Foreword:

To anybody who has read Tradition's End, I do have to warn you that this little extra chapter is a bit, uh, thirstier(?) than you may be used to reading. I don't think it really truly deserves the M rated tag, but I went ahead and put it on there just to be safe. Even i don't always have 100% wholesome thoughts all the time :p

I was struck by a weird streak of inspiration and wrote this out in a few days, so it has not been edited as much as a proper chapter. The perspective is a lot more third-person omniscient than Tradition's End, so bear with me, lol.

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Her boots? Off. Her dress? Gone. Her stockings? And her shawl? And her hairband? And her ribbons? All laying in a pile on the floor.

Her hands clutched the hem of her underdress. A heavy blush filled her face, both from embarrassment and the copious amount of sake she'd consumed.

She was, unfortunately, the loser of yet another round of what had started off as a perfectly normal game of mahjong. Normal, that was, until the alcohol really hit.

With a pitiful sigh, Alice Margatroid lifted the piece of clothing up and slipped it off of her body. Now, clad in only matching blue bra and panties, she instinctively covered herself with her hands.

Sure, only her upper half was really visible due to the kotatsu, but it wasn't any less shameful. She was losing terribly; and to both Marisa and Reimu to boot.

There was still a party going on outside. She wasn't trying to humiliate herself, damn it!

What if she quit now? They'd gotten to see more than Alice was comfortable with, but technically she hadn't exposed anything too private…

Would they call her a poor sport? Everyone was tipsy, so would they escalate the issue?

…Would they even let her put her clothes back on?

There was virtually no way she could win. The only big items Marisa had lost were her vest and skirt, but she still held on to her long bloomers, blouse, and hat, among other things. And Reimu… Reimu had only taken off a single ribbon this whole time.

…She was doomed. It didn't help that her head was so fuzzy that she couldn't really think straight. Mahjong was something she was good at, but it was not her strong suit right now.

Alice rested her head face-first on her arms that were folded on the table. "I don't wanna play anymore," she mumbled.

"Ehhh? Alice, you tease! We're just gettin' to the good part, ze~" Marisa chided with a flirty voice. She swayed under the influence of her sake.

"Nobody quits. That's the rules," Reimu responded plainly, though she sported a strong flush of her own. The shrine maiden would never admit it, but she was quite interested to see where this was going.

"I just… I mean… I don't wanna…" her head swam with impaired thoughts. Alice was really beginning to feel self-conscious. She'd always been told that she was a bit of a sad drunk. "I don' wan' you to see me naked…" she whispered, too quiet for them to hear.

"C'mon, let's start the next round already." Reimu was as impatient as ever as she sipped even more sake.

…

It didn't take long for Alice to realize, horror clear on her face, that she was going to lose this round, too.

No… NO! …noooooooooo…

"Awwright! Can't believe imma see your titties, Alice!"

Alice didn't move. Her eyes swam with tears. This was a stupid game, stupid party, stupid night, stupid everything. She just wanted to go home and hole up for the next six months.

"Hehehe~ Want me to help, ze?" Marisa started to reach over.

*THUD*

There was a solid thud and the sound of footsteps inside the shrine.

"Alllliiiiiccceee~ You in here?" A friendly male voice floated into the room, slurred by alcohol. "You've GOT to try the stuff from that oni's gourd. It's freakin' great~"

Alice could feel the color drain from her face.

No! Absolutely NOT!

This was not happening. It was bad enough that Marisa and Reimu had seen her half-naked. She felt like she would die on the spot if Eric saw her like this too.

Eric trudged past the room at first, before coming back over and sliding the door part of the way open.

"Are you in here sleeping? You can't sleep at a party, silly~" He poked his head into the room, and he was surprised to see the three of them gathered there.

"Oi! Don't go poking around in my shrine!" Reimu scolded.

His unsteady gaze fixed on Reimu. "Ohhhh, sorry about that. Couldn't find Alice anywhere outside. Whatcha doing?"

