I do not own Maria-sama Ga Miteru. #Sadface
A/N: A quite couple notes.
First of all, this will NOT go how you all are thinking. Those of you who are familiar with my work may have an inkling as to what I have planned… and even you may be surprised. *grins evilly* It'll be fun, though.
Also, I am well aware of Japan's policy about tipping, but I am choosing to ignore that. Just gonna nip that in the bud. As you have probably noticed, the culture of this story, like Odd Couple, is very American.
Enjoy.
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Gravity
Part 2
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I didn't sleep very well that morning.
I never really slept well, actually. Since I usually worked the afternoon or night shift, I was usually the one to close up at the end of the day – usually around midnight or so. So by the time I got home it was closer to one in the morning, and it seemed almost silly to go straight to sleep. So I often watched late-night television, read a book or played video games for a while until finally falling asleep by three or four. Then I would sleep the morning away and wake up sometime around noon, and get ready for my shift again.
I know. Glamourous, right? This is the thing people read about.
I finally dragged myself awake and out of bed by one in the afternoon, and stumbled to the bathroom sleepily. I had never been very vain, or obsessed with my appearance; all my life I had been pleased with how I looked, if a little on the small side, but I never had a reason to really but a lot of worry into my physical appearance. But I actually winced in actual distress with how I looked in the mirror.
There were bags under my eyes. And my skin was pale and sallow, like I hadn't actually slept at all. I may as not have, with thoughts of my embarrassing and surprising encounter the night before. All morning I tossed and turned, memories of myself as an awkward, gangly teenager crawling around in my head, and Shimako right there, watching me in that serene expression that was so uniquely hers.
I idly wondered if, wherever Shimako was, if she also suffered the same maladies I did. If her sleep was plagued with thoughts of her teen years, being young and silly, filled with weird thoughts and ideas. Or me. Probably not. She just didn't seem the time to be bother by such things. She had always been a pretty mellow person, and the weirdest thing I had every really noticed of her was going to a café at almost midnight.
But damn… she looked good last night. Which was probably why I had blurted out… what I said. Much to my dismay. Even now, in my bathroom waiting for the water to warm up for my shower, I blushed.
I am such a spaz.
I was afraid, with my mood and how I was when I woke up, that I would be late to my shift. But I ended up arriving at the café right on time, much to Megumi's shock. I knew she was shocked because she said so.
"Whoa, girl. I am shocked." She let out a low whistle as I made my way to clock in. "You look like the bad side of… well… something bad."
I leveled a blank stare at the woman. "Thanks. That makes me feel awesome."
She shrugged, grinning. "Well, it's true. What's up with you today? You get your monthly visitor? I clocked out for you last night, by the way."
"I wish… at least then I would have an excuse. And thanks." I sighed and shambled to my locker, stuffing my purse and jacket inside. "I just didn't sleep well last night."
"Clearly." She said, though her tone was unbelieving. Then she leaned up against the wall and crossed her arms over her bust. "So…" She drawled. "Who was that woman last night?"
I groaned, shutting my locker door a little louder than necessary. "An old friend." I said simply.
"Right. That's what you said last night." Megumi smirked at me in a way that reminded me eerily of Touko when she knew she would get her way. "But what I meant was what's her name, where you know her from… you know, like, an actual answer."
"And that matters why?" I said tiredly, turning to regard myself in a nearby mirror. I ran my fingers through my hair in a useless attempt to undo a knot.
"Because you ran the first opportunity you could, is why." She said, raising a speculative eyebrow at me. "I mean, you were talking, which was fine. Then the next minute you bolted. You were blushing. She was blushing—"
"She was blushing?" I said before I could stop myself. I could help it, I was suddenly interested in the conversation. But I still felt the whiplash from my sudden change in mood.
Megumi grinned widely. "Yup. It was kind of adorable. She finished her tea, polished off the cookies, and left you a ten dollar tip." Her grin turned sly. "She must have really liked what you said to her."
I glared at her. Her grin only widened. I upped the ante by giving her the finger.
She laughed at that. "What? I'm just saying I'm kind of envious. She's pretty… and those eyes." She shivered dramatically. "Nice. I approve, Yumi."
"Whaveter." I said gruffly, looking away from her so she wouldn't see my face heat up. "I haven't seen her in seven years. And the last time we did see each other…" I trailed off, unsure of what to really say.
Megumi's laughed died, and her voice softened slightly. "You two have a history?" She asked.
"You could say that." I allowed. When she gave me a look, I sighed. "Just… we kind of had… a thing. When we were teenagers."
"A thing." She repeated flatly.
"Right. A thing."
She blinked. "Oh. Oh! A thing." A nod. "Okay. Go on."
Suddenly feeling a little exposed, I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the wall. "Yea. So… that's it. Just a thing. Nothing ever came from that, and we just kind of… fell out of contact since then. I haven't even talked to her in years."
Megumi's lips twisted in a frown, and she stepped towards me, raising her arm to put her hand on my shoulder. "Right. Gotcha. One of those things." At my nod, she continued. "Well, I can't really say I understand where you are coming from since I dig the penis and all… but I can definitely understand things that happen and kinda fall apart afterwards." I chuckled softly and her smile returned. "I'm sorry to hear that happened. If it makes you uncomfortable, we can schedule you for a different shift…"
I shook my head. "No. No. Thanks anyway, but I'm a big girl. I can handle a little leftover teen angst and awkwardness."
Megumi nodded, though still a little unsure. "Alright. If you say so. What if she comes again, though?"
"Then I'll woman up and be friendly. I mean, we were practically best friends. That shouldn't be hard to do again."
