The mascara wand came out of the tube with a satisfying pop. Ichigo leaned towards the small desk mirror and began to brush her lashes with the makeup borrowed from Mint.
"Is it supposed to clump together like this?" Ichigo muttered. "I haven't worn this kind of mascara in ages."
Mint sighed from behind her, finishing another curl in Lettuce's hair. She set down the curling iron and peered over at Ichigo.
"It's fine, Ichigo," Mint sighed exasperatedly. "Stop being so dramatic." She returned to the curling iron and resumed tending to Lettuce's long, light green locks. Ichigo frowned, blinking as she resisted the urge to pick at her clumpy lashes.
It was the night of the charity gala, and the girls were all getting ready together in one of the spare upper rooms of the café. With Mint and Berry at the ready with an arsenal of makeup and hair tools, the girls had spent the last couple hours playing pop music and getting ready together. The only one not getting ready with them was Zakuro, who had pulled some strings with one of her industry contacts to supply dresses and shoes for all 6 girls. Zakuro was arriving with their outfits later.
Ichigo gently tapped a wide, fluffy makeup brush into a compact of warm blush. She swept the brush across the tops of her cheekbones. Applying makeup was soothing to her – a respite from the swirling whirlpool of conflict in her thoughts.
It was just yesterday that Masaya and Quiche had gotten into a public argument with each other over Quiche's newfound ability to hear when she was in distress. An ability that used to belong to Masaya as the Blue Knight was now appearing in Quiche. Why? Ichigo could only hypothesize that it had to do with the fact that Masaya's power as the Blue Knight had waned. But why would the power move to Quiche instead? Ichigo had no idea, and it had stumped Ryou, Pie and Keiichiro too. The three brains of the group had added the mystery to the ever-growing pile of topics to research when it came to the shifting, changing power of the mews over the past week.
Masaya had cooled off after his stark warning to Quiche, and he and Ichigo had spent the rest of the evening decompressing and enjoying each other's company. But Ichigo knew that Masaya's mood was slightly off; he was evidently still disturbed by Quiche's adoption of his old skill.
Ichigo's worry over Masaya's mood was only compounded by her concern that her and Quiche now shared a secret. Ichigo hadn't told Masaya about the kiss – and now, she wasn't sure if she should. When taking into consideration Masaya's strong reaction to Quiche's flirting, Ichigo was certain that Masaya would blow a fuse if he knew that Quiche had kissed her.
Picking up an eyeshadow palette, Ichigo dabbed a small, thin brush into a light brown color and began sweeping it into the crease of one eyelid. She sighed, getting lost in her thoughts again. Why am I protecting Quiche? So what if Masaya gets mad?
One part of her was worried that Masaya would break up with her if she told him about the kiss. But another part of her knew that Masaya was very much in love with her – wouldn't he understand if Ichigo explained that Quiche had kissed her? That she had nothing to do with the kiss? That she wanted nothing to do with Quiche?
Something stirred in her stomach as she turned the thought over in her mind. A small voice in the forefront of her consciousness whispered to her: You know that's not true.
Ichigo quickly shook the thought out her head, slamming the eyeshadow palette shut with a forceful slap. She resolved to forget about the swirling mess of confusion, guilt and conflict in her head, focusing instead on the night ahead. She would know the right moment to tell Masaya about the kiss. But for now, enjoying her night at the gala felt most important.
A knock sounded at the door over the loud music. Pudding bounded over to the door, swinging it open. Zakuro stepped in with an armful of dresses in garment bags.
"Hey, help me out with the shoes, will you?" Zakuro said to Pudding, sweeping past her to sling the dresses over the back of a chair.
"You got it, big sis!" Pudding gleefully began stacking the shoe boxes just outside the door to carry in.
Berry, who had been occupied with styling Pudding's hair, bounded over to peer at the dresses on the chair. "Zakuro, thank you so much! I'm so excited!" she exclaimed. She peeked into the garment bag of the dress on the top.
"Now, to set some ground rules," Zakuro announced to the group, "These dresses are very expensive and they are not to keep. They are to be returned at the end of the night in pristine condition, or my agent will have my head. Is that clear?"
A chorus of "yes"s and "yep"s sounded among the girls. Zakuro nodded.
