What goes around, comes around.

~*~

So many buildings, so many streets, why couldn’t it just be a few blocks away? Then again, you couldn’t say no to that job offer. Lady luck had dealt you an interesting hand too, since said job offer was close to the apartment of your childhood best friend. 2 hours of driving every day? No thanks. Do it once and then drive 6 minutes? Sure. Your ass is beginning to feel like a square, as well the voice of radio is turning more and more into an annoyance. Tired from the drive, all you wanted to do was to collapse onto the nearest bed and pass out.

You looked at your phone and tried to locate your current position. Shit, you were supposed to turn a few streets before.

~*~

Her mother used to drop her at your home while she was at work, having no one else to babysit for her. The first time you saw her, you felt nervous and scared, while she eyed you with great curiosity. Retreating behind your mother’s legs, you looked at the girl that just entered your house. You had never seen anyone like her, not as in a kid like her, no one in general, she had golden streaks of hair and green eyes, yet her mother too had the same hair and eye color as everyone else you ever met.

“Thanks again.”

“Don’t mention it!” Replied your mom. Looking at you she felt compassion, you hadn’t seen other kids before, so she tried to give you a push.

“Honey, come and say hi.”

Slowly you stepped forward, the girl turned to her own mother, who gave her an assertive smile and she took her first step towards you.

“Go ahead, say hi.” Her mother commanded her.

“Um.” The girl fumbled. “Hello.”

Her mother waited for her to continue, the little girl sneaked glances at you while her mother gave her cheery smiles of encouragement.

“I...”

“My name is.” Her mother tried to help her.

“My name is Pikamee.”

“Hello Pikamee!” Said your mother, then she looked at you and compelled you to introduce yourself as well. With some timidity, you went along with it.

“M-My name is…”

As Pikamee’s mother left, your mother began cooking for you three and told you to play together in your room.

“Now, now, she’s a girl, so don’t be rough like you are with your brother, alright?” She said, trying to prevent an accident. You nodded in agreement and went with the blonde-haired girl.

Sitting in your room, you had no idea what to do. You eyed her from top to bottom, wondering why she looked like that.

“Is your hair gold?” You asked her.

“No.” She replied.

“Then why is it yellow?”

“I don’t know.” She said. “My dad’s hair looks like this.”

You didn’t know what to play, she didn’t seem interested in your toys either, so instead, you went for your brother’s console.

“Do you want to play Megaman?”

“What is a Megaman?” She asked you.

You showed her the Megaman 2 cartridge your brother had left you, she looked at it with curiosity.

You turned on your brother’s parting gift before he left the house, an old NES with a few games and small, square TV that was also a hand-me-down from him. You showed her how to play and took turns dying in the stages with Pikamee.

The day went by fast, with the most progress you two made being almost reaching Airman’s fight, your mother knocked on the door and told you to come for dinner.

Soon after, Pikamee’s mother came to pick her up and left. Still, you didn’t understand who she was.

The next day, the same scenario repeated itself. Pikamee asked if they could play Megaman again.

Today you didn’t make much progress either, and soon you two became frustrated. Opting for a plan B, you put on a bicycle helmet and told Pikamee they could play they were beating the bad guys yourselves. You took turns with the helmet, throwing all sorts of super powers to and fro, playing both bad guy and hero, teaming up against invisible monsters that cowered under your feet. Another day went by, your mother called you two to dinner once again.

Once Pikamee left, she waved goodbye at you, her mother too eyed you with a certain feel of affection, Pikamee would go on to tell her all of her adventures to save the world with you. You asked your mom if she was coming over tomorrow again. She smiled as she felt a little heartbeat inside.

And so, you had made your first friend.

~*~

Out of breath, you were fighting your fifth set of stairs. Why did she pick the higher floors? You knew she was a fan of great views, but even then, what was she thinking?

The elevator was broken at your finest moment, your physical condition wasn’t at its best, to say the least. Being a hikki really does a number on someone.

Sitting on the staircase, you took a moment to relax, your legs were beginning to burn and felt heavy like weights.

You thought of Pika. You’ve known her for as long as you remember. She had always been an energetic mess, and also, the most genuine person you ever met. Being with her felt as if she was never hiding anything from you, never scheming something.

You went over all the fond memories you shared with her, the games you used to play, some of the lewd moments you two had while discovering what boy and girl meant, the shows you used to watch, and of course, the ones that reminded you entirely about her, like how she rented a copy of Halloween without anyone knowing.

~*~

The middle of fourth grade. Pikamee went for a sleepover since her parents would be out of town. She had gotten her hands on a copy of Halloween on CD. She had always been fond of horror movies, even thought you were more on the scaredy cat side. You thought you could sit through it, no problem, I’ll show her how cool I am by not flinching once.

Your mother set a futon for her and told you two to go to sleep early, once the coast was clear, you brought out your old TV, lowered the volume, and Pikamee played the movie.

While she was lost looking at Michel, the movie was beginning to scare your soul out of your body. Not being able to finish it, you asked Pika to turn it off, to which she reluctantly agreed.

Hiding in your sheets, you saw figures twisting and turning in the corners of the room, you could almost hear footsteps hiding within the sounds of the night, the theme song slowly creeping to your ears.

Twisting and turning in your bed trying to go to sleep, you felt a weight on the side of the bed. Thinking you were about to be killed, you panicked and immediately turned on your nightlight. Pikamee was joining you in bed.

She had a worried look, the sight of your friend calmed your heart.

“Pika, what’s wrong?”

Without saying a word, she slipped under your covers.

“H-Hey!” You protested. “Your mom said you had to sleep in the futon.”

“I can hear you shivering.” She said. “It’s ok! I’ll protect you from the scary killer.” She laughed, without malice.

