Absent Virtues | { COMPLETED }

Part 3 🫶

"Whatever, it worked out, didn't it?"

"What? Speaking Japanese at the first vaguely Japanese-resembelling person you could find?"

"No, asshole ," Jennifer huffs, "I mean, you asked for my number, so it wasn't a total loss."

Kazuha's stomach flips at that, and she's mostly positive it's not the sundae. Mostly.

"Yeah, I guess," She smiles into her lap, biting her lip. "You still haven't given it to me, by the way."

"What? My number?"

Kazuha rolls her eyes. "Your insurance card. Yes, your phone number."

Jennifer pauses for a second, still in her position facing Kazuha. If Kazuha wasn't both very stubborn and very confident, she would probably be crestfallen at that, but she is, so she's not. Jennifer looks up at her, and Kazuha meets her eyes. They're really very nice, bright and shiny, reflecting the flickering lights from the buildings around them. Kazuha would probably be content to just sit there for hours, picking out all the swirls of light and the shades of brown, but Jennifer's staring her down determinedly, and it's almost startling. Kazuha feels a little bit like ahe's being picked apart, pulled at the edges and sifted through, but she doesn't really mind. She's always worn her heart on her sleeve, after all.

She raises her eyebrows, a smirk creeping up onto her face, and Jennifer seems to decide. Her shoulders drop a little, relaxing, and she holds out her hand, palm up. Kazuha, almost instinctively, places her own flat on top, Jennifer's fingertips brushing against her wrist. Jennifer looks away quickly, and laughs with nervousness, but doesn't pull away.

"Your phone , dumbass."

"Oh! Right." Kazuha feels her cheeks heating up as she digs in her pocket, but she takes it in stride, as she does with most things. She hands over her phone, reveling in the way Jennifer shakes her head, maybe in disbelief, maybe in amusement, either way. She's grinning, and man, is it infectious.

"I'm giving you my personal number, okay?"

Kazuha snorts. "As opposed to what? Do you still have a landline, or something?"

Jennifer stares at her, a tiny smile playing on her lips. Kazuha feels a little bit like she's missing something, but she pushes it away, because Jennifer takes a deep breath and leans her head against the seat. Her smile stretches to its fullest, all white teeth and cheeks and makes Kazuha's chest pound furiously.

"Yeah, something like that."

They sit, facing each other in the car and talking for far too long. Kazuha knows her friends are going to kill her for not answering, especially Sakura, but she has her location on. If they were really that concerned, they could always come looking for her.

She bumps her head against the seat, her eyes mutinying with sleep despite the rest of her body teeming with alertness. Jennifer looks a little tired, too, but Kazuha thinks that Jennifer's version of tiredness is far superior to most people's. Her eyes droop every once in a while, and her smiles have turned lazy and slow, but she mainly looks cozy. She sort of makes Kazuha want to curl up under a blanket and hold her to her chest until she falls asleep, but this is barely a first date, and that might be a teensy bit forward.

"It's kinda late." Jennifer comments, glancing at the clock on the dashboard.

"It's extremely late," Kazuha laughs, her voice a little hoarse from all the talking. "You're on KST now, friend."

"Is it okay if I take you home?"

Kazuha hums. "Yes, but if your plan was to rob me, my roommate is a master at martial arts and would most definitely kick your ass."