An entire day had passed since she'd...fucked Present Mic. Well, she supposed Mic had technically fucked her. Not exactly what she'd planned when she met him at the bar with his friends that night but it happened. Jane might've thought it was just some extravagant dream, if not for the ache in her thighs and the light hangover the following morning.
The brunette had to lay in bed just a minute or two longer than usual, thinking over the events of the night previous. What a whirlwind experience. Having expected a plethora of anxiety-inducing 'what-ifs' and a mountain of regret, she felt surprisingly...calm. There was no evident power shift between the two of them, which had been something she'd been concerned about. None of that, just a thrill at the idea that what happened the night before may very well happen again.
Maybe Jane worried too much.
She'd claim no recollection of the process of getting ready for work that morning, too caught up in thoughts she didn't know quite what to put a name to. Somehow, she'd dressed herself, had breakfast, and made it to work without incident, and the usual humdrum of work began. Most of the day was spent musing to herself and ignoring Chidori as normal.
There was no 'divine' feeling of enchantment after what happened. No shift in how she looked at the world. The convenience store was just as dusty, the air just as stale. The blare of taxi horns no less grating on her ears. However, this feeling in her gut of change, of something new and hopeful, had settled and apparently intended to stay.
Something held her back from texting Mic, though. Giving him a bit of space right after a night like that...surely that was best. They'd taken a plunge neither had expected or intended, but not taking things slow didn't mean rushing blindly into this relationship. Perhaps it would be best to just take things as they went. Less hassle and less worry.
Mic didn't care either way, as made very clear by his afternoon message.
This isn't going to turn into one of those things where we only talk to hook up, is it? Because while I'm not fully opposed, I do like seeing you all the time, clothed or not.
No, what makes you think that?
We never really sat down and talked about what we both wanted. And radio silence the morning after isn't particularly reassuring...Was I that bad?
Jane gave a slanted smile down at her phone, glancing around the store to see if there were any customers around to see her texting. Chidori was the only person in sight, and even she was at the back of the store, probably mindlessly wandering the shelves to find something to do.
Not at all.
Then, what's on that mind of yours?
Figured we both needed space after something like that. I don't know...just taking it as it goes. And I know you're busy. I didn't want to bug you.
Can you do one thing for me?
Sure...?
Stop being afraid to talk to me. Getting messages from you always makes my day a little brighter.
The brunette couldn't help the dopey smile that settled in place. What a sap. That feeling in the pit of her stomach squirmed, and she shuffled in place as she figured out something to respond with.
I'll try.
Good!
Well, while we're on the topic...what is it that you want?
Whatever you're comfortable with giving, Jane. I'm not a greedy man. A bit of your time and attention every once in awhile is all I'm asking for. ;)
That was it? No rules or strict expectations? Weren't celebrities required to keep up a certain image? Or maybe Mic just didn't care about things like that...Either way, his simplistic request was refreshing and just a tad surprising.
Ok. I can work with that. That's all I could expect in return. This is all so new, so...
Jane.
Yeah?
Relax, alright? :)
Right. Yeah. Sorry.
Cheer up! Don't be like Eraserhead over here.
Attached to this message was a photo. After a moment of loading, it popped up to show a bright smile from the blonde hero, hero costumer and all. He held up a peace sign with his finger, nudging in close to his black-haired friend who clearly wasn't amused to be having his picture taken. His lackluster peace sign and droopy expression clearly stated that Mic was getting on his nerves. Jane grinned, tapping out a reply.
Go easy on him.
"What's got you so smiley, huh?" Chidori asked, sauntering her way over to the counter. Apparently the blonde wasn't able to occupy her attention on the other side of the store, because she leaned on the opposite side to face Jane. Her eyes glanced at her phone expectantly. "Talking to someone special?"
"Mmm...something like that." Jane answered vaguely, turning off her screen so her coworker couldn't see the screen. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."
Chidori gave a little scoff and an immature eye-roll. "Well, whatever, don't tell me then. Just trying to talk and pass the time..."