Pika set her pillow next to yours. By this point, you had nothing else to say. You turned off the light and went to sleep.

Somehow, the night felt a lot calmer then.

You woke up with Pika rolled over you, drooling onto your pillow. You woke her up and both got some breakfast. For the following years, you would never hear the end of how much of a chicken you were. With a smug look Pika would hum the Halloween theme song while raising her arm like it was a knife, before laughing at you, one day you’ll get back at her, you told yourself.

Pika still watched horror movies with you, slowly you lost your fears because every time you saw one, you would remember her. After so many of them, you began finding them amusing.

A year later, you would finally get your chance at revenge, but it was just that you couldn't pull through with it

Your school was part of a campaign to vaccinate children against the flu. Pika was hiding away from the nurses, you went to get her, trying not to scratch your arm.

“I’m scared of shots…” Said Pika.

It was ironic that she could manage horror movies so well, yet a little vaccine scared her out of her soul. It was almost her turn. You thought of mocking her like she did, pretending to hold a syringe in your hand, but your instincts to protect her overcame your desire for revenge.

“Squeeze my hand, then.” You told her.

Pika looked at you, and with an unsure expression, then she nodded. You walked her to where the nurse was, and sat beside her.

As the nurse pulled her sleeve up, Pika looked away and saw as you stretched your hand out to her. Her fingers interlaced yours and she held her breath waiting for the nurse to finish.

“Alright, it’s over.”

Pika didn’t even notice, and you looked at her with a happy smile.

This scenario would repeat itself a few times when more vaccines were mandatory for kids. Pika would search for you and you'd hold her hand while she looked away. Your mother even called you once when Pika got sick and refused to take a shot until you were there with her.

~*~

You checked your phone. It was getting late. The last message you had received was from Pika asking you to tell her when you were on your way. You didn’t respond, since you had hurried to your car trying to avoid some major traffic.

Finally, you regained your breath. Pikamee’s image made itself present in your mind, from her emerald-like eyes to her golden streaks of hair, you knew her so well you could remind who she was in case she forgot. If someone asked, you could’ve given a speech about her life. Inside your chest you felt a little oppression, a little weight that bothered you since before you left the house.

“Don’t get funny ideas.” You told yourself. After all, you knew for a fact she… didn’t swing that way, to put it lightly. All of her crushes were either anime girls or loli. Remembering all of the online chatter that you used to share a few years ago was proof enough that no heterosexual woman could make such remarks about girls.

You searched for your phone with both hands, and suddenly realized you hadn’t brought your luggage with you.

Nope. Not going back down to get it. You’d wait for the elevator to get fixed and then bring it up, you told your tired self, knowing very well you would have to carry it upstairs yourself tomorrow. You reached the eighth floor, and soon enough, you found Pikamee’s door. Your heart began beating fast and loudly, you could practically hear it in your ears. That little bit of oppression you felt didn’t let up either.

“She’s just a friend, and I’m just a friend.” You told yourself as you knocked on the door.

~*~

Eighth grade, just before the first year of high school.

Pika had moved away from the neighborhood. Their parents landed a better job far away from your little town. With the usual hassle of dealing with moving, Pika was going to a new school.

The last day you spent with her was coated with a certain sadness, both of you watching some anime on your PC. You could gain access to a bunch of stuff if you were mildly tech-savvy.

For most of the day, a thin silence veiled over the place, not broken by either of you, but by a few cicadas, buzzing in the backyard. Pikamee looked outside from time to time, annoyed by those loud bugs. The few words you exchanged were a few formalities like asking if she wanted something to drink or a snack. Pika always loved sweets. You bought Oreos only so she could eat them when she came over, and she’d also give in into her cravings only when she was alone with you.

She devoured the cookies in no time and thanked you for them, neither could find the words to doth with meaning the scenario.

Puberty had done a number on you two. While your face was still being attacked by acne, Pika’s body began to gain bits of fat all over, of which she was very self-conscious, giving her lots of distress as she tried to down the meals her mother made, only to give in to worse foods later. More than once she got bullied in school, her blonde hair and colorful eyes didn’t help her situation, as most berated her for being a “dirty hafu”. Pika’s only solace was the “weirdo” who hung out with her.

That weirdo was you.

“I’m really gonna miss you.” She spoke with dull eyes.

Her words were like needles, slowly driving themselves into your heart, you could feel your insides as if being punctured with a voodoo doll.

“Me too.”

The day was nearing its end. Both of you knew what this meant. A sudden lightbulb lit up in your head. You reached inside one of your drawers and pulled out a figurine of Sachiko, from Idolm@ster. Pika stared in awe at the pretty figurine as you stretched it out to her. She shyly took it in her hands as if it were a fragile heirloom.

That figurine costed you a lot of your allowance, now that you were a closeted weeb, you kept it hidden from your parents and friends, the only one that you shared this side of you being the girl in the same room as you. As much as it hurt you to part ways with your prized possession, it would’ve hurt more for her to disappear from your life without showing her you cared for her.

“Here’s something, so you’ll remember me.” You told her.

Pikamee began tearing up, and let out her nervous, kettle like laugh. Her smile in that very moment was about to kill you.

“Thanks!”

The afternoon felt cheerier after that. Pika and you spent a good while playing videogames.

Bits of chatter flew by exchanging memories, even embarrassing ones, such as how both of you entered the same bathroom when you were kids and you got an earful from the teacher, despite neither of you understanding what was so wrong, or when she tripped with a cable and accidentally shut off your computer mid download. Two days of download down the drain. How scared she was of a spider in her bathroom you had to rush in to kill it a broom, how one time a gust of wind flew by and you got a look at her spats, how you were the only one of the entire class she invited over to her birthday…

…because she didn’t like anyone else.

