Journey Of Fate ~ mayakuro

•Ribbons and Headbands•

After two more hours of stop-and-go traffic, the two women finally made it to their hotel and almost crashed immediately upon entry. This time, they had two separate beds, to both Claudine and Maya's relief. The room also had a plush carpet, a larger desk, and two chairs- both without stains! The bathroom didn't have mold, so Claudine was finally able to enjoy a relaxing shower after two days of being deprived of one. The counter space in the bathroom was also much larger than at the motel, so she had space to do her daily beauty routine. Claudine had woken earlier than Maya today, thank God. She wouldn't have to put up with another note that sent her mind into a tizzy. She had expected Maya to be awake by the time she emerged from the bathroom, considering her daily routine and shower always ended up taking some time. However, this was not the case. The brunette was still curled up on the bed closest to the window, her side rising rhythmically. Claudine stared at her. She could go check her phone, wait for Maya to wake up, or maybe write her an annoying note of her own as payback, but that wasn't the most striking thought on her mind. Maya had told her in that irritating note of hers that she was cute when she was asleep. Now, Claudine knew that she was cute at all hours of the day, obviously, but it still stood out in her mind. It also made her wonder: was Maya cute in her sleep too?

She shook her head. What the fuck was she thinking?! One, staring at someone while they were sleeping was weird, and only weirdos (such as Tendou Maya) would do that. Two, Tendou Maya was not cute! She was definitely obnoxious. She had that blue bow that she wore everywhere. That bow was stupid, bad, and it got in the way of everything. It wasn't a cute quirk that Claudine liked at all. Definitely not. She had made up her mind. She was not going to even peak at Maya's sleeping face because she was a normal person. Something else, however, caught her eye. The blue ribbon that she certainly hated was resting on the nightstand between the two beds. It was rare to see the article anywhere outside of Maya's hair, but Maya wouldn't wear it to sleep. Well, maybe Maya would. It wouldn't be the weirdest thing the woman had done. Claudine eyed it. What would it look like in someone else's hair? Specifically, her hair? She glanced over at Maya. She still appeared to be asleep. Her eyes drifted back to the ribbon. What Maya didn't know wouldn't hurt her.

Claudine picked up the bow to examine it. It was soft in her hands. The fabric was clearly high quality, although there was evidence of years of use. She had always assumed that Maya had multiples of them because she wore it every day, but this new information said otherwise. After sparing one last look at Maya to make sure she hadn't woken up, the blonde made her way over to the bathroom. Claudine considered closing the door, but she'd only be there for a few minutes, so she decided to leave it be. She looked at the mirror reflecting herself and the blue ribbon. She glanced back down at it. This was kind of weird, but she was genuinely curious. Maya wore the thing all the time, so maybe there was something special about it. Gingerly removing her headband, she placed her typical article on the counter and then set about tying her hair up with the bow. Once tied, she examined her handiwork. The bow looked somewhat out of place on her, but it didn't look nearly as bad as she thought it would. The bow was comfortable and helped to keep her hair out of her face, which was likely why Maya wore it considering she had hair just as long as Claudine's own. Granted, Claudine loathed to admit that it definitely looked better on Maya than it did her. This was the only article of clothing that looked better on Maya though! She was about to remove the bow and return it to its resting place, but then a voice spoke.

"Does this mean that I get to try on your headband now?" Claudine froze, petrified. 

She very slowly turned her head to look at an extremely smug Maya leaning against the door frame of the bathroom. Seconds passed in silence as Claudine tried to get a grip on the situation. How in god's name was she going to explain this?

"I- you- you can't just barge in on someone using the bathroom!!" She landed on, screeching at Maya, embarrassment flushing her face bright scarlet.

"I didn't barge in though. The door was wide open. Besides, I wasn't the one who stole a personal possession while a certain someone was sleeping," Maya responded calmly. Claudine sputtered in response, looking for a retort, but finding nothing. Maya was unfazed and simply strode into the bathroom, picking up the gray headband from the counter and placed it on her head. The top star regarded herself in the mirror for a few moments, before striking a familiar pose and letting out an even more familiar catchphrase. 

"C'est moi, la star!" Claudine's face somehow got even redder in response. How dare Tendou Maya not only steal her victory pose, but also her catchphrase?! In a flurry of motion, Claudine moved forward, ripped her headband off the brunette's head, and shoved the damn bow into the woman's hands. She placed the headband back onto her head and glared at Maya, daring her to stay in the bathroom. Maya smiled back at her and raised her hands in surrender, exiting the room and allowing Claudine to loudly shut the door on her. The blonde leaned back against the door and sighed. She was never going to live that down.

"Next time, you should try the hair pins too!"

She buried her face in her hands. Yep, she wasn't going to live that down at all.