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It was God-Knows-What AM and Chu2 was staring up at the ceiling.
This was weird.
Chu2 didn't really quite get the appeal of a big group sleepover with the rest of the band. Sure, Pareo had been staying overnight very frequently for almost the past year, but... that was Pareo. More recently she'd been insisting on "fun sleepover activities" which had so far consisted of Pillow Fort Construction, Nail Painting and Vague Attempts at Baking which quickly almost turned into a Fire Safety Lesson. Though the outcomes of their many activities never came out quite right, it was somehow always still fun. Chu2 was always so focused on trying to act older than her age and be the cool, professional band producer she thought she should be, but messing around and acting like the dumb teens that they were with Pareo actually felt so much better. If Pareo took so much joy in letting down her professional honor-student front, then maybe Chu2 should be the one taking her advise for once.
And so, Pareo thought inviting RAS over for one big sleepover would be a good idea. For the most part, it was! It was always fun getting together for non-band related things, and the five of them had enjoyed their evening. There was a lot to do at Chu2's home, and though she herself didn't enjoy living in such a big place full of unnecessary things such as a private pool or bathhouse, she really liked to see how much her friends enjoyed it and how Pareo would proudly explain everything the penthouse had to offer (until Masking began to tease her about why Pareo was so familiar with the place).
They concluded their night with a pillow fight brought on by Masking bonking Chu2 over the head with one of the many pillows the group had brought into one of the smaller living spaces to sleep with, and obviously like the good girlfriend she was Pareo just had to leap to her rescue.
And then came the sleeping part. Now this was the part Chu2 really didn't get. What was appealing about sleeping in a room full of people?
The main thing that kept her awake was the rhythmic snoring coming from a certain blonde drummer fast asleep across the room. Masking was sprawled out half across Lock who was somehow sleeping very peacefully despite having half of her 170cm-tall girlfriend grumbling to herself in her sleep on top of her. Rei also didn't seem phased and was sleeping soundly a short distance away. She'd fallen asleep after sending some "very platonic" goodnight texts to her "good friend" Tae which Masking had noticed and, you guessed it, proceeded to tease her for.
And then there was Pareo.
Despite Chu2's embarrassed complaints, Pareo insisted on having her sleeping mat directly next to her teeny girlfriend's and had fallen asleep with her arm draped around her. Chu2 didn’t mind, though. In fact, she longed to be snuggled up close in the taller girl’s arms but alas she didn’t want to seem all sappy and lovey and gross in front of the others. Still, the warmth and softness coming from Pareo close beside her was reassuring. Girlfriend... soft.... and warm...
”... Chu2-samaaa~?”
Well, she thought she was asleep at least.
Even though she was wide awake, Chu2 jumped a little at the sound of Pareo unexpectedly cooing her name.
“How come you’re awake at such an hour?”
Pareo continued her question, trying her best to keep her voice a whisper.
”Why do you think?” Chu2 grumbled just as another particularly long, drawn out snore could be heard coming from the disheveled drummer. Pareo simply giggled at this.
"Methinks... Chu2-sama just needs a cuddle!"
"P-Pareo...!"
Despite her flustered protests, the dark-haired keyboardist pulled her teeny girlfriend into her arms in a big squeeze, beaming as she relished in Chu2's adorable responses. As much as she loved being cuddled and petted and smooched by Pareo, there was the risk of one of the other three girls waking up and spotting her being all lovey-dovey and sappy and Chu2 was not having that! Quite quickly though, she was released from the loving grasp as Pareo sat up. She smiled warmly at her for a long moment before casting her gaze out into the room. She was certainly pondering something, and Chu2 knew a question was brewing in her mind.
"Does Chu2-sama want to... go for a walk?"
There it was.
"A walk? Why?" Chu2 followed her in sitting up.
"Just for fun! After getting up and walking around for a bit, getting under blankets always feels much comfier, too. Then Chu2-sama will certainly—"
Another loud snore from Masuki was heard, followed by the sound of one of her arms flopping around as she rolled onto her side. Poor Lock.
"... fall asleep!" Pareo finished.
Chu2 didn't look convinced, mostly because she couldn't be bothered to go through the effort of getting up, let alone walking, but it looked like Pareo wasn't giving her any time to disagree. Before she knew it, her girlfriend was taking her by the hands and pulling her to her to her feet.
“Come on!”
The young couple wandered hand-in-hand down the hall in silence for a moment. The penthouse always had a different vibe in the dark and Chu2 did find it the teeniest bit spooky when she was by herself, but Pareo would always vow to protect her from any “monsters” potentially lurking in the shadows.
At that moment, there was a glint in Pareo’s eye. A playful one that Chu2 noticed despite the dark.
She felt Pareo let go of her hand.
Oh? Why’d she—
“Tag!”
The sudden tap to her shoulder caught Chu2 off guard and it took her a second to process what was going on before Pareo ran ahead, turning around and pausing once to see if she was following.
”Pareo, you said a walk! You’re crazy!”
But alas, all Chu2 could see now were two black pigtails disappearing through a door further down the hallway. Ugh, what was the point of this?
However, as she began to pick up pace as she approached the place her girlfriend had vanished to, there was that tiny twinge of excitement. It was that childish- no, fun sense of excitement she only really felt around Pareo. It was like a young, bubbly sense of giddy joy that Chu2 hadn’t felt since she was a young child. She kind of missed it.
