Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Suletta Mercury sits on a couch in the backstage area of a rock club, anxiously bouncing a leg up and down as she practices fingering chords on her guitar (mostly just to keep herself busy).

She always gets antsy like this before a gig–- contending with a torrent of butterflies swirling around in her stomach, a near-palpable sense of tension seeming to seize hold of her heart from the inside. She's a very anxious person in general, and she's rarely ever more aware of it than at times like this.

The sofa dips slightly as Nika sits down next to her, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“You alright, Suletta?” she asks gently. She's more than used to her friend's pre-gig jitters at this point, but still always makes an effort to check in on her whenever possible.

“Y-yeah!!" Suletta nods. "You know how it is, I-I’ll be fine once we get onstage.”

"Alright. Let us know if you need anything, okay?"

From the other side of the room, Chuchu vocalizes her emphatic agreement through a mouthful of candy bar as she leans against the wall, absentmindedly twirling a wooden drumstick around in her free hand.

"Yeah! No worries, dude," she chirps as soon as her mouth is no longer otherwise occupied. "We're here for ya."

Suletta smiles, already feeling her anxiety easing ever so slightly. "Thank you, guys."

Suletta, Nika, and Chuchu had met one another in their first year of college, and became fast friends owing to their common interest in music. It wasn’t long before they followed their passions to their logical end point, and started a band together-– FIX RELEASE. Suletta was very tricky to get on board at first, insisting that she could NEVER play on a stage in front of people, but Chuchu’s repeated pestering eventually got the better of her, and she agreed to at least give it a try. So give it one she did-– and the rest is history.

Chuatury "Chuchu" Panlunch is the fiery, pom-pom-haired drummer of the group, a role she was all but born to fulfill. Quoth the woman herself, “it’s the perfect outlet for my desire to hit things!”

Existing in stark contrast to Chuchu is the band's bassist, Nika Nanaura, inarguably the most levelheaded member of their trio, as well as one of the sweetest, most patient people you could ever hope to meet. Wrangling the anxious Suletta and the hotheaded Chuchu are duties she’s well acquainted with at this point, leading to a sort of an unspoken knowledge among them that she’s basically the glue holding their little band together.

Nika is also the most musically inclined among them, a music major and a veritable expert in its theory, making her the obvious choice for the band’s lead songwriter. Chuchu also writes songs on occasion, though she’s far less methodical about it than Nika is, preferring to just improvise like crazy and jot down something whenever it sticks. Suletta, unlike her friends, isn't much of a composer at all, but she does have a way with words as far as pen and paper are concerned–-hence her status as the band’s primary lyricist. The three of them gel together exceptionally well, each having strengths compensating for the others’ weaknesses, allowing the band to run like a well-oiled machine much of the time.

That said, though their songs aren’t bad by any means, they aren't necessarily amazing , and they all know that. They have very few fans, often have trouble managing to find gigs, and uploads of their songs languish online, often failing to break even a thousand listens. But the three of them have an absolute blast writing and performing them together, and that’s what’s most important to them.

Chuchu does get consistently pissed off that they aren’t more popular, though. The two feelings aren’t necessarily mutually exclusive.

A staff member of the club, wearing a headset and holding a clipboard, rounds the corner and lightly raps on a wooden beam to get their attention. 

“Um…FIX RELEASE, was it?” he says, glancing down at his clipboard. “You’re on in five.”

“Got it! Thank you!” Nika says cheerily.

Chuchu kicks back from the wall as the staff member goes on his way, tossing her now-empty candy wrapper in a bin and stowing her drumstick in one of her hair puffs for safekeeping.

"Alright!! You guys ready?"

"Of course!" Nika chirps, standing up and slinging her bass over her shoulder. "Suletta?"

Suletta's grip tightens on the neck of her guitar as she takes in a slow, deep breath. After a moment, she looks up at her friends with a smile.

“...Yeah. Let’s do this.”

====

“WHAT THE HELL IS UPPPPPP ASTICASSIAAAA!!!!!” Chuchu yells into her microphone, seated behind her drum kit onstage. She almost always takes on emceeing duties during gigs, since Suletta's far too anxious to do it, and Nika's kind, low-key personality is fantastic at endearing people to her, but a bit lacking in terms of getting them hyped up.

”HOW WE FEELIN’ TONIGHT!!!” Chuchu exclaims with her fist in the air, receiving a few scattered, muted cheers from the crowd in response.

As Chuchu attempts to get the crowd excited (albeit to little avail), Suletta anxiously turns her guitar pick around in her fingers, holding her guitar closely to herself like it's a lifeline. And in a way, it sort of is.

Her electric guitar, named Aerial, is her most treasured possession, a gorgeous blue and white instrument she received as a hand-me-down from her older sister Ericht-– herself an accomplished musician, and Suletta's biggest inspiration. Playing Aerial has been a source of comfort for her ever since she first obtained it, and even now, just holding it helps to take the edge off of her anxiety a bit. Looking at Suletta, one would expect the thought of performing onstage in front of a crowd to be an absolute no-go for her; though, to be completely fair, it sort of WAS, at first. But the second she gets onstage and starts playing Aerial, the rest of the world seems to fall away entirely, her brain forgetting about everything else except the instrument in her hands.

Playing as part of a band is still anxiety-inducing, there's no getting around that-– but being able to play music with her two closest friends makes it worth it, no question.

“RIGHT ON!!” Suletta mentally tunes back into Chuchu's spiel, which she's seemingly wrapping up. “Anyway! That’s enough of my yammerin’, let’s get this party goin’ already!! Our first song tonight is called ‘Unrelenting Tenderness'! You can thank our guitarist Suletta for that title. Hope you guys like it! You damn well better!!”

With that, Chuchu pushes the mic away from herself, looking up at both Suletta and Nika, who each nod at her in turn. With a ravenous grin, she raises her drumsticks over her head, and clacks them together a few times to lead them in.

Suletta takes in a deep breath to steady herself, positioning her fingers on Aerial's frets–-

And as soon as she plucks the first chord, she feels herself enter the zone.

Her fingers dart nimbly across her guitar's neck without her even needing to think about what she's doing, each strum sending a veritable shockwave through her entire being, a rush of adrenaline in its purest form.

When her cue to start singing comes in, Suletta belts out the lyrics she'd written herself, sinking backwards into the steady syncopation of Chuchu's drumming and Nika's warm, solid bassline–- their playing serving as a cushion, supporting Suletta as she surges forward with everything she has. It's absolutely electrifying, pun not intended.

As she falls further and further into the music around her, Suletta knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that, despite everything...she wouldn't trade this feeling for the world.

====

“PHEWWWW!! Man, i’m freakin’ BEAT!!” Chuchu sighs as she flings herself down onto the couch backstage following the conclusion of their set.

Suletta, kneeling down on the floor, returns Aerial to her case, tucking her in safely within its padded confines and gently closing its lid. "Tell me about it…"

Things had gone pretty well for them this time, all things considered. The audience hadn't been crazy about them, but they hadn't been actively hostile towards them either, which already makes them not the worst audience they've ever had. Neutrally disinterested, is probably the best way to describe their reception.

Nika returns from the office of the club, an envelope in hand. She's the most "people person"-ish of the group, so she usually handles the more boring, administrative tasks that come with being in a band.

"How is it? Did we break even?" Suletta asks her, standing up and slinging Aerial's case over her back.

Nika grins. “More than that! We made a little bit of a profit!” she says cheerily, waving the envelope around slightly.

"OH, NO WAY!! That's amazing!!" Suletta gushes.

"How much is a 'little bit'?" Chuchu asks warily.

Nika looks sheepish. "….Eight dollars….."

Chuchu claps her hands together then points at Nika. “HEY! I’LL FUCKIN TAKE IT!!”

"We can’t divide eight dollars three ways, so….Suletta, I think you should get the bigger portion," Nika smiles at her. "You’ve earned it for being our MVP tonight!"

"Yeah, Nika's right. You killed it out there, dude," Chuchu concurs. "You're always amazing, but you were on freakin' FIRE tonight."

Suletta blushes at her friends’ praise. "Th-thank you, guys…that means a lot."

Chuchu stands up and stretches her arms over her head. "NNGGRHEHRHEGHH!! Ah, another successful gig! This calls for a celebration, I'd say."

"As if you wouldn't have celebrated even if it wasn't a good gig, you hedonist," Nika teases Chuchu, reaching over and ruffling her hair.

"Nyeh!! Quiet, you!" Chuchu blushes, swatting Nika's hand away. "A-anyway!! Drinks are on me, gang! Let's go nuts!!"

"Y-you know I don't like alcohol, Chuchu…" Suletta mumbles, following after the drummer as she starts to head off.

"Hey man, I'll buy you a soda, I don't give a crap."

====

True to her word, Chuchu didn't give a crap, and bought Suletta a soda. 

The three are now on the floor of the venue, having gone from performers to a part of the audience themselves. Suletta leans against the wall tiredly, holding Aerial's case close to herself, her eyelids drooping, the caffeine from her soda doing little to perk her up.

Suletta’s always more than happy to hang out with her friends, genuinely; but playing a gig, much as she loves it, tends to drain her energy like little else. Afterwards, she wants nothing more than to just curl up in bed. She knows that Nika and Chuchu would be more than happy to accommodate her if she needed to leave-– they're nice like that, after all-– but she also hates feeling like she's ruining other people's fun.

“Seems like the next act is gonna be comin' on soon,” Chuchu comments, before leaning her head back and chugging the beer she’d gotten herself, downing about half the glass in a single go.

"Christ, Chuchu," Nika laughs.

"What?" she responds obliviously, wiping a mustache of foam off of her upper lip onto her sleeve.

The lights dim, and the curtains draw open to sparse, scattered applause. Suletta briefly glances up at the stage, but quickly does a double take.

The performer is a young woman, probably about the same age as Suletta, with white hair trimmed into a short bob that seems to almost glow beneath the lighting of the stage. She sits on a wooden stool holding an acoustic guitar, wearing a simple blouse and a pair of slacks. She looks….classy. Like she belongs on PBS or something, not here in some grungy rock club.

More pressingly, however, she’s also probably the prettiest girl Suletta's ever seen in her life. She looks like some sort of angel. Or fae. Or some other sort of mythologically beautiful creature that’s too fantastic to actually exist.

“*ahem.* Hello. I’m Miorine Rembran,” the girl says, her voice level and unaffected, her face betraying nothing beyond an emotionless neutrality. “This is a song that I wrote, called ‘Garden.' Please give it a listen.”

Miorine absentmindedly reaches up and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear before hunching forward to focus on her guitar. She begins to play with intent focus, the melody of her song managing to sound energetic despite its relatively low tempo and the fact that her guitar has no accompaniment aside from her own voice.

Speaking of which.

If Miorine's appearance took Suletta’s breath away, then her voice is like nothing she’d ever experienced before. Suletta feels a second wind of energy rush through her, her heartrate picking up speed, her eyes flying wide open, the air being stolen from her lungs. It's a feeling similar to when she plays on Aerial–- the world around her all but melts away, leaving only her, Miorine, and the music remaining.

It feels like just as soon as it had begun, the song ends. Afterwards, Suletta is left to simply stand in a daze for a long moment as the world around her gradually works its way back into focus.

Miorine bows her head slightly at the audience. "Thank you," she says simply.

The rest of the audience gives Miorine a tepid reception, somehow; Suletta can’t fathom how anyone could hear the song she just played and NOT be insanely moved. She herself is too dumbstruck at first to remember to applaud, but by the time she does, Miorine is already beginning to walk offstage.

(Maybe that's why no one clapped…? Because they were all so amazed?) Suletta muses idly to herself.

“....Holy SHIT, dude.”

Chuchu’s voice manages to finally bring Suletta back down to earth, and she blinks a couple times, turning to look at her friend. She was expecting her to be reacting to Miorine's music, but she's instead staring directly at Suletta.

“H-huh?”

Chuchu dons the most shit-eating smirk Suletta’s ever seen on her. “...Fan of the entertainment, I see.” 

Suletta blushes, looking down as she fidgets with her hands a bit. “I, um. Y-yeah. She was really good.”

“Oh, you thought she was MORE than just ‘good,’ dude, your jaw was literally HANGING open. I don’t even think you even blinked the entire time she was onstage.”

“She’s right, Suletta,” Nika adds. “It’s sort of cute, actually.”

“Oh my gossshh…” Suletta mumbles, burying her face in her hands to hide her blush. “That’s so embarrassing…”

“Nooo, it’s sweet! You never get little crushes like this!” Nika coos.

“C-C-C-C-CRU–??! C–?!!” Suletta babbles incoherently, her mouth flopping open and closed like a fish.

Chuchu claps a hand on Suletta's shoulders. “Dude, you gotta go talk to her!! You can’t let this chance slip through your fingers!”

“Wh-what chance? There’s no chance! I just liked her song, that's all!!"

"Suletta, trust me on this. I think you're gonna regret not saying anything to her if you chicken out."

Suletta looks away, continuing to fidget anxiously. “I-i mean….i did really love her music, and…it might be nice to…tell her that, since she didn’t get much applause from the crowd….”

“THEN IT’S SETTLED!!” Chuchu says boisterously, wrapping an arm around Suletta’s shoulders and dragging her off towards the backstage area.

“W-WAIT, CHUCHU–” Suletta yelps. "N-NOW, YOU MEANT?!"

See, this is the problem with Chuchu when she’s buzzed. Her already low impulse control gets completely tossed out the window, and she becomes slave to her whims-– which means that everyone ELSE does, too.

“N-Nika!!” Suletta looks back at her other friend with a silent plea for help.

NIka just smiles at her sweetly. “I think Chuchu is right, Suletta. You should talk to her!”

“Whhaaaaaaa —?!”

====

Their status as performers allows them to return to the backstage area with little issue; all Chuchu had to do was lie about forgetting something back there, and they were good to go!

"Now then, let's hope she's still around here somewhere...." Chuchu mumbles, Suletta and Nika in tow.

Suletta wrings her hands together as she follows her friend. “Ch-Chuchu, I still don't know if this is a good–-”

"Ah! There she is!"

Sure enough, standing with her back to them a few meters away is Miorine Rembran–- her distinctive white hair largely obscured by the guitar case on her back, but easily noticeable nonetheless.

“EYY YO!!” Chuchu calls out. “Uhhhh..... what the hell was this chick's name again.... Miorine Rembran!”

Miorine turns, startled, apparently not expecting anyone to address her-– at least not as rowdily as Chuchu had. Her surprise quickly gives way to annoyance, her eyes narrowing as she surveys the trio approaching her.

“Do you need something?” she asks flatly.

Chuchu eagerly slings an arm around Suletta's shoulders; she drags her feet slightly as she's walked towards Miorine.

“Welllll, *I* don't, but my friend here wanted to talk to you!" Chuchu points at Suletta. "Suletta, talk to the woman.”

“R-R-RIGHT!!” she squeaks.

Miorine crosses her arms and sighs, leveling Suletta with an exasperated look. "Yes?"

Seeing her up close like this, Suletta realizes that Miorine is, somehow, even prettier than she'd thought. Her eyes are a cutting, steely platinum, her skin smooth and pale like a porcelain doll’s, her glossy white hair falling over her face like a silken veil.

Despite this, though, she’s also absolutely terrifying, glaring at Suletta with a gaze sharp enough to cut through glass. It’s times like this that Suletta laments the fact she can’t stand the taste of alcohol, because maybe if she was buzzed like Chuchu, she’d be less of an anxious wreck right now.

“M-MY NAME IS S-SULETTA MERCURY!!" Suletta stammers, her voice louder than usual, coming out as a high-pitched squeak. “I-I-I’m the vocalist and guitarist of the b-band FIX RELEASE! Its name is in all caps!!”

Suletta mentally kicks herself. Why did she add that last part?!

Chuchu elbows her, encouraging her to keep going. “I!! I, um, I, um, I just wanted to say that i really loved your music!! A lot!! It was. Um. it moved me! Th-that’s all.”

Miorine looks a bit surprised, her eyebrows raising slightly; obviously, Suletta's whole deal isn't what she'd been expecting, and her expression softens a bit.

“Thank you,” she says simply. “I…appreciate that.”

“O-of course!!”

Suletta's brain quickly works itself into overdrive trying to think of something else to say. She’s always been bad at making conversation with strangers-– let alone gorgeous, terrifying, obscenely talented strangers. 

"I, um… I was wondering, if–”

Before Suletta can manage to get the words out, however….someone else interrupts her.

“Well, well… look who it is!!”

Everyone's attention turns towards the source of the voice, where walking towards them is a tall man with long, wavy black hair, a section dyed pink in the front, wearing a leather jacket and carrying a guitar case on his back. Following closely behind him are three other people: a young man with a sour-looking expression, holding the left side of his face with his right hand; and two young women, one with long brown hair, the other with messy dirty-blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail.

The leader of the pack saunters over towards Miorine, a pompous swagger in his step and a vicious smirk playing on his face. Miorine glares daggers at him as he approaches, apparently recognizing him.

“Guel,” she says, her tone sour.

“Yo! Long time no see, Miorine. Fancy running into you here,” the man-- Guel, apparently-- says with a smarmy grin. “See you’re still trying to make a solo career work. How’s that going for you?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business."

“So, ‘bad,’ then,” Guel smirks. “That's a shame, really...! Us, on the other hand, we’re on a meteoric rise. Probably helps that you’re not around to hold us back anymore.”

“If you're just here to antagonize me, you can save your breath," Miorine glowers. "I don't have anything to say to you.”

“Aww, now, that hardly seems like a way to talk to an old friend.”

“Don’t act like we were ever friends, Guel,” she snaps. 

Guel drops his act a little bit at this, lowering his head and looking at Miorine with a wry, venomous smile. "Hmmph. I see you're the same as ever."

"Likewise,” Miorine says bitterly. “Now if you'll excuse me, kindly get the hell out of my way."

She makes to walk past Guel and his entourage, but he holds out his arm, blocking her path.

“Sorry, but we're not done here just yet,” he says flatly.

“We ARE, actually. Whatever it is you want, I don't need to hear it."

"I think you do, actually."

"Oi!!" Chuchu barks, storming forward towards Guel. "i don't know who the hell you think you are, but she said that she doesn't wanna hear it. Back off."

"Stay the hell out of this," Miorine snaps at her.

Chuchu reels back in surprise, obviously not expecting Miorine to react like that. She doesn't say anything further, and reluctantly acquiesces-- taking a step back, but continuing to glare at Guel.

“I just thought you should know that I heard your set earlier," Guel says to Miorine, ignoring her and Chuchu. "I got a lot of satisfaction outta having confirmation that you haven’t improved even a little since I last heard you.”

“Oh, so you ARE just here to antagonize me,” Miorine deadpans. “God, can you pull your head out of your own ass for five seconds?! I know you’re desperate to pigeonhole me into the role of the unreasonable backstabber, but me leaving the band was YOUR fault. Maybe if you actually HAD treated me like a friend instead of just a means to access my father's connections, you wouldn’t still be nursing this petty grudge all these years later.”

Miorine pokes Guel forcefully in the chest.

“And you know what? I know you’re trying to rub your band’s popularity in my face, but I genuinely don't give a damn if I'm less successful than you are. My life is infinitely better without you and your shitty little band as a part of it."

Guel’s expression turns stormy, and he reaches forward, grabbing Miorine’s wrist.

“Know your place,” he snarls. “You think you can talk to me like that? You, some nobody wannabe without a shred of talent?”

“Get your hands off of me,” Miorine hisses, trying and failing to wrest herself out of her grip.

“No, no, you’re going to listen to me. You obviously don't appreciate just how badly you messed up by betraying us, so I'm gonna make SURE that you know.”

Miorine continues struggling, trying to get Guel to let her go, but to little avail. 

Suletta had been awkwardly watching this spat play out from the sidelines, steadily growing more and more angry with the way Guel had been treating her, though being held back from interfering by her anxiety. But seeing this scene play out, she feels something inside of her snap, a visceral rage boiling over; and without even thinking, she storms over and forcefully grabs Guel’s wrist.

“Let her go,” she growls, her voice low and stormy, her expression dead serious. Both Guel and Miorine turn to look at her. 

“Huh? Who the hell are you?!” Guel snarls at her. "This is between me and her, so do us a favor and back the hell--AAUGH!!!"

Guel’s face suddenly contorts in pain as Suletta tightens her grip on his wrist. She silently twists his arm, forcing him to release his grip on Miorine, then pushes him away from her. He stumbles back, clutching his wrist in pain.

"Rrgh...!!!"

“Guel!!” The brown-haired girl from his band rushes up and puts a hand on his shoulder. “A-are you okay?!”

“Y-yeah. Of course," Guel hisses through his teeth. He looks up at Suletta with a death glare. “Tch…what the hell is your problem?!"

“I-I should be the one asking YOU that!!” she stammers. “You shouldn’t treat anyone like that, but especially not a lady!! P-please apologize to Ms. Miorine!!”

Miorine’s head sharply turns towards Suletta, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

“Tch….you’ve got a lot of fuckin’ nerve, you know that?” Guel growls, standing up to his full height and looming over towards Suletta. “Do you even know who I am?”

“I don’t!”

Guel looks taken aback by the unabashed earnestness of her response, and scowls, pointing a finger directly into Suletta’s face.

“Well, listen the hell up. Know our name, and don’t forget it. We are Lion’s Mane. One day, we’re gonna be the biggest band in the world. And you’re gonna regret making enemies of us. You, and Miorine both.”

Suletta just glares at him silently for a long moment. Realizing that he’s probably not going to be able to goad her any further, or just not wanting to anymore, he lowers his finger with a scoff, turning and walking back towards the rest of his band.

“We don’t have any more time to waste on you people. We need to get ready for our set. Unlike some people here, we have fans waiting for us."

He stops for a moment, then turns his head back slightly to look at Suletta and Miorine. “Don’t think this is over,” he says simply.

And with that, he storms off, the rest of his entourage quickly following suit. It’s not long before the four of them have gone on their way. And in their absence, they leave an oppressive silence, the tension in the air all but palpable.

Suletta glances over at Miorine, who’s continuing to look at the spot where Guel and his band had finally vanished from sight. Suletta hesitantly reaches out a hand.

“I, um…” she ventures. “A-are you okay–”

“What the hell do you think you’re playing at?” Miorine asks without looking at her, a low, seething anger readily apparent in her voice.

“AH!! I!! S-sorry!!” Suletta squeaks. “I j-just–I just wanted to help–”

“Yeah, well, I didn’t ASK for your help,” Miorine snaps, turning to glare at Suletta. "I told your friend as much, too, but apparently you didn't get the message. I could’ve handled him myself. I’m not some charity case for you to dote over. This doesn’t concern you, so just stay out of it.”

“...I-I’m sorry,” Suletta repeats, her throat tensing up, a tendril of ice clawing its way around her heart. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it, I promise! I just…I saw him grab you, and…it made me angry.”

Miorine just looks at Suletta for a long moment, then seems to calm down slightly, de-tensing her shoulders and heaving out a heavy sigh.

“...Whatever. It’s fine,” she mutters. “.....You’re stronger than you look.”

Suletta also relaxes a bit at this, blushing slightly. “Ah….y-you think?”

Miorine adjusts her guitar case on her back, looking off to the side. She seems to hesitate briefly, before saying: “...Thank you. For standing up for me.” She seems uncomfortable with having to say this. “But I don't need to be protected. I can take care of myself.“

Suletta nods. “I-I understand.”

Miorine begins to walk away, and Suletta feels a sense of clawing unease as she does. There’s a sort of intangible gravitation drawing her towards Miorine, a voice in the back of her head insisting to not let her go-– not here, not yet.

Suletta, ordinarily, wouldn’t attempt to talk to Miorine at a time like this. But she gets the feeling that if she doesn’t, Miorine’s going to slip away, and she may never see her again. Chuchu may have been acting on impulse when she dragged Suletta backstage, but now that she’s here, she knows that her friend was right about one thing….she DOESN’T want to let this chance slip through her fingers.

“Um!!" Suletta manages to call after Miorine. She stops walking, and looks back at her impatiently. “D-do you have a, um!! Schedule, or something? I’d really love to hear you play again, if-if that’s okay.”

Miorine is silent for a moment. “...I don’t manage to get gigs a lot,” she replies.

“O-oh….I see….”

Miorine hesitates, her brow knit, seeming like she’s already regretting saying what she’s about to say. “...But…I have an Instagram. I usually post on there when I’m gonna be performing. Some of my songs are on there, too. You can follow that if you want, I guess.”

Suletta’s face lights up. “Y-YES!! I’D LOVE THAT!!”

She eagerly bounces over towards Miorine, who relays her handle to her, Suletta triple-checking with her to make sure that she’d entered it in correctly. After Suletta pockets her phone, she fidgets anxiously, looking down at her feet.

“Um….I....y-your music earlier, it was incredible.,” she says quietly. “I really loved it a lot. S-so, please keep at it, and don’t listen to what he said just now! I believe in your talent, a-and I’m sure there are other people who’ll feel the same!”

Miorine is silent for a long moment, and for a second Suletta worries she’s said something wrong.

But then, Miorine gives her a weak smile, and her heart all but melts.

“Thank you,” Miorine says simply. “....See you around, I guess.”

And she walks off— Suletta’s eyes staying locked on her until she vanishes fully from sight. She just stands there for a long moment, until she feels a hand gently land on her shoulder.

“...Hey.”

Suletta turns to see Chuchu at her side, looking up at her with a concerned expression.

“You okay?” she asks.

Suletta turns and smiles at her. “I got her Instagram!”

“I saw,” Chuchu smiles back weakly. “So hey, I’m uh…really sorry for draggin’ you back here like that. i shouldn’t’ve pushed you, but like. You know how i get….”

Nika nods in agreement, her expression remorseful. “Sorry, Suletta…..”

Suletta shakes her head earnestly. “Mm-mm, no, I appreciate it!! I wouldn’t have gotten to talk to Miorine if you hadn’t, so…thank you guys. I’m glad you’re here to push me to do things I wouldn’t otherwise. I’m lucky to have you as my friends.”

Chuchu’s expression morphs into an emotional smile, then she chuckles, quickly wrapping an arm around her in a quick side-hug. “I’m glad you’re my friend too, you big lug.”

“Hehe….”

Chuchu looks over at Nika, who nods, then back to Suletta, and gestures behind her with her thumb.

“C’mon. Whaddya say we blow this place, call it a night?”

“Ah, w-we don’t have to!" Suletta frantically gesticulates with her hands. "Don’t feel like you guys have to do that on my account!! I’m fine to keep going, if you–”

“Suletta,” Nika cuts her off in a flat tone. “We’re not gonna have a good time if you aren’t. We don’t mind, promise.”

Chuchu raises an eyebrow with a small grin. “You heard the woman.”

Suletta hesitates, then lets out a bone-deep sigh, her shoulders slumping down. “I REALLY am tired…”

“There’s our girl,” Chuchu pats her on the shoulder. “We good to bail now? No one forgot anythin’? Suletta, you got Aerial? Nika, you got your bass?”

“Yeah!”

“Mm-hm!”

“Fuck yeah, let’s get the hell out of here, then, already,” Chuchu says as she starts to head off towards the backstage exit they’d come in from, Suletta and Nika following closely behind.

“.....That guy was a jerk,” Nika huffs as they walk. “What did he say his band’s name was again? Lion’s Mane, right?”

“Doesn’t matter WHAT his stupid band’s name is. Anyone who’s made an enemy of Suletta has made an enemy of us, too,” Chuchu declares.

“In any case, I’m proud of you for standing up for that girl like that, Suletta!” Nika smiles at her. “It was very chivalrous of you!”

“Yeah! It was sorta badass, not gonna lie,” Chuchu concurs with a grin, elbowing Suletta in her side.

“Ah, hehehehe…y’think?” Suletta blushes, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck.

“Yeah, you could tell he was pissed he got beat up by a girl. It was hilarious. You should beat him up again, next time you see him.”

“Let’s hope there ISN’T a next time for that…” Suletta grumbles.

“Even if you got to beat him up again?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Damn. That’s the diff between you n’ me, I guess.”

Suletta, Chuchu, and Nika eventually manage to get on the bus back to the University of Asticassia, Suletta’s exhaustion immediately catching up with her the second she plops herself down in her seat.

She takes the opportunity to check out Miorine’s Insta, and finds that she has relatively few followers– less than 100. Suletta’s surprised; Miorine is so insanely talented, she would’ve expected her to be WAY more popular than this. Then again, her posts are fairly sporadic and lacking any sort of consistent theme, as if she doesn’t quite know what she should post, exactly. Suletta gets the feeling scrolling through her account that Miorine is someone who’s bad at social media. Or at least someone who’s bad at Instagram, in any case.

Regardless, Suletta hits the follow button without a second thought, then leans her head against the window of the bus, watching the streetlights outside passing by rhythmically against the brownish-gray of the city’s light-polluted night sky. 

It’s oddly peaceful, being on the bus late at night like this. Suletta still really appreciates it, in spite of how mundane it is for her at this point. The downside, of course, is that said peace and quiet isn’t exactly conducive to helping her stay awake. She blinks heavily a couple of times, trying to keep her drooping eyelids open; she knows Chuchu or Nika would wake her if she fell asleep, but she’d still rather not if she can avoid it.

As the bus steadily carries them back to their dorms, Suletta’s mind continually drifts back to Miorine, and her fight with Guel, and the song she’d played that had immediately captured her attention like little else ever had.

(....I really hope I can see her again.)

Chapter Text

Miorine Rembran is not a person who trusts others easily. Or, well….at ALL, really. Being repeatedly hurt and manipulated by people she'd trusted in the past would do that, she supposes.

In the aftermath of her falling out with Guel, the most recent in a string of many, Miorine had decided that she'd finally had enough, and that from then on, she was going to distance herself from other people. After all, you can't be hurt by someone you’re close with if you never allow yourself to be close to anyone in the first place.

