French girl | She/her | 23 | Hard non multishipper | Loves writing, but has too many ideas | In love with (f/f) pairings. ♥ Currently fond of The Elementalists and Queen B characters ((c) Pixelberry Studios.) → fanfics & headcanons Avatar (c) @summerxforever & background
Hi there, it's been a while! Probably a few years haha... but it's nice to come back here once in a while!!
I'm so behind everything on tumblr, because life, but I hope that you, whoever will see and read this post, are okay, that life is giving you so many beautiful moments! If we haven't talked in a while but used to, please, do not hesitate to send me a DM (I'll answer as soon as I can), because I love catching up with people, knowing what you're up to now, what's making you thrive and all.
I haven't written in ages gods, but I feel sooo much better now that I've written something that I just can't help it and want to share it with whoever wants to read pure tooth-rotting fluff!
More about this new fic/AU:
It's a crossover between Revue Starlight (RE Live) and BanG Dream! and also Love Live!, because I still love these girls after all these years hehe.
It's a Parenting AU, with the Starlight girls as parents!
Seeing as I have always loved, love and will always love rarepairs, it's become my goal to fill some rarepairs tags, especially the YachiYuyu one (Yachiyo x Yuyuko). (Love them too much). (They're perfect).
AO3 link, if it's better for your reading experience → https://archiveofourown.org/works/53697343 (I don't remember how to hide the link and write something instead... I'm tumblr-rusty hahaha)
<hr>
“I’m home!” A singsong voice chirps, covering the children’s laughters which are already muffled by the closed door of one of the bedrooms.
The first one to greet her is her pink-haired wife. Smiling, she slips an arm around her to pull her close, “Welcome back, love.”
Yuyuko’s grin grows wider as Yachiyo steals her a long kiss, just like she does every time they see each other again after having been separated for a few days.
“So?” The fabric lover asks, before stealing a swift kiss this time, “How did it go?”
“It went well. Seeing as there are still a few weeks before the start of the filming, I asked to modify some things.”
“Really?” Yachiyo helps her out of her coat, “But you worked so hard on this script Yuyucchi… aren’t you satisfied with how it turned out in the end?”
“It’s not that, it’s just- I met some of the actors, and they asked if they could start reading the script and- goodness, you should have seen that! It was great, and they inspired me even more! They gave this new depth to the characters that I just have to change some crucial scenes! I love it when that happens.”
Yachiyo smiles. So adorable.
“What?” Yuyuko innocently asks, almost bashfully, upon seeing her wife’s grin.
“Nothing. You-“
“Mama’s back!!” A voice suddenly cuts in, exhilarated.
“Yay!”
“Mama!”
Seemingly out of nowhere, two little girls come running and slam against Yuyuko’s legs, hugging them tightly, making the peach haired-woman almost lose her balance.
“Oof… Hello to you too, Lisa, Saaya. Aaand to you too, Nanami,” Yuyuko adds as a pair of little arms tugs at her top, leaning to take her youngest daughter into her arms.
“We missed you!” Lisa says as she goes side hug one of Yachiyo’s legs now, sliding an arm around her hips while her light chestnut hair is being stroked.
“I trust you’ve been good girls while I was away, huh?” Yuyuko stops peppering kisses all over Nanami’s face, suddenly gasping, “What the- what happened to you?”
Nanami giggles, touching the three stickers on her left cheek, “It’s the fairies!”
“The what?”
“The fairies,” Saaya repeats after releasing Yuyuko’s leg, “We don’t know why but they suddenly started pranking us!”
“Oh my, really?” Yachiyo plays along, “Did you do something bad that made them want to play tricks on you?”
Lisa looks offended, “No!”
“Come look at what they did in Onee-chan’s room!” Nanami adds, pointing a finger towards the only open door in the corridor.
The six-year-old twins grab Yachiyo’s hands to bring her there, while Yuyuko follows, keeping her light-peach-haired daughter in her arms. She hasn’t even had time to breathe after coming back from her little trip that she’s already roped into something else.
When they enter Lisa’s bedroom, they gasp.
On the lowest drawer of her dresser are stickers that weren’t there this morning. Around some picture frames hanging on the wall, there are pieces of fabric tied into knots. There are paper confettis everywhere, and even piles of them on Lisa’s bed, next to the bin, on the small chair… (Thank goodness they’re old enough to tidy their rooms on their own.)
“Mom, look! They even took your nail polish and put it in the middle of a circle-“
“I’ll save it!” Lisa declares, running towards the circle made of colorful fabric.
“NO!” Saaya yells, making her twin sister freeze, “Lisa-chan, it’s the Fairies’ Magic Circle! If you step in it, you’re going to dance until you can’t dance anymore!”
“Oh no!” Yachiyo puts her hands on her face, mimicking panic, “Lisa, your foot! It’s in the Magic Circle!”
“No! Lisa-chan!”
Lisa also gasps when she realizes the trouble she’s in. Then, she starts dancing all around the four bottles of nail polish, jumping, moving her arms, sometimes shaking her little body, already knowing what she has to do for that part of their new game. She never puts a foot outside the circle, dancing and never stopping. Nanami laughs.
“Help me!!”
“Lisa, take the nail polish and come back here!” Yuyuko sounds desperate.
“But she can’t,” Yachiyo bites her lip, worry written all over her face, “She’s stuck in the Magic Circle! It’s going to make her dance and dance and dance until she falls asleep because she’ll be too tired!”
“What!?”
Saaya looks at her pink-haired mother, a huge grin plastered on her face. She loves when her parents play along.
“What can we do to save her?”
“I help her!” Nanami proudly says as Yuyuko lets her go, so she can quickly grab Lisa’s hand…
“Noooo!” Saaya screams, startling the youngest, “Nanami-chan, you’re inside the Magic Circle too!”
“Oh no!”
And Lisa tugs on her little sister’s hand, fully dragging her into the circle of fabric, and helps her jump and dance.
“What do we do now?!” Yachiyo asks, while Saaya immediately replies, “I don’t know!”
“Saaya! Do you have something that can help us pull them out of here?!”
“Err…” Saaya’s blue eyes dart everywhere as she thinks hard. It takes a few seconds before she blinks in realization, “My drumsticks!”
And she turns round, running to her own bedroom.
“Mooooom! Mamaaaa! Help us!” The little brunette yells, still jumping around with her arms swinging on one side and then on the other.
Nanami tries to mimick her, giggling with that cute little laugh of hers.
“We can’t,” Yuyuko says with a hint of sadness in her voice, “Otherwise, Mom and I will be stuck with you in the Magic Circle. But Saaya is going to help you- ah! There she is!”
With both her drumsticks in each hand, Saaya shows up in her twin sister’s room, taking a few cautious steps towards the Magic Circle.
“Lisa-chan, Nanami-chan, take these! I’m going to help you!”
And, once they have closed their little fingers around the end of each drumstick, Saaya pulls them out of the circle.
“Yay, thank you Saaya-chan! The spell’s broken!”
“Saa-chan,” Nanami smiles at her big sister, a bit more composed but hugging her tightly nonetheless, “Thank you.”
Yachiyo and Yuyuko look at each other, and the pink-haired woman puts a hand on her heart.
“Aww.”
They love them so much.
“Oh no!” Saaya gasps again, catching all her family’s attention, “The fairies! They played a trick on Mom!”
“WHAT?!” Yachiyo looks all around her, pats her arms, her legs, her butt, her belly, her face… “What, what?! What did they do?”
“In your back!” Lisa giggles.
She turns, when Nanami points at her lower back, “The stickers! They put stickers on Mom!”
Yuyuko snickers, “It’s kind of cute.”
Yachiyo glances at her wife, before she tries to have a look at her lower back — in vain.
“I can’t see…”
“It’s a unicorn!” Nanami accidentally jabs her finger on the right sticker, making her mother wince with surprise, “And a rainbow! And… music!”
“A musical note,” Saaya corrects her.
The little peach-haired girl nods her head and repeats, getting praises from her two big sisters.
“But,” Lisa is serious again, “If the fairies played this trick on Mom, it’s because they still want to play!”
“They play weird,” Nanami says, bobbing her head.
“Why?”
“Because it’s pranks!”
Yachiyo laughs, “It’s true that the fairies are little pranksters.”
“What if we hide somewhere?” Yuyuko suggests, to which the children nod, ready to take their leave.
“Good idea Mama!”
“Can’t find us, can’t prank us!”
“Let’s hide in Mom and Mama’s big closet!”
“I’m not sure there will be enough space for us five,” Yachiyo pats Lisa’s head, who pouts a little.
“To the laundry room, then!”
“Shhhh Mama,” Saaya puts her hands on her hips, as if she was about to scold Yuyuko, “The fairies might hear you!”
“Oh you’re right!” Her voice drops to a whisper as she adds, “Sorry, sorry. Let’s go you-know-where…”
They tiptoe their way through the house, Lisa, Saaya and Nanami trying to hold back their laughter. It's hard for them — and it gets worse when Yachiyo lets them overtake her. Because she decides to tickle Lisa's sides. When she turns around, the pink-haired woman stops, innocently looking away. It's when Saaya gets tickled twice in a row that they realize who is behind these little surprise attacks.
Finally reaching the laundry room, they push a few things out of the way, like the laundry basket or the stepladder. Yachiyo and Yuyuko sit first, taking the three little girls on their lap so they can all hide together. Nanami puts a finger on her lips, forcing herself to be quiet, while Yachiyo does her hair again, quietly humming. Saaya and Lisa try to refrain themselves from laughing again, and Yuyuko is tempted to do the same thing as her wife. She thinks of tickling them, too — but she won’t. Not now anyway. It’s just for the sake of the game.
“Hey,” Yachiyo whispers after a few seconds of silence, letting Nanami rest her head in the crook of her neck and stroking her light peach tresses, “What if one of us goes back there to see if the fairies left?”
“Can I go with Saaya-chan?” Lisa asks, already standing up and taking her twin’s hand.
She smiles when her mothers nod, and the two leave, whispering to each other. Yuyuko sits better and strokes Nanami’s cheek.
“Seems like someone’s getting sleepy here.”
Yachiyo kisses the top of their youngest’s head, whispering, “Mmh, I really wonder who she takes after…”
“Hey.”
A half-innocent, half-teasing smile starts forming on Yachiyo’s face, but Yuyuko stops it with a kiss as she leans over.
“No, don’t.”
“Who, me? I’d never.” Yachiyo flashes a smile, before she adds, “Not right here anyway.”
Yuyuko raises an eyebrow. Does that mean what she thinks it means? She shakes her head, trying to stop this stupid little grin from stretching her lips. The stupid little grin which Yachiyo, and only Yachiyo, can bring into existence. The stupid little grin which reminds her of how weak she is when it comes to Yachiyo’s teasing — even after all these years. The stupid little grin which shows other people how in love she still is with her wife.
When she sees that same stupid little grin mirrored on Yuyuko’s face, Yachiyo knows she got her point across. And she’s proud of herself.
The scriptwriter coughs, focuses her attention on Nanami, who’s rubbing her eyes, trying to stay awake, “I wonder what your sisters are doing.”
“Um… looking for the fairies?”
“They’ve been out there for a while,” Yachiyo points out, “Should we go too?”
Finally leaving the laundry room, the parents gasp as they see colorful fabric and plushies, paper confettis, stickers and another, bigger, Magic Circle in the living room.
“Oh my. These fairies are something, aren’t they.”
At her wife’s words, Yuyuko sighs. That’s the reason why Lisa wanted to go with Saaya.
“Wow!” The scene woke Nanami up, who runs everywhere. She slides her little fingers on some stickers, tries to make piles of confettis and tries to tie some fabric to make another Magic Circle.
But as she looks for another piece of fabric, she stops, captivated by something else. She approaches a drawing taped on the large window.
“Yay, Nanami-chan found it!”
And here are the two little real fairies, jumping from behind the couch.
“It’s Mom,” Nanami says as she points at the woman on the drawing.
Indeed, as they approach and take a better look at the paper, Yachiyo and Yuyuko recognize the fashion designer herself. She has long, pink hair and wears earrings. She also has a sheet of paper in one of her hands, on which clothes are drawn, and a needle in the other.
“There’s something else too, Nanami-chan!”
And the four-year-old’s nose gets closer to the drawing. She looks at everything, every detail… until she sees it.
“There’s the big Magic Circle!”
“Yes!”
“What does it mean?”
Lisa’s smile is huge as she answers, “It means that the fairies want you to dance inside the Magic Circle for a bit! They promised to leave us alone after that.”
“Let’s play some music then,” Yuyuko says while pulling out her phone.
It takes a few swift swipes on the screen for an upbeat song to start playing.
“C’m’on Mom!” Saaya giggles, pulling on Yachiyo’s hand and dragging her to the big Magic Circle, “Dance!”
Lisa and Nanami help their sister, pushing Yachiyo even closer to the circle of fabric.
“Okay, okay, I’ll do it. Yuyucchi, can you play the song again from the beginning, please?”
And, once her wife has done that, Yachiyo steps inside the Magic Circle and starts dancing. Her wife laughs, cheers, just like her three daughters; who then join her in and do their best to mimic all her steps.
“Yuyucchi, love, come with us!”
<hr>
“It was funny today,” Nanami says as she hugs her cuddly toy, lying down and letting Yuyuko kiss her forehead, “With the fairies.”
“I wonder if they weren’t imps instead of fairies…” Yuyuko hums, tucking her in.
“Mama?”
“Yes?”
“Do you think the fairies can prank us when we sleep?”
“No, honey. Just like us, they need to sleep. If they don’t sleep, they won’t have enough energy in the morning to go play tricks on people.”
“Ah. Okay.”
“Goodnight, sweetheart.”
“Goodnight Mama! Can you call Mom?”
“Sure.”
One last kiss and Yuyuko slips out the bedroom. Okay, the third and last one is finally tucked in. As she comes back in the living room, she smiles at her wife, already done with saying goodnight to the twins.
“Mom, Nanami is waiting for you.”
And, as Yachiyo passes by, Yuyuko takes advantage of that and slides a hand on her hip — only to fall on her butt before it’s out of reach. Crap; she didn’t even have time to grab it properly.
“Don’t worry Yuyucchi, I’ll be back in no time~”
And, true to her word, Yachiyo comes back very soon, closing the door of the corridor behind her. She’s grinning from ear to ear (and gods, is it contagious), bites her lower lip as she approaches her lover. Yuyuko barely has time to smile that Yachiyo throws herself onto her, making them both tumble on the couch in a heap of soft laughters. And kisses. And paper confettis. Oops.
