STARLIGHT | krmy ✓

14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN —
MUSCLE MEMORY.

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"YOUR FRIDGE IS pathetic." Claudine wrinkles her nose, hand resting on Maya's dingy refrigerator door. She reaches into it and fishes a cup of expired strawberry yoghurt out, making a disgusted face as she did so. "Just what are you eating?"

"Sunshine." Maya mutters to herself, holding up a jar of jam and waving it in Claudine's direction from where she was by the tiny counter. "And bread. Like every other person."

Claudine rolls her eyes, closing the refrigerator door and chucking the yoghurt into the bin. "That's not what I meant,"

Claudine moves to stand in front of Maya, arms folded across her chest, complementing the disapproval on her face. Maya doesn't say a word as the blonde stares her down, the jam glued to her hand tightly.

"Are you even eating healthily?" Claudine asks slowly, reaching for the jam, which Maya hands over obediently. The jar was half-full with red paste cloaking its innards, and the worn edges around its lid told of how often Maya would resort to mere bread and jam for meals. "And non, bread and jam isn't healthy for you in the long run."

Maya blinks. "I've had instant noodles and a little bit of coffee too–"

"–even worse," Claudine mumbles angrily, and she gets more rifled when Maya has no reaction to her very-apparent frustration with her. "You should be having proper meals. Especially for a job like yours."

Maya nods, taking the jam from Claudine and placing it back into the counter drawer. "I just don't have time for–well–actual meals. Especially with this many cases on my hands. Is Christmas the prime time for sexual assault?"

Claudine visibly winces, and Maya reacts instantly, mentally yelling at herself for not being careful.

"Sorry, that was insensitive." Maya moves away from Claudine, who was still frozen in place, and watches the blonde carefully, in case she had really struck a nerve.

A few moments pass, tension thick in the air. Claudine looked to be in another world; her body was stiff and eyes wandering, like her soul had left her being. It scared Maya a little, and she moves to place her hands just by Claudine's, which were supporting her weight on the kitchen counter, keeping Claudine in place between her and the counter.

"Saijō-san?" Maya whispers, and Claudine blinks a few times, before parting her lips slightly, as if about to say something. But when she saw the worry and guilt in Maya's eyes, she clenches her jaw, swallows, and looks away.

"It's okay," Claudine whispers, inhaling sharply when Maya leans in a little, searching her face for a stone-set answer. Her eyes dart to Maya's lips, which the brunette pretends not to notice.

Maya stays there, cautiously dangling between Claudine's personal space and her own, in case the blonde wasn't as comfortable as she seemed to be. She was close, close enough to taste Claudine's breath on her tongue. Her mouth feels unbearably dry all of a sudden; a strong familiar scent of cinnamon and coffee wraps itself around her like a blanket, drowning her in its addictive aroma.

Claudine, too, seems to be affected by something that charged the air between them, and Maya knew that if she continued any further, she might do something she'd sorely regret. Or relish. Whichever.