Work Text:
Himeko: guys I need your help
march!!: I thought u said you weren’t nervous huh???
Dan Heng: march this isn’t the time
Welt Yang: well what seems to be the problem?
march!!: im betting that she's nervous
stelle: well are you?
Himeko: …
Himeko pocketed her phone and tried to ignore the numerous notifications that were vibrating from her phone. For the millionth time, she checked her hair and makeup for any form of imperfection but of course, none. It’s Himeko we are talking about here. Once again, she glanced at the coffee shop door to see any sign of the date that was supposed to arrive 10 minutes ago. After a couple of more minutes waiting, she decided to get herself a drink for the wait. She told the waiter her order and as she was about to place her card onto the card reader, someone placed their card onto the machine. Himeko frowned and turned to look at the stranger who paid for her drink and what she saw made her stop breathing immediately.
Himeko tried to figure out what made the woman in front of her such a beauty to observe. Her face was quite simple. Basic you could even say. A small little smirk. Deep magenta hair. Smooth and tied into a ponytail. And that’s when Himeko noticed it. It was her eyes.
Lilac coloured eyes which were soft and somehow still quite enticing. That was the beauty of this woman.
“Think of it as an apology for being so late” the woman gave her an easy smile. “I needed to get some work done before I came to speak to this god-sent angel of a woman in front of me”
Oh, shit. Himeko thought. A smooth talker and her voice is so…
Himeko snapped back into reality before she thought of something that she shouldn’t have.
“Shall we sit down?” the woman offered. Himeko could only nod as the woman had already knocked the air right out of her lungs. Once they sat down, neither of them talked. Himeko only managed to say ‘thank you’ to the waitress who brought her drink. They sat in silence. The type of silence that wasn’t awkward but wasn’t exactly comfortable either. Himeko needed to do something – anything - if she was going to have another date with this woman. But the stranger beat her to it.
“You must be…Himeko, correct?”
“Yes. Yes, I am.” Himeko took slow sips of her coffee. One too many splashes of milk. She dropped the coffee onto the coaster.
“Kafka. That’s my name.”
“Ah, you finally tell me your name.” Kafka gave Himeko a slight nod. “May I know why you kept it a secret?”
Kafka remained quiet for a couple of minutes. If this was anyone else, Himeko would have probably gotten bored or just changed the question. But this time she thought, Beautiful people need time to construct beautiful sentences, I’ll wait.
“I wouldn’t enjoy my name being said without any weight in it” Kafka finally responded “The thought of people just using my name as a placeholder displeases me.” Kafka leaned in a bit closer. Himeko sensed that Kafka was getting into this conversation. “I want to be the person that people wouldn’t need to say my last name to know that they are talking about me.” Once Kafka had finished speaking, she was on the edge of her seat.
“You seem very…passionate about this dream.” Himeko chuckled.
“Quite.”
After that conversation, they started talking more and more and discovered unique things about each other. They both loved something that drove them in life. And for Himeko, even in that short moment, she found hers.
Kafka.
***
Afternoon turned into early evening and Kafka drove Himeko back to her house. For compensation, Himeko cooked the other woman dinner. They ate, drank, and conversed about various topics. Fashion, arts, the lots of it. Until Kafka noticed something in the corner her eye, she spotted a large grand piano. Himeko noticed that Kafka had stopped looking at her so she turned her head to see exactly what she was looking at. She smiled.
She got up and took Kafka’s hand into hers and walked them toward the instrument.
“Do you play?” Kafka asked as they got to the mechanism. Himeko took a deep breath before answering. “No. Not anymore at least.” Before Kafka could ask any questions, Himeko asked “Do you play?” Kafka sat on the stool and hoovered her fingers above the keys before playing a note. “I play quite a lot of instruments but my favourite would always be the violin.”
Himeko put her chin onto the palm of her hand. “Play something for me. Anything”
“On the piano?” Kafka questioned.
“No, on the violin.”
Kafka gave her a soft smile. “I might be a musician but I don’t carry my beloved piece everywhere I go.”
“I have spare violins if you’d like?”
Kafka only looked at her with a blank stare and Himeko thought she had opened a memory for Kafka. “Y-you don’t have to play anything if you don’t want to, by the way. I was just-“
“I would play to play for you”
Himeko blushed immediately and turned swiftly to get a spare violin that she had in her instrument storage room. Once Himeko returned to the room, Kafka had rolled up her shirt sleeve and removed her silk gloves. She handed over the case to the violinist and once Kafka had tuned it – she waited.
“Will you play with me?”
Himeko froze at the question. She suddenly felt very shy.
“I don’t..play anymore”
“That means that you used to. Why did you stop, if I may I ask?” Kafka put her violin on top of the hood of the piano and sat next to Himeko on the stool. “You could say I got frustrated. Lost interest is a better phrase.” Kafka stayed silent, hinting for Himeko to continue. And so she did. “I did not get joy from playing it as I did before,” Himeko questioned whether to continue but she trusted Kafka. Right? “My father taught me the piano. We used to play every single day but then he died. And my love for the piano died with him. That’s why I stopped.”
The silence that followed made Himeko instantly regret what she had said. How could I just randomly open up to someone I just met?! What is wrong with-
“Thank you, for telling me this,” Kafka spoke in a soft voice. “I would assume telling this was very hard on you.” Kafka stood up, went to the other side of Himeko, and knelt beside her. “I truly am sorry for your loss but I will not honey-coat it. Putting your happiness into the hands of a mere human being is something that will always cause you great pain. And I will not allow you to live your life in sadness because of it.” Himeko was about to make a quick comment but Kafka continued before she could. “Put your happiness in yourself and what you do. Not what other people have taught you. Once again, I truly am sorry for your father, but in order for you to be relieved from this sadness – you need to let him go.”
Himeko was left absolutely and utterly dumbfounded. Instead of getting angry or lashing out, she only smiled and wiped a small tear that came out. “I think I needed that reality check.”
“Anytime” Kafka did a small smile “So what song do you want to play?”
Himeko thought about it for a second before deciding “Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 2”
“As you wish”
So they played it. And another. And another. And dozens more until night came and their neighbours had probably had enough. Kafka helped Himeko wash the dishes and the red-haired walked Kafka to her car. “I had fun tonight,” Himeko said unexpectedly. “You made me break out of my shell.” Kafka turned to her and gave a smile. “Well if you ever want to go on date number two, you know my name” Himeko giggled at the little joke. After a couple seconds of comfortable silence, Himeko told Kafka that she’d call the latter. In Kafka’s brain, a party had started in victory. She kissed Himeko’s forehead and whispered “I’ll see you later.” She got into her car and drove off.
When Himeko went back inside, she immediately noticed that Kafka had forgotten her coat. She immediately called her and at the first ring, Kafka answered.
“I didn’t forget my coat, I expect to meet you again for date two. Am I right?”
Himeko scoffed and sat down on the piano stool “Very right. Where do you want to go next time?”
“Anywhere and everywhere. As long as I’m with you.”
Himeko couldn’t wait.