A/N: Time skip. Oh, and I'm doing some character recycling from previous works (Satoshi).
Chapter 2
"I think I'm done."
That sentence, out of nowhere, was followed by an obnoxiously loud slurp as Mai finished up her drink, mostly imbibing air. Masako slowly put her book down and raised her eyes to find Mai staring at her with a defeated, but serene smile.
"Yes, you're just drinking iced-flavored air now."
Mai burst out laughing. "That was a good one! Ha-ha-ha! But no, you dummy! I meant Naru."
Masako rolled her eyes, annoyed that Mai would choose to go back to believing it would be so easy to do so, just like that. They'd been telling themselves that for years and yet two years later, after sitting in that same cafe lamenting about how much their love for him made them so jealous to the point that they ended up sometimes hating each other, they were still pining for him.
At least she was still willing to admit it.
"Right," was all that she could say, tone dripping with much sarcasm.
"I know what you're thinking. You think that I think I'm over him. Well, you're wrong because I know I'm not."
Masako sighed, placing a hand under her chin and leaning forward on the table. "So what then?"
"I'm done. I just don't think I can stand to keep loving him any longer than I have already and still get nowhere. I haven't moved on, but I want to move on. Even if it means lying to myself about it."
In her mind she wanted to scream that she was actually so very close. She was practically at the finish line. She just needed to hang in there for a little bit longer. But looking at Mai's determined face made her stop in her tracks.
How long had Mai been trying? It was unfair to ask more from her.
If Mai was done holding on to that hope, then she was done. If she believed she could find happiness elsewhere, then she had all the right to seek it elsewhere, preferably from someone who could make her happy without making her wait ten thousand years for it. Mai deserved that.
Naru should have tried harder. He was so stupid.
"Fine. But know that I'll take this as an opportunity."
"Sure, but I don't think you need to rely on 'opportunities'," she replied with a shrug. Masako raised her brow at this and in response, Mai just smiled wryly. "Still don't believe me, huh? You really can't see that he has a soft spot for you?"
"I don't want to hear that coming from a blind idiot like you."
"You're even starting to sound like him! You hang out too much."
"Mai!"
"Even the intonation…"
Masako scoffed in annoyance and crossed her arms. After a few moments of silence (she had been ignoring Mai's silent snickering), she asked, "So. What made you decide this all of a sudden?"
"Ah. Actually I've been going to mixers with friends lately. One guy asked me out a couple of weeks ago. I never followed through, but he asked me out again yesterday. I thought he would have forgotten about me by now."
"Hm. And what sort of person is he?"
"He's really nice and outgoing. Just a little older than me. I think he's kind of cool."
Masako massaged her temples. "And you're serious about seeing this guy?"
"I at least want to try. We're going out for dinner tonight."
"Where?"
"We agreed nothing too fancy. Just at a yakiniku bar nearby. We'll keep it casual."
"Alright. Just be careful, and don't get too much alcohol. You know you start acting stupid when you're drunk."
Mai rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. You guys just won't drop it, will you? Even Naru still brings that up during the holiday parties. Sheesh."
-000-
"She's done."
Masako watched as Naru's paused in his movement, brows furrowing in confusion.
"Who is?"
She sighed loudly and placed her fork down. "Mai."
"...Shall I name every activity she's prone to doing until I find the correct answer to your mysterious puzzle?"
Masako rolled her eyes. "With you. She's done with you. How do you feel about that now, still feeling cheeky?"
At this, Naru didn't respond. He simply went back to his pasta and only after a few minutes of silence did he ask nonchalantly, "What am I supposed to feel?"
"Probably like a failure."
A gentle smile played at the corner of his lips. "Is that how you feel?"
Masako raised her brow. "What is that supposed to mean?"
But Naru merely shrugged. "Is there something we should do about it?"
"Well, I suppose I am interested to see what this man is like. She claims he is nice. Maybe have her bring him in to the office next time so we could all meet him. I'm sure Takigawa-san and the others would be curious as well."
"It's not my place to ask to meet her boyfriend."
"He is not her boyfriend. They're still just dating to see if they could work out. And I suppose it would be strange for you to ask. Very well, I'll speak to her later, myself."
Naru gently patted his lips with napkin and carelessly flipped through the menu again. "Shall we try their struffoli this time?"
"Oh yes, I have been curious about it. Though, that might be too sweet for you…"
"That's fine. If I don't like it, you can always just give it to Mai for tomorrow."
Masako hummed. "Okay, I think she might enjoy this one."
-000-
Yasuhara was the last one to exit out the door. Before fully leaving, the group turned back around and with a wave, bid her another goodbye, with Mai's voice rising above the others.
"See you again later!"
She smiled and dipped her head in response.
