Chapter Text
Elbows pressed against the hardwood counter, Naoi held up her head with two cupped hands as she stared at the chipped wood of the old analog clock on the wall. No one showed up to the close to closing shop in a half hour, leaving her to sit in silence with only a single coworker who she didn’t know the name of for company. She rocked her head from side to side and sunk her weight further into the table, unsure of why she even bothered to count the minutes until they closed, as it wasn’t like she had anything to look forward to after her shift. Another fight with her father, another stolen pay check, and another night alone in her cramped room, carefully listening to the heavy footsteps outside, was all that awaited her. As her coworker chattered about something she couldn’t bother to listen to she absentmindedly passed an empty coffee cup back and forth between her hands.
When she heard the ring of an opening door she dropped the cup she was passing, eyeing it as it hit the counter then clattered to the floor. Looking at the door made her scoff and smile slightly as she recognized a familiar face. As Kurumi shyly approached the counter, looking off to the side then back at her a couple times, Naoi snapped up, standing as straight as possible and giving the widest smile she could muster. She pitched her voice higher than she ever had before and said, “How can I help you?”
“Hi, Naoi,” Kurumi responded, laughing slightly and looking off to the side as if embarrassed to be here.
“What can I get for you tonight?”
“I, uh, just some green tea, please”
“Will that be all?”
“Yeah…”
Naoi began to hum and tap on the screen in front of her quickly as she put in her order, “Can I interest you in our loyalty rewards program?”
“What?” Kurumi asked, looking at the confused face of Naoi's coworker who probably didn’t even know she could speak.
“You can get free discounts for spending a certain amount!”
“You don’t have one of those.”
“And how would you know that?” Naoi dropped the customer service act and leaned in close enough to be a breath apart from her face, ”You’ve never visited before.”
“It’s just—this is a random cafe?” Kirumi muttered, too aware of the coworker watching them to enjoy the proximity.
“Your drink’s ready!” Naoi chirped in her highest voice.
Kurumi took the cup from Naoi’s hands, who brushed her hands together slightly and laughed as Kurumi squirmed at the act, before muttering, “Thanks.”
Finally responding to her coworker, the two began closing the shop. However, Naoi found herself constantly distracted by the sight of Kurumi taking a break for once. She sat at a small table in the corner, moonlight shining beautifully against her face, as she sipped on her tea, not looking the slightest bit anxious, a view Naoi rarely saw. Her thoughts drifted to the idea of seeing this everyday, of Naoi making her a cup of tea every morning in a shared apartment. She imagined it further, thinking of Kurumi groggily walking out of their bedroom and smiling when she saw Naoi waiting for her at their kitchen table. It was a thought that scared her as much as it excited her.
An impulsive thought of stealing some of the money in the register crossed her mind as she counted the amounts. It looked like there was enough in this register for five of her paychecks, the paychecks that were usually taken by her father. Stealing money from the store would quickly get her fired so she pushed down the thought, but a part of her still wanted a chance to get in trouble, a chance to throw away this part of her life. She looked around to see if her coworker was busy, and pocketed a small chocolate bar from the front of the counter before walking over to the seat in front of Kurumi.
When she tapped on Kurumi’s shoulder she frowned as she saw her jump at the contact, but her face quickly relaxed when she saw Kurumi gently smile at her. How weird it was that she was happy to see Naoi. Regardless, she sat across from her and lazily sunk into the seat, holding her head in her hands and staring into her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” Naoi asked.
“I just wanted to get out of the house for a bit,” Kurumi responded, shrugging.
“But why here?”
“I thought it would be nice to visit.”
“That all?”
“You weren’t answering my calls.”
“Missed me that much?”
Kurumi laughed a little before looking down, “a little…” she muttered.
Before she responded, Naoi thought about all the times Kurumi got worked up and worried about Naoi not quickly responding to her calls, a behavior they both shared. She thought of the way Kurumi clung to her whenever she said she had to leave, as if begging her not to leave her too. “What were you calling about?”
“I was wondering if you wanted to hang out a bit after I got out of class.”
“Hang out a bit? It’s almost ten.”
“You could stay the night if you want…” Kurumi’s voice was pleading. Noticing how shy Kurumi looked, Naoi took a chance to pounce and stole a sip of her drink, “Hey!”
Something about Kurumi’s pitying look unsettled Naoi. It looked like she wished to rescue Naoi from her dad again, like she was trying to bring her home and save her somehow. Naoi didn’t want to think about it, so she teased, “You can just be honest with me and say you wanna sleep together.”
“Not like that!” Kurumi shoved her arm and stole her drink back, “Don’t make it weird. Do you want to or not?”
“Sure, I have nothing else to do,” Naoi shrugged and stood up before Kurumi could respond, walking out and not even looking back to see if Kurumi would follow.
“Hey, wait!”