Hello, folks~
I'm back with another Mayuki OS~
There will be some Wmatsui and Atsumina moments as well

Brace yourselves, people~! This is by far the longest OS I have ever written~! 19143 words to be exact~! That's freaking reaching 20k words!!
This whole OS will be based on Watanabe Mayu's POV~
Enjoy~!
OS # 14 Home (Mayuki OS)I never would have guessed that when I was eighteen, I'd be homeless. I'm pretty sure no one actually does, but still, I would have guessed I'd be in college, or I'd at least have some shitty job for minimum wage. It obviously didn't turn out that way.
To be homeless, usually it involves something going wrong. That's what I've learned from anyone else I've met. They spent all the money on illegal stuffs, they got unemployed, someone died, or any other thing. For me, I made the mistake of telling my parents the truth. I've also learned that honesty is not the best policy.
To make a long story short, I told the truth, I get kicked out of the house. After that, I tried to stay with other members of my family, but they cut me off along with my parents. I had no friends to turn to, because after yet another mistake I had made, none of my friends liked me anymore. They were assholes anyways.
So that's how I ended up in the homeless shelter. Truthfully, I was lucky I made it there so fast. A lot of homeless stay on the streets, sleeping in awful places and rarely showering. That's not how it is at the shelter, it's actually nice, as far as it goes when you're homeless. They make everyone who stays there shower everyday, and we get fed everyday. They actually try to help us get better, which is great. But I can't quite get there. Because no matter how much the shelter people care, to become not homeless, you need a job. Jobs are really hard to find when you're homeless, especially good ones. It's kind of an endless cycle.
My latest interview was at a grocery store. It made me laugh, because just three years ago, I made a vow to never work at a grocery store. I hate them more than anything, and I had thought I'd never have to sink that low. Too bad things change.
I gathered up the nicest clothes I could find the morning of my interview. They were some of the clothes my mother has gotten me. I kind of found it entertaining, it's amazing what it took now. I thought I looked very nice in the clothes, as I looked at myself in the somewhat dirty mirrors in the shelter bathrooms. I could so get that job.
Five hours later I was sitting on a bench, still jobless. The problem was that they always asked about my home life, and of course, they didn't like the answer. Even my line about how if they hired me, I wouldn't be homeless didn't work. It never has before, but I thought someone might buy it. No such luck for me.
One of the worst parts about not getting a job was going back to the shelter and seeing how disappointed everyone was. Since I'm the youngest person in the shelter, who isn't in the mother children section, of course, they all kind of baby me. They have hope that my life will turn out better than theirs. So whenever I come back and have yet again screwed up another job interview, everyone else seems even more disappointed than I am. The worst is Mariko. She's in the mother and children section, with her baby girl, Miichan. She acts like my mother most of the time, and whenever ever I say anything, she says, "Well, your own mother obviously wasn't doing her job, so I guess I have to. You're a bright girl, Mayu, you can get out of here, soon, and you can live your life like a normal person. You'll own your very own house, a nice big one, I can see it. And when you do, you'll think back to me and say 'hmm, I guess Mariko was right all along.'”
She expects more from me than anyone, and truthfully she motivates me more than anything else. I will live up to all her hopes of me.
I check my watch, the cheapest one I could find at the AKB Mart, which is truly a great place, I hadn't realized before, and I realized it was about time for lunch. For lunch we had to go to a food kitchen, because the shelter doesn't serve lunch. I had learned fast that in order to get the best food you had to get there early. And I was on the verge of not being early. I gathered my backpack, and hurried to the nearest kitchen. I have definitely learned a lot more about this city since I've been homeless, I could practically map out the entire city by now. As I was thinking this I passes a previously empty shop area. It wasn't anymore.
This confused me, because I was sure when I passes it just last week it had been empty. Now there were tables, lights, and I was pretty sure the walls had even been painted. And, the best was, that there was a Help Wanted sign in the window. I felt like it was meant to be. I wouldn't normally be in the part of town for another couple of weeks if I hadn't had that job interview, and by then all the jobs would have probably been filled. I couldn't believe my luck, even though there was no knowing if I'd even get an interview for the job. I didn't care, though, because I was hopeful. I wrote down the number on the sign and smiled as I did so.
Later, when I called the number, I got an interview date and time within just a few minutes. It made coming back to the shelter better, because I already had another chance. As I got there, the first thing I did was look for Mariko. It wasn't dinner time yet, and I knew Mariko had probably taken Miichan outside to play with the other kids.
"Mariko” I called out when I saw her. She looked up at me and smiled, probably guessing I had a job by the excitement in my voice. That made me feel like shit for a moment, but I quickly got over it. "Okay, no, I didn't get the job, don't ask. But I do have another interview already! And I think this one will work out, I'm sure it will!"
Mariko laughed at me, and shook her head, causing her chin length hair to fall out from behind her ears. "Well, you better get this next job, ya hear? I'm sick of seeing your face here."
I laughed, sitting down beside her. I was struck by how much older than me she looked. She was only ten years older, but she looked at least twenty years older. I did still look young for my age, with a teenage haircut and thin, tiny body. But the many mistakes that Mariko had made when she was my age has caused her to look much older than she actually was. She had straightened out when Miichan was born, but there was still too much evidence of her past in her looks.
I continue to chat with Mariko, and play a game of peekaboo with Miichan until it's dinner time. There, I was asked way too many times how my interview had gone. They were less disappointed when they found out I had another interview, but they weren't completely pleased.
The rest of the night passed the same as any other, dinner, showers, picking out our clothes, and all of those fun activities. I was on my way to my bunk, which I was so lucky to have gotten, it was so much better than a mat on the floor, when Officer Takahashi pulled me aside. We don't actually call her that, usually we just call her Takamina. Takamina's the cop the takes care of all the homeless problems in the city. The other cops constantly make fun of her for that, but she doesn't care much. She really cares for homeless people, at least the ones who care about themselves, because her girlfriend Atsuko was one of us a couple years ago. She had gotten back on her feet before she had even met Takamina, but she made sure to help out the homeless in anyway she could, which eventually she passed on to Takamina.
"Mayu, I heard you didn't get the job today. Hey, come on, you need to step it up." Takamina scolded. She could sometimes come off as an asshole, especially when you're new, but she actually only wants the best for all of us.
"But did you hear I also have an interview? It's on Wednesday, and I've got a really good feeling about this," I insisted. I had said this so many times tonight, I had almost had a practiced speech.
"You better get this one. I had even gotten Atsuko all excited for that interview today, I hate disappointing her," Takamina sighed, running a hand through her dark hair.
"Don't worry, I'll get this next one, and soon I'll have my own house!" She smiled, probably finding me amusing. Most people did, I wasn't ever sure how to feel about that. I mostly hoped it would help me charm my way into a job. It hadn't worked yet, but I still had hope. Takamina sent me off to bed after making me promise to get myself a job by this time next week.
That night I had dreams about new sheets and fancy pillows. Also, there was a warm body pressed against me. Relationships at the shelter weren't allowed, unless you were married before and all that. It was hard to be a teenage girl with way too many hormones and no one to share them with. Yet another reason why I had to get out of this shelter.
On Wednesday morning, I found myself putting on my fancy clothes again. I even spent time fixing my hair to look nice. I used to spend so much time working on my hair. It's amusing to think about who I used to be. Even though I was in a crappy situation now, I was a much better person. Before, I was an asshole, plain and simple. getting everything I had taken away from me had really put things in perspective. I knew I would never be the same. I was a completely changed person, and it was okay. Change is a funny thing, it could be horrible and wonderful at the same time.
At breakfast everyone was wishing me good luck, patting me on the back and wishing me good luck. I could feel the pressure that was on my today. Everyone wanted me to get this job, and I was actually nervous. I had to try my hardest, do whatever I could. Today was my future.
The walk to the building was long and hazy. I finally stumbled in front of it five minutes before my interview. Even more work had been done the past couple of days. There was even a fancy sign that said 'Day Met the Night'. It sounded like a fancy restaurant name, at least if you ask me.
I took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Inside looked even better than I'd thought it had, it was just so pretty. The walls were painted a happy golden color that made the whole room happy and calm. Whoever had picked everything out obviously knew what they were doing.
I couldn't find anyone in the shop though, so I called out, "Hello? Is anyone here? I'm here for an interview."
I heard a clang and then a girl came from a separate room. She had black eyes and... Quite a bitchy look on her face. I was scared that I had done something wrong. Did I get the time wrong? Did I go to the wrong restaurant? I thought of everything I could've done wrong for a couple of seconds before I forced myself to calm down. I needed to pull this off, and being a spaz won't help me with that.
"Is something wrong?" I finally ask the girl. She could only be a little older than me.
She shook her head. "No, just Yuki's a little air headed sometimes and probably lost track of time. She gets her head so wrapped around planning stuff that she just loses all connection to the world. I'll go get her, just sit down wherever," The girl starts to walk towards a set of stairs in the back of the restaurant. She stops and turns around, "I'm Jurina, the chef, by the way. I'll probably see you around, unless you totally screw up this interview. Yuki's desperate for more employees."
She leaves then, and I sit down at a table near where I was standing. I noticed every table had some sort of decoration in the center. This one had a little sun figure. I spent a few minutes looking around the restaurant before I hear footsteps on the stares. Jurina goes straight to the room she had originally came from, what I'm guessing is the kitchen. There's another girl that walks over to me. She's tall and thin, thinner than I even am, and a couple years older. She had black hair that was neatly styled and very pretty eyes. Who was she? She couldn't be the owner of the restaurant, could she? She looked maybe twenty, was it even possible to own a business that young? Heck if I knew, I couldn't even own a goldfish.
"I'm Kashiwagi Yuki," she said smiling. Hm, guess she is the owner. She obviously made some very different life decisions than I did. "I own this restaurant. And you're, um, Watanabe Mayu, right?"
I slightly cringe at the name. She was close at least. "Um, Mayu, but yeah, that's me."
"Okay, cool. So what kind of job are you looking for?"
"One that pays," I reply immediately. Then I realized it was not the right thing to say. I've been coached through interviews by so many people, and that was never an acceptable thing to say. Oh, crap, why do I do crap like this?
She laughs though, and responded, "I'd assume so. I was meaning more of a position."
"Oh, um, yeah, I totally knew that. I'll do anything. whatever you have available, I can do." I was probably being so freaky because she was a cute girl, That’s always one of my weaknesses.
