I'm… not sure what I think of this. It's kinda like a PWP, only without the first P, since I can't write sex scenes. But this certainly isn't one for the kiddies. The rating's for a reason, boys and girls.

Enjoy!

Minamo could remember clearly the first time Yukari had kissed her.

It had happened back when they were students at the school where they both now taught. Both girls were about sixteen. Minamo had been playing a match as part of the school's basketball team and was the last one to leave the changing rooms. As she was towelling her hair dry, Yukari appeared at the door.

Minamo grinned and looked up, expecting a rare congratulation from her friend when Yukari suddenly pushed her backwards by the shoulders against the wet ceramic tile of the room's wall. Minamo didn't have time to even register her shock before Yukari's lips pressed fiercely against hers.

The air was thick and damp and sweaty and Minamo was strangely aware of the coldness of the wall through her wet t-shirt against the heat remaining from her recent shower and the fervor with which her best friend was kissing her. She dropped the towel and let out a muffled gasp as Yukari ran a hand through her short wet hair, making droplets trickle down her back.

Minamo's senses had just caught up with her when she began kissing back, but Yukari pulled away from the kiss as quickly and unexpectedly as she had started.

Minamo watched, gasping and breathless, her face pink and hot, as Yukari exited the changing room without a backwards glance.

Minamo hurried out of the room as quickly as she could and eventually found Yukari eating her lunch on the roof, as they did occasionally. Yukari looked up as Minamo walked over nervously. "What's up, Nyamo? You're all pink. You should cool down properly after a match."

Minamo blinked in utter confusion as Yukari said nothing to even acknowledge the heated exchange that had taken place less than three minutes previously. Nothing was ever said about it. Over time, Minamo just put the whole episode down to her imagination; a product of overactive adolescent hormones. Of course.

Minamo remembered the second time Yukari kissed her a little less clearly.

It had taken place shortly after the two friends had received their letter of acceptance into the same teacher college. Minamo was ecstatic; she couldn't have coped being apart from Yukari and had been sick with worry up until the arrival of the letters; Yukari was naturally smart but had done next to no studying prior to the final tests, and while Minamo herself had done little but study, she struggled with even the basics of science and math.

But the day had come and they had opened their letters of acceptance at the same time, both delighted. Minamo barely had time to read past "Miss Kurosawa, we are pleased to inform you that you have secured…" before Yukari grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the door. "Let's go drinking!" she announced. Minamo was too overcome with happiness and relief to argue.

A few hours later, both girls were utterly gone. They'd spent the afternoon and evening barhopping, spending what was probably half a month's rent on alcohol, but Minamo didn't care. She was going to the same college as Yukari and, at that point, nothing else mattered.

Not that wanting to spend the rest of her life with Yukari meant that she was in love with her or anything. Yukari just happened to be a very attractive young woman and the part at the back of her mind that was delighted over the fact that, as roommates, Minamo would probably be able to see her friend change was perfectly normal, she reasoned.

She glanced over to see Yukari asleep at the bar, one hand loosely grasping a half-full glass of beer. She smiled to herself, and after paying the bartender, clumsily pulled one of Yukari's arms over her shoulder and lifted her best friend up. Yukari blinked drunkenly and the two of them made it back to Minamo's apartment; even while drunk they reasoned that Mrs. Tanizaki wouldn't be pleased if Yukari showed up completely drunk on her doorstep at nearly midnight.

So the pair crashed in Minamo's room, where Yukari immediately stumbled over to her friend's bed and tucked herself in. Minamo walked over and sat on the edge of the bed to complain bitterly, but didn't get more than a few slurred syllables out before she was silenced by Yukari's mouth on hers. Like the almost-forgotten kiss of two years ago, it was fierce and demanding and left Minamo feeling completely light-headed; a sensation that had nothing to do with the amounts of alcohol she had consumed.

Yukari's tongue pushed its way into Minamo's mouth and the short-haired girl did her best to respond, though the sudden rush of heat in her abdomen was distracting to say the least. Like before, Yukari ran a hand through Minamo's hair - dry this time – and Minamo looped her arms around her friends' shoulders, pulling her close. The two stayed like that for a little while, the temperature of the drunken atmosphere skyrocketing.

They broke apart eventually, Minamo's heart racing, her breathing fast and shallow. She took a few deep breaths and looked at Yukari.

Her friend had dropped off to sleep. Her head was back on the pillow, the covers pulled around her, her flushed cheeks the only sign that something had just happened between her and her best friend. Or it could have been the alcohol.

Minamo looked around, confused, trying to will all the hormones that were pulsing around her body to go away. She silently made her way over to her sofa and lay down, pulling a blanket around herself. Sleep didn't come easily to the confused girl.

Yukari apparently didn't remember anything the following morning, and Minamo wasn't about to remind her.

Minamo didn't remember Yukari's third kiss in as much as it was permanently tattooed across the back of her mind.

Two years later, the two friends were in the middle of their teaching courses. It was all going well and despite the fact that the pair were studying two very different subjects - one languages, the other gym – they spent nearly as much time around each other as they had in school.

Though Minamo's feelings for her friend hadn't lessened at all, she had begun dating guys, much to Yukari's amusement.

"You're dating Koji Tajiri? That guy from history?" Yukari had asked in disbelief when Minamo told her over lunch in the slightly grimy college cafeteria.

"What's so weird about that? He's nice, he's good-looking..."

"Well, he's a guy, for one thing."

"What?" Minamo nearly choked on her milk.

Yukari laughed. "I figured that Yoshimi girl from classics would be more your type."

