Work Text:
"Okay, what do you think?"
Yumeko holds up the piece of paper she's spent the past hour carefully applying ink to, upon it is chrysanthemums.
"The details in the petals is impressive, I'd say add more line weight, though you don't have to take that suggestion." Riri says, carefully taking in the delicate line work. She slides her sketchbook to the other side of the table for Yumeko to see. "And mine?"
On the page was her own interpretation of the Chrysanthemums laying in a glass vase between them. Hers was in pencil, sketched lightly with the intention of going over it with colored pencils after.
"It's hard to tell these two apart, they kind of mold into one flower. I don't think it matters much since you'll color them different colors anyway. Other than that, very pretty." Yumeko says, giving her own critiques. Riri nods, absorbing that information for later.
The duo worked oddly well together, occasionally getting together to have drawing sessions like this. Always in the same place, the school's neglected art studio, usually on Wednesdays. It was a nice escape from the week. Riri found it to be a sort of midweek reset, giving her the will to push through the rest of it.
She never expected to enjoy Yumeko's presence. If anything she tolerated her at first, but now she looks forward to their sessions.
"I think next time we should draw each other from person." Yumeko suggests as she adds the suggested line weight to her own piece. She was always calmer during their sessions, body relaxed as she let the ink on her brush flow across the paper.
"You can draw people?" Riri asks, opening her box of new colored pencils, a gift from Mary for her birthday.
"I don't know, I've never tried. I know you can, I've seen your drawings of Mary."
"They aren't very good," Riri shrugs.
"They're something aren't they? Likely better than whatever I'll do once I try." She holds her paper once again. "Is this better?"
"This line could be thicker." Riri points to a part of the inked flowers with the back of her pencil. "You'd be surprised at what you can do if you just try. We'll do the portraits next time."
—
Yumeko plopped onto the couch inside of the council lounge next to Riri, resting her head onto her shoulder. "What are you reading?"
Riri stiffened at the touch, lightly leaning away.
"Casual affection isn't your thing. Right, sorry." Yumeko says, momentarily forgetting only Mary was the one to touch Riri like this. She retracts herself from Riri entirely, putting space between them.
Her and Riri were something along the lines of friends now, and Yumeko is the type to be touchy with her friends. But Riri is a different type of friend, one who doesn't receive the affection well, so she has to be mindful of that.
"It's in Russian," Riri says, promptly ignoring the physical interaction.
"I want to learn that someday. Preferably soon, for Kira mostly." Yumeko curls into the couch. "But it'd also be cool to read books in a language other than English and Japanese."
Riri brings her attention from her book to Yumeko for a second, looking as if she were considering something. "If I taught you Russian… would you teach me Japanese?"
That catches Yumeko off guard, causing her to perk up. "Japanese? What for?"
"I've made it a goal to read my favorite book in as many languages as possible. I've only gotten as far as English, Russian, German, and French."
"Why'd you start with all the hard ones? Spanish seems to be a better first option."
"I already knew French because I studied it in school, and I found a German copy of the book before any other."
"Okay, I'll teach you. It may take a while though, so you can't give up halfway through," she warns.
"The same goes for Russian," Riri says, accepting the challenge.
Poor girl doesn't know what she's in for having Yumeko as a teacher.
—
"You're holding it wrong."
Yumeko groans loudly. "You said I was doing it right a moment ago."
"And now you're doing it wrong. You hold the bow correctly, but you don't position the arrows as they should be," Riri says. "Watch."
She takes her own bow from the rack, the one with her name engraved along the inside, and takes an arrow to demonstrate. Yumeko watches the way Riri inserts her arrow closely in order to mimic later, then inspects the way she draws back the bow with practiced ease.
She releases the string of the bow, the arrow lands slightly to the left of the bullseye.
"Show-off."
"повтори это (repeat it)."
"да, мадам (yes ma'am)," she says playfully. The foreign language was still new on her tongue, but she felt she was getting the hand of it. She receives a new arrow from the rack and positions it on the bow as Riri did, drawing the bow back as best as she can.
The arrow hits the grass rather than the target.
"I don't understand how you and Kira enjoy this." She huffs, putting her bow back onto the rack in defeat. This was another thing she wanted to learn for Kira. Of course, who would be better to teach her than her sister? She didn't want to ask Kira directly, she wanted to impress her with it one day, same with Russian.
"If you really want to impress my sister, you'll practice. Сделай это снова (do it again)."
