Maya worked diligently and without cease until her 11.30 break. Her tasks for the morning were relatively uncomplicated, mostly entering and reformatting data, most of which she could do on autopilot. This gave her plenty of time to think. The effect of last night on her had been surprising. Her fellow technicians immediately noticed the difference in her from the previous few days, she had gone from being silent, depressed and intensely withdrawn to seeming distant, faintly bemused, but much happier. They took this to be an improvement but were still concerned for Maya's well being, she was usually much more open and talkative with them when she arrived at work. She however was oblivious to their shifty glances behind her back as she immersed herself further in the figures generated by her quick, skilled fingers. She was still hurting from what Yoshimi had done and said to her, but last night _had_ made her feel undeniably better. She had felt safe and calm in the arms of her sempai, as if nobody had ever held her like that before. It just confused her that she could feel so strongly for someone so one- sidedly. She drew an almost bittersweet comfort from the fact that due to Ritsuko's position she would never have to tell her how she felt. She would almost certainly send the night at Ritsuko's again, assuming the offer remained open. The prospect of this in itself thrilled her in a way she thought it really shouldn't do, but last night she had seen another side of Ritsuko. A much less guarded person, one who existed as someone with a home and a life outside of the context of the high-ranking Nerv scientist Maya had known her as exclusively. The heightened sensation of being in love with one so wonderful as her sempai was indescribable, but her affections in such an inappropriate situation were much more of a curse than a blessing for Maya. As usual at half past eleven she headed for the poky staff kitchen to make herself a mug of hot chocolate. Today Shigeru followed her in. She sighed, this usually meant there was going to be a line of questioning serving little purpose other than plying her for gossip. Today however he seemed much more tactful than usual and his intent wasn't immediately clear. "Hey, how are you today? You arrived late, so I didn't get a chance to say hi." Maya smiled and replied politely but curtly "I'm fine, thankyou." He raised an eyebrow. "Really? Maya, how long have we known each other?" She shrugged. "Too long?" she smirked at him and he grinned. "Seven years, Maya. Long enough for me to know when all is not well in your world. I'm not going to force you to talk or anything like that, but you haven't been yourself for almost a week now and I, well, Hyuga as well, we're worried. We want to be here for you but God knows you don't make it easy." Maya snorted cynically then regarded him wordlessly for a moment. He shifted his weight, looking a little uncomfortable. "Is everything okay with Yoshi?" Maya turned away from him, praying he hadn't noticed her pained expression. She wanted to tell him, make the burden upon her own shoulders a little lighter but feared that once she began talking she wouldn't be able to stop until it was all out of her system. She knew however that her self-control was up to a little more than that. She decided she should at least set him straight on the status of her relationship, he might as well know. "Yoshimi." "Huh?" "Yoshi is Yoshimi. He's a she." Calling upon every scrap of courage she possessed, she forced herself to look him confidently in the eye. He had reddened visibly but was doing a good job of reacting coolly. "Oh." He paused for a second. "Guess Makoto loses that bet." Maya was faintly amused but mostly irked by this. "You took bets on whether or not my partner was female?" She tried not to smirk again. There was something amusingly puerile about the fact they would do something like that. "Well.yes. No money or anything, more of a dare I suppose." He shrugged and smiled apologetically. "So what made you think.I mean, I never told you two, or anyone at Nerv." He cast his eyes to the floor. "Takes one to know one I guess." Well that certainly wasn't what Maya had been expecting. She stared at him for much longer than she should have done, then realised that she hadn't said anything. "Oh." She cleared her throat and smiled. "Sorry, I mean, heh, who'd have thought that two of us were." she drifted off. Shigeru pulled her into a gentle embrace. She hugged him back, glad of some friendly contact. "It sucks when you break up, but you'll be a stronger person for it. You were too good for her anyway." She pulled away from him slightly. "How did you." He shrugged. "I was on a roll and took a shot in the dark?" He smiled sympathetically and gave her another squeeze. "Remember, I have a fold out couch at home, just the same as always, if you want to crash you're more than welcome. But no bringing girls back to mine, ya dyke." he winked and Maya let out a small giggle. "Thankyou, for the offer, for everything. I have somewhere right now, but I don't know how long I'll be there for, but thankyou anyway." He gave her a slightly devilish grin. "Someone else already? Who's the lucky roommate?" Maya felt herself blush. "Umm, an acquaintance." "Do I know them?" "I doubt it." "That's a yes! Go on, you can tell me.! "Really, it's not-" "Someone I know.hmmm, Katsuragi? Oh my, Makoto WILL be jealo-" "Just drop it already!" She knew he was only playing and not meaning to upset her but she wasn't in the mood for it at that moment. "I'm sorry, but please, leave it." Her tone was not one to be argued with. "OK, Maya, I'll drop it, sorry. Honestly, as long as you're happy and safe it doesn't worry me as much. But you mean a lot to me, you know that, and I'm here for ya." He smiled. "And there aren't many people I'd say that to, I have an image to keep up y'know?" She relaxed a little and managed a weak smile. "Say, you up for Karaoke with me and Hyuga on Friday?" She grinned widely. "Aren't I always? But I'm not gonna sing, you know that." She winked at him. "Suuuurrrre you're not." He double-winked back. "At least, not until you've finished your first pitcher." ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ At 12.30 there was a tentative knock at the door. Her first thought was Misato but then, when did she EVER knock, never mind quietly? "Come in." She was a little surprised to see Lieutenant Ibuki shuffle into the room. "Um, Dr Akagi, I brought you the printouts from the last synch tests and I made you a coffee." She smiled shyly, almost nervously as she placed the mug and papers down on her desk. She lingered a little before heading back out, without really realising she had paused with her gaze resting on the blonde woman. "Is everything alright?" Maya jumped, the blonde woman hadn't even looked up. "Umm, fine, yes, thankyou" She hurriedly went to leave but Ritsuko stopped her once again. "Maya?" "Yes, sempai?" "That hotel you said you are staying in, did you check out?" Maya shook her head. "I didn't think so, I just don't really see that there's any point you being charged for nights you aren't sleeping there, that is, assuming you weren't planning upon returning tonight." Maya smiled, once again blushing furiously. "You're right, I'll drop by there after work and pick up my clothes, I don't have much, only a suitcase, I left most of my stuff at her apartment." Ritsuko beamed back at her slightly more enthusiastically than she had planned on. "So can I assume you'll be staying at my place for tonight as well?" Maya began to look steadily more flustered. "Umm.well, I though, I mean, You said, well, if that's going to be, I mean, if I'm not, erm, thankyou, if you're sure you don't mind." "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. Bring your things over from the hotel." She glanced at her watch and Maya noticed something slightly nervous about her demeanour, but didn't comment on it. "Anyway, I have work to do, I'll talk to you later." Her reluctance to let Maya leave gave a slight edge to her tone but Maya didn't seem to pick up on it. She simply nodded and left, closing the door quietly behind her. As she leaned against it on the other side, she did not even dare to suspect that Ritsuko was staring longingly after her on the other side. Maya took a few deep breaths and waited for her pulse to slow a little before heading back to her place on the bridge. She never failed to be amazed by how quickly and efficiently Ritsuko could switch between relaxed and professional moods, and it was just one more thing she admired her for.
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