Chapter 10
The next day: Café Mew Mew
Ichigo was yelling at Mint because Mint had been taking a break all day long. Zakuro was cleaning the windows and Pudding was cleaning the tables. While Lettuce was sweeping up another plate she had broken.
All night long she kept thinking about if rubbing Pai's ears was making Pai feel good, which led her to imagine Pai being self-explorative, causing her to be a little self-explorative.
Even all day long she kept thinking about it. "Alien alert! Alien alert!" Masha chirped out.
"Masha it's okay, they're our friends now, na no do." Pudding said petting Masha.
Lettuce looked up to see if it was Pai that was going to be coming through the door. She was unsure if she would be able to face him, her knowing that she thought about him impurely all night long.
Kisshu and Taruto came through the front doors, followed by Kukki. "Koneko-chan!" Kisshu said running up to Ichigo. Ichigo grabbed the broom that Lettuce had and put the stick end out.
"This is as close as you can get to me." she said.
"Aww?!" Kisshu pouted as his ears pointed down slightly.
Pudding was jumping on Taruto while Taruto was trying to run away. It was their little way of playing and saying hello.
Kukki walked over to Lettuce with her arms crossed. "Lettuce, settle something for us will you." Kukki said.
Kisshu and Taruto walked over now, Pudding hanging onto Taruto. "Um…sure." Lettuce said anxiously.
"Did you and Pai..." Kukki cleared her throat "ehm…have relations last night?"
Keiichiro dropped a cake he was bringing out, Ryou dropped a pitcher of water, Ichigo dropped the broom, Zakuro dropped the window cleaner, and Pudding let go of Taruto. All of these things were happening at the same moment Lettuce turned bright red.
Ichigo and the others faces went dead for a second, then they came running over to hear Lettuce's reply.
"N…NO!" Lettuce replied as she began to hyperventilate.
"I told you!" Kukki said to Kisshu and Taruto. "I get your dessert now." she said proudly.
"Why would you ask Lettuce that?!" Ichigo yelled.
"Kisshu and Taruto thought that Pai was late last night because they were being intimate." Kukki said motioning to Kisshu and Taruto with her thumb. "I told them it was impossible, since this was Pai we are talking about."
"I bet my whole weeks dessert on it." Kisshu said sadly as he rested his head on a table and tears ran down his eyes in a cartoonish way. "I gave my big brother less credit than Kukki did."
Ichigo grabbed the broom again and started hitting Kisshu in the back with the bristle end. "You baka!" she yelled. "How dare you think like that!? Lettuce is our friend and I will not have you talk about her that way!"
"But I only thought that because I thought Pai would want to have sex eventually. Pai's a strong guy and Lettuce is quite small." Kisshu said protecting his head.
"KUKKI!" Pai yelled bursting open the doors. Pai saw that everyone was staring at him, as did Ichigo who stopped hitting Kisshu momentarily. Lettuce walked over to Pai. "Am I too late?" Pai whispered to Lettuce.
"Hai." she said quietly, still quite red from the embarrassment.
Pai gave a slight nod. "If you will excuse me I must go terminate my existence." he muttered under his breath.
"Pai, wait!" Lettuce grabbed onto Pai's shirt. Pai stopped where he was. She saw his face bright red from embarrassment. "Please don't do that Pai." Lettuce walked in front of him and leaned up and kissed him.
"Alright, Lettuce." Pai said. He really enjoyed using just her first name and no honorific. Pai looked over at Kukki. "I told you to not bother asking her! I already informed you that we did no such thing!"
"These two are the ones who wouldn't let it die without hearing it from her." she motioned to Kisshu who was getting beat with the broom again, and Taruto who was now on the ground being sat on by Pudding who was softly hitting him in the chest.
"Pudding is mad Taru-Taru would make Lettuce onee-chan embarrassed like that." Pudding said as she beat him with her fists.
"Bakas!" Pai scoffed. Pai turned his attention to Lettuce. "Lettuce, would you like to go collect some specimens with me?"
"Huh?" Lettuce asked confused.
"Our planets condition is already being restored to a more livable environment. However I would like to collect different types of flora and growable produce." Pai stated.