Yachiyo punctuates her next few words with a kiss, “I-“ (on Yuyuko’s cheek) “missed-“ (on the tip of her nose) “you!” (and right on her lips).
“I missed you too, silly.”
Unlike her, Yuyuko doesn’t pepper her face with kisses; she’d rather cup Yachiyo’s cheek with one hand, slide her other in her wife’s pink tresses and press on the back of her head to bring their lips together again.
“I made your favorite.”
“You're the best.”
“And a surprise is awaiting you for the dessert,” Yachiyo can't help and whisper, before propping herself up with her hands.
Yuyuko arches an eyebrow, but can't stop her lips from stretching too much — so she bites the lower one instead. Yachiyo's teal eyes are twinkling, almost ablaze, and they quickly drop to her wife's chest. It takes her a few seconds to get the point and, when she does, it's her turn to glance at Yachiyo's chest. Thanks to her being on her hands and knees, her top gapes, revealing some lacy fabric sticking to her smooth, fair skin.
“Oh. New lingerie?”
Putting a finger on her lips, Yachiyo smirks, “And it's going to drive you crazy.”
Yuyuko's cheeks flush bright red while her teasing wife snickers.
She clearly isn't going to recover from her work trip tonight.
Also, do not walk close to walls. It will be easier for someone so walk past you and push you against it or corner you.
If your gut is telling you to cross the street or change your path, do it. Don’t risk it. Your body knows.
If you can, buy a large umbrella and walk holding it. Studies say that predators are less likely to attempt an attack on someone that could fight back. Keys around your knuckles is fine but you’ll need to get very close to do damage. Umbrellas are more precise.
Avoid wearing headphones if you are alone on an empty street. Look aware.
Again: Stay. Away. From. Walls.
Entering an uber alone? Call your father (or anyone you trust) and say “hey dad! Yep, I’m almost there, I’m sending you the route.” outloud. Then proceed to send them the route so they can follow the uber drive. This will most likely intimidate the predator.
If you see someone in an uncomfortable or possibly dangerous situation, walk up to them and say “Betty, oh my god, I haven’t seen you in so long!”. If she gets slightly confused, you can whisper and let her know you’re trying to help and that she should follow along. Walk together to another station or away from where you are. The man will most likely not follow. I have done this one 2 times and can be very helpful.
If you are unsure she needs help, you can pass her a note saying something like “hey, I noticed this man beside you is making you uncomfortable. If you’d like help, fake a sneeze right now and I will come up to you and pretend we are friends.” This is a long note, but its an example. Be discrete. If she follows along, proceed with the previous tip. This is helpful when you’re in a crowded train and you notice harassment.
Help your sisters. Trust them. Trust yourself. Be safe.
I made this google doc covering 14 different self defense tips and tricks. it was made on January 15th, 2020 so it was before I decided I’d come back to tumblr jhjshdbjfh.
Walking home late one night I knew I was being followed. The only other person on the street was a man. I went up and asked him to walk with me because I was being followed. He straight up told me no and walked away.
I ended up taking a detour to a pub where I knew the staff would be cleaning up and two of the bar staff walked me home. I always wanted to meet that guy who said no to me again.
Hey there!
I can’t believe it’s been years since I last published a fanfic on tumblr. And it’s been months since I last finished one... woo! It kind of feels great and rewarding though hehe.
However, this is my first time writing a Choices fanfic, so I do hope it’ll be okay... Here goes nothing!
Book: Queen B
Pairings: Chloe x Veronica, and a little bit of Zoey x MC (Kate).
Yes, I know many people don’t ship Chloe and Veronica, because “Veronica deserves better” and “Chloe’s an airhead and a meanie”, but I’m holding onto the fact that there’s more to Chloe than what we know...
Warning: not entirely canon-compliant (seeing as I haven’t played since chapter 6 aired... I apologize if it sounds inaccurate sometimes). Also! This takes place after Veronica joined MC’s posse. And let’s forget about the Bacon-alia, okay?
AO3 link
________________________________________________________________
“8:12 AM,” Kate slides her phone in her pocket and yawns, stretching her arms above her head, “Congratulations Zo, you got me out of bed early on a Wednesday. You know, the day we don’t have class in the morning.”
“Oh come on, I already apologized. But I really was craving some croissants this morning and I wanted you to try them,” Zoey smiles as she bites into her pastry, humming.
The two young women continue to stroll down the street at a relaxed pace, eating their respective croissant, joking around and sharing knowing smiles and glances. They stop next to a trash can, throwing the small bags while Zoey finishes her croissant, pinky finger raised.
“So? Verdict?” she offers Kate a wide smile, an eyebrow arched.
“Okay, you were right – they’re worth the awful alarm clock. Maybe we should get some more often. It’d be like our moment,” Kate grins as she steps closer, making Zoey grin back.
“Don’t we have enough moments already? You know, as roommates.”
“Is it really enough?”
“Do you think it is?”
“Do you?”
“Oh my god, Kate. Shut up and kiss me.”
“Your wish is my command, milady.”
They both smile before their lips tenderly meet for a few delightful seconds.
“Hey Zo,” Kate murmurs against her lips, “Let’s go back to our room.”
Zoey pecks her best friend’s lips one last time and nods, smiling. As they resume their walk, Kate slips her hand into Zoey’s.
“Wait a minute,” the new girl suddenly speaks, stopping in her tracks and squinting, “Is that Chloe over there?”
“Where?”
“There. Inside the coffee shop.”
“Huh? Oh, yeah,” Zoey blinks, “Wow. She… she looks so sad.”
“I wonder what happened… Oh well. She probably had another fight with Satan.”
“Not really, no.”
Kate jumps the moment she hears a new, additional voice next to her, “Holy shit! Veronica! Where did you come from?”
The famous beauty influencer rolls her eyes, her lips slightly tugging upward, “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
However, her light smile vanishes as she looks at her blonde-haired friend inside the coffee shop. She seems to be tormented, her brows furrowed and her gaze fixed on the table.
“This is supposed to be our moment,” Veronica sighs, an unexpected veil of sadness crossing her eyes.
Kate and Zoey glance at each other.
“What do you mean, your moment?”
“Chloe and I come here every week, on Wednesday mornings precisely because we don’t have class before 10. It’s just the two of us, for breakfast. No Poppy, no The T, no homework, no livestream… except if it gets interesting, of course,” Veronica smiles a little, but it promptly fades away, “There’s nothing else, no one else. Just Chloe and me. It’s our moment,” she pauses a second, then winces, “Or well… I guess it used to be our moment. We’re… not really talking to each other anymore, so well.”
Kate taps her chin several times, “I think it can still be your moment. Nothing’s here to stop you. Except if you don’t want it, of course.”
“No way. I still want it to be our moment.”
“I feel like there’s more to the story than what you’re telling us,” Zoey hums, barely trying to hide her curiosity, “Veronica, do you… uh…”
The two roommates share a glance, hesitating. Should they really ask something as private as that? As they ponder the answer to that question, Veronica beats them to it.
“Do I have romantic feelings for Chloe?”
They nod, and the ombré-haired girl sharply breathes in.
“I do.”
“Then go! Go get your girl!” Kate exclaims, almost bouncing on her feet like a child who was promised an ice cream.
Veronica raises her eyebrows, “You just want me to recruit her for you.”
“Of course not,” the new girl answers, at the same time as Zoey bluntly says, “Yes.”
“Zoey!”
The latter’s eyes widen and she immediately corrects herself, “No, of course not!”
The influencer rolls her eyes, prompting Kate to look sheepish as she scratches the inside of her elbow.
“One of you is at least being honest.”
“Alright… yes. And why not, anyway? With what we now know and with you helping us, I think it’s better if we get Chloe on our side. And I think she will be more willing to listen to you than us. It’s better if you recruit her yourself. But! We kind of want you two to be reunited too, you know?”
“Let’s kill two birds with one stone,” Zoey adds, serious, “Recruit her. But, most importantly, get your girlfriend back. Shoo, go.”
________________________________________________________________
As soon as she steps into the coffee shop, Veronica makes a beeline for the booth she usually occupies with Chloe on every Wednesday morning. However, she feels her heart break at the sight: Chloe is sitting there, alone, staring into space. It seems like she has barely sipped her hibiscus tea – two or three swallows at the most.
“Hey there.”
The unexpected voice startles Chloe, whose eyes widen when she realizes who is standing right next to her. Her heart rate instantly skyrockets.
“V-Veronica! You… Wh-what are you-”
“Is this seat taken?”
“N-no. But… I-I’m sorry but I have somewhere to be,” Chloe says as she abruptly stands, bumping into the table and almost knocking her white mug over.
“No you don’t,” Veronica hastily says, stopping the girl in her tracks. She lightly bites her lip, before adding in a whisper, “Chlo, please… Stay with me?”
“I-” Chloe gulps, eyes darting everywhere.
She looks conflicted, distressed – so much that it hurts Veronica inside – but eventually sits down again, fiddling with her fingers. She looks at everything, everyone but the beauty influencer sitting across from her.
“So,” Veronica clears her throat, trying to get Chloe’s attention, “We need to talk.”
“V, not now…”
“Then when? You’ve been avoiding me ever since you made up with Poppy. We haven’t even been able to spend some quality time together. We don’t laze around on the couch anymore, we also stopped doing our makeup together. You… you’re not coming to my room anymore. Look, we haven’t even had our Wednesday breakfast in weeks now.”
“You don’t understand!” Chloe seems alarmed for a second, but then she lowers her gaze, her light blue eyes reflecting a sorrow she is desperately trying to hide, “I… I-I can’t be seen talking to you…”
“Chlo, look at me.”
But Chloe weakly shakes her head, nibbling her lips, while Veronica resists the urge to grab her hand.
“Chloe.”
…
“Chloe St. James.”
This time, the girl looks up, albeit hesitantly.
“She won’t do anything to you. I promise.”
“She can-”
“Believe me, she better not.”
At this, a light (but pleased) smile graces Chloe’s features, which makes Veronica grin back. The moment only lasts a few seconds though, Chloe’s smile disappearing as she drinks a mouthful of her red-colored tea. The influencer clears her throat and places her hands on the table.
She wants to hold Chloe’s so bad.
“Chlo-”
“Sorry you had to wait,” a voice suddenly interrupts her – it’s the waiter who always serves them. They offer Veronica a welcoming smile, “The usual?”
“Uh, no, thank you,” then she hastily adds, an idea crossing her mind, “Just your best lava cake, please.”
At this, Chloe blinks, but keeps her mouth closed.
“Right away!”
And they leave. Veronica’s eyes land once again on her dearest friend, warmth, affection and worry dancing in them.
“I knew something was up. The moment you left me on read and started avoiding me, I knew something happened,” she sighs, “And surprise, surprise. Poppy’s the one behind all that, right?”
Chloe doesn’t answer – but her silence is enough.
“Chlo, she- she doesn’t have to control your life like that. You should be the one making decisions for yourself. You do whatever you want to do with whoever you want to.”
“I-”
“So what if you want to befriend Kate and Zoey? Or what if you want to spend time with me, the ‘traitorous cow’? She has no right to dictate your life.”
Chloe bites her lower lip, “V-”
“Chlo, you’re… you’re your own person. You’re not Poppy’s little lapdog-”
“I’m her second-in-command!”
“No, you’re- ah. Thank you.”
Veronica lets the waiter put the plate and the spoon on the table, before they leave. However, she doesn’t touch it, yet, capturing her friend’s attention once again.
“Chloe, no, you’re not her second-in-command. You’re the main pawn in her game, that’s all,” the blonde-haired girl lowers her gaze, pain twisting her features, and Veronica reaches for her – to no avail as Chloe’s hand immediately moves back, “Chlo…” she softly says, “You… do realize that, right? You know that ranking first is more important to Poppy than… you?”
“But she’s…” Chloe grabs her mug, seeking some support. Her knuckles quickly turn white before her shoulders sag, heavy, “She’s my best friend…”
“No, she’s not. Okay, she’s the first person who reached out to you here, I’ll give you that. But a best friend? Seriously? A girl who’s too blinded by her crown and who even goes as far as plotting revenge on you just because you ranked first for, what, a few hours? Do you really call that friendship? Is she really your best friend?”
Chloe bites her lips while sliding a shaky hand in her hair, the other still gripping tightly the mug’s handle.
“Chlo… You’re… you’re so much more than what she reduces you to.”
The blonde gulps with difficulty. She looks torn between so many things – what Poppy, her best friend, expects of her, their seemingly one-way deep friendship, her own needs and desires, the pressure which comes with her reputation at Belvoire, the dear friend she fell in love with…
“You deserve so much more.”
Veronica tentatively brushes Chloe’s fingertips with hers, her warm brown eyes never leaving her face, gauging her reaction. A tremor runs through Chloe, forcing her hand to let go of the mug and move back.
“Chlo…”
The beauty influencer can hear her heart suffocate, ready to crack. She is about to retract her own hand when she feels the tiniest, most hesitant caress on her fingers. Chloe looks at everything but Veronica, a light frown appearing on her face while her lips quiver, indicators of her internal, bone-crushing conflict.
“I-” Chloe starts, her voice clogged with guilt and sadness.
She draws in a deep, shaky breath and, finally, looks up when Veronica’s fingers interlace with hers. Her vision blurs as she holds back her tears.
“I miss you. I miss you so much.”
Veronica’s heart skips a beat, and she breathes back, “I miss you too.”
The grip around their intertwined fingers tightens, as if they are scared of letting the other go and losing her for good this time. Chloe’s first tears start rolling down her cheeks the moment their eyes meet, which prompts Veronica to immediately stand and sit on the booth seat next to her. She wraps an arm around her shoulders while the blonde-haired girl covers her face with her hands, sobbing quietly.
“Hey, hey,” Veronica whispers as she closes her eyes and presses her forehead against Chloe’s temple, heart painfully squeezing, “I’m so sorry I made you cry, Chlo… But you have to face the truth. It’s- it’s better if you do.”
“But it hurts…”
“I know… I know. The truth always hurts.”
Chloe shakily sniffs while slowly unveiling her face, trying to wipe all her tears away. She ends up smearing mascara under her eyes and removing her concealer. She looks so tired. Drained. Veronica’s brown eyes soften as she reaches for her purse and quickly pulls out a cotton pad and a vial filled with transparent liquid.
