Archive of Our Own

Mary ran her hands down along Ririka’s silhouette as a chill wind blew through the almost empty train platform. Rush hour was still some time away. If Mary were to look up right now, past the glare of the overhead station lights, she would be able glimpse the barest hint of pink tinting the early morning sky.
 
Instead, Mary smoothed out the wrinkles of Ririka’s brown winter coat until her palms rested at Ririka’s waist. Her thumbs idly traced the vague outline of Ririka’s hip-bones. She could count the different layers Ririka had on with her eyes closed—the thick coat, the knee-high boots, the wooly cardigan, the knitted gloves she had tucked into Ririka’s coat pocket just this morning, when Mary helped Ririka into her coat.

Puffed up, fluffed up and well insulated from the cold, Ririka looked like a walking marshmallow. Under any other circumstance, Mary would smile at her and tease. As it stood, thoughts of Ririka’s impending departure weighed heavy upon Mary’s mind to the point where she simply asked her this: “Did you pack enough winter clothing?”
 
Mary has never been a fan of winter. It is much too cold. The days are too short. The world is too quiet. It makes her uneasy. The dead quiet feels like a calm before the storm. During winter, a part of her is always waiting. Waiting for the pin to drop, waiting for tragedy to strike like a thief in the night, waiting to wake up in the morning to find that someone has left forever without even saying goodbye…

There are old wounds carved into the side of Mary’s heart like rings in the trunk of a tree, and on days like these, at times like these… they ache.

“Mhm.” Ririka’s gentle voice coaxed her back to the present. As if sensing Mary’s unease, Ririka took a step closer towards her, and wound her arms reassuringly around Mary’s neck. “I packed the ear muffs Yomozuki gave me as a graduation present, too.”



“Those monstrosities with the wiggling rabbit ears?”
 
“They’re cute,” Ririka insisted, with a pout.



Mary rolled her eyes and huffed, but smiled exasperatedly all the same. Ririka’s lucky she’s so cute, she thought to herself. 



“Alright, alright. And you brought some standby meds too, right? Y-you know, just in case you catch a cold while up in that winter wasteland…” It always helped to be prepared. Back then, even with the clumsy way Mary had draped her scarf around Ririka’s neck, it had almost felt like she was arming her for battle…
  
Mary broke eye contact to clear her throat. For some embarrassing reason, she felt her face warm at the sight of Ririka’s smile.


“Mhm. Don’t worry. You were there to help me pack, remember?” Ririka’s cheeks were tinted pink from the cold, and her blue eyes were warm with affection when she reached out to cup Mary’s cheeks in the palm of her hand.
 
It’s been twenty minutes now, the two of them have been standing at the train platform, going over this and that.

“We doubled-ticked the checklist too,” Ririka said patiently, and smiled again.
 
“I guess…” Mary mumbled, and made a grumpy, non-committal noise in the back of her throat, still not entirely convinced. Even then, she could not help how her already-blushing face reddened even further when Ririka tilted her face up to look reassuringly into her eyes. It was dark enough out that the overhead lights at the train platform were still on. A part of Mary hoped that their sepia tint would help mask her blush.



Mary bit her lip. It did little to soothe the knot in her stomach, but it helped when Ririka began caressing the side of her cheek with her thumb. She leaned forward and into Ririka’s touch, and her restless hands soon found purchase at the small of Ririka’s back.
 
What Ririka had said was true. All of it. The reality, if Mary was being honest with herself, was that she was trying to buy more time. They had discussed this day for months now, but even so, she wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

How was it possible to stand so close to someone she loved, and feel like there was a mountain between them? The back of Mary’s eyes pricked with unshed tears. It hurt a little to look at Ririka knowing that they would soon be apart.


“Mary,” Ririka broke the silence and drew her into a full-bodied hug. “It’s going to be okay.”



“Yeah?” Mary let out a shaky laugh and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hand. God, how embarrassing… It didn’t make any sense because between the two of them, Ririka was the bigger crybaby. It didn’t make much sense, but they had both grown in ways neither had anticipated since their days back at Hyakkaou Academy.