"Ok, great," she continued, "Now, these dresses are carefully selected and matched to each of your features and height. No swapping, no changing – they are picked out specifically for you. You'll find your dress has your name on the tag at the top."
Everyone's face lit up in excitement to see their dress. Zakuro picked up the dresses and headed to the bathroom attached to the spare room. "I'm going to hang these all in the bathroom," she announced. "We'll take turns changing. I'll go first since I need time to do my hair and makeup."
And with that, the mystery dresses were behind a closed bathroom door. The girls' moods were lifted to a giddy excitement. Ichigo finished the last of her makeup as Zakuro waltzed out of the bathroom in a silver gown with a wraparound waist and a slit up the left leg. She was the very picture of elegance.
The girls ooo'ed and ahh'ed at her elegant outfit. "Zakuro, you look stunning," Mint sighed. Zakuro allowed a small smile to cross her lips at the compliment from her girlfriend.
"Ok, who's next?" Zakuro asked the group.
"Me me me!" Pudding exclaimed, bounding into the bathroom before anyone could argue. She giggled and slammed the door. The rest of the girls sighed in exasperation, impatient to see their dresses.
Not two minutes later, Pudding threw open the bathroom door dramatically. "Tada!" she exclaimed, stepping out into the room and twirling. Her glittering red dress had long, stretchy sleeves, a wide boat neckline and a circle skirt. It suited her perfectly. "I feel like a salsa dancer!"
Ichigo laughed, "It looks great Pudding!" The other girls nodded in agreement.
Mint changed next, then Lettuce, then Berry. Finally, Ichigo was last to change, wanting to have time to do her hair in loose curls before donning her dress. The rest of the girls were nearly ready to go. The group was already a little late to the party. The voices of chattering guests echoed through the floor of the small spare room.
Ichigo stepped into the small half-bathroom and closed the door behind her. She reached for the last remaining dress hanging on the shower curtain. She pulled the thin, plastic garment bag off the hanger and immediately sucked in a breath. Her fists clenched around the crinkling plastic of the garment bag as she scanned over the dress with anxious eyes.
Oh no.
When she opened the door to the bathroom wearing the dress, Ichigo saw the same surprise reflected in the faces of the mews. Lettuce cringed, then hid it quickly with a grin. Berry lifted a perfectly pruned eyebrow in surprise. Ichigo smiled anxiously.
The satin dress was the perfect shade of deep, rich emerald green. It was a full-length gown, with thin straps and a cowl neck that draped elegantly across Ichigo's chest. The dress was also backless – Ichigo did a slow turn for her audience, who all gasped when they saw the low, low back.
"Ichigo it's gorgeous!" Lettuce exclaimed, collecting herself and smiling reassuringly. "Very elegant."
"It's not at all my style," Ichigo admitted, her eyes flicking from Zakuro back to Lettuce. "I … I don't know if I should wear it."
It was only partially true. Ichigo was trying to avoid addressing the elephant in the room regarding the color of the dress, though she knew all of the mews were thinking the same thing as she. Their initial reactions had given them away. She knew that their worry – and hers – rested in the unmistakable, familiar color that reminded Ichigo of someone she very much wanted to forget. A situation the mews had been tip-toeing around since the confrontation just yesterday. Ichigo clenched her jaw. Why does it have to be green?
"Well of course you're wearing it!" Mint exclaimed, a tinge of annoyance in her voice. She folded her arms across her beaded black sheath dress. "You look great, and we REALLY need to get down to this party! We're already late!"
"Mint is right," Zakuro added. "The dress looks nice. You don't have much of an option to find another one at this point."
Ichigo sighed, looking down at the shimmery cascade of dark emerald green. The dress was truly the most beautiful gown she'd ever worn. It was probably worth more than a whole month's pay at the café. And it fit her like a glove. She would be amiss to discard it just because of its color.
"Ok, I'm ready then," Ichigo said finally, looking up at her friends and smiling warily. "Let's get going!"
The girls finished accessorizing and headed down the stairs to the lower part of the café. The dining area had been converted to an open space for mingling and dancing. Most of the chairs and tables had been moved and stored elsewhere. Streamers, balloons and other decor were scattered about, giving the already colorful space an extra celebratory air. Most of the decorations were courtesy of Pudding's acrobatics. She pointed out her favorite touches to the mews as they descended the stairs together.
