Little Early for Valentine's Day, No? [Makoto, Shishiyuki]

"Kasha, ah. That's her name- Excuse me?....Oh."

It dawned on her when Shishiyuki said 'he' and then that he did her make up. Well, she took a moment to linger on that before she centred herself. The way one might go 'anyway' and move on like nothing was amiss.

"He's exceptionally good, I really like how you look with your make-up."

She just moved on as though nothing was amiss and poured the tea for them to share.

"Oh? I'm very glad to hear that. I had thought that it might be a bit much, but he was certain that it would be perfect. I will have to let him know that you thought so fondly of it."

Of course, Shishiyuki couldn't help but blush the faintest bit at the compliment. Even if it was only the two of them, and such talk was quite common by now, there was still something about it that managed to strike deeply at Shishiyuki. Perhaps it was simply the nature of the moment, the intimacy of a room like this and being under the kotatsu.

"Perhaps I will continue to ask for his assistance, then, if you think it suits me so."

"Mhm. I wouldn't complain if I kept seeing you like this."

She said with a gleeful grin which was quickly put aside so that she could sip some of the tea. A little on the hot side still but she enjoyed the taste all the same; eyes indulged by the woman opposite her and mouth with her favourite tea. It was nice.

"Maybe he could even do my makeup, perhaps?"

It was a joke, at least when she said it. Makoto rarely ever wore makeup, if maybe due to the fact it was expensive in the Rukongai and not as important as food and a non-necessity but she had never really considered actually doing anything with it.

"I'm sure that he would be quite glad to do it, if you wished. And I would certainly be very glad to see it, if I may be so forward."

The idea of Makoto's already lovely features only further accentuated by Kasha's hand did, indeed, have an appeal that was difficult for Shishiyuki to fully imagine. After all, the very idea of attraction itself was one she had long since stopped considering. Having it be such a regular occurrence in her day to day life now was almost jarring.

"I would need to see when he is free from his work, of course, but I can certainly speak with him about it."

"Hehe, that sounds lovely."

She glossed over the fact that she looked a little bashful at Shishiyuki's interest at seeing it, how different could she look, really? Maybe she just wasn't the most girly type when it came to all those things and she was rooted in her habits, Makoto acknowledged that she probably wasn't the most daring of individuals out there who broke their routines.

Leaning back in the cushion and staring up at the ceiling for a little bit to relax, she was coming up a bit short on what to say besides enjoying the quiet over tea with Shishiyuki.

"This is only the second time you've been to where I live."

Makoto mused outloud, a stray thought which she let slip out as she remembered the last time they were in here. How things were different from that time.

"Yes, I do suppose that it is."

Much the same thought had already crossed Shishiyuki's mind, truth be told, and she certainly remembered the whole of that visit well. In a way, it was almost embarrassing now to think about, and even if she kept her composure, a faint blush still came to her face as she remembered it. She had been so very confident in that moment, and yet, she wondered if she would still be able to do the very same thing now.

"It was...pleasant, you know. That visit. The night I spent here."

She felt as though she ought to specify, to make it clear, but in hindsight that seemed almost unnecessary. Shishiyuki could not say what it was exactly that made her feel this way, as she thought back--

That was a lie. She knew well what it was. She was simply unused to this feeling being anything she could not ignore.

"It was nice, and I never really thought about it in the moment since it was such a surprise but you know you're very cute when you sleep."

She didn't know if it was said as a tease or just commenting on the reality, it was a hard thing for her to deal with at the time. She was her teacher and someone that she had just spilled her guts to that night after what was utter tension of deciding whether or not to challenge her, determine if she was that woman before coming to terms with the fact that she wasn't.

It was nice to share that with someone rather than hold it inside all the time.

"I wouldn't mind having you over more, I think it's a bit more private here than it is at the Koizumi Estate... I guess a bit smaller though, but I like keeping things to a minimal and living in a small space. I could consider moving but hmm, I don't know where I'd even move."

The young woman didn't realise that she had started rambling for some reason, going on a tangent into others. The night did make her think about a lot of things and she jumped from topic to topic.

That compliment had decidedly not been what Shishiyuki would have expected to hear from Makoto. She had become at least relatively used to hearing other compliments, but to hear that she was "cute," particularly in that capacity, made her almost feel a touch self-conscious. How...childish. And, yet, how pleasant, in its own way.

"Well...thank you, Makoto. I do agree that it is pleasant here, that the more minimal nature is a bit relaxing in a way."

Was that all she wished to say? No, it was not, though she took a sip of her tea to give herself a moment to think of how she ought to word this. There were any number of ways that she could say it, but she had already made it clear that she did not wish to flower her words when speaking with Makoto.

"If you would not mind it, I would certainly be glad to stay here more often."

That was quite the statement and Makoto paused, not because she didn't want to say yes but because her mind was stuck on the implications of it. Did she mean stay here like visit or sleepover? Well, they'd already shared a bed but that was platonically and before all this. Everything was different now, did staying over now lead into... that?

It had been the thing that she'd been avoiding to think about, she'd never really done anything like that with a girl and on some level there was a bit of hesitation. Kissing felt way easier but there was so much more than just that, she knew that much. What if she was bad at it? What if it got really awkward? She didn't want to the romance to be short-lived or fall apart because of that.

There was so much on her mind about that.

"You're always welcome to stay here."

Makoto said cooly after a short break. There wasn't a hint that she was running circles in her head about how that could go.

In Shishiyuki's mind, there was rather tremendous conflict at Makoto's approval. Of course, she was quite glad to hear it. Overjoyed, in fact, if only because she knew quite well how pleasant it sounded. But, on the other hand, there was almost a certain degree of fear, a concern that perhaps she would overstep her bounds, that she would prove incapable of providing what Makoto actually wished for in a relationship--

It was a challenge. But that thought, in its own right, seemed to change the whole situation in Shishiyuki's mind. When had she struggled before? When had she found herself unsure of what to do, lacking in the ability to simply handle something? She had not in centuries, and while most might have feared it, she found it...exhilarating. Her hand moved slowly, but confidently, over to Makoto's, her blush deepening a touch even as she seemed to become a bit more sure of herself.

"If that is the case, Makoto, then I hope you do not mind if I choose not to return to the estate tonight. I think it would be a shame to lose your company so soon, when I have little else to do."

Her own assured tone of voice masked just as much as Makoto's did, of course. The worry that she was still overstepping what was acceptable, that she did not know nearly enough to commit like that. But did she not have the right to try?