Archive of Our Own

On a fine, bright day like this, you'd normally expect nothing to happen when you were indoors.

Cecilia Immergreen, unfortunately, was the victim of a stray baseball smacking her right in the head. Indoors. The automaton staggered for a bit, not particularly in too much pain, but it was still rather inconvenient especially when she'd merely been looking out the window wordlessly, enjoying the sunlight.

The baseball, which did not break through the window to assault her on this otherwise wonderful day, rolled into the corner of the office desk.

Justice's leader, Elizabeth, sighed as she pulled back slightly with her chair and picked up the ball. "Gigi, please don't play throwball around inside."

Their resident menace grinned sheepishly as she went to retrieve her equally menacing toy for the day. "Aw, c'mon. Nothing wrong with a lil' good fun indoors."

"My head has just been smacked by your lil' good fun, as you put it," Cecilia pointed out. "That falls under the definition of, 'something wrong.'"

"What? No, it doesn't." To the Chaser's chagrin, the others merely sent her unamused looks. "What? It really doesn't."

"Nothing is ever wrong in your eyes, Gigi," Raora said, sitting up on the couch. "I mean, all the plates you dropped just the other day while juggling them... I'm still a bit scared of walking around in case we missed any shards."

Gigi shrugged. "The people needed me to juggle them plates. They craved entertainment, and I provided such. Think of the kids, Raora!"

Her teammates frowned. "What kids?" Cecilia asked.

"Me. Lil' innocent me, full of dreams and potential." She struck a sickeningly adorable pose, her eyes somehow growing in size.

"Stop that. It's freaky when you do puppy eyes," Elizabeth groaned.

"Oppression! I call oppression! I will not be silenced!"

Gigi's shenanigans was nothing new to the Justice crew. In fact, if anything, this was rather tame compared to her more... insane antics. Nevertheless, Cecilia sighed, not wanting to deal with their resident hyperactive gremlin's energy first thing in the day. "I shall let this slide, I suppose, if only to end this conversation."

The world must've hated her, however, for the orange-cladded girl laughed. "Aw, c'mon. Don't be such a sour lemon." Tiptoeing over to the automaton, Gigi placed her hands on the girl's shoulder and lightly pulled her down.

And she pressed her lips on the girl's forehead. Elizabeth and Raora stared, their mouths parted in surprise.

"There ya go! I kissed your booboo away." Gigi grinned. "Feeling better now?"

Cecilia blinked. "...um."

"Good!" Turning around, the Chaser ran to the door. "I'm-a get something from the kitchen. Lemme know what you all want!" And, completely going against her own words, she ran off before even letting any of them say anything.

Raora looked to the automaton, expressionless. Then, she smiled. "Cecilia?"

The girl jolted. "Um. Yes?"

"You feelin' okay?" Elizabeth asked.

Cecilia looked to her leader. "...yes."

Exchanging glances, Elizabeth and Raora shrugged. "I see."

She was not okay. No, she was not okay, and had not been okay. Ever since that day, something was boiling within her head, and Cecilia just could not figure out what it was that tormented her.

That Gigi, that annoying face of hers, that damned confident smile she always had. That stupid voice, and the way she laughed, and the way she sometimes sang horrendously - on purpose - but still managed to have fun.

Her stupidly beautiful ruby eyes, her cute jacket of bizarre tastes, her condescendingly sweet and chaotic tone. The way being near her made the automaton feel at ease. That stupid, dastardly, adorable piece of...

She'd been infected with some sort of virus. Probably. That had to be it, there was no other possible explanation for this. Gigi, her own teammate, had somehow cursed her through that forehead kiss.

Cecilia felt rage spread through her cheeks. Her fists trembled, clenched with the desire to smack some sense into her coworker. Something had to be done to that menace of a teammate.

And what better way to get some chaotic gremlin to stop, then give it a taste of their own medicine? Yes, Cecilia knew what she had to do.

The question is, however, when would be a good time to kiss Gigi's forehead? She couldn't just waltz up to the girl and say, 'hey Gigi! I want to kiss your forehead.'

Doing that would be societal suicide, reputational suicide. Besides, Gigi would never let her live that one down, and Cecilia wasn't sure she wanted to doom herself to that kind of fate.

Instead, she'd have to play it safe. She'd have to play it smooth. Find the right moment, and then ambush her. Surprise attack her. Gigi would never see her coming.