It didn’t matter at this point. Soon it would cease to matter, what was worse, is that up until now, you were just having fun. Neither knew they were forging memories.

Much less did you know, you had your first taste of love.

But she was just a friend, right?

And after that, you became a shut in. Most of your friends were inside of a screen, other than a few people from school you did projects with. You lost all contact with Pikamee before she had any form of reaching out to you online.

You did well enough in school so that your parents wouldn’t bother you about spending so much time in your room, but that didn’t mean they didn’t try to strip you away from your digital life.

As the horniness of teens was at its peak, you found yourself masturbating daily with doujin you found on the internet, and even joined a forum in which they were shared, one of the tags you liked the most was…

Childhood friend. And surprisingly, loli.

Your taste for loli was mostly because of Pikamee. At some point she insisted you had to watch Kodoma No Jinkan, which you always put off telling her you “Weren’t a pedophile.” After she was gone, you came across the series on a pirate website, and after reluctantly trying the first two episodes, you binged it in one go, then switched up to the manga that you followed religiously.

Your dad was worrying about your love experience. Since you barely went out, he didn’t expect you to bring home a girl, but even then, he wished for something that hinted to him that you weren’t gay. Of course, you couldn’t let him see the kind of women you were busting nuts over, it would’ve been easier to say you’re gay than to explain why you were masturbating to drawings, so you hid some porno magazines under your bed deliberately so that you mom would find them. One day, as you came home from school, she told you you and your dad were about to have a conversation. Bingo, just what you needed. Hearing his car pull up, he entered the house with an ominous, upset look.

He sat you in your room and locked the door. He pulled the porno mags from behind his back. He didn’t say a word, instead, he just looked at you with a disappointed stare, crossing his arms in disapproval, but soon enough, his mouth twitched into a smile and he began laughing, doing his best so your mother wouldn’t hear.

“Learn to hide your stash better, son.” He muffled his laugh.

After a long talk about sexuality and girls, his own experiences and such, he encouraged you to go out and have fun.

“You’re only young once.” He said.

After a friendly slap on your back, he got up and headed for the door, giving you a friendly wink.

“Pretend you’re grounded, I don’t want your mother to get mad.” And so, he exited your room, happy for you.

“Learn to hide your stash.” He said, hah! If only he knew the kind of things you learned to hide inside a hard drive.

That last bit did do you dirty, though. As much as you would’ve wanted, you couldn’t bring yourself to try things with girls, yet you knew that these years wouldn’t come back.

“It’s because I’m committed to my waifu!” You told yourself jokingly and to your online friends, almost fully believing it.

Your poor popularity with girls wasn’t bothering you as much as most would’ve thought. Hidden deep inside you, buried in dirt and obscured by coping mechanisms, you knew that the only girl you had wanted to share those feelings with was gone.

Now, almost all your interactions were with friends you had made in forums related to videogames or manga.

When would that chance come back? Probably never.

~*~

“I know, I know, please. Just stop.” Said a defeated Pikamee over a voice chat.

Amid a Freudian slip, she mentioned a guy was coming over, piquing the interest of the voice chat and asking who he was. Pikamee explained you were her friend since childhood and that you needed a place to stay for a bit.

“Ohh~ Could this be the chance for Pikamee to finally score~?” Said Tomoshika, stirring up a few laughs in the voice chat.

“Shut up!” Pika said, in growing annoyance, then, with a hint of sadness. “H-He doesn’t think of me like that.”

The voice chat went silent for a second, the chatter dying out like an echo through a cave, Pika’s sad tone wasn’t something they were accustomed to. Pikamee’s friend, whom had been extremely teasy just a few seconds ago, suddenly gained a tone of empathy and compassion.

“How do you know?” She asked. “M-Maybe he’s had the hots for you since you were kids!” She joked, trying to lift Pikamee’s mood up. She did laugh, her distinctive sound of a boiling kettle showed up for a few seconds, but died out like a blown candle.

“Hello? Pika? Can you hear me?”

“Yeah, it’s just that…” Pika struggled with her words, she grabbed the Sachiko figurine that remained forever next to her screen. “The last time I saw him…

~*~

After moving out and reaching their destination, Pikamee was sent to a new school. She had a hard time finding friends due to her “strange” tastes, and even had to get a paper signed to assert everyone that she was indeed, blonde and green eyed, and that she wasn’t bleaching herself or wearing contacts. Having nothing to do after school, she’d come home and lock herself in her room re reading the same manga, much to the concern of her parents.

In a stroke of genius, her father opted for getting her a computer all for herself.

“That should keep her entertained.” He said, much to Pikamee’s mother’s dismay.

She would come home and surf the net for hours on end, watching movies and anime, and this would be her standard for the entirety of high school and thorough her short stay in college. The years went by, Pika saw the outside less and less.

Becoming a forum dweller, she frequented a bunch of weeb sites, in which she’d engage in discussions of the stuff she read or saw. Here she found the few and only friends she had.

More specifically, she was fond of another user from an anime forum, one with whom Pika chatted almost daily for years. Similar tastes in manga had brought them together, similar fetishes, too.

“LOLOL u cant be srs” She typed. “never seen Spice & Wolf???”

“no” They replied.

Pikamee took a picture of a figure she had from the show and sent it.

A bunch of stuff could be seen in the pic, from her monitor, her keyboard and a distant shelf in the background that showed the rest of her stuff, which their friend asked to see, thinking they recognized some of them.

Pika lined some of her figures in a row, and took another pic to show them. Among them, was the Sachiko figure her beloved friend had given her almost 5 years ago.

This one caught their attention. When they asked about it, Pika explained her story with the figurine with a brush of melancholy hiding inside her.

“ohh it was given to me by a friend ages ago” She typed. “he gave it to me when my parents moved away”

The user’s interest increased a lot. That figurine, it couldn’t be…

Your heart skipped a beat and recognized it almost immediately.

