Work Text:
Rise drops into the seat in front of Naoto's desk in a flutter of skirts and a cloud of sweet scent, her hair spilling over her shoulders in a tumble of loose curls. She could almost be performing, could almost be Risette right now, except that her smile is too warm and too personal. "So, Naoto-kun," she says, "have you already made plans to share your Christmas cake with someone?"
Naoto swallows hard, wishing she could better control her tendency to blush around Rise. Her cheeks already prickle. "I have not," she says. Perhaps there are rumors about—oh, of course there must be rumors about her and Souji, when they've been spending so many afternoons together, but honestly! It's nothing like that. "I do not have a boyfriend."
"What about a girlfriend?" Rise asks.
"Rise-chan!" Naoto sputters. Somehow that's a far more personal question. Of course she doesn't have a boyfriend; how could she possibly? It would be so awkward, it would never work. But the of course in of course she doesn't have a girlfriend is different, much less about practical incompatibilities and more about silly, irrational things.
Rise gives her a sly little smile, and oh. Of course, Rise is pretty all the time; you don't get to be an idol unless you're lovely. But that look of—of cunning leaves Naoto flustered all out of proportion. "Would you like to spend Christmas Eve with me, then?"
Naoto blinks in surprise. "I would have thought you would already have plans," she says. Rise and Souji have seemed close, and even if that isn't what half the school suspects it of being, surely Rise could ask anyone.
"Well, I was waiting for the right moment to ask," Rise says. "I sort of wanted to find a really romantic way to ask, but then, you're not really into big romantic gestures, huh?"
She was Rise's first choice for a Christmas date. "Y-you know me well," Naoto says. "I would be honored, Rise-chan."
Rise calls the next evening with questions. "Most places are already booked for the holiday," she says. "I probably should have asked sooner, huh?"
"Don't worry about it," Naoto says. "I'm sure we'll be fine." They can still buy a cake and take it home, can't they? She wonders if that would be an acceptable thing to ask. Romance—is this romance? she's nearly sure—is still such confusing territory.
"Well," Rise says. "The thing is, I'm pretty sure I could get us a reservation somewhere."
"You sound hesitant," Naoto says. She frowns. "There's a catch?"
"It's just that...I'd be asking as Risette. So, you know. We'd have an audience." She huffs a little sigh that's hard to interpret—annoyance? embarrassment?
Naoto stares at her physics homework, wishing she could solve relationships with the same degree of confidence in her methods. "And you don't want that?" she guesses. "Or—you think I would find it unacceptable."
Rise makes another little sighing noise into the phone. "Well," she says. "You seem really private, Naoto-kun."
"Mmm," Naoto agrees. "But I am used to being a private person in the public eye." That's what it means to be the Detective Prince, after all; her fame isn't much like Rise's but it's enough for her to know how that prying attention feels. "Do you want to go out somewhere?"
"I wouldn't want to cause you trouble," Rise hedges politely.
"Please, Rise-chan," Naoto says. "You went to the trouble of inviting me." She has no idea if she's doing this right. "Let's go somewhere you'll enjoy."
"Thank you, Naoto-kun," Rise says warmly. "You're a perfect gentleman."
Naoto's cheeks feel hot. "Thank you," she says.
They go to a pretty little cafe in Okina City; Naoto wears her nicest jacket and a tie that brings out the color of her eyes, and Rise wears a layered, peach-colored dress that makes her look—look—Naoto is sure she'll fumble the words if she tries for anything fancy, so she settles for lovely when she comments on it. Rise beams. Naoto's stomach flip-flops.
The hostess of the cafe coos over them both, showing them to a little table on the cafe's upper level. There's a bowl of fresh strawberries waiting for them. Naoto pulls out Rise's chair for her. Half the other patrons are trying to be inconspicuous about watching them, and doing a bad job of it.
"I feel almost like we're performing," Naoto murmurs, when their hostess bustles off to fetch their coffee.
Rise smiles. "We are, sort of," she says. "I hope it's not too uncomfortable for you."
Naoto returns the smile awkwardly. "No, it's...not so bad. I imagine you get used to it." She thinks of the binder around her chest, the pressure and discomfort that she only notices now when she stops to think about it: these things fade into the background when they're constant. They stop mattering.
"You do," Rise says, nodding. The hostess comes back with their coffee and a froth of polite apologies for the disturbance, and Rise thanks her with a brilliant, idol's smile. Naoto just watches, the way Risette surfaces and then disappears again when they're left alone. It's a subtle change; probably most people don't even notice. But the smile she turns on Naoto with a little shrug is completely different than the one she gave their hostess. "I think I'm learning to appreciate it."
"It's like...a disguise," Naoto says, and she feels a little silly for putting it that way; it sounds childish, doesn't it? But Rise is nodding. "They look at you and they see Risette, but they don't see everything else about you."
Rise sips the froth off her coffee and licks the foam off her lip. "Exactly," she says. "And you know, I think that used to bother me a lot, because so many people thought that what they were seeing was everything. I wasn't always sure about the difference myself." She puts her hand down on the table, in easy reach. The paint on her nails is perfect, a richer version of the color of her dress. "But then I came to Inaba, and I met all of you."
Naoto reaches out hesitantly and takes Rise's hand in hers. "I'm glad—that you helped, and that we—that I—got to meet you. Rise-chan, not just Risette."
Rise's fingers lace with hers and squeeze gently. "And I'm glad that I got to meet Naoto-kun," she says. "The Detective Prince is super cool and mysterious, but I like Naoto-kun's friendlier side a lot, too."
Naoto thinks her blush is probably visible from the other side of the cafe.
They enjoy their coffee, and when their cake comes—a single cake, fluffy and white, decked with glazed strawberries—they feed bites to each other. Naoto pretends she can't see the serving girls in the corner cooing over them, even if she's not sure she's as convincing as Rise on that front. When they take the train back to Inaba, Rise curls against Naoto's side, head on her shoulder. When they leave the train station, Naoto offers her arm, and Rise takes it with a smile. Their breath steams gently in the cold, clear air as they walk back to Rise's grandmother's house.
At the doorstep, Rise stops, turning to Naoto. "I had a wonderful time this evening," she says. "Will I see you again soon, my prince?"
Of course you will, Naoto almost says, but this is a game, isn't it? The way Rise is phrasing things. "I would be honored, my idol," she says. She bows over Rise's hand and kisses the knuckles briefly. It feels so silly, but also—also there's something freeing about it, playing the prince on purpose. Making it her role instead of some silly television story.
And when she straightens, Rise leans close and kisses her mouth—only briefly, a few quick seconds when their lips press, but it leaves Naoto's heart pounding. "I'll see you soon," Rise says.
"Good night," Naoto answers, nodding.
Next time, she thinks, she'll be the one to ask.