February 26, 2050 - 10:19
Da Nang, Vietnam - Around My Khe Beach
"Yes, I think… I would love to."
Chisato decided to go with her gut feeling; there was no need to deliberate over the details. Chisato liked her, her energetic and bubbly personality, as well as her beautiful appearance.
My was right in her statement. Sure, the feeling they had for each other was not love, but love at first sight was a myth, a fairy tale told to children at bedtime or shown on the big screen, idealized and not representative of the real thing. It was real, of course, there were reported cases of people actually falling in love at first sight, but it was rare, and both My and Chisato definitely didn't hit the jackpot.
Love is, according to Chisato's parents, a process. Something one builds up and nurtures with their partner. The trust, the chemistry, and the attachment should be fostered and nourished by those in the relationship until the feeling grows from simple like to a strong sense of needing and wanting each other.
Chisato decided to follow her parents' teaching of love, to let the flow take both of them wherever the river flows. Besides, both Chisato and My were in a dangerous profession, one that might just snuff a person's life at any moment. Might as well take the chances at love while they still can.
Chisato squeezed My's hand while her gaze locked onto My's while My returned the gesture. Both of them smiled at each other. There was a mutual sense of understanding between the two girls.
They both leaned closer.
They closed their eyes.
Their lips found each other.
It was a deep kiss, not as much as a French kiss, but it was still a heated dance battle between their lips. Their hands still held each other, fingers interlocked and entwined.
They spent a long and warm moment, enjoying each other's embrace, before their lips parted and they opened their eyes. Chisato had a warm, small smile, while My had a cheeky grin on her face.
*Clap Clap Clap*
However, the sweet moment between them was broken as they both noticed and turned their head toward the direction of the clapping.
Minh, whom they both forgot about, was giving them a one-man ovation, while tears were streaming down his cheeks. It was a ridiculous sight for both the girls.
"Woooo, that was beautiful. You go, girls, you go." Minh wiped his tears away.
Chisato was confused, yet again, by the action of the barista, while My could only let out a hearty laughter that echoed through the small coffee shop.
"I knew you had it in you, My!" Minh sniffled, now fanning himself like those typical white girls.
"Oh my god, you look ridiculous, Minh!" My chuckled.
Chisato recovered from being stunned by Minh's action before she also giggled at the ridiculousness of the situation.
February 26, 2050 - 10:46
The girls spent some more time at the coffee shop, finishing up their drinks and snacks before leaving the shop. My didn't forget to tip Minh before she left, a habit she learned from Harrison, since tipping was not a common practice in Vietnam, since most workers, even those who made minimum wage, made enough to be able to afford themselves a roof to live under and food to put on their tables.
After they left the shop, My and Chisato took a stroll through the now much more empty street, holding each other's hands while sightseeing. Though it was mostly Chisato who was interested in sightseeing and experienced new things, while My was satisfied with being a tour guide for her new, lovely girlfriend.
They spent a little bit more time outside before both of them decided to head back for the night. Chisato was thinking about catching a ride back to the training facility when My offered to stay outside, since neither of them was obligated to stay on-site.
Chisato agreed to stay outside, but when she asked My where they should stay, all she got back was a smile on My's face and a hush of "Don't worry about it."
The girls called a taxi — a certain brand of all-green taxi — and got into the back. My told the driver their destinations in Vietnamese, and the driver simply acknowledged with a "hmph" before the car got into motion.
Chisato's focus was entirely on the street, her gaze darting back and forth, taking in the sight of the street, illuminated by the nostalgic yellow hue light, mixed with the bright neon lights from all the modern stores and buildings. On their way back, they crossed the Dragon Bridge, which they had seen a glimpse of a few hours ago. The taxi reached the head of the bridge — where the head of the golden dragon was — just in time for the dragon to spew flame from its mouth.
Seeing the flame up close got Chisato really excited, as she pressed herself against the glass to get a closer look. My could see the sparkles in Chisato's eyes reflecting off the glass.
The rest of the trip was relatively tame, more street, more buildings, more lights, a little bit of traffic, nothing as notable as the previous dragon view. Though it was still an enjoyable ride, especially for Chisato, since everything is new to her.
It took them about twenty minutes to get to their destination. The taxi took them to the edge of Da Nang city, into one of the newest neighborhoods. Chisato wanted to pay for the taxi fee; however, My insisted on paying the fee. After a short back and forth, Chisato relented and got out of the car first while My stayed back to handle the fee.
It was a nice neighborhood, similar to her hometown in Japan in the sense that no house in the neighborhood looks the same. Each house had its own unique style to it; some were built in a modern style, some were traditional.
The house where the taxi dropped Chisato and My off was a three-story, contemporary-style house. Plants were decorated all over the house to make the building look more environmentally friendly. If there was one thing that Chisato liked more in Vietnam than Japan, it had to be the abundance of plants and greenery in the neighborhood.
It didn't take long before Chisato noticed the taxi's engine heading off into the distance. Chisato was about to turn around when she felt a pair of hands land on her shoulders, and My's cheek pressed against her own.
"Come on, let's go inside."
