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Lumine has been awake for at least twenty four hours when she gets on the plane, three cups of coffee and the adrenaline thrumming through her veins being the only thing keeping her from passing out on the spot. She should have tried harder to sleep before the flight. But alas, she feels like a kid every time she travels, the intense anticipation and excitement preventing her rest. This will be her first ever trip to Japan. It’s been on her bucket list for years, and finally she saved up enough money to say “fuck it” and head off on a solo trip around the country.
The coffee and adrenaline doesn’t stop her from being deliriously tired, though, and Lumine will blame that on why she ogles her seat mate so openly when she reaches her spot in the aisle.
The girl sitting by the window is Japanese, about Lumine’s age, with long hair bleached platinum tied up by pink ribbon in a ponytail atop her head. Her fringe falls just short of her eyes that blink somewhat blearily up at Lumine, but still hold an entrancing shimmer that Lumine finds impossible to look away from. Even exhausted and dressed in an old oversized jumper and leggings, she’s the most beautiful person Lumine’s ever seen.
She offers Lumine a small smile, a little hesitant and perhaps slightly confused, which is what snaps Lumine out of her haze. God, how rude of her! Way to make a first impression on the person you will be squished up against for the next fourteen hours. The girl probably thinks Lumine is a right weirdo.
“Hello, sorry.” Lumine fumbles for the right words in her limited knowledge of Japanese. “I’m really tired.” She waves her hand vaguely as she plops into her seat and shoves her rucksack under the seat in front of her, hoping that explains her awkward staring. To her relief, the girl covers her mouth and giggles.
“Don’t worry about it, I’m tired too. After you’ve checked in and made it through security, it really makes you ready for a nap, doesn’t it?” she says in English. Lumine breathes an internal sigh of relief. She’s been working hard to study Japanese, but she doesn’t think she has enough brain cells right now to throw out more than a few simple phrases.
“For real. I’m hoping I’ll be able to sleep on the flight so when we land in the morning, I won’t want to die but,” – she wiggles in the lumpy seat and attempts to straighten her legs, mourning the lack of room to do so – “how possible that will be in these seats, I dunno.”
The girl nods towards the bright blue, cat shaped pillow tucked around Lumine’s neck. “I find those neck pillows and a pair of earplugs work well. I’ve got one too.” She picks up a similar pillow wedged between her side and the wall and shows it to Lumine. A pastel pink bunny smiles up at her and Lumine can’t help but grin.
“It’s so cute!” She coos. Lumine wants to keep talking, but is cut off by an announcement crackling over the speakers. Reluctantly, she settles down again to buckle her seatbelt and listen to the safety demonstration.
Lumine doesn’t speak to the girl again until they’re well into the air. She’d intended on it, however when the aeroplane had begun rattling down the runway to take off, the girl had her eyes scrunched closed and earphones jammed into her ears. Lumine felt a pang of sympathy. Taking off on a plane could be pretty rough for some people.
Eventually, once the plane levels out and the seatbelt safety lights click off, the girl opens her eyes cautiously and takes out an earbud.
“You alright?” Lumine prompts her gently. The girl nods, a little sheepish.
“I don’t fly much. It might sound a bit silly but it makes me nervous, especially the taking off and landing.”
“Not silly at all!” Lumine reassures her. “Plenty of people are scared of flying. It’s kind of a freaky concept, isn’t it? A big metal thing with wings hurtling through the sky?” At the girl’s widened eyes, Lumine backtracks. “Sorry, that probably didn’t help. I think it’s freaky in a cool way though. And worth it to explore so many new places.”
The girl nods earnestly. “I agree! I’ve always wanted to see the world. When I was younger, my parents worked a lot, so we’d usually just do holidays within Japan. Sometimes we’d go to places like Korea and Taiwan, which were amazing, but I want to see everything.”
“Is that why you came to the UK then? To start your adventures across the continents?”
“Yes, you could say that. I’m actually going to be studying here for a year from September. I decided to come here on holiday by myself first to, um,” – she pauses to consider the phrasing – “try it out? I’ve never travelled alone before. I wanted to challenge myself.”
“That’s awesome,” Lumine says, and she really means it. “How did you find it?”
“Really, really great. And really scary.” The girl giggles. The elated sound does something funny to Lumine’s heart each time she hears it. “I’m proud of myself, I think. I’ve had a lot of fun.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m proud of you too. I’ve been solo travelling for a few years now, but it’s definitely a big step. I hope you enjoy studying over here as well.” Lumine will also blame her exhaustion for the suggestion she makes next. “And if you need a friend whilst you’re over here, well, you’ve got one now!”
With the way that the girl’s face lights up, it was the right thing to say. “Really? I’d like that a lot, if I’m not a bother.”
