Hello, everyone! How's life?

Thank you so much for the reviews! I just wish I could reply to each and every one of you personally. T.T

A huge thanks to my beta, Cornelia, she's super awesome!

So, here is the latest chapter. Hope you'll like it.

Disclaimer: Mai-Hime is owned by Sunrise.

The Trouble With Love is…

Chapter 12

Guys and girls around her found it hard to get up-close and personal because of her status in the eye of society. Making friends with girls was hard enough—trying to find a boyfriend, she certainly had no time for that.

But this one particular guy, going by the name of 'Kanzaki Reito' — a real life prince; good looks, charming, intelligent and the heir of the most notable family. He had been holding out for a long time, nobody ever made such effort and it impressed her. Still, she couldn't feel the need for him and she hadn't stopped questioning herself about it. It made her thinking a lot. Was it really absurd that she didn't feel whatever needed to be felt whenever she was with Reito? She had never been in any relationship before so she really was unsure of everything that was going on between them.

Shizuru loved new challenges. She loved anything that piqued her attention and Reito was one of them. Reito broke the monotonous routine she was used to, even if only for a few sparse of hours a day.

Maybe she could learn to love that man if she gave herself a chance to do so.

Unbeknownst to Shizuru, to care and love someone was totally different from being in love with someone. She loved Reito in the respect that she genuinely cared about that man—about his well being, about his life, about him. Still, there was a void which Reito couldn't fill, as much as she wanted him to.

She wished it was him, but she just couldn't put a finger on what had been missing all these years.

Then of course, there was Natsuki—she came like a tidal wave, crashing upon her, washing her offshore, pulling her back into the water and almost suffocating her.

Still, she couldn't get enough.

"Ahhh… so that's what happened…"

"Yup…"

They fell into silence, simultaneously brought their respective cup to their mouth and took a sip at the very same time. Then, they sighed.

"Why wouldn't you be happy about that?"

It took quite a moment for her to reply as she quietly fiddled with the lid of her cup. The coffee was steaming, she closed her eyes, savoring the soothingly dark-roasted scent. When she cracked her eyes open again, her sight was clouded by steam and she had to blink a couple of times.

"Because when she kissed me... I remembered someone else."

Takeda instantly spun around to look at the raven haired woman sitting next to him. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, "Do I know this 'someone else'?"

Natsuki remained silent as she brought her cup back to her mouth, took a long, quiet sip and tried to ignore Takeda's inquiring stare. It didn't take long for Takeda to put two and two together. His eyes brightened as a thought crossed his mind and his lips slowly curved up into a smirk.

"I think we're thinking about the same person here..."

"Yea..."

Takeda chuckled, shaking his head, "What did you get yourself into?"

Natsuki smiled, shrugging slightly, "Help me."

Mai gradually leaned in. Their faces slowly inched closer; the tip of their noses grazed against each other. It surprised her to find Natsuki still remained motionless. Her emerald orbs glistened under the light, staring back at Mai with this look that made her confused. But still, she had gone this far, going back now definitely wasn't an option.

This was the first time Natsuki had gazed, like really gazed, into Mai's eyes. She never was a fan of eye contact and would always be the first to look away. Her eyes fixed at Mai's, gazing into the depth of violets like she was searching for something—looking for answers to these unspeakable questions which had lingered in her mind for so many years.

When Natsuki felt Mai's bottom lip graze her upper lip, this brought her back to her senses. Her eyes widened when she saw Mai's closed eyes and her lips barely touching hers. Before Mai could push the kiss even further, Natsuki shut her eyes tightly, and her thoughts wandered again.

'So everything you felt for her is gone? Nothing's ever that simple.'

Haruka's voice rang inside her head again.

She knew the answer. She would have laughed in Haruka's face right now, given the chance. Why bother looking for an answer when it was already inside your mind? Mai was standing right in front of her, offering her the very thing she had been dreaming about all these years, but her mind constantly went back to that certain person.

'What am I doing?'

If this had happened 7 years ago, she probably would have become one of the happiest person on earth.

But not this time...

"From a stranger to someone I can't stop thinking about..."

"If she's constantly on your mind, maybe she's meant to be there..."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"You know the answer yourself..."

Shizuru brought a palm over her mouth as she took a deep breath, "It's crazy."

