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Miu listened to the muffled sounds of the rain thudding against the window of Kaede’s dorm room. The frequent storms of Spring lasting late into the nights, this one in particular being no exception. Miu vaguely knew the saying about April and golden showers and May flowers or whatever, but that didn’t stop her from usually finding the sound of rain and thunder annoying. Sure, she rarely went outside, but thunder makes her jump, which is more than a goddess like her should ever have to endure! Tonight, however, Miu found the soft sounds of the rain more hypnotic than anything.
“Miu.”
She could almost get lost in a trance…
“Miu!” Miu jolted, looking up from her place seated on the floor, Kaede looking down at her from her bed.
“Are you alright? You seemed to be spacing out. If you’re tired we can go to sleep.” Kaede was looking at her with so much concern in her eyes, Miu almost wanted to just concede and take her up on the sleeping offer. She wouldn't give in that easily, though; sleep is for bitches. Besides, tiredness wasn't her issue, but she wasn't gonna let Kaede know that. At least not without a fight.
Miu scoffed at the idea. “I don’t get tired. I’ve got enough stamina to last all night if you catch my drift.” Her expression betrayed her words. A forced smirk took the place of her usual irritating grin she had when talking to Kaede. She just had to hope Kaede wouldn’t notice.
“Right…” Kaede faltered. Her eyes lingered on Miu’s for a moment, almost analytical. “Well if you’re not tired, then is something bothering you? We can talk about it.” Her incessant gaze was making it hard for Miu’s fake smile to stay on her face.
“Obviously something is bothering me,” Miu said. Kaede perked up at that. It’s usually a lot harder for Miu to open up to her. “What's bothering me is that I'm spending my night in this shoddy dorm room instead of spending my precious time inventing or getting railed.”
Kaede grimaced. “You’re literally the one that asked to sleep over…” She crossed her arms in annoyance. “And jeez, Miu, would it kill you to just be nice when I ask you something?” Kaede looked anywhere but at Miu, clearly offended.
Shit. She really shouldn’t be surprised considering how she was talking to her, but she made Kaede mad. Not like that was anything new, she does that quite a lot. But usually different when it’s just the two of them. She would never outright admit it, but Miu notices that she's a lot tamer when it’s just her and Kaede. They’ve told each other secrets and shared moments so intimate that any other of their classmates would be in disbelief of how uncharacteristically soft Miu can be towards Kaede. Despite all that, it was still a struggle for Miu to genuinely open up to the girl without massive amounts of deflection and immature comments. Though, she figured she would rather attempt to open up to Kaede than sit there with her mad at her.
A few heavy moments passed between the two girls. Miu was thinking hard about how to phrase her next words. Typically she just said the first thing that came to mind, but she didn’t feel like offending Kaede any more than she already had.
Miu cleared her throat. “Well since you're dying to know what's on my mind I might as well just tell you.” She turned her head away from Kaede. “...what do you think is going to happen after high school?”
Kaede looked back at Miu, all signs of annoyance that were present a second ago seemed to dissipate, instead replaced by intrigue by the sudden tone change. A few more moments passed before she replied, “Well we’ve already been accepted into colleges, so probably that?”
“That’s not what I mean, dumbass!” Miu hugged her knees, still not looking at Kaede. “I mean… What happens between us?” Her head tilted downward. “Are you gonna stop talking to me?”
Kaede’s eyes widened. She knew that Miu had a fair amount of insecurities, especially about their friendship, but this is the first that she’d heard this type of concern from the girl. “Miu, of course I'm not going to do that.” She sighed heavily, “Sure, sometimes you can be… difficult… but I still value our friendship. I won't stop being your friend.” Kaede offered a warm smile, but Miu’s head was still turned away.
“People always say things like that, but is it ever true? It’s always shit like ‘of course we'll keep in touch. I won't abandon you. I swear it wasn’t me that broke your vibrator.’” she mocked. “People lie.” She hugged her knees closer to herself.
Kaede stood up from her bed and sat down next to Miu on the floor, the latter girl still making a point to avoid eye contact. “You’re right. Not all friendships last, and it’s scary.” Kaede copied Miu’s position by hugging her knees to her chest. “I mean, there's a lot of people I’d like to keep contact with after highschool, but honestly? I think it's unrealistic. People drift apart, that’s part of life.” She let out a hollow laugh, “I remember promising my middle school friends that we would stay friends, but I haven't talked to them in years.”
“You're really shitty at making people feel better.” Miu muttered.
“But,” Kaede continued, “you matter to me more than my middle school friends ever did. You’re important to me, and I want to try harder to not lose that.” Miu finally lifted her head and turned to look at Kaede, but now it was her turn to avoid eye contact. “I think… we’ll be okay.” The room was dim, but Miu could see a gentle smile gracing Kaedes lips coupled with a pink tinge on the tips of her ears. The ghost of a smile appeared across Miu’s face before quickly dissipating.
