Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Fauna can't resist humming along joyfully, a satisfied smile adorning her cherry red lips. She taps her foot to the wonderful rhythmic beat on the dark oak wood floors of her office. She listens to every beautiful, breathtaking word that she hears, accompanied by an ensemble of string and wind instruments. She feels like both her mind and soul are absorbing all the beautiful noise that is flowing into her eardrums. She feels like she is on cloud nine right now, and how much she wishes she could just stay up here and just listen to this amazing voice forever. 

Yet, and very unfortunately, as the new CEO of a multimillion-dollar environmentally friendly corporation, she should really be getting the pile of paperwork done on her desk. Instead of daydreaming and listening to music. She missed when her workload was half this amount. Yet her parents had insisted, well, more like begged her to take over when they retired. So here she is now, CEO of a company she never really cared about ruining.

It's not all that bad, though, just a ton of annoying busywork and having to deal with stupid people every so often. But at least the pay is good—most people would kill for what she makes in a month. It was better for her not to look this gift horse in the mouth. 

Unfortunately, she has been a tad bit distracted and was having a much more difficult time finishing her work in a timely manner. Fauna used to be able to get her work done at least three days before the deadline, but now she is rushing to meet it. And it was entirely her own fault. 

A few months back, if she remembers correctly, when she had just gotten promoted to CEO after her parents retired. She had found this streamer who uploads amazing covers. Guardian is what the streamer called herself. Guardian would even stream herself playing all sorts of games, and she also did karaoke every once in a while.

After one comically bad Monday, during a very stressful day at the office. Where she was on the brink of quitting her job. When out of nowhere she found Guardian while mindlessly scrolling through internet videos. Now she has been hooked ever since.  

Today, however, Fauna’s favorite streamer had just uploaded a cover of one of her all-time favorite songs that she would listen to on loop when she was a teen. So, she can take a little break to listen to and watch the music video for the cover. Besides, it's not like the paperwork is going anywhere.

Fauna could listen to her for hours on end. Whether it be one over her cover or her streaming and playing a game. Though a part of her does have to admit she wonders what the streamer looks like. Guardian uses a PNG of a barn owl every time she streams. God, her voice just sounds so beautiful. Fauna can’t help but wonder if her face is just as beautiful as her voice. Guardian had the voice of an angel, and Fauna wished she could meet the woman face-to-face that was blessed by the angels to sing so heavenly.

Fauna jumps in her seat and quickly closes the song cover that was playing loudly on her computer. When she hears a sudden knock at her office door, that catches her by surprise.

“Come in…” She does her best to put on her best professional-sounding voice, doing her best to compose herself.

“Ms. Ceres, I got a few things here. I need you to sign them and look them over for me if you don’t mind.” Fauna watches as her secretary, Irys, walks over to her desk with a huge smile on her face and a large stack of paper in hand. She used every ounce of willpower not to slap her head repeatedly against her desk when she saw the massive stack of papers Irys had for her.

“A few things?” Fauna asks with a raised eyebrow and a slight twitch to her eye. Irys plops down a stack of at least a hundred, or even a thousand more papers and documents for her to get through onto her desk. God, she just wants to cry. While her eyes scan the mess of papers on her desk she has to get through, there's a good chance most of it is just complete and utter nonsense.

“Well, maybe a bit more than a few things,” Irys says with an innocent smile. Then Fauna sees a sudden spark of curiosity in her secretary's eyes. “Oh, Ms. Ceres, will you be going to the annual office party this year?” Irys asks her with a curious glint in her eyes. “You haven’t attended the last couple of years.”

The annual office party was a tradition her parents had been doing since she was a little girl. They would rent out the biggest venue in town and invite all their employees and treat them to free food and liquor the entire night. Both the littlest and biggest cogs of the company were invited, and it was considered one of the most anticipated parties of the year. 

Once Fauna was old enough to decide whether she wanted to go or not. She would always choose the option not to go when she was asked by her folks. She was an introvert at heart, and besides, she already handed everything over to Sana to take care of. She was the staff director for the company, and her longtime best friend. So it's not like she had any involvement in planning the thing. So, should she really have to go?

“I’ll probably skip this one as well,” Fauna tells her as she gives Irys a tired smile. She just hopes that whatever god is out there her secretary won’t push the subject. “I’m not much for parties, as you know.”

“But with you being officially the new CEO for the company… Wouldn't it be odd if you decided not to attend?” Irys asks her boss with a quirked eyebrow. “It could also reflect badly on your character, Ms. Ceres.”

“Y-yes…” Fauna clears her throat as she tries to come up with an excuse for why she doesn’t need to attend this year's annual office party. It was just too many people that will all be trying to strike up a conversation with her. And it will almost likely all be annoying and stupid business-related ideas she would rather not hear. “I’m sure Ms. Tsukumo should be able to entertain everyone without me there. Besides, I would much rather be getting some… personal projects done.”

“Ms. Ceres, it will be fun, and imagine what your employees will think if their CEO doesn’t even show up?” Irys counters back with her hands planted firmly on her hips. “Besides, your personal projects can wait just one more night before you get to them.”

“I guess I could show up for an hour or two…” Fauna says with a long, tired sigh.

“Perfect!” Irys says with a big smile while she claps her hands together. “Now I'll leave you be so you can get some of this paperwork done.”

“Thank you, Irys…” Fauna says with a long sigh as she watches her secretary leave her office. She really wants to finish listening to the cover. Yet, this paperwork isn’t just going to magically do itself.

So with a deep breath, she grabs a pen from off her desk. She fixes the glasses on her face. Fauna begins to read through a stack of stapled papers that she has to get through before tomorrow. Fauna, however, does have an annoying feeling she won’t be getting it until much later than she had previously thought.

She was chewing on a small bit of metal on the back of the pencil that holds the eraser, and in full blast in her thoughts was one of those stupidly annoying yet catchy songs playing on repeat in her head. All while she watched a big brown cockroach scurry across the library floor. Mumei hears a sound right next to her, but her mind tunes it out. She is too focused on the bug, wondering where it was going. All of her focus was on that bug, wondering if anyone else had noticed the creature yet. It's quite big, so she can’t be the only one who saw it, right?

“Moom…” It still doesn’t register with the brunette that someone was trying to get her attention. “Mumei…” She was too focused on watching a cockroach crawl up some random girl’s pant leg, wondering when she would notice the bug now making its way up her back. Her brain was just too hyper-focused on that one singular thing at the moment. “Mumei!” Then she starts to feel someone shaking her arm, and that is what snaps her back to reality. “Earth to Mumei!”

