I do not own the rights to nor am I in any way affiliated with Azumanga Daioh.
Cold Nights
Chapter 2
Yomi lay naked in a field of flowers staring up at the sky, watching white puffy clouds that looked like glued together cotton-balls float by overhead. A hand on her stomach drew her attention down to the girl lying beside her. She met Tomo’s gaze, staring into her deep brown eyes, feeling warm inside. She dared let her eyes trace slowly down from Tomo’s face, taking in her naked form partially obscured by the paper flowers they lay amongst. A smile parted her lips, and she leaned in towards Tomo, feeling their lips brush as her hand wandered up Tomo’s body in return to…
A piercing, screeching, headache-inducing sound filled the room, making Yomi’s head throb. She rolled over on the bed, swatting the alarm clock’s snooze button to silence it. Groping around blindly, she found her glasses on the nightstand, rolling onto her back once more and putting them on. She stared at the ceiling groggily, the dream slowly coming back to her.
It was the same one she’d been having on and off for months, maybe years. Or part of it, at least. The first time she’d just seen Tomo naked in the field, then she began seeing herself there as well, then she could see herself kissing Tomo, then it would get steamier… And as usual, her heart was pounding and she was drenched in sweat when she awoke. She sat up in bed, the memory of the past night clicking suddenly.
Feeling her heart leap just as it was starting to slow back down, she brought her fingers up to her lips. Had she really kissed Tomo? Admitted how she felt? She leapt to her feet; her eyes searching the room fruitlessly for traces of Tomo’s presence. She lunged and grabbed the door handle, flinging it open to meet Tomo, who yelped in surprise, nearly tipping the contents of the tray she held onto the floor.
Yomi backed away from the door looking stunned, the shorter girl moving past her to set the tray carefully on the bed, then slowly lowering herself to sit beside it, “You kept tossing and turning and woke me up at like, six, so I figured I’d make breakfast.”
Nodding speechlessly, Yomi took a seat on the bed opposite the tray from Tomo. There was a plate of toast, along with orange juice and cereal for both of them on the tray, one bowl of cereal being devoured now by Tomo.
Taking a piece of toast, Yomi began to eat it slowly, watching Tomo intently as her mind tried to work out their situation. After finishing the cereal, Tomo looked up to Yomi, smiling her usual Cheshire smile; “Do you always mumble in your sleep?”
Yomi choked on her toast, coughing and taking a quick gulp of the orange juice to get it down. “No, I don’t!” she rasped finally, then coughing again, being helped by Tomo slapping her on the back.
“Jeez, you don’t have to overreact like that. I was just curious.”
Yomi’s cheeks burned, she was being told not to overreact by Tomo, the most spastic girl in the prefect. The first question on her mind was the first to come out of her mouth, despite her intention to be more tactful about asking,
“So you like girls too?” She looked back as she said it, catching the momentary thoughtful look Tomo’s face carried.
“I like you…” Tomo finally answered after a few moments of deliberation. “I never really thought about whether I liked girls or boys before. Can’t blame boys for staying away from me anyway.” She set down the emptied cereal bowl, picking up a slice of toast to nibble on thoughtfully.
Yomi’s eyes fell across Tomo’s body, noticing her pajamas were gone and had been replaced by a t-shirt and sweat pants, both a size or more too big for Tomo’s petite frame, “You took a shower?”
Looking down at herself as well, Tomo tugged the neck of the shirt out as far as it would go, the fabric then opening well down past her collarbones as she released it, “Yeah, before I made breakfast. Should be plenty of hot water left for you, though. I just raided your closet, I’ll bring them back later.” She slid from the bed, picking up the tray after Yomi had finished the third slice of toast, “I’ll go wash this stuff up before I go home to get dressed for school. See you back here to walk to school.”
Yomi got to her feet, opening the door for Tomo, watching her as she walked down the hall and disappeared around the corner into the kitchen. Alone again, Yomi went to her closet, gathering her clothes for the day and heading to the bathroom.
Standing before the bathroom mirror, Yomi’s reflection stared back at her as she disrobed. The feeling of nervous excitement that filled her stomach and made the toast feel like a bad idea was showing on her face as well. She tried a smile, feeling it looked far too fake for her. She looked away from the mirror, stepping over and turning the water in the shower on, testing it with her hand until it was warm enough for her taste.
As nervous as she felt over her new situation with Tomo, she also felt a great relief had washed over her just as the water did when she stepped into the shower. No more waking up in the middle of the night and feeling ashamed as she mopped sweat off her face with the sleeve of her pajamas. No more looking at the pictures of Tomo she had collected during moments of intimacy and imagining what it would be like with her. Now she had Tomo.
The anxiousness she felt rose towards a feeling of happiness as Yomi rinsed shampoo from her hair, then stepping out of the shower and beginning to dry herself. It had worked out. After all the months she’d spent in doubt, pitifully trying to pry Tomo out of her life, trying to figure out how to confront her feelings, how to just get over it, it had worked out.
