"probably not." mariko agrees,speaking more to herself than vara. the two women were more than a little spirited. she could see things getting out of hand. neither of them lacked a competitive nature. mariko giggles at the bite vara performs. she was lovably silly and mariko got the feeling that not everyone got to see this side of vara. maybe they just complimented each other's humor well. but she was certain no one made her laugh as much..well,adult. takara was a goof and was a tough act to follow. mariko wiggles her finger at vara and winks. "its basically the...i dont know any male porn stars that arent supposedly creeps. " mariko says,slowing as she speaks. she could name three and all seemed to have problems. mariko slips her bare foot on top of vara's and leans on the stove. her kitchen was rather small but it worked for her. she used the oven and the microwave. that was about it. "yeah. i should move somewhere closer to everyone. but i dont know. its home here,you know?" she tells her girlfriend with a little shrug. erica could take or leave japan,really. but mariko loved coming back every now and again. she liked the throng that was osaka. mariko lit up at the thought of being with vara for at least two weeks. her joy was very visible on her face as mariko was blessed with a face that was far from expressionless. mariko takes vara's hands and tugs her towards the room. "we cant make you a liar to customs! that is a felony and you're too pretty for prison. do you know what they do to girls like you in prison?! i'll show you,but it wont be this fun. " mariko giggles and leads vara upstairs to her room. the delivery long forgotten.
upstairs was slightly more lived in than the downstairs portions. there were framed flyers from most the shows mariko played. so at leat one side of the hall to the room was covered. mariko inhaled slightly before opening the door to her room. the room had bed instead of the usual futon. mariko liked swinging her legs off the bed and onto the floor. she didnt like having to climb up off the floor to go pee in the middle of the night. (a big plus when drunk) she had two nightstands,but only one small lamp. a ceiling fan slightly ticks as it operates. "well,heres the old workbench as ted always says." mariko announces in a screechy housewife voice

it may have been hypocritical,but mariko saw male porn stars as skeezy. she wasnt about to search out the kind and decent ones. they,as a whole needed to find as better poster man than ron jeremy. mariko sighs and nods slightly to vara. she was mostly right. for the time they lived together,she came to love italy. it may have just been the company,but it did feel like home and not just a place she was staying. having vara here made home feel more homey as well. being alone was nice at times,but having another person just made things feel alive. mariko had considered getting a pet,but if the pet went the way of the plants she tried growing...yikes.
in her room,mariko laughs and nods at vara and pretends to snap a rubber glove onto her hand. "yes,ma'am. i have to make sure you arent smuggling any contraband into the country. we take a strong stance against such things." she tells vara firmly. she pats vara's arms and legs while laughing as no officer ever should. mariko looks at her nightstands and frowns. she couldnt live without them. " where am i going to prop my phone while i sleep? i like music while i sleep." she frowns dramatically. but her dramatics are short lived. vara's tummy was out and mariko wasnt thinking about end tables. mariko kneels on her floor and kisses vara's stomach. " i will start the contraband search here. do you know much cocaine can fit in the human belly button?!" she giggles and lightly kisses around vara's belly button.

"yeah. me either. furniture isnt all i'm lacking." mariko replies sadly. between not being on tour and not generally leaving the house, cheap alcohol was the only mind altering substance to be found in mariko's home. more than likely for the entire duration, they would just have to be classy drunks. "ooh,i like that game." mariko says softly and starts at the inside of vara's knees immediately starts blushing a little. "i am terrible at it. on either side of the equation." she couldnt exactly peg down as to why. she chalked it up to some anxiety thing. with the furniture,mariko smiles at vara. "are you going to move the furniture? i cant be so butch that i build AND move the furniture. people will start talking. "mariko giggles and gently squeezes vara's biceps to test for furniture moving strength. she gives a little nod as to say vara could easily do it. while kissing vara's stomach,mariko could feel the slightest twitching. it was adorable to mariko. vara always seemed so together and calm,but the fact she was ticklish just thoroughly amused mariko. she would have to remember that for later. she closes her eyes and enjoys vara's hands in her hair,it was heavenly. mariko hops on the bed and lays on her side to face vara. " i love you too,vara. thank you so much for coming here. " mariko says softly and uses her fingertips to caress vara's arm.

