A Ring's Odyssey
Pink and lavender and silver.
Fit for a lovely princess, shrouded with fine silks and living in the most ornate palaces—or, fit for a grumpy doctor who likes to skulk around in her lab coat and calls a bakery her home.
Same thing, right?
She nods decisively, declaring, "This is the one!"
"Of course, Miss Kousaka," the jeweler says, unlocking the glass case to pull out the item in question.
Honoka bounces on her feet, unable to fully rein in her impatience, and smiles sheepishly when the jeweler gives her a knowing smirk.
"Would you like to add an engraving on the inside?"
"Ah!" It's a good thing she went to her mother and Nozomi for advice, or else she would've been floundering right about now! Pulling out a crumpled note from her pocket, she replies, "I have it written down right here."
The jeweler smooths out the paper, reads it, and nods, "Romantic. This will take about a half hour, Miss Kousaka. Would you like to wait here or return to the shop at a later time?"
More waiting?
Well, she's been working towards this for a year now; another half hour won't be too bad.
"I'll wait right here," she decides.
"Very well, Miss Kousaka. Please, take a seat while we work."
Just as promised, thirty minutes and many dollars later, she walks out of the jewelers with her future neatly tucked away in an unassuming little box.
Oh, that sounds so dramatic, she chuckles to herself.
It's true, though. Her whole future depends on what Maki's answer will be. She's not afraid of Maki saying no, but she's not going to assume that Maki will say yes.
First thing's first, however! She has to smuggle the box into its hiding place before she can get started on planning a night chockful of romance, enough to make even Nozomi and Eli swoon (and Nico gag from all the sappiness).
Luckily for her, she already knows the perfect hiding place. The real problem is getting back home in one piece and without speeding tickets.
But she isn't Honoka Kousaka for nothing!
"Let's get this show on the road!"
As soon as she bounds into the sweets shop some time later—completely accident-and-ticket free—she tells her mother, "I've got it!" She thrusts the jeweler's bag into the air as if it's a trophy.
Well, in a sense it is Maki's trophy.
"Really?" Her mom's face lights up and she hurries out from behind the counter.
Honoka nods so much that she nearly resembles one of those bobble heads Hanayo likes to collect; heh, she'd better stop before her head falls off.
She pulls out the ring box from the bag, hands it to her mother, and then moves to the left hand display while her mother gushes over the ring.
"Oh, Honoka, it's perfect for Maki."
"Right?! That's exactly what I thought when I saw it!"
Just as she thought, no one has touched the orange-flavored cakes on the second to last shelf.
Why does no one like orange-flavored cakes? She worked hard on them….
Ah, well, it doesn't matter. In this case, it's a good thing, because Maki absolutely loathes them for some reason, and therefore Maki won't come anywhere near them!
Rearranging the cakes into a makeshift wall, she says, "I'm going to hide it here for now."
"Hm," her mom examines the space. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah! If I hide it elsewhere, Maki will end up finding it or I'll lose it, heh."
"Good thinking," her mother chuckles and returns the ring box to her.
Honoka pauses. She stares at the little box in her hands.
This box, this ring… is a lifelong commitment. It's her promise to Maki that they'll be together for the rest of their lives.
Will Maki say yes? Maki… Maki deserves so much.
A hand on her back startles her out of her thoughts. Her mom smiles at her.
"It's in her hands now, Honoka. You've made your decision. Let Maki make her own."
She will, but—she'll do her best to convince Maki to say yes.
[* * *]
Her hand meets cool sheets—a relief in this awful hot weather, but also…
"Honoka?"
…a disappointment when she sits up to find herself alone in their bed, and on her first day off in weeks, too.
Right. Honoka did mention last night that she had to go out for a supply run with Yukiho.
She sighs, flopping back onto the pillows. She thinks about staying in bed for the rest of the morning—what time is it, anyway?—but now that she's awake (and alone), she might as well make herself useful around the bakery.
No point in being petulant.
A few minutes later, she finds herself helping Mrs. Kousaka replace older goods with fresh batches (and she finds herself resisting the urge to snack—Honoka's a bad influence in this respect).
"Don't worry, dear," Mrs. Kousaka tells her, handing her a stack of boxes filled with rice cakes, "the girls will be back soon with Alisa, and then you and Honoka can run off to have your fun! But not too much fun, if you're staying upstairs." Mrs. Kousaka winks at her.
Her face promptly goes on fire.
"M-Mrs. Kousaka!" she protests, though she busies herself with straightening out the rice cakes to avoid eye contact with Honoka's mother, who only laughs in response.
They work in blissful silence for a while, allowing Maki to regain her composure.
If only Honoka were here… then she would be perfectly content—not that she depends on Honoka or anything like that!
From the shop kitchen, a timer starts chiming.
"That must be the brioche! Would you take care of the shop for a moment for me, dear?"
"Of course, Mrs. Kousaka," she answers despite the spike of nervousness that runs through her at the thought of being in charge of the front counter. But, midmornings are pretty slow, so she relaxes. All she has to do is continue where she left off (and hope no one comes by).
She moves to the display case on the left side of the shop. The cakes and pastries here were baked early this morning by Honoka herself, and it shows: the frosting designs are all the swirly, flowery motifs that Honoka favors, and the chocolate drizzling on a few of them is just shy of being too much.
On the shelves beside the display case, smaller cakes and muffins are wrapped in plastic, awaiting their fates. Maki checks their expiration dates, written in Yukiho's sloppy cursive, and tidies up the arrangements as she goes along.
"Ah," she mutters upon reaching the second shelf from the bottom. Honoka's orange-flavored cake experiment hasn't sold well.
She would feel bad, but… she hates oranges.
Eh, she'll make it up to Honoka later, she promises as she clears out the expired cakes.
Her hand, however, touches something that is distinctly not squishy. She frowns and pulls out—a box?
It's about half the size of the cakes, covered in black velvet, and is pretty light. Shaking it produces no sound. There are no external markings, but her finger traces a certain indent.
She moves to open it but pauses.
She's not sure what makes her pause, only that there's this… this sense that she shouldn't. She has seen something like this, somewhere….
The box sits innocently in the palm of her hand. The longer she stares at it, the more confused she becomes.
Where else has she seen a box like this?
Not at the hospital. Not here in the sweets shop, nor at her parents' home. Not at Eli and Nozomi's apartment. Not at Umi's dojo, or Nico's studio, or Kotori's flat. Not at Hanayo and Rin's—
Hanayo and Rin.
She stares at the box in her hand, so similar to the one Hanayo showed her after Rin had proposed. After Rin proposed.
"Preposterous!" That's right. The idea is preposterous. All she has to do is open it to prove that it doesn't contain a—an engagement ring.
She is a moment away from opening the ridiculous box when Honoka's clear voice rings out, "We're back~!"
Yelping, she drops the box; she hastily picks it up, shoves it into her shirt (it'll have to do), and hopes to all the gods out there that Honoka's eyes don't stray. She hurries to the front counter to make herself look less… suspicious—not that there's any reason for it!
"Ma~ki~!" Honoka bounds in from the back door, the reusable bags hanging off her arms not slowing her down one bit. "Did you miss me this morning?" Honoka asks with a semi-apologetic smile.
"J-just a little," she mumbles. From behind the counter, her foot starts tapping and she has to bite the inside of her cheek to keep herself from exposing her nervousness. The box is digging into her chest….
"Aww," Honoka gushes, but her approach is halted by her mother's calls for her from the shop kitchen. "Whoops, I'll be right back! I expect a welcome-home kiss when I get back," Honoka says and winks, making Maki blush.
