Journey Of Fate ~ mayakuro

•Cold Hands•

When the two finally emerged from the hotel, it was comfortably the afternoon. Maya had graciously not brought up the incident from that morning, much to Claudine's relief. She didn't want to talk about or even think about it. The plan for today was to explore Chicago, in particular visit Cloud Gate because Maya said that it was supposed to reflect the city skyline, get the famous deep-dish pizza, and then take a stroll around the perimeter of Lake Michigan. Claudine was definitely up for it. Walking all day was a welcome change from sitting all day in a car that she wasn't entirely sure had a working heater anymore. The weird whistling noise had stopped and the car felt a lot cooler than it used to. The only problem with walking was that it was so damn cold. Claudine had agreed to go on this road trip specifically to get away from cold New York City, but she had forgotten that that was her motive when they were planning in the heated motel room, so now she was stuck wandering around Chicago with Tendou Maya in near subzero weather.

She pulled her scarf tighter around her face, trying to conserve any of the body heat she had left. How she longed to return to their hotel and have a nice long warm bath. Instead, she was stuck following Maya through various alleyways as the brunette tried to read a map. Unfortunately for them, Cloud Gate was directly across the city from them, which meant a long walk, and Claudine was not particularly pleased with that in this weather. The worst part about it was her hands. Every other part of her body was significantly covered. She had a scarf to cover most of her face; a beanie to cover her ears; a large puffy jacket to protect her torso and arms; denim jeans, heavy cotton socks, and boots for the rest of her body. But she had neglected to get gloves. How had she neglected to get gloves?! So, while the rest of her body was relatively unaffected by the cold, it felt like her hands had been submerged in a bucket of ice water. Even when she stuck them in her pockets, it still felt like her fingers were about to fall off. Maya, of course, had gloves. She had annoying blue gloves that were the same color as her stupid bow. Even more annoying, the gloves were made of wool, which meant that they were good insulators. Why couldn't Maya have bought gloves made out of... cardboard or something? Then at least Claudine could feel okay about forgetting gloves because Maya's hands would be equally as cold as hers. But no, Maya had to go and be Maya and have the best gloves on the market. They looked so warm. Claudine spared a glance down at her hands. They were bright red and she could already see cracks beginning to form. This sucked. The blonde hadn't realized that she had slowed down during her lamenting, which caused her to be quite surprised when Maya was suddenly in front of her, now holding her hand in her wool covered ones. Claudine blinked before wrenching her hand back, her face flushed in embarrassment, although she'd claim it was just the cold weather causing it. She narrowed her eyes at Maya, demanding an answer for the sudden movement.

"You were moving so slowly and when I turned around you were looking glumly at your hands," Maya responded whilst pulling off one of her own gloves. She offered the article to the blonde.

Claudine looked at it. The gesture was... Sweet. Maya was always so chivalrous, often to a fault.

"What about your other hand? Besides, it's not so bad. I can handle it. I'm tough," Claudine argued back. She wasn't going to subject Maya to her frozen fate. She was the one who had forgotten her gloves, so she had to suffer the consequences.

"I have a solution for that," Maya said, but didn't elaborate. Claudine watched her carefully, before glancing back down at the glove that was being offered to her. She wanted to say no, but the need to protect her already cracking hands from the elements was too strong. She gently took the blue glove from Maya's hand and slipped it onto hers. The glove was already pleasantly warm and the material was comfortable. Her hand felt so much better. The blonde was about to inquire further about Maya's solution, but a warm hand reached down and gripped hers gingerly first. Claudine flushed even more.

"Is this okay?" Maya asked. Claudine smiled slightly, though it was hidden behind her scarf. Of course, Maya would ask for her consent, even with something as simple as holding hands for warmth. Maya was just courteous like that. Claudine supposed Maya had some good traits, even if she was insufferable.

"Oui, whatever," she responded. Maya grinned at her and then continued to lead the way through the alleys. Claudine wouldn't admit it out loud, but this was way better than before. Both her hands were much warmer, and she was much warmer too. The weird warmth was back too. She felt it expand through her chest, permeating every part of her being. She liked... holding hands with Maya. But what did that mean? She'd have to find out. Her mind wasn't offering any helpful solutions. Maybe there was someone to ask?

'Ah,' she thought. She could ask Futaba! Futaba was a reliable friend who had been there for her throughout the years, even after they had gone separate ways after Seisho. She was also the one most apt at helping her with her problems, particularly when they were related to a certain brunette. She'd have to call her... maybe tonight? She just hoped she wasn't interrupting her time with Kaoruko. She didn't need the blue-haired woman claiming that the two of them were having an affair again...

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After wandering around for who knows how long, the two women finally made it to Cloud Gate. There was only one problem. The place was packed. There were people everywhere, and the sculpture was obscured by all of them. Claudine frowned. How were they going to make it through the crowd of people? She looked aside at Maya, who looked perturbed as well.

"What should we do?" Claudine asked.

"Well, we've made it this far. We might as well push through and try to see it," Maya responded, scanning the crowd for any openings. Claudine nodded. If they wanted to do this, they needed a game plan. For the most part, the crowd was rather homogeneous, but there was one spot to the left that had less people. That would be the best place to try.

"How about over there?" Claudine pointed towards the less dense location. Maya followed her gesture and nodded in agreement. It was now or never. The two of them scurried over, weaving through the various people walking by, which was quite hard to do holding hands. Claudine could've let go, but she didn't want to. Her hand was warm if it was held, and she didn't want it to get any more cracks. That was absolutely the only reason. While Claudine would normally prefer to lead, she followed Maya this time as the brunette dodged people. Finally, the two of them made it to the center of the crowd and were graced with the presence of the statue. The blonde stared up at it, but instead of being filled with awe, she just felt a lackluster feeling. The reflective statue didn't reflect much of the skyline. Instead of being graced with the formless clouds and towering skyscrapers, most of she saw was the maze of people she had just traversed through. The only striking thing about Cloud Gate was that she could see her and Maya's reflection. She could see both of their red faces and intertwined hands. Instead of blushing like a mess at the proof that 'yes, she was holding hands with Tendou Maya and it wasn't out of the necessity of practice or performance,' she felt rather calm. This was nice, and she wouldn't mind if it happened more often. Maya's thoughts must've been elsewhere, however.

"It doesn't really look like a cloud, does it?" The brunette remarked.

"Huh?" Claudine responded intelligently.

"It looks more like..." Maya frowned as she scrutinized the statue, "a bean. Yes, a bean is exactly what it is." Claudine turned her eyes back to Cloud Gate. What was being said was true. It didn't look like any cloud she had ever seen before. Granted, clouds could take various shapes.

"You're right. Maybe it's a cloud in the shape of a bean then?" Claudine offered. Maya hummed in thought.

"I suppose, but why 'Gate'? It certainly isn't a gate. I really think it is just a bean." Claudine nodded in agreement, but then she caught on to something.

"Maya, while what you are saying is true, are you sure that you aren't just hungry?" Maya looked at her like she been caught red-handed. Claudine knew it. Maya always had a weird fascination with food, such baumkuchen, potatoes, and beans for some reason. The blonde huffed in amusement. Maya was such a kid sometimes.

"Do ya wanna go eat that pizza then?" Maya nodded eagerly in response. Claudine smiled, and this time, she led the way to their destination.