"Yuzu-onee! Thank God." Matsuri greeted loudly, not minding the glares from the other customers, as she approached the blonde. She never really cared what others thought, except for those that she considered family.
"Whatyadoin?" She scooted closed and peeked over Yuzu's shoulders, clearly not giving a hoot on personal space.
"Hmmm? Just checking on the news. Thank God this Corona Virus has finally ended." Yuzu answered distractedly, still scrolling on her phone. It had been a couple of months since the vaccine had been globally distributed and finally, the world was slowly getting back to normal.
"So, ugh, is anybody else coming?" Matsuri looked around, hoping to see a familiar face.
Yuzu put down her phone, finally giving her undivided attention to Matsuri. She didn't need to genius to figure out who Matsuri was looking for. She chuckled before answering, "No, she said she's busy doing work with Mitsuko-san. Why?"
"Ah. Oh. Uhm, nothing, just, you know, haven't seen her much since the lockdown lifted." She answered casually, trying to play it cool. But the slight blush tinting her cheeks, gave her away.
Seeing the look on Matsuri's face, Yuzu had to bite her lip from laughing. "Why don't you just text her now?"
"Ah, that's the thing. I kinda had my phone turned in for repair. It just suddenly crashed a few days ago. I dont know whyyy." Matsuri grimaced. "But it's supposed to be fixed today. So, uhm, Yuzu-onee, can I borrow your phone? I just need to check on my emails for a quick sec."
Without any hesitation, Yuzu handed her phone. She knew Matsuri being a freelancer was a tough job, specially with the lockdown. Money has been tight. "Have you eaten? I'm starving." She raised her hand, prompting a waitress to attend to her, and ordered for the both of them.
A few minutes into their meal, Matsuri got a notification. "Crapity crap! My meeting with a client just got pushed up, to like.. Right now! What the heck am I gonna do?"
"Hmm, why dont you take my phone with you, so you can go to your meeting" Yuzu answered calmly. "Where's the repair shop? I'll go there, get your phone and meet up with you after. Sound good?"
"Eep! You're the best, Yuzu-onee!" After giving the address, job order and receipt, Matsuri got up, grabbed the sandwich, and left in haste.
The customer service division of Tokyo's largest telecommunication's company was buzzing with people needing consultations and repairs.
"Customer Mizusawa for booth 7" A cold voice announced. "Last Call. Customer Mizusawa for booth 7!" The tech expert said again this time, much louder and rather annoyed.
"Oh! That's me! Sorry" Yuzu blurted out, mentally scolding herself for spacing out, almost missing Matsuri's appointment. She had been thinking of what she could buy at the supermarket after this, and didn't hear the announcement. She grabbed her bag and quickly made her way to booth 7.
"Sorry, I'm here to get the repaired phone. Here's the job order and the recei-" words suddenly failing her, Yuzu stared with her mouth ajar, for in front of her was most beautiful set of purple eyes she had ever laid her eyes on.
Who looked totally pissed.
Mei had been working as a tech specialist for just over two years now, and was recently promoted as tech supervisor after the pandemic. Her promotion did not go smooth, however, as many of her colleagues felt slighted by her "early promotion". Despite her impeccable attendance, and stellar performance, they felt that tenure should always be the basis instead of performance.
So even though, Mei was already a supervisor, she still occasionally did repairs to help appease her salty colleagues. And truth be told, she was really the best at it. Breaking apart a gadget, understanding how every piece worked, and putting it back together was her passion. It was simply all logic. Like solving a puzzle. No muss, no fuss.
The downside of it was, she needed to interact with people, meaning the owners of the devices. But she could live with that. As long as she could do her job and fix problems, she was set.
She sighed loudly, annoyed at having this person, though pretty one at that, with her dazzling emerald shade of eyes just stare at her. She couldn't even finish her sentence earlier.
It had been a long day, and all she needed was just to fix things. Not get gawked at.
"Can I have them please?" Mei finally said, reaching out for the pieces of paper the blonde was still holding. "I need to actually to check them to proceed."
"Huh?" The person in front of her uttered.
Oh god. Is she slow?
"Your papers" Mei said, pointing at what the blonde was holding.
"Oh! Right!" the blonde's arm shot forward, the papers flying directly at her face. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry."
"Don't. Worry. About. It." Mei said, her voice getting icier by the second. If there was one thing she hated, it's clumsy people. And incompetent ones. And emotional ones. And, well actually… she realized, she disliked a lot.
She picked up the papers, carefully examining the job order, and the receipt. She searched their database using the serial number, and retrieved the gadget with the same info in their device compartment. All repaired items were stored separately in the device compartment, to ensure the safety of each gadget.
"Here is your phone, Miss." She placed the fixed phone on the tray, giving it another wipe making it look as good as new. She turned it on and slid it towards the blonde. "A word of advice." she said, leaning forward. She was probably too close, because could smell the citrus scent from the blonde. Interesting smell for a gyaru, she thought, but dismissed instantly.