Yukino smiled widely. She reached for the small china cup on the coffee table with her right hand, "Nothing makes sense nowadays…" Her words earned a small chuckle from the brunette.

"That's true."

"Especially not the things going on inside your head." Yukino said, quirking her eyebrows playfully as she pointed a finger to her temple in a rotating motion.

"What is that supposed to mean!?" Shizuru jolted from her seat, looking slightly offended.

"I mean that you would be crazy—" Yukino chuckled, fuelling the fire in Shizuru's eyes, "—if you didn't fall in love with Kuga-san. She's a downright hottie and a brilliant genius, I must say."

"It sounds to me like you're the one in love with her." Shizuru smiled slyly, hugging her lower torso as she rested her back against the leather sofa. Yukino made a face as she shook her head.

"Not exactly my type."

Shizuru laughed at that, "So what exactly is your type?"

"Kuga-san's friend."

"Suzushiro-san?" Shizuru was wide-eyed at the revelation and Yukino knew she had to explain her reasoning.

"She's adorable. Smart and a little hot-headed at times. It is fun being around her."

"Ara.. That definitely reminds me of someone…" Shizuru paused with a smile, "No wonder they're best friends."

Yukino giggled, "No mystery there…"

They lapsed into silence again as Yukino started to work on the papers whilst Shizuru turned her attention to the window. Her mind wandered to where she wanted to be the most—to see that certain person she had been avoiding for 2 weeks. Somewhere deep inside her chest, she felt this violent, throbbing ache. Part of her wanted to see that girl so much and the other part was scared of what might happen when they met. She had been ignoring calls and texts from Natsuki ever since she returned to Tokyo and she had been avoiding Reito's as well.

This time of uncertainty was almost like having an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. The devil fantasized of ways to bring Natsuki closer, but the rational angel knew that this was just a selfish wish and would end up hurting them both.

"Remember that night when I told you my biggest secret?"

Shizuru blinked a couple of times, her gaze lingered quietly at Yukino's face, "Yes, I remember."

"How are you feeling now?"

Shizuru bit her lower lip, her fists clenched, "Scared…"

Yukino smiled, "Exactly… but it does feel good too, doesn't it?"

"So… what are you going to do now?" Takeda swallowed the last piece of cinnamon bun and wiped his fingers clean before reaching for his cup. Natsuki sighed heavily, putting down the small pack of biscuits atop her lap,

"I don't know… I haven't gotten a chance to talk to her since last 2 weeks…"

"Why?"

Natsuki shrugged, "She didn't pick up any of my calls. She hasn't replied to my texts. And yesterday when I came to her office, her assistant said that she's still in Kyoto. So, yeah…"

Takeda rubbed at his chin, "She's that busy?"

"I think so. Maybe she's doing things with her father or something. I don't know…"

Another sigh escaped from between her lips; Takeda narrowed his eyes,

"Who are you trying to convince here?"

Natsuki replied with a silent stare and went back to cast her gaze over the children playing around the park, "I don't know… I think she's been avoiding me," Natsuki scratched her head frantically as thoughts hit her, "Maybe she overheard what we talked about that day, Takeda! Urgh! I'm so stupid!"

Takeda frowned more, "What!? But you told me that you two went for a golf game and some sexy times ensued when she was teaching you how to play!"

Natsuki's cheeks blushed almost immediately as the scene replayed automatically as soon as Takeda mentioned it, "Oh my god… No! I don't know now! She's confusing me!"

"Why do you have to be so confused!? From my gay analysis, I'm sure as hell that she's interested in you!" Takeda said, clicking his tongue and winking cheekily.

"She's fucking straight, Takeda! Did you forget that!?" Natsuki's voice was close to yelling and she slowly clutched her head in frustration, "And she used to date my brother! Do you really expect me to jump into the wagon as soon as I see the signs?"

"Well yes, you got a point there but if you think a woman wouldn't change teams just because she used to date a guy, you're as clueless as a camel which has inexplicably found itself at the North Pole—and this is coming from a person who one experienced such cluelessness firsthand."

Natsuki snorted instantly at the remark and eventually burst into loud laughs.

