A/N: I added the song (J-MUSIC, by rock band duo Yorushika) which kickstarted the development of this book! :)

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Saturday, 08:29 AM.

Ah, the good ol' weekends.

They finally announced their awaited arrival, and almost immediately shared their profound peace to everyone's fatigued bodies. These were the moments where Abel would typically be found engulfed within his comforter alongside his fuzzy partner. Dreams of their future ambitions visited them as they relished their extra sleep.

However, at other times, they would be away from their beds, forging through their routine course surrounding a huge and serene lake, just a few blocks from their home. While plants blanketed the crystal clear waters, the vibrant plumage of the geese and ducks gave the viridescent scenery a more animated touch. They flew out of the way as Abel and Rocky went past them.

Despite tasting some salt in his tongue as he respired through his mouth, the balmy wind puffed against his skin, blowing off even the slightest presence of those sticky sweat. Most importantly, it got rid of his clingy droopiness and his tendency to yawn every single minute. Nothing will beat a morning exercise on the weekends.

On some occasions, Abel would tag Adrian as another companion, but that dude would not pick up his damn phone. All his calls jumped straight to voicemail, where this idiot, with the most hoarse voice possible, croaked, "You've reached Darth Vader, your long lost father."

He didn't even watch Star Wars!

It might explain why fate decided that it was best for him to come across the one and only Mairi Cabanila, a fellow friend, co-worker, supervisor, rival... all in one pack. I'm really meeting her everyday, am I?

Abel gradually slowed his pace down and Rocky matched its speed with him, with steaming pants slipping off his lips and pricking his cheeks. Merely a distance from him, Mairi squatted near the edge of the trail, exchanging a prolonged stare with the ducks while they wagged their tails. Her face might be shrouded underneath the visor of her newsboy cap, but it could never hide her distinct eyes as they shifted towards him.

"Yo." She raised her hand. "Wassup, hot stuff."

Abel snorted. "What's with that greeting?"

"Ah, I thought it's a comment you'll appreciate." She slapped her denim shorts off any dirt. "Guess not."

No shit, you dumbass, I'm not that gullible! Abel was practically screaming inside his head, but it wasn't translated into his voice. On the other side, Rocky lolled its tongue but before it even took a single step, all of the ducks broke into some panic mode and launched themselves right to the lake.

Well, it was a relief it never attacked any animals and chomped their heads off.

Mairi threw her hair over her shoulder as she approached Abel, but her attention zoomed in on the border collie, who took a stroll towards her, then tilted its head. At such a reaction, he could not resist letting out several chuckles. What a cutie...

"Aw, this must be Rocky you've been talking about," she remarked, bending over until she reached the dog's level. "Can I pet him?"

"Oh, go ahead," Abel chirped. "He's very friendly with everyone."

Mairi curled her fingers as she reached her hand under Rocky's chin, gently scratching his furs. As it sniffed and licked her hand, the border collie rapidly beat its tail side to side as it welcomed her advances, allowing her to massage its fluffy head.

"You're a sweetheart. Good boy, good boy," she praised - for reals - and Rocky barked in response. Abel's grin grew larger than ever, continuously nodding to every one of those facts. Of course those were deserving remarks, considering who raised the little guy. "You're equally as adorable as your owner."

He nodded again. Mhm, you also got that ri-

Wha- hold up, WHAT?!

The blue-head withdrew his lips from shrieking like a choking chicken, nearly losing his footing if not for his reflex maintaining his momentum. Confidence was supposed to be running through his system, but instead... it was that stupid feeling which caused his insides to backflip, while some intense heat propagated all over him.

"The hell you talking about?!" Abel bellowed. He was already doing so well deflecting all of her compliments she randomly stabbed him with, but then, he butchered everything to bits. No, I'm not flustered, just thrown aback!

"Ah, that wasn't obvious? It's how you and Rocky both looked alike." She stood back up. "Do I need to explain like you're fi-"

"No need, I got it!" Abel interrupted, shaking his hand right in front of her.

"Then, why you ask?"

"Look, no matter how much you try to flirt with me, it will never work, you get that?" he scowled, snapping his head away before her gaze could capture him. "You don't even have other stuff to say besides cute and adorable..."

"But it's all true. I never talk out of my rear." Abel ended up taking in Mairi's pale but twinkling eyes as she virtually jumped into his view. "You look even cuter when you're grinning. Might be obnoxious, but... at least it's honest."

Why was his head not exploding from all the accumulation of the heat? The blasting wind did not even try cooling him down, and what was worse, his entire body had grown much hotter without warning. While his hands were clenched tight on his sides, the pounds of his noisy heart filled his eardrums.

