Bubblegum Crisis: Ai
"Okay, Linna, you ready?"
"I was born ready, Nene."
"Popcorn?"
"Check."
"Soda?"
"Check."
"Cheesy movies?"
"Double check."
It was Tuesday evening at Linna's. Once a week, Linna and Nene got
together for a game of bad movie night. The rules were simple: you
picked a bad movie, and tried to get your opponent to give up and admit
she couldn't take any more. Last week, Nene had defeated Linna with the
Japanese dubbed version of the Hulk Hogan comedy "Santa with Muscles".
After about forty minutes, Linna was begging Nene to turn it off.
Which was why this week they were at Linna's, and why she had to spring
for the refreshments. As challenger, it was also her job to come up with
the movies.
They made no secret about their little weekly contest. The only friend
who'd ever agreed to join them was Mackie. After thirty minutes of the
Japanese subtitled version of "Blacula", he had jokingly threatened to
turn himself off and erase his own memory if they didn't end the movie.
"So, which do you want to see first; 'King Kong Escapes' or 'Shaft's Big
Score?'" Linna asked, teasingly dangling the films in front of Nene.
"Well, I..." Nene was cut off by a knock at the door. Linna got up to
answer it.
"Who is it?"
"It's me. Priss. Can I... can I come in?"
Linna noticed something in Priss' voice. She looked over at Nene, whose
look of concern showed she too was aware of something wrong. She opened
the door, and saw Priss in the hallway shaking, her eyes red and puffy
from crying.
"Priss..." Linna gasped.
"I'm sorry. I um... man this is hard, I know this is your gals' night
out and all but, um... but see me and Leon, we... I told him I wasn't
interested in him... in him as more than a friend, and... and he, um,
didn't take it too good."
Linna was worried by her friend's demeanor. She'd never seen Priss this
shaken before. It wasn't like her at all. Whatever had gone down must've
been pretty bad.
"He didn't do anything to you, did he?"
"What? No, of course not. But... but he said, he called me... oh, damn."
she angrily said as the tears started to flow again. Linna pulled her
over into a hug. To her surprise, Priss didn't try to resist. Nene,
overhearing the conversation, came out in the hallway and hugged her
too.
"I just... I know I should be stronger than this, but I could really use
some company right now. Heh, can you believe it? *I* need company." she
said bitterly. "I tried Nene's, but you two weren't there."
"Come on in." Nene said, gently leading Priss into Linna's apartment by
the arm. "That mean old Leon Peon! I don't know what he said to you, but
when I see him again I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!"
Linna followed them in, shutting the door behind her.
"Oh man, look at me. I'm a mess. Is there someplace I can freshen up a
bit?"
"Yeah, use Linna's bathroom. It's in there. Just go into her bedroom,
and it'll be the first door on your left."
Linna suddenly got a sinking feeling. The bedroom? What if Priss saw it?
Hell, how could she not? It was right on top of the dresser next to the
bathroom door. She normally hid it when she had guests, but she now
realized she'd forgotten to tonight. She wished at that moment she could
crawl under a rock.
"Thanks, I'll be right back." Priss said.
She turned the bedroom light on and found her way to the bathroom. She
splashed her face with cold water, trying to forget the night. Leon
wouldn't buy the "Lets just be friends" line Priss had used on him. He'd
attacked her music, her clothes, her lifestyle, and had called her just
about every four letter word in the book. He'd felt betrayed after
waiting for her, he'd felt like he'd been played for a fool, and he let
her know it.
Priss came out of the bathroom and accidentally knocked over a picture
on the dresser to her left. She picked it up to straighten it, when she
noticed what it was a picture of.
She remembered the bet with Sylia. She also remembered the humiliation
at the time of having to wear the dress. As she was looking at the
photo, she noticed something was written on it.
Priss-chan,
Ai shite'ru yo (I love you).
Linna
Priss froze. There were several words to express love in Japanese. There
was "koi", or sexual love. There was "suki", to like. There was
"daisuki", to really like.
Then there was "ai."
