Gravity

by Webdog177

Shimako matured into a woman who could turn you into a puddle you with but a single glance. The fact that she and I always danced around each other as teenagers was just another complication, but now the two of us were drawn to each other like gravity. [Spiritual sequel to Selfish Friendship]

1. Chapter 1

I do not own Maria-sama Ga Miteru. #Sadface

A/N: And here's another one. I should really slow down but… I don't wanna.

A few of you probably have already read Selfish Friendship (one of my first dips into MariMite fandom), and for a one-shot it turned out pretty good. After the fact, I received a number to requests to continue it, but I never really could figure out how to do a continuation. That's mostly my problem, because I am pretty bad at sequels, continuations, or even drawn-out plots. It's why most of my fics are short. Lulz.

So then I was struck with this a while back, and in another conversation with a reader about Shimako's… proclivities… I figured out how to make it work.

Please note: This is a semi-sequel to Selfish Friendship, in that you don't have to read that to understand what is going on in this story, but if you had, you may find one or two nods to that in this story. It follows a 'what if' scenario that Shimako and Yumi never really acted on their attraction to each other, but were aware of it. So, they felt something for each other during school, but just never really had the opportunity to do anything about it.

Until now.

I am also writing this in a similar style to my previous fic, 'The Odd Couple', in that I am forgoing honorifics and using more 'Americanized' phrases. I feel that it flows with my writing a little better and makes for a more interesting reading.

Oh - as per my usual MO, there will be mature content in a later chapter.

Enjoy.

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Gravity

Part 1

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"Yumi?"

A quick snap of the fingers in front of my face was all it took to pull my attention away from wherever it was – who can really tell what you are thinking about when you zone out? – and I blinked, turning towards the voice that called out to me.

"Huh?"

My co-worker leaned towards me, her hands on her hips and her eyes focused so hard on my face, I was sure I would catch fire. "I just asked you if you were alright, Yumi."

"Oh. Oh! Uh… yea." I mumbled, averting my eyes as I normally did when people stared at me. I never really knew why, but I always got a little uncomfortable when I saw stared at. "Just… thinking."

"That's never a good thing." She said, her lips quirking up slightly. "I don't really know how you can think in here, anyway."

I shrugged, spreading my attention around the café. It wasn't necessarily busy at the moment – the night shift never was – but there was still a fair amount of college-age students and younger adults milling around, enjoying a late evening coffee or snack. It was never too late for caffeine, it seemed.

"Just a talent, Megumi." I said slowly and shrugged, moving to slide a tray filled with empty mugs into my arms. "Always been pretty good at zoning out."

She snorted at that, and opened her mouth to reply when a voice called out from a booth, "Excuse me, Miss? Can I get another cup?"

I sighed softly and made to set my tray down when Megumi touched my arm lightly. "Go ahead and take your break Yumi. I got this."

"You sure?" I asked, but secretly wilted in relief. I had been working since the afternoon shift and I was tired. I was done for the night in another two hours, but a short break wouldn't hurt.

"Ayup." She grinned brightly at my, winking. "Go pee or whatever it is you do when you're on your break. Chillax."

I returned the girl's smile and nodded my head in thanks, brushing my hands together and walking past the doors to the back of the café. I passed the cooking area and pushed the door open to the employee bathroom, locking it behind me. The loud 'click' of the lock sounded and I felt my spine stiffen at the sound, but I ignored it and approached the sink.

The dull, florescent lights flickered on by the time I placed my hands on the tiled sink, and I raised my eyes to inspect myself in the mirror. I looked tired, and a little ragged, but other than that, I looked like I normally did when I saw myself in the mirror. Brown eyes, brown hair, a slightly roundish face that only seemed to become less childish as I entered my twenties. Now at a solid twenty-five, I looked more like an adult than I ever would have guessed.

But I still had that little issue with my facial expressions. Everyone could always tell what I was feeling; which made keeping things to myself a challenge.

I tilted my head to the side and ran my fingers through my loose hair. I had long ago abandoned the pig-tails I wore all the time in High School. I don't really know why. At some point I just felt like I needed a change, and changing the hairstyle I wore ever since childhood seemed like the way to go. Everyone had been pretty surprised, but after the initial shock wore off, they told me I looked more mature, and fitting to my position as the future Rosa Chinensis.

But that was years ago.