The moment Honoka leaves, however, Maki whips the troublesome box out of her brassiere. She doesn't have time to think of a good hiding spot, but the bin of pan francés seems like a reasonably good place to hide it, right?
Whatever—it'll have to do for now!
She almost shrieks when Honoka asks, "What are you doing?"
"N-nothing!" She straightens up, patting the pan francés bin. "Just, you know, making sure everything is, um… fresh! Yes, that."
"Enough of that," Honoka waves a hand dismissively, "I have the rest of today off, so let's go do something fun!"
Her poor heart is already pounding like crazy in her chest—how is she supposed to survive something fun with Honoka?
"A-are you sure?" she tries to dissuade Honoka. "You've had a long morning already, baking everything today, going—"
"—Then," Honoka pulls her into a loose hug, nuzzling at her neck, "let's have a picnic!"
Dazed, she agrees, "Okay."
Picnics are a nice, calm activity, right? As long as Honoka is distracted….
[* * *]
"You go on ahead. I'll make sure Yukiho left everything in place," she tells Honoka, who groans—maybe in protest, or maybe because she's practically falling asleep on her feet. It's hard to tell with Honoka.
In either case, though, Honoka trudges up the stairs with a little push, mumbling, "Thanks, Maki."
She spares a moment to glance longingly after Honoka, ruefully thinking of cool sheets and too-warm arms, but she knows Honoka is more tired than her today—who wouldn't be, after working all morning in the bakery, going on a supply run, and then running around in the summer sun (Mr. Kousaka loves soccer way too much for someone his age) for hours?
Besides, a tired Honoka is much more likely to leave things in a mess, which causes more trouble than a few extra minutes' worth of cuddling is worth.
Speaking of messes, she should take the opportunity right now to put the ring somewhere where Honoka will find it easily….
On the counter is a note from Yukiho and Alisa, asking Honoka to bake more pan francés, since they ran out.
Noted: tell Honoka to bake more pan—
Wait.
Pan francés.
They sold out of—of pan francés, in whose bin she hid the ring!
Dashing to the bin, she holds out the hope that Yukiho overlooked the ring, but she finds it completely empty. She tries not to scream (and mostly succeeds, other than a high-pitched keening).
"What do I do?!"
[* * *]
"Oh, that's nice," she sighs, basically melting into Maki's office chair. Her back is very, very glad that Maki switched out the standard office chair with a higher-end one.
Maki won't mind that she's using it, right? It's only for a few minutes while she waits for Maki—speaking of which, Maki should be here by now. It's her lunch time, after all.
Honestly, Maki better not be overworking herself!
But she'll rest a few minutes before going off to search for Maki; it'll give Maki a chance to redeem herself…
And the chair is so soft… almost too comfortable to leave…
…It's almost as comfortable as their bed… the flutters in her belly definitely agree….
"…Hanayo?"
"Mm…?"
A sigh, then, "Hanayo, you can't take a nap in my office."
"…I'm not asleep," she says, opening her eyes. She stifles a yawn and grumbles, "Not yet…."
Maki shuffles around the cabinets, her back turned towards Hanayo, putting away and pulling out various manila folders.
"How did the appointment go?" Maki asks in that casual-but-not-really tone of hers, still hunched over the cabinets.
"You remembered?" She grins and tries to sit up (gosh, this chair is too comfortable).
Immediately, of course, Maki is by her side, laying a palm against her shoulder to keep her from sitting up.
She would protest, but, well, she's nice and comfy.
"Honestly," Maki mutters, "what was Rin thinking, letting you come all by yourself? You're in the second trimester—you need to be careful, not wandering alone like this! One of us should've come with you." Maki rakes a hand through her hair and starts pacing.
Hanayo covers her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter, but Maki crosses her arms and gives her a reprimanding glare that is less intimidating because of the circles under her eyes.
"I'm pregnant, not invalid," she reminds Maki with a soft smile. Maki cocks an eyebrow at her and gestures at her chair predicament with a pointed look. "It's not my fault your chair is so comfy I can't get up," Hanayo pouts. She kind of… wants to take it home with her.
"I don't like it," Maki declares. She plops down on the chair across from Hanayo—well, Maki doesn't really plop, she's too graceful and self-conscious for that. "For your next appointment, I'll make sure one of us goes with you if Rin can't make it."
This is a battle she probably won't win, so she gives in with a gentle, "If it makes you feel better, Maki."
"Good," Maki says despite the blush that spreads across her face. "Anyway. How did the appointment go? Is everything going as it should be?"
"Yep!" she replies and remembers, "I have a sonogram; do you want to see? The baby looks more like a baby with each passing day!" She sits up and reaches for her purse, which she luckily left on Maki's desk and not on the floor. "I have it here, somewhere, and—oh!" She pulls out her lunch from her purse.
Of course, how could she forget about the ring? It's the pregnancy brain thing, probably.
"Hm?" Maki tilts her head, suddenly reminiscent of Honoka in that moment.
She remembers she put it in here somewhere.
"I completely forgot why I stopped by in the first place," she answers, laughing. "I went to the bakery yesterday," she explains, continuing to rummage around her purse, "to get some of Honoka's chocolate swirl muffins that I was really craving. While I was there, the pan francés looked too good to resist, so of course I bought as much as I could, and—"
[* * *]
"While I was there," Hanayo barrels on, "the pan francés looked too good to resist, so of course I bought as much as I could, and—"
The pan francés looked too good to resist.
"You!" she slams her hands on her desk, barely suppressing a wince at her reckless action.
Hanayo blinks, "Me?"
"You—it—I mean—do you," she sputters, "do you have it?" She can't—can't say it any more clearly than that, but there's a burgeoning hope that Hanayo has it, the—
"The ring, you mean?"
She makes a noise in her throat that probably sounds like a yes, for the most part.
"I brought it with me," Hanayo reassures her. "I have it somewhere here."
Her shoulders slump in relief. She mutters, "I didn't know where to start looking for… it."
"Oh." Hanayo pauses, then asks, "Is that why you're so tired?"
"What?"
Hanayo clarifies, "You have bags under your eyes. I was waiting until a good moment to ask."
She frowns; maybe that's why people keep asking her if she's okay.
"Yes," she admits. "I couldn't sleep well last night, wondering who on earth had ended up with… it, and how I was going to track it down." Well, that, and the possibility of marrying Honoka had left her… anxious—a good sort of anxious, she thinks…
"I'm sorry for not calling you," Hanayo apologizes with a genuinely upset expression. "It's just, it was late when I realized that Yukiho had accidently included the ring box, and I didn't want to risk Honoka finding out about your proposal and ruining the magic of the surprise!"
About… her… proposal?
She fidgets, then mumbles, "Hanayo… I'm not… the one proposing."
They stare at each other, then—
"B-but," Hanayo squeaks, wringing her hands over the soft curve of her belly and immediately making Maki feel bad, "then how do you know?"
Obviously, it hadn't occurred to her that her more romantically-inclined friends would be distressed about the surprise being ruined, even if she herself doesn't mind… that much.
It's not like she'd even considered m-marriage, not until she realized Honoka had gone and bought an engagement ring!
"Honoka," she sighs, "didn't hide the… the ring box quite well enough. Yesterday, while I was helping Mrs. Kousaka in the shop, I happened to find it. And then…." She scowls, crossing her arms and tapping her foot against the floor. "Well, I suppose Yukiho or Alisa mixed it up with the bread."
Hanayo still looks crushed, so she adds, "But, you know, I'm not—not upset. About the surprise being… spoiled, I mean."
