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"Hey, hey, Kurisu-chan! What're you gonna get?" Came Mayuri's excited question from right across of her at the small dining table they were sitting at in the corner of the restaurant.
Mayuri had invited Kurisu on a 'best friend's night out' to a restaurant that opened recently in Mayuri's neighborhood. It was pretty humble and small and it gave off a homely and warm vibe, with it's light brown walls, simple interior, dainty flower pots placed on the tables, and the owner's cat lounging around without a care. It honestly felt more like a cafe than a restaurant. Though, that seemed like the exact type of place Mayuri would want to visit.
"Ah! Sorry, I zoned out for a bit and forgot to check out the menu," Kurisu replied, bringing her attention back to the paper in front of her while hearing a "Take your time!" From Mayuri.
That's weird... She thought. The text seemed to be pretty blurry and too thick to read easily. Did they print it out with a cheap home printer or something? She ended up having to hold it at an arm's length and squint to understand what she's looking at.
"Kurisu-chan? Do you not like the food...?" Mayuri asked with a look so sad that it could make the most hardened of men feel like they got punched in the gut, and curling her hands into fists and bringing them to her chest, continued with an unnecessary newfound determination, "It's okay, we can go to a different place! I know a lot of restaurants close by, leave it to Mayushii!"
"What? No, no! That's not it! I was just having a hard time reading the menu because it's so blurry, you know?" Kurisu stammered her explanation, almost breaking into a sweat at the thought of upsetting the younger girl, but she was brought out of her panic when Mayuri looked at the menu and back up at her with a confused look.
"Hm? It doesn't look blurry at all to Mayushii... are you feeling dizzy?"
Kurisu leaned back into her bed's propped up pillows with a sigh and brought the blanket over her legs.
Today had been exhausting. She had been taking a walk to clear her head at around sunset, thinking of whether to get some gifts for Mayuri and the others or if it would be overkill considering she had already given them gifts when she arrived in Japan, and just as she noticed that she'd maybe walked too far from her hotel, rain started pouring with vigor out of complete nowhere.
She'd had to run all the way back to her hotel, holding her jacket over her head and praying to whichever god will listen that she comes out of this situation completely fine, unscathed, and hopefully not sick. Seriously, ever since she'd met that guy, her life was way too full of strange events.
Pointedly ignoring how nonsensical it is to blame Okabe for bad weather, Kurisu picked up the stack of papers from her nightstand. Ever since she was a kid in school, she's had the habit of reading the last semester's material in summer break and winter break, since the stress of exams made it easy to forget everything she's learned as soon as she steps a foot out of the exam hall. Though back then, she hadn't been too interested in reviewing school subjects that don't relate to science.
The redhead flips to the page she was at beforehand, and realizes she can't see it too well. I'm pretty used to reading with the light turned off, but I guess today was more tiring than I thought, huh... Guess I'll have to turn it on, even if it's more relaxing like this.
Daru and Mayuri had both left the lab a bit ago, so now it was just Kurisu and Okabe. She didn't mind as much as she'd prefer to, as embarrassing as it is to admit.
They were sitting on the couch in comfortable silence, with Kurisu reading over those papers, and Okabe mindlessly scrolling on his phone. It's only been two weeks since the whole R Worldline thing ended. It had taken a huge toll on Kurisu, so she ended up seeking Okabe out a lot for the few days after that, and it stuck until now. She knew it definitely took a toll on him too, even if it didn't show. At least he had the heart to drop the chuunibyo act more often around her, or else her nerves would've been completely fried by now.
Occasionally, she thinks about how the average person probably would've been breaking down if they were in his position during the ordeal, rather than being as calm and resigned as he was, but that train of thought is too upsetting to dwell on for too long.
Thinking about the events of two weeks ago, her mind wandered to the conversation they had at the laundromat right before his disappearance, and she glanced over to look at the pink thread she stitched into his sleeve at the time, finding that it wasn't there.
"Hm? Are you wearing the new lab coat?" Kurisu mumbled absent-mindedly, breaking the silence. Then, she wished she hadn't broken it at all, seeing as now apparently wasn't one of the times where Okabe planned to act normal, judging by the infuriating smirk on his face as he turned to her.
"What are you saying, Christina!? A mad scientist never abandons his precious lab coat in place for another! To replace the item that accompanied all my endeavors would be too dishonorable, even for me!" Then, he punctuated the end of whatever that boisterous rant was about by dramatically dusting his lab coat. A moment later, his eyes left hers, and in a quieter, more normal voice: "The one you gave me is hanging out to dry right now."