Finishing adjusting her skirt, she pulled on a pair of the long deep brown socks she loved so much for keeping her legs warm. After grabbing her book bag and the lunch left by her mother she walked back through the house giving a quick check that all lights and appliances were off. Her mother as usual had left before six, just like every weekday morning. Pulling on her coat and slipping her shoes on where she stood on the patch of hardwood flooring by the door, she tried to force her face into the usual look of lax interest and stole herself against the waiting cold as she opened the door.
The rush of cold air made Yomi shiver despite herself. She shut the door behind her as she stepped outside, looking down the street to see Tomo walking towards her at a quick pace, light jacket unbuttoned and schoolbag resting over her shoulder.
“Just in time,” Tomo called enthusiastically as she jogged the last few yards, throwing her arms around Yomi to the taller girl’s surprise. “Now we can keep each other warm on the walk to school.”
Glancing around to see if anyone was watching, Yomi felt the nervousness well up inside her quickly, making her feel nauseous. She pushed the smaller girl away, saying lowly, “We shouldn’t be this brazen about it…What if someone at school found out? Can you imagine how our friends would react?”
Stepping back, Tomo looked thoughtful for a moment, tapping a finger against her chin, “Chiyo wouldn’t understand; Sakaki wouldn’t say anything even if she did care; Osaka wouldn’t get it; and Kagura would laugh, then forget about it.”
Yomi stared at her, Tomo responding with her trademark Cheshire grin before beginning to walk. Following after her, Yomi said after a few quiet moments, “Yeah, I guess they wouldn’t care. But what if our parents found out?”
Tomo didn’t respond verbally, keeping walking and dropping her schoolbag off her shoulder to hold at her side as her whole frame slumped slightly. After Yomi caught up and fell in step with her, Tomo seemed to liven up once more, saying in her usual energetic voice, “So, do you think Kaorin will ever get up the nerve to ask Sakaki out?”
“No, she won’t.” Yomi accepted the change of topic, looking up at the sky; it was a pale blue in the early morning light, a few thin clouds lining the horizon. She smirked bemusedly, “Though sometimes I wonder if Kagura would…”
Tomo cackled, saying in a raucous voice, “Come on, Kagura’s with Ms. Kurosawa!”
“Don’t say that so loud,” Yomi retorted quickly in a hushed voice, “you could start a nasty rumor if someone else overheard you.”
Leaning in close, Tomo said in a low voice, “All that time they spend with those private swimming lesson…no one needs that much practice.” She continued to grin, then moving away and shrugging, “You don’t really think they’re together like that, do you?”
Yomi shook her head, “No, of course they aren’t.”
There were a few minutes of silence, Tomo beginning to do a sort of march, swinging her bag in her hand. She dropped back into a normal walk suddenly saying, “I’ve gotta copy your trig homework when we get to school.”
Frowning, Yomi mumbled, “I didn’t finish it….”
With her normal efficacy Tomo spouted, “Jeez, Yomi, you’re getting as irresponsible as I am! You’ll never pass any college entrance exams like this!”
With a threatening growl, Yomi lunged towards Tomo with an outstretched hand as she yelled, “It was your fault!” She stumbled as Tomo juked out of the way quickly, Yomi regaining her balance to see Tomo slowing momentarily from a run a few yards ahead to blow a raspberry at her. Unable to suppress a smile, Yomi charged ahead after her girlfriend, the chase lasting all the way to the school gates.
*****
The high sun was only slightly warming on the school’s rooftop at the start of lunch. Yomi and Tomo sat close to each other with hands clasped discreetly between them. Both had spent the morning in silent anguish, waiting for the chance to be near one another, to be separated from everyone else, and most important to be able to make some form of physical contact.
Checking her watch, Yomi sighed, lunch was nearly halfway over, and they had to spend at least part of it eating. She wished she’d brought her lunch up, but couldn’t have reached it, especially after slipping away from the rest of their friends with the excuse of needing to talk to their chemistry teacher. She stiffened slightly as Tomo’s cheek came to rest on her shoulder. Looking down, the smaller girl’s face held a pensive look as she stared across the roof at the few trees that were visible above it.
After a few more minutes, Yomi broke the peaceful silence, saying hesitantly, “So, uh, do you want to see a movie this weekend…?”
Suddenly growing energetic again, Tomo sat up, turning to face Yomi on the bench, “You mean…Like a real date?”
Nodding, Yomi chanced a glance towards Tomo, who for a moment looked like she was going to explode with joy before she leapt and wrapped her arms around Yomi’s neck in a tight hug then breaking away and getting to her feet a bit red in the face.
“Guess we should get back down to the cafeteria to eat….” Yomi said quietly, her cheeks red as well.
Tomo flashed her Cheshire cat grin, saying in a louder than needed voice, “Yeah, I forgot my lunch, I’ll hafta’ arm wrestle Kagura for half of her’s. Better get back before she pigs out on all of it!” She headed towards the door quickly, not hearing Yomi’s call for her to wait.
“You could’ve had half of mine,” Yomi added in a slightly hurt voice after Tomo had disappeared down the stair well. She forced her hands into the pockets of her jacket as she walked back down to the room.
Novelist Bunnies: Do you write in order? 
