Author's Notes: Here we go again: another batch of short stories too short to be uploaded by themselves. This time, I'm going with a couple fics that were requested of me, plus one other that I did separately. For the requests, they'll be titled based on what the prompt number was called.

"Do you...well...I mean...I could give you a massage?" - Maki offers to give Nozomi a massage. She instantly regrets it.

"Punks Rock" - Based around the first song I shuffled to on my iPod, Maki agrees to go with Honoka... somewhere. Maybe she should've asked just where they were going.

"Scarfing, or the Act of Alternative Kissing Routes" - Maki and Nozomi head to Nico's house, and Maki starts to take notice of Nozomi's strange attire.

"Do you...well...I mean...I could give you a massage?"

When Muse first started, Maki couldn't help but feel at least a bit uncomfortable being around eight people at once, especially in such a close, touchy-feely-friendly environment. As the months passed and she grew more comfortable around her new friends, Maki found that she didn't mind being around them all the time anymore. It was actually pretty nice, not that she'd ever admit that. As it turned out, her new problem was being in one-on-one situations with her fellow Muse members.

The first time it happened, she was just shamefully indignant. That was the time she ended up alone with Nico and her tiny senior offered her a piece of gum that ended up just being a carefully-recreated wrapper, devoid of anything sweet: just salty shame. The second time it happened, nothing really occurred to her that this would be a continuing trend. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy helping Kotori model her outfits, but she merely felt that it was strangely short.

By the fifth time, she was convinced that being alone with any of her friends only would lead her into trouble. So when she opened the clubroom door and found just Nozomi inside, she felt a strong desire to just turn right back around and walk out unseen.

"Maki-chan." Well so much for that. Gulping, Maki stepped fully into the room and let the door shut behind her, wondering what kind of plan fate had in store for her today. If she knew Nozomi - which she didn't, but really, who did? - then it probably would have something to do with those tarot cards of hers. She didn't really need a repeat of last week, when Nozomi declared that she would be the recipient of a big surprise, only to have her devious senior grab a portable fan and blow up her skirt. Now whenever the two of them were in the same room, Nozomi would always hum some stupid novelty song by Black Lace.

"Hey Nozomi," she muttered, forcing herself to walk over and take a seat across from her senior. Something seemed different, though. There wasn't that normal playful glow around her. Rather, she seemed like she was in pain, a light flicker of unease crossing her face only confirming Maki's suspicions. "Are you alright?"

"Mhm!" Nozomi looked up and gave Maki a bright smile, though she remained hunched over slightly. "Just dealing with some back pain today."

"Ah..." Maki nodded slightly, feeling a twinge of concern, though not exactly sure what she could do to help. She didn't have any heat packs on her.

"Oh the perils of having such a big bust," Nozomi sang out dramatically, causing Maki's cheeks to turn red.

"N-Nozomi!" She stared straight at the wall, ignoring Nozomi's teasing giggle as she tried to compose herself. However, her thoughts circled back to her senior's back pain, and how maybe there was... one way to help. The thought did nothing to drive the blush away from her cheeks, however. "I-If you, uh, are experiencing pain, uh..."

"Hm?" She turned back to find Nozomi giving her a confused look. Nozomi looked so cute with that slight pout... Wait, what was she thinking? Now this blush would never go away.

"A-Ah, well, ah, do you... well... I mean... I could give you a massage?" It was more a question than a positive declaration, and immediately Maki ducked her head, embarrassed at even suggesting such a thing.

"Oh Maki-chan, that's so thoughtful of you! I'd love one if you're offering." Breathing a sigh of relief at not being laughed at, Maki looked back up, then found herself with a confused look of her own as she found Nozomi taking off her jacket. "What are you doing?"

"You said you wanted to give me a massage, right?"

"Well yeah, but I don't- Aaa! Nozomi!" Her cheeks were burning bright as Maki whirled around and stared at the wall, the floor, anywhere but the spot where her senior was removing her god damn shirt. "What the hell, Nozomi?!"

"Whaaat? I don't want my shirt to get in the way." Even without seeing her face, Maki knew that Nozomi was grinning. "Don't tell me you've never seen another girl without her shirt on, Maki-chan."

