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“I’d never have pegged you for the desperate type, senpai. A little sly of you, isn’t it, slinking around when you’re not even part of the club.” Nobara’s left fingers curl where they’re pressed onto the wall, the veins of her hand straining as they hold the whole of her weight. Slowly, she leans in and up a little, looking Zenin Maki straight in the eye. “I don’t think you have any right to encroach on our space like this, Maki-san.”
The sun has just started to set, she’s got her upperclassman crowded against the wall of the tiny clubroom right next to the door, and if Nobara were a little less livid, she’d notice first the provocativeness of their position. If she were being a little less competitive, she’d notice Maki’s eyes flaring with intensity towards her for an entirely different reason that has less to do with rivalry and all to do with their proximity.
There’s a clear misunderstanding here, Maki thinks, because she catches on fast. She’s in no rush, though (for Nobara, she’s in it for the long run), and has a hard time convincing herself to let this go before she’s milked it for all the entertainment it’s worth. Her lips pull into a smirk before she can help it, and she leans comfortably into the wall, her arms crossed.
“Let’s be honest, I know you don’t think I’m the most desperate one here. Surely I’m not the only one with ulterior motives.” Maki reaches up, and taps the plaque currently located conveniently behind her – The Human Physiology Appreciation Club. “Didn’t know you were so curious about the human anatomy you’d start a whole club for it, Nobara.”
Nobara pulls back a little then, and her glare intensifies, like she’s taken a hit. “I-I’m not!” She sputters, and it sounds more defensive than she’d like. The instant fear that someone else might barge into her haven slams into her like a freight train. “It’s boring, trust me, you don’t want to join. There aren’t any other members, and it’s all biology and big words and guts and stuff. Something like... that?” She trails off pathetically.
Unfazed, Maki answers in silence and a tilt of the head. Go on, as if she’s listening just to hear the sound of Nobara’s voice, and it feels frustratingly arrogant, like she’s being brushed off. Not to mention that the height difference makes Nobara feel like she’s being looked down on, and she doubles down with a smirk of her own. “You don’t even know anything about human physiology, do you? Huh?” She faces Maki’s smug grin head on, eyes blazing with absolute seriousness. “I bet you don’t.” Shoko-sensei will be back to start the meeting soon, and Nobara sure as heck doesn’t need a potential rival anywhere nearby when that happens. It’s not like she needs any more competition for her affection.
Eyeing the way Maki sizes her up, Nobara internally scoffs. Couldn’t be more obvious if she tried. She piles on the intimidation a little thicker. “That’s a no. What’s the point, then? Not like you’ll be impressing anyone. I’ve already got a corner on that end, so run along before you embarrass yourself, senpai.”
The small chuckle Maki lets out breaks her silence, finally. It’s the fact that Nobara can feel the puff of air against her bangs that makes her belatedly realize how close they are, but there’s no way she’s backing away now. There’s a glint off the reflection of Maki’s glasses as her head tilts to the right, hair brushing softly against Nobara’s wrist. Her fingers drum out a light rhythm where they rest on her bicep, before ending with a final staccato. Decision made.
Maki unfurls her left arm and reaches towards Nobara, who wills herself not to flinch. Without ever touching her, Maki’s middle and index finger guide the way along the top of Nobara’s head to the tips of her hair, and dipping to follow the curve of her jaw. With her thumb, she traces in the air the length of Nobara’s neck, and for a second, imagines pressing tenderly inwards where she would feel her pulse through her skin. Their eye contact never breaks, neither willing to back down, and it never occurs to Nobara in the slightest that this might not actually be a normal thing for so-called rivals to do to this intensity.