Takeda was blushing brightly and quickly waved his hand to stop Natsuki's laughs but failed miserably, "No really, serious now! Remember when you almost pulled me out the gay hole? God! I was so attracted to you that you almost made me straight for you! But thank god I managed to find my unicorn and ride back to where I belong…"

Natsuki wiped her tears and laughed again, "I can't even… I remember our first meeting. You dressed like you were hit by a gay thunder. Everything about you screamed 'GAY' that night! Hahahahaha~!"

They shared hearty laughs, that only subsided when they heard even louder laughs coming from the park. The sun was setting, children were playing tag and they were running around, laughing and screaming. They went into silence as they watched the children and Natsuki was the first to break the ice between them.

"Shizuru is just… god, I don't even know the best word to explain her…" Natsuki chuckled, shaking her head as she rubbed her temple, a smile forming on her lips, "She's—it just happened. She happened to me."

"How sure are you?"

"I'm not so sure... But she's constantly on my mind."

Takeda nodded quietly as he turned to look forward, watching an old man pushing an ice-cream cart along the pedestrian path, "You wanna know what I think?"

"Yes, please!" Natsuki replied keenly, watching Takeda taking a deep breath and smoothing his spiky hair with his right hand.

"I think you're not in love with her."

The reaction was pretty much expected—Natsuki looked back at him incredulously and her mouth was about to spurt out a response but as an experienced attorney, Takeda had an advantage over Natsuki.

Reverse-psychology. That was all he needed.

"You're in love with the emotions she causes in you. You're the one searching and she's the one giving while you actually need it from someone you truly want. Don't get easily confused…"

Natsuki frowned more; she was gaping slightly as she trained her eyes on Takeda's nonchalant face. She meant to oppose Takeda's opinion over her problem but her words were stuck in her throat. There was truth in his words and they hit the right spot.

"You think so?"

Takeda quirked one eyebrow with a smile, "Yeah, but still, it is too early for you to see where this thing might go and I can't just simply judge you for what you feel."

Natsuki remained silent as she hung her head low, staring at the pair of Chucks she wore. Takeda smiled wider and cracked his knuckles, yawning loudly,

"You know, every time someone tells me that they're not going for looks and that personality is what they're looking for, it makes me wanna scream 'bullshit' at their face."

Natsuki instantly snorted, "Isn't it true though? If you looked like a supermodel but have the attitude of an asshole, I would kick that ass to the moon—far away from me!"

"Why don't you think again? Wasn't Shizuru-san's undeniably pretty face that first caught your attention?"

Natsuki could feel her cheeks tingle—surging with heat as her brain made a flashback to the moment when she first met Shizuru.

"Well yeah, it's true, but all the other stuff that came after were the ones to get me hooked. They way she talk, her accent, her obsession with tea and purple—and she's so freaking smart. I love talking to her…" Her lips unconsciously curved up at the memories, "Yeah… I love talking to her…" she repeated and Takeda just smiled.

"It sounds to me like you know everything about her."

Like being woken up from her day-dreaming, Natsuki instantly frowned when she saw Takeda's cheeky smile, "No, I'm not and why are you smiling?"

Takeda chuckled, shaking his head as he stood up, and shoved his hands into his coat pockets, "You didn't see this coming, did you?"

"What?"

Takeda laughed again as he pulled up the lapels of his coat to cover his neck. The weather was getting colder. It was only in a matter of days before the snow would start falling.

"By the time you figure out what she is to you, you'll already be in love."

They had wandered a couple of blocks away from the park when the sound of a ringtone broke the silence. Takeda watched Natsuki reach for her back pocket to retrieve her phone.

"Is that a call?"

"No. Just a message—" Natsuki's eyes widened at the sight of the name appering on the screen, "It's from Shizuru!"

Takeda instantly leaned closer to take a look at the text but Natsuki quickly tilted the phone away from Takeda's prying eyes.

"Aww, stingy!"

Natsuki stuck her tongue out at Takeda's irritated face and carefully read the text. Her expression slowly brightened, making her look almost like a child who had unexpectedly won a spelling competition.

"Did she ask you out for a date?"

Natsuki was all grinning as she put away the phone in her jacket, "No. She asked me to come over for dinner tonight to celebrate her new apartment?"

"New apartment?" Takeda asked.

Natsuki just shrugged, "I didn't know she get a new apartment..."

"Maybe that was what keeping her busy these past few weeks..." Takeda presumed. Natsuki quietly agreed.

