Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Even though Fenneko and Manumaru had a lot of chemistry there's really not a lot of them together, and I wanted to write something of them together. Their attitudes really work and they just seem like they'd be a fun couple :)

I got the idea of Fenneko and Manumaru having a drink-off from the artist eiidolons.

Fenneko hates mornings. It's made even worse that there is a mandatory 2 hour meeting today, and she couldn't blow it off.

She's had a long night of watching her and Retsuko's favorite drama and scouting the web for any kinds of interesting tidbits. She had something of an advantage over all her co-workers because of her sleuthing know how of monitoring all their social media. 

If anyone made a slip up online...ha! She had leverage.

Just last week she'd dug up some dirt on Ookami, and for a month, she would blackmail him into doing her work. The deal? She wouldn't rat out that he was leaving work early to enjoy activities of another, more sensitive nature.

Haha.

As she trudges down the hall headed for the staircase, a voice suddenly calls out to her.

"Hey, Fenneko!"

She turned around and was surprised to see a stocky feline hurrying towards her.

"Manumaru?" She asked, uncertain.

"Hey, hey!" Manumaru grins, raising one of his hands in a waving gesture. "Long time no see, Fenneko."

Fenneko smiles. The last time- and only time- she'd spent time with Manumaru had been a few weeks ago at a company mixer, but he was impossible to forget. Truth be told, he'd passed in her thoughts a few times lately- especially since she'd been so stressed out trying to make things work out with Retsuko and Haida.

"Not long enough," she says in her deadpan voice, but a smile tugging at her lips.

"Aw, don't do that!" Manumaru says, his loud voice pretending to be hurt. "And here I was, going out of my way to wish you a good day."

"You're really adorable when you scrunch up your face," Manumaru teases.

Fenneko blushes. Even though her meeting with the feline had been short, he'd left a strong impression on her. She had gone in to the mixer expecting it to be a complete disaster, but because of him, she'd found herself enjoying it.

"Singles parties are the best thing ever."

"So, what was it you wanted?" Fenneko asks, trying to hide her interest.

"Wanna go out with me tongiht?" He asks, plain and matter-of-factly. "Drinks are on me."

Fenneko pauses, shocked a little.

"Wow, that was direct," She says.

"Well I'm not one to beat around the bush," Manumaru says grinning. "So? What's your answer?"

Fenneko considers for a second. "As long as you're paying," she smirks.

"Alright!" He fistpumps. "I'll meet you right outside the building at the end of the day, then, Sanrio?"

Without waiting for an answer he turns and walks away grinning with his arms crossed.

Fenneko looks after him for a moment, confused for a second by the new nickname and feels a rush of excitement. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been on...a date. Was that what this was?

She goes into the meeting room with a smile, and hardly absorbs a word with her mind elsewhere. More than once Retsuko nudges her, but she can't keep her mind straight.

As the rest of the day ticks away, Fenneko was thinking.

Just who was Manumaru anyway? He took the time to ask her out...did he like her?

Hahaha...She laughed at herself at the idea. Maybe she's just overthinking this.

She looks over her shoulder and takes out her phone, logging into her social networks.

She types in: "Manumaru".

Several results pop up, but none of them were the same person she knew.

Hmm...weird.

She snaps her phone shut when she saw Ton and Komiya prowling around and heaves a sigh. Just a few hours to go.

When the day was finally done, Fenneko starts to the entrance of the building. She doesn't dawdle, but doesn't exactly rush, either. She doesn't want him to think she's hyped for this, or anything!

Manumaru is leaning against the wall and waves.

"Hey!"

"Hey yourself," Fenneko says and comes to his side.

"So, the place I want to go is this bottomless beer place that has all kinds of meat specials. We can split a roast chicken! You like beer, right?"

"You know I do," Fenneko grins. "But...I'm not really big on chicken."

She had never liked the dish, and it had more than once made catering a little difficult because of her picky tastes.

She glances at Manumaru to see his reaction.

He pauses and then grins again.

"That's ok! Doesn't have to be chicken! We can look at the menu when we get there, and you can pick whatever you want! Honestly, I'll eat anything!"

Fenneko internally sighs relief. So he was cool with it.

"C'mon, I'll introduce you to my girl," he says, leading her over to the parking garage.

"Y-your girl?!" Fenneko asks, taking a step back. Wait, what?

"Check her out," Manumaru runs his hand down the hood of a sleek convertible. "Fixed her up all on my own. Drives like a dream."

"Oh-ho-ho," Fenneko chuckles, a drop of sweat on her temple. "So that's what you meant."

They get inside, and Manumaru sets the car in motion. "Let's get going before happy hour is run dry."

Bump, and they get onto the open road.

Fenneko casts a glance at Manumaru and then opens up her phone. She still had time to do some digging.