She looked as though she was considering something for a moment before saying, "I'm just going to tell you the truth. I'm kind of desperate here, and you are the only person who has applied. So you pretty much have the job. I don't really know how to do this whole interview thing. I figure I'll just let you work for a couple days on a trial basis and hope you do good. Could you be a waiter, and kind of just work up here, do whatever needs to be done?"
I nod quickly, excitement building up. "Yes, I can do anything. And I'll do it better than anyone else you could hire, I promise." The homeless thing hasn't even come up in this. She might not have to know. I might be able to just be a normal employee. I might get to be an employee!
"That's great, you have no idea how big of a help you'll be. You’re good with people aren't you?"
I nod again. "People usually like me, I'm easy to talk to, or so I've been told."
She smiled, "Awesome. So we just have some boring stuff to talk over, then you can start when we open. Which is Friday. Is that too early?"
Yuki seems just as nervous about all this as I do. She has no idea that I need this just more than anything, I would never have a problem with it. "Nope, not at all. I've got nothing planned."
After that she talked about benefits, hours, and my pay. With everything she said I got more excited. I had a job. I had a job with a super cute manager, who was probably straight, and I couldn't date anyone now anyways. The longer we talked things over, the more energy was gathering inside me, and at one point I was practically bouncing.
As I left I called out, "Bye, Miss Kashiwagi! I'll see you on Friday! Don't worry, I'll blow your mind with my amazing working skills!"
I could see her laughing as I left the shop. I waited until I was at least around the corner to jump up in the air and yell, "YES!"
I got a lot of weird looks from that, but I didn't care. I ran all the way back to the shelter. This was the beginning to my come back, I could feel it. Or maybe not. After spending the rest of the day researching how much living somewhere would cost, I realized I could never afford it, not until I had saved up, for awhile.
"Shit," I said as I lay down on my bunk shortly after dinner. I would have to stay here for months, if not years. I had always seen the shelter as a very temporary thing, but it turns out it's not as easy as I had assumed it was. Of course not, nothing is easy in real life.
It sucked how we spent our entire childhood preparing to be adults, but they never really teach you what it's like. No one says what happens if things don't work out, if you can get a freaking fancy scholarship to an amazing college and get a wonderful job. No one says anything about it.
As I'm hating my entire useless childhood, someone sat down on my bunk. After a few minutes of blatantly ignoring whoever it was, I look up, with a nasty 'what?' ready on my tongue when I see it's Takamina. I guess I can't be completely rude to a cop.
"Yes, Takamina?" I say instead. Sarcasm is nothing to Takamina, I've learned that.
"What's wrong, Mayu? You finally have a job! You're entire life it lining up for the better!"
"But it isn't! I'm supposed to be in college now! In ten years I'm supposed to a filthy rich doctor with an amazing house and a husband! You know where I'll be in ten years? In a shitty little apartment, working two jobs just to keep that! And I won't have a freaking husband, because I have to be gay! Goddammit, maybe if I wasn't gay my parents wouldn't have kicked me out! I'd be living life like I should! But no! Not only am I super gay, I decided to tell my parents. Now my whole life is shit, and will always be shit, and there's really nothing I can do!" I barked at Takamina, suddenly letting all my anger out.
I didn't mean to say what I did, but I did mean it. I meant every word. Takamina suddenly grabbed my shoulders, and made me look her straight in the eyes. "Listen here, Mayu. You are a great kid, one of the best I've ever met. Just because you had shitty parents who made you think there was something wrong with you doesn't mean there is. You have tons of potential, and I'm not going to let you waste it. Yes, it might take awhile to get your grounding, but that doesn't mean it won't happen. You need to just keep doing your best at everything, and I promise things will be better."
Takamina was one of the last people I had expected to hear an inspirational speech from. she seemed like more of the aunt who gives you beer when you're twelve, not the wise grandmother. It was a pleasant surprise, actually.
I smiled and said, "Thanks, Takamina."
"No problem, buddy. Just remember I'm always here for you." she smiled and left. Things will probably suck for awhile, but when it's done sucking, it'll be worth it.
On Friday morning, I was getting dressed yet again. This time was different, though, because it actually wasn't an interview. And I had to find nice looking clothes that weren't my church clothes, since I had worn them just two days ago. There were always clothes at the shelter, but when you're broke and homeless, you care way more about warmth than appearance. The hunt for clothes that make me look nice and put on a good impression was a long, tedious one. I even had Yuko help me look for something.
Yuko was an interesting person. She had been at the shelter a little longer than I had, but she didn't have to be there. She had a little sister, Kawaei, who came by every week and offered to let Yuko stay with her. Every week, though, Yuko refused. She said she wanted to recover on her own. I could kind of see her point of view, but I know if I had some family member that didn't hate me, and they offered to help me out, I would say yes in a heartbeat. But then I am a formerly spoiled teenager, so I guess that made sense.Anyways, Yuko was actually a great help. She knew all the clothes in the shelter like the back of her hand. She could be dressed like a rock star everyday if she wanted to, but she choose the traditional homeless look instead. Like I said before, I didn't understand Yuko.
That day I had a nice black button down shirt, and black dress pants to go with it. I even borrowed a hair straighter from Takamina. It turns out that she's very careful about her looks, and she has no problem assisting us with ours. Have I mentioned all the other cops make fun of her? Because they do, a lot.
As I walked to Yuki's restaurant that day, I felt excitement in place of Wednesday's nervousness, and it was a much better feeling. I felt unstoppable. I had a job, and I was going to eventually get paid for it. And I had a cute boss, but I really should forget about that, as soon as possible, actually.
The restaurant wasn't open yet, I had to arrive an hour before opening, but it looked like a real restaurant. I was amazed someone as young as Yuki could have done all this, I knew I sure as hell couldn't. I realized then that I didn't know anything about my boss, that I knew as much about her as she did me. And I was a homeless kid. Who knew what she could be?
"Hey, told you I'd see you again," Jurina, the chef, calls out as I enter the restaurant. She's sitting at one of the tables with another girl. The other girl had raven black hair and looked like an overall nice girl. I instantly liked her. Jurina gestured to her and said, "And this is Rena. She's going to be helping me out in the kitchen."
"Hi, I'm Mayu." I said to Rena. She nodded and waved me over to sit with them.
"What do you know about video games? Jurina and I were just having a very heated debate, and I need someone to back me up," Rena declared. Luckily for me, I knew a lot about video games. At least ones from before the incident, because of course, as a teenage girl, I spent 90 percent of my time playing them.
A half an hour later, I knew both Rena and Jurina's views on most of the major video games, and that they and Yuki had been friends for ever. Like, I knew you when you were in a diaper type friends. The type of friends I knew literally nothing about. They were cool girls, I was excited about working with them.
"Oh shit, shouldn't I be working or something? Isn't that what I'm here for?" I realized after way too long. I was doing a good job towards getting fired, before I even started working.
Rena laughed, "No man, don't worry about that. The only reason why you had to come in so early is because Yuki is absolutely freaking out. She's nervous. Like, right now she's in the kitchen, recounting everything to make sure we have enough. For the third time."
Jurina added, "It's best to just let her worry today, she'll probably be okay later. For now you can just hang with us until opening. I assume you can figure out how to ask people what they want to eat, then tell us."
"Okay, cool, I can totally do that," I said just as the door to the kitchen swung open.
Yuki came running out, her hair a mess and her shirt buttoned up wrong. "Jurina, Jurina, I can't find the salt, where's the salt?"
"Yuki, calm down, gal. Rena and I put them all on the tables yesterday. Everything's fine, just stop freaking out. And hey, your new employees here, nice of you to greet her," Jurina said with a sarcastic edge. I already liked her sass.
Yuki looked to me and said, "Oh, yeah, sorry, I lost track of time."
"Don't worry, Jurina and I were putting her to good use. She's on my side, by the way. Now when we get in debates, you and Jurina can't gang up on me, the sides are even now," Rena went off, telling some story about a time when they were younger.
Yuki sat beside me at some point during the story and whispered, "Rena might say that Jurina and I gang up against her, but I really think it's her and Jurina against me. They've been dating since Jurina's freshman year, and they seem to think the same thoughts sometimes," Yuki pauses, and then said hesitantly, "You don't, um, mind, do you? Because that might making working a little awkward."
I almost laughed at that, considering I was the last person who would have a problem with them being gay. I didn't want to be too obvious, though, because if Yuki knew I thought she was hot, well, that'd make working even more awkward. "Not at all. Actually, some of my best friends are together, Takamina and Atsuko."
It was going a little fall to call Takamina and Atsuko my best friends, since we're not really friends, at all, Takamina's just the cop the has to watch over me. I guess we might be friends if I weren't homeless. I'll have to see when I get back on my feet. But still, I figured it was a nice way to seem okay with homosexuality without giving away my own sexuality.
"That's good. that's actually really good. Because they don't like to have to hide their relationship, you know? After being together for so long, it's just natural for them. And I really can't stand homophobes, so yeah, I think this whole job thing will work out well. I got lucky, I really don't know what I'm doing half of the time with all this. But don't feel like I won't be a good boss! I won't forget to pay you or anything, oh man, you're going to quit and then I'll be screwed," Yuki proclaimed, putting her head in her hands, giving me a good view of her hair. It was lighter than mine, but darker than Jurina's, and it fell in pretty waves/curls, around her face. Even a few years ago when I was clinging to being straight with all my life, I had a thing for dark, wavy haired girls. Really, Yuki was my dream girl, which was awkward considering she's my boss, and probably straight. I really had no idea what she was.
"No, you're good. I'll let you in on a secret, I want this job more than anything. There's almost no way I'd quit. You're kind of stuck with me," I revealed. Ran looked up and smiled at me. her smile was amazing, it lit up her whole face.
"I know you're enjoying your conversation, but we've got a business to run! Starting in ten minutes," Jurina called out to us then. We scrambled around, getting everything tidy, Yuki giving out last minute instructions to me. I was nervous, especially since I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but they day passed relatively well.
Sure, there were a few mishaps, like the time where I got two tables orders completely backwards. The people ere kind when I explained how it was my first day and how I was new to all of it, so I got off lucky. No one even had to complain to my manager about me, which I was sure would happen at least five times. I had even gotten a good amount of tips, or at least enough for me to buy myself an actual dinner, which was more money than I've had for months, so I counted it as a good day.
