Part 18

Natsuki's skin buzzed with an electric energy, her chest heaving and her senses heightened. Nothing else even paralleled the overwhelming pleasure and satisfaction she felt coursing through her veins in that very moment of blissful peace.

Yuri blinked at her sleepily as she lay beside her, the dark sheets pulled up around her pale chest and a lazy, contented smile alighting her flushed face beautifully; Natsuki's chest fluttered at the sight.

Yeah, definitely love...

Yuri's shy, expectant look left her scrambling for a coherent sentence. "That was..." she murmured, not entirely sure how she intended to finish. Amazing? Fun? Perfect? No mere word seemed sufficient enough to contain her brimming emotions. "Just wow."

A short, sweet laugh escaped Yuri's kiss-swollen lips as she pulled her into her arms, her chin resting atop her pink head of hair. "I agree," she sighed, her nails tracing gentle lines up and down her exposed back. Lying in her arms felt comforting, Natsuki relaxed into her touch with a happy little purr and her fingers unconsciously twisted Yuri's long hair playfully. A funny resemblance to Yuri's own habit, she noticed. "How do you feel?"

She pondered the question for a moment, before speaking up. "Satisfied," Yuri giggled at that, a charming sound that warmed her heart. "A bit sore, though."

"Yes," Yuri replied quietly, her voice adopting a solemn, sad tone all of a sudden. "You will do."

For some reason or another it hadn't crossed her mind in the heat of their passion that this wasn't exactly new to Yuri, until it did. And once the thought implanted itself she couldn't seem to shake it. Oh, God, what if they were better than me...? As her mind manifested unpleasant images that she really didn't want to think of a pit formed in her stomach, leaving her feeling slightly nauseous and uneasy. Was it wrong to feel jealous about that sort of thing? That she hadn't been the one to take Yuri's virginity from her? Probably not.

"Are you alright?" She hadn't noticed her fidgeting had became a little too erratic. Yuri had backed away to study her appearance, a concerned, watchful look present.

"Y-Yeah, I just..." It was silly, she shouldn't mention it. It had been none of her business, anyway. It was only selfish to ruin the mood with her own foolish feelings. "It's nothing."

Seemingly unconvinced, Yuri shook off her strange episode anyway with a frown and she returned to holding her in her arms. Distracting herself, Natsuki watched as she traced lines with her index finger along the girl's shoulder and collarbones, her flesh prettily tinted red with kisses and heat. After a moment her eyes caught the sliced, scarred skin of her girlfriend's arms. "Yuri?" A curious hum spurred her on. "Do you still want to...cut?"

"Honestly? Yes," she admitted gravely, "But I will refrain from doing so for your sake."

"Oh," she swallowed what felt like a mangled ball of yarn, her insecurities getting the better of her once again. "B-But, uh, was I...y'know...o-okay..?"

"You were perfect," she whispered, dusting light kisses along her hair. "You did everything I could have hoped for from you. Thank you." Natsuki nuzzled her face further into the crook of her neck with a relieved sigh. "That is not the problem at all."

"You still unsure about what's causing it?" Natsuki murmured sleepily against Yuri's throat, to which Yuri nodded once.

"I am hoping the counselling will help me figure that out."

Oh yeah, that was starting soon. "When's your appointment again?"

"Two weeks from tomorrow." One of Yuri's hands had moved, her palm running lovingly through Natsuki's short hair. The feel of her sharp nails scratching her scalp as she did so made her shudder pleasantly, while leaving her feeling sleepy and a little disoriented. Maybe she should move soon, once her muscles stopped aching so much. As if sensing her thoughts Yuri piped up again, "You are free to use the shower if you please."

She whined in protest and kissed the expanse of skin she had access to. "I will soon. Too comfy." Yuri chuckled quietly, her arms squeezing her slightly.

"As you wish."

They lay in peaceful silence, their respective hands slowly roaming along the other in compassionate, loving movements as they shared occasional kisses. After a short while a harsh buzz from the bedside table shattered the bubble around their little world, thrusting them into reality. As Yuri shifted to check her phone Natsuki huffed and took the opportunity to force herself away from her.

The chill of the room against her heated, exposed skin felt refreshing as she pushed the duvet off of her and reached for her discarded clothes to slip them on leisurely. She tread softly out of the room and down the hall, intending to take thorough advantage of Yuri's shower offer.

As she stepped inside the glass cubicle the shower washed away her sweat, cleared her mind and relaxed her tender muscles in a rush of warm water. She sighed happily, running her fingers through her wet hair as she savored the soothing heat against her tender skin. Her body would likely complain the next day, but she couldn't bring herself to care all too much.

