A/N: Another Yuki/Mach! Yazerz:dances:

Disclaimer: Honestly, what kind of self-respecting manga-ka would name herself after a llama?


Beautiful Imperfections

Machi awoke an hour before her alarm clock went off to the realization that the temperature in her small house had dropped to an unpleasant level. Throwing her blankets thoughtlessly to the side, she got out of bed and wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm, wondering what had made the place so frigid. She checked the temperature on her thermometer. Her usually blank expression was momentarily replaced by a slight frown.

It was freezing in this stupid house. What was making it so cold?

Through the all the junk that covered her floor, she somehow managed to make it to her window. She almost – just almost – wished she would have cleaned the place, but she knew that that would annoy her even more than the mess. Everything in this little heap she called home was ugly and out of place, and she liked it that way. It was like her own little world where she could finally be in control of something. Here, she was free to be herself and to do what she liked. There was no one to pressure her here. No one to tell her to be so clean or perfect. In this world there was only she, and all her imperfections.

A peek out the window immediately solved the mystery of the cold. She was reflexively dismayed at the sight, but it was there nonetheless: about three feet of snow covered the ground, and the frigid droplets of moisture were still falling. She should have at least been content that school would be cancelled, but for Machi Kuragi, school was what she did. So without school, there was nothing else for her to do. Aside from that, it was six in the morning and the thought of snow nagged at her, making it clear that she wasn't going to get any more sleep.

She sighed and wished that she had a good book to read. Well, she probably did, but she wasn't about to search for it under all of her crap. It was times like these that she wished she had bothered to buy an electronic device of some sort. She plopped onto her bed with a dull sigh, only to sit up abruptly.

Damn it, how could she forget?

Suddenly jittery, she rushed to make a pathway to her dresser, which was, miraculously, visible on the other side of the room. She searched frantically through all the drawers, hoping to find some small form of makeup.

Idiot! You don't wear makeup!

No matter, no matter, she assured herself. Anyway, if she wore makeup it would look like she was trying too hard. Machi took in deep breaths to calm herself before she pondered what else she could do to better her appearance.

She picked up a small mirror that rested on her dresser and blew off the dust. A hand unconsciously began smoothing out her pale black hair. She contemplated what else she could do with it, but nothing came to mind. (After all, it wasn't like she looked through fashion magazines every day!) How she longed for Kimi to be there at that moment to give her the feminine advice that she so desperately needed.

A sigh escaped her lips as she placed the mirror back in its spot. No matter what she did, the girl just looked too simple. Too simple…and too boring. She wouldn't blame him if he forgot to come – or outright decided against it.

After making her way back to her bed, she laid down and studied a crack in the ceiling. How stupid of her to get so worked up over some boy. Besides, what guy in his right mind would want to spend a snow day with Machi Kuragi? How stupid of her. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Two hours later, the doorbell rang.

Machi nearly screamed upon hearing it. She questioned her sanity a bit, but didn't hesitate to jump out of bed. The doorbell rang a second time as she rummaged around the room for her coat and snow-boots.

"Wait a minute!" she said, pulling the second boot on. Surprisingly, she spotted her coat on a hanger in her open closet. She rushed to put that on.

Just before she opened the door, her stomach dropped to the realization that it might not be who she thought it was.

No. It couldn't be.

Still, she found herself praying that it was as she opened the door.

Greeting her was a boy with an attractive complexion, wearing a smile that so many girls at school swooned over. "Hey, Machi."

The girl thanked god she was accustomed to showing hardly any emotion. Had she been, she would have started crying in hysterics right there. Or screaming. Or laughing. Or all of the above.

Instead, she stared at him with a blank face.

"Um, I can see you remembered, too," said he, eyeing her coat.

STUPID! she mentally screamed at herself as she felt her face turn bright red. "I-It's cold in the house," she half lied, inwardly cursed herself for stuttering.

"Oh," the boy said. "Well, but, uh…you did…" He smiled sheepishly. "You did remember…right?"

"Idiot," she said haughtily, "how could I forget?" Her hand slapped over her mouth the moment the words left it. She could feel her face turn an even darker shade of crimson than before.

Yuki let out a small laugh and took her hand in his. Machi and her beautiful imperfections, he thought as he pulled her out into the snow.

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A/N: YAAAAY! Such fun. :grin: We all know that Yuki's in love with her, ne? This didn't turn out quite like I planned, but I'm pleased with it anyway. Please give your opinion in a review!