Frankly, she hasn't quite processed it yet. Last night, lying beside Honoka had been something of a thrill, entertaining the possibility that soon—
"Still…," Hanayo mumbles, shoulders sagging.
"A-at least I didn't see the ring," she tries to cheer Hanayo up. It works, to her surprise.
"Good!" Hanayo nods sharply. She reaches for her purse again to search for the ring; how much stuff does Hanayo even have in there? "I'll give you the ring box, but you have to promise not to peek!"
Well, she hadn't been planning to in the first place, but she agrees nevertheless.
"Here's the sonogram," Hanayo remarks, sliding the print-out towards her. "But where is the ring…?" she mutters to herself, brow furrowing.
Ignoring the sudden thumping of her heart and the abrupt ominous chill that runs up her spine, Maki smooths out the wrinkles in the paper before taking a proper look at it.
Hanayo's right: the baby looks a lot more like a baby now, though its head is still too large for its body. Well, it's only been five months, so of course the baby hasn't finished developing.
She glances back at Hanayo, examining her as Hanayo endlessly searches through her purse; Maki isn't an OB-GYN, but as far as she can tell, Hanayo looks perfectly healthy and able-bodied. That glow to her… it's a good look on Hanayo.
Nevertheless, she resolves to have Honoka accompany Hanayo to the next appointment if Rin can't make it—and she'll have words with Rin, leaving her wife alone! And Umi, too, while she's at it; doesn't Umi know that spouses must be there for each other during life changes?
"Um," Hanayo pipes up, wringing her hands again.
Oh, no, she immediately thinks at Hanayo's tone.
"Maki…"
Dread wells up in her throat.
"I, uh, I d-don't… have it."
[* * *]
Come at me, bro. Bring it on.
I'll beat the nya out of you!*
That's what Umi's intense amber eyes seem to say while they circle each other, wooden swords held in lax grips, waiting for the moment to strike.
Of course, she knows that's not really what Umi's thinking. In fact, Umi is probably thinking something along the lines of: loosen your shoulders.
Move your feet.
Adjust your grip.
Bo-ring!
She smirks; that's all the warning she gives Umi before launching herself forward, her sword on a clean-cut path towards Umi's face.
Umi deflects the move and uses the momentum to put more distance between them. Normally, this would be where Umi retaliates, but this is a lesson in defensive maneuvers, so it's up to her to play the offensive to Umi's defensive.
A series of left-right blows later, she decides it's time to switch things up.
She feints to the left, Umi moves to parry, she puts all her strength into a downward strike at Umi's exposed leg, and then—
"Ow," she groans, one hand cradling her head and the other lifting her hand up in an I surrender motion. "That hurts!"
"And that, students," Umi says, completely ignoring her, "is how you lull your opponent into a false sense of security." She pauses to glance at the clock they have overhead and adds, "We will resume this lesson after lunch. Class dismissed."
Their students bow to them before filing out—somehow managing to be orderly despite being very eager to get to lunch. Of course, their orderliness is to be expected: Umi runs a tight ship here in her dojo.
"That was fun," she says cheerfully as she stretches out her arm muscles.
"Is your head okay?" Umi asks, frowning in concern. "What's your name? How many fingers am I holding up?" Umi holds up three fingers way too close to her face.
Rolling her eyes and pushing Umi's hand away, she replies, "A little tap like that isn't going to give me a concussion, nya! But," she sighs exaggeratedly, "if it makes you feel better, my name's Rin and you're holding up three fingers."
Umi purses her lips but lets it go.
Good thing, too, because Rin has just realized that she is very, very hungry after that warmup; just the thought of the lunch Kayochin made for her is making her mouth water and her stomach grumble.
Kayochin's lunches are the best, hands down. Or hands up!
"I'll see ya at the cafeteria, chief," she says, waving cheerfully and making for the locker rooms.
"Make sure to put away your equipment properly!" Umi calls after her.
"Sure, sure, chief!"
In her private locker room—the perks of being an assistant teacher!—she hastily disassembles her equipment and kendo armor, pats herself down with a towel, and reaches into her messenger bag for the bento Kayochin made.
As she pulls the bento out, however, something else tumbles out and onto the floor.
"What's this?"
She picks it up; it's a little black box, kind of fuzzy to the touch. The real kicker, however, is the silver ring she finds inside!
"Whoa," she mutters, running a finger over the little gem stones.
It's a rather fancy-looking engagement ring, not at all like the simple gold band she herself got for Hanayo a few years ago.
But, the question is, why's it in her bag?
And whose is it?
She checks the box for clues, but there's nothing at all.
"Rin?" Umi knocks on the locker room door. "Are you sure you are fine?"
"Yeah, chief. Just give me a sec," she calls back. She tucks the ring back in its box and stuffs the box into her hakama pants, then quickly grabs her bento before opening the door to a worried-looking Umi.
"I… was worried," Umi says, her eyes lingering on the top of Rin's head, presumably where she got hit.
Waving it off, she replies, "I just got a little distracted by somethin'. I'll show you, actually! But first, let's eat. I feel like I could eat a horse, hehe."
Still looking dubious, Umi nods and follows her to the dojo's communal mess hall.
The low chatter of their summer students creates a pleasant buzz that never fails to make her smile—friends are, like, the absolute best thing in the world.
She and Umi sit at the teachers' table, though today it's only her and Umi.
"Your form was better today, Rin," Umi mentions as she opens her bento. "Have you been practicing?"
Untying the handkerchief from her own, she explains, "I asked Honoka to give me a few pointers! We practiced the day before yesterday at my place." She carefully folds and sets the handkerchief to the side, not wanting to lose it or get it dirty; she would never forgive herself if she ruined the handkerchief Kotori made specifically for her!
Cute little kitties frolicking around the border, the red background making their calico fur stand out, and her initials in one corner—
Then, guiltily remembering that Umi is supposed to be her instructor, she belatedly adds, "I hope that's okay…?"
"As long as you remain within regulations," Umi says, "then it's fine."
Ick, regulations; nevertheless, she nods in acquiescence.
Finally, she turns her own attention to her lunch, her stomach growling just then to scold her for taking so long.
However, when she opens her lunch, she finds pickles.
Pickles and nothing but pickles alongside the ever-present bed of fluffy white rice; she doesn't even like pickles. In fact, the only reason they even have pickles stocked in their house is Kayochin's weird craving for them lately.
"That is all you are eating today?" Umi asks, leaning forward to peer curiously at Rin's lunch. "It seems… a bit plain." Plain is an understatement.
"I… I guess…?" She stares at the very disappointing collection of pickles, wondering what she did to upset Kayochin so much. "Nya…."
Wait.
Kayochin. Pickles. Cravings.
"That explains it!" She thumps the table with a fist (and ignores Umi's reproving look). "Kayochin must've mixed up our lunches! Oh," she fishes around her pocket for the little box, "then this must be hers, too." She places the box on the table, then crosses her arms and basks in the satisfaction of having figured out this conundrum.
Umi gestures to the box, asking, "What is it?"
Rin shrugs, "An engagement ring."
At first, it doesn't seem like Umi heard her reply, because she continues to puzzle at the box for a moment, but then—
"What!?" Umi recoils as if burned.
It seems that Umi and commitment aren't compatible just yet, heh.
"Dunno whose it is," Rin continues with a second shrug. "But I think Kayochin was probably planning on returning it today. I wonder if she's noticed the mix-up?"
