"Mostima, do you know what time it is?"
"Half past twelve?" She glanced at the clock in his office.
"You're so wrong. It's time we pay a visit to Penguin Logistics. They're taking a day off today."
"That call just now was from the Emperor, I presume?"
"Yeah. By the way, you can leave if you get uncomfortable there. You know what I mean."
"Thanks for your concern, Dokutah. I'll be fine."
As they entered through the door, they found the gang with all their members present. The once-empty corner was now filled with two staves, placed there upon their arrival.
"Hello, girls. How are you doing?"
The Lupo who had informed him of their location on the phone was the first to speak, saying, "Welcome, you two."
Exusiai, who didn't divert her gaze from the game she was playing, followed with, "Hello, Leader. What brings you here?"
"Exusiai, for the last time, decrease the volume; it's getting on my nerves," Texas said, growing irritated as she casually took another pocky in her mouth.
"I thought I should pay a visit since it's not every day you all have a day off. Is the poor whipping boy of Penguin Logistics here? I've got something to talk to him about."
"Pfft, Dokutah, don't tell me you were really serious back then."
"Exu-" the Lupo was about to get angry, but she stopped quickly.
She did so as she realized that her request to lower the volume had not only been met but exceeded – the volume had been completely turned off. What's more, the screen itself had turned black.
Exusiai, who had been engrossed in a game just moments before, suddenly appeared between the two of them, her back turned to the Doctor.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down here," Mostima said, gesturing to slow down with her hands.
"Mostima. Come here, I have some stuff to talk to you about."
"Are these kinds of stuff just questions about my horns or darkened wings by any chance? Or your sister?"
"No, they aren't. I won't ask you this time."
"That's surprising. Are you sure?"
"If I ask, you will disappear again, won't you? Tell me what you have been doing."
The Doctor, who stood in front of Mostima, gave a relieved smile upon seeing that they had avoided a potentially distressing situation. He then continued on his way to have a chat with the others, leaving the two alone.
"So," Exusiai lifted her hand for Sora and Croissant to see, to which they replied with a nod. She lowered her voice to a whisper, saying, "How's everything going with the Doctor? Any progression?"
She whispered back, "He might hear us, you know?"
"Hey, baws, I've got some really fine goods ready. C'mere lemme show you," Croissant said as she led the Doctor to the door.
"Let me see. Oi, no need to push; I'm coming already." After they left, Croissant turned back, giving a thumbs up with a grin on her face before closing the door.
"..."
"It's time to spill the beans now that the Leader is out. I take it it's going well since you two came here together?"
"I was about to ask you that. What kind of presumptions do you have of me? I've had some completely unrelated people saying something about 'the rumors' of me or something. Also, what's the deal when you were all weird about Sideroca back then?"
"Don't play dumb. Aren't you and the Doctor going out?" Exusiai asked her.
"I don't know where you got that idea, but there is no such thing. What made everybody think so, anyway?"
"Good question. Aren't you so close to him despite only talking a little with everyone? I envy him, though. I wish you dropped by here half the time you went with the Doctor."
"What about it? Doesn't our Dokutah spend time with pretty much everyone? How about you two? I bet you all here spoke with him as much as I do, if not more."
"He spends time with me and talks with me, yeah, but he sure doesn't run around in halls asking for people where I am gone or take me out for dates after operations. What about you, Texas?"
"Same here. He has been asking me for your date of delivery and exits for months. It would make things easier for me if you just told him yourself."
"!?"
"Mostima, you are blushing. How cute!" said Sora, who had been watching things unravel since their entry.
"SORA, GET THE CAMERA QUICK! WE NEED A PICTURE OF THIS. I will frame it on my wall."
*Poof*
They couldn't enjoy the sight any longer as it was gone. They got Mostima'd yet again.
"She is gone?"
"Exusiai, you teased her too much." Recalling the stave, she continued, "Her staff is still here; she should return to get them back."
"Arghh, why did I start with that anyway? Just when she came back, she did it again. I wanted to talk to her."
She escaped using her time-manipulating powers but was unsure where to go. Eventually, she realized that anywhere she could be alone would suffice as solitude was her current desire. She walked towards her room and then opened her phone to call Shirayuki.
She had asked her to take shifts as she needed a break. While Dokutah's protection was no matter lax enough that she could leave because of her emotions, she could at least relax since he was being taken care of by the gang and the Shirayuki. While saddened since she had Shirayuki cover up she could take her shift today to repay her. It was in the contract she signed anyway. She couldn't see any faults in that.
She had always assumed that the Doctor talked to her as part of his job. His relationship was mentioned one way or another and she was aware of his connections..