Then she sees a pair of small hands waving rapidly back and forth in front of her face. And just like that, she had completely forgotten about the cockroach.

“Oh, sorry, Bae… Uh, what did you ask?” Mumei asks her roommate with a sheepish grin. She nervously scratches the back of her neck while her best friend gives her an annoyed and frustrated look. Mumei can feel heat rising to her cheeks; Bae must have been calling her for a while with how irritated she looks. This was all just so embarrassing to the brunette. She really feels like an idiot right now. She came to the library to study, not space out. 

“Dude… You seriously need to get back on your meds; you've been so bad at keeping on task,” Bae says with a huff as she crosses her arms and gives Mumei a stern look. The brunette feels like a child being scolded by her parents right now. “I’ve been trying to get your attention for the past ten minutes, Moom.”

“I know I've been trying, but ADHD meds have been such a pain to get; I can’t really afford them right now, even with my insurance,” Mumei whines out in frustration. Also, she did not really want to go on a full-blown rant about the cost of the medicine out of pocket being around three hundred dollars even with insurance, so she decided to change the subject. “What were you trying to ask me, Bae?”

“Oh, the place I’m interning for is having a huge office party next Saturday, and I am able to bring two guests. So… I was going to see if you’d like to come with me and Kronii,” Bae asks her with a chipper smile. Kronii was Bae's girlfriend and also one of Mumei’s friends. She had been the one to introduce the two to each other, after all. The three of them hung out all the time. Bae and Kronii annoyingly liked to call Mumei their favorite third wheel, to the brunette's dismay. 

“I don’t know…” Mumei tries to think up an excuse for why she couldn’t go; she never does well at social events, but Bae quickly cuts her off before she could make up an excuse. Not even allowing the amber-eyed girl to come up with a way to get herself out of this.

“And, before you say no, Moom, remember you still owe me for Halloween…” Bae says with an evil smirk. Mumei swears she could see devil horns and a forked tail on her best friend the moment those words left her mouth. “Or, do I have to remind you what happened that night?”

“Please don’t remind me… I beg you, Bae…” Mumei whines while covering her ears, not wanting to remember that stupid, horrible night. God, there was so much vomit… Her vomit. “Fine, I’ll go… Bully…”

“Yes!” Bae says triumphantly with a big shit-eating grin on her face. “And don’t worry, Moom, it is not going to be like a loud frat party, and on the plus side there will be a ton of free food.”

“I guess free food is always nice,” Mumei says with a long, drawn-out sigh. A part of her was trying to think up an excuse to get herself out of going. However, Bae did say it wasn’t going to be like one of those loud, annoying college parties. So, she’ll just suck it up and do this for her friend. Even though she'd rather just be at home zoning out and doing nothing all day.

“EW! Fuck a roach! GROSS!” Some random girl screams out in horror. Causing all the other students next to her to scream out in horror. As they all—well—scatter like roaches. 

“Oh, someone finally noticed the cockroach,” Mumei says nonchalantly to herself and Bae. All the while, she opens up her textbook so she can start studying. Bae just lets out a sigh and shakes her head as the two start to discuss upcoming tests for the classes they have together.

…

“Oh, hey, when are you planning to do your next stream?” Bae suddenly asks Mumei out of nowhere, once the two of them were a bit farther into their study session. “The last thing you had posted was your cover, but you haven’t actually streamed anything in almost two weeks.”

“School has been a pain lately, so whenever I get free time… Which, I have no clue when that will be…”

“I see we could try streaming together later tonight, if you want.” Bae asks her friend with a smile.

“I can't; I've got work at KFP tonight and won’t be getting back to the apartment until midnight,” Mumei whines.

“That sucks, dude,” Bae pouts while she crosses her arms over her chest. “How about tomorrow?”

“Working late again… and again, then I have to study…” Mumei groans out in frustration. “I really want to stream, but I don’t know when that will be.”

“Well, hopefully soon, and we can stream and play games together or even do a karaoke stream,” Bae said with a soft smile.

“Yeah, hopefully again soon,” Mumei says with a long exhale.

“You have such a pretty emerald green halter dress on, Faufau,” Sana said with a chipper tone. Sana said with a chipper tone and a big smile on her face. “It looks absolutely amazing on you.”

Fauna and Sana were standing off close to one of the bars talking to one another as the annual office party was in full swing. Just the two of them enjoying each other's company.

“Thank you, Sana. It was a gift from my mother a few years back.” Fauna gives her friend a genuine smile at the compliment she was given. “And you look quite dapper in that cream-colored suit.”

“Thank you; it was my grandfather's suit that I recently got altered to fit me,” Sana tells her with a big smile. “So, how has acting as CEO been for you?”

“It's so much paperwork and so many pointless meetings,” Fauna tells her with a long, drawn-out groan. “I’ve been so stressed lately I just haven’t had any time. How about you? How has work been treating you?”

“Some days are good, some are bad,” Sana chuckles. “But, it sounds like you need a break, Faufau.”

“Yeah, I might see if my parents' beach house is free once the quarter is over,” Fauna huffs. “Seeing if the board of investors doesn’t make me work just as hard next quarter.”

Then out of the corner of Fauna’s eye, she sees Irys walking up to her along with three other people she didn’t recognize. A short woman with a mess of red hair held together in pigtails wearing a matching red suit, and holding her hand was a taller woman with navy blue hair wearing a black bodycon dress. Then the most beautiful brunette woman she had ever seen, wearing a yellow sundress, stood awkwardly next to them. Fauna couldn’t help but stare at the brunette; she was just so breathtaking.

“Hey, Ms. Ceres, Ms. Tsukumo, I wanted to introduce our new intern, Hakos Baelz,” Irys tells the two while pointing to the girl with wild red hair.

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Hakos,” Sana holds her hand out to the internet with a big smile.

“It's a pleasure to meet you too, ma’am,” Bae chokes out nervously while taking Sana’s hand into her own.

“So, you’re the new hard-working intern Irys told me about,” Fauna says with a smile as she shakes Bae's hand after Sana. “And who do you have with you here?”

“Oh, this is my girlfriend, Ouro Kronii, and my best friend, Nanashi Mumei,” Bae says with a smile as she points to the navy-haired woman and the brunette.

