"I'm leaving now" Mai called out, picking up her bag from under the desk.
"Mai, make some tea before you leave" Naru ordered, voice muffled though the closed door.
With a put-upon sigh Mai shuffled into the small kitchenette "Hai Hai" she grumbled, pouting as she put the water on to boil. 'Stupid workaholic Narcissist, needing his caffeine fix' she cursed her employer.
"Mai?" she heard Lin calling out her name. Curious she made sure the tea was safe before going to check on the elder man.
"Yes Lin?" she pocked her head around his officer door. Despite them using fist names earlier in the day, she found it weird so had stuck to his surname, just with the suffix dropped. Lin didn't seem to mind her doing it, so she figured it was safe.
"Is there anything I need to bring to dinner tonight?" He asked her, ceasing his typing for the moment.
"Ummm" Mai trailed off, her right hand coming to cup her chin, lost in thought. Snapping her fingers when she thought of something.
"Pens. I don't have any none washable ink pens" she told him, tilting her head slightly as she smiled.
A small smile tugged at Lin's lips "I mean food or drink wise Mai, but I will bring the pens" he told her amused.
Mai flushed at the misunderstanding, feeling a little stupid she had missed that in the question.
"Oh, no. Once Naru's tea is done, I'm going to the shops to get a few groceries. Everything thing else is catered for" Mai rushed to tell him, taking a step back, holding her hands up and shaking her head.
"Alright" Lin nodded, smiling a little wider. Thankfully the kettle began its incessant whistling, pulling Mai back into the kitchen, saving her from further embarrassment.
Now back in the kitchen, Mai made quick work preparing Naru's tea so his specifications before gingerly walking into his office, making an effort not to spill anything on the way.
Once the cup had been carefully deposited onto the coaster upon her bosses' desk, she stepped back, crossing her arms across her chest in a huff. Tapping her foot impatiently, wanting her long awaited thank you.
"What?" Naru asked sounding a little peeved, looking over the paper work littering his desk.
"A thank you would be nice" she ground out.
"And I would like some peace and quiet but your still here so I guess neither of us get what we want" he told her calmly, picking one of the documents.
"Why you!" Mai stomped her foot, fists clenched as her side. Just as she went to lecture him on manners, she caught sight of the time and gasped.
"Gotta go, see you Naru" she waved, running out his office, picking up her neglected bag.
"Bye" she yelled, slamming the door behind her as he ran down the stairs into the street. Leaving an amused Lin and an exasperated Naru.
An hour and a half later Mai stumbled through her front door, arms over loaded with shopping bags.
"I sure got a good haul today" she chirped happily, putting the bags onto the floor and rolling her shoulders. There had been a lot of sales and offers on at the supermarket today so she managed to get all the ingredients needed at half price or lower.
Taking a moment to look around her apartment, she realised she would need to tidy up a little before she even started on dinner. 'I can do this!' she balled her hand into a fist, cheering herself on, slipping her shoes off and popping on some slippers.
With renewed energy, she picked up her shopping and made her way through living room and into her small but modest kitchen, dumping the bags on to her dining room table. Once satisfied they wouldn't fall off, she wandered back into her living room and picked up the few text books she had left lying around in there. Fluffing the pillows as she went.
Mai wasn't a messy person by nature but neither was she an organised one. It was more a case of leaving things where she had been working on them or placing them on a shelf, out of the way of her feet but in direct line if sight so she wouldn't forget it. Personally, she thought it gave the apartment more a of homely feel, like someone lived there and kept the place looked after. Rather than the gaudy images you see in home mags. Places you would be too scared to stand in let alone live.
Despite that, she didn't want to give Lin the wrong impression. She livid modestly and knew he was aware she was on orphan, so she didn't want him coming here thinking she couldn't look after herself. It helped she was living in a semi nice neighbourhood as it made her feel proud to be able to live there. She wanted to show that pride as well as keep the homely feel to it and she hoped her apartment reflected that.
Done with the living toom she then moved to the bathroom and straightened everything in there and put a fresh roll of toilet paper and towels in before moving onto the bedroom. Picking up discarded cloths and moving some items around. She thought of putting a wash on but realised she would need them to be labelled, so left them as a little pile on her head to be done first.
