Work Text:
“Can you move a little closer together?”
Dia glances nervously at her fellow model. She’s almost never nervous during a shoot, but Mari is so much more experienced than her. Even though she’s trying to remain professional, she hesitates before every movement, afraid of embarrassing herself in front of the much more experienced model.
Lucky for her, Mari has no such issues with her nerves. She takes a step closer to Dia, so that their arms are touching. Dia can feel the rough fabric of the denim jacket Mari is wearing against her bare skin. She wishes fervently her blush doesn’t show through her makeup and poses for the camera.
After she snaps a couple of pictures, Chika pops out from behind the camera. “Dia-san, can you loosen up a bit? You’re looking a little stiff.”
Dia attempts to make herself forcibly relax. She’s almost successful, except then Mari slings an arm around her shoulder and she tenses up again. “Relax, Dia. We’re supposed to embody the youthful fervor of spring. At least look like you’re having a little fun.”
Truthfully, Dia probably wouldn’t be having a lot of fun even if she wasn’t working with Mari freaking Ohara. This is her first location shoot, which already has her on edge, but to top it off its for a collection by You Watanabe - famous fashion designer You Watanabe, who has models fighting each other over a chance to appear in her campaigns. The only reason she even got invited to the go-see was because Ruby helped design some of the accessories in the collection. In short, the pressure is on, so it’s not very likely she’d be able to have fun.
However, Dia is nothing if not a professional, and so she smiles, nods, and forces herself to relax.
The real problem starts when they reach the fountain. The shoot is in the garden of a mansion. They’ve already been to different locations and have had to change into different outfits a couple of times - Dia had been shocked to find out they’d have to change clothes right there in the open air. Mari hadn’t seemed fazed in the slightest, which just went to show how professional she is - and this is supposed to be the last location for the day. The sun is about to set, which will, according to Chika, give them the perfect lighting to show off these outfits.
They’ve just finished adjusting their hair and makeup when Riko hurries over, phone clutched in her hand and a panicked look on her face. She exchanges a few hushed words with Chika, who nods along with a thoughtful look. Once Riko leaves, Chika turns to Dia and Mari and says, “There’s been a change in plans.”
Dia’s mind starts to race with everything that could be wrong. Riko is the creative director; maybe she’s decided to take a different direction and all the pictures they’ve shot so far will be useless. Maybe she’s decided Dia isn’t right for this collection after all. Before she can dwell on it, though, Chika continues. “It’ll only be a minor adjustment, so don’t worry,” she smiles, “You-chan just called to say she wants to show the romantic aspect of spring, too. Little lambs being born, new couples forming, that sort of thing. So you two just have to make it look like you’re on a date, alright?”
“What a shiny idea!” Mari shouts, before Dia can open her mouth to protest. “Two new lovers in spring, lit up by the light of the setting sun as they sit on the edge of a fountain, wishing that they could stay together forever.” She twirls excitedly, causing the skirt of her lavender dress to flair around her. “It’s brilliant! As expected of You-chan.”
Chika echoes her excitement, jumping up and down with no regard for the expensive camera hanging from her neck. “Right? It’s brilliant, right?”
And so it is that Dia gets swept up in the whirlwind that is Chika and Mari. Before she knows whats happening she’s seated on the edge of the fountain with Mari’s head resting against her shoulder. The position is a little awkward, since Mari has to twist her head in an odd way to avoid getting makeup on the silk of Dia’s blouse, but she somehow manages to make it look elegant.
Dia, if she looks as awkward as she feels, is anything but.
“Dia-san,” Chika calls out. She’s starting to sound exasperated, which is a mean feat; Chika has the sort of boundless optimism that never seems to run out. “Can you try to look a little more in love? If you’re having trouble, try to imagine you’re looking at something or somebody you love. Like Ruby-chan!”
Dia nods and turns her head to look at Mari again, attempting to make it seem like she’s looking at her because she loves her so much she can’t look away. For a while she attempts to envision Ruby in Mari’s place, but it doesn’t feel right. The love she has for Ruby is very different from romantic love. Ruby’s image starts to fade, and eventually it slips from her mind entirely. She’s just looking at Mari now, her head on Dia’s shoulder with a look on her face like this is her favorite place in the world to be. She looks at the glint of sunlight off Mari’s hair, the gentle curve of her lips, the elegant line of her collarbones-
“That’s it, Dia-san! You’re doing great! You look just like you’re in love.”
They try a couple different poses. At some point, Chika decides to have them stand with their hands just barely touching, gazing to the side as if they both want to make a move but are to shy to act on their desires. Makeup comes over to touch up their cheeks to make it seem like they’re blushing, but Dia is certain she doesn’t need any rouge for that.
The shoot ends when the light becomes too faint to be useful. Dia changes out of her clothes as fast as possible. Usually she’d stay and chat with some people, maybe try to network a little, but today has been so stressful that she’s sure she’d only snap at people.
She’s about to leave when she hears somebody calling out her name. A look over her shoulder reveals that it’s Mari running after her, changed into a pair of short and a comfortable looking hoodie but with her makeup still on.
“Mari-san?” Dia questions. “Was there something you needed?”
“I just noticed that you were still a little bit stiff during our shoot today,” Mari says. Embarrassment floods Dia, and she’s about to apologize for being difficult to work with when Mari winks at her and hands her a piece of paper. “Just so you know, I’m always available for practice.”
She walks away before Dia can answer, calling back over her shoulder: “Let’s try and do better next date, alright?”
Dia fold the paper open. On it is a phone number, with the words call me scribbled beneath them, along with Mari’s name and a bunch of hearts. Dia stares at it numbly for a moment, before carefully refolding it and putting it in her pocket. She’s going to want to hold onto this.