“My hero,” Chloe gives a weak smile, her light blue eyes still shining with tears, “I’m such a mess.”
“No,” Veronica gently dabs the damp pad under Chloe’s eyes, “You’re perfect.”
“V…”
Chloe’s body start shaking again from the tears she is desperately trying to hold back. No one has ever said things like that to her, not even Poppy, her supposed best friend. She could have, so many times – when they were getting dressed for a party together, for example.
You look nice in that dress.
This skirt’s color looks good on you.
Just… a compliment. Some recognition. A little something which would have made her feel like she was somewhat important, like she was worth it. But no. No one has ever said something nice to her. No one… except Veronica. But with Veronica… it only happened when they were in bed together.
You’re beautiful Chlo, she said the first time she undressed Chloe, making her blush.
You were awesome, she murmured once in the shower, pulling Chloe up and kissing her like she was the only one for her.
Chlo, you’re gorgeous, she groaned the day Chloe straddled her, their breathless moans mingling together in a sweet, loving melody.
You know what? I feel so lucky right now, she smiled when Chloe took her time removing her dress, slowly revealing her new red lacy lingerie.
I want you. And only you, she breathed in the crook of Chloe’s neck the day they had their most agonizing fight, kissing every inch of her jaw, throat and collarbone.
I love you, she cried out once, delirious, intoxicated by the friction, the caresses, the kisses they shared during their most passionate night. Chloe’s heart had never beaten as fast as it did that night.
Of course, all these times mean a lot to Chloe. She fell in love with her friend, after all. But right now, at the coffee shop, it means the world to her.
Veronica gently cups her face and brushes her thumbs on her skin, wiping away some tears. A tingling sensation dances in the influencer’s wrists the moment Chloe curls her fingers around them. Their eyes meet for a second and, when the blonde offers a weak smile, Veronica leans in, tenderly capturing Chloe’s lips. Something bursts in their chests, akin to fireworks, while their mouths slide together perfectly, in harmony. Once, twice. Chloe brings their bodies closer, arms wrapped around her lover’s neck, and the latter smiles, her hands landing on Chloe’s hips, right where they belong. Their lips meet again for the third time, impatient.
When they break the kiss, they press their foreheads together, the tip of their noses brushing.
“Babe, I promise it’ll be okay…” Veronica whispers as she strokes Chloe’s soft blonde locks, looping one behind her ear.
A soft, muffled laugh escapes Chloe’s lips as more tears roll down her cheeks, “You know, I really like it when you call me babe.”
Veronica chuckles and kisses Chloe one more time.
… Okay, three more times.
“Feeling better?”
“A little,” the blonde sniffs, hastily wiping some tears away, “I’m still scared though. What am I supposed to tell Poppy?”
“Nothing. Just… forget about her. We’ll deal with her later,” Veronica pecks the tip of her secret lover’s nose, “Just know that you’re not alone anymore, okay? We’re in this together,” and another peck – on the lips this time, “Babe.”
Chloe’s cute little laugh warms Veronica’s heart. She doesn’t look as downcast as earlier; she even looks relieved, like a huge weight has been taken off her mind, and her smile is more sincere, more instinctive. She looks more like herself – like the girl Veronica fell in love with.
“Now, I believe there’s a lava cake waiting for us before class starts. What do you say?”
Chloe snuggles against Veronica, burying her face in the crook of her neck, “Sounds perfect.”
________________________________________________________________
Meanwhile, outside the coffee shop, two girls give each other a high five, squealing in delight.
________________________________________________________________
Aaaaah I’m super nervous. :’3 But well, I do hope you guys liked that fic!
Thanks for reading and please, take care of yourself and your loved ones! See you. ♥
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! Welcome aboard this wonderful ship haha! They’re too precious, I love them so much. And now you make me want to write a one shot involving a pillow fort... and lots of kissing. 🥰
rules: write the first 10 songs that come up on shuffle (no skipping) and quote your favorite lyrics from each song, then tag 10 people
which was complicated as I have a lot of instrumentals and OSTs on my phone, too
1. Orelsan •• Suicide Social
Adieu ces nouveaux fascistes
Qui justifient leurs vies de merde par des idéaux racistes
(= Farewell the new fascists
Who justify their shitty lives with racist ideals)
I actually really like all the lyrics of that song, it’s a very good criticism of the French society; and it’s, sadly, true. (And I like the gunshot at the end, too)
2. Crywolf •• Windswept
Can I soar?
Up through the clouds?
Leave all of this behind?
3. Julia Michaels •• Issues
Bask in the glory, of all our problems,
'Cause we got the kind of love it takes to solve 'em.
Yeah I got issues,
And one of them is how bad I need you.
4. Rihanna •• Skin
Just put your skin baby on my skin
... I think it speaks for itself, huh
5. Flume, Kai •• Never Be Like You
Stop looking at me with those eyes,
Like I could disappear and you wouldn't care why
6. Wiz Khalifa, Charlie Puth •• See You Again
And what's small turned to a friendship, a friendship turned to a bond,
And that bond will never be broken, the love will never get lost
7. P!nk •• Try
Where there is a flame
Someone's bound to get burned,
But just because it burns
Doesn't mean you're gonna die
...
But I also really like:
Why do we fall in love so easy
Even when it's not right?
8. Katy Perry •• I Kissed a Girl
Us girls, we are so magical,
Soft skin, red lips, so kissable,
Hard to resist, so touchable
dare tell me it’s wrong
9. Gabrielle Aplin •• The Power of Love
Love is danger, love is pleasure,
Love is pure, the only treasure.
10. Thousand Foot Krutch •• Be Somebody
I love that song, so it was pretty hard to quote my favorite lyrics ...
When I could only see the floor
You made my window a door
...
+ I'm just the words you are the sound,
A strange type of chemistry,
How you’ve become a part of me
...
+ And we're all see-through, just like glass,
And we can shatter just as fast
I have no idea who to tag ... But whoever wants to do it is free to do so!
Also hi, it’s been a while :’3
So this is a kinda long story, so I am hope you don’t mind reading it all…
When I started writing Love Live fics, I joined the discord servers at the same time. I didn’t really have a Sunshine ship I loved at this time and wasn’t really a massive fan of the characters, at least compared to Muse.
After talking on a few of them I actually found someone I knew irl, or used to, and so we talked a little more and he invited me to a server that he had recently been invited to.
This is the server that pretty much let me get to know some of my best friends in the fandom, @xcamay and @my-idol-you-chan,as well as a few others. Through them I grew to like You more and more until she became my best girl in both groups, dethroning Honoka for #1.
Because You was now #1 I started to look at ships for her. My initial favorite was HonoYou because they were my favourite characters, but other than that there wasn’t much that made me like it. It was shortly after this that @xcamay introduced me to YouRiko.
Slowly thanks to her and what went on in the server, I started to fall deeper and deeper into loving the ship and before long it was my OTP and I have never stopped loving it to this day.
So… basically blame those two for why I love YouRiko so much and why I will continue to write it till the day I quit writing fics… and yes, you can quote me on that.
It probably is one of my best achievements, believe me. ;3
Do you remember, Ender? It’s thanks to our first RP, you accepted to go along with my OTP and you ended up in my trap, hahahaha! If I remember correctly, it was the secret dating thing ...
Now I just have to drag you into SayoLisa, as a thanks for dragging me into BanG Dream hell
This is a fic that I decided to write as a gift to @xcamay because of some things that happened. You are a great friend to me and even if you won’t accept this as a gift, there needs to be more EreAnju content out there so there!
It took a lot longer to actually write than I wanted as I have SO much I am working on at the moment, but I finally finished it thanks to 3 hour long train journeys.
Thank you to @torororose for proof reading this, it helps a lot.
Summary:
Erena comes home from a long day at work to find a sleeping beauty waiting for her on the couch.
Of course I like it ... I even love it, Ender! :’3
Thank you, it’s really helping, it makes me feel way better, EreAnju are so precious and I love this kind of super fluffy scene♡ It’s heartwarming! like, it’s just the two of them in their own world ... I feel like they’d be super cheesy sometimes, and I really like that idea. Aw my babies ...
You’re the best!! I can’t thank you enough for this gift, it was so unexpected —and that’s what makes it even better! You’re so adorable with me, I don’t think I deserve it but well ...
Thank you again, and again, and again ... :’) I loved it and, you know what, I’m going to re read it soon, because I have class right now ... But goodness. Thank you so much for this EreAnju fluff ... You completely made my day! Love you♡!
I didn't realize this but the way you describe Maemi is similar to the new character Emma from Perfect Dream Project
Ah? Really, is it?Oh my. I didn’t know ... I mean, the PDP girls don’t interest me that much in the end —except maybe Kanata, but she’d be the only one—, so I don’t know much about their personalities/backstory, etc.Bruh, I hope it’s still okay and that people won’t be mad because of that ... 😣
Mind if we know more about Maemi? Like personality and appearance as a high schooler and a parent
Oh no no no, I don’t mind at all! I usually don’t add many details about my OCs (not that I have a lot of them haha), even if I should ...So, here you go :
I picture Maemi as a girl with long, straight and dark brown hair, but not the kind of dark brown that almost looks like black, you can really see that she has brown hair, you know? And long, like, cut after her shoulder blades. She has bangs, but on the left side. Her eyes are greener than Nozomi’s, but they’re still light green, and they have the same form too (tareme eyes, or something like that?).I like to think that she has some light freckles around her nose and on its tip too, but it’s barely visible, like you notice them when you’re closely looking at her. Her skin is pale, but it easily tans, and she does look quite cute in summer!
Thanks to her backstory, you now know that she has a generous chest and, much to Yoshiko’s delight, there are some freckles above it (Yoshiko loves kissing them in the bedroom, by the way~). Also, she’s slim, and has toned calves : she loves cycling and going for runs. It was stress-relieving for her to do so when she was in middle school, and she kept practicing those activities even in high school and after that. Cycling became, um, less sport-like once she started dating Yoshiko : it was mostly for them to go on dates or to just get some fresh air together (and it was priceless the first few times). After the twins’ birth, it became a family activity.
Mh, something else : she’s a little bit smaller than Yoshiko. I believe that Yoshiko got taller during high school and college (like, 165cm or so), and Maemi measures, what, 160cm, so there’s a small height difference!
In high school, she was mostly tying her hair in a ponytail with a dark pink ribbon, but she had two unruly locks which kept falling in front of her ears and which framed her face.In her last years of studying, she started braiding her hair on the side (making it land on her left shoulder) on occasion, and it became her regular hairstyle after having Nozomi and Nico (and there’s still that unruly lock on the right side of her face!). Of course, she styles her hair differently sometimes, but she doesn’t really let it loose.
Now, her personality ...
As I said in the previous post, she was shy, reserved and didn’t talk much in middle/high school. She had to be friends with people to let them see who she really is –which means, a kind, calm, smart and soft-spoken girl. She’s sensitive and fragile, but she tries to hide those sides as she doesn’t want people to take advantage of that, even as an adult.
Because of what happened in middle school, she has a hard time giving people her trust, and she’d rather keep everything to herself than sharing her insecurities and all. The fact that she doesn’t confide in people caused some fights between Yoshiko and her during their first months as a couple, but Maemi did her best to change that side of her a little for her girlfriend. Thanks to her relationship, she also became bolder, when it comes to displaying affection. She was often the one to initiate physical contact, like a quick peck on the cheek or holding hands and stroking Yoshiko’s with her thumb, whether it be in public or in private.Speaking of, Maemi had a hard time giving all of herself to Yoshiko, as she was really terrified of showing her bare body to someone. Scars of the past, I guess you can call it like that ...
Ah, there’s also something contradictory concerning her personality ... She can be determined and is easily fired up, but she quickly gives up when there’s something getting in her way.
Aside that, Maemi is very girly. She showed it during her high school years, when she started tolerating, appreciating, her body again. It’s in college that she really began putting make up on, but not thick make up, just so she can look good. But, regarding her clothes, she prefers girly clothes. Like, dresses and skirts, or pastel, V-neck tops. She has always loved earrings and anklets, too.
As a mother, she kept her girly side, as she heard too many things about women forgetting themselves once they had their first child and didn’t want to lose that part of her, and her femininity either.She was still soft and sweet with her girls when they were younger, but found out that she could got pretty mad sometimes –and it scared Nozomi and Nico, who were too used to their soft-spoken Momma, and who instantly calmed down not to have to face her anger. But I believe that the stress ate her up a lot when she was pregnant and when the twins were babies, because she never imagined she was going to have two babies at first.I even think that she was the first one to confront the baby blues hehe. Oh and, she certainly became more sensitive after that ... Beware, Yoshiko, hahahaha!
I think I said everything that was on my mind ... I hope I didn’t forget anything. If you need even more information, don’t hesitate, I’m always happy to share this kind of things! Even if it’s not with Maemi, but I understand that she wa the most mysterious and intriguing one hehe
Have a good day anon, thank you for all this again~
Hey, can you tell us more about YoshiOC from your Aqours Parent AU? You know how they meet, how the fell in love, etc
Hey hey! But of course I can tell you, no problem! I’m actually happy to receive this ask, I know that a lot of people ship Yoshiko with someone from Aqours and that, sometimes, it’s quite, uh, complicated to fully accept an OC ... I’ve always thought it was a risky bet, to be honest ... So thank you for asking!!
So! Yoshiko and Maemi (her last name is Noto) attended the same high schools, and really met and talked when they were third years. Indeed, Maemi attended Uranohoshi, and she even was one of Yoshiko’s classmates! Except that Yoshiko didn’t really pay attention to her, as she became a school idol, found great friends in the other Aqours girls, got popular, won Love Live, tried to save the school, etc. ; and because Maemi has always been shy and discreet.
Maemi, of course, knew who Yoshiko was, thanks to Aqours. But she also noticed her, before all the school started supporting them, because they were similar. Maemi was here when Yoshiko did those rituals of hers, but she was also here when Yoshiko did her best to act like a ‘normal girl’ to, uh, fit in [I have a very, very bad memory, and I didn’t pay much attention to the scenes with Yoshiko and the first years either, so this part might sound weird ...]. Maemi was moved by all this –the fact that Yoshiko tried to change, the reasons why she wanted to change (she isn’t stupid, she guessed there was a feeling of uneasiness in Yoshiko)–, but also by the fact that everyone accepted Yoshiko for who she was. She felt relieved, for the idol, but also for her : Maemi suffered, and was even bullied in middle school. And she felt so happy, she felt like she could breathe again, when she realized that, here, at Uranohoshi, she could finally be accepted, too.
