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The rain trickled down across Suzuran, gently pitter-pattering on the roof of Ringo's house. Peaceful rainy nights like this were perfect times to work on her homework. Well... Tonight would have been. But then-
*THUMP!*
Tee clumsily collapsed through her bedroom window, snapping her to attention as she nearly gave herself whiplash turning to look at him. He was thoroughly soaked, his goggles misaligned, and overall he just looked a mess right now. "...Hi," was all he could really say, with an awkward grin that sought some humor in this little mishap.
Ringo was amused by the whole thing, but tried to hold back her laughter for fear of making Tee feel judged. She got up from the spinning chair at her desk and walked over to him. She offered a hand to Tee, and he gladly took it to help support himself on the way back onto his feet. "Apologies for coming in so suddenly, and in such a way..." he muttered as he closed the window behind him.
"Hey, no worries! We should get you cleaned up, though. You look pretty scuffed..."
"Yeah..."
~
A few minutes later, and Tee and Ringo were peacefully watching a documentary together on her bed. Ringo was really only half paying attention to it, though, the other half on her math homework. Tee was wrapped in a soft yellow blanket, bandaged scrapes covered by borrowed clothing from Ringo- specifically, a lilac sweater and gray sweatpants. He was a few inches shorter, so they were a bit big on him, but he didn't mind it. They smelled earthy, somewhat like the blossoms of developing fruits.
To be honest, he was sort of honored to wear this. That Ringo would allow him to wear her clothes while his own dried out was just so comforting. But actually doing that was... Sort of embarrassing. But not in a deprecating sort of way. Ringo was so pretty, and cute, and so nice. He couldn't deny that he felt a sort of attraction towards her. So to wear something she owned wrought some sort of indescribable feeling from his soul.
"Aww, Tee! You're blushing~!" Ah. Was he? He looked away from her, causing her to giggle. He knew that he should have expected a bit of teasing from her. It was just part of her character. He liked it, though, oddly enough. He liked everything about her, really. He never wanted to leave her side. In fact, it wouldn't be a stretch to call these feelings... Love.
Love. This was love. He had fallen head-over-heels in love with Ringo. This wasn't new, but for the longest time he'd been too worried and too shy to admit it. But he didn't want to hold it back any longer. Tonight was the night that he would say it. Tonight, he was going to tell Ringo how he felt.
The only problem was how the heck do you go about that.
Seriously, he had no idea how to bring it up without it getting awkward. He'd already made an awkward entrance as it was, and the tension he was feeling from that was still lingering. It just put him under a lot of stress. He was wracking his mind, come up with something, come up with something, come up with something, god damn it.
Hm. Maybe he could sneak in a kiss? Just a quick kiss on the cheek, it wouldn't be anything too major. It would be enough to get her attention and segway into the whole confession thing, but nothing too romantic just yet. Yeah. That would be good.
Ringo finished up the last question on her math homework. Phew, she was tired. It couldn't hurt to go to sleep before the documentary finished up, and maybe she could get Tee to cuddle with her? ...Ah, what was she thinking? Tee was probably too busy with work all the time to think about such things as love. She was just getting her hopes up.
Suddenly, she felt a hand grab her by the shoulder. Tee being the only other person there at the moment, she knew it was his. She turned to look at him, wondering what he may have to say. "What is it, Tee?" was what she tried to say, but she couldn't get past "is" before their lips came to meet.
Honestly, she'd barely had time to register it. The only thing she was aware of was the slight tilt of Tee's head before it happened. It only lasted a couple seconds, but in her blissful surprise, that fleeting moment felt like an eternity.
Her cheeks were burning hot. She couldn't believe it. Tee just... Kissed her. She almost couldn't believe it was real. As she went to pinch herself, Tee opened his eyes, looking a bit proud of himself... Until he realized just where he'd kissed her, and his face turned redder than a Z-Tetrimino. He let out a panicked shriek and promptly collapsed, hiding his blushing face in the borrowed sweater.
"Erm... You alright there, Tee?"
Tee was so damn flustered. He could barely formulate any words at all. "...didn't... m-mean to... only... s-supposed... the cheek..." he muttered, trembling. Oh god he'd just kissed Ringo on the lips. That was not supposed to happen. What was he to do!? He'd really gone and embarrassed himself now...
