Chapter Text
Being a postal worker wasn’t what Natsuki had seen herself doing in life, but she didn’t mind it. After she got over the uniform—a dorky polo shirt and awkwardly long shorts—it was smooth sailing. Who wouldn’t love cruising around in a badass little truck, handing out letters and just overall being the unsung hero of the city? Yeah. Exactly.
Another good thing was that she had pretty good coworkers too; even though she didn’t see them too much, she was familiar with the other faces around the office.
There was this one chick in particular that stuck out, though, a woman around her age with the longest ponytail in the freaking world who always had a coffee cup in one hand and a pen in the other. It was a miracle she hadn’t collapsed from excessive use of caffeine. In any case, Natsuki always gave her a little wave if she happened to see her around.
That morning, Natsuki headed out in her truck and went along her route as she did every day, greeting her usuals and quietly sneaking dog biscuits to their pets—her favorite, secretly, is the little dachshund with the house covered in flowers, even if she did have to make an escape from more than one bee.
What? It wasn’t her fault they were so damn cute. She made out just fine, right on schedule, and things were as they always were. Even better than normal, actually! Natsuki had a habit of getting distracted from time to time that ended up slowing her down… but not this time! Things were looking up.
Natsuki hummed to herself, carrying a small brown package up the steps of a pretty house on Second Street that she rarely delivered to. This person must not get a lot of mail… She readied herself with her clipboard and pen, then gave the door three sharp raps.
“Mornin’! I’m just gonna need a signature here.” Natsuki held out her clipboard to the person in the door, a tall woman in a cream-colored turtleneck. It was rather odd for someone to be wearing something so heavy during the dead of spring, but hey—it looked nice, and to each their own. Trying to fill the silence and make conversation with a new acquaintance, Natsuki gestured to the turtleneck casually as the woman signed the paperwork. “I like your sweater.”
“O-oh,” she stammered, smudging her signature in surprise. She offered Natsuki a nod and a small smile. “Thank you.”
Natsuki took the clipboard back, giving the woman a goofy salute as she trekked back to the truck. She liked getting to meet new faces. Throughout high school, she’d… sort of had an issue with being nice to people. It was just easier to shut them out, you know? Especially when she was such a damn easy target, with her interests, her personality, all of it. Now, though, she tried to go out of her way to wave at everyone, trying her best to make someone’s day just that tiny bit better. It was sort of her way of making up for the time she’d spent being a little shithead.
Maybe that was why the woman left an impression on her, despite their interaction lasting all of twenty seconds. Natsuki just couldn’t shake it, for some reason. Her mind kept wandering back to the woman in the sweater.
“Something on your mind?” asked Natsuki’s coworker, Monika. She took a long sip from her disposable coffee cup. “You’ve been staring at nothing for, like, a while now.”
Natsuki shrugged, shaking her head quickly. She rubbed her face absently, trying to get that stranger off her mind. “Nah,” Natsuki yawned into her fist, “just tired, you know how it is.”
Monika laughed, eyeing her coffee. “Sure do. All in a day’s work.”
A couple of weeks passed, and Natsuki did not return to that pretty little house. She passed it on her route, but never actually had a real delivery to make. The thought kept nagging at her; why? Why did she care about this random mail-less woman? Why wasn’t she getting mail? Why did it matter, anyway? She shrugged it off.
Until, eventually, she did have a delivery to make to the random mail-less woman. Package under her arm, she headed up to the door, casting a glance at the wilting pot of flowers by the railing. Poor things… it hadn’t rained a ton lately. She shook her head and knocked on the door.
“Autograph, please,” Natsuki said, grinning to herself at her stupid joke. She had about a million and twelve ways to ask someone to sign for a package; usually people didn’t hear repeats, or at least didn’t remember if they did. Unfortunately for Natsuki, even though the sweater woman certainly hadn’t heard any of her famous jokes, she didn’t even spare her a pity laugh as she took the clipboard and signed her name. Alright, well… maybe no laugh was better than a pity laugh. Even if it did bruise Natsuki’s ego a little.
“Thank you,” the woman murmured, taking the package and retreating inside. She hadn’t smiled that time.
