Work Text
Natsuki’s voice rings out into the empty bakery, made tinny by the phone’s small speakers.
Nozomi listens to her best friend as she wipes the counter clean, getting ready to close up for the day, when the voice is cut through by interference.
“Sorry, the call cut out a bit, what did you say?” She calls out after waiting a few seconds for the static to stop.
“Oh, sorry, I’m walking through Kyoto station, going through that one part where the signal’s really bad, you know the one?” Without waiting for a response, she continues.
“I said there’s this really cute girl that came to the shop today, with this big red bow on her head, and she was really upset about this used album she bought having this big scratch on the CD. Which, understandable, that sucks, but she came up to me, and she was all up in my face about it. She was almost turning red she was so angry. So I was like, ‘Chill lady, we can talk about this like norm–‘”
The bell above the door rings clearly across the small bakery, pulling Nozomi’s attention from the stubborn piece of dry dough stuck to the counter, to the front door behind her.
“–al people, just calm down, and explain all that to me again, withou–”
“Sorry Natsuki, a customer just came in, I have to hang up. We’ll talk about this when you get here. Bye.” Hurrying to where her phone sits on the counter, she taps the red icon as fast as she can. Nozomi then takes off her latex gloves, before turning completely to face the person that just walked in, eyes crinkling from her smile.
“Hi! I’m sorry about that, welcome to Kasaki-pon! What can I get for you?”
Eyes squinting, Nozomi takes in the customer that just came in, and is glad for her mask hiding the lower half of her face as her jaw drops slightly.
Oh god, she might be the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Her hair looks so soft.
She’s short, with long dark hair, and wide open reddish eyes, clad in a pale beige coat hanging down to her shins and a pale blue knitted scarf. Her left hand is clasped around a nylon case’s handle, the right is holding on to the sleeve of her left arm, across her stomach.
“Um, do you have any milk bread left?” She asks in a timid voice, a slight nervous waver noticeable, her eyes shifting about anxiously.
Snapping out of her trance, Nozomi regrettably shakes her head, eyebrows knitting in a soft frown.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I think we’re out for the day, I’m really very sorry. We do have a few other things, though, if you’d like. Or we’ll have some more milk bread ready tomorrow morning if you want to come back then….” She replies with an apologetic tone and a small gesture to her left, towards the mostly empty display of baked goods.
“N-no, that’s fine. I was looking for milk bread specifically, thank you, though…” The woman says quietly, eyes dropping to her feet, sadness taking over her expression. Nozomi’s heart squeezes.
She really seems heartbroken about this.
The sight of the woman’s eyebrows knitting into a sad frown is enough to break Nozomi’s resolve.
I promised Natsuki I’d set one aside for her, but I think she’ll understand.
“Oh wait, I think I might have some left in the back, I just remembered, give me a second, okay? I’ll go look.” Making sure that the customer heard her and stays put, Nozomi rushes to the back of the store, heading to where she had set aside the loaf of milk bread for her best friend. Grabbing it, she turns around and heads back to the front.
“I knew it!” She announces cheerfully. “We had one last loaf I forgot to bring out earlier. You’re lucky.” Nozomi chuckles amiably once she’s back behind the counter, bagging up the loaf and laying it down, moving towards the register.
“Oh, thank you!” The woman replies, sides of her mouth ticking back up in an adorably shy smile, and palpable relief in her voice. She brings her case up to the counter, opens the side pocket, and digs her hand into it, rooting around for something. “H-how much will it be?”
With a soft triumphant huff, she pulls her hand out of her bag, cell phone in hand, but in her haste, a small wooden box clatters out of the bag onto the counter. “O-oh, I’m so sorry!”
The immaculately polished box jogs some of Nozomi’s deeply buried memories.
Is that a reed case? It looks really fancy.
Flushing to the tips of her ears, the customer scrambles to grab the item, flipping the intricate golden clasp and opening the box. Quickly inspecting the content, she sighs in relief, before closing it and slipping it back into her bag.
I couldn’t see the inside, but judging from the size of the case and her bag, it either has to be a clarinet or an oboe, maybe an english horn too, it looks big enough to hold both…
Looking back up to the woman, Nozomi lets out a kind laugh. “That was close, I’m glad nothing broke!”
Face still flushed, the woman nods timidly in response, fingers fidgeting with a lock of hair, cell phone clasped in her other hand.
I didn’t know it was possible, but her shyness makes her even cuter…
Nozomi can feel her own face starting to flush at the thought, combined with the awkward silence between them.
