One chapter coming up, sorry for the delay~
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Chapter 13Risa wasn't sure how they got here in the first place. It had all happened all too quickly.
"I do."Two little words. Two words that that crazy drunkard of a female captain had somehow manipulated them into saying before either of them realised what was really going on. By the time their brains had caught up to their mouths, they were already being herded into the cellar near the back of the tavern, the door closing and locking behind them even as a loudly snickering voice called out.
"Have fun!"So now here they were, in a musty little underground room with only a tiny window set high on one wall, sunlight streaming weakly in and illuminating the dust motes in the air. Rows of rum and port bottles, stacked in shelves, as well as beer barrels clustered in a corner. The air felt damp, and it was dark down there. The tiny window did nothing much but to leave that small circle of light pooling directly where the beams fell.
And it was cold too. The young navy sailor shivered slightly, rubbing at her forearms lightly, already missing the warmth that she had woken up to this morn......must not think of that! She scolded herself mentally, giving a few mental kicks for good measure even as a fierce blush fought its way up to the surface.
Shooting a sidelong glance at her companion, who appeared to be in the same condition as her, also shivering and trying to warm herself up, Risa wondered what to say to alleviate the unseen tension that lurked between them. She didn't even know her name! The younger girl realised with some consternation. Last night's drunken party hadn't actually warranted a proper introduction, not that they had a chance to, since they had been targeted by Yuko (
damn lunatic, Risa thought) and Maki (
never liked her) and nearly drowned under the constant flow of alcohol those two had decided to pile on her and her...wife?
Oh wow...I'm married. The thought finally sank in. It hit her like a ton of bricks, staggering her.
Oh my god, I'm married...to another girl! Panic began to rise up in her throat once again, nearly asphyxiating her even as she mentally began to babble incoherently, trembling violently, her eyes almost comically wide as she stared blankly at her feet.
Ai paused in her own desperate attempt to warm up when she heard a stream of panicky muttering emerge from the girl beside her. Through the gloom, the barmaid could just make out the trembling figure of the girl she had somehow ended up being married to only minutes ago. The thought sent another shiver running through her, this time not having anything to do with the temperature of the place. She didn't even know anything about the other girl, and now they were joined in marriage? Ai thought she had seen everything while working in a place like the Sea Coconut, but even her jaded experiences as a barmaid hadn't quite prepared her for the chain of events that had led up to where she was now.
Fighting her own uneasiness, the 21 year old eased closer to the gibbering girl beside her. Risa didn't seem to notice, her fingers only digging deeper into her forearms as she babbled incoherently to herself. Ai could pick up phrases like 'oh my god', 'married', 'granny', and most noticeably 'what do I do now?'. The panic of the other girl somehow lightened her own burden, Ai realised. Seeing Risa babble was somehow...endearing. Cute, even. Then she stopped and thought seriously about what she was thinking, and promptly blushed. Now wasn't the time to just stand there and look on at the other girl's panic. Ai wasn't that cruel to let her, um, wife (
why is it so hard to associate that term with her?) to go into another panic attack and faint like she did earlier.
When a tentative hand touched her shoulder, Risa nearly jumped, but managed to stop herself in time, only turning her head in a swift, jerky motion to face the older girl. Their eyes met, and both of them just sort of froze in place, not knowing what to say or do.
Finally, it was Risa who found her voice first. "I can't believe we're married." Ok, so not the best thing to say right at first. The words hung between them like a deadweight, before Risa rattled on, clearly starting to hyperventilate again.
"I don't even know anything about you! I only just met you last night! I don't even know your name! I can't believe that crazy woman just shoved us in here to...whatever!" She cut herself off at the last part, heat rising in her cheeks as she mentally filled in the blank of what Yuko had implied prior to locking the door behind them.
Ai also knew what Yuko had meant, not being a complete innocent herself. Besides, one couldn't get any more blatant than the pirate captain when she was in that mood. Risa's breath was already starting to get choppy, as she gasped out whatever had been running laps inside her head.
"I mean, I don't even remember what we did last night!"
Dead silence.
Then Risa's knees buckled, and Ai rushed forward to catch the younger girl before she fell. Unfortunately, in her haste, she slipped up a little, and the two of them stumbled around, pitching backwards awkwardly, before finally tipping over and crashing to the hard stone floor.
