A bell rang as a door opened, and in came a tired looking man, probably exhausted from a long day of work. The one who greeted him was a pretty woman dressed as a maid with black hair and amber eyes. The maid was no other than Misaki!
"Welcome home, master." She greeted with a cute bow. The tired expression of the man quickly turned into a blissful smile.
"Uh huh huh...I'm home." The now happy man lazily chuckled as he followed Misaki to one of the many tables in Maid Latte. He sat down and Misaki nodded politely before handing him the menu. After taking both his drink and meal order, since he knew what he wanted, Misaki headed back into the kitchen to hand it to the two female cooks.
"Thanks Misa-chan!" The kitchen sisters said in unison before getting to work on the food. Misaki nodded with a smile and headed back out onto the floor. Just as she did, another customer came in, and Misaki walked quickly over to the man, greeting him as she had earlier with the other man. And, just as she had him seated, a few more customers came in. One woman and one man. There usually weren't many females here at this time of day, so it was a pleasant surprise. Misaki greeted them.
"Welcome home, master, mistress." She said pleasantly, and brought them to their seats before taking their drink order. Then she headed over to the man she had seated just before the couple had come in and took his full order, since he also knew what he wanted. Usually the single men were regulars at the small restaurant and had already memorized the entire Maid Latte menu. Misaki brought the orders to the kitchen and she was thanked by the kitchen sisters once more. As she was feeling a little hot, Misaki wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. Just then, the manager appeared.
"Misa-chan! You're working so hard today, good job! You look tired, so don't overwork yourself." Cautioned the thirty year old woman who was in mind, forever eighteen. Misaki raised her right arm and flexed her muscles.
"Don't worry manager! I'm doing fine!" Misaki assured her with a determined expression on her face. The manager laughed and smiled.
"Oh, of course Misa-chan. Well then, do your best!" Satsuki said with a smile and Misaki nodded.
"I will!" Replied the maid as she headed over to the kitchen sisters to take the food the two regulars had ordered and deliver it to them. She had a tray in each hand. For some reason though, they felt heavier than usuall. Her eyes suddenly felt like they were going to sag shut and her arms were starting to tremble. Misaki slowly and carefully delivered the first meal to the first customer.
"Here's your meal, master. Enjoy." Misaki said in as cheerful a voice as she could muster. The bell rang again, and in came Aoi, cross-dressing in a white and blue frilly dress that was covered in dark blue bows. Misaki greeted him with a faint smile as she went over to the other table to deliver the remaining meal. Her arm was beginning to tremble even more so she grabbed the tray with both hands. Her vision became foggy and her head pounded. It was as if something was bumping around inside her skull. Gosh…this is terrible…tim…ing…. She thought.
Aoi was giving her a weird look. At first he was still thinking about the conversation he had overheard the other day, but now he noticed something was up with Misaki. She wasn't acting normal. Just as he was noticing this, Misaki hurriedly placed the tray she was holding on the other customer's table before she collapsed onto the ground. Just before she blacked out completely, Misaki could hear Aoi yelling earnestly for the manager to come quickly.
•••
So tired…I don't want to wake up… Misaki thought as she twitched groggily in her sleep. As soon as she did this, a voice blurted out loudly and hands grabbed her by the shoulder and began to shake her violently. This, of course, awakened the sleeping Misaki and brought her back to the real world.
"Mrgh…" She mumbled, eyes struggling to open.
"Aoi-chan! That was so rude! Never do that again!" The manager snapped, grabbing the young boy by the cheek and pulling him over to her.
"Ow ow ow! Stoff it oba-than!" Shouted Aoi, though his words came out strangely since his cheek was being pulled quite hard. The manager pinched his cheek harder as Aoi called her an old lady.
"What did you say?" She asked in an angry tone.
"Jush le me go!" Aoi pushed her hand away and began rubbing his throbbing red cheek as he stared over at the manager like he was an abused dog.
"She was waking up so I was just quickening the process." Aoi told her. Erika, Honoka and Subaru were rolling their eyes and sighing in unison.
"But that's not right Aoi-chan! She probably really needed that rest!" Argued Satsuki.