"Playin' strip mahjong!" Marisa beamed. "Wanna join? Alice was jus' about to show us those sweeeet boobies of hers."

…Her time had come. Alice was certain that she would disintegrate on the spot, much like her pride had. She just sniffled and curled up as much as she could.

It was then that Eric actually registered the fact that Alice was much more exposed than he had ever seen her. She was always so modest. Not that he minded at all. But…

His first reaction was to stare, encouraged by base instinct. She was his girlfriend, so his eyes were naturally drawn to her anyways.

Then, for her sake he managed to avert his gaze. His already alcohol-flushed face took on a deeper shade of red.

She was… She was…

She may have only been modestly endowed, but there was always something so alluring about her slender, graceful form; a form that was all but revealed to him now. She was so beautiful that it was almost frightening.

He wanted to… He wanted to… What did he want to do, again?

…No. No, he couldn't take advantage of her modesty in shambles like this. She was far too precious and so easily flustered...

Though Alice and Eric had been officially dating for a couple of months now, they hadn't gotten, ahem, that far yet. Theirs was a relationship of small steps, and it felt an awful lot like they were skipping a few steps here.

It felt wrong, somehow.

He chanced a glance (just a glance!) at Alice again, and the sight actually made his heart sink.

Although he was drunk, it didn't take him long to pick up on just how uncomfortable Alice was. He could at least think straight enough to see that she looked like she wanted to cry.

His lovely Alice…

Not if he could help it.

…

Before she could reach her hands to her bra clasp and further deepen her shame, Eric approached their table.

Oh gods, she would melt into the floor right now if that meant she could escape this situation.

What was he going to do? She was vulnerable and drunk. He was drunk. Was he really going to sit here and watch her humiliation? Was he going to take advantage of the situation? She knew that wasn't like him, but alcohol made people unpredictable, and it clouded their judgement.

She knew, because she was experiencing it firsthand.

Instead, he did something even more unexpected. He shrugged off the outermost layer of his yukata and draped it over her shoulders. "Oh honey… Heeeey it's ok… You don't have to if you don't want to…" His words were still slurred, but they came gently, as if consoling her.

"Hey! Whaddya mean!? She lost fair and square, ze!" Marisa was actually pouting.

"Don't be a sore loser." Reimu looked miffed, too.

"No way! Look, you guys're gonna make her cry."

Alice rubbed her eye, and the back of her hand came away wet.

Eric hugged her over the fabric, resting his head on her shoulder. "Nobody gets to make my Alice cry…" His voice was even softer now.

Eric… He always treated her so delicately. Like she was precious. Like she was cherished. As embarrassed as she was, the gentle hug actually put her more at ease.

Sure, she was much stronger than him. Sure, even that ice fairy could probably beat him in a fight. Sure, he was only human. But she knew he would go to hell and back for her, and… she'd never had someone hold her that dearly before.

He loved her, and truly, she loved him, too.

Reimu scoffed. "Who do you think you are? Barging into my shrine, sticking your nose into our business… If you were a youkai, I'd kick your ass." She seemed to think for a second. "I still might kick your ass, actually."

Marisa whined. "Yeah! You can't jus' decide for Alice! We were having a good time~" She leaned towards Alice again and whispered, "C'mon, it's still your turn, ze."

"I just wanna go home…"

"Eh?"

Alice's voice was small, and defeated, but she repeated herself. "I… just wanna go home."

…

…

…

It wasn't long afterwards that Eric and a fully clothed Alice exited the shrine, leaving a grumpy Reimu and a conflicted Marisa behind.

After bidding them farewell, the couple flew off in the direction of Alice's house, ditching the tail-end of the party.

Luckily, Eric had managed to learn to fly using magic, so it wasn't like she had to carry him or anything.

As warm as that mental image made Alice's face…

…

By the time they touched back down, they'd begun to sober up a little.