And so, Miorine withdraws. Little exists to break up the monotony of her day to day life. She goes to class. Doesn't speak to anyone unless she absolutely has to. Returns to her dorm, a single (which she'd specifically requested to avoid having to deal with a roommate), and spends most of her time either doing coursework or writing music.

Miorine tells herself that she closes herself off as a self-preservation tactic, but even to her it's fairly readily apparent that it does her more harm than good. She knows that a life of self-imposed solitude doesn't make her happy, but unlike when she was being consistently treated like garbage by the people around her, she's not utterly miserable. More just….devoid of any feeling whatsoever. 

That's probably the best she can realistically hope for.

All that being said though, Miorine doesn't close herself off COMPLETELY from the rest of the world–- her status as an occasional semi-professional musician being the most obvious example of this. Music is one of the few bright spots in her life, serving as a constant source of comfort for her. She originally wrote songs just as a hobby, but eventually, the fact that she was writing music she was proud of only for it to sit and gather dust, heard by no one save for herself, began to drive her insane.

This is the great paradox of Miorine's existence– she largely rejects interaction with others, yet at the same time, she desperately craves it. She enjoys performing in front of a crowd, letting others hear the music she'd poured her soul into, even though no one ever appreciates it as much as Miorine wishes they would.

Well. Until very recently, that is.

The girl from the other night-- Suletta Mercury, according to her Instagram profile-- had been playing on Miorine's mind ever since their encounter at the live house. She was such a bizarre, curious person, unlike anyone Miorine had met before. And she can't deny how happy it made her to, for the first time, meet someone who not only liked her music, but seemed to adore it emphatically. Not to mention that, in spite of her insistence that she didn’t need any help, seeing Guel get humiliated like that WAS extremely satisfying.

Miorine wonders if Suletta had some sort of ulterior motive in standing up for her, or telling her she liked her music. She hates that she’s so jaded and bitter that it’s difficult to believe someone was just being nice to her because they’re a nice person, but she’s been hurt too many times in the past to take any chances. Suletta seems genuine on the surface, yes. But so did Guel, at first.

Not that it's worth dwelling on, in any case. After all, more likely than not, she’s never even going to see Suletta again.

“M-Ms. Miorine?”

…Or not.

The familiar voice snaps Miorine out of her wandering thoughts and brings her back to reality. It's mid-morning, and she's walking out of a lecture hall on Asticassia's campus (most of the lesson within she'd completely zoned out during, however.) Miorine stops and turns towards the source of the voice, where she, expectedly, sees none other than Suletta Mercury cagily approaching her, posture cautious and withdrawn.

"Oh. It's you."

"Y-Yeah!!" Suletta beams as Miorine addresses her. "I didn't know you went to this school too!! I-I couldn't believe I was actually seeing you at first!!"

"Well, I do," Miorine says. "...Go here, that is."

The lighting in the backstage of the live house had been somewhat dim the other night, so here in broad daylight, Miorine manages to get a better look at Suletta. She's tall for a girl, with long, fiery red hair that messily cascades down to her upper back. She wears distressed jeans and a black band t-shirt with a light flannel over it, along with a pair of ratty old Converse sneakers. Both ears are pierced, with one earring on the lobes and two on the helixes. She certainly looks the part of a rocker girl, if nothing else.

"I'm so glad to see you!" Suletta effuses. "Oh! M-my name's Suletta Mercury, by the way! I don't think I ever told you, come to think of it..."

"You didn't. I saw it when you followed me on Instagram though."

"Oh! I-I'm glad you saw that!"

Miorine is worried for a moment that Suletta's going to pester her about not following her back, but she mercifully doesn't bring it up. 

She has to begrudgingly admit that it’s really nice, having someone be genuinely excited to see her. That hasn’t happened for her in….a REALLY long time, and it's making her feel warm and fuzzy inside. The more self-destructive side of her wants to lean into it even if it’s just an act on Suletta's part. Allow herself to feel some sort of momentary joy, even if it’s cruelly snatched away from her later.

Miorine clears her throat. “You know, I'd love to stay and chat, but, I need to get to my next class, so….”

She doesn't miss the disappointment that falls over Suletta's expression at this.

“Ah, n-no worries!!” she says with a weak smile. “S-seems like I’m always running into you at bad times, huh?”

“...It’s fine. We can walk and talk, if you’d like,” Miorine says, her mouth moving before her brain has a chance to process what's coming out of it.

Suletta's face lights up, and she eagerly nods. "Y-yes!! Definitely!!!" she bubbles, bouncing into step beside Miorine.

Well then. Seems like that's decided.

The two walk side by side across Asticassia's campus, heading towards the building Miorine's next lecture is in.

“So, um….” Suletta ventures timidly. “Do you live in the dorms?”

“Yeah,” Miorine replies. “Floor 12.”

“Ohhh, that’s like a billion floors above where I am! No wonder I’d never seen you around before!”

(The fact that I never leave my room unless I have to is probably a factor, too…)

A slightly awkward silence settles over the two of them. Also, Miorine's no body language expert, but she doesn't have to be to tell that Suletta is tense as a coiled spring.

“You can calm down, y’know. I’m not gonna bite you."

“R-RIGHT!!”

Suletta remains very much on edge. Miorine doesn’t press her further on it.

Despite her reservations vis-à-vis other people, Miorine can't deny that Suletta has heavily piqued her curiosity. She still doesn't fully trust her. But… she wants to. And the first step to ascertaining if she can trust someone is to learn more about them.

It’s time to probe.

“So,” she begins. “You’re in a band. FIX RELEASE, wasn’t it?”

“Y-yeah!!" Suletta bubbles. She seems overjoyed that Miorine is asking about her. "You remembered our name!”

“All caps, right?” Miorine says with a sly smile.

The earnest, excited expression on Suletta's face somehow grows even brighter. "R-RIGHT!!"

It’s cute, how worked up she gets, Miorine thinks, then quickly tamps down that thought as soon as it comes up, because NOPE, that’s the absolute last place she needs to go right now.

“Me and my friends Chuchu and Nika started it like, a year ago maybe?" Suletta continues. "We still haven’t really found our foothold yet, but we have a ton of fun performing, and that's what's most important to us!"

“Hm…” Miorine hums. “Which of them was the one who tried to step in between me and Guel the other night?”

“Ah, th-that was Chuchu…she can be a bit…forceful. But she’s very kind! She’s always super considerate of me. Not a lot of people are.”

"They aren't?"

"....People…t-tend to dislike you when you're different," she murmurs after a moment. "Or w-when they perceive you as strange. Back in my hometown, no one really liked me or my family. But…then I came here for school, and found people who like me for who I am! So, it's okay!"

Miorine could say a LOT about that, but holds her tongue to the best of her ability. "I'm sorry you have to deal with people being shitty towards you," she settles on saying. "I know the feeling."

Suletta shakes her head. "It's no big deal, really…it can be frustrating, sure, but…there are good people in the world. You just have to find them!”

Somehow, Miorine finds it difficult to believe that. 

"I-I'm sorry to hear that people aren't the best to you, either," Suletta offers.

Miorine lets out a world-weary sigh. "Yeah, me too."

Suletta absentmindedly fidgets with her hands. “So, um…that man from the other night. Guel, you said? I-it seemed like you knew him,” she asks. “Y-you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to!! I was just c-curious, is all…”

Miorine shrugs. “It’s fine. I don’t mind. His name’s Guel Jeturk. We met in high school, and he convinced me to join his band. Turns out, he caught wind that my dad worked in the music industry, and only invited me in because he thought he could use me to get at his connections. I told him to piss off, and he’s held it against me ever since.“

She stops short of telling Suletta about her rocky relationship with her father. That’s not something she needs to get into with a near-stranger.

“I’m sorry that happened,” Suletta says quietly. “You deserve better than to be treated like that.”

This girl keeps catching Miorine off guard with how relentlessly kind she is. No one can be THIS sweet, right? There has to be a catch to all this, right?

"Thanks," Miorine eventually mumbles.

“He definitely seemed like an unpleasant person when I met him the other night.” Suletta comments. She continues to anxiously fidget, seeming like she wants to say something else.

“So, um…d-did you and Guel used to be, um….boyfriend-girlfriend?” she asks timidly, poking her fingers together.

Miorine feels herself physically wretch. “Oh, Jesus CHRIST, no. Even if I wasn’t a lesbian, holy hell, no.”

“S-sorry!!” Suletta yelps, holding her hands up in front of her. “I-I was just wondering!!”

Miorine lets out a noise somewhere between a sigh and a laugh. “It’s fine. Not the first time someone’s asked that, unfortunately.”

A pause, and then Suletta giggles a little. 

Miorine side-eyes her. “What?”

“N-nothing. Your reaction was just– funny, is all.”

“Can you blame me?” Miorine deadpans.

“Hehe! No, no, definitely not.”

Miorine can’t help but be endeared by Suletta. Her mannerisms and her unironic use of the phrase “boyfriend-girlfriend” are REALLY cute.

Oh, dammit, she's doing a bad job of keeping herself at a safe emotional distance.

"Ms. Miorine, do you mind if I ask you something else about yourself?"

Miorine purses her lips. “Depends on what it is. You can ask, but there’s no guarantee you’ll get an answer.”

“H-how long have you been playing guitar?”

Miorine levels her with a capital-L look. “That’s all?”

“Wh-what’s all?”

Miorine huffs out a small laugh. “I dunno. The way you phrased that, I thought you were gonna ask something heavier than that.”

Her dad, for instance.

“Oh!! Sorry…”

“No need to apologize,” Miorine waves a hand. “I’ve been playing since I was pretty young. I started around 13, 14 maybe? Though I've been a bit sporadic with it; I only got into it again a couple years ago.”

“Aah, I’ve been playing since I was little, too!” Suletta effuses. “I got into it because of my sister who’s also a guitarist! Her name is Ericht Samaya, she's in a band called Vanadis– have you heard of them?

“No.”

"Oh! Well, they are still pretty underground, I guess….but Eri is SO good! She’s my biggest inspiration!”

(Must be nice, having a family member you can actually stand,) Miorine thinks, then immediately mentally kicks herself for being bitter about Suletta's happiness instead of happy for her. (This is why I don’t have any friends.)

“That’s great,” Miorine says, and she means it genuinely, though it unintentionally comes off as a bit sarcastic. Suletta doesn’t pick up on this, or at least doesn’t show it if she does.

“It is!” she chirps. "A few years ago, Ericht gave me her guitar–she named it Aerial–and she’s my most precious treasure!!"

"Most precious….?" Miorine repeats. "The guitar is, you mean?"

“Yes!”

"You said she, though."

“Aerial’s a girl,” Suletta says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Miorine looks at her, hoping she’ll elaborate. She doesn’t.

“...I see,” she settles on saying.

The two finally arrive at the building Miorine’s class is in, and she actually finds herself feeling somewhat disappointed that her conversation with Suletta has to end so soon. One conversation in, Miorine can't deny that she clicks with the other girl. It's very rare that this happens for her, and it's somewhat scary, standing on the precipice of a friendship yet again.

But she thinks that Suletta is someone she can at least tentatively trust. If she has some sort of ulterior motive that she’s hiding behind a dopey facade, she’s an absolutely fantastic actor. Even if Miorine can’t open herself to her fully yet….she might be able to get to that point with her eventually.

She wants to believe that Suletta was right when she said there are good people in the world. She wants to believe that Suletta is one of them. She wants to believe that someday, she herself could be too.

There's still a lot of uncertainty swirling around in Miorine's mind. But one thing she knows for sure is that she’s been having more fun talking with Suletta than she’s had in a REALLY long time. She hadn’t exactly realized until just now what a depressing rut her life had gotten into thanks in part to her self-imposed solitude.

She hadn't realized how desperately she'd wanted a friend.

This is a dangerous path to walk, Miorine knows. She risks getting hurt again by allowing herself to get close to someone again. But she's sort of past the point of caring.

(Time to throw caution into the wind. We’ll see if this ends up being a terrible idea.)

"Hey," Miorine says, stopping and turning towards Suletta. "Give me your phone number."

Suletta balks, making a pained-sounding gasping noise. “M-m-my??? Ph-PHo??? Nuhh??”

“Only if you want to, of course,” Miorine shrugs, trying to feign nonchalance to the best of her ability. “I had fun talking to you, is all.”

“I-I DO WANT!!” Suletta yelps, forcefully nodding her head. “I definitely want!! H-hang on, one sec, i have it written down in my notes app–! I-I don't have it memorized, s-speed dial, and all that–"

Miorine smirks as Suletta frantically unlocks her phone. She quickly finds and relays her number to her, and Miorine registers Suletta as one of her very few contacts.

“Thanks," Miorine says as she pockets her phone. "I’ll see you around, then." 

“Y-YEAH! Good luck, Ms. Miorine!"

“Just Miorine is fine."

Suletta looks like she’s going to explode, like a puppy with more energy than it knows what to do with running around in circles.

“M-Miorine, then!!! I’ll be looking forward to it!”

Miorine walks away, and waits until she's a very safe distance away from Suletta before finally allowing herself to smile.

(…Me too.)

Chapter Text

Suletta still can't believe that actually happened. 

The fact that, not only does Miorine go to the same school as her, but that she actually managed to run into her on a campus with thousands of students, is nothing short of a miracle. Suletta's never been one to believe in fate or anything of the sort, but it's hard for her not to feel like her meeting Miorine again means something, somehow.

And as if that alone wasn't enough!! Miorine had actually TALKED to her! Based on the impression Suletta had gotten of the other girl during their first meeting, she'd fully expected her to give her something of a cold shoulder – exchange pleasantries with her, excuse herself, and that would be that.

But Miorine had not only seemed genuinely interested in talking with Suletta, but had asked her for her number afterward?? Someone as insanely talented and pretty as her? Suletta has to pinch herself to make sure she isn't dreaming.

When she spotted her on campus earlier that day, she wasn't sure that it was actually Miorine. And even when she WAS 99 percent certain, working up the courage to say something had been, in a word, agonizing. But she’s never been more glad that she pushed herself.

Right now, Suletta sits on her bed, staring at her phone reading and rereading the one single text that Miorine had sent her after Suletta gave her her number:

This is Miorine Rembran. Glad to be in contact with you.

It's SO funny how she talks like some sort of businesswoman. Suletta finds it incredibly endearing.

"You seem like you're in a good mood, Suletta!" Her roommate, a sweet girl named Lilique, chirps amicably from the other side of their shared dorm. "You've been smiling at your phone all day!"

"Y-yeah!" Suletta says. "I, ah…met a girl the other night, and she asked me for my number today, so, I'm happy about that.”

Lilique gasps, clasping her hands together. “Oh, how sweet!! Are you two going to go on a date…?”

“Wh-b--n-no no no!!" Suletta sputters. "I-it's not like that!! W-we’re just friends!”

Lilique, always astute when it comes to matters of the heart, cocks her head to the side, studying Suletta intently. "But… do you WANT it to be like that?" 

Suletta hesitates for a moment before answering. "...I don't know yet," she says, and it's the truth. "I, um. I might, someday, maybe…"

Lilique squeals. She’s a romantic through-and-through, so it makes sense that she’d be excited at the prospect of Suletta getting a significant other. For Suletta though, the prospect is more so daunting and terrifying. Not necessarily in a bad way, though.

In any case, Suletta doubts that the prospect is worth devoting more than a modicum of thought to. Her managing to catch someone like MIORINE feels almost too outlandish to even consider. Then again, she probably would have thought the same about Miorine asking her for her phone number if you’d asked her a day ago, so…who knows?

Suddenly, Suletta's phone buzzes in her hands, and she fumbles with it, a jolt of adrenaline shooting through her. Her first thought is that it might be another text from Miorine, but checking the notification, she's slightly disappointed to see that it's a new text in her, Nika, and Chuchu's FIX RELEASE group chat. Not that she's ever unhappy to hear from her two closest friends, but still.

CHUCHU: suletta. get ur ass over here. impromptu emergency band meeting time

CHUCHU: weve got BIG NEWS!!!!

NIKA: big news!!

“Oh,” Suletta says. "I'm being summoned."

===

Nika and Chuchu are roommates, so Suletta usually heads over to their dorm whenever there are band-related matters to discuss. Said dorm is literally right down the hall from her and Lilique's, so she makes it over within seconds of receiving her summons. The two of them have both told her repeatedly that she's welcome to just come into their dorm whenever without knocking or anything, but Suletta is FAR too anxious to ever take them up on that, so she raps lightly on their door twice.

“SULETTA!!!” Chuchu's voice comes from behind the door.

“SULETTAAAA!” Nika’s comes as well, starting about halfway through Chuchu’s exclamation so their voices overlap slightly.

Suletta opens the door and peeks in. Chuchu is sitting at her desk chair, Nika lounging on a beanbag, munching on a thing of chips at her side. Chuchu holds up a hand in greeting. 

“Yo!”

"Hi!!" Suletta chirps, entering their dorm and closing the door behind her. ”I'm here!"

The three have these informal little get-togethers fairly often to discuss band-related matters; workshop their songs, plan gigs, hammer out logistics, stuff like that. Suletta sits down on the floor criss-cross applesauce, her back to the bottom bunk of the dorm's bunk bed.

“So, what's up?” she asks.

Chuchu gives her a pompous smirk. "Hehehe….Well. Guess who fuckin got us. ANOTHER GIG!!"

Nika beams at Suletta.

"N-no way!! Already?!" Suletta exclaims.

"I know, that's what we said!!" Chuchu beams, throwing her arms to the side. "Last time we had like, a months-long drought between gigs, but this time it's gonna end up being only like, a week!"

"Law of averages, I guess," Nika adds good-naturedly.

"How'd you swing this, Chuchu?" Suletta asks.

"Heh. Oh, you know. I have my methods," she replies smugly.

Nika grimaces. "Why does you saying it like that worry me?"

"What?! I didn't do anything morally ambiguous this time!! Give me more credit than that!!"

"Ah, this is so amazing!!" Suletta effuses. "This day just keeps on getting better and better!!"

"Oh?" Chuchu raises an eyebrow and leaning forward in her seat. "Better and better, you say? Do tell."

"Eep," Suletta squeaks, freezing in place, having realized her mistake too late. "Umm. I-it's nothing, really…"

"Ehhh?? Come on, don't be like that, spill, spill! I'm curious now!!" Chuchu badgers her.

Suletta pokes the tips of her index fingers together. "Well, um….I. May have found out that Miorine goes to this school too….and I talked to her…and, um. She asked me for my number…."

Nika loudly gasps, a massive smile barreling its way onto her face.

"SHE asked YOU?" Chuchu gapes. "Oh-ho, shit…things are gettin' serious."

"I-it's not that big a deal!!" Suletta waves her hands in front of her. "I-don't think that she meant anything by it!!"

"Suletta, be real with me here," Chuchu points at her. "You like this girl, yeah?"

Suletta hesitates, biting her lip. "I, um. I-I'm not sure yet, but…I…I might…."

"AUGH, that's so sweet!!" Nika effuses, looking overjoyed.

"I-I'm not gonna do anything about it though!!" Suletta balks, heat rising to her cheeks. "Th-there's no way she's gonna feel the same, I don't think…"

"Hey, don't count your chickens before they hatch, dude," Chuchu says. "You literally never know. And you're a big-ass sweetheart, Suletta, chicks dig that sorta thing. As a chick myself, I can attest."

"Don't feel pressured," Nika adds. "But Chuchu is right. You shouldn't assume you have no chance without knowing for certain! Have more confidence in yourself!"

Suletta absentmindedly twirls a lock of her hair around her finger. "Yeah…th-thanks, guys."

"We're rooting for you no matter what you decide," Nika smiles, leaning over and patting Suletta's shoulder.

"Well, anyway!" Chuchu claps her hands together. "That's enough about Suletta's gayass for now. Back to band stuff!"

"Band stuff!" Nika repeats. "Aside from the new gig, have you anything new to report, Lieutenant Panlunch?"

"I'm glad you asked, Secretary Nanaura," Chuchu replies, pulling up the notes app on her phone. "Got one more thing I wanted to bring up, Twitter followers have sorta plateaued around like 700. Suletta, you're the most social media savvy among us– shit –"

Chuchu drops a quarter into a jar she and Nika have in their dorm.

"–so you'd probably know how to get us traction there best of anyone," she continues unimpeded.

"Hmm…" Suletta hums. "Well, ah…"

The meeting continues on after that. Suletta contributes to the discussion as normal, but she's not 100 percent there mentally. Her mind keeps coming back to Nika and Chuchu's words from earlier, and the questions they had for her about Miorine.

…Could she really like her like that?

===

Once a week, the girls from FIX RELEASE, along with a handful of their friends from their dorm, congregate for what's been informally dubbed "game night." It's nothing super fancy; just a day where everyone makes time to hang out in their floor’s common room and play video games.

It's mostly just an excuse for their friend group to hang out together. It's easy for friends to drift apart, especially when everyone is busy, so having a set time and date to hang out definitely helps them all stay in touch. Certainly, the FR* girls, who are busy with band stuff in addition to regular college stuff, have free time at somewhat of a premium.

*(FR is shorthand the three of them use to refer to FIX RELEASE. Who has time for all those extra syllables?)

Along with Suletta, Nika, and Chuchu, other members of the group include Lilique, of course, along with the timid Martin, gentle Aliya, the certified chill dudes Ojelo and Nuno, and the quiet Till. Everyone here seems to get Suletta, in a way that she very much appreciates. They're kind, accommodating, and understanding– traits that are far more difficult to find in others than they should be, at least in her experience.

Tonight, Chuchu shares the news of FR's new gig with the rest of the group, an announcement met with enthusiastic congratulations and excitement.

“You guys should try to come!” Nika says to the room while splayed out on a sofa, holding her bass and idly practicing her fingerings. "I know the timing was a bit crappy on our last one, but maybe some of you can swing it this time?”

"YESSS, I really want to go!! I'm so mad that I couldn't make it to your last one!" Ojelo laments.

"What day is it? Your new gig?" Martin asks.

"Thursday," Chuchu replies.

"Agh, I don't know if I'd be able to come, I gotta study…."

"No worries, dude, we'll get ya in one of these days."

“So, are your shows, um. Loud?”

“Oh, you bet your ass they're loud. Bring earplugs if you don't want us blowing your hearing out.”

“Eep….”

(Everyone here wants to come to one of our gigs….) Suletta thinks. (I wonder….I wonder if Miorine would be interested in coming too?) The thought of Miorine listening to her play sends a swoop through her stomach. (I could try to invite her, I guess….would it be weird of me to do that?)

Oblivious to Suletta's inner turmoil, the conversation around her continues.

"I don't remember, do you guys sell your music?" Aliya asks.

“I mean. We try to,” Chuchu deadpans. “We have an album available to buy on Bandcamp. Like, no one's taken us up on it, though."

"That's such a shame!" Lilique laments. "Your guys' music is so good!”

“Eh, well, you know how it is,” Chuchu waves a hand. "Hard to get the word out. Suletta's the one in charge of social media, so you can blame her, I guess."

"EHHH??"

This exchange is met with laughter from the rest of the room.

Nika continues to fiddle with her bass, strumming out a few quick riffs from one of FR’s songs. It's quiet when not plugged into an amp, but it’s still loud enough that those nearby can hear her flawlessly play a complicated-sounding riff over the din of the room’s conversation.

“Phew…” she lets out a sigh of relief, taking her hand off her bass’s neck and shaking out her wrist.

“God DAMN, Nika, you're killin’ it over there,” Chuchu comments.

NIka wilts a little under the praise. “Agh, thanks….I wanna get more consistent with this part. I felt a bit rusty at our last gig, so I wanna make sure I have it down pat for next time,” she says. “Also, I just like playing...”

“Oh, yeah, that reminds me," Ojelo pipes up. "Have y'all heard about GUND instruments? I’ve been hearing about them a lot lately. They’re getting popular, apparently."

Nika immediately sits up straighter in her seat, as she does whenever she's excited. “Oh, yes, yes!! I’m sort of fascinated by them, to be honest!!” she gushes with eyes aglow. 

Lilique frowns, putting a finger to her chin. "I don't think I've heard of those…GUND instruments, you said?"

“Yes!! They’re a class of instrument utilizing a material called Permet in their construction, which allows a link to be formed between it and the musician!" Nika eagerly explains. "It effectively turns the instrument into an extension of your own body! It's fascinating technology!”

“Hmmph. I don’t like ‘em,” Chuchu grumbles, arms crossed. “Feels like it goes against the spirit of bein' a musician, y’know? 

“There’s no one right way to make music, Chuchu,” Nika says. “Plus, they might let people play instruments who might not otherwise be able to."

“But that's exactly it, like– people like you, me, ‘n’ Suletta spend years learning how to play instruments, mastering their craft, and then these fuckin’ GUND instruments come along, and just let people play in a fraction of the time.”

Nika frowns at her. “And that’s a bad thing to you?”

“It cheapens it, doesn’t it?”

“No, I don't think so. I understand what you’re saying, but….it isn’t like the instrument just does everything for you. It just makes things easier. And I don't think that making music is something we should gatekeep from people.”

“Yeah, I get that, I’m just a bit of a purist when it comes to this sorta thing, I guess….” Chuchu sighs, before turning and pointing a finger at Suletta.  “Yo, Suletta. What’re your thoughts on this whole deal?“

“M-me?!” Suletta squeaks. “I-i-I don’t want to t-take sides, or anything–”

“We’re not asking you to take sides, we just want to know what you think,” Nika says gently. 

Suletta is quiet for a long moment. “I….I don’t know. I’d probably have to think about it more. I-i’ve never actually used one, so I feel like I can’t really say.”

“I guess neither me or Chuchu have actually used one before, either….” NIka admits bashfully. 

“Heh. I mean, that’s never stopped us from talkin’ out of our asses before,” Chuchu grins.

Ojelo holds up his hands placatingly. “S-sorry guys, i didn't realize this was such a controversial topic…”

“Oh, no, no, you’re fine!” Nika reassures him. “Chuchu and I just tend to get worked up about stuff, is all.”

“Yeah, no worries, man, we’re just like this all the time.”

“Well, regardless of arguments about the ethics of their use…” Nika continues. “I don’t think anyone can deny that GUND instruments are absolute technical marvels, from an engineering standpoint.”

“Oh, here she goes,” Chuchu rolls her eyes.

“I’m serious!!!” Nika huffs. “Do you even know how difficult it is to establish a bond between a person and an object? And to not only do that, but to do it while consuming next to no power and being wholly safe to use?”

“Can you tell that this one used to be an engineering major?” Chuchu asks the rest of the room, pointing at Nika with her thumb and earning a few laughs from the room in return. Nika grumpily puffs out her cheeks.

With this, Chuchu and Nika have successfully defused a lot of the tension that fell over the room during their earlier back-and-forth, and the group continues to hang out amicably for the rest of the night– arguments over the topic of GUND instruments having come and gone with little fanfare.

Little do they all know just how soon it’ll come up again.

===

Later that night, Suletta lies in bed, eyes once again glued to the messages app on her phone.

She's typed out a text inviting Miorine to their next gig, which she's read over and over countless times, to the point where now the words all seem to just blend into one another in a haze.

Hi Miorine!! So, my band and I got another gig! So soon, I know! We could hardly believe it! I'm not sure if you'd be interested in coming, or able to, but I thought I'd let you know just in case! I'd be really happy to see you there, but no pressure!

(She asked for your number,) Suletta reminds herself. (She wouldn’t have done that if she wasn't okay with you reaching out. That means the worst she can do is say no, which is… admittedly sort of crushing…. but it wouldn’t be the end of the world! Move forward, gain two, like mom always says!)

Her heart pounds in her chest as her finger hovers over the send button. She takes in a deep breath, trying to build up courage; then squeezes her eyes shut and taps her finger onto the screen. The message sends.

"EEK–!!" Suletta immediately locks her phone, then flings it to the other end of her bed and buries her face in her pillow, heart rapidly pounding in her chest. Fortunately, this doesn't last for long, as it's only a few seconds before Suletta hears her phone buzz with a new notification. She instantly POUNCES to retrieve it, grabbing it in both hands before it's even done buzzing.

I'll be there. When and where is it?

Suletta squeals, kicking her feet as she lays on her bed, trying to be quiet so as not to disturb Lilique in the bunk above her.

Oh, she realizes. Her friends were right. She DOES have a crush on Miorine.

Chapter Text

The day of FIX RELEASE’s shortly-awaited but hotly-anticipated next gig has finally arrived! Suletta’s been looking forward to it all week, especially since Miorine is going to be in the audience.

The band is currently setting up backstage, tuning their instruments and getting all their usual preparations underway. This venue is a little bit fancier than their typical stomping grounds; more audience members can fit on its floor, and the backstage area is bigger than they're used to. It helps contribute to the general feeling hanging over the three of them that this gig is an important one.

From backstage, Suletta peeks out at the floor of the live house, scanning over the assembled patrons, and her heart does a little swoop when she sees that Miorine is indeed there, as promised, milling about awkwardly and looking very out of place. A smile spreads across Suletta’s face, and she quickly bounces back to where Nika and Chuchu are.

“Miorine’s here!” she chirps. “I’m gonna go say hi real quick!”

“Alright!” Nika, who's getting in some last-minute practice on her bass, responds without looking up.

“Go get ‘er, champ,” Chuchu grins at her. Suletta elects to ignore the implications of that statement as she heads off.

She and Miorine have texted a bit more throughout the week, but Miorine, bless her heart, is sort of a terrible texter. Suletta gets the impression that she like, never does it. So she welcomes an opportunity to chat with her crush face to face.

Actually, it feels a little bit weird, saying that she has a crush on someone she still doesn't know all that well. It probably can’t even technically be CALLED a crush, more so just….an infatuation.

….She’d like to get to know Miorine well enough to upgrade it to proper crush status, though.

"M-Miorine!!" Suletta, now on the floor, calls out, waving excitedly as she walks towards the other girl.

Miorine looks up upon hearing her name called. “Ah. Suletta.”

