Work Text:
The sun was high, and Bourbon was at her usual training course; she had just hit her quota of laps for the day as assigned by her master, and was now allowed a break before continuing with the rest of her stamina routine.
As she walks towards the spectator stands to sit and rest, she spots a familiar, long eared figure.
Rice Shower is fidgeting restlessly with a cloth-wrapped box in hand, her eyes and ears moving back and forth, until she spots Bourbon. Her ears perk up and she brightens up, shyly waving at her.
"Bourbon...! H-hello!"
"Rice?" She calls back and approaches the shorter girl. "Do you require assistance?"
"Oh, um," she looks away timidly for a second, then holds the box out in front of her, slightly flustered. "I-I made some cookies but I had a lot leftover, and I was wondering if you wanted to have some!"
Bourbon puts a hand on her chest, and her face warms to a light shade of pink. ...How strange. For some reason, my heart rate is increasing despite disengaging from training mode.
"Affirmative," she nods, then smiles. "I was in need of refueling, so your timing is very convenient. Shall we sit?"
The two take a seat on the bench, with Rice's box placed between them.
"You were here the last time you were doing your stamina training, so I thought I could find you if I came." Rice starts playing with a strand of her hair and nervously looks back at Bourbon. "I hope you didn't mind me waiting for you?"
Bourbon feels her heart squeeze slightly, and her tail swishes. What is this sensation? It is not unpleasant, but I feel... uncertainty. And...joy? And the root cause appears to be...Rice?
"Not at all," she replies. "I apologize for making you wait. Had I finished faster, I would have noticed you sooner."
"O-oh, no!" Rice shakes her head, her hands waving vigorously. "I-it's my fault for doing this without thinking! I'm sorry!"
Bourbon's brows furrow. "Error: There is no need for you to apologize. You went out of your way to share homemade cookies. I believe gratitude is-"
Just then, her stomach growls. Rice can't help but giggle, and Bourbon's face lightens up.
"Let's eat, then." Rice removes the cloth from the box, then lays it under it. "You liked the choco crunch last time, so I made some chocolate chip cookies."
She takes the lid off the box, revealing a number of yellow cookies, all of varying sizes. The slight condensation on the lid informs Bourbon that the cookies were recently warm, and when she picks one up, there is still a slight heat emanating from it.
"Observation recorded: these cookies are still fresh."
Rice blushes and she fiddles with her hands, looking down at the box. "...I just thought it would be nice if you could have them as soon as they were done."
Bourbon's face colors similarly, the feelings in her chest from earlier intensifying. The sensation of adrenaline rushing throughout her body like this was quickly becoming familiar, and she feels simultaneously paralyzed and energized. At a loss for words and not knowing what else to do, she eats the cookie in her hand.
The warmth from the cookie spreads throughout her mouth, together with the slightly melty chocolate. There is a savory note as well, and her ears twitch as she quickly chews and swallows. Rice looks at her expectantly, then back at the cookies, then back at Bourbon again.
"The cookie has a soft texture to it, making it easy to eat. The sweetness from the chocolate compliments the slightly salted, buttery flavoring of the dough."
Rice breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm glad... I was worried I added too much salt, and that I didn't add enough sugar."
Bourbon picks up cookie after cookie, continuing to eat. "They're very delicious. I will likely finish them all within a short amount of time."
"That's fine with me," Rice says, softly. She hesitates, then looks at Bourbon directly. "I-I made them for you, after all."
Bourbon's hand freezes and drops the cookie she was holding, and it falls back into the box with a soft clatter. She feels the blood rushing to her head and her cheeks heating up, and she hears the pounding of her heart loud and clear in her ears. Rice's blush spreads across her face further, and she buries her head in her hands.
"I-I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have said that," Rice says. Her voice is shaky and muffled through her hands, and her ears droop. "Y-you don't have to eat them anymore, it's okay!"
As if on cue, Bourbon resumes eating the cookies with renewed vigor. Rice takes a peek between the gaps of her fingers to see Bourbon finishing the last one.