And it bothered Natsuki. As she continued to go along her route day by day, she found herself getting disappointed every time she didn’t have to make a stop at that one house. Though… once in a while, when she spared it a glance, she caught a glimpse of the woman. She would sit on the steps with a cup of tea and a biscuit, or water her flowers, or rock in the rickety old rocking chair on her front porch. Natsuki never said anything, but it comforted her to see that the woman was well.
“You know the drill,” Natsuki passed the woman the clipboard, excited to finally have another delivery to make, “right on that line there.”
“Ah… if you don’t mind my asking…” The woman trailed off mid-sentence, having finished her signature. She hesitated before giving the clipboard back to Natsuki. “What’s your name?”
“Natsuki,” said Natsuki, flattered to have been asked.
“Oh,” said the woman. Then she nodded, took her package, and shut the door before Natsuki could say anything more.
Weird.
She couldn’t quite place why she felt such a pull to this woman. Maybe it was sheer intrigue, or confusion as to why every single delivery she got seemed to require a signature. A signature! Natsuki nearly veered into a rosebush as her hand raised to give herself a good smack on the forehead. She never even glanced at the woman’s name, never thought to strike up more conversation beyond sign here. What an idiot.
So, next time Natsuki found herself puttering down Second, she decided to take a new approach.
“Yuri, right?” she asked, as the woman gave a start and ruined her signature once again. “Whoops, sorry. I just… thought I’d properly say hello, seeing as I’m here so often now. You new here?”
Shyly, Yuri nodded, pushing the clipboard back into Natsuki’s arms and taking the box. “Y-Yes, quite. I moved in two weeks or so prior to our first meeting.” She remembered, was all Natsuki could think, but she nodded along. Yuri paused, holding up a finger before retreating into the house briefly. When she returned, there was a foggy bottle of water in her hands, damp from condensation. Natsuki’s mouth instantly watered. “Here… it is quite hot, no? Take this. I noticed you have nothing but a tiny fan, so I thought…”
Gratefully, Natsuki took the offering and chugged half of it in one go, unable to stop the sigh of relief from escaping her lips. “Thanks! Oh man, I didn’t even realize how thirsty I was until now. Have a good one, okay?” She waved, heading back to her vehicle with a little smile. “See you when I see you.”
“I shall see you when I see you, as well,” Yuri responded a bit awkwardly, but there was a shadow of a smile on her lips that Natsuki couldn’t help feeling proud of eliciting.
Oh, she loved her job.
Their little routine carried on into the beginning of autumn, with Yuri receiving more and more deliveries as time went on. Honestly, Natsuki quickly began to question how on earth Yuri could afford so many packages, let alone ones that were important enough to warrant needing a signature. There was also the question of why. Natsuki rarely had deliveries that required ringing a bell or knocking on a door, yet somehow, Yuri’s always did. Weird, Natsuki thought, not for the first time.
But Yuri also always had something for her, whether it be a water bottle, a granola bar, or just a quick story. Natsuki had to admit she was rather fond of the stories, and found herself looking forward to whatever awaited her when she reached that pretty house on Second. She was indulged in tales of fantasy novels and types of tea, wistful family memories and new hobbies.
Then, out of nowhere—
“New route?” Natsuki balked, looking at her manager in horror. “What do you—ahem, excuse me, sorry Mr. Forge. My fault. Um, of course, I’ll switch over next shift. Thank you for letting me know.”
New route? Natsuki, accustomed to her routine, from the sweet dachshund to the lovely lady she saw nearly every day, was not all too pleased to hear of this change. She went along begrudgingly, just because she didn’t have a choice in the matter. Damn it. With how sudden the shift was, she wouldn’t even get to tell Yuri beforehand.
Huh. A thought crossed her mind.
“Yo, Monika,” Natsuki called bright and early the next morning, catching her coworker before her second sip of coffee, which was admittedly maybe not the smartest time to ask. She handed her a letter, complete with a pretty stamp of a hummingbird that had come out earlier in the year. “You’re taking over my route, right?”
“I am,” Monika said slowly, taking the envelope with a look of confusion.
“Could you deliver this for me? I didn’t, uh… It’s not important. Can you just make sure she gets it?”
Monika nodded, tucking it into the front pocket of her bag and giving Natsuki a determined nod. “Of course. I’m sure I’ll be in the area, even if she doesn’t have any other deliveries.”