Taking once last run through of the house, checking things were in the correct places. Mai began to feel excited about what they were doing. She hadn't cooked for someone in a really long time. The last time must have been about two or three years ago when she cooked a celebratory dinner for Michiru and Keiko when they graduated high school and got into their preferred universities.
She smiled a little sadly at the thought. Both her friends had moved away to another district to follow their dreams. Michiru working on her dream of becoming a highly sort after fashion designer while Keiko worked on becoming a high-end patisserie. She shook her head in an effort to snap out of it.
'I may not see them as often as I use to, but that doesn't mean I love them any less' she told herself sternly. Just because they didn't see each other face to face didn't mean their friendship had crumpled. They talked weekly by skype and other media outlets. In fact, she was planning to go visit them during the Christmas break.
"Come on Mai, pull yourself together" slapping her cheeks to motivate herself "you're going to cook a kick ass dinner for Lin so stop being weighed down by unnecessary things"
Feeling fired up once more, she marched into the kitchen with purpose and began unpacking the bags. Separating the shopping into three parts, sides, main and dessert. The sides consisted of handmade Potstickers, a tradition Chinese dumplings and plate of Chicken Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce. For the main she was doing a traditional Chinese Hot and Sour Soup. To finish she was making a Durian Ice Cream for dessert.
She hoped Lin liked the dishes. She wanted to do something that would remind him of home since she knew he wouldn't find many Chinese foods around here, to remember home with. She prayed they held the same worth his helping her did. She had really gone out of her way to find the correct ingredients as well as an old recipe her mother her gave her before passing. Now all that was left was the assembling. Glancing at the time she saw she had wasted a lot of it tiding the house, so she rolled up her sleeves, brought out all the utensils she would need and cracked on.
An hour and a half flew by with Mai cooking, making use of all her equipment and ingredients. Cleaning up along the way.
Ding Dong Mai head snapped up at the noise, panicked eyes searching out the clock. 'Oh my god I'm late! How can I be late?! For once Kami- Sama can you make me on time for something' She wailed internally, placing her knife down on the chopping board and rushed to answer the door.
Two steps from the door, in true Mai fashion she tripped over her own foot and slammed into the door with a shriek.
"Mai? Are you okay?" Lin's calm and collected voice floated through the door. Mai flushed in mortification 'Why is this my life' she internally wept, throwing open the door, revealing her blushing dishevelled self to the immaculately dressed Chinese man.
"Hi Lin" she greeted merrily, smiling brightly at the man, playing off her fall as if nothing had happened "come on in" she invited, stepping out of the way. Hoping if she didn't address the issue then Lin would ignore her spaz attack.
It seems the gods were being merciful on her today, considering how the Chinese man indulged her whim.
"Thank you" he nodded politely, gingerly stepping to the small doorway. Trying to keep his judgment to himself.
He was in no way a snob, but he wasn't hopeful of what state he would find her living arrangements in. So far, he had to say he was subsequently impressed by the quality of the site she lived on as well as the district. It was small but a modest apartment, looking clean and in health, no signs of water damage or electrical faults by the look of it. A vast improvement from the image he had conjured up when he thought of her home.
It wasn't a lavish apartment like he was used to but neither was it a poor man's hovel, if he had to guess he would think it was a little out her price range, but then he didn't know if she got a deal on it, a kinda you scratch my back I scratch yours set up. He wanted to ask how she could afford it but the words refused to form, his gentlemanly behaviour preventing him. It was impolite and improper to ask such a privet and inappropriate question. He guessed it was one of things he would have to find out with time.
Seeing him looking around her home Mai closed the door and spread her arms open wide, beaming childishly at the man in front of her "Welcome to my humble abode" she grinned.
"Thank you" Lin tipped his head, eyes smiling for her.
"I just need to finish up chopping the veg for the soup and I will be right with you" she told him, skipping to the kitchen "My bedroom is the door on the left" she called over her shoulder, waving her hand in the vague direction down her hall before vanishing into another room.
Lin slowly made his way in the direction she pointed in, glancing at a few of the pictures that decorated the wall. Most of them were either period paintings – Something he hadn't expected to find here- and colourful plants and landscapes – exactly what he'd expected of the young women.