Here comes some backstory : Maemi has a generous chest, it runs in her family (and Nozomi inherited it, too). But it ... developed quickly and, in middle school, she had bigger breasts than the other girls, and got bullied and laughed at because of that. It didn’t help that she attended a mixed school, and so boys and girls were virulent about that. It wasn’t the kind of teasing that could make her laugh ; it was the kind of teasing that hurt and made her feel very, very self-conscious. She was ashamed of her body. And, each day, she felt like going through a nightmare –just waking up to go to school was an ordeal.
You understand now why it was a relief for her to see that, even if you don’t look like or aren’t acting like the others, people can still like you for who you are. Ah, before I forget, it’s also because of all those bullies that Maemi decided to attend another school. She grew up in Atami, a big city, but she didn’t want to go to any high school here. She ... wanted a break, a change of scenery. However, she didn’t move house, so she was kind of traveling each day for her first year in Uranohoshi. She also chose Uranohoshi because, first, it was an all girls school, but also because her only friend from middle school was moving and was going over there. She didn’t want to lose that friend, and didn’t want to face boys again. Facing girls was enough for her.
Now, let’s come back to Yoshiko and her, after all this ... ... ... During their first year, Maemi just watched her from afar. Nope, she didn’t try to talk to her, didn’t try to befriend her, so she completely went unnoticed. But, while silently supporting her (and Aqours) and watching her from afar, Maemi slowly developed a crush on Yoshiko.During their second year, they weren’t in the same class anymore and Maemi, who wanted to stack all the odds in her favor for once by trying to be friends with Yoshiko–and so, initiate the whole thing–, gave up quickly. For her, there was no point in doing that in the end, because Yoshiko was going to meet new people in her class, maybe fall in love with one of them –or maybe she was just going to hang out with new friends and meet her special person outside of school. So she gave up, and they spent another year apart.
But everything changed when they were third years. Once again, they weren’t in the same class, and, this time, Maemi thought that she was going to get rid of that old crush. She thought, but didn’t, as she got paired up with Hanamaru for a project (Ruby and Yoshiko were in the same class during their third year, but unfortunately, Hanamaru wasn’t with them), and got to meet Yoshiko properly for the first time. It was at Hanamaru’s place, and wasn’t planned : they were working on their project when Ruby and Yoshiko showed up to spend some time with their friend (Ruby and Hanamaru started dating in college).Maemi’s crush came back in full force and it was so unexpected that she got all flustered. She stuttered, was madly blushing ; she was awkward, shaking, and almost clumsy. When she finally left, she mentally cursed herself, whereas Hanamaru told her friends that Maemi was a sweet but shy girl, and that it certainly was too overwhelming for her to meet them so suddenly, because she never acted that way with her.
They met several times after that again, and Hanamaru eventually found out the truth (it was when she wanted to be sure that Maemi wasn’t crushing on Ruby). So, RubyMaru tried to play the matchmakers! It didn’t work at first, as Yoshiko was completely clueless and thought that Maemi was just a little bit weird (after all, why was she acting that way when she was around her? Did she do something?). She didn’t feel like becoming friends with someone who was always avoiding her gaze, who seemed like it was too complicated to talk to her, and all.So, RubyMaru told Maemi to try not to act like that too much, to show Yoshiko how kind she is and that she wasn’t just a blushing mess. After that, the Yoshiko/Maemi friendship slowly got better and better and better. Unfortunately, they were just friends, and it stayed like that until the night before graduation day. On that evening, Ruby invited Hanamaru, Yoshiko and Maemi at home and cooked for them. As if to celebrate their last day together, before they go to different colleges. Right when they were eating, Yoshiko unintentionally cracked a joke, which made Maemi laugh, and it was so unexpected and it was such an adorable sound that Yoshiko lost her composure and bluuuushed. Of course, RubyMaru noticed it and teased Yoshiko to death once Maemi left. Their fallen angel finally found her special litol demon, after all!
The day after, they almost had their first kiss. They were about to do so, but Yoshiko panicked and pulled Maemi into a goodbye hug instead.
They didn’t go to the same college, but kept in touch, frequently messaging each other, and sometimes calling each other. However, they didn’t see each other a lot, only when there was a birthday party.
It was when they had their first kiss and started dating, during their second year. It was Yoshiko’s birthday, but it went badly at first. Maemi became friends with some boys and girls during college, and Yoshiko was jealous! So, when Maemi showed up for her birthday, she acted quite distant and cold toward her. It hurt, and Maemi didn’t understand why.RubyMaru were the ones who investigated–and, once they found out, they blurted out the truth to Maemi because they were tired of watching those two gravitating around each other. After that, Ruby took care of Yoshiko and forced her to go apologize for her behavior, while Hanamaru was encouraging Maemi to finally do something.
Once they stood in front of each other and that Yoshiko profusely apologized, Maemi interrupted her with a :
“My heart has always belonged to you, you idiot.”
Before finally kissing her dear Yoshiko!
Here you go! That was longer than expected, oof! I hope you liked how it turned out, and if you want more information, don’t hesitate!
Oh and, before I forget, Happy New Year, anon and everyone! \o/ :3
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!! (it’s still December 25 in France!)
I hope Santa brought you the best presents ever! :3
And I’m giving you a poor present, too! Thanks to all of you who answered my survey, and I hope you’ll like it. :*
(Oh and, thank you @animeender for proofreading me and making me believe in that fic! Because it really was a bad start hahaha)
Saturday, December 24th 2033
“Mommy?”
Riko blinks at her reflection, carefully pushing the mascara she is holding away as she glances at her six-year-old daughter in the mirror.
“Yes my love, what is it?” she asks in a gentle voice, leaning over a little bit to put more mascara on.
“Can you redo my ponytail, please?” Erena politely says as she steps in the bathroom, quickly reaching the sink and looking up at her crimson-haired mother. She sees her glance at her, before she focuses on her reflection in the mirror again.
“What happened?” Riko curiously inquires –she just styled Erena’s hair, how did it become so disheveled in such a short time?
“Mama and Kotori tickled Maki, so I tried to defend her.”
“That was very nice of you, Erena-chan.” Riko smiles as she puts the mascara back in a small woven basket, remembering all the distant peals of laughter she heard a few minutes ago, “Were you of some help, at least?”
At that, Erena’s azure eyes look elsewhere and the little girl pouts.
“No … Mama tickled me too much … But she didn’t play fair! We’re younger, and she still used all her force!”
“Ooh,” Riko snickers as she takes a hairbrush and steps back, allowing her daughter to stand in front of the sink, “Mama is a little rascal, isn’t she?”
As Erena laughs and nods her head, Riko undoes the messy ponytail, holding the scrunchie between her teeth, and starts combing Erena’s long hair, as gently as she can –when it comes to her hair, she can be a little bit oversensitive to pain.
“Say Mommy?”
Riko hums as an answer, letting her daughter know that she is listening, while carefully gathering all the maroon locks in her palm. But a petite hand is soon placed over hers, and the amber-eyed woman looks at Erena’s reflection curiously, meeting her azure eyes.
“Wait a minute, I’m going to close the door. I have something to tell you.”
Puzzled by that, Riko watches her eldest close the door before she stands in front of the sink again. She blinks, before working on the nonexistent ponytail again, and finally asks :
“What is it, sweetie? Is something wrong?”
The answer isn’t immediate, which piques the woman’s interest –and even more when Erena only whispers :
“… anymore.”
“Um, what did you say, sweetie? I’m not sure I heard everything.”
“I said that I don’t believe in Santa Claus anymore.”
Riko suddenly freezes, halting all her movements.
That … That is something she clearly wasn’t expecting ; that one of her babies directly tells her that it’s over, that she isn’t a child anymore, that Santa Claus doesn’t exist and that she knows it and–
“But it’s okay Mommy,” Erena goes on, as if to reassure her –maybe she did see that her mother’s face is growing paler and paler–, “I won’t say it and I’ll act as usual, so I won’t make Kotori, Maki, Hanayo and all the others cry. I know they still believe in Santa. So, don’t worry, Mommy! I’ll do as if Santa is real.”
What.
Riko blinks several times –she tends to do that a lot when her children are around, as they manage to surprise her all the time–, still trying to recover from the unpredictable shock.
“Mommy?”
“I … Wait, Erena-chan … H-how?” Riko hesitantly asks in a hushed voice, as if Kotori and Maki were here. She is silently hoping that Erena is messing with her and that she was just cracking a joke, just like that, before they receive all their friends for Christmas Eve.
“Nozomi told us last time,” Erena answers, as if it were the most obvious and natural thing in the world, “She made Nico and Eli cry, and Anju even yelled at her. Tsubasa and I were the only ones who didn’t say anything.”
“O-oh … I see.” Riko is unsure of what to tell her daughter, the surprise still overwhelming her. She really wasn’t ready for that kind of news.
Instead, she focuses on her previous task : tying the little girl’s hair back. For a minute, she completely forgot about that.
“After all, that’s true. It’s odd,” Erena continues, moving her hands as she talks, “How does Santa do to visit all the houses all over the world in just one night? Reindeers can’t even fly, and they can’t overtake a plane. He can’t do all that. Plus, he’s fat and he’s an old man, how can he keep up? It’s impossible.”
Riko can’t help but laugh at the last comment. How meanly adorable.
“Even if he isn’t real, it’s still a lovely story.”
“It is,” Riko agrees, her gaze softening, hands unconsciously combing the now perfect ponytail.
“Mommy …” Erena weakly calls as she tentatively meets her mother’s gaze in the mirror, “Are you mad at me?”
“Huh?” Riko raises an eyebrow, “Why would I be mad at you?”
The little girl gulps and starts playing with her fingers, nervous. “Because now I know that Santa doesn’t exist …”
“Oh, my baby …” Riko leans over and wraps her arms around Erena’s shoulders, pulling her into a hug. “Honestly, do you really think I was going to be mad at you because of that? Silly,” Riko chuckles as she pecks her daughter’s cheek, “I’m sad because it means that you’re growing up faster than what I want.”
“Of course I am, Mommy! It’s normal.”
“But you know that Mama and I don’t want you to grow up, because you’re our dear baby!” And, with that, Riko tightens her grip, causing Erena to laugh and playfully flail around.
“But I’m not a baby!”
“Tell you what,” a cheerful voice chimes in, and the two break the embrace, turning to look at the newcomer, “You’ll always be our little baby!”
“Mama,” Erena greets her with a wide smile, instantly mimicked by the brownish ashen-haired woman.
“Oh, my beauty!” You squeals while easily scooping her eldest into her arms, earning a ‘Heeeeyy!’ of protest, “You’re so cute with your hair up!”
A soft smile graces Riko’s features as You puts Erena down, before she unconsciously starts twirling the end of her ponytail, as if she were feeling melancholic.
“You-chan,” Riko’s amber eyes land on her wife “Before everyone arrives, I think you need to know that, um …” her voice drops in a whisper “Erena-chan knows the truth.”
“Eh?” Comes You’s puzzled and curious reply, as the latter blinks. “The truth? What do you mean, Riko-chan?”
“That Santa doesn’t exist, you know …”
“What?”
The two adults immediately freeze when a crystal-clear voice rises behind them.
“Oh no,” Riko breathes, aghast, when she realizes that her second daughter is standing there, in the doorway.
“What do you mean, Santa doesn’t exist?” Kotori repeats, her eyes already glistening with tears, her tiny voice tinged with disbelief and sadness breaking her mothers’ heart. She is tightly holding her own hands, as if she were ready to hide her tears and cry in them.
But before one of them can react and try to explain everything to Kotori –that it is not what she thinks it is, that she completely misheard and got it all wrong–, Erena steps in front of her little sister and puts a hand on her shoulder, patting it reassuringly.
“It was in the nightmare I had last night,” she says while Kotori tries to blink her tears away, “I was just telling Mama and Mommy about it. There was an ugly and bad elf who was stomping on our presents and he was screaming and telling us that Santa never existed …”
At this, Kotori covers her mouth with her hands, shocked, before she frowns and exclaims, “Why was he saying that! It’s so mean!”
“It is!” Erena instantly agrees, before shrugging, “I think he was just punished because he didn’t work as hard and as well as the other elves.”
A cute snort comes from the gray-haired little girl, and both You and Riko exhale, relieved.
“If Maki-chan had that nightmare, I think she’d still be crying,” Kotori giggles, before her eyes widen when three knocks echo in the corridor, followed by muffled voices. “Oh! They’re here!”
“Hey Kotori-chan!” You broadly smiles and extends a hand, “Let’s go greet them together!”
“Yeah!”
Vigorously nodding her head, Kotori happily takes her Mama’s hand, following her to the front door. You lets her open it, revealing the Matsuura family on the doorstep clad in warm clothes, scarves and even a cute beanie with cat ears for Rin.
“Aye aye, everyone~” You salutes, mimicked by Kotori who soon drops her hand and hugs her Mama’s leg, as if to fight the cold, “My gods, it’s freezing out there, please come in, quick!”
“Yeah, Auntie You is right girls,” Kanan says while pushing Umi and Anju inside, Honoka and Rin being already in the house, struggling to take off their coats and scarves.
“Wait a minute, you two.” Riko approaches Honoka, stopping all her movements and gently taking her scarf off before she squeezes it too much around her neck by pulling on it like a savage.
“Whew, thank you Riko-chan for the help!” Chika widely smiles, while taking care of Rin and her coat which is almost too big for her. “Hey Riko-chan, you have no idea of how happy I am to know that I’m going to see everyone again! So, how have you been doing? Oh, hello Erena-chan!”
And Chika goes on and on, quickly dragging Riko in the conversation.
“Oh Anju-chan, you’re so cute with this new haircut!” You coos the moment she passes next to her.
The little girl offers her blue-eyed auntie a bright smile, before twirling a ginger strand of her now shoulder-length hair.
“Thank you, Auntie You! I got it cut this morning.”
“Woah, really?” You grins, closing the door. “Is it for Santa?”
“Oh no, not at all!” Anju instantly replies, with this light and airy laugh of hers. It turns into a soft chuckle, and then in a bright smile when she meets one of her best friends’ eyes. “Erena-chan~”
And Anju launches herself into Erena’s arms without hesitating, greeting with that special hug only Tsubasa and her can have –okay, her mothers and her little sisters too.