Lifting her weight off the wall, Maki straightens herself to her full height before leaning in as close as she dares. Her fingers, with nothing to cling onto still, attach themselves lightly to the leaf of Nobara’s collar, toying and playing with the hem and trying not to tug. She can sense the other’s eyes bore into her, watching her movements incredulously, and the corner of her mouth lifts up without her permission. Satisfied with the attention (a greedy indulgence), Maki’s voice is tantalizing and heavy with motive when she speaks: “Why don’t you tell me just exactly what I can learn from it, hm?”
Five seconds of silence pass while the moment settles between them and Nobara struggles to process the question; she receives it as nothing but taunt. As the offense travels through her and settles quickly in her gut, she bares her teeth, and in a move that shocks even Maki, her other hand lurches forward and slams into the wall, this time fully caging the other in her arms.
Nobara’s breath is hot with anger, though Maki finds it hard to focus on feeling insecure about it when it’s hitting her neck, barely two inches away from her own face. This wasn’t in the schedule for today. “You really think I’m stupid, don’t you?” Nobara growls, and Maki hears nothing. “I’m not helping you pretend to actually be into it in order to join the club.“
The look on Maki’s face has Nobara convinced that her intimidation tactic worked, and she huffs with determination, retracting her arms and giving Maki space to breathe. “This is your final warning.” She points an accusing finger against Maki’s shoulder, and it pushes her back slightly into the wall. “Don’t you steal my idea. Or my girl. Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to.”
With that, she grabs Maki by her shoulders and twists, roughly thrusts the door open, and shoves her out with a single arm.
The door slams closed behind her.
Outside in the hall, Maki stands rigid, and her right arm comes up to her shoulder for a second, rubbing absent-mindedly where Nobara had poked at her. The clacking of heels heading down the hallway is what snaps her to her senses, and she sighs. “‘Her girl,’ huh?”
Don’t wanna interrupt them. “Well. Might as well get going.”
She shoves her hands in her pockets as she turns sharply, and makes her way casually towards the stairs. Her mouth twists as her brain roves over her defeat, but the flames in her heart are stoked. Not like she didn’t expect this. Tomorrow’s another day, I guess. Her steps pick up, and she skips down the stairs, two at a time, half-sulking all the way.
Sure got my work cut out for me, don’t I.
“What’re you doing here again?”
Not that Maki had expected a warm welcome. But when the girl you like hates you and thinks you like the girl she likes, to boot… well, you learn to take the losses as they come.
Nobara can’t see her face presently, but didn’t need to to guess whose training bag is hanging off the top off the giant stack of boxes, which are clutched firmly at the bottom by strong arms.
The mountain of boxes awkwardly waddles its way into the clubroom, and after some shifting, Maki’s head pops out from behind it, eyes meeting Nobara’s glare. She responds, deadpan, a little too calmly for someone carrying three loads of documents by herself, “Don’t worry, I’m not joining this time. Just le–.”
“Maki was kind enough to lend me a hand.”
Shoko leans in head-first to peek through the doorway, gives a look-around, and once she’s confirmed all the boxes were safely inside and no further grunt work was required on her part, she strolls in, and suddenly the room brightens, much to Maki’s annoyance.
The way Nobara beams with Shoko’s arrival makes Maki feel light-headed, both because it’s blinding and it’s irritatingly pretty. Appreciative and irked at the same time, she feels like she’s been pelted in the head with the grounding fact that she’s never received a smile like that from her.
“I can just put them down here?” Though before Maki’s finished phrasing her question, she’s dropped the boxes unceremoniously onto the floor where she stands. She resists the urge to cough from the dust it raises, because as cute as Nobara is, clubroom cleanliness is clearly not on her list of top priorities, despite being the president and sole member.
Shoko’s thanks are cut off by Nobara whizzing past Maki to greet her at the door. “Shoko-sensei! Why didn’t you ask me to help?” She ducks her head a little and pouts, and Maki wills herself with every bit of strength not to look, because it’d feel like losing, somehow. “I would’ve come right away if you’d called, you know.”