Soon he came across a standard brown door with her name carved in cursive script, painted gold on top of a white plaque mounted to the door. Surrounding her name were some Sakura blossoms, seemingly dancing beside her name. Looking a little closer he could see it had been freshly painted, making the colours striking and vibrant. The engraving looked old but well kept. It was obvious who ever made this put a lot of time and effort into the plaque and had been maintained with the up most care since.
Knowing he couldn't stay loitering in the hallway much longer he reluctantly opened the door to her room. It felt wrong to be doing this, like he was being rude and intrusive. Logically he knew he was invited in and was welcome in her space, but bedrooms were a private matter, an oasis from others and the worlds troubles. It had been drilled into him about propriety and manners his whole life, to suddenly go against them was rather unsettling.
Stiffly he walked into the room, lost on what to do. Now he was in here, should he open the draws and start pulling clothes out? Or was he just meant to wait for her? Shuffling awkwardly, he moved to stand in the middle of the room, absentmindedly noting how mature the room was during his inner panic.
He had assumed her room would be messy and disorganised. A mash of bright colours that would give you a headache at first glance. However, he was pleasantly surprised to see that her room mostly consisted of white walls, browns and silvers for the furniture and splashes of rich vibrant colours almost bursting like fireworks across the walls.
He'd worried he would have to help do some tidying before they even got to the main purpose he came for. It seemed he had judged her too hastily, from what he could see, the only thing that could be called a mess was the small pile of clothes on the bed, but even then, it was only three or four items, not something usually classed as a mess in itself.
He shifted his weight when his eyes fell on her wardrobe doors, hands twitching at his side. He didn't feel comfortable just standing here on his own, there was no way he was touching any of her property without her watchful eye and say so. It was safer that way, didn't give her the chances to accuse him of something 'not that she would' he internally snorted. Mai was one of the kindest, most empathetic people he had had the pleasure of meeting, if anyone would be bringing him up on charges it would be the neighbours who had watched him walk in to a young woman's home.
That's how Mai found him ten minutes later, awkwardly standing in the middle of her room, looking around blankly. The only reason she knew he was feeling awkward was the feeling he gave off, the slight stiffness in his stance, the rigidness in his back. She had seen that once before when she'd woken up after the Christmas case. She got the same feeling then as she does now, like he wanted to be there but didn't know what to do with himself.
"Shall we get started then" Mai clapped, startling her fellow assistant.
Lin jumped slightly at the sound, ruthlessly beating down his embarrassed blush, praying the teen hadn't noticed his reaction. Upon seeing the gleeful look she was directing at him, he knew his prayer had gone unanswered.
Giving her a filthy look, he pretended as if the last minute hadn't happened and nodded his head, amusing the adolescent.
"So where should we start?" she asked, stepping into the room fully.
"We'll start with jackets since they are one of the first things people see" he advised, stepping out the way so she could find them.
"Okie dokie" she chirped, moving to open the cubored to the left of her, before directing him to open the one beside him, also opening a drawer while he did so.
"Why do you have so many clothes?" Lin asked perplexed, opening the left-hand side of the closest to reveal dresses and skirts this time. If this was the jackets, he was dreading what the rest were like.
"Well, I buy all my clothes either when a big sale comes around or at a charity shop. Given how hard it is to find deceit clothing in a charity shop and shops only have one big sale a year where I can afford to get something, I bulk buy" she told him, opening a draw to reveal jeans.
"Plus, with the job we have I figured it was better to have too many clothes then not enough" she added thoughtfully.
"And how did you come to that conclusion?" Lin grumbled good naturedly, mentally tallying up how many days and pens he would need to complete this job.
Mai gave him a funny look "In case you haven't noticed Lin, I am very accident prone and our job gets kinda messy. I figured in the year I was going to lose a lot of clothes either by becoming to blood stained and tatty to be seen out in public in, or they would be cut off by a paramedic"
Lin nodded in understanding, her reasoning made sense. He was almost surprised she had thought of that on her own.
"Hey, I know that look" Mai pointed at his face, a playful air about her "that's the face you get when you can't believe I've said something smart" she puffed her cheeks out in fond annoyance.