“She wears it well,” You then says as she turns to look at Kanan, who is hanging her coat and scarf on the coat rack, “But I’m really surprised you decided to cut her hair that short. I thought you didn’t want to?”
“I didn’t want to,” Kanan agrees with a sigh, sliding a hand through her loose navy hair, “But Rin decided that it was a good idea to cut her sister’s hair yesterday evening.”
You gasps at that, eyes widening, but she quickly hides an amused smile and some giggles behind her hand. Kanan only rolls her eyes, before she winces and frowns in pure and comic desperation.
“You understand now that I couldn’t leave Anju with short strands here and there, and that I showed up at the hairdresser in a hurry this morning to fix it! Bless them for closing only after New Year’s Eve and not today.”
“But Mama,” a voice interrupts them, and the two childhood friends look down to see little Honoka tugging on the hem of Kanan’s sequin jacket, “Rin-chan wanted to try, and Onee-chan didn’t mind!”
“I know Honoka, they told me,” Kanan ruffles one of her twins’ hair, “But it doesn’t mean that it was a good idea, honey.”
“It’s in the genes,” You laughs, “Remember when Chika-chan tried to cut her bangs when we were little?”
“Ma did it too, nya?” Rin pipes in, reassured by the idea that one of her parents did this silly thing too.
“Yes, she did. Next time we go to Grandma’s inn, I’ll show you the photo.”
“Nya!”
After the Matsuura’s storming entrance, it was Ruby and Hanamaru’s turn to show up, with Tsubasa and Hanayo. The shy youngest didn’t even have time to step in the house that Rin tackled her into a bear-crushing her, just like she did with Maki when she first arrived. Maki, who was forced to join in the hug, dragged by Rin. As for Tsubasa, she wanted to join Erena and Anju, but got slowed down by Hanamaru, who wanted her to ‘say hello to your aunties first, zura’.
They were followed by the Tsushima family, with their precious and funny twins, Nozomi and Nico. At first, the purple-haired little girl was disappointed to see that her dearest friend Elicchi still wasn’t here, but her Mom Yoshiko reassured her, telling her litol demon that it was probably Auntie Mari’s fault if they were late. And, either way, Honoka invited (dragged) her to play hide and seek with everyone else. Obviously, the game had a spectacular start, thanks to Maki and Nico. Indeed, they started bickering –and it was adorable for the adults–, as they tried to hide behind the same door. Umi, the seeker, didn’t have a hard time finding them first.
Finally, when the third hide-and-seek game started, Mari dynamically knocked on the door. She even started singing We wish you a merry Christmas when Riko let her enter. Dia seemed already bushed, certainly because of her wife’s antics. As for Eli, after politely greeting everyone, she followed Nozomi and hid with her, while Honoka –helped by Tsubasa– had to start counting again. She even had to count a third time after a few minutes, as Mari chose to gather all the children to tell them :
“Hey cutie pies! I bet you didn’t see that it’s starting to snow. We’re going to have a real white Christmas!”
All the little girls rushed to look through a window, and You caught their attention before they started pushing each other to have some place, telling them that it would be better if they were looking through the big patio door.
“Should we place them like that?” Riko inquires, as You and her are both leaning over an oval-shaped plate with oysters –thank you Mari for them.
“Yeah.” You nods her head, before trying to place the last oyster between two others, doing her best not to move the rest too much. “Mmh … Riko-chan, you’ve never tasted oysters, have you?”
As their eyes meet, Riko slowly shakes her head. But her amber eyes soon widen when she notices You’s amused smile, and she takes a step back while her lover raises the last oyster and puts it in front of her mouth.
“Aw, come on Riko-chan! You’re not a child anymore!” You giggles, holding the flat shell with her fingertips, “You just have to gulp it down!”
The pianist’s face contorts in disgust, “Ew, no!”
“Oh come on, even Kotori-chan tried one earlier!”
“And she choked on it.” Riko pointedly looks at the brownish ashen-haired woman in front of her, turning her head on the side in order to avoid the oyster, like an obstinate child. “Plus, it isn’t appetizing : it looks like phlegm.”
You pauses at that comment, glancing at the oyster, before starting to laugh, loud and clear. Riko pouts, feigning to be hurt by her wife’s mocking laugh.
“You’re worse than Maki-chan,” You giggles, finally keeping the oyster away from Riko’s mouth. “She’s completely your spitting image!”
“And if you’re not eating it,” Mari’s dynamic voice chimes in. The blonde woman appears behind You, stealing the oyster. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to feed my darling~”
Mari is quick to plop down next to Dia, proudly holding the oyster.
“Mari–“ Dia begins, only to be cut off.
“Baby, come on, please!”
Riko rolls her eyes in front of the familiar scene, before letting out a surprised but soft yelp when You catches her off guard with a peck under her uncovered ear.
“Y-Y-You-chan?”
“What?” You asks with an innocent voice, a teasing smile illuminating her face. “Can’t I kiss my wife on Christmas Eve?”
“O-of course you can,” Riko stutters, a light blush tinting her cheekbones, “But–“
Loud tinkling laughs coming from the smallest round table interrupt her, and she spins round to see Nozomi, Anju, Honoka and Rin roaring with laughter, while Nico seems to be pouting. But the latter soon joins them, just like the others, and Riko and You’s eyes soften.
Before telling the children to sit down at the table, everything was about to go wrong : first, poor little Hanayo almost made the Christmas tree fall, as she tripped over the wire of some fairy lights. In the meantime, Anju and Kotori both sneaked in the home office, where You’s sewing kit is. They hurriedly came back, blood all over Anju’s right fingers : she pricked and cut herself while blindly rummaging through a box to give Kotori the measuring tape. Also, Nico and Maki bickered once again, as usual, before tearing the only gold tinsel that was falling from the Christmas tree, as they both wanted to wrap it back and didn’t want the other to get in the way.
In not even an hour, after everyone arrived, the house became chaotic –and a real mess too, with toys everywhere, whether it be on or under the couch, in the kitchen, all over the carpet.
“I love them so much,” Riko can’t help but whisper, ignoring the fact that her heart skipped a beat when You slipped her arms around her waist. Her gaze unconsciously lingers on her three daughters, and she softly smiles, “I’m so proud of us, we did a great job.”
“Yeah …”
“Oi, the lovebirds!” Chika exclaims, filling all the glasses with wine, “We’re hungry! You’ll have the night to yourselves, you can wait a little!”
“Ch-Chika-chan!” Riko squeaks, stopping herself from throwing a dish towel right in her friend’s face.
“Momma …?”
Hanamaru finishes the verrine she was eating, puts it away and, the spoon still in her mouth, turns to look at her youngest daughter.
“What is it Hanayo-chan, zura?”
“Wh-when does Santa come?” Hanayo shyly asks, feeling quite uncomfortable because of all the pairs of eyes on her.
At that, Hanamaru shares a quick glance with Ruby, and then with their friends, before taking the little girl on her lap. Hanayo instantly snuggles against her mother, tucking her head under her chin, reassured by her warmth, regular breathing and perfume.
“Soon honey, soon …”
Hanamaru places a kiss on the top of Hanayo’s head, before she cradles her gently. It doesn’t take long before the others approach their parents too ; compared to them, their plates have been empty for a long time. And it is getting late now, and the fatigue is slowly kicking in. After all, the past few days were exciting, and today is the peak of the excitement of Christmas.
“Hey Maki-chan,” You calls while opening her arms, welcoming her red-haired daughter with a hug, “Did you tell your aunties what you’re going to do before Santa arrives?”
Maki shakes her head, before burying it in You’s neck as she reciprocates the hug. Riko smiles, pride bubbling inside her, and she takes Kotori on her lap.
“Ooooh~, what is our dear Maki-chan going to do?” Mari excitedly asks, placing her elbows on the table, widely grinning.
“Yes, what is it Maki-chan?” Maemi goes on, with Nozomi and Nico on her lap, too.
Maki is now hugging her flat snow leopard-like cuddly toy against her chest, just like her red and white pacifier and the white one. She whispers something in You’s ear, who whispers back –loud enough for everyone to hear, though :
“You want me to tell them?”
Maki nods her head, before snuggling against You again.
“So,” the sea lover woman begins, giving her youngest daughter another hug, “Maki-chan is going to–“ she pauses a little, as if to add more suspense, “–give something to Santa …” another pause again “She’s going to give him her loyal pacifiers!”
“Oh yeah Maki-chan, you’re such a big girl!” Chika exclaims, ready to clap to congratulate her niece.
“Congratulations~”
The most considerate parents –like Maemi, Kanan or Ruby– give Maki their encouragement, clearly aware of the fact that Maki owns two pacifiers which are very dear to her. Before going to bed, for example, she needs the two, not just one.
“It’s because I’m not a baby anymore,” Maki mumbles against You’s shoulder, tightly holding the two objects though.
“And we’re very proud of you, sweetie.” Riko smiles at her daughter, who cranes her head to look at her –and Riko instantly extends a hand to stroke her porcelain-like skin.
But a high-pitched and gleeful yelp catches everyone’s attention, and the owner of that scream –Mari, of course– suddenly stands up.
“Hey girls, it’s still snowing outside!” she announces, taking Eli and Rin’s hands, “Let’s put our coats on!”
Hanayo, Kotori, Nozomi and Nico hop off their mothers’ lap and, with Erena, Tsubasa, Honoka, Umi and Anju, they follow Mari. Mari, who quickly turn to look at her old Aqours friends, winking at them. However, Maki can’t go with them immediately, as You keeps her in her arms.
“Hey Maki-chan,” she says, amethyst eyes meeting sapphire ones, “What if we put your passies under the Christmas tree now?”
As Maki slowly nods her head, You proudly grins and pecks her forehead, before caressing her light red locks.
“Okay, suck on them one last time, and we’ll put them under it, alright?” You then holds her hand in front of Maki, who doesn’t hesitate to high five her, “I’m sure Santa will be super happy, Maki-chan!”
“Yesh,” Maki mutters, before slipping her hand into her Mama’s, approaching the illuminated Christmas tree with her red and white pacifier in the mouth.
They both crouch down and share a glance, before Maki spits her first passy in her free hand. Seeing her mother’s encouraging smile, the little girl quickly sucks on the second one and finally drops her cuddly toy, freeing her other hand and taking the last pacifier in it.
“Where do I put them, Mama?”
“Under the branches, but not too close to the trunk. So, before he can put the presents here, Santa will see what you did and he’ll be super proud of you!”
Not far from here, Riko lovingly watches them ; it is only when a scarf is being shoved under her face that she blinks and looks at her eldest, who is handing her the fabric.
“Here Mommy,” Erena says, “Are you coming with us?”
“Of course I am, my love.”
“Mamaaaaaaaaa,” Honoka’s annoyed voice rises, “Why don’t you go outside with uuuus?”
“Because it’s too cold for me,” Kanan replies as she zips the ginger’s coat.
“It’s Auntie You who normally says that.”
“I know,” Kanan chuckles before she gets up, grabbing a loaf of bread on the table. She puts it into Honoka’s petite hand –and her face lights up in realization–, “Here sweetheart.”
“Mama! Thank you!” the little girl exclaims, hugging Kanan’s leg for a few seconds.
After receiving an affectionate pat on the top of her head, Honoka dashes outside, squealing with delight when some snowflakes get stuck in her ginger hair. She quickly spots her little sister and, soon, the two of them are throwing their heads back, ready to eat the falling snow –Honoka even forgets about the bread in her hand. As for the other Matsuura twin, she is busy taking off her dark blue gloves, to imitate Kotori who is trying to gather the snowflakes in her uncovered –and already red from the cold– hands. Next to them, Hanayo carefully pushes her foot in the snow, to make intact footprints. Maki soon joins her, even if she is a little bit unsettled.
Meanwhile Anju is looking at Eli and Nico, who are struggling to make snowballs because Nozomi and Tsubasa keep attacking them with their own. Even if she is tempted, Anju does not move from her position, letting Erena adjust the scarf around her neck –because her hair is shorter now, and she ‘might get a cold’. But the auburn-haired girl suddenly bursts into laughter the moment Erena stiffens, the parts of a snowball already sprawled on the side of her head.
This is enough to start a snowball fight between the six oldest, soon joined by their youngest sisters as backup.
All of a sudden, Mari, who was staying by the bay window, opens it and screams, “Oh my gods, did I hear right? Is he here?!”
Those words cause all the girls to stop in the middle of a new attack, curiously watching the blonde woman –even if some faces are starting to get illuminated by the happiest smile ever.
“Yes!” You’s voice echoes, “But he’s leaving!”
“Oh quick!” Mari turns to look at her daughter and her nieces, opening the bay window even more. “Santa is here!”
She doesn’t have to say it twice : they are all rushing inside, hoping to see Santa Claus and be able to thank him for whatever he brought them –even if Nozomi, Erena and Tsubasa mostly want to see how many presents are under the Christmas tree now.
As they reach the front door, that Chika is holding open, they are utterly disappointed to see that no one is here. Or, well, You is here, looking up at the sky and waving, yelling :
“Thank you, Santa! Thank you for all the presents, you rock! Yousoro!”
The first one to react among the children is Honoka, who runs next to her brownish gray-haired auntie, cupping her hands around her mouth :
“THANK YOU SANTA!!”
“Thank you Santa, nya!”
“Thank you, and don’t get lost in the snow!” Anju adds, while hugging a shivering Umi next to her.
“Come back next year! See you!” Kotori waves, alongside her Mama.
A chorus of thanks follows, and You keeps staring at the dark sky with its falling white polka dots.
“If it weren’t snowing, I’m sure we’d see the reindeers and the sled!” You ruffles some of the girls’ hair. “Alright, now let’s go see if Santa left some things …”
“Of course he did nya!”
“We’ve been good girls, Mama,” Maki adds, not letting go of her cuddly toy.
“Oh, Maki-chan!” Kotori grips her little sister’s wrist, broadly smiling, “Do you think Santa took your passies?”
The two sisters soon get the answer. Despite the excitement bubbling inside them and the urge to open the presents on which their names are written, Kotori and Maki push some of them, eventually reaching the place where the youngest let her precious items. Their eyes shine when they realize that, yes, Santa took Maki’s gift.
“Maki-chan, you’re a big girl now!” Kotori hugs her sister, proud and happy for her –she, too, knows how the pacifiers were important.