Hm, actually, she should probably text Kayochin to let her know. Oh, but her cell phone is in her messenger bag in the locker room. That and her stomach will have to wait, then; it's really too bad that her lunch got misplaced….
"Well, that aside—" Umi's face scrunches up a little when she glances at the ring box resting innocently on the table—"you can have some of my lunch."
[* * *]
"You can have some of my lunch," she offers, attempting (rather unsuccessfully) to calm down her racing heartbeat and avoid looking at—at the, uh, the… the ring.
Or, well, the box containing the… the ring.
A whimper nearly escapes her throat; she is rather proud of herself for restraining the temptation to run as far away from the… the ring… as possible.
"Thanks!" Rin beams. "You're the best, chief!"
"It is not a problem," she replies and turns her bento so that Rin may partake of it.
Blessed silence settles over them as they eat. It is not, however, an entirely peaceful affair for her, given that the ring, in its innocuous velvet box, continues to taunt her at the edge of her vision—that symbol of commitment mocks her, sneers at her ineptitude.
She sighs.
"Nope! Those are bad thoughts, Umi!" her inner Honoka voice scolds her.
And, of course, Honoka is correct.
There is no shame in taking things at her own pace. Yes, it is true that she regards too fearfully all things associated with romance—nevertheless, she is making progress. No matter how small her steps may be, she has to be proud of it.
"Hello!"
And then, of course, Kotori walks in to derail her thoughts of progress.
Umi Sonoda must be cursed by the gods (though for what reason, she cannot fathom). She will have to see if Nozomi can perform some sort of purification on her, or something, anything to ward off this bad luck!
"Kotori!" Rin readily greets.
Apparently reading her mind, Kotori smiles winsomely and says, "I missed you—both of you—so I thought I'd drop by after work!" For the third day in a row. Does Kotori not work?
"Kotori," she deadpans, "you saw us just yesterday, when we had lunch together."
"Twenty-four hours is too long without you!" Kotori insists, tangentially referencing Shakespeare. Then, ignoring Umi's aggravated sigh, Kotori turns to Rin to ask, "Why does your bento have only pickles and rice?"
Chuckling, Rin says, "Kayochin mixed up our lunches. It's the pregnancy brain."
"I see," Kotori nods sympathetically as she sits down next to Umi (at a respectable distance, at least, given their locale, even if it doesn't quell the students' murmuring about "sensei's girlfriend is back!" May the stars save her poor soul).
Thankfully, Kotori and Rin let the conversation stall for a few minutes of peace—well, Rin's silence is completely thanks to her being busy filling the void she calls her stomach. Nevertheless, silence is golden regardless of the reason.
All good things must, ultimately, come to an end.
"What's this?" Kotori picks up the box containing the engagement ring. "Oh!"
Is a day of peace too much to ask for?
Rin gestures with her chopsticks and says, "Mhm. I think Kayochin found it and meant to give it back, but she mixed up her stuff with mine."
"Whoever it belongs to, they must be so worried!"
Or, if they are so careless to lose it, they have not even noticed it is missing, she thinks sardonically. For example, she frankly would not put it past Honoka to lose an engagement ring.
"It's such a beautiful ring, too," Kotori continues, marveling at the ring. "The pink and purple really complement each other against the silver band, the princess cut diamond in the center is small enough to not be tacky, and the—"
"—Did you say princess?" she interrupts, a thought sparking in her mind.
Princess, purple, Honoka, lost. She buries her face in her hands, "Of course Honoka would lose her engagement ring!"
"That makes sense, nya," Rin agrees with an affable nod as Kotori squeaks in surprise. "Honoka and Maki have been living together for a while now, and I heard Yukiho is planning on moving in with Alisa soon!"
How surprising. Then again, it is no secret that Honoka has been looking forward to marriage since the onset of her relationship with Maki; the true surprise is that Honoka has managed to wait for Maki to be emotionally ready before going ahead with it.
Actually, even that is not so surprising.
Despite being a bit oblivious, Honoka is completely devoted to Maki. How often have the members of µ's been conscripted at the behest of Honoka into keeping Maki company to ensure Maki eats her meals? How often has Honoka sacrificed her own sleep to be awake whenever Maki has a late shift or an early morning shift?
The smile that lights up Honoka's face whenever she is around Maki, at the mere thought or mention of Maki—it is breathtaking. The love that fuels Honoka's already vivacious heart overflows, boundless, into everything that Honoka does.
And, on the other hand, Maki is undoubtedly soft when it comes to Honoka. Oh, she is soft with them all (with the understandable exception of Nico), but with Honoka it is an expression of vulnerability, of a steadfast love that gives and takes in equal measure. Maki gives her innermost thoughts to Honoka while receiving Honoka's stalwart support.
Perhaps it is the romantic in her, but she must admit: Honoka and Maki are a match made in the heavens.
"Honoka and Maki are getting married," Kotori murmurs with a sense of awed finality.
[* * *]
Hanayo looks like she's two seconds away from bawling (eugh, hormones), so she pushes away her squeamishness to pull Hanayo up out of the chair and into her arms. It's awkward due to Hanayo's baby bump getting in the way, but Hanayo doesn't seem to mind, burrowing into the crook of her neck.
This is better than having Hanayo cry, right?
But Hanayo is still trembling, still very much upset.
"It's not your fault," she murmurs, tentatively petting Hanayo's fluffy hair. "I'm not mad."
She's not mad, not really.
Honestly, she can barely wrap her head around the fact that Honoka wants them to get married. Yes, she's stressed about losing the ring yet again, but that's… it hasn't quite meshed with the fact that the ring is the first step to getting married.
A touch of something giddy lingers in her sternum.
Honoka had loved her at first sight, ten years ago—that enraptured expression and enthusiastic applause behind the music room door had given everything away. It was unsettling, of course; to her, it'd seemed like the highest folly to fall in love with someone you hadn't even met.
Falling in love with Honoka had been… slow. Gradual, stumbling as she had learned to be open with herself and with others. Not instantaneous, not perfect—she recalls tearful arguments, plaintive questions in the middle of the night, an unwavering belief in her….
"You're thinking of Honoka, aren't you?"
She blinks down at Hanayo, who giggles, her previous distress forgotten. "How did you know?" she asks, frowning.
"It shows on your face." Hanayo taps her nose, and Maki scrunches her face. "It's you and Honoka. Of course things won't go easily."
"Why does that sound like a death sentence?" She smiles despite herself.
[* * *]
"Do you think Honoka will let me plan the wedding?" She pulls out her sketchpad from her satchel, a dozen designs for the dresses flitting through her mind—lace, blue and purple flowers to match their eyes (oh, but wouldn't that be too much like Nozomi and Eli's colors?), an open back and a long train for Maki, something more… bouncy? for Honoka, frills….
Rin pipes up, "I can help with the vows! I know I had a hard time thinking of what to say, so I bet Honoka would appreciate the help!"
"I am reasonably certain Honoka will write decent we-edding v-vows," Umi manages to say with only a little bit of adorable stuttering and a very cute blush that stretches all the way to the tips of her ears!
Would Umi's blush extend downwards, too?
Her pencil strays to the side to doodle a chibi Umi with a rampant blush—how cute!
"Yeah! Like mine and Kayochin's!" Rin adds, entirely serious.
Lips twitching, Kotori points out, "Well… I mean, your wedding vows were to 'love each other, cats, and food forever.'**"
"But mostly each other," Rin corrects with a smirk and a chiding wave of her chopsticks.
"It's just… not the most romantic of vows," she counters, "and Maki will definitely want romantic. I love Honoka, but her idea of romantic is pretty different from Maki's. On second thought," she muses, "her idea of romance is pretty much like yours, Rin."