"My apologise Mai" Lin smirked "I will be sure to think better of you in the future" he teased her, chuckling lightly when she failed to supress a smile.
"I'd rather you not thanks" she grinned "I rather like the surprised looks I get to see on yours and Naru's face's when I'm intelligent for once. It keeps you on your toes" she winked giggling to herself as she went back to carefully emptying her draws. Making his eyebrow climb further and further up his forehead. He'd said jackets, so why was she opening them all?
"What are you doing?" he asked, slightly worried as to how much she expected them to do in a night.
"What do you mean?" she frowned, stumped on what could be confusing him. He waved a hand at the cloths she already had piled.
"Oh!" she giggled to herself "Since were taking the clothes out, I figured I might as well do a bit of moving around. I'm going to sort my cloths out by season, put the winters that fit in draws into draws and hang up what I can of summer, that way I'm not digging around all the time trying to find something cool or warm, I will just know where it is" she shrugged, he may not agree with her thought process but it made perfect sense to her.
All the taller man did was nod in understanding before beginning to grab the jackets out the wardrobe and lay them out onto the bed. Leaving her to do her sorting in peace, every now and then answering a question she may have or offering his own two sense to a story she would tell, enjoying the warm atmosphere they created.
"So, are you just putting what the main colour is on the jackets or are you putting every colour on the jacket?" she quizzed, coming up behind him to see how it was going.
"For the ones with too many colours, I put the three main ones." He showed her what he meant by picking up an example "if a jacket only has one to four colours, I write them all down in the order they come in" he picked up another and showed her the label. "that way you're not constricted by trying to match to one colour, you actually get to mix and match colours like you want to" he explained, looking at her from the corner of his eye.
"Oh, that's brilliant" she squealed, body practically vibrating with excitement and happiness.
Lin smiled indulgently, enjoying her moments of childish glee, it was refreshing to spend time with someone who found pleasure and enjoyment in the smallest of things.
Half way through labelling her jackets there was a knock at the door, allowing reality to pierce the bubble they had created. At the sound, Mai immediately dropped what she was holding and trotted up to open the door, an air of curiosity about her.
"Hello dearie" and elderly lady's voice filtered through the thin walls as Mai opened the door. Lin tipped his head in the direction of the door, carrying on with his work, lending half an ear in case she needed help.
"Hi Mrs Sato" Mai greeted jovially "How can I help you?" she questioned, tipping her head to the side slightly.
"I just want to come and check on you" Mrs Sato told the then warmly, reaching out her hand and holding Mai's "You youngsters these days need to be more careful" she cautioned, giving her hand a squeeze.
"Oh, I'm all right. I'm super-duper careful, especially since I'm such a cluts" she laughed, wrapping her other hand around the frail one in her hold.
"Well I saw an older gentleman in black knocking on your door earlier so I just wanted to make sure" The lady said, obviously relived as her hold slackened from its death grip.
"Oh" Mai said in realisation, eyes widening, a blush lighting up her cheeks "I'm very sorry, I should have warned you. That would have been my friend Lin. I've recently discovered that I'm colour blind so he's here to help me label my clothes" she explained, putting the elderly grandmother at ease.
"Ah, I see" she nodded in understanding "I'm glad to hear this is the case" she smiled warmly at the embarrassed teen in front of her. "I am sorry I disturbed your work".
"Oh no, not at all" Mai waved off with a laugh "I'm very happy to hear you were worried for me" her eyes twinkled "given how you couldn't stand me when we first met" she teased.
"Ah, you were quite the rumbustious child, always crashing into walls and making loud noises" Mrs Sato remembered fondly "You haven't changed much" she smirked playfully.
"No" Mai laughed with her "I imagine I haven't"
"It was all that wonderful cooking you would drop by the house every day on the way to school that finally warmed me up to you" She chuckled, shaking her head at the women before her. She was such a strange but kind child and it was heart-warming to see that hadn't changed as she aged.
"I always knew it was my cooking that did you in" Mai winked, "Speaking of, I've made Chinese tonight, would you like me to drop some over in about an hour or so for you and your husband?" she asked, stepping out of her door, linking her arms through the women who had become a grandmother to her and began to walk her back to her own flat.
