bakerstreet | ( picture prompt meme )

Ah, that's no good! [ She hits her fist against her palm-- ] If she does that, Aqours meetings will turn into napping sessions!

[ ... A thoughtful pause. ] Though, bringing one into the director's office might not be a bad idea...

[ Priorities, am I right. ]

We don't have the space. [Neither the clubroom, nor the director's office.

Priorities, indeed.]

Besides, I'm not carrying it for you.

[Chika could wrangle Riko into helping because they're neighbours, and You because. You. Mari's first choice of mover, applying the same reasoning, is her.]

[ Mari smothers a laugh beneath an appalled gasp. ] You really do make a terrible assistant, Kanan!

[ Granted, were she serious about this, she could ask a couple of her servants and have it arranged by tomorrow morning. Much like how if she really wanted, she could've had her valet pick her up today and save the hunt for an umbrella and the trudging through the snow.

But that's nowhere near as fun, is it? ] In that case, I'll have to appoint you the role of my personal heating unit instead!

I make an awesome assistant. I put my mind to feasibility, else you'd end up with a kotatsu stuck outside the office.

[Folding her arms in faux-deep thought. Like she had any say in the matter at all.]

I should take up this new appointment, though, to make up for the times when you feel cold!

It's thanks to this particular awesome assistant that I'm here right now instead of doing my work, isn't it? [ She grins, a bit lopsided. ] Your readiness to take on this new responsibility is adding points in your favor, though.

Yeah, well. [A really awesome assistant would be able to let Mari take a meaningful break than one which was just to humour her.

She knows saying so would sound needlessly accusatory and confrontational, and decides not to.]

It hardly is new, you're only putting a name to it now.

[ A beat as she considers this, followed by a laugh. ] I guess that's true!

[ With a sigh of contentment, she leans her head atop Kanan's shoulder. This... returned to normal with ridiculous ease, didn't it? Mari knows she should be glad for it, but at the same time, insecurity gnaws at the pit of her stomach.

She got weird-- and Kanan had no idea why-- and even though she offered no real explanation, they're just going to forget about it and move on... like that?

And if Kanan asks about it later-- what, she'll say it was the long hours, fhat she was tired and wasn't thinking straight, and that's all there is to it?

I told you, I couldn't sing, now stop asking--

Like that?

Mari feels a palpable weight drop inside her chest, and her teeth dig at her lower lip. No, this doesn't feel right. There's no way it possibly could be, after everything. Maybe Kanan doesn't think anything of it -- maybe she's already put the whole thing out of her mind -- but Mari would never forgive herself if she made that assumption, only for it to turn out to be wrong. ]

... Hey, Kanan?

[ Keeping her head on her shoulder proves surprisingly reassuring. A convenient excuse for the lack of eye contact, too. ]

You know, that umbrella thing earlier... [ She breathes in deep, then quickly pushes the rest of the sentence out along with her exhale, before she can regret it. ] It wasn't really a joke.

[Kanan's breath hitches.

She hadn't thought -- therein lies the crux of it, she hadn't thought -- and the realization hits her, hard and fast. The implications. "Sharing with you would make me pretty happy."

How unfair, at a point too soon for her to pretend to have forgotten the exact words exchanged, and too late to brush them away. When Mari is close enough that she definitely can feel the tensing of her arm, the rush of blood in her veins, her heart racing till each beat booms in her own ears.

Mari is not so flippant as to joke about...this.

Unfair.]

I'm glad you're telling me. [She has no idea whether her voice is coming out right at all. Tentatively, she angles her head, resting against Mari's, braid pressed to her jaw.] And...I apologize, for mistaking it as one.

[ Ah...

Mari's chest tightens at the words and at the contact, yet her head is oddly blank. What does she do now...? This doesn't feel like a rejection, but is it acceptance? Kanan is kind, after all. She'd want to make this gentle. But--...

Mari fiddles with her hands, the pad of one thumb tracing the other's cuticle in a meaningless loop. Her palms are clammy, and cold. ]

Thank you. I'm sorry, too. For getting mad.

[ She doesn't know how to ask what she wants to ask. With a slight tilt of her head, she searches what she can of Kanan's expression, and quietly tries: ] So... okay?

Edited 2016-10-19 19:12 (UTC)

[Are they okay? Maybe her uncertainty is clear from her face, even while she smiles and sets her hand on Mari's, with intention to soothe even though it feels more like an admission of her own vulnerability. Don't be nervous. Don't be sad. Although actions come easier than words, to not say a thing --

Mari's hands are so cold. Because of her.

So much for not belittling her feelings.

And she can't bear to see Mari hurt. And, even if only once, she wants to live up to the sort of person Mari has said she is.]

You're...I...I am dense, aren't I. [Her grip tightens.] It never occurred to me you thought of us in that way. But that's no excuse.

Please, let me do right by you from here on.

[ Mari swallows. Kanan sounds so-- serious. And her hand is steady around hers, and warm, and Mari is made instantly and acutely aware of how sticky her own hand must be making it. But she really, really doesn't want to pull away.

For what it's worth, her skin's growing hotter by the second. ]

Then-- then you don't mind? [ No, ugh, that's not clear-cut enough-- ] I mean, could I... kiss you?

