Note: This is my first fanfic, so please be kind! Disclaimer: I do not own Mai Hime or any of the characters therein. *Rearranged: Chapter One* The snow was falling gently to the ground on a cold December evening. It was already blanketing the ground, reflecting the glow from each street lamp that lined the empty street. A lone girl with black hair and green eyes stood leaning against one of those lamp posts with her arms crossed. Next to her a black racing motorcycle was parked, gradually collecting a thin layer of snow as the minutes passed. She glanced around her surroundings, perceiving the shadowy forms of the large and impressive houses that were spaced along the streets of this upscale neighborhood. The sound of distant footsteps lightly crunching the snow alerted the girl, and she quickly turned her head as her eyes sought out the approaching person. It was a girl with light brown hair and burgundy eyes; eyes that were focused solely on the black-haired girl in front of her. "Natsuki...," she whispered as she neared the girl. Once she was close to her she pulled her into a tight embrace, burying her face into the girl's silky black tresses. "Sh-Shizuru!" Natsuki exclaimed, a blush tinting her cheeks. Rather than pushing the taller girl away as she would have once done, her arms instead encircled her as she returned the hug. "I've missed you, Natsuki." Natsuki sighed, "We just saw each other yesterday." "Yes, but I want to be with you all the time," Shizuru replied, no trace of the usual teasing in her voice. "We can't-," Natsuki started, but silenced herself. Instead she admitted, "Me too." Shizuru smiled a sad smile as she placed her gloved hand on Natsuki's cheek. "We need to get going," Natsuki said as she motioned toward her bike. Shizuru nodded as she climbed on behind Natsuki and wrapped her arms around her. Shizuru smiled into her hair, tightening her hold on the other girl. "Tell me again that you love me," she asked pleadingly. "I-I love you," Natsuki mumbled quietly, still unable to say those words very easily. After all, it had only been one week since she had realized her feelings for Shizuru... ***Flashback*** Saturday evening Shizuru had shown up on her doorstep out of breath, with tears streaming down her face. She had rushed to see Natsuki as soon as she possibly could, after finding out from her parents that they had arranged for her to be married to the son of a wealthy Kyoto businessman. The omiai was to be held in two months, and they were not accepting her protests. It would be a good match, they said, that would tie their families together and build a strong partnership between their respective companies. She had pleaded with them to call it off, but they told her that she had no choice but to go through with it, and that she would grow to accept and possibly love her new husband with time. Natsuki listened to Shizuru tell her all of this as they sat together on her couch, growing angry at the thought that Shizuru's parents would be so controlling and manipulative of their daughter's future. Another emotion had blossomed in her chest as well, besides the feelings of anger. She couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was, but as she watched Shizuru sobbing into her chest, clutching onto her desperately, she knew that she never wanted anyone to take Shizuru from her. The possessiveness of that thought shocked her, but she realized that this was what she truly felt about the girl that had been her closest friend throughout high school. So she had held Shizuru to her chest tightly, and told her that she would never let that happen, that the omiai would never take place and that she would do anything to protect her. And when Shizuru had pulled back to look at Natsuki's face, Natsuki's heart almost broke at the scared and hopeful look in the other girl's tear-filled eyes. Without stopping to think it through, she leaned down and softly kissed Shizuru's trembling lips. Shizuru responded almost immediately, foregoing her surprise at the other girl's actions in order to finally do what she had always wanted. They kissed gently for several seconds, lips pressing tentatively against one another. Though they had shared one mutual kiss before, somehow both of them felt it was different this time. When they pulled apart, they looked at one another with heavy-lidded eyes and blushing cheeks. Natsuki paused to wipe the tears off of Shizuru's face, the feel of her soft skin causing a surge of electricity to run through her fingertips and up her arm. In the back of her mind she thought about how she'd never felt this way before when she'd touched Shizuru, but those thoughts were soon pushed aside as Shizuru threaded her fingers through Natsuki's hair to the back of her head, bringing her down for another kiss. This time the kiss was less gentle and more demanding, and Natsuki tilted her head to accommodate the kiss. She felt Shizuru's mouth open slightly, so she followed suit and their tongues met, slowly gliding across one another. This new sensation caused Natsuki to take a deep breath through her nose, and she moved her hands from Shizuru's shoulders to around her back, pulling her closer. Shizuru moaned into the kiss, quickly losing herself to the passion that was enveloping them. Needing air, they broke the kiss after several moments, each breathing heavily as they rested their foreheads against one another. When she was able to catch her breath, Shizuru looked at Natsuki, her eyes dark and glinting with desire. "Natsuki, please..." "Shizuru..." "Let me touch you, please?" Natsuki nodded, making an 'mm' sound in affirmation of Shizuru's request. The older girl then slowly pushed