A/N: Forgive the lack of ShizNat in this chapter ^^;; I mean, they’re still there quite importantly near the end, but this chapter is pretty much centered around the awesome supporting couple XD. And yes, the title is a reference to “LMFAO” XP... I am still so very addicted lol.

Thanks everyone!!! You are so awesome! Yir! This fic has passed into the most favourited of all my stories and has the most reviews per chapter!

Arranged - Chapter 8 - OMFG

“Why must you always bring up that story?” Natsuki groaned as she reached for another slice of pizza, trying to ignore the laughter from her two redheaded friends sitting around the coffee table with her.

“Because it’s hilarious!” Nao answered, trying to calm herself.

“Really,” Mai continued, slightly less hysterical, “It’s not so much that you lost a hundred sets of fancy lingerie in one day... but that you had that much in the first place!”

“And the fact that you cried about it for three straight days.”

The blunette cringed and rolled her eyes, swallowing her food.

“But still, every concert night? Don’t tell me it’s become a tradition...” silence fell over them, “... It is a tradition isn’t it?” the other two nodded, and once again Natsuki sighed.

It was the night of her redemption, or so she saw it; not that she was in any way nervous. But still, she had to put a bit of extra thought into this concert since it was what would decide if she were to stay in the band. As with every concert night that had passed, it would consist of a rather festive preparation dinner at Natsuki’s house, followed by the concert, before returning for a celebratory party afterwards. However, this was unlike any other preparation they had had. Instead of it being just the three of them, there was also Shizuru and her group of friends; invited as part of the girl’s promise to make Haruka become friendlier.

It was actually going fairly well. On the other side of the room, where it connected to the kitchen, the foursome stood around the room talking in a more serious manner.

“Okay, so is she treating you well?” the blonde asked, “I know you don’t want me to act out, so before I make any promises I want to make sure I won’t have to be mad.”

Shizuru sighed with a lopsided smile.

“Natsuki has been very kind over the past couple of months. It took her a long time to warm up to me, but once she did we started becoming good friends,” she held up a peaceful expression, though unfortunately her friend was trained to see past it.

“I saw what happened at the Halloween party,” she declared bluntly, “I know she hurt you.”

“No she didn’t...” Shizuru looked away, “Actually it was that night that she was nicest to me... She put up with my lack of restraint despite being clueless in love, and took care of me when I was sick the day after. We’ve even been training together... We’re quite good as friends...” the others could hear the difficulty accepting this in her voice, but in a second the girl regained her composure.

“If you say so...” Haruka shrugged, worn down enough, “If you’re asking me to, then I’ll give her another chance. But I’m still not gonna stand by if she does anything wrong again!”

“You should though,” Reito interjected, tranquilly acknowledging his wife’s shocking displeasure with the statement, “Not to say that I want you hurt Shizuru, but don’t you think it would be best for you to work on your relationship with Natsuki at the pace you know best?”

The girl nodded, still leaving Haruka to fume a little by herself.

“I appreciate your wish to protect me, but Reito is right... After all, I do have a plan of my own,” she waved her hand nonchalantly, turning around to join Natsuki and the others, “And you know how I am when it comes to plans.”

The male merely chuckled a little at Shizuru’s fleeting grin and at Haruka’s expression of defeat.

“Damn, you always have to disagree with me don’t you?” the blonde grunted, folding her arms across her chest and turning away from him.

“I wasn’t necessarily disagreeing with you,” he placed an arm on her shoulder to gently turn her back around, “Think of it as learning by experience. If you constantly step in to defend Shizuru from Kuga-san, you’ll end up taking her place in this whole thing; and that’s something nobody wants right?”

“I guess you’re right... Besides, what good is it gonna do her if I’m the one who knows all about Kuga?”

Reito sighed into a smile.

“Yes, exactly...” That’s what I said...

Haruka looked over to where Shizuru was talking with said blunette and the other duo.

