Work Text:
It’s a lazy Thursday in our apartment. Nijika texted me a little while ago saying she was on her way back from university, so she should be home before long. I didn’t really do much today. I thought about recording a new guitarhero video, but… I guess I just wasn’t feeling up for it. It’s been a pretty unproductive day all things considered…
Not like I feel like changing that now, though.
Sitting at the couch, I pull out my phone and connect my wireless headphones. I’ve been getting into a new phase recently with a foreign metalcore band. Well, some of their albums lean more towards alternative metal, but nonetheless it’s a bit heavier than what I’ve found myself listening to in recent years. Nijika’s punk taste definitely influenced me for a while, not that I mind.
It’s kind of nice returning to such a gritty sound after a while though. I dabbled in this genre when I was younger and I always loved how much emotion the vocalists could put into their voices. It really felt like they were screaming at the world. Granted, I think the most effective screams are used sparingly, but that’s just a personal preference.
This band even collaborated with a Japanese kawaii metal band - which was apparently what made Nijika recognize them when she heard me listening to them one day. I kinda want to listen to that song now…
Opening up the Bopify app on my phone, I quickly search for it. I actually quite like the uh… album? EP…? Commercial release? I-I don’t know, no one seems to know what the terminology for this release is, so, uh, album! I quite like this album in general, but I don’t have the time to listen to the whole thing before my lovely girlfriend gets home. I decide to just listen to the song I was looking for, tapping the sixth title on the album.
The playfully distorted bass synth that starts off the song before being broken by the vocalist’s scream. The beautiful melding of the downtuned riff and the bright synth, alongside the singer’s voice being stretched and compressed to create entirely new sounds. By all accounts, it should sound like a mess, but the chaos loops around into a perfect frenzy.
The verse playfully changes from low vocals singing over bass synths and an electronic drum beat, before exclaiming its hidden emotion with a scream over a heavily distorted guitar, bass, and drums. It’s done in such a way that both parts of the verse feel like they’re responding to each other. There’s a perfect flow to them.
The pre-chorus breaks fully into the metal sound of the band, as the synths fall to the background.
The chorus brings back the synths to perfectly blend with the rest of the mix, creating a beautiful resonance with the distorted guitars. At the same time, the kawaii metal band’s vocalist sings melodically over the heavy background, creating a dichotomy that I can’t help but love. Her voice is soft in nature, but still powerful in the context of the music.
As the song breaks out into the opening riff once more, I feel a gentle touch on my shoulder. For the briefest of seconds, I’m ready to scream, but my mind catches up with me as I realize who it is.
I quickly turn around and find my beautiful girlfriend, Nijika Ijichi, standing behind the couch. As I take off my headphones, she gives me a playful smile. “I called out quite a few times, you know. I can’t believe my own girlfriend is ignoring me now.” She sticks her tongue out.
“E-Eh?? N-No!! I-I just got too into the song, I-I didn’t hear you. I-I’m sorry,” I say, hoping to clear up the situation.
“Hmmmm? I don’t knoooooooow,” she teasingly holds. “I think I need some proof that you still love me~” she says with a wink.
“A-Ah…” I blush, but stand up in compliance.
I make my way to the backside of the couch, where she waits, and quickly put my hands on her waist. She puts her arms around my neck and pulls my face closer to hers. For a second, I’m distracted by the feeling of her warm breaths hitting my face. The slight pink forming on her cheeks tells me she feels the same.
“Nijika…”
“Mm…”
Giving me a small smile as the go ahead, I inch my face towards hers, looking directly into her enchanting vermillion eyes. In but a few seconds, my lips are on hers, their softness threatening to shut me down. The warmth of her lips and the warmth held in her eyes vie for priority in my heart, but it’s simply too much. I can’t choose one or the other. I’ll just let you take over my mind entirely. Maybe you already have~
After a particularly long kiss, we pull away, exhaling heavy, warm breaths. Both of us are a little red, but we can’t help but smile. I look towards her once more.
“I love you, Nijika.”
She looks a little confused for a second, but quickly understands. “Hehe, yeah, that was some pretty good proof. I love you too, my mochi Bocchi~”
Her angelic smile threatens to set my heart into overdrive, so I look away in embarrassment.
“H-How was school!?” I try to change the subject.
“Mm?” She tilts her head. “It was fine. Just a usual day, honestly.”
