Mayakuro...24? Wanna see where this goes
okay so i’m 85% positive this is because someone say that KuroMaya I wrote for a kiss meme that I reblogged months ago, and while I’m not technically taking those anymore I was already doing some meme stuff anyway and KuroMaya is some Good Shit so I wrote it anyway
Tendo Maya doesn’t make missteps. Claudine knows this intimately — she’s spent hours watching Maya act, watching her practice, even watching recordings of her older performances. Tendo Maya is always strong in her stance, strong in her voice, and she doesn’t make mistakes. Tendo Maya is perfect. That’s what Claudine has to fight against — perfection. It’s like trying to reach heaven as a mortal soul.
So when Maya’s heel catches on the edge of the stage and her sword tips out of her hands, when her fur lined coat flutters as her body’s gravity shifts back and the song drops from her tongue, for a brief, precious second, Claudine is positive that she did it on purpose.
Then she Maya’s eyes widen and her cheeks go pale, and the other girl drops off the side of the stage, and Claudine realizes that oh — she’s actually falling.
Claudine feels her breath catch in her throat, and she dives. Maya’s already fallen two feet and without thinking about it, Claudine flings herself off the stage. The second she’s in the air she realizes that this was the dumbest thing she’s ever done, but it’s too late to course correct now. She dives like a professional diver to gain speed on Maya as fast as she can. Automatically she flings an arm around Maya’s waist, and Maya flings her arms around Claudine’s.
Then in a sudden burst of wild desperation, Claudine flings her other hand back and tries to stab her sword into the side of the stage.
Her aim somehow hits. Her shoulder shrieks when she’s yanked to a stop, and Maya almost slides out of her grip from the abrupt stop stop but somehow they manage to hang on. For a second, they just hang there, dangling what feels like hundreds of feet from the dark floor of the Giraffe’s nebulous stage. Maya gasps, her face pressed against Claudine’s shoulder, trembling slightly.
Claudine’s heart rattles in her chest. She can hear Maya’s heart against hers, and her arms shake slightly from the effort of holding onto both her sword with one hand and clinging to Maya with the other. Now what, genius, she thinks at herself. They’re hanging from the edge of the stage, and she’s not sure how long she can hang on, and this isn’t the point of the audition!
“What’s wrong with you?” she shouts at Maya. Her shoulder is aching and she can feel the slide of her palm on the hilt of her sword. It’s only a matter of time before she lets go. “You’re not supposed to — why did you do that?”
Maya drags in a thin, rattling breath, and after a moment, she lifts her eyes up to Claudine’s.
This close, Claudine can see the exhaustion in Maya’s eyes. It gives Claudine pause, despite their situation. Her hand is slipping a little, and she clings tighter. Maya is heavy.
“I’m sorry,” Maya gasps. “I — you shouldn’t have come after me.”
Claudine can only stare at her. She’s so rarely this close to her, and even in this dangerous situation, she can only think about how close they are. How up close, heaven seems to turn into stark reality.
Tendo Maya doesn’t make mistakes.
Claudine shifts her grip on Maya.
“Hold on tight. I need both hands for a moment,” she says.”
Maya’s lips part, but she does so, wrapping both arms tightly around Claudine’s waist. Claudine doesn’t think about it. She leans down and pecks Maya gently on the lips. In the same motion, she draws a dagger from her belt, and slices the button from Maya’s coat.
The curtains drop immedaitely, and when Claudine releases her sword, they land on a stage inches from their feet.
Maya is still clinging to her waist as they both slide to their knees, her eyes wide and staring at Claudine. Clauding doesn’t look at the coat she’s left on the floor behind her. It feels wrong to see Maya without that coat on her shoulders, and her hand shakes, as though she can’t believe she’s done what she has.
“Taking care of yourself is an important part of being the Top Star too,” Claudine says. “Come back and try again once you’ve slept.”
Maya stares at her, her eyes widening.
And then a smile breaks over her face. She releases Claudine to lean back, covering her mouth with one hand while her shoulders start to shake with laughter. Claudine feels heat explode over her cheeks.
Maya wipes a tear of laughter from her eye, shaking her head and still giggling.
“Very well then, Claudine,” she says. “It seems that I learned something important today.”
“I should hope so! Working hard doesn’t mean working yourself to death —”
Claudine stops talking when Maya lays her lips on top of Claudine’s, and her eyes bulge. Maya smiles knowingly as she leans back, sticking her tongue out slightly.
“Oh,” she says with a wink. “I suppose that’s something I learned, too.”
jacobvanloon
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