[requested by: cheeky-ssam bcs they literally have the greatest books and oneshots i've ever read, and they never fail to make me laugh my bum off.]
[im beginning to love mintomi thru their fics, so why dont ya'll check their works out? :D]
[a visit to the library]
A small flame lit from the tip of Honda Hitomi's candle as she scanned the dark hallways of their university that always felt deserted this late at night despite her nightly visits.
Every student smart enough to follow the rules had crawled into bed hours ago. It always felt strange to see the halls so empty, but night after night, she came to welcome a few minutes of silence and isolation with open arms.
With only the warmth of her candle's flame, she continued through the halls at an intentionally slow pace. In all honesty, she was technically breaking the rules by doing this. No teacher had ever officially given her permission to walk the halls this late, but no one ever seemed to have a problem with her being out this late, either.
Someone as prim, proper, and polite as Honda Hitomi could never be seen as some up to nothing troublemaker, no. That was one of the few she actually enjoyed being the smartest in most of her desired classes.
Either way, long since discovering this kind of freedom, she gladly took the chance to stroll the halls every night before heading to bed. She never knew exactly what she was looking for, but after so many times, it'd simply become a nightly ritual- very delightful ritual, at that.
Her final stop before heading to her room was the library. She stopped mid-step in the open doorway, her body freezing for a split second before she pointed her candle forward.
The flame on her candle suddenly casted a thin line of light across the room. She quickly aimed toward the outline she'd seen, and let out a quick sigh of relief soon after. The outline belonged to a single university student, still in uniform, and currently sitting motionless at a table with their head resting between their folded arms.
Making sure to keep her steps light, Hitomi approached the girl and the closer she got, the less she believed what she was seeing.
Out of all the students she expected to find in the library at late midnight, Kim Minju was probably the very last that would've crossed her mind... yet here she was.
"Kim Minju...?" She called out softly, stopping a few feet behind the girl's chair.
There came no reply. Peeking over the motionless girl's head revealed the reason for this. Two beautiful closed eyes and a slowly rising and falling chest. As well as a few open books scattered around.
"Wow, you were actually studying," Hitomi whispered to herself while walking around the table, "I wonder how much you got done before falling asleep?"
A lone candle sat at the end of the table, already half melted, like Hitomi's at this point. Following the candle's soft light, she continued around the table and sat down at the seat across from the sleeping frog.
A small smile crossed her lips as Hitomi settled into her seat. She wasn't entirely sure what she was doing, at least at first. It was already late, and on any ordinary day she'd no doubt be in bed by now. Still, for whatever reason, a large part of her was more than happy to stay where she was for the time being.
Kim Minju was yet to move. The girl's face was hidden entirely between her crossed arms, and only the left side of her body was being illuminated by the candle's flame.
"Yah, Kim Minju..." Hitomi tried again, this time at a slightly higher volume. No response.
She's not gonna wake up for a while, I suppose. Hitomi sat in silence, watching Minju's sleeping form with a soft gaze. She had no idea how much time was passing- it felt like minutes, but hours could've passed by.
When it became clear that this girl being the literal embodiment of a zoo wasn't going to wake up on her own, Hitomi let out a quick sigh and reluctantly stood up enough to lean over the table. Her intent was to nudge the older's arm. However, as soon as her hand neared the sleeping girl, the latter's head turned alongside a soft moan.
Hitomi pulled back, but not before her fingertips had gently grazed Minju's right cheek, "S-Sorry!" She practically threw herself back into her seat, "I was just trying to-" she allowed her sentence to trail off as soon as she saw that Minju's eyes were still closed "...Seriously?"
She heard Minju grumble something under her breath, it was so low that her lips barely moved. After another short silence, Hitomi stood back up and reached forward once more. Her patience was nearing its limit. Her open palm reached around Minju's head, her fingers wrapping around the girl's short ponytail.
"Wake. Up. Kim. Minju."
One light tug was all it took to get a response. Another groan, far louder than the first.
Minju's eyes slowly opened as Hitomi released her grip, "Ugh... Wha-! Hitomi-ssi?" Minju asked while squinting two bloodshot eyes.
"Students aren't allowed in the library this late," Hitomi said quickly, hoping she could avoid having to explain what she was doing here, "you should head to your room before a teacher sees you."
