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Maya woke surrounded by white fluff. Claudine’s comforter. This was Claudine’s bed, she realized after a moment. Moving her head a few inches, she could see Claudine, still sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed, her hair spread across the pillow, the strap of her camisole draping off her shoulder.
Maya swallowed, orienting herself in the quiet stillness of the January morning. The room was still dimly lit, and while she was now fully awake, she allowed herself a few more minutes before beginning her morning routine.
It was now three weeks since the Christmas party, three weeks since she tore up her hands on that dock, and three weeks since Claudine finally, finally opened up to her. In the time since, she had some time off from HANA for the holiday break (after being berated by Kaoruko for her injuries), spent some time with her parents, and mostly, became closer to Claudine.
It was as if a glass wall between them had been shattered, and they could now see and touch each other without obstacle. As if making up for lost time, they spent lazy days on their holiday in bed or on the couch in the apartment, watching television, talking, reading, eating, doing anything they could together legs entangled, hands finding each other, and falling asleep beside each other.
Even now, unable to control the feelings bubbling up within her, Maya moved closer across the bed to cuddle up beside Claudine. “Ah, Maya,” Claudine mumbled, leaning back into Maya’s touch.
Maya kissed the back of her neck, a spot now becoming familiar, but one she knew she would never tire of. Claudine moaned softly, turning over to meet Maya’s lips with her own. Maya propped herself up on an elbow as she pulled away, catching Claudine’s satisfied smirk.
It seemed impossible that this is where they would be three weeks ago, when Maya felt impossibly stuck, but she didn’t want to argue with her good fortune. Claudine’s fingers tucked Maya’s hair behind her ears, tracing her jawline. Maya felt her desire grow, looking at Claudine in just her camisole and panties, staring up at Maya as if she was a challenge to overcome. She leaned forward again, capturing Claudine’s bottom lip in her teeth gently, her finger hooked on that tempting strap of the camisole.
Claudine’s alarm went off, interrupting them. Claudine bit her lip with a laugh, rolling over to turn it off. “Did you have to replace your phone?” Maya teased her.
Claudine laughed again, and it was music to Maya’s ears, quelling any minor annoyance she felt. “Yes, everyone at work was so annoyed with me. Plus my maman was worried sick!”
“I suppose we should get up, then,” Maya said, indicating the time.
Claudine nodded. “It’s a long day. HANA work, then we have contracts in the evening…” Her mood dropped a bit on the second half of the sentence, and the implication it carried. Maya was going to be starting the Blue Glitter loungewear contract that evening, and similarly, Claudine had work with the Arcana brand for their Japanese pajama launch. Unlike most of their modeling work until this point, this would be done separately.
“Whoever gets home first should order dinner, and then we can finish that drama,” Maya suggested. “I think we only had one episode left.”
Claudine seemed to accept this proposal, getting out of bed a little less reluctantly. The sun was rising a little higher now, and Claudine drew back her gauzy white curtains, Maya noticing how her eyes were caught by the view of the bay for just a moment longer than someone else’s might have been. “Ugh, don’t you have a plant to water?” Claudine teased her, turning back around. “Stop watching me! I have to make this bed and you’re in it!”
Maya did as she was told, leaving Claudine to get ready and beginning her own morning routine. She started the coffee, then visited the bathroom to wash up. She took her supplements, and watered the plants, carefully skipping over the cactuses and succulents that were on a different schedule.
Once all this was finished, the coffee was ready, and she poured two mugs. She wanted to go sit on the balcony and sip it, but the January weather prevented this, with temperatures consistently below freezing, and icy winds blowing across their small balcony consistently. So she settled on the couch, flipping through a news app on her phone until Claudine joined her in the kitchen, her hair loose and wavy, and her face, with only base makeup on, was glowing. “A break seems to have done well for you,” Maya commented, sipping her coffee.
“Yes well, everything resumes today, so let’s see if coming out of hiding keeps my complexion this bright.”
It was true, their break came to an end that morning, and before they knew it, they were out of the tower apartment and street level, bundled in parkas and fighting against the wind to get to the bus stop. “We should have called the car,” Claudine huffed once they were settled on the bus, her fingers tapping out a text simultaneously. “Yachiyo says it’s supposed to snow this evening.”
“We can call one tonight to go home,” said Maya, remembering only then that they would be returning home from separate locations. “The Blue Glitter shoots are taking place in Akiba. Where are you heading?”
“Roppongi,” Claudine said, with annoyance. Maya wasn’t sure if this was because she didn’t want to go to Roppongi or because their destinations were in opposite directions.
“Well you will only have to go there for a few weeks,” Maya offered.
They got off near the HANA offices, battling the wind for another block until they entered the shelter of the HANA building in Ginza. They greeted all the staff they encountered a Happy New Year, and made their way to the conference room where they were scheduled to meet with some of the main staff.