“Well just because I accept her doesn’t mean I have to like her friends!” she huffed.

Until then Yukino had been silent; resting her eyes mainly on the floor or her fidgeting hands when she wasn’t trying to make eye contact with Nao. However this comment definitely caught her attention. She felt a bit cold inside, fear, about what Haruka was going to say; knowing that she couldn’t stop her.

“Now now Haruka, you know very well that friends come as a part of the deal, after all that’s what Shizuru is asking of us. Besides Tokiha-san is quite pleasant to talk to and seems to care about Kuga-san in the same way as you care about Shizuru.”

“Fine, but what about the other one? Have you spoken to her at all?”

By now the brunette’s entire focus was on her ears and what she was listening to.

“Actually no,” he thought to himself for a moment, about to speak again when he was cut off.

“Exactly! She’s impossible to approach! Like she’s trying to be-”

“Excuse me...” muttered Yukino before Haruka could finish, making a quick escape from the conversation. She couldn’t handle with hearing anyone say such things about Nao, especially Haruka who was always a little too harsh in her choice of words.

“Hey, are you okay?” the blonde asked, confused, but the girl had already gone, “What was that about?”

At that same moment, on the other side of the room, Yukino’s disappearance didn’t go unnoticed by the girl of whom they were speaking. Making a mental note of what direction she headed, Nao quickly cut into whoever was speaking, saying she was going to get dressed for the concert and left before waiting for any reply. The three she was standing with thought it odd, but not enough to directly observe where she was going. Instead it reminded Natsuki and Mai that time was catching up with them.

“She’s right,” the blunette said, looking at the clock on the wall, “We have to go soon so we should change too.”

“I left my stuff in your room,” Mai added, already following Natsuki there with Shizuru last behind them going off to her room further down the hall.

--0--

“So... just between us, how are things really?” Mai asked, back turned to Natsuki as they both were changing into their fancier uniform of white blouses with black ties and skirts.

“Fine, why?”

“Just making sure. I worry about you. It’s not like you were jumping into this like Shizuru-san was, and last I saw your friendship was on shaky ground... what with the whole “being too nice” thing you were doing.”

“We’re fine,” Natsuki repeated.

“Why are you so defensive?”

“Huh?” the blunette turned around, finished dressing, and sat on her bed, “I am?”

“Yeah, did something happen?”

“No... Well... yeah but nothing big. We talked out a lot of things, and I think we’re progressing well. She accepts that I see her as a friend, has a bit of a hard time but it’s not like I blame her. And I’m fine with the fact that she loves me.”

“It doesn’t make you uncomfortable?”

“Only in the way that I have to be more careful about what I do and say... but the feelings themselves... it actually makes me happy...” she smiled, cheeks lighting up subtly.

“Oh? Now that I never thought I’d hear from you. I guess you have been making progress,” Mai grinned, facing Natsuki and then rolling her eyes, “You still can’t do a tie properly...”

“Oh be quiet, it’s not like I need to do one any time other than concerts.”

Just then there was a knock at the door and upon the automatic “It’s open” reply, Shizuru came in. Stunning as usual, she even phased the eyes of the two girls, freezing them for a second or so before Mai smiled and walked out of the room, leaving them to have some time alone before their departure.

Shizuru watched with amusement in her eyes as Natsuki continued to fumble with the piece of fabric around her neck.

“Tch...” the girl grumbled, failing again and then turning to Shizuru trying to pass it off as casual, “Could you do it for me?”

The elder girl felt like she had been struck for a split second. Just when she thought she could behave normally, the slightest request would shake her senses from the inside out. All Natsuki was asking a momentary superficial favour, but everything in Shizuru’s mind screamed “opportunity to be close.” Gulping down her insecurities, she moved closer, nearly floating on her steps and proceeded to do the proper adjustments.

“Thanks,” Natsuki finally said, sounding like an alarm in the other’s mind to remove her lingering hands from the girl’s neck, “How am I coming along with Haruka?”