"The Working Company" she types in the name of her company. A list of hundreds of users employed by the company pop up, including herself. Retsuko, Haida, Kabae, even the CEO...

But as she scrolls, she doesn't see Manumaru anywhere on the list.

She groans quietly. How can a person be invisible?!

Unless...he wasn't on a social network?

"I think you're gonna like this place," Manumaru says as they drive into a big crowded lot.

There's a bar and restaurant packed to the top, filled with the smell of alcohols and food cooking.

"My usual!" Manumaru waves to the man at the door, who smiles and ushers the two of them to one of the nicest free tables.

"You a regular here?" Fenneko asks and sits down.

Manumaru nods. "I helped the place when it was just starting out, so they treat me like family. What can I say? I'm a good guy." He laughed loudly and passed her the menu.

A server comes by and he orders a beer.

"You?" asks Manumaru. "Or would the little lady like a martini?"

Fenneko grins. "One beer!" She says to the server. "You watch what you say, I bet I can drink just as much as you."

Manumaru's eyes narrow. "That so? I'll take that bet."

The man left and the two are left staring at each other. Manumaru watches her with his big round cat eyes and smiles confidently, and Fenneko blushes a little and rolls her eyes.

"Uh, how was your day?" She tries to make light conversation.

"Alright," he says bluntly. "Well, 'til now that is." He flashes her a winning smile and she blushes again, and she tries her best to not show it.

Plop! Then two beers were set down.

"Your order?"

"See anything you like, Sanrio?"

Fenneko chuckles at this unique nickname. "How about the we split the teriyaki tofu bowl?"

"So you really don't like meat," Manumaru muses. "Well! That's fine! I tred it before but I like trying new things."

He takes a huge swig of beer. Fenneko smiles at his compliance and takes a big sip herself, and they both drain their first mug in under a minute.

Already a heavy buzz is coming over her.

"Downed like a pro," Manumaru chuckles. "Bartender, another two beers!"

Fenneko looks. down at her phone as discreetly as possible, tempted to try that search one more time. How could someone so socialable not have an online presence?

It was bothering her. Was he hiding some deep dark secrets? Just who was he?

Normally this would be an easy game of sleuthing, but she couldn't dive into his personal page and find out...

"Something on your mind?" he asks, sensing her quiet as another beer is set down.

"No, no," she denies, quickly taking a hug sip to hide her awkwardness. Oohh....the room is spinning.

He follows her and drains his mug like a sponge soaking up water. He belches.

"Pardon me."

"Heh," Fenneko laughs.

Right then the food reaches their table and they began to eat, along with drinking a new set of beer mugs.

By this point, Manumaru is getting buzzed, and Fenneko who is about 1/5 his size is all out drunk.

"So this is tofu," Manumaru observes, chewing the meal before him. "You know I never would have guessed this isn't meat. It's good. Real good."

"This shit is great!" Fenneko says loudly, banging her fists on the table. "You don't know how awesome it is to find someone who knows what good food is!"

She lets out a little burp herself. And they laugh.

"Nice one," Manumaru says with a grin.

A good 20 minutes later they finish the tray of food, and Fenneko is excitedly describing the cliffhanger that had been on the latest episode of Gorillaw and Order.

"Hey- hey, another drink here?" She asks a passing server, clumsily waving her hand in her seat.

"God, you're adorable," Manumaru purrs. "But I think you had enough." He looked at the empty mugs on the table and chuckles. "Why don't you let me take you home?"

"No way!"

"Come on, Sanrio."

Fenneko teeters on her feet a little and Manumaru helps her balance, helping her out of the crowded bar.

"Geez if I knew you would go down so fast, I wouldn't have encouraged you," he says sounding genuinely worried.

"I'm fine! " Fenneko denies, louder than intended. Somehow he leads her to his car, and she plunged into the seat with a sigh. Her head is already starting to ache.

He pulls out carefully, and asks gently, "Where's your place, babe?"

"Uh...the apartments down that way."

Fenneko pulls up her phone and input her address, setting up the directions, so she wouldn't slur over her words.

He smiles. "You're a wiz with your phone, Sanrio."

"Oh, this is nothing," Fenneko says with a sly grin.

"Let's be real though.." Manumaru says as they hit a red light, and he looks her dead on. "You've been trying to dig up info on me online, haven't you?" He smiles knowingly.

"Wh-what!" Fenneko blusters, panic seizing her.

How could he know-?

"You're not very subtle", he says. "Maybe you don't remember but at the mixer you showed me an impressive selection of comments you'd made to your other coworkers. Said something about them being...blackmail."

"Oh, God," Fenneko groans. She didn't have any memory of that, but if she had, she must have really been trying to impress him...in her own quirky way.

"Hah!" Manumaru laughs, looking at her with softness in his eyes.

