Cove the Incubus (complete)

Nonbinary Main Character x Trans Woman Monster (platonic relationship)

Living is hard. Why does it have to be so hard? Who said so? Who made the rules? Well, anyways, lamentations aside, I guess it could be a lot worse. I could still be living back home. I could have an even worse roof over my head. But I guess, it’s better to think about those things rather than the shit happening now.

“Finding a roommate was harder than I expected,” you lamented to your grandmother on the phone.

“Oh, I’m sorry Pumpkin,” she said. “You can always move in with me if you’d like.”

You had considered the prospect, but it was already too close for comfort to some family members. “As much as I appreciate that, I think you’d be the worst roommate of the lot,” you teased.

She giggled. “I might be! I do sleepwalk. So tell me, what’s going on with the search?”

You sighed heavily, pacing about your empty living room and marveling at the sparkling clean patch where the sofa used to be. “I’ve had a few meetings, but they weren’t exactly what I was looking for. One seemed okay, but once he learned I was an incubus he got really weird.”

“I thought as much,” Grandma grumbled. “Bunch of weirdos.”

I smiled, relieved she understood me. “The second was creepy right out the gate, and they didn’t smell too pleasant. Between work and everything else, it’s been hard to find someone, and rent is fast approaching.”

“You’ll find someone, and if not, your landlord is surely an understanding person.”

Grandma had never rented a place a day in her life. She had no clue. “Maybe,” was all I said to that. “We’ll see, I guess.”

She then did that soft little sigh that made me feel like everything was alright. “I’m sure the perfect roommate is around the corner, Cove. Just wait.”

“I guess I’ll have to,” I chuckled.

One afternoon as I was getting ready to head into work I got a message from a prospective roommate. She sent an email with some pictures of herself, her former apartment, her cat, as well as a sort of roommate resume. This was new! I had no idea people did this. Her name was Maki, and she was an oni. She said she was looking for a place to be closer to work and my apartment was perfect.

I decided to reply to her, as her email felt sane compared to others. I was also desperate. “Hello Maki, thank you for your email application. I wasn’t expecting a resume, but it’s a refreshing change of pace. If you’d like to meet up tomorrow, let me know and we can set up a time. Cove.”

“Thank you, Cove! Tomorrow will be perfect. I’m glad you liked the resume, I got the idea from a post on the internet, so I was a bit worried it would seem odd. Let me know where you’d like to meet up and what time would work for you, I’m free tomorrow myself.”

I didn’t see the message until I got to work, so I replied. “If you’d like to meet in the morning at the apartment we can. You can view the place and see if it’s what you think it is. Cove.”

“Is eight okay?”

“That’ll work. Cove.” I answered.

“I’ll be there with bells on!” Maki replied.

The pictures of her seemed really cute. She had a very sweet sense of fashion, and the photos of her previous place looked maximalist but clean. Her cat was chubby and fluffy and looked spoiled. I had kind of given up hope on finding a good roommate at that point, so if I could find one who would at least keep to themselves, I was fine with whoever.

Before bed I looked over Maki’s pictures again. There was something about them that I couldn't put my finger on. As I looked at the photos of her place, I turned to mine. My home was empty, with vague bits and pieces of things I owned. I didn’t have all the stuff she did. I could tell her personality and interests right away. But my house? My last roommate sort of filled this place. With their stuff gone, where was I?

I went to bed pondering this, wondering if I should order some prints online to put in my room. I fell asleep wondering just what though.

My alarm went off, and I was about to ignore it when I remembered Maki was coming. “Oh man,” I grunted as I got up. “Why did I agree to an early meeting?” I was getting myself up when there was a knock at my door.

“Crap,” I growled. I looked at myself in the mirror really quick and rushed to put a hair tie into my greasy hair. “Just a second!” I called out. I slapped on a better shirt than my sleep on and jogged to the door. I unlocked the door, checking my hair was up correctly as I opened it.

Maki stood there, appearing a bit taller than her pictures gave off. “Good morning!” She said brightly, she looked at me with a strange expression then continued her smile. “Sorry, am I early?”

