2023-03-11: Better Memory
- Log: 2023-03-11: Better Memory
- Cast: Akane Shinjo, Rikka Takarada
- Where: Tsutsujidai - Sluice Gate
- OOC - IC Date: 0097-03-11
- Summary: Akane and Rikka sneak out of prom to go back to the floodgate that played host to their deepest feelings once before, and let it play host to their deepest feelings once again. Also, Akane's like, kind of a brat?
- CW: There's like. So much really intense kissing. It doesn't go further than that but it's a lot of kissing.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
... even if Akane did manage to make it to around 11pm without getting too overwhelmed, and indeed the dance somehow managed to get her more comfortable rather than less... she did end up having to beg Rikka to pick a lock out and ditch the lock-in part after a long trip to the bathroom.
(Windows are easier than doors, it turns out -- and it's easier to see how guarded they are, since they're windows.)
One very cozy late night bus ride later, Akane and Rikka find themselves at... the floodgate? Really? This is where Akane wanted to go?
"... I thought, uh -- well, okay, actually, I'm not gonna claim credit for a good idea that came up during telehealth," Akane starts, as they hop off the bus and she starts leading Rikka toward the iron steps. "I think if I'm gonna be here -- even just for a little bit... I wanna make a better memory here than the last one."
It's quiet, as always. If anything, it's quieter than ever; For a PLANT, something like this is only even relevant in the most catastrophic failure of the weather control system. On a still, cool night like this, it's just a place for two people to connect.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
11pm... is a lot longer than Rikka thought Akane was going to make it! The fact that she made it that long - and wasn't obviously forcing herself - is something to be proud of. When she does start feeling like it's time to go, though, Rikka is there to bail her out.
...She really does, as it turns out, know how to pick a lock. She wasn't just acting cool for her girlfriend. In an instant a pair of bobby pins that she'd stashed away inside her lily hairpin are retrieved, the lock is opened, and they're out the window and on their way to the bus.
Rikka starts to get a feeling for where they're going part-way through the ride. She remembers this stretch well - she ran it twice on foot, after all. Soon enough the floodgate comes into view, and Akane is leading her up the steps. She takes a moment to take in their surroundings. This cool, calm night... she couldn't ask for better surroundings.
"I'm glad to know you're taking their advice." Rikka replies. Making a better memory than the last one... She smiles. "...That's a great idea. There are a lot of memories tied up in this place. I'd like you to have a good one, too."
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane is so relieved. She could have asked Alouette if Rikka had just been trying to sound cool, probably, but then she'd have another confederate and some more desires to balance and the whole thing would have just been messy. (Still, she texts Alouette that the choir club window is open, just in case.)
"It's still kinda hard to do that stuff... this one seemed okay, but a lot of the time they'll suggest something and I'm just like. 'Why bother?'" She feels like she's dragging down the mood to admit that. "Still... this one's pretty low commitment." A hand comes up to her hair, pinching at a few stray locks.
The first few steps up the steel are slow, delicate things. One hand on Rikka's hand, one hand on the rail. Akane's in heels, after all. (Thank god the steps are all made of solid slabs and not bars or grates... though she probably wouldn't have let that stop her.)
She's been rehearsing this moment in the back of her head since the bus ride started -- honestly, since before prom started. They'll go into the control room, they'll climb up the roof access, and --
Nah.
About halfway into turning to take the second set of steps, on the landing, Akane suddenly turns, pulls Rikka in, and allows herself to fall back a step, pressing her own back into the wall of the gate. Looks like they're staying on the landing for a bit.
"I don't think we need to go the whole way up," she says, tone turning playful. "I love you. I guess I wanted the chance to say it here. I know you can't get the runback on everything that doesn't go right, but..."
The teasing intensifies -- and there's no kidding about it this time. "Now you've got your girlfriend pinned up against a wall somehow~ What are you going to do about it?"
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka nods as Akane admits that it's still kind of hard to do it. If it does drag down the mood a little, that's okay. She wants to hear the things she's going through. So, she offers her a small.
"Well, I'm glad you chose to do this one with me." Rikka says. She keeps a careful eye on Akane. Going up steps in heels isn't easy, so she's ready to catch her if she starts to slip or become unstable. She's watching her...