Pushing away from the counter, the blonde walked casually to the back room, no doubt to play on her phone or twiddle her thumbs where Jane wouldn't see her.
The jingling of the door's bell made Jane look up at the customer entering the store. "Welcome!" She called, hurrying to hide her phone back in her pocket.
The day passed slowly, with Chidori being nearly insufferable trying to figure out what had put Jane in such a good mood. She'd never felt close enough to the younger girl to ever confide personal information to her, and she felt no reason to do so today. Besides, seeing the girl pout pathetically and get so worked up over Jane's life was a bit amusing. Knowing something Chidori didn't was clearly making her uncomfortable and antsy.
She followed the brunette around the store as she stocked the items that had grown low during the day, pondering to herself seriously.
"Did you get a pet?"
"Nope."
Another ten minutes went by, the store's customers dwindling as the evening wore on. Businessmen finishing up their shift came in to purchase quick dinners as they rode the trains home. The younger crowd tended to buy the sugary candy and snacks to keep them awake for their nightly activities. Either way, everyone looked tired.
Chidori still felt the need to follow her around like a lost puppy.
"Is it a work thing? Did the boss promote you?"
"Ha. No."
It was dark outside. Jane was busy stocking the fridges with energy drinks and waters for the following morning's rush when Chidori appeared from beside her, leaning on the edge of the door expectantly.
"Do you have a date or something?"
"No."
This last rejection too much to take, the girl threw her hands up in exasperation. "Ugh, would you just tell me?"
"Why should I? It's private." Was all the brunette said, and the blonde couldn't really retort to that. She silently fumed, pissed that her attempts at information gathering proved fruitless. Jane rolled her eyes and pointed towards the front of the store. "There should be a few more pallets of these drinks. We'll need another to fill the fridge."
Grumpily, the girl did as Jane suggested and headed towards the storeroom behind the store counter. Turning back and shaking her head with wonder, she returned to putting the remaining drinks in the fridge.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Several times, in fact. Not expecting a phone call at nearly...9:30 at night, Jane placed the last can away and grabbed for her phone.
Mic. Of course. She answered, looking around again for good measure to make sure no customers were in the store. "Uh...hello?"
"Jane! How's it hangin'?"
"I'm still at work, so...boring." She reminded, trying to keep her voice down. The last thing she needed was to have Chidori start up her pestering again. As amusing as it had been earlier on, it had grown annoying quickly. "Why are you calling me?"
"You can't really blame me for wanting to hear your lovely voice..."
"That was probably the cheesiest thing I've ever heard." Jane retorted, trying and failing to hold back the smile when he chuckled into the phone. "I'm hanging up now."
"Wait! There's something else too." He rushed, and she paused to let him say whatever else he needed to say. "Want to grab some lunch together tomorrow?"
"Sure. Where do you want to go?"
"Wherever your heart desires, my sweet. It's on me."
"'Your sweet?'" She raised a brow.
"Too much? I can lay off the pet names for now."
"Please do and...hold on, you're not paying for me again. You bought my drinks at the bar, and the tacos before that. I'm buying this time."
He chuckled again, clearly having been expecting this argument. "Au contraire, I'm treating you to lunch. No ifs, ands, or buts about it."
"Mic, I'm serious. You're not gonna pay for me all the time."
"So am I. Remember what I said? Making your life easier by buying you lunch makes me happy. If it'll help you feel better, we'll go to the cheapest place your comfortable with. How about it?"
Jane heard the door to the storeroom open, and Jane let out a frustrated breath. This was not a conversation she wanted to have Chidori overhear. "Fine. But no splurging!"
"Whatever you say, Janey Lady." Clearly, he wasn't very put off by her demand, sounding all too smug that he'd gotten what he wanted.
"I gotta go. I'll talk to you later, ok?" Was her hurried reply, not able to wait for his reply as she shut off her phone and stuffed it back into her pocket. With any luck, Chidori hadn't heard any of the conv-
"Did you just call that person Mic?" The younger girl burst past the end of the small aisle with a crate of the energy drinks in her hands. "As in...Present Mic?"