"Gigi. I believe you wish to talk to me?" she asked one ordinary afternoon, standing in the hallway.

The girl she addressed, stared back with a grin. "Yep. Here to return the book I borrowed from you."

Cecilia blinked. It was a novel she'd lent the girl a couple of weeks ago. "...you took your time reading it, I see."

"Eh, I mostly used it to swat flies and stack towers of other books." The nonchalant tone she received made her want to hit the girl.

"So you did not read it," Cecilia concluded. And, she wasn't going to lie, that... hurt a bit.

But Gigi smiled. "Oh, nah, I read it. Kinda boring, no offense." She shrugged. "I didn't get the hype in the ending. It's kinda just, meh."

That didn't make her feel any better. Maybe just a bit. Cecilia was about to throw a retort at the girl, but she paused upon running the Chaser's words back in her head once more. She... actually finished the book? "...I... I see."

Gigi waved the book in her hand once more, and the automaton eventually reached to accept it. "Atta girl. I don't mind any other book reccs you have, so just hit me up if you got anything."

"...I will take that into consideration." As the girl ran over to the window to gush about how bright it was outside, Cecilia bit her lips. This, this was why she hated Gigi.

The way she constantly acted like a pain in her ass, and still, would be such a nice and caring girl. ...this may be the right opportunity.

Realizing she now had good reason to retaliate against her teammate for her gesture days prior, Cecilia nodded to herself and lightly stepped over to the other party. "Gigi."

"Yah?" the girl voiced, before Cecilia leaned down and put her lips to the girl's cheeks.

Ah. That was not what I was supposed to do. Pulling back, Cecilia felt weird. Something was wrong, and her plan did not go quite as well as she'd expected. Something was off.

Gigi, in the meantime, blinked a few times and then looked to the automaton. "...what was that? You just kissed me. On the cheek."

Unsure of what to say, she quickly attempted to regain her composure. "...yes. ...I did."

"...why'd you do that?" Gigi asked. She does not look as bothered as I predicted she would. Evidently, this girl was made of titanium or something. "I mean, not that I mind."

Cecilia frowned. "Not... not even in the slightest? You have no thoughts on that at all?"

The chaotic menace shook her head. "Nope. Just wondering where that came from." Then she raised an eyebrow. "Unless... you were expecting me to have some thoughts about it?"

"...that is not... the case." The moment she delivered that half-assed line, Cecilia knew she had messed up. A sly grin had formed on the other party's lips, one that she did not like. "...what."

"I see, I see. Alright, I get it." Chuckling to herself, the girl playfully walked away before coming to a stop, and peeking back at the automaton. "Were you thinking about that all this time? Me kissing your booboo away? Hm?"

She felt heat rush through her cheeks. Cecilia gritted her teeth. "That... of course not!" she hissed, then jolted at herself. "...o-of course not. I was simply just... I simply believed I should show you some nice gestures every now and then."

"Mmmmn. Right... okay, sure." Gigi grinned, and it was clear the girl did not believe her in the slightest. "Thanks, CC. Real sweet of ya. And thanks for the good read, again."

As the girl walked away, Cecilia frowned. "...you're welcome." It seemed as if it was all over, and she could go back to not being so bothered by that stupid forehead kiss.

But little did she know, that was the beginning of a feud between the two, a war of sorts that would plague her for days to come.

Ashes piled up on the streets, bricks scorched by violent explosions earlier. She lowered her lance, finally able to take a breather, as the apprehended villain was being led away.

"How're you girls holding up?" Elizabeth asked. "That criminal gave us a bit more trouble than I thought he would, but I'm relieved we were still able to defeat him."

Gigi grinned. "Just peachy! All those bombs the guy had, I almost thought I'd be blown to bits today. But of course, Gigi always perseveres!"

"That's scary, don't say that," Raora muttered, her body shuddering. "He looked like he would rip into me like a lion if he had the chance. And I don't mean that like a metaphor."

Chuckling, their leader shook her head. "I admit, I also did underestimate him based on the reports. I suppose the saying goes, a beast would be most dangerous when cornered."