"Th-thank you for coming!! It really means a lot to me!" The two have to raise their voices a bit louder than usual to be heard over the din of the live house around them.

“It's no big deal, really," Miorine shrugs. “I'm curious what you guys sound like.”

"W-well, it's a big deal to me ! I really appreciate it!" Suletta stammers. “Um…did you not hear us at the last gig?” 

“Mmm, I mean, I heard a bit of it, but I wasn't really listening at the time, y'know?”

“Ah, yeah, I gotcha!”

“You guys play rock and roll, right?”

“Yes! Nowadays, it’s usually just called ‘rock,’ though.”

“Huh. First I’m hearing of it.”

Suletta finds this almost unbearably endearing.

"To be honest, these sorts of clubs really aren’t my scene at all," Miorine mumbles, looking around.

"Y-yeah, Me either, to be totally honest," Suletta laughs nervously. "I doubt I'd come to places like this if I wasn't a performer. It's very overstimulating."

"Right?!" Miorine exclaims. "It's SO much. The lights, the noise…in the rare event that I perform at a place like this, I basically never leave backstage.”

Suletta perks up a bit at Miorine mentioning her music; the topic hasn't come up much since their first meeting, but ever since she first heard Miorine’s song Garden, Suletta's been DYING to hear more— whether live or recorded, she’s not picky. She may or may not have watched all the videos of Miorine performing her songs on Instagram. Multiple times each.

It’s somewhat nervewracking to ask about, even though she logically knows Miorine won’t mind. Now seems like as good a time as any to take the plunge, though, given that she’s feeling a bit more courageous than normal.

“Um!!” she begins. “S-so, I was wondering, do you–”

“Sulettaaaa!!”

She turns at the sound of her name being called, and at the other end of the floor, she sees that a handful of her friends from college have arrived. Several of them were too busy to make it, unfortunately, but Lilique, Aliya, Till, and Ojelo had all been able to come.

“Oh!! You guys!!” Suletta smiles and waves both her hands over her head at them, hopping up and down a little to be seen over the crowd, even though she's tall enough that she doesn't really need to.

She turns back towards Miorine. “Ah, um. Some of my other friends are here, too….D-do you mind if I head off to go say hi?”

“No, you’re fine. I don’t mind.” Miorine's demeanor remains unreadable as ever, so Suletta'll just have to take her word for it. “Were you gonna ask me something?”

“A-ah, yeah, but it’s not important! It can wait until later. Is-is that alright?”

“Sure.”

Suletta beams. "Alright! Th-thank you so much again for coming! I hope you enjoy the show!"

“Thanks,” Miorine replies, holding up a hand in a small farewell wave. “Good luck out there.”

“Y-YEAH!!"

(I'll ask her after the show. If I can hear more of her music...)

With that, Suletta bounces over towards her other friends, all of them similarly expressing excitement at getting to see FR perform. After she's greeted them and chatted a bit, she returns backstage to find Nika and Chuchu pretty much exactly where she left them. Nika, still practicing with her bass, smiles at Suletta as she walks in.

“How's Miorine?” she asks.

“She's good! Lilique and the others are here, too."

"Ah, that's good to hear!"

Leaning against the wall, Chuchu finishes chugging an energy drink, then tries to crush the can against her forehead, but it doesn't budge even a little. She gives up and just tosses it in the recycle bin; as she pulls it away, it becomes apparent that the top of the can has left a circular indent in her skin. She surreptitiously brushes her bangs downward a little bit in an attempt to hide it. 

Suletta would seem to have returned just in the nick of time, as it’s now that a staff member approaches the gang, looking down at a clipboard as employees at these places are typically wont to do.

“Evening. You all are FIX RELEASE?” he asks.

“That's right,” Nika affirms, setting down her bass and standing up to give him her full attention.

"Alright, cool. So, I just gotta check your instruments real quick, and then you’ll be good to go,” he says, producing a small handheld scanning wand.

Nika knits her brow, confused. "Um…check them?" 

"For Permet," he clarifies. "Policy of the live house. GUND instruments aren’t allowed to be used onstage here.”

“Huh! That’s… interesting…..” 

“Didn't realize places had started cracking down on ‘em,” Chuchu comments.

“Yeah, well, some people view ‘em as cheating, y'know?” the staff member says. “Feel like it goes against the spirit of things, or whatever.”

“Oh, wow. Who would ever think that,” Nika teases, bumping Chuchu’s shoulder with her own.

“Nyeh! Quiet, you.”

“If you all are ready, then….” the staff member waves his wand around.

“Ah, sure! I’ll go first, then,” Nika says, retrieving her bass and offering it to him.

“You can hold onto it, I just need to wave this thing over it, is all.”

“Oh! I see!”

“Hold it flat, if you wouldn’t mind?”

Nika holds out her bass horizontally, supporting it from below; the staff member hovers the scanner over it a few times, with no reaction beyond some minor feedback.

"Alright, you're clear," he says, before turning towards Chuchu. "Drummer?"

"Feels like I'm going through airport security," she grumbles, taking her drumsticks out of her hair poof and holding them out as well. He scans them-- no response once again.

Chuchu quirks a curious eyebrow as she replaces her sticks in their usual spot. “Wait, so Permet would live in the sticks if these were GUND drums? Not in the drums themselves?

“Yeah,” Nika replies. “They'd be in the sticks, since they're what you use to interact with the instrument.”

“Would there be Permet in the pedals for the bass drum and hi-hats, then? You use those to interact with ‘em too.”

“I mean…I assume so? But since that stuff is provided by the live house, that’s not really a concern for you right now.”

“Yeah yeah, I know, I was just wondering like, generally speaking.”

“Ah, gotcha, gotcha.”

While her bandmates banter back-and-forth as usual, Suletta retrieves Aerial from her case on the other side of the room, and ferries her over towards the employee.

“H-here,” she says quietly, holding out her guitar for him to scan.

The staff member hovers his wand over Aerial—and the instant as it comes near her, it loudly cries out with a series of shrill, high-pitched beeps.

“Ah. That’s a positive,” the staff member winces. “Sorry, ma’am, but you can’t use that guitar.”

Suletta’s heart turns to ice, her stomach dropping down into her feet.

"I…wh-what?"

"Permet scanner went off. That’s a GUND instrument you've got there."

Nika and Chuchu have stopped talking, and are both looking at her with eyes wide.

"I…wha…N-no, that can’t be right…" Suletta stammers. "Th-there has to be some sort of mistake...can you try…s-scanning her again?

“‘Her?’ The guitar, you mean?”

Suletta nods emphatically.

“Okay…”

The staff member obliges, and once again, the scanner instantly goes off as soon as it hovers over Aerial.

Suletta feels a tendril of dread coil its way around her. “Wh…why…..? Is there like….a way for there to be a false positive? Some s-sort of, contamination, or–”

“Ma’am, are you sure this guitar isn’t GUND?” 

Suletta wants to say that she is. But she can’t. She DOESN’T know for sure. All she knows for certain is that Aerial was custom-built by Suletta and Eri’s mother, and that there’s only one guitar like her in the world. It’s possible Eri didn’t know she was powered by Permet when she handed her down to Suletta, but Prospera built Aerial with her own two hands. If she deliberately designed it as a GUND instrument, then why would she hide that from her? And…can she really have been playing a GUND instrument this entire time without even realizing it?

Suletta is left with more questions than answers. But now isn’t the time to pursue them. 

She swallows past the lump forming in her throat. "....No," she answers the staff member’s question quietly.

“...Alright. We have a guitar you can use here,” he says, returning the wand to a holster on his belt. “I can show you where we keep them, if you'd like.”

“Thank you,” Suletta mumbles, looking down at her feet, expression blank.

“Suletta….” Nika says sympathetically from behind her.

“Hang on a sec!!” Chuchu protests, storming over towards the employee. “Can't you guys make an exception?! Her having to play on a different guitar on such short notice, it’s totally gonna throw us off! We didn't get any advance notice on this or anything-– the hell sort of club are you people running here?!

Suletta plants a firm hand on her friend's shoulder. “Chuchu,” she says with a terse smile. “It’s fine. I don’t want to be a bother. I can use a different guitar, just for tonight.”

Chuchu looks back at her, seeming somewhat taken aback. “But—you always play with Aerial! She’s important to you!”

“It’s fine,” Suletta insists. “It’s just for one night, after all.”

Chuchu doesn’t look happy about this, but she can tell from Suletta's expression that this isn't up for debate. Her posture de-tenses somewhat, and she crosses her arms over her chest frustratedly.

”...Fine,” she mutters.

“Suletta, have you…ever played with any guitars other than Aerial before?” Nika ventures hesitantly.

Suletta is able to read between the lines and glean what Nika is REALLY asking – “Are you going to be able to play an instrument that isn’t powered by Permet?”

“It’ll be okay,” she replies with a nod. “I’ll be able to pick it up.”

“If you can't play without Aerial, that's okay,” Nika insists. “Don't feel like you have to force yourself. I’m sure we can work something out.”

“Nika. I can do it,” Suletta says firmly, getting a bit testy at the implication that she can't play guitar without a GUND instrument. 

…Even if it probably is true.

Nika, like Chuchu, knows that Suletta can be stubborn as hell when she wants to be, and that once her mind is made up, that’s the end of it—so she simply drops the subject with a nod.

Suletta turns back towards the live house employee. “Sir, can you show me to the live house’s guitar now, please?”

“Y-yeah, sure. Right this way.”

“Thank you.”

Before she heads off, Suletta walks over to Aerial’s case, kneels down, and gently replaces her back inside of it-- tears stinging at the back of her eyes as she does.

“.....I’m sorry, Aerial,” Suletta whispers, shutting the lid of the case.

She closes the clasps.

====

Suletta sits quietly, playing the loaner guitar that the live house had provided. She’d hoped that she’d manage to acclimate to it fairly quickly, but much to her chagrin, the diametric opposite seems to be true— she’s having a hell of a time even managing to play simple melodies.

Playing without Aerial is like her body has been completely severed from its muscle memory. While she knows all the necessary finger placements-– if you asked her, she’d be able to tell you-–  with this guitar, her movements have to be purposeful. She has to think about where the notes are and have her brain tell her fingers to move to the requisite frets, instead of them just doing it of their own accord.

Is Permet the only reason she was even able to do that in the first place?

She doesn’t miss the way that Nika and Chuchu keep stealing worried glances over at her. She knows they’re just concerned, she KNOWS that, but it's still making her irritated. She feels her temper growing short, even though that’s the last thing she needs right now.

Compounding her frustration is the fact that Miorine—her other friends from school too, but ESPECIALLY Miorine— are all here to see her play tonight, and without Aerial, she’s not going to be anywhere near top form while performing for them.

This is bad, to say the least. 

Suletta repeatedly practices playing the guitar section of one of the songs in their set for the night, stumbling through the progressions ineptly, but managing to play them just competently enough that she feels like she can do it, if she really tries. It’s so tantalizingly close, nearly in her grasp—if she could stretch herself just a little further, exert herself just a little more, she doesn’t doubt that she could grab it. Thus far, though, it’s always ended up just barely out of reach.

But it doesn’t matter if she can manage to pull it together or not. For the sake of the show, she HAS to.

Suletta lets in a deep breath, taking a reprieve to stretch her wrists, before jumping back in and continuing to practice singlemindedly.

She still has time before they’re due to go on. 

She can do this.

====

“Run away, gain one. Move forward, gain two.” 

These words echo in Suletta's head, as they so often do. She's sworn by this mantra from the moment her mother first told it to her as a child. When adversity rears its head, push forward in spite of it. Persevere, no matter the circumstances, and you'll come out on the other end a fuller person for it. It’s been a lodestar, shaping her decision-making throughout her life, and following it has never let her down even once.

….So…why does she feel so uneasy, standing here onstage?

With the curtains drawn in front of them, the members of FIX RELEASE are beginning their very final preparations for their set: last-minute tunings of instruments, jacking into their amps, testing their mics, et cetera.

Any minute now, it'll be time for them to start. This had snuck up on Suletta far quicker than she’d hoped, and her confidence in her skill with the loaner guitar remains all but nonexistent. She doesn’t feel like she got NEARLY as much time to practice with it as she would've needed to give even a worthwhile performance, let alone one she could be proud of.

She misses Aerial. It feels wrong to be onstage without her.

Nika places a hand on Suletta's shoulder, catching her attention. “Good luck, Suletta,” she says softly. "You've got this."

"Yeah. Knock 'em dead, Sul," Chuchu adds, seating herself behind her drum kit.

Suletta gives them both a weak smile. “Thanks, guys.”

She isn’t confident at ALL, but she's determined to do the best that she can. Her friends are believing in her, after all, so she can't let them down.

The girls receive a cue from a staff member, and with that, the curtains draw open, Suletta immediately being met with blinding light—this part, she's used to, at least. Her eyes take a moment to adjust, and she hears the crowd pipe up a bit in excitement. Among them are their friends from school loudly cheering for them, which makes Suletta happy, but ultimately does little to assuage the anxiety constricting its way around her.

"What the hell is UPPPPP Y'ALL!!" Chuchu loudly exclaims, beginning her usual emceeing duties.

Suletta can't concentrate on listening to it, though, as seeing the crowd spreading out in front of her has kicked her anxiety into full gear. She’s never felt this anxious before a performance before; probably not even her first one ever. At least back then, she had Aerial with her.

(it’s gonna be okay. I can do this. I’ll pull through.)

Behind her, Chuchu wraps up her spiel, having kept it fairly short today; Suletta surmises that she probably wanted to avoid dragging things out for her sake.

"Let's do this thing!" Suletta hears her say, and a jolt of adrenaline bursts through her.

She closes her eyes, trying to the best of her ability to tune out the world around her so she can concentrate fully on her playing. She'll need to devote all of her faculties to this if she wants any hope of playing serviceably.

Chuchu bangs her sticks together on a beat to lead them in—

Suletta takes a deep breath—

And the band begins to play.

Suletta, to her surprise, actually manages to hit the first few bars without fairly little issue. It's FAR sloppier than she'd like, but also far from the unmitigated disaster she'd thought it would be.

Momentarily, she has hope that somehow, she's going to be able to pull this off.

And then the first mistake happens.

A moment too long remembering the finger placement for the requisite chord is all that it takes. Suletta misses the note, and immediately goes into damage control mode, desperate to avoid any further mistakes. However, the level of overthinking that comes with this only serves to further erode the quality of her playing—a bitterly ironic cause and effect. It only gets worse as time goes on, and they're not even that far into the song yet.

Missed note. Botched timing. Wrong chord. Every mistake she makes adds another pound to the planet rapidly weighing itself down on her shoulders, mounting the sense of panic she feels further and further with each passing second.

(Come on. Come on. It’s not too late. I can still do this. Pull through. Pull it together!!)

Despite her best efforts to tune them out, Suletta begins to hear the crowd mumbling amongst themselves. They've clearly noticed the quality of Suletta's playing, and obviously aren't happy about it.

She needs so badly to concentrate. But how CAN she concentrate, when she’s so painfully, aggressively aware of the fact that her playing is riddled with egregious mistakes, the fact that the fickle crowd in front of her is judging her for it, and the fact that with every second that passes by where she hasn’t gotten it together, she continues to dig herself deeper and deeper.

Suletta squeezes her eyes shut as hard as she can to try to push back the tears welling up behind them.

(it’s okay. Just pretend that you’re alone. Drown out everything else. You can do this. You can do this.)

Botched chord. 

(I can do this.)

Missed note. 

(...I can do this.)

Way too late. 

(I.....I can do this.)

Wrong note altogether. 

(….I.......)

(......)

(........)

(…..I can’t do it.)

The realization hits her with the intensity of a freight train, dealing the shattering death blow to her already destitute confidence-- and with it, she loses the ability to even keep up the pretense anymore. 

She can't do it.

Why the hell did she ever think she could?!

She's stopped even attempting to play altogether, and just grips the guitar, sweating bullets, her heart pounding so quickly and intensely that she can practically feeling it bursting from her chest.

(....What do I do.)

(…..)

(WHAT THE HELL DO I DO?!)

Suletta’s cue to begin singing comes and goes without a peep from her. She’s frozen onstage, the mounting sense of panic that swirls around her pushing her down further and further into a pit of pure dread. Behind her, Nika and Chuchu’s playing becomes noticeably more uncertain as Suletta flounders.

That’s right— she’s not only humiliating herself up here, but she’s ruining the gig for Nika and Chuchu, too; all because she was stupid enough to think that she could play this guitar.

Is….is Aerial the only reason she’s been able to play as well as she has? Is Permet the only reason that she’s able to play onstage without being consumed by stage fright? If other music clubs institute these bans on GUND instruments, is she even going to be able to keep playing with the band?!

And she’s letting everyone down, everyone is looking at her, the longer things go on and on, it only gets worse, and—

A handful of scattered boos erupt from the crowd.

"Is this fuckin’ amateur hour?”

“Get off the stage!!”

"What the hell're you DOING?!"

Suletta's entire body begins to tremble. Her heart continues to jackhammer in her chest, bringing with it an uncomfortable sense of tightness. The rapid, pounding thrum of her heartbeat in her ears drowns out all other sounds around her. 

She struggles to take in breaths, each inhale feeling ragged and heavy, like she’s trying to breathe through a pillow. She leans forward, hands placed on her knees, staring at her feet, her breathing rapidly becoming faster and shallower. She feels dizzy, her vision becoming blurry and unfocused.

"SULETTA!!"

“Suletta, breathe, BREATHE!! Deep breaths!!” Chuchu’s voice cracks, sounding like it’s on the verge of panic.

Apparently she and Nika rushed over to her side at some point? Suletta hadn’t noticed. They both sound distant, like they're talking to her through a tin-can-and-string telephone.

As all this happens, a feeling of pure, unadulterated despair winds its way around her as she feels control of the situation rapidly escaping her. And in its wake, she’s left with nothing but a primal, icy, gut-wrenching fear.

So she runs.

She bolts offstage as quickly as her legs can carry her, single-minded in her determination—no, her NEED, to get away.

The wire from her guitar catches as she inadvertently yanks it out of the amp it's plugged into, releasing a burst of harsh feedback; Suletta stumbles as it does, but soon regains her footing, and continues forward.

She hears Nika and Chuchu calling her name behind her, but she doesn't respond.

That doesn’t matter right now. Nothing matters right now. 

All that matters is that she needs to get away. From the crowd, from the stage, from this guitar, even from herself, if she can.

So she runs.

====

Nika and Chuchu had both instantly run after Suletta without a second thought, sparing no mind for the fate of the gig, or anything else for that matter. Nothing took priority, for either of them, over ensuring their friend's well-being. They’d managed to catch up to her fairly quickly, and although they'd helped her down from her panic attack, Suletta was still very far from okay. It’s been about a half hour since she ran offstage, and she hasn’t stopped crying since.

Chuchu hasn’t left her side the entire time, sitting next to her on a sofa backstage and leaning her head against Suletta's shoulder. Nika, to her frustration, had to leave to talk with the club staff about the band’s aborted performance, and only left (albeit somewhat reluctantly) at Suletta's insistence that she would be okay if she did.

While this venue is fancier than the ones they're used to, it's not fancy enough for the band to get their own dressing room or anything like that. So Chuchu and Suletta have sequestered themselves in a secluded, out-of-the-way corner, which, while not completely quiet or devoid of the occasional passerby, is still probably the mellowest place in the building.

And so Chuchu sits alone with her friend, both of them silent save for the sound of Suletta's gentle sobs, Chuchu unable to offer her anything more than her presence.

It's extremely rare for Suletta to be this openly despondent. In general, she's one of the most consistently cheery and optimistic people Chuchu has ever met. It's part of what she admires about her so much. So to see her so utterly BROKEN like this is just…gutwrenching for Chuchu to witness. But she doesn't really know what she can do for her except offer her a shoulder to cry on. It doesn't feel like enough.

Chuchu hears footsteps coming towards them, and she perks up as she quickly recognizes them for Nika's; sure enough, a moment later, their ever-reliable bassist pops into view, giving the two of them a weak smile as she does.

"I'm back."

Chuchu feels a near-palpable wave of relief wash over her. In stressful situations, Nika is her anchor, putting her more at ease just by being there. She's endlessly grateful for it, and for her.

"Suletta?" Nika begins, walking over towards her and Chuchu. "I ran into Lilique and the others. I told them that you were okay, but that you probably needed some space right now–-is that okay?"

A moment passes, then Suletta nods wordlessly.

"Okay," Nika smiles, walking over and sitting down next to Suletta as well. Chuchu, partially because she doesn't want to crowd Suletta, but mostly because she feels fit to burst with restless energy, stands up, giving Suletta a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder as she does, and starts to idly pace around nearby, arms crossed and a stony expression etched into her face.

"I got you some water, also," Nika says, holding a bottle out to Suletta. "Try to drink some if you can, okay? Gotta stay hydrated when you cry."

Suletta nods again. "Thank you," she sniffles.

“Just one more thing. I spoke with the manager," Nika continues. "They apologized for not telling us about the GUND ban in advance, and waived the fees we'd usually have to pay."

"Hm. That's some good news, at least," Chuchu mumbles.

"I…I'm sorry," Suletta croaks. She's been very uncharacteristically quiet in the aftermath of her breakdown, but this sentence is one she's repeated multiple times since.

"You don't have anything to apologize for," Nika says firmly, gently placing a hand on Suletta's back. With her other, she offers her a tissue box; Suletta takes one, and noisily blows her nose into it.

“B-but…..” Suletta protests with a whimper. "B-because of me, our gig….!"

“There’ll be other gigs,” Nika insists. “But there’s only one YOU, Suletta. You’re irreplaceable. You’re what matters most.”

“Yeah, what she said. We’re not mad at you, not even a little,” Chuchu adds. “I think we’re both just so glad you’re okay.”

“Well, I'm mad at myself,” Suletta hangs her head shamefully. “I-I was just…lying to myself about what I was able to do. I didn't want to accept that I can't play a guitar if it's not Aerial, and I just….I-I ruined everything because of it.”

Chuchu walks over, kneels down, and places her hands on Suletta's shoulders. “Hey. Suletta. Look at me," she says, her voice gentle yet firm. "You didn’t ‘ruin’ anything. None of this was your fault, okay? This was just an all-around shitty situation with no good solution, so try not to beat yourself up over it."

“H-how can I NOT beat myself up over it?!” Suletta cries, making Chuchu flinch back slightly in surprise. “When—when I just found out that I can't even play guitar unassisted?! That my mom, and maybe my sister too, have been lying to me this whole time?! That…that maybe it's my fault, for never questioning anything?! Augh….”

She buries her face in her hands as her tears continue to fall.

“It’s just….so humiliating,” she whimpers. “I…in front of all of those people, i….”

Nika and Chuchu are both uncertain how to respond, so they don't. The three of them fall into a tense silence.

"...Goddamn it," Chuchu mutters in a whisper.

She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. This whole situation is putting both her and Nika on edge. Whenever she finds herself stressed or overwhelmed, she’s found that extricating herself from the situation at hand to clear her head often helps, even if only a little bit. Much as she hates to abandon Suletta when she's vulnerable like this…she also knows that she's not going to be any help to her if she's teetering on a knife's edge. Plus, it's not like she'll be alone without her.

"I think I need to go take a walk," Chuchu says. "Nika, will you be–-"

"I'll stay with her," she nods.

"Thanks."

As Chuchu walks through the backstage area towards the exit of the building, she can’t escape a clawing sense of guilt. After all, she’d very vocally expressed her dislike for GUND instruments the other night, fully oblivious to the fact that Suletta played one. If she hadn’t said all that, would things have turned out differently?

(No. Blaming myself isn’t gonna help anything. I need to focus on what we can do for Suletta from here.)

Chuchu's pissed beyond words, but there's no clear target for her anger to be directed at. Whenever she's in a shitty situation, having some sense of agency in it makes her feel better. Someone to yell at, someone to blame, someone to beat up. But she doesn't have that here. It's the powerlessness that she really hates––the feeling that she's not able to do anything to help.

She takes the rear entrance leading into the alleyway behind the club. She begins to make her way through it–- that is, until she suddenly feels someone gently grab her arm.

“Hey, do you–”

At this, Chuchu’s already short fuse burns down to the wick, and she whirls around towards the offender with a snarl.

“I'm not in the FUCKING mood to–!!” she begins to lay into them, but stops when she sees who it is—Miorine Rembran, recoiling back and looking at Chuchu with a startled expression on her face.

“...Oh,” Chuchu says, calming down a little bit. "It's you.”

“You’re Suletta’s drummer, right?” Miorine asks. 

“Yeah.” Chuchu eyes her warily. “Were you waiting back here hoping to run into one of us?” 

“Maybe I was,” Miorine shrugs noncommittally. “I don’t think that’s important right now. Is Suletta okay?”

"No," Chuchu replies without missing a beat. Noticing the way the color drains from Miorine's face at this response, she clarifies— "I mean, she's physically okay. But I've almost never seen her this upset before."

“What happened? Do you know?”

Chuchu sighs and runs a hand through her bangs. How to even explain it concisely?

“Long story short. They don’t let you play with GUND instruments here. Suletta’s guitar is GUND and she didn’t know. And this is probably the worst way she could’ve found out.”

“Oh…” Miorine’s eyes widen.

"Yeah."

“I ran into your bassist earlier, but she wouldn’t let me backstage to see Suletta. She told me that she needs space.”

“She does,” Chuchu replies. “But seeing as you're still here, it doesn’t seem like you’re taking no for an answer, huh?”

“I don’t want to stress her out or anything. I just want to see that she’s okay.”

“You can’t just take our word for it?”

“You KNOW that isn’t the same.”

She does.

Chuchu sighs. “She's doing bad right now. You really sure you want to see her?”

“Her doing bad is what makes me sure." Miorine replies, expression dead serious.

Chuchu just studies her for a moment, then barks out a quick, humorless laugh. "Hah. Alright. Fine. But if I get the feeling that you being there is stressing Suletta out, I’m kicking you out, and you gotta promise to not throw a fit about it."

“Deal,” Miorine replies. “I don’t need to stay for long." A pause, and then after a moment she adds– “....Thank you.” 

Chuchu grunts in response. Looks like taking a walk to clear her head is gonna have to take a brief rain check. She heads back inside the venue, Miorine trailing close behind as she leads her to where Suletta is.

She can’t help but feel somewhat wary of Miorine. She’s only been friends with Suletta for what, a little over a week or so? Yet she’s already asserting herself as her friend so aggressively. Certainly, part of Chuchu's trepidation stems from the fact that she's very protective of Suletta, and she's seen firsthand how much her friend already cares about Miorine. This girl could hurt Suletta if she wanted to—hell, even if she didn't want to.

But Suletta trusts Miorine, and Chuchu trusts Suletta. So for now, she'll just have to trust Miorine too.

Chuchu senses Miorine tense slightly at her side as Suletta, still on the sofa next to Nika, comes into view. She seems to have settled down somewhat, her earlier sobs having petered out into sniffly tears. She’s staring down at her own feet, and doesn’t look up at the sound of approaching footsteps.

Nika does, however, and her eyebrows raise slightly as she sees Chuchu not only back so soon, but with Miorine in tow. Chuchu nods at her, and she nods in return; an understanding communicated between them wordlessly.

“Hey, Suletta,” Chuchu greets her. “Got someone here for ya.”

Suletta doesn’t react. Miorine hesitates slightly, then walks closer.

“Suletta,” she says, her voice firm yet gentle.

At that, Suletta slowly looks up, revealing tired, bloodshot eyes.

“M...Miorine?” she says. “Wh-what are you doing here?”

“What do you THINK I'm doing here?" Miorine puts a hand on her hip. "I’ve been worried sick about you.”

Suletta hangs her head. “....S-sorry….”

Miorine's expression softens. “....Are you okay?” 

She takes a long moment before responding. “….I don’t know.” She doesn't say anything else. Neither does Miorine.

Chuchu glances sidewards at her, a somewhat conflicted look etched into the other girl's features as she studies Suletta. 

"Well, I…just wanted to see how you were doing," Miorine eventually says. "If you need space, or whatever, then I underst–"

“N-no!” Suletta's low-energy demeanor vanishes as she sits up straight, looking up at her with wide eyes. "P-please stay. If-if you want, that is…"

Everyone present seems completely taken aback by this. Chuchu in particular certainly wasn't expecting it. For as much as she’s teased Suletta about having a crush on Miorine, it’s rare for her to feel comfortable around someone new this quickly. To not only let Miorine be with her when she’s upset, but ASK her to be….well. That probably means something.

Miorine, for her part, hides her surprise well, and simply nods at Suletta.

"...Right. I'll stay," she says. "Do you mind if I sit?"

Suletta shakes her head. Nika takes this as a cue to scoot off to the side to allow Miorine to sit next to Suletta, giving her a gentle yet hesitant smile as she does.

Miorine gingerly sits down about a foot or so away from Suletta so as not to risk crowding her. The two sit in relative silence for a few moments, before Suletta mumbles, fidgeting with her thumbs, “I’m sorry you have to see me like this. It's...it's really embarrassing.”

“It’s fine. I don't care,” Miorine replies. “I’m here because I want to be.”

Suletta hesitates for a moment, then mumbles, “I…I wish you’d been able to see us play tonight….”

"Mmmm..." Miorine hums in acknowledgement. "Well, I WAS looking forward to it. You'll have to make it up to me at some point."

Suletta continues to fidget with her hands. "I…was worried that…. you'd get scared off after seeing me like that."

"Do you really think I'm that callous?"

"N-no," Suletta replies. "I don't know why I thought it. Just an irrational worry, I guess.

Another brief, companionable silence passes. Suletta is the one who breaks it.

"Did…did Chuchu tell you?" she asks quietly. "About Aerial?"

"Chuchu's your drummer?"

"Yeah," Suletta affirms. "Our bassist's name is Nika.”

Miorine nods. "She did tell me, yes."