"Anyway!" Takeda smiled slyly, "If she cooks something like eggs, broccoli or figs and finishes up with chocolate or strawberry for desserts, you really need to be careful."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because those foods will make you horny—aaargh~! NO! Not the hair!"

Takeda wailed in pain when Natsuki pulled at his hair. Her face was blazing red. Takeda's words definitely had ignited something inside of her—countless of inappropriate images were flooding her mind and she was so ashamed of her herself for having such thoughts. Now I have to think of something else to get rid of these images!

"Is she a good cook?" Takeda asked, fixing his slightly tousled hair.

"I don't know. I've never tasted her cooking before—" now she remembered something, her eyes widened at Takeda's dumbfounded face,

"Shit… I forgot to ask where her new apartment is…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm a fan of that brand. You can't go wrong with it."

She carefully read at the label, frowning slightly at the sight of the white creamy substance inside the jar—she felt her stomach gurgling uncomfortably. Shizuru just couldn't understand why she drove all the way to the store just to find a bottle of condiment she never had cared about before.

But the thought of Natsuki coming for a dinner made it all worth it. Shizuru smiled, humming happily as she walked to the cashier.

She was in the middle of buttoning up her shirt when she heard knocking on the door.

"Just a second!" she said, pulling her hair to one side and tucking some of the wayward strands behind her ear. She took a quick glance at herself in the mirror before she jogged to the door.

"O-oh… Reito?"

The young man smiled at the startled look on Natsuki's face, "Are you going somewhere?" he asked, noticing the nice, light blue shirt Natsuki wore.

Her brows involuntarily knotted at the question. The tone of his voice somewhat irked her but she decided to put it aside and didn't want to cause as much fuss as she would have if she hadn't controlled herself much earlier.

"Yeah. A dinner." She answered curtly, fiddling with the hem of her sleeves.

They fell into silence. Natsuki was looking at the door frame while Reito was scanning the floor. None dared to speak more whilst the awkwardness intensified. From the corner of her eye, Natsuki noticed that Reito was squirming on his feet—a habit he usually displayed whenever he had something to ask or say.

Funny. A thought crossed her mind. Sometimes she did ask herself how their relationship had turned so bitter as they grew up, to the point where they no longer could stay in the same room, breathing the same air. The thought of having a conversation like they used to when they were younger somehow sounded ridiculous to her now.

"Well, maybe next time then." Reito gave a curt nod and was about to walk away when Natsuki called,

"Wait! What next time?"

Reito smiled, scratching at the nape of his neck, "I was thinking of asking you out for a dinner together. It's just the two of us in this house. I can't cook and neither can you." He chuckled when he saw Natsuki raising an eyebrow at his words.

"Yeah, maybe next time." Natsuki scoffed and walked back into her room to take her jacket and other belongings. She walked past Reito after switching off the light when the dark haired man called for her name again,

"Natsuki!"

"Yeah?"

"Have you heard from Shizuru?"

Her feet froze from descending down the stairs, "No. Why?" She heard a small sigh coming from Reito and she slowly turned to look at the man. Reito looked troubled and somehow it made her worried, "Is there a problem?" she asked again.

Reito walked closer and a hand clutched at the railing, "I haven't seen Shizuru or talked to her these past few weeks. I went to the hotel and her staff said that she was on a holiday. I thought maybe you knew something…"

His tone was a little accusatory—or maybe she was just being paranoid. Natsuki silently swallowed the invisible lump in her throat.

"What makes you think that?"

"Some of the staff saw you at the hotel. Quite a few times."

Natsuki could feel Reito's stare, trying to peel off her skin layer by layer, "Yes, I did. It was for my job."

Reito looked surprised, "Job?"

"Yeah. We got the renovation project. Dad didn't say anything?" Natsuki's lips curved up in a smile. She could see his jaw tighten, his throat working as he gulped.

"No. He obviously didn't."

"Oh, you know now. See ya!" Natsuki hopped down a few steps but then Reito called out to her again,

"Natsuki!"

"What?!" Natsuki barked. Now she started to get annoyed. She tilted her head up, frowning at the dark haired man. She watched Reito walk down a few stairs as his gaze locked on hers.

"I'm trying, okay?"

Natsuki frowned more at the look on Reito's face, "What?"

Reito motioned a finger, pointing at Natsuki and back to himself, "This. Us. I'm trying."

