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Narukami’s hand was warm. It was holding Yuzuru’s hand tight enough to make sure they didn’t get separated but loose enough for Yuzuru to be able to slip out of her grasp at any moment, if she so pleased. She didn’t, of course. It was her pleasure to accompany Narukami on a shopping trip. The rules Narukami had set beforehand were simple: Yuzuru had to leave her wallet at home, alongside her duties as a butler. She wanted nothing more than to refuse both demands. Except Narukami had looked at her so sweetly, batting her eyelashes and saying, “Let me treat you like you're my princess today, Yuzuru-chan ♪”
Yuzuru had no choice but to give in. Just thinking back to that moment alone was almost enough to make her blush. Her dashing knight paused in front of a store. “I think this is the new place Aira-chan was telling me about last week. Let's go in and have a look around, Yuzuru-chan!”
She didn't trust herself to speak properly so she settled on a nod and let herself be led into the store. It wasn't that she didn't shop often. Tori took her shopping all the time, so she had more than enough experience. Problem was that all her experience was as a butler. She had no idea how to be a friend, much less a girlfriend. The word itself still sent chills down her spine. It wasn't that being a "girlfriend" felt wrong, per say. It was just never a role that she saw herself playing.
A gentle tug on her sleeve reminded her to redirect her focus to the present rather than the future. Narukami pouted. “Honestly, Yuzuru-chan, how am I meant to spoil you if you keep zoning out?” she sighed, but there was a soft smile on her face. “Oh, but I suppose Yuzuru-chan being relaxed is much better than having her be her usual tense self.”
Yuzuru blushed. “I apologise, Narukami-sama. I'm still new to... all this.”
“Dating?” she laughed. She could speak so casually about this kind of thing. Yuzuru almost envied her. “Yeah, I know. I'm not annoyed or anything. In fact, I think you’re quite cute like this~”
Yuzuru covered her mouth with her hand and averted her eyes. “Please refrain from speaking like that.”
Narukami laughed again and affectionately tapped her on the wrist. Yuzuru didn't understand how such a lovely woman put up with her antics.
The two of them wandered around the store, Narukami occasionally pointing at displays and commenting on them. Yuzuru still wasn't entirely sure where the line between "butler" and "girlfriend" was drawn so she avoided speaking for the most part, only opening her mouth to agree with what Narukami was saying.
Narukami stopped in front of a display of hair accessories and picked one up. “What do you think of this one, Yuzuru-chan?”
A pink hair clip decorated with a small strawberry. Yuzuru's mouth moved faster than her brain. “It would suit my Mistress very well.”
Her girlfriend hummed in thought. “Oh my, you're right! It definitely goes well with Tori-chan's usual style. I should bring her along with the rest of Pretty 5 one day! But I was curious about how you would feel about wearing it. The pink matches your lovely eyes ♪”
Yuzuru was just glad that she didn't get reprimanded for bringing up her Mistress when she was supposed to be on a date, though the question did catch her off guard. “I'm... not sure. My hair is too short for most accessories, so I've never really considered wearing any. My mistress is supposed to be the cute one anyway.”
Narukami tapped her chin in thought. “It comes with more,” she said, pointing to a set of hairclips similar to the one in her hand, but in different colours and with different decorations. The strawberry one was right in the middle of all the clips. “I’ll buy it to try on you, but if you end up disliking them, we can give them to Tori-chan. I really would like to dress you up a bit so don’t try to object!”
Yuzuru’s protests died in her mouth. She said she was going to let herself be spoiled today, didn’t she? “Alright. That’s a good idea.”
Narukami’s smile told her she said the right thing. “How about we go to a whole bunch of stores and you can be my model for the afternoon? Wouldn’t that be fun? If you’re unsure, I can help you pick out clothes. We have the whole day together so we may as well make the most of it.”
“I would be happy to do whatever you like.”
Narukami frowned slightly. Wrong response. “What about what you like, Yuzuru-chan? That’s all I’m interested in today.”