"Only all day?" Mariko says with a little pout. " I thought you missed me? Are we going to quietly read the paper during the night?" She grins to vara. She was already envisioning what their time was going to entail. Needless to say, she was excited. Later in the week she may call on juro to see if he could get them anything. They needed something to do when recharging, right? Mariko blushes deeper at being called adorable by vara. " now you're drawing attention to it! " she uses the exclamation to push through and reach the mid point of vara's thighs. Maybe it was being in her own home that made this feel far more intense to her nerves. It wasn't like she had any issue going at it with vara anywhere. She vividly remembered a club once. Mariko smiles when vara still sticks to her guns about not doing any manual labour. Mariko loved her, so it came across as elegant. " if I move them, I'm watching the game and drinking a beer. I don't wanna hear any lip either." Mariko tells vara in a Brooklyn accent. She was fairly good at it too. She would try to move the things later. She wanted to please vara in anything she asked. Some things just never changed.
Mariko studies vara's face after her eyes closed. Vara was simply the most beautiful person Mariko had ever known. Mariko barely kisses the bottom lip of vara before speaking. " it was the best,vara." Mariko sighs in a longing way. "I will have a hell of a time topping it. I guess i can hide in your suitcase and follow home." She says,half joking.

mariko nods along with vara and the timneline she lays out."mm mm." she agrees. "we'll need to get some energy drinks and some sports drinks delivered as well. we must stay hydrated. two weeks is a lot of sex." mariko says very seriously. the virus had her out of practice,so she had concerns her lust would make promises her body could not keep. "i dont know!" mairko admits in a higher pitched voice than normal. they had been apart for so long that it felt one part scary and one part thrilling. it felt almost like getting a do over of her first time. mariko inched ever higher,but still stopped very short. mariko stops and lets her mouth fall open at vara asking about sports. she expected many thing from vara,but being called on sports? that was no where near the list." um... uh... balls!" mariko exclaims. when in doubt,double entendre. she was busted. she knew nothing of sports. "i will hold you to that." mariko warns vara. while she loves japan,she really longed for the life they had in italy. in fact,she had thought about how to bring that up since vara arrived. "we are jet setting stars,we can have homes on two continents."

mariko looks at the furniture and back to vara. "i guess we'll just have to keep on pushing through. it will be tough,but it will truly be a labor of love." mariko giggles back to vara. she performs a few stretches in anticipation. its a wise move. either sex or moving furniture can cause a pulled muscle. mariko wasnt going to go to the doctor because she was moving a lamp and hurt herself. vara covering her mouth was adorable to mariko. vara didnt get credit for being as adorable as she was. mariko didnt mind vara laughing at her. if there was one person mariko was utterly comfortable around,it was vara. she could be vulnerable around vara and know it wouldnt be used against her later. mariko could take being the one to build and move furniture,but she wasnt about to follow sports. the clothes were ugly and the people into it seemed ugly too. of course,the natural enemy of the musician should be the athlete. nobody was ever called a sports nerd,but band nerd? that was definitely a label. "oh?" mariko says in response to vara being onboard with them living together again. she tries to remain as cool and collected as her first response,but quickly this becomes her pouncing on top of vara. " this is going to be great! we'll have a cute house and have like,real stuff in it. i wont have to cry when you leave japan, we'll be amazing and be the it couple in town." mariko looks down at vara and smiles brightly. "i love you so much,vara gallo." she says in complete contentment. particulars could be hammered out later. they were on their way back to where they should be.

once the initial issues about vara returning were hammered out,mariko was ready to move right back in together. but maybe neither one wanted to push things too quickly in that direction. but now? it was happening and mariko could not be happier. she studies vara's face for a moment before speaking. "ooh,some place new.." mariko says slowly in thought. she had never been to greece and was now raring to go. she would honestly go anywhere if vara suggested it. podunk idaho? mariko could learn to love potatoes as far as the eye could see. she could even wear a side ponytail like the girl in napoleon dynamite. those were the only things mariko knew about idaho. "vara!" mariko says while blushing at vara's compliment. "you are too beautiful when you are sweet...oh! we'd live right on the ocean!" mariko squeals,now shaking vara on the bed by pushing on her shoulders and letting the bed bounce her. "i cannot wait to look out a window and see your elegant silhouette against the sea." mariko says closing her eyes and imagining it. she had seen pictures of greece it was just drop dead gorgeous. perfect for the two of them. "i would,vara. i would bawl like a baby." mariko says honestly. " i have to have you around,look what i turn into without you!" mariko giggles and gestures down stairs at the bare house. mariko leans down and kisses vara intently and licks her lips afterwards. "i love you so much. but not not enough to take you last name. two names ending in o..." mariko says before saying "mariko gallo." quickly to the point where it sounds like one word.

"i would be terribly offended if we didnt live in one of those white stone houses. " mariko says flatly. while she was sure wherever they found would be beautiful,but if they lived in greece,mariko wanted to live where it looked like greece on tv. she did wonder what the homes looked like inside. she was most likely wrong,but mariko was envisioning the cantina from star wars. mariko laughs devilishly when vara warns her about the bed and keeps bouncing her with every word. "oh its fine. if we break the bed we could use...." mariko's bounces slow to a stop as she realizes there is no backup furniture. "my tiny love seat?" she suggests with a suspicious voice. where there was a will,there was a way. so they could certainly make use of the small sofa,but there was no need to make life more difficult. vara's description of their potential life in greece matched mariko's exactly. "quarantine be damned,i want to go right now. i want to carry a basket of veggies neither of us know how to use home on a little scooter." she dreamily says to vara before slowly leaning down to touch their foreheads together. they were going to make a cute little old couple later in life. mariko adjusts herself on top of vara as they kiss. "you'll have to be around to save these poor innocent buildings from my clutches. you are so much more fun to clutch." mariko giggles and grabs vara's sides playfully. "i think we'll have to keep our own names. vara kobayashi doesnt have a good ring to it. not as bad as mariko gallo. but..." mariko ends with a shrug.