"Oh, would you?" Sato grinned, smile widening "It has been a while since we sampled your Chinese dishes"
Mai laughed happily "Then I shall be sure to save you a big helping" she detangled them, having reached next doors door.
"You're such a kind and thoughtful girl Mai" Sato gave her cheek a light pat, smiling kindly.
"It's the least I can do for you. After all, you taught me how to do my house work properly and manage my books, without you I'd probably be on the streets" Mai reminisced, a grateful look on her face.
"Nonsense" Sato waved off the praise "You're a very smart girl, you would have worked it out without a nosy grandmother barging her way in"
"Well It doesn't matter now. You'd better get back to your husband before he works out he can sneak those sweets you don't allow him to have" Mai told her playfully, watching as she walked towards the door. Wanting to be sure she made it there safely.
The women snorted "If he knows what's good for him, he would have done the dishes" she chuckled, waving at the teen as she entered the house, closing the door behind her.
Mai shook her head at the closed door, that women was a riot. Although she did bring up a good point, she needed to be more aware of what was going on around her and what people would see. She was used to people judging, of making assumptions out of nothing, but she should have thought of how it would affect Lin and his respectability. The last thing she wanted to do was give him a bad name by coming to her house late at night to help her.
Entering her own apartment, she made her way back to Lin, intent on apologising for her naïve outlook on things, for not thinking of how it would look to others.
Upon entering Lin looked up and instantly knew something was wrong. Mai was wearing a look that usually suggested she was troubled and feeling guilty by something.
"What?" he asked softly, making sure to soften his eyes so as not add more to her problems. The last thing he wanted was to scare her off or cause more upset.
Mai shuffled nervously in front of the completed pile, unsure on how to word it. "I'm sorry for asking you to come this late. I didn't think on how it would look to others" she bowed, shame written across her face., eyes firmly fixed on the ground.
She heard movement from the other side of the room and assumed it was Lin getting up to lecture her on being aware of her surroundings again, so she was very surprised when she felt a feather light touch on her shoulder, dragging her upright and into a soft hug. It was awkward and uncomfortable but it was the best god damn hug she had ever received. She found herself missing it when he pulled away.
"I was already aware of all that you are worrying about, but was unconcerned because their views hold no importance to me. Just being able to help you in something was enough of a reason to disregard what other people might say" he reassured, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, face relaxed an open.
At his acknowledgment to her problem and reassurance that it wasn't, Mai felt tears well in her eyes "Thank you" she croaked, rubbing pathetically at her eyes, a broken laugh falling from her lips. "Now" she said once she had cheered up "let's get back to work" she cheered, pulling a small laugh from the stoic man in front of her.
"Naru will never believe that you can be happy about getting back to work" he smirked already moving back to the pile he was sorting.
Mai laughed again, this time stronger and more heart felt, making her expressive chocolate eyes twinkle.
They worked a few more minutes in a comfortable silence before they were disturbed again, this time by a timer going off.
"That will be dinner. Do you want to eat now or would you like to carry on?" Mai offered moving to a standing position having been kneeling beside her bed. Lin thought about it for a moment, finishing the article of clothing he was on.
"I think we've worked up enough of an appetite to eat now, don't you?" Lin side eyed her, retuning the piece of clothing to its correct draw.
Mai nodded, patting at her stomach hungrily "I'll go start dishing up, coming join me in the kitchen when you're done" she told him, waiting until he nodded and left to do as she said.
Lin used the remaining minuets to put the completed clothing back into their rightful places, placed the pen with the lid firmly shut upon the bedside cubored and followed her out into the kitchen, being greeted by the smell of home.
"Something smells good" he rumbled in a smooth baritone, voice slightly rough as memories assaulted him, stirred up by the welcoming scent.
"Could you set the table for me please? The chopsticks are in the draw there" she nodded towards the draw "the mats are already on the table".
Feeling a little out of place, he moved to do as she asked, grateful for the activity, he didn't want a repeat of earlier where he just stood about uselessly. Once done he moved back into the kitchen in time for her to pass him a tray with a large teapot and two cups "Carry that in" she told him, turning around to pick up her own that held an array of food.