What Yuzuru liked? What did Yuzuru like? Cleaning, being a butler, her Mistress, drawing, cleaning, gardening, being her Mistress’s devoted butler, being an idol, cleaning. Not much to work with. Ah, but-
“I like you, Narukami-sama,” she murmured, making sure to keep her voice down. “Forgive me for not being too in touch with my own personal tastes, but I do know that I like you. Letting me indulge in your company is enough to keep me content for as long as you allow me to. Please lead the way.”
It was Narukami’s turn to blush. “You’re too much sometimes, Yuzuru-chan!” She squeezed her hand tighter. “But I like that about you.”
They left the store after Narukami paid for the clips. She had mentioned to Yuzuru that she had taken on an extra job so that she would have extra money to spend on their date. “Do you have any big jobs this week, babe?”
Yuzuru didn’t think she’d ever get used to the pet names. “Tomorrow I only have extracurriculars, but I have a recording session for the vocals of a new music video the day after that. The live footage for the video itself will be filmed sometime next week so I’m practising the choreography for that with the rest of fine on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Thursday is a solo photoshoot. I think I will be modelling for a new clothing line, but I’ll have to double-check.”
Narukami whistled appreciatively. “Oh my, Yuzuru-chan, you’re so organised ♪” She gave her a quick peck on the cheek. Yuzuru didn’t think she’d get used to the casual affection, either. Especially in public. “It’s so impressive that you can remember all that. I could never~”
“It is?” Yuzuru’s memory hadn’t exactly been bad in the first place, but she still had to work on honing it as part of her butler training. She didn’t want to think about her butler training. “May I ask what sparked your curiosity?”
“I’m starting to get hungry so I’m trying to figure out what we should get. Since we both have modelling jobs this week, I would be best to avoid anything too heavy. How do you feel about pastries? I know a place with some very light and sweet ones. They have juices as well.”
Yuzuru smiled. “That sounds perfect.”
The pastry shop was less than a ten minute walk from the store they had just visited. Not far enough for either of them to get tired on the way but still far enough for them to have a nice conversation about their experiences with modelling.
“I know I’ve been a professional model before I knew how to ride a bike, but there was a time when I just didn’t really enjoy my modelling, you know?” Narukami sighed. “Mostly back when I was a first year. Maybe a bit before that, too. I still made sure to always give it my best and I never produced unsatisfactory results, but it just felt like such a chore. I’m glad I got over that and I love my job now, but it’s sad that I felt that way about the thing that I’m best at.”
“I think I understand what you mean,” Yuzuru said.
“Oh my, really? How long have you been modelling, Yuzuru-chan?”
“I actually only began modelling during my idol career.” Modelling had come surprisingly easily for Yuzuru. Staying completely still, following order, and managing body language and expression were things that she was all too familiar with. “I was referring to my job as a butler. Apologies for the misunderstanding.”
“You didn’t like being a butler?”
“For a few years, I did more than that. I absolutely hated it. I tried to… I tried a lot of things to get out of it, but none of them worked. But in the end, I am grateful that I remained beside my Young Mistress.”
The hand that wasn’t holding Narukami’s was clenched into a fist in her pocket. She hated remembering those periods of her life. Her girlfriend stayed quiet for a moment before gently squeezing her hand again. “I won’t ask you to share any details that you don’t want me to know, but I’m glad that you’re happy.” She hesitated before shyly adding, “And I’m glad that I got the chance to meet you in this life ♪”
Yuzuru brought their joined hands up to her face and pressed a soft kiss to her girlfriend’s knuckles. “I’m also glad that I met you in this life.”
Four warm pastries sat on a plate between the two partners. Strawberry, lemon, chocolate, and matcha. If they tasted half as good as they looked, Yuzuru would be perfectly content.
“Mika-chan recommended this place to me,” Narukami explained as she blew on the strawberry pastry in her hand to cool it. She took the strawberry and matcha ones while Yuzuru had chocolate and lemon. “She said she comes here with her partner because the menu has lots of French desserts. I had their macarons when I came here with the girls, but I’ve been looking for an excuse to try these pastries as well.”
That meant she had already come here with her circle members. Which meant she had come here with Tori. Yuzuru racked her memory. “I remember my Young Mistress telling me about this place. She said she ordered a tart and enjoyed it with one of her circle members.”