...But the last thing she expects is Akane's sudden assertiveness. When they reach the landing, she finds herself pulled in as Akane presses against the wall. It's... a powerful combination attack, the sudden playfulness combined with her expression of love. Rikka is left stunned for a moment, mouth left agape and pink steadily blooming across her cheeks as her heart races. As she recovers a smile, too, begins to cross her face.
"...I love you too. So much." Rikka replies, as she finally finds her words. Akane teases her, and a sly expression begins to cross her face.
"...Mm. That's a good question. I could do anything I want." Rikka considers, sliding her arms around her. "Well... we were interrupted last time. But out here... there's no spotlights, and no one else around for miles."
"So why don't we pick up where we... left... off...?" Rikka murmurs, leaning forward. With each word her lips slowly draw closer - each word intentionally drawn out for maximum effect.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
Akane's heart pounds so hard she can see her heartbeat in the corners of her vision. She almost feels woozy, as Rikka teases her a little and slides those arms around her. 'Anything she wants,' huh --
Those lips draw closer to her own, and Akane's focus rests there; her eyes start to cross a little bit as Rikka closes in. A moment later, she closes them, letting a hand slide up Rikka's back into her hair.
Despite having purposefully cornered herself, Akane makes herself hard to describe as 'passive.' She really does want to get right back to where they were; her tongue slips in without any hesitation, her mouth opening just enough to allow herself to explore.
Letting the tension gradually fall out of her body as they continue to explore one another, Akane keeps that one hand curled in Rikka's hair. The other she lets Rikka do whatever she might want with.
Even with her new discovery of physical activity as an outlet, her conditioning isn't... great, by any stretch. It's not long before she has to tilt her head enough to gasp a bit -- but she doesn't fully pull away, either, moving right back to pressing lips to lips, hungry for more contact.
In some senses, it's a relief to feel like this -- Akane had been so worried that she'd ruined this kind of physicality for herself in so many ways. Admittedly, their previous forays had done a lot to assuage that feeling, but even so...
She makes no effort to break the kiss; she doesn't want it to end at all.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Rikka feels her hand sliding up her back - and then, Akane's tongue slipping into her mouth. This is the first time they've gotten this far. It's a wholly new experience for Rikka - but one she's more than willing to have along with her, as her own soon reciprocates eagerly.
She can feel the tension flowing out of Akane. In response, Rikka's stance shifts and her grip on Akane adjusting, just a little - providing a little extra support for her girlfriend, currently up against the wall. It's the hold of someone who intends to never let go, and yet gentle enough that Akane could remove herself at any time. And as for that free hand... Rikka's own searches needily for it. So caught up in her emotions is she that it fumbles across Akane's body a bit, grabbing awkwardly, until, eventually, she finds it - taking her hand in her own and threading her fingers between hers.
She is, of course, mindful of Akane's needs. When she pulls back for air, Rikka doesn't pursue. She waits for her - to see what she'll do, and react accordingly, and when Akane's answer is to join lips with her once more, she meets those desires. Rikka, too, doesn't want this to end. She knows it must, eventually - but right now, there is only them.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
The second kiss isn't quite as aggressive as the first -- though that isn't to say Akane isn't still needy. She lets that hand that was in Rikka's hair slide back down a bit, feeling the curve of her back through that dress; a faint 'mmh' tries to escape her lips as she feels along Rikka's shoulder blades.
All finite things end, of course -- but that's not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination. Music is never one held note. Akane parts from Rikka, still holding one hand in hers, arms still wrapped around each other.
"D-definitely better than last time we came here," she stammers out, giddy -- almost dizzy. "I could... do more of that, but I need a second. Still... ahahah, incredible, right --" She sounds breathless -- sentences don't finish so much as stop.
Her hand strays down a little bit more. ... look, it's a good butt, and maybe Akane wants to touch that, too. (Especially in that dress.) She doesn't linger there too long, though, running her hand right back up the middle of Rikka's spine, almost tickling.
"I was kinda scared this would freak me out, or it wouldn't do it for me, or it'd suck for you, or... ahahaha, this is gonna be another thing where I start listing stuff until you cut me off, isn't it..." Catching herself this time rather than needing to be caught, she leans into Rikka instead of the wall. "But I think just about any moment would be amazing with you in it."