The amber-eyed girl then takes Maki’s hand and they both join their Onee-chan –who slides an arm around Maki’s shoulders, giving her a side hug– and their friends, now able to look at the Christmas tree, dazzled by the amount of colorful presents underneath. There are so many : dark blue ones, multicolored ones, silver and white ones, golden and red ones, big ones, smaller ones, long ones, …
“So!” Riko claps her hands together, her smile never leaving her face, “Who would like to distribute the presents?”
The answer is immediate and ecstatic, as the girls all yell in unison :
“ME!”
Heeeeeeeeere it is!
Goodnes, I thought I’d never finish it in time! ... And now I’m just hoping that you liked it! :3
Have a lovely day, or a lovely night, and get ready for New Year’s Eve now hehe see you!!
EreAnju isn't exactly a ship I thought I'd ever see. If you don't mind me asking, why is it one of your OTPs? I don't mean that to be rude, by the way. It's only because it's such a rarepair that I'm asking.
Hi!Don’t worry about it! You’re not being rude at all. I totally understand that coming across someone who ships such a rarepair so bad can be quite intriguing and surprising haha! To tell you the truth, I was asked that question several times ... But I’m always happy to share my answer!Ah, before I start, let me apologize for my late reply. I saw your ask around 3AM but I’ve been sick and very tired recently, so I fell asleep again very quickly heheSo. I know it can be odd at first, to ship EreAnju, who are both background characters despite being the protagonists’ rivals. After all, they got just a few lines here and there and didn’t even have some character development —hell, we didn’t even get some insight into their backstory (how did A-RISE start, did they struggle? How are they doing at school, how do they practice, are they best friends?) into their personality, etc. (which I profoundly regrets). But for me ... This lack of everything kind of helped me ship them at first. Because hey, they are —what I like to say— drama free! Of course, every character is drama free (maybe Rin hasn’t seen her father for years or she just doesn’t know who he his and is trying to get in touch with him and be able to meet him for the first time, maybe Hanayo has a lot of video games at home and can be a geek sometimes, etc.), but I have the impression that Erena and Anju are even more drama free. Because, unlike the main characters, they don’t really need to be placed in an AU to warn the readers that, maybe, they’ll read something different —because no one expects anything from them. No one even expects them to be in a fanfic (except me! ;3). That’s partly why it’s so free when you write something about them. Plus, if you want to write a canon-compliant story, I’m sure that these two (and maybe Tsubasa, a little) are the characters you can explore the most, you know? Aside the few little details the anime (or LLSIF or the manga) gives us, you have so many possibilities with them. I mean, just with how they look, you can say that Erena seems to be the most serious one (maybe it’s because she’s A-RISE’s choreographer, and maybe she’s been dancing for ages, to the point that she won several competitions?), but maybe she’s a sweetheart almost all the time except when they’re in practice. People also picture Anju as the most soft-spoken one and the sweet, wealthy, princess-like girl : what if it’s wrong? She can just be a regular girl, who is calm and kind with the others, and who became popular thanks to A-RISE. Maybe she’s just an adorable and hyperactive dork, who has younger siblings (I think she’d be an amazing onee-chan) and who learned how to sew clothes thanks to her dear grandmother before the latter passed away. Or what if it’s true? Maybe she’s wealthy and would have loved not to be, because she met her real first friends in high school, and that she now treasures her friendship with Tsubasa and Erena.And now, speaking of EreAnju as a pairing, goodness, that’s the same thing! You can do everything with them, compared to the main characters. I mean, authors usually go with the fact that RinPana are childhood friends, or that Nozomi has always been in love with her Elicchi, and that she’s struggling with her feelings because Eli is just so damn dense. You can go with everything, concerning EreAnju : are they childhood friends? Have they been dating for years? Did it start in middle school, when they were clueless about love, and did they learn everything together? Are they the perfect couple, and do they make everyone else dream? Or are they the kind of couple which keeps breaking up and getting back together? Are they secretly dating now? Did they meet Tsubasa before or after getting together, and was Tsubasa unconsciously getting in the way because she didn’t know they were dating and, so, creating fights between them, because one of them can be madly jealous? Is it Anju? Or do they trust each other so much that they’ll never feel jealous? Or, completely different, have they always been sworn enemies but finally did their best to get along for Tsubasa’s (and A-RISE’s) sake? Or did they meet thanks to Tsubasa, when she was looking for potential school idols? Or was Erena the cool and good-looking transfer student, and so was it love at first sight for Anju? Did she struggle just to get her attention? etc, etc.I just realized ... The fact that we know nothing about them just makes me want to know more ... Maybe that’s why they inspire me so much?But oof, oh my gods! I didn’t know that part would take so long (or do I have that impression because I’m on mobile?) haha ... Sorry!But, let me tell you : what I just said? That’s gold. Why? Because first, for a writer, you can have so many things to develop in your story when it comes to them ; and it can be different in each new story! As I said, no one expects anything from them, nor do they expect to see them in a fic. And it’s gold, because, at least, you’re sure you didn’t take the wrong route. I mean, we know nothing about Erena and Anju, and we know nothing about their relationship either. And with that, I can consider them as “safe” characters. You can be sure that, whatever you write (or read), they won’t really be OOC. Because you know, a lot of readers don’t like it when characters are OOC. As a reader, I’m not fond of that either, especially when there’s no justification behind that OOCness. And, as a writer, I am deeply afraid of writing OOC characters —and I know I’m not the only one. It’s easy with Erena and Anju. Whether it be their personality, their backstory, their experiences, or even their relationship and how they act in this relationship, you’re free to write whatever you want, without scaring your readers away because they’re so much OOC that they can’t stand the whole story anymore. And I bet the readers won’t mind whatever an author planned for them (if they’re important enough for the story and its plot). That’s maybe why it’s so easy for me to find and build ideas/headcanons/new AUs around them. Hey, you know, most of my YouRiko ideas were thought of or written with EreAnju at first haha! But they’re such a rarepair, as you said it, that it would have gotten me nowhere. As much as I love this pairing, I wouldn’t have been able to have such an amazing experience with them like I had with YouRiko. If it makes sense?For people to notice EreAnju, they have to be put in a story with at least TsubaHono with them ... UNFORTUNATELY ;-; I wish I could read so many fics about them!! ;-;So, before my answer ends up in a mad rant about all that (just the lack of scenes with A-RISE (I wish the producers could make an A-RISE spin off...) and all), here are the main reasons why I ship EreAnju.Okay, who I am also wants to love them deeply, as I’m someone who cares about physical appearances (yikes, I feel like I’m going to make people mad, but it really isn’t my intention...). And I find Erena and Anju beeeaaauuutiful, whether it be as a couple (come on, they’d be such a sexy and mature couple) or just as individuals. Erena’s eyes are going to kill me (don’t mind me, I love blue eyes), and Anju is such a cutie pie, too. I also love the fact that she gives off the I’m-a-sweetheart aura. Yuri couples with two girly girls are just my thing ... That’s also maybe why I love this anime, even if it’s not supposed to be a yuri one hahaha (but let’s be honest, that’s what everyone wants in the fandom, me the first!).So here you go!I am not here to shove EreAnju down anyone’s throat, I’m sorry if it looks like that, but I’m just ... very passionate when it comes to them. If only you knew how many EreAnju WIPs I have in my Love Live! file ... They’ll eventually turn into YouRiko or something, but well, hehe ... I just hope that my answer made sense, and that maybe I made people want to give them a chance, who knows?Thank you for the ask, I’m always happy to share this kind of thing! I hope you have a lovely day/night! :3
Hi guys! I keep thinking about Christmas, which will happen right before my exams, and I’d like to get organized and all, so starting to work on a Christmas fic now would be ideal ... But I have so many ideas and I don’t know what to do. :c That’s why I’d love to know what you guys want to read around Christmas (hey, it’ll be my gift for everyone! :3), and that’s why I’m giving you the link of a poll. Feel free to answer it! Thank you for your time, and see you all soon!😘
Hi everyone!
First, let me apologize for the small delay..! To tell you the truth, I had 4pages for a Halloween fic (set in the Aqours as parents AU), but I finally changed my mind and started working on a new semi-Halloween-related fic yesterday, but it got late and I was tired and my baby cat Nola kept climbing on me to get my attention because she just wanted me to lie down in bed so she could sleep too ... And so I gave in, haha, and decided to write the last scene of this fic this morning.
I really, really, really (...) really hope that you will enjoy this new AU just like I've been enjoying working on it for the past few weeks, and just like I enjoyed writing it yesterday! It's an AU that I hold very close to my heart, and I really wanted to share it with everyone so, now, I just have to pray that you will all like it a little ... :’3
Before I forget, I would like to thank @my-idol-you-chan and another friend (Entropy! I’m sorry I don’t remember your tumblr name :c) with all my heart for proofreading me, but mostly for giving me their opinion on that fic! (And for encouraging me to publish it, even if they don’t know that)
I'm kinda getting off the beaten track, as it's an AU with µ's and A-RISE. So ... No YouRiko this time, guys! :') I still love them dearly, don't worry. But I'm going to shower you with TsubaHono, EreAnju, NozoEli, RinPana, KotoUmi and NicoMaki as much as I can with it!
Warning → this is a specific AU which can have some OOC characters once in a while. I'm not fond of, um, OOCness, but it'll be needed for a few scenes sometimes here, and I'm pretty sure you'll understand why when you know what this AU is (I won't say it, I want you to discover it while reading hehe~). Oh and, despite that once-in-a-while OCCness, please know that I'll do my best to stick to all the girls' real personality! Maybe except Tsubasa, Erena and Anju, seeing as the anime didn't give many scenes with them and, so, very little detail ...
Thank you for your time, and I hope you’ll enjoy!
And ... Happy Halloween, I hope you didn’t spook too many children and that you got a lot of sweets~
(Oh and! HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIN-CHAN♥)
October 31st, 07:02
“K-Kotori-chan, I-I’m sorry I’m late!”
“There there,” Kotori chuckles as she pats her panting co-worker’s –and new friend– head, “It’s all right, Hanayo-chan. We’re still on time, don’t worry.”
“B-but won’t our mentors be mad at us …?” Hanayo finally straightens up, and Kotori is surprised to see that the young woman’s cheeks have a rosy tint –did she run to get here?
“At worst, it’s the first time we aren’t here at 7AM sharp since we’ve started working here.” Kotori offers her a reassuring smile as they both walk toward the entrance of the building, “I bet we’ll be fine, Hanayo-chan.”
“Yeah …”
“And I can’t wait to see what’s planned today!” the amber-eyed girl cheerfully goes on, clapping her hands while displaying a wide smile, “I wonder what they do on Halloween, here!”
“I-I’m curious about that, too …” Hanayo lightly scratches her cheek, wincing a little, “I mean, they told us we can’t dress up for the occasion, so … Do they really do something?”
“We’re going to find out!” Kotori smiles but, as soon as they reach the doors, she stops and turns to look at her friend, the worry slightly distorting her features. “Hanayo-chan … Are you okay?”
That simple question catches the brunette off guard, who lets out a surprised ‘Eh?’.
“I mean, you still seem a little bit … Stressed.”
Hanayo instantly looks away, as if she were feeling very ashamed. She gulps and shakily sighs, “I … I never know what to expect here, even if it’s part of our job … But I do like it here, though!” Her expression is now a resolute one, which makes Kotori smile.
She knows how sensitive Hanayo is, and she clearly remembers their first day –the day they met– here, at the psychiatric hospital : before starting, they were in a room, which became their classroom day after day so their instructor could teach them the basics and some procedures ; and Kotori took a seat next to that nervous and shaking young girl. She was twisting her fingers, and sometimes went very pale during the doctors’ speech. Especially when they talked about the criminally-insane patients, who are kept in the forensic ward.
“That’s good Hanayo-chan. Let’s go, then?”
Partly reassured by Kotori’s ever-present smile, Hanayo nods her head and they both walk into the building, the excitement making their hearts flutter.
“Ah! Koizumi-san,” Hanayo holds a shriek back when she hears a voice calling for her, stopping dead in her tracks, frozen “Minami-san. You two are here,” the voice goes on, and the two friends turn on their heels.
In front of them stands a navy-haired woman, with amber eyes, clad in a white blouse, a cream-colored top and classic jeans : the doctor Sonoda Umi. As soon as Kotori sees her, her face brightens.
“Good morning, Umi-chan!”
Without a second thought, a bright red hue dusts the usually so composed doctor, who then stammers :
“R-right … G-g-good morning, Kotori-san …”
Some patients who are already walking down the corridor curiously look at them, others shoot them a weird look ; while Hanayo decides to stay silent, even if she does her best to fight her growing curiosity. She finds herself giving a polite and shy smile to every patient who happens to look at her.
“So, it’s Halloween today Umi-chan,” Kotori begins, her hands linked behind her back, “Will something special happen?”
“Unfortunately, no.” Umi shakes her head, furtively glancing around them, watching everything, “But we did plan activities related to Halloween. Speaking of, Koizumi-san,” Hanayo’s ears perk up at her name “Could you go see the patients who haven’t been checked on yet, and who have to take their medication today, and see if they want to come to this morning’s activity?”
“Y-yes, of course.”
“Here are the patients,” Umi hands her a notepad, before offering her an encouraging smile. “Um … K-Kotori-san and I are going to get everything ready, so we will wait for you.”
“H-hai!”
Pressing the notepad against her chest, Hanayo slightly bows before walking away. She doesn’t dare look back, or glance over her shoulder, fearing that if she does so, they will think she is too unsure and scared of doing that simple task all alone. And they certainly have already left, anyway.
Gathering all her courage, Hanayo reads the first name on the sheet of paper … and she lets out a long and relieved sigh. Hoshizora Rin. Her firm favorite patient ; the one she gets along with very well, and the one who always makes her days brighter and brighter. She is well aware of the fact that she shouldn’t get emotionally involved with any patient –the therapists insisted on that point on her first day–, but she’s … She is human, right? So, she can’t really help it.
Before she knows it, Hanayo is already standing in front of the door leading to Rin’s room. After knocking twice, she slowly opens it, a smile illuminating her face. It grows wider the moment she sees the short-haired ginger sitting in her bed, loudly yawning, and rubbing the sleep off her eyes with a bent and closed fist –just like the paw of a cat.
“Good morning, Rin-chan,” she gently greets the patient, her tone of voice as soft as possible, as to not push her so early in the morning.
