Work Text:
“We’re not gonna be in the same class next year?”
“Yeah, that’s what my mommy said I’m gonna be in Suzuki-sensei’s class next year. You said you’re gonna be in Takahashi-sensei’s class.”
Yukiko’s eyes started to well up, lowering her head and letting her hair shield her face. “B-but… but I don’t want to be in different classes! C-cuz then you’ll make new best friends without me! A-and you’ll f-forget about me!”
“I could never forget about you!” Chie reassured, waddling forward to wrap her arms around her friend. She slowly stroked her hair as Yukiko wept. “Please don’t cry. We’ll still be the bestest friends. You can come spend the night whenever you want on the weekend. And… and maybe we’ll be in the same class again when we’re in 3rd grade!”
Yukiko sniffed, clutching Chie’s shirt as tightly as possible, “Promise? You gotta promise!”
Chie giggled, gently pushing Yukiko off of her and holding out her pinkie finger, “I pinkie promise, I will always be here for you.”
Yukiko wiped her eyes with one hand as the other went to interlock her pinkie finger with Chie’s.
One would think moving in with your best friend would be all sunshine and rainbows, right? You never argue, you like the same things, you have established boundaries that you don’t have to worry about getting crossed, and you get to see them every day! It’s essentially just a permanent sleepover. What could be wrong with that?
That’s what Chie thought, at first. And it’s not like that wasn’t the case. For the first few months, nothing was really bothering Chie all that much. She loved living with Yukiko, and she still does! However, all the little things were starting to add up.
Like their movie nights, where they’d sit side by side on their couch and watch whatever terrible movie Yukiko would rent that week. She would always inevitably fall asleep halfway through the movie, fully cuddled up against Chie. Alas, poor Chie, never had the heart to wake her up or push her off. So she’d have to slowly lower herself till she was laying horizontally on the couch and subject herself to spending the night on the couch with her roommate sound asleep on top of her. Her gentle breathing slowly lulling Chie into her own peaceful slumber.
…
OR! Or…
Or when the two try to act like adults and cook their own dinner for once. After all, what else were they supposed to do with all these random ingredients they bought from Junes the other week? Several explosions and one adorable laughing fit courtesy of Yukiko, and the two are ordering takeout from Aiya again. It really wasn’t the most healthy lifestyle, especially for a cop. But who’s to complain when you get to enjoy a solid beef bowl with your best friend like an old married couple?
Shit gets hard, ya know?
“C’mon Muku,” Chie grumbled, waiting for the dog to finish sniffing out what had to have been the fiftieth bush they had come across during her walk. Another downside to moving into an apartment with Yukiko meant she couldn’t have her dog with her anymore. So Muku stayed with her parents. Chie opted to make up for the lack of time she’d get to see Muku by taking him on walks so her parents didn’t have to. Plus, it was an excuse to get out of the house when she wasn’t working and get some cardio in. A triple win situation.
She tugged on the leash gently to get Muku moving again, but he continued to bury his face in a bush. Chie groaned, about to crouch down to just pull the dog away from the bush herself, when she was promptly interrupted by her phone ringing.
Chie pulled her phone out of her back pocket and looked at the ID.
Speak of the devil.
The young adult looped the leash around her wrist to prevent Muku from tugging free and running off while she’d be distracted, and pressed the answer button on her phone. Pulling it against her ear, she forced a happy voice.
“Hey Yukiko! What’s up?”
“Chie! What time do you think you’ll be home tonight?”
She sounded excited, this meant she probably had a surprise for Chie at home. Knowing Yukiko, it was unsure if the surprise would ultimately be good or bad. The anticipation immediately set in and Chie internally cursed her roommate.
“Probably in an hour or two,” Chie responded, glancing back at Muku to check on him.
“Oh,” Yukiko uttered. “I thought you had work today.”
“Nah, I got today and tomorrow off. I’m just out walking Muku.”
“Oh yeah, I believe you had mentioned that,” Yukiko replied cheerfully. Chie’s heart rate sped up the slightest bit. “Well anyways,” Yukiko continued, “My mom said our chefs made too much food today, so she said I could take some of the leftovers home.”
