Chapter Text
To Moca, Ran was more than any played out cliche about the moon and the stars. She was more than the sun shining in the sky, more than the ocean with it’s depth and mystery.
Ran was without a doubt, the love of Moca’s life. Her other half, her better half, her soulmate, the one Moca wanted to spend the rest of her life with. In all honesty, Moca had no idea how she hadn’t noticed anything beforehand. Her feelings for Ran seemed so natural, so obvious, as if things were always meant to end up this way since the day they met back when they were five.
After her great Realization, Moca's become more aware of just how far she'd go to see Ran smile. She had always assumed up to this point that they were just Gals Being Pals, and a lot of her feelings and actions were brushed off as nothing more than that.
Yet here she was, struggling to figure out how to get Ran out of the sour mood she was in. They were supposed to be doing homework but Ran's increasing frustration wasn't allowing her to focus and Moca's Ran Radar wouldn't let her pay attention to anything except for the girl across the table from her.
Pushing her homework away and stretching across the table, Moca let out a very exaggerated sigh. “Ran, I’m bored.”
“I don’t care. Do your work,” responded said girl, but Moca picked up on the small amount of relaxation on her face, most likely from having a distraction from her thoughts.
“Don’t feel like it. Let’s do something fun instead.” Moca insisted, covering the other girl’s homework as well.
“Like what?”
“Uh,” Moca paused, trying to get her wits about her. She hadn’t expected Ran to give in so easily and assumed she’d have more time to come up with whatever “fun” thing they were supposed to do. Well, Moca had a few ideas of what they could do but she wasn’t exactly going to bring that up when she’s almost 100 percent sure that her best friend of ten years didn’t like her back.
“Well, are you hungry?” offers Ran. She started putting away her belongings, signalling to Moca that she was also done attempting to finish homework.
“I’m always hungry, Ran! Let’s go eat.”
“I swear, you’re only ever excited to get food and go to sleep,” Ran rolled her eyes, a small smile on her face. She could be soft every once in a while.
“Not true, I also get excited to see you and the others.” Mostly you, though. Moca thought to herself.
The two guitarists started to get ready to go out, Moca’s mom having left money for them since she was out of town and knew Moca would be too lazy to try and cook for herself.
As Moca was putting her shoes on, she noticed Ran slipping on a jacket. As in the same jacket Moca had lent her days earlier. She took a second - or a minute, who knows - to appreciate Ran in her clothes for the second time that week. At this point, Moca didn’t even necessarily want the hoodie back, because she knew she’d never look as good in it as Ran did.
Standing up to face her, Moca looked her up and down before saying “nice jacket” and enjoying the furious blush on Ran’s face.
“I meant to give it back, but I might as well use it again…” she trailed off, looking anywhere but Moca’s face. Two victories for Moca in one day.
“I think you should keep it, it looks nice on you.” Moca stated, still smiling.
“Shut up, let’s just go,” Ran pushed her way out of the house, Moca trailing behind her the same as always. The blush spreading across her face, however, was somewhat new.
---
“Did you bring your splitter?” asked the vocalist, reaching into her (Moca’s) pocket for her phone. “I think I left mine in my regular sweater.”
“Nope,” Moca drawled. “I guess you’re gonna have to play your English music out loud and have everyone stare at you as you walk down the street.”
“Wouldn’t they be staring at you too, then?”
“Nope. I’m not the one with a red strand in my hair,” she teased, brushing said red hair behind Ran’s ear. “I brought it though, so no staring for now.”
Handing the splitter to Ran with her headphones already plugged into one end, she worked on putting the right earbud in, allowing her to hear if Ran wanted to say something.
Or just listen to Ran sing, because even before all of this started, Moca thought Ran's singing voice was hot. Her passion for singing and the band in its entirety was attractive to Moca too, but for some reason she never thought of it as anything else.
Soon enough, Ran’s music was playing through both sets of headphones, and Moca could recognize the voice enough to know it was by one of Ran’s favorite American bands.
“Why do you listen to so many American bands if you can’t understand what they’re saying?” Moca asked out of curiosity. She had no problem with it, mostly she just wanted to hear Ran talk.
