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To be a celebrity is to lead a second life, one that you don’t mind exposing the public to and one that can help further their career. Some heroes really are little more than celebrities at times, and the only way to make your career work, in some cases, is to be a celebrity. Emi isn’t exactly famous, but she does well for herself in terms of popularity in certain circles.
From the first day Mt. Lady makes her debut, Emi takes an interest in her. Not only because she is an extremely attractive woman, but because there is something so plain in her face, something that her fans might not notice, but that any pro would have to. She’s new, and she’s already feeling the pressure, and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead and stay ahead.
All in all, she looks like someone who could really use a laugh, and a genuine one. Emi hopes for the chance to get to make that happen.
~X~
The chance comes sooner than expected, a few months after her big debut. They end up working together, chasing down some minor villain, simply because both of their agencies put them on the job. Honestly, it makes no sense to Emi, since it’s not something that Mt. Lady is all that suited for, and not something that really warrants the both of them working together, but she supposes it’s really just some publicity thing.
By the end of it, she’s barely contributed, but she’s quick to take as much of the spotlight as she can manage, and seeing her up close makes it all that much easier to tell how much of a strain all of this is putting on her. Emi can’t help but invite her out after work.
“What for?” asks Mt. Lady.
“Well, don’t you like to relax after a long day? I know we just met, but it could be fun to hang out for a little bit,” she replies.
She still looks skeptical as she says, “Yeah, I guess I could go for a few drinks or something.”
They work things out and, once they’re both free for the day, look for somewhere to waste their evening. Emi hasn’t been able to get her to laugh yet, but she’s saving her best jokes for when Mt. Lady has a few drinks in her system and has loosened up a bit for her.
It takes less than expected for that to happen, and by the end of the night, they’re on a first name basis and she’s discovered that Yuu has an absolutely beautiful laugh, and that her genuine smile is even more beautiful.
~X~
And just like that, Emi has something of a crush on the relatively new hero. Well, it isn’t as if she didn’t know she found her attractive before, but, after spending time with her one on one, she knows she’s developing more of an interest in her. She’s lucky that she managed to get a phone number out of her, so that the two of them can possibly meet up again.
Besides her growing attraction to Yuu, there is still the matter of wanting to help her cut loose and smile more, and iif she could be a part of her life outside work, then that would make it easier. She knows that now, it’s her crush making it all seem so important, but there can’t be anything wrong with that.
A few days later, she calls Yuu and they agree to go out again, and this time, when they’ve both had quite a bit to drink, Emi actually goes for a kiss.
~X~
Yuu doesn’t answer her calls for a little while after that, which is less surprising than Emi would like it to be. Even though she very much kissed back the night before, when she doesn’t answer the next day, Emi can’t say she isn’t expecting it, and the same goes for the scattered calls throughout the next week.
Eventually, of course, she has to stop before it gets overbearing and creepy, but she does hope that she doesn’t go unanswered forever. Even if Yuu tells her that it was one drunken mistake and that she needs to move on, she at least needs to know what’s going on. Fortunately for her, she doesn’t have to wait too much longer after she stops trying for Yuu to finally contact her.
“Sorry for dropping off the map,” she says, “but I think it was for the best.”
“Oh, yeah? Did something happen?”
“Well, you know how it is. Random, drunken hookups aren’t exactly going to do wonders for my image.”
“I wouldn’t call that a hookup ,” says Emi with a laugh. “Besides, we were out of costume and everything.”
“Please, that doesn't stop people from getting recognized. The point is, my career is kind of delicate right now, so I'm just trying to avoid a scandal.”
“Would going on a proper date with me constitute a scandal?”
“So, we’re at that point, now?”
“Come on, Yuu. After all this, you can’t tell me you haven’t seen this coming,” says Emi. “You kissed me back, remember?”
There is a long pause before she says, “I want to say that was just the alcohol, but…”
“But we both know it wasn’t.”
“I just don’t want any bad publicity.”
“If we do this the right way, I don’t think it’ll cause bad publicity. Hell, we could be a power couple! The people love romance.”
“Don’t you think you’re taking it a little far, considering we’ve only hung out twice?” Yuu teases.
“So, I already know I really like you, nothing wrong with that. What do you say we make it three times? I promise, I can be discreet.”
“I think I can manage that.”
Except they end up hanging out a lot more than three times, though they’re discreet enough that no one catches on- or maybe people don’t care as much about their other lives as they might think.
~X~
“I’ve been so afraid of messing things up from the beginning,” says Yuu. “All I want is for people to like me.”
“You’re pretty hot,” replies Emi, “and that’s not just my bias talking. You’re always going to have a pretty big fan following.”
“What about fans who don’t care about that, though?” she asks with a heavy sigh. “A lot of people are critical of that sort of thing. You know, the type who always ask what someone would be if you took away their pretty face and sex appeal.”
“Don’t you remember when Midnight was getting started? She caught a lot of shit for that, and look at her now. She’s still doing just fine.”
“Maybe you’re right. It’s just hard not to worry about it sometimes.”
“Yeah, well, that’s why I wanna make you laugh whenever I can. You can at least relax around me.”
Once again, Yuu gives a heavy sigh. “I feel awful for dragging this out like this. After how patient you are with me, I almost feel like I don’t deserve to say I’m ready to really give us a try.”
“I kind of thought we were already doing that, so I wouldn’t say I was being patient. We’ve spent enough time together that I think we’re already dating.”
“Yeah, but I want to say it’s official now. And I mean...I don’t care if it goes public anymore. I don’t think that’s going to mess anything up, and if it does...well, I just don’t think it could.”
“Like I said before, the people love romance. I bet it’ll be just fine,” says Emi, though this doesn’t even come close to expressing how happy she is that this is finally happening.
To be a celebrity is to lead a second life, and she’s glad that she’s going to be a part of both of Yuu’s lives.