“I’m sure Tori-chan will be happy to know that you care about her enough to remember such tiny details like this. She’s so lucky to have someone like you in her life.”
Yuzuru focused on her chewing. The lemon filling was a mix of sour and sweet, the flavour made milder by the flaky pastry. She chewed until it was thoroughly mushed in her mouth before swallowing. “I’m the lucky one to have the pleasure of taking care of her.”
Narukami’s fingers were drumming a tune into the table, though it wasn’t a song that Yuzuru recognised. “Fufu, I almost feel a little jealous when you speak about Tori-chan like this~”
And for the millionth time, Yuzuru had ruined a moment with her inability to shut up about her young mistress. “I apologise. I should not have brought up Young Mistress in the first place and I will reflect on my behaviour, but I can assure you that I care about you more deeply than you can imagine and I am-”
Narukami grabbed Yuzuru's hand, cutting her off. Her smile was soft and sweet, eyes too caring. “Babe. It’s alright.”
Yuzuru drew back, pulling her hand out from Narukami's grasp. Her eyes widened, darting for a spot to focus on that wasn’t Narukami's gentle face. Being on the receiving end of such tenderness made her skin crawl. “But it isn’t!” Her eyebrows creased with distress. “You go through all the trouble of being with me, but your patience and kindness is rewarded with nothing but my own selfishness.”
Narukami put her hand on Yuzuru’s knee under the table. “Hey. I said I’m not mad, Yuzuru-chan. I like being with you because I like every part of you. Tori-chan and your relationship with her is a huge part of you and I like that, too. I know that your heart belongs to me so I’m not worried.”
“Then is there another reason why you’re feeling that way? I will do everything in my power to make things better.”
Narukami finished the strawberry pastry and picked up the matcha one. “It’s not your fault. You don’t have to worry about it. It’s embarrassing.”
She tried to laugh it off, but Yuzuru didn’t want to let it go just yet. “Worrying about you is a privilege for me. I am more than willing to listen to whatever you have to say to me, Narukami-sama.”
She laughed again. “You really can be too much, Yuzuru-chan.” Her fingers were tapping the table again. “I like that about you. I’m not jealous because Tori-chan has your attention since I have it, too. It’s more about the fact that she’s been looked after with so much care, even when she was quite young. My own family were…” She trailed off and took another bite of pastry, swallowing before she continued. “I don’t like speaking badly about them because they’re my family, but I honestly don’t have many good things to say. They were never outright cruel, but that’s about it.”
Yuzuru understood what she was talking about all too well. Her own family wasn't pleasant to think about.
“Remember that day after we started dating when you asked me if I wanted you to address me by my first name instead and I told you that you didn’t need to change anything?”
Yuzuru nodded.
“You were so~ nervous that day and I thought it was the cutest thing in the world,” Narukami smiled at the memory. “I wouldn’t mind if you decided to call me Arashi instead, but I’m a li~ttle relieved that you stuck with my surname. Arashi is a pretty enough name, but I’m not the biggest fan of it. ‘Storm’ is such a scary meaning, isn’t it? How do I be an elegant lady with such a name like that?” She pursed her lips. “I’m also not the biggest fan of the people that gave me that name without putting much thought into it. You get what I mean?”
Yuzuru bowed her head. “I will call you whatever you wish me to. But for what it’s worth, I think your name is quite beautiful.”
Narukami poked her on the forehead, tilting her head upwards so the two of them made eye contact. Her violet eyes always seemed to sparkle extra bright whenever she smiled like this. Yuzuru had noticed that this particular smile, with the slight squint and the creases around her mouth, was reserved just for her. She was so, so beautiful. “I’m happy as long as you keep calling me your girlfriend~”
Both of them laughed.
Yuzuru neatly stacked all the cutlery on their table after they had finished eating. The act of organising something soothed an itch in her brain. Narukami fortunately didn’t try to stop her. Once they had paid and stepped out, Narukami quickly kissed Yuzuru on the corner of her mouth. “You had pastry crumbs on your face,” she said through giggles as Yuzuru hid her reddening face in her hands.
