A (sort-of) office AU. Or; just a random story.

Wordcount: 3027

 

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8pm.

It was pouring outside. Though the curtains were drawn, they did little in keeping the gloomy weather out - the thunder still sounding ever so often, and the lightning sending shocks of brightness through the office ever so frequently.

Sitting in the office, lonelier than ever, was Myoui Mina, the boss of the well-known company, Myoui & Co. Ever since she took over her father as the head of the company, staying back till such late hours was a norm for Mina, for that was the only way she could possibly ever finish her piles of work.

However, on days like these, something always stirs inside of Mina, making her miss a certain someone a lot. Well, not that she did not miss that someone on other days, just particularly so on such days. After all, being in the office alone when it was raining so heavily outside only served to make one feel separated from home, and the feeling of being stranded in the office made people think and become especially emotional.

Myoui Mina, however charismatic she appeared to others, however strong she portrayed herself to be, however respected she was by her employees, was no exception.

And so, instead of getting her work done, she was spending her time in the office thinking about someone and the memories they ever shared. That someone was a girl by the name of Hirai Momo.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Back when they were together, whenever she stayed till late, she did not have to worry about being alone, because Momo would never fail to drop by to deliver food and accompany her. At half past eight, Momo would arrive at the doorstep of her office, with two packets of food in her hands. Momo knew her preferences like the back of her hand, so Mina never had to worry that Momo would turn up with food she did not like. Then again, even if Momo did buy her food that she did not like, she would still eat it and enjoy it very much, because there was an additional ingredient added to that packet of food - love. An ingredient that was added from the moment Momo ordered Mina's food, and more of it added as the former carried it all the way to the office.

They would always have dinner together, then Mina would resume clearing her piles of papers. She was the type to be overly focused, so much so that she ended up unintentionally ignoring Momo most of the time. However, the girl never once complained, and always waited patiently until Mina decided to call it a day.

Don't get her wrong, Mina was not the type who would get her girlfriend to run errands for her like this. Momo had always did this on her own accord, even from the very first time. Not once did Mina request it.

Mina was also not the type to take her girlfriend's love and care for granted. She did appreciate the gesture very much, and it always warmed her heart at the thought that Momo cared for her to this extent. Admittedly, (and perhaps it was to Momo's knowledge as well), Mina would have just conveniently skipped dinner if it had not been delivered by her special someone. Work was important, and arguably took higher priority. For a workaholic like Mina, at least.

 

But those were all not important now, because right now, Momo was no longer here.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

Mina remembers very clearly the day that their relationship started getting shaky. It was on the day that Momo told her that she was accepted into a very prestige dance school in London, one that the girl had always wanted to go to.

Unlike Mina who joined her father's company to learn from him immediately after graduating from college, Momo wanted to pursue something further instead of heading into the labour force. It was her dream since young to become a professional dancer, and this was her very chance to fulfill that dream of hers. She wanted it so bad she ever thought she would willingly drop almost everything just to go there, but things were not as easy now that she had grown up. Going meant leaving Mina behind, meant being far apart from her loved ones, albeit a few years only, but still a hard step for her to take.

It was undoubtedly a tough decision for Mina to make as well, but she wanted the best for Momo, and she wanted Momo to be happy. She was not going to let Momo miss the opportunity just because of her. So she told Momo to go, and that she would wait for her to come back.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

To London Momo went, making a start to their long distance relationship. It was hard due to the time difference, but they still tried their best to contact each other. They often sent each other messages, and sometimes either of them would stay up late just so they can call each other and hear each other's voices.

However, as Momo entered the second year of her schooling there, and Mina officially took over as the head of the company, things took a downturn.

Time was even tighter than before, and every second meant the world to them. And when they were finally done for the day, they would be totally depleted of energy and too tired for anything else.

And so, gradually but surely, the two drifted apart. Most of the time, they would only leave half-hearted "good morning" or "good night" messages to each other.

And that very one day that they contacted each other, Mina made the worst mistake of her life. Perhaps it was because she was exhausted, or perhaps it was because the workload had taken a toll on her. Or maybe because everyone seemed to be particularly annoying that day. She had called Momo in the wee hours of the morning (for Momo), wanting to hear her voice which would make everything seem better, but ended up calling the other girl out for being "disinterested" in talking to her. Naturally, this led to the start of a fight, to which resulted in the end of their relationship after Momo argued that Mina had never given her attention as well.