"What's wrong with that, nya?"
Umi squirms, keeping her eyes firmly on her chopsticks as she pushes her food around.
Now, don't get her wrong: she loves Umi, too—and not just platonically! The problem lies in the fact that her darling is as comfortable as a fish out of water when it comes to anything remotely related to love.
If only Umi had a little more confidence in herself.
She claps her hands, having the perfect idea!
Rin and Umi turn to look at her—Rin with a curious smile and Umi with apprehension in her eyes. Umi knows her too well~
"Umi should help Honoka write her vows," she declares, excited.
While Rin nods thoughtfully, Umi actually frowns at her.
"I think," Umi says in her 'please be respectful of others' tone, "Honoka and Maki will want to write their own vows, when the time comes. It is their decision to make, not ours."
Pouting but understanding Umi's point—it just wouldn't be right—she drops her idea. She'll have to think of something else….
"For now, our objective is to return the… the ring to Honoka."
"Without Maki finding out! It'd spoil the surprise, nya."
"I can drop by the bakery to give it to her as soon as we finish lunch, since I have the rest of the day off," she suggests, perking up. She tucks her sketches away to flesh out later; she makes a note to call Nico to see if they can brainstorm ideas for Honoka's dress, just for fun.
"There's no rush. Maki has a late shift today, and Honoka asked Hanayo to make sure Maki at least eats lunch," Rin says, laughing. "You'll have plenty of time. Nothing can go wrong."
Umi mutters under her breath, "Famous last words."
She huffs at Umi's pessimism but resolves to prove her wrong!
[* * *]
"Hello?"
"Hey, Kotori," Nico's voice echoes through the speakers of her car.
"Oh, Nico!" She raises her voice so that Nico can hear her, "What's up?"
"I know you're off for the day, but can you do me a favor? Somehow the entire costume department caught colds, tch, and I need someone to fill in for them. Will you, Kotori, please do your darling friend Nico this favor? I'll pay you back, I promise!"
Giggling, she nods even though Nico can't see her. "Sure thing! Work has been a little slow at the tailor's, so I don't have much to do lately."
"You're a lifesaver, Kotori! Of course, I know everyone would jump at an opportunity to work with the Nico-Nico-Ni, so you should be honored I asked you first!"
"Very honored," she teases. "It's a pleasure working with you, Nico."
Nico sputters, "Are you mocking me?!"
"May~be~" She pulls out of the dojo's parking lot.
"Humph. Well, whatever, just meet come over to the studio as soon as you can. If we work fast, we won't have to stay overtime."
She bites her lip, thinking of the ring she has to give back to Honoka—but she knows Nico's request is urgent, even if Nico tries to downplay it.
"I'll be there in ten minutes," she promises, bypassing the street that goes to Honoka's bakery. She'll go back when she's done helping Nico at the studio; she should have enough time, since Maki's taking a late shift today, right?
"Great!" A couple of hours won't hurt.
[* * *]
"Maki! Rin says that she found the ring and gave it to Kotori to return to Honoka! ( ′ㅂ`)و ̑̑ You can rest easy now!" reads the text Hanayo sent her an hour earlier.
A spike of irritation surges through her at the thought of her engagement ring passing through so many hands—isn't that a bit silly of her? It's not like the ring is hers, not yet; Honoka hasn't proposed, and Maki isn't even supposed to know about the ring's existence.
Nonetheless, she's relieved that the ring has been found. With it safely back in Honoka's hands, she can relax again, because all she has to do now is wait.
Her heart beats rapidly in her chest. Waiting might actually be harder. She has half a mind to call Honoka to get her to propose sooner rather than later, but…
She can be patient.
[* * *]
Her foot snags on something, sending her and her papers and her things flying.
Ouch.
"Oh—I'm so sorry, Miss Minami!"
"It's okay," she tells the fretting person—a secretary by the looks of it—as she gets to her knees and starts collecting papers. "We both should've been looking where we were going, heh."
Flushing, the secretary says, "I was just in such a rush to get these forms to Director Nico before closing hours, but I promise I'll be more careful!"
"These must be yours, then," she says, holding out some documents full of blocks of text. Then, she realizes that he mentioned closing hours; she glances at her watch.
It's almost seven o'clock already?
Wait, when does Maki's shift at the hospital end? By "late," did Rin mean evening or night? What if Maki's on her way home right now?
"Miss Minami? Uh, these are yours…."
"Right, thanks," she replies, hastily taking them and scrambling to stand up. She rifles through the mess in her arms to find the sketches she meant to give Nico. "Do you mind giving these to Nico and telling her that I had to leave? It's getting late and I have an errand to run, you see," she explains and barely waits for the secretary to nod before dashing off.
She hopes Maki hasn't gotten to the bakery yet.
[* * *]
"Alright, people, we're done for the day!" she calls at half past seven, to everyone's relief.
Tch. Amateurs.
She shrugs to herself; they'll learn sooner or later—preferably sooner, of course. Under the great Nico's tutelage, these newbies will be more than ready to compete against the older idols!
Still, she sighs upon closing the door to her dressing room, it's tough work. Her shoulders and calves ache from the countless demonstrations she's had to give over the course of the day.
More than ready to go home and melt into her girlfriends' arms, she gathers all her things—notes, makeup, laptop—and is just about to leave when she spots under her desk a hipster-looking messenger bag that definitely isn't hers.
"Odd," she mutters. Picking it up, she realizes that it's Kotori's secondary bag. It looks like she forgot it in her haste to leave; there are even sketches and pens strewn beneath it. "It's not like Kotori to leave her stuff like this."
Well, being the Nico-Nico-Ni, she decides to do Kotori the favor of gathering everything up in a neat stack. She won't, however, go so far as to deliver them to Kotori at this hour—she's nice but not that nice.
Then she finds a velvet box, of all things, hiding beneath a couple of Kotori's papers.
"Kotori really needs to take better care of her things," she grumbles. "Especially a certain velvet box that no doubt contains an engagement ring in it."
Her hands pause at the thought.
An engagement ring.
It can't hurt to look, can it? Just a little peek; no one will know.
So she opens the box and gazes thoughtfully at the silver ring with its amethyst and pink topaz gemstones inlaid around the edge.
"Humph. It's understated enough, but the color palette doesn't suit Umi at all," she remarks. Then, shrugging, she says, "Oh, well. If Kotori thinks this is best, then… I mean, she probably should've consulted me, Nico-Ni, the expert in all things romance, but whatever! Whatever, Kotori, I'll support your preposterous decisions because I, Nico-Nico-Ni, am a good friend!"
Rant over, she closes the box and tucks it into her coat. It's a quarter to eight now, later than she'd hoped to leave; time to motor before Eli eats all the chocolate cake.
Not on my watch!
Luckily for her, there's no traffic on her way home—well, luckily for others that there isn't traffic, since her head's up in the clouds: sapphires and emeralds glinting in sunlight, warm bodies on cold nights, blonde-haired children running around with her eyes, their mischevious hands getting them into trouble and their chubby smiles getting them out of trouble….
Daydreams. Silly, silly daydreams.
Nozomi and Eli haven't even started on dinner by the time she gets home.
Privately she admits that it's a sweet sentiment, but it's foolish of them. Nico is nothing but practical, after all.
"Idiots," she grumbles and scowls at them. "You can't wait for me to come home to eat! What if I had to stay really late?"
"Then Nicocchi would've called ahead to let us know," is Nozomi's smartass reply, and of course Eli backs her up.