“Not at all. I’m Lumine, by the way.”
“I’m Ayaka. It’s nice to meet you.”
Ayaka. A pretty name for a pretty girl. “It’s nice to meet you too. Hopefully you won’t regret agreeing to be friends after being stuck in a confined space next to me for fourteen hours.”
There’s that giggle again. Oh, be still Lumine’s weak, women-loving heart. “I don’t think so. You’re a lovely person, Lumine.”
“Oh! Thank you. You’re pretty lovely yourself.” Smooth, Lumine. Very smooth.
“Ah, you’re too kind.” Ayaka waves her off, changing the subject quickly when the compliment is turned back on her. “So, what about you? Why are you going to Japan?”
“Holiday. Like I said before, I love travelling solo. I’ve never been to Japan before. I saved up for this one for ages! This will be my first time in Asia as well. So far, I’ve just been around Europe.”
“Wow!” Ayaka looks impressed. “Do you study Japanese? You spoke a little before…”
Lumine huffs a laugh. “A bit. I’ve been studying in my own time for a year or so, but I haven’t had anyone to practise with so I’m not very good. I’d like to get better at it though.”
“Well, if you’d like, we can practise together! Since you’ll be my friend in the UK too.”
“Sure thing, I’ll be your tour guide in exchange for Japanese lessons.” Lumine grins at her, tongue between her teeth so Ayaka knows she isn’t actually expecting such a transactional friendship.
“Deal!”
Before the flight, Lumine downloaded several seasons of her favourite TV shows to keep her occupied, yet when the flight attendants bring round their first meal three hours in, she hasn’t even touched her laptop. Talking to Ayaka is easy. Lumine has never opened up to someone so fast. They talk about anything and everything, sharing snippets of their lives in their family and friends, their studies, their hobbies and interests. Ayaka tells her about the dance classes she’s taken ever since she was a young child and shares some of the poetry that she writes in her free time, reading out each line slowly and patiently so Lumine can try and piece together the meaning in her head. She has a couple of poems in English, too, and Lumine marvels over Ayaka’s elegant grasp of words in multiple languages. Lumine tells her in turn about backpacking across Europe with her brother after they graduated college and that she plans to start university in the coming year to study environmental science. Travelling during her years out of education has shown her how beautiful and precious the world is, so she wants to do everything in her power to help protect it. Lumine can’t remember the last time she spoke so much about herself; Ayaka is just so sincere as she listens, letting out soft hums at Lumine’s words and encouraging her with further questions. Being on the receiving end of Ayaka’s undivided attention makes Lumine feel like the most fascinating person alive.
When they dig into their meals, Ayaka looks suitably approving of Lumine's chopstick abilities. Lumine internally pats herself on the back. The last thing she wants is to look like a fool in front of Ayaka.
“I cook a lot of Asian dishes at home,” Lumine explains when Ayaka asks. “I’ve been practising, I didn’t want to be completely useless eating meals over here.”
“Oh! You cook?”
“Yeah, love cooking. I’ll be honest, British food is pretty dull, so it’s fun to learn recipes from around the world.”
Ayaka laughs. “Between you and me, I have missed my country’s food whilst I was away. I went to a Japanese restaurant a few days ago and my entire meal cost me double what it would be back home!” Lumine nods in grave understanding.
Around hour seven, they hit some turbulence. Lumine has been in and out of consciousness for the past hour or so, lack of any substantial sleep finally catching up to her. However, she jolts awake as the aeroplane lurches and she hears a high-pitched squeak from next to her. Before she can fully blink back into reality, there’s a tight, hot pressure squeezing her hand.
Glancing drowsily to her side, she sees Ayaka’s eyes are screwed shut again. Ayaka has Lumine’s hand clutched in a death grip, though she’s not sure Ayaka even realises it.
More awake now, Lumine turns her hand around in Ayaka’s grasp so she can hold it properly. Then, she brings her other hand to lay over the top of Ayaka’s. Lumine can’t help but notice how soft Ayaka’s hands are as she rubs soothing circles into her skin.
The plane rocks a few more times. Lumine barely bats an eye at it, focused only on Ayaka’s face and her hands and murmuring gentle reassurances that they’re safe and that it’ll stop soon.
A few more minutes pass until the plane mercifully continues its smooth journey. Ayaka comes back to herself in stages, taking some deep breaths and letting her grip loosen on Lumine’s hand before she tentatively peers over at Lumine. She worries her bottom lip between her teeth.
“I’m sorry,” is the first thing that Ayaka says. Lumine isn’t having any of it.
“What for? Nothing wrong with finding turbulence scary.”