Since that day, neither of them ever contacted the other. Mina knew she had screwed up big time, but there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing but feel all the guilt and loneliness creep up to her, feel the longing she had towards Momo increasing every time she was reminded of her. Which was pretty much every single moment, because everything she did seemed to remind her of the girl. The girl who once played such a huge and important role in her life.

Mina hated to admit it, though everyone could pretty much tell, but she missed Momo. She missed the girl so much she would often cry herself to sleep out of regret. If she was given the chance again, she would never have let Momo go.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

A knock disrupts Mina's train of thoughts - thankfully or maybe not - but it shocks her even more to see the girl by the door. The girl she hated so much for having such a great impact in her life. The girl that had gone through many moments, both happy and sad ones, with her. The girl that just occupied her mind for almost every minute of her life. The girl that she had yearned so much to see again. The girl by the name of Hirai Momo.

Oh dear, it's so bad that I'm even hallucinating right now. She thinks, but was instantly proven wrong when she heard a voice.

"Hey." It was a simple word, but it coming from Hirai Momo made it such a special one.

Mina had not intended it, and she was not one that was so emotional, but when she heard the voice she had last heard a long time ago, she could not help but tear up. All her emotions just bundled up all at once and threatened to push their way out of her eyes. 

And they did.

Flustered was probably the best word to describe Momo then, it was not her first time seeing Mina cry, but she had not expected to be greeted by the girl crying.

"Why are you crying? Don't cry," Momo cooed. She had come into the room but still kept a careful distance away from Mina, being painfully aware that they were no longer an item and she had to know her boundary. 

The space was, however, rapidly closed by Mina, who ran instinctively into Momo's arms. She was such an emotional wreck at that moment, she could not care less about their current status. All she knew was that she wanted to feel the warmth of Momo, she wanted to be embraced by Momo.

Feeling Mina's body pressed against hers, Momo could not hold back either. She wrapped her arms around the girl and pulled her closer, letting the girl cry in her arms, just like last time when they were still together.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

If Mina's feelings were considered to be kept in a bottle, seeing Momo must have opened the cap of it and flipped the bottle vertically downwards. It took Mina a long time to even begin to calm down, and even then it seemed like she was never going to stop sobbing. Guilt engulfed Momo after seeing that, maybe she could have been more patient with Mina and not given her up so easily. Momo had been regretting all the while actually, if she had not let her emotions get the better of her, perhaps her status with Mina today would be different.

Now, Mina was finally a lot more stable - they were both seated on Mina's couch, with Mina leaning towards Momo and tightly wrapping her arms around the girl's waist. She was still sniffing away, her breaths still quick and shaky.

"What are you doing here? Why aren't you in London?" Mina eventually asks, in between her sniffs, the question having bothered her all these while.

"I came back to visit my parents," Momo explains calmly, as if she had expected the question, "I thought it'd be good to drop by and see you too."

I missed you. She finishes with an unsaid thought, unsure of how Mina would react if she had said it out loud.

"So you brought food?" Mina had been surviving on no dinner, or just instant noodles, ever since Momo left, having no one to deliver dinner for her. Momo delivering food like she used to made Mina feel fuzzy all over.

"Yeah, and it's your favourite. I also bought a bottle of Heinz ketchup along, just in case you ran out of it in your office pantry." Momo smiled as she finished her sentence, but all she got was Mina tearing up once again.

On top of feeling bad, Mina came to realise that, no one ever cared for her the way Momo did.

 

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

 

Mina did not do much work that night, for they headed to the park near Mina's house for a stroll to catch up on each other's lives. 

They were now walking next to each other, with a slight space between them. The space that irked both of them so much. It should have never been this way.

"So... How have you been?" Momo was the first to break the silence that engulfed them, just like how she had always been the one taking the first step in this relationship, due to Mina's shy personality.

"I've been fine," Mina replies, though she knows very well that she had been everything but fine, but she was not about to let Momo know that, not when she was unsure how Momo felt about her now. "How about you?"

Momo hesitated, contemplating on how she should reply. She eventually decided against being truthful. "Same for me."

Momo was certain that this is the most awkward moment they have ever experienced. Even their first meeting could not compare to this.