"Hai." Lettuce said as she nodded. "Ryou" Lettuce looked over to Ryou and Keiichiro who were cleaning up the dropped pitcher of water and cake "would it be alright if I went to collect some things for Pai's planet?"
"Yeah go ahead." Ryou said trying to avoid eye contact. Ryou was red in the face with Keiichiro; both of them were shocked when Kukki asked Lettuce if her and Pai had sex. Ryou and Keiichiro didn't want to admit it but for a split second they imagined what it would look like.
Pai took Lettuce by the hand and led her outside to the forest where they were begun to look for different types of plants that could be beneficial to the Cyniclon's planet. "Do you think this type of flower would be nice for your planet?" Lettuce asked holding out a flower to Pai.
"Well flowers do create pollen and on Earth many types of insects help pollinate crops, I do not see why such a flower would not be beneficial." Pai smiled at her as he opened a small bag.
Lettuce noticed something inside the bag beside the jars Pai had in there to collect their findings. She saw it as she reached her hand into the bag. It was a small box with a green ribbon on the outside. "Um…Pai…" Lettuce said quietly as she stared at the box.
Pai realized that she had seen the gift he had gotten for her. "Oh…um…" Pai muttered as took out the present for her. "This is for you." Pai said holding it out to her.
"A…are you sure?" she asked as she just held the box in her hands.
"Hai." Pai nodded.
Lettuce untied the green ribbon to see that there were two long white ribbons for her hair in there. "R…ribbons?" she asked as she smiled.
"I thought it might look nice on you." Pai blushed. "Would you like to wear them now?"
"Hai." she nodded. She turned around and had Pai tie the ribbons at the ends of her braids for her. "How do they look?" Lettuce asked.
"They looked beautiful on you." Pai said leaning down as he placed a hand on her cheek and kissed her softly.
They continued to look for many more things, different types of edible mushrooms and plants, occasionally finding some fruit trees and berry bushes. Pai and Lettuce began to head back as Pai looked through the bag to inspect their collections. "I believe we have collected a valuable amount of specimens today." Pai stated picking out a jar that held a shitake mushroom in it. "It seems I forgot to label this one." Pai said inspecting the jar. "Lettuce, do you know what type of mushroom this is?" he asked holding the jar out to her.
"Oh…um…" Lettuce said quietly. She hated shitake mushrooms. She disliked the taste of them whenever her mother made them for dinner. "It's a…" she mumbled.
"Is something the matter?" Pai asked raising an eyebrow.
"I'm sorry Pai…" she chuckled lightly "I just had a bad experience once with shitake mushrooms, so I get sick looking at them sometimes." She began to blush slightly. She felt foolish acting strange when she saw the mushroom.
Pai stopped walking for a moment. Pai started to have irritational thoughts rush though his mind. "Uh…um…is it all mushrooms you dislike?" Pai asked nervously.
"Not all. But most of them. I just don't like the way they taste because of the texture when cooked." Lettuce said. "Do you dislike any types of food Pai?"
Pai was silent as he stared at the mushrooms.
"Pai…?" Lettuce repeated.
"I have yet to find food that I do not enjoy. Besides Kisshu's." Pai laughed.
Lettuce gave a slight chuckle. "Not a good cook?"
"Correct. I saw him once try to make toast by using a blowtorch." Pai said remembering that day. "I had to take it away from him before he burned the whole ship down."
Pai and Lettuce started laughing together. There was a silence between them for a moment after the laughing. "Lettuce…do you hate the shapes of mushrooms?" Pai asked blushing bright red. He tried to use a euphemism instead of using just blatantly outright saying what he had in mind.
"I guess it could be that." Lettuce said oblivious at the euphemism Pai meant it for. Then the realization hit her. "Oh my…! Did he mean…?! Does he think I wouldn't like to 'be intimate' with him ever?!" Lettuce thought. "But that's not to say that I dislike that shape in general!" Lettuce waved her hands quickly as quickly as she talked. "I mean I haven't seen anything else like that shape so I wouldn't know if I dislike the shape." she spoke faster.