Suletta hangs her head, messy red locks cascading down her face. “I don’t know what to do,” she says quietly.

“You’ll figure it out.”

"What if I don’t, though?"

"You will," Miorine insists. "I believe that you will, so you will."

For the first time since breaking down onstage, Suletta smiles—weakly, but she smiles nonetheless. “I-is that how that works?”

“Are you doubting me?” Miorine smirks at her in return.

"Hehe…"

Miorine pauses briefly, then says, more seriously this time--"Listen....I know this whole thing must be…really discouraging, and upsetting, but. Promise me you won't let this make you give up on music, alright?"

"I don't want to give up," Suletta says, determination apparent in her tone. "I just….what if I don't have a choice?"

"...I think people have choices more often than they think they do," Miorine replies, putting her hands up behind her head. "And I don't think you're anywhere near a point where there isn't a path forward. You hit a stumbling block, sure, but most musicians—hell, most PEOPLE, do at some point. It can be hard to pick yourself back up again afterwards, but for what it's worth, I believe you can do it. Even if it takes you some time."

Suletta is quiet for a long moment. It's soon broken as her tears come back in full force, sobs once again wracking her body.

Miorine blanches. "Sh-shit, sorry, did I say something wrong–?!"

Suletta shakes her head effusively. "Mmm-mm. N-no, no, the opposite. I….th-thank you, Miorine. Thank you so much. I'm…I'm glad that you're here."

Miorine calms down, glad that she hadn't upset Suletta, then awkwardly pats her shoulder a couple of times, looking very much like she doesn’t know how to comfort another human being.

“I’m glad too.” 

Chuchu and Nika's eyes meet once again, and a thousand words are once again communicated between them without being spoken.

The basic gist of it, though, is essentially:

(What the hell just happened?)

Chapter Text

Ever since bearing witness to Suletta's panic attack and its aftermath last night, Miorine's been worrying about her pretty much nonstop. Not that you could really blame her, though. Seeing her friend break down like that was completely terrifying.

And so, both out of genuine concern, and also to assuage the worry looming over her, Miorine heads down to Suletta's floor of the building to check in on her. Unfortunately for her, this entails leaving her dorm, making herself look at least somewhat presentable, going down to a floor of the building she’s never been to, and possibly interacting with people she doesn’t know along the way. It's all such a massive pain in the ass.

Like, she’ll DO it, but she won’t be happy about it.

If you’d told Miorine a month ago that she’d be putting herself out this much for a person she’d met less than two weeks ago, she probably would’ve laughed you out of the room. She doesn’t know what it is about Suletta, exactly, that’s piqued her interest so much. It’s probably, at least in part, the fact that she’s almost unbearably earnest. In that way, she’s sort of the opposite of Miorine, who drowns everything in a seven-layer dip of snark and detachment.

And even when Suletta is at her lowest, she’s still always thinking about other people. It’s very rare, in Miorine’s experience, to meet someone as genuinely kind and considerate as she is. The more she gets to know her, the more Miorine grows to wholeheartedly believe that she's nice to her because that's just the sort of person she is, not because of any sort of ulterior motives.

There are other thoughts regarding Suletta that Miorine could address, but she’s nowhere NEAR ready to open that whole can of worms. She’s having enough of a time even wrapping her head around the fact that Suletta is her friend; accepting that she's probably developing a crush on her is far beyond her faculties at the moment.

Oh, goddamn it, she opened it.

===

Miorine sharply raps on the door to Suletta’s dorm once, twice. She lets out a small sigh, and then waits. She hates knocking on doors. The anticipation is so unpleasant. It's the same reason she doesn't like phone calls. Suletta damn well better appreciate her for this.

“C-coming!” Suletta’s voice comes weakly from the other side of the door. A second passes, and then it gently swings open, revealing the girl herself.

All things considered, Suletta doesn’t look AS awful as she did last night, but she still doesn’t look anywhere near 100 percent. Her hair is messy and uncombed, with bags under her eyes suggesting she didn’t sleep well. She’s also wearing her pajamas, a plain ratty T-shirt and shorts, as opposed to proper clothes. Finally, she’s usually been wearing mascara when Miorine's seen her in the past, but her face is bare at the moment.

Though she initially answers the door standing slightly slouched over, with a sense of malaise hanging over her, as soon as Suletta sees who’s waiting for her on the other side, her eyes widen and she jolts upright with a gasp.

“M-M-M-MIORINE?!” she balks. "Wh-what are you doing here?!"

"I came to check on you.”

"Aah, i-if I’d known you’d be coming, I’d have made myself look more presentable," Suletta stammers, looking down and brushing off the front of her shirt.

“It’s fine. I don't mind."

(The opposite, actually. She looks really cute like this,) Miorine’s traitorous brain offers—a thought which she quickly shoves back into the recesses of her mind where it belongs.

Suletta turns her head back and looks into her dorm, then steps out into the hall with Miorine, clicking the door shut behind her as she does.

“S-so!! Um….” she begins timidly. "H-how did you know, the um. How did you know what dorm I live in…?"

"Nika told me."

"Y-you know Nika?"

"Not really, no," Miorine replies matter-of-factly. "But that's not what's important right now. Are you doing okay? You’re taking care of yourself, right?"

Suletta tents her fingers and looks away guiltily. "Ah….um…."

"Suletta."

“Y-yes!! I definitely, totally am!!” Suletta waves her hands in front of her. “Y-you don't have to worry about me, or anything!"

Miorine rolls her eyes. "Of course I'm gonna worry about you, idiot. That’s what friends do, isn’t it?"

Suletta looks momentarily surprised at this, before her expression softens. "Y-yeah. Th…thank you, Miorine." She smiles at her warmly, despite how shitty she's obviously still feeling, which sends a swoop through Miorine's chest.

Ugh, she's doing a terrible job keeping these thoughts locked away in her mind’s recesses. Well, best way to avoid addressing her own inconvenient emotions: change the subject.

“So, do you know what you’re gonna do yet? About Aerial?”

Suletta's expression falls once more, and Miorine immediately kicks herself for broaching the topic.

“I’m…s-still figuring that part out.” Suletta replies quietly.

Miorine just nods in response. 

“I….I feel like, I want to learn to play a regular guitar, but I also don’t want to stop using Aerial, y’know?"

"Hm. Could you have Aerial converted to a non-GUND instrument?"

“M-maybe….but at the same time….I-I don’t know if I want to change what makes Aerial, Aerial, you know?” Suletta fidgets with her fingers. "S-sorry…I know it’s probably weird that I'm so attached to a guitar…"

"I dont think it’s weird."

Suletta smiles at her. “Th-thank you.”

Miorine gets the feeling that people have given Suletta a hard time for her attachment to Aerial in the past. She silently vows to tear them a new one if she ever runs into them.

“Well. I have some assignments I really need to work on, so I don’t think I can really stick around much longer. Just wanted to check in, is all,” Miorine says.

“A-ah, I see….” 

Miorine doesn’t miss the disappointment that falls over Suletta’s voice at this.

“You gonna be okay?” she asks. “I feel bad leaving you alone here.”

Suletta shakes her head. “Oh, I won't be alone, don’t worry!” she chirps. “My roommate Lilique has been doting on me all day, and NIka and Chuchu have, too….everyone’s been very kind to me. I’m grateful.”

“...I see.”

Of course…unlike Miorine, Suletta actually has other friends besides her. It’s easy to forget that not everyone is as utterly isolated as she is. Suletta doesn’t need Miorine as much as Miorine needs her.

…Whose sake did she really come here for?

“Um!! Th-thank you so much for coming to see me, Miorine!!!” Suletta effuses, oblivious to Miorine’s inner turmoil. “I really, really appreciate it.”

“Yeah. Don't mention it.”

“And, umm!! F-feel free to stop by anytime, okay!! Whenever you want!”

"I will."

Miorine begins to walk off, but stops as Suletta calls after her.

"OH, o-one more thing, also! Um! M-my friends and I have a game night every Sunday night. I, um….I-I don't know if you'd ever want to come, but ...I-I'd love to have you!! It’d be a lot of fun with you there, too!!”

Miorine internally winces; attending a social event with a bunch of people she doesn’t know sounds like a sort of personal hell for her, but Suletta is looking at her with proverbial stars in her eyes, and it’s a look that's all but impossible to outright say no to.

“…I’ll consider it,” Miorine says. And with the way Suletta’s face brightens at that response, she knows that she doesn’t really have a choice but to go.

Well. There are worse things she could be locked into than spending time with Suletta.

Miorine holds up a hand in a parting wave. "See you around, Suletta. And good luck."

"Thank you! U-um ….also…."

Miorine turns around once more, though this time Suletta seems to be hesitating to say whatever it is she wants to say, looking away from her with a timid look on her face.

"...What is it?" she prods after a moment.

"C-can I have a hug?"

"HAH?" Miorine exclaims, feeling her face heat up.

"N-NEVER MIND!! SORRY!! FORGET I ASKED! UM!! O-Okay, bye!!!"

Suletta immediately scampers back into her dorm and shuts the door behind her, Miorine barely even having a chance to process what happened. She blinks a couple times, then just rolls her eyes.

(Idiot. I would have given you one if you'd just waited a second.)

===

When Suletta had gotten back to her dorm late last night, Lilique, tears streaming down her cheeks, had wrapped her in a crushing hug, wailing about how worried she was about her.

Across the board, people have been nothing but understanding and kind to Suletta about the events of the previous night, which takes her somewhat by surprise. Initially, she’d been worried that once word got out, she'd get turned into a laughingstock, but the exact opposite has been true—her phone has practically been blowing up with texts all morning, wholly well-wishes and expressions of concern.

Her friends have been nothing short of saintly towards her, too. Aliya brought her a case of homemade cookies made just for her this morning, and it made Suletta cry on the spot. Chuchu and Nika, her staunchest allies as always, told her that she can take all the time she needs to feel better and figure things out before returning to the band.

And hell, even MIORINE came to check in on her. She acts aloof, so it’s hard to tell sometimes, but it’s stuff like this that makes Suletta certain that she really does care about her.

She’s also received support not only from friends and acquaintances, but from total strangers, too. FR doesn't have much of a fanbase to speak of, but the few fans that they ARE lucky enough to have all been asking after her well-being. Suletta should remember to make a thank-you tweet later to update them.

Suletta tends to forget this sometimes, given the cruel treatment she’s been subject to in the past, but people really are nice, generally speaking. 

She’s still somewhat locked in the throes of depression, make no mistake—something like this isn’t something you recover from in just a day, after all—but she also undoubtedly feels buoyed by the kindness that she’s been shown. And it’s this show of support that finally gives her the courage she needs to make a phone call she’s been putting off all day. She knows that she needs to do it. But she’s dreading what she’s going to find out when she does. Still, though….better to just get it out of the way so that it’s not hanging over her head anymore. 

Suletta sits on the edge of her bed tightly clinging to her phone, her palms growing sweaty.

(Alright. I can do this.)

She takes a deep breath, and taps the contact name she’s been hovering her finger over for the past several minutes.

ERICHT SAMAYA

No turning back now. Suletta shakily holds her phone up to her ear, hearing the dial tone begin to ring. And even though she's busy touring with her band at the moment, Eri picks up the phone almost immediately.

“Eyyyy, Sulettaaa!!” her chipper voice comes from the other end of the line. Despite everything, Suletta can't help but smile, hearing her sister's voice.

“Hey, Eri."

Eri is eight years older than Suletta, but despite this, the two are (and always have been) very close with one another. As Suletta's said before, Eri is a massive inspiration to her, and a significant reason why she got into music in the first place. Talking to her sister isn't usually stressful for Suletta at all, but the present circumstances have made it something she's found herself dreading. Suletta isn’t good with phone calls, or with confrontation, so a confrontational phone call is like her worst nightmare. 

"What's up, how've you been! How's college!! How's the band! Make any new friends lately?" Eri asks in rapid succession, spirited as always.

Suletta knows she's not just making idle conversation; Eri's always been very interested in the happenings of her sister's life.

"Uh, s-school's been good!" Suletta replies. "I, ah…y-yeah, I've made a couple…"

Eri pauses on the other end of the line.

"Hey, everything okay? Is something wrong?"

Of course she'd pick up on that right away. Eri knows her better than anyone else, after all. Well, no use beating around the bush any further….

"I-I um. I-I-I actually had something I needed to talk about with you…"

Eri's tone gets a bit more serious, sensing Suletta's anxiety about the situation. "Oh yeah, of course, anything. What's up?"

Suletta inhales shakily.

“D….did you know that Aerial is a GUND instrument?"

Eri is silent for a long moment. Far too long to mean anything other than a "yes."

“You did know,” Suletta breathes.

“Suletta, I—”

“Wh-why didn’t you TELL me?”

"I understand if you’re mad at me–"

“I AM mad at you!!” Suletta cuts her off, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. “I’m REALLY mad at you!! How could you not tell me something that important? Y-you know how much Aerial means to me, so for you to just….to just….”

"Suletta, I–"

“I-I tried playing a gig with a different guitar last night and I….I totally bombed, because it wasn't GUND!! If–if I'd known about Aerial, th-then…!”

Suletta elects not to tell Eri about her panic attack; she knows she’d just worry if she knew.

“Shit, I’m really sorry, Suletta….”

"Why?" Suletta repeats, more firmly this time. "Tell me. Please."

Eri hesitates briefly, before answering: “….Mom asked me not to.”

Suletta pauses. “M-mom did…?”

"Yeah," Eri replies. "I don't know why, but she told me around the time I first gave Aerial to you."

"S-so….she told you Aerial was GUND but not me?"

".....Yeah."

Suletta feels her heart sink. It's not like she wasn't expecting that answer, but it doesn't make actually getting it hurt any less.

"Still though, Mom asking me not to isn't an excuse. I was…I'd actually been thinking that I should just go behind her back and tell you anyway, but I didn't, because I assumed she had some sort of good reason,” Eri says. "I should have, though, and I'm really sorry that I didn't. And I'm sorry that you had to find out in such a shitty way."

(You don’t even know the half of it….)

"It's okay, Eri. I forgive you," Suletta croaks. "I'm still a bit mad at you, but. I understand."

“I'm sorry, Suletta.”

“I know.”

“Things'll be okay.”

"...I know."

"I just—please try not to let this discourage you, alright?" Eri insists. "You're so, so incredibly talented, I've seen it firsthand. And GUND instruments can do a lot, but they can't give you talent where there wasn't any before. I know that you'll work through this. And I'll do whatever I can to help. No matter what happens, you're going to do great things, Suletta, I believe this with all my heart."

Suletta sniffles, wiping tears out of the corner of her eye onto her sleeve. "Th-Thank you."

The sound of muffled voices comes from the other end of the line. 

"I, um. I really have to go, my manager's angrily tapping her wrist where her watch would be if she was wearing one," Eri says sheepishly. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah."

"You promise me you're not just saying that to make me feel better? Be honest, I'm a big girl, I can take it."

"I–I'll be fine," Suletta replies. "Even if I'm not fine right now….I know that I will be eventually."

"…Okay," Eri says softly. "Talk soon, okay? I love you, Suletta."

"I love you too, Eri. Thank you."

Eri hangs up, and Suletta lowers her phone from her ear, feeling some of the tension melt off of her shoulders now that the call is over. She leans backwards on her bed so she's laying down, and heaves out a sigh. A few weak sobs escape her as she does, and she lets out a humorless laugh.

(What a nightmare….)

Suletta turns her head and looks over at Aerial's case in the corner of her dorm, sitting untouched since she got back from the gig last night. She still doesn't know what she's going to do about Aerial. She doesn't know if she's gonna be able to pick up non-GUND instruments, if she even WANTS to, how all of this will affect FIX RELEASE, or how she can regain her confidence and passion for music.

But despite all of this uncertainty, there's one thing she DOES know for sure now—

She’s going to have to speak with her mom about this.

Chapter Text

"Are you sure that you want us to be here, Suletta?" Nika asks. "This is a you and your mom thing, after all, and we don't want to intrude….”

"You wouldn’t be intruding," Suletta insists. "I've… always had a really hard time talking to my mom. S-so I think that you guys being here with me will help give me courage."

“Aw, c’mere you,” Chuchu grins, reaching over and pulling Suletta into a beefy side-hug.

“CH-CHUCHU?" she yelps. "Wh-what’s this for?!”

“You’re just a sweetheart, is all.”

"Um…th-thank you…?"

The three of them are at the headquarters of Shin Sei Corporation, which takes up multiple floors of an office building downtown. The company is a manufacturer of musical instruments-- a fairly small one at that, but they're modestly successful, all things considered. Most importantly, though, is that its President and CEO is Prospera Mercury, the mother of Suletta and Ericht. They told her that they were coming, of course—she's a busy woman, after all, so she needed to clear time out of her schedule for them. That's how Suletta set this up, anyway. Chuchu's style would definitely be more along the lines of "barge in unannounced and confront her while she's off guard."

Right now, they're all just milling about outside of Prospera's office waiting for her to wrap up her phone call or meeting or something-or-other.

"Hmmph. She's late," Chuchu grumbles, checking the time on her phone; Prospera had told Suletta that she'd meet with them at 12:30, but it's currently 12:39.

"I-it's fine!! Things run late sometimes, it's sorta how it is when you're as important a person as my mom is. A lot of people are relying on her, after all!"

"Mrnn…I guess…"

"I, um. I might go get a drink of water real quick," Suletta says, her nerves readily apparent. "Th-there's a water fountain nearby, so I'll only be a second."

“‘Kay!” Nika chirps, and Suletta shuffles off. As soon as she’s reasonably out of earshot, Chuchu feels a gentle hand wrap around her arm. 

"Chuchu," Nika says, voice just above a whisper. “Please try to not be too confrontational when we get inside. Suletta needs us there to give her strength. If you provoke her mom, then you might just make things worse.”

“Yeah yeah, don’t have to tell me twice,” Chuchu huffs. “I’ll do my best, Nika. But if she really hurts Suletta, I'm not gonna hesitate to give her a piece of my mind. I don’t let anyone hurt my friends, I don't care who it is.”

Nika smiles at her, squeezing her arm affectionately. “I know. That’s one of your best qualities. But do me a favor and exercise restraint, okay?”

Chuchu hesitates briefly before reaching up and placing her hand on top of Nika's, leaning into her slightly. "...Alright. I promise."

Nika and Chuchu don’t know a ton regarding Suletta’s relationship with her mother, since she’s always been a little bit cagey about it, but they both get the impression that it’s somewhat strained. Suletta always speaks highly of her mother, and obviously cares for her, but ALSO is frequently frustrated by her. It’s a complicated relationship, and today they’re going to witness it firsthand for the first time. For Chuchu, at least, it's hard to know what to expect.

“I’m back!” Suletta calls, lightly jogging down the hallway towards her friends.

“Welcome back!” Nika says.

“Hey there, girl of the hour,” Chuchu holds up her hand in a lazy wave.

As if on cue now that Suletta is back, the door they've been camped out in front of gently swings open with a light creak, getting the attention of everyone gathered. Sanding there in the doorway, holding it open, is Prospera Mercury.

She doesn't look anything like Chuchu expected her to. For one, there's the mask. It definitely seems like it'd be rude to ask about it, but like, what the hell is up with the mask? Aside from that, though, she pretty much just looks like your average businesswoman type-- a gray pantsuit, long dark brown hair flowing down from behind her mask, and bright red lipstick adorning a somewhat terse smile.

“Hello there,” she greets them, her voice floaty yet firm.

“H-hi mom!" Suletta stammers, walking over towards her. "Th-thank you for making time to see us!! I know that you’re very busy, s-so we appreciate it.”

Prospera waves a hand dismissively. “Oh, nonsense, of course I’ll always make time for you and Eri both! You two are the entire world to me, after all.”

Suletta hesitates slightly before responding. “R-right…”

Prospera looks over to Chuchu and Nika. 

"Ms. Nanaura and Ms. Panlunch, correct?" she addresses them amiably. "It’s lovely to finally meet the two of you in person. Suletta’s told me so much about you. Thank you both for taking care of my daughter."

“Oh, no, it’s our pleasure!” Nika bubbles. “Suletta’s a wonderful friend. I know both Chuchu and I feel very lucky to know her.”

“I’m happy to hear that!” Prospera coos. "Now then, come in, come in you three, let's have a chat!” she beckons the three of them in as she walks back into her office; they follow close behind. Chuchu, as the last one to enter, unceremoniously shuts the door behind her.

“Can I offer any of you a beverage?” Prospera asks. “Water, tea, coffee?"

"Ah, just water is fine!" Nika chirps.

"I'm good," Chuchu mumbles.

“M-me too.”

“You know, I, for one, can barely function without my afternoon tea,” Prospera offers lightly, pouring some honey-colored tea out of a teapot into a cup for herself.

Chuchu warily looks around the office now that they’re all inside. It’s very nice, but in an understated sort of way. It’s not the gaudy, gold-plated monument to egotism so common in CEOs and executives; it’s big, but not egregiously so, with purposeful decor that looks like it came straight out of a furniture catalog. Chuchu notices multiple photos of Suletta and her sister peppered around generously. Located in the center-left of the room are two sofas facing one another, separated by a coffee table between them; Prospera gestures them towards this area.

“Please, have a seat! I'll be with you all in just one moment,” she entreats; the girls oblige, all settling in closely together on one of the sofas.

"I do apologize for my lateness today," Prospera continues, speaking as she roots around through a mini-fridge. "Running a company tends to throw a lot at you, as I'm sure you can imagine."

“Don't worry about it! We get it,” Nika reassures her.

"Such understanding kids you are," Prospera smiles, walking back over towards the three. In one hand she holds her teacup and saucer, and in the other, a small half-sized water bottle she'd retrieved from the fridge; she hands the latter to Nika.

"There you are, dear."

"Thank you!"

Prospera gingerly sits herself down alone on the sofa opposite the girls, placing her teacup on the table in front of her and leisurely stirring some sugar into it.

“I’ve heard the music you three have made together in FIX RELEASE," she says, making more idle conversation. "I must say, I’m very impressed. I’ll be the first to admit that rock music isn’t exactly my cup of tea—so to speak, that is—but I can’t deny that you’re all quite talented, especially considering how young you are.”

“Th-thank you very much!” Suletta stammers.

“Thank you,” Nika echoes. “We're all very proud of our music. We have a lot of fun making it!”

Chuchu tenses slightly. The topic of the band is a bit of a delicate one at the moment, given that it's been unceremoniously forced into a de facto hiatus thanks to Suletta's problems with Aerial. But getting answers for that whole situation is the reason they're here meeting with Prospera in the first place.

“That’s wonderful, truly,” Prospera enthuses, bringing her teacup up to her lips. “You all must be quite popular, I'd imagine”

“Ehh, I mean….we’re popular enough to get by, I guess,” Nika says sheepishly. “Just barely, though.”

“Oh, what a shame…!”

“Ah, it’s fine! You know, it’s always difficult when you’re just starting out, trying to break into the scene, and all of that.”

“Well, I’m sure that you’ll find success moving forward. Though, as Suletta’s mom, I suppose I am somewhat of a biased source,” she laughs.

Chuchu narrows her eyes slightly. Something about Prospera is setting her on edge; despite how nice she seems, there’s a sort of nebulous disingenuity to her—a sense that what they’re all seeing is only a facade covering something beneath.

Nika, diplomat that she is, is playing the role of the perfect, polite young woman so flawlessly that Chuchu’s half-expecting a halo to appear over her head. But like Prospera, she’s also putting up a facade. Her nonconfrontational nature leads her to be polite and civil no matter the situation, but she's far from blindly trusting; Chuchu knows her well enough to know that she's scarily good at reading people. If Chuchu is picking up on the undefinable fakeness of Prospera's demeanor, then Nika DEFINITELY has. 

“Is there something the matter, Ms. Panlunch? You’ve been awfully quiet, given the reputation you’ve earned," Prospera turns towards her, smile unwavering. "Not to mention that you've been staring daggers at me since you walked in.”

Chuchu startles slightly. She didn’t think she was being that obvious about it. Or is Prospera just that perceptive…?

“N-no. Nothing, really,” she mutters. She’s heeding Nika’s advice to not start shit, after all. “Sorry.”

"I see. Well, I get the feeling that Ms. Panlunch would prefer that we dispense with the pleasantries and get down to business, as it were," Prospera says, setting her teacup down on its saucer. Chuchu feels Suletta stiffen slightly next to her at this; she shifts her weight to the side slightly so that she's leaning her shoulder against Suletta's, offering her comfort as she prepares to confront her mother. Chuchu's almost certain that Prospera notices, given how astute she seems, but she's just gonna have to deal with it.

"So, Suletta, do tell. To what do I owe this pleasure? It must be rather important for you to ask on such short notice."

"Y-yes," Suletta stammers as she looks down at her feet, anxiously twiddling her thumbs together in her lap. “I, um. I wanted to talk about Aerial….”

“I see. And you brought your friends along with you for that?” Prospera asks innocently, tilting her head to the side.

“I-I did,” Suletta nods firmly. “Th-they’re part of my band too, so, I-I wanted them to come.”

Chuchu and Nika both know that the primary reason Suletta brought them along is because her mother intimidates her, but she’s, understandably, not going to tell her that directly. Prospera seems to KNOW this, however, and in asking, is intentionally prodding at Suletta to see how she’ll respond.

It’s pissing Chuchu off.

“Mom,” Suletta continues, glancing up nervously. “Wh-why didn’t you tell me that Aerial was a GUND instrument?”

Prospera hums. If she’s surprised that Suletta knows, she doesn’t show it. “Hmmm….well, GUND instruments have become quite controversial recently, as I’m sure you’re all well aware. I simply wished to shield you from that controversy, is all.”

“B-but!! It did the exact opposite!!” Suletta presses. “Th-the other night, I….we had a gig at a club that banned GUND instruments. So I had to go up with a regular guitar, but I…..c-couldn’t play it. If-if I’d known about Aerial, then…!"

Prospera looks off to the side contemplatively.

“Suletta,” she says after a moment. “Did you know that Shin Sei is heavily invested in the manufacture of GUND instruments?”

Suletta’s eyebrows raise slightly. "I-I didn’t, she replies. “Th-though, I guess that makes sense, since you built Aerial…”

“It’s not something we heavily advertise.” Prospera waves a hand. "From a business standpoint, we have to nurture a delicate balance. Espouse the merits of GUND instruments, while taking the realities of the ever-growing backlash against them into account.

"My not telling you about Aerial was a manifestation of this. It was me playing it safe, for the sake of the company. You were not playing professionally back then, so I didn't believe that it was necessary for you to know. However, in hindsight, it was an error in judgment on my part. I don't believe that I could have anticipated that the controversy around GUND instruments would reach such a fever pitch."

Chuchu's now realizing one aspect of why Prospera's whole schtick is so infuriating—she doesn’t try to deflect blame from herself, but all the same, it feels like she's handwaving aside any and all concerns or criticisms directed at her. And she also gets the impression that Prospera is never outright lying; more so just withholding the whole truth. One might consider that a form of lying, but Chuchu’s not a damn philosopher, so.

“Um, wh-why is there such a controversy around them, though…?” Suletta asks. “I still don't really get it.”

Prospera sighs. “To be quite frank, neither do I. I believe it's simply the old guard of the industry digging in their heels, resisting change wherever it may come. Regardless of your thoughts on GUND instruments, I think it's patently ridiculous to attempt to deny them even a niche; to argue that they have no place whatsoever.”

Suletta's bouncing her leg up and down nervously. "W-wouldn’t it make more sense for Shin Sei to push for them more openly, then? Try to change the way people think of them?"

"In an ideal world, yes. Unfortunately, those who fear change typically seek to destroy that which they don’t understand, regardless of whether or not it will bring betterment to the world,” Prospera replies somewhat bitterly. “Oftentimes, especially when it comes to business, it’s better to keep one's machinations on the down-low. I'm sure you're all familiar with the analogy of the frog in the boiling pot, yes? By the time the powers that be notice the nature of their surroundings has changed irrevocably, it will already be far too deeply entrenched for them to do anything about it."

(...What the hell is this woman talking about?)

“I guess that makes sense….” Suletta mumbles.

“In any case, I do hope that this experience won’t discourage you from continuing to use Aerial moving forward, hm?" Prospera says. "I know that Eri would be quite disappointed were that the case.”

Suletta wilts slightly. "…..Yeah."

Chuchu balls her fists. She knows she promised not to be needlessly argumentative, but she feels like she NEEDS to interject after what Prospera just said. After all, why is she even HERE if she's just gonna sit idly by and let Suletta get pushed around?

“No matter what Suletta decides to do about Aerial, it’s her decision to make. And I think that you should respect that.” Chuchu says, trying to pull a Nika and be as civil as she can.

Prospera smiles at her, but there’s something else, something intangible, running beneath it. “But of course! I was simply offering my own perspective on the matter, is all.”

“No, you were guilt tripping her because you think her using Aerial would be good business for your company or whatever!” Chuchu snaps. “I can read between the lines, I know that—”

“Chuchu,” Suletta says kindly yet firmly, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder. “It’s okay.”

Chuchu pauses, taken aback slightly by her intervention, before embarrassedly sinking backward into the sofa. “....Sorry," she mumbles.

Suletta pats the top of Chuchu's hand a couple times in a silent "it's okay" gesture.

Prospera, for her part, just looks bemused by all of this more than anything else. “My interest in GUND instruments extends far beyond the scope of Shin Sei, I can assure you,” she says. "But I understand where you’re coming from. And you're correct; this is indeed Suletta’s decision to make, at the end of the day.”

Chuchu isn’t at all satisfied by this response, but begrudgingly holds her tongue for Suletta’s sake.

"Mom, th-there's one more thing that I wanted to ask," Suletta begins quietly. “Wh…why did you tell Eri about Aerial but not me?”

“Well, Eri is much older than you, after all. As the older sibling, I believed it best for her to be the one to bear that burden, in order to protect you from it."