After the place was completely closed up, we all sat at a table, sharing our interesting stories of the day. Jurina had caught her sleeve on fire for just a little bit during the lunchtime rush, and Rena had gotten a minor burn trying to put it out. Now that I knew they were a couple, it was obvious to me. They just worked together perfectly, and it would seem wrong if they weren't together. Yuki hadn't really done anything wrong the entire day, because it turns out she just had a natural gift with running her own restaurant.
"Mayu, congratulations on doing such a good job today, I think we'll keep you around for a little longer," Yuki joked as she shoved my shoulder playfully. "So, since you survived a day of working with us, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"
Oh shit, oh shit, this is exactly what I needed to avoid. What could I tell myself about them? My entire life pretty much revolved around the fact that I was homeless. I didn't have time or money for anything else. The air in the room took a turn towards awkward as I failed to answer the question. "Um, well, when I was a kid, I used to get bullied around by my brothers a lot, because I was so small, so I had to start trying to outsmart them. After I got beaten up pretty bad one time, I stole all of their underwear. To make it less suspicious, I even took some of mine with them, and hid them in one of my sister's room. So not only did my brothers go without underwear for a couple days, my sister also got grounded when they were found. It was a win win situation. For me, at least."
They all started laughing at my story, and then we started sharing childhood stories. Most of Yuki and Jurina's stories were entwined together, I got the feeling the spent most of their time together when they were kids.
A story of Rena's had me laughing so hard I could barely breathe. It was only then that I noticed what time it was, 9:30. Oh shit, I thought to myself. The shelter doesn't let you in after nine, even if you're a long term resident, unless they knew ahead of time. Oh, shit..
"I've got to go, um, I'll be here tomorrow, on time and all. Bye!" I excused myself, trying to hide how worried I was. There was no way they' let me into the shelter. I'd have to stay on the streets for the night, and I never liked that idea. I was to small, weak, I could never defend myself. I leave the restaurant in a haze, too busy thinking about where I could go. I knew there where some almost okay girls who camped up out the beach, that'd probably be my best shot.
Luckily, I happened to be friends (not quite friends, but we had talked a few times, and knew each other's names, which is close enough to friends really) with a girl there, and she let me sleep in her area. It was disgusting, I had to say. Being homeless, I had no room to judge people, but come on, cleanliness is awesome, no matter who you are. Okay, so I'm probably a stuck up homeless girl, whatever.
I don't get much sleep that night, I was too worried about bugs and rats. The sun finally comes up around six, and I got out of there as fast as possible, practically running to the shelter. I get in, and am allowed to shower, get dressed, and eat some breakfast before we're all kicked out again. I got some weird looks from people who knew that I don't ever not come back to the shelter at night, but no one says anything to me, and I'm glad. I'm not proud that I had to stay on the streets. Some people think that's the ultimate sign of coolness, and staying in the shelter is lame, but like I said, I'm a little high maintenance.
At my second day of work, no one seems to notice anything different from me. Yuki even compliments me on my shirt. At the end of the day, I smile. I might actually be able to pull this off.
The weeks pass in a blur of work, Yuki, shelter, Takamina, and rushing back to the shelter before nine. I actually enjoy what I'm doing, and I kind of feel like I belong. It's really easy to become friends with Yuki and her friends. They occasionally invite me out to do things with them whenever the restaurant is closed.
"Hey, Mayu," Jurina calls from where she's perched on the counter of the bar while all of the rest of us are cleaning up for closing one day. When I asked her why she didn't help clean up one time, she told me that she is better at supervising everything. Sometimes I wondered if Yuki ran the restaurant, or Jurina secretly control everything. It was hard to tell. "We're going out for drinks tonight, and you're coming with us, no excuses."
As she was asking I was already forming a fake reason not to go. Damn, she knew me too well.
Rena added, “Yeah, it'll be fun. If you get Jurina drunk enough, she'll dance. It's hot, take my word for it." she smiled and kissed Jurina on the cheek as Jurina flipped her off. I had learned over time that they really were the super couple, and it was really cute. Sometimes I got jealous of what they had, because it was hard to believe that I could ever have that. But whenever I thought that, I just told myself, maybe when I have a house, maybe when things are good.
I still wasn't completely convinced about going. I mean, drinks cost money, and getting water at a bar just makes me look like a freak. I change my mind when Yuki says, “I'll pay for your drinks, Mayu. Come on, please?" with her pretty eyes begging me, because, really, if I could say no to that I probably had no soul.
"Okay, I'll go, if you girls want me there so badly," I gave in. Rena whooped and then we were leaving. I had convinced Rena to give me a piggy back ride for part of the way."What are you, four?" Yuki laughed at me. I stuck my tongue at her and urged Rena forward.
At the bar, Rena was the one who had to get everyone's drinks, because none of the rest of us were 21 yet.
"How old are you, Mayu? I realized I didn't even know," Yuki whispered into my ear as Rena went to get the drinks. I had probably made it clear that I had never really drank anything before by the way that I had almost no knowledge of drinks.
"I'm eighteen, legal, I promise," I replied with a smile.
"It's weird, I feel like I know you very well sometimes, and sometimes I feel like I know nothing about you," she informed me as we saw Rena returning with drinks in her hands.
"Well, you've got time to get to know me better," I said with a slightly flirty edge. I really needed to watch myself, but sometimes I don't care. Every once in awhile, you need to flirt with your straight boss, it just has to be done.
She doesn't get the chance to respond because Rena arrives with our drinks. She gives me some fruity, frilly drink that most girls would probably be ashamed to be seen drinking. I smile and remarked, "Oh, Rena, you know me so well!"
After the first drink, the rest of the time in the bar is blurred together. I had fun doing whatever it was. Around two in the morning, we set off. It's then I realize it's two in the morning.
"Oh shit, girls. It's so late, I can't go home now. Oh no." then I notice a particularly nice looking trash can. "Oh, yay, I can stay there tonight! What a nice trashcan!"
They just barely stop me from diving head first into my trashcan. Goddamn, they've got to ruin all my fun, don't they?
"Yuki, you want to take Mayu back to your house? If we let her go on her own, she'll probably end up finding a dumpster of something. She's so drunk.. I didn't expect that." Jurina said, laughing.
"Miss Jurina, I am certainly not drunk at all!" I defend myself.
"Sure, sure, and a completely sober person would try to climb into a trashcan."
I get mad at that, so I sit down right on the sidewalk. Yuki sends Jurina and Rena on their way, telling them she could take care of me.
"Mayu, come on, let's go," she insisted. I shook my head and stayed right where I was.
"I have nowhere to go, anyways. They won't let me in," I say. Something tells me I shouldn't say that, but I can't really find myself in a place to care.
"You don't have to worry, you can stay with me tonight. But, Mayu, who won't let you in?" Yuki asks.
"Takamina. maybe, I'm not sure who works there. Actually, probably not Takamina, because if it was Takamina, she'd let me in. Oh, but I'm drunk too, aren't I? They wouldn't like that. Did you know that Takamina's not really my friend? Well, she kind of is, but not really. She's just a cop who cares about us. It's because of Atsuko. But I think when I have a regular life, we'll be friends! And Takamina and Atsuko can go on a double date with me! And my girlfriend! Because I'm gay, you know. I don't have a girlfriend though. I want one, but that's not allowed either. I'm not allowed to do anything fun!" I yell, starting to get mad.
"Calm down, Mayu. Come on, you're going to come home with me, okay? Then you can tell me all about it," Yuki tells me soothingly. It works, and soon enough I find myself in an unknown apartment. I'm guessing it's Yuki's. Or it could be the cat's. I saw a cat walking around, maybe she owns it and is letting Yuki stay here. I should find myself a cat with a house.
Yuki leads me to a room with a bed. The bed looks so nice, and I haven't slept on a real bed since before. I inform Yuki of that as I plop down on it.
"Oh, and it smells good, like you! Is this your bed, Yuki?" I say as I climb down under all the blankets, enjoying the warmth and comfort of it all.
"Yes, it's my bed. Do you care if I sleep in it with you?" Yuki asks me.
"Not at all!” I say with way to much enthusiasm. Yuki laughs. She changes into other clothes, and I sadly don't see anything fun. Then she slides into the other side of the bed, much more graceful than I had been.
After a few seconds, Yuki asks, "Mayu, you don't have to tell me, but who exactly were you talking about earlier?"
I think back to what I had said earlier. Lots of stuff. "Oh, about the shelter, you mean?"
She nods, "I think so."
"That's where I live. I didn't tell you because no one hires homeless people. But I don't stink or anything, I shower everyday! I don't want to be homeless wither, but my parents don't like me anymore. And then I couldn't find a job! No one really wants to hire a high school dropout, even if I only missed a month of school! Silly people! But then you did, and you're really my savior. You're like... Like... Saint.. Yuki." I say as I let out a yawn. I roll close to Yuki, and she puts her arms around me. It felt so nice. "You're my saint, my very own." I say as I slide into sleep. It's the best night of sleep I've had in sixth months.
The next morning is not good though. Even waking up in the most comfortable bed in the world couldn't make the awful pounding in my head go away. And I couldn't remember how I had even gotten to this bed, which was so much nicer than my bunk. Maybe I'm about to be killed. What if I had gotten drugged and raped last night? I thought nervously, But I didn't hurt anywhere other than my head, so I had a feeling that didn't happen.
I open my eyes and look around, and I notice I'm not alone in the bed. Yuki is beside me. I remember going to get drinks with her, Jurina, and Rena, but I wasn't sure how I had ended up here. I had no idea what I had said, or done. Oh no.
My movement woke Yuki up, and she opened her eyes. We stare at each other in silence for a few moments before I finally say, "What happened last night? I'm pretty sure I was drunk as hell."
She stares at me, probably trying to think of a good response. "Um, well, you were so drunk that we didn't trust you to get home on your own. So I brought you with me. And you kind of, uh, have no filter when you're drunk."
Oh holy shit, "What did I say?"
"At one point, you came out of the closet”, she started. Well, it could be worse than that.
"And you told me Takamina was a cop, and I eventually got the fact that you're, well, you live in a homeless shelter."
My heart drops. "Damn, remind me not to get drunk anymore. So, I'm guessing I'm fired? I'll be out of here as soon as possible, don't worry, you wont have to see me again."
She sits up, and I get a nice view of her bed head. It's really so cute. I spend as much time as I can looking at her, before it gets too creepy, and then I start to get out of bed. Which didn't work very well, considering I had a god awful headache, and Yuki pulled me back down. What?