Fauna shakes the two other women’s hands, yet for some reason her hand lingers a bit longer on the brunette’s hand. She watches as Sana watches both Kronii's and Mumei's hands, but for some odd reason she feels jealous watching her friend’s hand touching the stunning brunette while she was not.

She talks with the intern for a bit; she seems nice, and from what she has been told about her by Irys, she has a really great work ethic. Fauna really does hope after she graduates she’ll be interested in joining the company full-time and not just as a college intern.

Then, once she is no longer involved in the conversation with the others. When It seems like she can slip away without it coming off as rude. She figures she should be able to go off somewhere more quiet to get some well-needed alone time. A certain brunette catches her eye. Fauna decides to walk over to Mumei, who is currently standing off in the corner by herself, to strike up a conversation with her.

“Ms. Nanashi, what are you doing here by yourself?” Fauna asks her with a warm smile.

“O-oh… I-I… A-ah…” Fauna found it cute how the younger woman was slipping over her words. “I-I’m not too a-ah… great with… ah crowds… Or parties…”

“I get that,” Fauna says with a long exhale. “I won’t be here if I didn't have to be.” She looks the brunette up and down. She looked to be on edge, the poor thing. “If you don’t mind me asking, if you aren't that big a fan of parties, why did you come to this one?”

“Blackmail…” Mumei growls before quickly slapping her hands over her mouth like she didn't mean for those words to come out of her mouth.

“Now you’ve piqued my interest, Ms. Nanashi,” Fauna tells her with a curious smirk. 

“Mumei… You can just call me Mumei…” The brunette says meekly, her face slightly pink.

“So, Mumei …” Fauna feels her tongue lingering a tad bit too long on the brunette’s name. “Are you going to tell me what this so-called blackmail was?”

“I ate some bad Halloween candy,” Mumei states, looking like she was dying a bit inside as the words left her mouth. “And I puked all over Bae’s car and her…”

“How bad was the candy you ate?” Fauna asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Ten years out of date,” Mumei groans. “I’m making sure that is the last time I take any candy from an elderly lady without checking it first.”

“You poor thing,” Fauna tells her warmly, feeling bad for the younger woman. Though for some odd reason she was starting to realize how familiar Mumei's voice sounded. “So you’re here because you feel bad about puking on your friend and all over her car?”

“Yes…” The young woman lets out a defeated groan. The poor thing looks utterly embarrassed.

“This might be coming out of nowhere, but,” Fauna asks the brunette. Who had her gaze locked to the floor? Mumei seems super nervous, and this question she is about to ask is probably not going to help that fact. But she just has to ask. “Are you a streamer by chance?” Fauna watches as the woman’s amber eyes shoot straight up at her to look into her own. “You sound an awful lot like a streamer I know called Guardian.”

“Yes… Ah… Wait, I mean no… Shit…” Mumei sputters out, her face contorting with a mix of emotions. “Yeah…”

Fauna thought she looked beyond adorable with how flustered the brunette was. She would really love to see more.

“Sorry that was rude of me to ask,” the older woman says with an apologetic smile. “I’m just a big fan of your singing, is all, and all of the other content you make. So, I couldn’t stop myself from asking.”

“You like my content?” Mumei’s mouth gaped open and her eyes widened in shock at what she was just told. “But, you're a really powerful CEO; why would you watch such a small streamer like me?”

“I’m not that powerful, and I wouldn’t call 30k followers small,” Fauna laughs, a soft smile curling on your lips. “I enjoy watching you in my free time and my not-so-free time.”

“Well, I’m happy you like the stuff I make.” Mumei's cheeks look even redder than before, but at least she was smiling; then it suddenly turns into a frown. “Though, I’ve been so busy lately I haven’t had much time to make any new content.”

“I’m guessing school?” Fauna asks, her voice taking a softer, more gentle tone.

“School, work, and I’ve just had such a hard time focusing as of late,” Mumei says with a tired groan. “I want to keep streaming, but I also want to get my degree, and it feels like I have to choose one or the other. Honestly, I just wish I had the ability to focus on both.” Then the younger woman’s body stiffens a little, and her face turns into that of a grimace. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have dumped all that on you.”

“I get what you mean, trying to juggle multiple things at once,” Fauna sighs, truly understanding where she was coming from. “and having to pick and choose is never a fun option…”

“I can ask…” Suddenly, out of nowhere, there was a loud ringing emanating from Mumei; someone was calling her. “Sorry…” Mumei tells Fauna softly before answering her phone.

The older woman watches as the younger begins to talk with someone on the phone. Mumei’s face shows different emotions as she answers questions with a simple yes or no.

“Sorry, I have to go. Kronii got a work call, and since she is the one who drove us…” Mumei apologizes to Fauna, but the older woman couldn’t help but chuckle at how cute the brunette is right now.

“It's fine, Mumei,” Fauna says with a warm laugh. “But before you go, let's exchange numbers if you’re alright with that.”

“Are you sure you want to exchange numbers with me, Ms. Ceres?” Mumei asks in shock.

“Fauna, and it’s fine, the green-haired woman giggles. There was just something about Mumei that made her want to keep catching up with her to get to know her better. “Besides, our conversation was cut short, and I’d like to finish it over dinner. If that's alright with you.”

“Yeah, I’d like that, Ms.—Uh, Fauna,” Mumei tells the older woman nervously. “Having dinner with you sounds fun.”

“It's a date,” Fauna says with a slight hum and a smile. A part of her was cooing on the inside with how Mumei was getting all flustered and embarrassed. 

When they were exchanging numbers with one another, she found it downright adorable how awkward and fidgety Mumei was as she typed her number into Fauna’s phone. The brunette was acting like the device in her hand would shatter into pieces at any second. 

“Yeah, a-ah date,” the younger woman squeaks out while nervously fiddling with her fingers. “Like a date-date?”

“It can be,” Fauna purrs. She enjoys herself immensely watching as Mumei's brain short-circuits and her cute face becomes ten times redder than it already was.

“There you are, Mumei; we need to go!” Fauna hears her intern calling out to her friend.

“Uh, bye, it was nice meeting you,” Mumei chokes out nervously. “Goodbye…”

“It was lovely to meet you too, Mumei,” Fauna coos. “Bye.”

The brunette gives Fauna a small smile before running off towards her friends. She can’t help but smile too, excited that she is actually going out with someone other than Sana for dinner. Heck, she hasn’t been on an actual date since high school.

