Summary: Kotori is overworking herself, Honoka worries.
Rest Day
Honoka was almost used to early morning Brooklyn Bakery hours, maybe because it would be early evening in Japan. Maybe she’d never gone off Tokyo time. She giggled as she pulled on a pair of jeans, imagining Umi chiding her for sleeping in until 5 o’clock in the evening. Kotori had just stayed up all night again. Honoka sighed as she pulled on her socks. At least Honoka had convinced Kotori to work overnight on costumes at their apartment instead of the theater, then they could at least have breakfast together before (Honoka hoped), Kotori got some sleep before she headed to the theater.
Honoka, zipping up her hoodie, bounced down the loft stairs, Kotori not even noticing her approach as the costume designer struggled with hemming a slippery, shimmery fabric she’d decide to repurpose from an old costume.
Honoka shoved the bean bag chair across the floor, dodging the rug, enjoying the slide. “Kotori-chan!!!”
“Honoka-chan?”
“You stayed up all night again?”
“Did I?” Kotori glanced out the window, seeing small hints of pink low on the skyline. She frowned, “But I didn’t finish this.”
Sitting in the chair, Honoka slid to Kotori’s side of the sewing machine. “If you slept, you might do things faster.” Honoka held up her hands, “I make so many more mistakes when I’m tired.” Honoka laid her head against Kotori’s leg, “But they still taste good.”
Kotori giggled, “You’re so silly, Honoka-chan.”
“Let’s have a snuggly night, tonight, c’mon Kotori, I miss you…I’ll bring home food, we can watch a movie…”
Kotori’s lips pinched together. Honoka knew that look. Kotori didn’t want to say no, but…Honoka stood up, “All right, Kotori-chan, I’m headed for the bakery.” Honoko put her arms around her lover, enjoying the feel of Kotori leaning into her, willing some sleepiness into Kotori, “Get some rest.”
Kotori nodded.
“Good. Love you.”
“Love you too, Honoka-chan.” Kotori leaned back enough to kiss Honoka’s cheek, “”Keep trying, please.”
Honoka felt a surge of energy. She knew that what Kotori needed most at her busy times was for Honoka to figure out a way to get her out of work mode. Brain rushing through a thousand ideas, Honoka headed to work. How to get Kotori out of work mode and into lovey fun smoochy mode?
###
Maki’s phone exploded into a dream about a very attentive Nico. But the panic in Honoka’s voice erased any lingering pleasantness.
“Maki, you gotta help me!!!”
“Honoka, it’s 5 oclock in the morning.” Maki sounded grumbly.
“I know I know but I just got off work and It’s an emergency.”
Honoka emergencies were somewhere between Umi and Rin emergencies, but Maki started to wake up. “What happened?”
“What does Nico do when you won’t stop?”
“What?” Maki turned the shrill of surprise into a very fake cough.
“What does Nico-chan do when you’re stuck on a song and you won’t come out of the music room and your eyes are all saggy and you can’t sleep?”
“Nico doesn’t…what do you mean…Why do you want to know?” Maki did not want to discuss any of Nico’s habits with anyone, especially Honoka, who would tell Kotori, who would tell Umi, an on ramp of the Lily White gossip speedway.
“Kotori’s working on this super impressive, really artsy show and she never sleeps and Umi-chan is no help, she just tells me to be patient and support her but I know Kotori needs me to help her take a break.” Huge sigh.
Maki could see Honoka’s sad face in her mind. She sat up in bed, glancing at the empty space next to her. Nico wasn’t there. Had she fallen asleep on the couch again, laptop still open, plotting her social media for the week?
“I don’t know what Nico does, Honoka.”
“Yes, you do, Maki, you’re really smart and Nico-chan grumbles a lot but I know she doesn’t let you wear yourself out. You trust her and she helps you. I want to do that for Kotori-chan.”
Was that true, Maki wondered? Did Nico pull her out of funks? Did she ever do that for Nico? How many nights had they slept apart recently? Maki needed to be paying more attention.
“Maki, stop thinking about Nico-chan.”
“She feeds me.”
“What?”
Maki smiles, “She drags me away from the piano, and makes me sit down and eat.”
“I could do that.” Honoka sounded disappointed at how easy that sounded.
“Sometimes, she sits me down in a 5 star hotel away from Tokyo.”