Chie could hear the temptation in Yukiko’s voice, so she played along, “Aaaaaaand?”
“And it has Wagyu beef in it!”
Chie’s jaw dropped in shock, “Wha… SERIOUSLY?!”
“YES!” Yukiko cheered, clearly proud of how taken aback she had gotten Chie. “I knew you’d be excited so I had to call and let you know immediately!”
Chie’s heart filled with a strange warmth at the knowledge that Yukiko decided to call her the minute she found out she’d be bringing home some of, if not the most expensive meat in Japan. Not unpleasant, but unfamiliar enough to not really be wanted.
God the Yukiko torture has been plauging her mind so much that it somehow made Chie not focus on the fact she’d be eating like a queen tonight. Realizing this, Chie shook her thoughts away and responded.
“UGH that sounds SO GOOD! My mouth is already watering, I’ll be home soon!”
Hopefully Yukiko wouldn’t catch Chie’s slight embellishment.
“I’ll see you soon!” Yukiko said, unassuming. “Give Chosokabe head scratches for me!”
Before Chie could correct her on her dog’s name for the millionth time, Yukiko hung up. God, that girl truly was insufferable.
“Chie Chie!”
The young girl spun around at the familiar voice of her best friend. She saw Yukiko bounding towards her. Chie gave her a big smile and waved as she approached. “Hi Yuki! I didn’t know you were coming to the park today.”
“Chie let’s get married!”
“Huh?”
“I was thinking. Our mommys and daddys got married so they’d never had to be apart. And when they were away from each other, they still came back! So we should get married too so we don’t have to worry about not being best friends anymore when we’re in different classes!”
Yukiko was beaming, she seemed so proud of her idea. Chie opened her mouth to argue that she’d already pinkie promised that she’d always be there for Yukiko, but promptly shut it. It didn’t… not make sense. And if it’s what Yukiko needed to feel reassured, then why not.
“Okay,” Chie sighed, “But how are we supposed to get married?”
It really was a lovely day. Spring was graduating into summer, which allowed Chie to finally start rocking some tank tops again. The gentle breeze alleviated the heat from the sun, which was beating down a little harder due to the lack of clouds in the sky.
The beauty of the day was elevated by Chie being given today off on top of yesterday. AND Yosuke had called her up and asked if she wanted to get lunch with him. His treat, of course (not that he had much of an option).
A steak lunch with a good friend on a beautiful day is pretty hard to beat, Chie thought. And what a fool she was. Because about halfway through her ranting to Yosuke about her feelings about the Yukiko situation, the brunette just had to open his mouth.
“If I’m bein’ honest here, it sounds like you’re just in love with Yukiko.”
That’s it. Day ruined. You’ve done it again, Yosuke.
Needless to say, lunch finished earlier than Chie would’ve liked, but she wasn’t gonna sit there and listen to some baseless slander from this traitor of a man. So what if she has to walk home now? She likes the exercise. And it’s less carpool karaoke of some shitty Nickelback songs she has to sit through.
In love with Yukiko? Well Yosuke is owed some credit there, that is quite the funny joke. Chie chuckled internally as she fumbled for her keys to unlock her apartment door.
I mean, she’s known Yukiko for literal years! They were best friends, sisters through life. If sisters had little fake weddings and practiced kissing for future boyfriends they never had and moved into a little apartment together and were currently living a very intimate and domestic lifestyle and holy fuck that got really weird really fast.
Great. Now I’m even MORE confused.
Chie plopped down on the couch, staring blankly at the wall in front of her. God if her mind wasn’t scrambled before, it sure is now. At least the house was empty.
Was Chie actually in love?
Truthfully, she wasn’t all that sure. She had never really ‘been in love’ before. At least, she believed that she hadn’t. She had gone on a few dates here and there, but nothing ever really felt like it would take off so she never let those potential someone’s stick around for too long.
Truth be told, she had never really felt any real sort of attraction to those guys she went out with. It wasn’t like they were bad dudes, Chie still thought most of them were charming and handsome and wished them the best. But that didn’t change the fact that she never felt anything for them.
To make matters even worse, she justified not seeing anybody by saying stuff like, “I have law enforcement training to focus on” and “I don’t NEED a boyfriend” and “I have to take care of Yukiko” and sweet lord it felt like her life just revolved around Yukiko.
