Title: what about (now)
Rating: G
Fandom: Flowers
Relationship: Takasaki Chidori/Yaegaki Erika
Wordcount: 532
Short summary: Inspired by a novella, Chidori asks Erika about a hypothetical body swap.
“And then… And after that…”
Chidori had really enjoyed the novella she finished reading last night and couldn’t help but spill all the details to Erika the next morning over breakfast, knowing that it is too “shallow” for someone like Erika to read herself. So she doesn’t worry about relating spoilers while Erika says nothing. The story had been about a pair of long-distance friends who suddenly swapped bodies and thus had to live their friend’s life based on what they knew from their communications, hoping that no one would find them out before they could swap back. Many moments in the story had made Chidori laugh, although she had to hold in her laughter at the end because Erika had been sleeping, and there was no way Chidori would ever want to keep Erika awake for something so small.
Still, a fun story has put her in a good mood, so the question slips out of her naturally as soon as her retelling has finished.
“What if we swapped bodies?”
Erika’s eyes narrow. “Could you survive being in my body?”
Chidori feels her body tingle with irritation. Is Erika making fun of her? “Maybe I’d become a sarcastic bookworm.”
Erika snorts. “You, a bookworm? Of manga, maybe.” But then she puts a finger to her chin, indicating she’s taking Chidori’s question seriously. “I think you’d be a singer. Your fans would sympathize with your disability, and you would still look gorgeous, so…”
“Erika!” Chidori feels her heart swell at that compliment at the end.
“Anyway…” Erika coughs, signaling that she would not add any more compliments. “Why do you end up trying to relate every story you read in a book to us no matter how absurd it might be?”
Chidori smiles. “You know why.” She knows Erika knows why, so she returns to her earlier question, just with different phrasing. “How about if you were in my body? You could move around more and...”
Erika scowls. “You know there was a time that my legs did work.” Chidori remembers, of course. “But I suppose it would be amazing to be able to dance like you do.”
Chidori’s hands clap together before she realizes it. A second compliment from Erika in such a short time? Of course neither of the compliments are things that surprise Chidori, and they could be easily said by any other person. But it’s always special when it comes from Erika.
“I’d love to see you dance, Erika!”
“Yeah, sure.” Erika smirks. “Maybe some day they’ll make wheelchairs capable of dancing.”
Chidori shakes her head while still smiling. “Only if you are in it.” Then a thought crosses her mind. “Wait, maybe I should try to… With your chair maybe…”
“Stop right there.” Erika’s gaze hardens. “Get your own chair if you are going to try any crazy things. And no, I won’t help.”
“Erika!” Chidori pouts. She’d love to have Erika give some pointers, but… Well, for now, Chidori will enjoy the fact that she has her current body, which allows her to sing and dance beautifully enough to receive Erika compliments. If she could just pull those compliments out of Erika a little more often…