"Ugh, whatever, let's just eat before you die of starvation."
Eli chuckles, "It's good to know that you care, Nico."
Idiots.
But they're my idiots.
[* * *]
"It looks like you brought another bag with you, Nicocchi," Nozomi notes, gesturing to the brown-and-tan messenger bag that lies next to Nico's usual pink one. "Here, Elicchi, try these chocolates," Nozomi adds.
Distracted as she is by the chocolates, she almost doesn't hear Nico's reply of, "It's Kotori's. Somehow she managed to forget it at my office."
"Hm. Horosho," she mumbles around a mouthful of smooth chocolate. It has something of a bite; what filling do these have? She reaches for the box, but pauses when she finds it in Nozomi's clutches. Eh, well, it doesn't matter. They taste pretty good, and that's good enough for her.
Nico takes another swig of that expensive artisan beer she's so fond of. Heck, does she have a high-maintenance girlfriend.
"You're not going to have some?" Nico asks Nozomi, possibly in reference to the chocolate, possibly in reference to the beer.
Shaking her head, Nozomi smiles that particular smile of hers, the one that says something's afoot. "The cards say I have to stay sober tonight," she says cheerfully.
"Why?" she asks before nibbling on another chocolate. It's the bite—sharp yet sweet, not unlike Nico—that she likes so much.
"No reason," Nozomi shrugs, which makes Nico scoff.
"You just want to see us make fools of ourselves. I bet we'll wake up to find that you've gotten plenty of blackmail material," Nico accuses, though she opens a new can of beer; therefore, she can't mind that much.
Nozomi hums, "Finished with the box already, Elicchi?"
What? She looks at the box of chocolates in her lap, only to find that yes, she's finished them all already. How disappointing.
"Don't worry," Nozomi smiles, slow and dangerous, "I've got another box. I knew just one wouldn't be enough for my Elicchi." She stands and goes back to the kitchen.
"Don't be such a glutton. Share with me," Nico demands, leaning forward.
"'Kay," she mutters around the last chocolate she has in her mouth. She gestures for Nico to sit beside her. Of course, Nico doesn't follow directions; instead, Nico takes a seat on her lap and nearly spills her beer all over Eli's shirt.
But she likes curling her body around Nico's smaller one, so she doesn't protest.
One of Nico's hands sinks into Eli's hair as they kiss, scraping against her scalp, Eli's hands slip under Nico's shirt to trace her sides, and Nico's tongue pretty much erases all traces of chocolate in Eli's mouth.
"Getting started without me, girls?"
Nico pulls back, panting and staring at her with lidded red eyes.
Eli catches her breath before answering, "I couldn't resist." Her eyes fall on the box in Nozomi's hand, and she eagerly reaches for it.
"What's in those things, anyway?" Nico asks as she makes herself comfortable in Eli's lap. She half-turns to give Eli's jaw a warning nip, but for what Eli doesn't know.
"Just a little something fun," is Nozomi's cheerfully oblique answer. Nozomi is clearly planning something; maybe that's what Nico is warning her about, though if it is a warning, it's a bit too late for that.
As long as she has chocolate, and Nozomi and Nico, she doesn't really mind.
"Hand me 'nother beer, will ya, N'zomi?"
"Pace yourself, Nicocchi," Nozomi says with a shake of her finger.
Groaning, Nico kicks her legs, which startles Eli enough that she has to fling out a hand to stabilize herself on the arm of the couch.
How odd, she thinks. She hasn't even had anything to drink tonight, unless one counts the taste of beer from Nico's mouth. But that's not how it works, right?
"Also," Nozomi sing-songs, "look at what I found in Nicocchi's coat!" She holds out a little black box in her hand.
"Oh, that," Nico drawls and shrugs.
"Care to tell us why you had an engagement ring in your coat?" Nozomi asks in that fake-casual voice of hers that she uses right before groping someone.
Leaning forward as far as she can, Nico manages to snag an unopened beer on the coffee table.
"Wait," Eli says, blinking hard. "Engagement ring?" Her hold on Nico's waist tightens, partly to keep Nico from falling and partly to assuage the sudden twist in her chest.
"It's K'tori's," Nico waves a hand—thankfully not the one holding the beer. "I told ya, she left her stuff in my office. She was in such a rush. Hey," Nico twists around suddenly, peering up at her, "Gimme 'nother kiss?"
She glances at Nozomi, who nods somewhat distractedly at her.
"Okay." She bites half a chocolate, lets it start to melt in her mouth, and kisses Nico again.
Again, Nico takes control, but she doesn't mind; the claim is a reassurance that Nico considers herself as theirs and no one else's.
"I knew it," Nico says when they pull apart. "These're whiskey chocolates! You're such a light-weight, blondie."
That makes her pause mid-chew… but it's already too late, so she continues to eat her chocolates. They do taste really nice, and it's a Friday night. Besides, Nozomi always has reasons for the things she does.
"I don't think the ring belongs to Kotori," Nozomi muses, taking a seat next to them.
"No?" she asks. She squints at the ring Nozomi is holding in her palm; it's pink, lavender, and silver, none of which are really Umi's colors. Umi isn't really the princess-type.
"Actually, Honoka came by a few days ago asking for proposal advice," Nozomi says, tapping her chin with her free hand.
Nico interjects, "That so? Then, if it's for Maki, then that ring's perfect!"
"Honoka must've misplaced it, and K'tori was going to give it back," she contributes, because she wouldn't put it past Honoka to lose an engagement ring.
Just then, Nozomi's cell rings, blaring that one Printemps song about unrequited love—what's it called…?
"Hello?" Nozomi answers, simultaneously frowning at Nico for downing her beer. "Oh, Kotori, what a surprise. It's rather late, isn't it?"
What a surprise, indeed; they'd just been talking about her.
"Yes, Nicocchi's home… her cellphone must have died… why, yes, she brought home an engagement ring, along with your things. You can imagine our surprise."
Nico scoffs, none too quietly, and Nozomi smirks at her.
"Right now?" Nozomi asks, taken aback but not really. She shrugs, "Alright, I'll meet you at Honoka's…. No, Nicocchi can't because she's drunk…. Okay. Goodbye!" She puts the ring back in its box and then gets up to put it in her coat.
"Goin' somewhere?" Nico asks, leaving Eli's lap when Nozomi puts on her coat.
"Mhm. It looks like Kotori is really anxious to get that ring back to Honoka before Maki comes home," Nozomi replies. She appears decidedly unruffled about it all—the cards or her tea readings probably told her.
Nico declares, "I'm goin' with! I gotta tell Honks that I'm the best person to consult!"
And, of course, she has to follow them, because she doesn't want to be left alone and because someone has to keep an eye on Nozomi and Nico's antics, even if that someone is more than a little buzzed.
Good enough, right?
[* * *]
By the time she pulls up into the bakery's driveway, the last dregs of pink daylight are fading into the deep purples and blues of night. Even so, it's almost unbearably hot; she has to use her handkerchief to wipe sweat off her face, and she's really looking forward to a nice, cool bath before going to sleep.
Ugh, but Honoka's body heat and koala-like clinginess will doubtlessly make it hard to fall asleep—not that she'd have it any other way, she wryly laughs to herself.
Yawning, she shuffles out of her car and up to the bakery door. When she enters the main shop, she takes a moment to glance around the counter; everything appears more or less in order, she thinks, so she continues onward, almost staggering up the stairs.
Her eyes are half-shut, her limbs are heavy and sluggish, and she can't stop yawning. Maybe she should go straight to bed…?