Ah, right. So this is where Pareo ran off to.
Chu2 creaked open the door to one of the few kitchens in the house as quietly as she could; this was a game, and the aim was to tag Pareo, right? Alright, competitive time it is then.
Once she’d created a gap in the door wide enough, Chu2 slid herself ever-so -slowly through it. The aim was simple: create as little noise as possible, catch Pareo by surprise and tag her and... and... cover her pretty face in little well-deserved smooches. Yeah! Yeah. Oh man that was pretty gay of her. And it was probably the sudden gay thoughts that lead to Chu2’s tag-downfall.
“Gotcha~”
"Gah-!"
Surprisingly strong arms wrapped themselves around the pint-sized DJ’s middle and lifted her off the ground, both of them shrieking in a mix of delight and surprise from the unexpected attack.
”U-Unfair! That’s not how tag works!” Even though she complained, Chu2 really couldn't help but get all giggly along with her when she was twirled around. For Chu2, it was quite liberating to be alone with Pareo; she could act as "childish" or as lovey-dovey as she wanted without the risk of anybody embarrassing her for it.
They stumbled around in the dark but as soon as she regained her balance, Chu2 felt herself be scooped up and sat gently upon the counter with a little grunt of surprise.
"Look! Now Chu2-sama's just as tall as Pareo ♡"
Wide, deep red eyes gazed back into hers.
The kitchen was dimly lit and the only source of light came from a nearby window, but it was enough to clearly distinguish the pretty face oh... so... so very close to her own. Their faces were very close.
Chu2 felt her face begin to tingle with heat.
“Pareo, you’re... really cute.”
Now it was Pareo’s turn to be the one taken off guard. Her surprise which soon turned into evident fluster partly made Chu2 feel a little victorious, but seeing the happy smile reappear a little brighter on her tall girlfriend’s face made her own stupid little heart light up. Gross.
“Thank you~~! Although, I do truly believe that Chu2-sama is also particularly cute!”
And then she placed a tender little kiss on her forehead. Oh my god.
Chu2 felt like she was going to melt, and Pareo could tell.
“And Chu2-sama’s hands are so adorable~! Look how tiny they are compared to mine!” Pareo then took a gentle hold of the smaller girl’s hand and lined her palm up with her own. Chu2’s finger tips did stop a centimeter or two before Pareo’s, so they were indeed a little small.
And then their fingers were entwined.
Oh wait. She did that.
Chu2 looked at their hands, then back to Pareo. The taller girl’s expression was that of pleasant surprise, and soon a bright smile took over her face.
“I-I... I mean... your hand was... there so I-“
“You’re blushiiing~~~”
“S-Shut up!”
This earned another giggle from Pareo. Chu2 felt like her heart was screaming. Screaming with stupid gooey sappy love things. But oh how contagious Pareo’s smile and laugh could be, and the way she looked so pretty when she did so... Chu2 couldn’t help but join her in smiling.
As if it was instinct, the two found themselves reaching for the other's free hand and laced together their fingers.
And there they were. Gazing into each other’s eyes. Holding hands. In the moonlight. It was just like a scene from one of Pareo’s mangas that she would so frequently gush about and show off to her girlfriend if you took away the kitchen aspect. Still, they were quiet now... and one single thought kept trying to intrude its way into Chu2’s mind.
Oh god they should totally kiss right now.
Judging by Pareo’s frequent glances down to the small producer’s lips, she was thinking the same thing.
They were both just a bit too awkward to say or do anything at just that moment. Until...
Pareo tilted her head ever so slightly and broke the small amount of space between them. She placed a small, soft and gentle kiss upon Chu2’s lips and Chu2 swore she forgot how to breathe for a moment. Everything was warm and fuzzy but at the same time it felt like her heart was going to explode out her chest. They’d kissed once before, but it was a very rushed and awkward display of affection done by Chu2 as she had quickly yoinked Pareo down to her level to give her a quick tiny kiss on the mouth after a show. However, this time everything felt all soft.
And so, the baby couple leaned in for a second smooch, giving each other’s hand a squeeze.
Then for a third.
Then for a —
Flick.
The light came on.
“Yooooo.... Choo-choo~~~!”
Masking was stood in the doorway. She was holding an empty glass and was looking absolutely ecstatic.
“Ah, M-Massu-san! We didn’t—“
As Pareo took a step back, Chu2 ungraciously half-fell and half-somewhat-jumped down from the counter.
Her face was practically the same colour as Pareo’s eyes.
“D-Don’t you dare say anything, Masking! You.. d-didn’t see anything! What are you even doing here?”
Masking looked at the glass in her hands and then back at the couple. “Man, I was just gettin’ water. Didn’t know you two were, y’know, busy-“
“Masking!”
Chu2 seemed like some kind of small dog that was preparing itself to bite. However, Pareo seemed to not be as phased as the smaller girl and tried her best to reassure her grumbling girlfriend with a pat on the shoulder.
“There, there, Chu2-sama. Let’s... just get back to bed!” She did her best at putting on her usual bubbly smile as she ushered Chu2 out the room, following close behind her as always. The much teenier girl glared at the tall blonde as they passed in the doorway, but Masking only made kissy noises after them in response as they left.
She never let that little encounter die, and for weeks after the drummer would always end up tormenting Chu2 with the memory.