[ When Kazuha had decided to come hone, she wasn't quute sure what to exoect. Admittedly, her plan had entailed the kidnapping of an asshole prince's bride-to-be for a ransom and the Dredd Pirate's final score before passing on the mantle. To say that she definitely didn't expect that bride to be Mei would have been a goddamn understatement. She had been hoping to be able to prepare herself before seeing two people again: her dad, and the best friend she had realized she was in love with over the past decade or so.
A tumble down a hill later, and an adventure through the very forest they had been banned from as kids, and it was all the more obvious to her just how much she was still in love with this bratty girl. This bratty girl that needed rescuing, so that she could freely be the orincess she was instead of acting like a vapid ditz.
Narumiya Mei was no idiit. It was funny, for five minutes. Until Kazuha got to meet the prince she was supposed to be marrying, and wanted to take his head off within five seconds.
Of course, he had thrown her into his torture sungeon first, but she and Mei had gotten the last laugh in the end.
She ransacks the room while Mei gears herself up to mourn, steaks some things to make the story more believable, and thrn waits. The adrenaline crash that comes from her anger and desperation to get to Mei winds up taking her out, and she sits by the window as she... waits. Listens. And the second the door opens, she looks up at Mei - or the shape of her, anyways, a little fuzzy around the edges - and quirks a tired smile. ]
No dashing escapes for the Dredd Pirate today. He's a little out of steam, and has left the stunning princess behind one too many times already.
[ though mei's mouth just barely lifts into a closed lipped smile, it's undeniable that the simple little compliment makes something bloom in her chest. it's warm and unfamiliar, but nothing she wants to deny as she reaches behind her to carefully lock the door. she likes to pretend she deserves compliments, that they're just paying tribute to how beautiful she really is, but in reality, this one is making her feel something, and it's a lot more than fondness for the girl sitting by the windowsill.
she pushes herself off the door slowly and pads forward, toeing out of the black shoes she had to put on for the press, quietly reaches up to undo the tall black collar up to her chin of her dress. she's in mourning for the public, but mei has made it very, very clear to anyone who has questioned: she has every intention of taking her husband's duties.
though there's a part of her that wants to run, when she sees that tired smile. it's the same spark that made her race kazuha all through their village, refusing to lose even something as simple as a footrace to a childhood rival, a childhood best friend. it might have matured now, but it hasn't changed.
slowly, she makes her way over to the window. the salt sea air from outside is wafting in, and time seems to have slowed down. perhaps for the journey they took to get to this point, slowed time is what they deserve.
her voice is tired too, quiet but no less focused--narumiya mei is not an idiot, she's a focused laser beam of precision and passion when pointed in the right direction. ] And what if he plans on escaping with the princess?
[ it all feels like an inside joke, but she steps into arms reach anyway, and starts to address the monster in her ribcage for what it is--her own feelings. ]
[ Her eyes flick down for a second, drawn to the sound of the lock clicking into place, before they lift back up to Mei as she watches her move towards her. The exhaustion sits heavy on her bones, her tan skin blossomed in bruises and cuts, and there's still the taste of blood somewhere at the back of her throat, but she takes it as being alive. It's a good feeling, when she gets to watch Mei start to shed the image that she gave the rest of the world.
This Mei is for Kazuha, just like the little girl holding up her skirts and tossing aside her shoes to race on equal footing was.
She tilts her head back against the wall, turning away from where she'd been looking out the window. The salt on the wind is a comfort, in its way, a strange sort of second home out there on the ocean, but this - this is where she needs to be. In the quiet, the calm after the storm rather than before it, looking up at Mei as she stands before her.
Scanning that pretty face, now that she's close enough for Kazuha to make details out, she waits. She waits, and then she reaches up, fitting her hand around the slender shape of Mei's waist, thumb stroking where it settles. ]
The princess may have to wait for him to take a nap before he's up for anything involving high speed chases across the countryside.
[ just that little, affectionate gesture makes mei's heart thump. she would have never considered having feelings for a girl until this very moment, when that's pretty much all she has left. she can't imagine loving anyone quite like she does kazuha--she always knew they were going to be together forever, just not in this context.
mei hasn't acted on it, at least not yet. when kazuha first came, beat the hell out of her spouse (mei finished the job, her own vitriol driving the knife), she had just let her crush her into her chest and held on as tight as she could. it was at that moment that she really, truly realized all the things she'd felt in the fire swamp were real, not just some figment of her imagination.
she's going to act on it. once mei sets her mind to something, she'll do it.
it's just a matter of when.
for now, she settles in the soft, warm feeling of her hand on her waist, then steps just a little closer. from there, she snorts a soft noise at her comment, then reaches forwards and gently threads her fingers through the soft, short hair at the back of her head, then pulls her head in to rest on her chest.
hopefully kazuha won't ruin the moment with a comment about her being flat chested, but for now, in all her good grace, mei just strokes her hair for a second. ] Tsk, tsk, so much for the Dredd Pirate Roberts.
[ it's playful, though, soft for mei. ] Can you stand?
[ Blood on her hands already, Kazuha's content to take the blame for Mei's husband, throwing her inherited moniker under the bus. It's not like the Dredd Pirate Roberts hasn't been accused of nasty crimes like these already, but a part of her wishes that she'd brutalized him, beaten him to death, instead of just making him a bloody, bruised mess like he'd been intending to do to her.
