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"Oh, and what's this?" Himeno asked, looking at the little pot Rita had brought with them.
"Cultural exchange," Rita said in their usual monotone.
Himeno cocked her head. "Huh?"
"I have to remain neutral. If we keep meeting for tea, the other kingdoms could see it as me giving preference to one. Therefore, this will now be a cultural exchange. You have been offering me Ishabana's finest tea. To pay you back, I have brought a secret drink from Gokkan."
Despite their tone remaining unchanged, Himeno thought the cadence of their voice had gotten faster. Were they nervous? That was so cute! "Secret drink, you say? And are you going to share this information with the other kings?"
Rita stayed silent for a moment. The fact that they covered about three fourths of their face often made them hard to read, but Himeno was getting better at that. She smiled, trying to put on her most innocent expression. Rita liked to pretend they weren't affected by her womanly charms, but Himeno knew she was slowly making progress.
"I-if they wish to initiate a cultural exchange with Gokkan, certainly," they said.
"Aha," Himeno decided not to say anything. Like how nobody knew this was a cultural exchange. In fact, Himeno wasn't even sure anyone but their advisors knew about she and Rita meeting up for tea fairly often. Rita had always been on edge at first, but then they'd started to relax more and more.
What had brought this sudden setback? Could another king had made mention of this? If so, Himeno would make his life impossible.
Rita finally sat down. The throne room of Ishabana was as pristine and beautiful as always, but whenever Rita visited, Himeno had only eyes for them. Their strength, their stoicness, the way in which they talked, their attire—it was all enrapturing, somehow.
"So, what is the drink?" Himeno asked, curious.
"Coffee."
"Coffee…?" Himeno looked at the pot with intrigue. "Interesting. How is it?"
"It's bitter. Its strong. The rulers of Gokkan use it to stay alert at all times, though it must not be consumed in great quantities," Rita explained. "Butler, bring us hot water, same as for tea."
Sebastian waited until Himeno gave a nod before rushing off to get some. He was back not a minute later with an addition of two cups.
"Thank you. Now bring sugar, milk, cream, chocolate, honey, a Special Anniversary Edition of Moffun with-"
Himeno cleared her throat at the last part.
"A-and some vanilla, if you have it."
Himeno was curious as to the mixture of ingredients. She also took note on the plush Rita wanted. Maybe it would 'appear' in their room sometime soon, for no apparent reason.
Sebastian procured the ingredients in a jiffy, bringing an entire rolling tray of them with him. Soon, Rita was preparing the drinks for them. They offered the first cup to Himeno. A black concoction that smelled bitter and unpleasant. "This is black coffee. It's a special Gokkan brew, more bitter, stronger than others. It will be unpleasant."
Always so direct. Who would like to drink something unpleasant?
Himeno was about to refuse, but the intensity shining through Rita's single visible eye made her question herself. Cultural exchange… Maybe that was just Rita's roundabout way of saying they wanted to share this with her.
The Queen of Beauty took a sip of the coffee and almost choked. She kept her composure best she could, putting the cup down. "That was disgusting," she confessed.
Rita didn't look offended. Instead, they nodded, then took back the cup. It took another minute, but they returned it to Himeno. It now smelled sweet. It was lighter, thanks to milk, and with a hint of vanilla. "This is called 'Mocha'. I believe a Gokkan retainer from the past who hated the taste of coffee came up with it. Try it."
Himeno was more hesitant than before, but it did smell pleasant. Slowly, she took a sip.
The taste of the coffee was still there, but it was now offset by the milk and the sweetness of sugar. The chocolate and a single hint of vanilla brought everything together into an explosion of new flavors that made Himeno's mind expand as she realized what she'd been missing all her life. She had a hard time containing the need to gulp it all down in one go.
"That was a lot more enjoyable. Thank you, Rita," she praised.
"I am… glad, that this exchange is going well."