The café was already nearly full with people of all ages, with everyone dressed to the nines. Ichigo scanned the crowd for Masaya. She found him quickly – he stood near the base of the stairs. She descended further down the staircase carefully, slowly, taking care not to trip over her long gown.
Masaya caught her gaze as Ichigo drew closer. He smiled up at her warmly, lovingly. Butterflies erupted in Ichigo's stomach when she saw his handsome dark grey suit.
"Aoyama," Ichigo greeted, a smile spreading across her flushed face.
Masaya took Ichigo's hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a delicate kiss on her knuckles. Ichigo's blush deepened as Masaya smiled back.
"You look stunning," he said softly, observing her dress. Ichigo tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, suddenly feeling warm and light as she melted into his rich brown eyes.
"Thank you," she murmured, bashful. She looked up and scanned the room. "How long have you been waiting?"
"Not long," Masaya reassured her. He drew circles on her hands with his thumbs absent-mindedly. "Are you hungry? Would you want to stop by the food table and get a slice of something?"
Ichigo didn't realize until that moment that she was famished. She hadn't eaten since breakfast at her house that morning. She perked up, nodding quickly and grinning, "Yeah, let's go!"
The couple weaved their way through the guests, towards the kitchen area of the café. A table was set with white linens and all types of cakes and pastries. Ichigo picked up a small plate with a mini strawberry shortcake and a small, gold spoon. Masaya, seeing her selection, did the same.
They made their way to a part of the wall of the café where there were less people. Ichigo quickly scooped out a bite of the shortcake, grinning when she realized that Masaya had picked the same dessert.
"I didn't know you were a fan of shortcake," Ichigo remarked, smiling.
Masaya finished a bite, then said, "Mmm, not particularly, but I'm a big fan of strawberries."
Ichigo giggled. She felt as though she was floating on a cloud – above the stress, the worry – above it all. When Masaya smiled at her, Ichigo felt like nothing could be more right in the world than the two of them there, together. The worries of the evening floated out of her mind like a puff of smoke as she continued to chit-chat with Masaya about the décor adorning the crowded café.
Her bliss was soon interrupted by a flash of red. Pudding bounded over to them, dragging an annoyed-looking Tart by his hand. "Hey big sis!" Pudding greeted Ichigo excitedly. Turning to Masaya, she said, "Oh, hi Aoyama! You look nice!"
"Thanks, Fong," Masaya replied with a smile.
Pudding turned back to Ichigo. "Anyway, are you done with your plate yet? Because if you are, Tart can take it from you!"
Ichigo laughed, "Wait, what?" She glanced at Tart. She realized that he was in his café uniform, vest and all. His particular brand of annoyance was punctuated on his face by a flush over his cheeks. His hand grasped Pudding's tightly, and Ichigo wondered to herself who was holding who's hand.
Tart rolled his eyes. "Shirogane stuck Quiche, Pie and I on waiter duty for tonight," he grumbled. Pudding grinned, throwing her arm around Tart's shoulder. Ichigo watched Tart's face turn a distinct shade of beet red as he stiffened.
"Isn't that so nice?" Pudding exclaimed. Ichigo grinned, raising her eyebrows sceptically.
"Sure is!" she agreed hastily, glancing up at Masaya's equally perplexed grin.
Pudding nodded, satisfied. "Ok well, I'll leave you two lovebirds to it!" she declared. With that, she turned and dragged Tart with her, clutching onto his hand with an iron grip.
Ichigo turned to Masaya with a short laugh. "Why Pudding drags Tart around like that, I'll never know," she mused. She picked at the last strawberry on her plate. "He looks pretty embarrassed."
Masaya shrugged, eating his last bite of shortcake. He dropped the small spoon on the plate with a plink. "He seems to be in a bad mood all the time, though," he remarked. Ichigo giggled. Masaya looked down at her, smiling.
"Want to trade these plates for some sparkling cider?" he suggested.
"Yeah!" Ichigo chirped. The two wandered back over to the table with the drinks and desserts. They picked up a couple champagne flutes of raspberry sparkling cider, and began to mix and mingle with the guests.