It's going to be okay, huh? Mary thought. It sure didn’t feel like it will be… Not right now, anyway. But if Ririka believed that, then… well, Mary trusted her enough to believe in her, at least. She muddled the sappy, bleeding-heart notion that if she was arming Ririka with some practical sensibilities, then maybe Ririka was arming Mary too, in her own way. Hope was a kind of weapon in and of itself, both sword and shield.
 
Mary sagged into Ririka’s embrace. “Alright, alright…” Mary’s arms wound tighter around Ririka’s waist, before she tucked her face into Ririka’s plaid scarf, and breathed in her comforting scent.

 “Sorry,” Mary mumbled into the fabric, her voice still a little scratchy from unshed tears. “I’m just…. Worried, I guess.”



“I know,” Ririka rubbed soothing circles against her back as she deepened their hug. “Don’t worry, I’ll be alright! Besides, I have Mr. Momotaro to keep me company.”



“Wait, who!” Mary’s outraged yell is muffled with her face pressed into Ririka’s scarf. Mary’s warm breath tickled the underside of Ririka’s jaw enough to make her giggle when Mary threatened to kick his peachy ass.
 
Ririka’s eyes were twinkling with mirth when Mary pulled back abruptly to grip Ririka’s shoulders. “Who the heck is Mr. Momotaro?” Mary questioned, a stern frown on her face.
 
“He’s… the giant furret plush you won for me when we went on a date to the carnival.” Ririka dipped her head down, and at the same time, pulled her scarf up to cover half her face. “He helps me sleep. I hug him… when you’re not… there.” Ririka confessed in a whisper.


“O-oh.” Mary’s cheeks reddened in embarrassment. At this point, the two of them were blushing up to the tips of their ears.


“I can’t believe you were jealous of Mr. Momotaro…” Ririka teased as she ran her hands soothingly along Mary’s back.



“Excuse me? I’m still jealous of the lucky bastard.”



The comment had Ririka breaking out in a fit of giggles. It was a joyous and infectious sound. Soon, Mary joined in.

 They stood close enough that Mary could see the snowflakes catch in Ririka’s eyelashes, could feel the warm little puff of air against her face when Ririka breathed out. There were flecks of silver and aquamarine in the blues of Ririka’s irises… How had she not noticed that before now? 


They had been preparing for today for months now. It’s not like they didn’t have a plan for how to keep in touch. It’s not like this was goodbye, or that they were even taking a break, but things would be different. Different from anything they had ever been through before. Mary wasn’t even the one attending university in another prefecture, but the idea that Ririka would be so far away scared her, to be honest.
 
There were a thousand and one things that Mary wanted to say to her, but they caught in her throat, stuck to the roof of her mouth. All Mary could do was gaze into those eyes, and try her best to carve that soft way Ririka looked at her, so full of tenderness and love, into her memory.
 
The spell broke when the announcement rang out that Ririka’s train would soon depart. Ririka blinked, stood up a little straighter, then grabbed both ends of Mary’s scarf to tug her into a quick kiss.
 
“I love you,” Ririka said, her blue eyes still shining as she pulled away. The way her warm breath ghosted against Mary’s lips made the skin tingle. “I love you more than I know how to say.”



Ririka hefted her luggage onto the train as she boarded. It all happened so fast. The doors slid shut, and it was all Mary could do to look dazedly up at Ririka through the window of the carriage.

Mary’s heart lurched as the train started to pull away from the curb. She tsked. Her eyes stung. There was never enough time. Even after the election gamble, Ririka had to prepare for college entrance exams, and her graduation. Time marched onward unrelentingly. Nobody could stop it. All they could do was make the best out of every moment.
 
It didn’t make sense for Mary to start running after the train, but at this point she was driven more by instinct. It was irrational and by no means advisable, but before she knew it, her heart had seized control of her legs, and her sneakers were thundering down the almost-deserted train platform.