Before I could even register it, she was kissing me. Her warm, dry lips were on mine, and I was truthfully in heaven, well, hangover heaven. Not actual heaven, because I think that would hurt a little less. I kissed her back, even though I knew I had nasty morning breath. I didn't care, I was kissing Kashiwagi Yuki, this probably won't happen again. Isn't she supposed to be straight?
When we pull apart, instead of saying anything reasonable, I ask, "Aren't you supposed to be straight?"
Yuki laughs, "No, not really. I've liked girls for awhile now, truthfully."
I let that thought sink in. Huh. "So, I'm should continue leaving now, shouldn't I?"
Yuki shakes her head, and gives me a confused look. "I just kissed you, and you think that means I want you to leave?"
"Well, I don't know. I mean, I'm homeless, no one besides Takamina likes us. Everyone thinks we're nasty and all we do I drink and do drugs."
"But you already told me you aren't nasty, you shower everyday. Don't try and tell me that's a lie." I laugh and shake my head. I am so never getting drunk again.
"So... What does this mean?" I ask, still confused about what was happening.
Yuki smiles shyly, looking at me through her hair (which was still beautifully messy, if you ask me). "I was thinking maybe you could, I don't know, move in with me? Then we could go on some dates. I know that's kind of backwards, but I've got a spare room and everything, so you could move in even if you don't want to do the date thing. But yeah, I kind of really like you, and it would hurt to know you had to sleep in a shelter every night. So, what do you think?"
I stare at her in shock for a second. It occurs to me exactly what is happening. I'm getting offered a place to live, and maybe a girlfriend at the same time. Oh my god. I look around Yuki's room, at the all her clothes, books, and guitars, and I Imagine myself in here. Some of those could be my clothes. This could eventually be our room.
"I'm freaking homeless. Do you think I could really turn down an offer for a place to live? I'm not Yuko. Oh, wait, you don't get that, yeah, I'll explain that reference sometime. But totally yes on that part. And, about the dates... I've been kind of checking you out everyday since I've met you, I've kind of got a huge crush on you, so..."
I was Interrupted by Yuki's mouth on mine again. I smiled slightly, and brought my hands up to her face. Not being homeless was already a hundred times better. I pulled back and said, "Just wait until I tell Takamina and Mariko! You're so going to have to meet them! Hey, one of those dates could be-"
"A double date with Takamina and Atsuko?" Yuki finishes for me. I give her a look of disbelief, how had she known what I was going to say?
"You mentioned it last night, silly," Yuki informed me.
"What didn't I say last night?" I ask.
"Well, you didn't tell me about that crush you had. Guess it's a good thing you told me today." This time, I'm the one who pulls Yuki in for a kiss. Right now is actually looking pretty good.
~~~~~~
When I told Takamina what Yuki had offered me, she laughed at me. Like, right in my face hysterical laughing. It took twenty minutes and an actual phone call to Yuki before she believed me.
"Jerk," I tell her after I say goodbye to Yuki. I hadn't called her on a phone of my own, I didn't own one, but she had given my her number and I used the shelter phone. I hadn't planned on calling her so soon, but Takamina had to go and be a complete asshole.
Takamina chuckled one last time before saying, "I'm sorry, but it was really hard to believe. I mean, you don't come back one night, and when you do return, hung-over by the way, you're saying that you're now dating some girl and she's going to let you move in with her. You do realize how ridiculous that sounds to most people, right?"
I could see where she was coming from. But Yuki and I had a completely different case than most people would ever even understand. "I get what you mean, but it's not like Yuki's some random pimp off from the street or something. We're friends. Or, well, we were friends."
"Yeah, yeah, I get that now, you made me talk to the poor girl," Takamina pointed out, then continued, "I'm happy for you though, really. I knew you'd get somewhere someday. I just didn't guess it'd be by sleeping with the boss."
I slap her on the arm. "Jerk," I say again.
She just laughs and gets up to leave. "Well, I've actually got some work to do. Are you still staying tonight?"
I nod, "Yeah, we've got some things to work out before I can move in. And I kind of want to give her time to make sure she really knows what she's doing."
"Yeah. Whatever you do, hold on to that girl. She seems like a keeper. And she sounds totally hot. Oh, by the way, you should probably tell Mariko. She'll be over the moon."
She was. I found her shortly after talking to Takamina, and she took the news a whole lot better than Takamina had. Takamina's just an ass, though, so I guess I shouldn't have expected more from her. Mariko was really proud of me, she even told me that I was like her daughter, and she could see me going far. It was nice to know that some people had faith in me.
I didn't have to go back to work for two days, but I did call Yuki that night, to hear her voice and all. I was already a freaking weirdo over this relationship. I just loved knowing that someone actually liked me. In a way that they might want to have sex with me someday. Okay, because I am still a teenage girl, those things do matter to me. My phone call is cut short by Yuko, though.
"Yuko, what are you doing? I wasn't done talking yet!" I pointed out to her.
She just smiled. "But you see, I talk to someone every week at this time, so I have power over you. It's my right, I'm pretty sure."
I shake my head at her. "Who's so important you felt the need to hang up on my phone call?" I ask her.
"Her name is Kojiharu. She's my best friend. I don't get to see her often, since the homeless thing is kind of time consuming. but she still calls, every week, to see how I'm doing." she smiled again and shooed me away as the phone rang. Besides her being overall juts super weird, she really was lucky. Not only did she have a sister who would do anything for her, but she also had a really good friend who cared.
It struck me that I know had someone that cared about me. At least, I'm pretty sure she did. It was a really nice thought, since I hadn't had that since my parents disowned me. It's really hard to go through life alone, that was surely a lesson I had learned lately.
That night I went to sleep easily. Not quite as well as I had when I was in Yuki's bed, but certainly better than I had in this bunk the past couple of months. Just knowing someone cared was enough to make things better.
When I finally had another shift at work, I didn't think I could get there fast enough. But then I was also nervous about seeing Yuki. How was I supposed to act? Did Rena and Jurina even know what had happened?
My second question was answered as soon as I had walked in the door. "Oh, Mayu," Jurina called out, scaring the shit out of me. "You're just the person I was looking for! Let's have a little talk, just you and me."
Oh shit, was I about to get killed or something? Jurina had one hell of a glare, I couldn't doubt what she was capable off. She leads me into a supply closet that was mostly empty, flicks on the light, and closes the door behind me.
"Being Yuki's best friend, she has obviously told me almost everything that's happened. And while I do like you, I just want to make this clear, if you hurt Yuki, you will regret it the rest of your life. And you better not be using her just for a place to stay, because if you are, I swear to god I will chop off your head," Jurina threatens. My eyes widen in fear. Shit, Jurina really is hardcore.
"I would never hurt her, I promise. And I would never use anyone for a place to stay, I promise. If I would, I think I'd already have a place to stay by now," I say, hoping Jurina sees I'm telling the truth.
She stares me down for way too long, then says, "You're lucky I like you. If you were anyone else, this would've had to be a lot harder. I believe you, though. You're too much of a puppy to actually cause anyone pain on purpose."
I smile and jump up and down. "Aw, Jurina, am I special? You make me feel special! You gave me permission to love Yuki! Aw, Jurina, you wonderful person!" I pull her into a giant hug. She's not as good at hugging as Rena or Yuki, but considering they're both extraordinarily good huggers, Rena with her teddybearness, and Yuki just being herself, she was being compared to ridiculously high standards. It really wasn't fair. And I liked Jurina, especially since I passed the super creepy best friend test.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I think you've got a job or something to do now," Jurina says as she pulls me off of her. I follow her out of the closet and then go on a hunt for my nametag. I knew I left it somewhere. But after looking all over the restaurant, I realize somewhere evidently wasn't where I thought it was. I end up crawling on the floor searching for it.
I really should talk Yuki into finding some better way of going about the nametag business. Jurina would probably suggest that we write my name on my forehead, which, no. For one, that would not in any way be attractive, and I've got to keep up my appearance now, because I have someone to impress. And also, that would just look very ridiculous.
My name tag doesn't seem to be under tables 3,6, or 8, but I had found a dollar, which was always nice. Maybe I could sneak over to the grocery store later and buy a candy bar.
"Are you looking for something, or did hanging out under the tables sound like a good idea to you?" Someone asks from above me, startling me and causing me to hit my head on the table. I crawl out from under the table rubbing my head. Yuki's staring down at me with a somewhat amused look on her face.
"I was, um... Maybe looking for something. Don't worry, though, I'll find it!" I had lost my nametag a few times before, and Yuki had talked to me about it, so I didn't want to let her know I had lost it again. I really do try to keep track of it, I just lose it. A lot.
It occurs to me that that wasn't quite the romantic reunion I as hoping for, but it was exactly the type of thing that would happen to me.
"Uh huh. Are you looking for your nametag, by any chance?" Yuki asked with a sly smile. Oh, she's onto me. Dang.
I stand up and look at my shoes, kind of ashamed. "Yeah, maybe."
I hear Yuki laughing and look up. I had expected her to be mad. But then I saw she was holding out her hand towards me, and in it was my nametag. "I had kept it so you wouldn't lose it. But when I came to give it to you, you were crawling around on the floor, and it was too funny not to watch for a little bit."
"Yuki! How mean of you! You also made me hit my head, and it could've all been avoided!" I say in mock anger as I put my nametag on.
She stepped closer, pulled me to her, and whispered in my ear, "I'm sorry I made you hit your head. I can kiss it and make it better." she smiled before kissing the top of my head softly. "Is it better now?" she asks.
I think for a second. "Not really. Maybe you should try again." she laughed and kissed my head again, and again. Then she moved down to my forehead and kissed that, then my nose, followed by my cheek.
"Should I keep going, or do you think you're good?"
"Not nearly there, nope not at all," I say, smiling.
She kisses the corner of my lips once before kissing me completely on the lips. The kiss was sweet and so wonderful. I was pretty sure I was exploding on the inside. I wrap my arms around her neck just to get as close as I could.
"Do we need to make a ‘No Public Displays of Affection’ rule?" We're interrupted by Rena, who is standing a few feet away, smiling.
Yuki shakes her head, "I think you forget that I own this place. And I let you and Jurina make out all the time, really, you have no room to judge."