Leading the way, he made his way back to the dining table and waited of to the side, the last thing he wanted was be in the way and put this down when she might not want it to be. Thankfully he wasn't waiting long because Mai dished out the bowls quickly before moving on to take the cups, poured out a tea each and put it between them. Soon the tray was taken out of his hand and he was directed to sit at the place set, Mai moving to sit opposite him.
Now that he could see the food she was carrying, he felt his eyes widen significantly at the sight before him. He knew he could smell them but he thought Mai had done the Japanese equivalent to the Chinese Potstickers. He felt his mouth water at the sight of his home food, feeling a vague pang of homesickness as he took in a deep breath.
"Qǐng xiǎngshòu" Mai told him softly in Chinese, no trace of an accent or ad perfect pronunciation.
Lin barley heard her, not even noticing she had spoken to him in his native tongue, instead he stuck right in, offering a silent prayer that this tasted as good as it smelt, hoping against all hope her tea making skills equated to wonderful cooking skills also.
Lin moaned around the first mouthful. Body relaxing in a way she hadn't seen it do before. As if the tension he carried across his broad shoulders vanished into thin air. It was an amazing look on him, she found it made him look younger, now that the tension around his eyes didn't age him.
"This taste's exactly how my mother makes it back home in China. She would make it us after a hard day learning the practising's of an Omnyoji" He reminisced fondly, picking up one of the spring rolls and lightly dipping it in the peanut sauce, closing his eyes as he enjoyed the memories it created.
"How did you come across an authentic recipe" he asked her in wonder, trying some of the soup.
"My mother. She originated from China and brought a lot of the family recipes with her. When she passed, she gave them all to me" she smiled down at the dinner she had prepared, blinking away the tears that came with the thought of her mother.
"Well I think you should take culinary at the local university" he told her as soon as he finished chewing. A childish glee shining brightly in his eyes "because this is sensational" he was curious to know more about her Chinese roots but figured now wasn't the right time to bring it up.
"Actually, I'm already taking that class" she told him shifting uncomfortably.
"I didn't know you were attending university" he said surprised "I know you mentioned school but I thought you meant during high school" he explained.
"No" Mai giggled" I had to wear a uniform for high school" she reminded "Its Uni I can wear my own clothes" she filled him in.
"Well I'm sorry I assumed you hadn't gone down the education route "he apologised.
"Nah its fine" she waved off "I didn't make a big song and dance over it, so unless you were watching me closely you wouldn't have known"
"Still" he said looking contrite "I should have made the effort to find out what you planned to do in the future" he insisted guiltily. Some many people made assumptions about Mai based on her career choice as it was. He hated knowing he had fallen into that category too.
"Well then I suppose I should tell you I'm actually taking four majors." She grinned, pleased she had managed to surprise him one again. "I know, it's a lot and not normally allowed but with my test scores they agreed to give me a trial run for the year to see how I will cope. So far, I'm excelling and am in the top two of all my classes, so for now I can continue with what I'm doing."
"W-what are you studying" he stuttered, dropping his chop sticks, officially losing his composure. eyes widening in shock as his mouth fell open.
"Culinary, Parapsychology, RE and sociology" she listed of on her fingers "I'm currently working towards doctrines in them" she told him "once they're done I plan to carry on and further my knowledge in Chinese as well as take a few more languages like Latin." She carried on thoughtfully.
"What university are you studying at?" he asked curiously, finding his composure again.
"University of Tokyo" she told him around a mouthful of food.
"How on earth did you get in there?" He exclaimed once again losing his composure, this time his eye bugged out of his head, an embarrassed flush working its way across his pale cheeks at the unsightly display he was currently giving.
That school was an ivy league school and was notorious for its strict rules who may enter and who may not. The university – Todai as it is known to the locals – was not somewhere he would have ever expected her to want to go to, never mind gain acceptance.
Mai threw him a dirty look "Did you even read my file Lin?"
He shook his head in denial. It hadn't been his job to check over the hires Oliver made, if there was something he needed to know he would have been told. Or at least that was his logic behind it, in truth he hadn't wanted to pry. He trusted in Noll to make the right decisions.
"Oh. Well I have an IQ of 188 and have an identic memory" "she told him simply, shrugging as if it wasn't a big deal "I know I come across as stupid but that's because I haven't learnt as much as you guys yet. Plus, I'm so accident prone that I trip over thin air, which people kinda use to base my intelligence off" she told him sadly.