Had maybe, just maybe, been intending to do to Mei. It's not her fault that she saw red, the second he'd started to yell at Mei after he'd brained Kazuha. But at least he's out of the picture, now, and at least she can relax into the touch of Mei's hand.
Even if she snorts at her comment. ]
Dredd Pirate Roberts was going to pass on the mantle anyways, after retiring handsomely with the ransom of a beloved princess. [ She brings her other hand up, sliding both of them around into the small of Mei's back, eyes closing. The pounding of her head has dulled, and now she finds it replaced with the beating of Mei's heart against her ear.
If it were any other situation, maybe she'd tease her for her flat chest. Right now, though, her cheek nestles perfectly in the space her small breast gives her, and she's tired and - safe. Home.
She slides her hands up her back, like she can hold her there, fingers curling in fabric. ] I can stand.
The Dredd Pirate was awfully presumptious. I'll make sure to tell everyone he died pathetically. [ mei murmurs, the curl of a shitty smile present on her face as she strokes her fingers over her hair for just a moment longer and looks out of the window, over kazuha's head.
the ocean is outside. they could never see it from their village, too far from the salty coast, but in a way it's become both of their lives. mei thought she might have to watch it from this bedroom window for the rest of her life--short as it would be. she was no fool; the prince was definitely going to have her killed. mei was planning on a kill or be killed approach, and kazuha's appearance had...really just cemented that, but instead of leaving her miserable and on the run, she's quietly happy.
mei offering to marry the prince to save kazuha is probably the first truly selfless thing she'd ever even done. she's always been self-serving, but she hadn't seen kazuha in so long that the idea of losing her again made her spur into action. there are few people mei would give up any tenant of her precious life for; it figures that miyuki kazuha would be one of them.
she stays there for a moment and lets kazuha rest, finally glancing back down at her when she slides her hands up her back. she doesn't want to pull away, but it'll be better this way. carefully, she steps back from kazuha, close enough that she's still in arms reach in case she needs to support her. ] Idiot. You're completely incapable of taking care of yourself--some things never change.
[ says mei. ] Go lay down.
[ but despite the perceived harshness of her words, she doesn't move, there to help support her every step of the way. ]
I'm sure the masses will love that - the murderer of their crown prince, dead in a ditch after widowing their beloved princess. [ Tone dry, but lacking any heat, Kazuha stays right where she is, soaking up the attention and the contact between them. It feels good, feels right, with the seaside behind her and this in front of her. A part of her knew the same as Mei, that they'd always wind up together, even if it was never like this, so it feels rather appropriate to be in this position, now. Everything about it makes it easier for her to throw away the last shreds of her life as a pirate.
... or, most of it. Maybe she won't have to sleep with one eye open anymore, a knife under her pillow, but there was never a boring moment when they were growing up. There's sure to be even more trouble in their future, so long as they're together.
She loves the idea of it, ans she tilts her head back when Mei takes a step away. Her hands have to adjust, slide back down into the small of her back, but she doesn't mind. It lets her touch more of Mei, like she can take all of her in, and she looks up at her tiredly. She's more beautiful than any of those girls that she'd made into her proxies over the years since they last saw each other, and it's... good. It's good to be with her again. ]
Says you. [ But she still moves to get up, even if she's calling her on her own shit. Her knees still feel a little weak, but she doesn't let go of Mei the entire time.
Which lets her slump forward, bumping their foreheads together. ]
Naturally. [ mei smiles at kazuha's first comment, replying with nothing more than that, because it's true! mei is pretty well loved by the kingdom, from the moment the prince first trotted her out to meet the people in the kingdom. she's beautiful, talented and certainly looks kind, able to put on a perfect face to the public beyond who she really is.
with kazuha, she's never once had to pretend or play. mei figured out back when they were kids that she could get anything she wanted with those baby cheeks and those big, baby blue eyes, and she's always played it to her advantage. in this situation, it wasn't quite able to save her, though, but kazuha was there. she had her back, even though they hadn't seen each other in years.
destiny, or something like it.
as kazuha slumps over into her, mei squawks a little-- ] God, you're heavy! [ but it's just a little complaining as she adjusts her stance to hold her steady. this is the most affectionate (if you can call it that) mei's ever seen kazuha, and it makes her pinken just a little as she gently loops her arms around her back to match, fingers curling just a little into the back of her shirt. they can stand, at least for a moment.
butterflies flutter in the back of her throat. kiss her, her head says, and for once her heart agrees. ] This isn't getting in bed.
[ is what she says instead, but she makes no move to get away, either, instead closing her eyes and basking in it for a moment. ]
[ Of course Mei's won over the public. She'd had most of the village wrapped around her little finger when they were kids, to the point that they frequently got free treats from farmers and bakers and butchers without them batting an eye, sweets doled out because of baby blue eyes the size of the damn moon. Kazuha teased her a lot, back then, but really it'd benefited them quite a bit. Being able to charm the kingdom she now will wind up leading... it's not in the least bit shocking, and they would have mourned her if her now-dead husband had been the one to kill her instead.
