Captain

What can I do for you?

 Marie pondered what to do. Staring at Mikuni from afar, without being seen... should she talk to her? Give her a shoulder to cry on? There was, certainly, no easy answer. She kept thinking about it for a while, until she looked more carefully and it seemed like Mikuni was crying. Marie couldn't just stand there and watch it. Even if they have had that same "let's not draw too much attention to ourselves, let's not be suspicious" talk many times, there was no way of letting her precious Mikuni cry by herself.

"Hey..." Marie approached her, in a soft voice. Mikuni was slightly startled, but quickly changed her posture and tried to mask her sad face.

"I-it's okay. Don't worry about it."

"It must be a really hard time for you, with the graduations, the new responsibilities piling up, so... if there is anything I can do to help..."

"I-I'm fine, I swear, I guess... I really needed that cry. I'm so nervous right now... there is just too much to handle. I'm sorry you had to see that pitiful face I was making."

"Nothing about you is pitiful, okay? Don't be too harsh on yourself." That made Mikuni smile a bit.do

"It's cute that your cheeks are all rosy while you're trying to be helpful." Oh, that Dokuni¹. "Thank you for coming to check on me."

"It's my duty after all." Marie went for a hug, and while Mikuni didn't dodge it, she sure had to point.

"Hey, what about our no PDA rule?"

"There's, like, no one here. Chill a little!"

"What if there's a hidden camera? Or someone inside that closet?!"

"Come on! The only one inside the closet in this room is you!" With that, they laughed at each other. "I know we have to be careful, don't lecture me on it again! But, sometimes... I need this. And so do you."

"I guess it can't be helped then." Mikuni let out a sigh.

"So, you'll be captain... I know I'll get used to it soon, but... it just doesn't sound right yet."

"Well... honestly, it doesn't sound right to me either."

"Maybe if I say it a couple times it will sound more natural?"

"Let's not do that." But Marie didn't care.

"Captain, captain, captain... see? Now your cheeks are so, so red!" At least, the mood got a lot merrier after that.

¹Dokuni = Doku (poison) + Mikuni (often seen on HinaAi)