Work Text:
Oh non! Je n'ai pas apporté mon parapluie.” Matilda mumbled to herself while rummaging through her bag.
They were standing under the roof of the mall they had been to that day and Matilda had forgotten to check the weather that day and hadn’t thought to bring an umbrella. Why would she? The sky was clear and sunny. Sonetto simply pulled hers out. Matilda’s rummaging grew frantic before she noticed that a shadow had been cast over her.
Do you mind sharing?” asked Sonetto. In response, a blush grew on Matilda's face. She blushed as though her head would morph into a tomato at any moment, or as though her head would burst from surprise and embarrassment. Sonetto tilted her head and smiled at Matilda waiting for an answer.
“S-sure! Only because I can't seem to find mine, understood?”
Matilda then moved in closer to Sonetto and under the umbrella, as well as trying not to make physical contact with Sonetto. A few minutes later into their walk back to the Foundation, the pair spotted a small café. It was very welcoming with warm lights filling the small storefront. There were no customers inside, most likely due to the fact that they had taken a different route to the Foundation in an attempt to avoid large crowds. As they stepped under the awning at the entrance, Sonetto folded up the umbrella and shook it off. She had also stuck out her hand outside the cover of the awning. Dry. The two could hear faint music coming from the café’s phonograph that stood behind the counter before even stepping into the café. Sonetto had wondered if they really needed the umbrella, or if it was just the buildings that formed the narrow alleyway that protected her hand from the rain?
Matilda opened the door to the café causing the bell to chime and held the door open for Sonetto to step in, only closing it once the two of them had fully entered the building. The bell would chime yet again as the door hit it, in the same exact tone, just as it always has been. Sonetto put away her umbrella on the umbrella rack at the door. The two were hit with a calming warmth. The tables were beautiful, hand-crafted from high-quality cherry wood, showing that the artisan who had carved the patterns on the legs of the tables was clearly skilled, and the chairs were on par with the tables. The warm lights aided to further deepen the red of the cherry wood as they emitted a reddish-orange glow. The two took in the warm and comforting atmosphere of the space they were in while they decided on what they wanted to order whilst looking at the items displayed on the glass-covered shelf built into the counter.
“Bonsoir! Avez-vous décidé quoi commander?” said the woman working behind the counter. Shortly after, Sonetto and Matilda exchanged some brief words and Matilda responded to the woman.
The two sat down at a table in the corner of the room that was slightly hidden, but comforting nonetheless. While they ate, they shared stories of things that had happened to them. Matilda’s trip in India seemed to intrigue Sonetto. They took quite their time in that little café. So much so that the woman behind the counter even asked if they should be out alone that late. They were forced to continue their walk to the Foundation once someone had contacted Sonetto via her communication device. And so, the two of them thanked the lady for the food, Sonetto took her now dried umbrella and the two walked out of the café.
It was still raining as they left. Sonetto had thought that the rain would have subsided by now, but they could see the drops falling from the sky as they came to the end of the alleyway that the café was entered via. Sonetto once more unfolded her umbrella and ushered Matilda to move closer to her. Matilda could do nothing about this but stay silent and blush. She didn’t want to show up to the Foundation drenched in rain water.
“Here, you can hold it if you want.” Sonetto said whilst holding the umbrella towards Matilda.
“I-I couldn’t accept this. After all, it is y-your umbrella, and I already have my own.” Matilda retorted back at the Italian girl trying to hide her blushing excitement.
“Don’t worry, I have more. And I’ve seen yours, it doesn’t seem to be quite as durable as this one is. So please, take it.” Sonetto said back while smiling.
“O-okay then. Very well. B-but only because you insist.” Matilda took the umbrella, still trying to cover both her and Sonetto.
Once they got back to the foundation, Matilda folded up the umbrella and dried it in her room. Once dry, she put the umbrella in a cabinet. From that day on, Matilda would always make it a point to bring her umbrella with her, although it was her old umbrella. She would never use the one that Sonetto had given her, which confused the red-haired girl. Matilda kept saying to herself that she was simply treasuring a gift as an excuse for not using the umbrella and trying to keep it in pristine condition.
fin.