Warnings: none
Retasu shrieked as she ran toward Zakuro. "Zakuro-san, please! I thought we agreed that you shouldn't have anymore coffee today!"
"Eh, whatever. I'll be fine," the stubborn model deadpanned before gulping down half the coffee in her mug. Retasu growled and yanked the cup out of her friend's hand.
"Drink some water!" Her voice softened. "Please?"
Zakuro frowned. "You need to calm down, Retasu."
Retasu bit her lip. "You need to take better care of yourself."
Minto cleared her throat. "If I may, Retasu—"
"No, Minto-san, I'm really not in the mood to argue." Retasu hurried to another table to collect the dirty dishes.
"I'm not arguing. I'm making a point." The raven-haired ballerina stood in front of Retasu to stop her. Retasu gave her an annoyed look. "You need to take a break."
"A—a break? Break?" Retasu scoffed. "I do not need a break. I need to finish the work—"
"We'll handle things from here, Retasu. You need some time to yourself." Minto smiled affectionately before grabbing the dishes out of Retasu's arms and taking them to the kitchen herself.
Retasu blinked in disbelief. Minto-san? Doing work? She turned to Zakuro. "Zakuro-san, there's just too much work. I need to help—"
"Retasu."
Retasu jumped before turning around. Pie.
She flushed in embarrassment. She was freaking out in front of Pie.
"P—Pie-san," she stammered. She didn't know what else to say. All she could do was stare awkwardly until he responded.
"You need rest," he said simply and calmly. He looked so gentle and sincere.
"B—but the tables—"
"—are taken care of." He took her hand. She bit her lip in surprise. "We're going to the library."
She was about to reject when Pie pulled her out of the cafe. She smiled as she decided it was best she didn't argue. Pie looked so excited to spend time with her. Well, he looked as excited as he possibly could.
It didn't even occur to her that she had forgotten to clock out.
Written in late 2019.