"What the hell are you trying to say here?" Natsuki shook her head as she crossed her arms. She didn't quite get the whole picture of what Reito was trying to explain.

Reito's shoulders slumped as he took a deep breath, "Since when did we turn out like this? We no longer speak a word to each other, eat at the same table—"

"And whose fault is that?" Natsuki interjected with a dry smile and cold stare, "I have no problem with you. You're the one who obviously has a problem with me. You're the one who stopped talking whenever I tried to make a conversation and you're the one who walked away as soon as I got to the table, thinking that we could have a dinner together. So yeah, you're the one who changed, not me."

Reito was silenced by Natsuki's words—his grip on the railing slowly tightened and he quickly averted his eyes away from directly looking into Natsuki's. The fire in her eyes was enough to burn his guts to ashes.

"Okay, seriously. I'm going to be late now… Maybe we can talk later…" Natsuki skipped down the stairs, "Or not." Her voice slowly went out of earshot as the front door closed—Reito stared into the empty space.

"It was you…" He clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white and his jaw slowly tightening, "You made me change."

She turned off the engine, dismounted her bike and walked towards the main entrance of the luxurious apartment. It was secured electronically and apparently had a unique way to gain access into the building. Not to mention it had 24-hour CCTVs doing a live coverage and Natsuki felt like she was being watched.

Earlier that afternoon, she had asked Shizuru for the address. Now she was clueless of what she needed to do to get into the building. Right in front of her, there was a device which looked like an ATM machine; a slot for a keycard and numpad for entering a password. Natsuki tapped at the machine as she pondered. Shizuru had told her the password but she had kind of forgotten about it. The earlier argument with Reito and the subsequent anger had caused her to forget things rather too quickly. Natsuki quickly shook her head as she searched for her cellphone.

"Hello?"

"Hi!"

"Natsuki? What is it? Where are you?"

Natsuki grinned quietly as she peeked into the glass doors, "Right down your new apartment. It's nice, by the way!"

"Thank you but why didn't you come up?"

"I-uh, kinda forgotten the password…" Natsuki rubbed the back of her neck in embarrassment as if Shizuru was standing right in front of her. There was a soft chuckle at the other end of the line and Natsuki could feel her cheeks heat up.

"It's 1508. Remember it, okay?"

Natsuki nodded her head as her fingers moved to key in the number—a soft ring echoed and Natsuki could see the door slowly sliding open, "Okay, ma'am! I'm coming up now!" Natsuki chuckled when she heard soft giggles on the other line and ended the call. She entered just as the door was about to close again. Natsuki walked to the elevator, waiting as she studied the interior. It was lavishly decorated with the combination of modern and classic Japanese design. It made her smile because it certainly reminded her of someone.

Soft chiming brought her attention back to the elevator. The door which led to the metallic lift slid open and a couple of people walked out, smiling and nodding their heads—Natsuki instantly bowed in response as she walked in. Her hand reached for the number 15 and pressed the button, it immediately illuminated in a bright green color and the door quietly closed. Resting her head against the cool metal wall behind her, she let her thoughts wander again. Reito's words kept replaying in her head and there was a certain lump in her chest that sent cold shiver through her body. It made her think all over again and a question suddenly popped inside her mind.

Was it really over between him and Shizuru?

Shizuru tapped her foot impatiently. Natsuki said that she was on the way up but that was like 20 minutes ago. She started to feel worried. She did give Natsuki a couple of calls but none of them were answered. Her thought was imagining any possibility which could lead to Natsuki's delay and she imagined the worst.

Did the elevator get stuck?

A single drop of cold sweat slowly tricked down her temple. She rushed to the door—only to be surprised by the presence of a certain raven haired beauty standing right outside it, hugging a huge basket of fresh fruits while her right arm was outstretched and a finger was ready on the doorbell.

"Oh, hey! I was about to ring the bell—"

"Did something happen to you?"

Natsuki lowered her arm, blinking her eyes a few times in confusion to Shizuru's question, "No, nothing happened… Why?" She studied the look on Shizuru's face like she just heard one dreadful news—wide eyed and panic, "Shizuru? Are you okay?"

Shizuru could finally release the breath she had been holding for the past few minutes and smiled, "I thought something happened to you. I've waited for 20 minutes and you never showed up. I thought something must have gone wrong with the elevator."