“Better than I expected,” she answered, relieved to have a subject to change to, “If it’s okay with you though I’d like to go to the theatre in their car so I could have more of an opportunity to talk you up.”

“Sounds good,” Natsuki opened her viola case, “You can go wait downstairs, I’ll be there in a sec I just gotta do a final check before I leave.”

With a nod, Shizuru took her exit and Natsuki finished looking over her instrument. She smiled proudly. She was happy that she decided to stay. It hadn’t really occurred to her yet that it was pretty much all because of Shizuru’s encouragement. She was too caught up in the evening. It was rare that she got a chance to show off her talents with the rest of the orchestra; and while Shizuru enjoyed hearing her play on her own, her instrument was certainly one more suited for accompaniment. It was too sombre of a quality unless it was backed up by something else; which made her confidence in her solo all the more important. It had taken some work, but Natsuki was able to persuade Midori into letting her have it if she agreed to have the flutes play as well at a lower volume, and as the girl anticipated, it brought a nice uniqueness to the piece.

I’d definitely miss nights like this...

With that, she packed up her things and left the room in a hurry, thinking that she was last. However, when she passed by the bathroom of the hallway she heard a voice behind the closed door.

Nao...? She’s still in there?

“And just... when Haruka-chan...”

Natsuki’s jaw almost completely fell off when she heard Yukino’s voice. Not only was Nao still in there talking with someone, but of all people the shy little girl who was always trailing along with Shizuru and her friends? Needless to say, the blunette couldn’t refrain from eavesdropping this time. It was her best friend after all, and what she continued to hear only enticed her to keep listening.

--0--

“Just don’t listen to her;” spoke the redhead as she took the brunette’s hands in hers, but she laughed somewhat, “I’m not really her type. I know you didn’t wanna stick around and listen, but she probably just said I would be a bad influence on anyone. On Natsuki and therefore Shizuru, that’s all. I don’t make a very good first impression.”

“Not with me...” Nao giggled at that, thinking she had made a complete fool of herself the first time they met, “But even if you did with her,” Yukino looked down shyly, “She doesn’t know that you’re so much more than that.”

“And she doesn’t have to. She isn’t the one I’m dating,” there was a moment of silence, “We are right?”

“Yes! Of course!” Yukino stammered, turning her face up quickly.

“Ah, good,” Nao smiled, “I was a bit worried when you cancelled on me... I thought you were maybe having second thoughts all of a sudden.”

“Not at all! I’m sorry... My parents said that they wanted to meet with me and I tried to get out of it but-” she stopped when she felt a finger on her lips.

“You don’t have to explain. I know that you have a difficult relationship with your parents... and it was probably best that you went to have dinner with them instead of telling them you had plans with me,” she laughed, “Now there’s some people who wouldn’t approve. Haruka’s one thing, but your parents... wow... at least from what you’ve told me they would probably hate it.”

“But like you said, no one else has to know...”

They both nodded and Nao looked up in thought.

“Funny... we’ve been going out with each other for almost a month now and they haven’t noticed,” the redhead chuckled.

“... Do you think we should tell them?”

“Well, it’s up to you. I’m fine with keeping it a secret,” she smiled mischievously, “In fact I do kinda like it being hidden... But if you need to tell someone I won’t mind. Just let me know so that if they ask I won’t end up lying.”

“Mmhmm... Mm,” she hummed as she was being kissed.

--0--

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Natsuki was biting her tongue to keep from exclaiming something out of sheer surprise. At first she thought that maybe, on the off chance, they were just better friends than she knew, but dating?

And for a month? Wait... they only met at the Halloween party... Since then!? That’s where she was... She remembered when her friend came up to her and Mai at the end of the night then smacked her forehead, they even walked in together... I totally didn’t see it...