Her cheeks a dark shade of red, Minamo just continued coughing on her drink, eyes wide.

"But if you've gotta do this for yourself or your family or whatever; good for you, Nyamo."

"I've got to get to the gym in a few minutes." Minamo said quickly after she'd recovered. "I should go."

Nothing more was said until a few weeks later when Minamo entered the apartment she and Yukari were sharing, tears threatening to spill down her face. Yukari looked up from the game she was playing on her Playstation. "What's up, Nyamo?"

"Koji and I broke up." She sniffed.

"How come?"

"He said that we'd been going out for more than three weeks and hadn't done anything past holding hands. He-he kissed me, Yukari. I panicked. I don't want to have to kiss him. I couldn't do it. He really hates me now." She all but collapsed on the small sofa, her head bowed, looking more depressed and ashamed than Yukari had ever seen her.

"Hmm." Yukari said thoughtfully from her spot in front of her collection of games consoles. Minamo looked up as Yukari walked over to where she was slumped on the sofa, cupped her face and kissed her. While it wasn't as desperate as the other two kisses they had shared had been, it was passionate, and Minamo's eyes snapped open as Yukari's tongue entered her mouth. She tried to hold back a groan and failed as Yukari began kissing her neck, moving down to her collarbone. She gasped audibly as Yukari's hands slipped under the t-shirt she was wearing. Yukari's lips returning to hers muffled most of the noise Minamo made as Yukari's hands slid under her sports bra also; the gentle touches and soft squeezes making her feel more alive than Koji ever could.

All of a sudden, the touches stopped. Minamo looked up from where she had buried her face in Yukari's shoulder to try and not make too much noise to see Yukari smiling slightly.

"Feeling better?"

Minamo nodded mutely.

"Good." She stood up and walked over to the kitchen, leaving a stunned Minamo lying on the sofa, shirt wrinkled and hair mussed, staring at her back and trying to ignore her racing heart and the throbbing between her legs.

That encounter was never spoken of between them again either.

Nevertheless, Minamo couldn't help but think of those three encounters when she and Yukari had arrived back at Minamo's apartment after an 'outing'- never a 'date' - to the movies and instead of bidding the gym teacher goodnight as she normally did, Yukari kissed her with all the passion and ferocity of that first kiss they had shared back in the school changing room.

Minamo didn't want to be kissed by Yukari. While she was still absolutely not in love with her best friend of over a decade, Minamo couldn't deny that she had some pretty strong feelings for the English teacher, and every time the two had kissed, Yukari had walked away afterwards, refusing to acknowledge that it had even happened, leaving Minamo feeling hurt and confused.

So she didn't want the contact, didn't want to open her mouth to accommodate Yukari's demanding tongue, didn't want to be fumbling to open the front door so they could go inside and have privacy. But that was what happened anyway.

Once inside, Minamo flicked on the lights. Compared to the dark movie theater and poorly lit streets, it was blindingly bright, but neither of the women cared about much past each other as Yukari impatiently pulled Minamo's jacket off her shoulders and Minamo feverishly unwound the scarf from around Yukari's neck.

No words were exchanged between the two as, piece by piece, they removed one another's clothing. The silence was punctuated by small moans and gasps at stray kisses and touches. When they were both completely naked, Minamo pushed Yukari by the shoulders - like Yukari had once done to her - in the direction of the bedroom and together they fell down onto the bed, sharing almost frenzied touches and kisses, fueled not on alcohol, but on passion.

Minamo fully expected to wake up alone the following morning. However, when she sleepily blinked open her eyes, she could see Yukari sprawled next to her, hogging most of the covers, snoring slightly and drooling a little on the pillow. It wasn't a pretty scene; it shouldn't have been a pretty scene; but somehow it made Minamo feel more relieved and strangely peaceful than she'd ever felt.

"Yukari?" she whispered in a voice much more soft than she'd intended. She shook her friend's shoulder lightly; she'd done this many times before - Yukari could only be woken up properly by a gentle Minamo, after all - but they'd never just slept together before, and Minamo was more than nervous about how she was going to react.

"Mmm?" Yukari mumbled groggily, rubbing her eyes. She looked over at the person she was sharing a bed with. "Nyamo?"

"Morning, Yukari." Minamo squeaked, painfully aware of her own nakedness as Yukari was stealing most of the covers.

The English teacher's eyes widened slightly as she realized the exact situation she was in. Minamo waited anxiously for her reaction, her heart pounding.

"'S too early." Yukari sighed eventually, snuggling up to Minamo, her hold on the covers loosening.

"W-wha?" Minamo spluttered, "You mean you're staying?"

Yukari smiled, eyes slightly clouded with sleep, and put one arm almost possessively over Minamo's waist. "For as long as you'll have me."

The small action and those few words were all it took. Minamo, sweet, gentle, kind Minamo, felt a resolve unlike anything else. She wasn't going to let Yukari go this time. She wasn't going to let herself feel confused and hurt because of this; she had feelings for her best friend and she knew damn well that her best friend had feelings for her, too. She wasn't about to let Yukari run away; she was going to force her to talk to her and then she could figure out where she stood with her best friend.

Yukari snored slightly and pulled Minamo a little closer.

'Ten more minutes'. Minamo thought, snuggling back into bed a little, resting her hand on top of Yukari's. 'Then we'll talk.'

-End

I tried so hard to write a semi-decent sex scene, I really did… but I just can't. Bleah. So we get an incredibly frustrating fade-to-black instead, and what fun's that?

Someone better at writing than me should totally write one for me, though.