A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Both were guest reviewers so I couldn't properly reply but I really, really appreciated it! There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter, but hopefully it's alright.
Oh, this is weird, but I have this tendency to forget that Okabe doesn't live at the future gadget lab? So in this AU, it's his actual apartment. You think a college student can afford to rent out TWO places? (I mean in the anime he falls asleep on the couch all the time there it's not like it's totally implausible)
Not beta'd, but proofread. Thank you for reading!
"What are you thinking about?" Daru asked, catching Okabe's attention. Come to think of it, he thought, I probably was staring into space.
"Lots of things, as usual, why?"
"You just seemed so serious all of a sudden," he didn't look away from the glow of the computer screen, clicking around. At a quick glance, Okabe could tell he was playing some sort of RPG, which was fine. At least it wasn't one of those trashy games; he really didn't want Daru playing those in his apartment. Mayuri didn't need to see that. Hell, Okabe himself didn't need to see that. "How was the summer festival? Sorry I couldn't come. LAN party."
"It was fine. Mayuri and Ruka enjoyed it. I ran into someone who has a lab with me, too."
"Oh yeah? I didn't know you actually made friends in college," he snorted, and Okabe rolled his eyes.
"We weren't friends at first, but she seems quite intriguing, honestly," his phone buzzed. Speak of the devil, he thought.
"Wait a minute. She?"
He groaned. "Slow down there, cassanova. At the first mention of a girl, you start drooling. None at your LAN parties?"
Daru grumbled something that was probably an insult, but Okabe didn't pay attention and opened the text message, which was indeed from who he had saved in his phone as "Christina".
Hey, what's going on? She wrote.
Not much, tbh, he replied, I thought about going shopping but it's far too hot for me. What's on your mind, Christina?
Still no Tina. And I know how you feel. This hotel feels so empty.
A hotel? He asked, How pricey.
My dad lives here; he got it for me, she wrote back.
Why can't you just stay with him?
It's...really complicated. :/
He decided not to press the issue. Ah, well, at least you live comfortable, Miss Moneybags.
You're such a pain in the ass…, she replied, and he could virtually see her eyes rolling.
Hey, you texted first.
Whatever. Does that offer to visit the…"lab" still stand?
Always.
Might make my way over there soon.
He felt his chest tighten in excitement for...whatever reason. He dismissed it. No time for those feelings. Nope. No way. Alright. It's just me and my friend Daru over now, but Mayuri is going to come by, too.
Sounds good, I'll see you soon, then!
I eagerly await your arrival, Christina.
All she replied with was, Ugh.
"Who are you texting? You're waiting for replies like your life depends on it," Daru said.
"I am? What?"
He chuckled. "Yeah, you type and then stare at the screen."
"You're thinking too much," he scoffed.
"You didn't answer my first question; who are you texting?"
"Oh, um," he looked away, "A girl from one of my classes at the university."
Daru laughed a bit. "Really? You talk to girls?"
"More than you do," he shot back, "And I can talk like a normal person, too."
"Whatever you say, Hououin Kyouma," he snorted.
Okabe sighed and went to search the fridge, to no avail. "Mayushi said she would get us some groceries," Daru said, not looking away from the computer screen.
"Ah, yes, I remember her telling me I'm too skinny and need to eat more and drink more water."
Daru leaned back in his chair. "Where would you be without her?"
He smiled fondly at the ground. "That's a good question." There was a knocking at the door.
"Is that her?"
"No, she wouldn't knock," he ran his fingers through his hair and opened the door. "Good afternoon, Christina."
She wrinkled her nose. "You're glad I don't feel like walking all the way back to the hotel. It's Kurisu, if you've forgotten." she looked around the room with interest. "I didn't get to see the inside of this place the other night. It looks like...a fraternity boy's room."
"What's a fraternity?" Daru turned around to face her, eyes widened as he looked her up and down. She squinted at him in warning.
"Oh, you guys don't have those, I forgot. It's something kind of like a club in American university, but more...important, I guess," she explained, "I'm sure you can read about them on the internet," she said casually. A realization hit her and she covered her face with her hand. "God, I'm sorry, I should introduce myself. I'm Makise Kurisu,"she said in Daru's direction.