Just then the doorknob started to turn, and the blunette dashed down the stairs as fast as she could. She needed to get this out, but on the other hand it wasn’t her business in the first place so she knew she shouldn’t gossip. In a last desperate attempt to make a decision, she chose to leave it up to fate.

Okay, if the first thing I lay eyes on is a person, I’ll tell whoever it is! Anything other than a person and I’ll show some restraint... I seriously hope there’s someone out there!

But, as her luck would have it, she opened the door to see everyone already waiting in their respective cars. The girl’s head drooped sadly, taking it as a sign to in fact keep it entirely to herself, at least from the others. Frigid in her steps, she got into the car with Mai, drumming on the back of the passenger’s seat nervously.

“Hey Mai, can I switch with you? I really need to talk to Nao.”

“Ha! You’re gonna have to come up with something more creative than that if you want to ride in the front!”

“I’m serious!” she grit her teeth, “Come on! Please!”

“Nope!”

Natsuki threw her arms up in the air and clenched her fists.

“Damn it! Damn it! Fine!” I can talk to her before the concert...

--0--

After what felt like hours to Natsuki, who was stuck in the back with their instruments, both sets of cars arrived at their destination. The blunette would have to act fast if she wanted to get to her target in time. The second they were parked, she jumped out of the vehicle and ran around to the driver’s side ready to pull Nao out, when another familiar car came up beside them.

“Hey! Tate’s here!” the redhead said with a smile, waving to her friend’s boyfriend as he got out and met with Mai.

“You made it!” the latter yelled happily as she jumped into his arms, “You surprised me!”

“Heheh yeah, I was able to get the weekend off from training to fly back and see you.”

You want a surprise! I’ll give you a surprise! Natsuki fumed.

“Wow you flew across the country just to see her concert?” Nao winked and nudged his arm, “You must like her more than a friend.”

A cross appeared on Natsuki’s forehead.

You’re one to talk!

Despite this slight delay, it seemed that it was actually going to lead to a better opportunity to get Nao alone in the end. Mai would be distracted with Tate and the other four would be all together. Not wasting any more time, Natsuki snatched Nao by the wrist and pulled her towards the back door where they were to enter.

“What the hell!?” was all she could scream to a rather shocked Nao, who in all honesty had no idea what her friend was yelling about, before their boisterous conductor slammed open the door.

“Oi! Nao-chan! Bring your instrument inside before it gets messed up!”

“Umm, Midori-chan... I play the flute... it’s really Natsuki and Mai who have to worry about the cold...”

“Oh... right! Then Na-chan! Mai-chan! Get your stuff in here! Nao-chan come help me with the seating plan!”

“... Shouldn’t you have already done that?”

“Nevermind!”

“Right away sensei...” the blunette grumbled, her plan foiled for now as she took hold of her viola and went to walk inside, only noticing at the last moment that Shizuru was walking right beside her.

“You’re acting very strange...” she commented, and for some reason this was the last straw for Natsuki. She couldn’t say another word with what was on her mind.

“Shizuru! You have to keep this totally secret!” she took her behind the stands where the musicians were to set up, “I think... I know... I... Nao... Yukino... GAH!”

Shizuru raised an eyebrow at the girl rambling before her.

“What about Nao and Yukino?”

“I heard them... kissing! Before we left!” she looked into crimson eyes pleadingly.

While taken aback for a second, Shizuru was more in disbelief than not.

“That’s not possible; I mean they hardly know each other...”

“They said they were dating! And besides! What else would the two of them be doing in the bathroom alone when they thought we were all gone!?”

That did it. The auburn-haired girl was still for a moment before bursting into an uncharacteristic fit of laughter. Natsuki did her best to try and silence her, but it was for the most part useless given that like herself Shizuru could hardly imagine them together.

--0--

In front of the stands now, where pretty much all the other musicians and their friends were gathered, the couple in question was standing next to each other, faking coincidence. As they were all talking, the first to notice their behaviour was Tate. He kept finding himself glancing over at them to make sure he saw right until finally he leaned down to Mai’s ear.

