Interlude: Secret
Word Count: 167
They meet accidentally in the street and she flushes, dropping her things. He picks them up and hands them to her. They play the parts of strangers so well, almost to well. She doesn't bat an eye when Motoki mentions his name, and even controls the urge to stare when they're in the arcade together.
Rei makes it harder. Rei's affections make her both jealous and sad, because she's not sure where she fits into Mamoru's life. Is she a girlfriend or a girl he happens to sleep with on occasion? She wants to believe that he likes her. Sometimes she can even convince herself that he must.
But theirs is a secret affair, known only to them. So much so that she takes the back entrance when she comes to his apartment, so much so that she dare not mention his name.
Someday, she fantasizes, she'll walk in through the front door, and he'll kiss her in public without worrying about anything. Until then, she'll love him quietly, and submerge all the lingering fears for later.
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