“That sounds more like Nico.”
“So what’s Kotori doing?”
“Staying up all night, working on costumes, living at the theater, at least I got her to work at home. She looks at pictures on her phone a lot, texts Umi, and talks about missing Homura and how everybody is doing. I think she’s homesick, Maki-chan.”
Well, flying to Japan was out, Maki knew, but it was NYC, there were Japanese restaurants and gardens and…Maki suddenly remembered a Japanese spa she’d been meaning to visit with Nico the next time they were in New York.
“I know some places you can go, Honoka, like that restaurant we went to when Hanayo wanted white rice, that Kotori might like. When’s her show opening?”
Honoka checked her phone, “Next month?”
“Good, then you can probably convince her to take a night off. I’ll send you a list of places.”
Honoka sounded hesitant, “Maki, I make dough dough not money dough at the bakery.”
“Don’t worry, Honoka. I think you just did me a favor. And the places I’m thinking of are people my papa knows.”
Honoka decided not to ask too many questions. “Send me a list. I’m gonna get a day off.”
“Get a couple, You sound like you need a rest too.”
“I need Kotori-chan.”
Maki laughed, “Good luck.”
“You too.”
Maki got out of bed, reaching for her robe, but decided not to cover up the tank top and boy shorts she was sleeping in. She ran a hand through her hair, tousling it to just woke up disheveled. A sleepy Nico might be lured back to bed and then over breakfast, they were going to discuss exactly where they were going for a weekend getaway. Maki was sending Honoka to a luxury onsen spa in NYC, but the choices here in Japan were even better.
###
Honoka was back at work, breathless, staring at her boss.
“Honoka, your shift just finished.”
“I need tomorrow and Friday off, Dolly. I’ll work all night. Kotori needs me to make her take a day off.”
Dolores “Donut Dolly” Chopp, head pastry chef at Waffles and Wagashi, smiled. Honoka had shared some of Homura’s most delish dainties, making sure Dolly could make them herself. Now they were top sellers, foodie faves. If Honoka needed a month off, Dolly would have said yes. “Sure, Honoka, take tomorrow off. You and Kotori go off and be cute.”
“Thanks, DD.”
“Go home now, silly.”
Honoka started to turn, then swung her arms back. “I need one more favor.”
“Sure.”
###
Kotori scrunched her fingers up, then stretched them out. The feel of the silky fabrics against the callouses on her fingertips had started to become unnerving, the bad kind of shivery. But this was her big opportunity, everything had to be perfect. She knew Honoka worried, but with the bakery, it was easy to make up new dough and start over if you made mistakes. Honoka didn’t understand this kind of can’t make a mistake pressure. Kotori was reusing one of a kind fabric, made with rare dyes, delicately embroidered. Any mistake could ruin the intricate color dynamics she and the director had worked out to express the social hierarchies imposed on the characters.
Her phone buzzed. Honoka’s boss? Kotori turned off the machine, “Donut Dolly?”
“Hi, Kotori,” Dolly sounded breathless, worried.
Kotori’s heart rate started to increase. “Is Honoka okay?”
“Actually” Dolly’s voice sounded strange, “She had some trouble on a delivery and I can’t leave. Could you…”
Kotori was on her feet. Was Honoka lost in New York City again? Had she been run over by a taxi? Chased by a bicycle messenger? Distracted by a cute girl with a cute dog. “Where is she?”
###
Fashion changed so rapidly. Kotori hadn’t been downtown in daylight for too many weeks and she found herself noting all the bright hints of spring as a light breeze swayed skirts. But she couldn’t fully enjoy this new season flirting with new fashion. Donut Dolly had been very…weird about Honoka and Kotori found her foot speed increasing as she approached the hotel. Dolly had told her the spa manager would be able to tell her where Honoka was. Had Honoka been injured? Gotten distracted? Messed up someone’s massage and been arrested and was about to be sent back to Japan? A small elevator took Kotori downstairs, where a pool surrounded by lanterns caught her attention, the warm wood of her surroundings an invitation to a calm Kotori couldn't quite access.
“Honoka-chan!” Kotori whispered under her breath as she rushed toward the desk.
“Can I help you?” The staffer glanced up from the computer.
“I'm looking for Kousaka Honoka. Her boss sent me here. Said she had trouble…” Kotori let her voice fade, willing the staffer to tell her Honoka was fine.
