#Lucy doesn't have a tag she isn't Sunburst

[ramblinganthropologist]

Writober 2020 - 15 (Roots)

Summary: Lucy notices a few things about her partner one busy day. Like that she needs to dye her roots... and that she likes her. Good luck with that one, Lucy.

(Sunburst idol unit)

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Where was she?

Lucy frowned as she stared out the window. Outside it was a busy city street in Tokyo. People were going about their business, students were procrastinating going home, and there was a sense of energy that sunk deep into the crosswalks as they passed. The city was alive with activity, and it hummed as she tapped her fingers on the counter.

No notifications on her phone...

She was sitting in a lolita-style cafe, her favorite. Her tea was cooling in front of her, her slice of cake untouched. It had been almost a half hour since she had gotten there, and soon her partner was going to be twenty minutes late.

“She better not have forgotten...” Lucy sighed and sipped at her lukewarm tea. “Maybe I should call her?”

Her hand stretched to her phone, but then it stopped as if she had been electrocuted. She drew it back, frowning. For some reason, the thought of actually calling the other girl made sparks shoot through her body.

That was new...

“Poor thing, she looks like she got stood up.”

“She's so cute too, whatever guy she's waiting for is nuts.”

The whispers reached Lucy's ears. Two of the cafe's waitresses were whispering to each other, their eyes in her direction. She felt her face color as she looked back down at her phone screen. Not only was it rude, it was factually incorrect.

She was on a work meeting... only her collab partner wasn't there.

“Where are you, Ray?”

This wasn't like the other idol. Loud and abrasive though she may be, the punk rocker tried to be punctual. Sure, she was sometimes ten minutes late because her brain (her shitbrain, in her own words) made her mess up the time. But usually she called if that was the case, yelling an apology as she dashed to their meeting spot.

So... why wasn't she doing that?

Lucy peeked out the window again, hoping to see the familiar head of pink hair bobbing through the crowd. Ever since she had dyed it, Ray was even easier to spot in a crowd. However she didn't see the bright, obnoxious color, nor did she spy the familiar frame of one of Tokyo's more famous performers. Unless she was hiding behind a truck, she just wasn't there.

The clink of a plate drew Lucy's attention from the window. One of the waitresses had approached her table, bringing a small pink cupcake with her. She smiled in a sympathetic way as she backed up from the table, the hem of her frilled apron making soft sounds as she did.

“It's on the house, dear. We're so sorry to see your date didn't work out.”

Her face went absolutely scarlet as she looked from cupcake to waitress. “N-no! It's not...”

“SHIT, SORRY I'M LATE.”

The abrupt English caused pretty much the entire cafe to turn. Someone was standing in the doorway, breathing hard as they leaned against the frame. Sweat was dripping down a dark brow, almost as if they had run the entire way.

Ray was in her school uniform and the ribbon was about to come completely untied from her neck. It took her a few seconds to straighten up, and then she mopped off her face with the back of her large hand. Then she smoothed back a loose strand of pink hair as she assumed her full, imposing height of 192cm.

It was a miracle her head didn't hit the frame.

Lucy shook her head, but she smiled all the same. “We speak Japanese here, Ray.”

The other idol rubbed her undercut as she nodded. “Yeah... my bad.”

She held up her other hand as she switched languages. “Sorry for scaring you, folks.”

Her oddly accented Japanese combined with her appearance set whispers as Ray crossed the cafe to where Lucy was sitting. She slid into the other side of the booth, nodding as the frazzled waitress handed her a menu. After her order was put in for a soda and the biggest slice of chocolate cake they had, they were alone.

She should've been mad... but it was kind of comical.

Lucy sipped at her tea as she watched Ray settle in. “You're about to lose your ribbon.”

“Shit, you're right.” The idol fumbled with it for a few seconds until it was clumsily tied. When she bowed her head, Lucy got an eyeful of a line of dark among the pink. There had to be at least a few centimeters there if she was guessing right. That equaled about a month, maybe two, since she had dealt with it.

Was not dealing with your hair punk? She didn't know, she was lolita.

“Anyway, why were you so late? You didn't text me.”

