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Akane put two fingers to her lips, inhaled deeply, put her hand aside, and exhaled a cloud of condensation. The young woman giggled at her ‘smoke’ as she looked down the road waiting for her two best customers to show up.
It’d been a slow February, so she was always grateful for loyal customers, and it helped greatly that these two were good friends of hers too. And sure enough, a head with short, messy, ginger hair came into view. Akane returned to the warmth of the van she sold her takoyaki from and got preparations going for satisfying this girl’s ravenous hunger.
The familiar sound of a school bag being tossed on to one of her tables prompted her to come out and greet her friend. “Hoi, Nagisa, how was your day?” Nagisa gave her a thin smile, wiping some snow from her shoes, and nodded. “It was fine. How about yours?” “It’s slow as molasses today, everybody prefers to hide in their kotatsus or something. The usual?” “Yeah…” The school girl nodded and rested her chin on her arms, starting off into the distance. Akane had seen Nagisa lost in thought before, but lately, it seemed far more common.
She frowned, but shrugged it off for now, getting to work on her famous takoyaki. “Honoka not with you today, Nagisa?” “Didn’t see her.” The chef looked out of her van, the girl still sitting there motionless. She continued her cooking in silence, preparing an extra portion just in case Honoka showed up. She liked them a little cooled off anyways. And if she didn’t show, Akane would have lunch ready.
“One piping hot order of takoyaki, prepared just for you, oh Ace of Verone.” Akane put her warmest smile on with her hottest takoyaki to see if something could warm up this girl. But her eyes were still off in distant lands. The girl looked like she had been through a war or something. Nevertheless, her hand did move towards the tasty little balls, and she absent-mindedly popped one in her mouth.
Akane thought to herself that this had to hurt. She shook her head and looked off down the road again. Looked like Honoka was coming after all, and already almost here. “Hoi, Honoka, good to see you.” Akane waved towards the dark haired girl, who looked up, put on a smile, and waved back. “I hope you want your usual, I already have them cooling off for you.” “You know just how I like them, thank you, Akane.” Honoka flashed a bright smile and sat at the table next to Nagisa, who was still a thousand miles away. “Hello, Nagisa…” “Hey…” Honoka looked at the distant Nagisa, and looked down on the table, where a plate of warm takoyaki had materialized. “I just made them a moment ago, so they’re still quite hot.” “In this weather probably for the best.”
Honoka took one of the balls and blew on it. A brief moment of silence emerged, which was broken by a banging noise. Akane stared at Nagisa with wide eyes, as the sporty girl had slammed her face onto the table. Honoka reached out her hand to Nagisa’s shoulder, but the now sobbing girl shook her hand off. “Nagisa…” Honoka visibly flinched, her hand trembling halfway stretched out still, as Akane looked at the scene unfolding in front of her. Normally she would have ducked back into her van by now to avoid such drama, but these two were her friends so she felt she couldn’t let it go just yet.
Nagisa lifted herself from the table and stared at her partner through tear-filled eyes. “How can you be so calm? They are gone, probably forever, and you just smile, and go on as if nothing had happened!” Honoka’s face lost all emotions as her enraged friend laid into her. She opened her mouth but was cut off by Nagisa: “Oh don’t even bother answering, I know your computer brain has the perfect answer at the ready, just… Leave me be.” Nagisa covered her face with her hands.
Akane wondered what had happened between these two. Honoka’s face was in a flux of various emotions, as she glared for a moment at Nagisa before turning her gaze to the takoyaki on the table, and stuffing one in her mouth. Akane raised an eyebrow at the two.
“Losing somebody close to you is always tough.” Honoka nodded, still trying hard not to look at Nagisa, focusing on her shrinking supply of takoyaki instead, while Nagisa kept her face buried in her hands. Despite everything, somehow Nagisa’s supply was dwindling too however. Akane rested her head on her hand and pondered. “Hey have I ever told you the story of this bandana?” Both girls looked up at the woman. “Isn’t that the flag of Madrid?” “Sharp eye Honoka, yes it is. I got it while I was staying there for a business endeavor. 3 years. Right now I really miss it. It usually is a little warmer there in the winter than here, and much warmer than right now, that is for certain.” The young woman chuckled and rubbed her arms to simulate the cold. Both girls tilted their heads looking at her funnily.
“A good… friend gave it to me before I left the country and she went her way. It was a reminder to me that a little bit of Madrid was always going to be with me, as well as a little bit of her.” Nagisa nodded a little, wiping some tears away. “You’re right, a little bit of them will always be with me too. They were brats, but they were good friends too.” Nagisa stared at her takoyaki, her mouth quivering as she fought a losing battle with her tears. Honoka was extremely quiet, and had much the same look on her face.
“I know it’s hard when somebody you wish was there no longer will be there. You suddenly have this huge hole in your life, and you don’t know how to fill it. We all find our own ways to cope with it. I run this stand for example. A shared dream.”
Honoka clenched her hands into fists, an increasingly frustrated look appearing in her eyes as she looked at Nagisa. She opened her mouth again, but then turned away, covering her face faint sobs audible.
“Honoka, are you…” “I thought I ran out of tears, but I guess I do drink regularly and thus replenish my body’s liquid resources.” Honoka slowly turned back around revealing her face, tears running down her cheeks, past a weak smile. Nagisa’s mouth wavered for a moment before she laughed: “Oh goodness, even now you talk like that, that’s too great!” “I knew it would make you laugh.” “Of course you did.” The girls smiled at each other for a moment before Nagisa looked away. “I’m sorry for what I said, I can’t expect you to react the same way as me, Honoka.” “It’s ok, Nagisa.” “I hurt you, I’m sorry.”
Akane smiled. “It’s important to cherish the friends you have now, while you have them.” The two students looked at each other again: “Yeah, I don’t think we would know each other if it weren’t for those three.” “But now that they’re gone. Nagisa, I don’t want to lose you.” “What makes you say that?” “I am no good at holding onto friends.”
Akane looked down and smirked. “You’re holding onto her hands already pretty good there girl. I’m gonna make us another round, ok?” Both of the girls blushed as they noticed they were in fact holding hands. As Akane started walking away she noticed determination in Honoka’s eyes. “Nagisa, I don’t have a letter prepared for this, but that doesn’t matter right now. I want to be your girlfriend.” “EEEEEH!” Akane didn’t have to look back to know Nagisa was blushing enough to melt the snow. The young woman giggled to herself as she disappeared into her van.
“I know we have our differences but I never felt this comfortable around anybody.” “You feel comfortable with me?” “I feel like I can even make jokes around you and it feels so nice to be this close to somebody.” “I had no idea.” “I know neither of us can be called normal, but I don’t want normal, I want to be with you, just the way you are, and I hope you will have me, just the way I am.” “Honoka.” “It’s just a social construct, I know, what matters really is that we care for each other and are there for one another, which we are.” “Honoka… I” “But I want to be able to proudly call you my significant other, my girlfriend. The moon truly is beautiful, Nagisa!” “Honoka!” “Sorry…” “Please accept my answer, Honoka!”
Akane sighed whistfully as she looked at a picture of her and another woman on the wall. She kissed her finger and touched it to the picture gently, wiped a tear away and went back outside with their food. “Oi, girls, this one’s on the hou- Stop making out in the snow like that, girls, you’ll scare my customers away!” The two girls laughed with embarrassed faces. Akane smiled. As cold as it was today, her heart felt warm.