“Hey, are those two together?” he whispered beneath the rest of the party’s conversation.

“Who?”

“Nao and the girl she’s next to?”

“Nao and Yukino? Ha I think you’re seeing things... there’s no way they could ever-”

Right on cue, the pair’s entwined hands accidently slipped from behind them into the redhead’s view for a second before hiding again.

“Oh my God! Natsuki wasn’t kidding!” she whispered back, before dashing out of their circle with Tate in hand but was blocked by Midori.

“Mai-chan, we’re about to start so all of your friends need to go to their seats now.”

“I- but-!” she stopped for a moment, “I can still find Natsuki before it starts!”

“Yeah... I was wondering why you were taking me with you...” Tate said with a bit of laughter before giving her a quick kiss goodbye and joining the others on their way to the audience’s position.

With Mai running around backstage to find the blunette, and her walking with Shizuru up to the front where they would part ways, the redhead was finding herself in a dead end; and then the time for her to keep looking before getting into position to play ran out.

Meanwhile, when Reito, Haruka, and Shizuru started to follow Yuuichi to their seats, it was the blonde who first turned back to look for Yukino. And when she did, it ended in her nearly fainting.

When they had thought everyone was gone, there was Nao and Yukino, in the shadows of the hallway kissing goodbye.

“What the f---!” ironically one of the trumpeters chose the exact moment of Haruka’s vulgarity to test their instrument. Reito looked at her, wondering what of all things in a concert hall would make her swear, but when he turned he caught the sight of Yukino and Nao’s hands brushing away as the latter walked onto the stage.

“Oh...” was all the boy could muster before their friend came towards them, apparently ignorant to the fact that all of her friends now knew about her relationship with the flutist, “Don’t say anything!” he urged to his wife, whose almost-frenzy was cut off by one last call from the even louder conductor for all non-participants to leave the stage.

Smiling rather gleefully, the brunette practically skipped past them to their seats where she was convinently placed between Shizuru and Reito, shielding her from any comments from Haruka. Not that it didn’t stop her from trying. At first the blonde was going so far as climbing over her husband in order to reach the girl, but once the lights dimmed, he was able to calm her down; reminding her that this was a sophisticated event, and that talking during the performance would get them both kicked out. So with a sigh, she fell back into her chair and prepared herself for a long wait before she could finally confront Yukino.

--0--

Still behind the curtain, Mai had gotten to her place near the back of the orchestra, but luckily Natsuki was between the levels of her and Nao, within an earshot.

“Natsuki!” she whispered as loud as she could, catching the girl’s attention.

“What?” she watched her friend proceed to do a bunch of flailing hand motions, but getting the gist of what she was saying, “Yes! I know! And Shizuru knows! But Nao doesn’t know we know!”

“So we have to wait until the concert’s over to ask her?!”

“Yes!” she paused, looking down at Nao and then at the curtains opening before turning back to Mai, “So play fast!”

Much to the surprise of both sides of friends, during the time that the music was being played, all of their anxiousness faded away. It was magical how once the sound hit them they all just stopped. Nothing mattered now that wasn’t a part of the flawless performance. Yukino watched Nao play with a sweet smile gracing her features; and Shizuru stared amorously caught in the wonder that was Natsuki’s solo. Her heartstrings were mimicked by those on the girl’s instrument, as if she could feel every note change an emotion inside her, but still her eyes were glistening with overbearing love. Even when her solo ended and her melody melted into the rest, Shizuru could still pick out which exact one was Natsuki playing. She didn’t know how, but she wasn’t doing it with her ears.

I can just feel it... more than anything... there’s one viola amongst all of those that I’m used to... one that’s played for me many times before at many different times... She remembered the first day she heard Natsuki, sitting outside in their garden practicing, the same day they exchanged in softer conversation. It was something she would never forget. She couldn’t, not after this night where even with her social world spiralling around her she was pulled from it by Natsuki’s talent. No matter if the piece was serene or dramatic; she would always know this particular sound as one of comfort and happiness.