"No, it's cool. I mean, it's natural to want to know about an enigma like me, am I right?"

He suddenly puts his huge paw on hers.

Fenneko blushes brightly. 

"You..big dummy..." She manages, unable to meet his eyes.

The lights change and the car starts again and for a few minutes they drive in silence, but Fenneko can hear the sound of her heart echoing in her ears.

When they finally reach her block, she snatches her phone back.

"Here is fine," she says, feeling hot.

"Hey, I didn't freak you out did I? He asks, looking ashamed.

"I brought it up because I thought it was cool. You're like...a little detective or something. A cute little detective."

He puts his massive paw on hers again.

"It's just you couldn't catch your prey this time. I have no chains. What I'm saying is ..if you want to get to know me, for real, then ...you'll have to let me take you out again."

He raises his eyes at her, blush bright on his cheeks. He wanted to spend more time with her, she intrigued him so...so cute and small, and huggable...and yet a little spitfire.

Fenneko isn't sure if it is his touch, the word cutie, or his inclination at getting together again, but she blushed b

"You really are a jerk."

Not thinking, she leans upward and plants a quick kiss on the cat's fluffy cheek.

Manumaru's eyes widen and shine brightly.

Carefully he puts his big paw on her shoulder and kisses the top of her head.

Fenneko's tail starts to wag, beating gently on the car seat as she tips back her head to brush her lips on his.

They hold for a minute, then she pulls away.

"Wow. So is that a yes?" Manumaru asks eagerly.

Fenneko laughs, not her regular deanpan laugh but one filled with good humor. 

"Maybe," she says, and she crawls out of the car.

"I'll see you around, big guy. Thanks for tonight."

"Sleep tight, Fenneko!" He shouts, waving, and then he drove off.

Fenneko shakes her head wondering just what this whole night had been. Then she sighs and heads up to her apartment, knowing she would have a hangover in the morning.

Whatever. She'd sleep in.

Chapter Text

“Ooh, this is a good one. A keeper!” Tsunoda grins and changes her position in her chair, keeping her phone steady as she posed. “That one’s gonna go in ‘#TGIF!’ Finally Friday!”

She giggles and leans back to take another snap when suddenly her arm brushes against her paper coffee cup on the desk. It topples over and pops open, and it splashes all over a pile of papers on her desk.

Tsunoda jumps up in alarm. “Oh no!”

Across from her, Kabae looks up curiously to see what the fuss is about, and Tsunoda desperately tries to cover up the scene.

"Oh, how careless of me, to just knock that right over!" a voice speaks from behind her. She turns and Komiya briskly walks past, putting his hand on the desk and smiling.

"Huh?"

"You saw what happened, right?" Komiya asks, turning from Kabae to Tsunoda. "I just put my hand down and swiped everything off by accident! Must be getting sloppy from all this overwork! Heheh." He chuckles and quickly gathers up the stack of soaked papers and the toppled coffee cup in his arms.

"Let me clean this up and let's not bother the Director about this little mishap, mhmm?" he says, and he returns to his desk promptly, and starts to write down the work he needs to redo.

Tsunoda comes up to his desk. "Thanks for covering for me back there, Komiya."

He looks up and smiles a little. "Don't mention it, Tsunoda. It would have been bad if Kabae got wind of your little fiasco. She's an ever bigger gossip than you are."

Tsunoda giggles. Komiya was known around the office for being Ton's shadow: tense, overbearing, and in general, a real jerk. Yet, many times, he had shown Tsunoda kindness and support that he reserved only for her.

Tsunoda was curious by nature, and she had the need to know more about her coworker. She held some charm over all the men in the office, and he was no exception, and so when she asked if he'd like to take her out sometime, he'd agreed eagerly.

"So..." she lowers her voice so only he can hear. "Are we still on for tonight?"

Komiya's cheeks turn a bright red as he blushes and he chuckles. "Y-yeah, of course! I got a reservation for dinner. And then we can go watch a movie! Did you choose what you wanted to watch?"

"Ohhh! It's called 'Weekend in Tokyo'! It's a romcom!" Tsunoda says, showing him the movie poster on her phone.

"Komiya!" Ton's angry voice suddenly bellows across the room. "You'd better have all those forms redone and filled out by the end of the day!"

Apparently, he'd found out.

"I should get back to work!" Komiya says nervously, going back to his usual shivering and stressed behavior. "I'll see you after work."

Tsunoda goes back to her own desk feeling a bit guilty that she had set him up with more work because of her mistake. Luckily, work would be over in less than an hour, and she made herself look busy.

When the day is finally done, she glances towards Komiya's desk, and seeing him still working away, she heads into the dressing room to change.

She takes out her little black dress that she had packed specifically for today.

Suddenly her phone pings. It was a text from Komiya.