As Natsuki watched Monika head out into the parking lot to hop into her truck, she couldn’t help letting out a laugh, although she couldn’t tell if she genuinely found the situation funny or if it was just a manifestation of her nerves. Oh, she’ll have other deliveries. She shook her head and walked out to the parking lot a moment later; she’d have to start along her new route sooner than later, especially not knowing it by heart. She missed her usuals already.
It showed, too. Although Natsuki tried to be chipper, she couldn’t fight the disappointment out of her voice when each house was a stranger who had no clue who she was. She even delivered to a house decorated with sunflowers, with a girl in pajamas and duck slippers who actually called out ‘Moni!’—confirming her suspicion that they’d just flip-flopped routes. She’d just said ‘haha, Natsuki, sorry’, trying to mask how deflated she was feeling.
Deflated? Disappointed? Natsuki raked a hand through her hair. Why did the strange woman on Second have such a hold on her? Deep down, she had a suspicion, but it didn’t matter. She’d said her piece in her letter, and she would hear back eventually. Probably.
Maybe.
Natsuki hated the idea that she might just be another post lady, even though that really was all she was. She found Monika moping around too, clearly also attached to her former route. They discussed it once in a while, commiserating—until it finally came to light that they had apparently been taking too long to complete their rounds. Ah. Now that made sense. They had shared a look of sheepish understanding. Maybe they weren’t so different after all, Natsuki thought, remembering that one girl with the sunflower house.
Then, right as Natsuki had begun to lose hope in ever hearing from Yuri, she found a purple envelope tucked in her locker. She glanced around. The only words on it were ‘For The Post Lady’ in loopy, familiar handwriting; no return address, no name, no stamp. It hadn’t gone through the mail. It had just been left here.
“It’s from her,” Monika said in a lilting voice, answering Natsuki’s silent question as she strode past to her own locker, fiddling with the golden sunflower around her neck.
“That new?” Natsuki nodded to the necklace, raising an eyebrow.
“Shush.”
Natsuki only cracked into the letter once she was home in her apartment, wanting to do it somewhere private. It had itched at her all day, though. She carefully slid a butter knife to break the seal without totally destroying the envelope or whatever was inside. Discovering a folded sheet of off-white paper inside, her heart began to race, and she opened it.
Dear Natsuki,
Thank you for your message. I’ll admit, I was a bit taken aback to have made such an impression on you. Although… I fear I must come clean. The reason for my frequent deliveries, which you alluded to, was simply because I wanted an excuse to talk to you. It was comforting to make a friend after such a daunting move, despite the odd circumstances. I looked forward to seeing you and I am saddened to hear that you have been relocated. I do not mind the new girl, she is quite friendly with me. Perhaps that is why I recognized the… strangeness of my attachment to you, please excuse my poor wording.
I am under the impression that you may be experiencing similar strange emotions. Correct me if I have misinterpreted any part of your message, or if I am being too forward now. There is nothing to lose, as you said. How freeing! In any case, if you would prefer this to be our last interaction, then I have made peace with the fact that you are nothing more than a woman doing her job. However, if you feel as I do… I know you are quite busy, but there is a wonderful little coffee shop down the road that has the most delicious tea… believe me, I’m quite familiar, as you know. I’m free most evenings. Regardless, let me leave you with this: thank you. You have been a great comfort during such a tumultuous time.
Hope to hear back soon,
Yuri (the woman on Second)
“Oh my god,” Natsuki uttered aloud with wide, round eyes, gripping the letter in her hands. Holy crap. Was this real life? She had been vague in her own message, as vague as she could muster, but it seemed like she really had just come out and confessed to being—to having… For the love of god. Natsuki pinched the space between her brows. She was a grown woman, about to confess to having a crush. What was this, primary school? But she couldn’t deny it, not when her heart was fluttering and her mind was reeling. She had a crush, who liked her back enough to devise a whole scheme just to see her. Hehe, and here she thought she was the strange one.
The next day, Natsuki handed Monika a note, far simpler than her letter. It was just a scrap of paper, reading: ‘Tea, Saturday, 6pm? I’d love to catch up. -N’. Even something so simple was enough to make her blood pressure skyrocket. Once Monika had taken it and hopped into that little truck, she knew her fate was sealed. She had a date. Could she call it that? Was it allowed?
Natsuki had a date with the woman on Second.
Holy fuck.