Distractions

"What's up with you?" Kanami asked, watching Misaki from across the food court table.

The two women had spent the entire morning shopping, as attested by the massive pile of bags next to Kanami's chair. Misaki only had one: a new pair of dress pants to replace the pair that she'd been wearing the night that Hei had shown up in her apartment so unexpectedly. As good as her dry cleaner was, he hadn't been able to get out the splotch of blood that had dripped from Hei's wound.

She was debating whether or not to mention that to Hei. He would no doubt feel badly about it; but he was so adorable when he was embarrassed...

Kanami was still eying her expectantly. Misaki swallowed a mouthful of noodles. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You just seem…happy."

"I'm not usually happy?" Misaki frowned a little.

"That's not what I meant," Kanami said impatiently, pointing her chopsticks at Misaki for emphasis. "Don't take this the wrong way, but you're usually a lot more, well, uptight. I don't generally notice it, but you're so relaxed today that it seems strange."

"I'm just in a good mood, I guess," Misaki shrugged, inwardly berating herself for letting the changes in her personal life show so obviously. Then again, it was Kanami; she'd never had much luck keeping things from her closest friend.

"Well, anyway," Kanami said at last, when it was clear that Misaki wasn't going to explain things to her, "I think Shinji and I are ready to move things up a level."

"Shinji?"

"That friend of mine from college; you met him at the karaoke bar in Roppongi. You remember." Kanami quirked a smile. "Then again, maybe you don't remember - you were a little distracted at the time."

Misaki ignored her friend's grin. "Yes, I do. I just didn't know you were seeing him." Had she known it, and just completely tuned the info out? She felt a brief stab of guilt that she'd been so detached from her best friend's life lately.

But Kanami's shrug was reassuring. "We've just been doing the casual thing for a couple of weeks. But it's going really well."

"Well enough that you want to get more serious?"

Her friend nodded. "He tends bar at another club in the district; since I usually work the late shift, our schedules mesh nicely. And he's a ton of fun to hang out with. You know, he's got a friend I could hook you up with, if you're interested…"

She burst out laughing at the look on Misaki's face. "Come on, I'm just joking - you know I'd never do that to you."

"So," Misaki began after a moment, fiddling with the straw in her soda, "how do you know when it's time for a casual relationship to become something more?"

The look Kanami fixed her with was all too shrewd. "Why?"

"I'm just curious," Misaki said, as nonchalantly as she could manage. "I've always approached relationships from the other direction."

"Well," Kanami mused, "I guess for me it's when I start wanting to see them outside of bed. You know, when you just spend time together spontaneously, without making plans in advance."

Did that count for her and Hei? Misaki didn't think so. True, they didn't schedule his visits, but there wasn't much that they did together besides sex. And cooking, occasionally. Tracking down an MSS spy ring together certainly didn't count.

"Wanting to introduce them to each other's friends," Kanami continued. "Shinji and I hang out with the same party crowd, mostly, but you're my final step in the vetting process: I don't waste time introducing anyone to you that I'm not serious about."

"Really?" It was true that she'd not met most of Kanami's dates; she'd never guessed that there was an actual reason for it.

"What, you didn't know that?" Kanami smiled warmly. "Shinji's got a ways to go before I'll be ready for him to try for your stamp of approval; but even the fact that I'm thinking about it means something."

Misaki returned her friend's smile, pleased that Kanami valued her opinion so highly; but inwardly, she couldn't help but sigh a little in relief. That one definitely didn't apply to her and Hei.

"Anything else?" she asked.

Kanami rested her chin in her hand in thought. "Hm, I think the biggest sign is when you have sleepovers that last the whole night."

"Why does that have to mean it isn't casual anymore?" Misaki protested. "What if it's just convenient?" She felt her face flush at Kanami's raised eyebrow, and focused her attention on her soda.

"It doesn't have to," Kanami allowed. "But a sleepover with no sex is definitely serious. "

Misaki's brow furrowed. That first night that he'd had to work late, she'd missed his company, awkward though it still was. Then the night after that, she'd arrived home so exhausted that she'd gone straight to bed without thinking to hang up the signal - and Hei hadn't appeared.

So, she'd offhandedly mentioned that he was welcome any night that her scarf was in the window, no matter how late. Two days later, she'd woken to his gentle hand on her shoulder; too sleepy to reply coherently, she'd tugged him down to the bed beside her, and drifted off again wrapped securely in his arms.

If they waited until they both had the night off to see each other - well, they'd never see each other. It was only practical. So, Kanami's last point really didn't apply to their situation.