She was running harder than she had ever run in her life. Her winter clothing didn’t help at all with the wind resistance, and the added weight, and her lungs were on fire. But none of it mattered. She ran out of running space sooner than she ran out of energy. At the end of the train platform, she still managed to scream at the top of her lungs: “I love you too!”


When Mary looked up at the train receding into the distance, Ririka was looking back at her. Her long hair was wind-mussed as she lifted her hands up to the window of the train cart to pantomime the shape of a heart.

Warmth steeped Mary’s heart. That sight alone had made everything worthwhile…

They held each other’s gaze for as long as they could, until Ririka was just a speck in the distance.
 
Only then did Mary turn away.

She clutched the safety railing to steady herself, and couldn’t keep the giddy little shit-eating grin off her face. Her breathing was still shaky, but the rush of adrenaline and dopamine made her feel invincible, like she could take on the world and come out on top.


For thirty second, she entertained the ridiculous notion of running along the train tracks and trying (and in all probability, fail) to jump into the train after her. A more practical part of her thought about getting tickets for the next train and joining Ririka, afterwards. 

But they had already made their plans for what to do. They would meet up during Ririka’s next vacation. They would spend Christmas together too, and Bon. And all of that was true, but a part of Mary will always resent not taking that wild leap of faith.

Mary was slouched against the guard rail, with one hand on her hip, when a bottle of Pocari Sweat is placed on the metal rail by her head.
 
Mary eyed the isotonic drink suspiciously. Her suspicion only grew when a low whistle cut through the frigid winter air, and an elderly woman strayed into her peripheral vision. “I’ve seen the way you run. Young lady, are you interested at all in a sports scholarship at Sophia University?”



“I…” Mary panted. As it stood, her lungs were still on fire. The prevailing thought in her head right now was a toss-up between: “This has got to be some kind of sick joke.” and “Geez, granny! Can’t you read the dang mood?”



In-between heaving for air, Mary managed to take her business card politely with both her hands and say, “I’ll think about. Thank you very much.” 


Her phone buzzed. She fished it out of the pocket of her winter coat and drops of sweat stained the pavement below her.

Mary’s heart gave an exhilarated little thrill.
 
Her good mood was soon ruined by the sound of deliberately slow, and sarcastic clapping growing steadily louder the nearer the figure drew. 

“Wow… That was impressive, Saotome.” Kirari drawled from somewhere to her left. “I could hear your barbaric stomping from the other end of the platform. Though I won’t mince words. I’m glad I said my goodbye on the ride over.”

“Ugh! Stuff it, Kirari!” Mary glared up at her. Her hands balled into fists at her sides. “I’m gonna…” She mildly contemplated dousing Kirari in Pocari Sweat, and only changed her mind when Sayaka chose that exact moment to whip out her taser. It hummed in the winter air, sizzling snowflakes into steam with its electrical current.
 
She stared Mary dead in the eye until Mary harrumphed. 

“Tch!” Mary rolled her eyes and turned her back on them both. “I’m gonna grab some breakfast!”
 
“Why Saotome, that sounds like a marvelous idea.”
 
Mary felt the little hairs at the back of her neck stand at attention. She could hear Kirari smirk from her voice alone.

“Stop… Stop following me! I never said you could tag along!”
 


The longer Mary starred at her textbook, the more the words blurred out of focus. Mary sighed, sank into the chair, and starred numbly up at the overhead ceiling lights of the library hall until she spotted half-moon rings of haloed lights.
 
There wasn’t a nice way to put it. Examination hell was the worst. Around her were swarms of fellow students seated at available chairs with their study material strewn across the desks as they poured over their notes.
 
These were her people, in the sense that they weren’t born heirs like Itsuki or Kirari, who had a clear life plan of inherited succession while they were still crawling on the floor as babies. The future was something that they had to carve out of stone themselves…
 
They were entering crunch time right now. Traditionally, this meant that the library would be open for twenty-four hours to give them a place of study. But forget all that, Mary needed a break and a change of pace, and to sleep in her own bed tonight. The crick in her neck was killing her. She swept her textbooks and stationary into her briefcase, then rose from the table.
 
