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Most of the time, Kohane was calm and cheerful. While she still got nervous from time to time, her worries with people and social interaction had almost completely vanished. It was a huge improvement in her eyes. She had changed quite a bit (read: not that much, just enough to be noticeable) ever since joining An and forming VBS. However, a few habits of hers still remained. Behavior, after all, is harder to change than appearance or personality.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Touya asked Kohane for the third time. The two were sitting across from each other at a table in Weekend Garage, with Touya calmly reading and Kohane restlessly fidgeting. She clenched and opened her fists before tugging the strings of her hoodie, her foot quietly tapping on the ground.
"Not really," she finally admitted. She needed to actually do something before she went insane.
"Would you like to talk about it?" was the gray-eyed boy's next question, to which she shook her head.
"Nothing to talk about. I just….too much energy. I need to do…something. I don't know."
"Take a walk?" Touya suggested. When she shook her head again, he was quick to come up with something else. "Listen to calming music? That helps me."
For the third time, she shook her head. "What could I do while doing that?"
"Uh, draw or write something?"
"No artistic talent."
One by one, each of Touya's ideas were rejected in this manner. It wasn't personal, it was just that none of them sounded appealing, which she reassured him of. He understood easily, citing that "Akito gets like that too sometimes". So he must be used to it , or at least he was kind enough to tolerate it.
"Shiraishi might have something I hadn't thought of," was Touya's final comment before focusing his attention back on the book, opening it once more. It was by then that Kohane knew she wouldn't get anything else out of him. Well, he had tried, and she was grateful for that.
"I'll wait for her to come over here," she declared, to which Touya nodded absentmindedly. Jeez, how interesting could that book possibly be?
This time, Akito arrived sooner than An did, taking the seat next to Kohane. Touya immediately reached over to take his hand, giving it a small squeeze before moving back to hold the book properly.
"What a cute couple," Kohane commented dryly, immediately feeling a pang of guilt for the tone. She was in no way jealous, after all her and An were just as touchy if not more, it was just that she had no outlet for all of her pent-up energy and it was making her a bit agitated by now. Akito took one look at her and it clicked instantly.
"Nothing to do, huh?"
"Yeah."
He draped his arm around her shoulders casually, a small smile gracing his features. "That's the worst."
She was a bit surprised at the contact. After all, such gestures from Akito were usually reserved for Touya and Touya only, while An was usually the one to come to her. She couldn't help but wonder if there was a specific reason for him to be acting more nice than usual, but regardless of his intentions, it was appreciated.
Touya glanced up, looked at them, noticed An approaching, nodded at her in silent greeting, and then kept reading.
"Nice of you to finally join us," she said to Akito with a clearly forced cheer. He shrugged, pulling Kohane a bit closer.
"I should be saying that to you. You took your sweet time getting here."
"Oh, shut it." She wrapped her arms around Kohane's own free arm, now glaring at him.
"Please don't fight," Kohane managed, that restless feeling from earlier returning and bringing anxiousness with it too.
"Oh, we're not fighting, right An?" Akito reassured smugly, just tugging the blonde closer still. An's eye twitched, and she pulled Kohane's arm back. This action resulted in a sort of tug-of-war between Akito and An, each trying to 'win' Kohane. "What's wrong, do you have a problem with me being less than a foot away from your beloved little hamster of a partner?"
"Don't make fun of her!" An snapped, grabbing the ginger's wrist. "She doesn't want you that close!"
"I can speak up for myself," Kohane interjected, only wanting this petty fight to stop.
"So then why don't you?"
"Why should I? He didn't do anything wrong! You're just always looking for a fight with him, aren't you?!" Kohane finally snapped, standing up and pushing both of them away. Akito was momentarily taken aback, before awkwardly turning his attention to Touya, who was conveniently unresponsive to this whole disagreement, engrossed in the novel in his hands. She couldn't blame him, really, sometimes a book just was that good, but she felt ignored now.
An's expression, however, was one of shock, not having expected such an outburst from the soft-spoken blonde. She stared at her for a moment, before her eyes narrowed.
"I have a right to be suspicious if he's being all nice to you of all people."
"So you think I don't deserve his kindness? Is that it? You're one to talk, you know!"
"What's that even supposed to mean? And who gave you the right to speak to me with that tone?!"