So she was quite excited to see how her relationship with the younger woman would develop from here. 

Chapter Text

Mumei can’t stop staring at her phone. Her eyes were glued firmly to its bright screen. Her fingers hovered shakily over the messaging app. In the mess of her mind, she is going back and forth with herself on whether she should send Fauna a message about the dinner date, or wait for the older woman to message her first.

Yet as she was walking with Bae to one of the few classes they have together. She steps on her untied shoelace. She feels her center of gravity beginning to fail her in her time of need. Mumei braces herself to slam face-first into the tile floor of the lecture hall. However, luckily for her, Bae catches her before she eats a face full of tile.

“Thanks, Bae,” Mumei says with a sheepish grin, as her best friend helps the brunette steady herself. 

“Why are you staring at your phone so much?” Bae asks, her eyebrows pinched with worry. “Are you still waiting for my boss to text you back?”

“Yeah… well…” Mumei gives Bae a shy, embarrassed grin while her cheeks begin to turn slightly pink. “Should I text her first, or should I wait for Fauna to text me?” She inquires from her roommate. “It’s been a few days since the party, but I’m not sure if it would be rude if I messaged her first?” She begins to scratch nervously at the back of her head, all while Bae shakes her head in disbelief at her friend’s reasoning skills. “And what if the reason she hasn’t texted me back yet is because she changed her mind about having dinner with me?”

“Moom, just send her a text; you're overthinking this,” Bae laughs while patting Mumei on the back. “The boss lady is probably just super busy with work; the office is very hectic right now.” Mumei had noticed that Bae had been looking a lot more worn out, and she had been getting home a lot later the last two days. “Just send her a text if you're worried about it.”

“But I don’t want to bother her… If she is busy with work stuff…” Mumei whines.

“Moom, she asked you for your number… Just send her the text…” Bae laughs and shakes her head at how ridiculous her roommate is being. “You are putting way too much thought into just a simple text.”

“Fine… I’ll just…” Then as she is about to send a text to Fauna, she sees three little dots pop up on her phone screen. “Oh wait, sh—!” With a loud thud, Mumei ran right into a door that had suddenly swung open. This caused the younger woman to flail around for a few seconds. Before she fell hard on her ass on the cold tile floor.

“Mumei!” Bae calls out in a panic as she begins to help the brunette back up to her feet.

“Owie…” Mumei whines out in pain. She placed her hand under her nose, expecting to see blood, but let out a thankful sigh when there was none to be seen. She was happy not to see any blood dripping from her nose; it was such a pain to get out of clothes.

“Shit, dude, are you okay?!” Mumei hears the familiar voice of Kronii calling to her. Mumei quickly realizes she was the one who had opened that door.

“Babe, what the hell!” Bae yells at Kronii with a furious look in her eyes.

“I didn’t know she was there!” Kronii chokes out in a panic.

The two lovebirds start to go back and forth arguing with one another, but Mumei doesn’t pay them any mind. Her eyes are glued firmly to her phone. Fauna—Fauna had sent her a message.

Fauna: Mumei, I’m SO SORRY! 🙇‍♀️

Fauna: Work has been so chaotic for the past couple of days. 😭

Fauna: If you are not too upset with me, would you like to have dinner with me this Friday at 6:30PM?

Mumei: You're absolutely fine; no need to worry!

Mumei: Yes, and 6:30PM works great for me. ☺️

“Mumei!” Her eyes snapped back up from her phone to look at her two friends who had called her name.

“She sent me a text!” Mumei shows her phone to her friends with a giant toothy smile curled onto her lips.

Fauna would rather blow her brains out with a ten-gauge shotgun than be in this godforsaken meeting right now. The company was being pitched some obvious scam. Yet for some reason other higher-ups in the company want to hear them out. Probably because they believe it could save them a shit ton of money.

It was more likely a lawsuit waiting to happen. Which would end up actually costing them more money in the long run. But no, these old farts wanted to be penny pinchers and hear this scam out.

Right now she was zoning out, in her own little world. She was wondering what she should have her butler Gura cook up for her and Mumei this Friday. Fauna herself is vegan, but she is not quite sure if Mumei has any dietary restrictions. Fauna  figured she should send her a quick text once she gets back home from work.

Then she feels her phone buzzing in her pocket. Fauna cursed herself for not turning her phone on DO NOT DISTURB mode like she usually does. Then she feels another buzz. She should just ignore it, but for some reason. She carefully pulls her phone out, keeping it under the table to make sure none of her colleagues see it. She can feel her heart fluttering; Mumei had sent her a text.

Mumei: I was wondering if you would like me to bring dessert over? Since you’ll be making dinner.

Mumei: Also let me know if you're allergic to anything or if there are any types of desserts you don’t like.

Fauna: Yes, it would be lovely for you to make a dessert. However, I am vegan, so if it would be too difficult for you to make a dessert because of that, you don’t have to go through the trouble.

Mumei: Oh! Don’t worry; that won’t be a problem. I know an amazing vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Fauna: I can’t wait to try them. 😉

Fauna is doing her best not to smile. Then suddenly out of nowhere she has the strong urge to flirt with and tease Mumei. She knows she should be focusing on the meeting, yet she can’t help herself.

Fauna: What are you up to, cutie? 😘

Mumei:😳

Mumei: Getting ready to head to work. 🥲

Fauna: Where do you work?If you don’t mind me asking.

Mumei: I work at KFP as a line cook.

Fauna: Oh! The CEO, Kiara, is a good friend of mine. How has working there been?

Mumei: It's a bit hectic… though my manager is a bit mean… but definitely not the worst job I’ve had. 

Fauna: Mean? How so? Do I need to let Kiara know?

Mumei: No, please don’t… It is my fault for not being that great of a worker. 😭

Mumei: I shouldn’t have said anything… Work is fine… No need for you to worry.

Fauna: I’ll keep it to myself for now… But my offer still stands.

Mumei: Thank you, Fauna… So what are you up to now?

Fauna: Currently in a meeting lol. 😋

Mumei: Oh, my bad, I didn’t mean to distract you from work! 😭

Fauna: It's fine; the meeting is not that important… But I should probably get back to paying attention… 🫠

Fauna: Do you mind if I text you later tonight?

Mumei: Yes, that would be perfectly amazing!

