@kjpop: Heheh, Sayu is brave, alright... Though that may backfire on her a bit here. For everyone's amusement, of course.
@rndy: I've decided I'm not so good at purposely writing angst, it comes out really lame and corny... Sort of like how I feel this did. When I'm not trying to be angsty, tho, it works out just fine. Bleh.
@Rini: Risa can't deny the truth! You can't run away from love~
Well, I finished it. Sort of not happy with it but again I think my angst-meter is broken as indicated by happy ending and Comic Relief!AiSayu. I hope you enjoy nevertheless~
Romance Is, Part III (Final)Risa decided this was the second-most awkward moment of her life, right after the time Reina kissed her. The yankii had unsuccessfully tried to persuade their friends to let them out, so here they were twenty minutes later, seated at the table and taking advantage of the food that had been prepared for them.
Or rather, Reina was eating, tearing into the meat as though it personally offended her. Risa didn't have much of an appetite and busied herself by prodding her food with a spoon, glancing across the table at her companion when she thought the other wasn't looking.
"I can't believe she'd go this far..." Reina grumbled, forcefully skewering another bite onto her fork, "And then to get Aichan involved too... Ugh, that's the last time I trust Sayu with anything..."
The bean wondered curiously what that was supposed to mean, but didn't question it, considering Reina's mood. Her own was starting to sink fairly low, as Risa had a hunch the yankii was none too happy to spend the evening alone with her. Reina continued muttering things to herself, but her acute ability to read the atmosphere quickly brought her attention back to her companion.
"What is it?" The younger girl questioned, concern evident in her features.
"Things between us... Well, we
are okay, aren't we?" Risa asked hesitantly, daring to meet the other girl's eyes. It was Reina's turn to be confused.
"Of course we are, why would you think otherwise?"
"You just seem pretty upset to be here... With me."
Reina quickly held her hands up, shaking her head.
"Ah, that's not- I'm sorry if that's how I made it seem, but that's not why I'm upset, I swear." The words tumbled quickly out of the yankii's mouth, and Risa couldn't remember a time when she'd ever seen the girl quite as flustered. She thought it was adorable, but she could tell Reina was hiding something, and her curiosity and suspicion rose.
"Then what's up? Why would Aichan and Sayumin set us up on fake blind dates and then lock us in here like this?"
Reina crossed her arms, watching Risa steadily for a moment and trying to give the older female time to work out the answer on her own. When the bean continued to look confused, the yankii sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"Think about it. Maybe they were fake 'blind' dates but I'm pretty convinced this is still supposed to be a date..."
"Eh?" Reina watched the gears turn in Risa's head until they ground to a sudden halt and the bean's eyes flashed with realization. The older girl's cheeks began to turn a light pink and she did a nice imitation of a fish as she struggled to find words to say.
Ai and Sayumi had set them up on a date? Her and Reina? Together?! Her heart did a quick flipflop. There was no way any of them could have known about her feelings... Right? She hadn't told anyone, not even Ai, simply because she'd been working so hard to bury them. After all, she didn't think she deserved to have such feelings... Not after the way things ended so poorly with Reina. And then she and the yankii had been forced to be around each other for the musical, and slowly but surely began rebuilding a shaky friendship; something she hadn't expected, but was extremely grateful for.
She didn't think she could have graduated leaving things so unsettled between them.
"You said... Something about not being able to trust Sayumin after this..." Risa started, slowly, "What did you say to her?"
"I... can't tell you." Reina replied quietly, biting down on her bottom lip. The bean didn't know how to take that, really. What was such a big deal that it had to be kept secret from her? Unless...
"You told
Sayu but you can't tell me? Makes me wonder if you didn't set this whole thing up yourself..."
The yankii's irritation returned.
"Oh, here we go- why is it you always jump to conclusions like that?"
"Maybe because you've already messed with me before?"
Reina snorted, pushing her chair roughly away from the table so she could stand. The kitten stalked towards the door, digging around for something in her purse as she knelt down in front of it. Risa sighed, getting to her feet as well.
"...What are you doing?"
The yankii shot her a fierce glare, but what startled the bean more was the fact that the younger girl's eyes were filling up with tears.
"First, I think it's pretty for dumb for
you to ask
me if we're okay if
you're the one still holding on to stuff. Second," she produced a hairpin from her bag and began to mess with the lock, "I'm gonna get out of here and away from you."
"Tanakacchi, listen-"
"No,
you listen." Reina whirled on her suddenly, leaving the door momentarily to get up in the bean's face. "Just accept it. Accept the fact that you're smart, and sweet, and beautiful. That you make people laugh and you're one of the best shoulders to cry on and that everyone knows they can count on you when they need somebody. Accept that you deserve someone special who'll take care of you and tell you they love you as much as you can bear to hear it."
Risa couldn't breathe, every word making her chest feel tighter. She hadn't expected Reina to say anything like that and could do nothing but stand there like an idiot in the face of the yankii's outburst.
"Accept all of that... And then realize those are all reasons why I fell for you. Hard. ...And I guess you don't have to believe that part if you don't want to..." Tears were streaming openly down the younger girl's face now, and she began to step back away from the bean, who was still too busy trying to process things to reach out for her. "But I never lied about how I felt. I'm sorry if it makes you uncomfortable. We can go back to not being friends."
