Work Text:
Airi Momoi had always thought of herself to be a very composed person.
She was clever, contained, fair. Good at communicating and entertaining alike. A leader. Sure of herself. Of course, she wasn’t without the same anxieties and insecurities that plagued every teenager. And yet, Airi was satisfied with how she’d come to portray herself. She felt confident in the way that she was perceived.
And, perhaps, that was why she craved Shizuku Hinomori more than anything else.
It was, honestly, embarrassing. As a person, Airi respected Shizuku, had always respected Shizuku. Ever since they were barely fourteen, and Airi first caught a glimpse of her performing. What a star she was (and still is). She admired her work ethic, and her skill, and the genuine love she had in her heart for her craft. She performed with a selfless heart, and Airi recognized a lot of her own desires in her.
And then…there was a shift.
Because, as a person, Shizuku was able to break down her walls better than anyone ever had been able to.
And it was. Well.
When you combine a person’s ability to do all that to her…and then add (and Airi’s cheeks would tinge a furious red at this) physical attraction… well. Things got interesting quickly.
Such as things were now - Airi pressing her lips to Shizuku’s, her kissing back. The two were sitting on the deserted roof of their high school, Airi almost situated in Shizuku’s lap. They’d been doing this pretty much every lunch break for a year - or, well, they did it on the days that they were actually present in school (due to being on the credit-based track). Somehow, they’d yet to be caught (except for Minori on one singular occasion, who immediately let out a squeak of horror upon Airi with her tongue down Shizuku’s throat, and scammered off, apologizing profusely and covering her eyes with her hands).
They were dating, girlfriends, all that stuff - at least, Airi was pretty sure they were. They’d never really established anything, but one kiss on impulse had led to another, and then one day Shizuku had said calmly “my girlfriend, Airi-chan” and that was that.
Shizuku, Airi realized quickly, was a lot more adventurous today. She plastered soft kisses all over Airi’s face: her lips, her cheeks, her nose, wherever she felt compelled to state her claim on. Airi pushed back, twining her arms around Shizuku’s neck, her fingers messing up and winding through her soft, long hair. This was usual, par-for-the-course, average Airi and Shizuku activities.
Until, breathless and red-faced, Shizuku broke apart from Airi, her pale blue eyes dropping down to stare at Airi’s neck.
“Airi,” she said, slowly, in her usual airy tone of voice, but in a lower tone that (to Airi’s embarrassment) made her stomach do flips. “Airi, may I…”
“Yeah,” Airi choked out, hating how her words were coming out. Her throat was unusually dry. She cleared it, trying to look at Shizuku in a normal way. “Y-yeah…um…if you want to try…”
Immediately, Shizuku’s eyes brightened, and she leaned forward, returning to kissing Airi - but this time, her soft lips were placed upon Airi’s neck.
And Airi felt her entire mind start to explode .
All she could do was sit there, red-faced and stammering, her expression probably resembling something closer to a gaping fish, as her beautiful, beautiful, stupid, stupid girlfriend sat there and calmly kissed her neck. Kissed her incredibly stupid .
What was her life. What even was she. Who even was she.
“S-Shizuku,” she stuttered out, and Shizuku raised her head, her face morphed into a deep concern.
“Airi?” she asked, curious and innocent, and Airi wanted to die. “Is something the matter? Is it - oh. I’m so sorry. I’m making you uncomfortable. I can -“
“No!” Airi said quickly, raising a hand to cover Shizuku’s mouth. “I…I’m not uncomfortable. I…I just…”
Shizuku stared at her blankly, and Airi could see the wheels attempting to turn in her head. “You just…” Then, the closest expression to a cocky grin that Shizuku was able to make flitted across her face. “Aha,” she began. “You liked it .”
Running far, far away from this rooftop and never coming back sounded like a really good idea right about now.
“I,” Airi began. “Am going to kill you.”
Shizuku just giggled, and then pressed another kiss to her neck, feather-light and sweet. “Please don’t. Though, I suppose if I had to die, I’d want it to be by Airi-chan’s hands.”
Airi had no excuse for the embarrassing, flustered noise that she let out. “Shizuku…d-don’t say such ridiculous things.”
“Why not?” Shizuku asked, pressing kisses quick and fast along Airi’s neck. “Isn’t that one of the things you like about me?”
“You’re impossible.” Airi hissed.
“And you’re beautiful.”
That made Airi blush. Shizuku giggled once more, placing her head on Airi’s shoulder and nuzzling in close to her.
“I think you’re beautiful too,” she murmured. “And you’re never making me uncomfortable. Or, if you somehow were, I’d tell you. It’s just that…a lot of this is so new to me, and I’m still getting used to the idea of letting someone else see me like this…and do these things to me.”
“I understand.” Shizuku said in reply. “You don’t need to feel bad for having emotions, Airi-chan. Sometimes, I…I also feel a bit confused about all of this. Never that I want to stop, or that I don’t love you, but still…this way of expression, these things that we do…we are each other’s firsts in that sense, yes?”
“Yes,” Airi echoed. “So I suppose you understand this better than anyone else.”
Shizuku smiled. “I can certainly try.”
Airi Momoi was not used to being vulnerable. But, she was used to Shizuku Hinomori. And she quite liked Shizuku Hinomori.
So, maybe, this was all working out in the way it was meant to.
We’re learning and experiencing this all for the first time. Sometimes I’ll feel like I want to run away and hide. Sometimes she’ll say the wrong thing. Sometimes we’ll both screw up. And sometimes it’ll be wonderful. And that’s all okay.