Mumei: I mean, fine…

Mumei: If you would like too… 

Fauna: 😘

She was doing her best to hold back a smile. Yet she can feel herself dying inside as she goes back to paying attention to this pointless meeting.

Mumei is both excited and nervous to be streaming today. She hasn’t been able to stream for the past couple of weeks because of school and work, and she feels really bad about it.

However, she and Bae were going to be playing Mario Kart on their Switches. So, the brunette was super excited about that.

So as of right now she was setting up her stream. Making sure her microphone settings were to her liking, updating everything she needed to in advance, and making sure none of her streaming software was out of whack.

Bae had her stuff already set up on the other side of the tiny room. They shared an office because their apartment only had three small rooms, but they made the space work. Then her ears catch a slight knock. She turns around to see Bae with some overly sugary energy drinks in hand. A big smile stretched across her best friend’s entire face.

“Ready for some fun, Moom?” Bae asks her with a cheeky grin. Her slightly pointed teeth glistened in the warm light of the room.

“Yes!” Mumei says with pure glee, a bright twinkle in her stunning amber eyes. “I’m so happy we both finally have some free time to stream.”

“Yeah, it's been too long,” Bae playfully groans while leaning on Mumei, who instantly wraps an arm around her friend's shoulder. “So what are we playing?”

“I figured Mario Kart would be fun,” the brunette says with a shrug of her shoulders. “But I’m all set up and ready to go when you are.”

“Yeah, let me just grab some snacks for us, and I should be all set,” Bae says with a smile.

“Aye aye, captain,” Mumei tells Bae while doing a playful salute at her.

…

Fauna was smiling ear to ear while she sat on her bed, surrounded by her blankets. She should be sound asleep right now; she had to be up at five in the morning for a stupidly early meetings with some investor or something. Honestly, she can’t quite remember.

However, Mumei—well, Guardian was streaming right now with Chaos, who Fauna quickly figured out was Bae. She couldn’t help herself; her beloved Guardian hasn’t streamed for a while, and she has had so much fun watching her favorite streamer get all excited just to lose at Mario Kart. Mumei—Guardian was just so cute when she got all pent up and frustrated.

Then a sudden, very impure thought rushed into her mind. She can feel blood rushing into her cheeks and somewhere else too.

“Shit…” she hisses out. Fauna hardly ever curses, but right now she can feel an annoying ache between her legs.

Fauna places her laptop off to the side, no longer paying attention to the stream. She currently had to deal with something else before it got too out of hand.

So off she went to take a cold shower in hopes of calming her very awake friend between her legs down.

Once the older woman was done stripping off her clothes, she let out an annoyed growl. She is way too old to be getting random boners; she is not some horny teen in high school, for Christ's sake. She could feel a shiver run up her spine as the cold water hit her back. Yet for some awful reason, her cock was still at full attention.

“Great…” Fauna scoffs. This was just her luck; of course, cold water was doing jack.

Suddenly she felt her dick twitch, and she could feel a groan slip past her lips as a not-so-pure image of the brunette popped into Fauna's head. Mumei was just as exposed as she was. However, the younger woman's front was pressed against the tile of the shower wall. Her plump rear is in full display.

Fauna's hand begins to slowly pump up and down her aching shaft. She bites down on her bottom lip in an attempt to muffle her moans. Thankfully, no one was in the house besides her. Gura, her butler, had called it a night almost over an hour ago. Yet, she felt so embarrassed having these awfully dirty thoughts about a woman she hardly even knew anything about.

Yet, those impure thoughts kept her hand moving. She could feel her body shaking. Fauna had to brace herself against the shower wall, doing her best not to fall on her bare ass. While she desperately rubbed it into her hand. Her mind raced with the thoughts of a certain brunette.

Her body felt like burning embers, even though cold water was spraying all over her body. Fauna was panting like a dog as she felt an immense pressure and heat building up in her loins.

“Heck…” Fauna says with a shaky moan. Her cock begins to shoot out her seed onto the shower floor and her stomach.

The older woman stands there defeated, absolutely mortified with what she had just done. She lets out a long, drawn-out exhale before reaching for a bar of soap. Fauna thoroughly begins to scrub her body, trying to wipe away any and all of the evidence of what she had just done. She was absolutely downright embarrassed at herself. She never in life lost control of herself like this.

“I hope she likes this vegan pizza,” Fauna sighs while she helps her butler Gura gather up all the ingredients for the pizza.

Gura was starting to make the vegan pizza dough, which is basically the same as regular pizza dough, just minus any of the animal byproducts. Fauna herself was cleaning and cutting up the vegetables that would be added as toppings to the pizza.

“It’s a good dish, Ms. Ceres,” Gura laughs. “I’m positive she will like it.”

“What have I told you about calling me Ms. Ceres?” Fauna groans. “It makes me feel old and like my mother.”

“And I told you, I’ll only call you Fauna when I am off duty, Ms. Cerse,” Gura chuckles, a small smile curled onto her lips. “It would be unprofessional as your butler for me to call you anything but Ms. Ceres.”

“Why do you torture me?” Fauna fake cries. Poking her lip out in protest, she let out an exaggerated and obviously joking huff.

“Would you like me to start making the sauce, or would you like to, Ms. Ceres?” Guras asks her employer, doing her best to hold back a laugh. She was definitely messing with Fauna now.

“You can make the tomato sauce while I cut up the toppings,” Fauna says with a defeated sigh. Her butler and friend were just too stubborn when it came to her work ethic, so there was no reason for her to argue with the much shorter woman.

“Will do…” Gura gives her a quick nod, then she pauses for a second and looks over to Fauna like she wanted to ask her a question. “If you don’t mind me asking, Miss, you seem to be focusing on this dinner a lot more than past ones. It seems like you are trying to make sure this dinner is a hundred percent perfect. This must be a really important client or business partner if you're this stressed about it, Ms. Ceres.”

“I-I, well, I guess I technically have… you know… I’m having… a date… over…” Fauna's cheeks are bright red as she informs Gura what tonight's dinner is for.

“You have a date, Ms. Ceres?” Gura asks her in disbelief.

“Yes?!” Fauna lets out a shocked and kinda hurt gasp. “Is that so hard to believe?”

“Would you like an honest or nice answer, Ms. Ceres?” Gura asks her with a smile.

“Give me the honest answer, Gura…” Fauna groans.

