What Could Have Been

Posted on Mon Sep 6th, 2021 @ 1:26pm by Uhlan Ezra Perez

1,859 words; about a 9 minute read

Mission: Chapter V: The Calm Before The Storm
Location: Osaka, Japan, Earth
Timeline: 238703.02

Perez shook their head to themselves as they brought the shuttlecraft in to land. Nobody had tried to stop them entering the Sol system, and there had only been a brief scan of their vessel when they approached Earth itself. But it seemed that the falsified Federation credentials of the shuttle had checked out. Now, they were in final approach to the spaceport outside Tokyo, from where they'd take a public shuttle to Osaka. For the past week, ever since they opened up to Rogers and Mila about where they came from, this place had been on Perez' mind. And even more so when a quick extranet search revealed that there was, in fact, a teahouse called the Shanghai in the suburbs of Osaka, even in this universe. Except that this one had not burned down.

"Sorry, guys," Perez muttered under their breath as they completed the landing procedure. "Sorry for running off. But I have to do this on my own." Calmly, they shut down the shuttle's systems, and disembarked. They had dressed in a current Federation MACO uniform, hoping that the false credentials they had been given by the task force when they first embarked on the mission to this universe were still active. And, so far, it had all worked out fine.

When Perez stepped out from the shuttle, a security officer approached them. "Sergeant Perez?" Perez simply nodded. "That's me. Here on shore leave, visiting some friends up in Osaka." The security officer smiled. "Welcome to Japan, Sergeant. If you need any assistance, don't hesitate to ask." "Actually, Ensign, some directions to the nearest transit terminal would be helpful." The Ensign's smile grew even wider. "But of course. Please, follow me. To Osaka, you said?" "Yes, there's a teahouse there I'll be visiting. The Shanghai."

Perez struggled to hold back tears as the teahouse came into view. It looked just like its counterpart in their own world, except for the name of the shop over the door. Deep breaths, Perez. Deep breaths.

Just as they approached the door, they spotted a young woman with short black hair and glasses standing outside. She was dressed fairly casually, but it was clear that she wasn't here for fun. Perez frowned. The woman looked... familiar. It couldn't be?

Before Perez could complete the thought, the woman had spotted them. "Hi! Welcome to the Shanghai. Can I get you a table?" She spoke in English, with a noticeable accent. Taken aback, Perez simply nodded, and the young woman led them inside. The traditional wooden decor, the low tables, the bar in the centre... it looked exactly the same. The only thing that was missing was the Imperial banner hanging from the back wall. The woman noticed Perez' reaction to the teahouse. "Everything alright?," she asked, a hint of worry in her voice. "Oh, yeah," Perez stumbled as a reply. "It's just, this place brings back memories. Not all of them good."

The woman nodded in understanding. "I understand that. It's the same with me, really." She led Perez to a booth. "Here you are, I'll tell Yuuko we've got a customer and she'll be right with you." Perez smiled. "Arigato. Could you get me a menu while I wait?" The woman was flustered when Perez suddenly spoke in flawless Japanese. "Oh no, I'm so sorry," she replied in her native language. "I just thought, because of the uniform, and your hair..."

Perez chuckled. "It's okay. Not even my name is Japanese, so very few people believe I am actually from Osaka myself. I'm Perez, by the way. And I meant what I said earlier, I used to come here a lot when I was little and my parents were still around."

The woman smiled. "Then, welcome back! I'm Nakai Shizune. My parents owned the Shanghai, and although it's technically mine now, I don't actually work here, I'm just a business student at the university."

Perez tried hard to hide their facial expression. So it was her. This woman... this is who Perez might have become if the accident hadn't happened. They examined her face. She was a lot less pale, her face was black, and a lot more feminine - but, the eyes. These piercing blue eyes. They were the same eyes that greeted them whenever they looked in the mirror.

Before Perez could say anything, another woman, this one dressed in a kimono and an apron, approached. "Sorry, Nakai-san, sorry! I'm Yuuko, welcome to the Shanghai, I'm Yuuko, your server, can I get you something to drink, today's special is..."

Shizune held up her hand to stop Yuuko's burst of words. "Yuuko, slow down, breathe. Why don't you get our guest a menu. And a pot of tea for me while you're at it, okay?"

Yuuko simply stammered a "yes, of course, sorry", and, with a deep bow, ran off back towards the counter. Shizune chuckled. "Ah, our Yuuko. She's been here for ten years and still acts like an amateur." She looked at Perez. "Mind if I join you?"

"Of course not, Nakai, it would be my pleasure." Perez smiled and indicated the seat opposite, and Shizune gratefully sat down. "It's not been good business lately," she said with a groan. "You're our first guest today, actually."

