Moments

Third in my line of more or less pointless and plotless Mai franchise oneshots. I wanted to go for more of a pure WAFFy feel with this one, but given my relative lack of experience with writing WAFF at all, how good I do is up for debate.

Once again, this technically follows the mangaverse, because of… well, some stuff in the story itself, most notably the continued existences of CHILDs. But I suppose you can consider this anime continuity if you want.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Life didn't make sense sometimes, Mai reflected as she gazed up at the sky.

She was the one with the super powers. The one who could fly, shoot fireballs, and generally do the things only seen on television and video games. The one who could summon the gigantic flaming phoenix avatar of the Japanese god of fire.

So why was it that Yuuichi Tate was the one who made her feel safe?

She didn't know. All she did know was that right now, lying down next to him, their hands entwined around each other's, her entire being was suffused with a warm sense of contentment and satisfaction. It helped, of course, that everything else in her life seemed to be going right for once, such as Takumi getting to be healthier and able to participate in some semblance of a normal life now, that all her friends were seeing success in whatever they set their minds to, be it good grades, significant others, and a whole host of other miscellaneous things, and of course, that the unpleasant business with the Orphans and Searrs and the HiME Star was well and truly done away with.

But mostly though, she was glad for Yuuichi being by her side. It wasn't so much the safety, she decided – it was more of an overall feeling of being carefree, that in his vicinity all her troubles and annoyances would fade away, that she could simply luxuriate in the moment.

Rolling over onto her side so she could embrace him, she felt his arms come around her as well, and she closed her eyes and smiled.

Taking to the skies on Kagutsuchi was an experience she couldn't see herself ever tiring of. The wind whipping through her hair, the rush of exhilaration, landmarks shrinking away to vague, distant figures…

At first she'd always felt a sense of vague unease at this – that her powers weren't meant to be used in such a mundane and self-serving manner. It was Natsuki who'd pointed out that if she wasn't going to use them for such things, then there really wasn't a whole lot left for them to be used for – the entirety of the unpleasant business concerning the HiME star had been completed.

She could tell that Yuuichi enjoyed it too, as he crouched next to her, arms grasping some of the various metal bits that seemed to stick out of most of CHILDs for no discernable reason. The speed at which they were travelling made talking rather difficult, but once in a while she'd catch his eye and they would smile at each other.

And that was enough, really.

Lifting the ladle to her mouth, Mai took a small sip.

"…More salt." She concluded, reaching for the appropriate container.

Cooking was a routine affair in her dorm room – especially since Mikoto depended on her for food, and her surrogate sister could certainly eat a lot. Most of the time she never had to think very hard about her cooking – it came to her naturally.

Tonight, however, was not 'most of the time'. She wasn't sure who had first suggested a nighttime picnic, but for some reason it seemed a wonderful idea.

And so, she'd naturally taken on the task of preparing the food for the outing. And of course she wanted to get it just right.

As she stirred the soup a bit more, Mikoto wandered into the kitchen area, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Mai…" She mumbled sleepily. "You're still at it? You've been in here for a real long time."

"I know, I know, but…" She paused, frustrated, as she swept her gaze over the vast assemblage of pots and pans, all of them simmering with a dish of one kind or another. "I don't want to mess anything up."

Mikoto raised an eyebrow. "Mess what up? Yuuichi always loves anything you cook him!"

"Well, yes, but…It's different, okay?" Sneaking a quick glance at the clock, her eyes widened with alarm and she let out a tiny squeak. "Oh, no! The time!"

And then she was bustling about once more, doing seemingly a dozen things at once, trying to remember to turn down the heat on that one, to add the spices to that one, to…

Later, though as she watched Yuuichi's eyes widen in delight as he bit into the first of the many dishes she had prepared, she had to admit to herself that it had been well worth it.

You'd make a good wife, you know.

He'd said that to her once, shortly after they'd met. She'd laughed at the line then, commenting on how old-fashioned it sounded.

And yet, nowadays, the subject of being a wife seemed to turn up in a mind a lot more often. The thought both excited and unnerved her. The thought of settling down and being restrained warred with the idea of stability and assurance.

At times she wondered why she even thought about that sort of thing now. She hadn't even graduated from high school, for crying out loud! She was certainly too young to be thinking about such things.

But that didn't stop her, anyway. It certainly didn't stop her from imagining a future with Yuuichi. She choked down a snort of laughter at the realization that most of her imaginings had Mikoto there as well, usually in the background, but there all the same. The tiny spitfire had become as much of her life as her boyfriend, and right now the very idea of either of them vanishing permanently from it was all but unthinkable.

"Hey." She looked up to see Yuuichi walking up to her, tossing her a can of orange juice. Snatching it out of the air, she offered him a small smile of thanks.

"Hey yourself."

"So, what were you thinking about?" He questioned as he settled himself next to her.

"Oh, nothing much." Almost by itself, her hand finds his and clutches it tight. "Just you."

August 22th. Her birthday.

As she climbed out of bed, Mikoto was there, presenting her the most practical present she could possibly think of – cookies. With a smile (and a hidden chuckle) Mai accepted the plate and bit into one of them.

Natsuki had already dropped by and left a pair of earrings. She was just on the verge of picking them up to try them on when there was a hesitant knock on the door.

As she let Yuuichi into the dorm room, he presented her with a wrapped bundle. It was obviously made of cloth of some kind, and a for a moment she had a flash back to when Takumi had, in an act of misguided decency, purchased her some clothes. The fact that he'd gotten the sizes totally wrong notwithstanding, the two of them had apparently differed a lot on what constituted good taste.

So it was with the slightest bit of trepidation that she opened the bundle – and it was with raised eyebrows that she drew out a crimson scarf.

"I thought… Well, the cold's starting to come down harder, so I figured…" He trailed off, as if uncertain how to proceed.

"It's great, Yuuichi. Thanks." The material was silky against her fingers as she carefully folded it up. It might not have been the most romantic gift in the world, but if nothing else, it showed that he cared.

And she was happy with that.

It was those moments, those tiny, mundane everyday drops of life that still remained with her after all these time. Funny, really, how they came to her more readily than the supposedly 'big' romantic moments like the marriage proposals, the wedding night…

In the predawn stillness of the bedroom, Mai closed her eyes once more, burying her head in Yuuichi's chest.

This seemed like as good a moment as any to enjoy.

Story End

The scarf, in case you were wondering, is supposed to be Mai's scarf that shows up on all the promotional materials yet never actually appears in either the manga or the anime itself.

Anyway, thanks for reading, please review.