Work Text:
The clock had struck 1 at past midnight. Lisa and Moca’s shift just ended. They hung up their aprons, put on their jackets, grabbed their bags, and clocked out for the night. The cold air was as harsh as ever, especially after spending 8 hours inside a nice and warm convenience store.
“Wahhh~ Moca is tired~~” Moca exclaimed, in her same as always slow voice.
“Hngh, me too” Lisa said while stretching. However nice the convenience store was, spending all that time standing in front of the cash register always proves to be easier said than done. The two began to make their way back, while trying their best not to freeze on the spot.
“Today was exhausting as always eh Moca?” Lisa said, trying to start some small talk.
“Mhm. Luckily after that girl no one came~”
“I still can’t believe you tried to warm her can of milk.” A small giggle came out of Lisa.
“You never know~” Moca answered while shrugging her arms. “Maybe she’s waiting for santa~”
Lisa could only laugh at her colleagues attempt of an joke. After working with Moca so long she had gotten used to her antics. Even though she could never understand her, Lisa always found Moca to be an interesting person.
At first the two had a rocky start, though less their fault more so the fact that Ran and Yukina were almost always fighting. Naturally, both of their bands adopted this rivalry mindset, however when it turned out that the drummers of Roselia and Afterglow were sisters, the wall of distaste was quickly broken down. Since then the relationship of the two bands would only get better. First it was Moca and Lisa working together, then Tsugumi taught Sayo how to bake, then Tomoe would take Ako and Rinko to a local convention, and so on and so forth.
At first working with Moca was rough. Even though they had no beef with each other like Ran and Yukina did, Lisa could never really make sense of Moca. Her lax minded nature and unending gluttony made Moca come off as an un-serious person. Someone who was just here to play. Someone who Lisa just couldn’t get along with. While Lisa was also hiding her fair share of secrets, she was a hardworking person at core. For a while she thought that she would never get along with Moca, that they would forever be awkward colleagues. Instead, she would come to learn someone who could match her drive. Behind that facade, Moca was someone who worked hard to overcome her fear of change, she was one of the few people who could rival Ran’s desire to keep everything the same as always. She works hard to keep up with the people that she showers in praise, because she thinks she is a coward. She was scared to be left behind. She was scared of change. Lisa understood those emotions oh so well, and eventually the two would become great friends.
As time went on Lisa would only appreciate Moca’s company more. From the many hours they’d spend together at work, to going downtown to Yamabuki Bakery and buying out all the bread, their relationship went from rival band members, to good colleagues to now close friends. If Yukina or the other members of Roselia were busy, Lisa would go out and hang out with Moca. But did Moca feel the same way? With RiNG’s upcoming joint live, their lives would be busier than ever. Balancing band work, part time work and college work was already hard enough, but adding preparing for a big show like this was overwhelming at times. Lisa needed escape, escape from Roselia, from her job, and from classes, and Moca was just the person to fill in that slot. She was at peace talking to someone who was living such an different life to her. Moca wasn’t even done with high school yet, so hearing her stories about 3rd year struggles was very entertaining to Lisa, her band mates were so different to Roselia's and would always be up to some antics, and Lisa had the luxury of hearing these tales every time the two met up at work. But she couldn’t help but feel slightly guilty. Moca was always on Lisa’s mind, borderline becoming her escape mechanism, so was she a bother to Moca? Was Moca troubled with Lisa relying on her to run away from life for a bit? This isn’t the first time the thought crossed her mind, after all she was the older one in the dynamic her. Lisa felt like if anything she should be the one making life easier for Moca, not the other way around.
Lisa let out a sigh, all this overthinking was making the fatigue from the shift even worse.
Moca’s eyes rose as she heard Lisa’s sigh. “What’s wrong Lisa-chi?”
“Oh nothing… I’m just… Thinking about stuff…”
“Oho? Could it be… Your thinking about your lovely Moca-chan?~” Moca said in a slight teasing tone.
Did Moca know how on target she was? Lisa could only let out a tired laugh in response. However, unlike how this usually plays out, Moca was still glaring at Lisa, almost as if she was asking for an answer.
“Well? Were you? Lisa nee-chan?~” Moca now had a full smirk on her face.
Should she tell a lie and get it over with? Well Lisa wasn’t the best liar. Despite being the big sister of Roselia everyone around her could read her emotions like a book (not that Lisa was one to hide those emotions away anyways). Tell Moca the truth? And give Moca enough ammunition to tease her all the way home? She already had enough on the mind and that would definitely only make it worse.
To Lisa’s surprise, while she was thinking of an appropriate answer, Moca’s face grew from one of teasing to a concerned one. “Are you okay Lisa-chi?” Moca said as she stopped walking. She was genuinely concerned for Lisa, and that small gesture melted Lisa’s heart.
“Hah… You really know how to push my buttons huh…” Lisa said, going up to Moca while putting her hand on her head. “I’m just worried about tomorrows concert-” She answered, slowly patting her head. A freezing cold breeze of air interrupted her before she could continue. “And how cold it is haha...”
“Hm… If that’s the case, how about this then?” Moca took off her jacket and put it on Lisa’s shoulders. Before Lisa could return it, Moca was already running off into the distance. “Return it after the concert!~” With her voice growing smaller and smaller as she ran further and further away.
Stunned, Lisa took a second to realize what had just happened. Surprisingly however, Lisa wasn’t concerned for Moca who was running in the middle of the night, her mind was on the jacket that was keeping her warm now. Even though she was already wearing a jacket, Moca’s jacket felt even more warm. Almost like it was giving her a hug. Lisa’s face slowly grew more warm at the thought of Moca’s arms around her. In an act of self indulgence, Lisa grabbed the collar of the jackets and drew them closer to her face. It was faint, but there was no denying, this was Moca’s scent. It had a tint of reheatable bread, and cheap coffee from the Familymart. Even though Lisa had grown bored of those scents, it was different this time. Alongside the scent of bread and coffee, there was an indescribable hint of Moca to it. It was… Soothing... The more Lisa indulged in it, the more relaxed she became. As Lisa closed her eyes, she could see an image of Moca, hugging her, and the image only grew more vivid with the scent of her jacket. Lisa stood in place for a while, indulged in her fantasy, before she made sense of it all.
She wanted Moca all to herself.
End.