**A/N: Alright and welcome to my first Steins; gate fanfic! Ok that was a little cheesey, but whatever this is about having fun right? So to give a little insight on this story it takes place about a year after the movie and how I assume a certain relationship would sorta be at this point of time. There isn't much else to say, so with no further ado enjoy the story and catch you at the end of it for more Author Notes**
**Disclaimer: I don't own anything regarding Steins; gate or it's characters. This is purely for fun.**
Anxious.
Restlessness.
Nervousness.
Sadness.
Fidgety.
Disappointment.
To Makise Kurisu those words swirled relentlessly around her head. She didn't want to accept or even acknowledge they described her perfectly in this moment sitting alone staring at an unchanging phone in her lab's department breakroom.
In reality those words described her for the past three days, twelve hours, forty eight minutes and twelve seconds. But by the time she's done doing the math in her head it'll be about fourteen seconds.
It wasn't like she was keeping count, if she had anything better to do than she would do that, but she didn't so rather than wallow in the misery that is boredom why not kill time with a little math right? It wasn't like she was waiting for anything and she was a scientist after all, a woman of knowledge and intellect and while math wasn't necessarily her forte it was good practice and kept the mind sharp.
For example at the sametime during her lunch she dug through her latest messages to compile and organize every word and pharse by their frequency, then find the most used words and pharses and calculate their percentage based off of every word and pharse used in those messages. Though by coincidence those messages also happened to be the ones she had received three days, twelve hours, forty nine minutes, and thirty three seconds ago.
It wasn't like she was trying to find any subtleties or indications hidden within those particular messages, nope it was just killing boredom nothing more.
But even though she told herself that for the past three days she became absorbed to her phone. When she wasn't busy or needed her mind particularly focused her gaze and thoughts lingered on the phone and it's message inbox.
It wasn't that she was waiting for a response or anything, but rather she so happened to stumble upon some unimportant messages from an unimportant person on her phone and she found them more interesting than watching paint dry.
"Kurisu?" However even though her mind lingered somewhere else her physical presence was still in the breakroom surrounded by her coworkers which one of them happened to take a seat infront of her.
"Sempai?! I wasn't going through my messages or-or, Whe-when did you get here?!" Kurisu loudly stammered while her hands roughly shoved her phone into her lab coat as a blush graced itself upon her face. Though it was a sight to be seen the only one to witness to it was an unamused Maho Hiyajo, who also happened to be her mentor.
"I've been here for six minutes." She deadpanned with an expression bordering on a scowl. "I firgured you were checking your phone so I didn't want to disturb you, but after you never acknowledged me, bothered to look up and had this pitiful look smeared on your face for a couple of minutes, I couldn't stand it anymore." Maho explained imbetween bites of her meal to a now beet red Kurisu whose eyes deemed anything not named Maho Hiyajo suddenly far more appealing.
"I-I don't know what you talking about!" Kurisu loudly exclaimed as her eyes shifted from spot to spot never landing on her mentor while trying her best to sound convincing and confident. But that act went up in smoke as Hiyajo's disapproving gaze promptly shot it down, leaving Kurisu burying her face with her hands in embarrassment and shame.
Of course in the mind of Makise Kurisu this made sense, but for everyone else it looked really, really odd and Maho was of the latter opinion.
"What's the big deal?" Maho uttered rolling her eyes at her underling's overtly theatrical reaction. "Everyone's practically glued to their phones now." While the statement might have been true and for everyone else it would have served as an ice breaker, for Makisr Kurisu her reaction was more akin to revealing her dirtiest secret. It was moments like this that irked Maho about Kurisu. She could turn an innocent line to a personal threat, something that reminded her of a pre-adolescent girl than a Neurologist. But it also served to remind her how young her underling was and while brilliant could be incredibly immature and sometimes even childlike in certain regards.
She could still recall clearly the first day she laid eyes upon miss Kurisu, it was a surreal and even jarring experience, that would forever be ingrained in her memory. It was at the end of what would have been an otherwise ordinary lecture she gave some class she was teaching at the time when Professor Leskinen, the head of the Neuroscience department at the University strolled in and introduced the two. At first it seemed a bit odd, but that was a given with Leskinen however when she learned the girl would be attending her class at the ripe age of sixteen she couldn't believe it. She might have even laughed.