"True," Rena agrees, and the leaves, presumably to go make out with Jurina. Those two make me laugh. You might think you'd get sick of being around someone constantly. But with those two, all the time in the world is obviously not enough. I wonder what Yuki and I will be like. It's way to early to really know anything, we haven't even gone on a date yet, but I'm kind of hoping we could be like Rena and Jurina.
"How are you?" Yuki asks me. I'm still kind of wrapped around her, but I don't have any immediate plans to move away.
"I'm pretty good now actually. Although, I'll probably have to start working soon. I have this boss, you know, and she's a total hardass."
Yuki laughs, and I can feel it where I'm pressed against her. It's actually really nice. "Oh I'm sure. Why don't you go to work then, since your boss is such a jerk."
Truthfully, this was the best day of work I think I've had, like, ever. One time when business was slow Yuki had even pulled me into a closet, the same one Jurina had pulled me into earlier, and we made out for fifteen minutes. It was wonderful. After work, Yuki suggested that we go back to her house and start preparing space for me.
"So, there's a bed in the extra room for you, and you can move all the stuff you want in there, it's mostly empty," Yuki was telling me as we walk into her apartment.
"Whoa! A bed, oh my god!" I said enthusiastically. Beds were awesome, actually they were beyond awesome, they were this new unheard of level of amazingness. "I haven't slept on a bed since, well other than the other night, since like, I don't know, March? I don't even know anymore."
Yuki stopped and looked at me. "So you've been, well, you know, for all that time?"
I nodded, and sat down on the couch in her living room. Couches are cool, too, actually. "I made the mistake of telling my parents I stopped believing in their religion and coming out at the same time. I wouldn't recommend it." I decided it was best to be completely honest with Yuki earlier, rather than later.
"You're parents just kicked you out? Were you even eighteen yet?"
"Yep, they weren't going to have a gay under their roof. My dad actually used that, can you believe it? He just told me to get out of his house as soon as possible. I turned 18 about a month and a half later. Not exactly the 18th birthday I had imagined, you know?"
Yuki nodded, "That must've been awful. I'm sorry Mayu. Come here?"
She had sat down in one of the recliners she had, it was nice and big. There would have probably been plenty of room for both of us to sit in it, side by side. I decided it'd be a lot more fun to sit right in the middle of Yuki's lap, slightly turned towards her. It was evidently what she had wanted because she smiled and wrapped her arms around my waist. "Do you want to tell me about it, Mayu? I'll just listen. I want to here about you."
I laugh slightly, "It's not the prettiest story."
"I don't mind."
"Okay then. You know I got kicked out by my parents' they had completely disowned me. But kids have gotten kicked out before, you know, it's not really that big of a problem. They'll just go stay with their friends or something. I tried that. It didn't work though. I was an ass before it all, I'll admit to that now. Part of my figuring out my sexuality had involved making out with the schools star cheerleader. She was gayer than anything, believe me, but she'd never admit to it. I didn't care so much, and I had kind of wanted to come out, to everyone, you know? I didn't, because this kid didn't want to end our thing, but she said she couldn't be seen with me if I was the school gay. We got caught making out at some party, though, so it really didn't matter. This kid, she didn't want anyone knowing about her, though, so she told everyone I had attacked her. Since I was kind of a huge jerk, the whole school actually believed her. For a whole week, all you could hear in the hallways was 'Did you hear how that Watanabe kid practically raped the cheerleader?'. All of my friends ditched me, not wanting to be seen with the rapist. So I figured it'd be a good time to come out to my parents, what else did I have to lose? Apparently a lot. So yeah, my family all sided with my parents and my friends were afraid I would ‘rape’ them. It left me totally alone. It's really hard to be completely alone for the first time in your life. I had nowhere else to turn, no one even cared about me. That was probably my lowest point. I spent a few days sleeping in my families bushes, thinking maybe it was a joke. No, it definitely wasn't. And when my father got rid of me the second time, that's when I found the shelter. I made some friends there, like Mariko and Takamina, and they all wanted me to get a job as soon as I possibly could. I spent the next couple months looking for a job. I Being homeless almost immediately ensures that you're not considered for the job. I had almost given up hope by then. After another interview where they had turned me down, I was just walking to the nearest soup kitchen for lunch, and there happened to be a new restaurant and a help wanted sign. You kind of know the rest of the story."
We sat in silence for awhile. I laid my head on Yuki's shoulder, and she hugged me tightly. "I'm so sorry all that happened to you."
"It could've been worse. A lot worse. At least I'm still alive and I got off the streets, you know?"
I could feel her nod. "I still wish you didn't have to go through all of that. So, do you want to watch a movie or something? Lighten the mood?"
"Only if we watch a good movie," I say with a smile. In order for us to watch a movie, I had to got off Yuki to let her got put the movie in. I took her seat and enjoyed the view. I might've been slightly pervy, but it was mostly Yuki's fault for wearing pants that showed off her butt so well. That thing was a master pierce, truly. I decide to move to the couch as Yuki wonders into the kitchen. She comes back with a giant bowl of popcorn and two drinks. She sets the drinks down on the coffee table and grabs a big, warm looking blanket. We cuddle up under it, the popcorn between us, and Yuki starts the movie.
It was actually one of my favorite movies, Yuki's got good choice, and I was kind of disappointed that I missed most of it. Considering I missed most of it because I was too busy thinking about Yuki, I wasn't too disappointed. When we finish most of the popcorn, Yuki moves the bowl to the floor, and I scoot closer to her. I purposely do the cheesy stretch, put your arm around someone's shoulders thing. Yuki just smiles at me and curls into my side.
Somehow, I end up falling asleep during the movie, and when I woke up a few hours later, I was completely laid out on the couch, and Yuki was partly laying on top of me. I checked my watch, it was midnight. Too late for me to go to the shelter. Hopefully Yuki didn't mind me staying here for the night. Judging by the way she was completely out, I doubted she cared. I knew I should just go back to sleep, and it was creep to just stare at Yuki, but I couldn't help it. She was using my chest as a pillow, and it was really cute. I ran my fingers through her hair. She is my girlfriend. It was such a nice thought. I fell asleep again, dreaming of happy, light things.
I was late for work the next morning. But considering my boss was just as late as I was, I really wasn't concerned. Because we had fallen asleep on the couch, we had no alarm or anything to wake us up. Yuki had forced me awake ten minutes after the restaurant was supposed to be open.
"Oh, I'm so lucky for Jurina, she's actually my savior sometimes. Come, Mayu, get up," Yuki said, pushing me off of the couch.
"Yeah. Um. Yeah. I think I'm up," I murmured. I wasn't used to sleeping this late, at the shelter, we always got up at six, so I was really out of it.
"Can I use your shower?" I ask Yuki as she's rushing around, doing god knows what.
"Sure, sure. Towels are in the closet, you can use any of the products in there you find, and you can take some of my clothes if you want." she said, before running off to the kitchen.
The shower was really nice, it was so much better than the showers at the shelter. I wanted to just stand in there for as long as possible, but I knew Yuki wanted to get to the restaurant as soon as possible.
Yuki also had great towels. The were the huge fluffy ones, they completely devoured me. I was literally in heaven. I walked over to Yuki's room with her the towel around my naked body. I got in there just in time to get a glimpse of Yuki's half naked body before she pulled a shirt on.
"Damn, if only I was a little sooner, I would've gotten a much better view," I said.
Yuki turned to look at me and raised her eyebrows. "Looks like I get a much better view than you did."
I smiled, "True, true."
Yuki stepped closer to me, until there was barely an inch separating us. "This situation could be a lot more fun if we didn't have to go to work very soon."
She ran a finger down my collarbone, before stopping at the edge of the towel. "Would it be bad if I kissed you right now?"
I leaned in until we were kissing, Yuki's hand still at the top of my towel. We stopped soon, knowing we had to go to work. Yuki pulled back and looked me over sadly.
"It's a shame," she said sadly, before backing away. I started to turn towards her closet, looking for clothes, but suddenly my towel was gone. I looked down in confusion for a second, before I looked over to Yuki, realizing what had happened.
"What? I just wanted to get the full view," she said, smiling. Just because of that, I shimmied my body a little before moving to her closet.
"You care if I borrow some underwear?"
When we finally got to the restaurant, Jurina was pissed. But by the smile on Rena's face, I knew Jurina wasn't that mad.
As I walked past Rena to get ready for the day, she said, "Did you get lucky last night?"
I shook my head. "And if I did, I'm not sure I should tell you. Although, I guess you'd know anyways, since Yuki would more than likely tell Jurina."
"True. I'll probably know that you're going to have some sexy time before you even do."
I laughed, and went to table 3 to get their orders. The rest of the day passed slowly, I stayed busy taking people's orders and being a nice likable person. The last hour was slow, so I started a game of I Spy in the restaurant, even some of the customers played along.
It was my turn as Yuki walked down from her office. She was doing some sort of financial thing that I more than likely didn't understand.
"I spy with my little eye, something... Hot," I said, keeping my face blank. A customer looked around for a second before spotting Yuki, and saw me watching her too.
"Oh," she said. "I have a feeling there's something going on between the waiter and her boss. Nice. My votes are on the skinny lady over there."
I laughed and said, "Well, looks like you win."
Yuki walked over to me and said, "I'm pretty sure playing children's games with the customers wasn't in the job training. Luckily it doesn't seem like they mind."
"I'm making their eating experience more enjoyable, you should be thanking me," I told her. "Hey, by the way, I was wondering, you know how I was talking about how we should go on a double date with Takamina and Atsuko? Well, I think we should, like, Friday. It could be our first date! Do you want to?"
I was actually really nervous about asking Yuki out. If she said no, I'd just look like a giant dumbass. And if she said yes, and I totally freaked out, I would still look like a dumbass. I really couldn't win.
"I think that'd be great," Yuki answered. "What are we doing?"
"I don't know, I can ask Takamina what the want to do tonight, then call you? Does that sound good?"
Yuki agreed, and a couple hours later I found myself trying to build up the courage to ask Takamina about the date.
"Mayu! Nice to see you around, I missed you!" Takamina said as she spotted me. "How much longer are you going to even come back here?"
I didn't actually know for sure. "I don't know, another week or two? I stayed at her house last night, but it was only because we were watching a movie and I fell asleep, and then it was too late to go back then."
Takamina looked like she didn't believe me. 'Sure, sure."