Don't let her words get to you, Abel!

"You just pulled that out of your ass!" cried out the blue-haired tomato, as he tousled his already disheveled hair into a bird's nest. "God, this is so absurd..." he grumbled. "I'm going jogging, so don't interrupt me!"

He wasted no time to sprint out of there and whistled out to Rocky, who thankfully followed after him without Mairi's further interference. Screw this... why was she always one step ahead of him? Ugh, gotta have some fresh air to cool myself...

"Can I join?"

And there she was, bathing in all her glory, as she jogged right beside him. Not only did she make it seem like she popped out of nowhere, but she promptly matched with his speed as they made an abrupt turn on the trail. Her loose hair was secured into a ponytail, which stuck out of her cap.

Do I really have a choice when it comes to her?

"Huh, do what you like." Abel scoffed, shaking his head. "Just don't be a bother."

"Most certainly, my lord."

I most certainly don't think so.

Well, she might carry on with her stunts of ruffling his feathers to no end, but there was really nothing much he could doq. Besides, if she was not wearing her poker face while constantly spewing all kinds of comments, then he would have questioned her existence.

And I guess she can accompany me for the time being...

"I'm surprised to see you at this time," said Mairi as they whizzed through another group of agitated ducks. "You don't strike me as a morning person."

"That's because I'm not. I usually jog after school or at night," he answered. "I just did this when I'm in the mood or when I didn't get the chance to jog the day before."

She hummed as they made another turn. "So you're doing it everyday?"

"Pretty much. Builds up a lot of stamina, endurance and keeps me real active for the day. It's not only good for me, but for him too." He beckoned to his beloved border collie, who had propelled in front of them. "This guy always gets real excited whenever I bring him out to jog, it's kinda cute to see."

Not even a second later, Abel had to come face-to-face with that tiny smile of hers; the one that had sent his stomach fluttering - as much as he despised admitting it - and the explosion of all these vicious butterflies inside of him. "I can see why Rocky's such a precious cinnamon roll. He really loves you like you're his dad."

"Yeah well, he's my dog... but thanks," Abel mumbled, before he found himself glancing at the bushes. "I grew up with him though, so it's more like a sibling relationship."

"Hmm, makes sense."

Aside from the drumming sounds of their shoes and the distant honks of the lake birds, the two fell into a wordless silence. However, the temptation of continuing their conversation crawled in, poking Abel to think of something... anything. A quiet exercise might be an ideal situation, but the fact that awkwardness had to butt in... it wasn't exactly something he could tolerate.

"So... how's your cosplay going?" That question slipped out of him easily.

"I'm halfway through making Levi's cape. Logo's pretty hard but that, I can manage," Mairi answered, catching up with her shallow breaths. "The Survey Corps uniform is difficult too... perhaps I'll order some parts online and connect them together... I think I can finish everything before the next con..." She exhaled loudly. "How about you?"

Tell me you're tired without telling me you're tired.

"I haven't started a single thing." Abel shrugged but smirked as if his previous reply didn't matter. "But I work pretty quickly, so I have nothing to worry about. I'm just gonna gather the materials I need and start like next week or so."

"We can... work together..." She puffed. "If you... want to..."

Her gasps left her no mercy as they began to chop more of her flow of words. She gradually lost control of her steadiness, but Abel followed her slowing speed. A couple of tramps later, Mairi's muscles slackened as she squeezed her hands against her knees like her life depended on it. Her bangs stuck to her forehead as her sweat glistened under the sun, with a drop trickling down her cheek. That vacant look almost peeled away as she wheezed for at least some oxygen, as her torso heaved up and down.

And that sight... had him strode towards her.

"Dude, you alright? You sound like you're dying."

"I just need a little pit stop," Mairi huffed, forcing herself back up even when her legs recoiled. "Come on, let's... continue-"

"Ya dumbass, we ain't going anywhere with you like that," Abel murmured, fanning himself with his shirt. After all of that exertion... this woman was just going to pretend she was all rainbows and unicorns; an idiotic move. Sighing, he grabbed his bottle from the holder strapped around his waist. "Here, have some of my water."

Mairi immediately ogled at the bottle as if it was a piece of roasted meat. Her hand twitched, as if she was preparing herself to snatch the heck out of his grasp. Thankfully, she ended up taking it as if it was made out of porcelain, mumbling a barely audible thank-you.

"It looks to me you're not used to jogging. How often do you exercise?" He asked, scratching his neck.