Despite all her weird complaints, Yukiko was still very important to Chie. She knew and understood Chie inside and out. She loved Chie despite her flaws. She’d been there for Chie when no one else was. She made Chie feel important. Wanted. Needed. No one made Chie as happy as Yukiko did. No one motivated Chie the way Yukiko did. No one garnered Chie’s need to protect and serve the way Yukiko did.
“ARGH this isn’t helping!” Chie groaned, burying her face in her hands dramatically. She slid further down the couch, slouched into a position she knew was just damaging her spine further. Not that Chie cared. She felt so small and helpless. And she knew she could sort all these thoughts and feelings out by herself.
Chie is fully aware that she’s not the smartest or the most emotionally aware person she knows, but she does pride herself on being able to recognize when she needs help. So help she will obtain!
Except that’s rather hard when your friend group is pure blueprint dumbassery.
Rise was a solid choice for general advice, but Chie knew that once the topic of romance is brought up with the young idol, she’d get way too excited and then attempt to turn the situation into some sort of fairy tale.
Kanji wasn’t a bad choice. Plus he had the added bonus of also going through the whole “liking the same gender” thing. However, given her friends former treatment of him about said “thing” she felt it would only get extremely awkward.
Teddie was just straight up out of the question. And Naoto wouldn’t know what love was if it smacked them in the face. Which left one decent option.
With a heavy sigh, Chie reluctantly pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and pulled up Yu’s contact. Groaning out loud to herself, she pressed the “call” icon and waited.
…
“Hey Chie, what’s up?”
“Hey Narukami,” she dragged out dramatically. “Uh…are you busy?”
“Not really. I was just hanging out with some friends. Now I’m just chilling in my apartment with nothing to do.”
“Wow, exciting.”
“I know, I could be fishing right now,” Yu chuckled, “But alas, I am begrudgingly confined to the tasteless barriers that is city life!”
Chie rolled her eyes. “You know what? I’ll just ask Rise for advice.”
“No no no no! Wait! I’ll listen! Please tell me what’s wrong! Are you okay?” Yu stammered, slight panic laced in his tone.
Chie snickered under her breath, “You’re that bored, huh? You wanna listen to my problems that badly?”
Yu groaned, and Chie could hear a light THWAP which she could only assume was him collapsing on his couch. “You have no idea,” he grumbled. “God, what would I give to be back in Inaba again.”
Chie let out a breathy chuckle, “You aren’t missing out on much, but we all do miss you like…a ton.”
A somber silence followed before Chie realized that she probably didn’t make him feel all that better. Trying and failing to hide the panic in her tone, she blurted out, “But hey! Summer is right around the corner and you get to spend a whole month here with us! And Rise and Naoto will actually be in town too! It’ll be a blast!”
Chie bit her lip to keep from rambling, hoping she didn’t upset him too much. She heard a friendly chuckle come from the receiver, “I’m looking forward to it.”
“Haha! Yeah…”
“…”
“Soooooo… did you need help with something?”
Chie suddenly sat up straight, remembering what she’d originally called him for. “Yeah I uh… I need advice.”
“On?”
Chie didn’t answer, she wasn’t entirely sure what to call the subject at hand. Love advice? Yukiko advice? Getting Yosuke to shut his fat mouth and not put stupid thoughts and emotions through her head advice?
“It’s…complicated.”
“Okay,” Yu responded calmly, “Start from the beginning.”
Chie sighed, “Okay. So earlier today, I was getting lunch with Yosuke-“
“Oh God, terrible start.”
“Shut up, he’s your idiot, not mine,” Chie grumbled.
Yu laughed, “I’m more worried about what you did to him.”
Chie ignored the comment and continued, “And I was ranting to him about the issues I’ve been having with Yukiko.”
Yu interrupted again, this time actually sounding concerned, “You and Yukiko are having issues?”
“Well, kind of? Not really, it’s mostly just me,” Chie stammered, unsure. “Lately it feels like it’s getting difficult to just… be around her.”
“How so?”