“D-Don’t you have midterms soon?”
Nijika doesn’t answer, but gives me a pained smile instead.
“A-Ah, sorry…”
“Haah, no, it’s okay. I’m gonna have to do some serious studying tonight. I just… I-I don’t want to waste time I could be spending with you,” she says in a pout.
“Nijika… You’re not wasting time by studying. I’d be more sad if you failed because of me, you know.”
“I-I know that…” she trails off. “…R-Rationally, at least… but…”
“I know. I-It’s not like I don’t want to spend time with you, but… we have plenty of time for that after you pass,” I try to reassure her.
“Hitori… Mm. You’re right. I’m sorry,” she says with a slightly dejected smile.
“Don’t apologize. I-I just want to help you as best I can. It makes me r-really happy that you want to spend time with me like that, but…”
“I know. Thank you, muffin,” she says with a warm smile.
I can’t believe I’m still so bad at saying what I mean, but she seems to pick up on everything I’m unable to say. I simply give a smile in response.
“Now, that’s enough heavy talk! I got you some treats!” she exclaims excitedly.
“Eh?”
“Hehe, come to the kitchen, silly!” she says as she detaches from me, before grabbing my hand and pulling me into the kitchen.
“Th-This is…”
Before me lay some of my favorite menu items from Tim Hortons, a Canadian coffeehouse chain that opened up its first location in Japan in the heart of Shimokita just a few years ago. Kita invited me to try it with her one day. She liked it well enough, but me…
I got addicted, ehehe~
Nijika quickly grabs a small paper bag and plastic cup and holds them out towards me. “One iced cappuccino and donut for my mochi Bocchi~”
“Nijikaaaaaaa~”
“D-Don’t give me those kinds of eyes, silly. I-I’m gonna start kissing you again,” she says before looking down in a blush.
“I-Is that a bad thing?”
“A-At least have what I got you first!!” she says in a slight pout.
“Ehehe, okay.”
I happily take the iced capp and bag from her before we both move to the couch. She snuggles up beside me in an instant, but still gives me enough room to eat. She’s got it down to a science, hehe. It used to embarrass me when she’d get this close, but now… I feel like I’m always craving her warmth. Maybe I’m addicted to more than just Tim’s…
Taking a sip of the iced capp (through a solid plastic straw that Nijika keeps in the house for me), I immediately start to feel alive again. As this perfectly cool beverage flows through my body, I feel my mind begin to clear up. It tastes so good…
“I can’t believe you drink those so often but won’t even go near coffee,” she remarks.
“Th-These are way better! They taste delicious!” I fire back.
“You can make coffee taste good too, you know,” she argues.
“I-If it ain’t broke…” I fall back on a proverb.
“Haah, okay, okay. I have to say though, I remember being surprised when you told me you have it made with chocolate milk instead of cream. I didn’t think you were one to care about getting low fat versions.”
“A-Ah…” I trail off, knowing the real answer to why I get it made this way.
“Hehe, I know now, you silly. You’re my chocolate loving cookie~” she says lovingly.
I can’t help but blush. “E-Ehehe… I-It just tastes better.”
“Still, though, you shouldn’t be getting them so often. They’re not good for you,” she says sternly.
“E-Ehhhhh? B-But you just said I get the low fat version…”
“Mm, yeah, and do you know how much sugar the chocolate milk adds?” she asks with a smile that doesn’t go past her eyes.
“Geh.” Y-You never stop me from buying them though…
“I know. It’s because I have a weakness to your happy face,” she admits.
Stop reading my mind…
“No~” she says with a smile. “…Well, I’m not asking you to quit entirely. Just try to keep your health in mind.”
“O-Okay…” I lie. I can’t let her know I’m already known by the employees as “iced capp girl”…
“Uh, yeah, a little late for that. They call me ‘iced capp girlfriend’, love…” she says with a slight blush.
“WHA-“
“I mean, I order for you all the time. I’m sure the moment they saw us both walk in together one time they put the pieces together,” she muses.
“…I can never go back…”
“Hehe, don’t think like that! Isn’t it pretty convenient that they know your order before you even say it?” she says in an effort to cheer me up.
“I-I guess so…”
Resigning myself to the fact that I’ve ruined both of our reputations at that location, I look inside the bag.
“Oooh, sour cream, ehehe… thank you, Nijika!”
