Misato didn't really know what it was that had woken her up.
The calling of the birds, maybe, or sunlight coming through the
paper-screen walls. It might have just been a gentle breeze that was
coming through the rooms of the inn they were staying in, there
beside the hot-springs. Whatever it was, the dark haired woman found
herself laying there wide awake, gazing across at the figure who was
sleeping not far away.
Ritsuko's shoulder length hair fell into her eyes, a messy
looking blonde mop, her face rendered almost childlike in the grip
of sleep. She lay stretched out on her back, round breasts rising
and falling with her breath, those long legs sleek under the blanket.
Misato sat there, studying her for a few moments, a bit of
red to her cheeks. Back when they were roommates, she had thought a
few times about Ritsuko. All the rumors about her and Arisugawa had
been doing the rounds, and living with Ritsuko gave Misato plenty of
opportunities to study her beauty. There had been moments where she
had been tempted to climb into that bed, but each time she had
restrained herself.
If Misato was honest with herself, she was scared of
possible rejection. Ritsuko was her best friend, and a failed...
encounter between them would have complicated that immensely. "And
who knows what her type is?" Misato murmured.
Ritsuko shifted, her eyes opening as she looked up at Misato
blearily. "Who's type?" she asked, blinking away sleepiness.
"Sorry, I was just thinking aloud about... Asuka," Misato
lied.
"You think she and Rei?" Ritsuko asked, giving her a
sleepily confused look.
"Well, her and almost anybody," Misato commented honestly.
She made a face, "She seems only to be interested in the most
inappropriate men."
Ritsuko smirked in reply, looking cutely impish, and Misato
felt just a bit relieved she did not bring up her boyfriend Kagi.
She sat up, stretching her arms, her pajama's pulling tightly, and
Misato had to forcefully pull her gaze away from those rising
breasts.
'What's coming over me?' Misato wondered.
"I guess we'd better get up," Ritsuko offered, sliding out
from under the covers and stepping on the sunwarmed floor boards.
Misato nodded, standing up beside her, "Yeah, I guess so."
She smiled wryly, "We should go see if Asuka and Rei killed each
other yet."
"No way," Ritsuko walked down the hallway just beside her,
the smell of cooking food growing stronger as they walked towards
the kitchen, "Asuka might kill Rei, but that's it."
"Oh, I don't know," Misato mused, "I think Rei has some
hidden depths."
"Who has hidden depths?" Shinji asked curiously, dressed in
his dark blue pajamas.
The brown haired young man was sitting there comfortably at
the kitchen's old-fashioned wooden table. The old woman who ran the
place had just finished dishing up the pajama clad boy some food
from the pans and pots on the stove. She set the plate in front of
Shinji and seeing the two women come in she got out more plates.
"Rei, actually," Ritsuko offered cheerfully, walking over
and getting two mugs down before pouring out coffee. She prepared
the two cups, turning around to pass one over to Misato with a
smile, "Here you go."
Misato took a long draught of the coffee, then she stopped
to blurt, "Just the way I like it." She looked at Ritsuko in a bit
of surprise before murmuring, "You remembered?"
"Wasn't all that hard," Ritsuko smiled slightly.
Misato felt herself blushing once again under that gaze as
she murmured, "Thank you." She took another drink, hiding her face.
They heard familiar voices coming up the long hallway, the
sound of two women arguing softly. "I can't believe how loudly you
snore," Asuka complained.
"I do not snore," Rei answered mildly.
"Oh yes you do," Asuka said as the two walked into the room
together. She wore an orange robe over her red pajamas, while Rei
wore ice blue. Asuka gave Shinji a look and added, "I almost wish I
was sharing a room with Shinji!"
"Good morning," Ritsuko said mildly.
"Aren't there any other rooms available?" Asuka complained.
She smiled at them as sweetly as possible, "I'm sure that one of you
could move in with the snoring Wonder-girl."
"I do not snore," Rei repeated a bit more firmly.
"Wish I had a recorder with me last night," Asuka muttered.