“Well whenever she gets really close to me, I start feeling all warm and shaky. Kinda like whenever I get sick, but I don’t really hate how it feels. And I don’t understand it and it’s scary. A-and I want to be around her even more but then I feel like I’m trying to hoard her and I feel selfish. At the same time, I want space to try and figure out what’s wrong with me and she’s making it so hard cuz she just… always wants to be around me.”
“Mhm…”
“And…and when I was telling Yosuke about all this, he told me that I was…” Chie paused, bracing herself to say the next part out loud. “He said I was…in love with Yukiko.”
She heard Yu let out a heavy but otherwise unirritated sigh, “Okay. And you want my advice on…what exactly?”
Chie groaned, “I dunno! That’s why I called you! You’re supposed to tell me what’s wrong with me? Am I in love with Yukiko?”
“Well that depends on what answer you want to hear,” Yu said matter-of-factly.
“What are my options?”
“Well I can be blunt with you, we can have a mild therapy session, or I can sugarcoat this for you.”
“Be blunt with me please, I wanna get all this over with as quickly as possible,” Chie all but begged.
“Well,” Yu started, “Honestly I’m with Yosuke on this one. In my unprofessional opinion, I’d say it does sound an awful lot like you’re in love with Yukiko.”
“Why does it sound like your diagnosing me or something?”
Yu let out a hearty chuckle, “It definitely feels like that, doesn’t it.”
Chie bit her lip, processing while trying to decide how to continue.
“Have you ever been in love?”
“But of course,” Yu said with a flare of drama, “Tis the sea that has won my heart!”
“Can you PLEASE be serious,” Chie retorted, debating just hanging up then and there. Yu snickered at his own stupid joke before continuing.
“Yeah, I think I’ve been in love before. But that’s another story for another time.”
Chie sighed, playing with the hem of her shirt. She hadn’t even noticed how her heart had dropped and how she’d lost any feeling in her legs. Was she actually in love with Yukiko? If she was, what was she supposed to do? It felt as if she would be searching for a cure that didn’t exist. If she was scared before, then she was petrified now.
After a brief pause, she started up again, her voice barely above a whisper, “…what do I do now?”
“Well the first step is acceptance,” Yu stated, “And considering how you didn’t yell at me and hang up as soon as I said it, I’d say you’ve accepted it alright.”
“Okay…” Chie responded, unsure of how to take this information. “Now what?”
“Well, that’s up to you,” Yu replied. “You can keep your feelings to yourself and let it eat away at you until you drive yourself crazy.”
Why is he like this?
Yu continued, “Or you can tell Yukiko and work things out from there.”
Chie groaned, tumbling down till she was laying face first on the couch. “What’s my third option?
“There is none. Don’t stress yourself out, talk to Yukiko when you feel like you can. Regardless of how she feels, she won’t abandon you over this.”
Chie knew that to be true, and that’s what scared her the most. Being around Yukiko was hard enough, it would only get harder if she knew. Because if she knew and she didn’t feel the same, it would just taunt Chie forever. Chie would have to be the one to leave.
Chie stared at her feet awkwardly while Yukiko continued to plead with the poor boy on the bench that was just trying to color in his coloring book.
“C’mon please? It won’t take long!”
After Chie had asked how they were gonna get married, Yukiko had rolled her eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world and said, “Get someone to marry us, duh.”
She then looked around the playground and saw a boy she claimed to be kind-of friends with sitting on a bench by himself, coloring. And proceeded to drag Chie over to him and demand that he marry the two of them.
“Go away, Yukiko,” the boy grumbled, seemingly completely unfazed by the request.
Yukiko looked like she was about to start throwing a fit, but then her eyes widened. A mischievous look grew on her face as she leaned closer to the boy and whispered something Chie couldn’t hear.
The boy’s face went from mildly annoyed to flat out angry. “God, FINE!” the little boy snapped, “If it gets you guys to leave me alone.”
Being in love with your best friend who is also your roommate is tough.
IT’S EVEN TOUGHER WHEN SAID PERSON IS PRACTICALLY LAYING ON TOP OF YOU CASUALLY!
Yukiko had brought home another sub par rental movie for the girls to watch together. It had been weeks since Chie had her phone call with Yu. She’d been trying to find any excuse to get out of the house by herself since then. But tonight Yukiko had trapped her, she had no excuse for leaving or the heart to deny Yukiko the movie night she wanted.
