Author's Note

So someone sent me a prompt on Tumblr and it became a fic. (It was supposed to be three sentences, but then I wrote ficlets and this one turned out to be a lengthy one so...)

Enjoy!

1.

Nozomi huffed as she hoisted her camera equipment further up her shoulder. Really, she should have just paid a little more to get a pushcart so she wouldn't have to deal with the huge burden. She grunted as she trudged on towards the taxi stand, mere metres away from her relief. Unfortunately, her arms couldn't withstand the strain any longer. Her fists unclenched, as if having a mind of their own, and the bags she had been carrying were strewn all over the ground. Nozomi exhaled a sigh of disbelief and removed the equipment from her shoulders, then proceeding to retrieve the items. In her frantic and weary state, she hardly noticed a figure helping pick the items up. She only realised it when she found herself with only her camera equipment and a bag of films instead of four. Looking up, she saw a blonde around her age, grasping on to her three missing bags.

"I figured you needed a hand. Where are you headed to?" Her saviour gave a charming smile and enquired.

They walked the short distance left to the taxi stand, Nozomi already feeling some relief from the massive weight she had been dealing with earlier. She managed to get a taxi easily since there wasn't a queue and the blonde helped to load her equipment in the taxi.

"Thanks for your help. I'll be sure to return the favour somehow," Nozomi thanked gratefully as she entered the taxi.

"Well then, I guess I'll see you around," Eli joked back.

Little did they know how true that statement was.

2.

Eli enters the coffee shop near her university. Between her internship, her usual school work and the upcoming examinations, she was wrung out.

"Double shot espresso with half hot chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut extract, skimmed milk and whipped cream mixed in," Eli recited as she gave her usual order.

It wasn't as if she really needed to. She had frequented the shop so much in the past year that the baristas all knew her order by heart, even if it was a custom order. She waited by the collection point, rubbing the fatigue from her eyes.

"One double shot espresso with half hot chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut extract, skimmed milk and whipped cream mixed in!"

Eli turned to retrieve her drink, only to be refused it.

"Sorry, this is another person's order."

Eli regarded her in confusion. It was her exact custom order; surely no one else would get the same thing as her?

Someone approached the counter from behind her and took the drink. Eli turned to her left and was met with the same violet hair she had seen just two days ago at the taxi stand.

"You ordered that drink?" Eli couldn't suppress her curiosity.

"Oh, what a coincidence, meeting you here. Thanks again for the other day," Nozomi replied, recalling the girl. "I heard the order the other day in this same shop and decided to try it. I've been drinking it ever since."

Eli's eyes widened. Chances were that it was her order at that time. Could they have crossed paths before?

"I didn't catch whose drink it was but I really do need to thank that person," Nozomi explained, not knowing that she was addressing the same person she was talking about.

She checked her watch, realising that she was running late. The set was still quite a distance and they had a tight schedule today. She gave Eli a regretful smile for not being able to repay her and bid her goodbye, rushing out of the door

"One double shot espresso with half hot chocolate, vanilla and hazelnut extract, skimmed milk and whipped cream mixed in!"

Eli turned back to the staff member, getting her drink this time. As she drank, feeling the double shot working its magic, her thoughts wandered to the girl who had left so hastily just now.

I guess she owes me two now.

3.

Eli couldn't believe it. The one and only time she had forgotten to bring an umbrella was the day they experienced torrential rain. They hadn't even received a single drop from the sky in the past two days. Worse still, the sudden downpour had started when Eli was walking on the streets. She rushed to take cover under a relatively dense and large tree, dusting off the droplets from her blazer.

"Weren't you ever taught that you should never take shelter under a tree when it's pouring?" A teasing voice came from her right as she sensed something over her head.

Eli looked towards the source of the voice and saw the same emerald eyes and violet hair, glistening slightly from some stray raindrops.

"Where are you headed to?" Nozomi asked kindly, evidently offering to walk her there.

They started walking towards the train station, which was where Nozomi was originally headed to anyway. They walked in silence, neither knowing what to say. It wasn't long before they reached the train station and had to part ways since they were taking different trains.

"I guess the favour has been repaid."

"Remember when you said you needed to thank that person who ordered that drink? Well..." Eli lifted her coffee that had miraculously survived her run to the tree earlier.

Nozomi regarded her in disbelief at the coincidence. Really, even meeting her here for the third time in less than a week was incredible, but to have actually had a connection to her prior to this strange week? She found it rather spiritual.

"Well, I guess I still owe you one then. I'm pretty sure I'll see you around, though," Nozomi mused.

"Sure seems that way. See you around, then," Eli bid farewell as they walked to their respective platforms.

4.

This was not how Eli had wanted their next meeting to have gone like.

She gave Nozomi another helpless look as the twin tailed girl used her hand to help stifle her laughter.

"Well... I'm guessing you need a hand?" Nozomi chuckled as she inwardly congratulated herself for coming up with the pun.

Eli looked at her exasperatedly. "Just help me, please."

