Chapter Text
“Hey Setsuna, would you mind staying behind to help me with something?”
Setsuna stopped and turned back to look at Shizuku. The other girl sat at one of the tables in the clubroom with two small booklets in front of her. Practice had just ended, and Setsuna had intended to go straight home and get a head start on some homework assignments. But, she couldn’t say no to her girlfriend.
“Of course, Shizu,” she said, smiling and walking back over to where Shizuku sat. “What do you need?”
“You know I have an audition coming up, right?” Shizuku asked. Setsuna nodded, signaling for Shizuku to continue. “Well, I was hoping you could help me run through one of the scenes I’ll have to do.”
“Absolutely I’ll help! Just tell me what you want me to do.”
Shizuku handed Setsuna one of the booklets, and Setsuna saw that it was Much Ado About Nothing, by Shakespeare.
“I’ve got it turned to the right page, so if you could read for Benedick while I read for Beatrice, I’d really appreciate it. I’ll be starting off with this line.” She pointed out the line in question.
“Okay, I’m ready whenever you are!” Setsuna said.
The two took places across from each other, standing a few feet apart, and Setsuna watched with rapt attention as Shizuku got into character. After closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths, her girlfriend’s entire demeanor subtly shifted. Her back was straighter, and her chin lifted a bit more than she’d normally keep it. When she opened her eyes, her gaze was sharp, yet slightly teasing. A little smirk really sold the whole thing, and Setsuna realized she’d momentarily forgotten to breathe.
“I wonder that you will still be talking, Signior Benedick: nobody marks you,” Shizuku said, starting the scene. Even her voice was subtly different, matching the cloy, teasing smirk. Setsuna blinked a few times before remembering to say her own line.
“What, my dear Lady Disdain!” she said. “Are you yet living?”
“Is it possible disdain should die while she hath such meet food to feed it as Signior Benedick? Courtesy itself must convert to disdain, if you come in her presence.”
“Then is courtesy a turncoat. But it is certain I am loved of all ladies, only you excepted: and I would I could find in my heart that I had not a hard heart; for, truly, I love none.” Setsuna tried not to feel embarrassed at how many times she slipped up on the archaic language or how stilted the delivery sounded to her own ears.
“A dear happiness to women: they would else have been troubled with a pernicious suitor,” Shizuku said, showing no difficulty adopting the manner of speech. “I thank God and my cold blood, I am of your humour for that: I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.”
Setsuna couldn’t hold back the laughter at hearing such a line. “I’m sorry, Shizu, that just took me off guard. I didn’t expect to hear you say something like that, especially when you were quoting Shakespeare.”
“Oh sweetheart, that was honestly very tame for Shakespeare,” Shizuku said, dropping out of character and giving Setsuna a normal smile. Setsuna raised her brow.
“Really?” she asked. “I’ll be honest, I don’t actually know much about Shakespeare plays. They always felt a bit too… stuffy for me.”
Shizuku’s eyes lit up. “Quite the contrary! He was a playwright for the common people. Almost all of his plays are filled with double entendre and dirty jokes, but the language has changed so much, and a lot of it doesn’t translate well.”
“D-dirty jokes?” Setsuna’s cheeks flushed a bit. “I didn’t say anything dirty just now, did I?”
“No, no, don’t worry, there was nothing in this passage,” Shizuku said, laughing. “But believe it or not, there’s actually a triple entendre in the title itself.”
“A triple entendre? In just the title?”
Shizuku nodded eagerly. “There’s the obvious interpretation—that the characters are making a big deal out of nothing. Another reading relies on the fact that in Shakespeare’s English, ‘nothing’ and ‘noting’ were pronounced the same. ‘Noting’ meant to gossip, and the main conflict of the play starts because of some baseless gossip.” She paused and broke eye contact, looking down a little and fidgeting with the bottom of her shirt.
“And the third meaning?” Setsuna asked, after her girlfriend had been silent for a few seconds.
“Well… ‘nothing’ used to be a slang term for… a woman’s privates. And a lot of the conflict is about whether or not a character is a virgin.”
Setsuna’s face immediately lit up a vibrant red, and she put her hands on her cheeks in an attempt to hide it. Meanwhile, Shizuku laughed.
“It’s ok, I had the same reaction the first time I learned that,” Shizuku said. She stepped closer and planted a quick kiss on Setsuna’s forehead, which only served to deepen the blush. “You’re really cute like that. Red is definitely your color.”
“Shizuuuuuu,” Setsuna whined, trying to pout. That only made Shizuku laugh more.
“Come on, sweetheart, let’s start back from the top. I really do want to practice this a few times.”
It took a few moments for Setsuna to regain her composure, but the couple eventually got back to practicing. Setsuna always loved watching her girlfriend act, and getting to help her do so felt like an honor. All in all, she had a lot of fun.
Shizuku ended up getting the role, and Setsuna sat front and center on opening night.