I shook my head and stepped out of the doorway. “No. I work a late shift so everything is early to me. Come on in.”

“Oh wow, I could never work a shift like that!” Maki looked around as she came inside. I noticed a bag clutched in her perfectly manicured hand.

I smoothed down the front of my shirt. “I’m used to it at this point. I really don’t mind the hours.”

Maki smiled shyly, her red skin growing darker as she stood there. She then lifted up the bag. “I brought some food. Nothing much, just some donuts.”

“That’s nice,” I said. I took the bag from her hand and nodded my head. “I was just putting on the kettle. We can talk in the kitchen.”

Maki nodded, following after me. “Your place is much bigger than I expected,” she said. “The pictures don’t do it justice.” She too noticed the perfectly clean patch of carpet and her eyes narrowed slightly.

“You think so? Maybe I’m just used to it.” I chuckled. “Do you have furniture you want to move in?” I asked.

“Kind of.” Maki stepped into the kitchen. “I mean, I have things for my bedroom of course. But the furniture I do have are antiques from my grandmother, it’s all pretty old and heavy, I figured I’d have to save it for if I ever got a house.”

I furrowed my brow as I took the kettle and two cups. “Well, what do you have? As you can see I don’t have much. My previous roommate sort of took everything nice.”

Maki’s large white eyes widened. “I wasn’t going to say anything, but I figured that was what was going on. The place does seem…”

“Empty?” I laughed.

Maki nodded with a tight smile on her face. “I believe I could fill this place back up, if you don’t mind the furniture I have that is.”

“Yeah, I realized last night I don’t really have a lot of my own stuff.” I sat down at the table, offering her a cup and pushing a box of tea towards her. “But if you have furniture, I have the room for it here.”

She nodded shyly, stroking her long white braid. “It’s my grandmother’s, so it is kind of old.”

“Sometimes that’s better.” There was a nervousness to Maki I couldn’t put my finger on. It seemed like she was worried about getting caught, but I wasn’t sure why. “You said you wanted to move closer to work. What do you do?”

“I’m a florist,” she said. “I used to work in my grandmother’s shop, but now that she’s passed I’m working in another family owned shop.”

I had never really thought about what sort of job that must be like. I see flower displays and bouquets everywhere, but I had never given much thought to the people who made them. It piqued my interest in Maki more. “A florist, that’s interesting.”

Maki didn’t seem that enthused, in fact, she seemed to deflate. “Yeah, I guess. This new shop is more ‘big box’ than my grandmother's. I’m not used to the…speed of things.”

“I guess that’s everywhere now,” I murmured.

Maki filled her cup with hot water then dipped her tea bag inside. “What about you, where do you work?”

I was prepared for this. I had gotten every response in the book for my career. Now, I got to see what hers would be. I was ready for a confused reaction, after all, I had just told Maki I worked a late shift. “I’m a masseuse.”

Maki's eyes narrowed briefly, but she caught herself before reacting too strongly. “There are such late calls for massages?”

“It’s for a casino,” I chuckled. At least she was trying to be polite. I could appreciate that. “It’s a big fancy place, offers all sorts of amenities to their high rollers.” I shrugged. “I’m just one of them.”

“Sorry!” Maki replied with a genuine smile. “That seemed so strange at first! But that makes sense. Seems places like that would offer anything to the clientele if it meant more money.”

I nodded, taking the kettle and filling my cup as well. “The last few people I’ve interviewed for a roommate took it as an invitation.”

Her brow pursed and she looked concerned. “An invitation?”

I shrugged then waved my hand down my body. “Being an incubus, I’m used to it. Luckily at work I always have a guard nearby.”

Her frown deepened and small flames began to flicker around her horns. “That’s no excuse.”

It was my turn to be shocked. I glanced back up at Maki from the cup and my lips slightly parted. “Pardon?”

“Don’t get used to it,” Maki said sternly, the flames poofed and popped, threatening to grow larger. “You’re a person, you deserve to be treated as such. It doesn’t matter what you are, you still deserve respect.”