Cecilia exhaled. There had been plenty of close calls on this mission. Although she had been confident that no harm would come upon her, a charred part of her arm had left her confidence somewhat shattered. Had she been too relaxed in these times? An ancient automaton, she was supposed to have rather impressive ability for combat, yet a simple mistake led the terrorist to easily cause great damage to one of her limbs. It felt... humiliating.

"...Cecilia? Are you okay?" Raora asked, noticing her lack of enthusiasm. "Does it... does it really hurt?"

She frowned, then shook her head. "...no. It does not. I am merely... reflecting."

Elizabeth sighed. "I do have my own reflecting I need to do. I wouldn't say we've been complacent in our practices, but I should not have let my guard down in many of the instances we've had just now."

"I think I did fine. Gigi is perfect," Gigi said. "But of course, I can always be better."

"Better than perfect?" Raora asked.

"Perfecter. Perfecter-er. I could always become perfecter-er-est."

Cecilia rolled her eyes. "I highly doubt that."

With an amused huff, the Chaser suddenly wrapped her arms around the automaton. "Aw, c'mon, babe. Don't get all moody, I'll reward you properly for still doing well today."

"I... huh?" The girl froze, unsure of how to respond. Gigi was wearing that shit-eating grin on her face, as if... no, definitely gauging her reaction. "I do not... I am... what?"

Both Elizabeth and Raora were staring at the two. Their eyes expressionless, but so obviously confused, maybe intrigued. And Gigi, and Cecilia, they were just...

What is going on. "Gigi, what... what are you doing?" she eventually mustered the energy to ask.

"Just giving my sweet darling the love she needs and the confidence she lost." Gigi, somehow, was not faltering at all. And that annoyed the hell out of her.

And, and, in front of their teammates? Does she have no shame? "...I am not in need of hugs."

Letting go of the automaton, Gigi smirked. "Alright, you big baby. I'll give you the better rewards later, in private."

"What does that even..." Cecilia paused and looked to Raora, whose face was turning red. "...your face is heating up."

"I, uh. I mean. You know. That was... never mind, I don't..." The panther girl was rasping, fidgeting, unsure of how to respond.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, crossed her arms and... adopted a small smile. A knowing smile, which confused the automaton because Cecilia herself did not know what the knowing smile was alluding to. "It's nothing, Cecilia. Just... perhaps there's something you'd like to let us know of?"

And Cecilia, for her part, could not figure out what she was implying, if anything. "...I do not believe there is anything I have yet to report, no."

"...I see. Never mind, then." Elizabeth guided Raora away, chuckling and muttering something.

Something about how Cecilia didn't seem to realize yet. What have I not realized?

Before she could move to bring her leader back and ask for clarification, Gigi took her hand in her own.

"C'mon, CC. Let's head back and party!" the Chaser cheered.

"...I suppose we could host a celebration for this mission's success, given its unexpected difficulty." With a nod, the automaton agreed and let herself be led away.

But she'd fail to rid herself of this feeling. The feeling of... something. Something akin to how she felt when Gigi first kissed her forehead.

And by the laws of correlation, this meant that this was all Gigi's fault, and therefore... this calls for another act of retaliation.

A few days later, as the weather began to cool down - an oddity since it wasn't nearing winter yet - the four found themselves relaxing in their shared offices, doing the same things they did everyday. Elizabeth went through her papers, Raora lied on a couch and purred, Cecilia stared out the window and procrastinated on her cleaning, and Gigi... did whatever it is she was doing.

In this case, the menace was playing hopscotch. While also using the jump rope. Blindfolded. And... singing her ABCs.

"..." She had no idea what to say to that. Worst of all was the fact that the girl was somehow performing flawlessly in all the involved activities. The other two of their teammates didn't even seem to pay attention to the orange-cladded gremlin, as if this was nothing new.

And yeah, it... wasn't anything new. But every single time, Cecilia still felt annoyed. Is there anything she can't do? A question often left unanswered.

Some minutes later, Gigi yanked her blindfold off and tossed it lazily, alongside her jump rope, and plopped herself right onto the couch, next to Raora. "Holy moly, that was amazing! I can't believe I didn't fumble at all!"

"You always did have a way with doing crazy things," Raora laughed. "Still, how did you do all that without being able to see?"

Gigi grinned, a finger to her lips. "A magician never reveals his secrets."

"That is not an applicable saying here," Cecilia muttered.

"She just has an affinity for doing things that thrills her," Elizabeth remarked. "Gigi's been quite the oddball ever since I've known her."

