A/N: I don't own Love Live School Idol Project.
"This outfit is stupid. Do I really have to wear this?"
Being the only one close enough to hear the muttered complaint, Honoka looked up to find Maki struggling with her outfit over by one of the mirrors of the café storeroom Muse had appropriated as a changing room. She'd only just about heard the redhead; Nico was busy lecturing Rin, Hanayo and anyone else she could get to listen on how to best project their persona on stage through the art of posing.
She'd been focusing on Maki to avoid Nico's lecture and so had heard every word the pianist said.
The redhead's words no doubt stemmed from frustration; her apron was crooked and the sashes were tied in messy knots in the wrong places. Her headpiece lay forgotten on the floor by her feet.
Taking the opportunity to escape Nico before her senior could start lecturing her too, Honoka traipsed over to the struggling pianist. "Need some help, Maki-chan?"
Maki seemed to jump half a foot in the air. "What? Oh Honoka, don't sneak up on people like that! It's rude!"
Honoka held her hands out, a gesture intended to placate the girl, or at the least put some distance between them if she got too angry. "Sorry, sorry, I just noticed you were struggling, that's all."
She'd struggled the first time she'd put on the maid uniform too, back when she'd volunteered to help in the café for a bit earlier in the week. But now, a veteran of several days experience, she knew everything there was to know about being a maid, including how to put the outfit on properly.
For a moment, it looked like Maki was going to tell her to leave her alone, but she relented and mumbled something Honoka couldn't catch.
"Sorry?"
"I was just saying… do we really have to wear this?" Maki asked, picking at the edge of her apron with thumb and forefinger like it was something distasteful.
Honoka shrugged. "It's Kotori-chan's song. I guess we have to do what she wants."
"But…" Maki sighed and her shoulders drooped a little. "Well, if we must, we must. But I… uh… could you...?"
"Help you?" Honoka finished.
Maki flushed and simply nodded her head in answer. "No problem, Maki-chan. I'll sort you out in a jiffy. Just stand there."
Dropping to one knee to be on eye level with the problematic sashes, Honoka tugged with varying degrees of success at the knots Maki had tied. How she had got the sashes so tightly knotted and tangled was anyone's guess. It took over a minute's coaxing to finally untie the apron completely. Getting to her feet, Honoka looked Maki over in the only floor length mirror in the room and adjusted the apron until it was straight, only then returning her attention to the sashes to tie them up properly. She met Maki's eyes through the mirror and smiled at her. The pianist looked away.
"There," Honoka said, tying up the sashes into a pretty bow. "Turn around."
Silently, Maki complied. Honoka briefly assessed her from head to toe and found her satisfactory with one exception. Bending down again, she picked up Maki's hairband and gently placed it on Maki's head, making minute adjustments here and there until everything was perfect.
"There we go. You look very cute Maki-chan."
Maki folded her arms across her chest and frowned but there was no hiding the hint of a flush on her cheeks.