↻
They got recognised and approached in the streets. It shouldn’t be surprising that that happened, seeing that both of them were part of ES’s Big Three units. Yuzuru had her fake glasses on, but Narukami’s sunglasses were dangling from the neck of her top. So much for a disguise.
Luckily for them, it was only one person. She looked like she was young enough to still be in middle school. Unluckily, she had a small, white dog on a leash trotting behind her.
Panic flooded through Yuzuru. She instinctively ducked behind her girlfriend. Narukami gave her a puzzled look before politely chatting with the young fan.
Yuzuru didn’t register any of their conversation. Her focus was entirely on the tiny creature staring up at her curiously with beady, black eyes. It cocked its head to the side and she flinched. She might scream if it barked at her. It didn’t look anything like any of the dogs she was slowly getting used to. The white bundle of fur barely looked like a real dog at all. She may have believed that it was a stuffed animal if its tongue wasn’t currently lolling out of its mouth and dripping saliva onto the pavement.
What felt like hours of Yuzuru and the creature staring at each other ended when the owner tugged on the dog’s leash. It broke eye contact and scrambled after the young girl. Yuzuru stayed frozen. Narukami was speaking to her, but nothing got through to her until she gently touched her on the shoulder. Yuzuru flinched again, causing her girlfriend to hold her hands up in surrender.
“Oh my, are you alright there?”
Hearing her voice seemed to break the spell that was over Yuzuru. She shook her head to clear it and then nodded to answer Narukami’s question. “I-I’m alright.”
“You don’t look alright.”
Yuzuru’s hands fidgeted at her sides. “I don’t like dogs,” she mumbled.
“Pardon?”
“I don’t like dogs,” she repeated.
Narukami’s eyes widened. “You were scared of that little thing? I barely even noticed it!”
She shrugged, face flushing with embarrassment. How shameful. She was incredibly fortunate that the young fan hadn’t noticed her as well.
Narukami intertwined their fingers again and they resumed walking. After a period of silence, she asked, “How do you feel about cats?”
“Cats?”
She nodded.
Yuzuru took a moment to think. The only cat she ever had experience with was the old cat that wandered freely around the private military facility where she had trained. To keep the mice in check, one of her seniors said. “I’m fond of cats. I used to help look after one.”
Narukami brightened. “You did? What was her name?”
It had been years since Yuzuru left that facility. Her memories of that place were oddly patchy, considering how good her memory usually was. Had the cat even been given a name? Ah. Right. “Yuzu.”
“Like the fruit?”
“The citrus, yes. Someone named her that because she had bright yellow eyes that reminded people of yuzu.” That was the explanation that they had given other soldiers when they asked about her name. She conveniently didn’t mention that the person who had given Yuzu her name had also done so because she had found it hilarious to give the cat a similar name to her instructor. Yuzu and Yuzuru. The memory left a bitter taste in her mouth. “It was a long time ago. I haven’t seen them in years.”
Narukami leaned in closer. Their faces were almost touching. Close enough for the freckles on Narukami's face to be visible. They were sparse and faint, but had been emerging as the weather warmed. They complimented her soft expression beautifully. “Have I introduced you to my dear little Nyanko yet?”
The two of them had been out for hours. There were three shopping bags hanging off Narukami’s arm. She had been kind enough to let Yuzuru carry one despite her insistence that she abandon her butler duties for the day. Yuzuru was glad that she got to hold something. Her unproductivity had been irking her and her hands itched to help. To serve.
“I think this is going to be the last shop we check today, Yuzuru-chan,” Narukami said as she pushed open the door to a boutique. “I would be fine to go back to the dorms right now, but I’ve heard so many good things about this place from Hiyori-chan that I can’t just not stop by with my girlfriend.”
Yuzuru would have been content with wandering through store after store with her girlfriend forever, but they were going back to her dormitory together afterwards and she was looking forward to that much more than she was willing to admit. She didn’t have to worry about any mess because she had thoroughly cleaned the already-tidy room in an anxious frenzy before she left. She still made it to the agreed meeting spot twenty minutes early.