Shoko laughs, and it’s a grown-up laugh, the kind that makes Nobara’s cheeks burn red, either in adoration or embarrassment or both. The kind that almost makes Maki feel second-hand silly on Nobara’s behalf, because it’s the kind of laugh that radiates what a cute kid.
But she doesn’t let herself feel that way. She has more respect for Nobara than that.
After all, Maki knows what it’s like to not have your feelings taken seriously.
With all that said though, even Maki has to hold back a snicker when Shoko slaps her hand down on Nobara’s head and musses up her hair, patting her like she would an unruly puppy. “You should be thanking Maki instead. She offered to do it so you didn’t have to, and she’s not even part of the club,” she chuckles. “Why, jealous?”
“As if! I just thought she might not be strong enough, that’s all. Wouldn’t want her tripping or losing anything. Clumsy. Did I mention she’s clumsy, too?”
Oi.
Shoko hums, giving little indication that she actually believes or even heard what Nobara said. “Don’t worry, you’re still my favourite student. Without you sending all those boys to the infirmary, I’d have a pretty boring time at work all day. But if it’s the work you’re jealous of, mind starting to sort these out for me? I’ve got a call to make.”
She nods towards Maki, thanking her again, and with one last absent-minded pat on Nobara’s head, Shoko’s out the door, gone as quickly as she came.
Maki can’t help it. She watches Nobara watch Shoko leave with eyes sparkling, and she smirks, amused. Walking up next to Nobara so they’re shoulder-to-shoulder, she nudges her slightly with her elbow and teases, “That ‘your girl’?”
Nobara tenses up visibly and reddens, and Maki admires the way the embarrassment reaches all the way to the tips of her ears. She’d like to make her blush for real someday. For now, she brings her hand to her mouth as if to cover up the snicker she lets out, plain as day. “How romantic.”
“…” Nobara dips her head down, and her hair falls in front of her face, muttering something towards the floor. Her fists curl at her side.
Teasingly, Maki leans down a little, cups her ear, and asks, “What was that?”
“I SAID SHE’S NOT YET!” Nobara bursts out, her face entirely red, almost teary out of embarrassment, and Maki is as much taken back as she is endeared (though not as much as she feels bad about it. Very conflicting). On her way to be kicked out for the fifth time in as many days, Nobara yells as she slams the door, “And don’t you dare think this is your chance to swoop in!”
And Maki grins, because Nobara’s right. There’s never been a better chance.
“How was your day, honey?”
“Don’t you get tired of doing this over and over?”
There’s very little thought put into why Maki strolls in like she owns the place, aside from knowing it’d get Nobara riled up, and the hope that if she keeps up with the honey, I’m home act, even Nobara might eventually take the hint. “Not when I’m having so much fun, no.”
“Well, if you’re here, you might as well help out, senpai.” With some enthusiasm, Nobara pulls out the chair next to her and pats the seat matter-of-factly. Despite her tight smile, the ease with which she’s been welcoming Maki into her space with decreasing rudeness as of late is a win in Maki’s books.
Swinging her training bag over the back of the other’s chair, Maki bumps Nobara’s shoulder casually as she slides in, throws her elbow onto the rail, and stays there. Casual. She coughs. “So what’ve you got for me this time ‘round?”
Nobara spares her a look, eyebrow raised. “You’re sure fired up today, Maki-san.” She plucks a folder from one of the many huge stacks of documents cluttering the desk (some taller than her head), removes its papers, and taps them multiple times against the table to level them. “Hope your arm’s all warmed up from training. The paperwork’s endless. I don’t know how Shoko-sensei deals with them all.” Folding through some of the pages in her hand, she mutters, “I don’t even think all of these are hers.”
That’s because she has you do them for her. “That’s because she’s got us poor suckers roped into doing it all for her, and then some. I’m starting to think it’s a side gig she has; we do all the work and she reaps the benefits.” Despite complaining, Maki reaches for her bag, digging for a pen. While leaning over to Nobara’s side of the desk, she eyes the progress done on the sheet she’s working on, and frowns. “Do any of these even have to do with – what was it?” She cranes her neck to glance at the plaque. “The appreciation of human physiology?”