“It's been almost five… no, six years now since the last time you even went on a date, and almost ten since your last serious relationship,” Gura tells her bluntly. “Truthfully, Ms. Ceres, I thought you had given up on love?”

“Well, I’ve met someone who caught my interest.” Fauna clears her throat before continuing what she was saying. “But I'm not sure if it will go anywhere, I’d like it too but…”

“You’re scared?” The butler inquires.

“Yeah…”

…

Mumei can feel her jaw drop to the floor when she sees the size of the house—no—mansion in front of her as she pulls into the driveway. She knew Fauna was rich, but it was starting to sink in how stupidly rich the older woman was. The younger woman parks her car on a patch of gravel, figuring she shouldn't park her car on the grass.

She looks over to the driver seat, seeing the box of cookies sitting there. A sense of dread was beginning to set in. Mumei is starting to regret her decision to make these cookies, fearing that Fauna will think they taste like dirt. No way in hell Fauna’s palate will be able to stomach these things. Mumei can feel herself spiral. Her thoughts are starting to get the better of her.

She jumps in her seat when she hears a knock at the window of her car door. Her head whips towards the direction of the sound, along with her hand pressed firmly to her heart. Mumei can feel her shoulders relax; it was just Fauna.

It was Fauna—as quickly as she had relaxed, she immediately tensed up again. How long had Fauna been standing there? How long was she zoning out for? The brunette could feel her mind swirling with all the stupid little mistakes she has made today.

She hears Fauna tap on her window again. Shit, Mumei had gotten in her own stupid head again. She gives the green-haired woman an apologetic smile before opening the car door.

“Hi Mumei,” Fauna tells the younger woman sweetly.

“Hello…” The younger woman nervously chokes out. She couldn’t help but stare at the older woman. Fauna looked absolutely mesmerizing in the yellow sundress she wore. It made Mumei feel a bit underdressed. She only had on a pair of khaki high-waisted shorts and a white button-up. She felt so bland compared to how stunning Fauna looked.

“Hope you didn’t have too much trouble finding this place,” Fauna tells the brunette with a soft chuckle.

“Ah, uh… The drive here was fine…” Mumei nervously choked out. She was starting to feel her face heat up from embarrassment. Fauna must think she looks like an idiot right now.

“Are these the cookies you mentioned about bringing? Fauna asks her with a smile.

“Ah, uh, yes, though I do hope you like them,” Mumei tells her with a nervous smile.

“I’m positive they will taste amazing,” Fauna tells the younger woman warmly. Then the older woman pointed at them. “I can take them in for you if you’d like.”

“Oh, okay,” Mumei nods, too stunned at Fauna’s beauty to say anything else. Mumei handed the older woman the container of chocolate chip cookies. She feels electricity travel throughout her entire body when their fingertips only touch for a mere second.

“Follow me,” the green-haired woman tells the younger woman with a soft, infectious laugh.

Mumei knows this is probably nothing more than a simple dinner, but she can’t help but wonder if something more might spark from this. Then she wonders if she is getting ahead of herself; Fauna just invited her over because she enjoyed her content for some unknown reason. For the life of her, she can’t figure out why such a high-class woman would like the trash she produces. Anyhow, Mumei knows this is most likely going to be a one-time thing even though she wishes it wasn’t.

“This pizza is so good, Fauna,” Mumei hummed in pleasure before taking a bite of her pizza. This would have been the brunette's third slice and her second glass of wine. The wine was definitely starting to help her relax.

“Yes, it is quite delicious,” Fauna laughs. The older woman was on her third slice and a second glass of wine as well. “I’ll definitely need to have Gura help me make this again sometime soon.

The two of them for the past hour have been talking about both everything and nothing at all. While sitting at Fauna's small dining room table. It had started out awkward at first, with Fauna having to lead most of the conversation at the start. 

But the older woman didn’t mind; Mumei was just being so cute with how she twiddled with her fingers and was too scared to look her in the eyes. However, after Gura brought out the pizza and wine, the younger woman quickly began to relax and became a lot more talkative. Which Fauna also found beyond adorable, especially hearing the younger woman go on random tangents.

“You know you're absolutely adorable, right, Mumei?” Fauna asks her with a teasing purr. The older woman knows she shouldn’t mess with the poor thing, but Mumei was just too cute, and she couldn’t help herself.

“I-I… Ah, uh… If you think so,” Mumei chokes out, her face now a pretty candy-red color.

“Oh, love, I don’t think so; I know so,” Fauna teases as she slightly rubs her foot along Mumei’s leg. A small grin curls on her lips when she sees the brunette jump at the slight touch. “Trust me, darling.”

“I-if you say s-so,” Mumei can feel a shiver up her spine. And, she feels like Fauna is giving her a hungry, almost lustful look. Yet, she was pretty sure it was just the alcohol in her system. Also, Fauna's foot had touched her leg by accident, right?

“So, cutie…” Fauna chuckles, adding a slight sultry tone to her voice. A fun, slightly devilish idea pops into her head. “Why don’t we play a game?”

“What type of game?” Mumei innocently asks. She was none the wiser to the older woman's intentions.

“How about twenty questions?” Fauna hums. Her foot ran up Mumei's leg for a second time. “It would help us to get to know each other better.”

“Oh—okay!” Mumei squeaks out when she feels Fauna’s foot running up her leg again. “S-sounds… Fun.”

“Okay, I’ll go first,” Fauna says with a smile. Her foot lingers a bit longer on Mumei’s shin. She enjoyed watching the brunette squirm in her seat. “Question one, What is your favorite color?”

“Ah, a green!” Mumei blurts out. Was Fauna’s foot starting to move higher up her leg? It was all just in her head, wasn’t it?

“Second question, dream vacation?” Fauna asks her with a mischievous glint in her eyes. 

“Rome, Italy…” Mumei shakes out. She swears Fauna's foot was on her inner thigh for a split second.

“Third question, do you have any pets?” Fauna asks innocently while her foot is getting dangerously close to Mumei’s inner thighs.

“Uh, I have a dog named Animal… But she is currently living with my folks while I’m at school,” Mumei tells her, all while doing her best to hold back a whine. Fauna’s foot was starting to get dangerously close to her crotch. For some unknown reason she doesn’t want the older woman to stop.

“How about we make these questions a bit more spicy?” Fauna purrs. “Question four, how old were you when you lost your virginity?”

