Title: Lunch break
Fandom: Magic Knight Rayearth
Rating: General
Length: 800ish words
Content notes: None
Author notes: stand-alone bit of spies!au, Umi and Clef when they don't know each other very well.
Summary: Umi invades Clef's lunch.

oOo

There was a cafe in the row of shops which formed the false front to the Tokyo offices. It was the only thing on the row which wasn't actually owned by the company - though most of them were owned through various shell companies to make it slightly less obvious. The cafe had been there before the offices moved in, back in the sixties. It had changed hands a couple of times, but was currently owned by an ex-agent who knew precisely who most of their clientele was. It gave people a safe place to chill and complain about work without having to worry so much about being overheard by civilians.

Because of that, Clef tended not to visit unless he was just fetching a drink to get himself away from his screen for ten minutes. If he was actually going to sit down, maybe even have lunch, he wanted somewhere he wouldn't be constraining anyone else's freedom to complain about the bosses - and he wanted to not have to think about work. Or at least to try not to.

His favourite cafe of the moment was a twenty minute walk away. They did a good set meal for lunch, and the range of tea was enough to meet his every whim. He'd never seen anyone from work there, and it was tucked out of the way down an alley, beside a small shrine that only the locals seemed to visit.

So when he was sat waiting for his food and recognised the voice of the person who had just walked in, he closed his eyes, and rubbed one hand over his face, trying to keep hidden whatever expression he was pulling.

"I don't believe in coincidences," he said, not looking up. "And here you are."

"Coincidences happen," Umi said, sliding into the bench across from him. He glanced up, checking first on the fading bruises on her face, and on her wrist. She was looking better than she had a couple of weeks ago, after he'd pulled her and Emeraude out of a… situation.

"Even if they did, I don't believe you being here is one. Besides, I knew someone was following me - you pushed through the crowd by the pachinko parlour. But I really wanted the assam tea they have on the menu here." He paused, as the cafe owner came around to set out a cup of cold tea for Umi. "Are you eating?" he asked, sliding into English, which he was pretty certain the staff here didn't follow that well.

She tilted her head at him. "Would you mind if I did?" she answered, in the same language.

He shrugged. "The food's good."

Umi smiled and accepted the menu she was offered, swiftly ordered one of the sandwich sets as well as a coffee, and they were left alone again.

"So," he said, sitting back and dropping into Japanese again. There wasn't anyone sat close enough to listen in, and this wasn't the place for a really confidential conversation - Umi knew that. "What did you want to ask me?"

"Maybe I wanted to tell you something," she retorted, pulling a face at him when he just watched her. "Fine, yes, I found you because I wanted to talk away from work. It's just… do you think the Director is okay?"

Clef took a slow breath, and let it out. "…Why would you think otherwise?"

"That's not an answer."

"Neither was that."

"You're a pain, you know?" Umi complained. "It's just - she keeps smiling." She pulled a face. "I know that sounds weird to be a problem, but she doesn't usually go around with such a huge smile all the time, and the other night Hikaru said she looked sad. And I thought… I know you're friends. So I thought I would say something, because…"

"You saved her life, you know. But the mission is over now. You don't have to worry about her anymore," Clef said, softly.

Umi frowned into the cup of tea she wasn't drinking. "She's my boss, of course I'm going to worry about her."

Clef decided not to dig into that statement. Cultural differences aside, he knew as well as anyone how hard it was to step back from protecting someone you'd taken on as a charge. "It's a bad month," he said, eventually. "Don't worry. Give it a few weeks. She's not alone."

"I know you're looking out for her at work, but-"

"Emeraude has been my best friend for - I think something like two decades, by now. And her brother is due back in the few days. She's not alone." He smiled, and reached out, touching Umi's hand just long enough she looked up at him. "But I'm glad you spoke to me - even if you did follow me to my favourite cafe and invade lunch."

Umi rolled her eyes at him, though she was slightly flushed, lips twitching into a smile. "Well, I did want to see what place does food good enough to drag you out of the office for an hour most lunches."

"This is only one of the places I go," he told her, as their food arrived - surprisingly together, though that was possibly due to her sandwich taking a lot less time to prepare than his meal. Another coincidence... or Umi had picked a quick meal on purpose? "And they're all very good."

"Maybe I'll find an excuse to come find you again sometime, then," Umi teased, and he felt himself flushing slightly then. Fortunately she settled in to eat without keeping up that line of conversation, and the food was a good distraction - a good excuse for a nicely innocuous conversation about favourite meals.

But she was sharp, this one. And kind, if not… subtle.

He had the feeling she was going to make life very interesting.

It was worrying that he felt as much anticipation as worry about the prospect.