She laughs when Mei squawks at her, resisting the urge to sway further into her space and knock her unsteady. ] Are you calling me fat? [ Except Mei's the short one, now, a pear-shaped doll that's arguably stronger than she looks. By contrast, Kazuha's build makes it easy for her to carry out her masquerade, the one that's kept her alive and ahead of the game.
But she's ready to let go of it.
Mei closes her eyes after chastising her, but Kazuha keeps hers open, looking at her from up close. Slowly, she moves one hand away from her back, bringing it up to cup her face, stroking her thumb over her cheek, then her jaw, when she moves her hand back. It's basically petting her face, her neck, until she curls her fingers into those long curls that she'd worked so hard to grow, that she almost chopped off.
There's nothing for her to say, when all she wants to do is kiss her. When all she's wanted for years was to kiss her. If she tries to speak now, she's gonna say something stupid. ]
[ if she did call kazuha fat, it'd definitely be a lie. she hadn't seen her since she was fourteen, so mei didn't really know what to expect when she first ripped that mask off the jerk who kidnapped her's face, but it wasn't that. she tricked mei--and surely many others--into thinking she was a guy no sweat. it's strange to see her without that thick, wavy brown hair she had when they were kids, but mei has long since reconciled her old kazuha with this new one.
after all, they're still the same. same annoying laugh, same smirk, same brown eyes and same brown hair. it's still kazuha, even if mei's come to see her in a new light. she's still home.
mei keeps her eyes closed for a moment as she feels kazuha's touch over her skin. it's feather light, and goosebumps prickle up as clear as day underneath the stroke of her thumb. it's obvious, and mei hates that it's obvious, but if her pink cheeks didn't give her away before, certainly this would now.
mei inhales. as a teenager, she was always a little boy crazy, but no boy ever gave her this feeling of magnetic attachment, the heart palpitations just from a touch. of course she knows what it is; of course she's aware, now, that kazuha loves her. she's made men fall to their feet left and right with a smile. how couldn't she?
but mei doesn't want to take advantage of it, use it for a social ladder. here she feels--vulnerable, small. open, a little, like she really hasn't been before.
she feels like herself.
and it's that little spark of motivation that gets her to open her eyes for a moment. big, blue and bright, she examines kazuha's face--the look on her face that wrenches in her chest, threatens to send butterflies up to her throat--and makes her decision. she is narumiya mei, god dammit. she never does things in halves.
so while kazuha is silent, mei takes action. she pushes up to her tiptoes, presses her left hand delicately into her shoulder, and presses their lips together. ]
[ While many things have changed over the years, Kazuha's appearance is about the only thing in the long run. Her personality isn't all too different, but she could say the same about Mei. Everything about her is wrapped in a pretty package, a little bombshell of a woman that grew a figure, even if she'd teased her for about twenty minutes about how she was flat chested instead of the full chest that she'd wanted. But she's perfect, even if she'd never tell her that much, considering how much she'd gloat over it.
Not that it wouldn't be obvious within five seconds, if Mei let her touch the rest of her body.
If she could just look at her, she'd take that, too, taking her in while her eyes are still closed. She can feel the goosebumps, and the heat of her face so close like this. And it gives her a little thrill, to realize that Mei feels something, too. Neither of them have been good with feelings, playing them so close to the chest, even if they went through the boy craze. (Mei moreso than Kazuha, although she'd sure as hell never deny the fact that she realized she was bisexual when she took one look at Chris, and then looked at Mei after.)
But the thrill grows, when Mei looks up at her.
And then she kisses her.
Kazuha squeezes her hand into the small of her back, as she closes her eyes finally, the other holding steady where it cradles her skull gently. This certainly isn't the first time she's kissed someone, and definitely not another girl, but this is - this is different, like it was a long time coming. That sense of home is there, just like it was the second that she saw Mei. It's less of a gutpunch realization, now, and instead is something soft, gentle. It leaves settles into her chest and spreads through the rest of her.
She kisses her in much the same way, soft and sweet at first, years of buildup. ]
[ kissing a girl really isn't all that different than kissing a guy. kazuha's mouth is softer, sure, but her lips are chapped from being out on the sea. mei's not really comparing, though, her thoughts having mostly quieted down to static.
it feels like this was a long time coming, maybe even more so for kazuha than it was for her. and it makes something warm curl up in her chest and make its home there, dripping sticky and honey sweet down her ribs. it's sort of a freeing realization, that she loves kazuha, that maybe she always had, and all of the bitterness at her disappearing and elation at finding her again melts into this, the whole world around them disappearing except her and kazuha and the soft press of their lips.
mei's fingers tighten a little in her shirt, smoothing out a bit before they settle again, holding on like that point of contact is a tether. and it takes her a little while to pull away again too, just savoring it, but when she does, mei doesn't go far.
she stops just a hair's breadth away from her mouth and keeps her eyes closed for a moment, like she's savoring. like maybe she's not sure what to say after that, overwhelmed with a lot of real for someone who, for the past few years, has done her balancing act of being fake.
mei goes flat footed slowly, her hand sliding down a little as the height difference between them drops again. she blinks open her eyes to look at her, to settle in the knowledge that's that what she did--and then a small smile crosses her face. it's not a confident smirk or a toothy i-get-everything-i-want beam, but a genuine, tiny, twitterpated smile.
she brushes her hand gently over the shirt she wrinkled, hesitating to pull away. ] Don't tell me you're trying to distract me.