Long story short… I graduated, went to university, graduated again, went to graduate school, graduated again, and suddenly lost my focus. Just like that. I didn't know what I wanted to do anymore. Both my undergrad and graduate degrees were in architectural design and engineering… but I just lost my interest in the field shortly after finishing my Masters. Ever since then I have been kind of drifting, working part time jobs, occasionally taking various classes to see if something clicked, and living on my own in Tokyo.

It wasn't a glamorous life, and at time it was frustrating. But it was mine.

I still talked to my friends from school on occasion. Well, most of them, anyway. Sachiko and Touko messaged me pretty often, and even saw me in person almost every two weeks. But with Touko busy with the hospital and most of Sachiko's time taken up by her being… well… Sachiko… there simply wasn't enough time to see one another. Yoshino and Rei kept up with me up until I graduated, but I hadn't really talked to them much since then. Only the occasional email or text message let me know that they still were alive.

As for the others…

Well, suffice it to say I didn't have many other friends I still talked to. We simply fell out of touch after high school.

Shit happens, as they say. Everything changes once you grow up; your goals change, your friends change, you change. Barely anything stays the same and it's all you can do to hold onto what you cherish most and keep it close. Because if you doubt yourself, and you never really care to take what you want and aren't even the tiniest bit selfish for something you care about, then you can – and will – lose it.

Holding back a grimace at myself in the mirror, I splashed water on my face, ran a towel across my cheeks and forehead – careful not to smudge my makeup – and unceremoniously exited the bathroom. I ran my fingers through my hair a final time before I entered the main floor, and then with a heavy sigh, pushed myself through the door. Megumi glanced up from her notepad as she was writing an order and her dark eyebrow raised in question. I simply shrugged and, plastering a grin on my face as usual, my break ended just like that.

The minutes flew by as I took orders, made coffee and charmed our clientele. Being outwardly friendly was important in the service industry and I was good at it, even if I wasn't feeling particularly charitable that evening. But after working at this café for a full year now, it was pretty much ingrained into me to slap on a fake smile when I wasn't feeling one-hundred percent.

That little skill was particular useful when I was having my period. Though, the regulars and my co-workers were familiar with my little 'expression issue' to see past it and steer clear of my resting bitch face.

"Evening!" I chirped as I approached a recently occupied table. The pair of girls – high school age at first glance – looked up at me with unreadable smiles. "What can I get you girls?"

"Coffee, please." Girl number one said.

"Tea for me." Girl number two added, and I jotted their order down.

"You want black tea, green tea, Oolong tea, Jasmine…" I rattled off the teas we stocked and I almost laughed at girl two's widening eyes as I reached our fifteenth variety. "We also have tea bags and tea leaves."

"I… uh…" She stammered. "Just… iced tea, please." Her head ducked and her friend snorted a laugh.

I felt bad for the girl, and winked down at the pair. "Don't worry – I'll take care of it. I made a killer passionfruit iced tea. Be back in a sec."

Winding behind to counter I set to work on their coffee and iced tea. The coffee was easy, as we had a machine for that sort of thing. But ever since my days at Lillian, tea was something you had to do by hand; especially the mixed teas.

"Megumi, where's the muddler?" I called out to the girl, who was currently shuffling things around on her tray to take back to her booth.

"Uh…" She closed her eyes in concentration. "Second cabinet to the left from the one that has the thingy. The box thing with filters." Then, nodding, she made her way to her booth, her arms full of food and drink.

"Thingy. Right." I muttered with a shake of my head. I found the muddler, of course. Megumi was weird, but she had a good memory for small things. I returned to my work and, dumping all my ingredients in a Boston Shaker – also wondering if I could possibly find my calling as a bartender –, I plunged the small instrument of metal and plastic into the shaker, mixing all the ingredients together. I finished with a mixture of fruit juice and black tea, and dropped a maraschino cherry into the large glass I poured the entire thing into.

I returned to the pair of girls a few moments later with a cup of coffee and my tea and fruit concoction, and placed them on their table. "One coffee and Tea of Doom for you girls. Enjoy."

"Thanks!" They said together, and I lingered around for another moment as my tea was sipped at tentatively. A second later girl two's eyes lit up and she smiled widely at me.

"Wow! This is excellent!" She beamed.

Shrugging, I smiled back and dipped my head "Thanks a bunch. I appreciate it. If you need anything else, let me know." And I continued on with my night.