Pai grabbed Lettuce into a hug to calm her down. "Lettuce…it is alright…" Pai said calmly "I did not intend to make you flustered. Gomenasai." he said squeezing her tighter. Lettuce gave a sigh of relief as did Pai.
Lettuce walked into the café with Pai, where they saw the other sitting around having tea and cakes. "Ah…you're back." Kukki said smiling. "How did the collecting go?"
"We were able to obtain a large amount of specimens." Pai said showing the bag to his siblings.
While the Cyniclons were looking in the bag Ichigo noticed the new ribbons in Lettuce's hair. "Lettuce, you got new ribbons." Ichigo said smiling. "They look really nice on you."
"Oh, thank you. Pai gave it to me." Lettuce said smiling.
Kukki was holding a jar and almost dropped it, but was able to catch it at the last moment. "I…I'm sorry, what happened?" Kukki asked as she blinked as if she was confused and shocked.
Pai's eyes widened and looked at Kukki and shook his head as if to tell his sister to not say anything.
"Um…" Lettuce said noticing how Pai was acting. "I don't know…"
"She said Pai onii-chan gave it to her, na no do!" Pudding said raising her hand.
Kukki didn't do anything for a moment; she looked as though she was in a trance of shock. Then a smirk, which turned into a wide open mouthed smile.
"They are just ribbons Kukki!" Pai yelled at her. "There is no other meaning to it!"
"I'm confused." Ichigo said.
"I'm right there with you." Kisshu leaned over and whispered.
"Are you sure? ~" Kukki sang sideling up to Pai.
"Our customs have no meaning in this situation!" Pai snapped crossing his arms.
"Um…excuse me…" Lettuce spoke quietly.
Pai walked over to Lettuce and leaned down by her ear and whispered "No matter what Kukki says do not allow her to persuade you that this has another meaning. I must return these specimens to the ship." Pai kissed Lettuce on the cheek and then teleported away.
"Somebody better tell me what's going on or I'm going to throw a chair." Kisshu said getting frustrated that nobody was saying anything.
"Kukki…" Lettuce said walking over to Kukki. "What do your customs have to do with this?"
"Well, when a Cyniclon male gives a female a white ribbon it means that he wants to get engaged in the future, and eventually marriage." Kukki said. "It's like a pre-engagement ring in your culture, or a promise ring, whatever you want to call it."
Lettuce stood there blinking for a moment. The next moment she knew it she was passed out on the floor.
"Lettuce!" they all shouted as she hit the ground.
Lettuce woke up in Ryou's bed a few hours later. She remembered that she passed out on the ground when she heard that the ribbon Pai gave her was like a pre-engagement ring in their culture. She then remembered that Pai told her to not listen to Kukki and that it had no other meaning. Perhaps Pai was lying to her, however he was honest before with her about other things, so perhaps he wasn't lying to her.
Lettuce saw Ichigo leaning over her with the other Mew Mews. "You awake Lettuce Onee-chan?" Pudding asked.
"Hai." Lettuce said sitting up and nodding.
"Are you feeling okay?" Ryou asked coming in holding a cup of tea out to Lettuce. "You took quite a fall."
"Hai." Lettuce said taking the tea and sipping it. "I'm alright."
Lettuce was staring off into space into her tea thinking about if Pai did want to get pre-engaged. Ryou and the others were standing there staring at Lettuce. Zakuro started pushing the others out of the room one by one. "I want to talk to Lettuce alone." she said sternly when Pudding and Ichigo were going to put up a protest.
Zakuro closed the door and leaned against it. "Okay. What's on your mind?" Zakuro asked.
"Oh…um…well I'm not sure if Pai meant it to mean what Kukki said it means. Pai said to not look into any other kind of meaning, but…" Lettuce said talking faster.
Zakuro put up her hand cutting her off. "And you're worried that Pai isn't telling you the truth."
Lettuce's eyes widened. "How'd you know?" Lettuce asked surprised.
"I kind of had something happen to me when I was younger. In the end we ended up doubting each other." Zakuro said. She didn't want to get into any more information then she needed to.
"Do you think Pai meant it to be for pre-engagement?" Lettuce asked looking back down at the cup of tea.
"How would you feel if he lied to you?" Zakuro asked.