“Still, it’s a little embarrassing.” It’s only then that Ayaka seems to notice that she’s still holding Lumine’s hand. She pulls her hand away like she’s been burned. “Ah! And I was holding your hand as well. Sorry, that was very kind of you to let me.”
In a moment of boldness, Lumine reaches out to grab her hand again. She threads their fingers together and smiles at Ayaka “No more apologies, okay? I really didn’t mind. If I could help at all, then I’m glad.”
Ayaka returns her smile shyly. “You really are so sweet, Lumine. You helped a lot, thank you.”
“My pleasure.”
Ayaka doesn’t let go of her hand as they check the flight map on their screens to see how far they’ve flown. Ayaka doesn’t let go of her hand as they scroll around the map and point out all the places on their bucket lists to visit. Ayaka doesn’t let go of her hand when the lights in the plane are dimmed so people can get some sleep before they land in the morning.
Ayaka still doesn’t let go of her hand when they both make themselves somewhat comfortable with their pillows and blankets and close their eyes. The last thing Lumine registers before sleep overtakes her is the feeling of soft, slender fingers squeezing her own.
Several hours later, Lumine gradually rouses to a heavy warmth pressed against her side. She tries to turn her head and is met with a mouthful of platinum hair. Lumine lets out a confused huff of breath. Manoeuvring herself so she doesn’t disturb the sleeping figure, she first spots her neck pillow that has somehow fallen to the floor, and then the peaceful face of Ayaka, curled up beside her with her head tucked into the crook of Lumine’s neck. She goes to flex her fingers and finds her left hand still entwined with Ayaka’s.
“Oh,” Lumine breathes. She wonders briefly whether she should wake Ayaka up. After all, she doesn’t want to feel like she’s taking advantage of her vulnerability in sleep.
However, the bigger, louder part of her groggy, women-loving brain reminds Lumine how comfy Ayaka looks snuggled up to her. It’s hard to get any proper rest on a plane, so she’d hate to disturb what little sleep Ayaka can get.
Lumine lets her head fall against the top of Ayaka’s. She dreams of crystal blue eyes and kissing cherry blossom petal lips.
They’re awoken a couple of hours later when the lights in the plane are brightened. Lumine can tell there’s an apology ready to leave Ayaka’s mouth as soon as she looks at her, but she stops it before it can be spoken.
“I think that’s the best I’ve ever slept on a plane,” Lumine comments. They’re still holding hands, palms rather hot and sweaty after so many hours have passed. Neither of them let go.
Ayaka smiles, relieved. “Me too.”
In the final hour, the aeroplane starts its slow descent through the air. It’s a beautiful morning outside. The sun recently risen and barely a cloud in the sky, Lumine tries not to lean over Ayaka too much as she peers out of the window. Poor Ayaka still looks rather stressed every time the plane jerks, though she manages to keep her eyes open so she can point out which cities stretch out below them.
“Wait wait wait!” Lumine presses closer to Ayaka, eyes wide and breathless. “Is that Mount Fuji?”
Ayaka nods. “Amazing, isn’t it? Even from such a distance, it’s so… You feel so much awe.”
“It’s incredible.” Lumine can’t take her gaze off the window. Mount Fuji’s snow-capped peak towers above the land surrounding it, remarkable and striking. If this is Lumine’s first view of Japan, then she thinks it’s a good omen for an exciting adventure to come.
She only looks away for a few seconds to grab her phone and snap a picture, and then she stares at the mountain in wordless wonder until it disappears from sight.
It’s then that Lumine realises how close she is to Ayaka, faces merely inches apart. Ayaka’s cheeks are tinged red, yet when they make eye contact, she makes no indication of being bothered by the proximity.
“It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Lumine murmurs. She’s not looking at the mountain anymore.
“Yes,” Ayaka whispers. Her gaze doesn’t leave Lumine’s. “I think so as well.”
Even after they land, Lumine and Ayaka stay firmly attached to each other until they have to part so Lumine can go through immigration.
“I hope you have the most wonderful holiday, Lumine,” Ayaka says, eyes sparkling like pools of water in the early morning sunlight filtering through the windows.
“Thank you, Ayaka. If you want, I’ll tell you all about it?” Lumine holds up her phone in silent suggestion. Ayaka breaks into a wide smile.
“I’d love that.”
They exchange social media handles, and with a promise to text soon, it’s finally time for them to part.
“I’m really happy I met you. I’ll see you soon?” Ayaka phrases the last part as a question. Lumine grins, taking her hand.
“Definitely. I can’t wait.” Before she can second-guess herself, Lumine lifts Ayaka’s hand to press a quick kiss to the back of it. “Get home safe, Ayaka. I’m really happy I met you too.”