"It's the truth! Anyways, okay, so just hear me out here, okay? We're kind of friends, right? So you could do me a favor, yeah? Because, well, I really want to go on a date with Yuki and so I asked her if she wanted to go on a double date with you and Atsuko, because I was really nervous and it's hard to ask someone out, you know, and it'd be really nice." As I kept talking everything I said got faster and faster until it was mostly a blur of words.
"Aw," Takamina said. "Little Mayu's nervous for her first date. I feel like I've trained you, I've built you up for this, I'm part of the way responsible for you. Of course a double date would be cool! Any excuse for me to show off Atsuko," Takamina winked then in a really creepy manner. I had met Atsuko a couple times before, and it had always amazed me how someone as nice as Atsuko could handle Takamina. she seemed like a handful.
"Oh, thank you so much Takamina, you really have no idea how great this is!" Okay, what do you want to do? Yuki's expecting me to call her and tell her."
Takamina shook her head, "You really are lost here, aren't you kid? It's times like these that I remember how inexperienced you are. We're going to dinner, then a movie. Hope you can handle that."
I glare at her, "I'm not that bad."
"Sure. Now, do you need me to explain the gay sex process, I mean-"
"Takamina!" I covered my ears. I did not need this from Takamina, oh no, that would not be cool. I left to go call Yuki.
The day of the date, I was beyond nervous. I had never really been on a date before. Not that I was going to tell anyone this, but it was still true. I had never even had an awkward middle school date to the putt putt course.
Luckily for me, Jurina invited me to come get ready at her and Rena's place. It was always so much better to not have to deal with the shelter showers and stuff. I had even gone out an bought a new outfit. I also put aside money to pay for Yuki's dinner and her movie. I invited her, so I was damn sure going to pay. I don't care if I'm homeless, I will not be a bad date.
I wondered if I should open doors for Yuki, and stuff like that. Is that how it works for girls? Or do they get pissed when you do that? Oh shit, I'm going to suck so badly.
I would smell great at least. I had bought some of my favorite products from before, things that almost made me feel like Watanabe Mayu again. Not like the asshole, but more like me. This date was a really big deal for me.
I came out of Jurina and Rena's bathroom about a half an hour before the date.
"Girls, what if I faint? Would Yuki dump me?" I ask them as I walk into their living room, where they're sitting.
"She wouldn't, but I sure as hell would," Jurina says, not looking up from the television.
Rena, on the other hand, is much more caring, though. "Mayu, are you nervous? Don't worry! It's just a date, Yuki's not that crazy or anything, you know that."
I look down at my shoes and mutter, "But I've never been on a date before."
Of course, Jurina chooses that moment to care. I could be getting murdered in her kitchen and she wouldn't notice, but if I offer up a bit of information that can be used a blackmail, she gets the ears of a hawk.
"No way!" Jurina exclaims. "Are you telling me that this is your first date? Ever? Wait. Are you a virgin? No way!"
I refused to say whether or not I was a virgin. I was, because even when I fooled around with that kid in high school, nothing happened, but I sure as hell wasn't going to make the mistake of telling Jurina that, no way, because then I know Yuki would hear about that in no time. And that would just be so embarrassing.
I left before Jurina could interrogate me too much, and went to Yuki's house. Then, from there we were going to meet Takamina and Atsuko at a near by restaurant.
I walked up to Yuki's apartment, same as always, and knocked on her door. She opened it with a smile.
"Hey," I said as I stepped into her apartment. I hugged and gave her a quick peck on the lips. We left soon afterwards, and as we were walking I grabbed her hand.
I saw Takamina and Atsuko before they saw us. Takamina was attempting to climb a decorative pole that was in front of the restaurant. She wasn't getting much progress, but Atsuko seemed entertained by just watching her.
"That's them," I pointed out to Yuki. "The one climbing the pole is Takamina, she's an officer of the law when she's not being a dumbass, if you can believe that. Atsuko is the girl watching her."
"That was totally not how I imagined you cop friend," Yuki informed me.
"It's not how I did either," I reply.
As we got closer, I saw Takamina had actually gotten more than a foot of the ground. Atsuko was cheering her on.
"Hey, Atsuko!" I called out. She turned and waved to me. Takamina also turned to look, which turned out to be a mistake. She fell of the pole, but luckily only a couple of feet.
Atsuko reached out a hand to help her out. "Hey Takamina, are you going to make it? This is Yuki by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Yuki. Sorry Takamina's being an idiot, but she was sure she could climb the pole," Atsuko said with an easy smile. It was impossible not to like Atsuko.
"I could've. Mayu distracted me, though, that's the only reason why I didn't."
"You're just lying to yourself now, Takamina, you really should know better," I tell her.
We head into the restaurant after a we talked for awhile. Takamina had picked out the restaurant, so of course it was a little bit different. I leaned over to Yuki, "I totally think we should share the food. I don't know what half of these things are. So I'm just going to pick one and hope for the best. Want to do the same? One of us will probably get lucky."
She nodded. "I think you've got an idea there. Maybe."
Out of the blue, Takamina asked, "Okay, Yuki, so, since you own a restaurant, whenever you go anywhere, do you completely judge every thing they do?"
Yuki smiled and said, "A little bit. It's hard not to notice certain things."
Takamina nodded."Interesting."
She continued that for awhile, asking Yuki random question after random question. I was impressed on her ability to make up questions like that. I got the feeling she was either trying to get to know Yuki, or was testing her. She might've have been testing Yuki like Jurina had tested me. Takamina was just doing it her own way.
Dinner passes nicely, with no difficulties or awkward moments. There's one time where Takamina almost causes a problem with a girl a table over, but Atsuko luckily settles things down, so it was no big deal. As we're leaving, Takamina walks y my side and whispers, "I like this one, keep her. Oh yeah, and take this."
She shoves a piece of folded up paper in my pocket, then runs over to Atsuko and hugs her. I'm tempted to look at the paper, but I know it'd be best to wait. Instead, I grab Yuki's hand as we walk. It's not very far to the movie theater, so we arrive pretty early.
I buy a couple different packs of candy and hope Yuki likes one of them. When we walk into our theater, it's mostly empty. "Awesome!," I say as I drag Yuki to the back row, Takamina and Atsuko following.
"Okay, so I used to come here with my friends, and we'd always write something on the walls in the very back. I want to see if it's still there."
Sure enough, I find ‘W.M was here,’ followed by a smiley face and a heart. I point it out to Yuki.
Yuki buried her head in my shoulder, shaking with laughter. I use this as an excuse to put my arm around her. Takamina and Atsuko are sitting beside us, and they are completely in their own world, with Takamina telling a story with wild hand motions.
"So you know what I don't know?" I remark to Yuki. "Whether or not you're ticklish."
I'm already tickling her before she's able to process what I said. She curls up on herself and chokes out laughter.
"Oh my god, Mayu, okay, I think you get it, yes, I'm ticklish, okay, okay!"
I stop and Yuki mock glares at me. "Just you wait, I'll get you back."
I nod, "Sure you will."
The movie starts soon, and I decide to actually watch this movie. It works out well, until I notice what Takamina and Atsuko are doing. They are making out so intensely that it's hard to tell who's who. They're also being extremely loud. I try to ignore them for as long as possible, but I notice Yuki also starts sending uncertain glances their way. It's starting to get awkward. Yuki grabs my hand and raises and eyebrow in question. I take it as an invitation to kiss her, so I lean forward and barely touch my lips to her.
"Not exactly what I had in mind. Why don't you just follow Takamina's lead, huh?" Yuki murmurs against my mouth. I accept the challenge and completely pull her onto my lap. I put my arms around her waist and pull her close, then kiss her deeply.
Yuki's hands find their way to my hair, and her tongue finds it's way to mine. This kissing is hot and heavy, probably more so than it should be in public. I don't really find myself caring.
Yuki slides her hands from my hair to my face, them eventually to my chest. Her hands feel so good on my body that I start to moan. Oh crap, I thought to myself, isn't that embarrassing. It totally showed off what an inexperienced teenager I was. Yuki pulls back for a breath, before leaning down to nibble on my neck. It turns out I really like that, which I didn't know before. The kissing was getting intense. Way too intense. I'm just about to push Yuki away when Yuki rolls her hips down. I choke back a moan. "Do you realize what you're doing right now?" I whisper breathlessly to Yuki. If felt way too good to have any amount of friction down there, but I didn't trust my own stamina.
Yuki breathed out against my throat. "Yes. I'm very aware." she said as she rolled her hips yet again.
"Oh my god..." I say, most of my other words leaving me. Yuki continues to place soft kisses on my neck, occasionally sucking on a spot.
Soon, I notice the lights are turning on and the end credits rolling. Yuki kissed me on the lips once more before sliding back into her own seat. "Later," she promised, accidentally, but not accidentally at all rubbing her hand over my sensitive hips as she slid back over. What a sly girl.
As we leave the movie, Takamina winks at me. I pointedly ignore her. Yuki and I part ways with Takamina and Atsuko, making plans for another time.
As soon as we walk into Yuki's apartment, I corner her against the door. "That was very rude of you to leave me like that, you know." I inform her as I place soft kisses along her jaw.
I feel her hum. "I could make up for it, if you want."
I pull back and look her in the eyes. "What were you thinking of? I'm open to things."
Yuki smiled, and flipped us so I was against the door. She kissed me and sucked on my lips. Afterwards, I was a little out of it, but I knew enough that I should probably return the favor for Yuki. I pull her in and kiss her hard, tasting myself in her mouth.
Yuki then led me to her bedroom. "You kind of have your own room here, and you could stay there if you wanted, but I'd kind of like to have you with me now. Is that okay?"
I nodded, and we settled down in her bed. It was only then that I remembered Takamina's note.
"Wait, don't turn of the light yet," I told Yuki as I pulled the note out. As I opened it, I saw it was a paper titled, "Step By Step Instructions for Gay Sex". Yuki saw what it was and laughed her ass off.
"Damn you, Takamina." was all I had to say. Yuki curled her arms around me and kissed my neck, settling me into sleep. I was reminded of a dream I had awhile ago in the shelter, where I fell asleep with a warm body pressed against me. The dream was like what I had now, except real life was a hell of a lot better. It was always nice when that happened.
~~~~~
I woke up to cold hands under my shirt touching my stomach. "Yuki, oh my god, you're hands are so cold!" I screech, waking up pretty fast.
She laughs and says, "That's the point, I'm trying to warm them up."
I shake my head and pull her close, with her hands still under my shirt. "How the hell did you get them that cold anyways?"