At that line, Kohane fell silent, suddenly feeling very small. All that irritation dissipated in an instant.Being scolded like that made her feel as if she had gotten in trouble. But she was a model student whom everyone adored, with near perfect grades and not a single incident on her academic record, and had never received so much as a detention before - she had never actually experienced "getting in trouble." This right now, being reprimanded for her words, felt like the first time.
A bit of an overreaction, but…it was oddly exciting.
"Nothing to say?" An huffed, but this time her tone was quieter.
"What, can't go five seconds without hearing my voice?"
"You know what? Actually, I can. I'm done here." she stormed off.
Kohane stared after her, heart still pounding, before looking back at the boys questioningly.
They looked back. In the time it had taken for the argument to escalate, they had moved to be sitting side by side, hands interlinked on the table. Was this on purpose?
"Get your girl," the taller joked.
"Just keep reading, man," she grumbled, turning back and stomping after her partner.
.~~~~~~~~~~
It didn't take long to catch up to An; there was only so much distance one could keep when in this café. She found her behind the raised platform that they used as a miniature stage, untangling some cables. Out of spite, Kohane took the ones that had already been neatly organized and lined up, and dropped them out of order right where An was working. The latter set down the newly recreated mess with a frustrated exhale, looking up to make eye contact with the blonde, who had her arms crossed, pouting. She stood up, slightly calmer than before but still on edge. "What?"
The blonde stayed silent.
"Look, I'm sorry about earlier," she tried, unable to bear the lack of response. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that. I got jealous and was immature about it; it wasn't your fault."
Kohane's frown deepened, some unknown emotion briefly flickering in her eyes. "Jealous?"
"Uh, yeah. You're my partner, so obviously I don't like when people get all close to you! Why was he—" he referring to Akito, obviously— "even there and not sitting with Touya?" It was a childish complaint, but she couldn't help it.
"The An-chan I know would never get jealous of Shinonome," Kohane noted incredulously.
"I wasn't jealous of him! I was jealous of the fact that he—you—"
"So mad over single interaction?" Kohane wanted to laugh, not at An, just at the whole situation. "You're overprotective."
"How could I not be?" An's voice raised slightly, just a bit, words coming out all at once. Thankfully, by now Weekend Garage was practically empty, so no one's attention was on the arguing couple, but Kohane's face still flushed. "It's just that you– you're so….so delicate-!"
The second that adjective left her mouth, she instantly regretted it. It wasn't as if she thought that Kohane was helpless, it was just that she worried about this precious girl who meant so much to her. She knew she had made a huge mistake with that word even before Kohane responded,
"Delicate? The first thing you think of to describe me is delicate. Like some porcelain doll that desperately needs to be protected. Are you fucking serious?"
"I—!" An winced as Kohane shoved her with surprising force, but she was more taken aback by the swearing than the push itself.
"I dare you to say that again," the blonde growled, lips curving into a furious, challenging smile. Frustrated, An just shoved her back.
"I think once is enough."
The blonde's back hit the wall behind her, and then she grabbed the other's wrist. "And if i said it wasn't?"
"I take it back. I didn't mean it," An argued, knowing it was futile.
"You wouldn't have said it if you didn't think it was at least a bit true." She lifted the latter's hand to rest on her own neck, not breaking eye contact the whole time, expression unreadable. An stared back at Kohane, confusion and hurt and guilt all swirling together in her mind before her gaze flicked to the blonde's lips, taking note of that tight smile.
Was she actually mad at her for saying that? Or was she testing her? Having seen it before (though never directed at her), An knew that coming from her partner, this expression was a silent message; it meant "I dare you prove me wrong/tell me off/challenge me/etc". But if she took it too seriously, they'd end up arguing again.
What was she even supposed to say or do, besides to play along…?
She decided to take the risk.
"You know what? Maybe I do mean it. After all, it would be so easy for someone to just…" she shifted her grip with a dramatic sigh, hand now fully on her partners neck, "do this."
She didn't miss the soft sound that escaped the blonde's lips, nor the light dusting of red on her cheeks and ears at the action.
Maybe that was too much. She relaxed her grip, opting for "honesty about feelings" rather than "encouraging conflict".
"I worry about you more than I'd ever let you see," she admitted, leaning in to speak the words in her ear. "I know our friends have no bad intentions, but I can't help but feel so jealous, so…terrified that someone could make one wrong move and—" she paused upon feeling a tight grip on her shoulder. "….hey?"
