@shôkokame: Thank you~
@JFC:
Is my fluffiness too much for you?
@SxY: Another one to the dentist? I'm making money for those in the dental field, now aren't I?
@kawaii beam: I'm definitely continuing!
@WinterAir: I hope this is to your liking, considering who you are...
@Kame: Oh you....you flatter me too much~ *blushes* Soon...I will get on so we can chat.
@Hammy: Oh really? I didn't know it was a Korean drama thing.
Oh well, glad you liked it anyway. TakaGaki 4ever!!!!
@Nee-chan: You're such a Cinderella girl.
And a Twilight girl.
@ringo-hime: Thank you~~ It was really fun to write~
I apologize for the long-ass wait for this chapter. It took me forever to come up with anything, but I'm pretty satisfied with the results.
Won't make you all wait any longer!
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Ch 3 - Winter WonderlandIt was so cold that I could see my breath, a silvery cloud in front of me. My pure black coat was dotted with tiny white snow flakes as they fluttered slowly from the sky, twinkling like the Christmas lights all around.
Though it was winter and snowing, I was warmer than ever because I had my girl at my side. Ai-chan was bundled up tighter than me, courtesy of my doting mother. It was Christmas Eve and because Ai-chan’s parents were visiting relatives and her little sister was staying with a friend, she came over to eat with us. We’ve already been friends since childhood so it wasn’t that big of a deal.
But they really don’t know the extent of our friendship.
“You doing ok, babe?”, I grinned, squeezing her hand playfully. The gloves we both wore hampered any real physical contact but I could feel her fingers wiggling under the thick fabric. “Cold”, she muttered in a cute voice, “But we’re almost there” We were now heading to her house where we could be alone. It was the perfect place to give her the special present I selected but that was for later.
Our feet crunched over the snowy pavement until we reached her apartment building, riding the elevator with fingers still intertwined. As we stood in front of her door, she extracted her hand from its warm glove and fumbled with the key. With a satisfying click and a push, we were in the entry way as she flicked on the light and relocked the door. “God, it’s freezing in here too”, she groaned as we slipped off our shoes and stumbled into the house.
Our slippers slid across the clean floors and into the living room. I’ve always loved Ai-chan’s place. It’s so spacious and neat, like one you’d see in a magazine, yet at the same time, it has that lived-in feel.
I sat down on the soft white couch while my girlfriend scurried around like a busy housewife. “You want some tea or something?”, she called from the kitchen, where she was already making the drink. “Sure”, I replied as I curled my feet under my body to keep them warm.
Grabbing the black remote off the table, I flicked on the TV and began channel surfing. “Tea’s ready”, Ai chimed as she entered the room with a tray. As soon as she set it down but before she could leave again, I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down onto my lap. She let out a yelp before landing on me with a thump.
“Mou, you scared me”, she pouted, whacking me with her palm and then rubbing it away quickly. I giggled and replied, “Sorry, you were just too cute that I couldn’t stand to let you leave the room again.” I could tell she forgave me by the way she snuggled into my lap and said, “So what are we watching?”
For a couple of hours, we simply watched some dramas together. It’s so nice to be able to just sit together and relax. Every so often, Ai-chan would make a comment like, “Ouch, can’t believe she did that”, when the main character slapped the girl she suspected her boyfriend to be cheating with, or “What just happened?”, when she was confused. I just grinned and answered her various questions.
When we’re together, we’re just us.
At about 10, the show we were watching ended and the news started. “Uhh”, Ai groaned, stretching her little arms up and then wrapping them around my neck. “Now what?”, she asked in a casual way, “How about presents?” She was referring to the Christmas presents we bought for each other, the ones we saved for tonight so we could be alone with them. “You read my mind”, I grinned as I stroked her hair.
We both got up and retrieved the wrapped packages from their hiding places, hers in my purse and mine in her bedroom. Making ourselves comfortable again on the couch, we smiled almost shyly at each other before presenting the gifts. “You go first”, she urged as she folded her hands over her own present and gave her full attention to me.
My heart swelled at her kindness and my fingers moved to loosen the tape holding the sky-printed paper closed. I opened the wrapping to reveal a pink and grey striped sweatshirt, a couple manga books (the ones I was missing from my favorite series) and a small box. “Thank you!”, I squealed, holding the hoodie up to my chest, “How does it look?” “Perfect”, she beamed, showing how obviously pleased she was, “But don’t forget the little box” I picked it up and opened it slowly.