Thank god. I won't be getting a headache today after all.
"Huh... where'd the pink thread go then?" Kurisu wondered out loud. He didn't remove it in favor of a white one, right? If he did, I'll turn his brain into pickle juice for real this time! ...Not that it really matters. Nope.
"...Hm? It's right here," He held his hand up with a confused look, making her squint, focusing even harder on trying to see it. Actually, it was there. Why didn't she see it until now?
"Did your vision get worse from all that studying or something, genius girl?" Okabe joked with a chuckle, a warm smile on his face. While usually Kurisu would stop to appreciate hearing and seeing his real laugh and smile, right now she had another reason to pause.
Because that was actually kind of plausible wasn't it? She had been struggling to see a lot of things for a while now.
"Wait, don't tell me that's actually it?" Was what finally snapped her out of her thoughts. She sighed.
Kurisu was already dressed for the day and was putting on the last touches of makeup when she got a notification. She picked up her phone and found a voice-mail from Mayuri, smiling to herself as she clicked 'Play'.
"Tuturuu☆! Good morning, Kurisu-chan! Everyone happened to come to the lab today, so Mayushii decided to invite you too! It's good to be with everyone, but we miss you... I can tell Okarin and Feris-chan especially want to see you! Oh, but don't tell Okarin I said that."
Kurisu giggled at the last part, knowing her next destination was the lab without even thinking about it. She grabbed her new glasses and put them on, knowing the lab-mems will immediately surround her when she enters, since she didn't tell them she was getting glasses.
They were rectangle, and the black frame was half-rimmed. They made her eyes look a bit bigger, but she didn't think they looked bad, even if she still wasn't used to it. But most importantly, being able to see clearly again was a big relief.
---
When Kurisu swung the door open, whatever chaos was ensuing in the lab was interrupted by a loud 'Waaaaaaah!?' coming from all three of Mayuri, Faris, and Luka. Along with their yelling, Kurisu heard at least 6 pictures being snapped in rapid fire, and knew Moeka was the culprit without even having to look.
"Woah! You look so cute, Kurisu-chan! Are those real!?" Mayuri yelled excitedly, but before she could get a response, Faris piped up: "Could it be!? You've obtained the lens that will allow you to see and evade the magic of the evil darklords!?"
Before the scientist could even hope to respond, it was apparently Daru's turn to yell, "I can't believe it! A Tsundere with glasses... Such a niche trope! So moe, hah, hah...!" And Kurisu would've thrown insults at that pervert, except she could see Luka trying to get a word in from the corner of her eye.
"You look really pretty, Makise-san. They suit you well," He said, a bit shyly. Moeka stood next to him silently, her hands clutching her phone so tightly they were trembling, like she was actively restraining herself from taking nonstop pictures of Kurisu until her phone's storage couldn't handle it.
"Thank you, Urushibara-san. I appreciate it." Kurisu responded, deciding not to comment on the brunette still clutching her phone and staring with unrivaled intensity, or Mayuri, Faris, and unfortunately Daru, all still staring at her in awe. Instead, she looked around to find where that annoying man was, having particularly heard no fake evil laughter since she'd walked in.
She found Okabe also staring at her, and realized that, actually, Moeka's stare could be rivaled in intensity.
"What is it? Do I look weird or something...?" Kurisu prompted, hoping he'll say something. Though she knew that if he affirmed that yes, she looks weird, he'll probably be missing a few vital organs by the time she's done with him.
He startles out of his trance and his head snaps to the side, shoulders immediately tensing in a way that looks like he's planning to do a dramatic pose but not quite getting there.
"I-It's... it's an effective disguise against the organization! Surely they won't recognize you like this! Well done, Assistant!" Okabe splutters, and his face looks red for some reason. Kurisu tries to be annoyed with the nickname, but she's used to it by now.
"He's saying you look beautiful, Kurisu-chan!" Mayuri's voice clarifies from behind her, which makes Kurisu's face go red, and in turn incites giggles from around the room.
"W-what!? I said no such things, Mayuri! This is slander!" Okabe yells, which makes the giggling louder, and their faces redder. What a cycle this has turned out to be.
"Two Tsunderes for the win," Daru points out.
"Shut up, pervert!" Said Tsunderes yell in unison.