“Sometimes, it’s the music itself that I like and sometimes it’s the singer’s voice. Mostly, though, I like the feeling I get when I listen to them.” Ran looked down, blushing a little. “That sounded really lame, huh.”
“Totally lame,” Moca grinned. “But that’s okay, I already know you’re not as cool as you try to seem.”
“Yeah, well, neither are you.”
“Meanie.”
The rest of the walk was in a comfortable silence, the two focusing on the song. Although she’d never admit it to the others, Moca liked to try and pick out the different guitar chords in a song and later go home and attempt to play by ear. She’s come to enjoy the guitar for longer than she thought she would, and it had absolutely everything to do with the four girls she called her best friends and bandmates.
The two arrived at the family restaurant they frequented when Moca’s mom was out of town, since it was fairly cheap and close to their houses. It’s become somewhat of a tradition for them, since Moca had no patience to cook herself and Ran would find a way to burn water if she were left to her own devices in the kitchen.
Sitting at a table for two, Moca watched as Ran fidgeted with her hands, her social anxiety always flaring up a bit in public. She reached over to put a hand over Ran’s, their eyes meeting and a soft smile spreading across Ran’s face, melting Moca’s heart a bit more; She had the kind of smile that could cure cancer.
“I’ve been working on lyrics for our new song,” Ran shared, opening up the notes in her phone to show Moca. “It’s a little different from our usual style, but the whole incident with the manga writing inspired me.”
“Moca-chan wants to help,” smiling fondly at the memory of the manga contest, she read over the lyrics again. “Even in a different style, this song screams ‘Afterglow,’ doesn’t it?”
“I was thinking the same thing,” she beamed with pride, something she really only did when it came to the band. “I had a lot of material to work with this time, and I kind of figured everyone would get a kick of it.”
The food arrived just then, and Moca pulled her phone out to take a picture of both of their meals.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m posting this on Instagram. Our fans need to know that we’re eating properly.”
“You’re a nerd,” rolling her eyes, Ran waited for Moca to put her phone down before starting to eat her food, not wanting to ruin her picture.
“I’m serious, Ran! I saw some comments on our songs saying ‘are they eating healthy? Are they getting enough sleep?’ and things like that. This is my way of answering those questions indirectly.”
“My way of answering is not.”
Moca snorted; What a Ran answer. “Well it's a little too late for that, I tagged you in the picture already.”
She didn't think it was important to mention the comments from a fan or two asking if they were on a date. Moca didn't know how to answer that herself. Yeah, they could be just friends having dinner together just like the many times before, but it's now a trend for Moca to question everything she used to just accept as is.
The guitarist pulled her phone out, opening her thread with Lisa to ask “is it possible to be on a date without her knowing or is it like a two party thing” before stuffing her face with more ramen.
From: my mom if she were gay and played bass
I think it’s an all or nothing thing. you either both know or neither of you know
To: my mom if she were gay and played bass
so ur saying we could've been on dates for the past 10 years without either of us knowing
From: my mom if she were gay and played bass
maybe you've been dating without realizing it
“who are you texting?”
“Lisa. She's having another gay panic over Minato-san,” lied Moca.
“Minato-san? Haven’t they been dating for over a year now?”
“Yeah, but can you blame her? Minato-san is gorgeous.”
“I guess,” looking down at her food, Ran looked kind of… sad? Moca could see her shoulders moving slightly, which meant she was probably fidgeting again.
“Aww, is Ran-chan jealous?” Moca asked, a smirk on her face. She never thought she’d see the day Ran got jealous over her calling someone attractive. “It’s okay, Ran. No one is prettier than you.”
Moca hoped that Ran could hear the sincerity in her voice, but for now she could only assume she had, judging by the smile and blush on her face.
--
After dinner, they walked back to Moca’s, still listening to music through Ran’s phone. She was singing along quietly, and Moca was quietly dying - on the inside of course - because Ran sounded so good and since she was trying to be quiet, her voice was a little raspy and it made Moca feel flustered just from the sound of it.
There was also the problem of their hands, brushing together every so often. Had they always done this? Was it common for them to constantly touch each other, to be close enough that Moca could feel Ran’s shoulder bumping into hers whenever someone walked past?