While waiting for the last train home, Mary’s phone buzzed as a message popped up. She dug her phone out of the pocket of her coat while stifling a yawn. Bone-tired though she was though, her eyes lit up when she spotted the name on her phone screen.
 


Mary sniggered into her fist.

Mary smiled crookedly. Her thumb fondly traced the outline of Ririka’s name before she replied. Ririka was too cute, sometimes. It was hard not to tease her. 



Mary scoffed and rolled her eyes. Okay, first off, nine out of ten people would agree that between them, Kirari was more of a devil than her. The one person who would disagree would probably be Igarashi. Maybe Mikura too, but she had lost touch with her a long time ago. And if by ‘getting along’, Ririka meant that her and Kirari hadn’t killed each other yet, then yes. They both deserved little trophies with their names engraved on a plaque for that miracle.

?!?!? 

Who says shit like that? Ahhhh! Mary covered her face with the flat of her palm and part of her phone. It did little to calm her pounding heart, but seeing a high-schooler slap herself in the face with her smartphone did make two tired businessmen flagging her sides exchange confused looks.
 
Mary genuinely didn’t give enough of a damn to be bothered. Trust Ririka to make her heart feel like exploding with just a sappy few words. Mary's face was blushing so profusely that she wondered if she was going to suffer a brain aneurysm. 
She had slept for a grand total of four hours in the last two days, but now she felt so alert, it was as if she had just chugged a liter of coffee. To dissipate her restless energy, Mary jumped to her feet and stalked restlessly to the next few train carriages.

The train rattled as it entered a tunnel. And for a moment, she stopped dead in her tracks, swallowed by the dark. Mary blinked as her vision adjusted to the dim light of the train before she pressed on, steadying herself by firmly gripping onto the cold steel railings. The dark of the tunnel soon passed. By the time she stopped at the head of the train, her phone had dinged again.

 
Mary did a piss poor job of trying to wipe the smile off her face.



 
Mary’s eyes widened at the picture Ririka had sent. She could spot the familiar interior of Ririka’s dorm, and though a part of her face was obscured by Mr Momotaro, the Godzilla-sized, lucky bastard of a soft toy, Ririka was a welcome and comforting sight. In the photo, Ririka had combed her long fair hair back to shyly reveal her newly pierced ears.
 
Mary recognized the dainty little arch of Ririka’s ears, and the pink tint that dusted her fair skin in a blush. Mary's cheeks grew pink as she gazed at her piercings, those delicate little rings of silver at the outer shell of Ririka’s ear. The piercings looked gorgeous on her. And okay, to some extent, Mary will admit that she was biased and pretty much anything looked gorgeous on Ririka.
 
Her eyes darted around the almost deserted train car to make sure that there weren’t any wise guys trying to steal a peek, and because she had a protective streak. If Mary was being entirely honest, she felt a bit like a dragon hoarding its gold. It wasn’t just a photo, she understood that it was a precious experience that Ririka wanted to share, parted by the sea though they were.

 
Mary bit her lip. She was soon nearing her stop, but she didn’t want them to stop talking.


Mary smiled as she stepped out of the train carriage. She was immediately assailed by the chilly, late night air, but Ririka’s voice in her ear felt like a cloak draped about her shoulders. At some point, they switched to video-call, though Mary could only intermittently glance down at her phone in fear of snatch-thieves, and the ever-pressing threat of falling flat on her face because she was too distracted by the soft way Ririka was looking at her, to pay attention to where she was walking.



Ririka’s soft laughter, when she asked what Mary had for dinner, and was answered by her grumbling tummy, made Mary smile. For an instant, she forgot about the hell that she had been going through as she crammed for university entrance exams.
 
Ririka giggled when Mary complained about how her mom wouldn’t stop packing bananas for her lunch.