So here Chie was, sat on her couch with Yukiko cuddled up against her, hardly even paying attention to the movie. Chie’s heart was pounding so intensely, she was certain Yukiko could hear it. It was getting harder and harder to breathe. Despite all this, Chie liked it. She hated how much she liked it. She hated how much she craved it. Everything within her screamed to get away. She was taking advantage of the situation, and it was absolute torture to just sit through.
Suddenly, Chie felt Yukiko’s head turn. She could feel Yukiko’s eyes on her, waiting for Chie to meet them. Chie bit her lip and slowly turned her head to see her friend’s face mere inches away from hers.
She was smiling softly, almost blissfully. Chie’s heart thudded painful, her mind urging her to get away. Then Yukiko spoke.
“I missed this.”
Driven past her breaking point, Chie shot up
“Nope nope nope nope, I can’t…”
“Ow!” Yukiko cried out, having bumped her head on Chie’s hipbone as she fell on her side. Chie normally would’ve immediately apologized and made sure Yukiko was alright. However, Chie only continued to back away from the couch. Arms crossed and panicked eyes pointed at the ground.
Yukiko quickly sat up, “What’s wrong?” The genuine concern in her voice made Chie’s gut twist. She heard Yukiko rise from the couch, “What happened? Are you sick?”
Yukiko started to approach her. The panic built and spread throughout Chie’s body, “Don’t come near me!”
Yukiko froze in place, putting her hands up as if in surrender. “I…I’m sorry.”
Chie lifted her head to look at Yukiko, and guilt started to build up as well. She looked so… wounded. Like Chie had just punched her in the gut. Chie shook her head, “No! Shit, don’t be sorry. You didn’t do anything.”
What am I doing?!
The young manager dropped her arms, shivering the slightest bit. “What’s going on, Chie?”
What was Chie supposed to say to that? I’ve been in love with you for who knows how long and I’m only just now realizing it and I don’t know how to handle it but being around you is so wonderful yet painful and I just want you to leave me but I want you to stay with me forever. Because THAT would TOTALLY end up going smoothly.
Chie’s head started to spin and she felt as if the world was about to collapse beneath her feet.
“I…” she stuttered, “I can’t tell you.”
“W-why not?”
“Because I just can’t!” Chie snapped, now clenching her eyes shut. She knew if she pressed any further, tears would follow. And that was the last thing she needed right now.
Yukiko once again tried to approach her shaken friend, “Please Chie…” she all but begged, “Please talk to me… let me help you.”
Chie didn’t realize how close Yukiko had gotten till she felt her hand gently resting on her shoulder. Without even thinking, Chie slapped the hand off her shoulder. Not nearly hard enough to hurt, but enough to get Yukiko to back off.
“Wha-”
Chie froze, realizing what she had just done. Her lip quivered as she met Yukiko’s eyes. She looked like she had just been utterly betrayed. Guilt swallowed her whole as her head grew even heavier on her shoulders.
What did I just do?
Vision blurring, Chie’s legs took over as she sprinted towards her bedroom.
“And by the power vested in me, I pronounce you wife and wife. You may kiss the wife,” the still nameless boy announced quickly, closing the coloring book and promptly walking back to the benches to continue coloring in it.
Chie blinked, she had forgotten that marrying someone often ended with kissing. She went to open her mouth to protest. But Yukiko didn’t give her a chance to even think about how to proceed.
The kiss ended as quickly as it began, Yukiko making a dramatic “mwah!” as she pecked her best friend’s lips.
Chie felt her face flush with heat, “H-hey!” she shouted, raising her hand to her lips, “You didn’t say we were gonna kiss!”
Yukiko giggled, “We had to! Or else it wouldn’t have been real.”
Chie crossed her arms, trying to glare as hard as she could, “Well you could’ve warned me.”
Unfazed, Yukiko continued her little giggling fit. Eventually, Chie dropped the facade and started to laugh as well. This only made Yukiko’s giggle turn into more of a hysterical laughing fit. She bent forward, her arms wrapped around her stomach as her infectious laughter continued.