"Well…I'd be upset if he was lying to me…but…" Lettuce said trailing off.
"You'd be happy if it was for pre-engagement." Zakuro stated. Lettuce nodded. "And if Pai wasn't lying to you then you wouldn't be upset?"
"Well…" Lettuce muttered. She would like for Pai to be with her forever, but then she would be upset if he lied to her. On the other hand she would be happy if Pai was truthful with her, but saddened if they weren't pre-engaged.
"Well, you should ask him yourself what it meant." Zakuro said placing her hand on the doorknob. "It's not worth worrying about what it could mean. Ask him what he meant with the ribbon. The key to a healthy relationship is openness and communication." she said opening the door and closing it behind her.
Lettuce sat there for a minute thinking about what Zakuro said. She took a deep breath in and began to muster up the courage to ask Pai. She didn't want Pai to get frightened away if she seemed too eager to get pre-engaged. But she had to be truthful with him about her feelings.
Lettuce headed downstairs and saw Kisshu chasing Ichigo around a table. Ichigo was trying to fend him off with a chair as Kisshu tried to jump on her for a hug.
Kisshu noticed Lettuce. "So, how you are feeling?" Kisshu asked.
"Um…Kisshu." Lettuce said quietly. "I need to talk to Pai about something. Can you take me to the ship to see him?"
"Yeah." Kisshu said sighing. "I'll be back, Koneko-chan! ~" he said blowing her a kiss.
He then teleported her to the ship. "Um…where is Pai?" Lettuce asked.
"If he's not in his lab then maybe try his room." Kisshu said. "I need to get back to see my Koneko-chan." Kisshu said with hearts in his eyes before teleporting away.
Lettuce looked in his lab to see if he was there, which he wasn't. She only saw Kukki working on something. "Um…Kukki?" Lettuce knocked on the wall to grab Kukki's attention.
"Ah, Lettuce. How are you feeling?" Kukki asked turning around after placing some papers down. She walked over to her and checked her head to see if there was any bruising.
"I'm fine Kukki." Lettuce said.
"Did you get any injuries." Kukki asked eyeing her up and down.
"No." Lettuce said. "I'm alright."
"Oh good. I told Pai that you passed out when I told you what the ribbon meant in our culture. Needless to say he was not happy with me." Kukki said. "He's worried about you, but I think he's embarrassed that I told you what the intentions behind a ribbon means."
"I see." Lettuce said looking down.
"So are you here to see Pai-kun?" she winked at Lettuce and gave a slight giggle.
"Hai." Lettuce said. "Do you think it would be alright if I saw Pai now?"
"Yeah. He is in his room." Kukki said. She walked Lettuce to Pai's room and knocked on the door. "Pai, your girlfriend is here!" Kukki yelled through the door.
There was no response. Kukki opened the door to find the room empty. "He might be in the bathroom. You can go in." Kukki said motioning Lettuce to go into Pai's room.
Lettuce walked over to Pai's bed and sat down on the end of it as she waited for Pai. She noticed that Pai had a body pillow on his bed, but something seemed off about it. It looked as if the stuffing in it was worn out, as if it had been used quite frequently.
She turned the pillow over and saw that it was dakimakura love pillow of her. She knew things like these existed, but was unaware that one of her in her Mew form existed. She heard the bathroom door slide open and saw Pai standing there in a towel wrapped around his waist and head. The towel sat just below his hips and went down to the middle of his thighs.
The towel on his head hung down which obscured the side of his vision, so he was unable to see Lettuce sitting on the bed. Lettuce saw that there were small water droplets running down his back and legs. Pai tossed his hair slightly as it sat in the towel.
Lettuce started to turn pink all the way up her body. Pai was still unaware that she was there as he walked over to his dresser and picked up a small bottle of milk and took a drink from it. The towel hung low on his hips where she could see he had v shaped hips.
Lettuce still couldn't speak up. She was nervous, but still so excited to see more. Pai turned around and pulled out a pair of boxer briefs and undid his towel. It happened in slow motion for Lettuce. She watched as the towel slowly dropped to the ground and Pai's backside became visible.