Perez couldn't believe what they'd heard. In their universe, back in the day, this place had been famous. "I'm so sorry to hear this, Nakai. I remember the Shanghai being a lot busier when I was little."

"No need for the formalities, really," Shizune replied with a smile. "Just call me Shizune." She looked at the rank insignia on Perez' uniform. "Unless you want to stay formal, Sergeant Perez? What's your first name, anyway?"

Perez shook their head, smiling as well. "It's probably best if you just call me Perez, everyone does. Besides, it'd just get confusing otherwise." They held out their hand. "Nice to meet you, Shizune. I'm..." They took a deep breath. "I'm Shizune."

Perez looked around and smiled. They had sat with Shizune for almost the entire day. It turned out that their fates had not been too different after all. A few years ago, a fire at the Shanghai had killed Shizune's parents, although in this universe, her grandparents had not been there, so she had continued to live with them while they rebuilt the teahouse. However, the rebuilt Shanghai had not nearly been as successful as it had been before the fire. Now, Shizune was studying business administration, in order to try and find a way to bring back the good days for the shop.

Perez, meanwhile, had shared some of their stories from Starfleet, even revealing to Shizune that they were part of a time travelling task force and that they had spent a lot of time in the future, and in the past, but without revealing too much, or even telling her about the other universe. The more they got to know their counterpart, the more they noticed how similar they were. Despite the very different appearances, both Perez and Shizune were equally determined and strong-willed people, hiding away weakness to protect themselves.

Later in the day, the Shanghai had actually started to become a little busy, and when there were more guests than Yuuko could handle on her own, Shizune had helped her with serving them. Not wanting to sit around all on their own, Perez had offered to help out as well, and so for the next few hours, they had developed a very effective task flow - Yuuko greeted the guests and took their orders, Perez prepared the orders, and Shizune delivered them to the customers. They had made an excellent team, Perez mused.

When they closed the shop for the night, Shizune had asked Perez where they were staying. Not content with Perez just wanting to go back to Tokyo and stay the night on their shuttlecraft, she had welcomed them into the apartment above the teahouse, as a personal guest. It felt weird, Perez mused. The room they were in had been their childhood bedroom. the apartment's decor was plain and functional, but comfortable - exactly as Perez remembered it.

The door to the bedroom slid open, breaking Perez out of their thoughts. "Morning," Shizune said, standing in the door in a simple robe over their nightgown. "Sleep well?"

Perez smiled. "Very. Thank you for letting me stay."

"Of course," Shizune replied, walking over and sitting on the side of the bed. "I mean, I couldn't just let you take the trek back to your shuttle after all the help." She looked at Perez, still smiling. "And besides, I enjoy your company," she added, slowly edging closer to Perez.

"Shizu-" Before Perez could say anything, Shizune stopped them by pressing her lips against theirs. When she finally pulled back, smiling meekly, Perez was more confused than anything.

"Shizune," they said again. "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"Why not," Shizune answered. "Because you think that sleeping with yourself from another timeline will mess up the space-time continuum?"

"Wha-" Perez couldn't believe what they had heard.

Shizune laughed. "I was watching you all of yesterday. You mentioned you came here a lot when you were a kid, but we never had anyone named Perez as a regular. You say you're no good in the kitchen, yet you make tea as if it was a skill handed down through generations. Then I invite you to stay, and you find the way up here without me telling you where to look. And then, of course, just look at us. Yes, your hair is different, but we have the same eyes. So unless you're my long lost twin or something, you must be me."

Perez fell back into the bed. All day, they had pondered how to break the news to Shizune. But, of course, she had figured it out herself. Perez should have known. They were, after all, different versions of the same person. Finally, they laughed. "Why am I even surprised you figured it out? I of all people should have known how your brain works."

Shizune shared the laugh, and laid down next to Perez. "So I was right? Go me. or, us?"

"Don't worry about it, Shi," Perez replied, using their own childhood nickname. "Timelines and multiverses, it tends to mess with your head. The timeline I'm from is very different to yours. The 'Mirror universe', your people call it. Everyone thinks that us Terrans are just evil versions of the people from this universe, but that's not true. History just went in a different direction, and people adapted to it. Still, I prefer this universe. It's a lot friendlier." They turned on their side, looking at Shizune. "And I grew up to be a lot cuter, too," they added with a grin.

"Ass," Shizune replied, giggling. "Fuck, this is weird. I mean, I was making out with myself just now. Yeah, I get what you mean with screwing over your head."

Perez smiled and leaned over. "So, if we carried on, would that be..."

"Let's find out, shall we?"

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