She shrugged and replied, "I just woke up and they were really cold. You weren't though, so I connected two and two."
"Are you cold anywhere else?" I ask, smiling at her.
"Oh, just everywhere!" she sighs, "I really wish someone could help me out with that."
I pull her flat against my chest then, and fling one of my legs over her. She smiles and takes one hand out of my shirt to curl around my waist. "Is that any better?" I ask.
The top of her head is by my shoulder, and all I can see is her hair as she nods. "You're very warm, like my own heater."
"And I'm free. You really got a good deal out of this whole thing," I joke. We stay like that for awhile, Yuki curled up against me, just talking about little meaningless things. It was so nice, and so relationship like that I couldn't believe my luck. Yuki really had changed everything for me.
On that subject, I really needed to plan out the rest of the details for when I moved in with her, and now would probably be a good time to do it, even though I wasn't quite ready to end this nice moment.
"So, when I move in," I say, and my heart speeds up at the mere thought of moving in with my freaking girlfriend, who, in my honest opinion, is as hot as hell and the most perfect person ever (so I'm a little bit biased, sue me). "Do you want me to pay you a part of the rent, or electric, groceries, whatever? Because I will, no problem."
Yuki pulled her head off my chest then, and looked me in the eyes. "Mayu, do you really think I'd make you pay anything?"
What? "Um, of course? Why wouldn't I?" I ask, confused. It was the least I owed her, really.
"Maybe because you're my girlfriend? Why do you think I'd make you pay for stuff?" she says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
I sit up, then, and say, "Just because I'm dating you doesn't mean I shouldn't help you out with money and stuff. It's a perfectly normal arrangement!"
She sits up too, knocking a blanket off of her bed. "Mayu, I will not make you pay anything. I think you need your own money more than I do. I can cover the cost of everything myself."
I could feel my face heating up with anger and embarrassment. "Oh, I see what this is about! Just because I'm homeless, you're pitying me! I don't need you pity, I can get along on my own!"
She runs a hand through her messy hair. "I never said you couldn't. I'm not doing this out of pity either. I'm just saying that I don't want your money, it'd go to much better use if you kept it and saved it."
"That sounds an awful lot like pity to me!"
"I'm not trying to make this into a big deal, but Mayu, come one, be realistic here!"
I get off the bed, and grab my shoes from where I had kicked them off the night before. "I am being realistic, and I should be able to pay something, if I'm going to be bumming off of you!"
"No, I'm not going to take money from you, because you need it!"
That was the last straw for me. "Maybe I just won't live with you then." I said as I walked out the door.
"Fine, then, be an ass about it!" Yuki yells after me.
The whole situation made me really mad. I had a job, Yuki knew that, she was the one who had given me the job, and giving her a little bit to cover something wasn't unreasonable at all. I just wanted to feel like a normal person, after all this time. But no, she had to go taking pity on me, like I couldn't do anything for myself. I wasn't going to take it, I'd show her that I could be a normal person.
It took me a couple hours, and a bitching from Takamina, but that was just a mess, so I'm going to ignore that part, to realize what a big mistake I had made. I got angry way to fast and I let my pride get in the way.
"Oh shit," I said to Takamina as we're sitting at a table in the shelter. "I really screwed up, didn't I?"
She nods and says, "Yeah, you're pretty much a giant asshole. Especially after the date last night, which I thought went really well."
I lay my head down on the table, frustrated. "I didn't even think while it was happening, I was just freaking out. But still, don't you think I should help out?"
"No! First of all, your money comes from her in the first place, and she's just being nice!" I groan and keep my head on the table. "I really screwed this up. Hopefully she forgives me."
Takamina pats my back and says, "If she doesn't at first you're just going to have to keep trying, and try harder each time. I speak from experience, I mess things up with Atsuko once a week. Like, last week actually," Takamina continues on with a long story about how she almost threw away Atsuko's favorite hat, (which really, how did she do that) and she had to make her a wonderful dinner, naked (this is where I stopped her, because I really wasn't prepared to hear the rest of the story, too much for me to handle).
"But do you think I can eventually make it up to Yuki?" I ask her, before she could tell any more stories about her and Atsuko's relationship.
"Definitely, man. You didn't mess up too bad, and it's the first time. Should be a total piece of cake."
That made me feel better, but I still felt so bad for freaking out like I had. I had turned a small issue into a big deal. I'd need to work on that in the future, if I wanted to have this relationship last, which I definitely did. I really liked Yuki, I wanted to spend a lot of time with her, hopefully, like, forever. Now I was turning into a cheesy romantic girl, but I could see a lot of potential in out relationship, as long as I was being a giant idiot.
I called Yuki after I had thought through a very nice apology, which I made sure was perfect. As the phone rung the first time, I got freaked out she wouldn't answer. Maybe she had gone over to Jurina's to complain about what an idiot I was, and how I had messed up our entire relationship. We hadn't even had sex yet, it was way to early for me to start messing up the relationship!
As the phone rang for a second time I got even more freaked out. What if she did answer, but she had already moved on from our relationship and accepted that it wouldn't work. What would I do, then? Curl into a ball and die? Because that is totally what I would feel like doing if things turned out that way.
The ring sounded again, and I almost had a heart attack. What if she had another girl already and they were shacking up at this moment, and Yuki was laughing because I had thought we had really had something special, something-, "Hello?"
I was interrupted by Yuki answering the phone, which had caught me off guard, causing me to stumble on my words. "Yuki, uh hi wow just let me, wait no, that's not what I meant um, wow. Hi, Yuki, it's Mayu."
Normally she probably would've laughed at my failure of words, but tonight she just said, "Yes?" with little emotion. It hurt, a lot.
"Yuki, I'm so sorry for earlier, I was just being such a dumbass, please understand that I didn't mean it." I begged her, practically laying my heart and soul on the line. Okay, it wasn't that drastic, but it was a big deal for me, and it kind of felt like I had.
I could hear Yuki sigh, but she didn't say anything for a few seconds. I didn't even dare think about what would happen, I just sat there and waited for her response.
"Listen, Mayu, I appreciate you're apology, but I just have to think some things through. Without you. It might be awhile. Can you please just... not call, or come over, or anything like that.
I could feel my heart deflate at the words, completely dejected. I had lost everything good in my life, hadn't I? With just one mistake. Damn, wasn't this familiar.
I held myself together long enough to say, "Oh, no problem, well bye!" without sounding like a kicked puppy.
Why did I have to mess everything good I ever have up?
The next day or so was mostly a blur. I slept, I ate, I did everything I needed to, but for everything else, I was just numb. I wasn't quite sure how to feel. We weren't broken up, but we certainly weren't together. I had also lost all hope in my immediate future. It would be the same, I would continue to be a homeless waste. Mostly I was drowning in self pity, but I didn't care enough to stop.
Monday came around too fast though, which meant work. I wasn't sure if I was even still welcome at work, but since it was my job I figured I should be okay, and if Yuki didn't want me there, I could always go lay back down in my bunk at the shelter for another week, no problem.
As I walked in, Yuki was no where to be found, probably in her office, but Jurina and Rena were front and center, more than likely waiting for me.
Before I could get bitched out by Jurina, I said, "Look girls, I know I messed up and I really am truly sorry, do you hate me?"
Rena got up from where she was sitting on the counter and put her arm around me, while Jurina stayed in her place behind the counter.
"Aw, Mayu, we're not mad. Yuki's being pissy enough for all of her, even Jurina, which let me tell you is not an easy task." The last part was whispered, presumably so that Jurina wouldn't hear, but she did anyways.
"Rena, please..." Jurina said as she went off, probably to talk to Yuki. she wasn't actually mad though, she was just being normal Jurina.
"So I'm guessing you girls know all about it?" I ask Rena as we sit down at a table, Rena across from me.
"We probably know more about it than you do at this point. As you know, Yuki and Jurina are attached at the hip, and they can practically read each other's minds. But I wouldn't be too worried if I were you. Yuki will forgive you, it might just take some time and space."
"Yeah," I say gloomily, before starting my work for the day, going on a hunt for my nametag. Usually Yuki has it, but since she's not talking to me, I have to search for it on my own. It really sucks not having Yuki to make fun of me for constantly losing my nametag, then having to wrestle it from her, which would probably end up with us making out in a supply closet. It hurt to think about, so I just put it out of my mind for the remainder of the day.
Even thinking about anything other than Yuki for the entire day, the day went really bad. I kept forgetting which table ordered what, and I was an overall shitty waiter. Yuki will probably just fire me and be done with me, after all that happened. she never even left her office, which just helped to show how mad she was at me. Jurina treated me with a fine look of bitchiness for the entire day, and when I tried to joke with her like normal, she barely acknowledged I said anything. I needed to fix this situation, as soon as I possibly could. I knocked on Yuki's office door the next day after work. Yuki, probably not knowing who I was, called out, "Come in!"
I opened the door and walked into her office. I hadn't been here too often, I never really had a reason to. It occurs to me that it would probably be a great place for a make out session, but we had never utilized it before, since if we ever made out at work, we usually wound up in a closet or the kitchen (we had made that mistake too many times and after every time we got a huge lecture from Jurina about how she didn't want to see that in her place of work, which was totally hypocritical after all the times we found her and Rena doing much worse things, all of the freaking restaurant). Now was not the time to think about how good of a kisser Yuki was though, so I moved on.
Yuki's face instantly fell as she saw me walk in. It hurt, but I can't say I didn't see it coming. Before she could tell me to get lost, I said, "I know you kind of hate me right now, but please look past that, because I've got some thongs to say and you're going to just have to listen to me."
I pause to take a breath, but I don't give her the chance to say anything yet. "You're kind of, sort of amazing, and it turns out that it's really hard for me to be without you anymore, because the past couple days have been awful. I know I completely went out of line that morning, yeah, it was just my pride, you know? I didn't want to have to rely on you for everything without having anything to give you in return, because that's really no fair to you. I just want to tell you that right now, that kind of stuff doesn't even matter as much as just being with you, you know? Wait! I'm not done!"
I say the last part as Yuki starts to stand up. she's wearing a button up shirt with a vest over it, and she just looks so good I lose track of my thoughts momentarily. Her hair was in little waves falling into her face and she was just so beautiful. I was totally a teenage girl freaking out about her crush, that's was I was, and I would be the first to admit it. It felt so right, though, that I really couldn't bring myself to be embarrassed.