"Keep talking."
"I….sure…" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "I know it's not….that it's wrong of me to be so jealous and overprotective. But i worry because i care. You're nothing short of perfect in my eyes."
"An…." Kohane tried to glare at her, but couldn't keep a straight face, pointedly looking away to hide it.
"I didn't mean to make you angry, " An murmured, cupping Kohane's cheek. "And I shouldn't have gotten angry either." She rested her forehead against the blonde's, closing her eyes. "No one's allowed to be angry at you."
Kohane could only focus on An's soft breathing so close to her face, feeling weak now. She knew they had just been arguing, that this change of mood was sudden and random and made zero sense, but in this moment all she wanted was to be close to An, closer than she was now. Without bothering to ask – though in hindsight, she definitely should have – she leaned in to close that tiny gap between them, initiating.
An's eyes opened again at the mildly surprising (but never unwelcome) press of her partner's lips against her own, wasting no time in kissing back immediately. Her fingers curled around the thick locks at the shorter girl's nape, tugging slightly. Her hand that was on the letter's cheek stayed in place, tilting her head up for better access.
Kohane, in turn, hugged An tighter, one hand splayed across the middle of her back, the other just above her hip, standing on her toes to match her height.
One kiss turned into two, which soon became three, then five, eight, ten, eleven, and then An broke away, Kohane reluctantly loosening her grip on her as well. Both girls stood there breathless, processing the moment, observing the other.
An's heart was pounding, the thump-thump-thump ceaseless in her head, so loud she was sure the other could hear it. She didn't know if she had overstepped, if she was supposed to say something - though she wasn't sure she could speak without blurting out something questionable or otherwise idiotic.
Kohane too remained wordless, about as composed as An (which is to say, not at all.) Not wanting to ruin the moment by speaking but not wanting to end it either, she assumed a pleading expression, silently praying that her request would be understood.
Unfortunately An failed to take the hint and just looked at her blankly, all her brainpower probably already used up on processing what had just happened.
Seeing this, Kohane reluctantly decided to use her words.
"An," she whined softly, breathing out the name. "Please?"
"Please what?" An managed, voice slightly hoarse, but upon seeing Kohane's face she immediately relented, kissing her once more. Unlike last time, she was more gentle, savoring the taste of her partner's lips on her own.
Needless to say, the blonde wasn't satisfied with that, and tried to find any opportunity she could to deepen the kiss. She was at first unsuccessful, until a risky idea came to her, which she immediately acted on – placing a hand on her partner's thigh, she whimpered into the kiss, relishing in the increased intensity that followed. It lasted for several more moments before An rested her head on Kohane's shoulder, tilting it to kiss her neck too.
By now they were holding each other so tightly that Kohane was sure it'd leave bruises. She didn't know how else she'd keep herself standing upright, however, other than clinging to An like her life depended on it. She pressed closer, both for the support and because she felt like she had to, like she couldn't stay more than a centimeter apart. Yet even here she was unsatisfied, feeling cold and warm at the same time.
An pulled back yet again to take a breath, but this time Kohane followed, being the one to kiss An this time. She copied the latter's actions, going from her lips to her jaw, down to her neck, panting against the soft skin. She wanted so badly to just mark it, to bite down and see what'd happen, but she was also wary of causing any potential harm, minimal as it might be. She looked up to make eye contact.
Those circles of amber were barely open.
"An..?" Kohane whispered.
"That's my name," was the response, spoken in a slightly strained voice, trying to keep the mood light.
"An," Kohane repeated, leaning up to kiss the aforementioned girl's cheek.
The spell that seemed to have been cast over the two, the heated moment, the tension, it all shattered with that little action. An finally regained her composure, standing up straight and letting go of Kohane, glancing around nervously.
"We should stop," she mumbled halfheartedly, then corrected herself upon seeing Kohane's disappointed expression. "At least for now. We can continue this elsewhere, okay? Just to be safe."
"Just to be safe," the blonde parroted sulkily.
"I promise," An reassured, pressing a quick kiss to Kohane's forehead. "Could you tell the guys to get out of here while i clean up a bit? I'll be quick."
Kohane saluted, running off with An still on her mind, knowing that her partner wouldn't let her down.