Ichigo learned quickly that Masaya was popular in the local nonprofit social circle. He spent the next hour or so introducing Ichigo to acquaintances of his from previous projects. Ichigo admired Masaya's ease in speaking with the various guests, some of which were board members for sizable nonprofits that Ichigo had always looked up to. She couldn't help but feel a little nervous when speaking with some of the more intimidating guests, but Masaya's calm presence put her at ease.
Ichigo found her mind wandering during one particular conversation Masaya had struck with the board of directors for a mid-size wildlife sanctuary in a suburb of Tokyo. While Masaya spoke of funding rounds, investors and the possibility of educational grants, Ichigo felt herself being carried down a spiral of melancholy introspection. The longer Ichigo spent apart from Masaya, the more she felt the cavern between them widening in respect to their careers. Masaya spoke with ease about topics Ichigo felt stupid even remarking on. Was she really that dumb for a 17-year-old? Or was Masaya really that much of a prodigy? Ichigo elected to focus on the feeling of Masaya's hand on her back. She settled into the easy social contract of staying silent and smiling while Masaya did the talking. This is easy, she told herself. This is nice.
It was about an hour and a half into the gala when a circle opened up in the center of the café and guests began to dance. The music rotated between easygoing, jazzy swing tunes and something of a modern waltz. Masaya shed his suit jacket; Ichigo watched him go to place it in the coat closet. The café was quite hot, even with all of the windows open.
Masaya insisted on dancing with Ichigo – though she warned him persistently of her two left feet. He was patient, though, and Ichigo was more relaxed by her third dance with him. They weren't doing much outside of a simple side-to-side step, but it was perfect for Ichigo's skill level. She settled comfortably into Masaya's arms, repeating the same step along with Masaya's gentle movements. His warm hands were soft and reassuring.
They finished dancing their third song. Ichigo sighed as a slower song began to play. Masaya took her hand and placed his hand at her waist, guiding Ichigo in a simple waltz step. Unsure of herself, Ichigo accidentally stepped on Masaya's foot.
"Oh no!" she squeaked, meeting Masaya's gaze, "I'm sorry! I'm so bad at this!"
Masaya laughed, smiling at Ichigo warmly. His chestnut gaze held nothing but love and forgiveness. "Don't worry! Just relax."
Ichigo smiled up at him, letting out a breath of relief. Her lack of dancing skills wasn't the first time that day when she felt in the shadow of her boyfriend's talent, but she was determined not to let it dampen her mood. Ichigo settled into an easy step with Masaya again. She was determined to follow Masaya's instructions to relax. A few moments later, Masaya stepped back from Ichigo and playfully twirled her into a wide circle.
She caught a flash of gold eyes fixated on her as she spun back around.
Ichigo stiffened subconsciously, inhaling sharply as she continued to step along with Masaya. She realized in that moment that she hadn't seen Quiche all day. But then, she remembered Tart telling her that Ryou had put the three boys on waiter duty for the event. Ichigo reassured herself that Quiche wouldn't bother her and Masaya while he was on the clock. Shaking the thought out of her mind, Ichigo smiled up at Masaya again.
"You're so patient," she murmured appreciatively, gazing into his deep, chocolate eyes.
"It's really nothing," Masaya insisted, smiling, "Anything to dance with a beautiful girl."
Ichigo blushed, opening her mouth to reply, but was distracted by something in her peripheral. She spotted Quiche walking towards her and Masaya, carrying a glass of something in one hand. Panic began to rise in her throat. Her eyes darted back to Masaya. "I'm –" she stammered, "I'm just a really bad dancer is all –"
Ichigo's eyes rapidly flicked back and forth between Masaya and Quiche as he came to stand behind Masaya. Ichigo hardly had time to react, or to say something to Masaya to warn him. In the next instant, Masaya recoiled towards Ichigo as a glass fell on the floor and shattered.
Masaya whirled around to face Quiche. Ichigo saw that the back of his white shirt was soaked in red wine.
Guests standing around them saw the mess on the floor and moved away quickly. Quiche stood with his hands on his hips, smirking at Masaya with dark eyes. "Whoops," Quiche said bluntly, his voice absent of remorse.