“I-I haven’t lost it yet,” Mumei pants out. She can feel her panties starting to become wet all because of Fauna touching her stupid leg. Why in the hell was she getting so turned on by some stupid little touches? 

“I know this is supposed to be twenty questions, but this is my last question,” Fauna tells the brunette as she licks her lips. She was starting to see a tent form in her dress. “Final question, may I have your virginity?”

“It's yours,” Mumei whines as she starts to rub her clothed cunt into Fauna’s foot. She doesn’t know if it was the wine talking or what, but right now she really wanted to feel Fauna’s mouth all over her body at this moment.

Fauna stands up from her chair and walks over to Mumei on the other side of the dining table. She proceeds to offer a hand to the brunette. “How about I give you a personal tour of my bedroom?” Fauna tells the younger woman with a wink.

“A-ah, that sounds… love—lovely.” Mumei coughs as she takes the older woman's hand. She instantly notices how soft it is to the touch. She feels her body heat up at the touch of the indecent thoughts that are wrecking havoc in her mind.

Then it hits her. She had just agreed to have sex with Fauna. She was so fucking embarrassed; however, she can’t help but feel an ache in her lower abdomen. As the green-haired woman leads her toward the master bedroom.

Chapter Text

They were now in the older woman’s bedroom, and Fauna had Mumei pressed firmly up against a wall. Mumei can feel Fauna's teeth nibbling up and down on her pulse. The older woman’s nails were digging into her hips, keeping the brunette firmly in place. She could feel that there was something hard pressing into her leg, twitching every so often. 

It was a well-known fact that Fauna was open about being a trans woman. So Mumei wasn’t all that surprised or really cared that the older woman’s third leg was currently poking her in her thigh right now. Cis or trans, all women were beautiful to the younger woman. And Fauna was definitely a downright stunning woman. She was likely the most breathtaking woman the brunette had ever seen.

This breathtaking woman was currently unbuttoning Mumei’s shirt. Causing the younger woman to twitch and squirm under the green-haired beauty’s touch. Once Fauna had gotten the younger woman’s shirt open, she began to knead at Mumei’s bra-covered breasts, like she was a cat making biscuits. 

She would be lying if she didn’t say she wasn’t a tad bit embarrassed—more like really fucking embarrassed. She was just wearing a plain old tan-colored sports bra that definitely had a few stains on it and one or two holes as well. If she knew this was going to happen, she would have worn something nicer.

“Can I continue?” Fauna takes Mumei right out of her own thoughts and back into reality, as the older woman begins to trail her fingers up the brunette’s stomach. “If you want me to stop, let me know.”

“Please… Please keep going,” a needy whine slips past Mumei's lips. If Fauna stops now, she feels as if she will burst into a tidal wave of tears with how pent up she feels at this very moment in time.

She feels something soft on her lips—warm. Fauna was kissing her. Soon teeth sink into the young woman’s bottom lip. Mumei lets out a gasp, which allows the older woman to slip her tongue inside. The brunette feels her body heating up, and her head whirling as Fauna takes full control of the kiss. She was exploring every inch of Mumei’s mouth. Leaving no corner of her body untouched.

Mumei let out a high-pitched moan into the older woman’s mouth. As she felt Fauna’s hand move her bra aside and started to lightly pinch and roll her nipple between her fingers.

Mumei hisses out, bucking her hips up against Fauna’s thick thigh. She could feel just how damp her panties had become. The brunette’s heart was screaming at her, and her lungs were on fire, crying from the lack of air. The kiss was going, and it felt like Fauna was nowhere close to stopping.

It felt like it lasted a lifetime before Fauna finally pulled away from the kiss. Only a single strand of saliva kept them connected to one another. Mumei’s lips felt swollen and puffy from the kiss, and they slightly tingled too. Yet, she didn’t want to stop, even if her lungs were nearly empty. The younger woman craved, wanted—no—she needed more. She was addicted to the older woman's taste, scent, and touch.

“Can we go further?” Fauna quirks an eyebrow at the younger woman as the question slips past her soft, plump lips. That Mumei couldn’t help but stare at—desire.

“Yes, I’m begging you, don’t stop…” Mumei whines, her voice dripping with pure neediness. The brunette was nothing but putty in the older woman’s hand. Fauna was only a tad bit taller, but dear lord did Mumei feel small under her gaze. It sent a shiver up her spine and heat towards her loins.

Mumei feels herself being lifted off of her feet. Hell, Fauna was a lot stronger than she looked. For some unknown reason, it turned Mumei on even more than she already was; her panties were completely drenched with her arousal now.

She lets out a loud squeak when Fauna drops her onto the large soft king-size bed. Before Mumei knows it, the older woman is straddling her and leaving even more marks on her neck.

Mumei feels Fauna begin to start to kiss down her neck towards her chest. The green-haired beauty tugs at the brunette’s sports bra and lets out an annoyed growl. The younger girl lifts her arms up, allowing the older woman to easily slip off the garment.

Soon enough Fauna had her mouth latched on to Mumei's perky nipples. The brunette squirmed and bucked under the older woman's touches, but she was held firmly in place. Fauna is leaving hickeys all over the younger woman, marking Mumei as her own. 

Mumei’s nipples feel used, raw, and a tad bit swollen. Yet, her loins were on fire, and she so badly craved for her clit to be touched.

“Please…” Mumei says with the most pathetic whine.

“Please what?” The older woman smirks while she licks at her lips. She reaches out to rub her thumb gently across Mumei’s bottom lip. “Tell me what you desire, love?”

“My… My c-clit… t-touch… touch it… p-please…” She stutters out nervously. Mumei’s body turns a crimson red as she sees the predatory and ravenous look in Fauna’s eyes.

“Anything you want, love,” Fauna purrs, a faint smile curling onto her cherry-red lips.

The older woman begins to undo Mumei’s pants. She began to slowly pull them down, causing the younger woman to twitch and whine in protest. But once the garment is off, Mumei can’t help but feel embarrassed. She had forgotten she had worn a pair of panties with owls printed on them. It was not sexy in the slightest.

“Cute undies,” Fauna teases, causing the younger woman to let out a distressed mewl and to cover her face with her arms. The green-haired woman only lets out a soft chuckle before pulling down the younger woman’s underwear in a swift motion.

“Shit!” Mumei cries out as she feels the older woman’s tongue pressing into her clit. It felt like electricity was exploring every single inch of her body, and with each swipe of the older woman’s tongue over her sensitive bud, even more shock waves were sent through her.

