Supremacy, Sonority, Tranquility [Makoto, Shishiyuki]

There wasn't any resistance when she felt herself pulled into another hug. She was just disappointed. Her arms wrapped around her and Makoto tried to work up the nerve to open her mouth again after it. It felt harder than being asked to do a suicide mission with how miserable the embarrassment made her feel.

"I know. It doesn't change what happened though, it doesn't change the fact I liked it."

She was purposely trying to hide her face from the woman, the hug helped that a lot. It bothered her more that she still had that persistent feeling that wouldn't go away despite the fact she wanted it to. The hug was nice though, she wouldn't mind staying like this.

"Please forgive me for not stopping you. You surprised me."

"What is so wrong if you did?"

It was a rather pointed question, but Shishiyuki's tone was soft, not wanting to seem accusatory as she asked it. It was, however, a very genuine question on her end, and she felt as though it needed to be asked. She formulated the rest of what she wished to say for a moment, and then spoke again, voice still even and reassuring.

"I think that would be a natural reaction to such a thing, yes? The body reacts to stimuli with or without our consent. But, even if it were a situation where you had consciously found the situation appealing, that would not be something for which you could blame yourself. As we discussed, we do not choose what it is that we feel, only how we handle those feelings when we are confronted with them."

She noted that, at some point, she had begun to run a hand comfortingly through Makoto's hair and down her back. She typically only did this with the younger members of the household, when they came to her with all manner of emotional woes and begged for her advice. Well, though Makoto was certainly more put together than they were, it was not a completely dissimilar situation.

"I will forgive you if you will forgive me. I think that is a fair agreement, yes?"

It was a good point. She didn't have any actual control over how she reacted to the gesture, it only marginally made her feel a little better though. She hoped that it would disappear into the recesses of her memory and not be one of the more memorable parts of the night, there were much better parts to remember but her humilating moment was not that.

"R-right. I'll try not to linger on it, I haven't really felt it in years. It feels weird."

She nodded though, even though it was probably stupid to just forgive each other over it. She still wanted to apologise for it regardless for her own feeling better about it.

"I think so."

It felt better to say it though she did think her breathing was still a bit far and her senses were a lot more stimulated. It wasn't like she thought about what kind of scent perfume she had like last time they hugged or the way she was a total ease while doing something like this.

"I see. I apologize, then. It was not my intention to do such a thing."

Shishiyuki continued her gentle reassurances, assuming that Makoto presumably would have preferred them, and only feeling all the more confident in that given she had not made any effort to leave the embrace. It really was pleasant, to show someone genuine affection. She almost wished that she could know others in such a way, but what she and Makoto shared was something special. It could not be replicated.

"Well, we should not linger on this, would you not agree? I do not wish to leave you burdened with these sorts of thoughts all through the night, particularly when you will be off on assignment before long."

"I know."

Well, she didn't actually. There was just the faith that knowing her so well would make it easy to be sure of her honesty. It was definitely like that, a mistake and nothing for the sake of taking advantage. Shishiyuki wouldn't do that. Makoto gently nodded though with the prompt to change the subject.

"Mhm. Though I won't get distracted on my assignment."

She said it with a bit of confidence, more than she felt. It was okay though, right? As long as she could think about things and still be focused on her work.

"I'm hugging you for a really long time."

"No? That is good, then. I should have expected nothing less from you, though. You are quite dutiful."

Shishiyuki definitely would have normally given her something of a teasing comment, but that would have been a bit much after the exchange they had just had. It had been something Shishiyuki was unprepared for, and something she certainly would have needed to think about. Not that she had done it, of course, for she understood it had been on account of her own lack of awareness. But, rather, that lack of awareness was exactly what she needed to consider.

"You are, yes. Is there anything wrong with that? If it brings you comfort, then I am more than happy to do it. It is rather pleasant."

How did she answer that? She was not expecting to be asked if there was anything wrong with that. The idea of having to contemplate how to say it left her struggling and she could not decide whether it was just hard to figure out how to put it or if she just didn't want to say it and open that can of worms. It might ruin the moment even though she wanted to avoid future misunderstandings.

"I don't really know if there is or isn't."

If she had her own thoughts figured out then it'd be much easier to discuss but she didn't. Trying to put into words the feelings right now felt difficult and also embarrassing which is why she opted to avoid trying to do so. Regardless though, it wasn't like that or anything. She just liked hugging her and being able to listen to the way she breathed calmly.

"You are very comforting though. You're really warm."

"Personally, I believe there is nothing wrong with it. I think, if this is something which comforts you, that I would be wrong in not allowing it."

How could she think otherwise? It was simply her duty as a teacher to provide whatever she could for the sake of her favorite student, was it not? It may have been something that others would chide her for if she said it openly, but it was simply true that Makoto was very much her favorite student of all those she taught.

"I am glad that you think so. It is rather rare that I am called such things, you know. I must admit that it is nice to hear it."

Her head shifted in its spot and she looked at the wall thoughtfully. She might as well think on these things given how tranquil it was for her at the moment. Before that though she thought about the words, she probably did a lot for people and got nothing in return right?

"I want to do something for you in return, I just don't know what to give you."

It wasn't a direct question but she was expectantly waiting to hear what Shishiyuki might want which was like this for her. Makoto felt brave enough after asking to gently run her hands through the black locks while she waited. She had nice hair too.

Shishiyuki would typically have simply replied that Makoto need not do much of anything for her. That this was just a pleasant moment, that it was its own reward to know Makoto felt at peace, and other such things. All of it would have been true, of course, in most circumstances. Shishiyuki had very little that she sought from people, and she was not one who had anything in particular that she felt she needed to request from others.

With that said, however, she had been rather ill-prepared for the feeling of Makoto's hands running through her own hair. Despite her composure, this was something wholly alien to her. It was not a gesture anyone had ever offered to her, and after a moment, she replied with perhaps more confidence than she normally might have had.

"Simply...continue like that. If you would not mind."