The room was quiet for a few moments. Finally, Ringo tapped him on the shoulder, and his pointed ears pricked up as he turned to look at her. She put two fingers under his chin and tilted her head just so. What was happening? Goodness gracious... She leaned in closer, closed her eyes, and- wait, oh goodness, she wasn't going to do what he thought she was, right? No way, that would be just-
*chu*
...absurd...
He didn't have time to think, her lips pressed against his. His face felt like it was burning, he felt lightheaded, oh god oh god no do NOT pass out Tee! Not right now! Not while Ringo is here, kissing you, and not just in a fantasy! This is reality! Don't pass out don't pass out this is real she's kissing you oh god this is unbelievable what now aaaaah!
He didn't know what to do in this moment, so he put trust in his instincts to guide him. Looping his arms around Ringo, he closed his eyes and started to kiss back. Passion captured his heart, almost magnetizing him to her. Mmm... It felt so good... He couldn't help but lean in.
Her hands moved to his cheeks, his red-hot cheeks, pulling him ever closer. Tangled in a passionate embrace, they were completely lost in the moment, melting into each other more and more. He clutched the soft fabric of her nightgown, drinking in the sweet taste of her lips on his, oh god it felt amazing. He didn't want it to end, ever. The dreamlike feeling of it all pulled him in, pulled them in. It was by no means a perfect kiss, but it was perfect to them, and that was all they needed.
Although Tee hadn't been the one to start this, he didn't want to stop, so Ringo had to be the one to pull away. It felt weird to open his eyes again. Their faces were flushed red, their lips wet with each others' saliva. They'd kissed so long that they had been reduced to breathless panting, and Tee didn't know about Ringo, but his heartbeat was almost pounding out of his chest. Oh god... He needed a moment.
Ringo could barely say anything, still trying to get air back into her lungs, but she could say one thing. "Hahh... much better..."
Oh. Well, that didn't help him come down.
He could barely think, but... If Ringo is saying 'much better' after a kiss... That means she likes you! She likes you, stupid! Stupid, stupid, you're so stupid Tee, you are an IDIOT Tee, god DAMN it Tee! You were so caught up in the potential negatives you never even thought about the positives! Why are you like this, Tee? Why can't you find the courage to say anything, Tee? Why are you so stupid stupid stupid STUPID-
His train of thought was interrupted by another quick kiss. "Damn... Damn it..." Ringo panted, tearing up just slightly. "Why are you saying... all those things about yourself, Tee?" Ah, he'd been thinking aloud. That was awkward.
"Heh... Sorry, I..." He said. "I just got... so caught up, and, well... Force of habit, I suppose..." And for a moment, they were quiet. The only sound they could really hear was the pounding of their heartbeats and their breathless gasps, and even their gasping died down after a while.
Finally, Tee summoned up the courage to speak. "I love you, you know? You're so cute and so pretty, and I love you. I love your eyes. I love your smile. I love how smart you are, and I wouldn't mind if you rambled to me for hours. I love your random singing, and the way you laugh. I love your kindness. I even love how you tease me. I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you. I've loved you for quite a while now, but I've been too shy to say it. I love you." He paused. "But you already knew that, huh?"
"I kind of did. And you know, I love you too," Ringo replied. They fell silent for a minute again. "So, can we, like... Be a thing now?"
"Yeah, yeah... I'd like that," Tee said. His heart felt like it had been set ablaze, but still, it was in a good way.
They laid down, hands barely touching as an awkward silence filled the room yet again. What exactly were they supposed to say?
"...it's late," Ringo finally stated, simply. "We should probably go to sleep..."
"...one more?" Tee asked. Although he was too embarrassed to make the full request, Ringo seemed to know exactly what he wanted. She pulled them both up, completely onto the bed. She ran her fingers through a lock of his lavender hair and pulled him closer. Their lips locked for only a moment, and when they pulled away, Tee almost immediately planted his face into Ringo's shoulder.
That was how they fell asleep, snuggling close together with Tee's head nuzzled into the crook of Ringo's neck. In the end, both of them had gotten something they wanted from tonight. Tee, the chance for his confession, and Ringo, cuddling with Tee.