Ray finished tugging at her ribbon a few seconds later. One side of the bow was longer than the other, but it was going to stay on. “Oh... the teacher asked me to retake a test. She didn't believe I actually got a perfect score on the math midterm so I had to take it in front of her and the principle.”

Lucy frowned. “And?”

“I fucking killed it, no surprises there.” And then she flashed one of her rare grins, the ones that made her eyes light up like traffic lights. “She was so fucking pissed but you can't argue with the results. Principle's pretty tired of her shit so I dunno what's happening there.”

The words didn't register. Lucy was too focused on the pounding of her own heart. Something about the way Ray smiled was doing terrible things to her stomach... or maybe it was the tea. Could tea give you indigestion?

“Hey, you ok?”

She stood from the table, heart still pounding. “Excuse me, I need to visit the restroom.”

And then Lucy left, heading for the bathroom without saying anything more. Once she was locked in the stall, she rested her forehead on her knees. It felt like her heart was about to beat out of her chest any second.

What the hell was in that tea?

She took a few deep breaths to try and calm herself, but her thoughts kept going back to the table. Ray, with her messy hair and bright eyes smiling at her with almost childlike glee. Her partner, with her brilliant shitbrain and inability to tie ribbons to save her life. How she would've done anything to see that smile again...

She couldn't get her out of her mind.

“What's wrong with me?” she pressed her forehead, head spinning. Her thoughts kept going back to the girl at the table waiting for her and that look of concern that had been painted all over her face. Worst of all, her heart kept pounding.

If she didn't know better...

Lucy sat up suddenly as a cold shock filled her body. The pieces started falling into place, but the picture they created was so foreign that she could barely believe it. She didn't want to, but it was hard to argue with the evidence. Either she was having a heart attack and was about to die in that stall or...

“I can't... have a crush on her.”

Speaking it made it real. Lucy stared blankly at the floor as the realization washed over her in waves. It caused her to sit back against the toilet seat as she stared at the door. She... had a crush on Ray Jones. It was as simple as that.

Simple... and not simple at all.

Her thought process was interrupted by the creak of the bathroom door. Someone had entered, and their heavy-sounding feet stopped by the sinks. Lucy watched their feet, stomach sinking as she recognized those boots. Only a few people could wear shoes that big...

“You ok in here? Need medicine or something?”

Ray's voice was unusually soft and filled with concern as she stood at the sink. Lucy had no doubt if she asked, the other idol would go get her something to help with her stomach. Sadly, no medicine would help with this... and neither did her presence.

But it was rude to turn a collab partner down.

Lucy straightened up and left the stall after flushing. She met the idol at the sinks and carefully began to wash her hands. As long as she didn't look the girl in the eyes, she didn't feel the sensation welling up in her stomach.

Luckily, Ray was tall. That wouldn't be a problem as long as they were both standing.

“I drank a lot of tea waiting for you, I'm fine.” She dried off her hands. “Let's get back to business, I have a lesson at  5 and you have to prepare for your show recording.”

Ray chuckled for some reason as she washed her hands with much less finesse. “Whatever you say, princess.”

Lucy's stomach churned uncomfortably as her face heated. “Also you need to dye your roots. They're starting to show.”

She should've gotten to the door first, but her partner's legs were far longer and trained. It was almost infuriating how smooth the idiot looked when she opened the door for her. There was no way Ray didn't notice how red her face was getting... she was enjoying this.

Damn it all.

“Thank you.” She stepped through stiffly, feeling the other idol fall in step behind her. People were looking at them as they headed back to the table. Both their orders were there now, which meant they had something to focus on.

Ray was still smirking as she slid back into her side of the table. “Also, I'm 6'4”. Nobody's going to see my roots unless they're on a ladder.”

With that, she sipped at her soda with a sort of cat-like contentment. Lucy was left tongue tied, frustrated, and working on a crush she hadn't even realized she developed. Part of her wanted to strangle the other idol... but another part wanted to hold one of those large hands. It was a weird place to be in, so she settled on picking at her cake.

Working with her was going to be impossible now... why couldn't she just hate her? Liking someone was so much more complicated...