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When Yoshiko had giddily approached Riko asking if they could go out together for the day, she had practically jumped at the chance. Yoshiko rarely (if ever, honestly) proposed spending a date in town, and so Riko had naturally accepted her offer. She was more than happy to accompany her Yocchan anywhere, especially if she seemed so eager to go.
In hindsight, it was Yoshiko. Riko really should have learned by now to treat her excitement with trepidation, because being dragged out to a (very unromantic, in her opinion) cat café, of all things, at nine in the morning was exactly something her eccentric girlfriend would think of.
Well, not exactly. Riko couldn’t remember the last time Yoshiko had woken up before noon on a weekend; which was, she supposed, at least one good thing to come out of this whole ordeal.
“Yocchan,” Riko started. Yoshiko let out a distracted grunt in acknowledgement from her cross-legged position on the floor. “Were you always this…” her eyes dubiously scanned over the wide array of cats climbing and pawing at her girlfriend’s skinny jeans, “Um, obsessed with cats?”
“I’m not obsessed,” Yoshiko replied absent mindedly, gently scratching behind a tabby kitten’s ear. “I just like them. A lot,” she added. Her adoring gaze broke away from her lap and she finally looked up at Riko, the ends of her lips curling down into a dissatisfied frown. “Riri, aren't you going to sit down too?”
“Ah, I’ll pass,” she waved her hands apologetically, making to step back. “I'm wearing thin tights today, and I really don’t want--” She tilted her head questioningly as Yoshiko lurched forward - well, the best she could with a dozen of cats clambering all over her, anyway - and pasted herself against her legs.
“Yocchan, what are y--” Riko’s face darkened several hues as she realised, oh god; her girlfriend was wrapped around her thighs. In public. “Y-Y-Yocchan!” she spluttered, desperately attempting to push her head further down her legs.
It was seemingly only then that Yoshiko realised just exactly what she was doing, and she hastily ejected herself from Riko’s leg, her cheeks flushed redder than said girl’s hair. “Guh, s-sorry! Just…” she awkwardly shuffled back towards the cats, turning her face away. “Just sit down, okay?!”
Riko buried her face in her hands - a futile attempt to fight her blush down - and timidly sat next to her girlfriend, knees underneath herself. They were close enough for their thighs to be touching. “They don’t scratch, do they?” She murmured softly, tentatively reaching a hand out. Except she had no idea what to do with it, and ended up keeping it hovering in midair. She quickly withdrew it, face burning even more.
Yoshiko passed her an incredulous look. “No, of course not!” She scooted a particularly small ginger kitten closer to Riko, holding up its paw in example. “See? Look how soft they are?” She chuckled softly, gently pressing down on and massaging the baby pink beads, while Riko watched on fondly. “They’re so cute,” Yoshiko hummed to herself more than anyone, a bright smile cracked open on her face. Riko swallowed down an indignant retort, because, damn, she looked so happy. Yoshiko had always had a bright, beautiful grin, but this was on a whole different level -- her smile looked almost motherly, Riko reflected on in both affection and slight horror.
“Is it okay for me to touch one?” she asked instead, pulling her hand out again.
“Of course.” Yoshiko gestured at a rather scruffy looking cat that was pawing at her knee. Riko didn’t miss the way her lips curled up at the action, and she found herself smiling along when Yoshiko laughed, eyes crinkling up at the corners and nose scrunching up. “Uh, okay, maybe not that one. He probably won't even notice you.”
“No,” Riko immediately objected, her eyes set in determination. “I’ll do it.” Had cats been the answer this whole time? All she ever had to do to impress her girlfriend was to befriend a cat?
Yoshiko herself looked quite bewildered at her uncharacteristic outburst. “Are you sure, Riri?” She nonetheless shot back tantalizingly. “He might…” she held her breath dramatically, “He might bite you.”
Riko pulled her hand back in horror. “I forgot about their fangs,” she breathed, voice sounding noticeably distressed.
Yoshiko rolled her eyes, stroking the cat almost sympathetically. “You big baby,” she mumbled, but the smile was still spread wide on her face. She nudged Riko with an elbow, ignoring the pained wince her girlfriend promptly let out. “C’mon, just pet him. It'll be fine.”
It took a bit of grumbling, but Riko eventually complied, reluctantly edging her hand nearer to the cat. “What do I do now?” she asked in a strained voice, eyes trained right on the toothy white triangles peeking out of its mouth.
Yoshiko furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “Just -- uh, just pet him?”