"Ton is ordering me to stay until I get it all finished."

"Listen, the reservation isn't for another hour. If you wanted to go home, I can pick you up as soon as I'm out..."

Tsunoda frowns. No, that just wouldn't do.

She goes back to the office, where only Komiya is left typing like lightning.

"Can I help?" She asks.

"You're still here-?" he turns, and his eyes get wide when he sees her. He blushes a little. "You look fantastic."

He stands, and shuts off his computer. "I just finished. Um, are you ready to go? Do you mind if I change really fast?"

He looks a little embarrassed.

"Sure!"

He disappeared into the men's dressing room for a few minutes, and then came back out, dressed in a handsome navy blue suit.

Tsunoda stares for a second, and then starts to giggle. "Oh Komiya! You look so fancy!"

He blushes bright red. "D-do you think I'm overdressed? It's one of those high-end French restaurants, so I thought..." He frowns and looks very embarrassed. "...Stupid." He says to himself.

"No, no!" Tsunoda says, trying to stifle her laughter. She comes up to him. "I think you look really nice. It's just I've never seen you in anything out of the work uniform before." She smiles and stands on her tiptoes to gently brush her hand through his hair. "It's a good look on you."

Blushing even brighter, Komiya says, "Um, well, then, I suppose we should go?"

"Yeah! I'm so excited!" Tsunoda squeals. "I've been waiting for this movie for months!"

Together, the two head downstairs, gathering quite a lot of stares from the remaining workers, and Komiya leads her to his luxurious shiny black car.

Tsunoda sits down in the soft seat and lowers the mirror to apply some lipgloss, and Komiya starts the car up.

It was only a short distance to the restaurant, but for Komiya, it felt like eons, not sure of what to say now that the two of them were alone and feeling a painful shyness that was very unlike him.

"Tired, huh?" Tsunoda asks, noticing something was off.

"Um, yeah, just exhausted!" Komiya laughs, trying to hide his nervousness. "Hey, here we are."

"Wow!" Tsunoda looks impressed. "How'd you find a place like this?"

"Oh...just luck, I guess."

They walk inside and are shown to their table.

"Wine?" asks Komiya, smiling and pulling her seat out for her.

"Aren't you a gentleman," Tsunoda replies, sitting down and scooting in. "Ooh, some strawberry champagne would be great!"

Komiya nods to the waiter, who walks off, and then sat down with the menu. He blanches a little at the prices.

"Order whatever you want..." he says, trying to keep his cool.

Tsunoda ponders. "Want to share af Chocolate Mousse?"

Komiya looks puzzled. "That's it?"

"Well, to be honest, I'm not really that hungry," Tsunoda smiles. "And my sweet tooth is aching for some desserts!"

"If...if you're sure," Komiya says, feeling a bit lousy. "Sure, Tsunoda. Whatever you want."

She grins. "I've told you before to call me Tsuna-Chan."

Komiya blushes a little. "That's...so informal," he says, looking away.

The waiter comes back and hands them two glasses and a bottle of champagne, pouring them out.

"Well, we're friends, aren't we?" Tsunoda teases. Seeing him flustered is kind of cute. She lifts her glass and holds it up. "Cheers!"

He smiles and clinks his glass against hers, and they sip up the bubbly drink.

"We'd like to order a Chocolate Mousse!" Komiya tells a passing waiter.

"Heavy on the chocolate!" Tsunoda adds.

They continue sipping, enjoying the smell of fresh bread and champagne, and the dim lighting from the chandelier.

"It's so nice to get out of the office," Komiya sighs.

""Is that why you're so uptight all the time?" Tsunoda observes, licking her lips. "You're so much more relaxed now, it's like you're a different person. Maybe you just need to get out and enjoy yourself more often!"

"I...don't mean to be uptight," Komiya protests. "But with Ton on my back...and the responsibility of my title..." He rolls his eyes. "No. You're right. It's no wonder the whole office hates me."

Tsunoda smiles. "I don't."

He looks up.

"And trust me, I know how you feel," she adds, sipping more of her drink. A little bit of tipsiness has come over the both of them.

"Chocolate mousse."

The waiter sets down the small dessert and Tsunoda's eyes sparkle.

"AMAZING!" she says, quickly taking a picture. She picks up the big spoon they'd provided and takes a big bite. "Mmm! So good!"

She scoops the remaining half up in the spoon and leans forward. "Here, open your mouth."

"I- I can feed myself, Tsuna-" he starts, but she stuffs his mouth shut. He makes a face and swallows hard, blushing bright red.

"Check please," he makes out, trying to cover his embarrassment again. He quickly pulls out his wallet and pays, and then says to Tsunoda, "We should go to the theatre now."

The trip to the theatre is quick, and with the wine inside both of them, they both felt a little looser and more comfortable talking to one another.