Natsuki flashed a toothy grin as she brought up the huge basket in her arms, "I was on the way up here but then I realized that I didn't bring you anything… So I went down and grabbed this for you…" She handed the basket over and chuckled at Shizuru's pout, "Sorry for making you wait and get all worried. I didn't notice your calls. I changed my ringtone and maybe I forgot to turn up the volume a bit."

Shizuru took the basket and hugged it happily, "Thank you for this, but…" Shizuru stopped, staring at the basket's contents with one eyebrow arched, "Pineapple? Really?"

"It's healthy!" Natsuki laughed.

"Right…" Shizuru shook her head at Natsuki's naughty grin, "Please come inside. Dinner's ready!"

"Awesome!"

Her eyes scanned the table—it had everything except for one particular jar. She mentally scolded herself for not buying a bottle while she was at the store earlier. She turned to look at the brunette who was preparing for their drinks. Her stare lingered momentarily then she quickly shook her head. There's no way she would eat such a thing, right?

"Is there something wrong with your food, Natsuki?" Shizuru's question almost made her jump on her chair.

"No-no! I haven't had a bite yet." Natsuki swallowed the lump in her throat. She wasn't sure why she had to be so nervous, "Um, Shizuru?"

"Yes?" Shizuru raised her brows as she slowly sat on her chair as she set down her own glass of wine.

"Do you have any—"

"Mayonnaise?"

Natsuki blinked a couple of times in surprise, "Uh, yeah... How did you know?"

Shizuru chuckled lightly as she got off her chair and walked to the fridge, "I'm that good."

"What!?"

"Hahaha, no actually I remember that day when I stayed a night at your house and I saw you dipping celery sticks into a mayonnaise bottle and eating them for breakfast." Shizuru walked back to the table and placed a medium sized jar in front of Natsuki, "Here. I'm not sure what your usual favourite is but I did ask the store attendant. He said this brand is one of the best."

Natsuki picked up the jar, reading at the label and smiled, "You picked out the right one."

"Ara? Really?"

"Yeah!"

Natsuki almost laughed again at the childish squeal coming from Shizuru. She was as genuinely delighted as though she had just scored a goal in a soccer match. Natsuki wondered if it was that easy to make the brunette happy; it didn't take much at all. Her thoughts quickly went back to the conversation she had with Reito. She suddenly felt a little queasy.

Mentally shaking her head, Natsuki didn't wait long to uncap the jar and scooped a spoonful of mayonnaise, dumping it on her plate—Shizuru's throat worked on a gulp, and she mentally grimaced.

"Isn't it a little too much, Natsuki?"

"No... You should try too—"

Natsuki couldn't manage to finish her offer but Shizuru quickly shook her head, cutting her steak and starting to eat it.

"Ara! No, thank you!"

There was a movie playing on HBO—Iron Man 3 to be specific. Natsuki was a big fan of Iron Man and Shizuru made a mental note on it; not only Iron Man but other super heroes movies as well. Natsuki seemed to be really engrossed by the movie, at least that was what Shizuru could tell from the girl's unwavering attention on the TV. Shizuru on the other hand found the movie stale and boring. She tried her best to keep herself awake but she could feel herself slowly drifting off to sleep.

"This is really good..."

Shizuru blinked a few times, "I'm sorry?"

Natsuki used her spoon to point at the small cup in her hand, "This dessert. It's really awesome! What do you call this?"

Shizuru shifted slightly on her seat, suddenly feeling happy at the question. It made her feel incredibly warm inside, "It's 'Roasted strawberry, brie and chocolate grilled cheese.'"

"Wow..."

"Anyway, do you cook, Natsuki?"

Natsuki shook her head, sucking on the sweet spoon, completely unaware of the effect she was having on Shizuru. Shizuru unconsciously licked her lips and let her mouth fall open—she had never been so envious of an inanimate object before.

"No, I microwave. I microwave very well."

It took quite some time for Shizuru to understand but when she did, she went into a fit of giggles, causing Natsuki to blush brilliantly. Her face was steaming red from both anger and embarrassment. Deciding to ignore that laughing brunette, Natsuki took another spoonful, emptying the small cup and chomping at the spoon with a slow satisfying sigh.

