Thanks for the feedback guys, always nice to hear.
Now for something a little different.
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Pieces of You
The first time she asked Risa out on a just the two of them not-date, was not long after Ai had become leader. Reina wasn't sure what had caught her eye about their conversation, but she couldn't help but watch when Risa approached Ai.
"Ai-chan are you busy tonight? We should go back to my place and do a movie night. It's been a while and you've seemed a little stressed, so I was thinking maybe-" Risa tried to get out in one breath, but before she could even finish her sentence, Ai was shooting her down.
"Sorry Gaki-san, I have to get up early tomorrow, maybe another time." The new leader hadn't even looked at Risa's face to see the damage she'd done with her off-handed words, had just swung her bag over her shoulder and rushed out of the room, apparently only concentrating on her next appointment.
"Oh, another time then." From the way Risa muttered the words to her friend's retreating back, Reina figured that this wasn't the first time that promise had been made.
And Reina felt for her sempai, the usual smile turned into such a forlorn look that she couldn't help but want to do something. Reina approached Risa, putting on an easy smirk, "Hey Gaki-san, wanna catch a bite with me?"
For a second, Reina held her breath, it looked like she would refuse, but then Risa smiled a little and nodded. Reina knew that the older girl would try to be good company to her, especially if it was just the two of them, and hoped that maybe that would help take her mind off of Ai-chan.
They went out to a small family owned restaurant and Reina tried every trick she knew to keep the conversation going, inputting every thought that popped into her head, even the lame ones, until Risa eventually loosened up enough to input her own thoughts. Reina was surprised by how much of a good time she was having, and the two ended up staying at the restaurant til closing time.
By that late hour, they had to run all the way to the station to avoid missing the last trains, but they laughed the whole way there, until they parted breathlessly on the platform.
After that night, Reina made it her habit to ask Risa out to do something every time Ai turned down her offer. They usually went out, for some reason there was a silent agreement not to go to each others home, to the movies or a restaurant or some fun establishment. The more the learned about each other, the more varied the things they did together, until there not-dates turned into friendly dates, and Risa stopped asking Ai to do things with her and instead turned straight to Reina.
They set aside, first, one day of every month, and then every two weeks, and then every week for their get togethers. They kept it simple, boring even, relishing the ability to talk to each other rather than the activity itself. They went to second rate movies because they didn't care about the plots and late open restaurants to have more time together. It was like this for more than a year.
And then, one night, Risa broke their date.
Having gotten so used to the routine, Reina was at a loss at first. She felt paralyzed, watching Risa walk out the studio door with only a mumbled apology and a dejected look. By the time she came to her senses, the older girl was already out of sight and Reina decided to give her some space.
When the next day came around and it was obvious that she wasn't feeling any better, Reina pressed the issue, trying to gently get Risa to open up, then trying to guilt her into it, and then getting angry. The yelling didn't help at all and Reina felt bad, but before she could apologize, they were called in to record the show.
Afterward, Risa quickly fled and Reina was hot on her heels. She tried to say sorry, but got the cold shoulder. She even tried anger again, but quickly cooled down. When Risa still refused to talk, Reina followed her home, persistently talking to her and even making some lame jokes in an attempt to break the ice. Risa still refused to say a word and Reina hesitated at the threshold of her apartment.
This was forbidden ground, that silent thought that if she passed through the door, something would change that could never be undone, nagged at the back of her mind. But Risa had become too important to her in the past couple years for this unwritten rule to stop her now. She entered the apartment and followed Risa back to her bedroom, standing and staring at the back of the older girl, trying to think of something to say that hadn't already been said.
Words failing, Reina reached out and set a gentle hand on Risa's shoulder. Almost instantly, the older girl broke into heart-wrenching sobs and Reina darted forward to cradle her in her arms as Risa's legs gave way underneath her. Risa turned to bury her head into Reina's neck, body shuddering massively with the force of her angst and Reina could do nothing but hold on for dear life.
How long had her friend held this in? What had happened to finally break down her walls? Reina realized that the older girl was trying to say something, but couldn't keep her breath in long enough to get the words out. Rocking back and forth, Reina rubbed her back and hummed a tuneless song, the actions seeming to help. She became aware of a word being chanted into her skin and tilted her head to listen.
"Ai-chan. Ai-chan. Ai-chan. Ai-chan." Risa sucked in a deep breath, struggling to not hyperventilate, "She, she, she. I saw." She let out a mournful cry, "She'll never feel the way I do! I saw her with, with. Seven years, I've loved her. Seven! I waited!" Her words degenerated into sobs and gasps.
Reina sighed sympathetically and held her, waiting for the storm to pass. Somehow, she managed to drag the older girl up off the floor and onto her bed, and the two lay together until Risa's sobs broke off into sniffles and hiccups.
"I love you." Both girls were surprised when Reina's words cut through the silent air. Was it true? Reina glanced down into the wide, red rimmed eyes of the older girl and felt an affection for her that she didn't feel for Aika, or Sayumi, or even Eri. She felt a need to make her smile and to protect her from getting hurt like this. Maybe it wasn't a deep romantic love and maybe it didn't sweep her off her feet or take her breath away, but yes, Reina realized, she did love Risa. "I love you," She said again, with more conviction, "I want to make you feel good and I want to see you everyday. I want to make you forget Ai-chan and I want you to smile for me." Reina said whatever she felt before her brain could censor herself.
"I want to kiss you, Risa." And Risa didn't hesitate to fulfill the request, pressing her lips frantically against Reina's. Though she was sure that this wasn't romantic love and she was sure this wasn't going to sweep her off her feet, Risa thought that maybe Reina could take her breath away in a way Ai-chan never tried to. And maybe she could fall in love with the younger girl, given time. Right now, what she wanted was comfort, but this was a good start to something else.
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So? I might write a sequel to this later. Is it good enough for another? Feedback always appreciated!