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Kaede’s fingers glided along the piano keys, the beautiful melody of her song playing throughout her ultimate lab. A sudden tempo shift arose in the piece, but she had been practicing for so long that she felt as if she could play it to perfection. The notes were perfectly timed, and Kaede finally thought she would be able to play the song to completion.
She heard a chair scrape against the floor followed by a noise of metal on metal, and just like that, her focus was gone. A missed note turned to two. Kaede tried her hardest to keep her mind focused, but she was rather drained from practicing for so long. She also had a major distraction behind her making it increasingly difficult to focus with her growing tiredness. She couldn't keep up with the tempo anymore and decided she should probably restart.
Kaede turned around in her chair, a bothered expression on her face as she stared at Miu, the inventor standing with her hands on the table in front of her. Kaede’s eyes glanced at the pushed-out chair behind Miu before making eye contact once more.
Kaede knew it was her fault. She was the one who invited her girlfriend to do her work in the pianist’s lab so she could have company when she practiced. It should have been obvious that the inventor would serve as nothing but a distraction, but at the time Kaede thought Miu’s presence would serve as a comfort. Though Kaede did find it endearing that Miu would stop her work to pay attention to her playing, even if in doing so Miu would make disruptive noises. Kaede couldn’t blame it all on Miu, though. She knows very well that her own enamored thoughts of the girl were skewing her focus.
Miu let out a guilty ‘sorry’ and sat back down in her chair resuming her work. Kaede felt bad for having the audacity to be bothered by her. She turned back towards her piano and let out a sigh. She needed a break.
Kaede clasped her hands together. “We’ve been working for a while now, why don’t we relax for a bit?” She got out of her chair and turned to her girlfriend who was trying to keep her eyes on the invention beneath her.
“Relaxation is beta shit,” Miu replied, eyes still downcast. Kaede could tell from the girl's voice that she was still remorseful, but knowing Miu she would never admit it. She had to show the inventor that she wasn’t to blame for the disruptions. A soft grin painted Kaede’s face, she realized she could have some fun with it.
Kaede walked behind Miu and draped her arms over her girlfriend's shoulders, grabbing her own arms so they were wrapped very loosely around the inventor's neck. Miu was taken aback by the sudden show of affection, head shot straight forward and finally electing to no longer pay attention to her project. Kaede knew Miu was unused to affection and liked to push her boundaries whenever she could, but she was always light about it in case it was too much for Miu and she needed to back out. Miu was showing no negative signs, so Kaede kept pushing.
The pianist buried her head in the crook of Miu’s neck and squeezed her arms to embrace her girlfriend from behind. Kaede’s voice was muffled by Miu’s shirt, “You work too hard. Relax every now and then.” She snuggled herself closer to Miu, smiling against her neck. Kaede felt a slight shudder from the girl beneath her.
Miu felt stiff beneath her, clearly still unaccustomed to the kindness she was receiving despite how much Kaede tries to make her girlfriend feel loved. It only pushes her to want to love Miu more until she's forever used to it.
“B-but the wor-”
“Yeah, yeah. The world needs your inventions.” Kaede lifted her head and pressed her cheek against Miu’s temple. “But I need you too. Just let me be a little selfish right now. The world can wait its turn.” Kaede closed her eyes and leaned more into Miu.
Miu only got half of that message though.“You need me? Carnally??” She moved to start removing her shirt.
“Miu not that!” She reached around Miu to stop her hands from moving any further. “Just…”
She stood up, pulling herself fully away from Miu. “stay still, okay?” Miu’s head followed Kaede as she walked around to stand in front of the inventor.
Kaede expected Miu to say something crude in the silence that followed, but she didn’t. Kaede placed her hands on Miu’s shoulders and stared into her eyes (not missing how Miu’s eyes kept darting to her chest)
“Let me know if this is uncomfortable or if I'm too heavy, yeah?” Kaede told her girlfriend. Miu’s face looked as if she didn’t even process it before Kaede moved towards her and straddled her lap. The pianist wrapped her arms around Miu’s back and rested her forehead on the inventor's shoulder.
Miu had not said anything for an uncharacteristically long amount of time, Kaede started to wonder if she accidentally pushed Miu’s boundaries too far. Before she could think anymore about it she felt Miu’s hands hesitantly move up behind her back as her girlfriend returned the embrace. Any doubts Kaede had about pushing Miu too much dispersed in that second. She felt a light relief and relaxed into Miu’s touch.
“‘Fucks up with you?” Miu finally spoke. She sounded more amused than anything, but the slight waiver of her voice didn't go unnoticed to Kaede. She learned to recognize small signs like that in her girlfriend. Kaede knew Miu wasn't very used to physical affection, but she knew she was trying, and Kaede loved her for that.
Kaede placed her chin on Miu’s shoulder. “Recharging,” she said softly.
“Recharging what? Did you burn calories playing piano?” Miu’s actions betrayed her petty jab by holding Kaede closer. The pianist took note of how Miu’s voice didn't shake anymore, how she sounded like she was comfortable with how they were.
“Recharging emotionally,” She buried her head in Miu’s neck once more. “Everythings so tiring, I just need you here for a moment.”
They sat there in comfortable silence. Kaede could’ve sworn she felt Miu’s lips press against her head, but knew it would be denied if it were brought up, so it wasn’t. She didn’t say anything else, and neither did Miu. It didn’t matter, because there in her girlfriend's arms, Kaede felt more love than words could convey.