Damn. Jane looked back at her with hesitation, before deciding that it really wasn't a big deal if Chidori knew the truth. It was just one person. What harm could it do? She wouldn't be running to news outlets with the info, or anything. If anything, perhaps she could convince his biggest fan that keeping this information to herself was doing him some big favor and he'd be grateful for it.
"Yeah, I uh..." She wiped her palms on her pants. "Mic and I are...kind of in a relationship. I guess. He just called me."
The blonde's eyes narrowed, standing there staring at the brunette seriously. Jane felt nervous for some reason, until Chidori's mouth lifted in a scoff and she burst out with a barked laugh.
"Riiiight...The girl who hates celebrities is dating Present Mic. As if." She said sardonically. "Just because you think I'm childish for being his biggest fan doesn't mean you should mock me like that for it. Honestly, that's really cruel."
Then, with a little huff, she stepped past Jane and set her own pallet down on the ground. The brunette, having finished with hers, grabbed the empty pack and stood to give the blonde girl room to work.
Well. That had gone better than expected.
Cheap take-out in hand, Jane was lead over to a table in the plaza by the hero-costume clad English teacher. Jane had insisted that her meal not be more than 1000 yen, uncomfortable with the prospect of requiring anything expensive or burdening. And although he'd argued that it wasn't like paying for her meal would break the bank, she'd held her ground and refused to budge. Sure, he might be rich, but Jane would rather die than feel like a mooch.
It was a pleasant afternoon, a light breeze rustling the nearby bushes as they sat to eat their food. Despite being clad in his leather outfit, Mic showed no signs of being too hot.
"Seriously, how are you not dying in that thing?" She pointed out, mouth full of a bite of her sandwich. For being so cheap, it was still pretty tasty.
"I'm just used to wearing it!" Mic said with a grin and a shrug. He unwrapped his own sandwich and took a much larger bite than she could manage, nearly eating an entire half. "Completes my intimidating hero 'look,' you know?"
"Intimidating?" Jane raised a brow, inspecting his black spiky get-up a little closer. "Is that what you were going for?"
Mic paused, frowning in confusion. "Eh? What are you trying to say?"
"I thought you were trying to look like a skate park Elvis. That's supposed to be scary?"
"Jane!" He cried in mock offense, a hand held over his heart. "How could you say such a thing?"
"What? It doesn't exactly inspire the whole tremble in my boots reaction." She said, taking a long sip of her drink. "Eraserhead's costume sort of does that, but..."
"How you wound me..." He muttered in a pout, picking at his fries in a lackluster manner, and she could tell that part of her words had truly hit his pride.
"But...being scary isn't always a good thing, right? When you're rescuing people, you don't them to be afraid of you." She said in an attempt to cover her untactful response. "So hey, you inspire hope and...uh, confidence?"
His eyes were narrowed suspiciously at her, until his face broke out into a grin. "Nice save, even if I don't quite believe you mean it."
Jane gave an awkward shrug. "I shouldn't have said that, it was rude..."
"Actually, I find your candid honestly refreshing. It's nice to be told what you really think." He chuckled to himself, leaning his head on one hand with an elbow on the small metal table. "You'd be surprised how many yes-men a guy like me is surrounded by."
"Mmm...no wonder your ego is so massive." She retorted with a chuckle.
"Among other things." He gave her a pointed wink, smile turning something less than platonic. "As you well know."
"Mic!" She sputtered, face growing red and choking on the drink she'd just taken. The blonde laughed as she broke out into a coughing fit, trying to breathe easy again. "I'm trying to eat!"
"Oh my god, it's Present Mic!"
Jane and her blonde partner both turned to see who had caused such an outburst, seeing a group of young girls standing at the edge of the plaza. They marveled at them-well, at Mic specifically-with clear wonder and adoration. Fans. Great. As they approached at lightning speed to get a closer look at their idol, Jane shrunk into her chair to try being as invisible as possible. Thankfully her coughing fit had ceased so she wasn't making noise to draw attention to her.
