Falling
Author: Anita
Fandom: Takarazuka RPF
Characters: Tsukishiro Kanato / Akatsuki Chisei, Kazama Yuno, Umino Mitsuki
Genre: yuri, romance
Rating: PG 13
Summary: Chisei thinks she's finally found the one for her in
Kazama Yuno. Yuno, despite their year-long relationship, started
displaying worried over Chisei's tightness with Tsukishiro Kanato. But
it's normal to message one of your best friends nonstop, right? To make
it worse, the two are to spend month apart when Chisei and Yuno find a
confession Kanato wrote in the past, and Yuno is convinced Chisei was
the intended recipient. How can Chisei prove to Yuno she's imagining
things and maintain both her girlfriend and her friend who's also a girl
when it's no secret she considers Kanato the most beautiful woman ever?
Previous Chapter | Chapter 13 | Next Chapter
Falling
Chapter 13
“The folder says it’ll last ten minutes.” Inside the pot of the Ferris Wheel, Reiko’s face was almost diving into the paper with the park instructions she’d been carrying around.
That was what hinted Ari. “So… ten minutes.” Alone. With Reiko. She’d dragged her into a nightmare, probably. They had indeed spent the day just the two, but rather than a date, they had alternated between lots of fun and lots of quick pacing to reach the attractions on Reiko’s schedule. This was the most patently awkward moment they shared since the first talk when she had arrived. “You can… like… take a nap.”
“I think we could make it to the Go Kart, it closes in thirty minutes.”
“It’s fine, already.” Ari put effort in being as delicate as possible when she put hand over the folder and pulled it away from Reiko. “This might be the worst I could have chosen. Or maybe the little boats were? But you can rest now, we’ve ticked all the items on my list. Or are you really excited for the cart?” she added the last bit as a joke, of course Reiko must have hated half of the attractions.
“We didn’t do the boat train no bullet.”
Ari couldn’t hold back the laughter. How could she have said that with a straight face?
“We’ve been drifting apart,” Reiko said over Ari’s laughing, her eyes out the window. Sakai and the nearby towns, some Ari had passed by with Yuno on her left. Slowly, they could see the parking lot, the road she’d pretended to miss. “I was never there for you to talk about Oda. Yet, you were relentless in helping me with Eri-chan. I wish I could have been more present for you.”
That was a harder subject than Ari could have imagined less than two months before. She’d blamed all sorts of things for not talking much with Reiko about love and relationships. If Yuno had indeed told Reiko everything, she must understand the reason.
“Will you tell Umi-san about today?” Ari held Reiko’s stare.
“S-she knows I’m here.”
“Wow… she trusts you a lot. She does know about that night; I noticed it though she never said anything.”
“Let’s not talk about her today.”
Neither did Ari want to, and her eyes must have conveyed as much for Reiko’s hand had moved the last inches until it rested beside hers.
“We shouldn’t talk about other people on a date.” Reiko tried to sound funny, but her tone became lower with each syllable.
Afraid to question further, Ari just swallowed her confusion. Reiko knew about her feelings, didn’t she? Instead of rejecting her, she’d chosen a date? What had Yuno said? How had she done it? How much had Umino learned? The bubble would burst them into the same reality they’d inevitably reach once this date was over. Was that “let’s not think about it” how she planned to end it?
Ari grimaced. “Not that it can get any weirder between us.” Even if Reiko told her in all words that she didn’t love Ari, well, it would be painful, but it wouldn’t change anything; it wasn’t any novelty. Ari could as well enjoy the day. Or the end of afternoon. “I can’t believe Umi-san allowed this.”
With a light chuckle, Reiko nodded. “She’s cheering for us.” She shook her head and rephrased, “She also feels bad about how it’s been, like it’s also her fault.”
Did that mean Umino was lending her girlfriend for Ari to enjoy for a day? She had mentioned something of an open relationship or polyamory or whatever strange form of forcing a happy ending that had been going one in her head. Then, Ari should have predicted she wouldn’t feel as bothered as any other girlfriend would.
What was there to lose? Not a thing came to her mind as a saner side of her desperately tried to dissuade her. And failed. Ari moved her hand to cover Reiko’s, though she had no guts to watch the reaction. She just held her breath more tightly than she held Reiko’s hand and waited.
The sky was preparing to enter sunset mode, but the ride would be over much before it. From Reiko’s side, she’d have been able to see the farm, the capybaras, the horses, but she wouldn’t risk a glance until enough time had passed. Thus, she studied the small forest on her side, the small road ahead, that wasn’t the same she’d taken there.
Seconds, years, millennia, forever later, Reiko’s hand finally moved from under hers. The contact, however, only broke for a moment. Following it, Reiko entwined their finger and held Ari’s hand tightly.
It wasn’t all in her head. Ari had been granted Reiko as her date for a day. Reiko who knew about her feelings and everything else.
“Will you kiss me?” Ari shot it before she could analyze the consequences. Almost vomited the words. But what could those consequences even be? It was like double jeopardy—she’d already paid with their friendship for a kiss that didn’t even feel like part of reality anymore.
Because Reiko’s hand didn’t react, her hold still on hers with the same intensity, because Reiko herself didn’t move, Ari had to peer at her face. Mentally, she prepared a way to pretend that it had only been a joke. It made sense to test limits in that situation, right? But as she did, their eyes met. Reiko turned her body in her direction and cupped her face in her free hand, “Are you sure?” she asked while her eyes moved to Ari’s mouth.
Inhaling Reiko’s perfume, Ari knew how useless trying to speak was and only nodded. Then, she closed her eyes holding her breath. While Reiko’s kiss felt nostalgic of the first they had exchanged, it was also different. She brushed their lips together slowly, allowing Ari to savor each movement. It reminded her of a caress. It deepened soon, but still in its own time, only more resolute the longer their touch lasted. Reiko’s hands faltered going from Ari’s nape to her shoulders and freezing over her arm, returning to brush through her hair. Ari’s skin burned for more, her own hands also wanted to feel more, to reach further. As Ari’s thoughts clouded with all she had repressed, Reiko parted from the kiss sucking for air. Her eyes boggled out toward Ari. She probably hadn’t imagined their intensity would increase to that level, it was visible from her look.
“Ari…” she said with useless effort to cover up her panting. “Are you and Oda really over for good?”
That was a weird question after a kiss. Yet, Ari confirmed with her head, looking at how her hands still hung in the middle of the air from having to release her touch on Reiko’s neck. “She told you herself.”
“She did say it on the call, and then when I got here, but—”
Ari hurried to gesture for her to stop. “I don’t want to hear what she told you.” She clenched her fist, waiting for the pain from pressing her thumb inside it. “Not today, please.” She gasped when Reiko’s hands enveloped hers again, gently opening it this time.
“I understand,” Reiko murmured, stroking her hand, especially her thumb. “This was a pretty bad day for you.”
As tears overwhelmed her, Ari lowered her head and cuddled to Reiko, holding her arm. “Thank you… for everything.” She wasn’t brave enough to say that today was a great day because of her presence, that what she feared was dealing with the next days to come.
Though her eyelids felt heavy against Reiko’s coat, Ari didn’t have time to close her eyes. Reiko had held her face again, halting just close enough to reassure it was okay before kissing her again.
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