“Oh, right! It’ll be 1249 yen, for the one loaf of milk bread.” She finally snaps back to attention, pressing a button on the register. Looking back up, she’s unable to catch the woman’s eyes for more than a second before they skirt back down to her phone.
She settles on quietly examining the nylon case once more, as the sound of thumbs softly tapping a phone screen fills the silence between them.
Considering the size, there has to be 2 instruments in there. And with her fancy reed case, she’s either a rich student or a pro.
The register’s confirmation ping draws her gaze back up. Confirming the payment has gone through, Nozomi grabs the receipt, slides it into the bag, and slides it back across to the other woman. “Here you go, thank you and have a nice evening!” Nozomi cheerfully says, to which the woman replies in kind quietly, turning around to leave with another shy smile.
Watching the woman leave, Nozomi leans both her elbows on the counter, following her out of the store with her eyes.
She’s actually so adorable.
Carefully bringing the loaf under the arm holding her instrument case, the woman reaches for the door. Before stepping out, she casts a glance back to Nozomi, red eyes shining softly in happiness, and lips curved into a small smile.
Nozomi’s breath hitches slightly at the sight.
Oh god, I’m screwed…
The door finally closing behind her, Nozomi can breathe again. Turning around and leaning back against the counter, she looks up at the ceiling.
I hope she comes around again.
With a deep sigh, she reaches up with one hand and pulls on the band holding her hair up in its tight bun. Slipping it around her wrist, she cards the fingers of both her hands through her hair, massaging the sore scalp with a pleased groan.
The familiar sound of the door opening with a ring spins her around faster than it ever has before.
“Yes!?” Nozomi’s excitement dies down quickly at the sight of her best friend standing in the doorway, her lips going from a wide smile to a pout. “Oh, Natsuki…”
”What do you mean, ‘Oh, Natsuki’? What were you expecting?” She says, suspicion heavy in her tone, and with a scarily accurate impression of Nozomi’s dejected greeting.
“N-nothing!” Once again thankful for the mask hiding both her expression and her blushing face, Nozomi finally returns to scrubbing away at the dried dough on the counter with unwarranted dedication.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s ‘nothing’, I’m also sure it has nothing to do with the cute girl I just passed on my way here, with a loaf of milk bread in her hands and a dopey smile on her face.” Natsuki snarks right back as she makes her way around the counter.
“And If I go back there right now, I’ll find that loaf of bread I asked you for this morning, right?” Natsuki stops at the doorway to the prep area, leaning against the frame with a smug smirk.
Nozomi’s head snaps up quickly, wide eyes locking onto her best friend. “Umm, about that…” She trails off with an embarrassed chuckle, before registering Natsuki’s previous words. ”–Wait, a dopey smile?” She asks excitedly, her nervousness forgotten.
“I said what I said.“ With a huffed laugh, Natsuki pushes away from the door frame and makes her way back to the door. “I’m taking the stairs outside, my hair tie broke so I can’t go back there. I’ll make dinner and then we’re going to talk about this, Missy…”
“Yes Ma’am.” Grinning at Natsuki’s mock sternness, and her mood lifted by what she just heard, Nozomi ties her hair back up, and concentrates on prepping the space for the night worker’s shift.
------
Finally setting down the last tray on the drying rack beside the sink, Nozomi lets out a tired sigh.
Ah, finally done. Now I just need to wait for Falin-chan to get here, then I can go upstairs and relax.
Walking out of the prep area and to the front door, she reaches up to the handle of the shutters and draws them down over the windows. As she locks the last one, the door bursts open and a tall blonde stumbles inside. “I’m sorry Nozomi-chan! I know I’m late, I promise I’ll make it up to you!”
Laughing at her friend’s unnecessary panic, Nozomi reaches a hand out and lays it on the woman’s forearm. “It’s alright Falin-chan, you know I don’t mind if you’re a bit late. We’ve been doing this for years, I know I can trust you.”
The sheepish smile thrown her way makes Nozomi chuckle. “Marcille’s fault again?” She asks with a wry grin, and despite not getting a verbal response, Falin’s blushing cheeks is all the answer she needs.
“Alright,” Huffing out a laugh, Nozomi pats her forearm one last time before stepping away and towards the front door. “Since you already know what to do, I’ll be going home.” With Falin’s answering nod, she locks the front door, and heads back towards the prep area.
“Don’t get too crazy in here, and make sure you lock up before leaving.” Stopping in the doorway, she watches Falin rummage around in her bag, probably looking for her mask and a hair tie. “See you tomorrow?”