"So.. You're the-"

"I'm sorry," Mina didn't really care what Momo was going to say, since the conversation was going to be really superficial anyway, so she just cut her off. "I'm sorry for what I did and what I said. It was early in the morning there and I should have understood. Plus, you've always loved to sleep and you need lots of sleep. I knew that, and I should have been understanding and thankful that you even woke up to answer my call. I just lost it because I had a tough time the entire day. It's my fault and I should have controlled myself, and I'm not expecting anything to happen after I say this, but I just want you to know that I always regretted what I did."

"Mina," Momo called softly and gently, that girl seeming like the most fragile piece of glass on earth right now.

"I was angry so I just rolled around the bed that night, and eventually fell asleep. Only in the morning when I woke up to no messages from you did I realise that I screwed up. I wanted to call or message you to apologise, but I was scared that you did not want to talk to me anymore. I," Mina pauses mid-sentence, her mind was too messed up to form a coherent sentence. Choking back a sob, she forced out the only thing that came to her mind. "I'm just really sorry."

It was the second time that Mina broke down in front of her that day, and this time, knowing the reason, Momo's heart clenched. She had no idea that Mina had hurt so much. She had overslept that morning and had to rush out, which was why she did not leave a message. Seeing no message from Mina as well, she, too, had thought that Mina was still angry.

"Hey," Momo pulled the crying girl into her arms, "Look at me."

The younger girl shook her head, burying her head into Momo's shoulder.

"Mina, look at me, please?" Whenever Mina cried, she never liked showing her face to Momo. So the latter waited patiently till Mina was a little more calm, before adjusting their position so that she could see Mina's face. "It's okay, alright? We all have our bad days and I never blamed you for it. I just overslept that day, so I did not have time to message you. I thought you were angry, though."

Mina did not give a reply, her mind did not allow her to, but neither did Momo expect one. Leaving one hand behind Mina's waist to embrace her, Momo used her other hand to wipe the tears away from Mina's face.

Mina was uncertain before, but when her eyes met Momo's, she found all the courage she needed to ask what she had been wanting to ask. "I-Is it possible for us to get together a-again?"

The younger girl teared up yet again, nervous at the thought that Momo would reject her.

Momo gave a sad smile, and Mina's stomach churned in preparation for the words she did not want to hear. "Mina, I would love for that to happen, but I'm going back soon and I have one more year in London. We'll both be busy, just like we were when we fought. How about we take this year to stabilise our relationship, before we become official again?

"D-Do you not love me anymore?"

"I do, I still love you as much, if not more, and I think of you everyday. I missed you so much. I just don't want us to rush things, only to end up fighting over the trivial stuff again. We can also take this time to think about some things too, to plan for the future and see if we really want to go this way." Truthfully, Momo was just afraid that they'll fight again. Not that she did not have faith, but long distance relationship was truly a difficult thing, and anything can happen. She made a silent promise to herself that if everything went smoothly, she was going to come back and make Mina hers. Officially. Legally.

Perhaps Momo did lose her trust in me, Mina thought.

"Don't overthink it, Mina, my feelings for you have not changed the slightest bit, I swear. It's just that we were young when we started, and I want us to now, as mature adults, to carefully think about it." Momo gave Mina a kiss on the forehead, hoping that the girl would be able to fully feel what she was trying to convey.

 

 

 

***

 

 

 

"We're here," Momo said, disappointment evident in her tone. Maybe they should have chosen a further place to talk. She passed Mina's bag to her, to which Mina gave a small bow as she took it.

"Can we still message and call like we did?" 

Mina's voice was timid, and it hurt Momo to hear it.

"Of course," Momo replied with a small smile. She looked at Mina once more, and she decided that following her heart once more before leaving would not hurt. Closing her eyes, she leaned in and placed her lips onto Mina's.

The kiss was full of emotions, and undoubtedly genuine. It lasted for a while before Momo pulled away, leaving the other girl more confused than ever.

"I'll be waiting for your message," Momo said with a smile, before turning back to walk away. It took her all her effort to control the urge to just go back and take Mina back as hers.

But she was worried they would fight again. The time she spent after they fought, Momo gave a deep thought and came to the conclusion that she really could not bear seeing Mina leave. She wanted to ask Mina back, but she was afraid of her leaving again.

She was the one who always took the initiative in their relationship, yet she was the true coward.

 

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A/N: Just a really random idea and story, I'm not sure how it went or whether it's to the liking of you guys, but I sure hope you guys enjoyed this.

Anyways I'm sorry for the lack of updates, I've been busy and having lack of ideas and motivation. But I'll try my best to write more. :) 

Do leave a comment, they always make my day :)