The four girls launched into a gaggle of breathless devotion to the hero, stating how religiously they followed his hero work and even listened to his radio show on Friday nights like clockwork. They showed him phone cases sporting his likeness, hair accessories, pins on their school bags, the whole shebang. A few even had tiny tattoos that were easy to hide under their uniforms. Mic put up a pleasant smile, always the good guy when in the public eye.
Quietly so as not to bother his fans, but feeling very small, Jane continued taking small bites of her sandwich, hoping that this would all finish up very soon. She didn't have all that much time on her lunch break and this obvious reminder of just how famous her companion was was making her uncomfortable. What different worlds they came from...
Mic glanced her way, picking up on her inner turmoil, and gave the girls a flashy grin. "I appreciate all my listeners! And I wish I could give you all an autograph like you ask, but I'm enjoying lunch with a very important person right now. Maybe catch me another time, and I'll be happy to give you one!"
Jane expected the girls to get angry and demand he sign something really quick, but to her surprise they simply nodded, spouting lines of completely understanding and not wanting to intrude upon his personal time, before they waved goodbye and left the two of them alone. The brunette watched them go, slightly stunned by the display that had ended as suddenly as it had began. Within moments, their table was plunged in silence again.
"Sorry about that." Mic gestured to the retreating girls with a hand.
"It's alright, I know you dedicate yourself to the public, too." She said, suddenly shy now that his eyes had settled back onto her. She didn't know where this lack of confidence was coming from, but it was real enough to be heavy in her gut. "I can't expect you to ignore your fans just because I'm here. I understand."
Mic leaned in closer, one of his hands reaching out to lift her chin so she looked him in the eyes. "I've been doing this long enough to know how to handle eager fans. So long as no one's in danger, I'll commit my full attention to you, Jane. This job isn't getting in the way of that, because it isn't fair to either of us."
His promise left her speechless, and all she could do was nod, staring into his face with wonder. Though this relationship was so new, his dedication to it was incredibly...reassuring. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had a partner who was so forthcoming with their willingness to make her their priority. Maybe it should have concerned her, but it left her feeling butterflies.
More on impulse than anything, she leaned forward and stole a kiss from his lips, earning her a wide smile. She let out a nervous breath. "It's a little overwhelming when you say things like that."
"Do you want me to sto-?"
"No." She interrupted, returning his smile with a timid one of her own. "I...don't dislike it. I just...have to get used to it I guess."
This time, Mic was the one to lean forward and place his lips on hers briefly, pulling back after a moment to gesture at their food. "You don't have much time left on your lunch, right? I'll help you finish."
Regaining her sense of presence, Jane frowned, swatting away the hand that reached for her open bag of chips. "Hands off!"
Pulling up to the side of the convenience store in the taxi that Mic had called for them both, she opened the door and then turned to say goodbye. "Thanks for the ride. I would have been late otherwise."
"No problem!" Mic said, then pointed at his lips with a grin. "Now, in terms of payment..."
Jane rolled her eyes, leaning down to leave a lingering kiss on his lips. He clearly savored it for all it was worth, moving as if to coax her back into the taxi so that he could show her a good time again. Logic won out, however, and she eventually pulled away. "I'll text you later."
"I look forward to it!" He said, flashing her his signature finger guns before she closed the door on the vehicle, turning to go inside the store.
Jane tried not to let it obvious how Chidori's absolutely shocked expression make her want to laugh. Her display of affection out front of the store had clearly had an audience. Guess someone believed her now.
Without a word, she passed by the stunned girl and put her purse into the shelf under the counter. Jane stepped away again, intent to finish off the rest of her shift and go home. And fortunately, the mind-blowing revelation that her coworker was dating Present Mic shut her up for the rest of the afternoon.
It was one of the most enjoyable days of work Jane had ever had.227Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmAOv15T320