"Wh-Why would I have... Ahh, I don't understand you!" Maki hid her face in her hands as Nozomi giggled again, groaning into her palms. "Just get on the table." She refused to look until Nozomi insistently repeated that she was 'decent', a word Maki didn't believe should ever hold so much sarcasm in it.

Slowly lowering her hands, Maki found Nozomi had indeed laid down on the table, on her stomach, but that just allowed her to realize that Nozomi's back was completely bare. As incompletely. She felt her mouth go dry as she tried to understand why Nozomi would take off her bra too. In the clubroom, no less.

Trying to steady her unstable breathing, Maki experimentally flexed her fingers before getting to work, pressing her fingertips against Nozomi's skin and starting to move, kneading the skin as she put her strength into the massage. Up and down her fingers went, and she felt a strangely satisfying feeling whenever a soft but noticeable sound of pleasure escaped Nozomi's lips.

"Ne, Maki-chan?"

"Mm?" Maki stopped as Nozomi propped herself up with her arms, turning to look over her shoulder at the redhead.

"I really appreciate it, but, ah..." Nozomi bit her bottom lip gently, seemingly trying to put whatever she wanted to say gently. "Your fingers are a bit too delicate for something like this."

"Th-They are?" Maki's gaze automatically went down to her fingers, wondering if they really were that delicate. Was there no strength behind them? "I-I..."

"They're much better for other things." She didn't understand at first, staring at Nozomi in confusion. It was only when she was given a wink that she got a clue on what exactly Nozomi was referring to. Very quickly her face began to heat up again, sputtering without any intelligible words coming out. All she could get out was an embarrassed and undignified screech, whirling around and storming out of the room. She was too embarrassed to pay attention to where she was going, which led her to very quickly bump into someone coming down the hall.

"Ah! Oh, sorry Maki." Umi stepped out of the way, giving Maki a bemused expression. "Hey, have you seen-"

"Clubroom." Maki didn't bother to wait until Umi said who or what she actually was looking for, stomping off with her face still burning, leaving a confused Umi behind. Shrugging, the second year went to go check the clubroom.

"Hey, I- Oh my god, Nozomi?!"

"Wahh, Maki-chan!"

Punks Rock

"Honoka, where are we going?" Maki sighed and leaned back in her seat, glancing out the window as the architecture became increasingly more derelict and abandoned. Wherever Honoka was driving her, it didn't seem safe. A shudder ran down her spine at the thought of what might happen to them out here.

"You'll see," Honoka replied cheerfully, eyes bouncing between the road and all the ugly scenery they were driving through.

"I see someone eating out of a garbage can." Maki hadn't even noticed Honoka's mysterious disappearances at first, and when she did she didn't bother to ask about them. It wasn't her business, after all. Eventually though, Honoka had come up to her personally and asked if she wanted to go somewhere, that somewhere concerning exactly where she had been disappearing to. Maki hadn't meant to be curious, but just a tiny flicker of it was enough to end up an agreement, which had led to her being stuck in Honoka's car for nearly twenty minutes, driving in what felt like circles.

"Oh, here we are!" Maki's attentions were brought to a building that looked similar to all the other ones, more likely to house ghosts than any actual people. It was probably not a good idea to get out of the car, but when Honoka got out first, she realized it was probably just as a bad an idea to stay there alone. Quickly she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out, hearing the sound of Honoka locking her car. "Fat load of good that'll do."

She made her way with great trepidation to the door, only to realize that Honoka wasn't following her. Instead, she was standing at the foot of an alley in between the buildings, waiting. "You can't be serious."

"It's down here, Maki-chan!" With that, Honoka started to walk briskly into the foreboding gloom.

"A-Ah, Honoka! Wait!" Maki had to run after her to catch up, looking around nervously, half-expecting someone to pop out with a knife asking for their money. "This is such a bad idea, Honoka. This is really dangerous."

"I haven't had any problems here before." She was way too cheery for such a sad-looking place. When they reached a fence, one too tall to climb, Maki wondered if this dead end was the place. Was this where she had been going all this time? There wasn't anything to do here.

"Honoka, there isn't anything here-" Instead of listening to Maki, Honoka rapped her knuckles three times on the middle fence post. A voice, gruff in texture, sounded from beyond the fence.

"What do you want?"