"Oh hurry! We're gonna be late!" Tsunoda squeals and the two of them hurry into the theatre to purchase tickets. They then wobble into a dark theatre room, where the ads were already running.

"I can't see a thing!" Tsunoda whispered. Komiya feels around with one hand and takes her hand in the other, carefully stepping forward. They bump into a row of seats, and he helps her sit down close to the front of the theatre.

"Thanks!"

The place is crowded to the top, and they wait until for the anticipated movie to begin.

The opening credits play, and Tsunoda puts her hooves together in excitement. "That's my favorite actor!" she whispers, nudging Komiya. "And look! She's in my favorite drama!"

Komiya felt a little jealous as she oozed over the actor, and then her hand squeezes his. He tenses.

"Hey, this isn't a horror flick you know," she says, seeing his reaction and smiling. "Your heart's going really fast."

"Shhh!" Someone behind them hisses.

The movie wears on, and at critical moments she leans in close to Komiya and whispers her thoughts and commentary. Komiya nods and listens to her, but hardly minds the movie, as he is having an internal struggle, battling the urge to put his arm around her shoulders. Should he...? Could he...?

Suddenly a scene comes up that makes the whole theatre gasp.

"I can't believe it!" Tsunoda shouts loudly, grabbing Komiya's arm. "How could they do that to each other?!"

She grabs her phone and quickly begins typing, setting off a light glow around the two of them. "I have to liveblog this!"

"Hey, you two," a firm voice speaks. It was one of the theatre ushers, flashlight in his hand, and he looked displeased. "Come out here. Been getting a lot of complaints about you."

"What?" Tsunoda is shocked.

"I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

"Hey!" Komiya stands up tall, indignant. His office authority was coming out. "You can't do that!"

"Sir- I'm asking you to step back."

Tsunoda pouts and then scoffs. "Fine. Whatever. Come on Komiya, it's not worth the trouble." She takes his wrist and briskly they leave the theatre.

"That jerk!" Komiya says, quite angry. He turns to her, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, Tsunoda."

Tsunoda laughs. "You know, it was a terrible movie anyway. Did you see his face?"

"I'm sorry this night hasn't really been anything like I wanted it to be," he says sullenly.

She turns around and suddenly puts her arms around Komiya. "Oooh, don't you dare! I'm having the most fun I've had in forever!"

Komiya is taken aback by her sudden embrace. "Is this another one of your little white lies?"

Tsunoda looks up at him sincerely with her big eyes. "At the restaurant, I was thinking of ordering a big, fancy meal. Y'know, I usually let my dates pay above and beyond. But then I decided...I'd feel pretty rotten to do that. Because I like you, Komiya."

She stands on her tiptoe and takes him by the tie, pulling him down and crashes her lips on his, her usual rosy cheeks rosier than usual.

Komiya is shocked, and he kisses her back, bending down a little and gently touching her face.

Tsunoda's heart is starting to beat quickly too, because she was finding herself highly attracted to him, something she had not counted on, and she pulls him in closer to kiss him.

"Tsunoda..." he sighs, after they break apart.

She smiles. "Tsuna-Chan." She squeezes his hand again. "It's gonna be hard not to brag about kissing my cute boss, you know," she said, tugging on his tie. "But don't worry. I'll keep my lips zipped."

She kissed him again, gentler this time.

She then takes out her phone and smiles. "A photo? I want to remember you in your cute little suit."

"If you insist," Komiya concedes with a smile. "Only for you."

Tsunoda puts her arm around his waist and holds up her phone, and takes a picture.

They look at it and look at each other and start to laugh.

A short time later, Komiya drives Tsunoda back home. They'd stopped by the corner store and grabbed some hot dumplings to eat, to fill up their bellies, and chatted until they were all chatted out.

When they reach her building, he walks her out to the entrance steps.

"So, what's the plan for next time? She asks with a smile.

He smiles back. "Will there be a next time?"

"I'm counting on it!" she laughs, and kisses him goodnight before turning and going inside.

Komiya chuckles and starts his return home, while Tsunoda jumps onto her soft bed with her phone in hand and browses through the pictures from tonight.

She selects one and starts to type. "Just had the best night ever! Can't wait for next Friday!"

Chapter Text

"Ok. Calm down. You can do this."

Retsuko stands at one of the bathroom sinks, her hands on either side of rim and breathing heavily. She'd had a very bad day, and even venting her lungs out in death metal in the back stall hadn't done much to abate her anger.

Retsuko shudders and looks into the mirror, and was surprised by how weary she looked.

"At the count of three...I'll be calm and ready to go back to work," she tells herself. Just got to tough it out.

There was only about thirty minutes until the day was finally over, and with strong resolve she leaves the bathroom, putting on her happy face to take on the last stretch.

