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The evening was quiet, save for the trees rustling in the gentle summer breeze, and the clicking of shoes on pavements. The glow of the maroon sky bounced off the scattered clouds as the two dashing women in suits walked up to a house. It was just a little outside of the city, making the silence all the more pleasant. The house wasn’t as fancy as Tomoe anticipated, but maybe inside would be. She was very obviously nervous, but played it off as pre-party anxiety.
"Do not worry, my Princess, for all will be well! All of my greatest friends have been ecstatic to finally meet you and see your gorgeous face with their own eyes," Kaoru said, confidently reassuring her. She halted in front of the door to face Tomoe, "Everything will be just fine," she said, just above a whisper, right before giving her a kiss.
Tomoe clutched her hand a little tighter in response and gave a nervous chuckle before giving Kaoru a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, man."
With Tomoe still in hand, Kaoru knocked on the door with her free hand. A girl with bright eyes and a mint coloured pixie cut opened the door "Hey! It's you!" she said with a huge smile, turned back inside, and yelled "Hey Chisato-chan! That purple twig is here!"
Kaoru closed her eyes and took a deep breath, while Tomoe looked at Kaoru and gave a quiet chuckle at the remark. "This is Hina, a… good friend of mine and Chisato," Kaoru said as she escorted her inside.
Tomoe had been intrigued to meet this Chisato; according to Kaoru they’d been best friends since they were kids. She told her that Chisato has taken on an acting career at a very young age, and then went on to become an idol in highschool. She sounded pretty cool, and Tomoe vaguely remembered hearing about a Chisato in highschool. Could it be the same person? She never really gave it much thought; the only things that were important to her were her friends, her sister, and just trying to live in the moment. That last one, however... proved very difficult for her, what with her anxiety disorder and all.
The warm air of inside hit Tomoe’s face ever so gently. Even the piano music that played and soft chattering amongst the patrons felt warm. The lighting of the room was perfect - not too bright and not too dim.
Despite the inviting atmosphere, inside the house wasn't nearly as extravagant as Tomoe was lead to believe. The main room the party was in was pretty big for a living room/dining area, though. All the furniture has been pushed to one of the walls, save for a large dining table where several bottles of wine and platters of cheese cut in various sizes had been placed. In one corner of the room there were a few people sitting on old floral patterned couches. Tomoe found it a bit of an odd sight, the contrast of people dressed in elegant formal wear sitting on furniture that looked like it belonged in an American movie from the 80’s.
Tomoe took one step past the threshold, then another, and another, until she was fully inside the house and the door clicked shut behind her. Her anxiety amplified. Now seeing the crowded room, full of party guests she’d never met, everything, all her worries, started to feel all too real. What if Kaoru’s friends didn’t like her, or thought she was disgusting for her many tattoos? Her heart dropped a little when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. Turning her head, Tomoe smiled, filled with relief as she saw a familiar white haired tattoo apprentice. “Eve! I didn’t expect to see you here?”
Eve chuckled softly, “I’m in the same band Aya-san is in, we’re all good friends! But I didn’t expect to see you here either! I guess it makes sense since you’re dating Kaoru-san now. Chisato-san always makes sure she’s invited,” she turned her attention to Kaoru
“A pleasure it always is, seeing you, my Dear Warrior Kitten,” Kaoru said as she delicately took Eve’s hand and gave it a chivalric kiss.
With a dumbfounded look on her face, Tomoe asked, “Who’s Aya?”
“Aya-san is the hostess of the party! Well, technically it’s Chisato-san, but her apartment is too small and apparently it’s above a bar? So it can get a little too noisy.” Eve said with a nervous chuckle.
“So whereas it’s Chisato’s party, it is taking place at Aya’s house.” Kaoru added.
“Oh she’s there, I’ll call her over-- AYA-SAN,” Eve waved over from across the room, getting the attention of a pink haired girl in a white frilly dress who was sitting on one of the floral couches in the corner. She passed her drink to the person closest to her, not bothering to check who it even was, before she made her way over.
“Ah, Kaoru-san, you made it!” Aya said. Her voice was a little squeaky, and reminded her of Himari’s whines. “Ah, hello! I’m Aya! You must be Tomoe-chan we all keep hearing about?” Aya extended her hand towards Tomoe for a handshake but ended up accidentally punching her hand instead, “Ohhh, oh no I-I’m so sorry!”
“It’s cool, dude,” Tomoe replied, her worries cooling down slightly as she realized she wasn’t the only nervous one here. Eve gave Aya a tight side hug, the rest of her wine, and a brief kiss on the cheek. Aya instantly felt a little better with a light blush dusted on her cheeks from embarrassment. Tomoe chuckled lightly at the sight, it was cute.