Misaki didn't realize how long she'd been silent, lost in thought, until Kanami said, "Well, there's one more sale I want to stop by before we call it a day. If you're up for it." When Misaki didn't protest, she raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

The sale turned out to be in the same department store where Misaki had caught Hei buying women's clothing, and she smiled at the memory. She would never admit it to Kanami, but a part of her was hoping that they would run into each other here again; though as far as she knew, Hei had no reason to be shopping today. Or at all. Her brow furrowed again at the thought; what had been his reason that last time? The story that he'd told her had been awfully weak, but for the life of her she couldn't imagine why he would be buying women's clothing.

While Kanami was browsing through shoes, Misaki wandered into the lingerie section and found the very spot where she'd seen him looking through bras. Misaki had never cared much for lingerie. She bought things that were practical, and if the tops and bottoms matched it was only because everything she owned was the same white colored polyester for work or cotton for her days off. But now she found herself drawn to the displays. Idly, she wondered if Hei had a favorite color.

A cough made her look up, and when she saw Kanami smiling at her, arms folded, she realized that she was in the honeymoon aisle.

"So, this is what it is," Kanami said, sounding at little hurt despite her smile. "You didn't really break things off with Li, did you."

Misaki sighed, defeated. "No, I did. Well, he did, and I agreed."

That was what she'd told Kanami the day after the events in Yokohama, when her friend had called to see how things had gone at the bar after she'd left. It had been true at the time.

"But then I ran into him again a few days later, and, well…" she trailed off, trying to find the right words. "We've been seeing each other a lot since then. But we want to keep it quiet."

"Quiet? You've been keeping it silent - why?"

It made her uncomfortable, lying to her best friend; but there was no way she could tell Kanami the whole truth. "I can't explain it. It's what's best, for now."

Kanami frowned. "Why 'for now'? Wait, are you saying he has another girlfriend? Is he married - is that what he was lying about?"

"No," Misaki faltered. Him being married would actually be easier to explain than the truth. "It's just…we have really great chemistry, but I don't think we have a future together."

"You told me that you thought that you were too different," Kanami said.

Misaki nodded. "I'm just trying to enjoy what we have, now, for as long as I can."

As long as it just stayed casual. The last thing that she needed was to get in too deep with a contractor.

Kanami's eyebrows rose. "So wait, you're actually doing the casual thing? Have you slept with him already?"

Misaki felt an involuntary flush creep into her cheeks. "Yes. And you don't have to look so surprised."

"Sorry, it's just - wow. Not something I would have expected." She considered. "Still, you two were totally into each other at that bar. He makes you happy?"

Misaki nodded, smiling. "I feel so relaxed with him…I don't know how to explain it."

"Well, I can't argue with that. Just so long as you don't end up getting hurt."

"He won't hurt me," Misaki said. What she didn't add was on purpose. She knew in the back of her mind that the longer they carried on with their affair, the more likely they both were to end up hurt. She just didn't want to think about it.

Kanami was looking at her with a slightly pitying expression, as if she knew what Misaki was trying not to say. But then her friend continued, "What does he like?" and started pulling out the most risqué sets of lingerie that she could find.

"I don't think he cares what kind of underwear I have on," Misaki said, embarrassed by the things that Kanami was showing her. It was true; Hei took no notice of her clothing beyond what was necessary to remove it.

Kanami tsked. "That's because you don't have anything interesting - I've seen your lingerie drawer, remember? How about this?" She held up something that Misaki didn't even know the name for, a sheer, red, lacy thing with more straps than Hei had for his knives. Misaki eyed it in distaste, but the color reminded her of something.

"You know, I first met Li at Alice's party, when she made me wear that red Chinese dress," Misaki said. "His cousin told me that she'd gotten him to admit that he thought I'd looked beautiful in it, but that he liked me in my suits better. I asked him if that was true, and why, and he said it was because I looked out of place in a dress, but suits are who I am."

It was the only compliment that he'd given her so far, and he'd said it in such a matter-of-fact tone that she didn't think that he'd intended it as more than an answer to a question. But his sincerity had rendered her almost speechless. He wasn't the type to make flattering remarks, and she didn't need them; but it had been nice to hear anyway.

"Hm," Kanami said, considering. "He's right. I like him more already. I know…" She trailed off and headed down another aisle, Misaki following.

The set that Misaki ended up buying was almost as practical as what she already owned, but the cut was flattering and subtly sexy; the silky, sky blue material trimmed with the tiniest bit of lace.

She gripped the bag self-consciously as they exited the store; she couldn't remember the last time that she'd bought something so frivolous.

"What if he doesn't like it?" she asked Kanami in a quiet voice. She would feel completely ridiculous, going to all that extra effort. He was a contractor; aesthetics were meaningless to them. Then again, he had made that comment about her suits…

"Do you like it?" Kanami retorted with a raised eyebrow.

Misaki nodded.

Kanami smiled. "Then that's what really matters, isn't it? Anyway, that set is totally you - so if he likes you, he'll like you in it."

Well, she supposed, there was only one way to find out.