Chapter Text
Natsuki strums the F chord fervently on her electric guitar, listening closely to the drums playing just behind her. She closes her eyes, hears three more bass taps, and then strums her strings one final time in tempo with the crash cymbal. The guitar reverberates and sends a satisfying hum through her shoulders. When the sound fades, everything is silent to her ears except Natsuki’s own heavy breathing, the ringing of the cymbal, and her guitar.
A few people clap in the tables spread out in front of her and the ambient noise from the bar rushes back into Natsuki’s ears. She wipes a bead of sweat from her forehead and turns to her left to smile sloppily at their lead singer, still somewhat out of breath. The ribbon donning blonde is also breathing heavily, her cheeks flushed from exertion. Yuuko must sense Natsuki’s gaze because she glances over within seconds. She smiles a warm and honest smile, which makes Natsuki’s heart pound so loudly she thinks it’s going to rip out of her chest. Someone who works at the bar steps between them to use the mic, sparing Natsuki from imminent death.
Once they’re packed up, the other two members of NakaYoshi head out for the night. It’s a Friday night and still pretty early, so Natsuki and Yuuko head over to the bar. Another band is setting up where they were just playing and Natsuki’s interested in hearing their music. It’s a similar style, but they play a bit more up tempo and she heard they wrote a new song recently.
There are luckily two seats open near the end of the bar, so they squeeze into the spot. The stools are only a few inches apart, leaving Yuuko’s right hand dangling dangerously close to Natsuki’s left thigh. If she twitched, they’d be touching. The same can be true on her right side, but it’s just some stranger, so Natsuki ignores him. Yuuko uses her left hand and waves down the bartender to order a beer, what kind Natsuki’s not quite sure. She nudges Natsuki with her right shoulder to order next, but as she looks over her teeth are already showing a wicked grin. Natsuki fights not to roll her eyes as she may have back in their high school days. Instead, she sticks out her tongue ever so slightly while giving her a gentle bump back, sure that the bartender can’t tell from there.
Natsuki pretends to look at the menu for a moment to compose herself. “I’ll have a coke please.” She orders politely, using all of her will power to ignore that Yuuko is still staring at her AND touching her. She feels like she’s on fire. The cheeky grin makes it all the worse.
The bartender excuses himself to get their drinks. Yuuko holds her pose until he’s two steps away before collapsing onto the bar dramatically, face buried in her arms. Natsuki can hear her cackling even with her head down, her body shaking from the laughter. “Hey,” Natsuki pokes her closer arm, “It’s not that funny.”
Yuuko picks up her head, her laughter settling down into a lighter giggle. “It is, it so is.” She giggles again, “This is the one time in my life that I’ll have an advantage on you. You’ll be 20 in what, one and a half months?” Yuuko pauses and squints. “Yeah, I think that’s right?”
That’s correct. With Yuuko’s birthday being in April and Natsuki’s in June, they’re in the small gap where Yuuko can drink legally in bars and Natsuki can’t. Yuuko’s birthday was just three weeks prior and she’s taken every opportunity to gloat about this. They can drink together at Yuuko’s apartment if they want to of course.
The bartender brings their drinks with a small nod and leaves them be. Yuuko starts on hers quickly, taking a long sip. When she places it down, her eyes are back on Natsuki and she’s giving a look that says she expects something. “What?” Natsuki asks.
“I’m waiting.” Ah yes, confirmed but cryptic as always. Yuuko never outright says what she wants, that would be too easy.
Natsuki lifts her left eyebrow and takes a sip of her coke. “Waiting for what?”
Yuuko huffs, her cheeks puffing out cutely. Even if Natsuki does know what she wants (which she for sure doesn’t) the reaction is always worth it. “The praise. Tell me how awesome I was at our concert.”
A chuckle escapes Natsuki’s lips but she’s happy to oblige. “You were amazing oh ribbon-sama. Your high notes were on point and the band had better unity than ever.” Despite the joke in the middle, Natsuki means every word. She loves being in a band with Yuuko, her singing holds the group together and she also does most of their song writing with Natsuki doing the composition. Without her, they wouldn’t be a band at all.
“Thank you,” Yuuko says with a small smile. She picks up her beer and chugs down the rest, signaling to the bartender for another. “You were good too for the record, better than I expected.” Yuuko’s eyes are locked on the table, giving compliments isn’t one of her strengths, but it’s something she’s gotten better with in college.
“I aim to please,” Natsuki jokes, stirring the small straw that came with her drink. “I think we could sound even better if we played outdoors.”
Yuuko gets her next beer and starts to drink it. She agrees easily with Natsuki and the two fall into a comfortable conversation about their performance and about the start of the school year. They just started their second year and their schedules look a bit different this year, with Natsuki starting in a club basketball team and with them having band practice three times a week with performances almost every weekend. They’re quite busy.
Time flies and before she realizes it, the clock ticks to 11 PM. They should really be heading home soon. Yuuko’s had around 4 drinks and the flush from earlier has returned to her face.
In her drunken state, she’s actually a lot nicer. “I’m sorwy,” she slurs. “I got to drink and you can’t because ur a babbyyyy.” She reaches up and pushes her index finger against Natsuki’s nose. “Boop.”
Natsuki takes Yuuko’s outstretched hand in her own, bringing it down by their sides. She’s cognizant of how warm Yuuko’s fingers feel against her own, she tries to push the feeling to the back of her mind. “It’s okay, someone’s gotta get you home anyway.
“Hey, um excuse me?” A deep voice sounds from behind them. Natsuki turns and is faced with a lanky looking teen, or maybe a young twenty something. He has short black hair, a flat looking nose with green rimmed glasses perched on top of them, ripped jeans, and some band t-shirt that Natsuki doesn’t recognize.
Natsuki turns so she’s fully facing him. “Yes?” She asks hesitantly.
He gives her a once over, which immediately gives her the chills. Who does this guy think he is? He clicks his tongue. “Not you.” He turns towards Yuuko, reaching to snag her free hand. “You! Heaven just called and said they’re missing an angel. I’ll let them know that I found you.”
Yuuko looks down at her hand being held and smiles, clearly impacted by the alcohol. “Wow, thank you!”
Natsuki holds back a groan. “Excuse me, but we were about to leave.”
The guy clears his throat and takes a step back, dropping Yuuko’s hand. “Of course, I’m sorry about that. I just…” he trails off, glancing over his shoulder for a moment. Someone must be encouraging him. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his cell phone, looking at Yuuko once again. “I’ve seen your band play multiple times and I love your sound. I’d kick myself forever if I let this chance go, can I get your number?”
It’s like a hefty kick in the gut, Natsuki nearly steps between them. The one thing holding her back is the idea that Yuuko might want this, a guy like that. A normal relationship, not complex like what they have. The weight in Natsuki’s stomach grows heavier as she watches Yuuko take the phone to enter her number. She giggles lightly as she passes it back, their fingers brushing at the exchange.
Natsuki didn't drink that night, but she feels like she’s going to be sick.