“You think I’m just joking, but... look!” Mary whipped one from out of her briefcase and brandished it like a gun, which only made Ririka laugh harder.

Upon witnessing the display, a nearby dog-walker opted to cross the street rather than cross paths with her. (Unbeknownst to Mary at the time, she will later come to be known as a sort of urban legend: the ghost of a banana-brandishing high school student.)
 
She reached the gate of her home at the same time as the food delivery courier. That would be just perfect, except for the fact that she didn’t remember ever placing an order for a midnight meal. She explained as such, but he only grinned as he handed her the bags of still piping hot food.
 
When Mary insisted that it was some kind of mistake, he smiled gregariously, shook his head, and insisted that it had already been paid for. Mary watched his back as he sped away on his motorbike.



“Huh…”

 She glanced suspiciously down at her phone at the same time that Ririka cleared her throat and deliberately turned away from her. Try as she might, Ririka could not hide the fact that she was blushing from her cheeks down to her neck.


“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about that, would you, Mr Momotaro?” Mary teased as she pulled a balancing act of carrying everything while unlocking the front gate.
 
Ririka’s arms edged back to hold the soft toy up to the frame of the camera. Mr Momotaro shook its head guiltily, all while its beady black eyes looked innocently back at Mary. Mary shook her head a little incredulously, grinning all the while as she toed off her loafers. The whole display was…. ugh! A little ridiculous, if Mary was being honest, but also unfairly, impossibly cute…



Ririka’s head slowly edged back into the video frame as she laid her chin on top of Mr Momotaro’s fuzzy brown head, between his pointy ears.

“Are you mad about the surprise?” Ririka asked with the utmost of sincerity. “I know you’re really tired… You don’t have to eat anything if you don’t want to.”
 
“No!” Mary reassured Ririka with a smile as she walked up the staircase of her dark house, the aroma of warm food wafted through the brown paper bags all the while. “I-I want to eat it! All of it! I’m not mad at all.”
 
One pro about having her socks still on: they really helped muffle the noise of her footsteps. Her folks were dead asleep at this time, and she had no desire to disturb their slumber. Another pro about having her socks still on, she could kind of, well, not quite glide, but skid on the smooth wood flooring, which Mary did, until she arrived at her bedroom, landing with a soft oomph as her body hit the wooden frame of the door. No one saw that, right? Mary thought. Good.
 
“Quite-!” Mary cleared her throat and dropped the takeaway bag of food onto her desk. “Quite the opposite...” Mary’s face had grown progressively redder and her voice steadily softer the more she talked.

“Thank… you… It was very sweet… you’re the best girlfriend in the world.” Mary sank into her desk chair, her legs wobbly with embarrassment at her declaration, and all the stress of the last couple of weeks. By the time Mary had finished speaking, she looked like a tomato and was about as loud as a dormouse.


Mary clasped a hand to her lips. It was partly to stop herself from saying something even more embarrassing, and partly because if she gave into impulse and screamed exasperatedly right now, she would wake her whole house, and then half the neighbourhood would think a murder was taking place.
 
In a way, maybe she was being murdered right now. No manmade death ray could ever compete with the overwhelming sensory experience that was the way Ririka was beaming at her, her expression radiant as she enveloped Mr. Momotaro (the luckiest bastard of a soft toy in the known universe) in a bear hug. Just clad in her comfy, oversized pajamas, Ririka looked like the most beautiful woman in the world.
 
The tension left Mary’s body after she heard Ririka say just three words, and then Mary was laughing again, they both were. At that point in time it didn’t matter that Ririka was in a different province, or that they were parted by time and space. It felt like Ririka was right there, beside her. Though Mary won’t mince words, she sorely missed being able to hold her in her arms.
 
Admittedly, later in the night, doused and muffled by the warm spray of the shower-head, Mary mentally counted down the days to their next reunion, all while she screamed about what an embarrassing sap of a human being she had turned into.