"Make yourself at home," Okabe offered, and she took a seat on the couch after taking off her shoes.
"So, you're the girl he's been so eagerly texting," Daru concluded with a smug smile.
Okabe groaned, suddenly embarrassed. "Shut up, hack."
Kurisu, on the other hand, didn't look that embarrassed or even offended. "I don't take that long to reply, do I?" she joked.
"No, Daru is just being a smartass," Okabe said. The door handle clicked, and Mayuri came waltzing in with grocery bags.
"Hi!" she greeted everyone, placing the bags on the kitchen counter. "I got some groceries!"
Okabe was about to thank her, but she was running to the couch to hug their guest. "Kurisu!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know you were coming!"
She seemed a little taken aback, but she she smiled nonetheless. "It's good to see you too. Yeah, it was kind of an impromptu visit. They make you grocery shop for them?"
"No!" she laughed. "They just forget sometimes, and Mayushi likes to help out."
"They're very lucky to have you around then," Kurisu said, and Okabe smiled faintly. Kurisu was so sweet and gentle to Mayuri, despite not knowing her for every long. But, it was hard to not immediately like Mayuri. "Although this place could use a declutter. How's Ruka?" she turned back to Mayuri.
"She's good! Just busy at work."
"Work?"
"She's a shrine maiden," Mayuri said, proud of her friend. "You should come with me to visit the shrine sometime!"
"That would be nice," she said. "You spend a lot of time around here?"
"Of course! This is where my friends are," she grinned.
"Shall we make lunch with the groceries Mayuri has granted us?" Okabe asked in typical dramatic fashion.
"Or," Daru began, "We can go to Queen May's."
"Queen May's?" Kurisu asked.
"She's never been! We should go!" Mayuri said. "Faris is working."
Daru nearly leaped out of his chair. "Don't need to tell me twice."
"It's a maid cafe," Okabe explained. "Daru is quite fond of it."
Kurisu was cautious at the idea of a maid cafe. "Well...I haven't eaten at all today. I might as well go."
"You'll like it, I promise!" Mayuri assured her. Kurisu set her caution aside-how bad could it really be?
"It's quiet today," Daru said.
"There's no Rai-Net tournament going on for people to flock to," Okabe said as a waitress brought their drinks. "Oh, hello Faris."
"Hi, Kyouma," she said sweetly. "Who's this?" she looked over at Kurisu. "A new girlfriend?"
Kurisu stammered a bit, feeling her ears become warm before managing a, "No!" in English.
"Ah, I thought otherwise," she snickered. "What can I get you to eat, meowsters?"
Everyone ordered their lunch, Kurisu deciding on some chestnut rice. Faris wrote down their orders and flounced off. "Kurigohan in the summer?" Okabe turned to her. "I'm surprised they even have chestnuts this time of year."
She shrugged. "It's one of my favorite foods and I never get to have it in America."
"I think it's funny Faris thought you were Okarin's girlfriend," Mayuri said with a mischievous smile.
Kurisu covered her blushing face. "Whatever."
"I didn't know you were so offended by the idea of being my significant other, Christina."
"Call me by my real name and maybe I'll think about it," she shot back, taking a sip of her iced coffee.
Daru laughed. "Another loss for Okabe."
"Be nice!" Mayuri scolded him. Okabe flashed a thankful smile in her direction.
It wasn't long before Faris brought their food. Kurisu smiled as she took her first bite. "Mm, I haven't this in ages," she said. "The food here is good, I'll give them that."
"I knew you would like it!" Mayuri said. "I work here part time."
Kurisu looked at her curiously. "Oh? How's that?"
"It's fun! It's kinda like cosplaying,"
"Everyone's nice to you, right?" she asked. It was clear she was making sure there weren't any creepy guys taking advantage of Mayuri's sweetness while she was working.
"Of course!" she assured her, taking a bite of her sashimi. "I like working here."