The Chaser feigned an offended gasp. "Why, Liz, that offends me. It sounds like you're saying I'm weird!"

Raora nodded. "Sometimes the truth should not be stated."

"Yeah, listen to Raora, Liz-" Gigi let out another gasp. "Raora! That is so rude! This is bullying!"

Cecilia stared as the panther laughed, and the leader chuckled quietly. She realized, once more, this was a nice opportunity. The automaton knew, of course, Gigi was playing around. As were the others.

But... who would she be if she didn't take what she could get? So she stepped over to the back of the couch, and threw her hands over Gigi.

An arm folded up to pet the girl's head, as she put her face next to Gigi's. "There, there. You are a good girl."

Again, Elizabeth and Raora stared at her weird. Gigi, meanwhile, huffed with amusement. "What the heck are you doing, CC?"

"I am comforting you. Is there a problem?" the automaton asked. "Are you perhaps, bothered by this?" she asked.

"No, no, not at all. Just finding this really funny." Gigi hummed to herself, then tilted her head back to stare right into her face, a cheeky smile. "Gotta say, you're getting pretty bold."

Cecilia immediately turned off the blushing function in her system (if that was a thing - she was pretty sure she did so at least). "I am merely giving you comfort. Are you sure you are not feeling a bit embarrassed by this?"

The bane of her existence, confident, merely shook her head. "Nope, not even a lick. Still, I expected something more from you."

She frowned. "What do you mean?"

"C'mon. You're hugging me from behind. That's pretty simple and easy." Gigi promptly broke free of the automaton's hug and got up, turning around to face her. She spread her arms wide. "If you're gonna get back at me for the other day, why not do it from the front? C'mon now, you gotta be brave."

Elizabeth and Raora exchanged glances again, then looked to them. Whatever was going on, it was definitely... humorous, evidently.

"...I, I see." Was she red-faced? That couldn't be, she turned it off seconds ago. But something felt warm on her face.

She wasn't going to let that stop her, though. So, Cecilia slowly walked around the couch, and as Raora scooted away from them slightly, the automaton stopped in front of Gigi.

"Heh. What's the matter?" the girl cooed. "Chicken?"

"...I am not being a chicken," she replied. Opening her arms in turn, she pulled Gigi softly into a hug.

Their arms wrapped around one another, and they stayed like that. Standing, embracing, wordless.

Elizabeth slowly got up and walked to the couch, getting a closer look. Raora, opposite of her, tiptoed to her right and took a glance at her robotic friend's face. "Cecilia?"

"I... I am alright," the automaton rasped. She was very much not alright, but something told her Gigi would torture her for the rest of her existence if she let that slip.

On the other hand, Elizabeth huffed. "Gigi? You?"

"...uh. Yeah. I'm fine," the girl replied. Cecilia couldn't exactly be certain what Gigi's face looked like right now, but she sounded calm. Rather, maybe a bit bored. This plan was unsuccessful.

The girl frowned, unmoving. If kissing Gigi on the cheek like she did her on the forehead didn't work, and if hugging her didn't work like she did her... what other option was there? At this rate, Gigi would have what felt like a flawless 2-0 score against her. And Cecilia wasn't sure she was ready to accept that sort of defeat, even if... even if there was literally no actual conflict going on.

Her body tensed, the hug tightening a tad bit. Unbeknownst to the automaton, Gigi was herself a bit red-faced, and she felt even more heated at this.

"Um. Uh. CC?" the menace rasped. "You're, uh. You're. You're still hugging."

"..." Cecilia was not paying attention. I may have to wait until her next move. Then I can try to adapt on it and counter her again.

"CC? CC... this is, uh. Now this is getting weird." Gigi patted the automaton. "Okay, no, a bit too long. I mean, not that I mind, but..." She paused, realizing Elizabeth was raising her phone. "H-hey, Liz, no pics! S-stop that!"

The scarlet maiden shrugged. "I don't know, Gigi, doesn't look like anything to be embarrassed about."

"I-I'm not embarrassed, but no pics, seriously! Hey!" Then she glanced at Raora in the corner of her vision, who was doing the same. "Raora! Stop it!"

"This is too good to not take pictures of," the panther wheezed. "Sorry, Gigi, but I have my duties."