“I know it’s your favorite. But… I still don’t really get it. Sour cream? That doesn’t sound like a good donut flavor at all,” she admits.
“I-It doesn’t taste like actual sour cream, hehe. They just use it in the batter. It gives the donut an extra fluffiness and a creamier taste. Then it’s coated in a vanilla glaze that gives it that sweet taste that I love~” I break into a silly smile describing my favorite treat. Or one of them at least.
“Ohhh, so it’s more of a vanilla donut, then?”
“B-Because this one is made from an old-fashioned plain donut, yes. B-But there are chocolate sour cream donuts too, a-and the glazing doesn’t have to be vanilla either. Tim’s only sells the one, but a true ‘sour cream donut’ is just a different way of making them in general.”
“Ohhhh, I see. Man, the world of donuts is bigger than I thought. Maybe I should learn how to make some,” she ponders.
“I-I’d love that!!” I say a little louder than I mean to.
She gives a gentle smile. “You’re my favorite donut, though,” she says before wrapping an arm around my back and resting her head on my shoulder.
“…Y-You sure have a lot of pet names today.”
“I’ve been saving them up, hehe. Any favorites?”
“Mm… Cookie.”
“I’ll keep using it then!”
“Hehe.”
I spend the next few minutes munching on my donut, enjoying the creamy delight. The taste of the dough mixed with the vanilla glazing just creates a perfect blend of sweetness.
Plus, taking another sip of the iced capp and letting the chocolate taste mix perfectly with the bitterness of the cappuccino, a perfect flavor washes over me. This really is perfect~
“So, what did you get up to today?” Nijika asks me.
“Mm…” I almost want to lie, but I know she’ll see through it anyway. “Nothing.”
“Oh. That’s okay! Sometimes we need days to recharge,” she reassures me.
“I guess, but…” I trail off. “I feel like I should’ve done something.”
She puts her hands on my cheeks and makes sure I look into her eyes.
“Hey, didn’t you just tell me earlier that we have plenty of time to spend time together? In that same way, you have plenty of time to be productive! One day isn’t the end of the world!”
“I-I know, but… sometimes I feel like I’ve forgotten how to actually rest. If I’m not doing something, I just feel like I’m wasting my life,” I admit.
“You have been working really hard recently… I don’t want you to overwork yourself, though.”
“B-But, I don’t feel like I am.”
“Even if you don’t feel like you are, the fact that you can’t relax tells me you’re getting a little addicted to it. Eventually, burnout will catch up with you. Let’s try to stop that before it even happens, okay?” she asks with clear sincerity in her eyes.
“…O-Okay. H-How do we do that?” I ask genuinely.
“You’ve been listening to that new band you found a lot recently, right? Do you feel like that’s a waste of time?”
“N-Not really.”
“Then, let’s do things like that!”
“Huh?” I tilt my head in confusion.
“You’re not wasting your time if you’re doing something you enjoy. So, let’s do things you enjoy, even if they're small things like listening to music!” she says with a smile.
“I-Is that… really enough?” I question. That still sounds like wasting time to me…
“…Life’s too short to spend it worrying over how you use your time. When you go to bed, ask yourself: did I laugh today? Did I have fun today? Was I happy today? If the answer to any of those is yes, then I think that’s a fulfilling day all on its own,” she says with a slightly nostalgic smile on her face.
“…O-Okay, I-I’ll try.”
I can tell this is important to her. And considering I already made her focus on her studies, I can’t really deny her asking something of me .
“Th-Then… C-Can I play an album?”
“Hehe, I thought you’d never ask!” she says, beaming.
“I-I’m not sure you’ll like it, though…” I start to lose my confidence.
She gently grasps my hands. “Even if it’s not my favorite kind of music, the fact that you’re playing it for me makes me wanna hear it anyway! Plus, I’m not very hard to please, hehe!”
“…Y-You spoil me way too much,” I say with a blush.
“Hehe, I think I’m just giving you what you deserve!” she exclaims with a loving smile.
“…I love you, Nijika,” I say, looking into her eyes.
“I love you too, Hitori.” She says, looking back into mine.
As we melt into another kiss, our attempted ‘short time together’ turns to an evening together.
Nijika may or may not be a little late to start her studying…
But… we made each other happy. That really is a the mark of a fulfilling day~