[ After years of kissing girls, ones she specifically sought out to mimic Mei in various ways - flat chested girls, blonde girls, girls with big blue eyes, traits she would seek out separately and in combination depending on how masochistic she was feeling that day - you'd think that this wouldn't really be much of anything. But it is, it's a lot. It's warmth and home and a sweet little victory, in a way.
To know that the person she's loved loves her back... she never really anticipated it, truth be told. She had come to accept that Mei was boy crazy, and sought them out for varying reasons. Their looks, their money, how gullible and easy to manipulate they were. And she would concede that she'd essentially done the same, for quite some time, just not with men.
They don't need to do that, now. Kazuha can feel that, just the same as she can feel the way that Mei's fingers curl into her shirt. And when they pull back, she takes in a slow, but still audible, breath in that tiny space between them, her own eyes staying closed for a moment longer. Only when Mei stands flat again does she open them, bright and brown and reflecting that same twitterpated feeling back at her. ]
Yes. [ Deadpan, before she snorts, bumping their noses. Her thumb rubs along her spine where her hand stays in the small of her back. ] I'm trying to distract you with my wiles. Is it working?
Not even close. [ mei replies, though she doesn't move an inch, not even a centimeter away from kazuha. no, close is really all she wants to be, and she lets the warm feeling of just been kissed course through her veins as she just basks in it for a moment. her little comment makes mei smile too, a tiny, joyful thing, something real and honest. how could she not? this is different than kissing someone she didn't like--boys came easy to mei from a very young age, and she learned quickly that she shouldn't waist her time getting little trinkets from the elders of the village when one bat of her thick, long eyelashes would send boys to the big cities to bring her back whatever she asked for.
it wasn't the most loving life, but it had worked well for her. she's always been ambitious, and she worked her way all the way to the top for it. overall, it felt lonely, but being here, in this little bubble of a moment, the calm after a storm, all of that loneliness has washed away. kazuha was her first true friend, and losing her left a wound on her heart, something bitter and angry that's settled over time.
mei never once forgot how much kazuha meant to her. lately, it's just been thrust in the spotlight.
she's hesitant to pull back, though, especially when she opens her eyes and is practically struck in the heart by the look on kazuha's face. jeez. her cheeks immediately flare bright red and mei takes that opportunity of embarrassment to pull away from her, though not too far. ] Come on, let's go. I am not wasting my kisses on someone who's going to pass out on me midway through.
Too bad. [ Kazuha lets herself sound disappointed, even though it's a joke in and of itself. Mei's not moving, and neither is she. There's nowhere else she'd rather be, after spending so long missing this girl and her home, the feeling of home with her best friend. Her father. The mere idea that Mei was going to be married to some asshole that'd treat her wrong was unacceptable, and seeing him look at her like some trophy he was appraising and considering the value of in the swamp... the way he'd touched her when he found them together...
Of course she'd fight for her the way she did. Of course she'd embrace being with her again. Something in Kazuha almost calms at that thought, and she doesn't hesitate to stroke her knuckles across Mei's cheek as she pulls back, especially with that blush, which just barely distracts her from a little sulk. ]
Wh - [ There's a pause. More kisses...
She draws her hands away, if only so she can slide one up into her own shirt. The laces to her binding are easy to find, after years of using it, and she works to unlace them to just outright undo it. Once it's undone, she takes a deep, freeing breath and tugs the almost-corset, letting it drop to the floor instead of bothering with it. She's not going to need it ever again, if she can help it. ]
You drive a hard bargain. [ The shirt's enough to cover her, so she doesn't bother with anything else, just moving to follow after Mei. Towards the bed. ]
Obviously. [ mei chirps, cheerful in her admission of so. she's the princess for a reason, you know: it's not like she was born into this.
the stroke of her knuckle across her cheek had brought butterflies to her chest anew, and mei sighs a little, feeling the flush on her face react to the gentle gesture. it's definitely best that she steps away from this now, to try and regain at least a little of her composure, but even so, mei's not gone for more than a second.
she let miyuki kazuha out of her sight once. needless to say, she won't be doing it ever again.
that isn't to say she doesn't watch a little curiously as she takes her binding off, watches her slowly return to normal with the removal of the cloth. it's so unfair, that kazuha is--well, well endowed--and mei's not. it reads all over her face for a minute as she sits down on the bed, too, but mei huffs and turns her nose up to keep from sulking at it too much (but don't worry, she's still sulking.)
the butterflies do help to overcome that. mei pauses as she waits for kazuha to get settled, though, and then looks away from her, to the canopy of her four-poster. ] ...do you still remember how to braid hair?
[ The urge to tease is there, but Kazuha refrains for now. She's not interested in poking Mei that much, tempting as it is, and as easy as the ammunition is to show off. She's aware of how stacked she is, because she had to hide that for years, but now... now she just doesn't care. She's done being a pirate, done being the Dredd Pirate, done being someone she's not. There'll still be an act, of course, because that's who she is, and that's who Mei is. They're together in that.
But she's ready to be Miyuki Kazuha, now. She's ready to just live this life, here, with the girl she missed so much.