"God... you're just as good as Mai—"

Natsuki paused and Shizuru instantly noticed. From the look on Natsuki's face, Shizuru could tell that something definitely had went wrong between Natsuki and Mai. Just at the mention of her name, Natsuki's face changed—upset and hurt. They fell into an awkward silence almost immediately. The loud bangs coming from the TV filled the silence between them. Though their eyes were trained at the screen, their thoughts were running off somewhere else, completely unaware that the movie had ended and and that the credits had started rolling.

Shizuru took a glance at the blunette right beside her but quickly shifted her gaze to the TV screen, "So... how are things between you and her?"

The question had to come out one way or another but she was afraid of the answer. Seeing Natsuki's face moments earlier somehow eased her worries, but the feeling of uncertainty came flooding her mind and made her stomach clench anxiously.

It took a moment for Natsuki to reply as she leaned slightly forward to set down the empty cup onto the coffee table.

"She left."

That made Shizuru snap her head around in surprise, "What?"

A sad smile reformed on Natsuki's lips as she rested her back against the sofa, sighing heavily, "You heard it. She left." Natsuki paused, her fingers fiddling with the spoon, "And she said she loves me too."

Ok. There it is! Shizuru could hear it resonating inside her head and she started to feel dizzy. That was the answer she had dreaded and now she had heard it straight out, Shizuru wanted to tell Natsuki to stop but the words which came after prevented her from doing so.

"But I just don't know anymore... I don't know what I feel about her..."

Now this got her full attention. She shifted on the sofa again, fully facing the blunette, a tad worried and a little bit excited.

"What do you mean?"

A soft chuckle escaped Natsuki's lips as she scratched at the back of her neck sheepishly, "She asked me to wait for her... I don't know if I could..."

"Why?" Shizuru just couldn't stop herself. She needed answers and she needed them now.

"Because I think I'm starting to fall for someone else..." Natsuki smiled again; a different kind of smile—Shizuru felt as if her heart was melting. She wondered how and when Natsuki had learned the ability to make her feel as if she was made of intangible mass.

…but it does feel good too, doesn't it?

Yukino's words rang inside her head and God, her heart had never pounded so hard—she could barely hear the rest of Natsuki's words.

"I don't know… Maybe I'm just confused and I think it's too soon for me to feel this way about someone I barely know—"

The volume of Natsuki's voice had somehow faded and sounded muffled to Shizuru's ear. While she was fighting with her own conscience, she slowly started inching closer to the blunette.

And before she knew it, their lips met.

Natsuki's eyes widened at the sudden movement. Her eyes shifted from Shizuru's eyes and landed on the brunette's lips. She gulped and found herself moving in as well. She unconsciously leaned forward, like she was being pulled by this unknown force, and the next thing she knew, their lips were touching.

It was weird. Natsuki didn't know why she leaned in. She was never the type to initiate anything, not even a conversation with a friend! But for some reason, this woman and with her sexy Kyoto accent seduced her without any effort whatsoever. Just one look from those eyes and she was hypnotized. How that brunette managed to do that was a big mystery to her, but in all honesty, she couldn't really care less right now. All she knew that she was very much enjoying the kiss.

It ended as soon as it began. Natsuki expected a shocked face, maybe an angry or even disgusted look from the brunette but she was presented with a heavily blushing cheeks instead.

"S-Shizuru- I'm sorry..."

"Don't..."

"W-what!?"

"Don't apologize... It's not your fault..."

"B-but..."

"I've been wanting this so much..." Shizuru breathed out with a smile, grazing her thumb lightly against Natsuki's trembling lips.

"You have no idea..."

'She's drunk...'

The words kept replaying inside his brain like a mantra. His hands were shaking, his thoughts were jumbled, his heart was pounding—he could feel the blood rippling inside his veins. He shut his eyes tightly. The words were replaying again.

'She's drunk...'

His eyes snapped open, the golden orbs darkened with desire and his breath grew heavier with each intake. Blood was pounding, his sight became blurry, his hand outstretched mindlessly.

'She's drunk...'

His fingers touched skin, warm and insanely inviting. He felt tingles running down his spine. The heat against his fingers was shutting down his thoughts one by one until he could no longer hear himself fighting with his own conscience.

The seams were ripped.

'She's drunk...'

Cotton was torn.

'...I'm not.'

Okay... please review? ^_^