"It—it wouldn't have been a burden to me, though!!! I—it…I just wanted…" Suletta knits her brow in frustration, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "I–i–It's not just that you didn't tell me when I first got Aerial!! It's ….it's that you NEVER did. Even after I started my band. A–and, y-you asked Eri not to tell me, too…! It's— it makes me feel like you don't trust me. It…."

Suletta hangs her head with a weak sniffle.

"...it feels like you confirming that Eri is your favorite."

Silence ensues—one so quiet you could hear a pin drop, and so tense you could pop it with one. Prospera just studies her, her smile having finally wavered, in its wake leaving an expression unreadable in its neutrality.

"….Suletta," she says firmly. "Don’t be ridiculous. You know that I love both you and Eri equally."

“I DON’T know that, though!!” Suletta cries. "If–if I did, then I wouldn't be saying it!! You always, always treat her differently than me!! You always have! Wh-what am I supposed to think?!!" 

"...Are you sure that you want to do this in front of your friends?"

“P-p-please don't change the subject!!” she stutters. “I…..f-feel like you never tell me anything. And I hate it. I-I’m 22 years old now, but you're still treating me like a kid…I just….I….”

Suletta trails off without finishing her thought. Silence stretches onward for a long moment once again, eventually being broken by Prospera.

“Suletta. Can you look at me?”

Slowly, weightily, Suletta lifts her head up to make eye contact with her mother, eyes rimmed with red.

“You’re right. I shouldn’t have tried to keep it from you,” she says. “Perhaps I didn't trust in you as much as I should have, but I assure you that I never intended to hurt you. All I can say is that I'm sorry, Suletta. And I will be more open with you moving forward, that's a promise."

Maybe it’s just the fact that she’s dispensed with her saccharine smile and sing-songy tone of voice, but Prospera actually seems genuine in saying this, taking Chuchu somewhat by surprise. 

Suletta sniffles, her tears continuing to fall,  but a weak smile soon makes its way to her face.

"Th-thank you, mom," she says. 

"Of course, my dear." Prospera reaches her hand across the table; Suletta takes it with little hesitation.

"I love you, Suletta. Never doubt that."

"I don't," she replies quietly. "I love you too."

====

Their conversation wraps up shortly thereafter, with Suletta and Prospera having little else to discuss, and the latter lightheartedly professing a need to return to her work. Further pleasantries are exchanged as the girls head on their way, and Prospera sees them off, gracious in spite of the heavy mood that had settled over the room. 

The door to her office closes shut behind them, and with it, their errand reaches its end. Suletta releases a deep, shuddering breath, the tension melting off of her shoulders practically palpable. Without even needing to think about it, both Chuchu and Nika simultaneously wrap themselves around Suletta, the three of them forming a tight group hug, which they stand in, silent and unmoving, for an amount of time indeterminate.

"I'm so proud of you, Suletta," Nika says as the three of them eventually part.

Suletta sniffles, and reaches up a hand to wipe at the corner of her eyes. "Th-thank you."

"You okay?" Chuchu asks.

"Y-yeah. Thank you guys for coming with me. I…I know that I wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

"Of course," Nika smiles at her.

“Sorry, I kn-know that it must have been sort of awkward for you guys…”

“Well….yeah, a little,” Nika admits sheepishly. “But it’s fine. We’re more than happy to endure a bit of awkwardness, if it helps you out.”

“Y-you guys….you’re so nice to me….”

Chuchu kicks her feet awkwardly. There’s something she wants to say, but she’s never really been good at this whole “earnest expression of emotion” thing, so she's feeling very much out of her element at the prospect. 

"Ah, hey, Suletta,” she mumbles. “Just wanted to say I’m, uh. Sorry, that I lost my head a bit in there."

Suletta just smiles at her warmly, giving a gentle shake of her head. "No no, you don't have to apologize. I appreciate it, actually. I know you only did it because you care about me. And to be honest, I knew that if I brought you along, you were probably going to argue with her a bit. It’s not really like you to sit there quietly, after all.”

"Heh. Well, you've got me there."

Nika purses her lips, also seeming somewhat trepidatious, though this is a bit more unusual for her than it is Chuchu. “So…” she ventures. “Your mom seems… um….” 

“Duplicitous?” Chuchu offers.

NIka levels her with a Look. “Well, I would have chosen a phrasing with a bit more tact, Chuchu, but, yes,” she deadpans.

“Y-yeah, she’s always sort of been like that,” Suletta admits. “I think it’s part of why the two of us have sort of a hard time getting along sometimes. She means well, but she just never tells me anything. O-or even Eri, for that matter."

“Do you think she’ll actually make good on her promise? To be more open, I mean?” Chuchu asks, belatedly realizing that oh, Nika's right—she really DOESN’T have much in the way of tact.

“I don’t know for sure,” Suletta replies. “But….I hope so.”

“Me too,” Nika says, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder.

Chuchu's glad that Suletta seems to be doing alright, all things considered. She knows that this wasn’t easy for her to do. It serves to lift her spirits a little bit.

“Well!” she exclaims, clapping her hands together once. “After all that stress, I think we deserve something nice. Whaddya say we head off and go get ice cream or somethin'? My treat! Within reason.”

“Cheapskate,” Nika teases.

“Quiet, you.”

She giggles. "That sounds really nice. Suletta? How about you?

Suletta’s expression brightens. “Y-yeah. I'd like that, I think."

“Heeelllll yeah! No time to lose, then, let’s get the hell outta here already.”

“Right behind you!” Nika chirps, following after Chuchu with a bounce in her step.

“M-me too!!”

And with that, the three girls head off, a weight on their shoulders collectively eased—but still far from lifted off entirely.

Chapter Text

"How did things go with your mom yesterday?" Miorine asks.

She and Suletta are grabbing lunch together on campus, their schedules having lined up such that they're both free at the same time— a frustratingly rare occurrence, all things considered.

"Ah…." Suletta says, tenting her fingers and looking off to the side. "It went…okay."

Miorine quirks a skeptical eyebrow. "Just okay?"

Suletta's posture deflates slightly. "Y-yeah, I mean, it didn't go BADLY, but…it d-didn't really go well, either…"

"I see."

"I just…I feel like there's still a lot that she isn't telling me…"

“About Aerial, you mean?”

“About EVERYTHING.”

Miorine scowls, pissed off on her friend’s behalf. "I'm sorry, Suletta."

“Mmn….it's fine." Suletta sighs in response.

For a moment, Miorine seriously considers offering the fact that she also has a rocky relationship with a parent—in her case, her father—but something makes her hold her tongue. Maybe it's the fact that her friendship with Suletta is still fairly nascent, or that she doesn't want to seem like she's making things about her; but either way, the moment comes and goes, the opportunity to broach the topic vanishing with it.

“Well, your mom notwithstanding. Do you have any idea what you’re gonna do about Aerial?” Miorine asks. “Not to rush you, or anything,” she hastily adds.

“I’m….s-still working on that part,” Suletta replies softly. “I thought that I should maybe try to learn to play a regular guitar, b-but, I really don’t want to abandon Aerial, y’know….?”

Miorine just studies her for a moment.

"Hey. Are you doing okay?"

Suletta blinks at her. "Y-yeah…um, why?"

"Wh–what do you mean, ‘why’?!” Miorine sputters disbelievingly. “ Everything ?"

Suletta looks down as she idly fidgets with her hands. “I’m fine, I promise,” she says. “It sucks, being in this weird sort of limbo, but….I know I’ll figure things out eventually.”

Miorine wants to press her on this a bit more, but holds her tongue, not wanting to seem too pushy. She finds herself second-guessing herself when it comes to her interactions with Suletta far more often than she does with anything or anyone else. Miorine isn't the sort of person who puts much stock in others' opinions of her, but Suletta's an exception. No doubt thanks in part to the inconvenient feelings she's been doing her best to ignore lately.

In any case, it's upsetting, seeing Suletta so torn up. Miorine wishes that there was something more tangible she could do to help her, aside from just sitting here and talking to her.

“Well. Try not to let this discourage you too hard,” Miorine settles for saying. “I believe in you.”

“Th-thank you!!” Suletta chirps. She glances over at the clock placed on the wall nearby, and her expression, cheery from Miorine’s declaration of support, falls noticeably.

“Ah, um, I gotta head off, I need to get to class….” she says somewhat glumly, gathering up her backpack from where it’d been slung over the back of her chair. 

“Oh, alright.”

“Th-thank you for meeting up with me, though! We should d-definitely do this again sometime!"

"Sure. I’m down."

“G-great! Well, I'll see you—” she cuts herself off, raising her eyebrows as she seemingly remembers something. “ Oh! Um, d-do you still think you'd be able to come to game night tomorrow?”

Miorine winces slightly at the reminder, then hopes she wasn't too obvious about it. She'd forgotten that she'd agreed to do that. 

“Yeah,” she replies. “I can make it.”

“A-AWESOME!!” Suletta effuses, bouncing up and down on her feet in a way that’s infuriatingly cute. “I-it's floor 4, at the common room!! Oh, b-but you already knew that, um. Okay!! Yay!! I'm so excited! I'll see you there!! I'm glad we could hang out a little today!! Bye, Miorine!!” 

Suletta’s a ball of restless energy as she gathers up the rest of her things. She starts to run off, but Miorine calls after her.

“Suletta.”

She turns back around, her eyebrows raised and her mouth making a little ‘o.’ “Huh?”

“What time?”

“OH!! Ah, 8 pm-ish, or so!! Usually.”

“Alright. See you then.”

“Y-YEAH! O-okay, b-bye for real this time!!”

“Bye, Suletta.”

Suletta enthusiastically waves goodbye as she scampers off, swinging her hand over her head in broad motions; Miorine returns the gesture, albeit in a far more subdued manner. As her friend vanishes from sight, Miorine is left by her lonesome once more.

She sighs, leaning forward and resting her chin atop her hands. She can tell that Suletta’s still going through it, even if she won’t admit it. For that reason alone, she feels like she should suck it up and go to this game night thing, if it’ll make her happy. Plus, the girl's happiness is absolutely infectious, so it's hard for Miorine to dread having to go when Suletta's so damn enthusiastic about it. 

…That doesn't mean she isn't still dreading it a LITTLE, though.

====

The day of game night comes. Miorine isn't sure what she should wear; she’s literally NEVER done anything like this, after all, so this is completely out of her wheelhouse. She rummages through her closet for what feels like hours before eventually settling for a simple collared shirt along with the one pair of jeans she owns (but never wears) to give herself an air of casualness.

They’re uncomfortable as hell. There’s a reason these things have been gathering dust in the back of a drawer.

Shortly before the scheduled time, Miorine leaves her dorm and takes the elevator down to the fourth floor of the building. She's probably earlier than she needs to be, but she’s just been pacing around her dorm idly feeling like she can't do anything else, so she might as well just show up. She's tired of just sitting around waiting, in any case. 

As the elevator doors slide open, she’s surprised to see Suletta there waiting there for her, leaning against the wall opposite her and looking down at her phone. She glances up, and when she notices Miorine, her neutral expression immediately brightens.

“Miorine!!” she bubbles, pocketing her phone and bouncing over towards her. “You’re here!”

“You didn’t have to wait for me, you know,” Miorine says.

“No, no, I wanted to!” Suletta chirps. “OH, I like your outfit! I've never seen you wearing jeans before.”

“Yeah, that’s because I hate them.”

Suletta giggles. “I see! I guess you aren't as rock and roll as I thought you were…."

Miorine rolls her eyes. “Shut up,” she says with a smirk, playfully pushing Suletta's shoulder; she lets out another giggle in response.

She then pauses, her cheery expression steeling itself into something slightly more serious.

“So, um. I know that this sort of thing isn't really your scene, so, I really, really do appreciate you coming,” she says. “A-and, I, um, wanted to give you one last chance to back out, if you need it.”

Miorine raises her eyebrows slightly; she’d assumed that Suletta was oblivious to the fact that this wasn’t something she was super enthused about, but apparently she’s more perceptive than she gives her credit for.

Also, what the hell, how is this girl so goddamn considerate all the time?

“You’re sweet, Suletta, but it’s fine. I can do it,” she replies, and finds, to her surprise, that she means it. “If I really didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be. Besides, I think it’ll be good for me to push myself out of my comfort zone a little for once.”

Suletta beams at her. “I-if you’re sure, then!” she turns, gesturing for Miorine to follow her. “W-well, c’mon!! Everyone’s already ready, I think!!"

"Right…" Miorine mumbles, following behind her friend as they walk down the hall.

“Don’t worry, they’re super nice. I’m sure you’ll feel right at home!!” Suletta reassures her. Miorine just hums in response as she feels her heartrate picking up pace.

She feels dumb, getting anxious over something as trivial as this, but she's just VERY unused to socializing. Plus, she has a tendency to imagine the worst case scenario in any given situation, which is definitely NOT helping. What if Suletta’s friends don’t like her, or are assholes, or she very obviously doesn’t fit in with them? There are a billion different ways that this could go wrong, and as much as Miorine tries to get herself to not think about them, it's hard to get herself to stop.

She and Suletta soon enter the floor’s common room, where, in one corner, a small group has assembled in front of the TV— some hanging out on the floor, others seated on a couple of sofas and chairs, all chatting amongst themselves and laughing.

Aliya notices the two of them walk in, and waves at them with a smile; this gets the attention of the rest of the group. Miorine flushes, hating the feeling of so many eyes on her at once.

"Y-you guys, this is my friend Miorine!! She’s gonna be joining us tonight!” Suletta introduces her, holding out her hands to the side as if she’s presenting Miorine to everyone.

Miorine awkwardly waves. “Hi.”

The room greets her in return.

As her eyes scan over the assembled group, Miorine immediately realizes that she's definitely a bit overdressed. Well… it's probably more so that everyone else is UNDERdressed. Like half of the people present are wearing their pajamas.

Nika and Chuchu are the only two people here she recognizes; they both wave back at her, Chuchu somewhat noncommittally, and Nika with her usual warm friendliness.

Suletta heads over to sit next to her bandmates, and Miorine follows, settling in next to her; Nika sits to Miorine’s right, with Chuchu next to her in turn.

“It's good to see you again, Miorine!” Nika greets her.

Miorine nods. “Likewise.”

"I'm a bit surprised to see you here, to be honest! This doesn't seem like your kind of thing.”

“Well, Suletta asked me, so, I thought I should at least try to be friendly.”

“Oh, You're the one Suletta's been talking about, right? The amazing guitarist?” LIlique effuses, leaning forward eagerly from her spot on the floor.

"L-l-lilique–!!" Suletta squeaks next to her. 

Miorine feels a swoop in her chest. “Well, I don't know about amazing, but. I'm. Not terrible?”

Suletta pouts at her. “What? You’re WAY better than not terrible, Miorine.” 

“Fine, fine. I’m better than not terrible.”

"It's so good to finally meet you!! I'm Suletta's roommate, Lilique!" Lilique chirps. "She talks about you a LOT!"

Suletta lets out a strained gasp like a dying fish. “I-i-i don't think it's more than a normal amount!! R-really!!” she stammers insistently, a blush coloring her cheeks.

"It's sort of a lot, Suletta," Aliya says; despite the sweetness of her tone, her teasing of Suletta is definitely intentional.

From there, following Lilique's lead, the group takes turns introducing themselves; Miorine immediately forgets like half of their names, and prays that it doesn't come up.

“So you're in a band too, right?” Ojelo inquires.

"Not really a band. It's just me," Miorine replies. "I play guitar. Piano too, though I'm out of practice with that."

"OMG!! I didn't know you played piano!!” Suletta exclaims excitedly, looking genuinely overjoyed to have learned a new fact about Miorine. 

"Emphasis on the past tense," miorine clarifies. "I haven't touched one in years."

“Oh! That's too bad….”

”It's fine. I'm not too torn up about it.” Miorine shrugs. “In any case, I’m definitely not as serious about being a musician as FIX RELEASE.”

“Y-you should be though! O-or I mean, c-consider it at least!!” Suletta interjects. “Y-your music is so so good! If more people heard it, I know you’d definitely be a hit!!”

Suletta’s really good, Miorine’s noticed, at saying things so unrelentingly, earnestly kind that she has no clue how the hell she should respond. And she’s doing this in front of all of her FRIENDS, no less!!

Miorine just looks down at her lap and says simply: “……Thank you.”

Chuchu rolls her eyes. “Suletta, flirt on your own damn time, let's fuckin' get started already.”

"WH–BH–I–I WASN’T—" Suletta squeaks.

The room laughs as both Suletta and Miorine turn bright red.

===

Despite Miorine's initial apprehensiveness, she soon settles in a little, with much of the tension she'd been carrying slowly easing itself off of her. Suletta's friends are very kind and accommodating, which definitely helps temper her nerves. Miorine doesn't know how the hell Suletta managed to meet so many nice people, whereas Miorine has rarely met anyone who treated her with basic human decency. She tries not to let herself be bitter about it, but it's difficult not to be. She's jealous, if nothing else.

The first game they boot up is a platform fighting game that allows for up to eight players. Miorine has never played it before (she doesn't really play video games outside of mobile apps, which she’s sure everyone would make fun of her for if they knew) so she's absolutely abysmal at it. 

Suletta, bless her heart, keeps trying to explain the rules and controls to her; Chuchu chastises her for “backseat gaming,” whatever that means. More than once, Suletta's character dies in the game because real-life Suletta was too distracted trying to help Miorine. 

(This girl is too sweet for her own good.)

Chuchu, on the other hand, doesn't go easy on her at ALL just because she's a novice, killing her character without mercy multiple times over. Miorine doesn't know whether to appreciate that or resent it. Either way, Suletta gets mad at her friend for it, though Miorine insists that she doesn't care. (She does, but no one needs to know that.)

Eventually, she elects to just pass the controller off and play the role of observer. It's more interesting this way, just watching everyone else.

Throughout the night, Suletta’s been paying super close attention to her, and trying and failing miserably to be inconspicuous about it. Miorine doesn’t really mind though, both because it’s making her heart race a little, and also because it’s really sweet that Suletta wants her to be enjoying herself so much.

And despite her initial concerns, she IS enjoying herself— a lot more than she thought she would, actually. As stressful and taxing as it was pushing herself to do this thing tonight, Miorine is so, SO glad that she did. She’d spent so long isolating herself from other people that she didn't realize how empty she felt inside until that void began to be filled. And she owes that almost entirely to Suletta—someone who, for some reason, saw an unapproachable, rude, icy-hearted girl and decided to extend a hand to her. 

Miorine still doesn’t really understand why Suletta wanted to be her friend, if she’s being honest with herself. But it doesn’t change the fact that it’s probably one of the best things to ever happen to her.

====

Miorine’s social battery drains FAST, so she’s pretty much spent just about an hour after arriving. Suletta picks up on her rapidly nosediving level of energy, and offers her an out, which she gratefully takes.

“Thanks again for inviting me to this,” Miorine says as she and Suletta make the short walk back towards the elevators. “I had fun.”

“Of course!” Suletta chirps. “I’m really glad!”

Miorine yawns, and Suletta smiles at her.

“You seem tired.”

“I AM tired. I don’t know how you all were still so full of energy.”

“Hehe! Different people have different limits, I guess...!”

“I guess…” Miorine echoes, lifting up her leg and uses her knee to press the up button for the elevator. Suletta looks at her curiously.

“You use your knee?”

“Yeah, I’m weird like that, I guess. High-touch surfaces, you know.”

“No, no, that’s not weird! I–I use my elbow, personally.”

“Mmm, elbow is also good. Not my first choice, but I can appreciate it.”

Suletta giggles. 

“For real though, I appreciate it a lot,” Miorine continues. “I dunno. I haven’t really gotten to do stuff like this, ever.”

Suletta frowns. “I-I’m sorry to hear that….”

“Don’t be. It’s fine,” Miorine lies. She bites her lip, uncertain if she wants to keep going.

(Screw it. If I can tell this to anyone, it’s Suletta.)

“To be honest, I've been sorta…lonely, for a long time,” she murmurs. “So, you going out of your way to include me, and be my friend…it means a lot.”

Miorine looks away, blushing. Admitting this out loud to another person feels like pulling teeth. She steals a glance up at the other girl’s face, and sees her smiling at her with almost unbearable warmth.

“Of course, Miorine,” she says, her voice gentle and affectionate. “I-if anything, I should be thanking you. You’ve been such a wonderful friend to me, e-even though we still haven't known each other all that long. I'm glad that I met you, I really am.”

Miorine feels a swell of intense emotion rise up within her, and her body moves without her thinking—she very quickly leans forward and hugs Suletta. It’s only a fraction of a second before her brain regains control and yanks her away; Suletta doesn’t even have time to reciprocate, and barely even any time to register what happened by the time it’s over.

“I’m glad too,” Miorine mumbles, looking off to the side awkwardly, a blush creeping its way across her cheeks.

Suletta just stares at Miorine for a long moment, seemingly in shock, before she blushes in turn and an absolutely MASSIVE smile spreads across her face.

The light above the elevator finally lights up with a DING, and its doors slide open. 

“That’s my ride,” Miorine notes.

Suletta awkwardly shuffles her feet. “Y-yeah.”

Miorine almost doesn’t want to leave. Despite how drained she’d felt just moments ago, she feels like she could keep talking to Suletta for hours and never get tired of it. But no, she has her friends to go back to….it’d be selfish of Miorine to keep her.

“Well. I’ll see you around, okay?” she says as she walks onto the elevator. “Thank you again. And best of luck, with everything.”

Suletta smiles at her. “Y-yeah. see you soon.”

Miorine hits the button for her floor (with her elbow) as Suletta waves at her, motions more reserved than usual; Miorine, with a small smile, returns the gesture as the doors slide closed and her friend vanishes from view-- and her night out draws to an end.

====

Miorine returns to her dorm, kicking off her shoes before exhaustedly collapsing face-down on her bed. She lets out a long, drawn-out groan into her pillow. Now that she’s away from Suletta, her exhaustion has fully caught up with her. And e ven though she literally just got back from seeing her, Miorine finds that she misses Suletta already.

Miorine groans again, louder this time.

She’d been heavily resistant to the prospect, but after spending time with her tonight, Miorine can't lie to herself anymore: she has a MASSIVE crush on Suletta. Initially, she’d assumed it was just a passing manifestation of someone being nice to her for once; but the more she's gotten to know her, the more and more intense her feelings have become, and the further over the event horizon she’s hurdled. The way she feels around Suletta—so overcome with joy she feels like she could drown in it, drawn towards the other girl with a fervent magnetism, never wanting the time she spends around her to come to an end….well, she's not obtuse enough to pretend those feelings are platonic.

Miorine scowls. This is SO inconvenient. Of course she would catch feelings for her literal only friend. And she considers herself a terrible judge of whether or not Suletta feels the same. She definitely cares about her, that much is obvious, but Suletta seems to care about EVERYONE. The last thing Miorine wants is to misread Suletta’s signals just because she’s not used to interacting with other human beings.

Wanting to do something more productive with her brainpower other than uselessly pining in a circle, Miorine pulls out her phone and navigates into her web browser, where she pulls up FIX RELEASE's Bandcamp page and hits play on one of their EPs. 

She’s been working her way through their discography lately, which she’s only recently been willing to admit to herself is primarily because Suletta has an absolutely GORGEOUS singing voice. She belts out the lyrics with a bone-deep confidence one would never guess from the girl's usually timid demeanor, her range absurdly impressive. Listening to her sing makes Miorine’s heart all but melt in her chest. 

…..Is having romantic feelings for someone always this humiliating?

The other thing Miorine always notices about their music is that Suletta’s guitar playing is insanely solid. Her passion shines through in her performance with blinding intensity, the notes and chords she plays jumping out snappily, the flow of the music effortlessly guiding the listener from one beat to the next. It's clear as day listening to this that Suletta's talent isn’t solely because of Aerial’s status as a GUND instrument, not by a long shot; her guitar is simply amplifying the skill that was already there. Chuchu's drumming and Nika's bass playing are very consistently competent as well. The band still has a long way to go, for sure, but the spark of potential they have is patently obvious. And Suletta's the one who burns brightest of all of them.

Not that Miorine is biased, or anything.

(Suletta’s such an incredibly skilled guitarist….it makes me want to get better at it myself.)

As soon as this thought crosses Miorine's mind, a realization strikes her, and her eyes, half-lidded from tiredness, shoot open fully as the pieces fall into place.

She figured it out.

She knows how she can help Suletta.

====

Suletta sits on her bed in her dorm, still buzzing with energy over the events earlier that night. It went REALLY well, she thought! In her head, she’d endlessly worried about all the various ways that it could’ve gone catastrophically awry, but Miorine seemed to enjoy herself, and all of her other friends seemed to like her, too, so all in all, it was a huge success!

Really, the hardest part was keeping her own composure with Miorine seated next to her the entire time, acutely aware of the other girl’s presence. Every time their legs or shoulders brushed each other slightly, Suletta felt her heartrate skyrocket. Her crush on her is getting bigger and bigger by the day, with no signs of stopping anytime soon. It's very inconvenient, especially since she doesn’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell of Miorine reciprocating.

Suletta sighs, idly kicking her legs back and forth. Despite how much fun she had, it's hard not to feel like it was ultimately nothing more than a distraction from the Aerial dilemma. She knows that she needs to make a decision soon, but doing so is paralyzingly daunting when it feels like there's no winning option no matter what she chooses. Usually, she likes to play Aerial to clear her head whenever she's having a hard time figuring something out, but now she feels like she can't even do THAT. What a pain…

Abruptly, Suletta is snapped out of her thoughts by her phone buzzing on her bedside table; she glances over, and her heart skips a beat when she sees that the sender is Miorine. She snatches it up and opens up the text, which only consists of a single sentence—simple, blunt, and to the point, as expected of Miorine:

Hey. Let me give you guitar lessons.

Suletta just stares at the message blankly for a little while, her eyes scanning over the words but not really processing what they’re saying. Eventually, though, the gears in her head click together, and the full force of what Miorine is offering hits her like a truck.

Lilique, in the upper bunk, jolts in surprise as Suletta loudly cries—  

“WHAAAAATTT?!?!”

Chapter Text

==EIGHT YEARS AGO==

Miorine Rembran is 14 years old, a freshman in high school, and loves to play guitar.

Technically, she's supposed to be focusing on playing piano at the moment. Her latching onto guitar in the first place was, at least in part, an act of rebellion. Because while she doesn't HATE the piano or anything, the pressure her dad puts on her to do it, and do it perfectly, at that, sucks out all the fun she might've otherwise had with it.

Her father, Delling Rembran, is a very successful and prolific businessman— a status he's managed to obtain by screwing over everyone and everything in his path. He's made a ton of enemies this way, but to him, they're just meaningless collateral on his climb up the ladder. His stomping grounds for the past few years have been within the music industry, which is almost certainly the primary reason he’d decided to push her into playing piano in the first place.

Delling has repeatedly reminded her to keep in mind that what she does reflects on him as a father, and to act accordingly. Which is just a fancy way of saying that her own autonomy plays second fiddle to her bolstering her father’s reputation.

Having a daughter who plays piano proficiently at packed recitals would undoubtedly make him look good to the hoity-toity execs he rubs elbows with; which, for a man like Delling, who’s simultaneously callous towards everyone he meets and obsessed with his own reputation, was too alluring a prospect to ignore.

So playing guitar has become somewhat of an escape for Miorine. Her lousy father loves to pile an unreasonable amount of expectations on her and micromanage every aspect of her life, but guitar is something that's entirely hers. It's a reminder that, despite what her father—hell, what EVERYONE seems to think, she's her own person, and not simply a tool for Delling to use to further his own ambitions.

And ever since Miorine's mom Notrette died, Delling's only been getting worse towards her. Miorine can’t understand what her mom, who she remembers as a kind woman, ever could've possibly seen in a horrible man like her father. Then again, she was rather little when Notrette died, so there were almost certainly dimensions of their relationship too complicated for her to wrap her head around at the time.

In any case, Miorine credits her mother for shaping her into the person she is today. Without her influence, it's very possible Miorine could have turned into a stuck-up, ruthless asshole like her father—a reality too abhorrent for her to even think about.

At present, Miorine sits across from her father at the dinner table, leveling him with a glare. Meals at the Rembran household are always a terse affair; she and Delling barely speak to one another during, and an acidic tension permeates the air throughout. Miorine knows that it's not enjoyable for either of them, so she doesn't get why he always insists that they eat together, other than the fact that it's what they're supposed to do.

"Are you keeping up with your piano lessons?" Delling asks her, dispelling the oppressive silence.

"Yes," Miorine answers curtly, not looking up from her plate.

"Ensure that you continue to not slack off on it. Don't waste too much of your time with that guitar of yours.”

Miorine clenches her fists. “I'm not wasting time.”

“Mmm. Perhaps you don't think you are.”

“I KNOW I’m not!!” she snaps. “Wh-what, I'm not allowed to have ANY interests of my own?!”

Delling doesn't react to her outburst, instead just dabbing at the corner of his mouth with a napkin, his expression neutral. This only serves to make Miorine angrier—it feels like she’s not even being taken seriously.

“You are, of course,” Delling says coolly. “I consider myself a lenient parent. I allow you to fritter your time away on frivolities that serve no practical purpose. However, you must not allow these follies to ever sap your energy from what is truly important.”

“Why do YOU get to decide what’s important to ME?! Doesn't what I want to do matter?!”

Delling sighs, like he’s dealing with a particularly petulant toddler. “You’re too young to understand this, Miorine, but rest assured that I am acting in your best interest. I simply want you to grow into a successful adult.”

“No you don't!” Miorine snaps. “Don’t pretend like you care about me!! You’re basically telling me that what makes me happy should come second to making the family look good!”

“I am telling you that,” Delling says, taking Miorine completely aback with its bold-faced audacity. “Because it’s true. You may not like it, but you have a responsibility to uphold the good name of our family. You must—”

“I don’t CARE!! I don’t WANT that responsibility!!”