Once the door clicked close, the office, which had been so full of life just minutes ago, descended into absolute silence. Masako glanced toward Naru's office and sighed. She headed toward the kitchenette and began preparing a pot of tea, her practiced hands automatically knowing exactly how much to use and how long to steep, even as she did it absentmindedly.
When her preparation was finished, she knocked before opening his door.
"Would you like some tea?"
Naru nodded, not even bothering to look up from his computer.
She entered the room and gently closed the door behind her. As she placed his cup on his table, she peered over his shoulder and asked, "Is it that important?" She did not wait for an invitation as she sat down on the empty seat across from him.
"The deadline is in three days."
"But you didn't even get to meet him. What was the point of inviting him over?"
"I was not the one who invited him, Mai did. Because you suggested for the group to meet him." He typed a couple more sentences in before pushing his seat back a little, sighing and pressing lightly on his eyes. "Besides, that offer was extended nearly two months ago. Things come up. I will not work around his schedule."
"Fair enough."
Naru reached for his cup and took a sip, glancing at her with an incline of his head and asked, "And? What did you think? I do hope he eventually made favorable impression for himself."
"'Eventually'? You barely even met him. What impression could you have gotten from the five second introduction you graced him with?"
"Aside from the impertinence he's shown in coming to the office with barely even a notice, notwithstanding the fact that it is already so far removed from the day when the invitation was first extended to begin with, seeing him in person today for even just five seconds is more than enough time for me to form a negative conclusion." He took another sip.
"Really? Without sufficient data?"
"It's easy to extrapolate. He is obnoxious, over-confident, loud, and much too talkative. In other words, completely irritating."
"How did you conclude that?"
"His pants were far too bold."
Masako hid a grin behind her kimono sleeve. "I had no idea you hated yellow."
"I don't particularly. But he went out of his way to choose a particularly bright color out of the norm, wanting to stick out as much as possible so he can unapologetically showcase his uniqueness."
Masako laughed. "A fine psychologist!"
"Somebody ought to tell him how ridiculous it looks. Though I suppose none of his friends could ever say any word edgewise since he loves to dominate all conversation. It was hard to drown out his voice, hence why I have fallen behind on my paper."
"Wow. You hate him that much?"
He shrugged carelessly.
"Could you be feeling jealous?"
At this he gave no reply, but he held her gaze with an intense and inscrutable expression. She wondered if she'd ever find out was going on in his mind.
"Well… aside from his questionable fashion sense, he seemed like a nice man. He was very charming, knew how to carry on a conversation with everybody, and was very enthusiastic."
"So you see, I was entirely correct."
Masako ignored him. "He's an up-and-coming music producer. Apparently he and Takigawa-san have shared acquaintances. Everyone appeared to like him very much, and he seemed very attentive to Mai as well..."
The words seem to hang in the air, with nowhere else to go. Naru was apparently sticking to his conclusion, and she had nothing else to report on the matter. Satoshi-san was a lost cause.
"Why are you grimacing?" Naru asked, and with a smug raise of his brow teased, "Not so charming after all, was he then?"
"... No, actually, he really was. I think he would suit her very well. It's just that…"
When Naru made no sign of leading her on, she huffed and spat, "I don't know why, but I just didn't like him."
"I see. What will you tell Mai?"
"Should I say anything? I suppose I really should. It wouldn't be good to lie to her." Masako bit her lip. "I will tell her about my feelings, but I should probably wait until after their honeymoon phase to give them some time."
At this, Naru suddenly started having a coughing fit. Masako was both piqued and amazed at how even when choking, Naru still managed to appear graceful.
She made a motion to stand up but Naru brought up his hand and shook his head, indicating she didn't need to trouble herself on his account.
"Are you alright?"
He nodded and rubbed his throat.
Then as it dawned on her, she began to laugh. "Oh! I am talking about that period early on in the relationship where everything about each other makes you happy. Not the wedding definition and whatever deed goes along with it." But thinking she also enjoyed teasing him (especially while he was still down), she added, "But of course, that kind of thing is also very likely to happen."
Naru grabbed a napkin nearby and wiped his desk. He chose not to meet her eyes as he retorted in irritation, "I didn't ask about any useless information, Hara-san."
"Of course. My mistake."
He scooted his seat back toward the table again, made a couple of clicks, and then shut the monitor off. He stood up and grabbed both their empty cups from the table and made his way to the door. Before crossing the threshold, he turned around and asked, "Do you have something else scheduled for the rest of tonight?"
"No." Masako stood up and followed him out toward the kitchenette.
He turned on the faucet and began washing the cups. "Then would you like to accompany me for dinner?"
"I thought you had that paper to write?"
He smiled wryly. "Break."
Back when they were younger, Masako wouldn't have believed Naru even knew that word existed. And now here he was, extending out dinner invitations.
Masako smiled. "Okay."