"Will you please forgive me?" I murmur. "Because I will literally buy you a chocolate milkshake. Really, I completely mean it, we can leave right now, and we can go get it, as long as you start talking to me again."
Yuki just stares at me for awhile, expressionless. I'm afraid she might deny my offer, and then I'd be completely lost. Instead of freaking out on me, like I though she might do, Yuki smiles and says, "For your sake, Mayu, this better be the best damn milkshake I've ever had."
I smile wide, echoing her and reply, "Oh, it will, because you'll be having it with me."
On the way to the restaurant we're getting milkshakes from, we discuss the whole home problem, which was what our fight was over in the first place. I keep my head on, and by the time we get there, we've got everything worked out, and both of us are happy.
"Here you go.." I say as I open the door for Yuki. She walks in and I order two large chocolate milkshakes.
I sit down at a table, and Yuki sits down across from me. "I'm sorry for ignoring you the past couple of days," she says, taking a sip from her milkshake. "I think we both kind of messed up."
"Don't worry, I deserved it. I probably should've waited to bother you, but you're addictive, I swear."
She smiles brightly. "You're just sucking up to me."
"I am not!" I protest. "I kept making jokes and Jurina just doesn't laugh. I kept imagining you were there, and I knew you would laugh if you were. It's just not the same without you."
Yuki laughs, "Oh, so I bet Jurina was such a jerk to you this week, wasn’t she? I'm sorry, I know she's like, super protective of me, and, man."
Jurina was actually kind of rude. She certainly didn't help with the situation any. Sometimes I'd walk by her in the kitchen and she'd just be sitting there glaring at me, as if she wanted my head on a plate. "It's okay. Rena was extra nice to me, I think she was trying to make up for Jurina."
"Probably," Yuki agrees. "They're just like the perfect couple. They made all my past relationships look like shit compared to their. Oh! Not that I think this is going bad or anything! It was great until the fight, really!"
I laugh, and brush it off. "Didn't think you were. So, that milkshake, it's the best you've ever had right?"
She nods, and my heart just gives up. Things are looking pretty good.
"What was your childhood like?" I ask pretty randomly. We had known each other for a month or more, and while I knew her, I didn't know much about her past. Not that I though she had some strong criminal background or anything, but she knew my life story, it'd be nice to know hers.
"It's always just been my mom and I," she started out. "She raised me, and she was probably a normal parent. She was a little bit strict, but yeah, pretty much normal. A problem was we didn't always get along very well, we'd have fights all the time. I spent a lot of time at Jurina's, her mom loved me, and we had been friends since, I don't know, forever. In high school, Jurina met Rena, and they became the super couple, and we were each others' best friends. Other than them, high school was just terrible. I wanted to own my own business after high school, and since Jurina and Rena didn't know what they wanted, they decided to help me out. We spent the last couple years working on it, and now we've got the restaurant. That's about it as far as my life goes."
I pay close attention to her entire story, wanting to soak up all the knowledge of Yuki's past, just wanting to know all about Yuki. I didn't know hardly enough. Just as I'm about to comment on her story, someone strangles me from behind. Okay, maybe it wasn't strangling, the person probably considered it a hug, but it scared the shit out of me.
"Mayu! I see you're here with your girlfriend, oh I'm so glad everything's worked out between you two," Takamina said, right by my ear. I should've known it was her.
"Hi Takamina," I said, amused. "Shouldn't you be working or something?"
"Nope," she called out as she slid into the seat next to me.
We look around to see that Atsuko is getting Takamina and her food, since Takamina had apparently came straight over here. As Atsuko sat down beside Yuki, passing Takamina her food and saying hello, Yuki remarks, "You're not how I really imagined a cop being."
Atsuko laughs the hardest of us all, but Takamina herself isn't far behind. "I didn't either," Atsuko said between gasping breaths.
After we had calmed down a little, I told Takamina, "You're lucky Yuki and I had met you already, because if we hadn't and you had said that, that would cause one hell of an awkward situation."
She shrugged. "I guessed well enough."
It was really fun to watch the flow between Takamina and Atsuko. If you had known both of them separately, you probably would never think they'd be a good couple. But when you get them together and in full action, you can tell they're kind of meant to be. We spend the next half an hour with Takamina and Atsuko, most of it filled with Takamina and I telling various. I actually have some good homless ones.
"Okay, one time," I started, "right after I started working for you, Yuki, I stayed around after work too late, so I couldn't get into the shelter that night, so I had to sleep on the streets. And while I may be homeless, the streets still scare the shit out of me. I ended up sleeping on the beach with these girls I kind of knew, I got really lucky."
Across from me, Yuki gasps, "Oh, so they don't let you into the shelter past a certain time? That makes so much sense now! That night we went to the bar, you kept going on about how you couldn't go back, so you were going to sleep in a trashcan!"
This causes Takamina to laugh her ass off. "A trashcan? How drunk were you?"
"Pretty drunk," Yuki informs her. she probably doesn't even remember it.
She's right, I don't. "I have no recollection of that ever happening. Are you sure you aren't lying?" I ask, fighting back a smile.
"Me? LIE? Who do you think I am, Mayu? I'm greatly offended." Yuki says, playing along with me.
She's great, I'm definitely keeping her around, for like, ever. We all leave soon, and as we're walking out the door, I give Takamina a hug. "I'm going to be moving into Yuki's this week, I'll miss seeing your dumbass everyday." I tell her.
Takamina pulls back and says, "You're not going to get rid of me that easily. You girls better watch out, or Atsuko and I might just move ourselves in with you."
Atsuko chuckled and pulled Takamina away. "See you girls soon," she waved goodbye.
"What should we do now?" I'm pretty sure we're on good terms again, but I'm cautious, I'm not ready to mess this up again.
Yuki, in a move I wouldn't have seen coming in a hundred years, walked right into my personal space and said, "I think we should go back to my place." her voice was dark and the suggestion in it was clear as day. Well then.
As soon as we get into her apartment, Yuki crowds me against the door and starts kissing me intensely. This was already different from any time before, this time we had a destination. Yuki took my bottom lip between her and nipped it, before sliding her tongue into my mouth. After awhile, I decide I can't let Yuki take complete control, so I lead her back to her room, and push her down on her bed, crawling over top of her, my knees landing on either side of her hips.
My hands slide down her chest to her side as we start kissing again. She makes a sound of encouragement and grabs onto my hair. I start pulling off her shirt, but in order to get it completely off, we need to break apart, which neither of us is too willing to do.
Yuki pulls for my shirt as soon as her is off, and I have a moment of worry that maybe I'll screw this whole thing up, because I've never been in this situation before. Yuki must sense my worry because she rolls us over so she's on top and says, "Don't worry, just follow my lead, do what feels natural."
I nod and she pick up on taking our clothes off. Soon enough, we're both naked, and I'm as hard as hell, and actually, so is Yuki, I can feel her. Just that knowledge that her chest is touching mine blows my mind, and I'm completely ready for this.
After some raunchy sex scene which I will not reveal, I'm all sweaty. We're both breathing slightly heavy, and it's really perfect, to me at least.
"I love you," I whisper into Yuki's ear.
"That's good, because I'm pretty sure I love you, too," she says, and I smile wide.
I fall asleep that night cuddled with my girlfriend, no longer a virgin. I'm technically still homeless, but that would be changed soon. Life was looking pretty good for me.
~~~~~
"But Jurina," I whine. "It's my money, you can't tell me how to spend it!"
Jurina looks at me in a way that shows she really doesn't care. "I can when you're about to buy something really dumb."
Rena walks up then and say, "What is Mayu trying to buy now?"
"A really cool jacket! I need it, Rena! Yuki! Yuki! Please can I get it?" I beg as Yuki walks up to us.
"Sure, you need some warmer shirts anyways," Yuki says, no problem.
I stick my tongue out at Jurina and take my pink jacket and run to the cashier as fast as I could.
"You're a pushover," Jurina informs Yuki.
"Yeah, but really, think of how adorable she'll be in that? Besides, she'll be over the moon for the next week because of it."
"Pushover," Jurina repeats. Rena walks up behind her then and whispers things in Jurina's ear that makes her smile.
"See? We're all happy now!" I say as I rejoin them, already wearing my jacket. I looked damn good in it, if I do say so myself.
"Let’s just move on," Jurina says.
We pass a smoothie shop, and of course I need a smoothie, so of course we stop so we could get one. Yuki and I end up sharing a large one, and somehow I get it on my face, and Yuki has to lick it off.
"You girls are sickly cute sometimes, you know?" Jurina says from across the table.
"Oh shut up, I've dealt with you and Rena since high school, this is nothing." Yuki retorts. I just smile and kiss her, and we both taste like fruit.
"Is that the Watanabe kid?" I hear from behind me. I instantly tense, not recognizing the voice, but recognizing the tone. They're from my old school.
I turn around to see two kids that used to give me crap all the time, and my stomach falls to the floor. They're still bigger size than me.
"It is!" One of them, the bigger one says, and they move towards me. "So, didn't you drop out or something? Did it get too hard for your little homo brain?"
This pissed me off, because not only was I smarter than they were, but the insult itself was also very dumb. Before I can say anything, though, Rena steps in front of me.
"I think you need to leave Mayu alone now, or you'll regret it," Rena says, sounding threatening. Truth be told, I didn't know she had it in her, I was impressed.
Even more amazing, the girls actually listened to her. I spent almost four years of high school being pushed around by those jerks, and it takes Rena two minutes to get rid of them?
"Oh, Rena, where have you been all my life? Please stick around!" I say I I hug her tightly.
"I plan on it," she says as she ruffles my hair.
After we finish shopping, Yuki and I go home. Not her home, or mine, ours. I had finished moving anything I had left in that day with the help of Takamina, Atsuko, Jurina, and Rena. They are my friends.
So many things had changed for me over the past coupe of months, and none of them were bad. I got a job, a girlfriend, some of the first real friends of my life, and a home. I wasn't homeless anymore, I never planned on sleeping in a shelter again. I had my own bed now. Okay, I didn't actually use MY bed, but that was only because I slept in Yuki's. Everything wasn't completely perfect, it never was. I was still a high school drop out whose parents wanted nothing to do with, but I made my own family, and found my way in life without the diploma, so things were good. I was proud that I was finally able to make my own way, maybe with the help of Yuki and some friends, but nonetheless, I had made it.
But really, I was just damn glad to no longer be homeless.
OS # 14 Home (Mayuki OS)
END