"Hi hi! It's me, Honoka!" A few seconds of silence were followed by a loud sigh.

"Did you forget the password again?"

"Ehehe, yeah..."

"Maybe that should be your first tattoo." The sound of something heavy being pushed along the ground hit their ears, and then two of the posts were pulled open, allowing them passage. Maki was sure this was a bad idea, but her hesitation didn't buy her much time, as Honoka quickly grabbed her hand and pulled her inside.

The inside was a lot bigger than she expected, some kind of courtyard surrounded by a few adjacent buildings. Most of it seemed to have been converted from what may have been a playground to a skatepark, though there was a section beyond that where a small group of people sat around and blasted some awful kind of music. A tap on her shoulder distracted her, and she turned to find the person who must have been guarding the fence eyeing her suspiciously.

"Hey, I've never seen you around here."

"It's okay! She's with me!" Honoka appeared by her side, draping an arm around Maki's shoulder. The 'guard' didn't look all that satisfied, but shrugged and didn't say anymore, allowing Honoka to grab Maki again and drag her towards an odd, bowl-shaped area. Several people were using it for skateboarding purposes. People still skateboarded after 2004?

"There they are! Eli-chan! Nozomi-chan!" Maki watched as Honoka broke away from her and ran towards two girls sitting on a bench, giving them both a huge hug. As she approached, her eyes widened as she recognized the girls Honoka had her arms wrapped around. Ayase Eli and Toujou Nozomi, the two biggest delinquents in the entire school. How did Honoka even know them?

"And this is Maki-chan!" Maki gulped as Honoka introduced her, forcing her to walk closer so as not to appear rude. Not that it mattered much to her what two bullies thought of her, but this wasn't exactly 'home turf' for her. If she let her pride get the best of her and start running her mouth, things might go south real quick for her, and likely for Honoka too.

"H-Hi," she muttered quietly, offering them both a wave, a wave that was not returned.

"Oh Honoka-chan, you brought fresh meat!" Nozomi grinned, causing the tips of Maki's ears to burn at being treated like some hanging slab in a deli. "Nice, very nice." Wait, was she looking her over?! Her eyes were certainly roaming in an up and down motion.

"I-" She clamped her mouth shut before she could say anything, not exactly willing to explain to her parents about the bruises she was sure to come home with. What she needed to do was somehow communicate to Honoka that she wasn't comfortable and wanted to go home-

"Eli-chan, can I borrow your skateboard?"'No, Honoka, wait...'

"Just don't break it this time." Eli rolled her eyes with a playful grin, kicking her skateboard up into her hands before giving it to Honoka.

"Yay, thank you!" 'Honoka why...' Maki groaned inwardly as she watched Honoka jump on the board and immediately fall face-first into the bowl. "I'm okay!" 'Ugh...'

Turning her attention away from Honoka, her eyes widened as she saw Nozomi stand up and make her way over, not even hiding her intentions. Maki felt paralyzed beneath her gaze, but still couldn't find the ability to move once Nozomi looked away from her and towards Eli. Not like she could get very far, considering Honoka drove them.

"You won't do it," Eli lazily implied, though what she was implying exactly wasn't clear.

"You know I will," Nozomi responded cheekily, grinning from ear to ear.

"... Yeah, probably." Laughter came from the blonde, who leaned back, allowing Maki a better view of the tattoos running up and down her arms. "You know what? It's not even a challenge to make you do it." Maki really, really wanted to ask what exactly they were so sure Nozomi would do, but it was probably better to stay silent and hope they forgot she was there. "If you do it, you owe me a parfait."

"Hmm..." Nozomi tapped her chin in thought, then turned back to Maki and stared directly into her eyes, making her shirk back slightly on reflex. "Worth it." Nozomi then grabbed Maki down by her shoulders and hauled the surprised redhead down for a kiss.

Maki's eyes widened as her lips crashed against Nozomi's, completely uninvited and unwarranted... but it wasn't bad, exactly. Not that she'd ever admit it, but it felt... well, not bad, very... dominating. Though it was weird that her lips tasted like she'd just eaten meat. When the kiss was broken up, it was by Nozomi, as Maki found herself dazed from the whole experience.

That is, until Nozomi let out a loud shout of victory, causing quite a few people to look their way. "Woo! That was dedicated to all the punk rockers of Tokyo!" Several people shouted in response.