Risa had hit the ground first, and the impact made her wince, and even more so when Ai fell right on top of her, their foreheads knocking together painfully.
"Owww..." Both girls whimpered, Ai pushing off Risa slightly to rub at her sore forehead with a pained expression. For a few moments, neither of them realised the kind of position they were in.
Unfortunately, that wasn't a state long to be maintained.
It had just so happened that in all their stumbling around and subsequent fall, they had ended up in that sole pool of light spilling from that tiny window set high in the wall near the ceiling. With Risa flat on her back, and Ai practically straddling the younger girl, their faces only a few inches away from each other, the fact that the light was simultaneously illuminating and casting their faces in shadow was not helping in calming down the situation.
The light shining down on from behind Ai had ended up shrouding part of her features in shadow, giving her an almost demonic look (completely unintended of course), while the light had instead made Risa look even younger and more vulnerable, especially with her deer-in-the-highlights expression as she stared upwards, nervously transfixed by the darkened eyes of the older girl on top of her.
Neither of them spoke for a long moment. Then Risa suddenly got a 'oh screw it' look in her eyes and just pulled Ai down, consequences be damned. She just couldn't stand how tempting the other girl looked, like a vision of dark beauty ready to eat her up. Actually, even if Risa hadn't started it first, Ai would probably have done the same. The tension of the moment had momentarily overridden their good sense and normal inhibitions.
Besides, it also didn't help that Risa had had certain images preying on her mind ever since she had barged in on something she probably wasn't supposed to see a couple of weeks ago, and it had been lurking at the edges of her consciousness ever since. That it had taken this opportunity to burst out of her was probably a complete accident and a case of bad(?) timing.
The kiss was a bit clumsy, for sure, since neither of them really knew what they were doing exactly. Ai wasn't sure how she had ended up like this, but she wasn't about to complain for the moment. For a couple of beginners, they ran out of steam rather quickly, since both of them hadn't known that they should probably keep breathing in between in order not to run out of air halfway. So when they finally pulled apart, gasping and panting, the situation quickly became awkward, as Risa had somehow ended up on top during their little make out session.
As mentioned before, that little encounter had been the product of a highly charged atmosphere, so by the time they pulled apart, they had marginally gained control of their raging hormones and were absolutely mortified by what they had just done. Risa almost immediately jumped off, bumping her head against the shelf behind her, making her wince and rub vigorously at the back of her head. Ai just sat up slowly, blushing so hard that she resembled a ripe tomato.
"Ehhh I'm sorry!" Risa blurted out quickly, deliberately not meeting Ai's eyes. "I didn't mean to...that is, I uh, wasn't trying to do anything...um, not that I didn't want to cos you're really pretty and everything and I ah, don't know what I'm saying anymore!!!" The poor 19 year old was breaking down into incoherent babbling as she went on, making Ai giggle lightly at her panic. Risa's head shot up when she heard the giggles, her eyes slightly bugged out and her eyebrows knitted together in confusion, clearly not understanding what Ai was laughing about.
"You...you...are so cute!" Ai chuckled as she impulsively pulled Risa into an embrace (completely friendly!). The younger girl just froze as her mind went '
whaaaaa?', the contact nearly shorting out her already stressed brain.
By the time Ai released Risa, the latter had a slightly dazed expression on her face. "Um," the young sailor started, "does that mean you don't hate me?"
"Of course not." Ai smiled encouragingly at Risa, who swallowed nervously.
"So, does that mean we can try being friends?" Ai nodded, still smiling at Risa's hopeful expression. The younger girl felt a little less nervous.
"About earlier, um, let's not do that again...at least not until we get to know each other better..." The latter half of the sentence came out in a soft mumble that the barmaid had to strain to hear, and it made her flush slightly, both at the memory of their encounter, and at the unspoken implication that they would try again some time in the future. Risa was hugging her knees to herself, burying her face in between her knees to avoid looking directly at Ai.
"Ok..." Ai's voice was soft as she edged over to sit down shoulder to shoulder next to Risa, who flinched at the contact at first, but forced herself to stay still.
The next few minutes passed in an almost companionable silence before either of them decided to speak up.