Minju's right eye had closed again by the time she finished speaking and the left eye wasn't far behind from doing the same thing, "Ugh..." The frog repeated, "can't. too tired to walk. I'll just sleep here."
Hitomi sighed deeply and rubbed the bridge of her nose, "No, Kim Minju, you can't-"
The older's head was already back to resting on her crossed arms, "You sound tired, too," She said, her voice muffled but still audible, "why don't you stay here with me? No way any teacher will scold us if they see you here. I'm good company, anyway."
Fuck's sake, she's so full of herself. I could literally hear her grin from here. She knew Minju couldn't see it, but Hitomi decided to shake her head anyway, "Stop being so childish, Kim Minju. Just-"
Her heart caught up in her dry throat when out of nowhere, Minju reached out and gently grabbed hold of Hitomi's right hand with a solid grip. [..so, top minju?]
A rush of blood filled the bread lover's cheeks in less than a millisecond. Kim Minju's slender fingers slid between her own. Their palms rubbed together for a moment that was more than enough to send a sudden chill down Hitomi's spine.
She couldn't exactly describe the older's skin as soft, but it was warm, and immensely comforting to touch. She bit down hard on her bottom lip as Minju's thumb started to slowly rub her palm. Yet another goosebump pricked at her.
"That's not fair," Hitomi squeaked out through a dry throat. Her embarrassment was instantly doubled from the frog's muffled laughter, "...Just for a while, then."
Kim Minju had been treating her like this for quite a while now. After they'd grown close enough to call each other genuine friends, it took Minju no more than a few days to discover that Honda Hitomi was extremely weak when it came to physical contact.
Her fingers had grown tense at first, but they were now loose enough for her to completely intertwine them with Minju's. Now that she had no desire to hide her smile, she finally let her heart pound loudly alongside the girl's steady heartbeat.
She used her free hand to grab one of the books that scattered the table and rested her head on its open pages. The warmth from Minju's hand soon spread to her own. As that warmth slowly spread to the rest of her body, her eyelids finally grew too heavy to stay open.
Hitomi woke up to the feeling of sunlight heating up her lower back. The thought that she managed to sleep in the university's library through the night came as a bit of a shock, but not enough for her to open her eyes just yet. If a teacher hadn't captured them yet, they were in the clear until classes started.
"Yow, Honda.." Minju called out in a hushed whisper. She attempted to pull her hand away, but the younger kept a firm enough grip that made Minju stay in her place, "Honda Hitomi!" She repeated, her voice slightly higher pitched.
Hitomi pouted her lips as the girl made a second attempt to free her hand, "Relax, Kim," She said in a calm, slightly husky voice, "we still got time before class starts. Just a bit longer."
If she wasn't already furiously blushing, what happened next would have had caused her face to turn beet red. It wasn't Minju who responded to what she said like she expected.
Rather, the voices of several incredibly close girls filled her ears.
"Oh my...did you hear that?" One girl asked in a tone full of shock.
"So it wasn't an accident after all," A second girl added, "they were sleeping like that on purpose."
"She was almost talking like they're lovers," A third girl declared in a gossipy tone, "you heard what she said. She was practically begging Minju for more."
"Oh, tone it down, Nabuki! We were just holding hands!" The frog finally responded, her voice breaking more than once, "and it's not like you don't do the exact same thing with Jang Wonyoung from the fashion department!!"
It was about the last thing she wanted to do in this situation, but Hitomi still forced herself to lift her head and open her eyes.
A couple of the students were blushing almost as much as she was, while the rest were either staring down in shock or disbelief. No matter their reaction, Hitomi found it near impossible to meet any of their eyes directly.
Her fingers were still entwined with Minju's, and after the things she'd said, it'd be near impossible to make up any excuse that would explain their situation.
As awkward as everything felt at the moment, one look across the table revealed that Kim Minju was having a much harder time dealing with the sea of judging eyes surrounding them. The girl's face was dark red, so much so that the tips of her ears had even started to change color.
While watching the girl protest their situation will with all of her might, a sudden realization hit Hitomi like a tank. She finally understood why Minju always waited until they were alone to tease her.
Alone, MInju could flirt with full, shameless recklessness, but in public, she seemed unable to handle even the implication of anything romantic. At first, this caused pastry-loving to feel sorry for the normally slippery frog, but then an idea came to mind. It could work.