As she settles in, a little amused, her focus goes from Mei's sulk to just Mei herself. She shifts close to her, bumping into her where she's not looking, and bows her head, nuzzling in. At first it's her forehead against her shoulder, but she lifts her head up. Trails her nose and lips faintly against it, after. ]
I didn't cut my hair that long ago. [ She murmurs it softly, nose brushing the curve of her shoulder now, her eyes closed, just enjoying the proximity that they have. ] Someone just grabbed it, so it was easier to cut it all off than it was to cut his hand off.
[ the gentle way that kazuha touches her is giving mei goosebumps. there's a hint of bittersweet-ness to this entire interaction--if things had been different, maybe she would have known this long before. but that's mei for you, a girl who shines so bright she's never quite focused on the things right in front of her, always reaching upwards and never reaching back home.
kazuha going missing had been an anchor, though. it was part of the reason she left their village, unable to deal with seeing her dad's lined, tired face on the street, unable to walk by their spots--a bubbling creek, a tide pool, the woods or even just the blacksmith's shop--without feeling a bubbling anger and remorse in her gut all at once. kazuha had disappeared without a trace, and mei missed her, but love had never once come to mind.
now it's all she can think about, as her cheeks flush and she looks down at her lap, small hands curled into small fists and trying to think over the sound of her heartbeat rushing in her ears. there's something even more tender about the gesture, and she has to unstick the question from her throat before she can say it, reaching up to gently move her hair back over her shoulders so it falls in a perfect golden curtain at her back. ]
...would you mind? [ braiding it, though her voice falters. it's a little vulnerable, but she can't think of anything else she'd like more--a quiet bonding from when they were little girls, put into a whole new context. ]
[ If she could, she'd probably trace the very ends of her fingertips across every inch of Mei's skin, just exploring her and learning everything that she's missed over all this time. Kazuha missed her, missed them, even when this was an unattainable daydream and they only curled together because of familiarity and a different kind of love. Now there's a whole different context to them, and the years that they lost to a trade gone wrong.
She wonders if their old creek is still there. If the hidey hole behind her father's shop is still there, full of trinkets they'd collected. Did Mei take them? Did she leave them there?
All she knows is that Mei smells the same, soft and sweet, a sunny summer day. Kazuha turns her nose into her shoulder for a little longer, until she frees her hair, and it's just a beautiful cascade of curls that has her sitting upright to look at them. Because Mei's hair has grown into something beautiful, unbutchered by her brothers' meanspirited affection, and she combs through it, gentle, loving, like it alone is a treasure. Might as well be - it looks like spun gold. ]
As you wish. [ The three words come easily, and she starts to separate locks of hair, more intricate than a simple braid. Because it means more contact, more intimacy, and they both need it right now. Especially with the way her strands of gold brush over her bruised knuckles. ]
[ "as you wish" is a phrase mei's heard a hundred times, almost always sarcastically or simpering. everyone always said that mei acted like a little princess in their village, and that's because she'd always seen herself that way. the spoiled baby girl of her family, she wanted for nothing--except a title, and a crown.
(and she got one, occasionally, like a little crown kazuha made out of sticks and stuck on her head when they were playing knight and princess, a trinket mei took with her years and years later.)
she settles back easily as kazuha's fingers move into her hair. the gesture is so tender and sweet it's making her heart swell up in her chest, in ways she'd never felt with anyone before this moment; mei closes her eyes and exhales.
she doesn't speak for a while, just lets kazuha braid her hair. she could sleep like this, but she doesn't want to miss a moment of spending time with her--not after they'd been separated for half of their lives. ] If you keep saying it like that, I'll have to believe that you always mean it, you know.
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no subject
A tumble down a hill later, and an adventure through the very forest they had been banned from as kids, and it was all the more obvious to her just how much she was still in love with this bratty girl. This bratty girl that needed rescuing, so that she could freely be the orincess she was instead of acting like a vapid ditz.
Narumiya Mei was no idiit. It was funny, for five minutes. Until Kazuha got to meet the prince she was supposed to be marrying, and wanted to take his head off within five seconds.
Of course, he had thrown her into his torture sungeon first, but she and Mei had gotten the last laugh in the end.
She ransacks the room while Mei gears herself up to mourn, steaks some things to make the story more believable, and thrn waits. The adrenaline crash that comes from her anger and desperation to get to Mei winds up taking her out, and she sits by the window as she... waits. Listens. And the second the door opens, she looks up at Mei - or the shape of her, anyways, a little fuzzy around the edges - and quirks a tired smile. ]
No dashing escapes for the Dredd Pirate today. He's a little out of steam, and has left the stunning princess behind one too many times already.
no subject
she pushes herself off the door slowly and pads forward, toeing out of the black shoes she had to put on for the press, quietly reaches up to undo the tall black collar up to her chin of her dress. she's in mourning for the public, but mei has made it very, very clear to anyone who has questioned: she has every intention of taking her husband's duties.
though there's a part of her that wants to run, when she sees that tired smile. it's the same spark that made her race kazuha all through their village, refusing to lose even something as simple as a footrace to a childhood rival, a childhood best friend. it might have matured now, but it hasn't changed.
slowly, she makes her way over to the window. the salt sea air from outside is wafting in, and time seems to have slowed down. perhaps for the journey they took to get to this point, slowed time is what they deserve.
her voice is tired too, quiet but no less focused--narumiya mei is not an idiot, she's a focused laser beam of precision and passion when pointed in the right direction. ] And what if he plans on escaping with the princess?