Who did this skinny girl, who wasn't even old enough to graduate high school, think she was. Attending a class seniors in college take did she really expect to make it? But like always they push some kid with higher than above grades as the next Einstein, so she really shouldn't have been too surprised, and deep down she firgured the girl would never make it.
Then she attended her class.
It was during the course of that semester Maho realized this girl was a prodigy, a once in a lifetime intellectual, a true generational talent and before she knew it, it was that sixteen year-old girl she doubted would even last a week was wearing a lab coat besides her in their school's Neuroscience research department as her over qualified underling at semester's end.
Makise brought a breath of new life to that lab, a lab once hampered with the monotone of numbers and theories, inflated egos and stale arguments, old and stubborn men, she was a spark that brought a sprung to everyone's step. Every word she spoke was met with admiration and applauds, every step she took was followed by four behind her and most annoyingly every sneeze she sneezed was met with a collective bless you.
Yes Makise was like a polish of a freshly waxed car, it shines bright and beautiful.
Or in more harsher and vulgar terms, considering the demographics of their fellow lab partners, she was essentially a vagari.
But like every polish it soon fades and dulls. Makise Kurisu as a scientist had lost her shine by seventeen. Every word she spoke was met with the usual hums and uhhs that was commonplace for everyone else, every step she took was followed by her own echo, but still every sneeze was met with a collective bless you.
Though while the members of the lab had grown accustomed to Makise Kurisu the scientist, she was still a young and attractive woman and that wouldn't lose it's shine for a long time. But even though for the most part she never really acted like one, and considering their profession it was better that way, the times she did absolutely annoyed Maho. Like now.
"I wasn't looking at my messages or anything, sempai!" She repeated. Obviously Kurisu never heard of subtlety, for it would have never crossed her mind that Kurisu was doing something she didn't want anyone to see until she got all defensive but even then she had to admit it was kinda endearing watching her underling get flustered, however contradictory that sounded.
"I never said that." Maho once again deadpanned, but before either could build on that Kurisu's phone rang loud and clearly through the small breakroom. The room turned silent and everyone cranked their heads to the source of the ringing which ultimately fell on Kurisu who was now sitting completely shell shocked staring blankly at nothing ahead while the ringing countined...
And countined...
And countined...
Then it stopped, but by then the damage was done and everyone resumed with their lunches, as for Kurisu she remained frozen without even making an attempt to reach for her phone. But while it was embarrassing at least it was over...
Then the ringing began again...
And everyone turned around once again except this time annoyance began seeping in their expressions...
Watching all this was a bemused Maho who simply raised an eyebrow before saying, "Are you gonna answer?"
"Umm, yeah." Kurisu dryly mouthed coming to her senses as she quickly reached for her phone and read the caller, promptly her eyes bugged and she exclaimed "Okabe!"
*Chapter 0: Overseas*
If the attention had died down it was resurrected with her sudden cry, her dumbfounded and embarrassed look, and of course she blurted *his* name to half of her coworkers. At that moment she wished someone would just walk up to her shoot her dead, saving her the embarrassment and shame, but she highly doubted that would happen.
"O-ka-be?" She heard Maho repeat her tone draped over with intrigue and confusion which served only to deepen the blush Kurisu had.
"N-no, I s-said 'O-snap again' it's, its was umm ahh, it's just a robo call!" Kurisu loudly proclaimed trying to end this embarrassing moment, but of course since she was shouting it only served to draw more stares as she quickly hung up and placed the phone on the table. "You know how-"
She didn't even get to finish her sentence when her phone began ringing again, stopping her mid-sentence.
"Makise. Just. Answer. It." Maho had gone from slightly annoyed to full blown furious, while all Makise could do was stare at her like a puppy before begrudgingly she shamefully answered the call trying her best to ignore all the stares that could have been avoided if she wasn't so dramatic.
"CHRISTINA!" Okabe loudly screamed from the other end of her phone as soom as she answered and judging by the looks of her sempai she at least heard a glimpse of it.
