--
Okay. First things first? Some cuddling's absolutely in order for your poor, forlorn love.
"There, there," you whisper into Kaina's ear as she clings to you. Her tears trickle down your cleavage as she weeps into your breasts, leaving warm sticky trails. Kaina's slim back shakes like a leaf in a storm as she cries, and cries…
… Each one of her quiet sobs is like a dagger being planted in your heart. Every time you hear her cry it makes your heart pang, and your stomach flops.
It turns out you don't actually like seeing your love sad like this.
You suppress the urge to sniffle, the sympathetic tears that are beading up in your own eyes. Gosh, this is making your vision blurry…
No. You've got to stay strong for Kaina! She's stood strong for so long up to this point, and here she is, unwinding in your arms. You've got to keep it together. You have to!
… Even if it's super hard, gosh, you want to cry too...
"I'll never leave you, Kaina. I love you; I love you, Kaina, I love you..." You coo, your warm breath tickling the shell of Kaina's ear.
"Alice..." Kaina whimpers plaintively. "Alice…"
Yeah, this calls for some pretty heavy-duty care and cuddling. To the bed!
--
Kaina's finally quieted down by the time you've tucked her away with you beneath your warm, downy sheets. Your bed's an opulent affair, much like the rest of the room. No expense was spared; hundreds of geese gave their feathers so that you could sleep on fluffy softness and so your comforter would be properly stuffed.
It's all worth it for you to be able to cuddle your love. Or maybe your love's cuddling you? It's hard to tell right now.
Kaina's practically wound herself around you, her arms wrapped around your shoulders, her legs entwined between your own. She's still got her face buried between your round breasts. You can feel the sticky surface of her cheeks against your boobs, still slick and wet from her salty tears.
Gently, lovingly, you pat Kaina's slim back, rubbing soothing circles against her delicate skin. There, there. She's stopped crying, at least. Which is good! Kaina shifts, nuzzling her nose against your breastbone, squishing her face even further into your cleavage. Kaina's strong arms wrap just that extra bit more tightly against your shoulders.
Wow, this is really intimate, huh? Not that you mind. Body-pillow duty is something you'd happily perform! Anything to make Kaina feel happier! Or just happy in general!
Speaking of…
"Do you feel any better now, Kaina?"
"… Nnh," Kaina mumbles, a sound that buzzes against your sternum. This close, you can feel the vibration of Kaina's throat against your stomach as she speaks. "… Yes. I do."
Kaina lapses into silence. Outside, you hear the rain begin to fall across Terminus City. Fat raindrops pelt against your window, carried by the howling wind. That's how it always is in Terminus City. Always overcast, always raining. Shitty weather for a shitty city…
"… I don't know why I cried," Kaina admits, her words slightly muffled. It's unsurprising; she's basically talking into your boobs right now.
Well. You have a theory about this, pieced together from the bits and bobs you've learned about Kaina's life. If your hunch is correct…
"Kaina, when was the last time you cried?" You ask gently.
"… Dunno," Kaina replies. "… When Mitsuko passed. I think."
"And how long ago was that?" You coax.
"… Years," Kaina shifts. You shiver as she lifts her face out of your cleavage, a sudden chill wafting across your exposed skin. The lack of Kaina's body warmth against your own is uncomfortable.
The sight of Kaina's green eyes so clouded over with confusion and slight hints of anguish? That's even more uncomfortable.
"… But I'm not… I'm not supposed to cry. I can't..." Kaina stammers out.
"You're not supposed to cry?" You feel your eyebrow arch.
"My first manager said that… Magical Girls shouldn't… I'm supposed to be..." Kaina says, groping around for words.
Okay, you want to find the idiot corporate slimeball who put all of these asinine thoughts into Kaina's gorgeous head. And you want to kill the greedy prig slowly and painfully. As slowly and painfully as possible. Well, maybe you killed him already when you went postal all those years ago.
But it might be worth taking up necromancy again so you can track him down and revive his ass. So that you can kill him again.
What, Kaina's not… Supposed to cry? Because she always has to be a shining beacon of hope and light? You don't mind that she is. You love her because she is. But you also love her because she's a quiet cutie with a heart and a soul. Who you can feel!
What's the point of loving your idol if you can't hug her? If you can't cook a meal for her. If you can't do all the things you want with her? If you can't experience all the highs and lows of life with her? If she can't experience all of these things with you?
What kind of a relationship would that be?
"Okay, first of all, crying's a natural, human response. It's how our bodies react in response to our emotional states, like sadness, anger, happiness, or pain. Tears fall out of our eyes, our brains produce hormones, that's normal," you explain. "What isn't normal is not crying. For years. Kaina, I think you've been trying to repress all these feelings and emotions you've been having. So the instant you opened up a tiny bit, the second you felt like it was okay for you to release all of those feelings? Those feelings exploded out of you."
Kaina shifts uncomfortably against you, resting the side of her head against your breasts. You feel her breath hitch as she processes your words, thinking them over carefully.
"… This is a valid theory," Kaina admits. "It was… A lot. In that moment."
"And now? How are you feeling now? Do you feel any better?"
Kaina looks up at you. Tear tracks still stain her face. Her eyes are red, puffy, and still a little watery. But she looks infinitely more composed than she did a while ago. Kaina's head dips into another of her jerky nods.
"Mmh. I feel… Better. It helps that you're… Warm and soft. Your scent is comforting. The physical contact… Helps..." Kaina murmurs, her words punctuated by the light squeeze she gives you. Her fingers drum a stark staccato against your naked back.
You smile gently now, stroking the golden strands of your love's hair, reaching up so you can caress your love's cheek with your other hand in a comforting gesture. "That's good. That's great. Because, uh… We've got a lot we still have to talk about."
Kaina closes her eyes a bit wearily. "… We do."