"So..." They both began at the same time. "You first!" Came the instant response from both. A pause, then they giggled. Risa then decided to just go ahead.
"When do you think they'll let us out?" Ai just shrugged, she didn't know either. Only Ayaka had the spare key to the cellar, and the proprietress hadn't been around when the fiasco had occurred earlier. Probably had been out contracting people to work on the repairs to the tavern, and she had no idea how long that could possibly take, and she said as much to Risa, who just nodded before falling silent again.
So they were stuck in the cellar for now. Ai cleared her throat, since Risa didn't seem inclined to start anything.
"Why don't we just talk? Like, you know, get to know each other. Not like we have anything else to do..." She smiled charmingly at her companion (
wife, her mind added slyly, but she pushed it aside), trying to brighten the atmosphere. It worked admirably.
Before long, the two had begun to chat, tentatively at first, then with growing familiarity.
Perhaps, just perhaps, things will work out just fine after all.
~*~*~
"I can't believe you just did that!" Kei laughed as Yuko pocketed the key to the cellar with a flourish. Natsumi and Kaori were chuckling. What else could they do?
"Are you drunk?" Kaori asked in between laughing fits. Yuko looked marginally offended at that.
"I only just woke up!"
Natsumi had been trying her best to hold back her laughter, but that exchange just sunk her. She nearly choked on her laughter as she gasped out.
"You mean she's like this
without alcohol?"
Without missing a beat, Kei and Kaori replied in unison. "Yeah." Yuko grinned and swaggered over to Natsumi, slinging one arm around around the shorter woman.
"You know, we can just get drunk again and I can show you the difference!"
"There won't be any." Kei muttered, masking it as a cough under her hand. Kaori snickered, shouldering more of Maki's weight since Natsumi was trying her best to wriggle out of Yuko's grasp, and not really succeeding.
"Help!" The naval officer squeaked as she tried in vain to fend off Yuko's hands. Kaori shrugged. "You're on your own I'm afraid."
"Welcome to the club." Kei added.
No escaping the original groping demon, after all.
~*~*~
"So, what are you brats still sticking around for?" Miki asked archly as she carefully carried the still unconscious Aya to the bed.
"Aren't you going to do anything else to her?" Tsuji blurted, clearly wondering why Miki was being gentle with Aya and not trying to do anything inappropriate to the unconscious woman. Kago, who still had her arms looped around her older "twin's" neck, giggled out loud at the rather forward suggestion.
Miki half turned with a raised eyebrow. "You wanted to watch?"
Tsuji nearly choked at the suggestion. Aibon laughed and replied for them.
"Actually, we're just curious. You really like riling that girl up!" The two girls nodded at the same time.
Miki chuckled as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Can't help it that she's so damn fiery and fun to tease." She eyed the two younger girls. "You understand that, don't you?"
"It's a lot like how we like making those idiots scream when we hung them upside down without clothes the other time...right, Nono?" The older girl thought for a moment. "I guess so." She replied with a shrug.
Miki grinned. "It's a lot more fun groping her when she's awake. Reactions and all." The knife-loving pirate absently pulled a blanket more securely over Aya as she spoke. "So, what do you two want?"
Tsuji blinked for a moment, before recalling their original purpose. "Oh yeah, here, we got you something." She handed over the package she was holding to Miki, who accepted it suspiciously, turning it over in her hands and inspecting it.
"Nothing that will blow up or otherwise cause me severe bodily harm?"
The twins looked at each other. Aibon considered for a moment, before replying brightly. "No explosives involved. Yossi banned us from getting anywhere near gunpowder after the last time."
Miki snorted. "Then it will cause me bodily harm anyway?"
The troublemaking pair 'tsked' in unison. "Only to other people." Nono then added.
"You're too suspicious, Miki-tan~"
"Gah, don't call me that!" Miki grouched as she carefully unwrapped the package, clearly wary of the contents. The pair that stood before her were notorious after all, so it didn't hurt to be more careful.
Her fears proved to be unfounded though. Miki couldn't help the small smile that tweaked at the edge of her lips when she saw the gift the twins had gotten for her. A whole array of small, double-ended blades balanced for throwing, as well as assorted daggers built for close combat.
"Do you like it?" They chimed eagerly, anxious to know if their gesture was appreciated by the older pirate. "We know you lost quite a few of your knives in the last few fights, so we decided to get you more."