Many people, both experienced operators and newbies, admired and sought his company. He was welcoming to everyone, regardless of their background or appearance -be it seasoned Veterans, Giant Tigers, seaborns, or mercenaries.
She tried to picture a situation where he asked Mountain, Skadi or Hellagur for a favor and she couldn't imagine any of them would turn him down. Despite feeling concerned for his safety when it took place she couldn't help but me amazed by his reaction towards W. He stood so calm and brushed her off so casually. She was glad she couldn't continue and he somehow changed the subject there.
Her thoughts came back to "dates" and "rumors".
While on operations once she had suggested that she and Doctor would split up and get some food together. While her initial reason for asking was "Others are close with each other; I don't need to have such things," their little escape persisted even if her initial reason wasn't valid anymore. Regardless of the others she and the Doctor would sneak off to go find some food and spend time together.
While she was unsure at the time, the Doctor always assured her it would be fine and always found a way to somehow keep this a secret from Kal'tsit. As far as she knew, they never got into trouble for that, still to this day. Even if Kal'tsit didn't know, the people in the operation had seen it. She figured that must be what Exusiai referred to as a "date."
She hadn't thought about how much time and effort he had to spend in order to build their relationship to its current state. He had caught her many times after her disappearings and even more after he started to wait for her return. She used to think it was mere luck that he found her so easily, but she began to wonder about the times when he didn't succeed. How did he manage to locate her during those instances? It remained a sweet mystery to her even more so considering that she would often slip away again after being found.
But the mystery had been unveiled. With an answer, she couldn't even think of. He ran after her and asked around? How many times must he have spent in doing so and how many times he had failed?
Even after her attitude, even with his numerous responsibilities, he still found time to enjoy snacks and listen to her stories. Never interrupting, some times giving valuable insight other times meaningful comments, or just offering her to stay in order for her to escape Fiammetta. She reminisced about the certain occasion when she had returned to the airship and encountered him.
He had met her and asked her for tea, only for her to inform him that she would return later and be delayed. The sight she was met after she came back was still committed to her memory.
The blue and white flag decorations on the wall, two on the left and two on the right. Big, shiny balloons hung from weights on the table. Delicious-looking slices of cake, the flavor she mentioned she craved before. Drinks and plates on the table, biscuits lying on the plates. Plastic silverware neatly put next to the plates. Candies scattered on the table. Stickers on the wall.
The meeting room she thought of as boring was transformed into such a place. It might have appeared somewhat childlike, but to her, it felt like the most beautiful and enchanting thing imaginable at that moment. There also came a sight that contradicted the happy atmosphere.
A lonely Doctor who fell asleep on the table. He had put his face in her hands and fell asleep with his mask on. He had been waiting there, put up snacks decorated the place, and readied the silverware only to keep waiting for hours on end. Waiting for her company only to miss it.
There came two possibilities to her mind:
Either he did everything himself and then waited for her. Alone..
Or the place was decorated with other people, only him remaining after hours on end..
Regardless of which one was true, both were equally saddening
How long had he been here, waiting for her arrival? As she moved closer to check on him, another surprise awaited her. A little piece of paper was lying on the table; it read "WELCOME BACK, MOSTIMA." in the Doctor's handwriting. She promised him and herself she would come back earlier next time.
She took the Doctor to his office, but soon realized it was the wrong one. She had to take him to his room. At the time, she could see the dozens of papers next to his pens and paid no mind, only to recognize the meaning now. Were they completed or not, she never learned. What she knew was he made them amongst all the work he had to do in order to celebrate with her. After locking her office and putting him to bed, she took off the paper he had written and turned it over.
"Thank you, Doctor."
Then she dealt with the meeting room.
"I see."
There was a strange emotion bothering her for a while. A nostalgic but unfamiliar one, as if long lost. The emotion that appeared whenever she would go aboard the ship, looking for the Doctor. Imagining him on her travels. The strange feeling appeared sometime after their moments together. She could always feel it whenever she thought about or was with the Doctor, but it was static. Unnoticeable. But it would intensify every now and then, particularly when she was on her way to his office or talking with him. When she got informed in the dormitory just now, the emotion went out of control. Texas telling her about the Doctor asking about her entry and exit dates was the last straw.
Another unfamiliar emotion also came along with it. It appeared when she saw other girls approaching the Doctor. The Doctor goes out drinking with others. Platinum trying to appeal to him. It was most intense whenever she reminded herself she wasn't the only one Doctor had such a relationship with, and he most likely did the same or even more with the others. This emotion disappeared significantly after she realized that he didn't treat her the same way he treated others. When she realized he treated her differently.
While she didn't pry further into both of them, she realized both of the emotions.
One of them was love.
The other was jealousy.