This brought a smile to my face, and a warmth inside my chest that I thought my grandmother could only conjure. I was taken off guard by her sudden ferocity in teaching me a lesson despite knowing me only a few moments. Even knowing that it had only been a few moments, I liked Maki.

“Well, I suppose that’s why I turned them away. I don’t think I’ll have to turn you away though.” I said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible.

Her smile brightened and her cheeks darkened. “Are you sure? You’ve only known me for a few minutes. What if I’m acting?”

I shrugged. “To be fair, I’m tired of looking, and I’d really like to afford rent and groceries this month. If you can move in soon, I think I’m willing to take the risk.”

“I promise, Cove! I’m not crazy!” Maki bounced in her seat, and for a moment I thought she was going to leap out and hug me, but she stayed in her chair. “Not in a bad way at least.”

I was kind of hoping for the hug. “I’ll have to trust you on that.”

We went over a few more things that are extremely boring but utterly necessary. Then over the next few days, we began the process of moving in. Bit by bit she brought her things, her cat, and a bit more color into the apartment.

Everyday I got up from work, I noticed a bit more in the apartment. There were some new pictures on the wall, new glasses in the cupboard, a massive fluffy cat who magically appeared out of nowhere. In fact, I woke up to him one morning. He was on the shelf over my bed looking down at me.

I breathed in, blinking awake as I realized there was a creature watching me. I watched him, he watched me, and then I figured out I wasn’t seeing things. There really was a cat there.

“Hello?” I said.

The cat meowed, and knowing I had acknowledged him curled up on the shelf and ignored me. I frowned for a moment, getting out of bed to go make a cup of tea.

His name was Azuki, and each morning I found him somewhere staring at me. On that shelf, my chest of drawers, one time at the foot of my bed. I never heard Azuki make a sound until I acknowledged him, then he’d meow and continue on with his business.

“I’ll never figure out how a thing like you moves so quietly, ” I told him one day as I was getting juice from the fridge. He was sitting on top of the fridge, looking down at me with that gaze that could mean life or death for me.

“Azuki!” Maki fussed loudly, scaring me half to death. “Get down from there you ruffian!” She came up beside me and took Azuki into her arms.

“He’s fine,” I chuckled, my heart still pounding.

Maki gave me the strangest look then.

“Oh!” I gasped and patted my chest. “Do I look a bit different? Sorry, I’m still in work mode. It takes some effort to change around. I do it for work. Sometimes I have to appear more masculine. Sometimes more feminine.” I laughed, knocking my fist against my breast. “I should have told you I might walk around like this from time to time.”

There was a look on Maki’s face that was a mix of relief and a hint of jealousy. She hugged Azuki closer and sighed. “Must be nice.”

My tail swished behind me. “I guess?” I scratched the side of my face. “I’m used to it so I’ve never really thought about it. Well, people get pissed sometimes, but I’ve learned to block all that out.”

Maki suddenly looked cross but she quickly wiped it away. “Some people would kill for that, you know?”

My brow pinched and I tilted my head slightly. “I’m sorry. Did I upset you?”

Maki shook her head then hesitated. She set Azuki on the floor who zipped off under the table. “No. Maybe-” She frowned at herself, stroking her long hair. “It’s hard-” She then stiffened her shoulders and took a deep breath. “I’ve worked…very, very hard on myself.” She placed her hands upon her chest. “To be…to be presentable in my own skin. To be acceptable to most people.”

It suddenly clicked in my head what Maki was trying to say. “Oh. damn. Maki, I am sorry. Wow, and here I am complaining it’s a part of work.”

Maki pouted. “No. it’s okay. If I had to flip flop for work, I would be annoyed too.” She looked me in the eye. “But I would still love to be able to have that power.” She looked down at her fingers and fidgeted with her pretty nails. “I love knowing myself. But sometimes that conflicts with what I see in the mirror.”

I placed my hand on Maki’s shoulder. “You could have told me before.”

