Roommate Wanted. No Betrayers.

Chapter 6

Luckily for Kronii's heart, the last ten minutes of the library being open passed less eventfully, though she still spent most of it on the lookout for librarians, who all apparently moved as quietly as ninjas. Especially as she entered the door code for the back room, which far from being rows of dusty shelves like she expected, turned out to be quite a cosy area, with well worn plush chairs and piles of books.

Kronii sat down on the largest seat, a sofa that seemed to have no more than exactly the number of threads to keep it in one piece, it quickly enveloped her, sucking her into its folds like an old friend.

"Hey, sorry about that." Mumei said, pushing a cart full of books into the back room. "Ina knew something was up right away and it would have been more hassle to hide it from her."

"Mumei... Help... The couch..." Kronii raised a hand feebly. "It's... So comfortable... I'm melting..."

"Oh no! Don't worry Kronii, I'll come save you!" Mumei giggled as she hurried over, throwing her arm out dramatically towards kronii. "Take my hand!"

Kronii obliged, intertwining her fingers with Mumei's, pulling her forwards into the reach of her other arm and embracing her.

"Oh noo, I'm being pulled in too!" Mumei cried dramatically as she let herself be guided to a position on top of Kronii, the two girls' smiling faces ending up just inches away from each other.

For a second it was like time froze for Kronii. She found herself lost in Mumei's hazel eyes glowing almost gold in the faint light of the back room, the feeling of her body pushed up against her own, the sound of her cute giggle, still echoing in her ears.

If time *had* stopped then and there, she would be happy.

But then again, time doesn't just stop.

It was Mumei who closed the gap, placing one hand gently on Kronii's shoulder and leaning down towards her face. Their lips made gentle, tenuous contact, as though neither really quite believed what was about to happen. Every millimetre closer was the closest they'd been and every one felt like a mile emotionally. All leading up to this, the lightest, tenderest, neediest of kisses.

Not nearly enough, yet, so much more than they ever dared dream.

"You know, Kronii..." Mumei said, her voice just above a whisper, her face no more than an inch away, her eyes, her beautiful golden eyes so focused on Kronii's own. "As far as I know, that was my first kiss."

"Oh," Kronii said. "Sounds like it's lonely."

It was her turn to lean in now, giving her another slow, tender kiss that lingered, but hinted at something more, something hungrier. It was quickly followed by another, then another, each one just a little braver and bolder than the one before. More and more, Kronii let her hunger come to the fore.

"Kronii! Kronii, stop geez!" Mumei said, pushing herself back to not be interrupted by her partner's kisses. "Give me a chance to breathe."

It was only then that Kronii realised she had been holding her own breath. "Oh, right sorry Mumei."

"It's okay!" Mumei giggled, placing a gentle hand on Kronii's face. "I get it, trust me. I do, I really do. But we have plenty of time."

"Yeah, of course, you're right." Kronii laughed, leaning up to meet Mumei's face and kissing her gently. "We have all the time in the world."

Somewhere in the southern hemisphere, there is a beach that no human has ever walked before. It's current visitor sits on it's soft, white sand dipping her toes into the cool water. She gazes out into the vast empty ocean and feels a twinge of melancholy come over her. She thinks of another time, another beach and another girl. Of adventures and laughter and secret kisses in the hidden places they found.

They had been so young back then, two idiot kids, playing at something they knew nothing about, and maybe that's all it ever was. Play. No different to tag in the playground. That's certainly what they had both said after they were found out. She never knew if it was true though. They never had that talk. Not in High School. Not in College. Not in half a decade of living together.

It never felt right to ask. Especially not after Sana came along. Not that she begrudged them their happiness. Quite the contrary, they were, are, her two best friends in the whole world, she could never be angry or sad or annoyed that they were happy...

But, surely...

Surely it was only natural to be jealous of her. To have idle fantasies about how things could be. About how things would be if she wasn't there. She couldn't help the dreams she had. The thoughts in her loneliest moments. The memories.

Of course she didn't want her to go. She loved Sana, not in the same way she loved Kronii, but loved her all the same. They were her friends, she valued their happiness and so when Sana got the opportunity to follow her dreams, she supported her. That's all. She didn't mean to break them up. She didn't...

But then again, she wasn't exactly torn up that it happened was she?

Not at first.

Not until it happened.

Not before her idle fantasies were proven false.

Kronii didn't run to her, she withdrew. Their home, which had once been so alive, became cold and quiet. She did all she could for Kronii, but a hole had formed in their lives and she couldn't plug it. No matter how much time passed, the hole was always there and she just couldn't take it anymore, she wasn't helping Kronii, she wasn't helping herself.

She didn't tell Kronii the real reason she'd signed onto the expedition. Just gave a half-true explanation about how it would be a good opportunity for her and promised her she'd be back. Kronii hugged her and she felt her heart break a little more. How had they gotten here?

She cried on the train, she cried on the plane, she cried on the boat. Every step further from home she got, she missed her more. For days she considered going back almost constantly. But eventually, she began to cry less, to once again find joy in her work, to enjoy the beautiful place she found herself in. She never quite stopped feeling the guilt over leaving or stopped missing Kronii but it became less all encompassing.

Then, 3 months after arriving, she found that the expedition was going to last a month longer than scheduled. The entire party returned to the mainland so they could explain, but all the while she could do nothing but worry about how Kronii would take the news no matter how she worded it.

She wouldn't get a response to that text for months. Not until one afternoon, on a remote part of the island she found a spot with cell reception and a flood of texts filled her phone. Suddenly she was inundated with texts from Kronii, mostly belated holiday wishes, but one, which had been sent just a few days ago.

Hey, I finally rented out the third bedroom. Thought you ought to know. Hope you're well.

She was so happy, she might have started crying, it wasn't much, but it was a step she'd tried to get Kronii to take for a full year. If this meant Kronii was taking steps to help herself, then the trip would have been more worth it than she dared to hope.

Fauna was brought back into the present by the feeling of the tide pushing out to her wrists. She chuckled a little to herself, she was so easily distracted by memories of the past. Standing up, she pulled out her phone, looking at the picture of her and Kronii that had adorned her home screen for years.

"I'll be home soon."