She wrinkles her nose. No, she needs to cool down first.
A cold shower, then sleep, with dreams full of sunny smiles and Here Comes the Bride and father-daughter dances and the certainty of the rest of their lives together….
[* * *]
"Oh, it looks like we have company," she remarks as she pulls into the Homura Bakery.
"…What is K'tori doing?" Elicchi asks, squinting at the aforementioned woman who is currently flailing her arms and narrowly missing Umi's face.
If she had to hazard a guess, it'd be that Kotori really wants to deliver the engagement ring to Honoka, and Umi is reluctantly along for the ride.
The car has barely come to a halt when Nicocchi declares, "I'll i-investigate!" and tumbles out the passenger door before Elicchi can turn to grab hold of her. She'll have to scold Nicocchi later for taking off her seatbelt~
"Maki's car, Honoka's car, Kotori's car, maybe Umi came on foot, and our car," she lists, turning off the engine. "All we need is for Rin and Hanayo to show up to have the whole gang together!" This is becoming more interesting than she'd originally thought!
Elicchi fumbles with her seatbelt—Elicchi looks so proud when she manages to unbuckle herself that it makes her giggle. Drunk Elicchi is definitely one of her favorite Elicchis.
Actually, all Elicchis are her favorite.
Stepping out of the car, Kotori's messenger bag in hand, she calls out to Umi, Kotori, and Nicocchi, "I don't think Maki would appreciate us making a racket in her driveway this late in the—"
"—'m not goin' anywhere 'til K'tori admits that I'm right!" Nicocchi insists, wagging a finger in Kotori's general direction; Nicocchi is going to end up poking someone's eyeball out. And it looks like Nicocchi's completely forgotten why they're here.
"Right about what?" Kotori asks loudly, throwing her hands up in the air—it looks like Kotori is nearing the end of her rope.
"Nozomi is right, both of you," Umi admonishes and yanks down Kotori's arm. "Please do not make a scene, or else the neighbors will complain."
Elicchi finally joins them, blinking at the frustration scrawled on Umi's expression, the undercurrent of panic in Kotori's, and the sulky pout on Nicocchi's face. "…Why are we here, again?" Elicchi asks—those whiskey chocolates must be more potent than she thought.
"We're here to return Honoka's engagement ring and Kotori's things!" she says to Kotori's gasping relief.
"Tch," Nicocchi scoffs as she leans heavily against the bakery's front door. "You need t' take better… better care of your stuff, K'tori."
"Are you drunk?" Umi finally realizes with a scrutinizing look at Nicocchi.
"No—oh!" Nicocchi falls backward; Elicchi manages to grab one of her hands while Maki catches her from inside the bakery.
"What are you all doing here?"
There's a moment of panic among the sober ones of the group, frantic glances and unintelligible hissing—what do they tell Maki?
"Just, you know, returning Kotori's things," she tries, only for Maki to scoff.
"You couldn't have done that elsewhere? And without these intoxicated idiots?" Maki points out, shaking Nicocchi by the shoulders.
"He-ey, watch it," Nicocchi grumbles, tottering away from Maki's grasp and into Elicchi's awaiting arms.
She roots around her coat pockets discretely while the others hem and haw over the cover story; she's absolutely certain she left the ring box in the inner left pocket, but for some reason it's not there.
"Would you look at that," she says with real astonishment. "I must've left your other things in the car, Kotori!" She hands the messenger bag to a confused Kotori, then takes a dozing Nicocchi and leans forward to whisper to Elicchi, "Look for the ring in the car, quickly."
Elicchi nods, though Maki looks on suspiciously at them.
"I was in such a rush earlier," Kotori chuckles, her natural high pitch almost concealing her nervousness, "I left my bag and a few sketch pads at Nico's studio. But then Nico wouldn't answer her phone, and I stopped by the dojo to talk to Umi, and—and—"
"And you decided to meet at the bakery instead of the dojo or even their apartment?" Maki frowns heavily.
Before Umi can chime in, a voice cheers, "Hey~ Party at Maki and Honoka's place?" as Rin and Hanayo join them.
"Thanks for the invite," Hanayo pouts, crossing her arms under her impressive bust.
It's too bad Hanayo's breasts are too sensitive to grope, she sighs.
She peeks over her shoulder, watching Elicchi abandon the front seat of the car to look around the back seat instead.
Dear, oh dear. This might actually be a disaster….
Maki scoffs, "You don't need an invite to just show up at my house in the middle of the night, apparently. And what are you two doing here?"
"We sent you a text!" Patting her belly, Hanayo explains, "Rin had a sympathy craving for carrot cake, so we texted you to tell you we were on the way."
"Sympathy craving…?" Umi mutters, blanching, while Kotori weakly protests, "It's not the middle of the night…."
Elicchi tugs on her arm, whispering a bit too loudly to actually be a whisper, "N'zomi, I can't find it. Can you help?"
"Find what?" Maki immediately pounces on the tidbit.
"The ring is lost?" Umi blurts out, wide-eyed.
"It looks like the cat is out of the bag~" she says, which makes Rin laugh, but Maki doesn't look confused at the mention of the ring. In fact, Maki closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, presumably to center herself. "We came to give the ring back to Kotori."
Umi continues, "We came here specifically because Kotori meant to deliver the ring to Honoka earlier today, as we had agreed."
"But then I got sidetracked and made a mess of it," Kotori confesses, prompting Umi to sigh and wrap an arm around Kotori's shoulders.
"It's not only your fault. I should have kept a closer eye on it, too," Nozomi reassures Kotori. "Elicchi and I will look for it right now and it'll be safe in Maki's hands soon. I'm sorry, Maki, for ruining the surprise," she adds, her mouth twisting with regret.
"I'll help you look for it!" Kotori declares.
"It's fine," Maki sighs, her shoulders drooping. "The rest of you might as well come inside while they look for it. I'll get you your carrot cake, Rin."
"Woo! Party!" Rin cheers, looping an arm through Nicocchi's to drag her along with Hanayo.
"Is that all you can think about? It is not a party," Umi scolds as they all file into the bakery, except for Elicchi, Kotori, and Nozomi. "Pardon the intrusion…."
Turning back, she sighs, "Elicchi, hold the flashlight while Kotori and I take a look, please?"
Ah, but she has a feeling they won't find it here. Still, the night has barely begun—it's not time to give up hope just yet!
[* * *]
Kotori paces back and forth in a tight circle, her hands flapping at her sides as she mutters, "It's my fault. If I hadn't been so careless—!" Kotori looks close to tears.
"Don't say that, it's not your fault," she soothes, giving Kotori a hug to reassure her; judging from Kotori's tight grip on her jacket, however, it's not really working. "I'm sure we'll find the ring, and Honoka won't be mad, 'kay? She's your best friend."
"You really think so?" Kotori says, peering up at her with watery eyes.
Unfortunately, Nozomi declares right at that moment, "It's definitely not in the car."
Kotori crumples in her arms, which makes her stumble and drop the flashlight—she's too buzzed to keep her balance very well—and Nozomi barely catches them both.
"My life is over," Kotori wails, unexpectedly melodramatic.
[* * *]
"Hey, hey, Maaaaki," Nico nudges insistently at her shoulder.
Face buried in her hands, she only groans in response.
"Maaaaki~"
"What."
Nico leans heavily against her, giggling, "Look at what K'tori got for Umi!" Nico's voice drops to a loud whisper, "But 's not really Umi's colors, y'know? Like… it's… y'know… not… ocean-y 'nough."