"ты командуешь, как твоя сестра (you're bossy like your sister)."
"и твой акцент по-прежнему ужасный. сделай это снова (and your accent is still horrible. Do it again)."
—
"Stay still."
"I am still," Yumeko pouts.
"You're not," Riri says. "Your bangs will come out crooked."
"That's what the ruler is for."
"I'm not using that. Stay still."
Riri takes the scissors that are definitely not meant for hair up to Yumeko's overgrown bangs, making sure she doesn't cut them too short. Yumeko thinks if she wasn't wearing the mask, her tongue would be poking out between her lips in extreme focus.
"Good?" Riri asks, moving out of Yumeko's view so she can look at herself in her bathroom mirror.
Yumeko brushes through them with her fingers, inspecting the length. "Not short enough, maybe take half an inch?"
Riri arches a brow. "I don't recall your bangs being that short previously."
"Maybe I'm trying something new," she shrugs.
"I'm not cutting any further."
"Please?"
"No," Riri says, her tone indicating that was her final decision. "I don't want to be responsible for your complaints if they aren't to you're liking."
"They already aren't to my liking," Yumeko argues.
She makes a good point there.
"Fine, just try not to move so much this time."
—
"You're going to get an infection and die."
"Thanks for sugarcoating it, Riri."
The two are currently are in the bathroom attached to Yumeko's dorm once again. Yumeko is knelt atop the counter, staring at her hipbone through the mirror as she pokes a needle with ink into it repeatedly.
"I don't understand. Why do this to yourself?" Riri asks in disbelief. Yumeko had lured her into her room, claiming she wanted to show Riri the new inks she got. She expected the inks to be for drawing, as that is her preferred medium. It's also Wednesday, and Riri was excited to try out the new paints Mary got her on the weekend.
Instead, she's watching as Yumeko pushes the new ink into her skin. She's absolutely appalled, yet can't look away.
"Because it's hot. You don't like my design?"
"Your design isn't the problem. It's the fact that you're using your talents to permanently alter your skin."
"Is Riri Timurov anti-tattoos?"
Riri tilts her head as she lifts a brow as to say 'really?' with just her body language. "Why not go to an actual tattoo artist?"
"Because my eighteenth isn't for months. Late birthday, remember? I know it's legal to get a tattoo at seventeen, but you need a guardian to sign off on that and well…" Something melancholy flashes across her face before she continues, "I don't think Mrs. Kawamoto would exactly sign off on this."
The air is tense for a moment before Riri speaks again.
"I could've forged you a paper." It's the best she can offer to lighten the mood. It's also true. If Yumeko came to her with the problem, she would've fixed it. It's what she does best.
"That's sweet of you but," she winces as she accidentally stabs a bit too deep, "this is much more fun."
Riri thinks Yumeko and Dori have more in common than they think. Why can't Yumeko act as she does when they're drawing all the time?
"Okay, what do you think?" Yumeko hops down from the counter, showing off her fresh tattoo to Riri. It's a beautiful design she has to admit, sat low on her hipbone.
(Riri almost exited the dorm completely once she saw Yumeko's extremely low slung jeans and shirt tucked into her bra to do the tattoo without obstacles, feeling as though she was seeing something she definitely wasn't supposed to. Yumeko had to beg her to stay, claiming she didn't want to do it alone. She only stayed to help her properly disinfect the needle, but was kept there longer against her will.)
"It's big." She says simply. "Considering your frontal lobe is nowhere near fully developed, you will regret this before you turn twenty."
"You really know how to make a girl feel validated." Yumeko says with an unimpressed face, climbing back onto the counter. She carefully places a second stencil that Riri did not see sitting there before on her other hipbone.
She considers reporting her to Kira right then and there.
"When you start spewing regrets in the morning, know that I tried to stop you."
Yumeko turns to her. "Is this even?" She asks, completely disregarding her words.
Riri squints. "Yes."
"Good! I can do you next if I have leftover ink."
"Absolutely not."
—
Y: do you
Y: want
Y: to get ice cream ?????
R: It is four in the morning, I am laid in bed with my girlfriend, and you are asking me to get ice cream.
Y: well yes
Y: cmon you know you do
R: I don't like ice cream, and all of these words could be sent in a single text.
Y: Yogurt???
R: What kind.
Y: Banana
Y: I even have the little strawberries that you can put in it.
R: You're lucky Mary is a heavy sleeper.
R: Give me ten minutes.
Y: ohhh who's double texting now??