"Wh-What is that supposed to mean?!" Maki sputtered indignantly, her face rapidly turning red. Nozomi merely winked at her before turning around and walking back towards Eli. She did not miss the exaggerated sway in the older girl's hips as she walked away.

"I guess you owe me," Eli smirked, leaning back as if enjoying what had transpired.

"It was worth it." Maki wasn't so sure it was, but it kind of already happened. Without really thinking about it, she lifted her hand up and touched her lips with two fingers. It had certainly been a strange sensation, but warmth still rushed across her skin at the remains of the contact. Luckily, Honoka decided to make her reappearance to distract from Maki's disoriented state.

"Eli-chaaan, I tried to do a kickflip and I think I broke my nose."

"Jesus, Honoka, how the hell did you do that?" While Eli looked in disbelief at Honoka's bloody nose, Maki felt a presence sidle up to her. Freezing, she slowly turned her head to find Nozomi standing there with a big grin.

"You know, we've got a pretty good mattress over in the corner. Only slightly used and everything. How about we go make it very used?" She winked, causing Maki's blush to return in full force.

"I-I don't think-"

"Good!" Nozomi laughed as she grabbed Maki's hand, starting to pull her away from where they'd been standing. "Thinking gets in the way of action!"

"W-Wait a minute! That's not what I meant! Nozomiiii!"

Scarfing, or the Act of Alternative Kissing Routes

Something was definitely different with Nozomi, but Maki couldn't quite tell what it was... Oh, it was the scarf. Yeah, that was different. For some reason, she couldn't help but notice it, though by now she thought that she had grown used to Nozomi's ever-changing and often strange attire. Yet here she was, unable to take her eyes off the white and red scarf wrapped around Nozomi's neck. She herself loved tomatoes indeed, but not even she would have them printed on a scarf.

"You really love staring at me, don't you, Maki-chan?" That startled her out of her confusion, moving her eyes up to find Nozomi staring at her playfully. A blush reached her cheeks as she immediately turned away.

"I-I wasn't staring! It's... It's your scarf."

"My scarf?" Nozomi looked down, running a hand across the fabric.

"Why the hell do you have a scarf with tomatoes sewn on it?"

"Oh? I thought Maki-chan loved tomatoes." Maki just rolled her eyes, staring pointedly ahead as she began walking again. The two of them had decided to walk together to Nico's house, which inevitably led to this conversation.

"You have weird tastes in fashion, Nozomi."

"Thank you." She giggled, and Maki tried hard to ignore the swelling warmth within her chest at the sound. It didn't work as well as she hoped, and now her jacket was making her feel way too warm, even in the December weather. Luckily for her dignity there wasn't much more than small talk between the two until they reached Nico's house, where Maki went up and knocked on the door.

"Ne, Maki-chan?"

"Hmm? What is it?" Maki turned around to look at Nozomi, only to watch as that scarf was lifted up and over her head, resting comfortably on her shoulders. "Nozomi, what- Mmf!" With a nice, firm tug, Nozomi yanked on her scarf, pulling Maki forward and catching the redhead's lips with her own. Eyes wide, Maki automatically reached for Nozomi's arms, grabbing them for support as warmth spread all over her body. She found herself relaxing against her senior, those wide eyes closing slowly as she returned the kiss.

When Nozomi finally pulled away, Maki opened her eyes again, those amethysts glazed over and focused on that warm smile in front of her. A soft whine escaped her throat as she pressed closer to Nozomi, missing that warmth already. Her ears tingled as soft laughter reached them, no longer remembering why they were here in the first place.

"Are you two going to wrestle lips on my porch all day?" Oh right. Maki jumped away from Nozomi and whirled around, a heavy blush coating her cheeks when she saw Nico standing there, hands on her hips and tapping her foot impatiently. "Get in here already."

"So demanding, Nicocchi." Nozomi giggled as she walked into the house, leaving Maki little choice to follow. Now that they were finally leaving the outside world, Nico adopted a rather annoying grin.

"Who knew cold, aloof Maki-chan was so clingy."

"Nico-chan, I swear to God..."

"I can't wait to tell Honoka and Rin about this." Nico was so getting coal this year.