Lettuce stared at his bare behind, a toned, firm looking, behind. Lettuce took a deep gasp in to try to catch her breath. She covered her mouth with her hands, hoping Pai didn't hear her.
Unfortunately Pai did. He heard a small gasp behind on his bed. "Kukki…" Pai sighed as he quickly got on his underwear "how many times do I have to tell you to stay out of my room?!" He turned around to see Lettuce sitting on his bed, hands covering her mouth, blushing bright red, while he was standing there in just his boxer briefs.
"DAMN IT!" Pai swore inside his head. "L…Lettuce…" Pai stammered. He had the look of fear and embarrassment on his face as he stood unmoving. "How long have you been there?"
"Um…" Lettuce muttered softly, which was the only thing she was able to mutter out.
"D…did you see, 'anything'?" Pai asked reaching in his drawer and grabbing a pair of pants out and quickly slipping them on.
"Well…" she said quietly blushing as she twiddled her fingers together.
Pai turned around and hit his head against the wall. Lettuce's eyes widened. Pai placed his hands against the wall and hit his head again. "Pai stop!" Lettuce screamed.
Pai stopped and turned around with embarrassment all on his face. "I didn't see…" Lettuce said softly again "you know…'that'."
Pai walked over to Lettuce and sat down beside her. "Are you being forthright with me?" Pai asked her placing his hands on her shoulders. Pai sat there staring at her eyes. Pai knew just by looking at her eyes that she was telling the truth. Pai let out a sigh of relief. "Gomenasai Lettuce." Pai said. "I was worried you saw something you would not want to see."
"Um…Pai…" Lettuce said looking down slight. "I did see your backside." she said blushing, thinking about how sensual it made her feel inside.
"I apologize you had to see me in that moment." Pai said trying to regain composure.
"It's alright Pai." Lettuce said taking hold of Pai's hand. "I…I didn't mind really."
Pai's eyes widened. "Did she say…she did not mind seeing me in that state?" Pai thought. "How are you feeling Lettuce? Kukki informed me that you had passed out when she told you of our customs." Pai asked.
"I feel alright." Lettuce said smiling sweetly. "But I did want to ask you something?"
"Hai." Pai nodded prepared to hear her question.
"Um…well…" Lettuce mumbled "did you mean to give me the ribbons as a sign of pre-engagement?" Lettuce blurted out quickly. She began to blush light pink.
She looked over at Pai who was staring down at the ground with a pink tinge to his face as well. "Well I…I am unsure." Pai said. "I informed you that it was just a gift, however the thought of my people's tradition was also in mind." Pai said looking up at her.
"So, you do want to get pre-engaged?" Lettuce asked.
"Affirmative. But if you find it disagreeable…" Pai began before getting cut off by Lettuce kissing him.
Lettuce had placed her hands on the side of Pai's face. She began to kiss him passionately. "I'd like that very much." Lettuce said after breaking off the kiss.
Pai gave a sweet smile as he held her now into a tight embrace. "Lettuce…I have never felt this way before about anyone. Never did I think that I could feel this way about anyone the way you have attained me to."
Lettuce felt Pai's bare chest pressed against her. She could feel his heart beating hard and fast. "Pai…" Lettuce said as she wrapped her arms around his back. She could feel his muscles in his back and his shoulders.
Pai released her from his grip as did she. Pai began to walk her towards his door when she asked "Pai, where did you get that pillow from?"
Pai was surprised from the question causing him to trip and land on top of her. Hands and knees on the ground, body hovering over her like it did back when he first kissed her.
Pai and Lettuce stared at each other for a few seconds, but to them it felt as if time had slowed down and a lifetime was passing. Pai and Lettuce realized the position they were in. Lettuce glanced down and noticed that their positions must have excited Pai.
"Um…Pai…" Lettuce said blushing glancing back to Pai's eyes and over to his bed.
"That pillow was given to me by my sister." Pai said with a hint of anger in his voice. "She thought it would assist me in learning how to hug people." Pai sighed.
"I see…" Lettuce said softly. "But…well…I was more wondering about…"
"About what?" Pai asked raising an eyebrow.
"Um…" Lettuce mumbled as she nudged it with her knee.
