The cafe's air conditioning was running quite high, but Mingyue didn't feel the chill.
Lightweaver sat right next to her, within arm's reach.
Mingyue realized she was staring at Lightweaver's profile again. She quickly pulled her gaze back, focusing on the untouched glass of ice water in front of her.
The ice cubes were slowly melting, condensation forming on the glass and trickling down the side.
“Mingyue?”
Mingyue snapped back to reality, realizing all three people at the table were looking at her.
Nuomi poked the back of her hand with its tail, Meruru smiled as she held her coffee cup, and Lightweaver pushed the menu toward her.
“...What?”
“Asking what you want to drink,” Lightweaver said, tapping her finger on the menu. “Have you daydreamed enough?”
“...An iced Americano.” She flipped the menu to the drinks page, her eyes scanning the familiar items before pointing to one at random.
In truth, she never drank iced Americanos after training. It was too bitter; she preferred hot cocoa.
But hot cocoa sounded too childish, whereas an iced Americano at least looked like something an adult would order.
Lightweaver was drinking a caramel latte. If she ordered a caramel latte too, would it seem too obvious?
But she had already said “iced Americano,” and changing her mind now would only be weirder.
Out of the corner of her eye, she looked at the half-empty caramel latte in front of Lightweaver.
There was a faint lip mark on the rim of the cup. She took only a single glance before quickly averting her eyes.
“Mingyue, are you sure you want an iced Americano? Don't you usually drink hot—”
Nuomi was cut off halfway as Mingyue gently covered its mouth.
She pulled Nuomi closer to herself and muttered under her breath, “You talk too much.”
She looked up and nodded to the waiting server. “Just this, thank you.”
Once the server walked away, she gently pulled Nuomi's paws away from her hand, picking up her water and taking another sip as if nothing had happened.
She didn't actually know why she couldn't bring herself to speak.
There were clearly so many things she wanted to ask.
What have you been up to lately? Why didn't you come find me first when you came to the Association?
But every single one of those questions felt like admitting just how much she cared.
She had already lost a night of sleep after being told she was “cute” the other day. If she took any more initiative, she feared she wouldn't even be able to focus on her daily routine.
Still, being able to sit together like this, even without saying a word, was much better than merely brushing past each other on the battlefield.
Besides, if she asked too much, would Lightweaver find her annoying?
Would she avoid her next time she came?
“...Your iced Americano. Please enjoy.” The server placed the coffee in front of her.
She thanked the server mechanically, brought the cup to her lips for a sip, and almost failed to suppress a grimace.
It was indeed very bitter. She swallowed it without letting her expression slip, though she set the cup down with a slightly heavy thud.
Nuomi looked up at her, its ears twitching, but said nothing.
It was actually showing her some consideration this time.
Suddenly, Lightweaver reached out, picked up two sugar cubes from the sugar bowl, and dropped them into Mingyue's cup.
The cubes splashed into the liquid, sending a few droplets onto the saucer.
“You clearly don't drink coffee often,” Lightweaver said, putting the sugar bowl back.
Mingyue looked down at the two melting sugar cubes, stirring them with a spoon. It indeed tasted much better.
How did she tell?
I didn't let my expression slip at all...
Wait, was she watching me this whole time?
Across from them, Meruru rested her chin on her hand, stirring her coffee, her lips curled into a smile that hadn't faded once.
Nuomi poked its head out from under Mingyue's hand, looking up at its contractor's unusually red face, then over at Lightweaver, who was pushing the sugar bowl back into place.
It shook its head helplessly and tickled Mingyue's wrist with its tail.
The little guy was probably hinting at something again, but her mind was a mess right now, and she had no desire to pay it any mind.
Under the table, Mingyue gently poked Nuomi's belly with her finger, warning it not to say anything reckless.
She continued to cradle her cup, taking small sips as the sound of her heartbeat drowned out the cafe's background music.
“The two of you seem closer than I expected.”
Meruru rested her chin on her clasped hands, her gaze slowly moving between Lightweaver and Mingyue. “How did you meet?”
Mingyue instinctively looked at Lightweaver, who was poking at the leftover caramel at the bottom of her cup with her straw. Sensing her gaze, Lightweaver raised her eyes.
Nuomi had stopped pawing at the sugar bowl, its ears perking up straight.
Mingyue didn't know what to say.
With Lightweaver right there, she didn't dare define their relationship for her.
But Lightweaver didn't seem to share her hesitation.
She saw Mingyue freeze, looking as if she didn't know how to answer.
She was probably worried Lightweaver would say something to embarrass her.
Hmph. Although she liked to tease her usually, she still had to save some face for her in front of others.
“We ran into each other on the battlefield, and we've crossed paths occasionally since then. We're friends, of sorts.”
Mingyue's fingers tightened slightly around her coffee cup.
Friends. She said they were friends.
This was already the most explicit response she had ever received.
She should be happy.
And indeed she was, yet a trace of dissatisfaction lingered within that happiness.
“...Friends, is it?” Meruru said, a meaningful smile playing in her eyes.
“Yes, friends.”
Meruru didn't press further.
She picked up her coat from the back of the chair, stood up gracefully, and tucked a stray lock of long hair behind her ear.
“I have some things to take care of at the agency, so I'll be off. Take your time chatting.”
As she passed Mingyue, her footsteps paused for a beat. Leaning down slightly, she whispered something in a low voice meant only for the two of them.
Mingyue's ears, which had just cooled down, instantly flushed red again. She froze in her chair, her fingers nearly knocking over her empty coffee cup.
Nuomi curiously scrambled up the table to try and overhear, only to have its nose gently booped by Meruru's fingertip.
Only after Meruru's footsteps faded outside the cafe did Mingyue recover from her frozen state.
She found Lightweaver watching her with her chin resting in her hand, and she immediately turned her face toward the window, pretending to look at the street scene below.
“What did she say to you?” Lightweaver asked.
“...Nothing,” Mingyue said to the windowpane, though her reflection showed her face flushed red all the way down to her collarbone.
“You've never been a good liar.” Lightweaver tilted her head. “Come on, tell me.”
—“The person you like is looking at you, too.”
Meruru must have misunderstood something.
She turned her head to look directly at Lightweaver, then quickly averted her eyes again.
“...It's really nothing. Senior just made a joke before she left. It's not really something I can repeat.”
Nuomi hopped up from the table, its front paws grabbing Mingyue's wrist, its ears perked straight up. “What joke? What joke? Nuomi wants to hear too! Mingyue, you're not allowed to keep secrets from me!”
“I can't tell you either.”
Mingyue pressed her finger against Nuomi's forehead, pushing it back to the table. Nuomi reluctantly lashed its tail against the surface, making a rapid succession of jingling sounds.
“Alright, tell me when you're ready then.” Lightweaver poked the last bite of cheesecake with her fork and popped it into her mouth. Setting the fork down, she wiped her hands with a napkin.
Mingyue's gaze followed her movements, quickly turning away as Lightweaver licked a speck of cream from her fingertip.
Rate on N.U.