Masaya looked positively livid. Ichigo opened and closed her mouth, her eyes darting between the two. Masaya clenched and unclenched his fists. "Quiche," he started slowly, in a low voice, "I will deal with you later." Masaya turned back to Ichigo, holding her lightly by the back of her arms.
"I'll be right back," he reassured her with a forced smile. His smile fell quickly as he disappeared to the restrooms.
Ichigo watched Masaya go, then whirled around to glare at a smug-looking Quiche, eyes aflame. "What do you think you're doing?" she hissed. Quiche offered no answer, simply observing her reaction with amusement. Ichigo huffed in frustration, clenching her fists. She spotted Tart and Pudding watching their confrontation out of the corner of one eye, and knew that the mess on the floor would be taken care of. "Outside. Now," she demanded to Quiche, turning and stalking towards the back door.
Ichigo threw open the heavy metal door and took a few steps out to the grassy surroundings of the café. Whirling around and crossing her arms, she fixed an angry look at Quiche, who shut the door behind them.
"What. Is. Your. Problem?!" Ichigo yelled. "You've embarrassed me! You embarrassed Aoyama! And you've practically ruined my whole night!"
Quiche crossed his arms, raising an eyebrow. Ichigo felt his eyes boring into her as he considered his response. He cocked his head to one side and clicked his tongue. "If you were expecting me to apologize for dumping red wine on your date," he said cooly, "you're going to be disappointed."
Ichigo clenched her fists. "Listen!" she yelled, words haphazardly tumbling off of her tongue, "I don't want you interfering with Aoyama and I! At all! I don't know what's gotten in your stupid head that you think it's ok to pull some kind of stunt like that, but I can tell you RIGHT NOW that I'm not going to stand for it!"
Quiche looked on in amusement. "Which is more stupid," he challenged, "'Accidentally' spilling some wine for a chance to get you alone, or going the whole night not speaking to you, when you look the way you do right now?"
Ichigo faltered, caught off guard by the rhetorical question. Quiche waited patiently for a response – his smirk slowly faded as he watched Ichigo's reaction carefully. Ichigo felt her face getting hot, her mind a whirling mess of anger and something else she couldn't quite place.
Flustered, she took a deep breath and marched around Quiche, wordlessly heading back towards the café.
"Wait," Quiche called from behind her. Ichigo turned, one hand on the handle of the back door. She looked back at Quiche with contempt.
"Dance one song with me," Quiche offered, "and I'll leave you and Aoyama alone."
Ichigo saw something she recognized in his expression at that moment. It was something akin to fear. She recognized it from how he looked moments after their kiss a few days ago. Fear, anxiousness, nervousness – Ichigo was surprised to see vulnerability in his usually confident features. Her instinct was to immediately reject Quiche's offer. But a curiosity lingering in her intuition gave her pause.
"Leave us alone for the night?" Ichigo replied, "Or for longer?"
Quiche regarded her for a moment. "For as long as you want," he said. He cocked his head to one side.
His answer invited a question: How long did she want him to leave her alone? Ichigo shook the question out of her mind quickly, lest her subconscious thoughts present an answer she didn't like.
His offer was tempting – Ichigo needed Quiche out of her hair – and Masaya was unlikely to come back from the restrooms anytime soon, judging by the state of his dress shirt just moments before. The small twinge of curiosity churned through Ichigo as she narrowed her eyes. Does Quiche even know how to dance?
"Fine," she agreed. She pointedly chose to avoid naming her terms in an answer to Quiche's remark. "One song."
Quiche's signature smirk grew on his face, fiery excitement dancing in his liquid gold eyes. Ichigo immediately sensed danger in his renewed excitement. "Glad we could reach a compromise, kitten."
Ichigo rolled her eyes, turning and throwing open the back door of the bustling cafe. "Don't push your luck."
(A.N./
Thanks so much to everyone who's been reviewing! I want to do a shoutout for all of my signed reviewers so far: DrDark7, Soccer-Geek, maryokeeffe16, Ameliamarieh, James Birdsong, and FairyRingsandWings! And big thank you to my guest reviewers, too.
We are abouuuut 1/3rd of the way through this story so far. Can't wait to share the next chapter with you all!)