Pai's eyes widened slightly. "G…Gomenasai!" Pai said blushing.
There gazes adverted to the opening of the door. Kukki was standing there with two cups of tea on a tray for them. "Kukki…" Pai said quietly "it is not what it appears to be."
Kukki stood there blinking, still holding the tray. She slowly backed up without saying anything as the door closed.
Pai stood up and helped Lettuce off the ground. "Um…" Lettuce muttered, unsure what to say, if anything could be said.
Kukki came bursting through the door holding her tessen. "I thought you were a good boy!" Kukki yelled hitting Pai on the head with it. "You should know not to take advantage of a girl like Lettuce!" she yelled as she hit him on the head again.
"Kukki, wait!" Pai yelled holding up his hand grabbing her tessen. "I informed you it is not as it appears."
"Pai is telling the truth!" Lettuce said stepping forward. "We just happened to fall."
Kukki looked over at Lettuce. "Are you sure?" she asked her. "If you are under duress blink five times in a row."
"I'm telling the truth!" Lettuce said.
Kukki took back her weapon from Pai. "Fine." she sighed. "If he does something then just yell." Kukki said crossing her arms and closing the door behind her.
Pai sighed. "Baka!" Pai swore as he rubbed his head.
"Are you alright?" Lettuce asked looking at Pai's head.
"Hai." Pai nodded. "It just hurts a little." he said.
Lettuce led Pai to the bed to sit down. "May I see?" Lettuce said reaching out her had slightly. Pai nodded. Lettuce sat on her knees behind Pai and checked his head. She slowly ran her fingers through his hair to see if there was any sign of blood.
As she moved her hand through his hair she could smell his shampoo and the fresh scent from his body. It made her feel warm inside again. "Um…Pai…" Lettuce muttered.
"Hai." Pai replied.
"Do you think it would be okay if we got into the position we were in before?" she asked as she blushed.
"I…I…" Pai stuttered, clearly flustered by the question. "You…would fancy if we got into that previous position?"
"Hai." Lettuce said confidently. It was unlike her, but she really wanted to be in that position again. Pai over top her, staring down at her as she gazed up into his eyes. It was like what she read in her romance novels.
"If you desire to, I shall abide." Pai said. Lettuce laid on her back on Pai's bed and rested her head on his pillow. Pai slowly positioned himself over her again. Pai stared at her big blue eyes staring up at him. He could feel his face begin to heat up, along with his body. "What shall we do now?" Pai asked, voice sounding a little shaky.
Lettuce placed her hands on his bare shoulders, and brought him closer to her. She leaned closer upwards towards him and kissed him gently. Pai kissed her back gently as he placed his hand on her cheek. He brushed her cheek softly with the back of his hand, caressing her face. Her skin was soft and smooth, warm, and bright red.
Lettuce moved her knee upwards between his legs to check if he was getting excited again. She confirmed that he was aroused, as was she.
Pai made a slight moan as their lips were still sealed together. He broke off their kiss and pushed himself up again. "Lettuce…I am worried that our relationship might be progressing too rapidly." Pai said.
"Are you uncomfortable doing things like this?" Lettuce asked.
"Perhaps just a little. But I am more concerned that you will be regretful if we were to advance this situation." Pai stated.
"Well…I am curious about many things, but you might be correct." Lettuce said sounding a little disappointed.
"If you would like to continue then we may. But I am concerned that I will not be able to resist the urges and temptations I feel." Pai stated now lying next to her as he brushed a strand of hair off her face.
"What kind of urges do you feel?" Lettuce asked. She knew what he meant, but she wanted to hear it from Pai. She knew she didn't even have to ask really.
Pai gave her a look as if to say 'must you ask'. Pai gave a slight sigh. "Well…I desire to kiss all night long as I hold you close to me. Needless to say I would enjoy it immensely if we were both undressed." Pai said reaching over and placing a hand on her waist. "However I am aware that those are just my urges talking. And you might not feel the same way."
Lettuce sat up and swung her leg over Pai's waist, till she was straddling him. Pai's eyes widened. "What are you doing?" Pai asked voice shaky again; it was quite obvious he was become more flustered.