Inside was a beautiful necklace, a diamond ring on a silver chain. “It’s beautiful…”, I gasped but a giggle escaped my lips at the same time. “What’s so funny?”, my girlfriend asked, looking confused.
“Open your present and you’ll find out”, I chuckled, “It’s nothing bad”
She gave me another weird look and focused on opening the parcel in her lap. She pulled back the paper and found a soft white scarf, some boxes of her favorite tea, a couple packs of strawberry candy, and a small box, identical to the one I had received. She smiled and responded, “Thanks so much, honey”, but gave a second glance at the box. She too, seemed to make the connection as her head snapped up to look at me.
“You don’t mean….”, she trailed off, hands already moving to open it.
Inside the black box was the exact same necklace she had given me.
“No way”, she deadpanned, “No…way” Her face was priceless, a mixture of amusement and bewilderment. She stared at it as I moved closer to her cute little ear.
“I guess we really are meant for each other”, I whispered.
My girlfriend put down the necklace and moved the rest of the gifts from the couch to the coffee table. She then proceeded to scoot herself back onto my lap, curling into a ball as I cradled her like a child. I just held her for a few moments while I waited for her to say what was on her mind. Ai-chan likes to get cozy like this when we talked, it makes her feel “connected” to me, she once said.
“You know, I think we really are perfect for each other”, she stated, the grin on her face evident from her voice alone. I didn’t reply, but she continued, “You’re the only one for me and I’m the only one for you” I already could tell this was one of her one-sided conversations, in which I just listen and she talks. Some might find it annoying or self-absorbed but I know that’s just how she is and I would have it no other way. “Hey, know what?”, she suddenly asked, surprising me, “This would be a kind of funny story to tell.” She looked up at me and I nodded with a smile, “We could talk to Kame and Tanakacchi by webcam” Her eyes sparkled with agreement as she stretched out and hugged me tight. “You’re the smartest”, she giggled, kissing me on the nose and then the lips, “I’ll get us some snacks and stuff and meet you in my room”
We broke apart (a little reluctantly, it was such a comfy position) and went off to do our respective jobs. I padded down the familiar hallway and carefully opened the door to her room. A place we had spent countless hours together in, sharing secrets and whatnot, it was exactly the same. Her double bed was neatly made, the same strawberry printed bedspread covering what I assumed were the same crisp white sheets.
The only thing that was different was that there were many more pictures of us around everywhere. I recognized all of them, some from our childhood and some of as recent as about a week ago. Smiling as I sat down at her desk, I turned on the pristine white Apple laptop. Once it arrived to her icon, I clicked and unsurprisingly, a picture of us appeared on the screen. “Cute”, I whispered, remembering the day we took the shot. We were walking from school to a nearby arcade when we spontaneously decided to take pictures of ourselves. Her wallpaper was my favorite, us holding hands and grinning. It was the epitome of us, in love and happy.
Once I got everything set up, I decided to check if Eri was even on, because it would do us no good if she wasn’t. I logged on and found that her webcam was, in fact, on. Deciding I would chat with her a little before Ai-chan came, I switched on our camera.
Immediately, we were connected and I could see into Eri’s room. But it was kinda dark and I started hearing some weird noises. It was as if….she didn’t even know it was on. Stifling my laughter at the thought that was probably true, I kept watching. My eyes seemed to adjust to the lack of light because I could just make out her bed with a lump on it. Eri, I assumed, curled up in a ball, probably sleeping.
At least that’s what I thought until I heard the bed creak and a voice not belonging to Eri say, “You’re so naughty, Eririn~” I knew the owner of that voice, it was Reina. It all clicked in my head, the lump on the bed was not only Eri but Tanakacchi too and they were…oh my.
My face colored quickly, the heat in my cheeks rising as I realized I was watching the pair of them do...that. I didn’t even know they were together.
“Gaki, I got…”, Ai-chan started to say to me as she entered the room but I leaped up and covered her mouth with my hand. “Shhh, come see this”, I whispered as I led her over to the computer, took the tray of snacks from her and sat her on the chair. She leaned forward and squinted. “I don’t get it”, she said, looking over at me with that irresistible confused look. “Listen”, I smirked, “You’ll get it” We sat silently for about a minute before “Ohh, Reina!” was heard from the dark screen.
