Chirp

After laying her heart and soul bare, there had been a lot of crying. Like. A lot.

The sea of static had drained to that of a lake from the waterworks. It was still there, deep enough to drown, but no longer lapping at Miyami's heels as she took her next step forward.

Her girlfriend and tether through the entire process, Hinoka, had been the lighthouse guiding the penguin home to shore.

Now that the waters had receded to a manageable level, the dark-haired girl felt a little lighter. Her chest was still heavy, and her head still throbbed from the stress and crying, but it was cathartic to shed those weights.

*sigh*

It was evening now. Nagashiro's Sunday sky was beginning to shift from blue to orange. The two women lay together on the couch, wrapped in each other's arms closer than intimacy itself. They were quiet. Not a word needed to be spoken, just enjoying the warmth of the moment.

They'd spent the afternoon recovering from the emotional intensity of the story and its aftermath, mostly cuddling and snuggling into each other's warmth. There'd been kisses and reassurances, and they'd both been content to just let the world pass them by for a bit, ignoring everything but the feeling of each other.

Not like they needed much help doing so. It was easy to lose themselves in each other, especially after exhaustion had set in.

Miyami was the big spoon now, nestled in between the back of the sofa and her girlfriend. They'd been close before, but despite their height difference, this was the first time she'd been the one in this position.

Hehe~ she could feel her girlfriend's heartbeat, and it was beating pretty quickly. Cute.

Her fingers wandered, tracing the curves and lines of Hinoka's form. She loved how her body fit so well against hers, like two pieces of a puzzle meant to be together.

Plus, well… she was soft. Like, everywhere—even the toned bits. It made her want to touch and squish and play with every inch of her.

'Someone's gotten more honest with themselves~' Chibi Hinoka teased from the depths of her mind dungeon.

'Erm, it's not like that,' Miyami defended herself, not that it would do much good. The imp had a habit of being very persistent.

'Right~' the mental version of her girlfriend smirked. 'Then why are you blushing right now, hmm? Perv~'

'I-I am not!'

'Totally are. Your cheeks are super red. Totally thinking naughty thoughts~'

'S-stop that.'

'What~? All I did was tell the truth~ You're the one getting turned on by it~'

Miyami slammed the shutter closed in her mindscape. It was too soon for her to start exploring the… lewder aspects of her new relationship. Things were already moving pretty quickly, and she didn't want to mess things up. After all, the two of them had only known each other for a few weeks.

She was just happy having someone she could be herself around.

*shuffle*

"…"

Still, it was getting hard to ignore how close her girlfriend's rear was pressed against her. It took all her willpower to suppress any unladylike reactions—not that there would be much reaction anyway with the hormones.

'Hah!' Chibi Hinoka laughed in her mind, 'I knew you were thinking about it~'

'I-I said stop!'

The real Hinoka shifted as if reacting to her dilemma, pressing herself closer and letting out a soft hum.

*ba-dump!*

Ack! Nooo!

"Enjoying yourself back there?" her girlfriend's playful tone cut in, making Miyami even more aware of her. She could practically see the grin on her face despite their position.

The dark-haired girl buried her face in Hinoka's hair, hiding her blush.

"Hehe~" Hinoka wiggled against her. "You don't have to be shy. It's okay to appreciate the goods~"

"!" This angelic devil!

Her girlfriend's tone changed to a slightly more serious one. "Erm, by the way. Now that I've broken our silence, mind if we talk for a little bit?"

Miyami waited for her heart to return to normal before nodding, curious.

"First, I just wanted to reiterate again: I appreciate you telling me that stuff earlier. A lot. It feels nice knowing you trust me enough to share something so personal."

"…" Miyami didn't reply, instead opting to wrap her arms tighter around the shorter girl. She was glad to hear her partner say that out loud. It helped soothe some of the lingering anxiety.

They floated in the fluffy feeling for a beat.

A cough. "A-anyway, to avoid getting too sappy—and just so we don't get awkward about it—I wanted to talk other relationship stuff too. Body stuff, no goes, that kind of thing. It's about time we settle that, right?"

"…" Miyami hesitated at this subject change, feeling the sudden urge to try skim over the topic like a skater on thin ice again.

Hadn't she just been thinking about how it was too soon?!

She bit her lip. No, Hinoka was sort of right, it was better to be open about this stuff and… get it out of the way.

Miyami clenched her fists, channeling energy until she hit the requisite again to use her usual voice.

"…L-like what?"

