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Suisei is annoying to her. More than usual.
"Hey Mikochi!"
Hands are on her head before she knows what's going on. They begin rubbing at speeds unknown to mankind and Miko can hardly stand up straight.
"Who the heck- owow! Stop!"
The assailant doesn't let up one bit. It takes Miko jutting her elbows behind her to finally put a stop to their crimes. Somehow, Miko isn't surprised that the culprit is Suisei.
"What's up?" Suisei blinks innocently.
"You, in my hair." She grumbles.
To her annoyance, Suisei only looks more proud of herself. She'd probably wear that same face if instead she pushed Miko off a cliff into an endless void. Miko realizes the horrifying image that she just created and trashes it.
She's still smiling. Miko glares at her, and Suisei elaborates. "You're a Super Saiyan."
For the briefest moment, Miko got excited. Then she looks at her reflection in a small table mirror in the office and is enraged. It's an apt comparison, but it's so bad that Miko can't even distinguish what's her ahoge and what's a strand that was victim to Suisei.
"Suisei! I have a recording after this!"
She blinks, then winks with her tongue peeking out. "Whoops!"
"Uwaaa!" Miko whines loudly. She's pulling apart the desks and counters in search of a comb or brush or even a fork at this point.
Even though the room is always cluttered with the most random of things (ranging from barrels to rocket launchers to portals to different dimensions), nothing in such an assortment right now could work for her dilemma.
"My career is over! I'm done for! Goodbye Hololive!" Miko sniffles.
"Oi, Mikochi."
"What now?!" She jerks her head to Suisei, who has a brush in her hands and is leaning on a chair. "Ah…"
Suisei waves a hand. Miko flushes and stiffly takes a seat in the chair.
"If you stopped panicking for five seconds, you would've found it."
Miko wants to say that it was Suisei's fault in the first place. Instead, she gets lulled by the rhythm of Suisei's brushing and how her fingers comb through her locks.
"Was your hair always this length?" Suisei asks.
"I trimmed it a bit for today."
Suisei hums to herself, then starts humming some song. Miko isn't sure what it is but hums along anyways. Her posture slackens, her face feels loose – it's a good thing Miko's facing away from Suisei.
"Do you prefer it long or short?"
"Uh, I don't mind either way. Short is easy to manage, but I've gotten used to long hair."
"Me too. Long is nice."
Miko isn't sure how to interpret that tone. She knows it best not to read into it more than anyone should, but her mind wanders. Long is nice, indeed. Suisei has her hair semi-long too. It's usually tied up or stylized a bit, which brings out her celebrity aura well.
"Hey hey, Mikochi?"
"Mhm?" She's higher than the clouds.
"Did you change your shampoo?" Record scratch. "Conditioner maybe?"
Miko's back on the cold, hard ground. How on earth was she supposed to interpret that ?
"W-What if I did, huh?!"
"So you did?" Suisei sounds genuinely curious. For some reason, that makes Miko all the more nervous and on edge.
"Answer my question first!"
"'Cuz your hair smells different," Miko chokes on air, "and it's smoother than usual."
All of Miko's brain functions cease to devote 100% power into digesting what Suisei said. Smells different?! Smoother?! Why did Suisei know these things? Sure, they were hanging out more often than before, but to that extent?! That shouldn't be possible.
Then again, there was a layer of natural intuitiveness that Suisei possessed. She picked up on the strangest things out of curiosity, so it wasn't so far-fetched that she notices these things low-key. That made sense, but somehow it didn't feel right.
Miko forgets how to breathe and starts coughing like an old man. Suisei's touch leaves, but her laughter chimes as clear as crystals.
She glares at Suisei again, even though the hue of her face decreases its effectiveness.
Suisei has tears from laughing so hard. "You're cute."
Miko's heart does a somersault.
The door bursts open. Marine's head is all that is seen but her booming voice carries across without issue. "Mikochi! Get your stupid butt over here!"
"C-Coming!"
Miko doesn't even spare a glance back at Suisei and runs to the door.
For the rest of the recording, Suisei's words echo in the back of her mind. When they take cuts and breaks, Miko finds herself playing with her bangs.
She blames Suisei for that.
Suisei is bothering her. More than most things.
What's bothering her right now though, is how snug her clothes feel on her. Nothing has changed from usual, but there's a slight discomfort around her waist that never existed before.
There is a scale in the office… for whatever reason. She's learned to never question these things.
Tepidly Miko steps on it. The scale creaks under her weight. Miko frantically tries to recall how much she weighs as the numbers rise.
It isn't until her eyes bug out at the result that Miko realizes that she'd appear heavier than she actually is. She considers taking off her loafers to measure more accurately, but hesitates on what will be revealed.
