[ As Yukari begins to speak, Mitsuru remains as she was, her head bowed to Kotone. She stays that way, silently allowing Yukari to say her piece until ...
[ ' ... after I kissed you.'
[ Her eyes snap up from the floorboards, back slowly straightening as her attention shifts from Kotone to Yukari. Something heavy pressed against her chest, settled in her stomach. She barely had time to process it before Yukari mentioned Aigis - that she'd messed up what Kotone had with her.
[ For a moment, Mitsuru is confused. She doesn't understand what Yukari means, so her gaze shifts back to Kotone. She watches Kotone stiffen, sees her eyes fall to the floor, hears the faint huff of breath leave her ...
[ And suddenly, she understands.
[ If you saw Kotone and Aigis together, it would be all but impossible not to see the deep connection that they shared. Mitsuru had always attributed it to the history that they shared, and Aigis's singular devotion to her. She ... she hadn't considered the possibility that their connection had become romantic, but given that history and devotion, it made all the sense in the world.
[ Being separated from the one that she ... from the one that she loved must have been agonizing for Kotone. Sharing a kiss with Yukari would have felt like a betrayal, and Mitsuru's own affections would have gouged at that open wound ...
[ Of course Kotone had pushed her away ...
[ When Kotone finally spoke, Mitsuru barely heard her. The words were distant and indistinct, as though whispered at the end of a hallway. She was dragged out of her own thoughts when Kotone embraced her, but not completely ...
[ Even through the immense relief that gesture brought, it still hurt to know that Kotone had fallen in love with someone else. It tore at her, knowing that there might have been a chance for them if she'd only understood her own heart well enough to act. It stung knowing that the two people she loved the most had shared the sort of intimacy that she wanted so dearly ...
[ ... and she felt guilty for feeling any of it.
[ That pain and guilt and heartache threatened to dominate her thoughts. Letting it happen would have been so, so easy ...
[ But she didn't. She pushed against it, pushed as hard as she could, because she was done allowing these petty, selfish, weak emotions poison the friendships that mattered the most to her.
[ Maybe she couldn't rid herself of those feelings entirely, but they weren't going to rule her any further, and they weren't going to stop her from being the sort of friend that those around her deserved.
[ After a moment of tension, she all but melts into the hug. She puts her arms around Kotone and squeezes her tight. She buries her face in the shorter girl's hair for a moment, feeling herself start to tear up ...
[ And then she, too extends her arm towards Yukari. ]
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2021-10-29 04:44 am (UTC)[ ' ... after I kissed you.'
[ Her eyes snap up from the floorboards, back slowly straightening as her attention shifts from Kotone to Yukari. Something heavy pressed against her chest, settled in her stomach. She barely had time to process it before Yukari mentioned Aigis - that she'd messed up what Kotone had with her.
[ For a moment, Mitsuru is confused. She doesn't understand what Yukari means, so her gaze shifts back to Kotone. She watches Kotone stiffen, sees her eyes fall to the floor, hears the faint huff of breath leave her ...
[ And suddenly, she understands.
[ If you saw Kotone and Aigis together, it would be all but impossible not to see the deep connection that they shared. Mitsuru had always attributed it to the history that they shared, and Aigis's singular devotion to her. She ... she hadn't considered the possibility that their connection had become romantic, but given that history and devotion, it made all the sense in the world.
[ Being separated from the one that she ... from the one that she loved must have been agonizing for Kotone. Sharing a kiss with Yukari would have felt like a betrayal, and Mitsuru's own affections would have gouged at that open wound ...
[ Of course Kotone had pushed her away ...
[ When Kotone finally spoke, Mitsuru barely heard her. The words were distant and indistinct, as though whispered at the end of a hallway. She was dragged out of her own thoughts when Kotone embraced her, but not completely ...
[ Even through the immense relief that gesture brought, it still hurt to know that Kotone had fallen in love with someone else. It tore at her, knowing that there might have been a chance for them if she'd only understood her own heart well enough to act. It stung knowing that the two people she loved the most had shared the sort of intimacy that she wanted so dearly ...
[ ... and she felt guilty for feeling any of it.
[ That pain and guilt and heartache threatened to dominate her thoughts. Letting it happen would have been so, so easy ...
[ But she didn't. She pushed against it, pushed as hard as she could, because she was done allowing these petty, selfish, weak emotions poison the friendships that mattered the most to her.
[ Maybe she couldn't rid herself of those feelings entirely, but they weren't going to rule her any further, and they weren't going to stop her from being the sort of friend that those around her deserved.
[ After a moment of tension, she all but melts into the hug. She puts her arms around Kotone and squeezes her tight. She buries her face in the shorter girl's hair for a moment, feeling herself start to tear up ...
[ And then she, too extends her arm towards Yukari. ]