"Heh, it wasn't like she was doing much work today, she shouldn't be that tired." Said Honoka darkly as she looked at Misaki's awakening form. Erika and Subaru sighed awkwardly. Finally, Misaki opened her eyes. The amber irises were revealed.
"S-Sorry about that…I was just feeling really tired and dizzy. At least I didn't drop anything." Misaki apologized as she began to sit up. She had apparently been stretched across three chairs in the staff room that were being used as a bed.
"No no Misa-chan! Don't worry about it at all! Just lay back down!" The manager told her, motioning with her hands for the tired-looking teenager to lie down again. Misaki shook her head and swung her legs off of the two other chairs and placed them on the ground as she sat up completely.
"I'm fine now, really. I'll make sure to take better care of myself next time, please forgive me." Misaki said.
"Yeah, you better. You caused a lot of trouble for us out there. The person you gave the food to was scared stiff." Honoka told her rather accusingly as she stared down at her.
"A bunch of the male customers offered to help carry you, but Aoi-chan wouldn't let them. He and I ended up having to carry you." Erika said with a small smile.
"I took care of the customers for you, so you don't have to worry about what happened afterwards Misa-chan." Comforted Subaru.
"Yes! Don't worry about anything Misaki! We have you covered! You can go straight home now. If you need help walking, I can call Usui for you or make Aoi take you home." The manager told her. Misaki was about to disagree when Aoi began to shout.
"I-I'm not taking that unfashionable woman home! You two shouldn't be comforting her! She doesn't…she…doesn't deserve it…" His words faded as he finished his sentence, and Misaki became puzzled. This was very unlike Aoi. Satsuki glared at him angrily.
"What has gotten into you Aoi-chan? Don't say things like that!" Snapped Satsuki. Aoi looked over at Misaki, eyes looking kind of pained. She faintly noticed him glance at her abdomen for a second before turning away and yelling at his aunt.
"I can say what I want!" He shot back. The manager was about to grab him by the cheek again when Misaki spoke up.
"No, wait, don't do anything manager. I have something to tell you all." Misaki intervened. Aoi must have somehow found out about my situation without me telling him…damnit…
"…What's wrong Misa-chan…?" Asked the manager. Misaki took a deep breath. When all eyes were on her, she repeated the same line she had said twice before already.
"I'm pregnant. I'll have to quit this job when the time comes." Misaki told them straight out. It was extremely awkward and embarrassing for her, but she had to say it. Aoi looked terrified as he heard the words he had overheard about a week ago spoken directly to him and the rest of the Maid Latte staff. Satsuki froze. Erika's mouth gaped and Subaru looked completely taken aback. Honoka looked very surprised and she just stood there, staring wide-eyed at Misaki. Misaki tried hard to keep her head high though it was so tempting to look down and avoid any and all eye contact.
Aoi, unable to take the silence and the tenseness of the situation any longer, went over and grabbed his jacket from the coat-rack.
"I'm leaving. My dad wants me home for once today."
"Wait! Aoi-chan…" Satsuki said as she reached out to him with her hand, but he was already out the door. Misaki had watched him leave, but turned her head as Satsuki began to speak.
"I'm sorry to hear that Misa-chan. Whenever you're ready to quit just tell me. So it is with…um...Usui-kun, correct?" The manager asked tentatively. Subaru, Erika and Honoka had calmed down a bit and were waiting for an answer as well. Misaki nodded an expression of shame on her face.
"It wasn't planned. I was actually going to abort it…but Usui stopped me." Misaki told them. She hadn't really told this to her mother or her friends, so she didn't know why she was telling it to her manager and the staff. It didn't really matter though, since the abortion didn't happen. After Misaki said that, they all looked kind of downcast and shocked, but eventually Erika spoke up.
"I never thought you'd be the type to do this Misaki. Good luck!"
"Yes, good luck. You're going to need it. If you ever need anything, just ask." Subaru told her.
"It better be a girl." Honoka added. Misaki smiled. They were all trying their best to make her feel better.
"Thanks guys." She said. They all smiled in unison. "Well, I better get go-" Suddenly, the back door opened and Usui came in. He took one glance at the people in the room and then swiftly scooped Misaki up in his arms suddenly and without her consent.