Eventually, the two girls calmed down, and found themselves sat side by side in the grass. Yukiko grinned at her friend, taking her hand in her own. “Now you’ll never leave me.”
Barely even trying to push her bedroom door closed, Chie collapsed on the small, shitty couch across from her futon. Feeling defeated, she buried her face in her hands, ignoring the burning sensation behind her closed eyes.
Why did I do that?
As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t shake that image out of her head. She would never be able to. Yukiko’s eyes were full of pain and confusion. The poor girl flinching at every meaningless word that slipped from Chie’s mouth that the tomboy couldn’t even hear. The cries for her to come back as she practically raced to her bedroom.
Why did I do that?
Yukiko didn’t deserve that, she did nothing wrong. It’s Chie’s own fault that she didn’t know how to properly handle these intense emotions. It honestly felt like some kind of sick joke, cursing Chie to fall in love with someone who would never feel the same.
Before her thoughts could take her any further, Chie heard a soft knock on her door. Lifting her head, barely even registering how blurry her vision currently was, Chie made eye contact with Yukiko. She was standing right outside the wide open door, hands folded in front of her, not daring to take a step forward without Chie’s permission.
“Can I come in?”
“Y-yeah…sure.”
Yukiko slowly made her way towards the couch Chie was glued to, almost floating. God, she was so graceful. Everything she did just radiated grace and beauty, just like a princess. She had a small somber smile on her face and she gently sat beside Chie, careful not to touch her.
Chie bit her lip and lowered her gaze to the floor. She could see Yukiko bend forward to remain in Chie’s peripherals, her long hair dangling that just felt like a means of taunting.
“I…” Chie started, trying desperately to meet Yukiko’s gaze.
“No. I’m sorry,” Yukiko said genuinely. Chie’s head shot up, looking Yukiko dead in the eyes. There wasn’t an ounce of disdain or disappointment, just remorse. Remorse for something she didn’t even do, something she didn’t even know she did or didn’t do.
Chie cracked, “No please, don’t be. You did nothing wrong! This is all my fault, I just… I mean…I can’t….”
What was she even trying to say anymore? What did she want?
Yukiko frowned, “You’re hurting and I’m the reason why. That alone is enough to apologize for.”
Chie’s lower lip started to tremble, “No I-I… you didn’t…I…”
Unable to continue, Chie hung her head once again. She shifted her body so she was almost fully facing away from Yukiko. Her heart was twisting painfully as the tension only grew between the two friends. Neither of them could predict where this conversation would go, or where it would end. And that was nothing less than terrifying.
“I’m sorry Yukiko, you don’t deserve this,” Chie barely managed to choke out. God she could feel her energy rapidly draining with every second she spent trying to hold back her tears.
Suddenly, and without warning, Yukiko threw herself against Chie’s backside, rapidly wrapping her arms around her waist. Chie lurched forward at the force, instinctively reaching for the hands that were currently gripping each other across her stomach. She felt Yukiko press her forehead against the back of her neck, the movement feeling so forceful yet gentle at the same time.
That was the final straw.
The dam broke and tears began to spill down Chie’s cheeks. Everything that told her to hold on went silent and she allowed herself to be fully consumed by Yukiko’s embrace.
Chie felt Yukiko’s breath on her neck as she spoke, “You promised me that you would always be there for me.” Chie shuddered at every word, warmth pulsating throughout her body while her heart continued to twist painfully.
“Please,” Yukiko breathed, “Let me be here for you.”
So she did. The silence sobs wracked her body as the tears fell from her cheeks and onto her lap. All the while, Yukiko didn’t loosen her grip on her for even a second.
After what felt like both hours and mere milliseconds, Chie felt her heart slow down to a normal pace and her body stopped shaking. She brought her hands to her face to wipe the remaining tears off her face, chuckling pitifully.
Upon realization that Chie was calm, Yukiko shifted. She removed her arms from Chie’s middle and placed her hands on Chie’s upper arms, gently massaging up and down. Without moving too far back, Yukiko pulled her forehead away from the back of Chie’s neck and moved to rest her chin on Chie’s shoulder.
