The Language I Spoke Yesterday

Weird

I sat between sinks. The bathroom counters were deep enough that I could tuck the back of my knees against them with my spine against the solid wall between mirrors. My feet dangled off the ground, and I swung them absently as I watched Ikkaku scrub the shower floor. Her boiler suit was open to the waist, arms tied to keep them from dangling into the soapy water, and she wore a bright yellow sports bra with a netted racer back.

She grumbled and groaned as she put her whole body into scrubbing the grout. "... Thinks it can ever be white again. Who uses white grout in a ship full of men?"

I made a noncommittal grunt and shrugged. I was a bit distracted by how far out she could move her torso from her core and pull everything back in again. That lady had some serious muscle, and every one rippled as she moved.

She stretched out, scraping the hard bristled brush along the grout line, then sat up and stared at me. Her eyes were curious and amused and her mouth was slightly open. "Are you staring at my but?"

"What!?" I nearly fell off the counter. She just kept looking at me. I put my hands to my cheeks, trying desperately to cool them. "Wh-why would you think that?"

Ikkaku grinned. "It's okay. You can stare."

"Ikkaku!" I hid my mouth and my cheeks. "I'm not staring your butt."

"What? I stare at yours. You have a nice butt."

I groaned and leaned back into the counter. "Iikkaaaakuuuu..."

"Well, you do." She giggled and went back to cleaning. "Besides, what else are you doing in here if you're not watching me clean?"

I stumbled for a reasonable answer, looking everywhere but at her. "Um, I... Well, I was trying to keep you company, but... And I guess I was watching you, but not watching..." My face was so red that it hurt.

Ikkaku snorted and threw the brush into her little red bucket. Her three steps across the bathroom demanded my attention. She laid one hand on my leg and moved it aside, standing between my knees. We were almost the same height. Almost nose to nose.

I thought my heart would burst out of my chest and run down the hall. I wasn't sure I was breathing.

The bathroom door slammed open and the engineers burst into the room. "IKKAKU! WE'RE STAR-" They froze. Red faced and bloody nosed, they slowly backed out of sight.

The cook sighed. "Idiots..."

This was one of those times when I acted without thinking first. Rather, I had a thought, but it was a flash, intrusive one. Her face looks so soft. I should touch it.

She paused as my fingertips brushed her cheek. I was right: her skin was soft.

/-/-/-/

I blinked at the two humans drooling on the table. They were blabbering to each other about Ikkaku and Andromeda. We were the only ones in the dining room, and it had been nice and quiet before they showed up.

"I thought you wanted snacks?" I interrupted Penguin's bloody nosed ranting. Humans were so weird.

"Shut up, Bepo!" Shachi snapped.

All the color seemed to drain from the room. I hung my head and folded my paws on the table. I wasn't really sure why they were yelling at me; I just wanted it to stop. "Sorry."

Penguin smacked my arm. "Stop apologizing."

"I'll just go now..." I mumbled. I watched my boots click against the white floor. As I got farther from Penguin and Shachi, the color returned. I found that I was very curious about their weird story. I wanted to know what was so interesting that they got nose bleeds.