"Which is wrong. I know a lot about life, I just choose not to shove it in people's faces" she spat angerly. Taking a deep breath and counting to ten before releasing it again.
"But at least I meet really nice people because of it" she said cheerfully, the dark cloud disappearing replacing it with her bubbly personality once more.
Lin hid a smirk behind another mouthful of food. Noll had been right, she really did go through the three stages. First, she got upset then angry before returning to her sunny disposition again, it was rather endearing to watch.
"Anyway, they had been the ones sending me my classes assignment so when I graduated, I was already on their register, it was rather easy to get in since I never left." She bit into a dumpling, chewed it a few times and swallowed "since I've been with them so long and they expect big things, they have given me a full scholarship, I only have to pay for food and transport" she told him happily, knowing from experience he would be worried how she juggled work, school and finances.
A silence fell over them as Lin digested the information being presented to him, slowly working his way through his soup "If you're so smart, why were you still in high school when we met" he smiled with his eyes for her, trying to show that the question was none judgmental, it was out of pure curiosity.
"I stayed in school because I liked the environment." She shrugged "You have to remember, other than work it was the only time I got to spend time with people." She pointed out, munching on a dumpling
"My school was good to me in that they gave me work well above my grade. I had my first two degrees at fourteen and could have graduated earlier but I chose to stay with my friends who I had known my whole life. I was taught a different curriculum to them but I always had one morning and afternoon class with my friends so I could experience the high school life as the school board put it" she admitted, polishing off the last of her soup.
"Didn't you ever wonder how I was allowed to work so many cases without it impacting on my school work?" she laughed delightedly at being able to still surprise the adult in front of her.
"I admit there were moments I wondered how you got away with it, but after the labyrinth case, I just figured they were very understanding about your…situation" he put delicately, explaining his rather blind-sided view.
"Oh, they were" she nodded, rushing to explain it all to him "but it was more that my grades could afford the time off to work rather then it being an understanding" she picked up her tea and had a sip, relaxing back into her chair, while Lin finished chewing on the last Dumpling.
"I am interested though" Lin thought aloud "What degrees did you get when you were fourteen?"
Mai moved restlessly in her seat, avoiding eye contact as she fidgeted. It made Lin curious and a little worried about what she could be hiding.
"English and Phycology" she admitted in a small voice, head bowed.
Lin felt his breath catch at her admission. That meant she could understand them when they spoke English around her, as well as read the paper work they left lying around.
"How much do you know?" he questioned carefully.
"I uh I know his name isn't really Kazuya or that he's from Japan" she admitted reluctantly "It actually made much more sense then what you originally told me. I mean his reaction to Naru was weird but if his name is Oliver making it Noll in English that works. As does him not being able to read or write in kanji. Not to mention his impressive display of power on the cursed house case we had back when I first joined" She rambled nervously.
Lin nodded at her findings "Have you made the connection?" he purposefully left the question vague in case she hadn't yet.
"That he's Oliver Davis, Kinda hard not to" she gave hm a flat look. He knew of her intelligence now, he didn't have to keep treating her like she didn't have a brain.
"Sorry" Lin apologized looking chastised, he hadn't meant for it to come out like that.
Mai held up her hand, shaking her head in fond exasperation "I know, this is a secret. You two are obviously here for a good reason and that reason must tie into you having to lie. I'm not going to tell anyone of my findings nor am I going to dig around for the reason. Your secrets are your own, to do what you wish with them" she told him maturely and reasonably.
"Thank you" he gave a relived sigh "and I must say, you are taking this remarkably well. We had expected you to blow up when we eventually told you" he told her surprised, moving to stand and help clean up. Mai threw him a grateful smile at the action.
"I know a thing or two about secrets" she gave him a sad smile, eyes focusing out for a moment before shaking her head, piling the dishes on to one of the trays "Plus" she gave him a cheeky grin "even I have moments of maturity"
Lin gave a small snort at her comment "Far and few between I know" she laughed, leading the way to the kitchen.
"But that's what makes you Mai" Lin complimented, placing the tea pot on the side and the cups in the sink, grabbing a tea towel to help dry while she washed.