Still holding Aya, Eve turned her attention back to the two, “Why don’t you both head over to the cheese table! My friend from Finland sent me a block of Lappi cheese I thought I’d share, be sure to try some! Quickly before Maya-san finishes it.”
Kaoru began to escort Tomoe to the dining table, arms still linked. Standing at the table was a brunette, grabbing a variety of differently cut cheeses that were laid out upon it and putting them onto her plate. Beside her stood another woman, to whom she spoke between mouthfuls of Montgomery’s Cheddar . She was a petite woman in a red dress that had a large slit up the side of the leg, standing with her back to them, a long cigarette holder in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other. Was this the 1920s?
"Chisato! My darling, it is very lovely to see you again," Kaoru said. She looked like an excited puppy, and it was kind of adorable. Tomoe couldn't help but smile at her. The small woman turned around with a slightly hazed but serious face.
"Kaoru," She said blowing out the smoke from her prior drag of her cigarette. Her expression remained unchanged upon seeing Kaoru. "Who's this handsome one?" She gave a curt nod in Tomoe's direction.
Kaoru shifted her gaze to Tomoe with a soft lopsided smile. Her face had an indescribable warmth that made Tomoe’s heart flutter, "This is my beautiful princess," She turned back to Chisato, "Chisato, this is Tomoe."
"Nice to meet you!" Tomoe blurted out, sticking her hand out for a handshake.
Chisato just stood there for a moment, looking at Tomoe's hand and then back up at her face. "Charmed."
Tomoe felt another wave of anxiety crashing against her chest. She felt like Chisato hated her already, like she was looking down on her. They’re from two different worlds. Tomoe would never be surprised if anyone looked down on her.
Before things could get any more awkward, Hina came running back with a bottle of wine in one hand, and 2 empty glasses in the other. She shoved the glasses into Tomoe and Kaoru’s hands, and began to pour the alcohol into them immediately. "You guys, this is a wine party, you gotta drink some wine!" she said, turning to Chisato to top up her glass, and then left just as quickly as she appeared. Tomoe had no idea what just happened or how a glass of wine had appeared in her hand.
The woman that had been talking to Chisato prior popped up from behind her, holding a plate of different cheeses she gathered for herself. "Hey, don't mind Hina-san, she is just… Hina-san," She tried to reassure Tomoe. Chisato gave an agreeing hum and took another sip of her newly poured wine. The woman brought out her hand towards Tomoe "I'm Maya, by the way! I'm in the same band as Chisato, and I was in the theatre club with Kaoru in high school."
Tomoe liked Maya already. She seemed nice, kind, and polite. She felt calmer already, giving Maya a smile while she returned the handshake, "Hey! I'm Tomoe, I pierced Kaoru's ear then she fell madly in love with me." She said as a joke, hoping Maya and Chisato would laugh.
"Kaoru was once madly in love with me." Chisato said, a hint of amusement in her voice as she reminisced. Tomoe was taken aback by that response. Chisato continued, "In high school, this one time I had her over at my house--"
"Chisato, please, that's enough," Kaoru interjected desperately.
"What, you're embarrassed by something from your past… Kao-chan?" Chisato said, and the sly smirk on her face made it very obvious that she was trying to get under Kaoru's skin. Though she wasn't entirely sure, Tomoe suspected it was intended to get under hers as well.
Kaoru's face became red as soon as the nickname slipped out of Chisato's mouth, "Ch-Chisato, please."
"I'm sure your girlfriend wants to hear about the time you tried to ki--" Chisato's mouth was immediately covered with a slap from a very embarrassed Kaoru.
"Chisato, I said that's enough, I can't beg yo…" Kaoru's voice faded out. Every noise in the room seemed to fall quiet. Nothing in that moment was as loud as the ringing in her ears. That incessant ringing. Tomoe felt everything and nothing all at once.
She stood there, unmoving, staring at nothing. Her anxiety got the best of her again. Kaoru was obviously still in love with this beautiful, petite, feminine woman. Her ears were still ringing. She couldn't see anything. All she felt was a gentle breeze on her face. Where did that come from?
Tomoe's senses suddenly came back to her, she took a deep breath. She was… outside? It was dark save for the few street lamps illuminating the pathway. She found herself sitting on the few steps leading up to the house, her white-knuckled hands grabbed onto the belly of her shirt, hoping to ground herself.
"Hey, you okay?" came a voice from beside her. She whipped her head up, bewildered, only to find t he owner of the voice was none other than Maya . The brunette took a brief inhale of her own cigarette before continuing, "You looked like you needed some air."
She must have assumed Tomoe couldn't process anything at that moment, and she was right.
