Agere Umagines - "Peekaboo~!"
Pairing: CG!Sunday Silence (OC) x Agere!Manhattan Cafe
Summary: Cafe is feeling under the weather, but luckily for her, her friend has a way to guarantee a smile from her
TW/CW: Mentions of death (implied heart attack)
Disclaimer: This fanfic features my headcanon for Sunday Silence, where she is revived from her death, and can change into a ghost back and forth at will after her resurrection, thanks to Marvelous Sunday. Enjoy!
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"Alright, boys, that's a wrap for today, see ya'll in the morning for our stamina training tomorrow!"
Sunday Silence bid farewell with a small wave as she watched her gaggle of junior trainees scurry away from the track and back to their dorm rooms. With a stretch and a sigh, Sunday jogged off the track as well.
She had forgotten just how good it feels to stretch your legs and slow down once in a while, especially because, when you're dead, you mostly just...float around. You don't really get a chance to run around or walk like you used to. Even if you tried walking as a ghost, it still felt...floaty.
A heart attack had taken Sunday's life all those years ago, in 2002, just when she was starting to really get comfortable in her new home in Japan. Forcefully pulled away from the Land of the Living and thrust into the Spirit Realm, Sunday Silence wasn't quite ready to leave the comfort and familiarity of her friends behind.
So, for over 5 years, she kept a close eye on her friends in Spirit form, watching over them carefully like a guardian angel. It wasn't until Marvelous Sunday did one of her weird supernatural tricks that she was suddenly revitalised back into her mortal form, but now with the added bonus of being able to switch back and forth between ghost and living form.
Basically? She came back from the dead.
Although her resurrection has left her with some... unintended consequences. Her heart was left weak, not being able to pump blood and oxygen around her body as fast anymore. At most, she could only jog a couple of miles before getting burnt out, and at worst, she'd need a cane to get around. Naturally, the idea of getting back into racing again was off the table.
So she became a trainer instead, guiding the young and impressionable juniors and molding them into the next generation of greatness.
It's not like she cared about racing THAT much.
Despite being done with her duties for the day, Sunday Silence still had one more important thing to do before she clocked out for the day.
As she reached the inside of Tracen Academy's storage unit, she had to stop and pant, wheezing heavily as she struggled to regain her breath. She REALLY should consider booking a doctor's appointment sometime this week...
Sliding open the doors carefully, her eyes immediately fixed on the various test tubes, beakers, data logs, and computers strewn about the place like a makeshift laboratory, along with an IV bag. Yup, Tachyon was here, alright
But Sunday Silence wasn't interested in being anyone's guinea pig for the evening. She had much bigger priorities.
Stepping carefully into the room to not disturb the fragile glass lab equipment, Sunday peeped a corner and grinned. She'd found who she was looking for.
Manhattan Cafe was slumped over in a chair, burying her face in her arms as a half-finished coffee cup sat idly beside her.
"Hey, friend." Sunday Silence greeted, a kind smile on her face that wasn't there before arose, along with the softening of her eyes.
Cafe's ears shot up quickly at first, but soon softened and relaxed once she saw it was only a friend coming to visit.
Sunday Silence sat down beside her, petting her head gently, "How ya feelin', Cafe?"
Cafe simply whined and sniffled, evoking a frown from Sunday. Cafe had been sick for a day or two now. Common cold, she said.
Sunday Silence was about to ask if Cafe had taken her medicine when she noticed a small, cute black cat plushie with a pacifier clip attached to it beside her. Suddenly, it made sense to Sunday.
"Ohh, someone's having a little day, huh?" Sunday asked kindly, her voice softening even further to a low murmur.
Cafe's ears pulled back in embarrassment at this, whining and burying her face into her arms again. Sunday knew Cafe for a very long time, even before she died. It was sometimes typical of Cafe to be moody when sick, so this didn't surprise her.
"Did you take your medicine?" Sunday asked, prompting a nod from the coffee-lover.
Sunday Silence nodded in understanding. She wanted to end it at that and tell Cafe to go lay down, but... seeing Cafe sit there so miserably and regress like this made it feel... wrong.
Instead, Sunday stood up and gently lifted Cafe's chin up
"Hey, coffee-bean?" Sunday cooed gently ('coffee-bean' is what Sunday called Cafe when she was feeling small), "I know just the remedy for that sad lil face of yours."
Cafe sat up slightly, curious to see what Sunday was planning.
As Sunday stood up, she covered her eyes with both hands, and...
In a cloud of purple smoke, Sunday Silence had completely vanished into thin air. Although this didn't freak Cafe out at first. In fact, she sat up more firmly, as she knew this was leading up to one of her favourite games to play with her friend...
"Peekaboo!" Sunday Silence reappeared in yet another explosion of purple smoke, now uncovering her hands, "I see you, coffee-bean!"
This caused Cafe to let out a small chuckle, reaching to snuggle her black cat plushie.
"Did you like that?" Sunday Silence asked, "want me to do it again?"
Cafe nodded, a smile now upon her face.
Just like before, Sunday vanished into a puff of smoke before reappearing again.
"Peekaboo!" She cheered. For someone who's usually so stoic and a shut-in, her voice was oddly cheerful to be playing a kiddy game with her friend.
Cafe giggled in that soft, shy way she always does. With a "begging" motion, she whispered, "again?", her voice sounding just a tad bit more childish than usual.
"Okay, okay. Only for you, coffee-bean," Sunday muttered
Their game of peekaboo seemed to stretch on until Sunday Silence grew tired, and Manhattan Cafe was giggling softly, like she had forgotten all about feeling sick.
Despite her fatigue, Sunday was glad to have cheered up her friend, going over to pat her head, "Did you have fun, bean?"
Cafe nodded, squeezing her stuffed animal a little.
Sunday Silence smiled, placing the pacifier attached to the plushie into her mouth with a soft push.
"Now you go on and rest, okay? You need to get better." Sunday instructed, stroking Cafe's face tenderly.
Cafe nodded, rubbing her eyes and slowly heading back to her dorm room to catch some 'Z's
Sunday Silence sighed in relief. Maybe being part-ghost had its perks...