“Nyaaaw …” Another loud yawn and, at the sight of the nurse that she holds close to her heart, Rin starts kicking the cover on her legs, trying to get out of the bed as quickly as she can. “Kayo-chin, you’re here! Morning, nya!”
“Did you sleep well, Rin-chan?” she asks, letting the girl give her a quick hug –even if she knows that she shouldn’t.
“I did! I even had a dream about you, nya!”
“R-really?”
A soft and touched smile paints Hanayo’s lips as Rin, with her wild gestures, begins to relate everything in detail. It is about the two of them, some cats, a bridge over a river … Hanayo smiles and nods her head several times, still amazed at the fact that Rin has such a good memory.
“And you know, you know, the two cats who got to their feet –or should I say paws?–, they suddenly–“
“R-Rin-chan,” Hanayo carefully interrupts her, a warm and friendly smile on her face, “I have to check on other patients, you know …”
“Oh,” Rin pouts, disappointed, “… Oh but I know, nya! Can I go with you?”
“You should put your clothes on, first,” the nurse chuckles, stealing a glance at the notepad –next patient : Kousaka Honoka–, “And you have to go and take your medication, too.”
“Oh, right. Nya …”
“B-but we’ll see each other later!” Hanayo is quick to reassure her, causing Rin’s chartreuse eyes to glint, “S-Sonoda-san wants you to participate in a new group activity, and–“
“Will you be there, Kayo-chin?”
“I will. I didn’t attend a lot of group activities, so I’d love to–“
“Yay!” Rin cheers, bumping a fist in the air, “I’m going to get dressed, and I’ll see you there, nya!”
“D-don’t forget to take your medication!” Hanayo hurriedly says, earning a nod from the girl before she closes the bathroom door behind her.
Heaving a small sigh, the brunette leaves the room, knowing that she can trust Rin on putting her clothes on alone. She soon reaches a new door, but does not have time to knock that it’s already opening. She blinks, surprised, when she comes face to face with a girl who isn’t Kousaka Honoka.
“A-ah, good morning, Tsubasa-san,” Hanayo greets the chestnut-haired girl, quite unsettled. She is about to ask what she is doing in Honoka’s room, but then she remembers : these two are always together. So much that the staff and other patients nickname them ‘the lovebirds’. Director Nishikino even allowed the staff to not separate them and let them visit each other whenever they want to –‘They are each other’s medication, after all’, she once said.
“Hello,” Tsubasa says with a polite smile, “Honoka-chan is still sleeping, don’t wake her up, please.”
“But–“
As if she had anticipated what Hanayo was about to say, Tsubasa shakes her head and interrupts her, her voice gentle, “I’ll bring her her meds, and I’ll make sure she takes them, don’t worry. You can go on and see the others.”
Kira Tsubasa. As responsible and as caring as ever –especially when it comes to Honoka. She would do anything for her, and always makes sure that the smile she cherishes so much never vanishes from her joyful ginger’s face.
“Thank you very much, Tsubasa-san. Oh! Before I forget …”
“Mh?” Tsubasa lightly hums, stopping herself from taking a step forward.
“Sonoda-san is organizing something this morning. Would you like to come?” And she hastily adds, “With Honoka-chan, of course.”
“We will be here,” the emerald-eyed girl assures with a big smile –despite not spending much time with the lovebirds, Hanayo heard that they were fond of group activities, and especially the ones led by the doctors Sonoda, Ayase, Toudou and Nishikino.
Toujou Nozomi.
Hanayo gulps as she reads the patient’s name. To tell the truth … Toujou Nozomi scares her, a little. It isn’t the kind of fear that makes you freeze right on the spot, that makes your heart beat loudly in your chest –so loudly that it’s the only thing you hear–, no ; it’s mostly the kind of small and short-lived fear that you don’t know how to deal with, because you never know what to expect with her. And that, that stresses Hanayo out.
Toujou Nozomi suffers from borderline personality disorder, and she experiences bad mood swings.
Most of the time, she is a kind, considerate and happy woman, with that mysterious and spiritual aura around her. But last week put her through hell : because doctor Ayase Eli didn’t show up at work, as she caught a nasty strep throat. Her absence ravaged Nozomi’s heart and mind : she felt abandoned.
Luckily, today is supposed to be the day doctor Ayase comes back. And, hopefully, Nozomi will be fine again and will start taking her medication again. Indeed, she stopped taking it the first day Eli wasn’t here. As if it could punish her. And, more importantly, as if it could magically drag Eli here so they could see each other again. If it were possible, Nozomi would have been reassured, and they would have avoided that week full of mood swings, swearing, tears and screams.
“Please, be okay,” Hanayo whispers to herself, eyes closed, “Please, please, be okay, Nozomi-chan …”
“YOU ABANDONED ME!”
The holler startles Hanayo, who slightly jumps and freezes. Her purple eyes are widen open now, and they widen even more –if that’s even possible– the moment she sees the blonde-haired doctor in front of a closed door.
“A-Ayase-san …?”
Hanayo is surprised to see dark rings under those intense blue eyes. Doctor Ayase is still recovering, it seems.
“Hello, Hanayo.” Eli smiles at her, before wincing. “Eh, I guess Nozomi is still mad at me …”
“OF COURSE I AM! MORON!” Nozomi’s voice echoes in her room, but also in the corridor.
Eli lets out a weak chuckle, before looking at Hanayo again.
“Don’t worry, she’ll stop screaming in a few minutes.”
“I WON’T!”
“I’m taking care of her,” Eli says while ignoring the screaming patient on purpose, “I know what Umi planned. I’ll bring her, it’s just going to take me five minutes to be forgiven.” Another chuckle, and she knocks on the door. “Nozomi, just listen to me–“
As Hanayo walks away, a small and amused smile finds its way on her rosy lips –and even more when she hears Nozomi yelling again :
“ELICCHI, YOU DUMB IDIOT!”
The last patient on the list is not hard to find. Actually, even a newbie would be able to find such patient in a second before struggling to know who is in which room.
Yuuki Anju was admitted a few days ago and was placed in one of the two seclusion rooms, in which she has been staying ever since. Usually, every new patient ends up with a room, just like everyone else ; but Yuuki Anju completely withdrew into herself, which makes her … Literally out of reach. She does not speak, does not look at whoever enters the room to try to talk to her, and barely eats. The only time Hanayo heard the sound of Anju’s voice was the day she got admitted, against her will. Some security guards put restraints around her wrists and brought her here, while she was thrashing about, crying and yelling at them to let her go.
Just thinking about it saddens Hanayo.
And the young nurse already feels defeated : trying to interact with Yuuki Anju is a battle that she has already lost.
Standing in front of the door, Hanayo can’t help but glance through the square-like glass window on it –a distinctive feature of a seclusion room is that small window which allows the entire staff to know what’s going on inside. Today, just as usual, there is nothing alarming going on : Anju is here, sitting on the poor plain bed –the only furniture in this room–, tightly hugging her knees against her chest. Just as usual. She is motionless, her chin stuck between her knees and her gaze never leaves the tiled floor. Just as usual. She seems exhausted, and her lilac eyes are dull. Just as usual.
How heartbreaking …
Hanayo inhales sharply and, the moment she grabs the door handle, too many questions start flooding her mind : what is she going to say? A simple ‘hello’, and then wait for an answer which will never come? Or is she going to try to ask something interesting that will make Anju want to speak, for once? … Is she just going to give up a few seconds after passing the door, or will she succeed?
“… Good morning, Anju,” the brunette speaks once she has stepped in the room, a feeling of uneasiness creeping up and sending shivers down her spine –no answer–, “I, uh– I … I’m Koizumi Hanayo and–“
Still no answer.
“–Um, I’m a nurse here …”
The more she talks, the lower her voice becomes, slowly dying down. The lack of reply is not helping her, either. The lack of everything is discouraging : she wasn’t even able to elicit a single thing, not even a sound, a wince or a rictus. Nothing. And it has been like that since they threw her into that white room.
“I … I guess I’ll see you later …”
Hanayo discreetly sighs as she carefully closes the door behind her. What a failure … But at least, she got to check on her and she now knows that there is nothing out of the ordinary. As sad as it’s going to sound, Anju is still the same.
“Ah, Koizumi, I finally found you!” A voice suddenly breaks the young nurse’s train of thoughts. She looks up, only to see doctor Toudou’s piercing but intrigued azure eyes. “Did you talk to Anju?”
“Talking is a big word, Toudou-san,” Hanayo sighs while staring back at the ground, as if she were feeling guilty.
“… I see,” Erena says after a short pause, before she rests a sympathetic hand on the chestnut-haired girl’s shoulder. She slightly squeezes it. “Don’t let yourself get worked up, Koizumi. Let me take the helm, and go meet up with Minami and the others. They’re waiting for you.”
“All right.” Hanayo straightens up a little, and offers her superior a tiny and shaky smile. “Will you try to talk to her, Toudou-san?”
“Yes, I will. I’ve been trying since she got here, and I believe my efforts will pay off, some day.”
October 31st, 08:45
The way Kotori and Umi set up the room makes Hanayo smile the moment she shyly enters. There are six tables, all arranged to make a U-shape, which allows the patients to see and look at each other. Speaking of, all the patients she saw earlier are here : Rin, who excitedly waves at her ; Honoka, all dressed and smiling, her chair glued to the one Tsubasa is sitting on –there is absolutely no space between them. And, finally, Nozomi is also here, and she seems to feel better. Her kind and motherly smile is back, her turquoise eyes twinkle … She and Eli certainly made up, and it’s the best thing that could have happened to Hanayo today. Six other patients are here, and so there are two chairs left –maybe the others will be here soon.
Umi is quick to strike up a conversation, greeting everyone, before going on with a kind smile. At first, she asks what today’s date is, and earns a cute pout from Honoka who got the month wrong –but not the weather– (“Eeh, but I swear it’s December, it’s cold outside!”), before she agrees with Udo, a man in his thirties.
“Indeed Udo-san, it is October 31st.” She nods her head and smiles, “Which means that it’s also Halloween today.”
Rin calmly raises her hand, but her wide smile gives away her enthusiasm, “Can we have candy, then?”
Umi lightly chuckles, “No, no candy.”
“Aww,” Honoka and Rin both pout, eliciting a giggle from Tsubasa.
“But I heard that the doctors Nishikino and Toudou want to do a cooking workshop with everyone in the afternoon.”
With only one sentence, Umi was able to bring a wide smile on everyone’s face –and Kotori can’t help but silently admire her for that. She would have loved to compliment her mentor, but she knows that it would have flustered her to no end, and she wouldn’t have continued :
“I know that you all like to paint and draw, and that’s why I wanted you here today. A few weeks ago, the watercolor painting was a success, you all had fun with that, so I decided to do it again today. With the colors of Halloween, of course!” As she says this, Umi places in front of each patient two plastic cups filled with clean water, one fine brush, one watercolor paper and a plastic palette with orange, black, brown, dark green, red watercolor paints, helped by Kotori and Hanayo. “I can give you other papers if you need them, but I’ll leave you this one for now. Remember to be creative! I am eager to see what you’re going to do. You can paint something real like a flower or else, or just go with something abstract.”
A few more words, and she finally lets them begin.
Honoka immediately picks her brush before she leans toward Tsubasa, almost making their heads touch, whispering, “Say Tsubasa-chan, what can I paint?”
The emerald-eyed girl turns to look at her dearest friend, their noses ready to brush due to their proximity –and they don’t mind ; it even feels more than comfortable, for them–, “I don’t know. Isn’t there something you’d like to paint?”
Honoka glances at the paper, suddenly lost in thought. She only looks back at Tsubasa the moment the latter places her hand over hers, “It will come naturally, Honoka-chan.”
“… You!” the ginger suddenly exclaims, happily beaming.
“Me?”
“Yeah, you! I want to paint you Tsubasa-chan, because I love you!”
While Tsubasa’s sparkling eyes considerably soften and show all the love she has for Honoka, Hanayo’s heart melts as she hears their conversation.
“I love you too,” Tsubasa whispers back, resting her head against Honoka’s.
“I just don’t know how it’s going to look like when I finish it, but well …”
“Just do your best, Honoka-chan.” She smiles and combs her ginger locks, before focusing on her own blank watercolor paper.
“I will!”
A soft smile graces Hanayo’s features, but it soon disappears when she looks at Kotori, who is discreetly nodding toward Rin. Rin, who is completely engrossed in her painting –and she is progressing very fast. Sliding behind her chair, Hanayo ever-so-slightly leans over her shoulder. Her lavender eyes widen, and she feels her heart breaking. In the middle of Rin’s watercolor paper is an orangey cat, whose eyes have a lighter orange color, whose pupils are barely visible, whose dark brows are furrowed, whose mouth is open, black, and it seems like Rin did her best to leave two white triangles to represent the cat’s fangs. It seems like the cat is raging mad, and hissing.
“Say, Kayo-chin?”
Hanayo instantly freezes –Rin hasn’t even looked up from what she’s doing, wetting the paper under the cat’s head, plunging her brush into the orange spot on the palette, before letting the orange paint spread, slowly drawing the cat’s body–, and the nurse’s heart plummets in her stomach. She feels bad, very bad ; she feels as if she is invading Rin’s privacy.
“Wh-what is it, Rin-chan?”
“Will that thing stop, one day?” Rin asks, her eyes fixated on the cat she’s currently painting.
If it’s even possible, Hanayo’s heart breaks even more. Rin is the type of patient who is very conscious of her condition. She knows that has something, and she knows that it’s the reason why she is temporarily living here. She knows why she must go to the medication room every morning, and why she must take her daily medication.
She knows that she suffers from dissociative identity disorder. And, as surprising as it can be, one of her alters –and the main– is a cat. And it is haunting and hurting her.
“R-Rin-chan …” Hanayo whispers, sadness written all over her face, “Of course, it will stop …”
“Right nya!” Rin twists her upper body a little and offers her friend a rapturous smile, “That’s why I’m here!”
“Indeed …”
“Thank you Kayo-chin, nya. I wanted to hear it from you,” Rin admits, her smile never fading.
And, without adding anything, the short-haired girl focuses on her drawing again. Hanayo bites her lower lip and walks over Kotori, whose amber eyes are silently asking her if everything is okay. The brunette can barely nod, before being caught off guard by someone opening the door.