Someone Tomoe barely knew was being so kind, in Tomoe's sensitive state no less. That couldn't have been good. Tomoe's chin was wobbling and her hands were shaking, trying to fight back her tears. Maya placed her hand on Tomoe's back, signalling it was okay. She really felt okay, everything was okay. Everything was…
Tomoe started sobbing.
At first she covered her face with one of her fists, then it turned into having her head cradled by Maya as she continued with her cigarette, waiting for Tomoe to let it all out.
After a few moments, Tomoe sat up straight again and took a deep breath again. "Ahh.. haha… sorry about that, I uh.. I don't know where that came from." Tomoe said.
"No, I get it," Maya stubbed out her cigarette against the concrete step. "You go to your girlfriend’s ex's party and they start talking about their relationship in front of you, you're going to get some conflicting thoughts and feelings. I'm guessing you thought Kaoru-san was only dating you to show off in front of Chisato?"
"Well…" Tomoe said, "N...not quite. Well yeah, but it was also paired with not…" She hesitated a moment. She wasn't used to being outright with her feelings, let alone to someone she just met 20 minutes ago, "I feel like I'm not her type, like at all. I mean, look at me. I'm not a pretty lady like Chisato, y'know."
Maya continued to rub Tomoe’s back. “I get it. You feel like ‘what’s a girl like that doing with a goblin like me’, y’know…” Maya looked at her seriously in the eye, “But… then you realise you just gotta trust them. I know Kaoru and she would never do anything to harm a living soul. Almost every time Kaoru has spoken to any of us lately, it’s about you. Not many people have made her feel that way.”
Not many people have made her feel that way, circled Tomoe’s mind. Feeling relief finally wash over her caused her to well up slightly. She rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, and sniffled “Thanks, man.”
“Hey, do you wanna hear a story? In high school, Kaoru-san was so popular, she got a lot of Valentines presents. So, on White Day, to show her gratitude, she put on a play based on what all the girls wanted to see from her. THEN she proceeded to give them all personalized cards.”
Tomoe hung onto every word of Maya’s unprompted storytelling. She didn’t expect to hear about Kaoru’s chivalry; it was nice to hear. Of course, she already knew that. When they first met, Kaoru had told her that in high school her band often volunteered at children's hospitals, and still did to this day. It was just nice to receive a reminder of that. That Kaoru really, truly cared, and could never hurt her even if she tried, even if Tomoe felt like she deserved it. A smile crept up on her lips. She felt like a fool. But she was a fool in love.
Some time has passed and Maya has still gone on with stories about Kaoru that she knows of, in hopes to give Tomoe a better understanding on Kaoru and calm her nerves. Along with very spot on impressions of Kaoru. Tomoe also had gotten a better understanding of how close she is to the band she now knows as Pastel*Palettes.
Maya beguiled Tomoe with more stories of Kaoru’s wacky or princely adventures. When mimicking Kaoru, Maya would deepen her voice, and throw her hands in dramatic gestures, or clutch her chest like she was in agony when something deeply saddened her.
“Huhehe, and then Kaoru-san said ‘I pushed on it time and time again, yet it will not open. It stands between the studio and I, like the milky way...,’ and then the girl that she asked help from just said ‘the door says pull’”
As they both roared with laughter, Tomoe felt her thigh start to buzz. Oh! It was her phone. She fished it out of her pocket and saw Kaoru’s name on her caller ID. The second she swiped to answer, the door behind them flung open.
"Tomoe, my dear, where are…" Kaoru looked down and saw both Tomoe and Maya sitting side by side on the step, both swiveling around to look up at her, "... You…?"
She heard her own voice echo through Tomoe's phone. She hung up immediately and threw herself to her knees behind Tomoe to pull her into a tight hug. "Oh, my princess, I do profusely apologize for leaving you by your lonesome. Chisato was just… getting a bit much. So blinded was I by the need to assuage her unbecoming behaviour that I lost sight of what I find truly important; to be by the side of my beloved throughout tonight's affairs! I must humbly beg your forgiveness, as does Chisato herself. I explained to her the error of her ways, for she herself was injudicious of them.”
Tomoe smiled, leaning into Kaoru's hug. "It's fine, dude, Maya-san… uhh… escorted me outside for fresh air until you were done."
Kaoru clutched her chest dramatically with one hand, “Ahh, I’m so glad that my princess is safe. I do not know how I would ever forgive myself if you left due to such an awful display.”
Tomoe and Maya gave each other a knowing look; Kaoru’s dramatic behaviour perfectly mirrored Maya’s imitation performance from earlier. They erupted in laughter amongst each other once again. Kaoru looked at Tomoe, and then at Maya, and then back at Tomoe, dark brows furrowed in confusion as the inside joke the pair now shared flew right over her head
“My dears, what is happening? I’m elated you are both okay but where did this come from all of a sudden?”