“S’ just… It’d be shitty if we drifted apart. Not that many people have what it takes to put up with sex icon Miu Iruma.” Kaede’s smile grew. She turned to Miu and their eyes met, both of them with soft blushes painting their cheeks.
“What about Kiibo? Or Kazuichi? Do they have what it takes?” Kaede tittered. She knew that Miu had other friends, but she didn’t know how close she was to them, and frankly, she was also a little curious on where she stood among Miu’s friends.
“Those virgins? Kazuichis alright I guess, Kiibs is pretty fuckin’ great though.” Her blush deepened and Kaede noticed she was having trouble maintaining eye contact. “But you're like, S tier compared to them.”
Kaede beamed, “I think that’s one of the nicest things you’ve said to me.
Seconds passed between them where neither said a word. The rain outside had softened to a gentle patter, creating a peaceful atmosphere in the room. Their eyes stayed locked on each other as they shared soft smiles.
Kaede was the one to break the silence. “Do you wanna sit up on the bed with me? The floor is pretty uncomfortable.” She said
“Trying to get me in bed with you, Kaede? Didn’t peg you as that type of girl.” Miu teased with none of her usual snarkiness. “But I guess I'll grace your bed with my gorgeous presence,” she said while standing.
“Never change, Miu,” Kaede spoke as they both got comfortable sitting on her bed. When they settled, they both noticed that there was at most an inch between them, but neither of them made any effort to widen that gap. If anything, Miu thought she noticed Kaede lean into it. Once more the gentle sounds of the rain outside filled the room as they fell into a comfortable silence.
At least a minute passed of both girls sitting there on the bed with only the sounds of the rain to break the silence. Miu was even starting to get lulled into sleep by the noise, but Kaede had to once more be the one to break the silence.
“I meant what I said earlier. That you're really important, I mean.” The blush on their faces returned. “So I’m gonna try extra hard to stay in touch, okay? And you do the same.” Kaede said with a determined look.
Miu’s smile faded. “It’s still fuckin’ scary though. Not knowing what’s gonna happen ‘s some creepy shit.”
Kaede looked into Mius’ eyes. “We’ll be okay. I promise.” She reached over and grabbed Miu’s hand. “From now on, stop thinking about the future. Live in the moment.”
Live in the moment. Miu wanted to try something now. With the hand holding Kaede’s she gave a gentle squeeze. Her other hand began to rise toward Kaede’s face. The hand cupped her cheek, she felt Kaede’s face burning under her palm, their eyes still looking lovingly into each others–
Before Miu could process what was happening, Kaedes lips were on hers. She was quick and eager, like she’d been wanting to do this all night. Or maybe even longer Miu thought.
It was over as quick as it started, Kaede backing up with the same speed that she initiated with. Both their cheeks were a dark crimson. Miu’s mind was fuzzy. Her heart was racing. It started then it was over just like that, but it still left her breathless. Her lips were buzzing too. “What the fuck?” she breathed, more out of genuine confusion than anything else.
“Sorry,” Kaede’s smile was demure. “I let my intrusive thoughts win.”
Miu was still stunned. Sure, she was about to try the exact same thing, but the abruptness of it was still shocking, even to someone like her. Miu squeezed Kaede’s hand once more, “wanna let them win again?”
Kaede beamed and leaned in. This time they met in the middle, Miu using her hand on Kaede’s cheek to guide her in. Their eyes drifted closed and Miu felt Kaede’s free hand find the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. The first time was rushed; desperation making it feel like something was lacking. This time it was slower, they both had time to find an angle and a rhythm they enjoyed. There was still lingering desperation, but it wasn't exactly bad. Miu had more time to process everything she felt. She could faintly taste Kaede’s chapstick, and though she couldn’t identify the flavor, she decided it was now her favorite.
They pulled apart, breathless. Miu’s lips were still buzzing from the contact. She could still taste the lingering flavor of Kaede’s lips on hers. Miu opened her eyes and met Kaede’s, seeing in her eyes what could only be described as love. Miu felt Kaede’s hand leave her neck and find its way to her cheek where it started to move in slow, comforting circles. She felt so vulnerable but at the same time so safe.
Fuck.
She was falling hard.
She was still scared of the future, but at that moment, she knew exactly what she wanted. She wanted Kaede. To hold her hand, to kiss her lips, to annoy her with shitty jokes, to be loved by her.
Kaede kissed her again. Another quick one, but Miu savored the feeling. She smiled, knowing that so long as Kaede was with her, she’d be okay.