“I’m filling out all the reported infirmary visits, aren’t I? Nurse visits mean either injuries or sneaking naps, and by all means, I think both are considered quintessential as to a functioning human body.” Nobara waves her finger in the air as she explains her perfect logic, and Maki pretends not to have heard her. Her foraging for a pen doubles in effort.
At the lack of reply, Nobara leans back to observe what Maki’s doing, and a brief puff of laughter escapes her, earning her a look of surprise from Maki. “If all you needed was a pen, you could’ve just said so.” She starts digging around at the base of a particularly big paper mountain, and singsongs, “I’ve got an extra one right around he–”
“Watch out!”
Jumping to her feet with lightning-speed reflexes, Maki moves before she thinks or speaks – her arm shoots out over Nobara’s head to cover her when the heap of documents above her begins to topple. With Nobara in a firm grasp, Maki presses her close, and her cheeks burn when she feels Nobara’s hair tickle her neck. She prays that this close, Nobara can’t hear the sound of her heart thudding in her ribcage. As if in slow motion, sheet after sheet of flying papers fall around them, and her face reddens further. She’s created the scene of an accidental rom-com.
The moment is short-lived, though, and Nobara pries her way out of Maki’s arms. Her hair flies as she takes in the sight of papers strewn all over the floor.
Maki flinches when Nobara whips her head to look at her, fully expecting an outburst of rage, but Nobara simply scoffs, a breath of disbelief and an expression of amused incredulity. “I know what this is,” she whispers.
Brows furrowed in confusion, Maki angles her head to examine the mess in the clubroom, and thinks better of her knee-jerk expectation that Nobara has suddenly attained an entire understanding of the intent and gravity of Maki’s feelings towards her. She purses her lips, and scratches her nose awkwardly, for lack of a better option for her hands to go. After a moment, she blurts, “I don’t think you do?”
Entirely out of left field, Nobara smirks, slamming her palm on the table, and Maki warily scans the other shaking towers of documents. “You’re trying to wipe me out, eh? Get rid of the competition? Blame the mess on me and all of a sudden, all the work I’ve put in will be for nothing, and you’ll swoop in with your strong arms and your cool training swords and your dumb charming smile–” Increasingly animated, Nobara rises with her voice and stands forcefully, sending her chair to the floor in a clatter. “If you think that’s all it’s gonna take, you’ve got another thing co–”
As abruptly as she started yelling, she stops, and Maki’s mind (frozen and looping the part where she thinks she heard Nobara called her charming) stops reeling enough to register the sudden silence. She follows Nobara’s gaze past her, across the room, through the tiny window of the clubroom door where 6 metres down the hallway, Shoko, the school nurse, is kissing Iori Utahime (the Japanese and P.E. teacher, and apparently, the school nurse’s girlfriend). As soon as the two pull away, Shoko leans into Utahime, pushing more firmly where she’s got her pressed against the wall, and the hand cradling her jaw moves down to elegantly, reverently brush her long hair to her back. Travelling downwards still, Shoko’s fingers rest gingerly at Utahime’s elbow, and with a gentle pull downwards, she leans in to whisper something into her ear, sending them both into a fit of giggles.
Nobara’s eyes are dry.
Nobara’s eyes are dry, but Maki can’t be sure, and she’s trying to sneak a glance as inconspicuously as possible.
They’re sitting on a bench in the courtyard, where Nobara herself suggested to go to take a breather, and she might be crying and Maki can’t be sure because she hasn’t spoken in the past five minutes and hasn’t looked up from the ground.
Fuck it, she’s not taking any chances.
“…Are you okay?” Maki asks, the only time in her life she’s ever felt hesitant. Her own words sound deafening, thanks to the unsettling unfamiliarity of tranquility while being in Nobara’s company.