“Sometimes it’s hard to know who to trust,” she grumbled and flames flickered on her horns. “I’ve just learned to be overly cautious.” She sighed then gave me a smile. “But you understand right? Not feeling like what you see in the mirror.”

I had actually never thought about it. Since I was little, I just took the skill for granted. I never really thought about it that way.

Maki took a deep breath. “I’m trans,” she said proudly. “I’m sure you figured that out, but I should say it out loud too.” Her smile was shy and slightly terrified.

I nodded at her, unsure what else to say. “You can always tell me these things. I’m happy to be an ear for you.”

The nervousness in Maki’s smile melted away, and there was relief. Small tears gleamed at the corners of her eyes, and the flames on her horns evaporated. “Thanks, it feels good to finally say. I was worried for a while. I feel silly now,” she giggled. “I was going to eventually tell you! I promise.”

I held my hand up. “It’s okay, I get it really.”

She smiled brightly. “I know a lot of nonbinary folk, but I’ve never really gotten to know anyone who was genderfluid.”

Was that the word? I’d heard all sorts of things on the internet, but I’d never attributed any of them to me.

Maki got a worried look. “That is what you are right? Oh shit, I just assumed, I’m sorry if I’m wrong.”

“No, no, it’s okay,” I murmured. I rubbed the back of my neck. “I’ve actually never thought about it.”

“Oh-” Maki thought for a moment. “What do you prefer to be referred to then?”

“Never thought about that either. I’ve not really cared what I’m referred to as. I’m just…Cove.” It was suddenly all I could think about, and I think Maki realized that. She sat there awkwardly, looking at me like she had accidentally opened Pandora’s Box.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

I shook my head and laughed. “No! You’re fine. Don’t even think about it.”

Maki stood up and looked towards the living room then back at me. “If you ever want to talk-”

I waved her off. “Go deal with Azuki. I’ve gotta get a shower and stuff.”

She nodded unsurely. “Okay.” She went off while I went back to the fridge.

After that, I went to get a shower. I undressed then stood there, looking down at my body with a perplexed expression. I looked at myself in the mirror. I touched my face, the more feminine one. I felt like I was me in the mirror when I looked at it. I shifted, changing into my more masculine form, and I felt I was them too. I had never thought about it before. To be fair, I had no reason to. For me it was normal, it was all me. Being masculine and feminine was me, but I never thought that meant anything.

I ran my hands down my body as I thought for a second. I always felt right no matter what shape I took. Some days I enjoyed being more one than the other, but that was normal. At least I thought it was. Maybe there was more to this than I thought.

I had always been ridiculed as a kid, but more for being the child of an incubus than anything. It never occurred to me there was much else at fault. I was an incubus in a religious family, what else could be worse?

I sat down on the toilet and looked up genderfluid. The first thing that popped up on the search engine was a small description. “Gender fluidity refers to change over time in a person's gender expression or gender identity, or both. That change might be in expression, but not identity, or in identity, but not expression. Or both expression and identity might change together.”

I sat back and thought about this for a minute. I was never really great with technical terms, heck, sometimes in school a textbook had me running in circles trying to understand it. But something about this was worming its way into my understanding.

At work that evening I had a regular client that I liked, Luis. He was nice and was one of the few that requested both masculine and feminine alternately during his visits. I think he was some sort of heir or trust fund kid, but he was always so polite, tipped well, and talked proudly about his charity and how it was going. We had talked a few times about going and hanging out sometime, but it never came to fruition.

That evening he had requested masculine. The gender issue was still gnawing at the back of my mind, so I was eager to get to work and talk to someone I liked.

“Good evening, Luis,” I said.

“Hey there,” he said, opening up his robe. “Been a while, how have you been?”

“Eh, nothing new really. Finally got a new roommate that I like. Go ahead and lie down. I have the oil warmed for you already so we don’t have to wait.” I pulled up my cart and then tied my apron around my waist.

“Funny, the other masseuse I get massages from was looking for a roommate,” Luis chuckled.

I furrowed my brow. “Are you cheating on me Luis?” I laughed.

“What?” He laughed. “Just with the girl who works here. The succubus.”