"Don't call me that!" She shouted reactivately facepalming. "Why are you-"
"I called to inform my assistant that my phone had recently been stolen by the organization, but through careful planning and our super Hax0r we were able to outwit and out maneuver them. Obviously this was a ploy from the organization to frame one of our closets and dearest allies as the phone had been planted-"
"I told you not to call me at work!" She loudly blurted cutting him off hoping to play damage control as everyone's interest in the cafeteria seemed solely keen on her conversation.
"This early?! Are you ok? Are there people with-"
"It's barely lunch here idiot!" There he went again going from an idiot to actually a decent human being and if it wasn't for the situation she might have found his concern cute, but right now she needed to end this conversation quickly before anyone-
"Ahh who are you talking to Kurisu?" Just on que her boss and head of her department magically appeared right behind her wasting no time she practically jumped backwards to face him only to see he had the most shit eating grin ever.
"No-no one sir." She exclaimed unevenly in english.
"No one?" She heard Okabe slowly and roughly repeat in his thick Japanese accent trying to decipher what it meant, which she didn't find cute or anything, but of course even an idiot could firgure out what that meant. "CHRISTINA! Hououin Kyoma is not 'no one'! I am the bringer of chaos, conductor of doom and anarchy, a rebel of order and structure, I am the mad scientist Hououin Kyouma!"
"Hello Mr. Kyouma." She didn't know what was more shocking the fact her boss straight up snatched her phone while she was still trying to explain what was happening, the fact Okabe was having one of his delusions with her boss or the fact said boss was addressing Okabe as Mr. Kyoma.
"Huh?" Okabe muttered out seriously before asking, "Who is this?"
"Professor Alexis Leskinen of Viktor Chondira university." Makise soon decided it didn't matter what was more shocking all she knew was she wanted to die right about now and buried her face in the table hoping she would wake up from this nightmare.
"Oh..." Okabe was at a lost for words as an awkward silence fell between the two before the professor simply and gleefully asked.
"So Mr. Kyouma, do you know Makise?"
Okabe froze for two reasons, one he went from listening to his assistants beautiful voice, something he would never admit so brazenly, to a clearly older man's creepily upbeat voice. The other reason, he was thrust into the spotlight talking to what he assumed was someone of importance to Kurisu. The name sounded familiar at least but he wasn't entirely sure, she had brought up several names she worked with during her latest stay in Japan, but that was small talk with topics and info he never imagined would be relevant again.
Though just saying that made him wince how could he claim she was the love of his life if he couldn't even remember their conversations? What was especially bad was he once told her he would remember every word she said, every action she did and every theory she came up with and here he was having clearly forgotten who this man was. He was the worst. But Okabe wasn't one to give up. It was simple really if there was anything he learned from his experiences is no matter what happens you build on from each failure until you reach your goal. And in this very moment he swore every word she would speak from here on out would be forever ingrained in his memory!
Ok maybe he was overreacting, but he was beginning to get nervous and was two seconds away from hanging up to escape this torment. 'How do you know Makise?' There was no way he was gonna say, well in another worldline... because that was just stupid, but he also couldn't say how that met in this worldline either because...well it was just...it was too stupid! How was he suppose to explain they met because of the will of Steins gate? That sounded too much like a cheesy star-crossed lover kind of thing than reality yet... it's what happened... this was confusing. Because technically he would have to expalin how some random girl he had just met as a kid gave him his first kiss turned out to be the love of his life or rather as Kurisu explained she traveled back in time to give him his first kiss, but his mind perceived it as her thirteen year-old self. See for a sensible and obviously smart person such as a college professor that was to unbelievable.
And on top of that now he was thinking of kissing Kurisu which didn't help ths situation! But at the sametime it brought a smile to his face and eased his tension just a bit.
Infact it was during that summer a year ago after she had gone through everything to rescue him from the R-wordline did he realize how important he was to her. While before there was always a linger of doubt that maybe she didn't love him to the extent he loved her, afterall technically the Kurisu who fell in love with him was a different person and this kurisu only retained vague memories of them, but all that changed during that summer. He realized she loved him with all her being and while his feelings towards her never changed after that revelation, how he expressed them did.
Before he was too scared of love because to him love meant dating or kissing and hugging, saying I love you every chance you got, things he thought he would just screw up but now love was something else, something more simple. Love to him now was just being with her. It was plain and simple, actions or words never needed to be special or perfect because they didn't fall in love with perfect people they fell in love with each other and that's all they ever needed, each other.