"Yes?" The blonde leaned in as well, totally transfixed with Mei.
"If you want your phone to NOT crash, try not to visit different porn sites, apps and ads again. They are riddled with viruses." She looked down at her watch and stood up. "Chief Suzuran, may I go on a break?" She said quietly, leaving a terribly confused Yuzu.
It took a couple of seconds before it kicked in. "Wait, what? Porn apps?! Matsuri!"
"That's a first." Shiraho noted, her eyes slanted, fixed on Mei.
Mei just raised her eyebrow, not even bothering to respond. She knew their COO would tell her anyway.
Suzuran Shiraho's post, most people would say was just handed down to her. Her family being the owner of the largest Telecommunications company in Tokyo. But in truth, she fought to be instated in the smallest arm of their company - client relations and customer service. She could manage the whole business if she wanted to actually, but she chose to fight for doing what she loved - fixing people's problems. She always had a knack for understanding people with just one look. Some would often say, it was a natural gift.
Except for Aihara Mei.
Even if there where friends for a long time, Mei always remained a mystery. Not once was there a crack in her exterior. Until now.
"You're annoyed." She said matter-of-factly.
"Am I not always annoyed?"
"No. Indifferent, yes. But never just annoyed." Shiraho countered, her fingers gently cupping her chin in thought.
Mei just scoffed at this, not wanting to engage further.
She refused to even dwell on the idea that she was annoyed. Why would she be annoyed? It's not because of some pretty, pretty girl she had just met. Not those emerald orbs that looked like an endless meadow you can run around on. Nor those pink lips.
How could one's lips be that.. pink? Or soft?
No. She would not give a second of thought on that, porn-addict-blonde-hottie.
Oh god, what's wrong with me?
"Owwwww!"
Matsuri winced, massaging her beaten forehead. "Why'd you do that?"
"Porn apps?!" Yuzu said thru gritted teeth. "Porn freaking apps?!"
She wasn't sure why she was really mad. She had been used to Matsuri's shenanigans, after all they had been friends since they were kids. One time, she was almost expelled in high school for bringing in Peach Sister's Manga in her bag (that Matsuri snuck in without her knowing).
"Oh my god! Seriously? It was because of those apps?" Matsuri's head threw back, her laugh gaining weird glances. It was always like that with the little devil.
"Don't you play this innocent game with me." Yuzu said, trying not laugh. She needed to get her point across. "The tech expert thinks I'm a pervert because of you!"
"So what? It's not like you're gonna see the dude." Matsuri waived her hand, dismissing Yuzu's concerns. But the look of panic on Yuzu's face was different than usual. Kinda like…
"Oh, what do we have here? Do you actually like this tech dude?"
"No!"
"Your tomato face says otherwise. What's his name?"
"I didn't get her name."
"HER?!" Matsuri's deep blue eyes widened with disbelief. "Have you finally crossed to my side of the fence? Jumped ship? Submitted to the Yuri goddess?"
"Oh, shut up! This is all your fault." Yuzu pinched Matsuri's cheeks. She sighed, letting go of Matsuri. "I don't know okay. But I just can't get her out of my mind. Everywhere I look, I see gorgeous face. And oh god, her purple eyes. Like I'm being pulled in. It's like they're haunting me. And I don't know how I can see her again." She added, her brow creasing with genuine worry.
"Well that's easy." Matsuri said, grabbing Yuzu's phone in her pocket, and dropped it on the pavement. The phone landing with a loud thud and glass cracking.
Yuzu gasped in shock. "Oh my god! My phone!"
"Oopps, you might need to get that fixed?" She shrugged, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
The next day, Mei's head hung to the side, a slight chuckle escaping her lips.
Her head hurt from lack of sleep, a constant pain pulsating on her temples. She never had issues with sleeping. She can practically sleep on the floor if she felt like it. The only thing that could wake her up was an alarm or the school bell.
But last night, she found herself tossing and turning on her bed. The thoughts of a certain green eyed girl consuming her.
She tried everything she would usually do to sleep. Meditation, 4-7-8 breathing technique. Heck, she even tried yoga. But nothing worked. So she found herself mentally debating why she was so bothered with that woman.
It's probably because she's a pervert. That's it!
But then, so what if she is? Why do I even care?
Why can't I get her out of my head?
Will I ever see her again?
The same questions went back and forth, without an answer, like a never ending pingpong. Until her alarm rang, reminding her to get ready for another day's work.
And yet somehow, here she was sitting across the very same person that haunted her night.
"Hi." Yuzu greeted sheepishly, a tinge of pink coloring her cheeks. She made sure she was the first customer to enter the facility so she could choose whom to transact with.