Even later that night, Mary dreamed about Izanagi descending into the darkest depths of a hell all its own, in search of his wife. By the time he found her, it was too late. Death had already staked its claim, and he was not strong enough to withstand the rancid stench of rot, or the sight of his beloved’s flesh peeling away from bone.
 
And so he ran. The god of their land, stumbling over his straw slippers and scraping up his knees until he escaped the pursuit of his love…
 
From the land of the dead, she cursed him, swore to kill a thousand strong of his people every day. And in defiance, he swore to birth a thousand and five hundred each time to take their place. And so took shape the legacy of their love: a wheel of birth and death, of life being chased by its own shadow.
 
Mary woke with cold sweat beading upon her forehead. She gulped down air as if starved of oxygen. A quick glance around her pitch black room revealed that dawn had yet to break.


She ran a hand through her sleep-mussed, blonde hair. Ririka was safe, Mary reassured herself. Ririka was pursuing her undergraduate studies in the north of the country, far from the influence of the Momobami and the threat of their enemies. Ririka was safe and they had just spoken with each other only hours before. 

That nightmare… it was someone else’s story.
 
They would make their own creation myths, Mary thought with a sigh as she fell back asleep.

 
The alarm perched on Mary’s bedside table blared. Mary woke with a groan that devolved into a dry cough. When she fumbled to turn the alarm off, it felt like she was trying to solve a Rubik’s cube, what with how the room was spinning.
 
When she finally succeeded, she collapsed, her body limp as a noodle, back into bed.
 
What day was it? What time was it? Mary laid her arm over her eyes to dampen the sun glaring into the window of her tiny apartment. Her head throbbed with dizziness. Her body felt like she had ran into a wall of bricks. Ugh… She had never before felt so exhausted in her life…
 
When she heard footsteps approach, she convinced herself that she had fallen asleep and was in another dream. The bed dipped as someone took a seat, and then there was a soft palm laid across her forehead, brushing back messy locks of blonde hair before a damp, cool piece of cloth was placed atop the feverish skin of her forehead.


Mary forced her bleary eyes open, and at this point, knew she was dreaming. How else could she explain the sight of Ririka looking down at her, worry pulling her gentle features into a frown.
 
“Am I in heaven?” Mary croaked as she blinked groggily up at her girlfriend. “Did I die?”



Ririka frowned. “You’re not allowed to die before me, remember?”
 
“W-what are you doing here, then?” Mary groused. She had probably passed out from exhaustion, and was now slowly losing her mind, conjuring phantoms. The last thing she remembered was surviving the hell that had been finals week before collapsing into her bed. “I'm… I'm definitely still dreaming!”
 
Mary wondered if Ririka would vanish if she pinched herself hard enough. She tested her hypothesis almost immediately after the thought. Thereafter, she scrunched her eyes shut, counted to ten, and was profoundly disappointed when she was greeted with an empty room.



Mary’s eyes bugged out a bit in disbelief when Ririka walked back into the room with a cup of water. Ririka laid her palm against the side of Mary’s neck, then hummed in consideration, “I’m glad. Your fever’s gone down.”
 
She helped Mary sit up to quench her thirst before easing Mary back into bed.

"You’re not dreaming,” Ririka reiterated, her voice firm and gentle as she gave Mary’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m here, and I’m real. I wanted… to surprise you.”
 
A shy smile tugged at the corners of Ririka’s lips. Mary felt her heart flutter at the sight, after all the months they had been apart. Guilt gnawed at her though. Sure, Ririka had a spare key to her place, so it wasn’t like Ririka had to break in, but Mary should have been there to pick her up at the train station, and help her carry her bags, too, and welcome her properly…



Upon seeing the pained look on Mary’s face, Ririka frowned.
 
Ririka caressed the side of Mary’s cheek with her free hand. “It’s alright. Please don’t worry. I wouldn't trade the chance to spend time with you for anything else in the world. But right now, please just concentrate on resting.”
 