“Holy….shit”, Ai gasped as her eyes grew bigger than I’ve ever seen them. I thought they were gonna fall out of her head. “They…they…”, she stuttered, “Doing…it…ahhh!!” “I know, who would have thought?”, I laughed at her reaction, “I mean, no offense but Tanakacchi, I could see that but Kame?” My girlfriend nodded in agreement, I could see she was blushing hard. “C’mon, let’s leave them alone so we can get our own lovin’ on~”, I joked, weaving my fingers with hers and pulling her up into my arms.
We hugged for a few minutes, just relishing the feeling of a warm embrace. We wordlessly made our way over to the bed and lay down, still holding each other. “You know”, Ai-chan mumbled into the crook of my neck, “We should put our pajamas on if we’re just gonna lay here” When I didn’t reply, she pulled her head up to look at my smiling face.
“Did you hear anything I just said?”, she asked, looking a little irritated. I couldn’t help but beam wider at her adorable expression and said, “Yes, I did. Let’s go then” She just rolled her eyes at me and got up, dragging me with her. I kissed her several times, cradling her smooth face in my hands. They moved down lower and pulled her hips towards mine. “I love you”, I said, looking her straight in the eyes.
“I love you too”, she smiled that cute little smile and reached for the tray of snacks. But before she could get a grip on it, I took it from her outstretched arms. I could hear her voice protesting as I walked out of the room.
My slippers shuffled to the kitchen, carefully placing the tray on the cool counter. I decided to leave the food there for tomorrow and headed back into Ai’s room. She was placing two sets of pajamas on the bed as I entered, pale green plaid for me and sunny yellow for herself. “Here”, she said to me without turning around as she proceeded to undress. I stood stock still for a moment, ogling her smooth and toned body, cradled in her underwear.
“Are you just gonna stand there and stare at my ass?”, she suddenly asked, turning slightly so I had a new view of her bust. “Pervert”, she mumbled, “I can’t believe I’m in love with a pervert” She shook her head in mock disbelief, dressing and throwing the remaining pajama set at me. “Wipe that drool off your face and get ready”, she teased as she breezed past me and into the bathroom.
I quickly shed my own clothing in favor of the warm flannel. They even smelled like her, sweet and clean. Smiling, I turned around and followed Ai-chan into the bathroom.
We brushed our teeth and were soon tucked cozily into her modest bed. It was just big enough for both of us, reminiscent of our childhood sleepovers in which we cuddled together on our way to dreamland. Only now, our lips brushed against each other and fingers swiped against silky skin. My hands slipped out from under the back of her pajama top and held her face.
“Merry Christmas, Ai-chan”, I whispered, looking into her deep brown eyes before letting sleep do the rest.
Bzzzt, BzzztHer alarm sounded, waking me from my cozy slumber. “Damn clock”, I mumbled and removed my arm from around Ai-chan’s waist to shut it off. The bed creaked as I rolled over to face my angel, still snoozing peacefully.
“Ai-chan”, I whispered between planting kisses on her neck. She made a couple of sleepy noises, but generally ignored my call. “Babe, we gotta get up”, I cooed, “We have school” “Don’t wanna go”, she murmured, “Ai-chan stay here” I stifled my laughter at her use of third person, like a certain yankii that we know.
“Ai, I’m serious, we’re gonna be late if you don’t get up right now”, I said in what I had hoped was a stern tone, though I knew I could never be angry with her. And I knew that she knew that too.
“Ai…chan?”, I started to say again when I realized she wasn’t even in bed anymore. But before I could think anything else, something grabbed me around the waist from behind and planted something wet on my neck. “Ah!”, I shrieked from surprise, but soon realized it was my missing princess, kissing my neck tenderly. “You’re such a loser”, she giggled into my ear. “Yeah, but I’m your loser”, I grinned, “And I’m the best loser ever”
“True”, Ai agreed, “C’mon, we have to go to school” She laced her fingers with mine and dragged me to the bathroom to wash up.
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Before anyone says anything: Yes, TakaGaki turned off their webcam.
Topic: Kisetsu (Ch. 3: Winter Wonderland - 2/26) (Read 7597 times)