“Mmh!” Standing back up, mask straps held between her teeth, and gathering shoulder-length hair in her left hand, Falin hums affirmatively. “See you tomorrow!”
With a final look around the shop and a decisive nod, Nozomi finally makes her way to the very back, climbing the staircase to her apartment, one step at a time.
Opening the door at the top, she's greeted with the sound of afternoon news coming out of television speakers, as well as the strong aroma of curry.
Discarding her mask in the appropriate container in the entrance and toeing off her shoes, Nozomi calls out on her way to the kitchen, “Curry? You must be in a really good mood Natsuki!”
Stopping in front of the stove besides her best friend, she peers into the pan. “Tofu! You’re the best!” She exclaims, looking over at Natsuki, an excited gleam in her eyes.
Bumping Nozomi with her hip as she steps away, Natsuki opens the door to the refrigerator, crouches, and rummages around in it, looking for something. “I know… And I am in a good mood, no thanks to you, though…” She finishes in a mutter, not turning around.
“I’m sorry about the bread Natsuki,” Nozomi apologizes sincerely. ”She just looked devastated when I told her we didn’t have any left. And you know how I am…” She trails off, hoping the apology is enough. When Natsuki doesn’t reply immediately, she takes it as a tentative win.
“But how about you? Why are you in such a good mood even though I betrayed your trust?”
“Well, you wouldn’t know anything about it, since you hung up on me as I was telling you earlier–”
“Hey!” Nozomi interrupts with an indignant squawk, ”I told you there was a customer, I couldn’t stay on the phone with you at the same time!”
Humming doubtfully, Natsuki emerges from the refrigerator with a crumpled container of coconut milk. “This customer wouldn’t happen to have long hair, a tan coat, a suitcase and a stolen loaf of bread, would they?” She asks teasingly, taking a sniff of the opened container before pouring a generous amount in the pan.
“It wasn’t stolen! She paid for it! And I told you I was sorry!”
“Right…”
“Natsuki!” The groaned call of her name finally breaks her façade, and she dissolves into giggles.
“I’m kidding! I’m kidding! I’m not actually mad, it’s just bread Nozomi, you make it every day, I won’t die because I didn’t get it today.” Shooting her a reassuring look, Natsuki resumes stirring the curry in the pot over the stove, scraping the sides every so often. “Can you check if the rice is ready?”
Nozomi does as she’s asked with a joking whine. ”Why are you so mean to me?” Opening the rice cooker and peering inside carefully, she hums. “No, not yet, maybe a couple more minutes…”
“Ok, good. Now get out of my kitchen. And go wash up, you smell.” Natsuki replies, adding a bit more spices to the simmering pot.
Straightening back up, Nozomi makes her way out of the kitchen, calling out over her shoulder. “You’re so bossy! But alright, we’ll talk about this over dinner!”
“Okay!”
------
Fifteen minutes later finds Nozomi sitting at the dinner table, damp hair soaking the collar of her shirt, as Natsuki places steaming plates of curry rice laid out in front of them, alongside tall glasses of foaming beer.
Once Natsuki sits down across the table, tugging her own plate closer, they both simultaneously utter “Thank you for the food”, before digging into their meals.
They’re halfway through their plates before Nozomi looks up, pointing her spoon towards her best friend. “So what were you saying again about that angry girl at the shop?”
Placing down her glass after taking a sip, Natsuki starts explaining her story once more. “Ah, right! So, as I was saying before you so rudely hung up on me–”
“Hey! I said I was sorry! Twice!”
“–This tiny blonde girl came stomping in the shop, fuming that the CD she bought was scratched all over, right? And when she came up to me, I was like ‘Hey, calm down, we’re both adults, we can work this out'.’” Natsuki makes a placating gesture with her hands in front of her as she speaks.
“She definitely did not like that, she turned even redder.” She chuckles, before continuing. “So she started ranting at me again, and slammed the CD case on the counter. At this point, I just stopped listening to what she was saying, to be honest, but the little I could see of the album cover under her hand, I recognized, and turns out, we received another copy of that exact album yesterday when this old man came by to drop off his old collection.”
“So by then, I’m just waiting for her to finish ranting at me before saying something. It takes her probably over a minute before she runs out of breath. I’m honestly more surprised by her lung capacity than anything else, honestly.” Natsuki pauses to take a quick bite of her curry and a sip of beer.