“Pika??”

Pikamee contained the urge to yell, she panicked as she stared in disbelief at her screen. There was no way this stranger just called her by her real-life name.

“who r u??” She asked.

“I am…”

~*~

A week off uni. Usually, you would spend it shut inside your cave, playing video games until the sun hid behind the horizon, but you had made some different plans for today.

You were at an anime con, one of the most unlikely places for you to go, you couldn’t stand the overpriced food or the smell of the people who went there for that matter. However, you weren’t here for the convention, you were here because she would be here.

You had chatted with Pika for a long time now, but hadn’t seen each other face to face. Now there was a chance, she was incredibly excited over this event. You looked forward to this day more than anything else too.

For the longest time you had thought the person you chatted with was a dude because of their taste of anime girls, they could give you a 50 page essay on why girls should wear cute dresses and twin tails, more specially, twin drills. You would’ve never guessed it was a girl, much less, her.

This did give you a strange idea, one that just made more sense the more you thought about it.

Pikamee, most likely, wasn’t into guys at all. There was no way a heterosexual woman would talk about the perfectly round ass of an idol and how much she wanted to do with them behind closed doors.

You agreed to meet each other at the entrance. You were checking your phone. The time was right, so was the location. No new messages from her other than “see u there!!!”

Shit, how long has it been already? You hadn’t seen her since she left almost 7 years ago. What would she look like? How would she react to seeing you? Would she still be the same Pikamee you once knew?

Did she have a boyfriend?

Or girlfriend?

You told yourself to not confuse your friendship with that kind of feel. After all, Pikamee was like a sister to you.

A degenerate thought crossed your head. “Like a little sister from…” Which almost made you slap yourself.

Soon enough she spotted you, but you didn’t see her, not containing her excitement, she began running over to you.

You didn’t notice her until she jumped you with an unprompted hug that almost tackled you to the ground. She was giggling to herself each second, brought back to your senses, you immediately recognized her.

When she separated from you, her hands still locked behind your back, you got a good look at her face.

Oh…

You always thought she was cute, but now, her features had been amplified. Her green eyes held a special spark to them, her teeth, did she use braces in those years? Why does she smell so good? Is that too much of a creepy thought? Her hands- oh how they feel behind your back, so small, so gentle, these are the same hands you used to play wrestling with?

Struck out of your senses, you were happy to see Pikamee after so long and hugged her back as soon as your senses were out of shock by her beauty.

Walking inside the building you also got a good look at her body. Her breasts and ass didn’t develop much, they remained small but perky, sometimes their shape was pronounced through her shirt…

Don’t think about it, don’t think about it. Have some decency in your mind for once.

Pika couldn’t stop sneaking glances at you, but her eyes adverted yours nervously. Walking alongside you, she felt your arm brush up against hers.

“W-What if I just…” She thought, seeing the chance to latch onto you casually.

“Oh, hey look, there’s a booth for an upcoming anime!” You shot her down from her clouds.

Pika turned her attention to where you pointed, this also piqued her own interest and she followed you to it.

“UOOOOHOHO! Aya-chan is so cute!” She let out in full view of everyone, their glances were making you uncomfortable. But Pika was right. Aya-chan was something to behold. Her heavy breathing looking at the lewd imagery of the 2000 year old demon wearing her “armor” that barely covered her nipples as they poked through it was funny to see. However, this was to you, a confirmation of your suspicions.

If there had been a little hope inside of you up until then, it was shot down. After coming to terms with it, you did your best to rewire yourself for the date’s sake.

The friend-date, you meant.

“So, how’s life?” You two walked, side by side, eyeing some of the stands and merch.

“Pretty good.” Said Pika with her usual cheerfulness.

“How’s school?” You asked, wondering what her career choice had been.

“I…uh…” Pika struggled with her words. “I dropped out.”

“Oh.” You said. “Not for you then?”

“Yeah, I just couldn’t…”

Your stomach growled loudly, Pika too was starving, and you two left for some burgers and sat to attend your rumbling bellies.

“Heh, this thing is my lifeblood.” You joked. “Cheap burgers and ramen.”

Pikamee listened to you absent mindedly.

“So, what are you up to now anyways?” You asked her.

Pika chewed her burger for a few seconds, and replied to you while doing it.

“Yeah, I’ve sort of just, been in and out of jobs.” She forced herself to swallow her burger. “I-I’m just really bad dealing with people, you know?”

“Same here.” You giggled in good sport. “Buuut you get used to it soon enough. I got a part time job in a cafeteria a year ago, gotta have a way to fuel my addictions, you know.”

Pika giggled to ease her tension.

“What about you?” She asked. “What are you doing, I mean.”

“Oh well, third year of college. I should get my degree next year if all goes well.”

“O-Oh, I see.” She said. “You were always a nerd, weren’t you?” She forced a laugh.

“Yeah, the nerd that had to help you with you homework.” You took a jab at her. Pika always did badly in math, so it was up to you to make sure she graduated 7th and 8th grade.

“I was a lost cause!” Pika giggled. Her burger was staring back at her. Her self-worth was being crushed by you, college, steadily maintaining a job, up until now she didn’t think much of her shortcomings until she thought you were looking down on her secretly.

“How are your parents?” You asked her.

She broke.

“They divorced.” She said bluntly.

“Oh, that’s….”

“It’s ok.” She assured you. “I live with my mom and, well, I see my dad from time to time.”

“Huh, good to know you’re on good terms then.”

“Yeah…” Pika had a hint of sadness in her eyes. “Excuse me for a second, please.”

She got up and searched for a bathroom.

You stared at her half-eaten burger. Her behavior was causing you to overthink. The instinct to hold her while she cried her heart out suddenly came back to you.