[ it all feels like an inside joke, but she steps into arms reach anyway, and starts to address the monster in her ribcage for what it is--her own feelings. ]
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This Mei is for Kazuha, just like the little girl holding up her skirts and tossing aside her shoes to race on equal footing was.
She tilts her head back against the wall, turning away from where she'd been looking out the window. The salt on the wind is a comfort, in its way, a strange sort of second home out there on the ocean, but this - this is where she needs to be. In the quiet, the calm after the storm rather than before it, looking up at Mei as she stands before her.
Scanning that pretty face, now that she's close enough for Kazuha to make details out, she waits. She waits, and then she reaches up, fitting her hand around the slender shape of Mei's waist, thumb stroking where it settles. ]
The princess may have to wait for him to take a nap before he's up for anything involving high speed chases across the countryside.
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mei hasn't acted on it, at least not yet. when kazuha first came, beat the hell out of her spouse (mei finished the job, her own vitriol driving the knife), she had just let her crush her into her chest and held on as tight as she could. it was at that moment that she really, truly realized all the things she'd felt in the fire swamp were real, not just some figment of her imagination.
she's going to act on it. once mei sets her mind to something, she'll do it.
it's just a matter of when.
for now, she settles in the soft, warm feeling of her hand on her waist, then steps just a little closer. from there, she snorts a soft noise at her comment, then reaches forwards and gently threads her fingers through the soft, short hair at the back of her head, then pulls her head in to rest on her chest.
hopefully kazuha won't ruin the moment with a comment about her being flat chested, but for now, in all her good grace, mei just strokes her hair for a second. ] Tsk, tsk, so much for the Dredd Pirate Roberts.
[ it's playful, though, soft for mei. ] Can you stand?
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Had maybe, just maybe, been intending to do to Mei. It's not her fault that she saw red, the second he'd started to yell at Mei after he'd brained Kazuha. But at least he's out of the picture, now, and at least she can relax into the touch of Mei's hand.
Even if she snorts at her comment. ]
Dredd Pirate Roberts was going to pass on the mantle anyways, after retiring handsomely with the ransom of a beloved princess. [ She brings her other hand up, sliding both of them around into the small of Mei's back, eyes closing. The pounding of her head has dulled, and now she finds it replaced with the beating of Mei's heart against her ear.
If it were any other situation, maybe she'd tease her for her flat chest. Right now, though, her cheek nestles perfectly in the space her small breast gives her, and she's tired and - safe. Home.
She slides her hands up her back, like she can hold her there, fingers curling in fabric. ] I can stand.
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the ocean is outside. they could never see it from their village, too far from the salty coast, but in a way it's become both of their lives. mei thought she might have to watch it from this bedroom window for the rest of her life--short as it would be. she was no fool; the prince was definitely going to have her killed. mei was planning on a kill or be killed approach, and kazuha's appearance had...really just cemented that, but instead of leaving her miserable and on the run, she's quietly happy.
mei offering to marry the prince to save kazuha is probably the first truly selfless thing she'd ever even done. she's always been self-serving, but she hadn't seen kazuha in so long that the idea of losing her again made her spur into action. there are few people mei would give up any tenant of her precious life for; it figures that miyuki kazuha would be one of them.
she stays there for a moment and lets kazuha rest, finally glancing back down at her when she slides her hands up her back. she doesn't want to pull away, but it'll be better this way. carefully, she steps back from kazuha, close enough that she's still in arms reach in case she needs to support her. ] Idiot. You're completely incapable of taking care of yourself--some things never change.
[ says mei. ] Go lay down.
[ but despite the perceived harshness of her words, she doesn't move, there to help support her every step of the way. ]
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... or, most of it. Maybe she won't have to sleep with one eye open anymore, a knife under her pillow, but there was never a boring moment when they were growing up. There's sure to be even more trouble in their future, so long as they're together.
She loves the idea of it, ans she tilts her head back when Mei takes a step away. Her hands have to adjust, slide back down into the small of her back, but she doesn't mind. It lets her touch more of Mei, like she can take all of her in, and she looks up at her tiredly. She's more beautiful than any of those girls that she'd made into her proxies over the years since they last saw each other, and it's... good. It's good to be with her again. ]
Says you. [ But she still moves to get up, even if she's calling her on her own shit. Her knees still feel a little weak, but she doesn't let go of Mei the entire time.
Which lets her slump forward, bumping their foreheads together. ]
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with kazuha, she's never once had to pretend or play. mei figured out back when they were kids that she could get anything she wanted with those baby cheeks and those big, baby blue eyes, and she's always played it to her advantage. in this situation, it wasn't quite able to save her, though, but kazuha was there. she had her back, even though they hadn't seen each other in years.
destiny, or something like it.
as kazuha slumps over into her, mei squawks a little-- ] God, you're heavy! [ but it's just a little complaining as she adjusts her stance to hold her steady. this is the most affectionate (if you can call it that) mei's ever seen kazuha, and it makes her pinken just a little as she gently loops her arms around her back to match, fingers curling just a little into the back of her shirt. they can stand, at least for a moment.
butterflies flutter in the back of her throat. kiss her, her head says, and for once her heart agrees. ] This isn't getting in bed.