"Why thank you" Mai sniggered, turning the tap on and pouring in some dish soap "I will take that as a compliment"
Conversation flowed easily between them as they did the dishes, Lin complimenting her once again on her outstanding cooking and thanking her for making the effort to do those dishes for him. She just laughed and said she was happy to do it, that she missed cooking for other people. Prompting Lin to offer to they meet up once a week to have dinner she could or even he could prepare. She was delighted with the prospect of spending more time with him and even offered to invite Naru since she knew he was responsible for him while in Japan. Again, Lin thanked her for her thoughtfulness and agreed to convincing Naru to come to the next dinner. By the time they were done it was almost eleven and Lin had to leave, promising to come back tomorrow to finish what they had started.
A short drive across Shibuya and Lin returned home in record time. Mind preoccupied with all that he had leant today. He had gone there with the intention of helping her and getting out, not wanting to push the boundaries they had created. Instead he was leaving with a better understanding of her and feeling closer for it. The bond they were cultivating wasn't quite friends but neither was it brotherly, it was something he couldn't really put into words or describe to someone.
"I'm Home" he called out on automatic as he entered the apartment, shutting the door softly behind him. He wondered down the light hallway into the kitchen, vaguely surprised to see his charge waiting for him in there.
"Welcome back" Naru greeted, leaning against the kitchen counter, a mug resting in his hands. "Did you get it all done?" He asked his assistant.
Lin shook his head, pouring himself a cup from the freshly brewed pot. "No, she surprising has a lot of clothes. Not all of them are of great quality mind you, but she defiantly has a verity of options. I've offered to go back tomorrow to finish up." He thought briefly of telling him she knew of their secret but thought better of it, he did not want to deal with a moody poltergeist this evening.
"Hey did you know her mother was Chinese?" He asked, momentarily side tracked, it had been running on a loop since she had mentioned it, plus it made better conversation then secret spilling.
Oliver shook his head in denial "She never mentioned it and it never came up on the check I ran on her" he looked down at his cup, lost in thought.
"She cooked me an authentic Chinese meal tonight and I'm pretty sure she spoke Chinese to me too" he thought aloud.
"Then how did you get that her mother was Chinese from it?" The teen raised an unimpressed brow at the rather drastic leap in logic his friend made.
"She told me. I asked where she got an authentic recipe and she said her mother brought them from China with her" he glared, not happy at being judged for no reason. He could see the adolescent losing interest in the conversation by the way he only nodded along with him, fraying interest.
"And her living arrangements?" the scientist probed, voicing the thought that had been – though he would deny it - worrying him.
"Not as bad as I was expecting it to be truthful. She's in an okay section of the neighbourhood and the apartment doesn't look like it's going to crumble down around her ears anytime soon" he answered honestly.
Oliver just hummed, taking a sip of his tea, face blank as a newly brought canvas.
"Why? What are you thinking?" Lin asked with a raised brow.
Naru gave him an indescribable look and walked away. Well that was a none answer if he ever saw one. Knowing it would do no use forcing the stubborn boy to answer the question, Lin let him go in peace. Although the Chinese man had a fair idea what was worrying the young lad and his scheming mind came up with a way to ease the youngers worries as well bringing the two closer.
He wasn't blind to Mai's moony eyes and Naru's softer temperament towards her and had noticed they seemed pretty blind to each other's feelings, which was ironic since they both had the IQ's in the hundreds and had keen eyes that picked up on the smallest of details.
He'd also noticed the book Mai had placed on her bedside the care and while she had been gone to talk to the lady he'd had a quick peak and saw that it was sighed and there was only one person he knew could get that for her. Naru may be able to fool everyone else with his cold and distant demeanour but he knew he had a soft spot for Mai and wanted to make her happy.
Smirking to himself, Lin left the Kitchen and enter his office, scheming to finally get the love birds together. In another room in the flat Oliver shivered a feeling of foreboding falling over him, he really hoped it wasn't another visit from Madoka.
Phew one chapter down, one more to go.
Qǐng xiǎngshòu is tradition Chinese for please enjoy. Or at least that's what google translate says, if I'm wrong please feel free to message me the correct wording.