You always did your best to support her, perhaps she needed someone to tell her it was going to be ok again.

Staring in the mirror, she felt mocked by her reflection. She lifted her shirt up and saw her love handles, as bothersome as they ever were.

All of her little details were standing out to her now, from a pimple to some rather pronounced bags under her eyes. Her hair that always made her stand out and the loud laugh she got relentlessly mocked for by all while growing up.

By all except you.

~*~

Pika was hiding behind a tree in the playground. She was crying onto her sleeves so the others wouldn’t see.

Soon enough you found her. Pika looked at you, letting out dry sniffles. You sat beside her and said nothing, instead, you were going to listen. Pika leaned over to your shoulder, your arm came around her and held her there. Pika jumped at your touch, and began crying once more.

You remained there, looking at the patterns formed by the wrinkles on the trees, some of the paint from the wall was being chirped away by humidity caused by a leaking pipe.

Coming prepared, you pulled out some toilet paper for Pika.

Pika cleaned her eyes and nose. As her whimpers died out, you spoke softly to her.

“Better?”

“Y-Yeah.” She said, before becoming silent once more, she turned to you and looked you with puppy eyes.

“Am I that unlikeable?” She asked you.

“No, the others are just assholes.” You said, looking at the floor.

“Everyone else?” She giggled, your swearing always made her so.

“Yes.”

For a few seconds you two sat under the tree without saying a word.

“Pika.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll always be your friend.” You told her. “I don’t care if everyone else thinks you’re weird.”

Pika blushed, but you didn’t notice, since her cheeks were already red from her tears.

“Then what does that make you?”

“Weird too, I guess.”

She giggled.

“Thanks.”

“I’ll always be here.”

Pika felt funny for a few seconds, a faint wish came out of her mouth.

“Hey, you promised me when we grow up, we’re gonna marry, right?”

“Yeah!” You replied with the confidence of a kid.

“You promise?”

“Pinky promise.”

~*~

Staring back at her reflection, Pika smiled.

“He… wouldn’t want me beating myself up over it, right? He’s always been so…” She blushed, her heartbeat began acting up.

“Eh? Oh…” She knew what she was feeling, but in her mental sodomy, you seemed unreachable, as if she weren’t good enough for you. “Haha…”

Once she was back, she seemed a lot better, but she remained silent. Your instincts to protect weren’t calming down either. You placed your hand on top of Pika’s. She needed some comfort, what kind of friend would you be if you didn’t give it to her?

She panicked, feeling your hand in hers, while you looked at her straight in the eye.

“Pika.”

“Y-Y-Yes?” She let out as her heart felt as if it was about to explode.

“You can still count on me if you need me, that hasn’t changed.” You told her. “That’s what friends are for.”

Pika felt null, she wanted the universe to implode and have her be the center of the apocalypse.

“R-Right, thanks!” Her awkward tone confused you for a bit, but you didn’t think much of it.

A cheery discussion of series and videogames followed. Pika has a strange gleam in her eyes. She looked at you as if you were behind a glass window, too far away, yet right there. Going back to the con and after some questionable purchases, you began walking together to the station.

“Well yeah, I do have some friends in college, a few of them are into anime too.” You said in the middle of small talk.

“Most of my friends are online, still.” She said with some sadness.

“That can’t be that bad.” You replied. “You’re fun to talk to, even by text.”

Pika blushed, a then laughed while giving you a playful punch on your shoulder.

She was the same she ever was.

“It’s kind of weird, you know.” You told her. “My childhood best friend was you, and now turns out the friend I’ve been speaking to all these years, was also you.”

“W-We were destined to be together, then! A-As friends!” She forced out, feeling herself die a little inside at the word ‘friend’.

“Ahh, what gives? It doesn’t make a difference either way.” She told herself.

More small talk followed, your concern over Pika’s eating habits bubbled up to the surface once more.

“You need to take better care of your diet…” You said as Pika finished explaining her usual snacking and meals.

“I know.” She let out with some irritation.

“You should try eating more veggies and fruit. It’ll help balance out some stuff.”

“Thanks, doc.” She smirked, even now your brotherly tone wouldn’t let up, which only made her break inside a little more.

Your train arrived first. Pika looked at you expectantly, she fidgeted with her hair for some time as you approached her, your arms came around her waist. She was thinking it was finally going to happen, the entire day was a buildup for this exact moment. Her eyes closed in anticipation, her lips trembled to form a shape to receive yours, but you gave her a friendly hug and left.

“Let’s see each other again some time!” You waved her.

Pika watched as your train brought you away from her. Her train arrived shortly after, and she thought of you.

In the way back home, she bought some oranges and apples from a convenience store.

She sat on the kitchen table as she peeled an orange by herself. Alone with her thoughts.

“You’re fun to talk to, even by text.”

Her heart began acting up again, her fingers digging themselves onto the skin of the orange.

“You idiot.” She blushed. Looking at her sticky, juice covered hands, she realized she had to do something with herself too, and your comment gave her an idea.

You kept talking with Pika as always, but as your lives got busier, you didn’t have a chance to see each other. College had you pulling your hair while she was beginning a little life as a streamer, of which you wouldn’t know until much later.

With the passing year, you got your college degree. Here you were, a mostly well-adjusted citizen, a turbo weeb, and a monster virgin. Out of all your problems, only one major one kept you up at night, you couldn’t land a good job.

The only decent job offer you found was miles away from you and you had no way to take up on the offer.

Frustrated, you talked to Pika about it one night.

“Oh, that’s a few streets away from where I live!” She told you.

A brief silence stood between you two. You saw an opportunity you couldn’t refuse. Carefully minding your wording, you asked Pika if you could crash one or two nights are her couch while you searched for your own place.