"Yo, Mikochi!"
"Gyaaah?!"
A weight tackles her from behind and the numbers double instantly. Miko grits her teeth as she teeters and loses her balance entirely, threatening to fall off the small platform. She has no strength to steady herself, much less stand up properly.
Luckily for her, the weight on her back has arms to wrap around her waist and pulls into the other direction to transfer the burden. Miko's feet are off the ground as she's kept in the hold.
"S-Sui-chan?!"
She tuts in her ear. "Mikochi, Mikochi! You've gotta work on your core!"
"Ugh. I know."
As if Miko didn't hear that enough times already from literally every person she knows. But, it wasn't her fault, was it? Some people are born for certain things, and athletics were simply not her thing.
Suisei, well Suisei was good at a lot of things. Even though she says that she isn't that athletic, her strength still surpasses Miko's by a long shot. The way she's picking up Miko is proof of that.
"How'd you know it was me anyways?" Suisei asks.
Miko hesitates between a genuine answer or one that won't get her killed. The air grows thick with a menacing aura, which makes Miko crack under the pressure.
"Uh, well, you screamed my name, then there was a lack of cushioning when you lunged at me-"
"Oh?" The arm around her middle travels up to her neck and put Miko into a headlock.
"I'm sorry! Ack! I was joking! Y-You're ginormous!"
Suisei heartily nods in approval and lets Miko live. Her feet are back on the ground and she rubs her neck. Miko notices, however, that Suisei still hasn't let go.
"Hoshimachi?" Miko pokes her wrist. "Any time today?"
Suisei is lost in her own world. She squeezes Miko intermittently, which is a little awkward and uncomfortable around her stomach, but Miko is more bothered by the 'why' rather than the 'what' with how amused Suisei seems to be.
"Y'know you've gotten squisher around…" Suisei squeezes her again, "here."
Miko squawks.
"Ah, is that why you pulled out the scale?" She refuses to answer that. Suisei doesn't let her anyway. She swings Miko from side to side. "Aside from the squish, you don't look or feel that heavy. I think you're fine! Maybe it's because you haven't worn these clothes in a while?"
Miko buries herself into her hands. "God, please stop."
There's a certain kind of comfort that line brings to Miko. Whatever it is, it's overpowered by the sheer embarrassment that accompanies it. She did not want Suisei over-analyzing her, because that girl is way, way too good at that.
More than a bother, it's terrifying, frankly.
"Okay okay! I know when enough is enough!"
Miko peeks up at Suisei. "I doubt that."
Suisei laughs in her face. "You're adorable."
The twinkle of mirth in Suisei's eyes when she says it so close to her face makes Miko's heart do funny things. Heat builds up in her body and she's afraid to let Suisei notice.
Miko pushes her away and checks her phone. A message from her manager is her ticket out today. "I've uh, got dance practice."
Wordlessly, they separate and Miko walks toward the door. She nearly misses Suisei waving her off.
Dance practice today didn't go so well. Miko continuously loses her balance and zones out frequently. Even as she heads home, her mind is unable to rest as it replays the moment Suisei hugs her over and over again.
Suisei's the one to blame.
Suisei is an absolute nuisance. More than ever.
And not just because she jumped onto the couch out of nowhere.
"Mikochi Mikochi!"
Her phone flies straight up like a rocket. Miko lunges for it across the table and nearly falls off in the process. She coughs into her fist after straightening herself out back into her seat.
"Y-Yeah?" She prompts cooly.
Suisei simply points at her lips. Miko does the same with a head tilt. Suisei repeats her pointing motion. Miko doesn't get it, "nyeh?"
"Kiss."
Miko gets it now. She wishes she didn't as Suisei immediately moves in for the kill. "Woah!" Miko throws her arms out to cover Suisei's mouth, trying not to think too hard about the lips pressed against the palm of her hand.
"Mmf hmf?"
"What do you think you're doing?! In the office of all frickin' places!"
Suisei furrows her brow. Miko feels Suisei pouting behind her hand and her heart betrays her, but Miko knows she has to stand her ground. Else…
She's begging for someone to come in, now.
"Mmph."
"What?"
Miko pulls her hands away to let Suisei speak, before immediately regretting it. Suisei smiles like the planet itself had become her toy. Gloved hands grab Miko's shoulders and she is pulled towards Suisei until they're zero distance.
"H-Hoshimachi!"
Suisei doesn't say a word.
"Let go!" Miko struggles but knows no matter what she does is in vain. Her cheeks burn and there is no way to hide the alarming glow.
Suisei looks all too happy to watch her squirm under her touch. Miko's eyes are restless, trying to process the sight of the girl that's way too close for comfort.