Once pleased she slipped out once more onto the fluffy shower mat and wrapped a deep purple towel around her chest, securing it under one of her arms. She took another, smaller towel and used it to rub the worse of the moisture from her hair. Music drifted through the walls as she did so, encouraging her to sway a little to the beat.

With a quick swipe Natsuki cleared a patch of condensation off the mirror, allowing her access to see herself clearly. Her light eyes had a bright, shiny appearance to them and her skin was glowing. As in it looked clearer and softer and...redder? She had a dusty tint to her cheeks, sure, but...

Natsuki stepped closer to the mirror, peering at herself curiously. Then, in an instant, her stomach plummeted at the sight before her.

Along her neck and shoulder she had distinct crimson bite marks, some darkening into a speckled, deep purple. She ran her fingers along them in a desperate, pitiful attempt to wipe them off, to no avail. Nausea choked her, her pulse racing as her mind turned foggy.

Oh, fuck, they were so obvious.

She fled from the bathroom and down the short hall to Yuri's room, her panic overtaking her rationality as she stumbled through the door, her hand still clutching the bites. "Y-Yuri!" she stammered, her eyes darting around and finding the other girl. She had slipped her dressing gown on, a silken, black garment with red vines of roses twisting their way around the fabric. She would have believed it looked beautiful on her if her thoughts weren't otherwise occupied. Yuri blinked up at her cautiously, but her expression soon morphed into fear as Natsuki lowered her palm from her neck, exposing the bruising.

"Oh, Gosh!" She muttered, trotting over to her hastily for a closer inspection. "O-Oh I, um, I was certainly not supposed to do that!"

Yuri sounded pained, her voice tinted with guilt. Natsuki swallowed her pride. Any other day she would have likely pinned the blame on Yuri and gotten overly feisty with her, but her sated mind soothed those negative feelings that threatened to overflow. "It's not your fault," she said numbly. She noticed her fingers were shaking and Yuri seemed to pick up on it, too, taking her hands within her own. "I-I don't know what to do."

"I am so sorry," she said, her voice full of sorrow. "What about the scarf?"

Natsuki nipped her lip, shaking her head. "I don't know if that'll work. Papa knows the bruises have faded."

"I-It is better than nothing, yes?"

"I guess," she muttered, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Yuri pulled her into a hug, seemingly unfazed by her still dripping hair.

"I apologize, I should-" Natsuki grumbled, interrupting her.

"It's not your fault," she repeated firmly. "So shush, okay?"

"Yuri, I have an idea." Natsuki had been pondering her options for the entirety of their walk home, her final decision solidified.

"What is it?"

"I, uh, I want you to call the police if I ever send you a suspicious message."

"Really? Are you certain you are prepared for that?"

"Yeah, I think I'd be ready if needed. But, promise me something?" Yuri hummed curiously. "If, for any reason, it ever does come down to that don't try and interfere yourself. He'd hurt you."

Yuri frowned. "I-If it makes you feel better I will promise." The tone of her voice didn't exactly sound convincing, but Natsuki placed her trust in her besides that. She had no other choice, really. "B-But would it not be easier to call the police yourself?"

Natsuki shook her head tautly, her pink hair bobbing as she did so. "I can't bring myself to do that."

Thankfully, Yuri took the hint and accepted that as a valid excuse without question. "Alright." Her hand wrapping around Natsuki's wrist halted her as they reached the bottom end of her street. Surprised, she stopped and turned to face her. "I would be lying if I said I am not worried for your safety. Please be careful."

"Always am," she said with a little grin. But Yuri still had that scared, guilty look in her eye that tugged her heartstrings painfully, so for her sake she changed her approach to a softer, serious one. "Listen, I'm gonna be fine. And now that I know you've got my back I only feel ten times safer. I'll message you as soon as I'm in, okay?"

Yuri nodded halfheartedly, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. Huffing, Natsuki bounced up to press a sweet, quick kiss to her lips, which was returned immediately. "A-Alright, try not to forget about the snacks I gave you. Stay safe, Natsuki."

"I won't. You, too, I lo-" She froze. Where exactly was her though process taking her with that sentence... "I, uh, I'll see you on Monday!" Ouch, the false, dramatic enthusiasm made her cringe but it seemed to distract Yuri enough from her almost humiliating slip up. Fuck, it was way too early to be thinking anything about love. Wasn't it?

Well, maybe exceptions could be made when you've been friends for years. But, still. Too soon.

And, besides, what if the other girl didn't say it back?

Yuri offered her a weak smile and a nod before Natsuki turned to head home, her pulse racing and the brisk Autumn breeze chilling her exposed neck, reminding her she had to be careful.