Because he loved her, he would always be there for her just like she was always there for him, it didn't matter what worldline or the hell they needed to get through they would always be there for each other.
Even if that came at the cost of his own happiness.
As for Kurisu he couldn't definitely say, but to Okabe he was willing to. He was prepared to do it once and maybe it was because he was so caught up with saving her that he never realized that by doing so would mean they never met, which he didn't realize until after the fact. But would it have changed his resolve? No, knowing she was alive in this world was all he ever needed, even if he never got to see her again he wouldn't even hesitate doing it again because somewhere in this world she was going to smile the most beautiful smile to someone, perhaps frown at them in annoyance, be able to laugh and cry with someone and that alone was everything he ever needed to know. It was a bittersweet reality he accepted, but then, like in every worldline, she was there. With no memories of the three weeks they spent together or the countless number of time leaps he did she found him. He chaulked it up to chance, the choice of Stein's Gate in other words, but last summer he realized the real reason they found each other was because no matter where he was, what worldline they were in she would always find him.
She always did.
Perhaps she would because love did transcend time and space. Maybe it was a higher power that predetermined fate, or maybe it was human determination but regardless it didn't matter what or who was responsible, all that matter was she was alive in this world with him.
And while yes he was in love with Makise Kurisu(and spent an ungodly amount of time thinking about it leaving the conversation in total silence) no way in hell would he say it to this guy.
"Ummm...n'sa speak'a engrish'?" The oldest trick in the book, the most...wait a minute didn't he ask his question in Jap-
"No problems I speak Japanese, though I am far from perfect."
On que it was as if Okabe was in grade school again caught in a lie and the only merciful thing to do he was slump his head down in shame, which he did.
"So are you friends with Makise, Mr. Kyouma?" Leskinen's voice boomed through the phone sending Okabe in a panic.
"No!" He shouted as if disgusted by the notion before immediately facepalming. That came out harsher than he intended and then there was the beginning of a new problem. If he wasn't her friend why would he be calling her then? And apparently the professor thought the same.
"Oh, are you an older brother? Perhaps a cousin or something? "
"No!" Okabe exclaimed even though he had dug himself even deeper but how else could he answer that? If he said yes and he and Kurisu ever had the courage to advance their relationship it would be weird explaining to who ever they told that they weren't actually siblings. But then again it really wouldn't be that hard, a ten on the awkward scale maybe, but not impossible. The worse thing that could happen is they would probably think they have some kind of weird fetish, which wouldn't be the worst thing Okabe has been accused of though undoubtedly Kurisu would kill him if that ever happened. But of course before he could ponder more possibilities the professor spoke.
"Oh really?" Leskinen teased out while in the cafeteria he gave the most shit-eating grin to Makise who could only stare in a mixture horror and disbelief before he uttered his next words. "Perhaps you are a boyfriend?"
"What?" Okabe and Kurisu both shouted loud enough where both were able to hear each other through the phones. Now for Okabe that answer should have been simple, most guys would jump at a claim like that but never had they referred to each other as 'boyfriend' and 'girlfriend' so bluntly and they never really expressed their feelings so blatant infront of other people, not even infornt of the other lab members, so hearing such an accusation from someone such as her professor was jarring.
"She's not my girlfriend!" Okabe reactivately snapped out and through the other end he could make the faint sound of Makise proclaiming a similar argument, but even with that the professor laughed and pressed on.
"Oh really?" By the tone of his voice and the chuckles in between he was loving every minute of it and based on what he said next just confirmed it. "But I hear it in your voice that your trying too hard to sound like it's an outrageous claim besides I can tell when Makise is embarrassed especially how her cheeks match her hair. So Mr. Kyouma how long has this school's favorite student been secretly dating you?"
"She's not my girlfriend! She's Uhh...She's..." Even though Okabe saw him asking that a mile away, hearing it hit him like a ton of bricks. He just couldn't say what he really felt, he couldn't say he loved her that would be absurd! Also he was sure if he did Kurisu would probably kill him so without much thinking he suddenly shouted, "She is my Assistant!"
"Huh?" He could hear Leskinen utter, though whether he was taken back or even more interested he couldn't tell, but once the professor gave that brief pause Okabe, or rather Hououin Kyouma, took full of advantage.
