Chapter Text
Saijou Claudine was late.
"Come on. Come on! Stupid train. Why does it always have to come right on time. Fils de pute! Merde!" the blonde girl mutters aggressively as she watches the train that was supposed to bring her to the restaurant leave. Frustrated, she’s about to take it out on the nearest vending machine when she feels a short vibration in her coat pocket. The woman reflexively glances at her phone- a text message from Futaba.
"Hey babe! How's the date going 😏😏😏"
"1. I hate you for making me do this 2. Tell your friend I'm going to be a late 3. I hate you for making me do this," she immediately texts back.
Speaking of the devil's girlfriend, Claudine can't believe that after years of friendship, Futaba is still trying to set her up on blind dates. She also can't believe that she's finally said yes to one of them, especially considering that her best friend completely refused to give her any personal information (or contact information, for that matter).
Of course, it's always difficult to say no when your mystery date is described as: "Legs for days, successful enough to keep you very entertained, and will most definitely become your rival if it does or doesn't work out."
As Claudine thinks about which one of her life choices led her here, the next train arrives and she’s on her way to her destination. The actress rushes out of the exit the minute she arrives at her designated station and glances at her watch - 7:56pm. If she walks fast, she’ll only be 15 minutes late to her date.
It’s exactly 8:08pm when Saijou Claudine steps foot into the restaurant. She walks up to the host, tells them that she has a reservation under “Futaba,” and takes the time to thank all of the stage gods she can name when the host promptly leads her to a private room, securely hidden from prying eyes.
The minute she crosses the doorway, the curly-haired actress melts into apologies as she busies herself with removing her coat. “Oh my god, I am SO sorry for being late. I was practicing my new choreography after work and I completely lost track of-“
“I see old habits never die,” interrupts a confident feminine voice. Sitting at the table, sipping on a glass of Chardonnay, is none other than Tendou Maya herself.
“What are YOU doing here?” Claudine exclaims, hand reflexively going for a sword that hasn’t existed in twelve years.
The woman in front of her tilts her head slightly, partly in confusion, partly in reflection. As Maya takes her time to digest the question, Claudine can’t stop her eyes from analyzing every part of her old rival.
The other woman is wearing a form-fitting black mock-turtle neck dress, carefully exposing the perfect amount of leg. Her right bicep is orned in a silver bracelet that matches with her lobe-hugging hoop earrings. The blonde actress notices that Maya now has three piercings in each ear. She also notices that the brunette could probably cut her with her cheekbones if she’s not careful. But if it ever gets close to that point, Claudine will probably already have melted from the intense way Maya’s gaze seems to rest on her.
When she finally brings her eyes to her old rival's, she sees that the sitting woman was contently waiting for her to finish taking in the visual information before answering the question.
“Mahiru has been trying to set me up ever since she realized that I could be bribed with food. I finally had a bit of free time on my schedule and she finally said the right words, so I guess that’s how I ended up here.” Maya takes a sip of her Chardonnay.
Claudine can feel her heart start to beat a little bit faster. “Right words?” she questions.
“Well,” the other actress starts. “Mahiru didn’t say much. She actually refused to tell me anything other than: ‘Will burst your ego. Boobs. Can lead AND follow a dance.’”
To that answer, the blonde lifts an eye brow. “Since when are you a boob girl?” she comments rashly.
“Since when are you so upfront?” The brunette simply answers.
“I’ve always been upfront!” The shorter of the two retorts impatiently.
“I’ve always been a boob girl.” The taller one offers confidently.
Shocked speechless, Claudine picks up her coat. “Why-“ she chokes on her words. “Why do you have to be so insufferable! Merde! This was a mistake. I have to go.” As she goes to pick up her purse, she is immediately frozen in place by Maya’s hand touching hers. Anyone else would be intimidated by how assuredly Maya is behaving, but the half-French woman knows her well enough to detect a nearly imperceptible hint of hesitation.
“We’re both already here, so why not just enjoy a good meal?” Maya makes eye contact; Claudine falters. “I really have to practice my lines tonight,” she offers as an excuse. More to herself than anyone else. Her opposite readjusts herself in her seat. “You and I both know that I’m the best person to practice with,” the taller of the two retorts in a perfectly matter of fact tone.
Claudine admits defeat and sits down. “Non, mais qu'est-ce que j'ai fait pour mériter ce cauchemar, bordel. Ok, Fine! I’ll stay, but you’re paying and I’m getting an appetizer and a dessert.”