The door to the apartment opened with a creak and Natsuki inhaled a long, leveling breath before stepping inside and shutting it again. As usual, the buzz and flickers from the television droned through into the hall as she walked passed the living room doorway tensely. The clinking of an empty can being discarded made her flinch, her footsteps speeding a little as she reached the stairs.

Once safely in her room after clearing the stairway with no issues she exhaled a stiff breath she hadn't even noticed she'd been holding and made a grab for the scarf that was slung across her mirror. Wounding it around her neck, she padded over to her little bed and lay down with an ungraceful flop, the tension draining from her. Yuri's bed was miles comfier.

Her muscles ached, her head throbbed and her worries were escalating but despite it all Natsuki smiled at the ceiling as she clutched her chest. She never would have thought she would become a soppy romance person, but she could slowly feel herself falling in love and it just seemed too damn good to ignore.

Oh, crap, gotta message Yuri. She didn't need to prolong her concern any longer than necessary. She idly sifted through the contents of her bag for her phone, fishing it out after a moment. A little new message icon bobbed on the screen.

(5) New Message(s) from: Sayori

6:42pm: Sayori - Sup, Suki! Thanks for coming today <3

6:44pm: Sayori - You there??

6:48pm: Sayori - Hellooooo...

6:51pm: Sayori - :(

6:56pm: Sayori - Do you hate me?

Poor, sweet Sayori. She thought with a smile, typing a reply to assure her she was there and she loved her.

Natsuki frowned. It wasn't weird for her to say she loved Sayori so casually, which she did, so why did it feel so wrong to say it to Yuri? Granted, they had different contexts, but that shouldn't matter if they were her feelings, right?

Shaking those thoughts off she messaged Yuri to inform her that she was safe from harm. She left off the "so far" part she was thinking, though, as she pressed send. She dropped her phone to the lumpy mattress and reached into her bag again, pulling out a bar of chocolate that Yuri had given her. She had offered her a few snacks before they left for when she inevitably became hungry so the interaction with papa could be minimized while the marks healed.

Her phone buzzed, alerting her.

(1) New Message(s) from: Yuri

7:10pm: Yuri - That is great to hear. Thank you again for today, I had fun.

Natsuki grinned as she picked keenly at the chocolate. Well, she should safely say she'd had a crap load of fun herself.

7:11pm: Natsuki - Yeah, same. Thanks. What you doing when you get back home?

As she was typing, yet another message came through.

(1) New Message(s) from: Sayori

7:11pm: Sayori - I love you too <3 So how was your day at Yuri's, huh??

For a second she actually pondered telling her about her and Yuri. She felt like she needed to talk to someone about it; it was a big deal, after all. Her and Sayori were close enough for that, they'd had a late night heart to heart at her house when Sayori had admitted her crush on Monika to Natsuki and again not long after they'd gotten together. Actually, looking back it was almost clear as day that she had been struggling with something along the lines of depression, since she had talked very lowly of herself.

Even so, it was wrong to inform her without Yuri's consent, so instead she made up some lie about the homework she had told her about and hoped that she would fall for it.

Which she did.

7:14pm: Sayori - Ugh, maths. Boringgg!

7:15pm: Natsuki - It's only boring cause I'm not there. What did you and Monika do?

7:16pm: Sayori - Ehehe, take a wild guess!

7:17pm: Natsuki - You guys are gross

That was a little hypocritical, but Sayori didn't need to know that. She opened the message from Yuri that had just popped up.

7:17pm: Yuri - I suppose I will get some work done. What are your plans?

Over the course of the evening Natsuki texted her and Sayori while she covered some work herself and ate the snacks that Yuri had provided. Eventually she crawled into bed, abandoning her work to instead focus on resting and texting. Sayori drifted away first, claiming her medication was making her drowsy and she had to sleep before she just passed out. That left her and Yuri.

They were deep in conversation about the Portrait of Markov, which Natsuki had finished not long ago, when stumbling footsteps edging closer to the door sent an icy chill down her spine.

Hastily she ensured the covers were pulled up enough to act as an extra barrier between him and the marks, just as the door creaked. He stood in the doorway, a terrifying silhouette against the obscure darkness of the hall.

His narrowed eyes found her from across the room. He was drunk, she noted, his figure swaying slightly as he used the doorframe to steady himself.

"Lights off, girl," he hissed, distaste dripping from his tongue. She nodded numbly and reached over to flick her little lamp off. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Sorry, papa." The words sounded bitter to her ears, the blatant lie a clear counterpart to her fear. He seemed to accept it, however.

Muttering to himself he reached for the door handle with rocky movements, shutting it with a sharp slam that made her flinch.

She exhaled in relief, pulling the covers around herself tighter in attempt to relax her shaking body.

She had been lucky.