“Control yourself, and stop this childish tantrum. You are a Rembran, and you will act accordingly.”

“Well, I wish I WASN'T a Rembran. Maybe then I wouldn’t have to deal with YOU,” Miorine snarls.

“Miorine.”

Miorine forcefully stands up from the table, chair screeching behind her, and begins to march off.

“Whatever. I’m done here,” she growls, her voice cracking as she tries to hold back her tears. The absolute LAST thing she ever wants to do is cry in front of her dad, of all people.

“Miorine,” Delling calls after her. “Return here at once.”

Ignoring him, Miorine storms upstairs, retreats into her bedroom, then slams the door as loudly as she possibly can for effect. She stomps over and flings herself face-down onto her bed, letting out a scream into her pillow as soon as she lands.

Four more years. Just four more years until she can move away for college, and she'll never have to speak to her lousy, hypocritical loser of a father ever again.

===

Miorine mostly plays guitar at school these days—after all, when she does it here, she doesn't have to deal with Delling breathing down her neck trying to tell her it's a waste of time. She prefers to stay as late as she can get away with; not that high school is any great shakes either, but it definitely beats being at home.

At the end of the school day, Miorine usually holes herself up in an empty, out-of-the-way classroom, and just sits and plays her electric guitar for as long as she can. Doing this is somewhat meditative, playing with only the idle din of the school and the sound of her own instrument cutting through the silence.

Miorine's day-to-day life tends to be very isolating. In addition to her abysmal relationship with her father, she's rarely been able to keep friends for long, which at this point she has to admit is probably a problem with her rather than everyone else. Her life, generally speaking, sucks ass, to put it eloquently.

But when she's in the zone with her guitar like this, all the worries that loom over her like an acidic cloud seem to fade into the background. Her fingers dance across the frets, producing a melody that comes out rough-edged and angry sounding, for reasons that aren’t exactly difficult to guess. She treasures her after-school guitar sessions in part because they’re just about the only time she ever feels anything close to contentment. While she’s here, she can forget about the harsh realities of her life, however briefly, and lose herself fully in playing.

"You’re pretty good at that."

Miorine’s playing screeches to a grinding halt as she’s snapped out of her reverie by the sound of an unfamiliar voice; she looks up to glare at its source.

Standing in the doorway and leaning against the jamb is a boy about her age, arms crossed, with a streak of pink dyed into the front of his hair. He's looking at her with a smug expression.

"Whatever," Miorine grumbles. Maybe if she's off-putting enough, this kid will leave her alone.

Unfortunately for her, he either doesn't take the hint or deliberately ignores it, walking further into the room. 

"You’re Miorine Rembran, right?"

Miorine immediately feels her hackles go up. "How the hell do you know my name?"

“I’ve heard about you,” he replies, stopping a couple feet away from her and putting his hands in his pockets. "Heard you're good at guitar."

"Don't know where the hell you'd’ve heard that from. Sounds like you're making that up."

"Why would I do that?"

"Hell if I know."

Miorine isn't looking at him anymore, instead trying to go back to focusing on her guitar; it's hard to concentrate with this kid standing there looking at her, though.

“Do you need something?” she scowls. "If you do, just spit it out, and if you don't, then piss off and stop bothering me.”

He glares at her disdainfully for a moment, before his mouth turns up into a dry smirk. "Sure. Alright. Lemme cut to the chase, then."

The boy pounds his chest with a smug, distinctly masculine flavor of bravado.

“I’m Guel Jeturk,” he declares. “I’m lookin’ to start the best band in the world, and I need a rhythm guitarist. You in?"

Caught way off guard by this, Miorine’s eyes immediately snap back up to him, her eyebrows raised in surprise; of all the things she'd expected him to say to her, this barely even registered as a possibility.

"Me?"

"Yuh-huh."

"....Why?" she eyes him suspiciously.

Guel shrugs. “Like I said, I heard you were good. And after hearing you play, it seems that was right. I think you’d be a good addition. That’s all I'm here for, to offer you a spot in the band.”

Miorine pauses, the gears in her brain spinning rapidly trying to process this onslaught of new information.

Well, for one thing, she definitely doesn't trust this boy. She's not in the habit of trusting boys in general, but this one seems ESPECIALLY fishy.

But at the same time, she can't deny how appealing the prospect of being in an actual band is to her. The possibility of being able to find like-minded people she could talk about music with and actually relate to seems too good to pass up. Plus, call it teenage rebellion, but the more her dad tries to convince her that guitar is a waste of time, the more she wants to double down. The more determined she is to prove him wrong.

Miorine still isn’t entirely convinced, but she finds that her interest is undoubtedly piqued. She regards Guel with a skeptical look, and crosses her arms. 

"…I'm listening."

==PRESENT DAY==

Miorine restlessly flits around her dorm, getting in some last-minute cleaning before Suletta arrives.

The two of them had opted to hold their guitar lessons here, mostly because Suletta has a roommate and Miorine doesn't. Miorine may have been the one who suggested this arrangement—insisted on it, more accurately—but it carries with it a problem, namely that her dorm had been an absolute pigsty; being depressed and lonely would sort of do that. Since she’s moved into this dorm, pretty much no one besides her has ever set foot in it, save for plumbers and electricians she’d begrudgingly called after YouTube tutorials failed her.

Miorine knows that Suletta isn't the type to judge, but still, leaving her dorm in its natural state is way too mortifyingly embarrassing to even consider. It's probably a good thing that she’s finally having someone over—she almost certainly would have never cleaned it if she hadn't been given a push.

It's….weird, to think that she's having a friend over. Even just a couple months ago, this would have been completely unthinkable. Ever since she met Suletta, Miorine's life has changed so much for the better in a relatively short span of time, which, unfortunately, sets the part of her unused to things going well for her on edge. It's hard to not feel like she's just holding her breath waiting for the other shoe to drop, even if she knows at this point that it's probably an irrational concern.

Miorine sighs, wiping her brow with the back of her hand as she reviews her handiwork. Her dorm is definitely still messy, but it's the lived-in kind of messy, not the "shit, are you okay?" kind of messy. For now, that'll have to do.

Two tentative knocks sound at her door, signaling Suletta’s arrival, and Miorine's heart immediately picks up pace. 

(Alright. For the love of God, please be normal, Miorine.)

She trepidatiously pads over to her door, places her hand on the knob, and takes a deep breath to steady herself. Then, she turns it, opens it, and there stands Suletta—her guitar case on her back, a smile on her face, and the stars in her eyes. Miorine feels herself practically melt at the sight of her.

“Hey,” she breathes, trying to not come off as enamored as she feels, and uncertain if she succeeds or not.

"H-hi!!!" Suletta stammers nervously. "I'm here!!"

"So you are," Miorine smirks, before stepping off to the side to let Suletta past her. “C'mon in.”

"Th-thank you!!!"

Suletta enters, and Miorine shuts the door behind her.

"I, um….I brought Aerial," Suletta says, gesturing to the case on her back. "I–I know that we were gonna practice with your acoustic, so I don't know if I’ll actually use her, but…."

"Of course. Not gonna hurt to have her on hand."

Miorine walks over and grabs her own guitar, which she'd already gotten out in anticipation of the lesson.

“Sorry that it’s a bit of a mess in here.”

“Oh, no no!! It’s totally fine!! M-me and Lilique’s dorm is totally messy too!”

“I see.”

Miorine, guitar in hand, takes a seat on the edge of her bed. She offers Suletta her office chair (the only chair in the dorm) positioned in front of the adjacent desk, on which the other girl gingerly sits, setting Aerial's case down next to her as she does. The two are positioned such that they’re directly facing one another; Suletta, seated only about a foot or two away from her, looks at Miorine, her sea-blue eyes seeming to sparkle with an earnest excitement that's almost blinding to look at.

Miorine tries, and fails, not to get flustered at how intimate this whole situation feels.

(Oh, this was a BAD idea.)

She clears her throat. “So,” she begins, hoping that once she actually gets things underway things will be more manageable, “I'm not sure how effective I'm gonna be at this, exactly. I don't feel like I'm much of a teacher, but, I'll do my best to help you out."

"D-don’t worry!! I'm sure you'll do great!”

“Thanks….” Miorine mumbles. "Anyway, let's get started."

"R-right!!"

Miorine adjusts herself so that she's sitting on one of her legs, and idly drums her fingers against the neck of her guitar. “So, I’m assuming that you’re well-versed on the basics of guitar already."

“Mm-hmm,” Suletta nods. "I DID learn how to play once already, i just…didn't realize I was doing it with a GUND instrument. So I don't really know how that affected things, a-and stuff….”

“I did some research into GUND instruments,” Miorine says. "Their primary function is to make the physical aspect of playing the instrument much easier. So your brain already knows how to play guitar, and play it brilliantly, at that. We just have to help your body play catch-up.”

“R-right!” Suletta nods, a furious red blush making itself visible on her face. "I…I don't know if I'm that good…”

Miorine rolls her eyes. “Suletta, I've listened to your band’s music, I'm not gonna let you sit here and tell me you're not amazing at guitar.”

Suletta just stares at her. “Y-you….listen to FIX RELEASE….?”

Now it's Miorine's turn to blush. “Ah. Yeah, sometimes—a-anyway!!” Eager to change the subject, she practically shoves her guitar towards Suletta. “Here!”

Suletta delicately takes it from her, examining the instrument with a curious look on her face.

“Ooh…I've never played on an acoustic before…”

“It shouldn't be that different than what you're used to, I don’t think,” Miorine says. “I wish I had an electric that I could loan you, but…”

She trails off. Sometimes, she really wishes that she still had her old electric guitar from when she was a teenager.

“It's fine! F-for just practicing, I'm sure it'll be okay!” Suletta chirps, looking down as she positions her hands on the neck of the instrument. "Though, I can already tell that it's way different than what I'm used to with Aerial…"

(Different than with Aerial….?)

A thought occurs to Miorine. “Hey, do you mind if I try playing her?”

Suletta looks up and blinks at her. “A-Aerial, you mean?”

“Yeah. Feel free to say no, I know she’s important to you,” Miorine hastily adds. “I was just thinking that it might help give me a better sense of where you're starting from.”

“I see…..” Suletta purses her lips, thinking for a moment, before giving Miorine a slight nod. “….I think that’d be okay. I trust you, Miorine, so….I-I know you’ll take care of her.”

“Thank you,” Miorine tries to ignore the fluttering of her heart at Suletta’s admission that she trusts her as the latter reaches down and retrieves Aerial from her case.

“Here,” Suletta says, gently handing the guitar over to her; Miorine takes it in her hands like it might shatter if she holds it the wrong way. The absolute last thing she wants to do is give Suletta a reason to believe her trust in her was misplaced.

“Alright…” Miorine hums, holding Aerial against herself. "Let's try this out."

She begins to play, and the difference is stark, and immediate. In addition to being a GUND instrument, Aerial is also an electric guitar, a type of instrument Miorine hasn’t played regularly in years. But the Permet factor is almost certainly the greater difference—her fingers seem to glide over the frets effortlessly, with her barely even having to think about where they have to go next before they've already beaten her to it.

(Holy shit...so this is what playing a GUND instrument is like...)

Though Miorine only plays a few measures at most, it's more than enough for her to feel like her eyes have been blown wide open.

“This is….definitely different than what i’m used to.”

“H-have you ever played an electric guitar before?” Suletta asks.

“Yeah. I tend to prefer acoustic, but I played electric back when I was in Guel's old band.”

Suletta crinkles her nose. “Ew. I’d forgotten about him.”

Miorine can’t help but snicker a bit at her earnestly disgusted reaction. “If only we all could be so lucky.”

She hands Aerial back to Suletta. “Here.”

“Oh! Y-you’re done with her already?”

“Yeah. I feel like I got a good sense of things just from that.”

Also, she really doesn’t want to push her typically less-than-stellar luck and risk anything happening to Aerial on her watch.

"Plus, we’re not here to watch ME play guitar. We should get started with helping you out."

“R-right!!” Suletta chirps as she returns Aerial to her case. "So, um, what first?"

Miorine pauses.

(Oh. I really should have thought about that beforehand, shouldn't I?)

"Uh. I guess, just…try playing something on the acoustic," she says. "We'll figure things out from there."

"Alright." Suletta nods, positioning her fingers on the frets and holding the guitar closer to her, looking down at it studiously.

She shifts around awkwardly in her seat for a moment. "Ah…um…it's a little embarrassing, playing with you watching like this….."

Miorine levels her with a look. "Suletta. You literally play with a band onstage."

"I-it's different, though!! When it’s just us….."

"Do you want me to look away?"

"N-no!! You need to see if I'm doing anything wrong!” Suletta insists. “I--I'll manage!!"

"If you're sure, then," Miorine smirks, finding herself overwhelmingly endeared by the interaction.

Suletta takes in a deep breath. “Okay…..I'm going.” 

And she begins to play.

It’s, to put it nicely, clumsy. She keeps hitting the wrong strings by mistake, botching chords, and messing up the timing, among other things. She seems to be having a hard time positioning her fingers on the frets for certain chords, needing to pause briefly several times to figure out her angle of attack; presumably, the Permet did a lot of the heavy lifting for her on that with Aerial.

After playing for a little bit, Suletta stops, seeming frustrated.

“...That was really bad,” she mumbles.

“It wasn't…horrible,” Miorine says, trying to be nice, though wincing at how unintentionally backhanded it came out sounding. “The point of that was just so we could see where you’re starting from.” 

"Right…" Suletta winces, then shakes out her wrist. “A-are my fingers supposed to hurt this much…?”

“Huh. I wouldn't think you'd have that problem since you're already pretty experienced… but it should pass as you keep playing,” Miorine replies. “I wonder if Permet lightened the strain on your body, or something.”

“Th-that could be….”

“In any case, you seem to be having some trouble with positioning your fingers and transitioning between chords, so I definitely think that's what we should focus on first.”

Suletta nods enthusiastically. “O-okay!!”

“And, try not to get too discouraged, alright?” Miorine says gently. “This isn’t something we’ll have resolved today, but if you keep playing, eventually you’ll develop the muscle memory you need. No question”

“Okay,” Suletta says quietly. “I-I’ll do my best!!”

The lesson continues from there, Miorine helping Suletta with her problematic chords and giving her pointers as she plays. About an hour in, Suletta finishes playing a melody, which Miorine recognizes as being from an FR song. It had come out sounding very noticeably off, and looking at Suletta’s tightly knit brow and contemplative frown, it’s apparent that she noticed it as well. At first, she’s worried that Suletta is still upset by her lack of immediate progress, but after a moment, she sets down the guitar in her lap and determinedly holds up her hand.

“M-Miorine!”

“...You don't have to raise your hand, Suletta, you can just say what you want.”

“Oh!! Okay!" she lowers it. "Um! S-so one thing I noticed is that the strings sometimes aren’t sounding right when I try to play a chord.”

Suletta demonstrates by plucking a chord; sure enough, it sounds curt and strained, like it's failing to resonate. 

“Can you play that again?” Miorine asks.

“Y-yeah.”

Suletta plucks the strings again; Miorine looks at her fingers as she does, and immediately notices something.

“Yeah, you’re holding the strings wrong. Move your fingers up a little.”

Suletta does, and tries playing the chord again; it still sounds noticeably off.

“Up a bit more,” Miorine instructs.

“L-like this?”

“No, up the other way, Suletta. Y-axis.”

“Wh….what?”

(She's not really going to make me do it, is she?)

“Towards you.”

“I…um, l-l-like this?”

“Move your middle finger up more.”

Suletta plays a chord once again, yet it still fails to sound correct. She wilts in on herself, looking noticeably embarrassed. “I, um….Sorry, I….I–I don’t get it….?”

(She's really making me do it.)

Miorine sighs exasperatedly. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. Let me show you,” she says, standing up and walking behind Suletta, then placing her left hand over the other girl’s to guide her fingers into the correct positions. As she does, Suletta jolts slightly in surprise, before her posture stiffens noticeably.

It doesn’t escape Miorine how much larger Suletta’s hands are than her own, or how rough and calloused they are from years of guitar-playing. She feels heat rush up to her face. She glances down at Suletta, sitting still as a statue, whose face also looks significantly redder than usual. Miorine decides to not read into it.

“Try that,” she says, pulling her hand away after she finishes positioning Suletta’s fingers for her.

“O-okay,” Suletta squeaks. She plays the chord once again, and this time, it comes out sounding flawless. Suletta’s eyes widen, and she looks up at Miorine excitedly.

“I–I did it!!”

Miorine crosses her arms as she settles back in on the bed, leaning her back against the wall. “What’s all this talk about you? I’m the one who did most of the work on that one.”

Realizing she should probably provide some actual positive reinforcement, Miorine adds: “That was good. Just keep that up.”

Suletta beams at her, a smile so unfiltered and unabashed in its radiance that it makes Miorine feels like she’s staring directly at the sun. She looks away.

“Right!! I will!” she hears Suletta chirp enthusiastically.

(...This was a BAD idea,) Miorine repeats to herself.

===

A few weeks have passed since Suletta and Miorine started their impromptu lessons together. The two have been managing to meet up a couple times a week, when their schedules allow it, and Suletta finds that her improvement with the guitar is already noticeable.

It was difficult at first, admittedly—struggling with a non-GUND instrument gave her unpleasant flashbacks to her botched performance during her last gig—but she managed to get the hang of it very quickly. Past a certain point, Miorine had stopped having anything to teach her, as Suletta's existing skill as a guitarist carried her much of the rest of the way. Now, all that's really left for her to do is practice, practice.

Despite this, Suletta continues to make the trip to Miorine's dorm on their scheduled nights. Ostensibly, it's just to use her acoustic guitar, but both of them know (even if it remains unspoken) that the much larger factor is because they're having fun in each other's company. Since they don't really do proper lessons anymore, Suletta's visits usually just entail her practicing as she chats with Miorine, who sometimes gives her pointers, but mostly is content to just do her own thing.

Suletta loves how easily conversation between the two of them flows, like she doesn't even have to try to come up with anything to say. It's something that she's never really experienced before, even with Nika and Chuchu. Social interaction has always been exceedingly difficult for her, but for some reason, being around Miorine makes it easy; somewhat paradoxically so, as talking to her is ALSO very anxiety-inducing thanks to the massive crush she has on her.

Because of all this, these lessons-turned-hangouts very quickly become the highlight of any day on which they take place, serving as a constant beacon on the horizon for Suletta to look forward to.

Granted, practicing with an acoustic guitar is only going to get her so far, given that she plays an electric in FIX RELEASE— she'll definitely need to find one to practice with at some point. She can't let Nika and Chuchu down, after all. FR has been on hiatus for over a month at this point, and the guilt over holding up her bandmates is beginning to weigh on her more and more. She knows that she needs to get proficient enough with a non-GUND guitar that the band can come back as soon as possible.

She can't deny that the prospect makes her feel somewhat conflicted, though; if FR resumes its activities as normal, most of the pretense for her and Miorine's meetings will vanish, and Suletta really doesn't want this to end. There's no reason why they can't keep it up afterwards, of course, but doing so feels like they're coming dangerously close to acknowledging the amorphous Something that's happening between them. 

Suletta finds herself falling for Miorine harder and harder the more time she spends around her. And while she doesn't want to misread any signals, or get her hopes up, she can't deny that there's an energy between the two of them unlike anything she's experienced with anyone else before. She hopes, wants so badly to believe, that Miorine feels it too.

"You're getting really good at that," Miorine comments one day after Suletta plays a riff on her guitar all but flawlessly. "Not that I'm surprised."

"Th-thank you!!" Suletta beams. "I-it means a lot, e-especially coming from you."

Miorine cocks her head to the side a little. "Why from me, specifically?"

"Because you're my friend, silly!" Suletta pouts at her. "And, well, p-plus….you're r-really good at guitar yourself, too. I guess I sort of feel like…. 'Oh! If Miorine thinks it's good, then I must be doing well!' I'm still a bit starstruck, I guess."

Miorine just blinks at her.

"By ME?"

Suletta looks away with a blush. "Th-that's probably embarrassing to admit…"

Miorine pauses a moment before answering, leaning back with a small smile as she does. "No, not really," she says. "It's just…it's sweet. I wasn't expecting that."

"Y-you should have!" Suletta says. "E-expected it, I mean! The whole reason we even became friends is because I liked your music so much I had to tell you about it!"

"I thought the reason we were friends is because you made Guel Jeturk look like a jackass."

"W-well, it can be because of multiple things…"

Miorine laughs at that, and Suletta feels a rush of affection surge through her entire body. She looks down, idly picking at the strings of her guitar.

"I, um. I know I've already said this before, but, thank you, Miorine. For doing this for me. I really appreciate it."

Miorine shrugs. "Of course. I'm more than happy to help out. It's nothing, really."

"I-it isn't nothing to me!" Suletta insists. You’re….you didn’t have to do this for me, but, you wanted to help me, and….I want you to know it means a lot to me. You …mean a lot to me."

That last bit had slipped out before Suletta had a chance to catch it, but she finds that she doesn't mind. In fact, it's sort of the opposite—it's somewhat gratifying to tell Miorine how she really feels, even just a little bit.

Miorine is pointedly looking away from Suletta, evidently flustered by her admission. A faint pink color dusts her cheeks, but Suletta wills herself not to read too much into it.

“….You mean a lot to me, too,” Miorine says softly. “To be honest, I didn't really have any friends before, so. I'm glad I was able to meet you.”

"Wh-what!!" Suletta yelps in surprise. "But!! You’re so!! So talented! and nice!! And…."

She was about to say “and pretty,” but luckily, her brain managed to slam the brakes on her mouth before she could. She's not ready to be THAT open yet.

Miorine barks out a dry laugh. “I think you’re probably the first person who’s ever thought I seemed ‘nice.’”

"W-well….you are a little bit intimidating….I was sort of scared of you at first, to be honest…." Suletta admits. "B-but! Th-that was before I got to know you! Someone who isn’t nice wouldn’t have offered to give me lessons! And, and I wouldn't be friends with someone who wasn't nice!"

Miorine is silent for a moment, still looking away with an unreadable expression. Then, she looks up, and graces Suletta with a smile so tender and gentle it hurts. "Thank you, Suletta. That…means a lot."

Suletta feels a swooping sensation in her chest. "Of course," she breathes.

She then purses her lips timidly, anxiously drumming her fingers against the body of Miorine’s guitar.

"Um….." she begins. "C-can I….um…m-maybe….?"

Suletta's too shy to say it, so she just holds out her arms to the side a little, looking away sheepishly and hoping Miorine gets what she's going for. She does, fortunately—Miorine just rolls her eyes with a bemused smirk, before wordlessly leaning forward and falling into Suletta's embrace. She jolts, pulse racing in her ears, before gently wrapping her arms around Miorine in return.

It's a bit awkward with the guitar between them, but Suletta can't remotely bring herself to complain. Miorine is warm, and soft, and her presence carries with it a feeling of pure, unbridled comfort. With her in her arms, it's hard not to feel like everything is going to be okay.

Suletta doesn’t want to let her go. Not now, not ever.

Chapter Text

Miorine is crushingly, overwhelmingly bored .

Not that this is an uncommon occurrence or anything. It’s been becoming LESS common lately, since she actually has somewhat of a social life to speak of these days, but it’s far from alleviated entirely. She still rarely leaves her dorm, so whenever she has downtime it’s always a challenge to figure out how to fill it.

She supposes she could go for a walk around campus, but the hustle and bustle is sure to overstimulate her at the moment. She’s done with all of her schoolwork already. And there’s only so much time she can spend reading or watching TV before it gets old.

So she’s mostly spent her day milling about her dorm, laying in bed scrolling through her phone, and getting around to the household chores she’d been putting off. 

She misses Suletta. Granted, they literally spoke earlier today, so it seems weird to miss her, but Miorine is NEVER bored when she’s talking to her. For the past few hours she’s been overcome by the temptation to text her, but she also really doesn’t want to be overbearing. Suletta’s got her own life—her own friends—and Miorine doesn’t want to selfishly demand her attention 24/7. 

Well, she DOES want to. But she shouldn’t.

See, this is another problem with her being bored. It gives her mind the chance to wander and think about how crappy her life is. It may suck less than it used to, but there’s still plenty of suck to go around. Thinking about Suletta in particular is bittersweet, since the pessimist in Miorine highly doubts she’s as wholly infatuated with Miorine as she is with her.

Right now, Miorine has settled on sitting on her bed and playing her guitar. Despite a relative lack of inspiration, she’s been trying to write a new song, since that’s SOMETHING productive she can do with her time. Progress is slow going, but she's slowly been chipping away at it, if nothing else.

Suddenly, her phone vibrates from its position resting on her nightstand, and Miorine pounces on it without even thinking, a jolt of adrenaline shooting through her in an almost Pavlovian response. There's really only ever one reason why her phone sends her a notification, after all.

1 NEW MESSAGE: SULETTA MERCURY

Miorine kicks her feet back and forth excitedly, trying to hold in a squeal. It's downright humiliating how Suletta turns her into some schoolgirl with a crush. Thank god no one else is around to see her like this.

She eagerly opens the text—and in an instant, the euphoria she'd felt gives way to an icy, acidic malaise.

hi miorine!! im so so sorry but im not gonna be able to make it to our practice this fri 😭😭😭😭😭😢😢😢

a couple friends of mine who are in a band have a gig and I wanna go support them!!!!!

Miorine reads and reread the texts, taking time to fully process them, then groans and flops over onto her pillow face-down. Their practices are one of the few bright spots in her life, and now she has one fewer to look forward to.

She can't be mad at Suletta for this. It'd be pretty shitty of her if she was, after all. But even so, she really, REALLY doesn’t want to miss out on spending time with her.

(Maybe I still can… .)

An idea occurs to her, and completely on impulse, Miorine shoots up, grabs her phone, and texts back–

Would it be okay if I tagged along with you?

Miorine hits send, and the instant she does, a wave of regret and embarrassment washes over her. 

What was she THINKING?! This is a thing with Suletta and her friends, she can't just—invite herself like this!! Is her life really so dismally boring without Suletta that she can’t even go one night without hanging with her? Well, yes, but she shouldn't be so obvious about it!!

Miorine so badly wants to toss her phone into a river and run away to go live in the mountains, never to return, but she wills herself to peek back down at her messaging app. When she does, she sees Suletta's three dots indicating she’s typing; they come in and out for a solid minute or two, leaving Miorine in a weighty suspense that makes her feel like her heart's in a vise.

Finally, the text from Suletta comes in, and to say that it hadn’t been what Miorine was expecting would be an understatement.

OMG OMG REALLY?? YES OF COURSE ID LOVE FOR YOU TO COME ALONG!!!

i thought u hated club scenes like this though!!!!

Miorine’s eyes widen, staring down at her phone in shock. Suletta….wants her to come with? Not only that, she seems really earnestly excited about it?

Geez, this is such a perfectly Suletta response to have. She’s so effortlessly sweet and caring that of COURSE she’d be thrilled that Miorine decided to invite herself along.

Miorine's fingers, once again, move faster than her brain, and she types–

I do. But I think it could be fun if I'm there with you. In any case, I’d like to still be able to spend time together, even if we don’t do our usual lessons.

She hits send, then immediately lets out a high-pitched noise of disdain as she buries her burning face in her hands.

(Christ, Miorine, just PROPOSE to her at this rate.)

ofc ofc!! id love to spend time with you too!! 

i was rlly disappointed that I had to miss out on our lessons, but this is even BETTER!!

okay!! yay!! ill text you the details in a sec k!!

yayyyy im excitedddd

Miorine lets out a breath she didn't even know she'd been holding. Even through text, Suletta's excitement is all but palpable.

(Maybe it's a good thing that I'm becoming more impulsive.)

=====

On the night of the show, Suletta comes over to Miorine’s dorm to pick her up, and the two make their way across campus to catch the bus to the rock club. The night air is crisp and chilly, but pleasantly so. The campus is lively and bustling with activity, but not so much so as to be overwhelming. It's a nice night. Miorine should leave her room more often, she thinks.

Suletta seems to be in high spirits, practically bouncing along as she walks by Miorine's side.

"I'm so glad you decided to come along!!" she chirps.

"I hope I'm not imposing or anything."

"What?!" Suletta looks genuinely surprised, as if she hadn't even considered that. "No, don't be silly, Miorine, you're not imposing at all! I'm really happy you're here!!"

Miorine looks away to hide her blush. Suletta HAS to be doing this to her on purpose, right?

"...I'm glad."

Suletta looks as radiant as ever, even though she's far from dressed to the nines; she's wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with the logo of the band they're going to see, Dawn of Fold, along with a pair of ripped jeans and her usual ratty high-top sneakers.

Miorine finds that she's really attracted to Suletta's whole grungy rocker look, which is something she never would have expected from herself before meeting the other girl. She also never would have expected that she'd be willingly going to a rock club when she doesn't have a gig there, but Suletta has a knack for defying her expectations, it'd seem.

That's another thing, actually. With just the two of them going to this show together, Miorine tries not to think about how much it feels like a date. Though the thought of dating Suletta has been occupying her mind more often than not as of late, so it's easier said than done.

Miorine wants to properly ask Suletta out, knows that she probably NEEDS to—but at the same time, Suletta is her only friend. She knows, logically, that she isn't the type of person to cut things off because of unrequited feelings, but Miorine still doesn't want to risk making things weird between them. Suletta's too important to her for that.

No, she needs to be all but certain that Suletta feels the same before making a move. That, or try to goad Suletta into making a move on her own.

(I'm probably overthinking this. No, I definitely am.)

In any case, it's becoming more and more undeniable how much she wants Suletta. She’s in SO deep. Way too deep to back out now. She doesn’t know what she’s going to do. But she'll worry about that later. For now, she’s just so, so happy to even be by Suletta’s side.