There’s a pause, and for a moment, Maki thinks she might ignore the question, but brisk and without warning, she lifts her head up and shakes it, hair an orange whirlwind.
Eyes thankfully dry but voice a little husky, Nobara says, with the nonchalance of someone who’s only trying to be, “You’re not as broken up about this as I thought you would be, senpai.” She blinks, hard, and looks straight ahead.
By pure instinct, Maki wants to roll her eyes, but instead smiles at the fact that at a time like this, she can still occupy some part of Nobara’s mind. She replies evenly, trying to keep the smile out of her tone, “Don’t worry, I’m fine. Over it already.” Gripping the edge of the bench, she pitches forward slowly and tilts her head, so that Nobara can see her out of her periphery. More gently: “What about you?”
Movements heavy and lethargic, like she’s just waking up, Nobara raises her arms over her head and stretches with a grunt; she holds it for a few seconds, then releases with a huge exhale. She lets out another residual sigh, smaller, and hums lackadaisically. “Honestly, this probably worked out for the better.”
Maki wonders whether she’s a bad person if the first response that automatically enters her brain is for me, yeah.
At Maki’s expression, Nobara lets out a throaty laugh. She follows Maki in gripping the edge of the bench, like it’s keeping her tethered, and she lifts her legs off the ground, swinging them back and forth half-heartedly. “I kinda knew they were a thing,” she confesses. For the first time since they arrived, she turns her head to lock eyes with Maki, which startles the other a little. “Even if they weren’t, it’s not like it ever could’ve really amounted to anything more than a little schoolgirl crush. Don’t think I didn’t know that,” Nobara teases, but it’s lacking cheek. “Because she’s older and all.”
“Your feelings were genuine, though. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Maki can meet honesty with honesty. She holds Nobara’s gaze, which looks back at her in surprise, and right below her sight, she catches Nobara’s grip on the bench loosening, fingers stretching and pulling back from the edge. Steadily, she continues, “It’s not like they don’t matter just because they were small, or because you’re young, or because you never stood a chance.”
(“Hey,” Nobara jests quietly, laced with mirth. The corner of her lips quirk up.)
“You put a lot of yourself into liking her, and that’s really,” Maki swallows, because damn, she thought she was a lot more suave than this. “That’s really pure. I really like seeing that in you.” She grins, and hopes it’s not as weak of a smile as she feels.
Her heart jackhammers when Nobara returns the grin quickly, and carries it up as she inclines her head towards the sky. Lifting her weight off her right hand to bring it to her face, she rubs under her eye with the soft part of her palm, wiping away tears that aren’t there. “Hehe,” she chuckles. “I gotta say, it makes me feel better knowing I’m not the only one with a broken heart.” Bringing her smile back down to earth, she aims it right at Maki, for real this time. “Thanks for being there for me, Maki-san.”
Weight off her shoulders and back to regular programming, Nobara crosses her arms and her foot taps impatiently on the dirt. Voice back to its usual force, and more to herself than anything, she grouses, “Damn, why do I keep falling for older girls out of my reach.”
Unable to keep the glee barrelling full-force into her expression, Maki scratches her nose, half trying to hide her mouth twisting with excitement, half trying to retain the veil of nonchalance that’s been long gone for a while now. “I’m older, too, you know?” she hums, casually. Casual. She checks her nails for good measure. “Eight months,” she feels the need to clarify. “But still.”
The stare she gets from Nobara in response, a mixture of shock and skepticism morphing in real-time into amazement and why didn’t I think of that before?, sends the butterflies tumbling into Maki’s stomach all over again, just like the first time. A feeling of dread and nerves rolled up with adrenaline and pitiful hope that she’s gotten all-too-acquainted with since she’s known Nobara. It’s not a feeling she’ll miss.
But the answer she gets is worth it.