"Ai" was the Japanese equivalent of the Greek word "agape", or spiritual
love. It was not a word to be taken lightly. It was the deepest, most
heartfelt form of romantic love one human being could feel for another,
and Linna felt it toward her.
"Linna," she whispered, "why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Hey, you done in there yet?" Nene yelled.
Priss quickly pulled herself together. "Yeah, coming."
She came in and sat on the couch to Nene's right, with Linna nervously
sitting on Nene's left side. Linna's knees were shaking. She just knew
Priss was going to pick on her, or worse.
What she didn't expect was that Priss would make no mention of the photo
whatsoever.
"So, what kinds of atrocities do you to have lined up for tonight?"
Priss asked her fellow Knight Sabers. Nene showed her Linna's picks, and
she made a face.
"Yikes, no wonder Mackie dropped out of your little group."
---Forty Minutes Later---
Linna was finally beginning to relax. Priss obviously hadn't seen the
photo, or she would've said something long before now. "Good grief, I've
seen better acting in car commercials!" she joked, getting a laugh out
of her two companions.
"Yeah, and why is it the villain's upper teeth are perfect, but his
bottom ones are all crooked and nasty looking?" Nene asked.
"I'm still trying to figure out why they'd give Japanese facial features
to a giant gorilla." Priss said, joining in on the fun.
Linna looked over past Nene, and smiled. "Feeling a bit better, Priss?"
"Yeah, actually. In fact, I think I'm feeling better than I have in a
long time."
"Great!" Nene said cheerfully, then more seriously, "Ooh, that mean old
grouch Leon! He has no right to make one of my friends cry."
"Nene, it's all right. Really."
"Priss," Linna asked a bit hesitantly, "I realize it's none of my
business, but why did you dump Leon?"
Priss shrugged her shoulders, "I guess I realized I had feelings for
someone else."
"Wow, really?" Nene asked, "Who is he?"
Priss looked down at the bowl of popcorn in Nene's lap. "It's not a he."
she said, grabbing some popped kernels and popping them into her mouth.
Both Linna and Nene's jaws dropped. Priss stared straight ahead at the
TV screen, trying to avoid eye contact with either of them.
"Wait, you... for a... that would make you a..." Nene stuttered. Priss
nodded her head, and Nene sweat dropped. She already suspected Linna
might be a Lesbian, and had said as much to Sylia at a meeting not long
ago. But now, to be sitting between a suspected lesbian and someone
who'd just come out of the closet...
"I see," Linna said, "so you told Leon this?"
"No. Just that I didn't feel anything for him. I'll be honest; I'm
confused here. I've never felt this way for another girl before. And
feeling this way, I knew I'd be leading Leon on if I continued seeing
him when I had feelings for another, especially for someone of my own
sex."
"So, have you asked this other girl out yet?" Nene asked as the gossip
in her temporarily overpowered her discomfort at the seating
arrangement.
"No."
"No? You mean you dumped Leon poo for someone you haven't asked out
yet?"
"I was afraid of what might happen if she found out how I felt and
didn't feel the same way. I didn't want to loose her as a friend. But
now..."
"Now, what?" Linna asked, a spark of jealousy kindling in her as she
wondered who Priss could possibly have a crush on. 'Why,' she asked
herself, 'Do I have to be such a country girl and so average looking?'
"Now I've found out she has feelings for me too."
Linna quickly turned her head again in Priss' direction. She was trying
desperately not to get her hopes up. Priss was completely out of her
league, and she knew it.
"Priss," Nene said, "I don't know anything about, you know, but if you
have feelings for her, and she has feelings for you, you'd better say
something quick, or you may loose her."
"You think so?"
"Oh yeah. I had a friend back in school who was interested in this guy
but didn't say anything because she was shy and didn't think he was
interested in her. Well anyway she later found out he was but by that
point he'd given up and was dating someone else who was on the
cheerleader squad I think and..."
"How do you do that?"
"Do what?"
"Talk that fast for that long without taking a breath."
"Oh, well I don't know I guess it's just a skill I picked up over the
years. Kind of like hacking but not quite the same since..."