=====

The rock club that Dawn of Fold is performing at is somewhat bigger than the venues FIX RELEASE has played at, which Suletta attributes to the fact that DoF is more popular than they are. Suletta had been given a backstage pass by her friends, which fortunately allows Miorine to join her as well. The two head into the backstage area shortly after arriving, and it's not long before Suletta catches sight of the duo that they'd come here to meet.

"Oh!! There they are!!" she chirps, then waves her arm over her head enthusiastically. "Sophieee!! Norea!!" 

Hanging out on the other side of the room are two girls, close in age to Suletta and Miorine, who both look over as Suletta calls out to them.

Sophie’s wearing a Def Leppard t-shirt that’s been haphazardly cut into a sleeveless crop top, along with clunky combat boots and baggy cargo pants secured by a belt covered in spikes.

Norea is a bit more low-key; her ensemble is almost entirely black, consisting of a long-sleeved shirt tucked into denim shorts with fishnet stockings underneath, a choker necklace, and beat-up high top sneakers covered in Sharpie doodles that look like they’re a day away from fully disintegrating. Her dark turquoise hair is an absolute rat’s nest, and her eyelashes are caked with heavy mascara. A guitar hangs over her shoulders, though it's turned around such that the body of the instrument is upside down over her back.

Sophie’s expression immediately brightens as she catches sight of Suletta.

"BIG SIIISSSS!!!!" she squeals with a wolfish grin, bolting over and launching herself at Suletta in a violent tackle-hug; most people would've been bowled over to the ground in an instant by it, but Suletta, owing to her physical strength, as well as the fact that Sophie has probably done this multiple times before, catches the other girl nearly effortlessly. Emphasis on nearly .

“O-oof—!” Suletta grunts as she stumbles backwards.

"I'M SO GLAD YA MADE IT!!" Sophie effuses, kicking her legs back and forth as she clings to Suletta like a koala.

"Hey, Suletta," Norea says, walking over coolly, her lips quirked up into a small smile.

"Hi, you guys!! I'm so glad to see you again!!” Suletta bubbles. “It's been way too long!"

"I knooooowww, right!!" Sophie whines. "You gotta be better at keepin' in touch, ya hear? I’ve missed you!!"

Sophie reaches up and messily tousles Suletta's hair, much to her protest. Miorine finds herself getting jealous at how touchy-feely Sophie is being with Suletta. SHE should be the one clinging to her like a koala.

“Hehe! I've missed you too!” Suletta smiles, then gestures back to Miorine, who's standing off to the side awkwardly. “Um, th-this is my friend Miorine!”

"Hello," Miorine says, nodding her head at them slightly.

“MIORINEEEE!! Any friend of Suletta’s is a friend of mine!!” Sophie hops down off of Suletta and walks towards Miorine, arms open for a hug; Miorine physically recoils away from her.

"You're gonna scare her off, Soph," Norea smirks. Sophie just loudly sighs in response.

"Maaaaan…" she pouts, lowering her arms somewhat reluctantly. "Alright then. Handshake?"

Miorine accepts the hand that Sophie offers her; she shakes Miorine's hand like she's trying to break it.

“Name’s Sophie Pulone!!”

“Norea du Noc,” Norea offers.

Miorine winces, shaking out her hand as Sophie releases it from her painful iron grip.

"Miorine Rembran," she mumbles. “It’s good to meet you both."

"Hell yeah, you too!!"

“...So, um. You two are in a band as well?” Miorine immediately winces as soon as these words leave her mouth; that much is already very obvious, but she’s always been terrible at idle conversation.

Fortunately, Sophie doesn’t seem to mind, instead just grinning and tossing up a peace sign with her fingers. “Hehe! You’re goddamn right we are!!"

“We’re called Dawn of Fold," Norea adds.

Sophie petulantly crosses her arms, giving Norea a side-eye as she does. ” Norea got to choose the name. Just for the record.”

Norea rolls her eyes at her friend. "Sophie wanted us to be named Pube Explosion. And she's still mad that I vetoed it."

“PUBE EXPLOSION'S A GOOD NAME!! You don’t fuckin' understand anything!!"

“Ignore her.”

“ DON’T IGNORE ME!”

"And…it’s just the two of you?" Miorine inquires, ignoring Sophie.

“Yeah,” Norea replies.

“Huh. That’s…uncommon, isn’t it?”

“Hey, duo rock bands aren’t unheard of," Sophie says. "Ever heard of a little band called…the White Stripes?”

“No. Are they good?”

“Debatably,” Norea says dryly.

“HAAAH???” Sophie cries. “You don’t know Seven Nation Army? The bassline? Bommmm, bom-bom, bom, bom-bommmmmmm, bommm,” she mimes playing a bass with her hands.

“No….”

"Aw, shit. Nori, go get your bass, play the thing for her."

“Do it yourself, if you’re so fuckin’ smart," Norea replies flatly. "Also, that's not a bassline, it's a pitched down guitar."

"YOU'RE a pitched down guitar!!" Sophie tosses herself around Norea and starts indignantly biting the other girl’s ear while growling at her. Norea, for her part, seems unperturbed by this. Somehow.

(Okay, so Sophie’s just like that with everyone.)

"Oh, that's right!” Sophie exclaims, releasing her bandmate and turning towards Suletta. "I gotta go do boring managerial shit. Suletta, you're comin' with me!"

"W-wait, what? Huh? Me?" Suletta stammers as Sophie grabs her wrist and begins to drag her away.

"Norea! Entertain what's-her-face for me! Please and thank youuu!"

"Fine," Norea grumbles.

"I, um!! I'll be right back Miorine!!" Suletta cries.

Miorine holds up a hand. "'Kay. See you soon."

Suletta and Sophie vanish from view, leaving Miorine alone with Norea. She grimaces; she'd come here to spend time with Suletta, but now she's stuck here alone with someone she barely knows.

"Sorry, Sophie's sort of a lot," Norea tells her. "But she's not a bad person or anything. You'll get used to her.”

(I somewhat doubt that….)

"Ah," she settles for saying instead.

An awkward silence settles between the two of them. Miorine HATES making small talk, and considers herself inept at it, at best, but anything beats just standing here saying nothing.

"I listened to a bit of your guys's music earlier, before I came," Miorine tells her. "It’s very…." She pauses, thinking of the right way to describe it. "Political. And…loud."

Norea chuckles. "It sure is. That's the goal."

"I admire that, honestly…" Miorine mumbles.

"Really. That surprises me. You sorta seem like a narc and a half."

"Well. You might not believe me, but I actually used to be sort of an aspiring punk rocker myself."

The Miorine of a year ago would be utterly aghast at her being so open with a person she doesn't even know. This is probably Suletta rubbing off on her, damn her.

Norea raises an eyebrow. "You wanted to be a punk rocker but now you lug around an acoustic guitar and play indie sadgirl music?" 

Miorine glares at her. "Not very tactful, are you?"

"No."

"First of all. It’s not sadgirl music," Miorine says irritably. "Second of all, I…had a really bad experience with another band, and rock in general sorta got soiled for me for a long time because of that. I wanted to do something different. Though, I guess meeting Suletta might've made me change my tune on that a bit."

Miorine's gaze snaps over to Norea as a realization strikes her. "Wait, how the hell do you even know what sort of music I play?"

"Suletta’s promoted you a few times on her Twitter."

Miorine blushes. Of COURSE she has. She barely touches any form of social media, so she wasn’t aware of that, but it’s such a perfectly Suletta thing to do.

"O-oh…I didn't know that…"

"You're down bad for her, huh?"

Miorine jolts like she just received an electric shock. "WH-WHAT?!"

"Ah, so I was right!" Norea grins. "I wasn't sure, but your reaction just now cinched it."

"Oh my god," Miorine pinches her brow exasperatedly.

"Don’t worry, I won't tell or anything. But like, you're not exactly being subtle about it."

"I’m not?"

"No. Suletta isn't either."

"What do you mean?"

Norea exaggeratedly rolls her eyes. "God, you're both fucking hopeless. Suletta obviously likes you, dude. Like, REALLY obviously."

Miorine can't help but approach this statement with a generous amount of skepticism.

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, the aforementioned Twitter promotion, for one. Also, she excitedly texted us the other day telling us that her friend Miorine was coming. And even through text, you can always tell whenever she's running around like an energetic puppy."

"You sure can…" Miorine mumbles.

Before Miorine has a chance to press Norea on this more, Sophie bursts back into the room like a hurricane, a frazzled-looking Suletta in tow.

"WE'RE BAAA~AACK!!" Sophie singsongs.

"Hey. That was fast," Norea comments.

"Hehehe! With Suletta here to play peacemaker, dealing with club managers is a cinch!!" Sophie punctuates this by slapping Suletta on the back, so hard that it seems to nearly knock the wind out of her.

"Ow…" she groans. "D-did you really need me to come with for that, Sophie…?"

Sophie suddenly adopts a grave expression. "Suletta. You may not know this, but some people tend to find me abrasive."

"Uhh….ohhh…?" Suletta tries, and fails, to act surprised.

"Managers don't like me. They're like 'N oooo, I'm not gonna haggle down the cut of ticket sales with yooouuu, who do you think you areee,' 'n' shit." Sophie gestures back towards Norea with her thumb. "They don't like Nori, either. I think she scares 'em.*

"As I should," she chimes in.

"But then we've got YOU! Suletta Mercury, the world's most lovable girl! No one can resist your charms!" Sophie reaches up and pinches Suletta's cheek. "And you bet your ass I'm gonna weaponize that to our advantage."

Suletta crosses her arms with a huff. "Well, I wish you'd told me in advance you were gonna make me haggle for you."

"AWWW, don't be like that!! C'mooonnn, you know I love you!! Sulettaaaaa~!!”

Norea rolls her eyes at Suletta and Sophie's banter; while those two are occupied, she takes the opportunity to reach back and grab the neck of her guitar, turn the instrument around, and begin to tune it.

From this new position, Miorine manages to get a closer look at Norea’s guitar, and her eyebrows raise slightly; she’d done research into GUND instruments around the time she’d started giving Suletta lessons, and so is able to recognize the presence of the subtle apparatuses and build elements present on instruments utilizing permet.

“Is that a GUND instrument?” Miorine blurts out without thinking. This catches the attention of Suletta and Sophie, who stop their conversation to look over at the other two.

Norea replies without looking up. "Sure is. Got a problem with that?" Her tone is nonchalant, but Miorine can tell that her hackles are up— she's probably used to playing defense over this matter.

“Ah, no. I just didn't know you used one, is all.”

"Hey!! Miorine, Miorine!! I’m a GUND-head, too!" Sophie grins, reaching into her pocket and producing a pair of drumsticks that are a bit bulkier than normal ones, with their lower halves made of metal rather than wood, presumably to house their mechanical elements.

"I’m a bit surprised," Miorine comments. "I guess I got the impression that you guys would be on the side of keeping things pure and classic, or whatever."

"We're not fucking Republicans , dude," Norea deadpans.

Miorine, well attuned to Suletta's presence at this point, immediately takes note of her fidgeting awkwardly, eyes intently focused on Norea's guitar. “Th-that reminds me, um…I was wondering…wh-what do you guys do, when you run into a venue that won’t let you play with GUND instruments…?”

“We tell ‘em to get fucked!” Sophie exclaims, holding her hand up in a thumbs up.

“True. But that's not really FIX RELEASE'S style, I don't think,” Norea says. “I assume that's why you’re asking? 'Cause of you and Aerial?” she asks, earning a hesitant nod from Suletta in return.

“I-i’m still not really sure if I should like…keep playing Aerial, or try switching over to a regular guitar….”

“Well, lemme ask ya something," Sophie interjects. "Do you WANT to stop playing with Aerial? Or do ya just feel like you HAVE to?” 

“Um…..I…i guess I’d rather not stop using her…”

“Then fuckin’ don’t!!”

“B-but!! If I ever have to play somewhere where I can’t use her–”

“Then you bust out a vanilla guitar and play that way,” Norea finishes for her. “Assuming that telling the venue to get fucked isn’t an option.”

Suletta continues to fidget. “C-can I ask…why do you guys use GUND instruments?”

Norea shrugs. “Just a preference, I guess. These things have become so mired in discourse that people tend to think you’re making some sort of statement by using one, but me ‘n’ Soph, we just like playing them better, is all.” 

She pauses. “Though, to be fair, making a statement DOES seem like something the two of us would do.”

“The fact that it pisses people off is just a bonus!” Sophie adds enthusiastically.

“Yeah,” Norea agrees. “But listen, Suletta. If you're not having fun playing music, then what the hell is the point ? There's a reason me ‘n’ Soph are here on the indie scene instead of fuckin’ around with record labels who want to treat music like a business. Are you really gonna let some dumb controversy stop you from doing what you want to do?”

“Mmmn….”

"Y'know, I actually own a non-GUND guitar," Norea continues. "I barely ever use it, though. If you want to try it out, I could lend it to you whenever your next gig comes up."

Suletta looks like she's gotten an electric shock, and frantically waves her hands in front of herself. “Ah, y-y-you don't have to do that!!”

Norea levels her with a look. “Suletta. You know me. If it was in any way an inconvenience to me, I would rather die than offer it.”

“…..True…..” she mumbles. “W-well. Th-thank you, Norea. I...m-might take you up on that.”

"Don’t worry, Sul, you’ll figure things out!" Sophie chirps. "And if anyone gives you a hard time for playing Aerial, lemme know, I’ll beat the shit out of them.”

“Don’t, Suletta, she’ll actually do it.”

Sophie sighs overdramatically, slinging an arm around Norea’s shoulders. “You’re such a goddamn stick in the mud sometimes, Nori.”

Norea smirks. “Well, one of us has to be."

=====

Suletta and Miorine depart from the backstage area shortly before Sophie and Norea are set to go on, heading for the floor of the club to watch their performance. The two stand amongst the assembled crowd, idly watching staff set things up on the empty stage.

“A-are you alright? Sorry if they overwhelmed you…” Suletta asks anxiously. “They both can be a bit… much, I know.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Miorine waves her off. “They’re definitely, um….not what I expected, I guess I’d say.”

Suletta giggles. “Yeah…you meet a lot of interesting people doing this sort of thing. Playing gigs and stuff. That’s how I met Sophie and Norea in the first place.”

She looks down at Miorine with a radiantly earnest smile. “And you, of course!!”

"Y…yeah."

Miorine hesitates, uncertain if she should broach the topic since Suletta seems to be in good spirits, but she eventually relents.

“Are…YOU alright?” she asks. 

Suletta just blinks at her. “Y-yeah? Why?”

“I dunno, just. You seemed worried about Aerial earlier, so I wanted to make sure…”

Suletta looks off with a wistful smile. “I’m fine, Miorine, really. I...I feel like i have a better sense of things now. I think talking to those two about it helped a little.”

“...I’m glad.”

Suletta bounces on her feet a little. “N-not to sound like a broken record, but, I’m really glad that you decided to come with me!”

Miorine smirks. “I never thought I’d be glad to be standing in the audience of a rock club, but. I’m really happy to be here, too.”

She hesitates as her impulsiveness makes herself known again, but her recent penchant for throwing caution into the wind manages to win out over the more rational part of her brain-- and so Miorine leans over and gently rests her shoulder against Suletta’s. She stiffens slightly at the contact, but it’s not long before she relaxes, and cautiously leans in towards Miorine in return.

Miorine smiles, a feeling of warmth rising and swirling within her chest. 

She really, really loves this girl.

Chapter Text

Chuchu is up to something.

Nika has known the other girl, and lived in the same dorm as her, for long enough at this point that she can ALWAYS tell. And it's usually enough to instill within her a sense of unease.

She loves Chuchu, she really does. She's one of Nika's best friends, alongside Suletta. But good god, the way she just leaps into situations without a shred of forethought stresses her the hell out, especially since Nika often has to leap in after her to fish her out of whatever she's gotten herself into.

Nika honestly, truly doesn't mind looking out for her friend like this. Most of the time, at least. But still— she'll always rather head things off at the pass whenever possible.

“So, would you care to tell me what exactly it is you're planning?" Nika says out of the blue one night as the two of them hang out in their shared dorm.

Chuchu looks over at Nika from her position seated at her desk. The two of them have been using FIX RELEASE's impromptu hiatus to work on writing some new songs for the band, an endeavor they’re currently chipping away at together. And it’s been very apparent tonight that Chuchu’s mind is at least partially elsewhere, a sure sign of trouble brewing that Nika’s come to recognize.

Chuchu seems slightly surprised by Nika’s question, given that it (seemingly) came out of nowhere; she's long since learned, however, that feigning innocence around her astute roommate slash best friend is an exercise in futility, so these days she never really even tries anymore.

So instead, she entreats Nika to a glowing smile. “Thought you'd never ask!!”

She hops up from her chair and bounces over to where Nika is, half-laying/half-sitting on top of her bed.

“I don't like how excited you are about this.”

Chuchu rolls her eyes at her. “God, relax, dude, it's not even that bad.”

“But it's a little bad?”

“Who can say?" Chuchu says with a smirk. “Depends on what you think about us crashing….a Lion’s Mane show!!”

Nika just looks at her blankly for a moment. “A what?”

“You know!! Lion’s Mane?” Chuchu pouts. “Guel Jeturk’s shitty band?”

“…Who's Guel Jeturk?”

Chuchu just gapes at her. “THE GUY WHO WAS AN ASSHOLE TO SULETTA AND MIORINE? The reason those two even met in the first place?? Honestly, Nika, have you even been paying attention these past few months?”

“I think I just don’t hold grudges as hard as you do, Chuchu.”

“….Okay. Fair. But either way, I wanna go scope ‘em out. Do some reconnaissance. A 'know your enemy' type-deal.”

“Are you sure that's a good idea? Wouldn't it be better to just ignore this guy?”

Chuchu crosses her arms. “Listen, I don't let anyone get away with being an asshole to my friends, Nika.”

“I know. And that’s one of your best traits. I admire that about you, I really do. But I also feel like…you tend to rush headlong into things without fully thinking them through.”

‘Well, I can't deny that ya got me there,” Chuchu admits. “But I just got… really bad vibes from him back then. I can't explain it. He obviously really had it out for Miorine, and he probably does for Suletta too, now. I just want to make sure he doesn't do anything to mess with either of them.”

Nika hangs her head with a sigh. “I'm not gonna be able to change your mind about going to this thing, am I?”

“Probably not.”

“…Fine. I'm in.”

Chuchu's expression instantly lights up with excitement. “Hell yeah!!”

“When is this thing?” 

“Friday.”

“Wait, THIS Friday?” Nika frowns. "Don’t Sophie and Norea have a show then?”

“I know, we'll get to miss it!” Chuchu grins. “Win-win in my book!”

Nika rolls her eyes. “You really DO hold grudges, don't you?” 

“Listen, man! I'm not crazy, those two are WEIRD! I know you think so too!”

“I mean, yeah, but we could at least like. Be polite.”

“That's such a Nika thing to say.”

“I think most people would say it, if I'm being honest.” 

Chuchu scoffs. “Well, unlike most people, I'M not bound by the shackles of social convention.”

“Oh, trust me, Chuchu, I'm very well aware.”

“…I feel like you’re insulting me.”

Nika smirks at her. “Who can say?”

=====

Chuchu and Nika arrive at the rock club on the night of the show, the venue and its surroundings already a bustle of activity.

Both girls have come wearing disguises, at Nika's insistence. She'd been paranoid that if the two of them got caught by management sneaking in, the band would be blacklisted from ever performing there, and possibly elsewhere too. Plus, there's the chance, however remote, that Guel might recognize the two of them from their previous encounter.

Chuchu had enthusiastically accepted Nika's suggestion; though she got the sense that, to Chuchu, all the logistical advantages played second fiddle to her wanting to dress up.

And dressed up she has—Chuchu is hiding her trademark hair poofs under a knit beanie, which by itself would render her nearly unrecognizable, but she’s also wearing a pair of fake horn-rimmed glasses just for good measure.

Nika's disguise consists of girlier clothes than she would ever wear willingly under normal circumstances, as well as a face full of makeup (which Chuchu had to do for her, since Nika's experience with it is all but non-existent). It’s not much, but it's enough to basically make her look like a completely different person.

Having all this STUFF on her face is literally so uncomfortable. She really hopes that this works as intended and no one recognizes her like this, because it'll be absolutely humiliating if anyone she knows sees her being this aggressively gender-conforming.

“In hindsight, I probably should have asked this before we actually got here, but. You do have a plan for sneaking in, right?” Nika asks as the two approach the club.

“Hey, this isn't my first rodeo, cowgirl,” Chuchu grins at her. “I've snuck into shows tons of times before without a hitch. Granted, it's been a while, and I only do it with bands that I hate, but.”

“...You really live a whole other life none of us know about, don't you?”

“Don't all of us?” Chuchu walks ahead of Nika, gesturing for her to follow. “C’mon, just follow my lead! We'll be fine.”

==

“Alright. Coast is clear.”

Chuchu kicks open the exit to the air vent she'd been peering through, creating an opening leading right into the middle of the women's restroom. Chuchu practically flings herself down from the ceiling, landing on the ground with a harsh thud; Nika, on the other hand, emerges more cautiously, hanging from the edge for a moment before letting herself drop, gingerly landing on her bare feet.

“Hell yeah, we made it! And without giving a cent to Jeturk!” Chuchu pumps her fists in the air.

Nika stands up, grimacing as she brushes the dirt and grime she’d accrued within the vents off of her dress. “Y-yeah…we paid for this in a more tangible sense, I'd say.”

“Oh, you’re such a drama queen.”

“Listen, I’m just saying, if I’d known sneaking in was gonna entail crawling through air vents, I probably wouldn’t have worn heels,” Nika says as she replaces her shoes on her feet.

“But wasn’t it fun, though?” Chuchu grins at her.

It was. Nika’s not admitting that out loud, though.

“Let’s just hurry and get out of here before someone finds us fresh out of the vents….”

Chuchu gives Nika a smug, knowing smirk as she follows her out of the bathroom.

======

Chuchu is SO glad that Nika agreed to come with her. She'd absolutely never tell her this to her face, mind you, but having Nika at her side makes EVERYTHING easier. It’s one of the many things that she appreciates about her.

On a related note. Chuchu can't deny that Nika looks really, REALLY pretty in her disguise. She's always pretty, of course, Chuchu's known this, but something about the recontextualization of seeing Nika dressed completely differently than she would under ordinary circumstances has pushed it back to the forefront of her mind. Regrettably so, as a matter of fact. These inconvenient feelings are the absolute last thing she needs to deal with right now. She tries to ignore them as best as she can. The two of them have a job to do here, after all.

They've now emerged onto the floor of the club, already densely packed despite the fact that the show is still at least a half hour off.

“Tch. Look at all these people….” Chuchu grumbles. “What has to go wrong in your life for you to be a fan of a band run by a guy like Jeturk?”

“I mean, it's not necessarily their fault…” Nika says. “It's common for people to not know anything about the members of bands they like. Maybe Jeturk just isn't super obvious about being a jerk.”

“Well, that's what we're here to find out, I guess. Stay close to me, kay?”

“Roger that.”

Chuchu looks around the venue as she meanders through the crowd, navigating almost exclusively with her peripheral vision and kinesthetic senses, a skill she’s honed to perfection in the several years she’s been hanging out at these kinds of places. This place is even bigger than the venues Sophie and Norea play at, let ALONE the ones FIX RELEASE do. 

(Man….WE deserve to be playing at a packed place like this, not Jeturk….I swear, there's no freakin’ justice in the world…)

Chuchu’s so engrossed in her angry musings that she temporarily stops paying attention to her surroundings— a lapse in judgment lasting just long enough for her to barrel directly into a member of the crowd.

“OW, SHIT–!”

“AGH!!”

Chuchu stumbles, but quickly regains her footing and looks over at the person she’d inadvertently trampled. She's a short, somewhat stocky girl, with messy dirty-blonde hair tied up in a high ponytail, wearing a very pissed off expression currently aimed directly at Chuchu.

“Watch where the hell you’re going,” she hisses, venom in her voice.

“Jesus, sorry, it was an accident,” Chuchu snaps at her. 

Figures, the people in the audience of a Lion’s Mane show would be just as unpleasant as the bandleader himself.

The girl continues to glare at Chuchu for a moment, before her hackles go down slightly, and she lets out a sigh.

“It. It's fine. Sorry, I just. I'm having a crappy night,” she says, running a hand through her hair.

Huh. Maybe this chick isn’t as easy to pigeonhole as Chuchu had thought.

“….Uh. Hey, no worries. It happens.”

The girl looks up at Chuchu curiously, studying her for a moment.

“Well. I still feel bad. Can I….get you a drink to make it up to you?”

At this, Chuchu immediately bursts out laughing.

“What?!”

“Nothing. It’s just funny how fast you went from being pissed at me to hitting on me.”

“SH-SHUT UP!!” she squeaks, her cheeks turning red.

Chuchu squints at her. She can’t shake the nagging feeling that she knows this girl from somewhere, but from where, exactly, she has NO idea. And she can't exactly just ask, since she's supposed to be incognito right now.

She CAN try to fish for a name, though.

“Name’s Chuchu, by the way.”

She realizes too late that she probably shouldn’t have given her real name since she’s being undercover, but, well. Too late now.

The girl shifts awkwardly for a moment. “Um….Felsi.”

(Felsi…not a name I recognize. I swear this chick looks familiar, though…)

“Well, I will be taking you up on that drink,” Chuchu says. “Don't read too much into it though, I'm just a boozehound.” 

Felsi rolls her eyes. “Finneeee….one sec.”

She slings her backpack over her shoulder, and from it, produces two cans of beer, handing one out towards Chuchu.

“One for you, one for me!” she chirps.

Chuchu gapes at her. “What the fuck, dude, I thought you meant like, a drink from the bar. You just carry those on hand with you?”

Felsi pouts. “A six pack of these costs like 3 bucks, ONE glass at the bar here would run you like twice that. They deliberately overcharge because they know you have no other option.”

“Is this how you hit on all of the ladies? Telling ‘em how you're not willing to spend any money on ‘em?”

“Sh-shut up?? I'm taking that thing back if you don't start drinking it!!”

Chuchu laughs. “Fine, fine.” She cracks the can open and takes a swig. It's a bit crappy, but she's not exactly one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

“OH, shit, I nearly forgot!” Chuchu gestures back over her shoulder. “This here is my buddy Ni–”

She looks behind her to find that Nika is not there.

“Oh, dammit, I told her to stay close to me!”

“Who?”

“Hang on—”

Chuchu cups her hands in front of her mouth, then screams at the top of her lungs, easily loud enough to cut through the din of the club—

”NIKAAAAAAA!!!!”

She turns back toward Felsi. “Alright, she should be here in a sec.”

Sure enough, it's only a few seconds before a haggard looking Nika emerges from the crowd, stumbling over and leaning over tiredly onto Chuchu's shoulder.

“Chuchuuuu…..” she groans.

“I see my Nika-signal worked.”

“You gotta stop going so fast, you know that I'm not as good at navigating crowds as you are.”

“Skill issue.”

“Ugh….”

Felsi's eyes widen slightly. “Oh! You're…with someone.”

“Yeah. This is my buddy Nika. Nika, this is Felsi, I trampled her so she gave me a beer.”

“Hi,” Nika says, before frowning as she eyes the can of beer in her friend's hand. “Wait, Chuchu, are you really drinking? Don’t you need to like, be able to focus for this?”

“Oh, come on, it’s just one drink,” Chuchu rolls her eyes. “Plus, she offered it to me for free, dude, you think I'm turning that down?”

“...Unfortunately not.”

Felsi just stands off to the side awkwardly, obviously a bit thrown off now that Nika's been added into the mix. “So, um….you guys are fans of Lion’s Mane?” she asks.

Chuchu grits her teeth, trying to stop herself from visibly wincing. Ohhhh, she needs to maintain a low profile, but saying this out loud is gonna feel like pulling teeth.

“You know it,” she says, trying to come off as genuine as possible.

“Sick, me too!” Felsi effuses. “What’s your favorite song of theirs?”

(....)

(.........)

(.......FUCK. I DON’T KNOW ANY OF THEIR SONGS.)

“Umm….uhhhh…….” Chuchu flounders.

“I personally like ‘Darilbalde,’” Nika offers.

Chuchu blinks at Nika, surprised, but quickly regains her bearings. “Um! Y-yeah, that’s probably mine too.”

“Ooh, good choice!” Felsi bubbles. “I’m partial to ‘Heavy Iron’ myself.”

“Oh, that's a good one!” Nika chirps.

Chuchu looks at Nika inquiringly, eyebrow raised. She responds by leaning over and whispering in her ear—

“I looked up some of their songs before we came here because I suspected something like this might happen.”

Chuchu’s heart leaps a little as she feels Nika’s breath on her skin, and also because she's so damn smart it should be illegal.

(Oh, goddamn it, go AWAY, thoughts.)

Nika taps Chuchu on the shoulder. “Um, so hey, I'm getting a little overstimulated out here, I think I'm gonna go chill in the lobby for a bit.”

“Oh, word, no worries dude. Text me if you need anything, kay?”

“Of course!” Nika nods, before giving Felsi a polite wave. “Nice meeting you.”

“Y-yeah…”

And with that, Nika heads off, vanishing into the crowd once again.

“Your friend seems nice,” Felsi comments.

Chuchu puffs her chest out proudly. “Oh yeah, she’s the fuckin’ best.”

“Are you guys….um…?”

It takes Chuchu a second to register what Felsi is implying. “Oh!” she exclaims. “N-no no, we’re just friends. Though….I did used to sorta have a crush on her.”

Ordinarily, Chuchu would absolutely never admit this out loud, ESPECIALLY not to someone she doesn't even really know—but the alcohol in her system is weakening her inhibitions, as it's unfortunately wont to do.

“Ahhh. I see,” Felsi says, adopting an expression that can best be described as 'dawning realization.' “You used to, but don’t anymore?”

“Are you still trying to hit on me?"

“W-well. I’m….testing the waters?” Felsi says shyly.

