Envy [Short, Hanako during Lilly x Hisao]

[CloudGrain]

The room is cast in twilight, the window facing away from the setting sun and darkening rapidly. It doesn't matter much as Hanako stares at the digital clock wistfully; wearing her usual pink pajamas sitting on her bed in the lonely room.

He always came over right around six o' clock, sometimes a few minutes early, sometimes just a moment or two late. As the clock abruptly changed to six o' clock, she couldn't help but clutch the pillow that she was holding a little bit more tightly... The anticipation of it was always one of the worst bits of it. Knowing the inevitability; the impossibility of escape from it.

And there it was, the few light raps on a knuckle on the wooden door.

"Hisao?"

"Hey! Oh you're wearing your pajamas already? You look so cute in them!"

Hanako couldn't help but blush as she clutched the pillow a little more tightly to her chest, burying her head in the plushness of it as if it could actually hide her. She knew how conservative her pajamas were, how oversized they more or less engulfed her figure and hid all the scars that they could. Even when Akira called her cute in them on her birthday Hanako could hardly bring herself to believe it. Especially compared to Lilly, with her own so much more revealing and figure-hugging clothes.

"I bought you a present in the city last weekend. I wanted to wait for the right opportunity and seeing as one month ago we got together..."

A whole month... Did he mean four weeks, thirty or so days? Honestly, the only way that Hanako knew the days of the week anymore was thanks to the alarm clock she stole another glance at now. Time went by so quickly sometimes, when routine became established and days blurred together. But during moments like these, it seemed like just a few seconds was an eternity as there was a lull in the conversation. An examination of the gift and a slight exclamation of excitement and joy.

"Oh thank you!"

The response of Hisao's laughter, a bit of a reward in and of itself for the thanks. She could still remember the first few times that his laughter didn't scare her, that she knew he wasn't laughing at her derisively. It was absolutely heartwarming to realize that he was like Lilly in so many ways, willing to get closer to her and actually be a friend of hers despite being so hard to get close to. The fact that she had just one more person that she might be able to think of as a friend, someone to rely on in her times of need. Her jaw clenched shut at the next question Hisao asked.

"May I come in now?"

"Oh, sorry, of course."

The door closes. She can't hear them anymore through her own door and Lilly's. A few mumbled sounds perhaps, if she could focus beyond her own blurring vision and how hard she was clenching the pillow she was hugging. The first sob comes as she thinks of what must be happening right now; the two of them kissing. Enjoying one another's company as equals, just loving one another for everything that they were. She knew that she wouldn't have anything like that, ever. But she'd hoped...

The thought was too painful as Hanako finally fell to the side into her bed and let the tears silently begin to soak the pillow she was clutching.

Based on this greentext

[azumeow]

You monster. I didn't need to experience that again.

[Thranduil_01]

This is a pretty nice elaboration of the original, was looking for something like this for a while. I like it.

[Mirage_GSM]

Nice... but if you're writing a story with a twist ending it would be a good idea not to give it away in the title...