Yeah, this is going to be a bit. Here goes. Oh wow, it feels weird opening up this much to the girl you love. Typically you seduce and manipulate your victims – er, love interests into worshipping you. What the heck are you even doing now? How did you even get to this moment?
Eh. Whatever. This is fine too, you can roll with this. Here goes~!
"Okay so, full disclosure, I'm still holding a few things back. Like my past. I… Burnt out on being a Magical Girl a long time ago. It's a long story, and it's not a really happy story. Or one I'm ready to share at the moment. And then the years since, well..." You trail off, wetting your lips. "… I did a lot of things. Some of them I'm proud of. Other things… Not so much."
Kaina listens silently, without judgment. Her breathing remains calm even as you continue to blabber on like a schoolgirl with a crush.
"Is that everything?" Kaina asks.
"No. But it's… The root of it. And I'll tell you the rest of my story eventually. That's something I promise, unequivocally and without reservation. Just..."
"Just not now."
"… Yeah," you sigh, feeling those dull, aching pains rise within you again. Gosh, this conversation's bringing up those memories you wanted to bury and delete again. When did things get so heavy…?
"Thank you for sharing that with me. I'm..." Kaina pauses, her mouth working as she struggles to convey her thoughts. "I'm happy. That you shared that much with me. And that you comforted me when I… When I cried. And that we're able to talk like this. It's… Nice."
"… It is, isn't it?" You perk up.
This isn't really what you imagined when you tried to seduce Kaina all those weeks ago, but it is… Nice. In its own way. It's nice to open up this much to the girl you love…
"Alice?"
"Yes, Kaina?" You hum.
"… Are you ever going to tell me about the other things you're holding back?"
"… I promise I'll tell you. Eventually. Unequivocally and without reservation. But for now..." You hesitate. "… Kaina, is it enough if I promise I'll avoid lying about those things? If I promise that I'll always tell you when I'm avoiding a topic?"
"..." Kaina hesitates, her eyes flashing with confusion. "Lies of omission are still lies."
You sigh. "Yeah, I guess they are..."
"If it's important enough you think you have to lie to me about it… The topics you're holding back. They're all about things you think might jeopardize our relationship. If I were to know about them."
You wince. Yep, this is looking kind of bad…
"… But this arrangement is acceptable," Kaina suddenly declares. "If you promise that you will tell me everything when you think the time's right. And if you promise that you won't lie to me. Or mislead me in the future. Because..."
"I promise I won't do those things," you pledge. And you mean it! Sure, this will make things a bit more complicated with Kaina. You'll probably have to curb some of your excesses, like the whole kidnapping homeless girls thing until after Kaina's moral compass has been degraded a tad. But this makes Kaina happy, so…
There's another round of silence and quiet contemplation. It's nice and cozy in your bed now. Kaina's body is warm and toasty against your own. She radiates heat like a magical space heater, protecting you from the chill of your bedroom…
Kaina's also visibly calmer now. She certainly feels calmer. She's not shaking at all; her breaths are even and steady, and a lot of the puffiness has gone from her eyes…
You're certainly feeling a lot better as well! Even if you do feel drained! Phew, today's just been a weird day. This whole date's just been a thing and a half. At this point, you're almost wanting to turn in so that you can get some shut-eye…
"Alice?" Kaina speaks up again.
"Yeeess~?" You drawl out in response, teasing out your reply. "What is it, Kaina?"
"… Tell me more about yourself, please..." A luminescent blush lights up Kaina's features. "I… Suddenly I want to know… More about you..."
Oh.
Oh!
Kyah~! Your love's wanting to know more about you! This is… This is great! First, it's a sign that Kaina wants to take her mind off of all of the serious junk that's been plaguing your evening. Second? Because the girl you love's interested in knowing more about you! Even after your big reveal~!
"Sure! Ask away, anything you want to know!" You chirp out happily. "I'll tell you anything. My three sizes, the kind of conditioner I use, my-"
"Alice, how old are you?"
Uh-oh. You feel the gears in your brain crashing to a halt now. The smile emblazoned across your lips becomes strained. Oh gosh, that's a question you really didn't want to have to answer this early on…
"I'm old enough to have lots of romantic experience! But young enough to have as many babies as you want~!" You cheer. "Next question!"
Please take the out; please get the hint…
"… That's a vague answer, Alice."
"…" Dang, it is. Right after you promised not to mislead Kaina too. Ugh, you really are the worst. Fine. Fine! You'll answer all of Kaina's questions. Even the super embarrassing ones. You still find yourself glancing around surreptitiously before you lean in to whisper in Kaina's ear. Just to make sure there aren't any eavesdroppers... "Promise not to tell anybody else!"
"… Okay," Kaina breathes into your own ear.
You proceed to whisper a short number to Kaina. The most embarrassing answer any villainess can give to an inquiry. How… How old she is.
Kyah, how embarrassing…!
Kaina blinks, once, twice. Then…
"Oh. I see what you mean now."
Phew. It's good to see Kaina took that in stride. Ugh, you want to crawl into a hole and die…
"Next question. Please," you beg, feeling your face beginning to warm. Ugh, you're blushing like a schoolgirl; what are you doing...
"Where were you born, then?"
Oh! That's an easier one!
"Well, I was born in Terminus City, actually! See, my mother was an office drone, and my dad? Well, his story begins with that fish he caught off the shores of Suncrest Isle..."
And that's how you end up whiling away the rest of the night! Just swapping short anecdotes about your life with Kaina, even as she cuddles up to you underneath the warm covers of your bed. High above, the rain continues to fall, the constant patter of the raindrops providing some nice background noise against the lively buzz of conversation.
It's a surprisingly nice way to end this date~!
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Essence: (75/170 Essence, 55 Regen)