R: Don't make me change my mind. Если Мэри проснётся, виноваты будете вы (If Mary wakes up, you are to blame).
Y: リリ・ティムロフがバナナヨーグルトのためにしていること。(the things Riri Timurov does for banana yogurt).
—
Yumeko feels the space next to her on the couch lightly dip. Riri is perched next to her stiffly, hands fiddling in her lap as if she were nervous. Her eyes look tired. It is late, Kira's probably expecting Yumeko in her bed soon, but she wants to get a little further into her book before she retires.
She chooses not to comment on Riri's drowsy state. She knows she was sifting through a lot of paper work today. It's Wednesday, and Riri couldn't make it to the art studio due to the fact.
"I picked up your book when I was in town with Kira the other day, in Japanese. I didn't expect them to hold this copy in stores." She turns her book to show Riri, who seems slightly distracted by nothing at all before she looks at the book. She just nods. Yumeko takes it as a sign she doesn't feel like talking.
She's been getting better at that, picking up signs Riri makes to indicate how she's feeling in the moment. She continues reading her book, allowing Riri to sit there without having to make conversation.
She hears the way Riri carefully shifts back into the couch, their knees touching now. Then, Riri slowly lets her head rest atop of Yumeko's shoulder.
Yumeko stays silent, her eyes never wavering from the words on the page. She doesn't want to make the sudden show of affection a big deal in fear of scaring her off.
Riri brings her legs up onto the couch. "Read," she says. Yumeko does just that, reading aloud her first language off of the pages. She's not sure if Riri can understand most of what's she's saying. She's been very good in their lessons though, flying through the basics, much better than Yumeko with Russian.
Yumeko also wasn’t that great of a teacher, confusing Riri more than helping her.
Even if she couldn't understand her well, this was her favorite book. She's sure she has the events of it memorized.
It's not long before Riri is lulled to sleep.
Yumeko joins her shortly after, the book abandoned beside her.
Mary and Kira stand in front of them, silently analyzing the unnatural sight. The two went searching for their partners after noticing they never came to bed.
"I don't understand," Kira says, her arms crossed tightly against her chest, "why is your woman touching mine?"
"Keep your voice down," Mary scolds, "they're sleeping."
"Yes. Against each other. Why?"
"Because they're friends now I think."
Kira looks at Mary, unconvinced. "Why would they do that?"
"Become friends? I don't know Kira, maybe because they're people outside of us?" The sarcasm in her tone makes no attempt at being hidden.
Kira rolls her eyes. "I know that Davis. That still doesn't explain… this."
"Name one person outside of us that Riri is genuinely friends with, and don't say the council."
Kira opens her mouth, ready to defend her sister, only to find that she can't think of anyone Riri may consider her friend.
Has her sister ever even had one of her own?
"Very well then," she says, leaving the question verbally unanswered. "We'll leave them be."
—
Riri is clearly not the face she's expecting when she opens the door.
"I've changed my mind," she says, pushing past Yumeko into her room.
The smile Yumeko has is large upon hearing those words. "Oh? And what prompted this sudden change?"
"If I'm murdered and my face is too mutilated to identify me, a tattoo will make it easier."
Yumeko decides to ignore the implications of that, knowing she just returned from a home visit with Arkadi and instead decides to be excited that she gets to tattoo Riri Timurov.
"So," she strolls over to the bottom drawer of her dresser, taking out the materials needed for a stick and poke, "where do you want it?"
Riri sits on the bed, "somewhere that won't be very visible."
"How about your ankle?"
"If I wear heels someone will see it."
"Hm… then how about your hip? If you're comfortable with that of course."
Riri contemplates that for a moment, weighing the pros and cons. She's not one to wear anything cropped or low waisted, but she's not sure if she's prepared to have someone other than Mary touch so low.
Yumeko managed to give herself her own successful stick and poke without any infection, and Riri has grown to trust her to a degree.
Mary would understand, she tells herself.
"Okay, my hip. But if we're going to do this, you have to wear gloves, no debate." Yumeko may have avoided an infection on herself, but Riri wasn't taking any chances.
Yumeko lets a noise of excitement as she pulls the needle and ink from the dresser. Riri gulps at the sight. She's not afraid of needles at all, but the idea of Yumeko pushing one into her skin with her only prior experience being on herself makes her a little unsure in her decision.
Sure, her tattoo healed flawlessly. Riri maybe even thought it suited her. But still, this could backfire.
She swallows her uncertainty.