"Okay, okay," Nozomi laughed as she approached the vending machine and bent down.

If anyone walked past them right now, they would definitely be judging the two. It's not every day that one sees a grown lady with one arm up a vending machine, stuck in an awkward angle and another grown lady looking up the vending machine. Eli cursed at herself for trying to retrieve her chocolate bar. She should have known that something like this would have happened.

"So..." Nozomi prompted for Eli's name while looking up the vending machine, trying to see how her arm had gotten stuck.

"Ayase Eli."

"Ayase-san, what happened?" Her voice was laced with amusement.

Nozomi saw where Eli's sleeve had gotten hooked and rolled up her own sleeve before sticking her arm in to unhook it. She didn't want her own sleeve getting caught too, otherwise it would be a disaster.

"...My chocolate didn't drop so I tried to get it back," Eli flushed and looked away, embarrassed.

A part of her knew that her embarrassment wasn't the only cause of her incredibly red face. The other girl was so close to her, Eli could smell her.

She smells like vanilla... And honey? Something else... Wait, what?

She flushed even more (if that were even possible) at catching herself wondering about the girl's scent. Really, it didn't help that the girl's face was so close to hers too, albeit not looking at her but rather concentrating on her task of unhooking Eli's sleeve. Eli could see the specks of blue complementing the lush emerald eyes, thick and long eyelashes and pink, supple lips. The girl was definitely attractive, she had established that fact in her mind the first time they met at the taxi stand. But being this close to her was making Eli incredibly flustered. Having quite a large personal bubble by nature, she was never one to be able to deal with close distances. Eli averted her eyes, trying to focus on anything but the tickling of the other girl's breath and the hand on her sleeve.

"There, got it," Nozomi announced as Eli felt her hand be released from the vending machine. She breathed out a sigh of relief at both being free from her awkward position and further away from the girl when she stood up.

A chocolate bar appeared before her eyes and Eli traced the hand holding it back to her saviour. She grinned sheepishly as she took it, thankful.

"I suppose my debts have been paid off? Or is there another surprise favour that I owe you?" Nozomi teased as Eli laughed sheepishly.

"Nope, none. Thank you..." Eli trailed off, realising that even though this was their fourth meeting, she still didn't know the other girl's name.

"Toujou Nozomi."

"Right, Toujou-san. Thank you."

They exchanged a warm smile and Nozomi announced that she should go now, lest she be late for her appointment. (Eli noted that the girl always seemed to be in a rush.) She hoisted her camera bag on her shoulders and left, not before turning back and waving at the girl, smirking when she saw Eli flush at being caught staring at her retreating form.

5.

Nozomi picked up the reels of film and videography books strewn all over the floor. Mentally, she cursed at herself for not using the one week of living alone in the dorms packing the place. Her new roommate would be arriving any moment now and the room still looked as though an earthquake and a hurricane had passed by. Twice.

Nico, her previous roommate, had left their university for good since she was breaking further into the entertainment industry. Her debut single would be in production soon and she didn't have time to juggle both work and studies. She had to make a decision between them and of course she went with entering the entertainment world. It was her dream, after all. She had promised to keep in contact with Nozomi and Nozomi knew that this was one time in which she had been left behind but wouldn't be forgotten. Nico was a really good roommate, though, and Nozomi wondered if she would get along with her new one. She wasn't the most friendly person, choosing not to get too close to anyone most of the time. Despite being in University and having stopped moving around in High School, old habits still die hard. Nico had been an exception since they were High School classmates, making staying in the same dorm with her much easier. Nozomi actually regarded her as a friend as opposed to all the acquaintances she had in High School and University.

A knock on the door grabbed her out of her thoughts and she panicked. She wasn't even halfway through the mess.

At least my clothes are kept... So much for a good first impression.

"Coming!" She called out as she dumped the books on her table.

She opened the door and was met with the same golden locks that she had seen so frequently the past few days. Azure blue eyes stared back at her in surprise matching her own. Neither could believe the coincidence. They stood there for a while, both stunned, before Nozomi remembered that Eli probably had a lot of belongings and should be moving in.

She apologised for making her stand out there and together, they moved Eli's belongings in. Eli looked around the room. It was definitely messier than her previous room, with all sorts of foreign items to her laying around everywhere. Considering she had come from sharing a room with her extremely prim and proper friend, this was a huge change in environment. She didn't dislike it, though. Rather, she found the way her new roommate was frantically picking things up and muttering embarrassed apologies pretty cute. Eli reassured her that it was fine and they settled into the routine of packing and unpacking.

"I didn't know you attended Tokyo University too, Toujou-san," Eli started the conversation, curious as to how she had missed the girl completely for a whole year and bumped into her four times in just a little more than a week.

"I didn't know you did, either. Looks like we'll be seeing each other around, huh?"

They laughed at the reference to their usual farewells after each meeting. A comfortable silence befell on them as they busied themselves with their belongings. All Nozomi could think of was that maybe, her new roommate could be better than Nico.