Chuchu snickers. “Who’d’ve thought. All I had to do to pick up a pretty girl was barrel into her like a dumbass.”

Felsi blushes. “S-so, um. This might sound weird, but. You don’t…recognize me or anything?” 

Chuchu freezes; she very much feels like she’s about to walk into a trap, but she also feels like she doesn’t really have a choice BUT to walk into it. 

“...Bein’ totally honest, I thought you looked familiar, but I could NOT place how or why,” she admits.

Felsi looks sheepish. “I’m, ah….the drummer for Lion’s Mane, actually…”

Chuchu's eyes widen.

(OH, SHIT. THAT’S WHERE I KNOW HER FROM. She was one of the girls standing behind Guel on the night Suletta met Miorine!)

“....Oh,” she says flatly, feeling the equivalent of a ‘friendship level down’ icon appearing over her head. “Shouldn’t you be with your band, then?”

Felsi lets out a noise somewhere between a growl and a sigh. “Yeah. I should.”

Chuchu senses that there’s a “but” incoming. “Buuuuut….?”

Felsi crosses her arms. “Ughh….well. Lauda and Petra—our bassist and rhythm guitarist—they’re fighting right now.”

(Ooh, discord within the band….this is good intel to have.)

“That sucks,” Chuchu says, trying to suppress a smile and hide the schadenfreude she’s feeling.

“Like, Petra’s my best friend, I love her to bits, but she just….she and Lauda argue SO much. It really puts a strain on the band. And, I feel like I’M in the middle of it a lot of the time, you know?” she sighs. “So, that’s why I'm out here. Just wanted to get away from it all, y’know?”

Chuchu, despite herself, feels a pang of sympathy for Felsi.

(Dammit, no, this chick is in Guel’s band. I can’t start feeling BAD for her.)

“Why do you even hang out with Jeturk, anyway?” she settles for asking.

Felsi looks at her curiously. “What do you mean?”

“I mean. He strikes me as sort of a dick.”

“H-he’s not a dick!” Felsi says defensively.

“R-right. Sorry,” Chuchu says, uncharacteristically finding that she wants to back off from a fight. Is it because she doesn't want to upset Felsi…?

Before she can ruminate on this too much, Chuchu feels a tap on her shoulder; turning back to look, she’s somewhat surprised to see that its source is Nika.

“Oh, what? You’re back so soon?”

“Did you know this place doesn't have a lobby? It just exits to the outside,” Nika says glumly. “I asked the bouncer if I could get my hand stamped so I could come back in, but he just laughed at me.”

Chuchu laughs out loud, then reaches up to pat her friend on the head. “You are an absolute delight, Nika Nanaura.”

Felsi cocks her head to the side slightly, giving Nika a strange look. “How’d you even get in here without realizing there’s no lobby?”

Nika winces slightly as she realizes her slip-up. “Um. I was just…spacing out, I guess.”

Chuchu smirks, pointing towards Nika with her thumb. “Yeah, total airhead, this one, real ditz. Really playing into negative stereotypes, makes all women look bad if you ask me.”

Nika stomps on Chuchu’s foot.

“GHH–-OWWW—NGGNGHH…yeah, alright, I deserved that one.”

“Felsi! Where the hell have you been?” a loud, booming voice cuts through the idle noise of the club in an instant--- and Chuchu feels a jolt of adrenaline surge through her as she recognizes it.

She looks over, and sure enough, Guel Jeturk himself is pushing his way through the crowd, stomping over towards them. Chuchu feels Nika tense up by her side, obviously recognizing him as well. Felsi, despite her earlier defensiveness, also seems distressed by his arrival.

“I-i couldn’t deal with the vibes back there!” she tells him. “Seeing Lauda and Petra fight like that, it…it was upsetting. I just needed to get away.”

“Tch. Yeah, well they’re still fuckin’ at it,” Guel scowls. “I swear, if those two fuck up ANOTHER gig, they’re OUT of the band.”

Felsi blanches. “Wh-what? No, you can’t do that!! Petra really loves being in the band, it means a ton to her! I’m sure that we can work something out!!”

“I don’t have time to deal with weak links. You can leave along with her if you don’t like it,” Guel snaps at her, and Felsi closes in on herself. 

Chuchu balls her hands into fists, trying to keep her composure intact. Felsi may be a friend of Guel’s, and she may barely know her…but even still, Chuchu finds herself feeling oddly protective of her.

“This guy runs his band like a tyrant,” Nika mutters under her breath, audible only to Chuchu over the idle loudness of the club.

“Yeah. I see that he hasn’t become any less of a dick since we last ran into him…”

Guel's gaze immediately snaps towards Chuchu and Nika, and he glares at them with an icy disdain so intense it's nearly palpable.

“The fuck did you just say?” he snarls.

Chuchu feels her stomach drop. (Oh, shit. How does this dude have such good hearing?)

“N-nothing,” Nika quickly says, the fear apparent in her voice.

Guel sharply inclines his head towards the two of them as he looks towards his drummer. “Felsi, who the fuck are they?”

“Th-they’re just some fans…? Guel, wh-what did they say, I didn’t hear…?”

Maybe it's the fact that she's slightly buzzed, or the fact that she witnessed him being an asshole to Felsi earlier, but Chuchu can't stem the tide of belligerence welling up within her. As long as Guel is pissed at her already, what reason does she have NOT to double down and tell this asshole what she really thinks?

“You heard me, Jeturk,” Chuchu growls. “Aren't these people your friends? You'd just toss them off to the side like they're nothing?”

“Why don’t you mind your own fuckin’ business? Who the hell do you even think you are?”

“I'm MAKING it my business, actually. As for who I think I am, I think I'm a better musician and better person than you could ever hope to be.”

“Chuchu—!!” Nika and Felsi both say near-simultaneously.

“If you keep burning bridges, you’re gonna end up friendless and miserable, and you’re gonna fucking deserve it too. And when you end up in the gutter with nothing, I'll be there to laugh at you.”

“Chuchu, stop,” Nika says urgently, putting a hand on her friend’s shoulder, trying to pull her back; Chuchu ignores her.

Guel puffs out his chest and steps towards Chuchu, looming over her, his attempt at intimidation patently obvious.

“You wanna fuckin' say that to me again?”

Unperturbed by his bluster, or perhaps even emboldened by it, Chuchu shoves him in the chest.

“Yeah, I’ll do you one better. I think you’re a talentless fuckin’ hack who tripped over his dick and fell into success. Your music is garbage and you’re a garbage human being to boot. I don’t know how you ever fuckin’ got Miorine to put up with you.”

It all happens within a fraction of a second. Guel prepares to punch Chuchu with a telegraph so obvious that, for someone as experienced with physical altercations as Chuchu is, she sees it coming a mile away.

Nika, on the other hand, has never been in a fight in her life.

She moves between Chuchu and Guel, obviously hoping to defuse the tension between them. Unfortunately, however, she acts too late; at this point, Guel has already drawn back his fist, ready to attack.

Chuchu barely even has time to register Nika stepping in front of her before it happens. Guel punches—but it's Nika's face that his fist connects with instead of Chuchu's.

Nika is flung backwards by the force of the punch, stumbling back briefly before collapsing onto the floor. She groans, sucking air in through her teeth as she holds up a hand to her face.

“Aauurhgh….”

Felsi's eyes are wide as saucers, both hands over her mouth; even Guel looks caught off guard. For a brief moment, all is still.

Chuchu can’t think straight. Her vision goes red. She feels a rage, more potent and more intense than she's ever felt before, go in an instant from a low boil to a fiery, all-consuming torrent, chaotic and inescapable, with Chuchu fully at the mercy of its thrall.

“YOU SON OF A BITCH!! ” she bellows, physically launching herself at Guel.

She's not thinking about anything else right now; she can't. Nothing else matters except for the animalistic desire—no, the NEED—to inflict as much pain onto the man in front of her as physically possible.

However—before she can, her body is restrained by a burly security guard.

“Let's go,” he says gruffly.

“GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!!” Chuchu snarls, her voice cracking, kicking and flailing to try to escape his iron grip. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees another bouncer grabbing Nika off the ground to escort her out as well.

“BE CAREFUL WITH HER!!” Chuchu barks at him.

The guards drag the two girls towards the exit of the venue; Chuchu continues to unfocusedly inflict violence all around her in a desperate attempt to break loose, but to no avail. And the longer this goes on, the more overwhelming her frustration becomes; her struggles bearing no fruit other than a crushing feeling of uselessness and frustration.

“THIS ISN'T FUCKING OVER, JETURK!!!” she screams after Guel, her voice cracking as tears sting at the corners of her eyes. “DON'T THINK I'LL FORGET ABOUT THIS!! I’LL GET BACK AT YOU FOR THIS!! FOR EVERYTHING!"

“Tch,” he glowers at Chuchu with utter contempt for a brief moment, before turning to head back the way he came. “C’mon, Felsi. We gotta get ready for our set,” he says, voice level.

Felsi takes a look back at Chuchu, wearing an expression belying something between sadness and betrayal.

Then, wordlessly, she turns around and follows Guel, vanishing from sight as Nika and Chuchu are thrown out of the building.

=====

Nika and Chuchu sit side by side on the bus back to the University of Asticassia— the former nursing her newly obtained black eye. Chuchu had bought a can of soda from a vending machine for Nika to hold up against it until they get back to their dorm and she can put ice on it.

An oppressive silence stretches between the two of them, and Nika absolutely HATES it. Being around Chuchu always feels like the most natural and easy thing in the world, so having things be so horribly awkward and tense is making her feel completely untethered, making an already crappy situation feel even worse.

Both girls are now out of their disguises, Chuchu having dispensed with her glasses and hat, her jacket given to Nika at her own insistence. Nika had teasingly called Chuchu chivalrous for it at the time, trying to lighten the mood, but she hadn’t reacted, too upset to do anything except sulk.

Chuchu is STILL obviously really upset. Nika can tell, after all; when Chuchu gets upset, she gets quiet. The white-hot anger she’d felt towards Guel Jeturk has since dissipated into a low burn, overpowered by crushing guilt over what happened to Nika.

“You know I'm not mad at you, right Chuchu?” Nika asks softly, breaking the silence.

Chuchu doesn’t react for a moment, but after a second she shrugs noncommittally. “….I guess.”

“I can tell that you feel really bad about what happened, but I promise that it’s okay.”

“It–it’s not okay!” Chuchu says emphatically. “You got hurt because of me!!”

“I was the one who tried to intervene.”

“Well, I was the one who provoked him. AND dragged you along to this stupid show with me in the first place.”

Nika sighs. “I don’t think this is a productive conversation to be having right now. For either of us.” 

Chuchu quietly looks down at her feet, shuffling them awkwardly. “I'm sorry, Nika,” she mumbles quietly. “I've been a really shitty friend to you.”

Nika frowns. “What do you mean?”

“I'm always…roping you into doin’ stuff you don't want to,” Chuchu mumbles. “And…more often than not, I put the onus on you to bail me out whenever things go south. And you end up getting hurt because I'm too much of an idiot to know when to stop. It's not fair to you. So. I'm sorry.”

Nika smiles at her warmly.

“Thank you, Chuchu. I appreciate that,” she says softly. “But first of all, you're not an idiot. Please don't talk about yourself that way. And second of all… if I really didn't want to do something, I'd put my foot down. I’m a nonconfrontational person, sure, but I'm not completely without a backbone.”

Nika adjusts the can of soda against her black eye. “You're a bit of a handful sometimes, that much I won't deny, but…well, you apologizing is proof enough that you care about my feelings.”

“Mmmn….” Chuchu croaks, still seeming to not fully believe everything Nika told her, her friend's words crushed under the weight of her own self-loathing.

“Listen,” Nika continues, voice gentle, “you beating yourself up over this isn’t helping either of us. But especially not me. If you want me to feel better, then you should feel better too.”

For the first time since Nika got punched, Chuchu cracks a small, wistful smile. “...That’s such a you thing to say, Nika.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah. In a good way.” Chuchu’s smile grows slightly wider, and sure enough, seeing her friend less upset instantly buoys Nika’s spirits.

Chuchu hesitates briefly, before continuing— “Nika. Can you promise me that…if I ever, EVER do anything that makes you uncomfortable, or that you don’t like, you’ll tell me?”

Nika nods. “Of course,” she replies without a moment’s hesitation. “I hope you know that you can always tell me anything, too. Please do, in fact.”

This seems to give Chuchu pause for a moment. 

“.....Yeah,” she eventually mumbles. Nika decides to not read too much into it.

“Rest assured that I trust you, Chuchu, more than pretty much anyone. You're my best friend. Never doubt how much I care about you.”

Chuchu doesn’t respond. Nika looks over to see her wiping tears from her eyes onto her sleeve.

“…Well. That's good to hear,” Chuchu’s voice cracks. “I trust you too, Nika. Like, for real. I really do. I'm…so, so glad you're my friend.”

Nika smiles. “Me too.”

The awkward silence that had hung over them has now given way to a comfortable, if not still somewhat tense one. The two quietly sit next to each other, Nika watching the streetlights streak by outside the window through her one good eye as the bus tumbles along.

After a while, Nika feels a warmth settle on top of her hand, and startles ever so slightly; she looks down to find that Chuchu has placed her hand on top of hers. She looks up to Chuchu herself, who’s very pointedly looking away from her; but regardless, Nika can still make out a light dusting of pink on the tip of her ear.

Nika’s breath hitches.

(.......)

(.....)

(…I really don't know if I like what this implies.)

(.....)

(...But…..)

Nika hesitates briefly, before flipping her hand around and lacing her fingers through Chuchu's, giving it a squeeze for good measure. Chuchu returns the gesture in kind. 

And for the rest of the ride back, their hands remain intertwined.

Chapter Text

hi guys!! ❤️❤️ do you think we'd be able to have a special band meeting sometime tomorrow? totally okay if not!! i hope we can do it super soon tho!! no pressure ofc!!

This was the text that Suletta sent to the FIX RELEASE group chat late last night. After their misadventure at Guel's show, neither Nika nor Chuchu felt particularly up to responding, but Nika took it upon herself to answer anyway (one-handed, since the other was currently occupied holding an ice pack to her black eye)---

Of course, Suletta! We'd be more than happy to!

She’d hoped that she actually WOULD be happy to once tomorrow came. Fortunately, said hope proved to not be misplaced; despite the dull, throbbing pain in her face still making itself known, she feels much better after a semi-decent night's sleep.

The same can't really be said for Chuchu, though. She seems like she's trying really hard to pretend she's okay, which is a very clear indicator that she absolutely isn't . It’s obvious that she still feels guilty over what happened to Nika, in spite of her repeated insistence that she doesn’t blame Chuchu for it.

Nika knows that she’s gonna need to talk to her about this again eventually. But right now, as the two of them wait for Suletta to arrive at their dorm after calling the first band meeting in months, isn’t remotely the time to open that can of worms. 

Suletta’s timing in calling this band meeting certainly could have been better, since the events of last night are both very fresh in Nika and Chuchu’s minds, but the one upside to it is that it’s giving the two of them a distraction from (gestures vaguely) all of that.

Chuchu, for her part, has been a bundle of nervous energy all day, which is presently manifesting as her spinning around in her desk chair while bouncing her legs, arms tensely crossed over her chest. Nika can’t deny that she’s also excited to have another band meeting; it’s been WAY too long since all three of them have managed to get together for one.

Three gentle knocks sound at the door, a sound that both inhabitants of the dorm have come to recognize intimately at this point.

“We told you ya don't have to knock, Suletta!” Chuchu calls out.

“Well! I'm gonna keep doing it anyway!” Suletta responds somewhat petulantly as she lets herself in. “Also, you two shouldn't just leave your door unlocked like this either, it's—O-OH MY GOD!! N-NIKA!! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR EYE?!”

Suletta immediately forgets whatever she was about to say, scrambling over to where Nika sita perched on the edge of her bed; she kneels down, gently placing a hand on the side of Nika's temple and scrutinizing her injury with a sense of concerned urgency.

“I-im fine, Suletta, really,” Nika says, trying to push the other girl’s hand away. “You don't have to worry.”

“What happened?” Suletta repeats, looking back and forth between Nika and Chuchu several times, a silent inquiry—well, a demand, rather—for an explanation.

“We, ah…had a bit of an adventure while you were at Sophie and Norea's show last night…” Nika admits sheepishly. “It’s a bit of a long story, but I, um…may have gotten punched in the face?”

Suletta’s eyes narrow, an unmistakable fire of raw anger now lit within them. Given how protective she is of the people she cares about, it isn't much of a surprise, but it’s still always somewhat intimidating to see this expression on the face of someone who’s typically so unrelentingly gentle.

“Who? Why?” she asks, her voice low and clipped.

Nika's about to answer, but Chuchu cuts her off before she can.

“Don't worry about it, we took care of it,” she interjects. “It was just some random drunk guy taking swings, nothing more to it than that. I dealt with him, taught him a lesson he won't soon forget, so he's not gonna be a problem.”

Nika frowns. Chuchu is lying to Suletta, which, certainly, makes logical sense—right now, when Suletta is clearly coming to them hoping to talk about the band, definitely isn't the best time to confess that they may or may not have provoked the guy who has a vendetta against her and her crush. But still…deliberately lying to their closest friend leaves a really sour taste in her mouth.

“Oh…I see…” Suletta mumbles, her shoulders relaxing slightly as she realizes there's nothing for her to do. “Well. I'm so sorry that happened to you, Nika. You're one of the sweetest people I know, you don't deserve anything remotely like this.”

“Th…thank you.”

Nika is consistently amazed by how earnestly sweet Suletta is, seemingly without even trying. It makes her feel even worse over the fact that she and Chuchu are deceiving her. It’s like they're kicking a puppy.

(Ugh…this whole situation SUCKS.)

“So, um! Anyway, Suletta, how was Dawn of Fold? Did you have fun?” Nika asks, mostly because she's desperate to change the subject.

“Oh, um…y-yeah!! They were great!” Suletta replies. “Really nice to hang out with them again. I think the show was a bit much for Miorine, though…”

Nika and Chuchu just stare at her for a second.

“Wait, Miorine went with you?” Chuchu blurts out.

“Oh! Y-yeah, I guess i didn't mention that?”

Chuchu rolls her eyes. “Geez, that girl would follow you to the ends of the earth, I swear.”

Suletta blushes. “I, s-so, um, anyways…!!! We should probably get started with the meeting, right?”.

Nika gets the impression that she ALSO wants to direct the conversation into less uncomfortable territory.

Chuchu stretches her arms over her head. “Yeahhh, that's probably enough small talk for now…” She gestures towards Suletta with a flourishy hand motion. “The floor is yours, Ms. Mercury.”

“R-right,” Suletta says timidly, sitting down cross legged on the floor. "S-so, um. I know that—that the band has sort of been in limbo lately. Mostly because of me. And I'm sorry that I've been holding it up,” she begins. “I-I know you're going to say that it's not my fault, or whatever, but, but I still feel bad about it, so. I want to apologize anyway."

She looks back up at Nika and Chuchu, her expression determined. “But….I'm ready for us to start looking for gigs again.”

“Fuck yeah!!” Chuchu exclaims, pumping her fist as a huge smile breaks out on her face.

“That's great, Suletta!!” Nika effuses.

This announcement is pretty much what both of them had expected from this meeting, but it's still exciting to actually hear Suletta say it out loud.

“And, also…!!” Suletta continues. “When we do get another gig… I want to play the entire set without using Aerial.”

Chuchu raises her eyebrows. “Oh, shit. You sure?” 

“Yes,” Suletta nods, replying without a moment’s hesitation. “I know that I want to keep using her whenever I can. But…I-I want to prove to myself that I can play without her. Y-you know? I realized that…I didn't like feeling like using a GUND instrument was the only reason I could even play guitar. B-but…now that I can also play with a regular guitar…I can go back to using Aerial knowing that my skill is real.”

“Hell yeah it is! Y'know, not to be all, ‘I told you so,’ but…”

“And, one more thing.” Suletta's blushing now. “I, um…I wanted to try writing a song where I play acoustic guitar. I’m not much in the way of a songwriter, though, so….would you guys be able to help me with that?”

Chuchu scoffs lightheartedly. “As if you even had to ask, dude.”

Nika nods in agreement. “Of course! We'd be more than happy to!”

“Hmmmm. I don’t have much experience writing for acoustic. This’ll be a fun challenge,” Chuchu grins, stretching her wrists over her head.

“Do you have an acoustic you can use, Suletta?” Nika asks.

“M-Miorine said I could borrow hers.”

“Of course she did,” Chuchu smirks.

Nika looks contemplative. “This is just a shot in the dark, but… you want to write a song on acoustic because of Miorine, right?”

Suletta’s cheeks get noticeably redder. “Y-yeah,” she nods, her voice quiet. “I mean…she’s been helping me out so much, so ...I thought I should do something like this, to show how much it means to me.”

Chuchu leans back in her chair. “Ahh, you kids are so cute.”

Nika gently places a hand on Suletta’s shoulder, giving her a warm smile as she does. “I’m so proud of you, Suletta.”

“Yeah, dude. Way to hang in there.”

Suletta beams at her friends, eyes watery. “Th-thank you, guys…” she says. “I'm so happy to be back.”

=====

Nika yawns as she trudges across campus, her backpack slung over one shoulder. For the past few days, she’s been spread thinner than ever, her time devoted to looking for gigs, trying to help Suletta write her song for Miorine, as well as chipping away at her ever-present mountain of schoolwork.

And a side effect of this is that she’s been sleeping like absolute crap . There’s no way she’s running on more than three hours at the moment. Mercifully, she's done with classes for the day, so there’s nothing stopping her from heading back to her dorm and immediately collapsing in her bed.

Well….there WOULD be nothing stopping her, if Nika hadn’t just noticed something out of the corner of her eye that made her do a double take. She rubs her eyes, not sure if it’s her sleep deprived state making her see things, but no, it’s clear as day—she’d know that familiar head of white hair anywhere.

“Miorine!”

Miorine, who’d been sitting on a bench idly scrolling through her phone, jolts as Nika calls her name, clearly not expecting anyone to talk to her; she looks up to Nika, and relaxes slightly upon recognizing her.

“Oh. Nika.” Her eyes widen as she fully takes in the other girl’s appearance. “Oh, Jesus Christ, what happened to your eye, are you okay?”

Nika laughs nervously as she walks over. “Ah, yeah, I'm fine! It’s…a long story, but you don’t have to worry about it!”

“….If you say so,” Miorine locks her phone and puts it in her pocket. “Did you need something?”

Nika shuffles her feet awkwardly. “Um, not really. I wasn’t expecting to run into you is all, so, I thought that I’d say hi!”

“I see.”

“It's good to see you! I heard from Suletta that you two went to see Dawn of Fold the other night.”

Miorine visibly grimaces. “...Yeah. They’re a bit much for me, I think.”

Nika laughs. “Sophie and Norea are….interesting. Definitely an acquired taste. Suletta seemed happy that you came along with her, though.”

At this, Miorine’s expression visibly brightens. Nika tries to suppress a smirk at how predictable it is that a mention of Suletta being happy is all it takes to lift her mood.

“I’m glad I bumped into you, actually,” Nika says. “There’s something I've been wanting to talk to you about.”

“Oh?”

“Mm-hmm. I dunno if you heard, but, Suletta told me and Chuchu the other day that she’s ready to start looking for gigs again.”

Miorine nods. “Yeah. she told me, also.”

“So I guess, I just wanted to thank you. For being there for her,” Nika says. “I doubt that she would’ve been able to overcome this hurdle nearly as quickly without you there helping her out. I think that the lessons you two have been doing really helped to lift her spirits and restore her confidence.”

Miorine blushes. “It’s nothing, really…” she mumbles. “If anything, I should be the one thanking her. She’s….really been a bright spot in my life lately.”

“Yeah...that’s just what Suletta does, I think.”

A brief moment of semi-awkward silence passes.

“Was that…all you wanted to talk about?” Miorine inquires.

Nika shrugs. “Yeah, I guess! That, and I just wanted to say hi to a friend.”

Miorine just blinks at her, the surprise on her face very apparent. “Y-you….huh?”

“Hm?”

“You called me your friend?”

Nika shifts awkwardly. “Is that, um. Is that….are we not?”

Miorine knits her brow for a moment.

“I… mean, I'm just…i’m just Suletta's friend, you don’t….have to feel like you have to be friends with me too for her sake,” she mumbles.

Nika frowns at her. “That’s…not it at all? I think you're an interesting person, and I like talking to you. And I'd probably think that even if you weren't already friends with Suletta.”

Miorine seems at a loss for how to respond. "....Huh.”

Nika supposes that she’s put this poor girl through enough torment (read: social interaction) for one day, so she readjusts her backpack over her shoulder, preparing to head off once again.

“Well, anyway…! I am absolutely exhausted , so I should probably head back to my dorm and crash, but hey! It was so nice running into you. I’ll see you around, okay?”

Nika makes to walk off, but is stopped before she can.

“Hey,” Miorine says quietly. 

Nika looks back down at Miorine, who isn’t meeting her gaze.

“Mm-hmm?”

“...Thank you,” Miorine says simply.

Nika beams at her. “Of course. Anytime.”

=====

Despite her initial hopes, Chuchu's reignited feelings for Nika didn't go away once the alcohol left her system. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact. She'd managed to slam the lid shut on this veritable Pandora's box once, but now that it's off again, she doubts that she'll ever be able to get it back on.

She CAN do her best to ignore it, however. And she sure as hell intends to. The band is in a precarious enough position as it is; and especially after seeing how the bassist and rhythm guitarist in Lion’s Mane tossed the rest of the band into chaos by getting into a lovers’ quarrel, the absolute last thing that Chuchu wants to do is risk doing something similar to FIX RELEASE. 

It’s been a little over a week since the incident at Guel’s gig, but Chuchu still feels burdened by a crushing sense of guilt; not only for Nika's sake, either. While provoking Guel, she'd invoked Miorine's name to get in a cheap jab, without considering the fact that doing so might spurn the obviously-spiteful bandleader to take it out on her.

But for the sake of the band, she’s been doing her best to put her own complicated feelings aside for the time being. Suletta and Nika are both counting on her to take the initiative with regards to band stuff, and she’s been determined to not let anything get in the way of that.

Anyway. The three are once again assembled in NIka and Chuchu’s dorm for a band meeting, less than a week after their previous one; Chuchu had been the one to call it this time around, for the purpose of discussing some big, exciting news with her bandmates.

“So! I bet you can assume why I called you both here,” she says smugly, arms crossed.

“I mean, I live here,” Nika says.

“Quiet, you.”

“Did you find us a gig!!” Suletta bubbles.

Chuchu winks at her with a click of her tongue. “You know it.”

“AAHH, YESS!!” Suletta effuses, leaning forward eagerly. “Where, where!!” 

“She’s been keeping ME in suspense all day too,” Nika smirks. Her black eye has mostly healed at this point, the bruising around her eye still faintly visible but largely faded away.

“Okay, okay. Y'all ready for this?”

“Yes, yes!! Tell us already!” Suletta urges.

“I got us a gig at...... Restaurock .”

“NO WAY!!” Suletta’s excitement is palpable.

“Damn, way to go, chuchu!” Nika bubbles.

Restaurock is a popular chain of fast casual restaurants that feature live rock music being played at all hours of operation. Playing there is looked down on by some musicians, and viewed as a rite of passage by others. For FIX RELEASE, though, a gig is a gig—and Restaurock is popular with families and, to put it as nicely as possible, normies—AKA, people who wouldn’t visit the rock clubs that they usually play at. It provides the band with a fantastic opportunity to broaden their audience.

“Hehe, yeah, I know, I'm awesome, but more importantly… you gonna be okay to do this, Suletta?” Chuchu asks. I know that jumping right into Double-R for your first performance back is a bit much.”

Suletta emphatically shakes her head. “No, no, I can do it! Absolutely, I know I can.”

Chuchu nods. “Alright. Just wanted to check.”

“When are we scheduled for?” Nika asks.

“The 17th. So, a little over two weeks away.”

“Oooh, that’s pretty good, all things considered! Gives us a decent amount of time to polish up the songs we’re working on.”

“Oh yeah, that reminds me! How's the Miorine song comin’ along, you two?” Chuchu asks; Nika and Suletta have been the primary writers for the song while Chuchu took the lead on looking for gigs.

Suletta blushes. “I-I wish you'd stop calling it that…”

“I wouldn’t have to if you’d give it a damn title already!”

“It's coming along well!” Nika says. “Definitely nowhere near done yet, but, I think both me and Suletta are happy with the progress we've made on it so far.”

“Mm-hmm!!” Suletta nods in agreement.

“Y’think it’ll be ready in time for the Restaurock gig?” Chuchu asks. “Seems like it'd be a great opportunity to debut it, if we can swing it.”

Suletta fidgets anxiously. “I, um…I dunno….I-I don’t want to rush it, you know?”

“Nor should you,” Nika adds. “There’ll be other opportunities to play this song. And to make sure Miorine hears it.”

Suletta blushes bright red, hiding her face in her hands. “Rrmm….y-yeah…”

“Well, we’ve definitely got time,” Chuchu hums. “No presh, of course, but getting it done in time is definitely doable. I think we should shoot for it. Plus, I can help out a bit more with it now that I’m not as held up hunting for gigs.”

Suletta hesitates, before nodding. “Yeah, you’re right….”

“In any case, we definitely gotta practice before we go live again. We’re all a bit rusty, I think,” chuchu says. “Shit, Do we have enough cash on hand to book a studio for like, an hour?”

“Wwwwe can probably swing it,” Nika says slowly.

Chuchu raises an eyebrow. “Probably?” 

“It, ah….might be a bit tricky to budget in, but i’m sure i can manage! T-trust me!”

Chuchu shrugs. “Well, whatever. You’re the finance minister, so if you say we can swing it, then we’re swangin’.”

“Eeeee, I’m so excited!!!” Suletta squeals, kicking her feet. “FIX RELEASE is officially back in business!!!”