"I'm glad to hear that, honey," she said honestly. As Okabe got into a discussion with Daru and Mayuri, Kurisu found herself looking at the busy streets of Akihabara through the window. It reminded her of home (home? She wasn't sure what was home yet.), of America, in the big city where her mother lived. Always crowded, everyone beelining to wherever they needed to go, no one really stopping to talk. It was fascinating to watch when you weren't caught up in the action. She rested her head on the cold glass of the window, stirring the last bit of her rice mindlessly with her chopsticks.
"Are you alright, Christina?" Okabe asked softly, snapping her out of her dreamy state.
"Sorry, my mind tends to wander," she said.
"It's fine," he said honestly, "Mine does too."
"I can imagine."
"What's on your mind?" he asked.
"Lots of things. America, I guess."
"You miss it?" he seemed a bit sad at the prospect for some reason.
She shook her head. "No. I don't know. I kind of don't know where I want to be right now," her cheeks reddened. "Sorry, I don't mean to get all sappy."
"It's alright," he said, and she could tell he meant it. She smiled, and he returned it. She could feel her stomach flutter and quickly looked away. There was no way she could feel like that about him! He was kind of crazy, and never called her by her first name...but there really was something about that messy dark hair and those hazel eyes. Damn it! She thought.
"I think Faris was right, Kurisu and Okarin make a pretty good pair," Mayuri said.
"I was thinking that, too, but when has Okabe ever gotten a girl?" Daru asked.
Okabe frowned. "And when have you?"
"I've gotten tons of girls!"
"Girls who aren't in hentai games."
Daru was quiet, crossing his arms defiantly. Okabe laughed loudly. "I bet Okarin could get a girl," Mayuri said. "If he wanted to."
"Thank you, Mayuri, that's very kind," he replied. "Though I have no interest in matters that are so trivial at the moment."
Daru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right."
They went back to the "lab" after their lunch. "Hey, do you mind if I use your computer to check my email?" Kurisu asked.
"Go ahead," Okabe replied. He was sitting on the couch next to Mayuri, who was sewing something.
She logged into her email, scrolling through various unimportant things until she reached something that stood out to her. It was an email from one of the heads of the science department at her university. She clicked it, scanning the words quickly. She let out a little gasp. She thought only she could hear it, but Okabe must have had good ears. "What is it, Christina?"
She was too excited to yell at him for calling her that. "Well, I just got an email from the university. They want me to give a conference about a scientific topic. One of the heads of the department read an article I wrote in an American magazine…" she was shamelessly grinning ear-to-ear.
"I told you that there was lots of talk about you," Okabe said. "When is this conference?"
"They're having a sort of scientific convention in two weeks. God, I have to get a speech together in two weeks? Should I accept this?"
"Yeah! I bet people really want to hear you talk!" Mayuri looked up from her sewing.
"I heard a lot of talk about that article," Okabe said, "I wasn't able to read it, but I have to agree with my hostage here. I'm sure people want to hear you speak for a reason."
She fought back a self-satisfied little smirk. "Was that a compliment, almost?"
"If that's how you'd like to see it," he shrugged. "I think you should accept. What are you going to talk about?"
"Hm," she leaned back in her chair and thought for a few minutes. Then an idea popped in her head, so clear and obvious she wondered how she hadn't thought of it instantly. "Time travel."
Okabe grinned devilishly. "Is that so?"
"Yes. I think I can write a speech about that."
"Are you sure you're not trying to win Okabe's heart?" Daru asked. "That sounds like something he'd talk about."
"I'm not doing this to impress anyone," she said.
"Well I'm impressed!" Mayuri said. "You're going to do great."
"I second that," Okabe said, avoiding eye contact.
Kurisu bit back another grin. "Now, that was a compliment. Wasn't it?"
"I can neither confirm nor deny anything that requires such details."
She sighed, but couldn't help but smile anyway.
11:32 PM
Have you started writing the speech yet?
11:34
I'm writing the introduction, but I think I'm a little too tired to write anything extensive tonight.
11:35
Well, best of luck, Christina!
11:37
...Goodnight, Okabe.
A/N: Thanks again for reading! xoxox
