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Sometimes, Ibuki would admit that she could be a bit dramatic. And sometimes, her dramatics were justified. It was hard to know the difference.
Chiaki placed the mugs of hot chocolate she made at the places in front of her and Ibuki at the table. Ibuki had her head in her hands, but moved so her chin rested on top of them instead. Her cup smelled like peanut butter. “You remembered,” she said, cracking a small smile. It didn’t fit her face like it normally did.
“Of course.” Chiaki cupped her hands around her own mug, her sweatshirt sleeves pulled up to cover her hands like cute little paws. “Do you want to talk about it?”
“Mm…” Ibuki drew out the sound for as long as she could. It felt weird enough, making use of the common room kitchen so late into the night. Or early in the morning. She wasn’t sure anyone else in the entire school was awake, but she knew Chiaki would be. It was hard to find a night when Chiaki was sleeping instead of gaming.
Even when Ibuki texted at two in the morning, definitely not looking cute, Chiaki responded, because that was the kind of person she was.
“If you don’t want to talk, that’s fine, too.” Chiaki smiled at her, the common action that made Ibuki’s heart skip several beats every time. “We can sit here together, instead.”
Ibuki sighed, trying not to make that dramatic, too. “No, I should.” She glared at her phone, almost willing the offending people inside of it to come out and meet her face-to-face. Not that that would make a difference. “I thought they got over our differences years ago. They can't just … be happy for themselves and move on without trashing me?” She took a long sip of her peanut butter hot chocolate, ignoring how it burned her mouth and throat. There was no reason for the remaining members to repost photos from back when she was in Black Cherry with her face scribbled out. She pulled them up again, showing Chiaki.
It was one thing to crop her out of them. Scribbling her out was … so many words. Petty, among them.
Chiaki’s face fell as she studied them. “They really did that?”
“Uh-huh. And sent the posts to me.”
Ibuki was thick-skinned. She was. She’d heard so many people in her life poke fun at her behind her back, and it never hurt too much. She might not’ve been friends with the other Black Cherry members, basically at any point, but it still hurt to know that that was what they thought of her years later.
“That’s messed up. Really.” The anger in Chiaki’s tone caught Ibuki off-guard. “You don’t deserve that.”
Ibuki ran a hand through her loose hair, already tangled despite her lack of sleep. “So I’m not being dramatic about this?”
“No. Not at all.” It was like Chiaki’s words drew a line in the sand, then took her hand and dragged her over to the side that had more sunlight. “You are who you are, and who you are is wonderful. Please don’t forget that.”
Under Chiaki’s loving gaze, the ugly emotions in Ibuki softened like the peanut butter stirred into her hot chocolate. “I love you so much, you know that?”
Chiaki giggled softly. “I know. I love you, too.”