“I…” Mary puffed up her chest in a show of bravado and determination as she stared straight into Ririka’s eyes, trying to find the right words. She couldn’t keep it up. It was taking all her energy just to keep her eyes open, considering how sleepy the flu medication made her. “I’ll make it up to you…” Mary said. When she paused to take a gulp of air, it felt like she was swallowing her pride, too. “When I get better, I promise…!”
 
Ririka blinked, and chuckled, then smiled with all the radiance of the full moon on a cloudless night.

“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.” Ririka bent down to kiss the top of Mary’s head, which made Mary blush, then laugh a bit when Ririka’s long hair tickled her face. “Alright, try to get back to sleep.”

Mary grumbled and scrunched up her nose when Ririka proceeded to cheekily boop her nose. When Ririka rose from the bed though, Mary tugged at the ends of her long-sleeved blouse.
 
“Hm?” Ririka sat back down. “Let me know if you need anything,” Ririka said patiently, and smiled.
 
Mary bit her lip. She could feel her cheeks redden in embarrassment. “Can you stay with me?” Her request left her lips in a whisper. Mary scratched her cheek a little in embarrassment. “Just for a bit… Until I fall asleep again…”


Ririka blinked. Her eyebrows rising in mild surprise. “Of course,” Ririka said, and smiled, intertwining their fingers when she clasped Mary’s hand.

Mary drifted to sleep to the sound of Ririka’s voice. She could recognize the music. It was a saccharine pop-song that Ririka had repurposed into a lullaby. Ririka had a beautiful voice, soft and nuanced. She’d be sure to tease after she woke up, and thank her too, Mary thought fiercely, as sleep claimed her.


Come the next morning, Mary was feeling much better. She stretched her arms over her head and yawned, as she got up. She scratched her back idly, and yelped when she accidentally elbowed the pitcher of water at her bedside table, somehow managing to steady it without spilling water everywhere.
 
She let herself be led by her nose through her small apartment, following the scent of food until she was greeted by the sight of her girlfriend’s back as she stood by the stove. Music trailed from the speakers of Ririka’s phone as she cooked. All the while, Ririka swayed to the music, softly singing along all the while.
 
Mary recognized the melody as the poppy, k-pop earworm that had embedded itself into her head just last year, mainly because Ririka wouldn’t stop playing it in the background whenever she called. It got to the point where Mary looked up the lyrics on her own, because she had listened to it so many times she had accidentally memorized how to sing the lines while not even speaking the language.
 
Mary spent a minute watching Ririka, the playful grin on her face growing all the while. The blue apron Ririka had borrowed was tied behind her back with a neat bow, and Ririka’s long fair hair was done up in a ponytail. The closer Mary drew, the more details she noticed, like the number of piercings in her ear today, and the cute way she startled when Mary tapped her shoulder and Ririka spun around in surprise, a vibrant blush lighting up her whole face in embarrassment.
 
Taking advantage of the situation, Mary plucked the spatula from Ririka just in time to chime in with the words to the last chorus of the song.
 
“I’m alcohol free but I get drunk,” Mary crooned, though a lot of it was bravado and she couldn’t stop the embarrassed blush rising to her cheeks. “Though I didn’t drink at all!”
 
“It happens whenever I’m with you,” Mary continued, and winked at Ririka. Her voice was still a little coarse, but it was loud and boisterous as ever. If Mary’s neighbors heard her through the walls, she would never hear the end of it. But it was well worth it, Mary thought as she focused on her audience of one, on Ririka’s bright blue eyes, shining with affection and love as her face bloomed into a smile. “Because of the way you look at me.”

Ririka's cheeks dimpled in a soft smile. It tugged on Mary's heartstrings. She took the hand that Ririka extended to her with a roll of her eyes, and a shit-eating grin, and let Ririka cajole her into twirling. “You’re my champagne, my wine.” It came as a sweet surprise when Ririka chimed in, leaning forward to sing softly against Mary's lips. “I drink with my eyes.”


Soon, they were swaying to the beat of the song, both holding the makeshift microphone that was Mary’s dinky old spatula. Their voices harmonized as they performed their little duet in the cramped space of Mary’s kitchen. Mary’s lips curved into a jaunty smile as they sang the final, catchy beats to the song together.