It'll be worth it in the end.
She folds her pants over, giving Yumeko access to her hip without showing her anything unnecessary, and lays back onto the bed as instructed. The gloves are slipped on, and the needle is dipped into the ink after being disinfected.
She does not look at the needle penetrating her skin over and over again. If she does, she knows she'll stop the entire thing. Instead she stares at the ceiling and hopes Mary truly will understand. Shes not sure how Kira will react, she's not even sure if she'll tell Kira. She'll only lecture her as she did Yumeko, but harsher.
It's over almost as soon as it started, which makes sense considering she asked for a small design.
"You were… very still. And quiet." Yumeko says, peeling off her gloves. "come to bathroom to see it."
Riri almost doesn't lift her shirt to see the tattoo when she's stood in front of the bathroom mirror, as if pretending this entire thing didn't happen will make it disappear. But she does, because that's not how it works.
The design is something simple they landed on. A fine lined lilac. She runs a finger on the skin around the tattoo, not touching it directly.
She freaks out way too late.
"This was a bad idea," she says, mortified at the sight.
"Yeah, it kind of was."
"I shouldn't have trusted you."
"You really shouldn't have."
"What will I tell Kira?"
"She won't know!" Yumeko grabs the arm of the hand that is still circling the tattoo, trying to comfort her. "It'll be our secret, okay? And if you do get murdered, I'll be the one to identify your body before anyone else." She says, not-so-reassuringly.
She can only nod and hope for the best.
—
Riri left the door unlocked for Mary. It seems Yumeko has gained knowledge of this and decided to use it to her advantage. She quickly enters the room, taking excited strides towards the bed, where Riri laid, watching TV.
She frowns, disappointed. "You aren't Mary."
"No, I'm not." Yumeko climbs into the bed next to her, slipping under the covers. When their legs brush, Riri doesn't pull away. A few months ago she would've, but she's grown to be comfortable with Yumeko's touch.
"What are you doing?"
"I come baring a gift." She moves whatever she was hiding behind her back to hold up in front of Riri. "I got you a book."
Riri takes the book in her hands. It's a hardcover with gold accents. She assumes it's special addition copy. Her and Yumeko weren't ones to exchange gifts. They exchanged knowledge, information, skills, but never anything physical like this. "I've never heard of this title before, what's it about?"
"Lesbian Vampires."
Riri looks at her, then blinks. "…Lesbian Vampires?"
"Yeah, fitting for you don't you think?"
"This," Riri waves the book in the air, "is the genre you think I'd like?"
"I mean, Mary did tell me you bit her once."
The way her face turns bright red is almost comical. She wonders what else Mary has told Yumeko, because she's certainly done more feral things than biting her girlfriend.
"I'll… let you know how I like it. Now shoo, you're in Mary's spot."
—
It was only right for her to get Yumeko something in return.
Unlike Yumeko, she knocks before entering the dorm.
Riri finds her in her bathroom, trimming her bangs.
"I could've done that," she says, slightly offended at the fact that Yumeko has decided to cut her own bangs this time.
"You were in town with Mary, I had no choice."
"Right," Riri clears her throat. "I… got you something."
Yumeko places down the scissors onto the counter, suddenly taking notice of the large box in Riri's hands. She hands it to the girl, watching as she places it onto the counter as well to open it.
It was a bow, custom made of course, so she wouldn’t have to keep using the spare one that didn't compare to a higher quality one. Yumeko had improved in her archery skills quite a lot, Riri was honestly shocked to see so much progress in just a few months.
"You didn't have to do this." She says, taking the bow in her hands, lightly pulling at the string to test how it feels.
"Well, you've sort of earned it."
"I feel bad now, all I got you was a book." She says, placing the bow back where it belongs.
"How about in return you only let me cut your bangs from here on out. Yours right now are… unaesthetically short."
—
Riri slips into Mary's dorm a bit too late.
She feels bad when she notices Mary is still in full uniform and was likely waiting for her to return before she gets ready for bed. Mary looks up from her phone, her face instantly lighting when she sees Riri locking the door behind her.
"Hey baby, where have you been?"
Riri pulls off her shoes before sitting on the bed next to her girlfriend. "With Yumeko."
"That seems to be a common pattern with you lately." Mary pulls her mask away to bring Riri into a long overdue kiss.
"Are you mad at me?" She asks, feeling guilty for leaving her girlfriend waiting. She knows that Yumeko can take up a lot of her time whenever she's not with Mary, and she doesn't want her to feel as if their newfound relationship was getting in the way of theirs.