Himeno refrained from sighing. Was she going to have to bring down Rita's walls every other week? She'd never make progress that way.
Setting the cup down, she looked Rita in the eye. "This is not much of an exchange, is it? You haven't had anything yet," she said.
Rita looked mildly surprised at the realization. "Right," they said. Then they drank a cup of black coffee.
"… you really drink it that way?" Himeno was horrified.
"I'm too busy to waste time making frivolous coffee."
Himeno broke into a grin. "Yet you do it for me?" She asked.
"I-it's the cultural-"
"Oh shut up. You're no fun sometimes," Himeno pouted.
Rita proceeded to make her two more variations of coffee. One with cream and honey, and another with only vanilla. Both were great. But as Himeno waited for more, she noticed Rita was putting away the things they'd used. "Wait, that's it? I want more."
"You can't. You haven't had it before. It's an energy-filled drink."
Himeno wanted to complaint, but her medical knowledge knew Rita was correct here. Especially with a new substance, one had to be careful. Finally, Rita stood. "It's been a pleasure, Queen Himeno," they bowed formally and started to walk away.
Himeno almost let them go. This wasn't unusual for them: Rita always left as soon as she could under rites of Ishabanan hospitality.
But this time, Himeno felt especially annoyed. They hadn't even shown their face! Last time they'd opened their high collar to drink. No. No, Himeno always got what she wanted. And today, she wanted to spend more time with Rita. So she stood, walked over to the ruler of Gokkan, and blocked their path. "We're not done here."
"There's nothing left to discuss-"
"Stay and I'll give you a sneak peek of Moffun's next episode."
As whenever the big fluffy yeti was mentioned, Rita's entire body went stiff. "T-that's blackmailing, and-"
"I could even give you access to some deleted scenes~" Himeno teased, fluttering her eyelids.
Rita's eyes went wild. "C-cultural exchange!" They suddenly shouted, and Himeno knew she'd won. "I brought coffee, you give me deleted scenes! It's a fair exchange! Now let's go!" They looked as though they were vibrating with excitement.
Himeno leaned forward and took Rita's hand gently. "Let me guide you there."
Rita was muttering all the details they'd memorized of the deleted scenes to themselves when the pair came back to Ishabana's palace. Out in the gardens, it looked like God Kamakiri and Papillon were having fun together. Rita paused for a moment, looking at that, feeling like they were forgetting something.
Oh, right. This was supposed to be a cultural exchange.
They turned to Himeno, right beside them, a smile on her face. Satisfied. Rita narrowed their eyes. Damn it, they'd let themselves get carried away again. Himeno always knew how to exploit their Moffun weak spot.
"That was a successful exchange. It was a pleasure," Rita got their bearings and started to get out again.
Himeno reached for their shoulder. "Wait! I demand you stay for a while longer. Are we not having fun?"
"You don't get to make demands of the Chief Justice. I must remain neutral," they retorted, not turning. Because they knew that turning would mean giving Himeno another chance to enrapture them.
Himeno scoffed at their excuse. "Alright, that's enough. What happened? We've been going smoothly for a while, but today you took like twenty steps back in our progression. Has one of the other kings interfered? Come on, you know none of them would actually care we're having tea together. Are they trying to exploit you somehow?"
Rita paused. Was that the impression they were giving? This was a problem. If Himeno jumped to accusations, it could turn into an international incident. As Chief Justice, they couldn't allow that. Especially not if it would be their fault.
They turned to face Himeno, who was pouting. She was really spoiled. "I am letting myself get too comfortable. I am the Ruler of Gokkan. I must remain unshakable," Rita said.
"Oh, and I'm making you waver?" Himeno crossed her arms.
"By spending so much time with you, it threatens my judgement. I could become biased."
Himeno brought a hand to her face, rubbing her forehead. "You sure are unshakable. Unshakably stubborn," she said with frustration.
"Such is the lot of Gokkan's monarch."
