Work Text:
Yukina's voice was shaking. "L-Lisa, I need help."
"Yukina? Where are you? Are you okay?" Lisa rose from her chair, alarmed. Her mind raced, going through potential situations. Did she get lost? See something bad? Were strangers mugging her?
"I'm at the park, you know, The Park - safe, but I need help. My battery's-" Yukina's phone had cut off.
"Yukina? Oh, no..." She's safe, thank goodness. But still, what was going on? Why was she so flustered? No time to think. She had to run. She charged through her front door, running at a full sprint towards her friend in need.
===
"Yukina? Yukina!" She spotted her flax-haired friend sitting on a park bench, a short distance away. Lisa, exhausted, jogged flobbily towards her, falling to her knees in front of Yukina, struggling to breathe.
"Lisa... Are you okay?" Yukina lent her hand, pulling her partner up to sit next to her.
"You needed my help, right?" Lisa shone a weak smile. Having had no time to change, she was dressed like a simple jogger - beanie, sweats and jacket.
"Oh, um. Well... first, let's have you catch your breath." Yukina fished a bottle out from her bag and passed it to her, careful not to move too much.
Lisa took a quick swig. "It's fine, it's fine. Let's deal with your problem first."
Yukina covered her mouth with her hands, looking away. "Well... I made friends with a cat today... and it's sleeping in my lap. Now I'm stuck. I've been here for about an hour." Looking down at her lap, there was indeed a grey cat curled up on her legs, camouflaged on top of her skirt. "I don't want to wake it up," she whispered.
Lisa couldn't parse what she just got told. Yukina, the lone-wolf songstress, was pinned, anchored, weighted to this park bench by a cat? ...Well, that's actually much like her. Lisa couldn't resist a small chuckle. It wasn't exactly unusual.
"Ahh... so I ran all the way here to help you with a cat, huh?" Lisa leaned over to rub the cat's head.
"I-I don't want anyone else to know... Please don't make fun at me."
Lisa felt a warm sensation spreading across her chest - somewhat tingly, as if a purring was found in her heart.
"Lisa? Are you okay? Your face is turning red." Yukina placed her hand on Lisa's forehead. "Maybe I shouldn't have forced you to come. Are you sick?"
The words never reached Lisa. All her attention was focused on Yukina's soft, warm hand, the short span between their faces, the way her eyes shone in the light... other details, such as the way Yukina's hair tickled her face, the subtle smell of lavender lingering about her, Lisa noticed. If only this moment would last-
"Hello? Um, are you okay?"
"Bwuh? Ah, yeah! I'm fine, I'm fine." Lisa retreated back to an upright sitting position, her face still flushed. "Maybe I'm still just out of breath, ahaha..."
"If you say so, then. Take care of yourself, though." Yukina's hand returned to idly stroking the cat. "Anyway... I think my legs are going numb. We need a solution soon."
"Couldn't you, ah, pick it up?"
"It might wake up, though... I can't pick it up properly from this angle."
Lisa looked at the sleeping cat. Yes, it was difficult to detach the sleeping cat from Yukina's thighs. Instead of lying horizontally across her thighs, the cat had decided to curl up between her legs, its head nearly touching Yukina's belly.
"Okay, how about I pick it up for you? I could scoop it into my arms, like a baby." Lisa rocked her arms in a cradling motion.
"Ah, that would be good. Please hurry, my leg - it's starting to get the pins and needles."
Lisa stood up so that she was directly in front of Yukina. She remembered the events clearly, as if in slow motion - she bent over, reaching out to the cat, and slipped her hand underneath it... sandwiching her hands between cat and Yukina's soft thighs. (of course, with the skirt fabric in between.)
Yukina looked straight at Lisa's face. "Um, Lisa? Is everything alright?"
"Yep! Yep! Uh, yep! Everything's fine, it's just, ah, I need to wriggle my fingers to get my hand under it, so I don't want to wake it up? Yeah."
Yukina paused, squinting her eyes at Lisa. Her heart felt just about ready to jump out of her mouth.
"Ah, is that so... Well, go ahead then."
Lisa continued inching her fingers to reach the cat's shoulders, all the while fumbling her face to maintain a semblance of control. Inch by inch she wormed her hand up Yukina's thighs, clinging onto what remained of her sense of reason to focus on the silky fabric and the warmth underneath, her soft, but toned leg - No, wait. The cat. Ah.
"Mrr?" The cat's yellow eyes blinked open, turning around to look at Lisa.
"Ah. Sorry, cat..." Yukina moved her hand to pet the cat. "Oh well. They don't seem too mad about it, so it's okay."
Lisa sighed, her whole body drooping with apology. "Sorry, I mucked up."
"We all make mistakes. It's better to learn from them than to cry over spilt milk."
"Mm, yeah..."
The ensuing silence was leaden. Between the soft whisper of the tree leaves, the murmuring of cicadas and the purring of the cat, the setting sun set a sense of tranqulity between the two girls. Yukina basked in the silence with her best of friends, the most trusted of them all. Her thoughts turned to other times like this, helping each other hand in hand, situations where both of them had to put down their masks for a bit and be honest with each other. She couldn't do this with any other person, and Lisa knew that.
Lisa, face flushed a deep tomato red, was desperately trying not to look straight at Yukina. She wasn't trying to look gay at her either. She was avoiding her gaze entirely, her eyes darting to and fro, her mind locked up on the sensation of her warmth, her touch. Phantasmal images of Yukina's face crossed her mind, steam-filled scenes of intense, passionate intimacy such as the holding of hands. Her face only grew more flushed by the passing of each moment, a fact that did not escape Yukina. A small grin grew on both their faces, one of embarassment, and the other of a slight knowing smugness. It was only the beginning...