Teasingly, she appends, "That's not to say I don't still want to get in your way fixing that tank of yours until you take the cable ties and..." Oh no, she's laughing at herself now, and that genuine warmth is dangerous. "... you know, maybe that's a bit much for tonight. What I'm saying is... this stuff's good too... and so is just sitting together in bed until we pass out, and..." ... yeah, she can't shut up now for a whole different reason.
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
Akane is needy - and Rikka is more than happy to fulfill that need. This she wants too, after all. As Akane's hand explores her back, Rikka's hand caresses hers in gentle circles. And, eventually, their lips part once more. Rikka smiles at her, head tilted slightly to the side.
"Definitely." She agrees. The giddy, almost dizziness in Akane's voice gets a faint chuckle out of Rikka and she nods as Akane expresses a need to take a second to recover. "Okay. Just let me know - I'm yours all night~."
She laughs a little, when Akane says that it was incredible - still somewhat overwhelmed with joy at their experience, herself.
"...God, it really was." She says. She rests her head on her shoulder for a moment - and when she feels Akane's hand travel lower, she looks back up at her with a knowing - and approving - smile. ...It's nice to be appreciated. As Akane's hand travels back up her spine, Rikka feels a slight shiver in a way she doesn't mind.
Akane continues into a list. Rikka raises her head again, watching her - and simply listening, rather than interrupting her immediately. She ultimately doesn't need to, and she's proud of her for catching herself. Akane leans into her, then, rather than the wall - and in response Rikka's arm shifts, to envelop her more fully, and to hug her closer.
"I feel the same way about you." Rikka agrees. Akane continues, and - she does admit to being very curious about how she intended to finish that sentence, an eyebrow arched and waiting expectantly. But instead, she laughs along with her. It really might be a bit much for tonight - it's okay for tonight to be this. And this time, it's good to hear Akane ramble. She could listen to her all night.
"...Yeah. I wouldn't give up these moments for the world..." Rikka agrees, her voice a whisper.
<Pose Tracker> Akane Shinjo has posed.
'I'm yours all night~' leaves Akane feeling an intense flush in her face. Rikka's getting so unbelievably dangerous so fast -- they're both getting more expressive, and the forms that that expression takes are so fun...
Part of her doesn't know where to go from here. There's no contrived scenario to follow, no obvious roadmap in her head for this moment. There's just the two of them and here and now, and that's... fascinating in its ups and downs.
Akane realizes where she's chosen to put her head... and mischief strikes her -- as does the urge to get physical again. She plants her mouth on Rikka's shoulder, gradually beginning to kiss from her collarbone up to her jawline before finally pulling up to meet her face to face again.
... That's as far as she goes with it for now, though, pulling back again and finally disengaging from that embrace.
She looks up toward Rikka, and her eyes are so big and so brown; it's easier than ever to miss the sunset-like sheen of red, faded near to nothing. "Thanks for letting me try this one. I'm feeling pretty good," she says, softly.
"Do we wanna go back to your place...?" Bringing a hand to her mouth to cover a giggle, she adds, "The wireless out this far is a little spotty still... I think it'd be kinda easier to explain what I was getting at with a visual aid or two."
... pick a stance, Akane!!
(The twist, of course, is that it turns out to be more episodes of Tarabaman -- albeit with a decidedly different eye than usual.)
<Pose Tracker> Rikka Takarada has posed.
It's Rikka's turn to flush, now, as Akane takes the opportunity she's presented to her. She feels each and every kiss that trails up her shoulder to her jawline. She hugs her tighter reflexively - and then, finally, they part. For a moment, Rikka finds herself lost in Akane's eyes. She loved the sunset-red - but these too are big, beautiful, and hers. Still flush, Rikka smiles back at her.
"...No problem. Anytime." Rikka replies. Akane makes a suggestion - and Rikka gets just a bit redder before she continues, clarifying herself.
"O-oh, yeah - that sounds great." Rikka agrees with a nod. "...I'm kind of interested to see them."
For a moment, she wonders - what sort of state did she leave her room in last? Is it presentable? Tonight's been so great and emotions are still running high so the rest of the day is a bit of a fog... She's probably going to want to see it, right?
...It's fine. It'll be fine.