“It’s about time I leave my nest. Do you think your mother would mind?”

“A-Actually, I live by myself now.”

“Oh- Wait what? How?”

“I’m… a vtuber”

Your eyebrows raised themselves involuntarily. That job did suit her well thought, you were sure she wouldn’t have a problem catching an audience, being the kind of girl she was.

And catching an audience most likely meant that she also had a special someone, like all streamers do, right?

Still, Pikamee gave you a thumbs up, and said she’d set up something for you to rest.

This was it, the beginning of a new life. And now that you were going to be relatively closer to Pika, perhaps you two could hang out like when you were kids.

~*~

“Wow, so you uh, like, you have history together.” Tomoshika said.

“Yeah…” She let out, spinning the Sachiko figurine in her hand.

“Then try!” Her friend encouraged her.

“Should I?” Pika sulked. “What if I end up making things awkward? The last thing I want to do is ruin everything…”

“Oh, come on, cut it with the self-pity, that guy is totally into you.” She told her. “If you can’t tell him then make him confess!”

Pika remained silent, as if pondering her options.

“Listen, here’s some stuff you can try…”

Pika listened with great intent. A little flame had been ignited inside her. It was all or nothing, but she was going to try. All she had for experience was nothing but VNs and shoujo anime, so she asked her friend what to do.

As they exchanged ideas, Tomoshika physically cringed at some of Pika’s suggestions, making way for an awkward, judging silence, but trying to be as empathetic as she could with her friend, she suggested a romantic setting and a course of action that could get a man going in general, such as a sexy voice, alcohol, and some remarks about his physique she found attractive.

Gathering her courage, she mentally prepared herself to go through with the plan, when a sudden knock on her door let her anxiety take full control for a few seconds.

“W-Wha- He was supposed to text me first!”

~*~

The door was being unlocked, soon the knob began twisting.

On the other side, she took a deep breath.

Pika popped up from behind the door not much after. She looked as pretty as the last day you saw her. Her eyes, her hair, her figure, and her sharp energetic smile.

“Hey! There you are. How was the trip?”

“Tiring, honestly.”

Pika giggled as she opened the door, inviting you to come in as she eyed you from top to bottom.

The first thing that stood out to you, was the strange choice of lightning. The whole apartment was dimly lit, giving it a romantic atmosphere, and Pika got a hypnotizing look under said lights, but you chose not to think anything of it.

Pika asked you to sit on her couch, as she reached the kitchen for two glasses of wine.

“Uh, thanks.” You said, a tad confused.

“A little celebration for the occasion, you job, I mean. Congrats!” Said Pika, giving you a nervous smile.

Pika was burning inside. Looking at your tired gestures, she wondered if it was bad to try her luck today, however, should she forfeit today, she wouldn’t find the strength to tomorrow.

She couldn’t let the opportunity go, not again.

“D-D-Doo, do you want to watch a movie, or something?” She said with her heart at her throat.

“Sure, couldn’t hurt.” You spoke. Her mannerisms were throwing you off guard. She was usually the bold, confident one with a seamlessly endless supply of energy, and now she was behaving strangely, as if trying to keep herself together piece by piece and duct tape.

Perhaps she was being too self-conscious about something that only she cared about. The apartment didn’t seem messy, her usual sportsy clothes were clean, and her hair was cut short like always.

Oh, her hair, looking at is like staring into a mirror of memories.

~*~

Pika used to have long hair, that reached right under her shoulders. When you two were still kids, you were playing barber and absolutely messed it up with a pair of scissors, leaving it uneven all over and also short like a boy’s.

Showing Pika your masterpiece in the bathroom mirror, she looked stunned, at worst, she didn’t dislike it. Once your mother followed a trail of golden hairs to the bathroom she screamed horrified.

Grabbing the scissors, she did her best to even out Pika’s hair, and had to give a long, detailed apology to her mother, who was fuming in her eyes.

Pika however, loved the haircut.

~*~

And she had stuck with it ever since.

After your little trip down memory lane was over, you went back at trying to figure out what was messing with her this much, but came up short.

She was very insecure about many things while you two were growing up, your chats with her showed as much too, and well, a decent amount of time had passed since then. As the days go by, new problems replace the solved ones, or sometimes they stack.

“I was thinking…” Said Pika, snapping you out of your train of thought. “We could re watch Halloween!”

“Ohhh, that movie…” You looked at her with a big smile, it did bring some memories.

As she sat on the couch next to you, she began talking about how scared of it you were when you were both kids, accompanied by a smug, yet tender smile.

“Oh my god, you’re never gonna let me live it down, will you?” You said in good sport. Pika laughed.

“No I won’t, you were c-cowering like a puppy!” She stumbled over her own tongue, realizing how ironic this must’ve sounded right now.

“Oh please, I was like 10.”

“Y-Yeah, haha.” Pika began playing with her hair nervously, fidgeting with strings of it to try and shake off her nervousness. Going over the plan traced by Tomoshika and her, she counted the steps left. She sat on the couch.

Alright, here we go.

Both were already in the couch, after that she had to ‘close the distance’ but in a casual manner, if she sat directly next to him it would’ve been too obvious or pushy.

Pika began slowly scooching closer to you holding her wine glass, her heart began beating like a drumroll as she almost reached under your shoulder.

All the while you were staring at her doused with a confused look. She’s never been this… How could you put it, embarrassed? Not around you, for sure.

Pika had a hard time keeping her eyes on yours, she felt as if being penetrated by your stare. It was strange that she felt like this with a person she once felt the safest with.

“Your pants…” She spurted out, letting out an awkward kettle laugh. “T-They look very good!”

“Thanks!” You replied.

“T-They really make your thighs look juicy.”

“Uh, thanks?”

