A middle-aged woman sat back on her bed, staring at the ceiling and contemplating every crack in it.
Oh, sure, just write a couple slash stories. They pay the rent. Keep doing, send it to your sister to pay for schooling, and twenty years later, you're STILL writing it....
Fine. I need a new topic. A new pairing. A new.... Hm.
Sitting up, the woman reached for a pen, then her notebook, fumbling slightly as the idea struck her.
How is THIS for imaginative miscegnation, pervs?
The murmur of soft Inustani words drifted about on the cool night air as the inujin talked themselves to sleep in the clinic. A slender nekojin girl flicked her ears slightly at the noise, tail wound tightly about her waist and into her lap, feeling vaguely uneasy. She was odd in appearance; bluish skin and pale white hair, her mixed parentage obviously containing a good part of drow. Her hair was tied back loosely into a bun at the nape of her neck, and she leaned over a still figure.
The friend she was so concerned about was large, resting on a 'bed' which was actually made of four beds hastily rolled into place. She was over twelve feet in height, with a breadth of shoulder proportional to that. Pale red hair lay about her face, limp strands looking bland and washed out against the crisp white pillow. The slight sprinkling of freckles across her cheeks were the only color she possessed.
"Oh, Choko...." whispered the nekojin softly, moonlight washing in through a window and rendering her long, loose dress into shades of silver and blue.
The immense girl's eyes opened slightly, little more than cracks as her mouth smiled, very faintly.
"Not going to die, Pure.... not going to. Gotta..."
"Hush! Save your energy!" Pure immediately said, paws waving frantically in a chiding manner. The giantess chuckled slightly, then winced as her chest heaved, straining cracked ribs.
"...gotta go on, finish the trip with you. Everyone else."
"Trip? What trip? BAH. This was fun, but none of us got HURT. Especially since you're my best friend—"
"Came far, though. Remember..."
"Oh yes, crossing the Forbidden Plains. SMART MOVE. Meeting crazy frost-dragon types who want to kill us. SMART MOVE. Going to Fuzzy Mother in Nekonia and getting scolded every day, SMART MO— wait, that WAS smart. At least she made Ryoko behave for a little while." Her voice was starting to rise in intensity and shrillness, though she resumed a more normal tone at the end, partially because Choko had raised a warning finger.
"Came a long way from Doma City... and now we're here with all the Inustani. Great trip," Choko said, smiling slightly.
Pure sighed.
"But with you hurt... Miranda's also really bad, and her wings're broken, and stuff. At least sis is the least hurt out of you three. She whines too much though."
"Ryoko hurt....?"
"Yes. Maybe THAT will teach her to stop sucking squidpops and messing with the engine."
Choko began laughing softly, then that turned into a cough and wince. The immediate response to this was Pure squeezing her hand.
"....Pure. You really don't have to stay the night," whispered Choko, once she recovered her voice and breath.
"Why not? You're my best friend."
There was silence for a few long moments.
"You're too good to me."
"No. Friends are supposed to be there. You need me, yes?"
Thinking about that, Choko was forced to nod in agreement. This took quite a bit longer, the young woman realizing that she did need her friend's company, and couldn't think of anyone else in the part she'd appreciate more— certainly not Vel or Jaeko. With a pang, she evne realized that Fiore's company was not what she craved. Though she was tentatively exploring a budding romantic relationship with the phoenix, for comfort....
"Thank you so much, Pure."
"Hush. Save energy." Even so, the nekojin's tail fluffed slightly with pleasure. "I tuck you in like a mother." With great ceremony, Pure proceeded to do so, treating the injured giantess as gently as she could, biting her own lip every time an unintentional jostle brought pain to Choko's face. Even so, Choko kept on a diligent smile.
"No bedtime story, mother?"
"Not tonight. Past your bedtime. Now kiss for good dreams," Pure scolded, then leaned over to give Choko a light kiss on the nose. Choko was startled by that movement, tilting her face upwards so that first their noses bumped, then their lips met.
A tingle of electricity passed between them, the fine hairs covering Pure's body raising themselves slightly before she recoiled in surprise. Choko looked back up at her, equally shocked— both literally and figuratively.
"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"That was an accident, I'm sorry—"
Their confused voices overlapped, and they each cut themselves off, looking at eachother in bewilderment. Choko was flushed, and raised a hand to brush back a lock of her hair.
Pure smiled, trying to turn the incident into a joke.
"Well, Fiore's been teaching you how to kiss, hasn't he? Good teacher."
"...you too? It felt good?" Choko whispered, eyes widening slightly.
"It—" Pure paused, looking embarrassed at Choko's expression, which was difficult to read. The catgirl was no liar though, and eventually nodded a very tentative yes.
"I'm surprised. I really— wasn't expecting this. That." Choko spoke softly, somewhat moody before gently returning to the topic, inching along with a fascinated, almost morbidly fixated curiousity. "I never even really kissed Fiore like that before, and— when you said you would stay— I like you. I wanted you more than anyone else. Including Fiore."
"...Choko. It's late. I don't know— I don't think we can talk like thus much more. It's getting me all confused," Pure replied, growing agitated. "It's getting too late to question things like friendship or— or—"
"Then we don't have to question it. Not until morning, anyway... keep faith in our friendship, no matter what. Even if we decide it's— something else— we'll still always be friends, underneath it all."
"...our leap of faith. One small step for you, one giant leap for me," Pure replied, trying another feeble joke before Choko squeezed her hand.
"You're my best friend, Pure. Maybe..."
"...wait until morning. You still need rest," came the whispered reply, hands squeezing slightly until they both drifted to sleep, hands still clasped in the moonlight.