042

The show had gone great. Mika watched the curtains fall over her view of the crowd, all eyes on her slow disappearance, but the loud applause was still ringing in her ears. The swell of pride she got from a well-received performance could never be matched by anything else. It was enough to bring her to a high that would surely last the night. The only way the evening could get better was if Oster had brought her flowers and champagne to celebrate her glorious triumph.

As always, they had dinner planned after her concert. She thought about the delicious food that they would share at their favorite restaurant while she gathered her items from her locker backstage. Her mouth watered at the mental image of crepes covered in peach glaze, glistening under the low lighting of the booth that the pair occupied. This was something she deserved.

Giddy with the remaining glamor of her ovation, Mika bounced off the stairs leading to the lobby of the convention center. Through the sea of buns making their exit, she spotted Oster waiting for her with both the wished flowers and champagne. The taller girl seemed to have dressed up for the occasion too; instead of her normal garbs she donned a decidedly more opulent fit. No dress — she knew better than to compete with Mika in that regard — but a wonderfully tailored suit. She even wore flat shoes so she didn’t appear too much taller than Mika in her heels, but just the right amount of tall that the prideful bun liked.

Suddenly, Mika got struck with an idea. She walked through the crowd, careful to avoid Oster’s wandering gaze, all the way around to the opposite side of where her friend was looking. Slowly, she approached her target and readied her hands for a surprise and with a jump she threw herself around the taller girl’s neck and whispered into her long ear, “Did you enjoy the show, Oster, dear?”

“Of course,” Oster replied quickly without turning her face. Mika had felt a shiver go through the other bun’s body and knew that her face was surely red. That was enough for her to let go of her prey.

“Well, I’m glad. I’m pretty proud of how I performed tonight so if you answered in any other way you would’ve been in trouble,” She chided playfully. “And I see you got me some gifts?” Mika turned her attention to the items in Oster’s hands to which the girl nodded.

Oster turned at this, glancing at the offerings in question, “Yeah, I picked them up from across the street at the grocery store. I hope they’re alright though. My shift ended later than I thought it would; they made me do closing.” She sighed, moving out of Mika’s grasp to hand her the gifts.

The dancer accepted the drink and flowers with a large smile, “You know I don’t care how much you spend on me,” Mika didn’t mind the implied low quality of the presents, since they were from Oster. She knew the limitations of her friend and never held them against her. There was only so much one could afford on a Starbunks barista wage. Besides, she cared about Oster and learned that being nice to her tended to help her get her way more often than being mean. And you can still get drunk off of cheap champagne, so that’s a win in her books, “We’ll have to pop this open when I bring you back to my place.” Oster enthusiastically nodded in agreement.

“We can totally stop by the store to grab some more alcohol after dinner, too. My treat! You deserve it after such a banger performance, Mika.”

Mika acted shy, “No need to butter me up, Oster. You already have my heart. None of those other buns could compare.” She batted her eyes exaggeratedly.

They didn’t actually have that kind of relationship, but it was a comfortable routine for the two. Mika found teasing the girl to be something that she really enjoyed, especially Oster’s reaction to it. Fake flirting with a real friend sometimes felt better than real flirting with someone she didn’t care about.

Oster shifted on her feet with a small smile, “C’mon, cut it out.”

Mika giggled and moved her haul into one arm. With her now free hand, she reached out to her friend and commanded, “Hold my hand.”

The taller girl stared at her dumbly and the shorter one rolled her eyes.

“Well? We don’t have all night! We have reservations, y’know?” She shook her hand as if to offer it again. She added softly just for Oster’s ears, “I want everyone to know that I’m taken tonight.”

Soon after, her unclaimed hand was claimed by the other girl’s and it felt right. If it was at all possible, Mika’s smile grew even wider and she started swinging their hands back and forth, trying to draw as much attention to the bond as she could while the pair walked out of the theater.