“That’s a lovely dress, the plum blossoms remind me of Inabi Plum Festival. I try to attend every few years.” The staffer smiled, Kotori could smell birch and lavender in the air. It was hard to keep worrying, but there was still no clue about where Honoka was. Kotori glanced around, the wood, the decorations, the staffers carrying trays with tea, it felt like a visit home, to Japan. Kotori started to suspect that Honoka might not be in serious trouble.
“Honoka, please?”
“Oh, follow me.” The staffer opened the door to a small room, soft lighting, murmuring river sounds. Honoka was lounging in a pale green yukata, sipping tea with a blissful look on her face, which turned into a broad smile when she saw Kotori. Her bright blue eyes sparkled as she bounced up, opened her arms and pulled Kotori into a tight hug.
“You came!”
“Of course, I came, Honoka-chan. Dolly said you were in trouble.”
The staffer slid a screen closed, making the lounge a private space. The investor who called had specifically requested that.
Honoka released Kotori, “I am in trouble. I miss you.”
“Honoka, I can’t take time off. And you can’t afford this.”
Honoka breathed in, her shoulders dropping, settling into defense mode. “You can’t afford to be this tired, Kotori-chan, you'll get sick, so I called Maki and asked her what Nico did when Maki got grumpy and sad.”
Kotori was about to say she hadn’t been grumpy or sad, but then she remembered snapping at Honoka a few days ago because they were out of clean towels. And spending evenings curled up in the end of the couch, just staring. And right now, she couldn’t help noticing how cute Honoka looked in her yukata, so by the time Kotori thought of something to say, Honoka had gone right on.
“So Maki suggested this place. And then Nico texted me this morning and said “thanks” and take two nights in a suite as an early birthday present.”
“Why did Nico thank you?”
Honoka shrugged, “I think I reminded Maki of something. And Nico liked that.”
Kotori giggled. Nico and Maki had their own way of working things out.
“So I know you’re busy, Kotori-chan, but you never come to bed anymore, and I miss snuggling.” Honoka’s strong arms were wrapped around Kotori again, and she smelled like green tea and manju, and she was whispering Kotori’s name, and Kotori just started crying into Honoka’s shoulder.
“Honoka-chan.”
Honoka steered them back to the lounge, keeping Kotori close. “It’s all right, Kotori-chan, I got you.”
“It’s so hard, Honoka-chan, the fabrics are so delicate, my hands are so tired…”
Honoka took one of Kotori’s hands in hers, rubbing soft, gentle circles in the center. “I’m so proud of you. Your show is going to be amazing. Nobody is going to talk about the surprise twist because they’ll be in awe of how everybody looks.”
Kotori giggled through the tears, “Stop talking about the twist, Honoka. You’re not supposed to know.”
“”S’okay, I can never remember the name of the show so if anyone asks me which play has the surprise twist…” Honoka’s eyes got wide, her mouth opened, she mumbled nonsense words, and then laughed, “No clues from me.”
Kotori shifted so her head rested on Honoka’s chest. “This is nice.”
“No, Kotori, don’t get comfortable. There’s an onsen, and I scheduled massages, and we’re going to have this awesome dinner in the room, it’s got a great view, and then we’re gonna have a private, extra snuggly, special late night soak in our room.”
“Nope.” Kotori muttered sleepily as she nestled closer to the strong anchor of Honoka’s heartbeat, “Staying right here. Cozy.”
Honoka rolled her eyes, but as she leaned into the feathery, sweet touch of Kotori’s soft hair, knowing Kotori’s heart was synching with hers, knowing the woman she loved was finally relaxed and resting, not worrrying, with the strong protection of Honoka’s arms around her, she just started humming a quiet, sleepy tune. “I love you, Kotori-chan.”
“Love you, Honoka-chan.” Kotori murmured. Honoka closed her eyes, knowing exactly what her lover’s beautiful face looked like in this moment, both of them immersed in this happy, warm togetherness, shared breaths sealing love.
A/N: Yes, it's March and Saturday, but it's always Femslash Febraury or Femslash Friday in our hearts so enjoy. Another request. Sorry about stressing Kotori so much, but hope there's enough cuteness to make up for it. Also, I don't get to write Honoka enough.
A Woman Of No Importance had a successful performance, so yeah!