“I love you…”
Chie froze in place, stunned by her own confession. She hadn’t meant to say it, it just popped out. Calm down Chie, you tell Yukiko you love her all the time. She probably just thinks you mean it platonically! Nothing to worry about!
But this was Yukiko, who knew her better than she knew herself. Given the current setting, there was plenty of reason to believe that Yukiko fully understood what Chie meant. Panic overtook her body as she tried to find the words to take back what she had just said until…
She felt Yukiko’s lips softly press against the side of her neck.
If Chie felt like she was frozen in place before, she had just been sealed in a block of ice to be stored in a museum. Because goddamn she was fully unable to move her own body. Yukiko pulled away from her neck, her breath causing the hairs once beneath her lips to stand up.
“I know,” Yukiko uttered, her voice barely above a whisper. She then moved her hand back up Chie’s arm up to her shoulder. Yukiko then lightly tugged at the edge of Chie’s nightshirt till her entire shoulder was exposed. She then pressed her lips in the crook of where Chie’s neck met her shoulder, this time with more conviction. Pulled back, Yukiko moved to again press her lips further down Chie’s shoulder, each one present with the same grace that Yukiko applied to almost everything.
Chie shuddered under the touch, finally feeling some sort of autonomy control. With her newfound ability to move her own body, Chie pulled herself out of Yukiko’s loose hold, slowly turning her body back to face her.
Yukiko smiled, bringing her hands back up to gently cup Chie’s face. God, if I’m dreaming please never wake me up. Her face must’ve looked insane, with the tear stains on her cheeks that Chie could almost guarantee were flushed red. Chie cleared her throat, glancing back and forth from Yukiko’s eyes to the couch they were sitting on.
She let out an awkward and forced laugh, “Ha… I was gonna say how I meant that in a not-friend way but uh… I think you got the picture.” Yukiko giggled, her own cheeks starting to turn pink. She said nothing, leaning forward to place her lips on Chie’s face. This time though, she wasn’t pulling away. She started on her forehead, traveling to just below her eye where the tears had been, then on the tip of her nose, then aggressively against her cheek, then to her other cheek, then back up to her forehead.
Chie’s heart was racing as warmth spread across her body from each kiss Yukiko left on her face. She flushed under each delicate touch, giggling as Yukiko traveled. After a while, Yukiko paused, slowly pulling away. Chie opened her eyes that she wasn’t even aware were clenched shut, meeting Yukiko’s.
Yukiko’s face was fully flushed red, pure adoration dancing in her eyes. Chie felt that she probably looked ridiculous, tear stains on red cheeks paired with a dopey grin. She expected Yukiko to laugh at her, but instead her smile faltered slightly. She reached down to tightly grasp Chie’s hands and hold them in her own, as if Chie was about to vanish.
“Would…would you say it again?” Yukiko asked, which sounded almost like a plea. She was putting Chie under some sort of spell, and it was definitely working. Her wish was her command.
“I love you, Yukiko. I really do.”
It felt so different to say it now. It didn’t feel like a platonic farewell that it used to mean. Nor did it feel like a burden on Chie’s heart that would lead to heartbreak. It felt like a drastic change, a weight off her chest, an oath. Chie had no idea what the future held for them right now, and the thought would’ve been terrifying to the average person. But Chie didn’t care, she was on cloud nine right now. She’d been able to confront and confess her feelings, and Yukiko wasn’t running away.
Yukiko smiled, bringing Chie’s hands to her lips and kissing her fingers. “I love you too.”
Sweet Lord I’m begging you not to let this be a dream.
Chie wanted to do several things at the moment. She wanted to collapse into Yukiko, overwhelmed with emotion. She wanted to burst into laughter. She wanted to spontaneously combust. She wanted to leap for joy and cheer as loudly as she could.
Before she could pick from her many options on where to proceed, Yukiko made the decision for her. Dropping Chie’s hands, Yukiko reached up to cup Chie’s face again, pulling her closer. Their lips met, but unlike the first time, they didn’t immediately pull away. Chie instead wrapped her arms around Yukiko’s waist and pulled her as close as she possibly could.
And she was never letting her go.
“WE WERE KIDS!”
“And you still have yet to divorce me!” Yukiko giggled, “Far as I can tell, we’ve been together all along.”