Himeno pressed her lips. "At least show me your face. You did that last time, to drink. I think it's rude you haven't."
Rita hesitated. They were self-conscious about showing their face too much, but then again, they supposed it wasn't incorrect to say they were being rude by hiding it during a dat- cultural exchange. "I consider this… fair."
They reached up, opening their high collar.
Himeno stared at them for a second, her frown quickly turning into a smile. "You're beautiful," she said.
Rita couldn’t let themselves be swayed by sweet words. Even if they were sweeter than the honey of Tofu.
"Well, with that done… What are you doing?" Rita asked as they noticed Himeno's hand reaching to their face.
"I said I wanted to see your face. Your entire face," she insisted. Rita didn't stop her from gently brushing aside their bangs, revealing their right eye.
Himeno's hand stayed on Rita's face, moving down, her fingers softly trailing paths of burning sensation, cupping their cheek. Rita should have stopped her. This kind of situation could be easily misread, should anyone be spying on them. But they didn't. Instead, they watched with a sped-up heartbeat as Himeno stepped forward, closer. She was close, so close their faces almost touched.
"Himeno…" Rita said in a warning tone, or tried to. It wasn't very convincing.
"This is just a… cultural exchange, right?" Himeno teased in a whisper. "Then let me give you something else, to show Ishabana's goodwill towards Gokkan."
She leaned forward, pecking Rita's lips.
It was an instant. A brush of lip against lip, barely any force put into it. Himeno's perfume filled Rita's nostrils. Their senses got sharper, time seemed to slow down.
But it didn't stop.
Then it was over.
Himeno was giving them a cheeky smile, mischievousness glowing in her eyes. "Well, I guess you can leave now," she said, turning to go sit on her throne. She was stopped, however.
Even Rita found themselves surprised their hand had shot forward to grab Himeno's wrist. "I'm arresting you," they blurted out, unsure of how else to respond.
Himeno raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? For what, exactly?"
"F-for trying to…" Rita wasn't even sure what they were saying, least of all had a reason to arrest Himeno. "For trying to bribe me with, uh…"
Himeno's grin turned knowing. "Bribes? How is this a bribe?"
"A cultural exchange requires an exchange. Coffee for moffun, and…"
"I gave you a kiss. If you want to give something back… I could accept a kiss in return," Himeno suggested. "In fact, I won't accept anything else in return," she declared, standing tall.
Rita cursed themselves. They were playing Himeno's tune.
But… Well, they needed to make sure this was a fair exchange, so… With trembling hands, they started to lean closer, both their eyes shut.
"Shugods, you're awful at flirting," Himeno whispered, taking their face and pulling them in for a far stronger kiss.
Wings unfolded behind Rita. Suddenly, they were high, high in the sky, flying alongside God Papillon. Himeno's lips were like sweet nectar from a flower, her hands burning against Rita's skin as their body temperature skyrocketed.
For a single moment, Rita allowed themselves to forget their responsibilities and enjoy the sensation.
Alas, it had to end. Opening their eyes, they stepped back, steeling their resolve back into shape. They looked at Himeno's slightly disappointed face without expression and bowed. "This cultural exchange is now over."
The queen rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. How about we set up another 'cultural exchange' next time you have some free time? We could do a Moffun marathon together," she suggested. "We can figure what your side of the deal would be later, but I think I wouldn’t mind some more kisses."
The self confidence in her smirk, the cheekiness of her tone, and the outrageousness of her request were probably breaking a few laws. But Rita couldn't think of them now, feeling… Dazzled, maybe.
"I'll… make sure to free up some of my schedule," Rita promised in return, earning an excited nod. And before Himeno could trick them again, they turned and walked as fast as was proper towards God Papillon.
"I always get what I want, Rita Kaniska! Don't forget that!" Himeno shouted after them.
Rita ignored her.
They were supposed to be as cold as ice. Why was their face burning so hot, then?