[ is what she says instead, but she makes no move to get away, either, instead closing her eyes and basking in it for a moment. ]
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She laughs when Mei squawks at her, resisting the urge to sway further into her space and knock her unsteady. ] Are you calling me fat? [ Except Mei's the short one, now, a pear-shaped doll that's arguably stronger than she looks. By contrast, Kazuha's build makes it easy for her to carry out her masquerade, the one that's kept her alive and ahead of the game.
But she's ready to let go of it.
Mei closes her eyes after chastising her, but Kazuha keeps hers open, looking at her from up close. Slowly, she moves one hand away from her back, bringing it up to cup her face, stroking her thumb over her cheek, then her jaw, when she moves her hand back. It's basically petting her face, her neck, until she curls her fingers into those long curls that she'd worked so hard to grow, that she almost chopped off.
There's nothing for her to say, when all she wants to do is kiss her. When all she's wanted for years was to kiss her. If she tries to speak now, she's gonna say something stupid. ]
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after all, they're still the same. same annoying laugh, same smirk, same brown eyes and same brown hair. it's still kazuha, even if mei's come to see her in a new light. she's still home.
mei keeps her eyes closed for a moment as she feels kazuha's touch over her skin. it's feather light, and goosebumps prickle up as clear as day underneath the stroke of her thumb. it's obvious, and mei hates that it's obvious, but if her pink cheeks didn't give her away before, certainly this would now.
mei inhales. as a teenager, she was always a little boy crazy, but no boy ever gave her this feeling of magnetic attachment, the heart palpitations just from a touch. of course she knows what it is; of course she's aware, now, that kazuha loves her. she's made men fall to their feet left and right with a smile. how couldn't she?
but mei doesn't want to take advantage of it, use it for a social ladder. here she feels--vulnerable, small. open, a little, like she really hasn't been before.
she feels like herself.
and it's that little spark of motivation that gets her to open her eyes for a moment. big, blue and bright, she examines kazuha's face--the look on her face that wrenches in her chest, threatens to send butterflies up to her throat--and makes her decision. she is narumiya mei, god dammit. she never does things in halves.
so while kazuha is silent, mei takes action. she pushes up to her tiptoes, presses her left hand delicately into her shoulder, and presses their lips together. ]
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Not that it wouldn't be obvious within five seconds, if Mei let her touch the rest of her body.
If she could just look at her, she'd take that, too, taking her in while her eyes are still closed. She can feel the goosebumps, and the heat of her face so close like this. And it gives her a little thrill, to realize that Mei feels something, too. Neither of them have been good with feelings, playing them so close to the chest, even if they went through the boy craze. (Mei moreso than Kazuha, although she'd sure as hell never deny the fact that she realized she was bisexual when she took one look at Chris, and then looked at Mei after.)
But the thrill grows, when Mei looks up at her.
And then she kisses her.
Kazuha squeezes her hand into the small of her back, as she closes her eyes finally, the other holding steady where it cradles her skull gently. This certainly isn't the first time she's kissed someone, and definitely not another girl, but this is - this is different, like it was a long time coming. That sense of home is there, just like it was the second that she saw Mei. It's less of a gutpunch realization, now, and instead is something soft, gentle. It leaves settles into her chest and spreads through the rest of her.
She kisses her in much the same way, soft and sweet at first, years of buildup. ]
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it feels like this was a long time coming, maybe even more so for kazuha than it was for her. and it makes something warm curl up in her chest and make its home there, dripping sticky and honey sweet down her ribs. it's sort of a freeing realization, that she loves kazuha, that maybe she always had, and all of the bitterness at her disappearing and elation at finding her again melts into this, the whole world around them disappearing except her and kazuha and the soft press of their lips.
mei's fingers tighten a little in her shirt, smoothing out a bit before they settle again, holding on like that point of contact is a tether. and it takes her a little while to pull away again too, just savoring it, but when she does, mei doesn't go far.
she stops just a hair's breadth away from her mouth and keeps her eyes closed for a moment, like she's savoring. like maybe she's not sure what to say after that, overwhelmed with a lot of real for someone who, for the past few years, has done her balancing act of being fake.
mei goes flat footed slowly, her hand sliding down a little as the height difference between them drops again. she blinks open her eyes to look at her, to settle in the knowledge that's that what she did--and then a small smile crosses her face. it's not a confident smirk or a toothy i-get-everything-i-want beam, but a genuine, tiny, twitterpated smile.
she brushes her hand gently over the shirt she wrinkled, hesitating to pull away. ] Don't tell me you're trying to distract me.
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To know that the person she's loved loves her back... she never really anticipated it, truth be told. She had come to accept that Mei was boy crazy, and sought them out for varying reasons. Their looks, their money, how gullible and easy to manipulate they were. And she would concede that she'd essentially done the same, for quite some time, just not with men.
They don't need to do that, now. Kazuha can feel that, just the same as she can feel the way that Mei's fingers curl into her shirt. And when they pull back, she takes in a slow, but still audible, breath in that tiny space between them, her own eyes staying closed for a moment longer. Only when Mei stands flat again does she open them, bright and brown and reflecting that same twitterpated feeling back at her. ]
Yes. [ Deadpan, before she snorts, bumping their noses. Her thumb rubs along her spine where her hand stays in the small of her back. ] I'm trying to distract you with my wiles. Is it working?