"What's wrong, honey?" Hitomi asked with a devilish smirk on her lips. She placed her free hand on top of Minju's, making it all but impossible for the girl to pull away, just as Hitomi wanted, "You were so pushy last night. Is a few extra eyes all it takes for you to lose your nerve just like that?"
"...What?" Minju's eyes almost popped out of her eye sockets at hearing this, "w-what are you talking about, Hitomi-ssi? And how did you know 'honey' in Korean?!"
Hitomi sat up, enough to lean over the table. She finally released Minju's hand, but she only did it so she could use her both of her hands to quickly cup both sides of the girl's face.
"And here I was thinking you truly cared about me..." Hitomi pouted, bottom lip sticking out while meeting Minju's eyes. Her right thumb caressed Minju's cheek before finding its way to the girl's bottom lip, lightly brushing the plumpness of it, "if you really do, like what you told me last night, surely you're willing to prove it right here and now, no matter how many eyes are upon us."
If she wasn't already taking extreme delight in getting some long overdue payback, Hitomi could have easily matched the color of Minju's face right now.
She met the girl's eyes with a gaze she prayed looked passionate enough to stop Minju from calling her bluff.
The girls around them had gone completely silent.
More than a few had their mouths agape, and the amount of blushing faces among the crowd had doubled. For a moment, she felt a rush of embarrassment herself. She'd certainly never live this moment down, and it was probably safe to say that the rumors regarding her sexuality were no longer up for debate, but seeing Kim Minju, the cheesiest flirt out there, with this kind of reaction made it all worth it. So, very worth it.
The older girl's eyes looked almost physically incapable of opening any wider, and the red on her face had long since spread to cover every last inch. After soaking in this sight for a few more seconds, Hitomi decided she'd pushed the situation far enough.
Her expression softened alongside another soft sigh as a quick look of confusion from Minju struck her pretty hard.
Hitomi opened her mouth to explain that she was only teasing, but was robbed of the opportunity by a hand gripping the back of her head. All the bread lover managed was a single blink of her eyes before Minju closed the gap between them.
A series of deep gasps filled the room, some beyond even the group of girls surrounding them.
The moment the sensation of Minju's soft lips pressing against her own fully hit her, her mind lost the ability to focus on anything else.
It wasn't a long kiss, and she spent the better half of it frozen in shock, but it definitely wasn't an experience she would describe as unpleasant. In all honesty- this is gonna sound so embarrassing- Honda Hitomi found herself melting at the mere thought of stealing another as Minju pulled back and opened her hazy eyes a few seconds later.
"T-There!" Minju exclaimed, "does that- Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You...actually kissed me..." Hitomi could barely speak the words aloud with the violent hammering inside her chest. It took every ounce of her will to meet Minju's eyes.
"W-What do you mean?" Minju asked in a total panic, her eyes constantly darting off to glance at one of the many girl's surrounding them, "You...you wanted me to, right? You just said I had to prove that if I do ca-"
"I was teasing you, dumbass!!" Aaand, the truth came out before she could stop herself. Great.
"What?!" Minju yelled once again, a sudden eye twitch accompanying the unreadable expression on her lightly-pink-dusted face, "well...tell me that next time!"
Hitomi gaped for a second, then threw up her arms in frustration, as she yelled right back at Minju, "That kinda defeats the purpose, you dumb frick!"
Nothing more could be said after that. Both girls had reached their emotional limits.
In an instant, Hitomi felt her legs grow weak. An attempt to grab the table came far too late, and then she gave all hope as soon as her legs gave out, her back to meet the floor as a welcome.
A last second glance across the table saw Kim Minju in exactly the same position as her.
As the sound of footsteps and shrieking filled the room, one last thought slipped into Hitomi's head.
I might have, perhaps most certainly, took things a bit too far.
________
word count:
2625
school can suck the biggest middle finger out there coz i pulled an all-nighter for two str8 days only to find our english teacher extending the deadline of our essay for another day. aint that nice.
a vote and comment is appreciated!! :)
k, 4 reqs got added to my list a moment ago. bcs im weak for my readers liek that. so imma say this again, requests are closed. :>
i'll see ya'll next time when im not pressured w school.
I LOVE YA'LL!