"This godforsaken place really doesn't have any decent restaurants."
Treating the whole incident with the blond guy and the green-haired guy as just a pre-dinner sideshow, Firefly had taken Clara for a stroll along the planet's most bustling street, but hadn't found any restaurant that sparked Clara's interest.
Having wasted so much time for nothing, Clara couldn't help but mutter a curse under her breath.
On top of that, this planet didn't seem all that respectable either. All along the way, countless greedy eyes had kept sweeping over Clara and Firefly.
Clara forcefully suppressed the impulse to just crush this entire planet into dust. Instead, she gave a mental attack to everyone harboring ill intentions, directly stunning them all into idiocy.
"Hmph, let's go, Firefly," Clara said coolly, tossing her hair as she addressed the girl beside her.
She was afraid if she stayed here a moment longer, the urge to obliterate this rock would become unstoppable.
"Um… Clara."
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
Hearing Firefly's voice, Clara turned to her in puzzlement, then froze slightly on the spot.
Perhaps still recovering from the earlier events, a faint blush lingered on Firefly's face. Her bright eyes were slightly downcast, shimmering with a hint of shyness.
Her hands were lightly clasped together, fingertips slightly pale, betraying the hesitation in her heart.
Clara had never seen Firefly like this before and was momentarily stunned.
'Since when… did Firefly become so beautiful?'
The thought flitted unbidden through Clara's mind before she quickly snapped out of it.
What was she just doing…
Clara covered her cheeks with her hands, lowering her gaze slightly, no longer looking directly at Firefly.
Beneath her palms, her face was unusually warm, tinged with a rare blush.
"That… the memory crystal… can it…" Firefly, oblivious to Clara's current state, felt another wave of dizziness recalling the earlier scene.
Ugh… I swear, no more talking. From now on, it's straight to setting the sea ablaze!
If I've sinned, send me to battle, don't make me socially self-destruct right in front of little Clara…
"Ah, oh, the memory crystal, right, right, the memory crystal," hearing Firefly's voice, Clara felt an inexplicable flutter of panic…
She took out the memory crystal and, without a second thought, crushed it in her hand.
Watching Clara shatter the crystal, Firefly secretly breathed a sigh of relief, the pink on her cheeks slowly fading. The memory crystal could end up in anyone's hands, just not Clara's.
Otherwise… otherwise, she wouldn't know how to face Clara ever again…
"Well then, Clara, let's go… hmm?" Back to normal, Firefly now noticed something off about Clara.
"Clara, you… why is your face so red?"
Firefly thought she might be seeing things, but looking closely at Clara's flawless face, it was indeed much rosier than usual.
"N-no… you… you're seeing things."
Feeling Firefly's gaze, Clara hastily turned her head away, her breathing noticeably heavier as she tried to calm her racing heart and will the blush to fade.
"Huff… huff… huff puff."
"Clara, do you have a fever?"
"!"
Just as Clara's inner turmoil was starting to settle, Firefly crouched down and pressed her forehead tightly against Clara's, checking her temperature.
Feeling the warmth from Firefly's forehead, hearing her breath, sensing the air stirring against her own skin, Clara froze as if turned to stone.
"I… I… I…" Clara's brain had completely short-circuited, her words becoming incoherent.
"Fi… Firefly, t-too… too close…"
"Mmm…"
Looking at the face mere inches from her own, feeling each other's warm breaths, Firefly also realized what she had done. A sudden heat flooded her previously calm face, her cheeks turning from their normal color to a soft pink.
"Clara…"
Seeing this shy, flustered side of Clara she'd never witnessed before, Firefly felt a strange surge of courage. Her eyes fixed on Clara's pale pink, petal-soft lips. Firefly's breathing grew quicker, heavier.
Then, as if possessed, she leaned in, bringing her own lips closer…
"!"
Still lost in her own embarrassed world, Clara was completely unaware of Firefly's movement. By the time she registered it, Firefly's lips were already pressed against hers.
Clara was stunned. Firefly was stunned too.
Feeling the softness against her lips, Firefly's embarrassment skyrocketed to its peak.
But things had already gone this far. The sliver of reason left in her mind screamed that there was no turning back now…
This was Firefly's first kiss, her first experience of kissing. Yet this feeling was ten thousand times more pleasant than any endless battle she'd ever endured.
Firefly began to lose herself in it, wishing this moment could last forever.
But reality, of course, had other plans.
Feeling Firefly's lips on her own, the delayed realization finally hit Clara.
'Was I… just forced into a kiss?'
Once this thought crystalized, Clara's mind went blank, unsure what to do.
But she reacted quickly, placing her hands on Firefly's shoulders and shoving her away forcefully.
In her haste, the push was too strong. Clara, unbalanced, stumbled, lost her footing, and landed on her rear end with a thud.
"Clara, are you oka—"
Seeing Clara fall, Firefly immediately stepped forward, her first instinct to check on her. But…
Looking at Clara's expression, Firefly's heart clenched. The words she was about to say died in her throat. The foot she'd raised took a step back instead…
Clara, now on the ground, ignored the throbbing pain in her backside. Seeing Firefly's movement, she instinctively flinched and scooted backwards.
Her eyes, fixed on Firefly, were filled with fear and hurt. Within those gem-like crimson irises, tears welled up, spilling over to trace paths down her cheeks before dropping to the ground.
"Clara, I…"
Seeing Clara like this, Firefly knew she had frightened her. Her heart flooded with self-reproach.
Seeing Firefly's current expression, Clara scrambled to her feet. She lifted her arm, using her sleeve to hastily wipe away the tear tracks and droplets from her face, spitting out two words:
"Pervert…"
The moment the word left her lips, Clara vanished, leaving Firefly standing alone, utterly lost.
...
In a certain corner, a figure materialized out of thin air.
Black hair, crimson eyes, a face of angelic beauty—it was Clara, who had just fled in a panic.
Taking in her surroundings, Clara crouched down, hugging her knees to her chest, her heart brimming with hurt.
Recalling the kiss, Clara unconsciously brought her fingers to her own lips.
Perhaps because it hadn't ended too long ago, her fingertips could still faintly sense the lingering warmth of Firefly's lips.
'It's something I should hate…'
'But why…'
'Why can't I muster any feeling of hatred for it…'
Clara turned the question over and over in her mind, but couldn't find an answer…
...
A/N: Is the pacing a bit too fast? I feel like it might be a little fast, but then again, it's not that fast.
T/N: Embrace the yuri!!!
…
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