My gave Chisato a playful peck on her cheek before pushing the Japanese girl toward the house. Once they got to the side gate of the outer wall, My separated from Chisato. My headed to the side of the gate, where there was a digital monitor on the wall, and entered the password.
*Beep Beep Beep*
*Clack Clack*
My then pushed the gate inward, then gestured for Chisato to enter.
"Ladies first~."
"Of course, my handsome knight." Chisato giggled and entered.
They both removed their shoes before stepping into the house. It was dark inside, with only the light from the street seeping through the transparent windows. Just when Chisato was wondering if My was going to turn on the light, she heard My clapped her hands twice.
In a short moment, the light turned on, illuminating the spacious and neat living room and kitchen, although Chisato felt that it was a little bit too neat. Despite the living room and kitchen looking exactly like any other house, there were no decorations, and the furniture was arranged way too neatly, almost as if no one actually lived in this house.
Chisato felt slightly uneasy when My walked past her and headed for the sofa in the living room. My took off her super-cropped hoodie and chucked it onto the coffee table in front of the sofa, then planted herself firmly into the soft sofa and her feet on the table.
"Whose place is this? Is it yours?" Chisato asked as she walked over to the sofa and placed herself next to My. She did have to admit that, despite everything being creepily neat, the sofa was quite comfortable.
"Oh no, not mine, someone I knew owned this house. We're technically the first people to set foot into this house. Well, except all the construction workers, of course."
"Ah, that explained why everything looks so neat."
Chisato shuffled herself onto the sofa, trying to be more comfortable while also getting closer to her new girlfriend. My reciprocated by wrapping her arms around Chisato's shoulders. Chisato was just about to get comfortable when a thought popped into her head.
"Wait… you said that we're the first ones in this house? Who even bought this place to not use it?"
"Ah, well, it's sort of a… let's say it's a vacation house. Except that the owner of this vacation house rarely takes a vacation. Total workaholic she is."
My separated from Chisato for just a moment to grab the TV remote from the coffee table's drawer. She turned on the TV and navigated to the Wetflix app.
"Do you want to watch something for the night? We don't have to get up early tomorrow anyway." My asked Chisato with a hint of suggestiveness in her tone while her other hand brought Chisato back into My's embrace.
Chisato giggled at My's obvious attempt to try and get Chisato to agree to "Wetflix and Chill" with My. She replied by turning her body toward My, pressing her modest chest against My's ample pair, her arms grabbing My's hip. She went in for a kiss, letting their lips engage in a dance battle. My embraced Chisato back as both of them engaged in a heated kiss.
It took both of them a while before the kiss was over, but not before it turned from a simple lip-to-lip action to a full-on French kiss. By the time their lips separated, there was a visible strand of saliva hanging between their lips. They breathed heavily as if they had run a mile.
"So… Wetflix and chill?" My asked.
"Wetflix and chill!" Chisato answered.
February 27, 2050 - 00:02
South China Sea, near Paracel Islands - Base Appolyon
*Click clack click clack*
The sound of the keyboard echoed in the room.
Yet another late night spent alone in the office, slaving away her life, reading post-operation reports, and filling paperwork. She kept telling herself to take a long-deserved vacation, to temporarily escape from all… this. But habits were hard to kill, and hers were like cockroaches.
She sighed at herself.
Just half an hour ago, there were some asshats from the NSIA requesting information on a bunch of nations in West Asia, Central and South America, no doubt to try and destabilize the world more than it already was.
"Typical Americans…" Luzia muttered to herself.
*Beep beep beep*
A sudden alarm pulled Luzia out of her moment.
"What is it?" She commanded, even though there wasn't anyone to follow her command.
"Ma'am, one of your safe houses might be compromised." The voice, robotic and monotonous in nature, came from hidden speakers all over the room. It was Luzia's personal Virtual Intelligence Assistant (VIA).
"Which one?"
"The one on the outskirts of Da Nang City."
"Bring up all the feeds from that house."
"Yes, ma'am."
As soon as VIA answered, her monitor screens immediately changed to camera feeds from the safe house mentioned by VIA. The middle monitor then showed a particular camera feed of the living room.
Luzia took a short look at the monitor before she chuckled to herself. On the screen was the focused view of her safe house's living room, with the camera focusing on a pair of girls making out on the sofa while the TV was running some random Wetflix show. Square boxes were tracking the girls' heads, displaying their data on the sidebar of the monitor.
'Yeah, no doubt that's her.' Luzia thought with a smile that crept on her face. 'I didn't even tell her about the safe houses, or the passwords… cheeky girl.'
"Ma'am, should I activate the safe house's defensive system?" VIA asked her.
"No, and register My as a class A valid occupant and that other girl as a class B."
"Yes Ma'am. They have both been registered as valid occupants and will be granted unconditional entry in the future."
"Good… oh, also stop the recording for the night."
"That would greatly increase security risk and decrease th..."
"Shut up and do what I said."
"Understood. Disabling camera record of Safe House #24."
After the exchange, VIA stopped bothering Luzia.
"Growing up so fast already… You even found a partner before I did…" Luzia muttered before she drifted deep into her own thoughts.
'... Maybe I should find someone too…'