Work Text:
Cold. Kou felt more than cold roaming around the streets during the first days of January.
Perhaps they were no longer accustomed to it, perhaps they were slowly feeling the effects of the changing seasons, and thus, they were much more susceptible to the cold, but…
They sighed as they slithered through the mass of people that was coming through on the sidewalk, going opposite their direction and making them wish they hadn't said yes to meeting up with Hiromi to hang out and catch up. They tried their best not to get pushed around, but there were a lot of people, and also the ground had a sheen of frost over it, making it all the more difficult to push through the crowd.
Just when they thought they were finally free from the asphyxiating moment, however, a person ran into them and promptly made them lose balance. They slipped and, at that point, their only thought was that today couldn't possibly get any worse. They waited for the impact on the floor, they waited for the pain that was going to blossom from their shoulder blades, down to the lower part of their back, but instead, they felt someone quickly grab them from under their armpits, avoiding making them fall flat to the ground.
There was a moment in which Kou barely could understand what had happened, before they shook out of their stupor, and with wide eyes and many, many muttered apologies, they got out of the stranger's hold, still looking at the ground as they worried over the latter's clothes and whatnot.
"Wow, hey, easy," the stranger kindly said, bringing Kou's eyes up and meeting with two rubies for irises.
"You-" Kou stuttered, before taking their hands back and feeling their already red cheeks, taking an even darker hue at the embarrassment they felt, "Thank you, I meant to say."
The stranger seemed to be at a loss for words, but only for a few seconds, before the woman's expression took a slightly darker turn and a lopsided smile appeared on her face, making Kou's heart stutter. She was handsome.
"Nothing to be sorry for, kit," she nodded, while still holding up Kou's frame, even though they didn't need it anymore. There were a couple of moments of silence in which they stared at each other before the woman talked again, "You're cute."
Kou's eyes widened in surprise, feeling a blush blossoming on their cheeks.
"Oh," they said intelligently, before shaking out of their stupor, "Thank you," they amended, with a soft and insecure smile as they slowly detached from the red-eyed woman and looked down at their feet.
"So hey," she said, taking Kou's attention once again, "do you mind getting a drink?"
"With you?" Of course, with her, they chided themself internally, who else?!
"Well, unless there's another woman behind me, yes," She answered, laughing as she took Kou's hand and then shook it firmly, "Lilavati,"
"Kou," they answered quickly before snickering nervously. Way to go, dumbass.
"So?" Lilavati asked, and Kou was about to agree, but…
"I would love to, but maybe next time?" They asked, before noticing how Lilavati's expression fell slightly, "No! I mean-" Kou shook their head, desperately, "I have to meet up with an old friend of mine right about now, would you mind if we exchanged numbers?"
Lilavati looked relieved as she nodded and smiled again, taking her phone out and giving it to Kou.
When they finally had their numbers exchanged, Kou looked at the time and gasped before waving at Lilavati.
"Don't ghost me!" She exclaimed, making Kou laugh.
"A handsome woman like you? Never!" They answered before sprinting towards the coffee shop on the other side of the road.
Oh, Hiromi was going to have the time of her life teasing them about it.
Worth it, they thought as they entered the coffee shop with a small smile still lingering on their face.