Before Risa could respond, the yankii managed to pick the lock and flung the door open... right into one Michishige Sayumi's face. The force knocked the bunny flat on her back, and Ai quickly shifted to the side before Reina barreled into her, watching as the girl fled the restaurant.
Sayumi lay still, dazed and moaning something about her beautiful face, while Ai, wide-eyed, turned to Risa, who looked as though she'd been slapped.
"...Gaki-san?"
"Shoes."
"I'm sorry?" Ai blinked, even more confused. The bean finally seemed to snap out of it and hurried to the door, leaning against the frame as she attempted to slip out of her heels.
"Take off your shoes, I need them."
Risa's frantic words convinced her best friend to begin untying her sneakers, and she'd just barely gotten them off of her feet when the bean snatched them from her hands and began to put them on. It was then Ai understood. You can't catch a runaway yankii in heels, of course. She put a hand on Risa's shoulder as the girl made to leave, taking note of the determination in her eyes.
"I would check the park first." Ai stated gently, a soft but encouraging smile on her face. Risa returned the expression, whispering a quiet thank you before turning to follow after Reina.
Ai watched her friend disappear, standing there for a moment with a bit of a proud grin before remembering Sayumi sprawled out on the floor behind her. She carefully knelt down beside the bunny, wincing as her eyes traveled over the angry red knot forming on the girl's forehead.
"...Are you alright?"
"I may have... deserved that... However," Leader pulled herself up into a seated position using ex-leader's arm as leverage, swaying dangerously, "I don't know if you're aware but there's a storm front passing through tonight..."
"Meaning...?"
"Meaning whatever happens between those two next is gonna be better than any drama on tv, and I Will. Not. Miss. It." Sayumi replied, eyes crossing more with each punctuated word. "Take me to them, my prince!"
Ai sighed, dragging Sayumi to her feet and wondering again how she ended up a part of this at all.
"Also, we need to find an umbrella."
----------
She found Reina nearly half an hour later right where Ai said she might be, standing under a pavilion in the park, soaked and shaking and nothing short of miserable.
Risa assumed she looked almost identical, if not worse, as she'd tripped and fallen into some mud during her run. So much for her new clothes.
But as cold and nasty as she felt on the outside, the bean felt strangely empowered as she watched the girl from a distance, and she gathered herself as she approached, gaining more courage with every step. Because of the storm, the kitten didn't hear her until they were both under the pavilion together, and Reina jumped slightly when she realized Risa was there, looking very much like she might run again.
"Tanakacchi," The bean started with warning in her tone, "I will tackle you to the ground..."
"Why did you follow me?" Reina asked, voice quivering slightly. Risa quickly decided that the yankii wasn't very scary when she was drenched in rain, and she took another step forward.
"You didn't give me a chance to say anything back there..."
"You don't have to, look, it's okay, really, if it's easier this way, that's fine... You've moved on from Momusu so it's not like we even have to cross paths and stuff so I-"
Maybe it was a bit ironic and cliche to do things this way, but Risa couldn't really think of a more effective way to both shut Reina up and tell her what she needed to say than to simply pull the girl close and kiss her. The yankii completely froze up at first, but soon relaxed into the bean's arms, responding to the gentle touch.
At least, until she delivered a hard slap to the older girl's cheek. Risa pulled back, stunned, her reaction queen instincts kicking in full gear.
"Ow! Hey! What the hell did you--mmph!"
She was cut off by warm lips meeting hers once more, this time more insistent. The bean found herself being pressed back into one of the beams that held the pavilion up, and she clung to Reina's waist to keep both of them steady. Her mind was clouding over with a pleasant haze, one that lingered and left a stupid grin on her face even as the younger girl pulled away.
"If you were going to do that, why did you slap me?" Risa breathed, bringing her hands up to brush aside the strands of wet hair that had plastered themselves to the yankii's face. A faint blush colored Reina's cheeks, and the bean traced this with her thumbs as the younger girl gave her a sheepish look.
"Well... You sort of just grabbed me... It was a bit of a reflex..."
"I guess it's a good thing I'm not the one that tried to kiss you that first time then." The bean replied with a light chuckle. Reina didn't seem completely at ease yet, however.
"But... are you sure... About us? This? Whatever this even is..."
Risa shushed the younger girl and pulled her closer, definitely enjoying the way the kitten responded by snuggling into her.
"Look, let's just stop making things so complicated, okay? The reason I reacted the way I did back then and why I never came to terms with my feelings until recently was because I kept trying to categorize them and make everything make sense... And then I realized that it doesn't have to. That really, all that matters is I love you."
Reina looked up at those three words, searching Risa's eyes for the truth. The bean smiled at her, happy to give her all the reassurance in the world, and she dipped her head to meet her girl's lips for another kiss.
The new lovers stayed that way for a while even as the rain fell around them, oblivious to everything but each other. Well,
almost oblivious.
"You know Aichan and Sayu are watching us right now?" Reina murmured against the older girl's lips, the edges of her own turning upwards in amusement.
"Nope. I also am gonna completely ignore Sayumin's shouting at me to kiss you again."
So naturally, Risa kissed her again.
Off in the distance, there was a loud shriek as Ai pushed Sayumi into the fountain they were seated on, being the good best friend she was. Everything was gonna be just fine.