Someone please save her from this nightmare.
The nudges resume. It's a sign from a cruel god that she won't be catching a break any time soon.
With another deep breath, she straightens up to look at whatever it is that Nico wants to show her; Nico stumbles a few steps back at Maki's sudden movement, but Maki zeroes in on the velvet box held in Nico's slack grasp.
Her mouth falls open.
"That's—!"
[* * *]
"That's—!" Maki cries, her messed up hair and billowing lab coat making her look like a very deranged mad scientist as she lunges for Nico, who chortles and makes a very wobbly attempt to run away.
"Uh-oh…."
But then, barely five seconds later, Nico trips on the rug; something flies out of her hands, and Rin makes an impressive dash to catch it, only to trip on Nico's sprawled body. Their mutual cries of pain are almost but not quite overridden by Umi's triumphant, "Ha! I caught it!"
For some reason, Umi's expression quickly turns into one of horror when she sees exactly what she caught. Her face begins to turn red in that tell-tale sign of a full-body blush (don't tell Kotori that).
Meanwhile, Hanayo, whose cheeks are stuffed to capacity like a chipmunk, offers a cream puff to Maki and pats her back in consolation. Maki, having somehow escaped the train wreck in front of her accepts the cream puff. She seems to have calmed down from her earlier outburst.
"What a weird dream."
Just then, Nozomi, Eli, and Kotori enter the shop—defeated expressions and slumped shoulders quickly turning into bewilderment at the chaos in front of them.
"My feelings exactly, but at least we're all together, right?"
Kotori jerks toward her, exclaiming, "Honoka! You're awake!" Everyone else freezes.
Maki in particular looks like she's become a statue, frozen mid-step towards Umi.
"I am?" Honoka asks, blinking and frowning.
"K'tori 'n' Umi, sittin' in a tree~" Nico starts chanting as Rin slowly picks her up, "K-I-S-S-I-N-I-C-O-N-I—wait, what letter'm I on?" Nico almost falls over again when Rin lets go, but Hanayo moves to her other side to help keep her steady.
Honoka's head tilts as she says, gesturing to the trio, "I'm pretty sure I'm dreaming."
"No!" Maki finally puts her foot down—literally!—and turns around to look at her.
Wow, now Maki looks like she's gone through hell. Ah, don't tell her that.
She doesn't get a chance to put her foot in her mouth, however, because Maki snatches something from Umi and marches straight back to Honoka.
"Here!"
Fumbling with the box Maki shoves into her hands, she asks, "Eh?"
Eh?
This is the box she hid behind the orange cakes. The box with the engagement ring. The box that Maki isn't supposed to know about.
The box that—
"Just—hurry up and propose already!" Maki demands with a heavy scowl.
She pinches herself.
"Ow." Okay, so, not asleep…?
"Did you just pinch yourself?" Umi asks, bewildered.
"Well, it's not like I expected to have to propose five minutes after waking up!" she defends herself, pouting at the floor and fiddling with her pajamas.
Literally five minutes ago she was dreaming of mouth-watering bread, not proposals.
Not only that, but she thought—she has plans!
"Sometime this decade would be nice," Hanayo teases, fanning herself with a hand.
Pulling out a traditional fan to help her wife, Rin adds, "Preferably before Kayochin melts, nya. Being pregnant in the summer is no fun!"
"But…." She shrugs helplessly and glances at Maki, who grimaces. Actually—"wait, how did you know I was going to propose?!"
"That's not important right now, Honoka," Nozomi cuts in before Maki can reply, and Maki shrugs in agreement. "Stop stalling~!"
"I'm not stalling…." To prove it, she drops to one knee (barely managing not to wince at her heavy landing), opens the ring box, and offers it up to Maki. She hesitates, then murmurs, "This isn't how I planned on doing it. I wanted to… to give you… a candlelit dinner, go out to see the stars… flowers… the whole nine yards, I guess.
"I wanted to give you a magical night. Because, maybe I'm not the type of person someone like Maki would want to marry…."
She can see Maki's breath catch in her throat, the force of a nervous swallow.
"Honoka," Maki whispers, sinking to her knees to join her, "of course I want to marry you. There's no one else I want by my side for the rest of my life."
Cool hands on flushed cheeks. Maki cradles her face with a tenderness that says everything Maki can't.
"Am I really awake?"
"Honoka!" Kotori cries from somewhere in the background. "Don't ruin the moment!"
"Sorry, sorry," she laughs, blinking away tears.
The more she stares at Maki's blushing face and twinkling eyes, the more certain she is that this is how it's meant to be. Here, surrounded by their friends, in their home—she in her pajamas and Maki in her work clothes, sweat making their hair stick to their temples, nerves making their hearts beat quicker—
It's the moment.
She takes a deep breath. She can do this.
Pulling away, she adjusts her grip on the ring box and presents it to Maki once again.
"I love you so, so much, Maki. From that moment in the music room—" Maki reddens beautifully—"I've known that I never, ever want to lose you. I want to make you happy for the rest of our lives." She pauses to take another deep breath. Then, leaning forward, she asks, "Will you marry me, Maki?"
A bashful smile overtakes Maki's expression despite her attempt to stifle by biting her lip.
Maki wears her heart on her sleeve.
"Yes," Maki answers, her voice cracking on that single word. She takes the open box with those trembling hands. "Would you—would you put it on for me?" Her face turns red and her eyes dart away.
"Of course!" She cradles Maki's hands for a moment, and then takes the ring from the box, tossing the it somewhere behind her.
Pink and lavender stones wink up at her, silver cool to the touch—exactly fitting for the person in front of her.
The moment she slips the ring onto Maki's left ring finger, their friends erupt into cheers so loud that she knows beyond a doubt she's awake and this moment is real, not that she needs the reassurance now.
She stands up, offers her hand to Maki, and pulls Maki up into a hug.
"Thank goodness," Kotori sighs in heavy relief—Honoka idly wonders what that's about.
"Don't they look so cute, Elicchi?"
"Absolutely adorable," Eli replies.
"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" Nico chants, and Rin and Hanayo join in.
"G-get a room! Please!"
Maki stares at the ring on her finger, totally entranced.
"Are you happy?" Honoka asks, softly. "I meant… for it to be big and fancy and perfect, like you wanted…." She chuckles, sheepish and wry.
"It's not perfect, or any of that stuff." Maki leans down, pressing their foreheads together as her arms slip around Honoka's waist. "But… I mean... as long as it's you… I—I don't mind."
That simple statement is enough to make her melt into Maki's embrace. She murmurs, "I love you," which is the engraving on Maki's ring because that pretty much sums up everything she feels about Maki.
Maki whispers against her lips, "I love you, too."
When they kiss, their friends start cheering again.
"Enough of all that mushiness! It's time to party all nya!"
/\
a/n:
And after that they got a noise complaint from the neighbors and had to rush Honoka to the hospital because Umi threw the ring box at her head to get them to stop kissing :^) Just kidding.
* "I'll beat the nya out of you!" is from lovelivefacebook on tumblr!
** "Love each other, cats, and food. But mostly each other," is from another LL blog on tumblr but I'm afraid I can't remember exactly which one...
If anyone wants to send me prompts/requests, my writing tumblr is teddy-tries-writing. There's a few ask meme things I reblogged ages ago, if you want to send stuff from those or just whatever. I guess I'm down for pretty much anything except nsfw, but I can't promise I'll actually write, heh. I figure I'll keep some prompts on hand for when I have writer's block.
Please review! Even just a simple "this made me laugh" or "it was okay" is important to me ^-^