The interior of the boutique was much bigger than it looked from the outside. Every available surface was stuffed with products either in-stock or on display. Clothing, accessories, cosmetics, even shoes. A small, green cardigan caught her eye. It looked like something that would suit Tori. She kept looking and found a white jacket that reminded her of Eichi and a skirt with embroidered birds that looked like something Wataru would wear. She recognised a brand of perfume that was on sale. “Isn’t that the brand you worked with before?”
Narukami turned her eyes to where Yuzuru was pointing. “So it is. How cute of you to remember~”
Yuzuru kept quiet about her extensive collection of magazines featuring her girlfriend in them, the one with an article about her experience with Cocktail Piano being right at the top of the pile. She’d begun keeping herself updated on new releases once they’d started dating, but it had escalated to scouring for any mention of her girlfriend in any magazine she could find. There weren’t many magazines with Arashi Narukami in them that Yuzuru didn’t own. Nobody needed to know.
“Are there any specific styles you prefer wearing, Yuzuru-chan?” Narukami’s gaze darted around the store. “We have a lot to choose from.”
Yuzuru didn’t think before responding. “I don’t mind. I can wear whatever you’d like.”
Narukami pouted. “That’s the last thing I want to hear! Can I at least get a colour scheme?”
“Apologies, darling,” she bit her lip in thought. She truly didn’t care much for her clothing, as long as it was neat. Most of her personal outfits had dark colours, right? “I think I tend to wear darker colours. And nothing too elaborate, please.”
Her girlfriend beamed and tightened her grip on Yuzuru’s arm. “I can work with that.”
“Cute” was typically a word that Yuzuru associated with Tori, but Narukami’s enthusiasm as she searched through the store could only be described as adorable. Yuzuru could barely pay attention to the clothing when her girlfriend shone so bright. Eventually, Narukami settled on a modest indigo gown and ushered Yuzuru into a changing room to try it on.
The texture of the material was pleasant on Yuzuru’s skin and the colour suited her nicely. The sleeves were slightly too long, but that was something she could fix easily on her own. Other than that, it fit her well.
There was a zipper on the back of the dress that ran from her waist right up to the top. Yuzuru was quite flexible so she could probably do it herself if she tried, but it wouldn’t be easy. Plus, she was on a date and she was supposed to let herself be a princess for the day. She chewed on her thumb nail as she steeled her nerves.
When she peeked her head out of the curtain, Narukami was standing outside. She smiled when she saw Yuzuru. “How’s the dress?”
“The dress is lovely but…” Her hands were fidgeting at her sides. She was sure her face was flushed pink. “There’s a zipper on the back that I’m having trouble with. Do you mind…?”
“Oh of course ♪” Narukami’s smile widened as she slipped into the changing room as well. There was enough space for both of them, but being so close never failed to make Yuzuru’s heart beat at twice the speed. It didn’t help that her girlfriend was resting a warm hand on her hip.
Narukami zipped up the dress around halfway before stopping. She traced a finger along the line of raised skin that stretched down her shoulder blade. Yuzuru shivered at her touch. “What happened here, Yuzuru-chan?” she murmured. Her voice grew quieter.
Yuzuru knew exactly what she was talking about. She was ashamed of herself for forgetting about that nasty detail. That unsightly scar was the reason why she never wore open-backed outfits and why it was extremely rare for even the people closest to her to see her topless. It wasn’t her only scar, but it was her ugliest.
“That’s nothing,” she said. “It’s from a long time ago.”
That wound had to be around ten years old by now. She had gotten it from crawling through a hole in a barbed wire fence and getting her skin caught on the wire. Ibara later described it as watching Yuzuru get torn open in front of her. Yuzuru didn’t remember that day at all, aside from blood coating everything and a small hand squeezing hers. And shouting. Lots of shouting.
Narukami’s fingers were gentle on Yuzuru’s skin. “It doesn’t seem like nothing. It looks…”
Yuzuru grimaced. “Disgusting?”
Her girlfriend’s hand moved from the scar. Her fingertips were replaced by her lips in a feather-soft kiss. Yuzuru flinched but Narukami’s hands remained on her. “It looks painful.”
She was right. Her movement had been compromised for weeks while her stitches healed. Every word she had got stuck in her throat and formed a lump. Narukami kissed the scar once more before zipping the dress up the rest of the way. She kissed the nape of her neck. She took Yuzuru by the chin and turned her head so they faced each other. “Hey.”