"Duties my ass, your duty is ass!"

Cecilia eventually realized the girl was struggling and she allowed herself to be broken free from. The girl blinked confusedly as Gigi panted. "Is something the matter?"

The orange-cladded girl frowned, tinges of red on her face. "T-they're, they've been taking pics. You're really going to let them do that and keep so much potential blackmail?"

An expression of puzzlement took over the automaton. "I do not see the problem. It is merely an affectionate hug between friends," she said, honestly not seeing what problem could be there.

Gigi stared at her, before laughing. Then she narrowed her eyes. "Well played, CC. Well played... if that's how you want to play this, then I'll go along with you. Watch your back, CC. Watch your back."

"...I... sure?" With no particular idea what that was all about, Cecilia watched Gigi scurry out the room. She looked back to her leader and teammate, who looked as if they were going to enjoy whatever was going to happen next. "...what was Gigi talking about?"

"Oh, I wonder," Elizabeth said. "I wonder."

"So, CC..." Gigi asked, all of a sudden, one perfectly ordinary day. "You seen that show? The one with the kiss scene right at the end?"

Perplexed by how vague that was, Cecilia couldn't help but entertain the girl. "Do you know how little that narrows it down?"

"You know. That show. The one that was on TV for a bit." Contrary to belief, Gigi absolutely knew she was being an ass with this, going by her grin.

The automaton didn't want to give her that satisfaction, however, so she continued. "All the shows we've seen have been on TV. You will need to be more specific." What she didn't understand was that she was feeding right into the pain in the ass' very own satisfaction.

"Not important," Gigi said with a chuckle. "So anyways, what'd you think of the kiss scene?"

"Again, I need to know the specifics to be able to answer that," Cecilia groaned. "Without context, I could be answering wrong."

As if she was stuck in eternal hell (do automatons dream of eternal hell?), Gigi shrugged. "C'mon, just think about it a little. What do you think about kissing?"

It was at this point that, as the girl rested her chin on her palms, elbows on the table, she realized Gigi was trying to hint at something. Probably. "...is there something you need?" Cecilia asked, curiosity taking over. A bit of suspicion too, perhaps. "...what did you do, Gigi?"

Feigned gasp echoed throughout the room. "My word, I can't believe you'd imply such a thing. I haven't done no wrong at all, good ma'am!" Gigi declared.

"The only reason you'd be inquiring me so shoddily is if you wanted to hide something."

"Ughhh, I just wanted to know what you think about kissiiiiing. Can't a girl ask about kissiiiiing?" the girl groaned.

Cecilia felt her skepticism increase. It feels as if she is trying to allude back to the forehead kiss and cheek kiss. "...kissing is a form of affection display by humans."

"And? What do you think about it?" Gigi asked.

"..." She sighed. It wouldn't hurt to entertain this line of inquiry, she supposed. "...it is a light, yet adoring form of showing one's affection to another. I believe it commonly represents an interest in romantic relationships..." She paused and looked to Gigi, who was grinning. "...b-but, it is also valid as a form of friendship. Or, maternal care."

"Hmm? That so?" The gremlin reeled her head back from her palms. "What about kisses on the lips?"

She felt an eye twitch. "...they are... romantic."

"Aaaand?" Gigi was having so much fun with this, and Cecilia wanted to die. That, or slap the shit out of the other.

"...it is endearing," the automaton whispered before looking away. "That is all."

She did something wrong. For Gigi got up and tiptoed over to her, plotting something devious for sure. "CC, did you know that some cultures out there give lip kisses as greetings?"

That is... not wrong. The girl knew that. "...I do."

"You wanna try it?" Gigi was all up in her face now. Extremely close, leaning forward with a teasing smirk, she could almost feel her breath.

"...I, I believe that is... that would not be inappropriate between us..." Cecilia jolted. "I mean, that would not be appropriate, between, us... I meant appropriate..."

Gigi huffed. "I see, I see. Figured you wouldn't go for it." The girl backed off and turned around, crossing her arms behind her waist. "Even though it was just going to be a friendly, innocent kiss between friends. A greeting kiss."

The automaton frowned. "That is not... I, I mean, even if there are cultures like that... that does not apply here." She narrowed her eyes, ignoring the heat in her face. "We are not of that culture."

"Could always try out some new cultures. You scared?" Gigi asked.