"W-W-What?! What are you doing, idiot Usui!" Misaki complained as she grabbed his arm and attempted to make him let go of her. Usui didn't answer her question and simply nodded to the staff. He grabbed Misaki's things and headed out the door with her, even though she was still in her maid uniform.
Meanwhile, back with the staff, it was dead silent. It was so silent; you could hear a pin drop. But then suddenly, the manager started going off into her fantasy land and moe flowers began popping up rapidly and in mass numbers.
"Ack, manager…! Not again!" Shouted Honoka as the entire staff was drowned in the pink flowers.
"Heh heh! They're so cute!" Gushed the manager giddily.
"Usui! I said let me go! How did you know what happened and why are you carrying me!?" Questioned Misaki in a hushed and flustered tone. She whispered the last bit. "People are staring…" Of course, Usui didn't say anything in reply. No matter how hard Misaki tried to escape, Usui wouldn't let her go. He had an iron grip. Before she knew it, they were heading towards Usui's apartment. And as they entered the building, people stared at them confusedly. Usui still wouldn't let her go. And surprise surprise, he still wouldn't let her go even when they were riding the elevator.
Managing to hold her with one arm for a second, Usui grabbed his key and unlocked the door, then he kicked it open and put his other arm back to where it had been before as he carried Misaki over to the only couch in his entire apartment which also served as his bed and set her down on top of it. Then Usui headed back to the door, closed and locked it.
"Usui…why did you bring me here?" Misaki asked, hoping to finally get an answer.
"Because Ayuzawa is an idiot." He replied. Misaki took this very offensively and her expression turned from confused to angry.
"Why you..." Misaki said as she began to stand up, but Usui walked over to her and grabbed her arm as he sat down beside her, holding her still.
"Let go of my arm, I need to get home." Misaki ordered him as she attempted to pry his hand off of her captured arm. He wouldn't budge, which wasn't a surprise.
"I'm never letting Ayuzawa out of my sight again. Ayuzawa should quit her job already." He told her sternly. His green eyes were serious. Misaki stared at those eyes as she thought about this.
"No. I need to pay for my family's needs." She answered him sternly.
"But Ayuzawa can't handle working anymore." Usui argued
"Yes I can. I'll be more careful."
"No you won't. You can't prepare for something like this. I'm going to watch Ayuzawa all the time now. If you won't quit your job, I'll have to follow you all around at work." Usui told her. Misaki twitched.
"You better either be helping out with the cooking or ordering food, you can't follow me around. People will get confused." Misaki told him. Usui pouted. Without saying anything, he let go of her arm and touched her belly. This caused Misaki to blush and she looked away.
"Misaki, look at me." Usui told her. Misaki slowly turned her head to face her boyfriend. He had loving and serious eyes, though he looked like he was struggling to say something.
"What?" Asked Misaki. Usui sighed and took his hand away from her belly and grabbed her hand instead, which caused Misaki to blush slightly.
"Misaki, if you ever need me, I'm a call away. If you ever want to…stay here, you can always ask. I'll never say no. Don't hold back from asking me for help, because I love you, and there's nothing I'd rather do than help out my girlfriend and our child." He told her. Misaki was staring up into his eyes, quietly. She almost wasn't breathing. She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, warming her face. Closing her eyes, Misaki leaned forward and gave Usui a big hug.
"You're warm." She murmured. Usui chuckled and played with a lock of her hair.
"I know." He said. "Misaki." He called to her, trying to get her attention. But instead of answering, she grabbed him by both arms, looked up, and kissed him on the lips. Before Usui could fully take in what she was doing, Misaki went back to hugging him.
"You're sly, Ayuzawa."
"Idiot Usui…"
Author's Notes
I don't know if the maids call them mistresses. I know what they say in Japanese, but I am not exactly sure what that'd translate to in English so I'm just sticking with mistress.
I might have got Satsuki's age wrong, oh well.
It was really awkward for me to write that last bit, I'm honestly not good with writing mushy gushy stuff. I don't have much practice in it, so sorry if it felt kind of empty. But did you notice that the last bit of dialogue they said was taken from the anime? It actually fit that scene, so I used it.
I hope you all enjoyed! Thanks for the wonderful reviews! I'm flattered!