Rolling her eyes, Megumi stepped around me and put on her apron. "Sure, sure. If there is one thing you are good at, it's being friendly." She shot me her usual grin as she breezed through door to the main room. "Well, that and making a great cup of tea."
By the time I had stuck my tongue out at her, she was gone.
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The afternoon dragged on into the night, and Shimako had not turned up again. By the time my shift came to an end at almost midnight, I was surprised to find that I was more than a little disappointed. I had been caught off guard by my friend when she came the previous night, but once I had gotten over the shock of seeing her again, I had almost hoped she would come again.
But, as I clocked out in the backroom and pulled on my dark denim jacket, I decided that my wish to see Shimako again was optimistic at best. I mean, she probably only came in the café for a late night snack – something to occupy her mind of take her attention away from whatever it was that she did these days. It was a bit much for me to hope she would come to my café again, at damn near midnight, two nights in a row.
I mean, right?
Opening the back door and waving goodbye to Megumi as she finished up her tasks, I kicked my sneakers to the curb and began my walk back to my apartment, thoughts already thinking of what I would make to eat once I got home, or what movie I would watch before sleep.
As I joined the main street outside the front of the café, my eyes were drawn to a car parked a few meters away. It was a dark grey coupe, some kind of Nissan if I wasn't mistaken. A nice enough car, if only a couple years old by the look of it. But the car itself wasn't what drew my attention; it was the figure leaning up against the side of it.
I slowed my steps, my heart suddenly thumping in my chest. My eyes widened as I took her in, drinking in her appearance. Her hair was loose, as always, her brown tresses wavy and soft. My fingers itched in the vague, almost shadow-like memory of winding my fingers through them. Her dark, waist-length coat, was unbuttoned, and her white blouse shone brightly in the streetlights around us. And, surprisingly, her jeans were a darker shade than my own, and comfortable looking. I had never really known Shimako to wear jeans when she was younger, but I had to admit she wore them really well.
She looked good. Damn it, she looked good the previous night, too. Was this going to be a common occurrence?
I stopped a few feet from her, my hands clenching at my purse for lack of anything better to do, and I nodded awkwardly. "H-hey."
Shimako tilted her head to the side, and chuckled. "Hey yourself." She glanced down at her wrist, tilting it so she could check her watch. "You got off pretty late."
"I… yea." I said slowly. "I usually get off about midnight." Then, blinking, I suddenly had a frightening thought. "Have… have you been waiting for me all evening?"
"Oh no." She said, shaking her head. "I only arrived about twenty minutes ago. I assumed you would get off pretty close to last night." She then regarded me with an unreadable expression. "Why did you leave so quickly last night?"
I felt my lip twitch, and I shuffled my feet. "No reason."
She watched me for a few more moments, and then nodded. "I see. I was afraid my sudden appearance had made you uncomfortable."
I grimaced, a sudden feeling of shame crawling into my chest. I wrapped my arms around my body to ward off any more embarrassment. "I… sorry." I said softly. "I mean, can you blame me?"
"I suppose I can't." Shimako said. "Under the same circumstances, I would possibly react in the same way as you did."
Snorting, I nodded. "You can say that again." Then, sighing, I let my arms fall back down to my sides. "So, what are you doing here? Like I said, you don't seem the time to normally hang out on the side of the street around midnight?"
"You'd be surprised." The woman said, her lips quirking up into a mysterious smile. I blinked slowly, and she laughed. The sound, clear and bell-like, sent shivers down my spine and I shuddered minutely. "I was waiting for you to get off work, honestly."
"Why?" I asked before I could stop myself.
Shimako blinked, as if she was unused to having her actions questioned. But after a moment, her serene expression picked right back up from where it left off and she smiled at me. "Because I wanted to see you again."
"Oh." I said softly. My eyes fell to the ground, and I kicked the sidewalk with my scuffed sneakers. "That's… good?"
"Yes. I think so." I suddenly saw her walk towards me – her shin-height boots clicking softly on the cement – and I looked up in time to catch her pale skin as she stopped, only inches away from me. "What would you like to do, Yumi?"
I swallowed, my eyes instinctually flicking down to her lips. They looked full, soft, and shined slightly of lip balm. All at once, memories came back of a moment, a brief moment, of reckless passion and whispered words. Of heady smells and tastes. I remembered, now, at this moment, just how those lips had tasted back then. And at that moment, there was nothing I wanted more than to sample them again. If for no other reason than to see if they still held the same sweetness as I still recalled, sometimes vaguely in my dreams, and now, acutely, as she stood so close I could smell her.
As I opened my mouth to whisper what I desired, what I needed, a loud rumble sounded from my belly, and just like that, the moment was gone.
Mother fucking stomach!
Blushing furiously, I stepped away, trying my best to ignore the polite, but still painfully obvious giggles erupting from Shimako.
"I think you would like to get some food. Isn't that right, Yumi?" She finally said after her laughs subsided.
Still blushing, I nodded stiffly. "Yea." My voice sounded hoarse, and I cleared my throat. "There's a pretty good place open twenty-four hours down the way a bit. A few minutes if we walk." I eyed her car. Or, at least, I assumed it was her car. "You want to drive, or hoof it?"
Smiling, she pulled out her keys from her coat pocket and clicked it, the car behind her chirping as the doors locked.
"A walk sounds lovely, Yumi. Lead the way."
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End of Part 2
A/N: A little shorter than my usual fair, but it turned out well enough.
The next chapter should be out again soon, if I keep to my chapter-a-day schedule. Stay tuned, gang!
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***Will work for glomps***