“Once she’s finally done, she’s out of breath. Her face is so red, and her bow’s almost falling off her head. I don’t say a word and I bend down to grab the album from under the counter. It takes me a whole five seconds to find it, but in that time, I can hear her stomp her feet again.” Small giggles start slipping between her words as she continues, and Nozomi watches her, chewing slowly, listening intently with an amused twist to her lips.
“When I stand back up, her mouth is already open, but I just put the album down on the counter, cover up, open it, and show her the spotless one.” She takes a second to rein in her giggles. “The look on her face, you should have seen it!” While Nozomi just keeps eating, her puzzled smile growing, Natsuki dissolves in a giggling fit.
“She just stands there, mouth open like a fish!” Wiping tears from her eyes, she tries to compose herself enough to be able to talk. “For a good 15 seconds she doesn’t say a word, just staring at me, before she just says, ‘Oh.’”
“So at this point, I just say, ‘If I exchange yours for this one, will you calm down?’ Which, granted, probably could have been phrased a bit better, because she starts getting angry again, I can see it in her eyes. But when I say, ‘Free of charge’ she seems to calm down again, thankfully.”
“By then, she almost seems like a normal person instead of a rabid ankle-biter like before, so she hands me her scratched CD. It was really bad, by the way, like, the entire thing was busted, I can’t believe we even put that thing up for sale.” Shaking her head ruefully, she downs the rest of her beer and gets up from her chair, continuing while she walks to the kitchen to pour herself a refill.
“So now I go through the expected spiel, right? ‘Oh, I’m sorry for the trouble, we’ll make sure it never happens again’, yadda yadda” Sitting back down at her spot at the table, she takes another bite of her curry, and she resumes her story, but this time, her lips curl into a soft smile.
“So then when we get to actually talking like human beings, and turns out she’s actually kinda nice to talk to.” Natsuki ends her sentence with a lilt upwards, almost like a question, her smile turning bashful. Nozomi’s eyebrow rises in curiosity.
“Fast forward an hour, we’re still standing there, talking. Not a single person came into the shop, it was a really slow day, so we just spent the entire time talking about music.” Natsuki’s cheeks gain a slight rosy tint as she talks, one hand coming up to rub the back of her neck. Nozomi notices but stays silent, silently observing.
”Oh, and get this!” She starts, as if remembering something important. “She’s the same age as us, and she was in the wind ensemble in high school!” Natsuki exclaims, the volume of her voice increasing.
“Oh, that’s great!” Nozomi straightens up from her slouch, her interest piqued. “Did she tell you what school?”
“She did,” Natsuki smirks, leaning back in her chair to take in Nozomi’s reaction to her next words. “Osaka Tousho.”
“No way!
The
‘Osaka Toushou’?” Nozomi blurts out incredulously, to which Natsuki nods fervently. “Yeah! She was part of their twenty-two year streak of National Golds! She used to play the trumpet!”
“Oh! Do you think she’s better than Kousaka-chan?!” Nozomi asks, her eyes wide open.
Chuckling, Natsuki shakes her head, “She doesn’t play anymore, so definitely not. But even then, both you and I know that Kousaka’s practically inhuman, so I’d be surprised if she were, even back when she still played.”
Humming thoughtfully, Nozomi takes the last bite of her curry. “You’re right, she really is something else…” Finishing the last drops of beer from her glass, she goes back to her previous train of thought, “But even then! Osaka Toushou! This girl has to be insanely talented to even make it onto their competition team!”
“Maybe,” Natsuki grabs both of their empty plates, standing up and walking into the kitchen, Nozomi following behind her. “But she said it’s all behind her now, she hasn’t touched her trumpet in years, and she doesn’t even miss it apparently.”
“Kinda like us, huh?” Nozomi grows quiet as she stops in front of the sink, running the water and putting on her rubber gloves. “But I do miss the flute sometimes. I really loved it, I just didn’t have the time to play anymore when I took over managing the bakery…”
“Mmh, I do miss the eupho sometimes too, but I don’t really miss playing it, you know? I just miss the memories associated with it, I guess…” Leaning back against the counter beside Nozomi, Natsuki looks up at the ceiling, fidgeting with the edge of the dish towel lying over her shoulder.
“Now that you’ve got everything figured out with the bakery, you could pick it up again, you know? If you want to.“ Natsuki suggests casually. ”We don’t have neighbors to bother, and you know I always liked the sound of your flute, so I wouldn’t mind…”
“Yeah…” Nozomi’s hands stop, gloved hands gripping a plate covered in suds. “I just don’t know if I could find the motivation, I wouldn’t have a competition to work towards, like we did back then…”
“But it shouldn’t be too hard to get back into, right? I bet it’d be like riding a bicycle, you’d get used to it again in no time, I’m sure...”