She exits, and walks straight into someone's backside.

"Retsuko?" Haida exclaims, and he spins around to face her.

"Oh, Haida!" she yells, putting her hand over her heart. "You startled me. What are you doing here?"

She worries that perhaps the sounds of her voice had carried out into the hall.

"I-I just thought you might not be feeling well," Haida says, looking concerned. "You've been in there for a while. The boss was nosing around, looking for you..." He blushes a little.

"Probably wants to dump some more work on me," Retsuko sighs. "But thanks, Haida. I'm ok, now. Just a little stressed out, is all. You know how it is."

She starts walking back, and Haida comes off behind her, seeming anxious.

"Uh, well, is there anything I can do to help, Retsuko?" He asks, testing the waters carefully.

Many months had passed since Haida had revealed his feelings to Retsuko, but the rejection still hurt.

But then, just recently, Haida and Retsuko had spent the evening together on Christmas Eve, one of the most magical nights of the year. At first, the night seemed like it was going to lonely and miserable. But then they'd come across each other, almost like fate.

And for Haida, this had been a new ray of hope.

"I don't know," Retsuko said, and she walks into the office. "I usually have yoga to help me get it out, but I don't have it today. Maybe we can grab drinks with Fenneko."

She'd been hooked on Instagram lately, but even that was starting to lose its appeal for her. She'd become pretty popular almost overnight, but she'd been neglecting her real friends, just a little.

Haida nods, liking the idea. "Yeah!"

The day was finally over, and the office was busy with everyone hurrying to grab their things and get out before rush hour.

"Out for drinks?" Fenneko asks, a smile on her lips at Retsuko's question. "I think I'm busy tonight. Why don't you go, just the two of you? I'll take a raincheck." She gives Haida an encouraging look.

"W-well!" Haida exclaims nervously, turning at Retsuko.

Retsuko smiles. "I guess it's just us two."

Haida can't hide his excitement. "Oh....well, then...I'll show you to my car."

He and Retsuko take the elevator and are soon out in the parking lot. The skyline was a fantastic orange color, as the sun starts to set.

Retsuko had never been to the employee's parking lot before, as she always takes the train and walks the rest of the way to work. Haida leads her to a vintage looking red car and opens the door for her, smiling.

"I- I'm sorry if it's a mess," he says, not used to visitors. "I actually had a motorcycle before, but since the pneumonia incident, I traded it in."

Retsuko takes a seat and examines the interior as Haida sits beside her. It was distressed and scuffed, but it was pretty unremarkable, apart from the wide arrangement of CDs stacked in a case and scattered around the back, along with a black, leather jacket.

"It's fine," Retsuko says. "I didn't know you liked music so much..." She looks at one of the CDs. It was an unfamiliar band, but it had a gritty, punk theme to it.

Haida carefully pulls out of the lot and onto the road and he chuckles. "Hey...You want to take a listen?"

He presses a button on his car's dashboard and loud music with a pounding bassline and riffs begins to play. Retsuko feels her blood firing up as the music intensifies. It isn't metal...but it's powerful. She closes her eyes and smiles, bobbing her head up and down.

After a few moments, Haida turnsdown the music and turns to her, grinning. "I just had an idea."

"What is it?" Retsuko asks, interested at the excited expression on his face.

"W-well, I...and tell me if you don't want to, it's up to you, Retsuko...why don't we go the karaoke bar?" Haida suggests.

Retsuko doesn't respond for a minute, the idea playing out in her head. She loves karaoke. It was her one secret, her one way of taking the stress away.

But apart from her close friends Gori and Washimi, nobody knew that within her raged a death metal beast.

Would Haida...?

"Ok, it was a bad idea," Haida apologizes in response to her silence. "I'm sorry I suggested it!"

"No, no, it's...fine..." Retsuko says.

In fact, the idea was interesting to her. Not just to kill off some stress, but, an eager curiosity.

How would Haida react?...Would he still want to be friends?...

She had to know.

"Let's do it," Retsuko says, making herself smile.

Haida looks surprised. "Woah, really? Well...ok, then! Whatever you say, Retsuko!"

They arrive at the Karaoke Bar and Retsuko leads him down the familiar hallway to register.

"It's nice to see you again," says the attendant.

Retsuko blushes a little when Haida gives her a questioning look.

"You come here often?" he asks as they were led to their private room.

"N-no, not exactly!" Retsuko replies, not sure exactly why she was so unsettled by the question.

Haida had gathered his courage and revealed his true feelings to Retsuko honestly. Retsuko wanted to be upfront and honest with him in the same way.

"It's just something I do every once in a while, I guess," she says, and they sit across from each other.  They both ordered some beer and a plate of food to share, and talked for a while.

Sometime later, Haida stands up and starts.