“...You really aren't being helpful, Yocchan.”
The dark haired girl stared at her, face pulled into a decidedly unimpressed scowl. “God -- I don’t know! Just do -- you know!” she moved her hands around wildly, as if that was supposed to help Riko in any way.
“You’re practically crawling in cats, and you don't know what to do?” Riko prodded doubtfully.
The two glared at each other for a few moments, berode Yoshiko’s own frown quickly cracked into a flustered laugh.
She had always been bad at keeping a straight face, Riko reflected with a tinge of tenderness.
“Fine -- fine,” Yoshiko huffed in an irritated tone, but Riko wasn't fooled; she was visibly trying to fight down a smile, leaving the corners of her mouth to twitch erratically. “You can put your hand out to let him get used to your scent.” She lifted a finger to her chin contemplatively. “Although, you have been sitting here for a good five minutes,” She passed Riko a teasing half smirk. “Maybe he just doesn't like you?”
Riko wrinkled her nose. “Then the feeling’s mutual,” she muttered, but she obliged, tentatively reaching her fingers out to the small cat. It peeled itself away from Yoshiko’s jeans, spinning on its little heels, and inquisitively began sniffing at Riko’s nails.
“You look like you're about to piss yourself.”
Riko pursed her lips together irritably, struggling to fight down the rising blush. “Shut up, Yocchan.” It was difficult enough to relax with those teeth right next to her fingertips, but the presence of Yoshiko’s incessant - and undoubtedly amused - gaze made it even worse. She flinched, almost yelping in surprise, at the sensation of something warm, slimy, and wet brushing against her hand. She hastily tried to pull her fingers away, but Yoshiko's warm laughter quickly stopped her in her tracks.
“Oh! It seems to have taken a liking to you, Riri,” Yoshiko chuckled, her voice deepening into ‘Yohane’ mode. Yoshiko’s wild chuunibyou antics were mildly entertaining at best, but Riko still couldn't help the flutter of pride she felt in her chest.
She peeked down at the cat, noting with surprise that it was brazenly licking her fingertips. “I-Is it licking me?” she blinked in astonishment.
“Yeah,” Yoshiko affirmed. She was still watching Riko with a small smile on her face, but now her right hand had snaked around a cat impatiently pawing at her jacket and was gently tickling behind its ears. Riko looked back down at her own cat, and reached out shyly with her other hand, trying to imitate her girlfriend. Yoshiko’s smile only widened, while the scruffy cat simultaneously let out a contented purr.
“Why, though?” Riko questioned after a while.
Yoshiko let out a small noise of surprise. “Huh? I dunno…” she cocked her head thoughtfully, and Riko smiled affectionately at her. Cute. “It’s something like...they want to groom you back? I think.” She flashed her signature shit eating grin, and Riko promptly stiffened at the sight. “Or maybe your fingers just taste nice. How many sandwiches did you eat this morning, Ri-- ow!” Yoshiko pouted, holding onto the side of her arm where Riko had just pinched her. “Why?!” she asked outrageously.
“If you hadn't forced me into the shower as soon as I had woken up, maybe I could have had one sandwich!” Riko frowned back. So much for cute, huh?
“That’s what you’re mad about?” Yoshiko sighed incredulously, resuming her petting of the cats. “If you're that hungry, just order a sandwich or something from here.”
Riko blinked. You can buy food? Well, it was a café after all, but she hadn't known that they actually served food. She had assumed that the word was merely used to attract customers and money. Her gaze lifted off the cat, curiously but discreetly trying to scan the area for a waitress to ask for the menu from.
“Oh my god, Riri,” As usual, Yoshiko had seen right through her facade, and had begun cackling right away. “What did you think this place was for?”
“Yocchan…” Riko warned, shooting her a weak glare.
“Wow,” Yoshiko sounded genuinely interested, but Riko didn’t miss the tantalising edge to her words. “Your ears are the same colour as your hai--” She yelped in pain, and Riko quickly used the opportunity to bury her face into her girlfriend’s shoulder.
“Y-You really need to break out of the habit of pinching me whenever you're embarrassed.” Yoshiko grumbled, her elbow purposefully sticking into Riko’s ribs as she tried to rub the blood flow back into her arm.
Riko groaned. “I can't believe I was trying to impress you,” she mumbled into the sleeve of her blouse.
“Huh? What?”
Riko simply wrapped her arms around Yoshiko's waist, surreptitiously grinning at the choked sound of embarrassment it elected from her. "Just hurry up and buy me some food.”