"Of course not," she says, reassuring her effortlessly. "Can you show me what was keeping you so long?"
Riri nods, reaching into her bag sat next to the bed. She pulls out her sketchbook, flipping to the most recent page, then hands it to Mary.
Mary takes her time looking over the spread, as she usually does. She always expresses her love for Riri's art, which only motivates her to create more. "Another spread of me?" She smirks. "The colors are so soft. These aren't the paints I got you are they?"
"No, Yumeko wanted to try watercolor, so she got us some."
Mary hums, returning the sketchbook. "I like how you guys hang out now."
"I didn't think that I'd like it too," she says honestly. Before, her and Yumeko had always hovered around each other. They didn't speak, other than exchanging occasional information about each other's partners. She expected it to stay like that. The possibility of Yumeko being something other than her sister's problem and her girlfriend's friend hadn't even crossed her mind. But of course, Yumeko has a way of surprising people.
She didn't expect Yumeko to be so knowledgeable on the arts, or literature, or for her to be so dedicated to learning archery, or Russian. She didn't expect to feel comfortable around Yumeko, to let her guard down, to joke with her or confide in her. She didn't expect Yumeko to drag her into her antics, to tattoo her, to teach her a new language.
She's only been this close with two people before. Her girlfriend, and her sister. Yumeko didn't fit into either of those descriptors, unless she got down on one knee for Kira, which she assumes will happen sooner than later.
Yumeko was a friend.
When's the last time she had one of those?
"I think it's good for you, spending time with her." Mary says, stroking her cheek. Riri leans into the touch, kissing her palm. Mary chuckles before bringing her girlfriend in for another kiss, deeper than before. Riri is quick to pull her into her lap, making up for lost time.
"Okay, that's enough." Mary pulls back with a fond smile. To Riri, there is never enough time to kiss her lover, but alas, she pulls back as well. "I'm going to shower, are you coming?"
The delighted expression Riri wears falters, hesitance briefly replacing it before it returns. The shift doesn't go unnoticed by her girlfriend, who's always watching her intently.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she says too quickly. It's clear that there is something wrong.
"Riri," Mary says sternly, "don't lie to me."
"I-," she pauses, considering if she wants to reveal this now to her girlfriend. "There's something I haven't shown you yet."
Mary stands, concerned. "What is it?"
Riri exhales before standing as well. Her girlfriend does a full body scan, attempting to find the thing bothering Riri before she reveals it. She discards her skirt, earning her a confused look from Mary before she tugs at the waistband of her underwear, showing off her now fully healed tattoo.
They stand there for about twenty seconds with no reaction from Mary, which only heightens Riri's nerves. She just looks at it, eyebrows pinched together but with no clear expression on her face.
"Can you please say something," she whispers, concerned.
"I have… so many questions."
"You can ask them."
Mary licks her lips before starting. "Where? When? How did you manage to hide this from me? Wait… is this why you didn't want to have sex the other night?"
"In Yumeko's bathroom, maybe two months ago. It was very hard to hide it from you. And yes, that's why I didn't want to have… you know." This is probably the most humiliating moment of her life, and it only makes her regret the tattoo further.
There's another pause before Mary speaks up once again. "Can I touch it?"
Riri swallows, then nods. Mary takes a step closer, lightly running her fingers against it to test the waters. Upon seeing it doesn't hurt, she rubs her thumb against it, feeling where the ink is engraved into skin. "You didn't have to hide this from me you know," she says.
"I was scared you wouldn't like it, and that you'd blame Yumeko even though i told her to do it."
Mary smiles. "Oh, I definitely still blame Yumeko, but it's cute, very you."
"Please don't tell Kira."
"Don't worry, I will."
—
"What is this?"
Riri looks at the bracelet offered before gingerly taking it from Yumeko, who sat next to her on their unofficial claimed spots on the council lounge couch.
"A friendship bracelet." Yumeko holds up her wrist to display her own. "So we can match!"
Riri slides it onto her own wrist, taking into account that it fits perfectly. "So.. it's official? We're friends?"
Yumeko laughs, resting her legs onto Riri's lap. "Мне кажется, мы дружим уже довольно давно (I think we've been friends for a while now)."
Her accent has improved in recent months, it sparks a beam of pride in Riri's chest.
"君が私の最初の友達になってくれて嬉しいよ (I'm glad to have you as my first friend)."