I was the only succubus who worked here, so I was confused. I rubbed the warm oil between my hands as I tried to sort this out.

“I thought you two were siblings,” Luis said.

It then hit me that Luis thought we were two separate people. “Luis, that’s me,” I laughed. I started to massage him.

“What?” He scoffed.

“I can shift,” I chuckled. “Did You really not realize it was me?”

Luis grunted. “You’re joking?”

“Didn’t you think it was weird that we were both named Cove?”

Luis sat up slightly to look at me. “I thought she was Clove and you were-” His face went bright red and he slammed it back down into the hole on the table. “Oh my god I’m an idiot.”

“Hey it’s okay!” I giggled.

“No, it’s not!” He whined.

I kept massaging him, hoping it would help ease his embarrassment. But it did bother me a little, was I so different in each form? I thought I was the same person.

“Geez, I am so sorry,” Luis grumbled. “If it helps, I really like both, that’s why I always alternate.”

“Well, that does make me feel better.” I kept massaging as it went quiet. I tried to focus on my job, but I kept thinking about how it never occurred to me he would think I was separate people. It should have been obvious, but for me it was never what I thought. I was one and whole, a coin with two sides.

“What's it like?” Luis asked quietly.

I stopped for a second. “I couldn’t hear you.”

Luis sat up for a moment. “What’s it like?”

I sighed as I looked into his sweet eyes. “I’ve never thought about it. Not until recently,” I admitted. “My new roommate sort of opened my eyes to it. Why do you ask?”

Luis shrugged. “I’ve always liked both, so no matter what you feel or who you are, I’ll like you just as much. I mean-” He huffed and sat up, sitting so I could sit beside him on the massage table. “I’ve had thoughts about myself, wondering if I fit my skin the way I was told I did.” he looked at me, giving me this adorable smile. “Aside from being pansexual, I’ve found I’m just some normal guy.”

“No,” I giggled.

Luis looked out across the room with a smile. “I experimented when I was younger. It’s those experiences that led me to form the children’s home I did. I met a lot of friends who weren’t accepted at home.” He sighed at the thought.

“I wasn’t accepted because I was an incubus,” I muttered. “I never even considered that how I presented myself was part of the problem.”

Luis nodded. “Yeah, I can get that. Was your family religious?”

“Dark ages,” I said, rolling my eyes.

Luis clicked his tongue and nodded. “Yeah, That’ll do it. Some people just hate to hate. I could see why you’d never really put two and two together.”

“I had my grandmother, so that was good. She always told me I was fine as I was.” I wondered for a moment there if she knew.

I just shrugged. “Well, I’m considering all options now I guess. I mean, I like myself. I like being both.”

Luis smiled at me. “Then that’s you, Cove.”

I took that to heart, but I wasn’t able to think about it while I was at work. When I got home, it was late, or early, depending on how you looked at it. I got in and saw the kitchen light was on. Walking in, I saw Maki sitting in the middle of the floor while Azuki was laid there. For a moment, I feared the worst.

“Is everything okay?” I asked as I laid my things on the table.

Maki looked up at me, her hair was wrapped around some silk pole and her horns had matching socks over them. “Yeah it fine. Azuki just wouldn’t let me sleep, so I’m trying to wear him out.” She held up the mouse on a string toy she had.

I sighed with relief. “The way he’s laying there I thought maybe-”

“Oh no!” Maki laughed. “He’s fine, thank goodness.” She looked back at Azuki who popped up from the ground so suddenly it looked like he teleported there. He ran over to the table as I sat down, jumping onto the table top and rushing over to me.

“Someone likes you,” Maki sang as she stood up.

I pet Azuki, enjoying the soft fur and the gentle purrs. “Yeah, they ain’t so bad.”

Maki sat down at the table with me, yawning, then resting her hands in her palms. “How was work?”

“I got to see my favorite client,” I said. I turned to Maki, smiling softly. I felt a twinge of envy towards her, since she knew who she was and was going to be. Now with this thought in my head, I really wasn’t sure who I was going to be day to day. But, like Luis said, wasn’t that just me?