That was usually how all my evenings went. Aside from the odd request or cute girls that came for a drink or small meal, there was little else to keep me occupied as I drifted through my mid-twenties. Nothing really changed, and nothing else really happened that stood out to me.

I knew, eventually, I would have to shake myself out of this funk, or someone else would do it for me. Touko, for one, would never let me live it down if she got her medical degree before I finally settled down with a goal. Sachiko offered, more than once, to set me up with a position in her family's company… but I couldn't do that. This was my life, and I had to make my own way. Find my own relationships and interests.

"Winner, winner, chicken dinner." I mumbled to myself, nonsensically.

The bell at the front door jingled as another customer walked in, and I slapped back on my 'friendly' face, calling out for the single woman to find a place anywhere, and I'll be right with her. I made a pass behind the counter to snatch up my notepad and find a pen – just in case the woman ordered more than a couple items – and take a short breather moving things around, only to put them back where they were again, and then finally made my way to the new customer currently sitting by herself at one of our smaller booths.

"What can I get you?" I asked, my typical smile firmly in pace. It was almost closing, and the closer it got, the harder it was to keep the face in place.

"I'm not sure." She replied softly, flicking a small, two-sided paper menu around to read down our list. "I've never been here before and I don't really know what you have."

I shrugged. "Your typical café stuff." Only after I said it did I realize how unhelpful it sounded. "We have coffee, tea, juice, sodas, snacks, baked goods and smaller food items, as long as intensive preparation isn't involved." I leaned down, lowering my voice to a whisper. "And if you ask real nicely, we have some stronger stuff in the back if you want to slip a little something in your coffee." The woman seemed about my age, and well-put together with her cream-colored sweater and tan knee-length dress, but you never know who might be a secret alcoholic…

She chuckled, her voice softly floating around me. "I'll pass on the harder stuff. Alcohol and I do not mix very well." She trailed her index finger down the menu for a few more moments, and I began to shift on my feet anxiously. "What kind of tea do you have?"

Rolling my eyes, I rattled off my usual list of our extensive teas and prepared myself for the usual stammer I received, when the woman actually surprised me by answering, "I think Jasmine sounds lovely. With milk and honey, if you have it."

I blinked slowly, my brain working to find a response that I had ingrained into me from years back, but had never had the opportunity to use since then. "O-of course." I cleared my throat softly. "Would you like any biscuits or cookies to go along with that?"

"That would be lovely." She replied, her voice as soft and measured, not giving away anything the more vocal customers usually did. I dipped my head instinctively and back away to my refuge behind the counter and went about preparing the tea. As my hands worked, I couldn't help but think back to my days in the Rose Mansion, helping to prepare tea like this for my friends in the Yamayurikai. As I got older the task was usually dedicated to the younger girls; Touko and Noriko… and then Nana and Aya once Touko offered her Rosary. But I still remembered those days. And as I added a dose of milk to a small cup beside the teacup, I couldn't help but think this reminded me of those days, and I trembled slightly with nostalgia.

I gathered a few cookies from the package and placed then attractively on a plate, balancing everything on a tray. I returned back to the booth, smiling politely to the pair of girls I served earlier as they waved at me as they were leaving, and I carefully placed the teacup, milk and cookies down on the table, making sure I didn't forget anything, and finally met the woman's eyes for the first time.

A pair of silvery-blue eyes stared back at me, wide, clear and doll-like. Her face was clear, creamy-white, and set into a look of bewilderment. Her hair, wavy and light-brown, almost chestnut-colored, fell in waves over her shoulders and down to the middle of her back.

As I stared at her face, my eyes taking in every inch of her near-porcelain appearance, I felt my mouth dry up, every bit of moisture leaving it as I realized I knew her. I fucking knew her.

"Yumi…?" She asked, carefully.

I stood there, my fingers tightly grasping the tray in my hands as though it would clatter to the ground at any minute. I blinked rapidly, my brain trying its hardest to reboot and come up with something – anything – intelligent to say. But if there was one thing I was sure of, I definitely knew who those silvery eyes belonged to. "Shimako?"

We were quiet for a long time, simply starting at one another, taking each other in. Our faces, matured by time and the baby fat that was once there gone. Our bodies and limbs, longer and leaner, more defined and sure of themselves. And our eyes, sharper, filled with experience and wisdom that only life than give.

She was different, that was certain. She looked different… but somehow, still the same.