"Rice."
"Y-Yes?" Rice removes her hands from her face and turns her head to look at Bourbon tentatively. The other girl still has traces of a faint blush on her cheeks, but there is a tender smile on her face directed at her. Rice almost feels like hiding again, but she holds herself steady and maintains eye contact instead.
"Thank you for the cookies. They were very good." Rice's eyes light up, and her ears straighten up again.
"I'm happy you liked them!" Her smile is almost blindingly bright, and it makes Bourbon's stomach toss and turn. Bourbon stares at her for a moment, then opens her mouth to speak again.
“Your cookies have given me enough energy to recharge completely,” she starts. “And yet, there is another phenomenon I am experiencing.”
Rice pales. “A-are you allergic to anything?! I don’t think I used anything bad, oh gosh, I’m so sorry, I should have checked with you before I did something like this…”
Bourbon’s ears twitched. There it was again; something about the way Rice apologized unsettled her.
“You did nothing to apologize for. I am in perfect health,” she says, calming Rice down slightly. “I am referring to something else entirely. I…”
She looks down, the same sensations she’d been having coming back again. Suddenly, it feels a bit difficult to look the girl next to her in the eyes. “I feel… the acceleration of my heart rate, and a change in my body temperature.”
“…!” Rice sharply inhales and her hands play with the ends of her skirt.
"And..." Bourbon slowly continues. " …increased levels of happiness, when I am with you."
Rice’s grip on her skirt tightens a bit, and she bites her lip, as if in thought. She glances around before, tentatively, she takes Bourbon’s hand in hers.
“H-how does this…make you feel?” Rice keeps her eyes on Bourbon, intently watching for any signs of discomfort. Bourbon’s eyes widen slightly, then she closes them slowly. The sound of her own pulse echoes louder in her head than it has before, and she takes a deep breath.
“I feel… almost like I do when I’m racing with you, but slightly different.” Bourbon opens her eyes and looks at Rice. It’s hard to tell what the other girl is thinking, but seeing the way she looks at her like that makes Bourbon’s chest flutter incessantly. Whatever it is she’s trying to do, Bourbon knows at least one thing for certain.
“I… am enjoying this very much.” The words are hard to get out for some reason, and her face feels extremely hot, but Bourbon continues anyways, following these new and uncertain feelings. “I think I am…very happy, and…I would like to do this again soon.”
Rice feels all sorts of emotions swirling around in her chest, but seeing the way Bourbon is laying her emotions out for her so plainly tugs at her heart, and gives her the confidence to continue. She threads their fingers together and shifts her body closer, watching the taller girl’s reaction again; Bourbon’s eyes shimmer slightly and her breathing starts to become uneven.
“How…how is this?” she continues. Rice’s voice is quiet, but Bourbon hears it clear as day; any other extraneous noises have long been muted in her mind, and the girl before her is the only thing she registers.
Bourbon’s eyes go from their joined hands, to Rice’s chest rising and falling as she breathes, to her neck, trailing up to the other girl’s slightly parted mouth, and then her slightly fluttering eyes; Bourbon is taking in more visual information about Rice than she’d ever previously thought she needed before.
She and Rice were close and met often, so it wasn’t as if she hadn’t noticed it all before, but for some reason, she was incredibly aware of it all right now, taking note of every minute detail.
Rice squirms slightly under the other girl’s quiet examination, and her ears droop, but she doesn’t break away or avert her eyes, and she waits patiently for Bourbon to continue.
“I… feel as if I am overheating, but I wish for you to continue,” she says. Rice’s ears shoot up and the corners of her mouth curve upward into a shy, awkward smile; Bourbon thinks she’d like to see this more often.
“I’m glad.”
They stay like this for a moment, until Rice breaks the silence.
“U-um… Bourbon…” Rice looks away. The grip of her hand slightly tightens, and her tail swishes back and forth. “Can you lean your head closer a bit?”
Bourbon isn’t sure why she asks, but for some reason, it makes her chest squeeze tighter. She nods, then bends her head down towards Rice.