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it wasn't the most loving life, but it had worked well for her. she's always been ambitious, and she worked her way all the way to the top for it. overall, it felt lonely, but being here, in this little bubble of a moment, the calm after a storm, all of that loneliness has washed away. kazuha was her first true friend, and losing her left a wound on her heart, something bitter and angry that's settled over time.
mei never once forgot how much kazuha meant to her. lately, it's just been thrust in the spotlight.
she's hesitant to pull back, though, especially when she opens her eyes and is practically struck in the heart by the look on kazuha's face. jeez. her cheeks immediately flare bright red and mei takes that opportunity of embarrassment to pull away from her, though not too far. ] Come on, let's go. I am not wasting my kisses on someone who's going to pass out on me midway through.
[ ....but that does mean more kisses. ]
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Of course she'd fight for her the way she did. Of course she'd embrace being with her again. Something in Kazuha almost calms at that thought, and she doesn't hesitate to stroke her knuckles across Mei's cheek as she pulls back, especially with that blush, which just barely distracts her from a little sulk. ]
Wh - [ There's a pause. More kisses...
She draws her hands away, if only so she can slide one up into her own shirt. The laces to her binding are easy to find, after years of using it, and she works to unlace them to just outright undo it. Once it's undone, she takes a deep, freeing breath and tugs the almost-corset, letting it drop to the floor instead of bothering with it. She's not going to need it ever again, if she can help it. ]
You drive a hard bargain. [ The shirt's enough to cover her, so she doesn't bother with anything else, just moving to follow after Mei. Towards the bed. ]
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the stroke of her knuckle across her cheek had brought butterflies to her chest anew, and mei sighs a little, feeling the flush on her face react to the gentle gesture. it's definitely best that she steps away from this now, to try and regain at least a little of her composure, but even so, mei's not gone for more than a second.
she let miyuki kazuha out of her sight once. needless to say, she won't be doing it ever again.
that isn't to say she doesn't watch a little curiously as she takes her binding off, watches her slowly return to normal with the removal of the cloth. it's so unfair, that kazuha is--well, well endowed--and mei's not. it reads all over her face for a minute as she sits down on the bed, too, but mei huffs and turns her nose up to keep from sulking at it too much (but don't worry, she's still sulking.)
the butterflies do help to overcome that. mei pauses as she waits for kazuha to get settled, though, and then looks away from her, to the canopy of her four-poster. ] ...do you still remember how to braid hair?
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But she's ready to be Miyuki Kazuha, now. She's ready to just live this life, here, with the girl she missed so much.
As she settles in, a little amused, her focus goes from Mei's sulk to just Mei herself. She shifts close to her, bumping into her where she's not looking, and bows her head, nuzzling in. At first it's her forehead against her shoulder, but she lifts her head up. Trails her nose and lips faintly against it, after. ]
I didn't cut my hair that long ago. [ She murmurs it softly, nose brushing the curve of her shoulder now, her eyes closed, just enjoying the proximity that they have. ] Someone just grabbed it, so it was easier to cut it all off than it was to cut his hand off.
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kazuha going missing had been an anchor, though. it was part of the reason she left their village, unable to deal with seeing her dad's lined, tired face on the street, unable to walk by their spots--a bubbling creek, a tide pool, the woods or even just the blacksmith's shop--without feeling a bubbling anger and remorse in her gut all at once. kazuha had disappeared without a trace, and mei missed her, but love had never once come to mind.
now it's all she can think about, as her cheeks flush and she looks down at her lap, small hands curled into small fists and trying to think over the sound of her heartbeat rushing in her ears. there's something even more tender about the gesture, and she has to unstick the question from her throat before she can say it, reaching up to gently move her hair back over her shoulders so it falls in a perfect golden curtain at her back. ]
...would you mind? [ braiding it, though her voice falters. it's a little vulnerable, but she can't think of anything else she'd like more--a quiet bonding from when they were little girls, put into a whole new context. ]
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She wonders if their old creek is still there. If the hidey hole behind her father's shop is still there, full of trinkets they'd collected. Did Mei take them? Did she leave them there?
All she knows is that Mei smells the same, soft and sweet, a sunny summer day. Kazuha turns her nose into her shoulder for a little longer, until she frees her hair, and it's just a beautiful cascade of curls that has her sitting upright to look at them. Because Mei's hair has grown into something beautiful, unbutchered by her brothers' meanspirited affection, and she combs through it, gentle, loving, like it alone is a treasure. Might as well be - it looks like spun gold. ]
As you wish. [ The three words come easily, and she starts to separate locks of hair, more intricate than a simple braid. Because it means more contact, more intimacy, and they both need it right now. Especially with the way her strands of gold brush over her bruised knuckles. ]
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(and she got one, occasionally, like a little crown kazuha made out of sticks and stuck on her head when they were playing knight and princess, a trinket mei took with her years and years later.)
she settles back easily as kazuha's fingers move into her hair. the gesture is so tender and sweet it's making her heart swell up in her chest, in ways she'd never felt with anyone before this moment; mei closes her eyes and exhales.
she doesn't speak for a while, just lets kazuha braid her hair. she could sleep like this, but she doesn't want to miss a moment of spending time with her--not after they'd been separated for half of their lives. ] If you keep saying it like that, I'll have to believe that you always mean it, you know.