Eventually, I heard footsteps come up behind me and I jumped as Megumi tapped me on the shoulder. "Is everything okay here ladies?" She asked politely, though I could pick up some concern in her tone. "Yumi?"

I blinked again, my eyes darting from my old friend to my co-worker, and I forced a smile – one im sure Megumi… and Shimako, now that I thought about it, knew was fake – to the others. "Y-yea! We are fine. This is… an old friend of mine, that's all." My gaze flitted past my 'friend's', and I ignored the unreadable look that came out of those silver eyes. Instead, I hefted the tray in my arms and grinned. "If you need anything else, let me know." And with that, I walked back behind the counter as quickly as I could without making it obvious.

I felt her eyes on me as I cleaned. Well, pretended to clean, anyway. With my suddenly pounding heart and shaky hands there was no way I would get any proper cleaning done and, seeing as she was only of the only customers left, aside from a couple pairs of night-owls that friggin' loved their coffee, it wouldn't really matter if I pretended to do work instead of actually do work. But even as I tried to pretend to be useful, I knew she was watching me.

I mean, what are the chances? Here I was, years later, waffling around trying to find out what I want out of life, and here comes the girl that always knew what she wanted, ever since she was little. Here comes the girl that was, quite possibly, one of my closest friends in school. Here comes the girl, who perhaps meant the most to me out of everyone – right up there with Touko and Sachiko.

Finally, after trying and failing to wipe a chip in the countertop that never really want away, I growled in frustration and set my shoulders, walking out from behind the counter and up to Shimako's booth. She blinked languidly as I approached, an easy smile appearing on her lips.

"I never really took you for a night person." I said, not having anything really constructive to say. Not my best ice-breaker, but hey, cut me some slack; the woman caught me somewhat unawares.

"I'm not eighteen anymore, Yumi." She replied softly, her eyes tracing my face as if to memorize it. "There's a lot you probably don't know about me these days."

Shrugging, I frowned. "I guess. I mean, we never really talked much after Lillian…" I trailed off, then pursed my lips. "Well, at any rate, it sure was a surprise seeing you here."

"You as well." She said, the corners of her mouth climbing upwards. "I never expected you to be a waitress in a small café."

I smirked, feeling a little inexplicably playful. "Yea, well, I'm not eighteen anymore. There's a lot you don't know about me." Only after I said that did I realize how flirty I sounded, and I clenched my hands at my sides, my cheeks burning slightly.

To her credit, Shimako only grinned wider. "Yes, I suppose so." She picked up her teacup and took a sip. "Your hair is different." She finally observed.

I reached up and tugged at my bangs. "Yea… I got rid of the pig-tails a while ago. I like this better."

She nodded. "It suits you." She took another sip.

"Thanks." I said, then blurted out, "You're really attractive – you look great, I mean. Shit! I mean, you look good." I immediately felt my cheeks burn hotter and I wanted to curl into a ball.

Apparently, Shimako hadn't expected me to say that, and she choked on her tea, bringing up her hand to cover her mouth.

"S-sorry!" I stammered. "I'm… I'm just gonna go die now. Megumi will check you out – I mean… bring you your check. Damn it... sorry!" I snapped off a quick bow and awkwardly backed away from my old friend, all but running to the back room. As soon as I was out of eyeshot from everyone, including a surprised-looking Megumi, I ran my hands through my hair and moaned aloud.

What the fuck am I doing!? I raged to myself as I collapsed against the wall. I breathed deeply for a few minutes to calm my heart down and snatched my keys and purse from my locker, nearly slamming the back door as I left the building.

How embarrassing. The first time I see my friend, even one like Shimako, in years, and I have to screw it up by saying stupid shit like that.

"You're really attractive. You look great." I whispered mockingly to myself as I walked down the street in the direction of my apartment.

True or not, there wasn't a lot of better ways to properly shove my foot in my mouth in front of a girl like Shimako Toudo.

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End of Part 1

A/N: And yet another fic to add to my Yumi-centered harem. Muahahah~

Again, as this is a semi-sequel, this one doesn't follow the exact events of Selfish Friendship, as you can probably tell. In Selfish Friendship, Yumi and Shimako got together and starting dating (one can assume), but in this AU, they never actually got together. But, clearly, there was something there between them. And here they are, years later, as if pulled together with gravity.

Lol. Get it?

Please comment/favorite/follow~

***Will work for glomps***