It was nice, being back, in a way. The break was good, but Maya never liked sitting still for long. She was antsy to continue working, to continue to prove herself. She wanted to take the energy that had been building during the weeks off and expend it - with shoots, with planning, with work.
She sat at the table in the conference room between Claudine and Karen, half-paying attention as Karen managed Maya’s own social media accounts. There was a new fan account that Karen was scrolling through, she noticed: @MaYaYas. The name made her chuckle a bit, but it was surreal to look at dozens of photos of herself perfectly cropped, with hundreds of likes on each one. Karen quickly closed the screen as the meeting began.
“We’re here to plan spring events,” Kaoruko said, beginning the meeting as Futaba uncapped a marker and pulled up the whiteboard. “First up is managing our schedule, and second is our major shoot, which is going to be in Hokkaido.”
“Hokkaido?” Claudine asked, looking as surprised as Maya felt.
“Ok, let’s start with that,” said Kaoruko. “Yes, since our theme is ‘crystalline’, Hikari, Nana, and myself thought a shoot in the snow would be ideal. And what better snow than in Hokkaido in winter?”
“Vacation!” Karen cheered, scribbling down some notes on her tablet.
“Sounds cold,” Mahiru said. “We’ll have to plan some logistics for having models in the snow…”
Futaba nodded, making some notes on her whiteboard. Maya had to agree. She was pretty adaptable, but the Tokyo Tower shoot was cold enough… standing in the actual snow in Hokkaido?
They reviewed the schedule next, including Maya’s Blue Glitter dates and Claudine’s conflicts with Arcana. They set dates for the Hokkaido shoot and the other major shoots for spring, for the catalogue rollout and ad sales, and reviewed which runways they aimed to enter for spring. Their in-house runway was set for mid-February, with the other shows following quickly after. Maya left the meeting with a better idea of her plans for spring, but no longer feeling like she would be bored for long.
She and Claudine ate lunch together in the company cafeteria, their last time together until that evening. It was strange - it was only a few hours apart, she supposed, but after doing all of their work together in the fall, it was odd to go for a shoot without Claudine by her side. Maya reminded herself that she did this often when she was training, when she was in Souda-sensei’s school. Plus, Koharu would be there.
“Are you nervous?” Claudine asked. “You’re eating less than usual.”
Maya shook her head. “Not particularly. I just don’t want to fill up when I have work this afternoon. I can have a big meal after we finish.”
Claudine smiled. “Of course. We’re getting takeout.” Despite her words, she seemed uneasy. Maya wondered if she was worrying on Maya’s behalf or concerned about her own job.
“Are you nervous?” she asked softly.
Claudine bristled slightly, despite Maya’s tone. “Of course not. I’ve done this plenty of times before. Plus, Shizuha’s there. We know each other from way back.”
“I’m relieved then. We’ll work hard at this and then come together for the Hokkaido trip.”
“Yes, where we’ll freeze to death in the snow,” Claudine laughed.
Soon enough, lunch was over, and it was time to go their separate ways. But, as an indication of the closeness they now shared, Claudine squeezed her hand in the elevator, her lips centimeters from Maya’s ear as she whispered “I know you’ll do great.” Maya felt goosebumps arise on her skin from some combination of the words and the closeness.
They walked out into the sunny afternoon, down to the nearest station, wrapped in their winter gear plus masks and sunglasses. Maya got on an east-bound train, while Claudine waited for the west-bound, promising to reconvene that evening.
Maya got off in Akiba, following directions on her phone to a building just outside the famous electronics markets. It honestly didn’t look like any sort of studio from the outside, but inside, the building was clean and professional, with a directory beside the elevator. She found the correct floor (the third) and took the elevator up to a slightly old but clean photo studio.
“Maya-san, you’ve arrived!” Koharu ran up to her as she exited the elevator, grabbing onto both of her hands. She noted the familiarity of the greeting, but realized she didn’t much mind it. She saw Hisame and Suzu come up as well.
“Good afternoon,” she greeted them. “I apologize if I am late.”
“You’re on time,” Koharu assured her. “Suzu just got us here super early so we could see some silly arcade this morning.”
“It was not silly,” Suzu pouted.
They led Maya into a dressing room, a bright, cheerful space with translucent coverings on the windows. They were assisted by stylists to get the hair and makeup started, some cheerful pop music playing on the radio. At one point, the photographer and director came in to greet them, and Maya was put at ease. These men were not as reassuring and easy to work with as Nana and Kaoruko, perhaps, but this shoot was not going to be troublesome, she could tell.
