Storm In Lovers' Valentine's

By Major Mike Powell III

Sonoda Umi could be very, so very scary sometimes. One such time is when the girl was rudely awaken from her sleep. That was scary, but this? What was happening in the Idol Research Clubroom and what Umi looked like as she clutched her childhood friend's and lead designer of Muse's shoulders, staring at her with the eyes of a madwoman and the way that miniature trembles seemed to shake Umi's body from within…this made Kotori realize that Umi could be absolutely terrifying.

Kotori had never felt so utterly terrified before in her life and she desperately wanted Honoka to embrace her and protect her from all the evils in the world. Meanwhile, Honoka's desperate desire to protect her beloved Little Bird clashed with her inner, more primal instinct of self-preservation.

The remaining seven maidens of Muse looked on at these rising tensions with a growing sense of impending doom.

"…uh…um…" One of those seven maidens of Muse wanted to speak, but she was cut off by the purple-haired member of the group.

"Ericchi…I think it's better if you sit this one out."

"E-Eh? Nozomi, why? What's wrong?"

"You really don't know what's going on?" Nico deadpanned, turning to Eri with an unamused face.

"…get what?"

Rin, Hanayo, and Maki's gazes turned to join Nozomi and Nico's, all eyes other than Umi, Kotori and Honoka's focused solely on the blonde member of the group.

Eri had no idea what was going on, but she sort of felt like she had done something wrong. But what could it be? All she did was step out of the clubroom's private changing booth to display the outfit that Kotori had fashioned for her. She had no idea why Umi's face had become redder than Maki's hair before things had escalated into…whatever the Hell was actually going with Umi seemingly wanting to freeze Kotori's soul via her nigh-deranged gaze.

While Eri looked confused, Umi continued to scare the life out of Kotori while struggling to decide whether to kiss Kotori's shoes, have a nosebleed, sing Kotori's designer praises to the four winds, or sweep Eri off her feet and run home with her and do sh-shameless! things to her, or all of the above. Why?

Because Eri was wearing the sexiest outfit Umi had ever seen her wear.

In the back of her Sexy Eri-focused mind, Umi wondered whether or not this was some form of negative reinforcement for her friend with the avian namesake, who eventually fainted under the intensity of Umi's nigh-deranged gaze.

Cue total and complete anarchy in the Idol Research Clubroom.

Love Live~!

There was no two ways about it. Romance movie freak-out jokes and all, Sonoda Umi was hopelessly and completely in love with Ayase Eri. Why? More like, why not? Eri and her were, really, the only responsible ones of Muse. Eri's presence was relaxing to Umi, especially in instances where Honoka's shenanigans got on the bluenette's nerves. The blonde was incredibly reliable, too. Also, she was beautiful (well, duh!) and Umi found it fascinating how the quarter-Russian had different facets.

At one time, Eri could be so incredibly cool and calm under pressure. Another time, she could be quite the goof, especially if chocolate was a part of the proverbial equation. At another time, she could be a real heartbreaker, such as many an instance of fellow Otonokizaka Academy students that were smitten by the blonde confessing their love for her in the halls of the school, with the blonde gently turning down their affections, leaving the poor maidens in tears yet smiling in understanding that the cool and beautiful Ayase Eri would never be theirs.

Also, another facet of Ayase Eri that Umi treasured yet found utterly bittersweet was the teasing nature of Eri when she and the blonde were by themselves.

Again: despite all the "S-SHAMELESS!" jokes, Umi had long-since "mellowed out" and grown fonder of physical affection (Hell, with friends as flirty and fond of displays of affection as Honoka and Kotori, how could she not? Those two flirted like newlyweds!) and she secretly yearned to spend time alone with Eri more often just so that the blonde would look only at her, fawn over her and tease her.

"Go on, Umi-chan! How did it go…? Love Arrow Shoot-ah~! Like that~?"

"N-No, no! It doesn't go like that! It's Looove Arrow Shoooo-ERI!"

"Teehee~! You're so cute, Umi-chan! You looked like you were pulling a bow string, too~!"

"Ahhh, mou!"

"Umi-chan, you know?"

"Y-Yes, Eri?"

"You're so cute~"

"…how can you say that with such a straight face?"

"What? I'm just making an observation~"

Cue Eri's lyrical giggles as Umi blushed redder than Maki's hair.

"Haaaah…hah, oh wow! Umi-chan, you're amazing! You got a perfect score on this song on Legendary! That's crazy~!"

"G-Geez, Eri, calm down! It's no big deal, please don't make a scene here!"

"What? Everybody agrees, right fellas?"

A massive cheer from at least a dozen onlookers at the arcade where Umi had gotten the coveted Perfect score on the Dance Dance Resistance machine. Cue Umi blushing harder than ever before in her life, and completely losing the capacity for speech, or any coherent thought, really, as Eri grabbed her by the hand to pull her away from the cheering crowd.