--0--

The audience blinked as the lights above them fluttered on at the end of the concert; the music now replaced the sounds of people standing and putting on their coats, followed by their footsteps exiting. But those who were friends and family of the participants merely stood still and waited for them to come down from the stage. And while most were calm and patient, this particular bunch took the first chance possible to all simultaneously turn to Yukino. Shizuru and Reito quietly understood, and Tate wasn’t even sitting in their row due to his unexpected arrival, so that essentially left the brunette at the mercy of her blonde friend who at long last was able to express herself.

“... What?” she asked nervously, unaware that she had been seen.

“What?! You know what I’m talking about!” Haruka barked, flailing about like a maniac, even if Yukino only stared at her in even more confusion.

“...I really don’t...” she laughed awkwardly.

“You and that girl! You kissed!” she pointed emphatically at the person behind her.

A motionless silence fell over the four of them, and stayed that way until Reito gently readjusted the aim of her arm from an old man two rows ahead to Natsuki’s flame-haired friend walking off stage. In that moment Yukino froze, not knowing how to react at all. It wasn’t like she had ever been caught red handed before in any circumstance, and this was far bigger than an average situation... particularly for the awkward relationship she had with Haruka. Luckily, the other two were both aware of this and could help her out, mostly in remaining calm themselves and show that it wasn’t as big a deal as they had initially made it out to be.

However before the brunette could formulate her words, Nao approached them casually; having walked a fair amount faster than her other friends unconsciously, wanting to meet up with Yukino of course.

“So did you like the show?” she asked, still at a far enough distance so it couldn’t be clear to whom she was directing the question. In any case, they were all relatively quiet aside from Haruka who was about to start yelling again when Yukino stepped out in front of her. The blonde blinked at the girl’s unusual confidence as she walked towards Nao, embracing her from the side, “Wha-What are you doing?”

“It appears we’ve been caught...”

“ Eh...?” she was still faking discomfort.

“Haruka saw us kiss before the concert,” she said with an odd tone of humour.

“Oh...” despite her anxiety with the blonde’s glare, Nao relaxed and rested her arm around Yukino’s shoulders, keeping her protectively at her side. With a deep breath, she locked eyes with Haruka and revealed her own determination, “Right... We’re dating.”

“Oh no you don’t!” cried the blunette from a distance, running as fast as she could with her instrument over her shoulder; unfortunately leaving Mai behind, dragging her larger one behind her as she raced after her friend. Nevertheless, they were all caught off guard by Natsuki’s loud arrival, heaving her breaths, “No way! I’ve been keeping this in all night! You don’t get to tell them and get the glory when I’m the one who’s been hiding it for you!”

“Well,” Shizuru commented half-heartedly and laughing, “You told me as soon as you could.”

“You told?!” Nao snapped.

“Hey! You’re the one fooling around with her in the first place!”

Nao rolled her eyes.

“Fooling around?” it was Haruka’s turn again, “Is that what you’re doing with her?”

By now Mai had caught up, just joining in time for Nao’s reply.

“No, I’m not,” she said sternly, looking at everyone around her and gently holding Yukino closer, her last gaze falling on Mai and Natsuki, “I know that’s what I’m used to doing... and that’s who I used to be. I admit it; I’m not ashamed of it either. But now is different...” she grit her teeth and clenched her eyes for a moment before looking down into the brunette’s; then smiling, she looked back at Haruka, “I’m not messing with her... I love her.”

Everyone around her suddenly shut their comments, each waiting to see who would be the next to speak. Even Nao could feel Yukino inhale a quick gasp from inside her cover, but what she didn’t expect was for her to take a step back, running her hands down Nao’s arms to hold hers, then tilt her had softly to the side.