"Let me see...this is a favorite of mine," Haida says, grinning from the big gulp of alcohol he'd just taken. He punches the number into the karaoke machine and the room filled with energetic music, highlighted by guitar and fast drumming.

Haida stands up on the couch and began shouting out the lyrics into the microphone, his eyes shut tight.

"Hey, hey, hey,

That's some hypocrisy,

Who do you think you are, looking down on me!?"

A break in the music starts with a wild guitar solo, and Haida begins to air play, his fingers flying on the invisible strings, and rocking his head up and down.

Finally, the song comes to its end, and the hyena breaths hard into the microphone, his face red with either embarrassment or drunkenness, Retsuko wasn't sure.

"Hehe..." he laughs quietly, placing the mic back on the table.

Retsuko stares in awe, a smile growing on her face, and then applauded loudly.

"That was amazing Haida!" she cheers.

She'd had no idea her friend was so talented, and so intense!

"W-well, I was in a band in college," Haida says, grinning at the praise and blushing. "I still play bass in my free time. Music is...really important to me. It frees your emotions, you know?" He chuckles. "That sounds stupid, I'm sorry."

He hands the mic to Retsuko. "Your turn."

Frees your emotions, Retsuko repeats in her mind.

She couldn't agree more.

She had been hesitating before, but now after seeing Haida's performance, she knows she can do it.

With a deep inhale, Retsuko takes the microphone. "Could you punch in 9091-89?" She asks, mentally preparing herself.

"Sure."

Immediately a heavy bassline thunders through the room, drums getting louder and faster. Retsuko opens her mouth, and out comes a deep, gravelly howl that was completely different from her usual sweet voice.

"I'M SO SICK OF THIS SHIT

DAY IN, DAY OUT!

WORK MYSELF INTO MY GRAVE

IS THAT WHAT LIFE'S ABOUT!?"

Haida's eyes were wide as he watches Retsuko continue, her face twisting into a fanged grimace and her tongue hanging out of her mouth. Her claws were extended and held a heavy grip on the microphone, and she thrashes wildly.

"THERE'S NO END TO ALL THIS STRIFE!

FUCK YOU ALL! SHITTY BOSS, SHITTY LIFE!"

The music ends suddenly, and left a ringing in Haida's ears. Retsuko's face slowly returns to normal, breathing harshly into the mic. She faces away from Haida, heart pounding in her chest.

This was the moment of truth...

"Retsuko!" Haida shouts.

Retsuko flinches, turning around, tears starting to well in her eyes.

She knew it'd been too much.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"That was amazing!" Haida yells and he put his hand on Retsuko's shoulder, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "I've never seen anything like that before! Is it...it's, um, heavy metal?"

"Death metal," Retsuko corrects, a slight smile starting to spread on her face.

"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Haida said, nodding. "To think...someone as cute and sweet as you could..." He blushes heavily, looking towards the corner of the room.

"Well...this is the real me," Retsuko says quietly.

"It's probably not what you expected."

Haida laughs. "It exceeds my every expectation!" he said, taking Retsuko's hand and lowering the microphone to the table. "If this is the real you, then..." He pauses and goes a bright red. "I love it."

"Haida..." Retsuko starts to blush a little herself.

Ordinarily, Haida would have trouble saying these words. Just looking at Retsuko filled him with tension- like the floor had been stripped out from beneath him- but it was such a warm, wonderful feeling.

But now, in these circumstances, and thanks to a few drinks, Haida had some extra nerve to say what he'd so been longing to say.

"Retsuko, it doesn't matter if you're an everyday accountant...or a death metal rocker," Haida chuckles. "I care for you on a deeper level than that."

Retsuko's eyes shine, her face feels warm and her heartbeat is starting to go faster. She leans in closer, Haida's hand still holding hers.

Suddenly the phone hanging on the wall begins to ring, making both of them jump. They didn't realize it, but their hour was almost up.

"T-that was fast," Haida says, backing up a little shyly. "Well...I guess..." His face is bright red.

"Heh."

Retsuko is quite flustered herself, strange feelings she hadn't had since her first few times with Resasuke were now coming over her. She'd never seen him like this before, in this new light. Haida was...pretty amazing.

"You can go ahead up front and I'll pay at the desk," Haida says, looking through his pockets for his wallet.

"How about we split the bill," Retsuko offers, putting her hand on his and smiling. "Since we both got to watch a performance."

Haida grins with his sharp teeth. "You sure? I guess that sounds like a good idea."

Standing up, he sways a little and they approach the attendant, cash in hand.

"Oh, man," Haida breathes in the cool night air, a minute later when they walk into the street.

"Are you ok, Haida?" Retsuko asks. "You might have had too much to drink." She knows he has a habit of drinking a bit too much, and didn't want to put him under pressure to drive.