Yuzuru didn’t trust herself to speak so she stayed quiet. “You’re beautiful, Yuzuru-chan,” she whispered, kissing the mole beneath her eye and unzipping the dress again. “The dress suits you perfectly. I’ll buy it for you. Then we’ll go home.”
She slipped out of the changing room. Yuzuru buried her face in her hands.
Yuzuru was warm when she woke up. She blinked tiredly as she took in her surroundings. Ah, that’s right. She was in the back of a taxi on her way back to the dormitories. She must have dozed off.
Her head was resting on Narukami’s shoulder and their fingers were intertwined in her lap. Their knees were touching. It was so intimate that Yuzuru felt out of place. She would have never imagined herself doing something like this years ago. She was born to serve people, not to be held by them. How much more comfortable would this moment be if she felt that she deserved this?
She shifted in her seat and nuzzled closer to her girlfriend. Narukami wouldn’t be happy if she knew Yuzuru was having these thoughts. She took self-love very seriously. It was something Yuzuru admired about her greatly. Her own self-worth was practically nonexistent for years. The more she lived — actually lived —as a person and an idol these days made her painfully aware of the fact that she existed as nothing more than a shadow of a human for far too long.
Her eyes drifted to where Narukami dozed next to her. She looked so peaceful. A face like hers was easy to love. Yuzuru knew that Narukami had her own struggles, even if she tended to avoid speaking about them. She just wished that her girlfriend could see herself the way that Yuzuru saw her. As if she could sense Yuzuru’s gaze, she cracked open a single violet eye. “Hmm? Something on your mind, Yuzuru-chan?”
“You’re gorgeous.”
Yuzuru spoke without thinking. Narukami just smiled and let her eyes fall shut again. “So are you.” She sighed softly and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
The trip to the shopping district was around half an hour with traffic. She had time to continue her nap. As she closed her eyes again, she couldn’t help but wonder when it became so easy for her to fall asleep in front of people like this.
The dormitory was stunningly clean, even more so than usual. Of course it was. Yuzuru made sure of it. Yet she found herself wishing that there was something for her to tidy up. She had grown antsy, but Narukami wasn’t done spoiling her.
The two of them were sitting on Yuzuru’s bed. Yururu was positioned in between her girlfriend’s legs as her short blue hair was decorated with the clips they had brought. She had initially thought that her hair wasn’t long enough to put clips in, but apparently she had underestimated herself.
“You look so~ cute!” Narukami giggled. “Have you considered growing out your hair?”
Yuzuru scratched at the back of her neck. Her hair had grown long enough to reach her shirt collar. She usually cut it before it reached this point. It was part of her routine and she never thought much of it, but a lot had been changing. She had been changing. “I’m not sure. I don’t want it to get in the way of anything.”
“As long as you’re comfortable. That’s what matters. But I admit that I would like to see what you’d look like with long hair.”
Yuzuru used to have long hair. Her hair had been long enough to slick back into a bun or high ponytail as a child. It was still long after she left the military facility, but much more layered and scruffy. It was too messy to clean up so she cut the whole thing off when she transferred to Yumenosaki and started from scratch. She didn’t expect to like it so much. It had been kept short ever since. She was happier this way. Besides, the Yuzuru Fushimi who had worn her hair long wasn’t a girl that Yuzuru would want to show off, especially. If what they had lasted for long enough, she was sure Narukami would learn everything there was to know about her. But for now, Yuzuru would rather keep the past in the past. She didn’t need it when the present was so beautiful. She just shrugged. “Maybe one day.”
Narukami hummed. She had finished with the clips and was just combing her fingers through Yuzuru’s hair. Her fingers massaged her scalp. The scene was oddly domestic. Yuzuru leaned into the touch and let her eyes fall shut.
She barely registered when Narukami took her hands from her hair, though she subconsciously frowned at the loss of contact. She gasped and jerked away when she felt lips brush the space behind her left ear.