She ignores the curiosity buried deep within her. Or, tries to at least. Miko blames the horrible influences that the media has on minds like hers. It makes her curious and expect for what could very well be out of reach.
Eyes squeeze close as Miko resigns herself to whatever Suisei has in store for her. That comes in the form of pain in her red cheeks, stretched without a hint of remorse.
"Hui-tyah?!"
Suisei hums melodically. "Less pudding, more like putty."
She continues to pull as she pleases, all the while laughing at Miko's cries and unintelligible sounds vaguely resembling complaints.
"Shtapuh!"
"Feels like baby fat… gotta be baby fat!"
"Ishnot! Hui-tyah!"
"Aw, there there baby! I didn't know it was possible for you to make less sense than usual."
Suisei finally relinquishes Miko and lets her hands fall to Miko's shoulders. Miko rubs her abused cheeks like she has a toothache, ignoring the other ache nestled in her chest.
The same hands that Suisei used to bring pain now rub gentle circles on her neck. Miko opens her mouth to ask, but Suisei's lips seal her words away.
Everything in her mind goes white, then blue, until Suisei is all Miko sees.
It ends before Miko can figure out how to react. Suisei hardly looks affected. She pats her cheeks like she's caring for a child.
"Nice lip balm. Cherry?"
"Wuh- huh?" Miko sputters like an old car engine starting up in a pool. "L-Lip… balm."
"Yeah. I was curious what flavor it was."
Miko stares, dumbfounded. "Lip… balm?!"
Suisei laughs. She doubles over and cradles her sides as if she was stabbed. The gears in Miko's brain are barely moving anymore, not after the stunt she just pulled.
"Ah man," Suisei collects herself after a minute. "You're precious."
The sensation of Suisei's lips follows her onto the train and all the way home. It frustrates Miko to no end, haunting her the whole night.
Suisei is the one to blame.
Suisei is a pain to deal with. More than Miko thought.
It's worse than ever before because her every thought begins and ends with Suisei.
She's on her phone, going through her art tag and, nope, now it's Suisei's art tag she's looking at. She opens YouTube and her home page is all Suisei. She checks her messages and wants to text Suisei. She closes her phone and wonders if she'll see Suisei at work.
It's Suisei's fault.
Miko hesitates to change her shampoo. Miko is overly conscious of her scent and perfume line-up. Miko begins to worry about her lip-care products of all things. Miko wonders what clothes to wear. Miko checks her breath constantly.
It's Suisei's fault.
Miko spends more time in the mirror now. She checks herself out, then realizes she's late to work. Her hard work looking presentable is wasted in the rush to the office.
It's Suisei's fault.
Suisei found her at the edge of a cliff and pushed her off. Miko is falling endlessly and sees no end to it.
The backflips that her stomach is doing, the palpitations of her heart echoing in her flushed ears, the image of a star that reserves a spot behind her eyelids, the lonely feeling that lingers solely on her mouth – all of it.
She blames Suisei for everything. After all, Miko can't control how she feels.
"You're the worst."
Eyes that see into the galaxy widen. Miko faces her, but wavers as she awaits a response. Suisei's gaze goes from Miko to the death grip Miko has on the hem of her sleeve.
They're alone in the office once again. Miko begs for no one to come.
Suisei has the audacity to start laughing. Suisei also has the audacity to pat her head before taking her into a warm hug.
"I took it too far, didn't I? My bad, my bad~"
They pull apart just enough to see each other's faces.
"I hate you." Miko dryly confesses.
"So mean!" She isn't fooled by Suisei's pouting.
"You're meaner."
Suisei drops her pout for a toothy smirk. "Wow what a stinger. I must have a knack for teasing!"
Miko leans into the palm Suisei laid against her cheek. A thumb wipes away the frustrated tears threatening to spill.
She is enjoying herself way too much. "Sorry sorry! For real this time. But your reactions are too adorable to resist. And cute, and squishy. Actually, that last thing might be something else. How's your diet lately?"
Miko refuses to forgive her. Every bone in her body screams at Suisei. But, she's tired of playing around.
"Shut up and kiss me."
The red from her cheeks must be fogging her vision, since there's no way that Suisei could look more like a tomato than Miko. Right?
"Roger!"
Those lips that never left Miko's mind are fervent across hers. It's startling in a way that occupies her thoughts. Miko has no experience but recuperates the best she can. Unfortunately, Suisei's energy doubles at that. She can sense Suisei's open eyes, but Miko refuses to open hers.
She's giggling too much, Miko thinks as they go from a gentle, drawn-out kiss to Suisei leaving peppering small pecks all over her face.
Suisei is the worst person to love. More than anyone can imagine. Miko supposes that she can tolerate it all if she keeps kissing her.