"Yes, gape at my awesomeness mortal, for you are in the midst of the Mad Scientist, Hououin Kyouma! The conductor of destruction, the diabolical of diabolicals and the essence of evil! Muhawhaha!" Now Okabe was feeling it, it was a feeling he rarely indulged in nowadays and the best way to describe said feeling was akin to a semi going down a hill with no brakes, and that is to say ain't nothin' gonna stop it. "And the person you speak of, this 'Makise Kurisu', she is vital to my plan of world domination! Together we fight against the organization tearing it down piece by piece, chunk by chunk, layer by layer so we can mold the future to our image and place oursleves as surpreme rulers of the world! And Makise Kurisu is not her name but an alias to fool you, she is the Perverted Genius Experiment loving girl, Christina, or more importantly the assistant to Hououin Kyouma! Without her my plans of anarchy would be futile! So bask in our awesomeness! Muhawhaha!
"Aww you have pet names for each other." There were many times in Okabe's life where after a long winded speech people would flat out ignore him as if he didn't speak a word and right now was no different. You would think the sting of being ignored would have already gone numb to Okabe, but it never did and infact it probably stung a little more today. So looking at his phone in disgust Okabe realized that sentence instead of being addressed to him was actually addressed to his assistant. She must have been blushing crimson but before he could say anything Leskinen's voice suddenly addressed him. "Mr. Kyouma you are an interesting fellow, but you forgot one thing."
"What?" Taken back and slightly confused Okabe muttered after hearing that strange response.
"You thought you were speaking to Professor Leskinen, of Viktor Chondria University, but in reality it was I, Destroyer of worlds, the boatman of Styx, bringer of hell on Earth, The Evil Doctor Charon! Muhahahah!" That was new. And as he stared at his phone in shock Okabe should have been concerned, hell this guy sounded thirty years older than him and was acting like this to a total sttanger which raised several questions, but instead non of that even crossed his mind as a smile bounced off his ears.
"Doctor Charon!" Hououin Kyouma shouted back with vigor and an intensity worthy of a mad scientist.
"Scream in terror, scream in agony fool, the world shall perish beneath my feet and it's inhabitants cower in my shadow! The promised day is before us where I shall harass the power of God and destroy this planet! And for you Hououin Kyouma, you will be my slave and endure a thousands deaths before I condemn you to hell for interfering in my plans of world destruction!" Yes those were the Professors words straight from the tab...
Ok this was very concerning and Okabe should have really stopped, but this was also the first time someone not named Faris ever played along with his Hououin Kyouma act and also he never experienced someone being his antagonist so...
"Ha! You think your petty threats scare me!" Hououin Kyouma shouted back standing up and getting fully in character. "You organization types are nothing but cattle to the slaughter for me! I suspected that you were planning on foiling my plans so I had no choice but to launch a preemptive strike, thus is why Christina, or how you know her 'Makise Kurisu' is there as my eyes and ears! Every nook, every detail, every step of your master plan is in my back pocket, in other words you lost!"
"Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?!" Leskinen bellowed out longer than what should have been humaly possible while everyone im the cafeteria was staring at him, in the time between he took Kurisu's phone to his long winded speech, news of his outlandish behavior spread like wildfire throughout the university and literally people came pouring in to the breakroom from all over to watch this once in a lifetime freak show. On a side note Kurisu still wanted to die. "A double agent! That's impossible my plans were foolproof!"
"Fool!" Kyouma yelled smugly and proud grinning like a mad man. "Your plans were doomed from the start, no from conception, your ultimate plan was mere child's play for the likes of Hououin Kyouma and right now I have you in check-mate!"
"How?!"
"Hmph, it's simple really." Now this is the part Okabe had been looking for all this time so with a smile encompassing ear to ear he cooly said. "It was the choice of Steins Gate! El. Psy. Kongroo."
"Don't what are-" But instead of getting a dramatic nooooo! Like he was hoping for, Okabe was treated to the sound of the ever fading distress voice of Leskinen while he was being pulled away from the phone. Whoever had the gull to ruin such a perfect moment must have had a heart of stone or was American.
