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Nene let out a content sigh as soon as she opened the window to her room, letting the cool air hit her skin. The past few days have been an absolute nightmare to get through due to the summer heat, and having to perform shows during times when the heat was at its peak definitely didn't help. When rain was finally announced, everyone collectively sighed in relief before deciding to take the day off and unwind, while enjoying some cooler temperature. No rain was falling yet, but the sky was overcast with clear signs that a downpour was about to begin soon.
Nene took it as the perfect opportunity to catch on some games she didn't really have time until now to get around to, so, after taking a deep breath, letting the cool rainy air fill her lungs before exhaling, she made her way back towards her room, making sure everything was into place. Headphones? Check. Keyboard and mouse? Check. Snacks in case she got hungry? Also check. A content smile made its way on her lips at the sight. She was going to have a peaceful, relaxing day, as she treated herself to everything that was laid on front of her.
Or that's what she thought, but it seemed that she definitely spoke too soon as, the moment she approached her bean bag chair wanting to start her day, her phone immediately started ringing. When Nene saw the caller's ID, she actually considered for a split moment not responding. Emu never usually called her unless she had a crazy plan in store she wanted to perform right away, and Nene wanted nothing more than to just stay home and play games. But this was Emu. So Nene just sighed in defeat as she reached for her phone, knowing she couldn't not answer her.
"Nene-chan, Nene-chan, let's go outside!" as soon as she picked up the call, Emu didn't even give her the opportunity to say anything as she spoke up excitedly.
"...What?" she couldn't have heard her right...Right?
"Let's go take a walk!" the excitement in Emu's voice didn't falter at all, even as it was met with Nene's confusion.
"Emu...You do know it's going to rain outside, right?"
"Yeah, which makes it the perfect opportunity to cool down after the week we had! Please?" Nene didn't even need to see her to know she was making the biggest puppy eyes as she pleaded with her. But she wouldn't falter just yet. Sure, she may be unable to resist those eyes whenever she saw them, but right now she couldn't see them, so she could still emerge victorious.
"We will get sick." Nene deadpanned. Maybe that would get through to Emu. After all, getting sick meant being unable to perform a show.
"We won't! It's still warm outside and we won't stay long...You don't want to, Nene-chan?" Okay, at this point Emu was being just straight up unfair, making her voice slightly higher pitched to match those puppy eyes. Nene pinched the bridge of her nose, her shoulders falling resigned as she tried to ignore the warmth in her chest.
"Fine."
"Yay! Let's meet at the park near your house!" As soon as those words left her mouth, she closed the call, making Nene whine in frustration. One day she would be able to resist her. One day.
But until then she sighed again as she approached her door, picking up her umbrella on the way before heading out. As expected, the whole atmosphere felt gloomy with the sky being overcast, but the cooler air felt extremely relaxing after everything. Looking up at the sky, trying to figure out how good were her chances to satisfy Emu's need for a walk before rain caught them, Nene slowly made her way towards the park.
It wasn't longer than a seven minutes walk, so Nene expected she would be the first one to arrive, but to her surprise Emu was already there, waving excitedly at her as she approached.
"Did you run all the way here?" She asked Emu incredulously.
"Yeah, I was excited to see you!" Nene groaned as she buried her face in her hands, trying to hide her blush as Emu beamed at her with the brightest smile. Seriously, why was she so unfair. After a few seconds in which she tried to calm her racing heart, Nene looked back up at Emu.
"So, where do you want to go?"
"Nowhere really, we can just walk around here."
If she didn't know any better by this point, Nene would have asked her if she really went through all this trouble just so they can walk around in an empty park as the threat of rain creeped ever closer, but she knew Emu would have replied with something along the lines of 'No, I just wanted to spend time with you.', and Nene decided she got enough near heart attacks for the day.
As they started walking, Nene couldn't help but let her eyes drift towards Emu as she walked by her side with a playful skip in her steps, humming a melody while smiling.
"You seem awfully happy considering the mood outside." She couldn't help but speak up as she watched Emu curiously. "I mean, I wouldn't expect you of all people to let weather ruin your mood, but you still seem even happier than usual."
Emu's humming turned from melodious to thoughtful as she stopped for a moment, seemingly thinking about something before breaking back into a smile as she turned towards Nene.
"I used to not like rain as a child. Whenever it rained, outside shows always got cancelled and I was stuck inside the entire time. But..." Emu's expression turned almost serene as she closed her eyes, her smile growing further. "One day grandpa took me outside while it was raining. He told me that if normal shows get cancelled whenever it rained, all we needed to do was to make our own shows in the rain. Since that day, whenever it rained we always went outside, just the two of us, running around in the rain, dancing and singing." Her eyes were shinning full of emotion once she opened them again, to the point where Nene couldn't help but wonder if, just for that brief moment, Emu relieved those memories in her mind again. Her eyes were full of emotion, yes, but as Nene searched them, her heart felt lighter when she couldn't find any trace of sadness in them.
She let a small smile of her own form on her face as she locked gazes with Emu. "I see. So now you like them? Rainy days, I mean."
Emu nodded excitedly. "I really do! The rain can make some really beautiful melodies!"
Almost as if on queue, small droplets of water started falling from the sky. Lightly at first, before it quickly turned into a downpour. Nene was about to open her umbrella, but she stopped herself as her breath got caught in her throat while she watched Emu. She started humming again as the rain fell, before taking a few steps back from Nene and starting to dance.
For any passerby it all must have looked chaotic, a random girl in a park humming and dancing when she should be shielding herself from the downpour, but to Nene it all looked mesmerizingly beautiful. The droplets of rain seemed to be matching her rhythm, both in sound and in steps, to the point where Nene could have said that it was just like any show she's seen so far, if not even brighter.
It didn't take long for Emu to turn in her direction and extend her hand towards her, not saying anything, just tilting her head questioningly as her smile never left her face. It's a hand that reached in Nene's direction countless times before. Whether it was to help her up when she fell, or to support her as she was going forward, each and every time Nene had no reason not to reach her own hand in return and take it.
Maybe she was in a trance, maybe she just couldn't think properly after the sight she saw, but she couldn't find any reason not to take it now either. All thoughts of her games, or the possibility of getting sick, were nowhere to be found as she joined Emu's melody in the rain, a pair of footsteps turning into two even as the rain started falling harder.
After all, a performer's heart always sought the brightest of lights, and right now Nene couldn't see anything brighter than Emu's smile.