From the DC Yaoi/Yuri kink meme last summer, the prompt was Akako/Aoko, "Things would be a lot simpler if they were the same species."
A Class of Her Own
Things would be a lot simpler if they had anything in common. Akako was a mythical creature, a queen in a high school uniform. She was so stunning, so magnetic, that Aoko sometimes whiled away hours in class wondering if she really was some kind of fairy or alien or angel. She enjoyed thinking about it, even if all of those ideas were ridiculous. She got the feeling that Akako wasn't nice enough to be an angel.
Not that Akako wasn't nice! She just wasn't overly friendly to people she didn't know. She was perfectly charming and elegant once you were talking to her.
Aoko was kind of undesireable by comparison. She was uncultured, she didn't really act like a lady, and she could never get her hair to be quite straight. There was no reason for Akako to talk to her except that by some freak coincidence, they were in the same class.
And Akako had a thing for Kaito.
She was supposed to be mad about that. Akako had certainly expected her to be, when she made it clear how she felt on the ski trip. Keiko told Aoko again and again that she had every right to be mad that Akako was going after her best friend, and always gave "best friend" a certain emphasis that indicated that Keiko didn't think that was all that was going on. But that wasn't how Aoko felt about Kaito and she wasn't mad at anyone. She got mad at Kaito for lots of things, but never something this serious. And it made her miserable that they would probably be dating before long, but she wasn't going to say anything if that was what Akako wanted. She wasn't going to begrudge her best friend for winning the heart of the most beautiful girl in Japan.
Especially because Akako's infatuation with Kaito was the only reason Aoko was able to spend time with her at all. Shows and outings that had always just been her and Kaito suddenly included a third member. Delighted with this development, Aoko never failed to invite Akako whenever she and Kaito went anywhere. It still hurt, though, that every invitation to get together without Kaito, just the two of them, were always met with excuses or polite, charming refusals. Akako never turned you down in a way that could make you resent her for it. Perhaps it would be more kind if she flat-out stomped on your heart, but Aoko doubted that Akako had any idea how much it hurt to be not good enough. Aoko wondered if she would be better off if she could just hate Akako, like most of the other girls in their class.
Still, she couldn't help being thrilled when Akako invited both her and Kaito to a magic show given by a European stage magician, and paid for both their tickets. She could have just invited Kaito, but she didn't, which meant she at least valued Aoko as a friend, and maybe that was good enough.
"Akako-chan!" she called when she caught sight of that perfect curtain of hair. She waved energetically and jogged towards her. Akako turned and her mouth spread into a slow, elegant smile. She moved towards them. "You weren't waiting long for us, were you?"
"Of course not. I had the strangest feeling Kuroba might be running late."
"Ha ha," said Kaito.
"He was! It took me fifteen minutes to drag him out the door!" said Aoko, but she felt like she had somehow missed the joke.
"Shall we go in?" suggested Akako. She briefly fished in her purse, and pulled out three tickets. Aoko and Kaito took their tickets. They filtered into the lobby with the rest of the crowd. Kaito, who had been looking sullen since Akako had teased him, brightened at the sight of the bar in the lobby.
"You guys want anything?" he asked. Aoko hesitated and looked at Akako, wondering what she would think.
"They won't give us anything alcoholic. We're underage," she said, playing it safe.
"Don't worry about that," said Kaito, standing very straight, winking, and smoothing his button-up shirt. "I can get us a few drinks."
Akako asked for something Aoko couldn't pronounce.
"Aoko?" said Kaito.
"Um, something with fruit juice in it?" she suggested.
"Aoko, there are literally a billion mixed drinks that include fruit juice."
"You're making fun of me! I bet they won't even give you anything!"
"Challenge accepted!" Kaito announced. He disappeared in a small puff of smoke.
"That may have been overdoing it," observed Akako.
"Kaito always overdoes everything," said Aoko. Stupid, why were they talking about Kaito? She searched for something else to say. "Um, I like your blouse! You look really nice!" Of course, that just remind Aoko that her own outfit probably made her look like a kid. Akako's wine-colored blouse made her look very dignified. Aoko was wearing a patterned dress that she thought was cute, but in retrospect it was probably a bit casual for going to a show.
"Thank you," said Akako. They fell into awkward silence.
"Do you like magic shows, Akako?" What was she saying, of course Akako liked magic, otherwise she wouldn't have invited them here.
"I wouldn't say that," said Akako. "I have nothing but contempt for petty tricks and illusions. You could say that stage magicians are my enemies."
Aoko stared, unsure how to respond. "What do you mean by -"
"Ladies!" Kaito interrupted her by appearing out of thin air between them. "Your beverages."
Aoko took something orange from him and dropped the subject. She counted herself lucky to be able to hang out with Akako, but sometimes it felt like they weren't even the same species.
OMAKE
Akako was the first to take a sip.
"Kuroba," she said, voice low and dangerous. "This is apple juice."
"Yeah, they were asking for ID," said Kaito, slurping his chocolate milkshake through a straw.
"Ha, I knew it!" said Aoko. "And give me some of that milkshake."
"No way, it's mine!" Kaito was off and she was close on his heels. She was weaving between a surprised couple when she remembered that this wasn't exactly dignified behavior. She looked back at Akako. Kaito had somehow circled around and was passing her, and she reached out and plucked the milkshake out of his hands.
"Hey," he said. She took a long sip, than looked up at Aoko and held it out to her.
"Thank you, Akako," she said, and accepted the drink with great poise.