“Did I startle you~?” Narukami giggled. She poked the same spot with a finger. “You have a little mole right here. I’ve never noticed it before. It’s cute ♪”
Yuzuru rubbed at the spot. “This is news to me as well.”
They shifted around so they were facing each other. Narukami had a playful look on her face. “Do you have more moles? Apart from the ones on your face.”
“Only a few.”
Narukami slipped her hand into Yuzuru’s. “Show me.”
An all-too-familiar blush dusted Yuzuru’s cheeks. She guided her hand over her body. “Here.” Her right leg, above her ankle. “Here.” Her upper left thigh, a bit under her hip. “Here.” Below her bellybutton. “And here.” High on her right shoulder. “I think that’s all.”
Narukami’s touch lingered on that last one. Her hands found their way to Yuzuru’s top button on her blouse. She paused before undoing it. “May I?”
Yuzuru’s heart was beating significantly louder and faster. She nodded. Narukami smiled before peppering Yuzuru’s cheeks with kisses as her nimble fingers got to work. She got about a third of the buttons undone before Yuzuru put a hand on her chest to tell her that was enough. She understood the message and the hands moved to pull back what she could of the top to reveal more skin. She traced a circle around the mole on Yuzuru’s shoulder before kissing that too. “You’re really pretty, Yuzuru-chan,” she murmured against Yuzuru’s skin. “I’m so lucky to have you all to myself~”
She often got like this when they were all alone together. Touchy. They had never gotten too far — Yuzuru never let it escalate — but it was enough to have such an effect on her that she would be embarrassed if her brain didn’t turn to mush. Yuzuru was always on-edge. Always antsy, always fretful, always itching to do something more. All those melted away when Narukami kissed her like this.
Yuzuru whined softly as she felt teeth graze the skin of her neck. Narukami pulled back with another giggle. She cupped Yuzuru’s face in her hands and kissed her nose. “I love you.”
Yuzuru mumbled something that hopefully resembled “I love you, too.”
Words were difficult right now, but kissing was easy so that’s what she did. Narukami made a muffled noise of surprise but kissed her back. One hand moved to play with her hair again and Yuzuru’s own hands were on her girlfriend’s waist. Yuzuru wouldn’t have complained if this blissful moment lasted forever. She wasn’t sure how long they remained like that, but it clearly wasn’t long enough before Narukami hurriedly pulled, letting Yuzuru fall back on the bed like a marionette with its strings cut off. She let out another pathetic whine. Her head felt stuffed full of cotton.
It took her a moment to register why they had stopped. Her cellphone was ringing. Narukami looked up at her expectantly. "You should take this."
The contact name read Tori Himemiya. She scrambled to pick up. "H-hello, Young Mistress. Are you alright?"
She was grateful that there was a line between them. She must have looked like a mess, with her face flushed, her hair was ruffled and decorated with colourful clips, and her buttons of her blouse were undone low enough to leave her bra on display. Not to mention the woman had taken to nipping at her neck.
"I should be asking you that! Why did it take you so long to pick up?" Her Young Mistress's voice coming clearly from the earphone speaker was grounding. "Ugh, nevermind that. Do I have any jobs later today? Or early tomorrow?"
Yuzuru would normally be able to respond immediately. Then again, she normally didn't have someone's mouth against her throat. "You shouldn't have anything until your solo photoshoot later tomorrow, though I recommend that you check your schedule yourself to be fully certain."
"So it should be fine if I spend the night in Harukawa's dorm then? Tsukasa's here, too."
Spending the night in her girlfriend's room? "Young Mistress, I really don't think that-" she cut herself off with a gasp when she felt teeth tease at her skin. Narukami's canines were oddly sharp.
"Everything alright, Yuzuru?" Tori asked.
"I'm fine," she said through clenched teeth. "Stay the night. Just make sure you behave and make it in time for your job tomorrow. You can c-contact if you need anything."
"Of course! Thank you, Yuzuru! See you tomorrow!" She sounded happy enough for Yuzuru's worry to take a back seat. She mumbled something that hopefully sounded like "you're welcome" before hanging up.
Yuzuru’s head was still reeling. She didn’t protest when Narukami pushed her back down on the mattress with a hand on her chest and a smirk. “Now where were we?”