It was… more than a little awkward.

"Ugh, I just want to sleep and pretend this night never happened." Alice buried her face in her hands at the thought of what had happened less than an hour ago. "Stupid game, stupid Marisa, and stupid me. I shouldn't have let myself get dragged into it…"

"Hey, don't talk like that…" Eric placated. "You're not stupid. Drunk, and maybe unlucky, but not stupid."

He gave her a side hug, and she leaned into it. Alice remained somewhat tall, and with her thick boots on, she actually stood about an inch higher than Eric.

She mumbled something quietly into her hands.

"Hmm?" His questioning hum vibrated against her.

She raised her face out of her hands. "Do… Do you want to stay over again tonight?"

Eric pulled her into a full fledged hug. He had a big grin on his face. "Absolutely. I'd love to."

She returned the embrace. "Thank you."

…

…

…

This was… not the first time they had shared a bed together. The pair had slept together before, but that was all. They had slept in the same bed and nothing more.

Though her ability to think clearly was returning with the lack of additional alcohol, her senses were still somewhat dulled, and her judgement was still rather fuzzy.

And so, when she, clad in a long, soft nightgown, slipped into her bed next to him, she was, perhaps a bit too perfectly at ease.

Then again, so was Eric.

It didn't take long to find a position that suited them. Without her boots, she was back to being about equal to him in height, and she preferred to be the one that was held.

There was a comfortable silence as they relaxed in each other's presence, perfectly content. In the darkness, there was little to focus on except their touch and the sound of each other's breathing.

Eventually, Alice spoke up. "I… can't seem to get it out of my head, just how mortified I was when I heard you enter the shrine."

Eric shifted slightly. "Oh man. I couldn't even imagine…"

"I was so sure you were going to sit down at the kotatsu and watch, or worse, join in. If you had, I think I'd have died on the spot."

Eric tightened his embrace, just a little. "I could never have done that to you. You looked so miserable, sitting there."

Alice giggled lightly. "I know it's not something you would normally do, but we were all intoxicated. Anything could have happened…"

He was quiet.

"I still can't believe you saw me like that." Alice quietly mumbled.

Eric chose his words carefully. "I… won't lie. Seeing you there, I almost couldn't look away. I… would have loved to have seen more of you, too, but, um… not like that."

Alice felt her face flush. "You had a, uh, golden opportunity. Why didn't you take it?"

Sure, she would have been buried under the crushing weight of embarrassment, fear, shame, and sheer mortification, but… she would have understood. Possibly. It was human instinct, after all.

"...You just looked so sad. It hurts to see you like that, Alice." As always, his words were sincere.

She let out a sigh. "You're too good to me."

"'Cause I love you," came the immediate reply.

"Mmm, I love you too."

This right here… if only these kinds of moments could last forever.

~~~~~~Author's Notes~~~~~~

Soooo, yeah. Not exactly explicit or anything like that, but the themes are there.

I debated whether or not I should include this as a fully fledged chapter, but I decided against it. I want to stick closer to the T rating in Tradition's End, rather than M.

That being said, I consider this to be semi-canon. You can really argue one way or the other, and I don't have plans for it to really affect the main story going forward. Just something I wrote and decided, "Well, I should probably put this out there."

Alice is adorable, for real. Her character design is one that I really like, and I've always had the thought that underneath her fairly cold, serious-ish, and modest shell, she is kind of a warm push-over. You just have to throw her off her guard, like in this case with sake. And, IDK, I just like the trope of the person who cares a lot about their decorum and appearance somehow getting reduced to a much more... vulnerable state. And strip mahjong is just a fun way of making that happen.

Of course, Eric is too damn wholesome to get sucked into that kind of debauchery. He loves her, and he's attracted to her, but he also just wants her to be happy.

Anyways, thanks for reading this little extra. Comment or review if you want! Have a nice day!