For Kurisu she wished she could give Leskinen's watch dog, Judy Reyes, a medal for having the gull to physically remove the eccentric professor away from the breakroom, though it would have been better if she had done it a couple minutes earlier. Well either way he was being dragged away from her and she had her phone back.
Which of course led to the realization Okabe was still on the line blabbering to himself.
Now Kurisu wouldn't say she never got mad, she frequently did, but she wasn't one to get so angry she was blinded with rage, throwing logic and restraint out the window. Obviously that was before she met Okabe. Turning a deep pink Kurisu placed the phone on her ear and shouted, "OKABE!"
Now that shut the mad scientist up as he himself flushed a light shade of red realizing he might have taken things a bit too far, so sheepishly he replied, "Mmmh Yes?"
"Don't play dumb Okabe!" She yelled seething with rage garnering more than a few stares but she didn't care who was still listening or watching, damn for all she cared they should have minded their own business from the start! Hell she didn't care if they called her cold hearted or a bitch afterwards she was determined to give Okabe what he deserved. "This is exactly why I told you never call me! If I want to talk to you guess what? I'll call! If I don't, don't call!"
"Christina-" Okabe began roughly before she promptly growled at him.
"Don't call me that! I hate it! Just listen to me once, you always do this! You always get carried away and embarrass me! You-"
"I wanted to apologize." Okabe earnestly stated without a hint of hesitation or even disbelief like how he tried earlier before getting cut off, however it did manage to catch Kurisu offguard, but it wasn't enough.
"You better apologize, idiot!" She shouted readily for anything he might say just so she could shoot it down, but instead of his usual frantic apologizes or nonsensical rambling the phone went silent on his end except for the faint sound of his even breathing. After that brief hesitation it crossed her mind she might have gone overboard but then his voice cut through the thick silence, even and serious like before.
"I'm was going shopping with Mayuri." There no shouting, no pretense to what that meant, just what Okabe had stated and nothing else. Her anger, while very much prevalent, subsided just a bit trying to decipher what that statement could mean. But before she could even guess it's meaning or her anger decided it wasn't important he countined, even and seriously. "You said 'It was the same as always, what about you? Got anything planned for today?' three days ago which I barely saw today. I never responded because I had lost my phone in May Queen's while I was waiting for Mayuri's shift to be over. It slipped out of my pocket and I didn't notice it was missing until I had gone back to the lab for the night. I looked for it everywhere, every store, every street, every lost and found in the train stations, but nothing. It never occured to me to check the maid cafe and since Faris had gone to some Rai-net tournament in another city i couldn't go back to it until this afternoon."
"What-" She tried saying but was promptly cut off as Okabe countined.
"I found it strange you never texted back, but I didn't want to overthink it and so I never thought about checking my phone until it rang. If I had I might have found it earlier, but who knows. I know from your perspective you probably were getting restless that I never responded so-"
"I-I was not!" She quickly exclaimed turning a deeper shade of red but unlike earlier this red had nothing to do with anger. But that didn't hinder Okabe at the slightest all it managed to do was make him chuckle a low almost unnoticeable chuckle.
"I didn't want you to think I had forgotten about my assistant, so I thought while I can't apologize in person, I wanted the most important member of the lab to at least hear my apology because she at least deserves that. So Makise Kurisu, I apologize for not answering you three days ago"
The whirlwind of emotion Kurisu had all but dissipated and all that was left was a nagging question of why. Why is it does it always feel liked he planned everything from the beginning. Why is it when he says her name it always manages to sound like he's singing a melody. Why is it that he could go from an insufferable idiot to the most endearing human being. Why is it he can always read her like an open book. Why was there only one word she could say in this moment.
"I-Idiot." She quietly said the word barely escaping through her lips bringing a smile to Okabe's face.
"Ahh, Christina, just an idiot?" He teased out finally bringing a smile to Kurisu.
Okabe was more than an idiot. He was obnoxious, loud, stubborn and childish at times, but Okabe was also more than that.
"No, you are my idiotic Mad Scientist." She stated.
Okabe was smart, caring, and selfless, but Okabe was more than that to.
"And you are my dear genius assistant." He answered back.
Okabe was her's.