The clothes were fine as well. Perhaps not exactly what Maya would wear to lounge around on a day off, but she didn’t mind wearing it. Different sets of sweatpants, tank tops, crop tops, crewneck sweatshirts, and leggings would be shot over several days. The work was mostly for catalogue, webstore, and social media ads, so they would be using plain backgrounds and many angles for each piece, a fairly repetitive process, but Maya didn’t mind.
There were also a few shots for billboards, store ads, and larger website banners with the girls interacting, so those would be more fun to shoot and break up the monotony a bit. This was all briefed to Maya as she stood in the studio in her first outfit, and she was determined to do a good job, determined to help Blue Glitter do well with their campaign. She thought of Kaoruko’s words - if this does well, Maya would bring back fans for HANA as well.
She posed for a few outfits, realizing quickly how exhausting this was, and how much different it was from her work with HANA. Each piece of clothing needed shots of her posing, then straight on shots for potential buyers on the website from various angles, and in every color and style it was offered in. After about an hour, she took a break with Koharu.
“Tiring, isn’t it?” Koharu asked, munching on a cookie from the snack table. They watched Hisame work, a consummate professional.
“Extremely,” said Maya, sipping a juice. “Do you do shoots like this a lot?”
Koharu shrugged. “Seiran doesn’t have a fashion company we’re linked to like you do, so we take work here and there. Sometimes it’s like this, sometimes it’s more like what you typically do. My dream is to one day bring Seiran to a point where we get a contract like Edel has with Seigfeld, steady work, less jumping contract to contract.”
“I hope you get that, I think you’re really talented,” Maya said. She meant it, too. Koharu was extremely skilled, and she looked good modeling clothes. If anyone could bring Seiran up, it was Koharu.
“Thank you, I appreciate that,” Koharu smiled at Maya, a rare respite from her usual serious demeanor. “I’ll continue working hard.”
They spent the rest of the break comparing workouts, supplements, and what they’ve been reading lately. Maya was surprised by how much they had in common - she didn’t remember speaking to Koharu this often at the training school, but she supposed she didn’t speak to anyone much at the training school. She had been busy with school as well, at the time, and Koharu was one of the only ones who even bothered to try to have conversations with her.
Maya changed once she finished the break, continuing to shoot for another two hours, finishing after the sun had gone down. She walked out of the building into the cold evening, alongside Koharu as they headed toward the station. “Are you still planning on doing a workout tonight?” Koharu asked.
Maya nodded. “It’s a little cold to jog, but I’ll probably put something on in the apartment and do a workout on my yoga mat.”
Koharu nodded. “My apartment has a gym, if you wanted to come over and do one together. It would be nice to catch up.”
Maya knew Koharu’s apartment wasn’t far, since she ended up mailing her coat back after the Christmas party. “Sure, let me just text Claudine and let her know I’ll be back late.” She figured she would be the one providing dinner for herself and Claudine, but she didn’t much mind.
They descended to the platform, and Maya sent her text. “By the way, how is Saijou-san?” Koharu asked, her tone dropping to provide them with some discretion from the other commuters on the platform. “I was concerned at the party, but we didn’t really get a chance to speak again since then.”
Maya nodded. “Better, I think.” She thought of that morning, waking up with Claudine, and the marked improvement in Claudine’s mood since Christmas. But she knew truly, the Kirin problem was not dealt with, not really, in any concrete way. “I appreciate your help that night,” she added.
“Of course. We have to look out for each other,” said Koharu. She didn’t add any more as the train pulled up, but Maya heard a hint of sadness in her voice, as if she could sympathize, in a way, with having a bad night, or a difficult past. They sat on the train, and Maya realized that she truly didn’t know Koharu at all besides the little she learned at Seisho.
She knew Koharu didn’t attend university, going instead to a theater program after high school. However when her auditions weren’t panning out, an advisor recommended she branch out into modeling, which is when she attended Seisho’s training program. A natural in modeling, she excelled in the classes, along with Maya, which is how they became friends, or perhaps the step before friends. But she went to work right away, where Maya took the museum job, reluctant to commit full time to the industry. So there was a blank period that Maya wasn’t privy to in Koharu’s past, or rather, a couple blank periods. Maya wasn’t sure if she wanted the missing details filled in, or even if Koharu would want to share with her, but she felt like it was important to try to make connections, to try to establish herself more in this world. It was impossible, she realized, to remain floating, unconnected, forever.
They got off the train, walking the short distance to Koharu’s apartment. Hisame and Suzu lived in the same building, she explained, just a few floors down, but she lived alone. The other two had gone for dinner in Akiba, however, and did not take the same train back. They entered Koharu’s apartment, Koharu loaning Maya some clothes to work out in, and Maya looked around. It was smaller than the apartment she shared with Claudine, but it was neat, and cozy. Books, a few plants, and a tapestry on the wall to match the carpet and furniture, Maya could picture Koharu curling up in the armchair with her dinner, flipping on some drama, and relaxing after a long day at work.