"Nothing too crazy, don't worry." Hinoka paused, gathering her thoughts. "I guess… let's start with the big stuff. I'm fine with basically anything when it comes to, erm, intimacy. I'm not a huge fan of pain, but a little bit can be fun. And I really, really like kissing, in case you couldn't tell." She laughed nervously.

"…I thought you said nothing crazy."

"I-it's not that bad!" Hinoka stuttered as a bit of Miyami's lower tone slipped into the deadpan. " A-anyway, what about you? Anything I should know?"

"…" Miyami cleared her throat, flustered. She wasn't used to discussing these kinds of things so bluntly since she'd never been in a relationship before. But…

"I think I'm fine with almost anything," she said after a moment, trying to sound confident. "I-I'm not sure yet of course, but aside from that, my only other thing is… I'm not ready for anything, uh, below the waist. Just yet, at least."

Thick steam was pouring from her ears like a kettle as she forced the statement out. Ack! She could hear the shrill of her own embarrassment.

Hinoka giggled, clearly amused by her girlfriend's reaction, but didn't push. She shifted instead, rolling to face her directly.

Ah! Their faces were touching now!

"Understood." The shorter girl's smile was bright. "And if that changes, you'll tell me, right?"

"O-of course." Miyami nodded vigorously, causing her bangs to brush against the other woman's nose.

Hinoka scrunched up her face to get them out of the way. "Quick question though, and you don't have to answer, but… what is it that you have down there anyway?"

"…!"

The taller woman froze. Her heart stopped. Her mind went blank. She was pretty sure the static was about to rise and consume her.

"…"

But it didn't?

Miyami stared at her girlfriend in silence, unsure how to respond. Instead, she just felt… normal? Was that the right word for it?

Unlike her voice, she wasn't that ashamed of her body, but she'd still expected to feel more uncomfortable talking about it. She was still hesitant of course, and the static was definitely bubbling, but anxiety wasn't actively trying to drown her.

Redness bloomed in her cheeks.

Regardless, this wasn't something she was prepared to talk about! W-why would Hinoka ask such a thing!?

"Sorry! Sorry!" the ponytailed woman apologized quickly, catching onto her partner's discomfort. "You don't need to say anything if you don't want to. And sorry if the question was weird. It's just…"

Hinoka's cheeks reddened to match hers. "It's something I've been curious about, y'know? Just to, erm, mentally prepare myself. I'm not going to judge regardless—I'm attracted to women, not parts. But uh… was that too much?"

Miyami remained silent, processing what was said. Her chest tightened. Relief, joy, and awkwardness were running around having a party in her insides now, mingling with a touch of fear, and it made the poor penguin want to crawl in a hole and hide.

Still, she appreciated Hinoka's honesty and understanding.

"…No. It's fine," she finally replied after a moment of unawkwarding herself. "Just caught me a little off guard."

Miyami averted her eyes. "To answer your question… I have, um, a downstairs roommate… I guess?"

"…"

She brought her gaze back in the pause, only to see the most dumbfounded look on Hinoka's face.

Oh no.

The urge to roll off the couch and scramble into her room became nigh impossible to ignore. Ugh! Curse her inability to communicate properly!

However, before Miyami could give into her retreat plan, an abrupt snort from the smaller woman broke the building tension.

"Pfft!"

Miyami shrunk a little before tentatively giggling along with her. "Ah, um, d-did I say something funny?"

"N-not really," her partner managed to get out, trying to compose herself. "I'm just, hah! I didn't expect you to phrase it that way. Eheh, it's cute. Like… it's a little birdie."

"!!!"

Kettle turned to steam engine, and shame flattened her gut like an anvil.

*thud*

"M-Miyami?!"

She'd rolled over Hinoka and onto the floor, continuing across the living room in a wheel of mortification, only to get caught on the newly bought rug toward the hallway.

Her girlfriend's panicked footsteps followed her after scrambling up. "Wha—I-I'm so sorry! Are you okay? I didn't mean to laugh! I just—"

*chirp*

The dark-haired woman unintentionally let out a small noise she didn't know she could make, and they both stopped.

"…"

"…"

Miyami curled up even more, burying her head in her arms and legs as she searched for a distraction.

Ah, yes. The 80-20 polyester-cotton carpet here was nice and still smelled like fabric softener. It was soft too, and she could feel its texture against her cheek like a comforting meadow breeze. For only ¥1,910, it was almost criminal how excellent it was. Good job past Miyami, you really did well picking this one from the online—

"Miyami! Please forgive me!!!" The apology echoed only slightly due to the ☆sound-proofed☆ ceiling.

"…"

*chirp*