Cecilia thought back to the other's day hugging incident. "...I am not a chicken," she muttered, remembering the girl's taunt. Walking over to the menace, she looked down slightly and glared at her teammate. "I am ready anytime."

"Sure, sure. Just close your eyes, CC. I want this to be magical." With a grin, Gigi watched as the automaton complied, and held back a snicker. She leaned on her tiptoes and brought a finger to the girl's forehead. Eat this, sucker.

A clang echoed around the hall, and Cecilia opened her eyes to her rival groaning in pain, clutching her finger, on the floor. "..."

"Ow, ow, ow, ow... why, CC, why... why is your head to damn hard today?!" she hissed.

Cecilia burrowed her brows, unamused. "I see you have attempted to deceive me. As the saying goes: fool me once, shame on you."

"...haha, sorry, I was just messing around. Gimme one more chance," Gigi said and got up, shaking her injured finger.

Sighing, the automaton complied and closed her eyes again, ready for the supposed greeting kiss.

Another ensuing clang later, she opened them to Gigi once more lying in pain, holding another finger.

"Fffffffuuuuuck, CC, why is it still hard?! My finger, my finger..."

"...as the saying goes: fool me twice, shame on me." Cecilia blinked. "...I suppose I am now full of shame. ...how do I compute this."

Gigi laughed through her pain and hopped onto her feet. "Hey, CC. Think fast."

"What?"

She quickly gave the automaton a peck on the lips and giggled disgustingly, scrambling off as if she'd been a cockroach.

Cecilia stared at her traces, her jaw dropped open. Her mind unable to process what had happened, she touched her lips softly. "..."

Oh, it is so on.

After agonizing days of thinking, Cecilia gave up on devising the perfect plan to kiss Gigi back.

Any scenario she could think of, it sounded stupid. So instead, she was just going to go ahead and give that menace what she was asking for - a kiss. She stormed through the halls and, stopping in front of one of the mansion's many living rooms, she pushed the door open.

Elizabeth and Raora, reading reports and playing with yarn respectively, stopped what they were doing and looked to her.

Gigi, in the meantime, was striking poses in front of the window. ...for whatever reason.

"...Gigi, what did you do to CC?" Elizabeth immediately asked. The girl let out an exaggerated gasp.

"How dare you! To insinuate that I would do something to tick off our fair maiden CC, that is just insulting!" Gigi exclaimed.

Seeing through her obvious acting, Raora rolled her eyes. "I bet it's something dumb."

"Hey, watch it!" Gigi yelled. "I don't do anything dumb to annoy CC, I make sure it's beautiful. It's an art form in of itself."

Cecilia, ignoring the conversation they were having, walked right over to the orange-cladded girl. As Elizabeth lifted her cup of milk, the automaton put a hand on the Chaser's shoulder. "Gigi."

"Yes, cupcake?" Gigi asked, grinning. "You finally thought of the perfect payback?"

"...I am going to kiss you." Cecilia, without batting an eye, spoke her intentions. Elizabeth spat out her drink, delivered straight into a coughing fit that Raora had to rush off the couch to help her recover. "Prepare yourself."

Gigi, for her part, only lost her smile but still kept in control. "...what, like, right here?" she asked. "In front of... Liz and Raora?"

"..." Cecilia paused and looked to the two, who after a while, looked to her. "...yes."

"W-whoa, whoa, wait, hold on!" Raora screamed. "W-what are you two thinking of... what the heck is going on?!" the panther asked. "Am I, are we, are you two pranking us?! Is there something we're supposed to know?!"

The automaton and the Chaser exchanged glances. "Not particularly," they both said, opting not to let them know about the honestly stupid game of chicken they had.

Which didn't reassure them, nor did it answer anything for the two. Elizabeth wheezed, propping herself up back onto her chair, seated behind her desk. "R-right. Um. Right. Okay. I guess... I guess this is it. ...CC, Gigi, please don't take your jokes too far," she said.

Another exchange of glances. Cecilia then leaned down to take Gigi's lips, who squeaked lightly. Unlike Gigi's light peck on her lips, this time, she pressed her lips together with the menace's and kept it there.

Elizabeth, having decided on a bottle of water to refresh her pained mouth, spat out again while Raora let out another scream. "Liz!!"

