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“Mizuki… You’re good with fashion right?”
“Mhm! I try to be,” they respond to Ena. The Nightcord call had been quiet, unusual since all their members were online. Specifically unusual for Ena to not be piping up every few minutes or shutting down Mizuki’s tangents.
“Would it be possible for you to,” there’s a noticeable breath, “maybe help me find some new outfits this weekend?”
Mizuki doesn’t think they’ve ever heard her so unsure of herself before. They know what they must do.
They have to tease her. This is their destiny.
“Aww, you want my help? You think so highly of little ‘ol me?” Mizuki leans into the microphone, head resting on their joined hands. They can just imagine how red Ena’s face must be getting.
“Now I don’t,” Ena mutters out. Oh she’s so embarrassed. Mizuki feels their smirk grow.
“You do,” they coo, “you just want to take selfies with the most attractive person you know.”
“Nevermind! You know what! I don’t need you!” Ena immediately leaves the call.
“... Look what you’ve done,” Mafuyu deadpans.
“Aw, I’m sorry!” Mizuki feels a tug at their heart, “I pushed it too far, huh?”
“Maybe you should send her a message?” Kanade suggests. Whenever Kanade suggests something the three other unit members always take it as an order. She’s usually right about these sorts of things. It doesn’t help that she sounds so disappointed whenever you don’t follow her advice. No one can take it, not even Mafuyu.
“Alright,” they drawl, pulling up their direct messages with Ena. They don’t really text her often, occasionally bringing up work or plans for an in person meeting.
On that thread of thought, they haven’t hung out with her one-on-one before.
… Maybe they shouldn’t have teased her.
< amia: enanannn >
< amia: enanaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan >
< amia: im sorry ;__; >
< amia: we can meet up this weekend >
< amia: if you still want >
< amia: its okay if you dont >
A little insecure sounding but, hey, it gets the job done. They wait for a response back, tapping their nail against their pink RGB light mouse. Too much time without a response. Too much time to spiral into their own head.
< Enanan: you suck >
They let out a sigh of relief. There’s at least a distraction for them from whatever’s going on in their thoughts.
< amia: its part of the package >
< Enanan: fine >
< Enanan: ive read the fine print. does saturday work for you? >
They weren’t expecting that. They thought that this would be it, that their time with Niigo would end and they would find a new editor. They lean forward in their seat to more closely analyze the screen, as if it wasn’t real.
< amia: yeah it does >
< amia: make sure to get up on time! >
< Enanan: fuck off >
Looks like Mizuki has a date. With someone they’ve never spoken to outside of a group setting. They haven’t spent time like that with anyone in a long time.
Oh well. Guess it’s happening now.
Saturday arrives without much fanfare. Mizuki stretches when they wake up, enjoying being able to sleep in without fighting themselves about going to school. It’s too early for Ena to text them to meet up yet, but they have an urge to get up and get ready.
They haven’t felt this excited in years. There’s nothing even that special about it. Ena just wants their opinion. They need to stop getting ahead of themselves.
They fill the morning with trying to pick the perfect outfit for their outing, which takes longer than they expected. They just couldn’t seem to choose. Once settled on something, and on barely, they meander to their computer to get some editing work done.
< Enanan: meet at 15:00 at yoyogi station? >
< amia: sounds good! >
She’s up before noon. Mizuki smiles at the thought that maybe she’s as nervous as they are.
They’re early, which is fine. They knew they were going to be early. Their jitters didn’t allow them to sit around the house and wait for a more appropriate time to leave. They lean against the wall of the station, onlooking the vast park that stretches before them.
< amia: are you here yet :[ >
< Enanan: wtf >
< Enanan: i havent even left my house >
< amia: uh >
< amia: the time… >
< Enanan: oh my GOD >
< Enanan: SORRY OMW >
< amia: lols >
< Enanan: stfu >
They have some time to kill. They wander around the surrounding area, seeing if there’s any shops they could go to. With Ena.
Mizuki feels their face burn. They’ve never actually gone shopping with anyone seriously before. Sure, Rui was there when they bought their first skirt, but that was emotional support.
This is serious. A serious step in their friendship.
(It didn’t help that Ena was a girl. Their insecurities are painting over their thoughts, forcing them to confront irrational worst-case scenarios.)
“Mizuki!” calls a familiar voice. They lift their head up and contort their face to be presentable.
“Oh! Finally arrived, huh?” Mizuki teased, easily slipping back into mask.
“Shut it,” Ena turned away.
Her outfit was a bit nicer than Mizuki’s. Maybe she was as nervous about this as they were.
Probably not. She has nothing to fear.
“There’s somewhere I have in mind,” she pulls their wrist and cuts through the crowd, leaving behind their sparse greetings and jumping straight into the meat of their meetup.
There are a handful of shops where Ena takes Mizuki. These places aren’t particularly aligned with their preference in clothing, not nearly enough frills or accessories, but Ena knows what she likes. Mizuki knows how to style her regardless of their differences in tastes as well. It helps that she’s very pretty and makes almost anything look good.
“You know Ena,” Mizuki watches as she shuffles through another rack, “you’re the one picking all the outfits. They’re all good. Why do you need me here?” It’s an actual question as opposed to a thinly veiled jab at themselves.
Ena’s face turns red in response.
“Is it that impossible that I appreciate your opinion?” she snaps. Mizuki doesn’t stop the question that rolls off their tongue:
“Aww, do you have a crush on me or something?”
They tease, they flirt, it’s supposed to be funny. It was just a joke to get a reaction out of her.
Yet in this moment, something in their mind clicks.
Maybe they want Ena to have a crush on them.
There’s a rush to their heart, feelings they haven’t felt in a long time. This yearning, this insufferable aching is overwhelming.
They tune back into Ena, who’s frozen in front of them.
“N-Now why would that be! No! No way!” she thoroughly waves her hands.
“Enanan, you’re so cute,” Mizuki’s face is smug but their mind is still trying to process the fact that they’re yearning again, the thing they promised they wouldn’t do, that they decided was impossible for them—
“No! I mean! I am! But you can’t say that!”
“Why’s that?” They lean in, “you’re adorable, Enanan.”
“Okay!” She pivots on her heel, “that’s enough! I’m going home!” And stomps off.
“A-ah! Wait! I was just joking!” They chase after her.
“Nope! Leaving!” She waves her hand and rushes to the door.
Mizuki can have their crisis later. They’ll have to figure out how to keep their feelings in check, to wean themselves off her attention and return to their status quo. They’ll have to make sure they can fight off this pain without relying on her love. For now, however, they have one very cute artist to chase.