She took a sip of her wine from an unsure hand as her eyes looked everywhere but to you. “Shit! Did I mess up the timing?!” She wondered, torturing herself with a thousand outcomes to this scenario, and not a single one where that was the right play.

“I-I think you look very handsome, too!” She said again, fully committing to the situation she had started, this time, she tried to do a low, sensual voice, but Pika couldn’t pull it off. Downing her drink between flirtatious comment after flirtatious comment, her nervous laugh became more and more uncommon, as anxiety was clearing up, making way for embarrassment, but also, some sort of courage. Her face was so red she could pass for a ripe tomato.

In her imagination, this was supposed to go smoothly, with her being assertive and seductive, now it seemed like a corny romcom, and her dry compliments overshadowed by borderline sexual harassment didn’t help either.

Silent, a sense of unease began forming in you. You didn’t understand if she was messing with you or just tried to be nice. She was losing it. Her breathing became erratic. She couldn’t hold it in any longer, as her nervous, embarrassed gaze finally met your eyes, as they were sharp with worry. In the torrent of feelings she was going through, she heard you speak.

“Pika, is- is something wrong?”

Pika put the wine glass on a table besides the couch, she signaled you to give her yours. Quickly you downed the drink in one go as she took it in her slim, fragile hands. One of her fingers brushed up with yours, causing Pika to shake.

She took a deep breath and disregarded the plan her friend had made up for her. She’s not cut out for that sort of thing anyway, she can’t be anything but herself.

She pushed you with all her strength, which wasn’t much to begin with, but both of her hands were planted on your chest.

“Am I just not likeable that way?” This only made you more confused.

“What do you mean- “

“I like you, you idiot! You’re too stupid to notice!”

A sudden wave of shock beat you out of your senses. Pika? Her? She was a lesbian, right?

Pika moved onto your lap awkwardly with an annoyed but embarrassed expression. She let her head fall on top of your shoulder and kept complaining in a soft voice, right up in your ear.

“I’ve loved you since forever, you fucking dumbass.” She spoke in in a shaky voice.

Her slim arms locked behind you, as yours did the same, she clung harder to you, scared that she’d lose you again.

A soft sniffle slipped out of Pika’s nose. You held her there, under the lights of her apartment, and caressed her hair gently as she dug herself into your neck.

When she separated from you, she had one the most beautiful smiles you ever saw, chiseled by an angel while a little tear, running down her left cheek as another one peeked out from her right eye gave away her relief.

“I always wanted to tell you, b-but…”

Something inside of you changed. Up until now, you had never thought of seeing Pika that way, not because you didn’t like her, not at all, but because you thought she wasn’t into guys at all. Repressed emotions came rose to the surface, feelings from your childhood you once thought you buried, coming up from the dirt, shiny and pristine as ever.

Pikamee’s anxiety had passed. One weight off her shoulders.

“I did it.” She told herself. “I told him.”

Finally, inner peace.

She cared little for whatever the outcome was now. Rejection, humiliation, being friendzoned, she was ready for anything, just not how you reacted.

Placing your hand gently behind her head, you leaned in closer. Pikamee swallowed and braced for impact. Neither closed their eyes in awkwardness, at first you almost went for it, Pika closed her lips in a small o and pouted as you pulled back, the second time, you felt as her hands interlocked behind your back, above your shoulders. Closing your eyes, both leaned forward.

And so, they shared their first kiss, gone in a second like a cherry blossom.

Both of you were red faced. Pikamee looked away, and a nervous giggle began escaping her mouth, turning into a loud laugh the next second.

Still you couldn’t believe the situation. Your beloved kettle of a friend, after so long…

Your heartbeat made itself present in your ears. For how long had you been running from these feelings?

Something else made itself present in your pants, and Pika noticed the little tent forming under her hips.

“Geez, I knew you were a pervert, but…” She blushed deeply.

Embarrassed, you thought of getting her off and apologizing, but she tackled you and fell on top of you.

Her eyes. How does she manage to look this obscene, yet so cute and innocent? She smiled at you, melting your heart.

“I always wanted to do this with you, you know?” Her hand ran through your chest and stopped at your hips. She swallowed as she shyly touched your penis, hard as a rock forming a tent in your pants.

Your face reddened as your voice stuttered. Pika looked at you with an endearing look, you seemed unsure, but this didn’t bother her.

“I-I know it’s something wild to think about, after all this time, right? But if you don’t want to…”

“No, it’s just that, I… um…” Why is English so hard? “I’ve… I…I’ve never done it before.”

Pika’s eyebrows jumped in surprise.

“Wha- but you’re so…”

“I never had a girlfriend, ok?” You admitted with some timidity. “I just never wanted to.” That last bit was mostly true, up until now.

Pika fidgeted with her hands on top of you, looking around to nowhere, you weren’t doing much better, going crazy over how her butt felt on top of your crotch.

“I mean…” You said. “If you want to?”

Pika smiled softly, a tiny, cute laugh escaped her mouth, still with the pitch of her usual one.

“Please, be gentle.”

~*~

Pika lied under your body, her hand caressing your cheek as her eyes showed how nervous she was, they were the same as they ever were, just with a little spark you didn’t notice until now. You shyly put your hand under her shirt, which made her jump. Without saying a word, you looked to her for her consent to lift it, and she nodded. Slowly her body began appearing under it, her tummy was looking pudgy, which filled you with happiness. She was eating, you couldn’t see her ribs. Your hand reached over her small, petite bust. A modest pair, to say the least, both giving you a handful as you fondled them. You played with her tits for a good while, while she began undoing her shorts, and in turn, your pants. Bringing yourself lower, you gently sucked on her chest.

“Ah-!” Pika let out, before sharply sucking air through her teeth.

You stopped, but Pika looked at you and assured you she was ok.

“Keep going.” She said. “I like that.”