The knife-loving pirate was holding up one of the smaller throwing knives, inspecting the quality and hefting it to test for balance. "Perfect." She almost purred, pleased by the offering. The twins beamed in satisfaction.
Miki was suddenly pounced upon by two very energetic girls. "Get well soon~" They giggled out loud, quickly releasing an irritated Miki before the older pirate could threaten to stab them with her new toys. They skipped away hand in hand, still facing Miki, before Aibon called out.
"Have fun with that girl~" Nono laughed beside her, ducking one of the knives Miki threw with skill born of practice.
"Don't tire yourself out Miki-tan~" This time Aibon had to dodge another flying dagger as the two girls backed away quickly to the door.
"We'll play together next time~" The twins laughed out as they quickly ran off, slamming the door behind them just in time as several knives flew towards them, thudding into the solid wood that separated them from Miki's wrath. Their laughter was clearly audible through the partition.
"Brats." Miki growled out, smiling despite herself.
It was impossible to hate those two when they meant well.
~*~*~
Ayaka was just coming back from her morning errands, part of which had had to do with finding people to repair her tavern. That had taken a while.
The first thing she heard after stepping in was a
very interesting conversation.
"So let me get this straight, that woman performed a wedding ceremony for our brat and the barmaid?" Maki asked, one hand rubbing at her head and the other hand pointing at Yuko, who was lounging in a corner. Yuuki was next to his sister, holding his head between his hands. Clearly, he was not enjoying his hangover.
"Yeah, pretty much." Natsumi was cuddled close to Maki, clearly too freaked to get close to Yuko for fear of getting groped again. Maki had been irritated when she first woke up, upset that her Nacchi had knocked her out earlier, but had been pleasantly surprised when the older woman had all but climbed into her lap in an attempt to escape Yuko's clutches. The two had had an implicit agreement previously to avoid public displays of affection, so the change was interesting, to say the least.
"They made such a cute couple!" Yuko announced, banging her fist on one of the intact tables that had survived last night's brawl. "How could I resist?"
'NAKAZAWA YUKO!!!" All the females gathered inside the tavern flinched, while Yuuki just groaned and sank lower. Loud noises didn't go well with headaches.
"Morning Ayaka!" Yuko didn't seem at all daunted by the entrance of the very upset proprietress. The other women exchanged glances, then they all shifted their seats away from Yuko at the same time, Maki hauling her little brother away from the danger zone by the scruff of the neck as well.
"Morning?
Morning?! What did you do to Ai-chan, you crazy pirate?!" Ayaka wasn't pleased, to say the least. She stormed up to a grinning Yuko, her arms akimbo as she glared down.
Pirate?! Maki and Natsumi exchanged slightly startled glances. At their feet, Yuuki twitched. Kaori watched their responses with a neutral expression, but said nothing.
Yuko smirked, shrugging nonchalantly. "Oh, a lovely young lady proposed to Ai-chan, so I did them a favour and helped them to get the silly ceremony over and done with on the spot!" The pirate captain looked rather pleased with herself.
Ayaka rubbed at her temples. She could feel the beginnings of a headache building inside her head. "You mean to tell me..." She started slowly. "That you
married Ai-chan off to another GIRL?"
Yuko beamed widely. "Yes. Is there a problem?"
Ayaka exploded.
Everyone else stared, and even Yuuki raised his head to gape, as Ayaka ranted about how she wouldn't be able to throw a huge wedding party for Ai-chan, how she wouldn't be able to witness the dear girl in a wedding dress, how there would be no throwing of the bouquet and assorted other random things about wedding traditions and what-not. Yuko just blinked at the tirade, somewhat taken aback.
"She doesn't seem to have a problem with the marriage, just
how it was done." Kei whispered. Natsumi raised an eyebrow.
"Isn't that somewhat besides the point?" They all nodded quietly to themselves. Maki snorted.
"Do you
want to tell her that?" Everyone looked at the hysterical scene before them, before shaking their heads as one.
"Nah."
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Hope no one is disappointed. ^__^ Happy reading!
*starts thinking what to do with Chapter 14*
Topic: All Aboard! [Chapter 26! --sorry for the wait] (Read 136675 times)