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Ann wiggles her shopping bag down her wrist as she scuffs her shoes on the welcome mat. The rain is coming down pretty hard out there. She has to take a moment to shake herself off so she won’t drag water all over Makoto and Haru’s apartment.
With one last rub of her boot, Ann lifts a hand and presses the buzzer. Between the rain pouring outside and the fact that the door is closed, she can only just barely make out the sound of shuffling from inside the apartment, but eventually she does her Makoto calling that the door is open, so Ann shrugs and steps inside. Leaving the door unlocked is dangerous for two women living alone, but they have a penthouse apartment in such an expensive part of town, Ann doubts they’re in any real danger. That aside, Makoto is diligent enough that she probably wouldn’t have left the door open that long. It’s not really something to worry about.
Still, Ann closes and locks the door behind her before treading further into the apartment, following the sound of rustling. She locates what she assumes to be Makoto surrounded by a cluster of tall potted plants with big, drooping leaves, her brown hair tied out of her face, and her eyes narrowed with concentration, a streak of dirt across her left cheek and her tongue poking out of the corner of her mouth. She looks… utterly lost in the sauce of plant ownership, and Ann has to suppress a laugh as she moves past, putting the bag she brought on the dining table and leaning against it.
“Uh, hey?” Ann greets, trying to keep the humour out of her voice. “Are you okay?”
Makoto shoots Ann a disgruntled look between the branches of one of Haru’s trees and rises to her feet. Her arms fold across her chest as she lets out a huff. “You can laugh,” she says, indignation dripping from her words. “It’s fine. I won’t be mad.”
“You look like you’ll be mad.”
“I won’t!”
“Actually, you look like you’re already mad,” Ann continues, holding a hand to her mouth to stifle her giggles, “you look like you want to bite either my or the plant’s head off.”
Offense flares in Makoto’s face. “I would never do that to Haru’s plants, I—” It must occur to her that Ann was teasing, because she relaxes all at once, cheeks puffing out and flushing. It’s cute. Ann reaches over and brushes some of the soil from beneath her eye, using all the self-restraint she possesses not to poke Makoto’s cheek in an attempt at making it deflate.
“You look a little tense, Makoto,” Ann points out. She smiles slightly, less amused this time, tilting her head to the side. “Do you want to take a break or something? I brought food.”
“No, I can’t take a break.” Makoto shakes her head. She points across the room to an overgrown plant hanging in a basket in front of the balcony. “I need to water Akira Jr. in fifteen minutes, and after that I have to turn off the mist in the bathroom—and I haven’t finished trimming Mona and Yusuke, either.” She points down at the trees she was working on. Ann spots a clipper on the floor by her feet. “I still have a lot I need to get done before I can rest.”
Not laughing at Makoto’s plight is starting to become a herculean task. Ann swallows. “Okay. Um.” She clears her throat. “You know… Haru has only been out of town for a day. Is there… really that much plant upkeep that needs to happen already?”
“Of course!” Makoto puffs up a little. “In the days before Haru-chan left on her trip, I did research on the watering schedule of every single plant she has around the apartment, as well as the ones she’s taking care of across town. I have everything detailed right here.” She points at a thick stack of binders on the dining table next to Ann’s bag. “If she comes back and sees that I killed all of her plants while she was on vacation, I—”
“Woah, Makoto,” Ann holds up her hands in alarm, “I don’t think you’re gonna kill them. Haru isn’t even going to be gone for a week.”
Makoto shakes her head. “But she asked me to take care of her plants, and I don’t know a lot about this stuff. I need to make sure I do the best possible job with it so that I don’t cause any harm in her absence.” She deflates, somewhat, rubbing the back of her neck. “Though, going between schoolwork and upkeep has been a little overwhelming… I don’t know how Haru manages to juggle it all the time. She’s really impressive.”
The fond laugh Makoto lets out after speaking is so warm and nice that Ann finds she doesn’t quite have the heart to admit that it’s probably just because Haru isn’t as obsessive about it as she’s being. Ann can hardly blame her for being impressed by their girlfriend. Oftentimes, Ann will look up from whatever she’s doing and catch Haru immersed in taking care of her plants, and it’ll be like she’s catching feelings all over again, a rush of warmth running through her.
Still, Haru isn’t the girlfriend that Ann is worried about right now. With a small, disarming smile, Ann closes the distance between them and wraps an arm around Makoto. She bristles momentarily, but relaxes before Ann can pull away, letting out a hissing exhalation and melting into Ann’s side. Her eyes flutter closed, and Ann brings her in close, rubbing up and down her back.
“It’s going to be fine, you know? You’re one of the most conscientious people I know! Even if you don’t do everything on the dot, you’re gonna get through this and Haru’s gonna come back and be impressed.” Ann squeezes Makoto’s shoulders. “Taking a little bit of a break isn’t going to kill Haru’s plants. They’re hardy! And I hear plants are intuitive, too. I’m sure your goodwill will get through to them and they’ll stay alive anyway!”
“Uh…” Makoto chuckles. “I’m… not sure that’s how it works.”
“Prove it,” Ann challenges. Makoto lets out a louder laugh, shaking her head, and tucks her face into the crook of Ann’s neck. Ann can feel her eyelashes fluttering against her skin when Makoto’s eyes open, and she turns her face to gaze down into the warm scarlet, her heart skipping a beat. Even after all this time, Makoto can really just do that to her with a look, huh?
“Thanks for coming over,” Makoto murmurs. “You’re right. I always overcomplicate stuff like this.” Her eyes dart back over to the plants. “Haru-chan just means a lot to me. I don’t want to disappoint her.”
Ann squeezes Makoto again. “You won’t. Trust me. She’d say the same thing.”
A low hum is Makoto’s reply. She closes her eyes again and tucks her face away, hidden. Ann swallows and looks up. Cool. Yeah. Okay. She’s normal.
“We can stand like this for a bit,” Ann says, just a touch flustered, “but I brought food, too, so whenever you’re hungry, we can eat. And then you can tell me how to help you with the plants, okay?”
“Mkay.” Makoto nods into Ann’s neck. “That sounds good.” Ann feels it when Makoto smiles, a soft, sleepy little thing she only brings out when they’re alone like this. “Really, thanks for coming, Ann. I love you.”
There it is. Ann’s face flushes, and she clears her throat. She’s not going to lose her marbles over her long term girlfriend saying she loves her. It’s not happening. With a deep, steadying breath, Ann manages to find her voice and squeaks out, “I love you too!” and her attempt at regaining her composure is so feeble that Makoto laughs, warm and endeared, and wraps both her arms around Ann’s waist.
Not so bad of a fate, to be honest. Ann buries her nose into Makoto’s hair and breathes in the smell of fresh soil and rosemary shampoo and closes her eyes, absorbing the closeness and the quiet. They can get back to it in a moment.