Work Text:
Marika stretches, yawn leaving her lips as her hands rise above her head, revealing her soft tummy and the tiniest waist that Dalia would love to have between her hands. Dalia rakes her gaze down to Marika’s slender legs and then back up to her stomach. She finds it remarkable how Marika is lean toned, despite not looking like the type.
“Does it have to do with her part-time job?” she muses to herself, wondering what kind of diet routine Marika has. Marika’s abs isn’t that definite, she notices, but it’s still clean enough for anyone to see. A complete opposite to her well-defined abs.
It’s really hard to try and to focus on practicing when Marika’s shirt keeps slipping up, exposing the sliver of her soft skin. Dalia shouldn’t have been that concerned since Merm4id’s choreography does require lots of jumping. Still, she feels more thirsty than usual for some reason. Perhaps the weather is finally getting her, with the sun’s scorching rays and sweating bullets travelling down her body, she thinks. Air conditioners prove to be useless in this kind of weather, after all.
So, she drinks a bottle of mineral water she’d prepared beforehand, and immediately chokes when Marika decides to drink in front of her. Did she do that on purpose? No, why would she? Dalia immediately shakes her head a few times.
Blinking, Dalia finds her eyes unknowingly follow a drop of water that runs down the other’s neck and notices how Marika’s skin glistened with sweat is… beautiful. As expected of a model, she thinks, even when she’s sweating, she still looks beautiful. She then finds her mouth runs dry again, despite the amount of water entering her body. How weird.
As soon as they’re done practicing, they immediately gathered into a circle to discuss their progress today. It goes by like usual, with Saori giving input on parts that could still be improved (she said she’d tweak some parts at home later and would love to hear others’ opinion), Rika sharing on the parts she's still struggling with, followed by Marika offering to teach her best friend.
“Dalia? What’s wrong?”
Marika’s voice snapped her out of her thoughts. She looks concerned and beautiful— wait, the last one is not important, though? She can’t help but feel a blush creeping up from her neck to her cheeks. Thinking that your friend is beautiful is a thing, but constantly thinking that your friend is beautiful is another thing.
“Sorry I spaced out a bit. I'm fine now. I don’t have any complaints for now. Rika, your energy makes us hyped up as always. You can ask me for help on those parts you're struggling with, too. Saori, you’re in top form, huh? I think your DJ-ing is even more awesome today. Marika, you’re beauti— I mean, your dancing is as sharp as always.”
Marika tilts her head at that, but doesn’t question it. She can hear Rika and Saori wheezing for whatever reason that is.
“Yay! Let's go home then!”
With that, they’re dismissed. They parted in the station, and Dalia is left all alone with her thoughts. She ponders over the day she’s spent, and immediately shakes her head at the things she’d imagined throughout their dance practice today.
She understood, yet at the same time, she didn’t. Why would she want to have her hand on Marika’s tummy, anyways? Perhaps it was simple curiosity. Perhaps. Was it really simple curiosity though?
Dalia sighs.
Mizushima Marika sure is one interesting being. She’s beautiful, talented, attentive and cares for her friend deeply, and more importantly… she makes her feel weird. Not in a bad way, though. Every time she looks at her, she’s left with an indescribable feeling and intense desire to get to know more about her. It’s a strange feeling.
This whole thing is new to her, but it is not unpleasant.
She wonders why that is.