Natsuki onto her back on the couch, propping herself up over her on her elbows. She then lowered her lips to the other girl's, initiating a slow yet intense kiss, her tongue exploring every corner of Natsuki's mouth. Breaking the kiss, Shizuru moved down to Natsuki's neck, placing light kisses from her jaw to her collarbone at first and then opening her mouth to lick and suckle the places she'd already kissed. Natsuki couldn't contain the moan that escaped from her throat as she writhed under the Shizuru's ministrations. She ran her hands up Shizuru's back, grasping her tightly and causing Shizuru to smile against her neck. Still lavishing attention on Natsuki's neck, Shizuru slowly brought her right hand up the side of Natsuki's ribcage and grazed the underside of her breast with the pad of her thumb. Meeting no resistance from the younger girl, she moved her hand to cup Natsuki's breast fully, earning a gasp from the girl as she arched her back and pressed harder into Shizuru's palm. After several more minutes of kissing and fondling, Natsuki sensed the situation was getting out of control. Reigning herself in, she tore her lips from Shizuru's and said, "Wait..." Shizuru looked at her with confused eyes, but obeyed her request and lifted herself off of Natsuki, both moving to sit facing each other. Natsuki moved to speak, but the sight of Shizuru's swollen lips, glazed eyes, tousled hair, and heaving chest caused her to momentarily lose her train of thought. "You're so beautiful," she murmured, as she moved in for another heated kiss. They kissed each other’s mouths teasingly, intermittently kissing and caressing, allowing their ragged breathing to return to an almost normal rate. Finally, Natsuki pulled away, cupping Shizuru's face with one hand and grasping Shizuru's hand with the other. As they calmed down and came back to reality, the gravity of Shizuru's predicament came crashing back down on them. With what she hoped was a determined look, Natsuki said, "I promise you, we'll figure something out and you won't have to marry that guy." "Thank you Natsuki, you don't know how much your help means to me." Shizuru then managed a pained smile as she said, "Well if I do end up marrying him, at least I'll have known what it's like to see you look at me like you did tonight; like you could actually feel--" "Hey!" Natsuki interrupted. "Don't say things like that! I promised you that it won't happen didn't I? Just trust me, ok? Do you really think I could let someone else have you now? Now that I know I lo--" Blushing, she stopped herself and turned her face away from Shizuru, unable to voice her newly realized feelings. Smiling with the knowledge of what Natsuki was going to say, Shizuru simply said, "Ok, I trust you." They looked at each other for a few moments until Shizuru sighed and said, "Well, I should probably return home. I'm sure my parents are upset that I left so suddenly without letting them know where I was going." She then stood up, offering her hand to Natsuki as she stood up as well. They walked to Natsuki's apartment door and as Shizuru turned to Natsuki to say goodbye, the other girl grabbed both of her hands in hers and said, "It's going to be fine. Listen, how about you come over to my place every couple days and we'll come up with a plan about how to get you out of this? Just tell your parents that you're coming over to hang out with me, and then they won't have to worry that you're going out to see some other boyfriend or something and they won't get suspicious." "Alright, that sounds like a good idea, my smart little Natsuki," she teased, causing the younger girl to blush yet again. She then suddenly pulled Natsuki into an embrace and whispered into her ear, "I love you, Natsuki." Before she could respond, Shizuru claimed her lips in a fiery kiss that left them breathless. As she opened the door and stepped out into the chilly night air, Natsuki called her name softly, "Shizuru..." Shizuru looked at her questioningly, making Natsuki too embarrassed to look her in the eye. She still managed to say the three words that she had intended on saying though, and she quietly stated them: "I, I love you too, Shizuru." A happy smile graced Shizuru's face as she walked away from Natsuki's door. The smile quickly faded, however, as she thought about the inevitability of her impending marriage. She knew Natsuki would try everything she could to help her, but knowing her own parents, she also knew that it was futile to resist their wishes... ***End Flashback*** Shizuru clutched tighter to Natsuki's waist as they sped on her motorcycle towards her apartment for the third time that week. They had yet to come up with a realistic plan to avert the marriage that was to be held in less than two months, but Natsuki was still positive that she would reach a solution. Shizuru always smiled and told her that she was sure she would, even though the logical part of her brain was telling her it was impossible. Part of her was comforted, however, by Natsuki's acceptance and return of her love, something she had wished for for years now. She still couldn't quite believe that it wasn't a dream when she was wrapped up in Natsuki's arms and kissing her passionately. They hadn't gone any further than they had that first night, but Shizuru was content with that...for now. Eventually she was sure that she would need more from her dark-haired companion, but she wasn't going to risk their blossoming relationship by making any demands just yet. Natsuki turned her head towards her after they turned another corner. "Almost there," she said, as they zoomed off into the darkness.
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