“Yeah, but it’s not my ability to play that I’m worried about, Natsuki, I just don’t know if I can keep at it without a goal to strive towards.” Nozomi finally resumes scrubbing the dish in her hand, rinsing it off and passing it to Natsuki to dry.
“That’s fair. I guess all you can do is sleep on it and come back to the idea later, see if it still interests you.” Done wiping down the dish, she put it on the counter, ready to be put away later.
Nozomi hums softly, before shaking her head and turning towards Natsuki with a grin. “But enough about me, and back to your cute girl! Did you get her name?”
“Yep, got her LINE id too.” Natsuki grins back.
“How did you turn an encounter with a ‘rabid ankle-biter’ into getting her contact info?!”
Shrugging with a coy smile, Natsuki takes the offered plate and wipes it down. “Her name’s Yuuko, and she lives not too far from the store with her two best friends.”
“I can’t believe you,” Nozomi replies in slight disbelief. “So what are you going to do? Are you going to meet her again?”
Ducking her head bashfully, Natsuki replies, “Well, that’s the plan… Talking with her was nice. After the whole CD incident, of course.” She chuckles softly. “I enjoyed it a lot, and she seemed to be having fun too, and we have a lot in common. Plus, she’s cute, so….” Trailing off, she seems oddly focused on examining the crack running through one of the tiles on the kitchen floor.
“You are weak for cute, feisty, girls, that’s true.” Nozomi nudges her with her elbow teasingly. “Well, I’m happy for you. I hope it goes well with her, you deserve it, Natsuki.” She says sincerely.
“Thanks Nozomi, I hope so too…” Huffing out the rest of her embarrassment with a sigh, she straightens up and faces her best friend once more. “Now it’s your turn, what was up with that bread thieving ‘customer’, huh?”
“Oh, nothing?” Now it’s Nozomi’s turn to grow bashful. “It’s not nearly as exciting as getting attacked by a rabid dog like you.”
“I don’t care, I spilled everything, you do the same. Pretty sure it’s in our leasing agreement, that’s how it works.”
“We don’t have a lease, though…” Nozomi throws her a puzzled look while taking off her gloves and setting them aside to dry. “The building is in my name. What are you talking about?”
“Shut up, that’s not the point. Now, spill.” Natsuki shakes her head and crosses her arms, blocking the doorway to the kitchen with her body and preventing Nozomi from leaving.
“Alright, you weirdo.” Conceding defeat, she turns and opens the refrigerator to grab a bottle of water.
“Okay, so, when we were on the phone, the girl that you saw came in the bakery, so I had to hang up. Sorry again, by the way.” She adds as an afterthought.
Taking Natsuki’s exasperated expression as a sign, she continues with a chuckle, “Yeah, so she comes in, all nervous, and asks for some milk bread. And the look on her face when I told her we were out actually made my heart hurt, physically.” Taking a sip from her bottle and putting it back in the refrigerator, she continues.
“So I thought, ‘Natsuki won’t hate me, right? She loves me too much for that,’ and I went in the back, I grabbed the loaf I set aside for you, and then I sold it to her. The end.” She finishes simply.
“Wait, that’s it?” Natsuki asks incredulously. “Nothing else happened?”
“Not really, then I closed up. Falin-chan came in late, Marcille’s fault, as usual.” She says with a serious nod, immediately mirrored by Natsuki. “Then I came up here.”
“Damn, really?” Natsuki asks again.
“Yeah, I mean… she smiled at me a few times, and she seemed actually really happy when I gave her the bread, so it must have meant a lot to her, I guess. But yeah, that’s it.” With a shrug, Nozomi moves to get out of the kitchen, bumping Natsuki out of the way softly.
“She actually seemed really shy, so we didn’t talk much. She just paid for the bread and left.” She throws herself down onto the couch with a groan, lying across the entirety of it.
“Then, the bread is why she was smiling like that when she left?” Swiping Nozomi’s legs off the couch, Natsuki sits down beside her. ”Damn, good for her, it’s the little things in life, I guess?”
Humming affirmatively, Nozomi brings her legs up again and lays them in her best friend’s lap. She pretends not to hear the muttered “I hate you” as she does it.
