Title: 1. Kan, ya ma kan

(Translation: Once there was, and once there was not.)

Pairing/Character/s: Yuki/Machi

Word Count: 710 words

Summary: Machi attends Yuki's play 'Somewhat Cinderella' References Ch. 88

A/N: References Ch. 88. Yankee girl refers to Tohru's best friend Arisa Uotani, or Uo-chan. I feel like complete crap for not posting anything sooner. I'll explain after the drabble.

If she leaves right now she could buy flowers and just make the play. Unless, of course, she decided to lie about being too busy with homework. Machi stared at the ticket pressed tightly against white fingers.

He had meant for her to attend... didn't he?

Yuki's exact words were, "I hope you have time to come to the play." Machi's exact interpretation was to buy a present, see the hopeless president suffer through a terrible school play... and maybe see Yuki afterward and congratulate him.

Machi swallowed hard, crumpling the ticket.

In her mind she could already imagine the polite smile he would give her. "Thank you for coming." Then she would go home, replaying the moment over and over in her head; wondering if maybe she had more than hope and an overactive imagination.

No, it was better to avoid congratulating him after the play. It wasn't like he'd notice if she attended or not. Yuki gave every member of the Student Council a ticket, and the line to see him would probably be too long.

It would be so entertaining to see the president as a fairy godmother, and the auditorium was so dark that he wouldn't even be able to tell if she went or not.

Machi stands up quickly, pulling a coat over her uniform. She had to hurry before the florist's shop closed.

It's not far, maybe a five minute walk to the florist. Machi decides on red primroses and white crocuses, her favorite flowers. On the card she carefully writes a generic message: Congratulations President. Being in a play suits you. Kuragi Machi.

...Perhaps she shouldn't have mocked the fact that he had plenty of experience from acting all the time. But the ink is dry and the flowers are ready. Machi hopes he doesn't try to look deeper into it.

Walking around the crowded school with a flower bouquet emphasizes her clumsiness. She stops to blot out her name. It was probably better to deny coming in the first place. He wasn't that important to her. Some person then bumps into her; her pen leaves a blotch on her last name. It looks so much like a heart, like she is signing the card 'Love, Machi' that she stuffs the card in her bag instead.

Thankfully the rest of the walk is calmer. When she arrives at the auditorium, she places the flowers in a giant pile of Sohma Yuki offerings. A nice student shows her to a seat, and Machi supposes that she has enough time to check out the play.

The play itself is... alright. Someone tries to sell her a Sohma Yuki snapshot. Machi pays the 300 yen just to shut her up. The picture makes her smile; Yuki is in mid-blink because ten cameras had gone off at once. Honda Tohru is lovely, something that Machi sighs at.

The president was in love with her.

Machi left then, shutting her mind down before more stupid hope overtakes her. She must treasure this rare moment. She must also understand she has too much false hope.

So she leaves to do some more work around the festival. There are many other things to do. But she can't bring herself to throw away the picture; her only proof that Sohma Yuki is a president, not a prince.

Machi expects everything to go back to normal. The president wouldn't even know she was there, but sometimes she wishes... no.

And then she sees the paper taped to her locker at the end of the day and turns red. With slow fingers she unfolds it.

Thank you for the flowers. Your brother told me they're your favorite flowers, and I guessed it was you. Thank you for coming, also. I wish you stayed afterward so I could thank you in person, but it's enough that you came. I found your card on the floor. ~Love, Yuki

He was teasing her. Or maybe he was- No he was teasing her.

Taped to the bottom is a picture of the entire cast of the play. Yuki is smiling, but it is that Yankee girl's arm around Honda-san.

Machi grudgingly promises to smile and thank the president. Maybe there was some hope for her. Yes. Maybe.

A/N: Reasons why I haven't written anything sooner: -I work three days a week, Mondays to Thursdays -I've been sick for the past two weeks -Haven't been sleeping much either -I am the world's laziest writer

- Also, Ch. 88 confuses me. Does it take place at night or during the day? Originally the drabble started off with Machi at home.

-Anyway, expect another update later today, as kind of an early birthday. I'm planning on doing this Holiday Drabble-a-Day for one week, but let's see how far I get at all. Keep your eye out for it; I might actually keep my promise!