“Oh, Erena. What are you doing here?” Umi seems as surprised as the two new nurses.
“I’m sorry for bothering you, Umi–“ Erena offers her co-worker an apologetic smile, “–but can I borrow some things, please? I would like to try watercolor painting with one of my patients.”
“Yes, of course. Here, I have a few palettes ready,” Umi says as she hands one to her maroon-haired friend, “And you’ll need a brush like that and two cups. And the paper, of course.”
“Thank you.”
“Erena-san!” Honoka butts in with a chirpy voice, “Is it true that we’re going to do a cooking activity this afternoon?”
A kind smile immediately finds its way on Erena’s lips, and she nods, “Yes Honoka, it’s true. I hope you look forward to it!”
“Yeah!” The blue-eyed ginger grins and loops her right arm around Tsubasa’s shoulders, almost hitting her in the face with the tip of the brush she’s holding, “Count me in! And Tsubasa-chan too!”
“Oh, don’t worry Honoka, I knew you’d come,” Erena giggles, “I’ll see you all later then. Have fun!”
And, with all the tools in her arms, doctor Toudou leaves the room. Deep inside, Hanayo has a feeling that Erena found a new way to help Anju express herself –and she hopes, for once, that she is right.
October 31st, 10:00
The activity came to an end a few minutes ago, and Umi is now looking at all the drawings she retrieved before everyone left. Well, except Nozomi’s drawing, as she insisted on wanting to give it to Elicchi –Umi still caught a glimpse of it, and was strucked by how beautiful it was. Indeed, Nozomi drew a garden full of flowers –lilies, to be more precise–, and the colors she used just … perfectly blended. For once, the turquoise-eyed girl didn’t put what was going on in her mind down on paper. She drew her feelings –and positive feelings, this time.
That is the reason why Umi loves organizing drawing activities with all her patients : first, they can be very, very creative, and they often come up with adorable ideas. But, more importantly, she loves this kind of activity because the drawings always say a lot about their artist. And when her patients become artists, it helps her see and discover them in a new light.
After all, the drawings reflect their soul. It is very common for the patients to draw what they feel –whether it be positive or negative–, but also their deepest secrets, their deepest insecurities, and their deepest fears.
Just like Rin’s drawing.
Umi winces a little as she looks at the furious orangey cat. She slowly puts it on the desk in front of her, and lets out a small sigh.
I just found out you're tumblr and i'm in love, i truly am. I looove YouRiko, DiaMari and KananChika. I really loved your writing. Well i just want to said that :) have a great day and thanks for your work
Aw thank you so much!! I’m so happy I got to make you happy with my tumblr :3Let me thank you, too, for all those likes and reblogs ... Because you took some of your time to read my fics, and it’s just so kind. So thank you :’)Have a lovely day/night! (And yay, another YouRiko ChiKanan and DiaMari shipper~)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RIKO-CHAN!!
Or should I say Princess Riko?
Because this fic turned into something that even I wasn’t expecting … :’) it might turn into a proper AU if people enjoy it haha … But I really don’t know how this fic will be received, so for now, I just hope that you’ll have fun reading it, or that you’ll just enjoy it a little …
Thanks for your time again, guys! But don’t expect a wild party and cake and candles and all, we’re kinda far from all this
Once all the guests have taken a seat and comfortably settled down, loud chatter erupts and fills the huge dining hall, much to Riko’s great displeasure. It is not like she isn’t happy to be here, at the head of the table with the two Queens –her parents– sitting next to her, surrounded by most of the servants who saw her grow up … and, of course, by far too many acquaintances.
No, honestly. Riko loves dining with her doting parents, and with ‘Auntie’ Tsubasa and ‘Auntie’ Honoka, two housemaids who are close friends with her Mama and Mommy, and whom she holds close to her heart. But, dining today with so many strangers is quite unnerving and nerve-wracking for the crimson-haired beauty. She couldn’t care less about the old aristocrats who were invited to her baptism years ago ; she couldn’t even care less about the other royal families, who are certainly here today out of obligation.
Truthfully, Riko would rather run away from that formal dinner than stay here, on her comfy seat, listening to the annoying chit-chat of all those toffs. She knows that the Queens aren’t the ones who orchestrated all this. After all, they are so thoughtful, so nice and so involved when it comes to their little princess that the idea of organizing a big ceremony for Riko’s twentieth birthday would have never crossed their mind. It is certainly their old and exasperating advisor behind this … setup. But her parents must have agreed because it was an occasion for them to adorn most of the rooms and halls and corridors with Riko’s favorite flowers –among all the flowers the princess tends to on a day-to-day basis.
Riko’s love for gardening comes from her childhood, the moment when her Mommy unconsciously conveyed her passion for plants and flowers to her. Riko remembers it as if it were yesterday : she was barely starting to learn how to speak when, one day, she escaped from her Mama and Honoka in the kitchens and ran to the garden. Where she bumped into her Mommy, who was watering a bush of light blue flowers. A few years later, she learnt that they were hydrangeas –and they quickly became her favorite–, while learning at the same time how to tend to an entire garden and everything related to the world of flowers.
“Mommy,” Riko once asked as she was sitting in the grass, the Queen tenderly braiding her daughter’s shoulder-length hair, “Why did you tell Auntie Tsubasa to take our pink p- ... Peonies for her wedding bouquet?”
“Because peonies are known to be a symbol of romance and love, and even of beauty and honor,” her Mommy replied, fingers combing a few unruly crimson locks. “Pink peonies are often used in wedding bouquets, and I want your aunties to express their love for each other even with the bouquet.”
“Oh … Can they put my favorite flowers in their bouquet?”
Riko leaned her head back when she heard an uncharacteristic snort behind her, meeting her Mommy’s amused lilac eyes. “Unfortunately sweetheart, no one should make a wedding bouquet with blue hydrangeas.”
“Why? Don’t the other flowers mean love and beauty and grace? Like, all the flowers?”
“No,” Anju answered her daughter after tying the end of the braid with a magenta kosumosu. “Yours, as it happens, don’t really represent love between two persons. If you give a blue hydrangea to someone, it means that you’re turning them down … With refinement,” the Queen giggled before seizing the ivory watering can, on which were drawn blossoms.
Riko stood up and grabbed her mother’s hand, following her under an arch with ivy and climbing roses creeping it up. “Mommy, can you tell me more about the flowers?”
“Of course.” She smiled, before loosening her grip around the little girl’s hand and handing her the watering can. “What if you water the tulips and I tell you everything about them, for now?”
“Yes!”
Riko heaves a discreet sigh as she straightens her back once again, lowering her gaze and looking at the empty plate in front of her. Ah, she desperately wishes she could have shared this copious meal with someone else. How she misses those amazing sapphire irises …
“So, Riko-hime. What about the ball we suggested earlier, for tonight?”
Her ears suddenly perk up, and Riko raises her head at the question. She arches a curious eyebrow at that and presses her lips together –she feels a little bit ashamed … She did not listen to the conversations, after all. She was too lost in her thoughts.
Fortunately, the man –is he an emperor?– goes on, “My son here, Takehiko, would take pride in giving you your first dance at this ball.” As he says that, he nods in direction of the young brown-haired boy sitting next to him.
The golden-eyed young woman uneasily glances at all the guests in front of her –they are all staring at her, as if they were expecting her to say whatever they want her to say–, before she silently calls for help while looking at her parents. She lightly frowns when, on her left, she sees her auburn-haired mother hiding a teasing grin behind her hand … Before she sighs, relieved, when her other mother saves the day :
“Let’s not precipitate things, if you please.” Erena closes her eyes, trying to prevent herself from frowning too much –no boy is allowed around her little girl so soon. She isn’t psychologically ready for that. “You and I both know it takes some time to plan this kind of event, especially if we want it to be a success, don’t we, Taira-sama?”
“Especially if we want Maki-chan to come and play for us!” Honoka happily pipes in, earning a nod of agreement from the two Queens.
“What, that pianist woman,” the rich man scoffs, “Why, are–“
Once again, Riko loses track of the conversation, glancing at the garlands her parents placed on some furniture, to decorate the dining hall. They are all a mess of green and all shades of pink –light pink, baby pink, magenta-pink, … She recognizes all of the flowers used to create the garlands and the few crowns here and there : mandevillas, geraniums, daylilies, anemones, hibiscus syriacus, tulips, phlox, and the much-vaunted peonies.
The pink geraniums make her smile –it remembers her some bedtime stories her Mama was telling : in some fantasy tales, pink geraniums were used by witches when they were making love potions.
Mou, why did they cut my pink peonies, I wanted to use them for my wedding bouquet … Riko pouts as that thought invades her mind, before her gaze turns into a longing and melancholic one. But I guess it’s impossible … Ah, You-chan, why do we have to be so different …
She holds an umpteenth sigh back, her eyes repeatedly trailing on the numerous festoons. The light pink tulips are beautiful, this year ...
Mh …?
Riko’s eyes suddenly squint, to get a better look at the garlands.
… Where are the hydrangeas?
Even though the blue hydrangeas have always been Riko’s favorite flowers, the fact remains that she loves hydrangeas in general –even the white, pink, and purple ones–, so … Either she is too used to being spoiled by her parents, or she’s just becoming temperamental. To reassure herself –no, she isn’t a temperamental child–, she looks out of one of the closest windows from where she’s sitting, now able to see the hydrangeas location. One can clearly see Riko’s preferred spot in the garden from the dining hall and from the kitchens …
And it is with horror that the princess realizes that the many hydrangea shrubs seem to have lost some things.
“Mommy–“ Riko turns her head to look at her mother, who solely raises a curious eyebrow, “–what happened to the hydrangeas? We planted them last time, and even some new ones …”
“You finally noticed.” The lilac-eyed woman smiles, before she shrugs a little. “Lots of them disappeared last night.”
Riko blinks, astonished.
“… How can you be so … um, calm, about that?”
Another shrug from her mother, and the princess frowns, more confused than anything else. This is … Unusual. Unfortunately for Riko, they drop the subject, the Queen getting to her feet and accompanying Honoka to the kitchens. It seems like it is time for the cake –and, soon, the opportunity for Riko to get up from the table.
However, after three mouthfuls, the crimson-haired princess abruptly drops her spoon on the table, startling almot everyone and catching their attention.
“I-I apologize,” she stutters, trying to forget all the pairs of eyes on her, “But I forgot, I … I have something to do. Um, may I?” she asks, her words more directed to her mothers.
“My, of course, sweetie.”
“Thank you.” Riko smiles at them, before looking at a pouting Honoka. “Your cake is delicious –I mean it. But I … I really need to go. I’m sorry …”
The ginger housemaid only shakes her head with a bright smile, and Riko knows it’s the last cue she needed before leaving. For as long as she is in the dining hall, she does her best to keep a graceful, regular, steady and calm pace. But, once she has closed the big doors behind them, she dashes toward the garden. It is very unladylike –un-princess-like, even. But she doesn’t care ; she can swear that she saw that short mane, that brownish ashen mane, in which she would love to slide her hands. She can’t be wrong.
She just can’t.
“Hi there, Hime-sama.”
Even if she is trying to catch her breath after this unexpected dash, the greeting immediately makes her smile. And the sight, too. She is here, one arm hidden behind her back, while she awkwardly shifts her weight on her feet, with this irresistible smile of hers –shy, but with a hint of cockiness behind.
“Hello, You-chan.” Riko approaches the fence that separates her from her blue-eyed lover, her heart now wildly thundering in her chest.
The latter instantly mimics her, and the two girls reach for the other’s hand between the metal bars. You offers her princess an almost sad smile, her calloused fingertips tenderly brushing Riko’s soft and pale skin, as if it were the most fragile thing she had ever held.
“You came …” Riko murmurs, “I’m so happy …” She slides her free hand through two bars, before cupping You’s cheek and grazing it with her thumb.
“How could I have forgotten and missed that,” You weakly chuckles, her voice as low as her lover’s, while she rests her head against the fence, their breaths mingling together. “Everyone in town keeps talking about the princess’ birthday, you know. Which reminds me …” You trails off as she reluctantly pulls away –not without planting a kiss on the red-haired beauty’s forehead through the bars. “Here.”
Riko curiously tilts her head on the side as she watches her heart’s desire move her previously hidden arm ... Only for her expression to change into a surprised one, before a dazzling smile illuminates her face.
The pink hydrangeas … It was You.
“Someone told me that those flowers are the ones you like the most,” the ashen-haired girl says after clearing her throat, an adorable red hue dusting her cheeks. “They … They also told me their meanings, and I thought it matched perfectly, so …”
“Did they,” the princess hums, some assumptions unconsciously trotting in the back of her mind.
“Yeah.” You nervously scratches her neck, before she holds the bunch of flowers with her two hands. “Pink hydrangeas … For love, and heartfelt emotions.”
The birthday girl slowly nods her head, her amber eyes already glistening. “Y-yes, they stand for romance …”
“And, um, here …” As carefully as she can, You pushes a few hydrangeas, revealing four small roses. Three of them are medium pink colored, and the last one –still in bud break– wears a darker shade of pink. The girl clears her throat once more, before she goes on, “Medium pink roses, for, uh …”
“For your first love,” Riko shakily breathes, completing the sentence, her eyes never leaving the bouquet.
With a nod, You glances at the flowers again, before she places one finger under the half-bud half-rose. “And a dark pink one to express your gratitude and say thank you.”
“Thank you?”
Another nod, and the two lovebirds finally look at each other, with a fond but broken expression.
“Thank you, for everything. Thank you for … For believing in me, all the time. For accepting me, for … just existing, and being there. But mostly, thank you for returning my feelings and loving me.”
“Y-You-chan …”
“… Happy birthday, Riko-chan.”
You’s sad smile is back as she says that. And it doesn’t leave her face as she does her best to give her princess the bouquet she made through the fence, almost slipping the flowers one by one as to not crumple them.
“Thank you ...” Despite her tears, Riko smiles, and brings her hands around the stems, holding this perfect gift, which is even made of her favorite color. “I-I love them.”
She holds the flowers for a few seconds, silently gazing at them, under You’s soft and loving sapphire eyes. Then, she hides the bouquet behind her back with her left arm, now able to lean in without damaging it. She leans in, more and more, just like her lover, and closes her eyes.
Their noses lightly brush, and Riko whispers, as if it could break everything around them, “And I love you even more, You-chan …”
Before she presses their lips together, as much as the fence allows them to, longing and sorrow filling their souls.