[ Her voice drops to a very tiny mumble at the end, there. Almost funny, this timidness, for how shamelessly affectionate she is the rest of the time. ]

[The "no" she was about to say morphs into an undignified croak as Kanan's mind finally catches up with her ears, processing the whisper they had strained to take in.]

Isn't that... [Going too fast?

Or is it, in a friendship -- relationship??? -- founded on and maintained by every other conceivable gesture of affection already?]

Um, if, _{if you want?}

[Flushing and stammering. The perfect combination. Very smooth.]

[ Mari's no better. All the thoughts inside her head have deteriorated into a single endless string of oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, and the absolute most she can manage is staring up at Kanan's face while squeezing her hand far too tight for comfort. ]

Th... tha... [ Her tongue is heavy and stupid. She can't get the words out.

But then-- in an instant, her eyes snap wide open, and she scrambles to her feet, pointing at the window behind Kanan's head-- ]

Aaaahh!! That's our stop, that's our stop!

[The following events happen about simultaneously.

1. Kanan reflexively whips around to look out the window.
2. Mari standing, however, throws her off balance in the other direction.
3. The bus driver, a considerate gentleman who deserves better than a pair of dumb kids who neglected to ring the stop bell, brakes when he hears Mari cry out.

The end result: Kanan slips sideways and her forehead smacks into the window ledge with a loud thump. (ฅฅ;;;;) how much more abuse must her face suffer today.]

-- Kanan! [ That's a wholly separate kind of 'oh my god' as Mari reaches down, pulling her away from the window just a little too frantically to be gentle. ] Are you okay?!

[It's a short while till her eyes refocus; and, raising her fingers to touch the large red imprint on her forehead, she can already expect the bump sure to form to turn out quite nasty.]

I think. [The pain is terrible, yet she forces herself to rub at the tender area anyway.] I've got ointment in my first aid kit...we should alight first.

[She can stand. Good enough.]

Right, right! There we go! [ She supports Kanan with an arm at her waist as they step off the bus, Mari calling out a loud, cheery thank you at the driver that comes out just a little bit strained. The frown of concern is back on her features the moment the doors close behind them, and the bus putters away. ]

We can take care of it at the hotel, too. [ It's close -- closer than Kanan's house, though not so much of a difference that would make returning there impractical, if she so wished. ] Put a compress on it...

[A grunt in reply, to indicate that yes, she's listening.]

My forehead must look pretty bad, huh... [If she agrees, they'll cause the hotel staff undue alarm. Or be the subject of gossip, even. On the other hand, if she goes straight home...explaining the circumstances around how she got such a noticeable bruise is a tribulation in itself, when her family can see through any untruth and/or omission of detail on her part.

Not that she won't tell them about Mari, it's just...

What a pickle. The mere thought makes her headache worse.]

Your staff is going to think I was beat up or something.

[ Hmmm... a tricky situation indeed. She wouldn't want to cause her darling staff members any concern, nor any embarrassment for her darling Kanan! Mari ponders this for a solid fifteen seconds, before being struck by revelation: ] Oh! No problem! You see... Yakuza!

[Her pause is long enough to rival Mari's. Was that knock on the head harder than it initially felt?

Yakuza?]

No, I don't see.

Yes! They jumped out of the bushes, all ooooossu!!, seven feet tall including that mullet! Having undoubtedly heard of my family's riches, they were looking to abduct me for ransom, but you stepped in to protect me and suplexed them a good ten feet away! The only blow they managed to land on you was that! It was all very heroic! Dashing!

[ She's definitely watched something like this in a movie at least once. Probably? Anyway. ]

With this, there's nothing to worry about, right? ♥

[She's laughing from the mental image, which might be a bad idea. Okay, she does see.]

I doubt there are any yakuza all the way out here in Numazu. [snrk] It's a great story, though.

[With holes big enough to sit in.] I wish I'd videoed that.

[ Ha! Made you smile. ] Ah, the tragedy! It's always the greatest heroes that go unsung--!

[ She grins, taking hold of Kanan's hand. ] But standing around here talking isn't going to make that bump any smaller, so we'd best get going, hmm?

How can I possibly turn down such a compassionate offer?

[The explanation to her family is a problem she'll chew on in the meantime.]

Much obliged, Miss Ohara.

It's the least I could do for my valiant savior!

[ Off to the hotel they go, then. Mari's sure to match her pace to Kanan's, watching for any signs of dizziness, not letting go of that hand until they've safely arrived. The hotel staff express sincere yet polite concern without being overly inquisitive -- they've seen the two of them arrive with skinned elbows and bruised knees enough times over the better part of a decade. Once Mari assures them there's nothing to worry about and that Kanan will be taken care of in short order, they ask no further questions, and the yakuza tale goes regrettably untold.

Once they're inside Mari's suite at last, she sits Kanan down by the living room table, then scuttles off to the bathroom. She's quick to return, dropping a couple of pills into Kanan's palm-- ] Here, for the pain-- [ before reaching up to apply the compress to the sore spot. ] Careful, it's cold!

[ ... she says helpfully, the very same moment she presses it into her skin. ]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject