Jellyfish en Vogue - A Kuragehime or Princess Jellyfish Fanfic

Chapter 18 - Office Meetings and Shopping Excursions

 Tsukimi hadn't been in the studio office on second floor in a few days. She still expected the drab interior and miniscule furniture. What greeted her the following day was definitely not what she expected. The floor to ceiling windows now had blinds which could be dropped if too much light came in. There were two long tables the group could sit and meet at. A television was seated in one corner. There was a side table that housed both an electric tea kettle and a coffee maker. There were a few potted plants here and there too add some greenery to the room. On the walls were the drawings she had put up on the walls of her room at Amamizukan. The major difference was that instead of how they were taped haphazardly to the walls of her room, they had been handled with great care and framed.

Tsukimi's palms began to itch, and she was just about to reach out and to take the first illustration down when Kuranosuke entered the room. "They are there for inspiration. Don't you dare." He smirked at her. It only took him two steps before he was beside her and pulling her close. "Besides, they aren't something you should hide away from others. Your artwork is beautiful, never ever doubt that." Before she could respond his lips were on hers. Swept up in the moment she sighed into the kiss. She almost hadn't noticed the happy tear that trailed down her face until Kuranosuke pointed it out with a soft smile as he smoothed it away.

"Thank you." It was all she could think of to say. It seemed so miniscule to how she was feeling. But she wasn't sure what all the jumbled up emotions were. She couldn't articulate it in her mind let alone verbally.

Kuranosuke in turn of course knew she meant more than thank you could ever express. So he just smiled and kissed her cheek whispering his, "you're welcome," into her ear. He noticed how she shivered and filed that information away for himself.

Once he released her she decided to busy herself by starting the coffee machine and the electric tea kettle. Any one of their prospective new team members would be there at any minute so she wanted to make sure they had something to drink as they walked in. The meeting was about comfort after all. Comfort with each other and comfort in their work environment. It was about how everyone fit together, hopefully seamlessly.

"We should probably get downstairs before—" His words were interrupted by the sound of the door chime they had put in. They had debated with each other about said door chime because she couldn't understand what purpose it would have outside of this meeting. Then he pointed out that if a customer wanted something that wasn't off the rack they may have to come to the boutique during non business hours to get measurements and fittings or something of that such nature. Tsukimi couldn't argue that point so she grudgingly ended up agreeing.

Kuranosuke was quite surprised to find it was Himura Kiyoko that was the first to arrived. Today she was wearing a newsboy style cap and a flannel shirt that had safety pins replacing the buttons. She paired it with tight black ripped skinnies. It was difficult for him to hold back the sneer that wanted to pop up on his face. But he just barely managed it. He nodded at her in greeting but Kiyoko barely paid him attention.

It took her only seconds to be across the room where Tsukimi stood and hugging her. "How are you doing, sugar?"

Tsukimi blushed lightly. She smile Kuranosuke's why then turned back to Kiyoko. "I'm doing good."

Kato Akiyama was the next to arrive. He was excited to get started if a little nervous about meeting the rest of the team. When he greets Kiyoko for the first time he arched an eyebrow at Kuranosuke. Kuranosuke shrugged and smirked back at him. They had a brief whispered conversation about the eccentric shoe stylist. Both sharing their immediate grievances. Regardless of how he was unsure of her as a person Kuranosuke immediately reassured him that she took her passion for shoe design quite seriously. So they both decided to attempt to refrain from any preconceived judgments about her.