Five seconds of kissing. She'd slipped in her tongue, even. Once Cecilia pulled back, Gigi's face was visibly tinted with red, although she was smirking clumsily. I win. "Was that to your satisfaction?"

"Bwuh?! I, you... that was..." Gigi sputtered, before shaking her head. "T-that... of course not! That was... well..." she paused, mellowing down, then grinned. How could she recover so fast? "You caught me by surprise, CC, but... honestly, I'm a bit let down."

Cecilia frowned, ignoring the warnings her system was blaring off, of burning within her cheeks. "Pardon?" she asked, raising an eyebrow of confusion along with Raora and Elizabeth.

"Y-yeah. Let down." Gigi took a deep breath, then smirked. "I kissed your forehead, so you kissed my cheek. I hugged you, and then you hugged me back. Now, I kiss you, and you simply kiss me back. Sure, you added in a little tongue, but..." She crossed her arms, her false bravado easy to see through - but not to the automaton. "You've got nothing but copying me. You're a let down!"

And of course, while their Justice teammates were shaking their head in disbelief, Cecilia was unfortunately easily taunted. "That is not all that I can do," she muttered.

"Yeah? What're you going to do next?" Gigi asked. "Kiss me some more? The novelty's already wearing off, sorry to say. Gigi is never stumped, and unfortunately for you, I am Gigi!"

"..." Cecilia gritted her teeth. How could someone get her so worked up, and be so annoying? She racked through her head, wondering what other options there was.

Without thinking, she thought of something and pulled Gigi close to her. She bent down and put her lips on the girl's neck, nibbling very gently on her fair skin.

"Eep!" Gigi squeaked. She quickly pulled away and jumped back, covering her mouth, her eyes wide. She stared at Cecilia's narrowed eyes, and behind her, at Elizabeth's and Raora's mouths hanging open.

Cecilia returned the look, before her expression became a smug grin. "It seems I am victorious here."

"Y-you... you little, conniving, sneaky ass..." Gigi growled, hands shaking. She tried to say something else, flailing her limb around erratically, before spinning around and running off.

"I look forward to your retaliation, unless you forfeit," the automaton said with a proud tone.

Carefully walking up to her, Raora tapped her teammate's shoulder. "Um... CC?"

"How may I help you, Raora?" the girl replied.

"...n-nevermind. I don't think I'll ever understand you and Gigi."

"...my throat hurts..." Elizabeth rasped.

"Have a cup of cheap tea," CC's voice droned. Elizabeth nodded and took the cup, smiling. "As always, it's cheap and expendable, so you don't have to touch it."

"Thanks, CC." The leader set the cup down and angled it to her liking - she wasn't a fan of tea, but she liked the vibe of it. "I don't need anything else."

"Very well." With nothing else to do, the automaton walked out the room and shut the door. She glanced out the window, roaming down the halls, before her sensors picked up on something.

Gigi is in that room... I wonder what she's doing. It'd been two weeks since their last kerfuffle. At this point, their feud likely resolved itself, faded away from the passage of time.

Cecilia, unfortunately, would always remember their short-lived rivalry of... whatever it was. That was a curse of being an artificial being, after all.

But at least, Gigi's not planning anything any longer. Smiling, Cecilia continued her stroll. That is, until the door of which she noted Gigi was behind, suddenly swung open.

Wordlessly, the menace popped out and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her into the room and shutting the door.

One moment, she'd been casually enjoying her time. The next moment, she was pinned to the wall, her teammate staring her in the eye.

She could feel her hot breath against her skin. "G-Gigi?" Cecilia whispered.

"You think you've won, haven't you?" Gigi muttered. "Well, two can play this game."

"...hm." So she hasn't forgotten. Cecilia wasn't sure how to feel about this, for a part of her was... happy, for whatever reasons, and another part of her was terrified. What did Gigi have in mind? "...what will you do? You have kissed me on the lips, and I have kissed you with tongue and played with your neck. There is not much you can do now without crossing the-"

"Oh, shut up." As if she'd lost all reasoning, the orange-cladded girl put their lips together. She felt her slip a tongue in, and as her mind started to comprehend what was going on, she tried to move her arms but found her body not responding.

Her voice was leaking, together with Gigi's. Once they parted, somehow, her garment had been pulled down. "H-hold on, Gigi, what're you- mnnnh?!"