Several gulps of water later, she wiped her chin. "I took a walk everyday, whether it's morning or night. I did my server duties too..." she breathed. "So I should have been good..."

"That's not how it works." He turned towards the glimmering lake, as both Rocky and her did the same. "Sure, that's two forms of exercise, but walking isn't gonna give you much. As for a server, well... we're just pacing around a small area, so it's not a great way to build a long-time endurance."

Great, now he was conversing to her like some sort of a sports philosopher. Well, not that he was protesting against it though. In fact, he should put that in his long list of confidence boosters. Heh, nice job.

"Honestly, I'm no big fan of jogging," said Mairi, now her tone was much more stable. "But when I was doing it with you, I found it extremely refreshing. Like, it really let all of my energy out." She hung her head, clutching on the bottle. "I just need to increase my power and speed."

"Nah nah, you got it all wrong, Mai." Abel waved the back of his hand. "Jogging isn't about being the fastest. It's you running at your most comfortable pace and keeping it steady over a distance. The more you jog, the more stamina you build, and the more distance you can cover."

She made no comment. She blinked, but kept her gaze locked at him. Some sweat still grazed upon her face, although she didn't seem to be bothered by them. Her shoulders have stopped moving up and down, as she gained her composure. The hell... why are we even staring at each other?!

"S-So," he blurted out, "if you wanna go jogging... you can always join me."

"...You just called me Mai," she pointed out, deflecting the subject real hard. Moreover, her totally necessary comment made it look like using nicknames was out of the ordinary. Wasn't that what all friends even do?
And Mai suits her too!

"Yeah, and? What's wrong with it?" Abel grumbled, grabbing the bottle back and swallowing the remaining drops of his water for his dry throat. "Everyone's calling you Mai, so why can't I?"

The ghost of a smile filled up her worn-out features, before it eventually became so discernible. "Nothing. I'm just... happy. I didn't expect someone like you to call me that." She beamed as she adjusted her cap, before tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Thanks for inviting me, though."

"Hmph, it's not like I want to," he mumbled, tapping on his foot. "But... you're welcome."

But surely simple stuff makes her all giddy, huh? That's... good to see.

"Hey Abel, have you eaten yet?"

"Not much. Just an energy bar. Why?" He cocked his head.

"I have a very simple challenge," Mairi announced as she whirled towards him. "Let's do rock-paper-scissors. Just once. The loser treats us to our breakfast."

Well, that wasn't actually a bad offer. Even if yit might sound out of the blue, it was not like he was going to chicken out on this. As his grin made a majestic return, he snickered while he rubbed his hands together like some madman carrying out his master plans. I have a couple of advantages...

"Sure, but just so you know... I've gotten a winning streak at this game, so I better get ready for some free food-"

"Rock, paper, scissors..." And then... this woman had the audacity to entirely disregard his speech and trample all over it.

"Wha, wait hold the hell up!! Mai-"

She abruptly raised her fist up in the air and cut him off, giving him a mere millisecond to prepare. She then swung her arm down before Abel's scrambling brain could even relay the message.

"Shoot!!" yelled the purple-eyed girl as her hand abruptly formed a shape, and so did he. His instincts might help him pick a random sign, but he felt his soul dropped out when his fingers spread out in a paper sign, while her hand showed scissors.

"What the hell, no!!" He glared hard at his own hand, but no matter what he did, he had chosen the dreaded paper sign against her more superior one. And it's all because she's distracting me, this little smartass!

"Sorry that I made you lose your streak," Mairi teased, maintaining her unruly smile. "But for now... you'll have to treat me to an egg sandwich."

Abel kissed his teeth and narrowed his eyes while she held her head up, prancing out of the scene. Meanwhile, Rocky, being the friendly dog it was, furiously wagged its tail as it skittered after her. Regardless of how much he tried deepening his scowl, the strange warmth radiating from inside of him wiped it off in an instant.

It had been just a week since their first, proper meeting at the convention, but Abel was continuously dragged through a series of Mairi's stupid shenanigans. However, through all of this, he got the chance to witness the woman behind that poker face. Too many evidence have proved that she was more than a shallow person. She's showing more of her emotions... and I don't even know why I'm feeling glad.

He quickly strode after them as they waited in the distance.

She's definitely better off this way.

***

A/N: Goodness me, sorry for the late update! Writer's block got the best of me T_T Regardless, I hope you really like Abel and Mairi's interactions in this chapter! Lots of progress has been made between them :)

Thank you for reading this chapter and all of your support, and hope you have an awesome week ^^

- Tara