"Hey, I'm getting pretty good at this ironing thing, am I right?
Iron. Iron.
"Nah, you know you like it. If you didn't why would you ask me to do this every Friday?"
Lights buzzing. Quiet night. Iron. Iron. Iron.
"Oh, shut up. God, it's hot. This is why I hate irons, the room gets way too hot way too fast!"
Ryuko turned the fan on. It clicked twice, but it worked. She enjoyed the cool wind.
"Okay, I'm almost done. Spread your arms again, Senketsu."
She moved the uniform's sleeves away from the body, ironing them individually. Then she turned it around and did it again.
"Tell me if it's too hot for you, okay?"
Iron. Lights buzzing. Hot room. Fan trying to keep up.
"Did I tell you about yesterday? Mako and I were eating some ice cream. It was pretty good, but she messed up. It ended up all over her uniform. It was pretty funny."
Iron. Iron.
"But she didn't mind, of course. She's not Satsuki. Oh, speaking of which! Me and sister are going to an amusement park tomorrow! She didn't want to admit it, but she's nervous. I think she never rode a rollercoaster before."
Turn the cloth around. Check with your hands to see if there are any imperfections. Normal cotton. Iron them out.
"Oh? Yeah, we're getting along fine. She's awkward, but hey, so I was, right?"
Lights buzzing. Fan.
"Right. But I got better. And we make a kickass team, too. She attracts looks from everyone on the street, even some girls." She laughed humorlessly. "I don't know if she likes it, though. Maybe I'll ask her eventually."
She was done with the shirt, now for the skirt. It was easier. She put the black shirt by her side so it could still listen to her.
"What, Satsuki? Into girls? No way." She put the reverse side of the skirt on the board, pressing it slowly "Oops, sorry. Too hot." Awkward smile. "But, yeah, no, I don't think she's like that. She's just shy, you know? Doesn't know how to pick up guys."
She was done. Ryuko put the skirt on the right position and put it on the bed. She did the same thing with the shirt, aligning them together. Don't cry.
"M-man, you look great. I'm awesome at this, I know." Smile.
Ryuko sat on the bed next to the black uniform that wasn't Senketsu because she had failed him when it mattered most and
"Mako and Gamagoori though, who would have thought, huh? I always thought he was into Satsuki. She said she didn't even notice, though."
The black wasn't black enough. She'd known it for weeks now. Even with the makeshift eye-patch thing she had managed to sew, the proportions were all wrong.
"What's that? What about me? No." Laugh. Laugh harder. "Okay, I'll put you on, geez!"
It didn't feel right. There was no pulse, no life coming from it. It was literally just cheap cloth. The feeling of ordinary fabric touching her bare skin almost made her panic, especially that kind of uniform.
She looked cute on it. She knew she did. But it wasn't right.
None of this was right.
"I don't know, but… I think I'm… liking a boy." She looked down, embarrassed. Lights buzzing. Fan annoyingly loud. Turn it off, damn the heat. Quiet night. Smile. Don't cry. This is the tricky part. "I don't know, he's funny I guess."
Ryuko sat down, alone in her apartment. Not crying. Not freaking out. Not again.
"It's… I don't know what to do, y'know? Dad never said anything and sister is as clueless as I am, but… I dunno. Really."
Silence. Lights. Night. Lonely.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. But don't tell anyone about this, you hear me? Oh, I mean it!"
Laugh? No. Smile? She could do it.
"Thanks for listening, Senketsu. Seriously. I don't really have anyone else who I like talking to about this stuff and-"
Not crying. Not crying. Not crying. Not crying.
"-… a-and, and I… I'm really glad…"
Crying. Curled into a ball. Hugging her stomach like it's on fire.
"I'm really g-glad… I got you…"
Lights buzzing. Silent apartment. Girl crying.
"B-best friends, right?" Can't talk through the tears. Just give up. "We're invincible. In… invinci…"
Breaking down, again. Every Friday it's the same.
Just another quiet night.
Yeah, I saw a drawing of Ryuko doing this with some captions and I thought I just had to write about it. This is why I don't like not knowing how to draw: I feel like it would have been more powerful with images
But anyway, I'm not sure if I'm happy with the end result, but I decided to post it either way. Hope you enjoyed it. If you're depressed right now then I guess it worked.
I dunno, feels like I missed something. If you find what it is, please let me know.
It's not my way. I checked.