“What’s wrong?” Maki tapped her fingertip to her temple. “In here.”

I chuckled. “You can tell?”

She shrugged. “You get this little crease between your brows sometimes.”

I smiled brightly. “My favorite client thought I was two different people all this time. It was a funny moment, but because of it we had a good talk.”

Maki’s expression brightened. “Really?”

“He wants to take me out sometime, so I told him I had to think about it first. After tonight, I think I just wanna realize a bit more of myself.” I turned to Azuki who had rolled over onto the table and was now sleeping.

Maki held her hand out towards me, turning her palm up. “What is it you’ve realized, Cove?”

I looked at her palm for a moment before taking it. Holding her hand, I felt safe and secure. I’d only ever gotten that feeling from my grandmother. I smiled softly, thinking about how I would love to talk to her now if it weren’t so late. But thanks to Maki, I felt I still could.

“I’m fluid,” I said softly.

Maki squeezed my hand. “I’m proud of you.”

I sniffled and smiled at her. After a moment, we both got up and I carried Azuki. Without saying a word we crawled into her bed together. Azuki slept between us as we laid down into the bed. Her pillows smelled amazing. Maki stroked my hair as I fell asleep, and I wouldn’t forget how wonderful that was.

I woke in the morning, realizing I had forgotten my phone. I sat up in Maki’s bed, still a bit bleary from sleep. I rubbed my eyes and saw Azuki staring at me from the foot of the bed.

“Good morning,” I grumbled at him. I got out of bed and went to the kitchen, if only to get my phone and charge it. On the table I noticed a note from Maki.

‘I didn’t want to wake you, I was going to let you enjoy a nice sleep. I have the kettle set up and ready for you. Tonight I’ll bring home dinner for us to celebrate. Maki. PS I fed Azuki.’

Azuki ran into the kitchen yowling so I just gave him a look. I checked my phone, seeing I had a couple of messages from Luis. “If you ever want to, you can volunteer at the children’s home. You can help a lot of kids in our community, and maybe even learn more about yourself.”

I smiled and considered the offer.

“Also, if it was weird asking you out, I’m sorry. I’ve held a huge crush on both of you, all of you, for a while now. I would still like to be your friend.”

I would reply later, but it was a bit of an ego boost for me. I plugged my phone in to charge and collected dirty laundry from my room and bathroom so I could do a load. I don’t know why, but I got the itch to go through my clothes. I emptied out everything, sorting through it all and deciding what would stay and what would go. Azuki loved the piles of clothes, he loved rubbing up against them and getting his scent everywhere.

I packed things into trash bags and set them outside my door. Once I had everything back into my closet, I realized how much I had gotten rid of.

“Maybe Maki can show me where she shops. She has good taste,” I murmured.

My phone chimed and it was the first time I had remembered it all day. It was a message from Maki.

“No food allergies right?”

“None I’m aware of,” I replied.

She sent a string of emojis. “Okay great! Ordering dinner to get delivered.”

I smiled then returned to Luis’ messages. “It might be fun to volunteer. I actually have some clothes I can donate if that’s needed.”

After a few moments he responded. “Clothes are always needed.”

I sent another message. “And yeah, let's be friends first. We can see where things go. I like you too.”

My heart pulsed until he replied. “Sounds good. I like that idea.”

I sighed with relief and turned to Azuki who was looking longingly at my clothes hanging up in the closet. “Those aren’t yours,” I fussed.

He meowed loudly and I picked him up, carrying him into the living room. As I was cleaning off the coffee table of all the clutter that had gathered through the week, the food was delivered. I didn’t recognize the restaurant name from the bags, but it was obviously Japanese cuisine.

As I was getting dinner set up, there was another knock on the door. “It’s me!” Maki called out. “My hands are full!”

I went to the door, opening it up and was greeted by a huge bouquet of flowers. Mki passed the vase off to me.

“I made that for you!” She said proudly.

The flower colors were white, pink, purple, and dark blue. The bouquet was beautiful and layered, I had never seen such a pretty display.