She wondered in that moment, when her small grin turned to a warm smile, whether Okabe ever wondered if he deserved to be loved like how she questioned whether she deserved his love. She wondered if he wondered if she thought about other guys like how she wondered if he thought about other girls. She wondered if he felt a warmness swell within him when they expressed their feelings for one another so clearly like how she felt when they did.
She wondered if he was smiling like an idiot right now like how she was smiling like an idiot. She wondered whether he knew how much happiness he brought her.
But somewhere deep inside she had always known that answer.
"Okabe..." It came out of nowhere, somewhere in her brain her mind decided to utter his name and her heart decided to countine. "...thank you."
"Anything to help my assistant." He worded so seamlessly so elegantly, she wondered whether her mind was playing games with her, and perhaps it was, but she wouldn't want it any other way.
"Awwww"
It was in that moment Kurisu realized she was still in the small breakroom with nearly all of her co-workers watching with alittle too much interest... scratch that she rather have it another way preferably if they exchanged those sentiments in private oppose to infront of nearly...all...of her coworkers...
"Ahah!" She screeched as before Okabe could ask what was wrong she quickly hung up and shoved her phone back into her pocket and buried her face in her arms on the table while everyone in the cafeteria simultaneously let out anothet collective...
"Awwww"
Of course there was one person who didn't awww, and that was her mentor, Maho, who just rolled her eyes and tried eating the rest of her meal in peace acting as if nothing happened. Truely, while she was still very young herself compared to others in her position the time spent with an older generation really rubbed off on her, Makise was only a few years removed from her but to her she was the epitome of why she couldn't stand young people and their raging hormones. They were just too annoying.
But in the back of her mind she couldn't help but wonder who was this Okabe Kyouma? Was he Kurisu's lover? Most likely judging by their interactions. Was he from America or Japan? He spoke Japanese, but that didn't mean he lived in Japan or was Japanese, all it meant was he spoke Japanese. Was he good looking? Probably, based on Kurisu's appearance it would be reasonable to assume an equally or near equally attractive person would try to court her or as the young people say, put the moves on her.
When did this happen? Well judging from her recollection of events Kurisu, prior to two years ago, seemed interested in colleagues around her age, but confined to her they were too intimidated to even try talking to her. So their was a want, but that was two years ago, after her near stabbing and return from Japan she never gave the impression she was interested in anyone. It wasn't odd, or at least she didn't notice, but a year ago she had gone back to Japan to give some seminars and when she returned something about her changed. What was especially jarring was she used her phone even more frequent then she use to and sometimes even did these weird poses when she thought no one was looking (Professor Leskinen had a collection of them from the security cameras unbeknownst to Kurisu).
So to narrow it down she probably met this guy two years ago, around the time her near stabbing in Japan, a year later she furthered the relationship with this guy, so most likely this guy was from Japan which would explain the constant phone usage as it would be a long distance relationship. But in the end whoever he was Kurisu must have been deeply in love with this guy if he could turn her, with as much anger as she had displayed, into a lovesick puppy with a few words...
...And of course a guy like that had to be Kurisu's.
Ok maybe she didn't aww because she was annoyed but maybe she didn't aww beacuse maybe she was a tad bit jealous because of course not only was Makise Kurisu better than her as a scientist she apparently was better in love!
Life wasn't fair.
A few weeks later
"Amadeus, I have a small favor to ask." It was after that faithful call with Hououin Kyouma or rather with Okabe Lintalo, that professor Leskinen couldn't help but ponder about the hilarious hijicks he could get into or cause with this mad scientist. And with the added bonus he was involved with the school's most brilliant and famous scientist, there was no way Leskinen wasn't going to try to firgure a way how to fix that. But he had an idea and with the holidays approaching Leskinen found it most appropriate to enact his plan.
"Yes professor Leskinen?" The computer A.I. responded.
"I need you to set something up for me without Makise Kurisu or anyone close to her finding out."
*End*
**A/N: What's this a plot thread hanging? Anyways I hope you enjoyed this little one-shot which hopefully leads to my next project, but there's no gurantees, which is why this is a one-shot and not a first chapter. Anyways if you're still reading I just wanna thank you for reading this little story it does mean alot and I hope I provided at least some entertainment for you. Another thing, I hope I kept the characters as in-character as I could have, I think I did, but that really doesn't mean much coming from me because I'm bias. Adios.**