"A-hem!" Misato cleared her throat loudly enough to make the
others jump. Once she was sure she had all their attention she
continued on, "Play nice, please. Anyone who doesn't want to gets to
sleep out in the van until we go back home, got it?" There was a bit
of muffled grumbling, but the younger people settled down to eat
some breakfast.
"You know," Ritsuko said a short time later when the others
had left to get dressed, "you sounded just like a parent there."
Misato shuddered, visibly. "No thank you," she said, looking
away from Ritsuko's amused gaze, "pain is not my friend. I have no
plans to have children."
"I wonder if that's why you care so much about the pilots
and their safety," Ritsuko murmured thoughtfully.
Misato nearly dropped her second mug of coffee, she was so
startled. "I never really thought about it that way," she admitted
softly. "Not that I'd want to be Shinji's biological mother,
because, no offense, but being involved with Gendo is not a pleasant
idea, but.." Misato shook her head.
"Take it easy," Ritsuko reached out to put her hand on
Misato's arm, and the dark haired woman felt a flash of warmth, "I
could be wrong, you know."
'I'm losing it,' Misato thought, trying to drive the sudden
flush she felt away. "Maybe," she managed, "but you could also be
right." She smiled slightly, "But what do I do about it?"
"Carry on," Ritsuko answered firmly, "do your best for the
kids, and know that you did everything you could for them." A
pause, "Just like you're doing now."
Misato looked into her nearly empty mug, drinking the last
of the coffee. "Thanks," she said, then softly continued, "sorry for
being so damn needy."
"Anytime," Ritsuko squeezed Misato's arm gently. "We'd
better go get dressed," she said calmly, "the others are going to be
dressed and gone, soon."
Misato closed her eyes a moment, fighting her rebellious
body. 'I am not getting turned on by my best friend,' she told
herself firmly, 'I am NOT.' Her voice was a bit strangled sounding
as she answered, "Good idea."
"What's taking you?" Asuka complained, passing by in the
hallway fully clothed.
"As I said," Ritsuko said wryly. Both women retreated to
their shared room, and Misato tried very hard not to look at
Ritsuko. Therefore, she only got distracted once or twice,
especially when Ritsuko was getting her shirt on.
'Definitely losing it,' Misato thought to herself glumly.
She did notice one or two lingering glances coming from Ritsuko, and
felt a little better, somehow.
They went out to the resort town attached to the hot-springs
first, and surprisingly had a pretty good time. There was an arcade
where Asuka, Rei and Shinji demonstrated some remarkable skills with
the games, and even Misato and Ritsuko avoided embarrassing
themselves. They sampled from various food stalls, trying various
dishes, and even went into a kareoke parlor for a bit.
Shinji was, of course, hopeless, but he had fun. Asuka was a
little better, having the guts to project her voice and sing with
real confidence. Rei picked out a ballad, and Misato was just a bit
surprised as the depth she brought to the song. Then Ritsuko took
her turn...
"Do I have to do this?" Ritsuko complained as Asuka tugged
her forward.
"Everyone else but we have," Misato smiled, sipping from a
can of beer, "and I haven't drank enough to take my turn yet."
"All right, all right," Ritsuko sighed. She ran through the
selection, then smiled slightly. "A bit odd," she muttered, "but I
liked it."
"What?" Rei asked.
Ritsuko didn't answer, instead she began to sing,
"And you don't seem to understand
A shame you seemed an honest man
And all the fears you hold so dear
Will turn to whisper in your ear
And you know what they say might hurt you
And you know that it means so much
And you don't even feel a thing
I am falling, I am fading
I have lost it all"
"That was grim," Misato finally murmured. She looked over at
her blonde friend, wondering why she might choose such a song, and
felt a bit ashamed. She had been so distracted by her unruly
hormones, she hadn't considered that something might be going on
with her.
"I liked it," Ritsuko looked up to meet Misato's eyes, and
the two women stood there, frozen for a long moment.
To be continued..
Author's Note: the song Ritsuko sings is Duvet, the opening theme
from Serial Experiments Lain.
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