Even if this was a regular occurence, Moca wasn’t sure she was content with just letting things be the way they are. She had told Lisa that she didn’t want to risk anything, but she also wanted to try something out. She’d never find out what could happen if she left things the way they are. Of course, some things are easier said than done, and it took Moca a few more minutes of walking before she built up the confidence to grab Ran’s hand the next time they brushed together.
Immediately after she had done this, Ran stumbled and nearly fell. Moca considered letting go of her hand, but instead she laced their fingers together and helped Ran regain her balance. Poor Ran was embarrassed, but made no move to let go. If anything, she held onto Moca tighter, continuing their walk with a small hint of a smile on her face.
After realizing how close they were to Moca’s house, she walked a bit slower, just to hold Ran’s hand a little longer. Moca never really read romance novels or anything, but her thoughts were certainly fitting of one. Ran’s hands were warm, and slightly calloused from her guitar. They were just a bit smaller than Moca’s, but still they fit in hers perfectly. Moca wondered if you could die from happiness, and made a mental note to look it up later.
Stopping in front of Moca’s house, neither made a move for a few seconds, the two of them standing there, hands still laced between them.
“Are you staying the night again?” Moca asked, hoping she hadn’t sounded too desperate. As much as she really wanted her to, she had a reputation to uphold.
“I might, but my dad wanted to talk to me about something, so I have to go home first. I’ll text you after I ask permission.”
“And by that you mean you’ll just walk in using your spare key even if your father says no.” Moca grinned.
“Shut up,” blushing, Ran took a step back, their hands finally untangling. Moca immediately missed the feeling.
The other girl looked around for a second, seeming to be lost in thought. When she seemed satisfied with their surroundings, she looked back at Moca with determination in her eyes, taking a step closer to her. Moca’s heart started racing even more, nearly beating out of her chest. Ran tilted her head up slightly, pressing a soft kiss onto Moca’s cheek, furious blush on her face the whole time.
“See you,” Ran nearly shouted, turning to haul ass over to her house. Moca reached up, pressing her hand to her cheek, still in shock from what just happened. She must’ve looked like an idiot with the way she stared after Ran, even after she had disappeared completely into her house.
The only thing that brought her out of her trance was the feeling of her phone vibrating in her sweater pocket. She pulled it out to see an incoming call from Himari, and debated answering it before she noticed Himari watching her from her window. She was holding her phone in one hand and using the other to give Moca a thumbs up.
“Hii-chan, it’s not nice to watch people like that. You seem like a pervert,” Moca answered, hoping to whatever force was out there that Himari hadn’t seen what just transpired.
No luck.
“I don’t care what I look like, Moca, I just saw you and Ran walk home together holding hands! And then she kissed you on the cheek!” Himari yelled, loud enough that Moca had to pull the phone away from her ear.
“Jeez, Hii-chan, you’re gonna let the whole street know.”
“Does this mean you two are finally dating?”
“I’m gonna have to say no, Hii-chan. Everything was just like normal today until we started walking back from dinner.” Speaking of, she was still just standing on the sidewalk outside of her house.
As she walked to her front door, she pulled the phone away from her ear again, expecting another outburst from Himari.
“I can’t believe you, Moca! Watching you two is like waiting for paint to dry or something.”
“Well now you know how the rest of us feel about you and Tomo-chiin.”
“I’m going to ignore that. I guess this is progress, at least. You’re finally getting somewhere!”
Moca stopped in her tracks on her way to her bedroom. She hadn’t had time to think about it that way, but Himari was right. “Thanks, Hii-chan. Now if only you could do the same with-”
“Okay, I’m hanging up now, bye Moca!” Himari interrupted, causing Moca to laugh at her theatrics.
“Bye, Hii-chan.”
Moca walked the rest of the way to her room, plopping down on her bed and burying her face in the pillow. Yeah, she was still somewhere in between friends and lovers, but somehow things seem brighter than before, as if she really is getting somewhere.
Moca held onto that hope as she practiced her guitar, waiting for Ran’s text with a smile on her face.