Rice moves her face closer, only a few inches away and Bourbon suddenly feels herself frozen in position, unable to move.
“Can you… close your eyes,” Rice whispers. Her voice is delicate and soft, and the sensation of Rice’s breath faintly on her skin is electrifying.
Wordlessly, Bourbon’s eyes shut, and a few moments later, she feels something warm against her cheek for a second, and then it leaves. Her eyes open, and Rice is smiling bashfully, face fully red.
Her head tilts down and she appears to have difficulty maintaining eye contact, and Bourbon wants to keep this moment saved in her memory for as long as she can. She gathers herself after a moment, and then slowly looks back up to Bourbon.
“I… I really like you, Bourbon.”
Bourbon’s eyes widen. So this is… love?
She hadn’t experienced this until now, but she has heard of it, and it seems appropriate as a label. In fact, having a word to describe what she’s been feeling towards Rice is comforting and…illuminating.
“Rice.” Bourbon looks at her intently. She hasn’t done anything like this before, and the uncertainty is a little scary, but Rice is a grounding presence.
“Yes?” Rice waits for her with bated breath.
Bourbon leans forward and Rice’s eyes flutter closed, and they meet each other in a gentle kiss. Bourbon’s eyes close reflexively, feeling the closeness of the other girl, and she moves her other hand up to cup Rice’s face. Her thumb brushes over her cheek carefully, and Rice’s breath hitches.
She presses her lips harder against Rice’s briefly and then pulls away, but when she opens her eyes she sees Rice lean forward and almost follow her, as if wanting to reciprocate the action. The sight makes her heart almost jump out of her chest. Rice’s eyes open as well and she quickly looks away, embarrassed.
Bourbon smiles fondly at her. “I like you too, Rice.” She pauses, then asks, “Did you… like that?” Her thumb strokes Rice’s cheek again. Rice leans into Bourbon’s hand, and places her own hand over the other girl’s, smiling sincerely.
“I-I did. A lot.” She giggles, embarrassed at the frankness of the question. “I’m very happy right now.”
“I’d like to do that again,” Bourbon states, as if asking for permission. Rice makes a small choked noise before she closes her eyes again and tilts her head up, and Bourbon leans in to kiss her again. Rice moves both of her hands to the front of her Bourbon’s shirt, and her ears flutter a bit.
Bourbon remembers what Rice tried to do last time, and she decides to replicate it. Another noise comes from Rice’s throat, this one sweeter, the sound ringing in Bourbon’s ears. Rice’s hands on Bourbon’s shirt curl around the fabric of her track shirt, and she gently pulls Bourbon towards her, somehow closer than before.
They pull away from each other after a few moments, breathing heavier than earlier. The silence between them is comfortable, and they sit, overlooking the training grounds together.
“...I hope I didn’t pull you away from your training too much.” Bourbon turns to look at Rice again, who is fiddling with her hands in her lap again.
“My break should be ending soon, but you have provided me with sustenance for both my body and my mind,” she says. Rice blushes and smiles, and seeing her brighten up, Bourbon smiles back. “Do not doubt the positive effects your presence has on me.”
“...okay. Thank you.”
Bourbon stands up and starts to stretch her arms out. “Will you come visit again?”
“Oh, um,” Rice’s tail swishes back and forth. “If you’re okay with it… What should I bake next time?”
Bourbon shakes her head. “The snacks are welcome but not required. Anything is fine, but it is Rice that I find most effective at relieving my fatigue, and am looking forward to seeing.”
Rice starts stuttering, flustered, and struggling to say something in return, while Bourbon finishes stretching.
Rice is quite cute when she gets embarrassed, Bourbon smiles to herself.
“Unfortunately,” She says, “I will have to return to training.”
“Oh!” Rice snaps out of it and gives her a small wave. “Enjoy the rest of your training!”
Bourbon waves back, and then returns to the track, preparing for her next activity, and Rice starts brainstorming what she’ll bring her girlfriend next time.