Work Text:
There's a woman that always frequents the gym Yui works out at.
She seems to be quite disciplined, because Yui always sees her coming in at the exact same time and day. Three times a week, at four in the afternoon, the woman would head to a treadmill and jog for around an hour or so. Her pace is always consistent too, so it's clear that she's been doing this for a while.
But most of all, she's so pretty.
Yui isn't one to stare at people in the gym, but she can't help it! Mao told her she was being way too obvious, though it's not like the stranger has noticed, so what's the problem, right? It's just eye candy. Yui totally doesn't wait for the woman to come by whenever she's at the gym. No way.
"If you're interested," Chizuru says as the three of them are taking a break from their workout, sipping some water, "why don't you just approach her?"
Yui balks, dragging her gaze away from the door. It's five minutes to four. The woman is sure to come in soon. "Are you kidding? Have you seen her? She's like a real-life goddess, I couldn't possibly go up to her!"
"You're very pretty too!" Chizuru says.
"That's not the issue here!"
"I'd say you're just scared," Mao chimes in. She raises an eyebrow when Yui pouts at her. "You never ever confessed to your high school crush even after being friends with him for three years."
"Okay, but I had to think about the friendship—"
"Well, this woman is a complete stranger. If you screw up, just avoid this gym for the rest of your life!" Mao grins like she just solved world peace, and Yui grumbles something nonsensical under her breath.
Just then, a familiar face appears. As usual, the woman walks towards the treadmills, and Yui's friends fall quiet. She puts her hair up in a ponytail, plugs in her earpieces, and turns a treadmill on.
"...Go on," Chizuru whispers, nudging Yui, who squeaks in surprise. "Talk to her."
"She just started working out! I can't disturb her—" Yui cuts herself off, an idea popping up in her head. "I got it. I'm just going to run with her."
Chizuru and Mao give her matching skeptical looks. "Do you still have enough energy..?" Mao asks.
"Of course! I'm an athlete, I've got loads of stamina!" Pretending to flex her biceps, Yui stands up and stretches her arms over her head. She does a few more warmups before approaching the treadmill next to the other woman, trying to be subtle about the whole thing.
The woman pays her no mind, her gaze kept straight ahead as she jogs. Yui takes a moment to observe her form and almost whistles. She's just so poised with it, her back straight and her breathing relaxed. She must be a regular runner. Maybe she does marathons or something?
Anyway, Yui slaps her own cheeks to remind herself to focus. She did come to the gym to exercise, after all!
30 minutes later, Yui feels like dying.
She knows she's not low on stamina, but the woman beside her is on a whole other level. Not once has her pace faltered. Meanwhile, Yui had to lower the speed of her own treadmill to catch her breath—she was trying to match the woman's speed, but it quickly proved to be impossible.
How much longer is she going to run? Yui wonders, her chest heaving.
She doesn't notice how much more time passes after that, but eventually, finally, the woman slows to a walk. At this point, Yui has given up, resting her hands on the handlebars. Her head is bowed forward, and she grimaces when she sees a droplet of sweat fall onto the ground. It's been a long time since she's exerted herself to this extent.
"Are you okay?"
Yui doesn't even register it at first. Only when she feels a tap on her shoulder does she jerk her head back up, eyes growing wide when she sees who it is.
The woman is peering at her as she wipes at the light sheen of sweat on her forehead with a towel. How is she barely sweating? Yui probably looks like a dying, flustered rat next to her. Oh god. Is this seriously going to be their first conversation?
"I-I'm fine!" she stutters out. "I'm just not much of a runner, haha!"
The woman tilts her head. Gosh, she's beautiful. Yui is making an utter fool of herself. "You did very well for someone who doesn't usually run."
Yui is going to explode. "Really? You think so?" Ah, wait a moment. This is the perfect opportunity. "I'm Michimiya Yui, by the way!"
The woman blinks back in surprise, and Yui vaguely wonders if she's messed up. But, thankfully, she doesn't seem too opposed to Yui suddenly springing an introduction at her, and replies, "Shimizu Kiyoko."
Yui can barely stop herself from squealing. "Do you run often, Kiyoko-chan? You're always here!"
Kiyoko raises an eyebrow, the edges of her lips twitching. "You noticed?"
Oops. "W-Well, yeah. It's kind of hard not to. You're, um, really pretty!"
Kiyoko's lips part around a light chuckle. She's stopped walking too, and the apples of her cheeks are coloured a healthy shade of red. Maybe Yui should ask Mao to slap her and make sure she's not dreaming, because this is everything she was hoping for.
"Thank you," Kiyoko mumbles. Her fingers curl around her towel shyly. "Next time, if you'd like, we could run together again? I'll be here on Friday."
Yui already knew that, but she restrains herself from saying that. "Okay! Sounds great!"
Just then, she catches sight of Mao and Chizuru watching them. Chizuru has her phone out and— oh man, she's definitely sneaking pictures. Yui directs a glare over before turning back to Kiyoko with a sweet smile.
"I'll see you this week, then," she says, waving.
Kiyoko nods. Right before she steps off the treadmill, though, she ducks her head, adding, "You're very pretty as well, Yui-chan."
In the blink of an eye, she's gone. Yui returns to where her friends are waiting and promptly collapses to the ground, burying her blushing face in her hands.