The damn girl had grabbed and latched onto one of her breast. She felt it all come to her face at once, the burning sensation in her cheeks, as a strange feeling spread through her chest.

But... I don't... Cecilia had a lot of words - none of them came through. She stood, pinned to the wall, patiently. After a while, Gigi pulled back and smirked.

"I'm back in the lead now, baby," she whispered. "What'cha say to that?"

"..." The automaton looked away. "...I don't mind," she replied.

A blink, twice. "...eh?" Suddenly, the Chaser felt herself pushed to the ground, before the automaton straddled her from atop. "H-hey?!"

Their roles had been reversed. Now, her hands were pinned - clasped tightly be Cecilia's own - onto the ground. "...I am not going to wait any longer," the automaton said. "I will enact my counterattack right here."

"Y-you... wait... you don't... got shit..." the smaller girl rasped. "You can't go beyond me... not without crossing the line..."

Cecilia frowned. She had a point - now that the thorn in her ass had stopped to sucking on her breast, her options have become really limited now. ...or... "...I suppose I'll just repeat a tactic and overload you with it."

"Huh?" Gigi could only let out a squeak before her teammate claimed her lips once more, and her power waned tremendously. She let out weak moans into the other girl, eventually easing her movements and returning the favor.

At some point, their hands were no longer entangled. She'd wrapped her arms around the automaton, and the automaton clasped her cheeks gently.

The string separating their lips glistened under the curtain lights.

"...CC," Gigi rasped.

"...what," Cecilia replied.

"...you're heavy."

Cecilia backed upwards. "Huh?"

A violent shift, and the automaton was on her back, pinned down once more. "Heh."

"...I cannot believe I just fell for that," Cecilia groaned. "You truly are a devious one, Gigi."

"Aren't I?" the menace said with a sly grin. "There's a reason I'm called Gigi, and that's because I bring the best of games. GG for Good Game."

A chuckle escaped the automaton's lips. "I suppose I must forfeit. It is your win, Gigi." She didn't want to take things too far, and whatever she could do to retaliate, it'd fall under that definition.

But Gigi wasn't letting go of her hands. "Hmm. ...nah. I'm gonna claim my reward."

"P... pardon?" Cecilia blinked a few times, as her teammate's ruby eyes sparkled in the dark. "Gigi...?"

"I wouldn't be Gigi if I didn't carry everything out to its end," the Chaser whispered. "Let's get freaky, CC."

For the first time in her existence, the automaton found herself gulping in fear.

Putting a book away, Raora looked over to Cecilia, who started wearing a scarf for some reason. It looked nice on her, it did, and it made sense given the weather was getting colder, but...

"...CC, why are you still wearing that? We have the heater on," she said. "Can you get heatstroke or malfunction from overheating?"

"I will be alright, you do not need to worry," the automaton replied and continued looking out the window. Nearby, Gigi had stopped playing her game console at the same time as her question, and Elizabeth was looking at them funny.

The panther understood why - they were wondering if the two would do something outrageous next. When is the question. They'd give light kisses, they hugged, they did some bold kisses... what was next?

But then Raora blinked and took a few steps back in her head. Why did Gigi even react to me asking CC that?

She looked at Cecilia again, then looked over to Gigi. The automaton didn't notice her gaze, but the menace did and quickly looked away. As if... guilty...

"...oh." Her face pinkening, the girl looked back to her artificial teammate. "...CC, could you... take your scarf off for a bit?"

"..." Cecilia avoided her gaze. Elizabeth raised an eyebrow, while Gigi stared expressionlessly. "...I... would rather not."

Raora stared. "...I just... want to check something."

A sigh. "...very... well..." Slowly, the automaton unraveled her scarf. Raora watched, eyes widening along with Elizabeth's, as she saw darkened spots plastered upon the girl's neck, her collarbone, her shoulders... "...um..."

"..." Both Raora and Elizabeth diverted their gazes to Gigi, who stared back at them.

"...you should see her back," the girl eventually said.

They looked to Cecilia again, who sighed - albeit now with more embarrassment - and turned around. She unbuttoned her dress and pulled it down, allowing the two to see scratch marks on her fake skin.

Rendered completely speechless, they looked back to Gigi once more.

Gigi scratched her cheek. "...my ass is still sore."

Cecilia laughed, as the others looked to her.

"Apologies for being too rough."