“Yeah. Oh, I do know she plays either the oboe or the clarinet, though.” At Natsuki’s questioning look, she elaborates. ”The case she had with her looked a lot like a clarinet case, or an oboe. It’s been so long since I’ve seen one, I can’t recall the difference. And she dropped what I assume was her reed case on the counter, but I couldn’t see inside it, so…” She trails off.
Natsuki chuckles. “Damn, both of us met cute band girls today, huh? “ They share a small smile, ”But I don’t even recall what an oboe even sounds like, honestly. I do recall we didn’t have an oboe player back in high school, though, so it goes back all the way to middle school.”
“I do! It was my favorite sounding instrument after the flute, it was basically tied with first place when I was choosing back then.” Nozomi reminisces with a wistful smile. ”But everyone always said it was so hard, so I just went with the flute instead. I don’t regret it, I really did love the flute.”
“It was so hard no one wanted to play it, and the one clarinet player that tried to double on it gave up after two weeks, back in second year, when Taki-sensei asked.” Natsuki huffs out a laugh at the memory, Nozomi joining in with a giggle.
"I remember that! Even the bassoons weren't much help, they didn't want anything to do with it. Poor Takahisa-chan... She was too good at the clarinet to adapt, a victim of her own talent..." Nozomi shakes her head in exaggerated pity, lifting her hand to rest over her heart.
Natsuki laughs at her best friend's antics. “I honestly wonder how we even made it to Nationals twice without an oboe. Thankfully, Oumae-chan managed to recruit one after we left.” She sighs out ruefully before finishing the thought. “I’m pretty sure it’s one of the things that kept us from getting Gold in the Nationals. Especially since they went on to get it the year after us…”
“Am I sensing some resentment towards your dear kouhai, Nakagawa-san?” Nozomi teases playfully.
Laughing softly, she responds. “No, not resentment, you know I love Oumae-chan. Envy for sure, though.” She shakes her head slightly, looking down at the floor, falling deep in thought.
“We poured so much blood, sweat and tears to get there, and to fall short two years in a row, only for our friends to get it, the very next year after we’re gone? It stings a bit, I’m not gonna lie.” Nozomi watches her best-friend parse through her feelings, offering silent support.
“But it’s been so long, I’ve gotten over it.” Then, with a slightly self-deprecating chuckle, she continues. ”And even then, I know I wasn’t the best player myself, so I can’t really be upset when, chances are, I was holding everyone ba–”
“Hey! Stop that right now!” Jerking away from the foot probing harshly into her side, Natsuki tries to slap it away. “I know it’s been years, but you don’t get to put yourself down like that just because it was a long time ago. You were playing great. You passed the audition fair and square. Taki-sensei
chose
to have you on the competition roster, when we very well could have just had 2 euphos.” Nozomi passionately counters, rendering Natsuki silent.
“We just had Oumae-chan and Asuka-senpai in our second year, we very well could have just had Hisaishi-san and Oumae-chan in our third year, we didn’t
need
a third one. But Taki-sensei chose to have
you
there, over everyone else that didn’t get picked.” Softly poking Natsuki in the side with her toe once more.
Taking a breath, Nozomi keeps going. “Taki-sensei chose to have
you
perform in the competition, because you were good, you brought something to the table that the others
didn’t
. So don’t go around thinking you’re the reason we didn’t get Gold. Because I can guarantee you, you’re
not
.”
She fixes Natsuki with a stern look from the other side of the couch. ”For all we know, we didn’t get it because some of the judges didn’t like our free-choice piece. Not because of anyone in particular, understood?”
The wide-eyed nod Natsuki throws her way satisfies Nozomi, so she lets up the pressure with her foot, and lays it across Natsuki’s lap again, turning her head to look at the television. “Good, stop thinking like that.”
The nervous chuckle to her left catches Nozomi’s attention again. “God, I sometimes forget how you get when you’re passionate about something. I don’t see it much nowadays, but this was pretty much your permanent state of being back when you were the president.”
Natsuki throws a grateful look her way. “But thank you, Nozomi. I needed that.”
Blushing slightly at the praise, she turns her head away once more “You’re welcome, what are best friends for if not to knock each other out of tipsy self-deprecating spirals?”
“Gushing to each other about the cute girls they meet?” Natsuki responds with an easy grin, much closer to her normal self.
“Mmmh, you’re right.” Glad to see Natsuki in a good mood again, Nozomi burrows deeper in the couch, getting comfortable and reaching for the remote to start looking for something to watch.
“I didn’t get her name, but she really
was
cute, though. I hope she comes by again…”