Shower

Five years ago, Chris had told her about one’s first kiss. She told her about how the first one had to be the best one. You had to find the right guy, the right place, the right atmosphere. Nothing could go wrong, because you could only have one first kiss. It would always be the one you would remember. And if you got everything right; the right guy, the right place, the right atmosphere…then it would be the most magical, incredible, wonderful moment you could ever experience.

Fireworks would go off in your head, your entire body would feel warm and aglow, and when the magical moment ended, it would leave you wanting more.

That had been what Chris had told her.

Her personal experience of the whole matter had been hardly…pleasant.

She of course, knew the reason why everything had gone wrong. A cold, metallic Launch Bay hardly called for the perfect place or atmosphere, and as for the right man…

He was 29 years old, a full ten years older then her, a near mirror image of her older brother. Something had stirred within her chest when a face that had been missing from her life for four years suddenly walked through the doorway. Sleeping feelings had awoken when a near perfect replica of his voice met her ears.

Everything changed though, a few moments ago, when he stole her first kiss from her.

It had been sudden, it had been simple, and if she was honest with herself it left a bad taste in her mouth.

To make matters worse, his crass comment about meeting at his room later earned him a slap to the face.

Then she ran. As fast as she could, Haro’s electronic cries following her as tears streamed from her eyes. Never had the corridors of the Ptolemaios felt so small and narrow. She turned corners blindly, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and anguish, her mind trying hopelessly to rid the images that flashed before her closed eyes as she tries to blink away the tears.

Then she hit something. Something warm and soft, his body stumbling back slightly as he stopped the two of them becoming a messy pile of tangled limbs in the corridor.

Then she just lost control. The tears refused to be held back, pain ridden sobs escaped her throat as she buried her face in his chest, her arms worming around his waist and up his back to pull him closer. She didn’t even care who it was she had collided with. She just wanted to let it all out, have a shoulder to cry on and generally be console.

“Feldt Grace,”

A part of her mind recognised the owner of the voice as Setsuna, his tone ever calm, although she recognised a tint of unease to his words. That said, there was no anger in his voice either, no disgust as it had been when the Trinity girl had stolen a kiss from him.

“Feldt….are you crying?”

She didn’t reply, her sobs dulling down to the occasional pathetic whimper. She knew he would scoff at her reasons behind her distress, stare at her stonily as she tried to make him understand why a simple kiss would cause her so much distress.

Slowly, carefully, she felt the pilot’s arms come around her slim waist, one of his hands gently pushing her awkwardly down the corridor towards the crew quarters…towards his quarters.

She didn’t try to stop him. She felt miserable and tainted. She also knew Setsuna wasn’t the kind of man that would take advantage of her (Or possibly even know how to take advantage of her), she just kept her head buried in his shoulder, the tears now running silently as he carefully pulled his coat off and then gently did the same with hers.

She didn’t even resist when he pushed her towards the bathroom, she just didn’t want to let him go. She felt venerable she realised. She wanted comfort and she didn’t care where it came from. She didn’t even look up with curiosity as he pulled her into the corner shower and turned the water on.

Wonderfully warm liquid poured down on her, soaking her clothes, her hair clinging to her skull as small streams pooled in the soles of her boots.

She felt his arms slowly come around her once more, as though he was trying to protect her from what was hurting her. Tears melded with water as she rested her head against his chest, the soaked fabric of his shirt feeling strangely comforting against her cheek as he leant his chin against her damp hair.

She couldn’t remember how long the two of them stood there, their clothes steadily getting heavier under the soft barrage of water from above. She felt incredibly safe though, memories of not so long ago fading with the combination of warm water and familiar company.

It all felt so…right.

She slowly tilted her head up to look into the pilot’s tanned face, her cheeks flushing slightly as she watched drops of water drip off his sopping wet hair, his dark eyes staring blankly ahead, his back leaning up against the bone white wall behind him.

“Setsuna…”

He looked down at her as she pulled back slightly in his embrace, his brown orbs betraying his concern.

“Why were you crying, Feldt Grace?”

She didn’t reply, not with words. She stared up at him, her heart thudding hard in her chest, before letting her eyes slowly close, her lips carefully pressing against his.

She felt him freeze. She knew she was being bold. She knew any second now he could push her away and tell her curtly to get out.

But he didn’t.

He was careful and unsure of himself, his tense body, a lifetime of war and conflict telling him to be wary, slowly relaxing as he moved a hand to brush away a stray lock from her face.

She felt strangely light-headed, yet at the same time every nerve in her body felt alive. And when the need for air broke them apart, she felt a distinct pang in her chest that refused to leave until he hesitantly captured her lips once more.

And when the water finally turned cold, and he handed her a towel as she dropped the waterlogged shirt on the floor, she realised perhaps Chris had been wrong.

Maybe sometimes…the second kiss was the one you would always remember.