Ayame clapped her hands together, bowing her head in apology. “I’m so sorry!”

The glare Ayame-han sent her way was deadly. Clearly she thought nothing of her apologies.

In her defence, how could she know that the door to the storage closet locked automatically?

“I told you not to follow me,” Ayame-han said. She banged her fist against the door, even though she knew it was pointless. Her coworker had gone on break and was known to be flaky; she had no idea when he would be back. Or if he would be back at all.

Ayame pouted, fidgeting with her hands. “I just wanted to help.”

“Of course you did.” Turning around, she knocked the back of her head against the door with a light thump. Her sigh was one of frustration. “The next time I tell you not to help me out, listen.”

The drawn-out ‘um’ Ayame made was one that made it clear that this both could and would happen again. She liked helping people! She couldn’t help it!

With a loud groan, Ayame-han slid her back down the door. “If I get fired for leaving the place unattended, I’m blaming you.”

Ayame gasped, hands covering her mouth.. “They wouldn’t do that, would they? I’m so so sorry!”

She looked like she was going to cry, eyes wide and wet as she knelt in front of her in the little supply closet, knees grazing the toes of Ayame-han’s shoes.

 

Clicking her tongue, Ayame-han turned her head so she wouldn’t have to look at those puppy-dog eyes. “Probably not.” Not when they had been letting her coworker off the hook for ditching the last hour of his shift for months.

Ayame let out a sigh of relief. “Aah, thank god. I don’t want to get you fired, that’d be terrible!”

 

Mood shifting like the turn of the wind, she clapped her hands together, this time in enthusiasm. “Want to play a game while we wait? Shiritori? 21 questions? Would You Rather? I know a lot of games.” She caught sight of a crate filled with empty bottles. “Spin the bottle?”

Ayame-han’s eyes snapped back to her from where she’d been staring into the ceiling. “The kissing game?”

“I um, didn’t mean to say that last one out loud.”

“Mmhm.” Ayame-han looked sceptical, an eyebrow raised. “But you were still thinking about it.”

Ayame knew without a mirror that her face was growing redder by the second. “Um… Maybe?

 

The stare she was given made her want to fidget. Ayame wondered how long it was humanly possible not to blink, because it sure felt like they had passed that threshold several seconds ago.

“How, how long are you going to look at me like that for?”

 

Finally, Ayame-han blinked. “Not much of a game when there’s only two of us, is it?”

She reached over, plucking a bottle out of the crate.

“You’re… we’re playing it?”

“Beats shiritori. And I’m not playing any of the other ones locked up in here, I need alcohol for that.”

Ayame pouted. 21 questions and Would you rather were great ways to get to know someone better. And she wouldn’t mind getting to know Ayame-han some more.

“You get three spins,” Ayame said, placing the bottle in her hand. She didn’t need to explain further. If it didn’t land on Ayame-han within three attempts, they weren’t playing this anymore. Still, that was way more than she would have expected for her to want to play.

She put the empty bottle down between them. The look on her face was one of full concentration. She set the bottle spinning with her fingers, watching it intently as it stopped and... Pointed right back at the crate where Ayame-han had taken it from.

She caught the small snort in front of her, and she glanced up at Ayame-han.

Ayame-han had a small smirk on her face. “I guess the bottle doesn’t want to play,” she said. When she made a move to pick it up and put it away, Ayame quickly snatched it and clutched it to her chest. “I still have two more tries!”

Ayame-han lowered her arm again, letting it rest on her knees. Ayame met her gaze for a moment, face flushing when she realised how it must look to be so determined to attempt to get a single kiss from her.

Still, it would be more embarrassing to quit in the middle.

 

She put the bottle back down on the floor, giving it another spin, tip of her tongue sticking out from between her lips in concentration.

It slowed down with each rotation, until it finally came to a stop, pointing right back at her. She didn’t need to look at Ayame-han to know that she found it even funnier than where the first try had landed.

She stared down at the bottle.

One last try. One last try, and if this one failed, she might lose her chance to kiss Ayame-han. Possibly forever (let’s not think about that, though, if she was open to it now, maybe she would be later, as well).

Not wanting to psych herself out, she quickly set it spinning again. It slid a little to the side, only barely missing Ayame-han’s shoe. The rotation felt sluggish, stopping far quicker than during her other attempts.

 

This time it stopped right where she wanted it to.

 

Eyes snapping up to Ayame-han, their eyes met. She’d been so enthusiastic about it up til now, reality hadn’t hit her until now. “Um.” She picked up the bottle, handing it over to Ayame-han, who put it back in its crate. “I won’t kiss you if you don’t want me to.”

Ayame-han snorted. “You’re gonna back out now?”

She felt her face burn. “No, I just don’t want to force myself on you, that’d be bad!”

Rolling her eyes, Ayame-han crossed her legs in front of her. She leaned forward, hands taking a hold of Ayame’s face. “Shut up, before I find you too annoying and change my mind.”

Ayame let out a tiny squeak as she felt Ayame’s hands on either side of her face. They were warm against her skin. She smelled nice, faintly like something floral. She could hear her heart beating in her ears.

Then, squeezing her eyes shut, she leaned forward, pressing her lips against Ayame-han’s. They were soft and warm against her own.

She leaned forward, her hands finding Ayame-han’s shoulders. Her hair, tied into its low ponytail, tickled her fingers.

As they kissed, she found herself losing her breath, but she didn’t want it to end. Eventually, she was forced to pull back to catch her breath. She stared at Ayame-han, face flushed. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, they heard the door click.

Ayame-han, who had been propped up against it, fell backwards, Ayame following. They stared up at Ayame-han’s coworker, who stared back at them, a sly grin making its way onto his face as he put two and two together. “Whatcha doing in here?”

“None of your business,” Ayame-han said as she sat back up. They got up on their feet, and Ayame just knew that her face had to be bright red. She had no idea how Ayame-han’s cheeks were managing to only be dusted a light pink.

“Sheesh, you’re so mean. I’ll tell the boss.”

“No you won’t,” Ayame-han said, raising an eyebrow. “Not unless you want me to tell her what you’ve been doing after you close.”

Her coworker put up his hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, I won’t.”

Ayame-han levelled him with a stare for another few seconds, before finally picking up a crate of bottled drinks to be moved to the fridge off the shelf to the right of the door, stepping out of the storage closet. Ayame followed close behind her.

Ayame-han’s coworker met her eye, the smirk on his face way too amused. It made Ayame’s face burn, and she turned her eyes away, only to meet Ayame-han’s instead. That didn’t help at all.

 

Before they turned the corner to get back into the front of the shop, Ayame-han stopped in front of her.

“I get off in an hour.”

Ayame’s fingers tangled in the edge of her cardigan, unable to stop a small giggle from escaping past her lips. “I’ll be here,” she said, a wide smile on her face.

When Ayame-han gave her a tiny one in return, she felt her heart soar.

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