"I broke my phone." Yuzu blurted out, when Mei didn't respond. "I mean, I didn't break it. Someone else did, so now I need it fixed." She tried to explain, her palms starting to feel clammy. "Please?"
Mei cleared her throat before answering, stretching her tired back. "Didn't I just fix it for you yesterday?"
"No."
"No?"
"Yes. I mean.."
Mei raised her brow, finding herself weirdly amused with the blonde's confused look.
Yuzu took a deep breath, and exhaled loudly. "Wait, let me explain." Putting her hands in front her, clearing her thought process. "My yes was an affirmation to my earlier no. This isn't the phone that was fixed yesterday." She held her broken phone as proof. "And the phone yesterday wasn't mine. It was my friend's. And I'm not a pervert." Yuzu said the last line with a whisper, her emerald eyes pleading for her innocence.
"Really?" Mei leaned forward, the smell of citrus stirring something in her. "How would I know you're not lying?" She found herself saying. Normally she would just walk out, if a customer became too personal.
Yuzu couldn't help but smile. Here's the opening she was looking for. "We got off on the wrong foot. So I'd like to introduce myself properly"
Yuzu stood up, and bowed, getting everyone's attention. "My name is Okogi Yuzuko. And I was hoping I could ask you out on a date."
"What's wrong with Yuzucchi?" Harumin whispered, nudging Matsuri by the shoulders. They were hanging out in Yuzu's apartment, something they hadn't done for a long time. "She's been staring at her phone the whole day."
Matsuri shifted her focus from her own phone to Yuzu, who was lying down on her couch, her right hand positioning the phone in front of her. The blonde wasn't even using her phone. Just staring at the black screen, waiting for something.
Two weeks had passed since Matsuri broke Yuzu's phone. She knew the look Yuzu had on her face, and the certain aura she was exuding. Like a cat in heat.
"Pretty sure she's waiting for a booty call." Matsuri answered without filter.
"A what?!" Harumin tried to lower her voice, not wanting to catch Yuzu's attention. "She has a boyfriend? Since when? How long was I gone?"
Matsuri raised her fingers to count. "No, she doesn't a boyfriend. Probably since last week. And too damn long."
"What do you mean no boyfriend? So it's a fling?" Harumin's eyes grew bigger in realization, her voice lowering even more. "A fuck buddy?!"
Matsuri bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. Bless Harumin and her semi innocent heart, Matsuri thought. She always loved messing with her just to see her reactions, which is probably why she ended up falling for her.
"If my guess is correct, you'll probably meet the person today." She answered instead, shrugging.
As if on cue, Yuzu's phone rang which the blonde picked up mightily fast. "Yeah, I'm ready. Oh? You're coming up? Now? Okay. Unit 107. I know I told you already, just wanted to remind you again. Okay, see you in a bit." Then she put her hand on lips, whispering something to the person on the other line.
Yuzu stood up as soon as she dropped the call, running to her room. A few minutes later she got out, dabbing her favorite lipstick shade on her lips. "How do I look?" She asked, beaming at her friends.
"Stunning." Harumin answered honestly, taking in Yuzu's whole look. White flowery dress, her hair tied loosely giving her that casual yet gorgeous appeal. The guy is definitely lucky, Harumin thought. Fucking lucky.
A rap on the door got everyone's attention, with Yuzu excitedly running to unlock it.
Harumin braced herself, expecting some douche bag of guy who can't even be bothered to have a formal relationship with her best friend. Like seriously? A fuck buddy? He will never hear the end of it from her if he so much as hurt her Yuzu.
Yuzu came in the living room, her footsteps so light, you'd think she was on literal cloud 9. She cleared her throat proudly announcing, "Harumin, Matsuri, meet my girlfriend, Aihara Mei."
Hold up.
Harumin blinked a few times, wrapping her head around what she heard.
Girlfriend? Not girl space friend?
She looked at Yuzu, then at Matsuri, then back to Yuzu and finally to the girl named Aihara Mei.
The girl who won Yuzu's heart. Something inside her stirred, and she couldn't pinpoint what it was.
"Break her heart and I'll break you." Harumin said, not breaking her gaze at the purple eyed beauty.
"I have no intention to." Mei answered cooly, not backing down.
Matsuri groaned, closing her eyes. "You've got to be kidding me."
Notes:
I've debated if I should post this online, but thought, what the heck. So yeah, this is a short drabble I did when me and other ff writers did an "infection prompt". The mechanics of this prompt was that we had to submit 300 words per day, for 5 days, and it should be a continuous story. (I kinda broke the rule. LOL)
And it was really interesting coz everyone had the same prompt, and but had totally different approaches. It's really awesome being surrounded by amazing, talented, beautiful writers, and people in general.
I hope you guys still doing fine. I hope to still be able to write during this trying time. Your reviews are much appreciated, and hit me up for prompt requests. I'm open to ideas.
xoxo