still swimming away. "Don't touch me."

Luka chuckled, and swam after her slowly, more relaxed now. She wore a huge, proud grin as she watched the younger woman furiously splash and grumble, up and down the length of the pool. They did that for a few laps, Miku far ahead and Luka calmly following, and eventually they met in the middle of the pool, Miku's blush still vicious, Luka's grin still smug.

"You're a meanie," Miku pouted, swimming in one spot.

"I didn't want us to get too carried away," Luka said coolly.

"What if I wanted you to?"

Luka raised a brow. "Do you want our first time to be in a hotel pool, where anybody could walk in at any time?"

"Tsch, no, but..." Miku sank under the water a bit, until it came up to her ears. Eventually she did resurface and said, "In the moment, I did."

"Well, I didn't. We'll do that later."

"Today?"

Luka tried to keep her expression soft. "Not today. I'm a bit of a romantic."

"Could've fooled me. You were ravaging me back there."

Luka chuckled.

"Then when?"

"When we're both comfortable."

Miku grumbled, but didn't insist, sinking deeper into the water again. She glared at Luka for a bit, the red of her cheeks lessening, and this time when she resurfaced, she said, "Hold me."

"Okay."

Luka held her softly, easily standing in the middle of the pool. Miku hung onto her, leaning her head against Luka's, resting her chin on her shoulder. When she sighed, Luka felt it against her wet skin, summoning goosebumps.

"I don't think I've ever wanted anything as badly as I want you," Miku whispered against Luka's skin.

The pilot chuckled. "I'm honored."

"I don't think..." Miku tucked herself in further, as if she were trying to hide, and Luka pulled back a bit, concerned.

"You okay?"

"I don't think I've ever felt this way before. Not for anything, anyone," she said. "I..."

Luka smiled softly, and held onto her, gently rubbing circles into her back.

"I know we're very different," Miku said suddenly. "We make friends differently. We buy things differently. We have different kinds of families. Lives. Budgets. Ways we...do things."

"Hm."

"I don't want any of that to stop us," she said, and right then, she sounded almost on the verge of tears. "If I can't keep you, then I don't know what I'll do."

"If we don't work out," Luka said, keeping her tone cool, "then we'll both just have to live on. To do our best."

"I don't want to 'live on' without you. I lied when I said your face and voice were getting old. I want you with me all the time. Forever. I want to buy things with you. I want to party with you. I want to fly places with you. I'll even spend another week in a raft with you."

Luka gulped. "I want to navigate life with you. Travel, see the world, overcome our obstacles. Do taxes."

"I don't care about taxes."

"But it's the little things, too, isn't it?" Luka whispered. "If we want to stay together, that means doing most things together, as a team. You'll also have a lot of un-fun things to do."

Miku sighed. "I know. I just want to focus on the fun stuff."

"But please don't ignore the things that aren't fun. I like doing things, too, things you might not think are that great."

"Like?"

"I draw, you know that. I read. I'll need a lot of time to myself."

"Boring, but... I understand," Miku said, holding her tight. "You'll be my favorite even if you're being boring and reading a book."

"And you'll be dear to me even if you're busy partying," Luka said, kissing the side of her head. "I just want to make sure that, even if we're so different, we can find space in the middle for us both."

"We can. I'll make sure of it."

Luka breathed, a smile on her face. "I'm glad."

Miku retreated, just slightly, just enough to look her in the eye. "I'll take care of my dad," she said. "I'll figure something out. And depending on how he reacts, we'll do... something."

Luka chuckled. "We have no choice but to do something. Even nothing is something."

Miku grumbled. "If he hates you, if he doesn't want me to be with you, then... Then I'll go with you. You care more about me than he ever has."

"But—" Luka chuckled, incredulous. "We've only been going out for a day."

"I don't care. I survived with you. It's more than he can ever say."

Luka nodded, slowly. "That's true..."

"You'll never let me go?"

Luka pondered the question for a moment. The weight of the question wasn't lost on her: coming from someone who is usually so flighty, with such fickle tendencies, this request was worth more than Luka could imagine. She took it in, astonished, mute for a few seconds, before smiling and pulling Miku close.

"Never."