“I love you too,” and without care, she lifted herself up to melt their lips together; albeit only for a moment before turning back to Haruka who was, for once, shocked silent, “Haruka-chan... you of all people should be happy...”

“... What?”

“Happy that there actually exists a person who could break me away from you,” Shizuru and Reito moved their eyes away sadly, while Nao only held her smile, “Haruka-chan... no... Haruka...,” she said confidently, removing the familiar suffix with pride, “Before I met Nao-chan, I didn’t think I could ever love anyone other than you... and I even made myself believe that I would be okay like that...”

“Yukino...”

“At first I thought that I might have just been trying to replace you, but I was wrong,” she looked at Nao, “I love her for her...” and then back at the blonde, “Haruka... you have been surpassed.”

Natsuki and Mai stood on the sidelines, completely unaware of the fact that there was this history; while Shizuru and Reito were standing more on the playing field, waiting for Haruka’s reply. It was a strange occurrence, but once in a blue moon the roles between these two would reverse, and whenever Yukino would speak with resolve, Haruka was rendered silent in thought. At long last, her face resurfaced from staring at the ground to look at Nao seriously.

“The same rule goes for you as it does for her,” they all knew she was referring to Natsuki, “I’ll start things over, but if you ever let her be hurt... You’re gonna have to answer to me.”

“Then we won’t have a problem,” the redhead grinned, “Because before anyone lays a finger on her they’re gonna have to get through me!”

--0--

“Well that certainly was a hectic night...” Shizuru said as she walked out of the theatre into the street followed by Natsuki. The after party was cancelled in the end, since the other six wanted to be alone in their respective couplings, leaving these two to head home on their own. Luckily their home wasn’t all that far of a walk from the town’s edge, and given the nice weather they were both content with taking a leisurely walk.

“I know, who would have thought those two would get together? But Nao’s like me, she doesn’t throw words like ‘love’ around carelessly so this must really mean something... I’m happy for them,” she replied, “I just hope Haruka doesn’t cause as much problems for them as she did with us...”

“Mm... I know she won’t,” she stood at the corner, waiting for the light to change.

“Sure?”

“Yes, purely for Yukino’s sake.”

“Oh right... so wait, are they exes or something?”

“Hah, no. Haruka and Reito were married at an early age, but they were each other’s high school sweethearts. Meanwhile Yukino was the third wheel to them, desperately trying to hold onto whatever little piece of Haruka was left. I don’t think I’d ever seen someone be so...” she tried to find the right word, “Self-destructively in love as she was then. So for her to be free of that, Haruka will do anything to ensure that it lasts.”

“Why?” Natsuki stood next to her, “Don’t get me wrong, it’s really nice of her, but I just don’t get it.”

“She feels guilty. Of the four of us, Haruka has the deepest sense of honour by far. She blames herself for a lot of what Yukino went through at that time. She even said once that if it wasn’t for her, Yukino wouldn’t be in that much pain.”

“That’s not how it was though... She should at least know it wasn’t her fault...”

Shizuru smirked.

“You’d do well to take that advice.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, there’s no point in dwelling on mistakes for which no one’s at fault,” she turned to gaze softly into Natsuki’s eyes, “Even with everything going on, tonight was still about you for me.”

“Really?” the girl blushed.

“Mmhmm, you were radiant,” Shizuru continued to use her alluring eyes to hold Natsuki in place, even when she leaned down to place a soft kiss on her cheek. The navy-haired girl remained still, but not stiff, allowing for the brief contact before watching Shizuru walk past her periphery. Turning around quickly, Natsuki lifted her fingers to the warmth on her face without thinking; watching the figure of the other girl stride briskly across the street. She remained entranced for no more than a few seconds and then trotted up ahead to avoid being left too far behind. The two walked side by side to their home, their peaceful silence broken only by a simultaneous shiver at the chilly wind that brought with it the first tiny snowflakes.

--0--

A/N: Hmm? Is their friend phase ending already? Who knows? XD