She couldn’t get another word in edgewise immediately after that, though. She was too caught up in the magnetic pull of Ririka stalking forward purposely, closer into her orbit.
 
The tempo between them had shifted. Mary could spot the undercurrent of desire swirling in the rich depths of Ririka’s blue eyes, in the purposeful way she moved. Oh? Mary thought, and raised an eyebrow as if daring Ririka to make the next move.
 
Ririka didn’t disappoint. She rarely did, though she did make a quick detour to turn off the gas and set the spatula down. A quick glance over Ririka’s shoulder revealed that the omelet was beyond salvation at this point, but truly, who cares about that? It seemed that Ririka agreed, with the way she cupped the side of Mary’s jaw with her palm and gently tilted her head until they were facing each other again.

Excitement bubbled in the pit of Mary’s stomach. It was a sweet ache, like the fizzle and pop of champagne bubbles on the tip of her tongue. Mary’s grin only grew bolder. It felt a bit like playing with fire. After all their time apart, they didn’t waste a second more. Mary met her halfway when Ririka leaned forward to kiss her.
 
Wound up though Ririka was, she was smiling, too. Mary felt it against her lips. She couldn’t help but laugh at Ririka’s enthusiasm, at the way she grazed Mary's neck with nips and kisses all while she walked Mary backwards, until the back of Mary’s thighs pressed up against the dining table.
 
Mary hoisted herself up to perch at the table’s edge, and Ririka laid her palms flat against the table, on both sides of Mary, before she leaned forward to nuzzle the side of Mary’s neck.
 
“I’m glad you’re feeling better,” Ririka’s relief was palpable as she sagged into the warmth of Mary’s body, tucking her chin at the juncture where Mary’s shoulder met her neck. “I was worried.”


Warmth suffused Mary’s chest at Ririka’s admission. “Hmph! Quit worrying so much, you big sap….” She patted Ririka’s ass a few times, half in reassurance and half in rebuttal, then sighed in mock exasperation before her arms wound reassuringly around Ririka’s back to pull her closer. “I’m strong, remember?”
 
Ririka giggled, and tilted her head to press a kiss against the column of Mary’s neck.
 
“Yes. Of course,” Ririka murmured against her skin. “You’re the strongest person I’ve ever known.”

She shifted a bit, until Mary could feel her warm breath caress the shell of her ear.
 
“You’re a very talented singer, too. You should sing more often.” Ririka’s voice, pitched lower and a little huskier than her soft, girlish norm, made a shiver run down Mary’s spine, straight to her core. Oh shit… Mary thought, and gulped. I’ve created a monster…



“Y-you’re my girlfriend!” Mary stuttered her defense. “You’re my girlfriend,” Mary repeated, firmer this time around. “And I love you more than anyone in the world, but if you tell anybody about that I’m gonna-!”



She could hear the pout in Ririka’s voice. “What are you going to do…?”



Mary tilted her head back exasperatedly until the ceiling came into view. For a brief moment she contemplated the nature of her existence, and the kind of life she would be leading now if only she never enrolled in Hyakkaou Academy. Right now anyway, life without Ririka felt impossible to even fathom. Nothing. Absolutely nothing, Mary thought. I love you too much to hurt you…. Not… Not intentionally, anyway.



“I’ll... I’ll get back to you on that,” Mary answered lamely.

“But that doesn't mean you're off the hook! Tentatively speaking, I will destroy you.” Mary grumbled as she hooked her legs behind Ririka’s back to cage her in a bear hug.

Ririka was laughing again. Mary felt it wash over her as their bodies pressed flush. It had been months since she had heard it in person. She held Ririka tighter, her fingers snaking under the ends of her long-sleeved blouse so she could press her palm flat against the naked skin of Ririka's back. The song was sweet and catchy and all, but as far as Mary was concerned, this was the most beautiful music in the world.