You went back for her bust as her small hands got a hold of your shirt and began pulling it up. You helped her take it off, as she got a good look at your body, suddenly, she tried to contain a laugh, stifling it the best she could before she exploded.

“Haha!” She laughed in good spirits. “Remember when we were playing in the mud and your mother had to shower us?”

You smiled.

“Yeah, I do.”

“And we saw each other’s…”

“Yes.” You replied with some embarrassment. “I asked you if yours fell off.”

Pika laughed heartily. Her laugh was as contagious as ever.

“And your mother reproached you! ‘You can’t say those things!’” By this time, you were also laughing with her.

You lowered yourself to her face, she laughed as your lips met hers, and her hands began caressing your back.

Your hands met Pika’s shorts, looking at you expectantly, she nodded once more to give you the greenlight. Pulling them down by the waist, you were met with Pika’s shaven womanhood.

“I-I like how it looks like that.” She said with some timidity.

God, she’s so obscenely cute.

Dragging her up the couch a bit, you lowered yourself and began giving her kisses on her stomach, gradually lowering your aim to her inner thighs. Right above her flower, a gentle kiss with your lips and tongue. Pika yelled as her hands clutched the couch, she got a hold of your hair and gently pulled on it as you licked her, she had an addictive, sour taste.

Pika brought her finger up to her mouth and bit it gently, her legs squirmed and twitched around you, she sandwiched your head with her thighs and you got a feel of her soft, milky legs on your face, invigorating you and your mouth.

You stopped and looked at Pika as she drooled to the side. You prompted yourself up and pulled your pants down. It’s hard maintaining an erection when you’re nervous, but with Pika, you felt a confidence that was only present between your forged friendship. Pika eyed your member with great excitement, thinking how the hell it was going to fit inside her.

Unsure as what to do next, Pika guided your penis to her entrance, letting inside of her your tip.

“Oh~!” You twitched.

Pika looked at you smugly, and then lecherously.

Girls first times hurt, right? You were going to be extra careful.

“If you want me to stop, do tell me.” You told her.

Pika smiled at you and nodded, waiting with bated breath for you to make her your woman, to make her yours forever.

Slowly you pushed inside, she was tight, super tight. Her petite body welcomed you as best it could, while she gasped for air and fought the pain she felt. Seeing her in pain was worrying you, not being able to go on, you pulled an ace from under your sleeve.

You stretched your hand out to her, Pika looked at you dearly and interlaced her fingers with yours.

Letting out sounds of pleasure as she received your love, her hands squeezed yours as she felt you inside, while you were going over the multiplication tables as to not cum immediately from the feelings of her creamy pussy.

A little string of blood ran on your dick. With that, Pika’s hymen was broken by you.

Her hand was still holding yours, she showed you the other one and you took it in yours. After a deep breath, and doing the table of 3 again, you began moving slowly.

Soft, rhythmic panting accompanied the wet sounds of her womanhood, opening your eyes you saw her petite bust jiggle up and down as you trusted, and her cute face making those weird expressions with her mouth. In between thrusts, Pika sneaked little looks of ecstasy to you, her green eyes beaming like never before, happy, cheerful. She was still the Pikamee you always knew.

Her hands came around your neck, asking you to come closer. You passionately kissed her while your hips moved on their own. Pikamee’s legs wrapped around your waist as she began feeling hotter and hotter. Moaning under you, hypnotized by her, and already done with the table of 13, your pace picked up little by little, Pika’s moans were becoming louder.

“Ahhh~!” She let out. You were going insane.

“I’m going to…”

“Me too.” She said, without letting go of your back.

Pika bit you over your shoulder as she got closer to her climax. Your hands squeezed the couch with great force, and in a loud grunt, you gave her one last thrust and shot your seed inside. Pika began twitching under your body, vibrating as if being shocked, her teeth were almost piercing your skin as she sucked air as hard she could, leaving behind a painful hickey.

“Hmmhmmhmm~!” She screamed onto your shoulder, as you collapsed completely exhausted on top of her.

~*~

Pika and you were still on the couch, she brought pillows and a blanket for movie night.

“Say…” Said Pikamee, you spooned her naked body just as Michael Myers was chasing a teenager down a street. “Didn’t you bring any of your belongings?”

“Ah, I saw the elevator was broken so I left them in the car.” You lied.

“Both elevators were broken?” She asked you.

“Both?” She had to be fucking kidding, your dumfounded tone told on you.

Pikamee stifled her laugh, before blowing up, right under your arms.

“You’re such an idiot, you know that?”

“You too.”

Pika buried herself in your arms, then turned her attention to how sticky she felt under.

“H-Hey, do you know if you can you get p-pregnant if it’s your first?”

“I think so…” You said, shivering at the thought.

“Whatever happens…” Pikamee pondered. “You’ll take responsibility, right?”

How could you say no to those eyes of hers?

“Of course, I will.”

Pika gave you a short kiss as she dug herself on your chest.

“I love you.” She said, after all these years.

“I love you too.”

~*~

“Uohhh!” A little girl said as she passed outside a comic shop. “Those toys are very pretty!”

A woman came over to get her soon enough.

“Come, Hana, we have to go home.” She spoke.

“But mooom!”

“No buts, maybe next time, alright?” She told her as she stopped to eye the display a bit too.

The girl pouted, much to her mother’s dismay, since she had the same eyes he had. She took her hand and began walking, just now she noticed she was wearing something on her head.

“Are those your dad’s glasses?”

“Yep!”

“Oh my, you know he can’t see anything without them. Let’s go home. I’m sure daddy wants his glasses back.”

After a short walk and a few songs for her daughter, she reached her house.

“We’re home!” Yelled the girl.

You turned from the kitchen to see

Your wife and daughter were back.