She giggles. "Why don't we take the train to my place? We can rest up there if you want."

"Your place?" Haida sweats. This was new territory. "A...are you sure? I'm not a burden?"

"It's no problem!" Retsuko says. In truth, she really does want to spend more time with Haida.

Together they go to the station, dressed in their winter jackets. It's cold outside, and as they breathe, they can see little puffs of air.

The train station was thankfully empty, and within a few minutes, an announcement comes over the intercom foretelling the oncoming train.

The words echo in Retsuko's ears and Haida casts her a nervous toothy grin as the train pulls up. He didn't have that much experience with public transportation.

They step into the car and take a seat together. There were only a few other passengers, a complete change compared to Retsuko's morning trip.

The train started pulling along the tracks, and they sat together in silence at first.

Haida chuckles and speaks up. "This seems like a real hassle. I don't know how you do it everyday."

Retsuko smiles gently. "Just taking it one day at a time."

Then she laughs. "I can keep calm on the outside, but on the inside, trust me, I'm full of....full of rage!"

Haida's eyes are gentle. "I never would have imagined in all this world I could ever meet someone like you."

Retsuko blushes deeply at his words, and slowly extends her hand into Haida's.

BUMP! 

The train jerks and an announcement came on. "Next stop."

"Ohh! That's us!" Reteuko says, blushing. Holding his hand, she helps steady as the train pulled to a stop, she is an expert at walking on the moving vehicle by this point.

They emerge into the cool night air.

"Feeling better?" Retsuko asks, heart beating in her chest. She looks up at Haida, eyes bright.

"I think I'm feeling...better," Haida says, a big grin on his face.

"My place is just about a five minute walk from the station," Retsuko tells him, quite aware that they're still loosely holding hands, only partly to keep Haida balanced.

"Are you sure it's ok?" Haida hesiitates when they get to her apartment building. "I don't want to impose, Retsuko."

"Just make yourself at home!" Retsuko tells him, opening the door. "Come on in."

Haida steps in, looking around at her living room. "So this is how you live," He says, excited. He sees her stereo and takes a look at her collection of CDs.

"You've got some awesome music here," he says. "Rock, alternative...and no surprise, lots of metal."

He digs to the bottom. "You'll have to let me hear more of this sometime!"

He sits back on the couch to take it all in.

"Play some of your bass for me and it's a deal," Retsuko says happily, joining him on the couch.

"Maybe we can collaborate some time," Haida suggests with a chuckle.

There is a pause.

"Retsuko... I know I told you before, but..." He blushes again. "I really like you." 

"I like you too, Haida," she replies.

They aren't empty words. She means them.

Haida's tail begins to wag back and forth and Retsuko scoots in a little closer, right beside him.

Haida slowly lowers and put his arms on her shoulders, she leans up and her hands wrap around his neck, and then...their lips meet.

It was a feeling like neither of them had felt before.

A spark lights between them, and their passions ignite. Haida feels his loins burning at the long needed touch of Retsuko, and he tingles. Retsuko starts out careful and unsure, but a newfound energy overpowered her, not too unlike her the rage that she so often encountered. She pulls him in tighter, roughly, at this new desire.

He tastes like beer, but it is a wonderful taste, Their hearts hammer in time, against each other's chests, as they continue, lost in their own world.

Finally, they pull apart, breathing heavily and looking into each other's eyes.

"Retsuko..." Haida says softly. "All these years..."

"Oh Haida..." Retsuko gasps. "If only I'd known...I wouldn't have..."

She suddenly feels a rush of guilt and a sting in her eye, wiping away a tear.

"Retsuko?" asks Haida, worried.

"I'm just glad...that I have you in my life," Retsuko says, smiling. "And I'm sorry I took you for granted for so long. I..."

She quiets and then leans in for another kiss, more gentle this time.

They part again, and Haida has a goofy grin on his face, face blushing deep red.

"It...it's getting late." He says, hating himself for saying the words. "I shouldn't overstay my welcome..."

"Why don't you spend the night?" Retsuko suggests suddenly.

Haida hesitates. "I am still kind of tipsy-"

"Of course," Retsuko says and grins. "The couch folds out into a bed. You're welcome to it. I'll bring you a blanket and extra pillow right after I change."

Haida grins too. "Sounds good."

A feel of contentment in her heart, Retsuko goes to her room and changes into her comfortable t-shirt and shorts, and goes to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

What a night...

She looks in the mirror.

The smile on her face is brighter than it has ever been.

She stepps out to check on Haida, and sees the hyena had collapsed, exhausted lying on the couch, snoring softly and arm dangling to the floor.

Retsuko smiles and turns off the light before grabbing a plush blanket and putting it over him snugly

"Good night, Haida." She kisses him gently, and turned in for the night.