But they left the apartment after a moment, taking the elevator to the top floor, where there was a weight room, some cardio equipment, and some open space for exercise routines with medicine balls and kettlebells. She and Koharu quickly worked out a plan - warming up on the treadmills, and working through a circuit on several pieces of equipment, before cooling down and stretching out. There were only a few other people using the gym: an older man who was likely retired, another girl around their age, and a couple of businessmen who looked to be hurrying to finish their workouts so they could get to the bars.
It was fun, doing her workouts with Koharu. Despite what Claudine said, she never came with Maya, so it was nice to workout with a partner for once. And to just have a gym to go to was incredible. It was an oversight, Maya realized, to not look for an apartment with a gym during their search, but it was nice to have somewhere protected from the elements, private, and conveniently located to work out at.
“What are you working on next?” she asked Koharu, as they twisted medicine balls back and forth in an ab workout.
“I have a short-term contract with the tourism board for Chiba prefecture,” she laughed. “I’m shooting a lot of billboard and pamphlet photos and major tourist locations. I’m trying to think of it as a mini vacation.”
Maya couldn’t help but admire how hard Koharu worked. To travel around the prefecture, to take jobs that perhaps weren’t ‘high fashion’, to work hard to get that ‘breakout’ job. “You’ll certainly be seen if you’ll be the face of Chiba,” she commented.
“It’s true. I grew up there,” Koharu said. “I figured it’s the least I can do to give back. Plus, who knows what it can lead to.”
Maya nodded. They changed into a plank, and suddenly speaking became more difficult. “We’re going to Hokkaido soon,” she said, almost a grunt.
“To model?” Koharu said. “Too cold!” They held the plank a moment longer, before she collapsed, laughing. “Makes me glad I’m only working in Chiba in the winter!”
Maya rolled her eyes. “I know. I have a feeling they’re not going to pull out the HANA parka line, either.”
Koharu laughed harder than Maya thought the joke was worth.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just… I haven’t spent much time with you. I didn’t know you were capable of sarcasm like that. A joke coming from Tendo Maya is extra funny.”
Maya shook her head, standing up to sip from her water bottle, moving to the treadmill for the cool down run. “I can be funny,” she pouted.
“Obviously,” Koharu continued. She also took her spot on the treadmill, both of them lagging now, after the intense workout. “This was fun though. I think I spoke to you more than I ever have in the two years I’ve known you. If you’re looking for a workout partner, I’m available.”
Maya considered this. She didn’t particularly want to get home late every night, but it was nice to have someone to join her on her workouts. “Perhaps sometimes. This was fun. Thank you.”
About twenty minutes later, Maya was changed back into her winter attire, out on street level, alone this time, heading to the station back to Kachidoki. What a long and meandering day back into work, she thought. But still, it was good to be busy.
She stopped at the convenience store by their apartment and picked up dinner, just something simple, but that was something that had become normal for them. She also picked up some puddings, figuring they could eat them while watching television that evening. It was getting late already, so she walked back quickly, tucking her chin under the collar of her coat to keep out some of the winter breeze.
The lobby of the apartment was empty and quiet, and the elevator ride was silent as usual. Even though nothing was out of the ordinary, for some reason they gave Maya an uneasy vibe. She thought of that morning, waking up with Claudine, enjoying their newfound closeness, and assured herself that everything was alright. Then she walked the short walk from the elevator down the corridor to their door, opening it to find the lights off, and thought at first that she had still managed to make it back first.
She realized, walking in a few steps, that the television was on, on low volume, casting an eerie light on the otherwise darkened living room. Laying on the couch, under a blanket, was Claudine, still dressed from work. Maya took off her shoes and jacket, setting her bag down on a chair, and leaving the food on the kitchen counter.
“Claudine?” she asked. The first name was still somewhat foreign, strangely intimate, but she liked saying Claudine’s name.
Claudine didn’t respond right away, and Maya thought she might be asleep, but she turned her head to look at Maya, and somehow, if it was possible, she looked even more devastated than when they had spoken on the night of the Christmas party.
“Can I join you?” Maya asked.
Claudine nodded, and she moved forward a little, so Maya could slip into the space between Claudine and the back of the couch. She wrapped her arms around Claudine, pulling her close, both of them watching the wrestling match on the television, the volume too low to hear what was happening.
Maya pressed her lips against the back of Claudine’s head, almost certain Claudine didn’t want to be looked at, but she knew they both couldn’t resist this contact, at least. “What happened?” she asked.
“I didn’t see him,” Claudine said, her voice low and quiet, putting to rest Maya’s initial fears. “I went to the shoot today, though, and…” She sighed, reaching up to wipe her eyes. She leaned back, as if pressing into Maya for support.
“It wasn’t just me, Maya. There’s at least one other…”