mariko cracks up at the idea of a huge tudor right in the middle of a greek street. it would be absurd and she kinda liked the idea..for other people. she actually wasnt too fond of those style homes anyway. they reminded her of an 80's movie neighborhood where james spader would live..and probably run over kids in a bmw. "it would be such an eyesore! " she giggles warmly at the mental picture. "i know i've seen pictures of the acropolis and there looks to be apartment buildings around it." mariko loathed apartments. she would rather live in a hovel than have to worry about their neighbor causing a fire on a shared wall. this was a major concern to mariko. she couldnt agree more with vara and the assessment of the lack of sex venues in the house. the nightstands would probably topple over with too much enthusiasm. still,mariko waves her hand as if to brush those concerns away. " i have a wonderful tub that almost makes up for the rest." she suggests proudly. her bathtub was more like a very small pool and could easily accommodate the pair of them. as vara speaks,mariko closes her eyes and dreams of the future until vara gets to the cooking part. mariko's eyes open slowly in surprise as neither of them could cook. "if it would make you happy,then i will cook you a fish. i know swordfish doesnt have tiny bones,i'll make that." mariko announces with a determined nod of her head. "lets see,i'll be cooking,putting furniture together AND moving it. jeez,you werent kidding about that princess title,were you?" mariko says flatly but with the corners of her mouth giving away the smile she was trying to hold back. "i reserve the right to loudly talk about your physical features while chortling in the most disgusting manner when i play...dominoes? with old men from the neighborhood. i still dont know i got to the butch one!" mariko wails and rolls off vara to lay beside her. "i...dont really know." mariko admits. "the other day i was saying mariko gallo in the mirror and it struck me as something that can never come to fruition." mariko says slowly. it was vara's name she was disparaging,but she felt she had a point. mariko gallo just didnt work. as for the other,mariko swore she would never get married again. not after the disaster her first marriage was. she never wanted to be tied to someone in that way ever again. it would be a lie to say the thought never crossed her mind with vara. mariko deflects instead. "an indecent one. " she giggles and takes her top off. "now you'll have to answer the door. i am topless." in reality, her bra covered far more than any bikini top did.

"Oh my God, could you imagine?!" Mariko says in awe at vara's pondering of apartment cost with such a view. " it's 45,000 euro a month. my sink does triple duty as a sink, bathtub and toilet. Rats do the conga across my countertop every hour ,on the hour. My walls are made of stale bread. But holy shit, look out my window...which is just old Tupperware melted together." Mariko say while pretending to open a curtain to a gorgeous view of something so iconic. Mariko assumed all apartments were run by slumlords. Mariko takes both of vara's hand and nods slowly. " you know how the rest of my place kind of sucks? Well, my tub is the total opposite. It overlooks the garden,it's polished stone,there's steps to get into it..." Mariko gushes over one of the few items she splurged on. She loved baths and it more than paid for itself after a long your. She could already picture herself and vara in the tub. And it wasn't wholesome. " I worked at a fish market. I didn't like,touch them or anything. But i saw them being cleaned. Swordfish have bones, but they're big. Sort of like a cartoon steak." Mariko explains in a rare voyage into her pre-fame days. Understandably,she preferred people to think she just appeared fully formed in the music business. Mariko giggles when vara replies to her asking just what vara brought in exchange for all the stuff Mariko would be doing. "Well... You are correct on all counts. You are so beautiful that i nearly lose my balance whenever i see you. And it does thrill me to know people lust over the person who loves me so dearly. Yeah. This exchange could work." Mariko nods as if she's a dad who just haggled a great price on a lawnmower. She also knew that vara respected her deeply,so Mariko had no issue falling into that role. Plus,currently vara WAS the working musician of the couple. Mariko shakes her head far too rapidly to be serious before answering in a startled voice. " no! I don't even have a diary. I wrote it maybe 3 times on a grocery list! Maybe 4 times." She says in a tone that suggests this is absurd, but her blushing says she may have thought about it. While Mariko could never see herself with anyone other than vara,their past proved this probably was the case, marriage felt too domesticated for them. Besides,vara couldn't be proposed to on a bed. They weren't fry cooks at some greasy spoon. Mariko crosses her arms,glancing down to ensure the girls are at optimum position and looks at vara with a sly look. " you'd force me to open the door even if i was searching for contraband?!" Mariko asks curiously while caressing vara's stomach softly. While she more than wanted vara, it felt odd to just go at it. But now that some laughs were had,things felt like vara never was stranded in Italy. Also,Mariko fully expected at least one of them to be half dressed at the door to accept the food.