Kiss | Ayame

“I can’t believe Cal asked me to clean up the cockpit,” Ayame mumbles from her seat as I make my way into the ship’s bridge.

She’s leaning over the control panel, arms stretched out as far as she possibly can while she wipes -- or rather, tries to wipe the window panes. My gaze falls momentarily to her backside, and I can’t help but smirk as I make my way over.

Who knows, maybe she needs a helping hand. Or two. And mine are free as a bird.

“What are you up to, Aya?” I ask, chuckling when she slips and falls back into her seat, a string of curses I’m not even sure I fully comprehend spilling from under her breath.

Brushing off her surprise at my interruption, she spins her chair around to face me, an unmistakable pout on her lips. “No biggie, just being punished for something.”

“You mean… cleaning?”

“That’s what I said. Punished.”

“But aren’t you the person who uses the cockpit the most?”

“I know, and I don’t mind doing it,” she lets her head fall on her shoulder with a groan, looking at me with big, puppy eyes. “I just hate it when he doesn’t help out.”

She gestures at the tall, glass panes behind her, and her whole drama starts to make sense to me. Barely.

“Why didn’t you ask for help?”

“Yeah,” she shifts uncomfortably on her seat, chewing on her bottom lip. “I don’t really like asking for help. And it’s not like I ever had to! He always does the windows, or he gets Bash to do it as punishment for something he did. Honestly, it’s been way too long since Bash’s punishments have benefitted me.”

Laughing at her rambling, I take a few steps closer and check the glass panes. It’s not that high, I could probably do it.

I take a breath to ask her if she wants help, but am reminded of how she didn’t even ask the Captain for it. I’m sure she has her reasons to be against asking, so maybe…

I put out my hand, smiling softly at her. “May I see that rag for a moment?”

“Uh, sure?” her reply comes off like a question, my intent clearly going over her head as she hands it over, crinkled eyebrows and curious eyes staring at me.

Quickly, I reach out and get to wiping the panes. Ayame had already gone through quite a lot by the time I got here, it should be easy enough to finish it.

She starts saying something, yet it quickly dies down to a whisper I can’t quite make out. All I know is it sounds like ‘you didn’t have to’, which doesn’t matter to me. I know I didn’t have to, and she didn’t ask me to help her… I just wanted to do it.

Soon enough I’m done, and take a step back to admire my handiwork. Better hope the Captain doesn’t assume it was Ayame who did it all on her own, lest he puts her on permanent charge of cleaning the windows.

… not that it wouldn’t be funny if he did that.

Satisfied with my inspection, I put down the rag, turning back to find Ayame staring at me, a small smile twisting the corners of her lips and a gentle flush coloring her cheeks.

“My savior,” she sighs dramatically.

“That’s me. Stowaway by daylight, your personal savior by nighttime,” I can’t help but smile at the sound of her crystalline laugh, taking a seat next to her.

“Well, I’m nothing if not polite, so,” her smile turns devilish. “I believe you’re due some sort of thanks.”

Faster than I could realize, Ayame grabs me by the collar of my jacket and pulls me closer with surprising strength, holding me close enough that I can clearly make out the specks of pink in her eyes.

We’re close, so close that it’s hard to keep my gaze from drifting down to her plump lips -- lips that look so ridiculously kissable right now that it’s a real struggle not to close the gap between us and take her in my arms.

“Aya, I--”

I cut myself short when I see her closing the gap between us, my eyelids fluttering shut and my heartbeat hammering in my ears, the anticipation for the kiss building more and more and--

What?

Soft, warm lips touch the tip of my nose, Ayame’s breath brushing my cheeks gently as she kisses me. Not on lips. On the nose.

The sound of a low chuckle and the sudden absence of her lips on my skin has me opening my eyes slowly, only to find that sly Kitalphan leaning back on her seat, cocky smirk in place.

“That was just pure evil, Aya.”

“You only cleaned half the window, so you get half a kiss in return,” she shrugs, looking anything but innocent.

“I thought you were the one being punished here.”

“Details, details,” not giving me a chance to reply, she springs up with a wide smile, walking backwards towards the exit. “Maybe next time I’ll give you the other half of the kiss.”

“Will I have to clean the windows again?”

Ayame stops by the door, eyes raking up and down my body in a way that has my stomach tightening, heat building up in my core.

“I do have some windows in my room that could use a hand,” throwing me a wink, she turns around and walks away, breaking the spell that she had me under. “I’ll be sure to let you know when I’m due to clean them, hotshot.”

I chuckle as I lean back on my seat, a sigh escaping my lips as I think back on how close we were just now.

A small tinge of regret weighs in my mind. God, I really should have kissed her. She always does that, toying with me, stringing me along until I’m all but blind to anything other than the idea of kissing her, only for her to pull back at the last damn second. But not next time.

Next time I won’t let her get away with it.