“You taste good,” Fauna purrs before going right back down onto Mumei. Her strong arms keep the brunette’s legs from flailing around. While she enjoys her meal. 

With each swipe of Fauna’s tongue against the younger woman bundled with nerves, Mumei feels like she is seeing stars all around her. The pressure and heat between her loins was building up fast. It keeps building up until the pressure is too much for Mumei to handle. Her body begins to shake, and she lets out a high-pitched moan. She can feel her body spasming as she comes hard.

“I can’t hold back any longer,” Fauna growls. Not even giving the younger woman a second to recover from her mind-breaking orgasm.

“Fauna…?” Mumei asks meekly as she watches the older woman hurriedly get out of her sundress along with her underwear in a matter of seconds. 

Suddenly Mumei’s hands are above her head, and the look on Fauna’s face screams hunger. The younger woman clenches her thighs together at the sight in front of her. Between the older woman’s legs there it stood proudly with a hot white liquid slowly dribbling out of it. Fauna was hung and girthy as heck. Mumei wonders if she will be able to take that massive cock inside of her.

“Do you wish to stop?” Fauna asks, her voice taking on a much softer, gentler tone now. Her grip on Mumei’s hands loosened up but she still did not let go of them.

“No… I want to feel you… I want to feel you inside,” Mumei whines out as she can feel her body heating up even more as those embarrassing words leave her mouth.

The green-haired beauty pulls the brunette into a soft yet passionate kiss. In a matter of seconds the kiss turns to one of rough and furious desire.

“Are you ready?” Fauna inquires as she pulls away from Mumei’s lips.

Mumei only gives a simple nod to the gorgeous beauty above her. The younger woman watches the older woman take hold of her massive member. Fauna rubs her cock up and down the brunette’s folds, hitting the younger woman’s clit every so often. This makes Mumei let out needy, begging moans with each touch her bud receives. Carefully, Fauna takes hold of her thick prick, lining it at Mumei’s entrance. 

Slowly, the older woman pushes her member into Mumei’s warmth. With each inch she gets inside, she allows the brunette a few seconds to adjust to her girth. Until Fauna is all the way inside, Mumei’s walls are clenching onto her tightly.

She gives a gentle thrust to see how the younger woman would react. When Mumei lets out a high-pitched moan, something inside Fauna snaps from lust, and she begins to thrust into the woman beneath her with all her might.

Mumei is a mewling, moaning mess as Fauna fucks her hard into the mattress. The sound of growls, moans, and wet skin slapping against each other echoes throughout the large bedroom. The massive bed rocks and shakes with each thrust of Fauna’s hips. The younger woman was begging, pleading for more as she was under the mercy of the beauty above her.

An intense, mind-numbing heat fills Mumei to the brim, while her body tenses from pleasure. Her second orgasm hit harder than her first. She can feel Fauna pumping all of her essence into her burning core.

The younger woman’s eyes feel heavy, and she is unable to keep them open for much longer. In a matter of seconds the two hold one another tight in each other's arms, while they peacefully drift off to asleep.

“My head,” Mumei says with a tired grumble. Her brain felt like tiny little gnomes were slamming pickaxes against her brain as she slowly sat up in the bed. The screaming and hollering of her phone alarm wasn't helping her much either. Something feels off as she grabs her phone from the floor. It must have fallen off the bed while she slept. Her eyes were still heavy from sleep, so she couldn't really place what the heck was off about her room.

Then she looked to the side, and it finally sunk in when she saw the mess of green hair. It felt like she got sprayed with cold water with how fast she snapped back to reality.

Fauna was right next to her; she had slept next to her—naked, they had had sex. Her thoughts whirled around in her head as the memory of last night came back to her. She didn't intend to have sex; this was just supposed to be dinner.

Her phone chimes at her. It was a text message from Bae. Shit, she forgot they were supposed to meet up in less than five minutes to study together at their favorite cafe. She sends her friend a brief message that she was going to be late. While she is climbing out of Fauna’s bed. She begins to pick up her clothes that were scattered all about the wooden floor.

“Mumei…” The younger woman hears a groggy voice call to her. “Why are you up? Come back to bed.”

A pang of guilt hit the brunette straight in the heart. She really wanted to crawl back into bed and sleep a bit longer, yet she didn’t want to leave her best friend hanging either. It felt like one giant mess.

“Sorry, I forgot I’m meeting up with Bae… So we can study for exams we have coming up soon,” Mumei says with an apologetic smile. She watches as the older woman sits up in bed as she tries to put her pants back on.

“I see…” The older woman says with a tired groan as she begins to stretch her aching limbs. “How late are you?”

“I should already be there by now,” Mumei says in a panic. “I feel like such an idiot.”

“You're not an idiot,” Fauna yawns while getting out of bed. She wraps her arms around the younger woman and snuggles her face into the crook of Mumei’s neck. “Besides, you reek of sex and should really take a shower.”

“Fuck, I do?” Mumei asks as she begins to sniff herself. She definitely didn’t smell like a daisy; that was for sure.

“Why don’t we go take a shower, dear?” Fauna hums out softly.

“I-I… okay,” the younger woman says with a deep exhale. “Let me send my friend another text.”

After she texts Bae to see if they can meet up for lunch instead. She feels Fauna grab her hand and lead her towards the bathroom. It was massive. She has never seen anything so big, besides in the movies.

“You can put your clothes in the clothes basket.” Fauna tells her as she points to a wicker basket in the corner. “I’ll lend you some spare clothes, though they may be a bit baggy on you.”

“That's fine…” Mumei says with a nervous smile as she takes off the clothes she had just put back on.

Mumei kept her gaze toward the ground, doing her best not to stare at Fauna’s plump behind as the older woman turned on the water for the shower. Even though they just had sex the night before, the brunette can feel her face turning red from the sight of the naked woman in front of her.

“Are you doing alright, love?” Fauna asks with a slight giggle. “Your face is quite red.”

“I, uh… I'm just waiting… for the shower to be ready…” Mumei says with a loud audible gulp.

Fauna walks towards her, hips swaying with each step, making sure to take her time. She was definitely trying to rile up the younger woman. Then, with the sweetest smile as she holds out her hand, she asks Mumei a simple question. “Are you going to join me?”

With her brain completely fried, all Mumei could do was take Fauna’s hand as she was led towards the shower. Her face is still a brilliant bright red.