"*Nene!*" Linna yelled, causing the youngest Knight Saber to almost jump
out of her skin. Priss was looking at her funny now, which caused her to
blush furiously.
"I... I'm sorry. Nene's right, though." She said, intentionally avoiding
Priss' eyes, "If you like this person, you should..."
"Well, it's a little more than like."
Finally, Nene couldn't take it any longer. "Priss, who is it you have a
crush on?" she asked just before taking a swig of her soda.
"Yeah," Linna said, unable to take the suspense either, "is it someone
we know?"
Priss leaned behind Nene to look at Linna.
"It's you." she said. Nene proceeded to choke on her drink.
Linna looked over, dumbfounded. She couldn't believe this was really
happening. A wave of warmth surged through her. It was just like she'd
always imagined.
Except that Nene was there with soda running out her nose.
And they were watching "King Kong Escapes".
"Ummm, guys..." Nene said, finally able to speak again and once again
feeling very uncomfortable about being seated between Priss and Linna.
"Priss, I..."
"Ai shite'ru yo." Priss said, staring straight into her friend's eyes.
The room suddenly became very quiet.
"Guys..." Nene nervously said again.
"Priss..."
"Linna..."
"*Whoa look at the time!*" Nene practically shrieked as she bolted up
off the couch. "Gee, I've got to go, big day and all tomorrow. Besides,
I have to get home and call the cat to see if they got my mom out of the
tree yet, I mean... uh... bye!" she said as she ran to the closet,
grabbed her coat, and ran out the apartment door, stopping just long
enough to collect her shoes on the way out.
"So..."
"So..."
"You really dumped him because you had feelings for me?" Linna said,
still not believing this was really happening.
Priss nodded. "Have for a while now. I never said anything though
because, well, like I said, I've never felt this way for another girl
before, and..."
"And?" Linna prodded. She had never seen this more vulnerable side of
Priss before. It was obviously a part of herself she'd shared with very
few people.
"And you came from a good family out in the country while I grew up on
the streets trying to survive day to day. I guess I..." she looked down
at her hands, "I guess I didn't think I was good enough for someone like
you." she said sadly.
Linna moved over to where Priss was sitting. She put her hand to Priss'
cheek and turned her head so she was facing her. She then moved in and
kissed her on the lips, tentatively pressing her tongue against Priss'
lips. Priss could feel her heart beat faster as she opened her mouth and
returned the kiss; hesitantly at first, then more assertively as she put
her arms around her and pulled her in closer. They each tasted the
buttered popcorn in each others mouths and on each other's tongues.
Priss finally broke away from the kiss.
"Did you really mean what you wrote on that picture?"
"Yes. Did you really mean what you said before Nene left?"
"With all my heart." she said as she moved in again. Priss suddenly
became aware of Linna's right hand on her left breast. She decided to
return the favor by slowly maneuvering her hands up Linna's shirt. Now
it was Linna's turn to break off the kiss.
"Priss-chan," she gasped, "Before we go any further, would you... would
you be comfortable with going into the bedroom? This couch isn't the
most comfortable thing to make out on, you know."
Priss became nervous. This was the first time she'd ever made out with a
girl before, and to suddenly be invited into the bedroom was a bit
daunting. She looked into Linna's eyes, though, and suddenly felt
herself more at ease. From the look on her face, Linna was just as
nervous as she was.
"Okay. But just keep in mind; this is still kind of new to me."
"Of course. It's kind of new to me too, you know. It's not like I had
access to any lesbian bars out in the country, you know."
They both laughed at that. As they got up, Priss looked over at Linna a
bit mischievously.
"You know," she began, "Nene left before the end of the film."
"Hey, that's right." Linna said, shutting the bedroom door behind her.
"He he, I won! Cool. Thanks Priss."
"Anytime." She said, reaching over to turn off the light.
-End-
End Notes: Just a little piece of fluff I wrote to take a break from my
ongoing series. Japanese words for love came from Japanese Street Slang
by Peter Constantine.
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