Sonoda Umi was hopelessly and completely in love with Ayase Eri and make all the "sexy dress"-in-broken-English jokes in the world, but seeing Eri in the magnificent Western-style maid outfit that Kotori designed for her (as well as for the rest of Muse, really) and the way in which Eri had no idea just how damn much that vision of loveliness affected the bluenette had the poor dear at the brink of tears and whose idea was it to wear sexy maid outfits at a Valentine's Day concert, anyway?!

Oh yeah. It was Honoka's idea, that little-!

In any case, as gorgeous as Eri looked in her outfit, the rest of Muse had their own charm and brand of beauty when they wore their respective maid outfits for the concert and Umi wondered whether she would have to step in to pry Honoka and Kotori away from each other and stop the two lovers from doing something completely shameless and inappropriate right then and there in their clubroom.

However, Umi couldn't shake off the (welcome) feeling of Eri's sky-blue eyes roaming over her maid outfit with blue highlights amidst black and white.

Taking a deep breath, Umi turned around, gathering her courage in the process, to face the blonde girl of her dreams with an adorably-blushing face and shy smile.

"S-So…um…E-Eri…what do you th-think…?" Umi fidgeted where she stood and, in Eri's honest opinion, the bluenette could not possibly look any cuter if she tried, standing there playing with her thumbs over her lap and her beautiful amber eyes looking up into Eri's eyes and down to her hands.

"Ericchi, you remember how to breathe, right~?" Nozomi whispered for her oldest friend's ears only as she casually bumped the blonde with her hip and the girl in question almost made a complete and total fool of herself in front of Umi, nearly tripping over her own flats-clad feet. Glimmering blue met expectant amber as Eri took one of Umi's hands and gave it a gentle squeeze. The blonde's smile dazzled the bluenette.

"You look cuter than ever, Umi-chan~!"

The girl felt her heart skip a beat and she nearly swooned right then and there, struggling to save face because she really didn't want to faint right then and there.

The cheers of the crowd were nearly deafening after the final note of the song had played and Muse's concert for Valentine's Day was officially over. Umi's heart pounded in her ears and she smiled like never before as Eri stepped next to her and took her hand as the school idols gave their adoring fans a bow before leaving the stage.

Once backstage, the sound of a lock sliding into place gave Umi pause as she stood in her changing booth. She uttered a "Who-?" before a gasp slipped from her lips upon feeling the warmth of her beautiful, beloved senior envelope her as Eri swept in and hugged Umi tightly from behind.

"Umi-chan, just say you love me already~"

Well, now she learned what a succubus sounded like.

"E-Eri, I…I…!" Umi stuttered, nearly at the brink of collapse as emotions and heat rushed through her maid-clad body.

"Sorry, Umi-chan, but I just can't help myself…you're just too cute for your own good," Eri purred in Umi's ear before ever-so-softly grazing her teeth on the sensitive earlobe and then, moving her lips, lips Umi had dreamt of for months, to Umi's nape and kissing all around her slender neck. The bluenette sighed and moaned softly with utter bliss as Eri leaned over her shoulder to kiss the side of her neck, up to her jaw.

Umi's amber eyes stared into Eri's sky-blue's when the girl tilted her head to face the blonde behind her, both sets of eyes hazy with adoration and need. Umi moved one hand over her shoulder to cup Eri's smooth, hotly-blushing cheek and pull her in for their very First Kiss, a kiss that put fantasies to shame by the sheer heat and raw passion that the two maid-dressed Muses shared with this one lip lock, one kiss of many to follow as Umi turned around in Eri's embrace and the kissing girls took each other's hands to press their palms flush against one another's soft chests, right above the racing hearts below.

Eventually, after a blissful eternity of kissing, the two girls had to break away to get their breath back and appease their burning lungs. Also, Umi's legs finally gave out and the girl fell to her knees yet Eri caught her in time to avoid any potential bruising to her legs. The blonde cradled the bluenette's body in her lap as the two sat on the floor of their changing booth.

Umi let the most blissful and happiest sigh escape her as she rested her cheek in the crook of Eri's slender neck, idly playing with the garters on the blonde's thigh-high stockings with the fingers of hand and the strings of her elegant corset with the other.

Eri hummed with approval as she threaded her fingers through Umi's rich, silky blue tresses and caressed her lovely hips with her other hand.

"You know, the others are going to get worried if we stay here for too long, Umi-chan~"

"Don't care. I've waited too long for this, Ok? You made me fall in love with you and we just kissed shamelessly in a changing room. Take responsibility, Eri!"

"Well, rest assured. I will~"

"Ok. Thanks, Eri…I love you like you have no idea."

"I love you too, Umi-chan~"

"…oh, and also, damn these sekshi dressus!"

"Harasho!"

FIN

Happy Valentine's Day, ya'all! By the way, YuriChan220, I guess it's fitting to say that, well, I kept you waiting, huh? :3 Just as you asked, some ErixUmi love for ya. G'nite, everybody~!

PS: A little shout-out to GrimGrave, because thanks to him, I actually decided to make this an ErixUmi story. LOL I was suffering some agony of choice and he helped me make up my mind. So, here's a thank-you, Grim-kun! :3

Again: Happy Valentine's Day 2016~

Semper-Fi! Carry on!