“The colors match the genderfluid flag,” Maki had another bag in her hands as she came in. “What do you think?”

“No one has ever given me flowers before,” I murmured. I was still processing it. The fact she made this for me, how beautiful it was, how much it did mean to me, it was all trying to get through the door at the same time.

Maki smiled brightly, giving me a side up then kissing my cheek. “You live with a florist, you’re getting tons now.” She walked into the kitchen. “Oh good! Food is here.” She set the bag down and opened it, revealing a cake.

I wiped my eyes and went into the kitchen, setting the flowers down. The cake matched the flowers in color, and it looked almost too pretty to eat.

“It's a confetti cake. I thought it was a cute idea to celebrate.” She said, she then realized I was still sniffling. She smiled and put her arms around me, hugging me close. “I hope it’s not the flowers,” she teased.

I giggled and wrapped my arms around her, hugging her closer. “No, it’s not.”

Maki led me over to the table. “This is my favorite place in the whole world to eat. My grandmother said it was the only place she trusted.” She set a plate before me as I used a napkin to blow my nose.

“An old friend of hers opened it and her family still runs it. All authentic Japanese cuisine. It’s my comfort food.”

“It smells really good,” I sniffled. I watched as she placed food upon her plate, admiring how delicious it all looked. I took heaps of the white rice, as rice was a comfort food for me as well. I placed a bit of everything on my plate, and I looked at the flowers as I ate.

“You’re really talented,” I said, breaking up the silence of enjoying good food.

Maki smiled. “Awww, thanks. I wanted to do something special for you. We used to do bouquets like this all the time at my grandmother's place. But at this shop it’s more…basic.”

“That’s a shame.”

She nodded, a slight pout on her lips. “I’m considering finding work elsewhere. I like working for my family, but at the same time, it’s way too fast paced there. Too regulated in a way.”

“You gotta do what’s best for you. You're talented, I’m sure you can get on anywhere.” I smiled brightly for her.

“I hope so,” she sighed. “How’s the food?”

I was reaching to get another gyoza from a box. “It’s so good. It may become my favorite place too.”

“Good! It worked!” Maki was triumphant. She then motioned towards her room. “Wanna go watch a movie? I’ve got a couple on a playlist I’ve wanted to watch, but it’s always nicer with someone else.”

I nodded. “Sure! Should I put the cake in the fridge?”

“We’ll eat it in bed,” Maki chimed. “I’ll clean up here if you wanna get the cake ready.”

I nodded and went to the counter, fetching a knife. I then looked down at the cake, seeing there was writing on top. ‘Be proud of you,’ it said in bright pink frosting. I glanced back at Maki, and my heart fluttered. In a short time, she had become so important to me. I never had a friend like her before.

“I feel bad cutting into this,” I said.

“I have a friend who makes them, I’ll have to take you to her place someday.” Maki set dishes into the sink. She watched as I started to cut. “Bigger piece than that.”

I smiled at her. “You sure?”

“Of course!” She went back to the table and I plated the cake slices.

As we went back to the bedroom, she spotted the trashbags of my old clothes in the hallway. “What’s that? Should I be worried?”

“Just getting rid of some old clothes. That favorite client of mine I told you about, he has a children’s home. I figured I would donate them there.” We settled on her bed and I took a bite of cake as she turned her television on.

“I might have some things too I can add to it,” Maki murmured as she looked to her closet.

I shyly glanced at her. “Anything you think would look good on me?”

Maki nodded, eyes still on her closet as she thought. “Oh, I’m sure! You’re cute, you’ll look good in anything.” She looked back at me, catching the blush on my face. “I can take you shopping too. I know a few places that have good stuff. You probably need to refill your closet anyways.”

I nodded. “You read my mind.” I took a bite of cake and sighed. “I never really had a good sense of style. Maybe it’s because I didn’t have a good sense of myself.”

“Sometimes people are just boring too,” Maki said with a straight face. When she saw the expression on mine, she burst out laughing. I started giggling along with her, eventually cracking up myself and laughing with her until my belly hurt. I was happy, really happy.