Work Text:
“I'm home,” Aoi greeted as she entered her apartment she shared with Shizuka.
At the cue of the door shutting, Shizuka turned towards the entrance, cradling a can in her right hand. “Ah, welcome home, Oi-chan,” she greeted with a slightly trembling voice and face slightly flushed.
“Drinking already, Zuka-chan?” Placing her bag on the nearby desk, Aoi took a seat next to Shizuka. Grabbing Shizuka's right hand, she shook it lightly, getting the light swish she expected from the more than half-empty can, before spotting a few other empty cans lying on the table in front of them. “Whoa, Zuka-chan. It hasn't even been dark for that long yet.”
“It's summer after all. Just because it was still bright not long ago doesn't mean it's not drinking time yet,” Shizuka replied with a wide grin. “Though maybe I did start a little too early,” she continued, ending with a giggle.
“Well, you could at least wait for me,” Aoi put a pretend pout on her face as she leaned onto Shizuka's shoulder. After a pause, she added, “So, how did the audition go? Wait, actually you don't need to answer that – if you're drinking this early, there can only be one possible answer to that.”
Shizuka let out a laugh. “I came there pretty confident. I practised some lines on the train on the way to the studio. I even thought I managed to ignore the big names that I saw was also there for the audition… but turns out I didn't, and when my tongue slipped on one line I panicked too much and didn't recover. Ah, I can't win against the mainstays just yet,” she finished with a sigh, stretching both of her arms forwards on the table. “Anyway, you're as perceptive about these things as always, aren't you, Oi-chan.”
“Not at all, it's just that it's gotten easier to understand you after knowing you for this long. Living together, even,” Aoi said, looping an arm around Shizuka's shoulders. It had been almost a year since Aoi moved in together with Shizuka, under the pretence of “saving on rent” - not that anyone who knew them well enough to know about the move wouldn't have known the real reason, but that was the excuse they prepared in case anyone else found out and asked about it. Being a voice actress meant being careful about what you reveal about your personal life. “Besides, haven't you got some pretty good roles lately? Not just one episode side characters. You'll definitely be able to play besides those mainstays more equally later.”
Shizuka stared down at her now almost empty can. “I wonder if that's why I kept failing at getting larger roles – because I'm too easily understandable. So my acting's easy to see through. Well, hear through.”
“Huh?”
Shizuka turned towards Aoi, face very visibly flushed. “You said it yourself, that I'm easy to understand.”
“..Zuka-chan, that's not what I said. I just said that it's easy for me to understand you.”
“That still means that I'm easy to understand to someone, right? If I'm easy to understand to you, then what's stopping me from being easily understandable to someone else?” Shizuka pushed her body forward towards Aoi, arms pumped in front of her.
Aoi should've known by the number of empty cans she saw, but this was perfect proof that Shizuka was completely drunk. Time to keep her down. “Well, I did say that it was because I knew you for so long. Not just everyone would be able to do it.”
Shizuka was now clinging onto Aoi. “Then what about the rest of our high school anime club?”
“Well… they haven't lived together with you the way I did. They'd know you more than the average person, but not like me.”
“Really?” Clinging onto Aoi's chest, Shizuka turned her head up towards Aoi's face with a questioning look on her face.
“Yeah… perhaps.”
“Perhaps?!” Grabbing Aoi's shoulders, Shizuka's face was suddenly mere centimetres in front of Aoi's, causing the latter to jerk her body back. “Then anyone perhaps can do it?”
“W-w-wah, Zuka-chan!” Aoi held Shizuka's cheeks between her hands and pressed her forehead to Shizuka's. She took a few deep breaths, both to calm herself and to get Shizuka to do the same – she seemed to succeed at the latter, but she wasn't sure about the former. Still, she continued, “E-even then it's just them, not just everyone. Four people out of everyone who watches anime isn't bad, isn't it?”
Shizuka stared intently at Aoi for a few moments before her face relaxed into a smile. “Yeah, you're right, Oi-chan. Besides, it's too sad if my old friends don't even know me that well enough,” she said, giggling. “And you just wanted to show me that you knew me well, didn't you?”
“Huh? Uh, y-yeah,” Aoi said, going along. After casting a glance to the side, she peeked back at Shizuka's expression to see if she didn't buy it, but the way Shizuka was happily snuggling against her with a smile, it seemed her suspicion was unfounded.
“Anyway,” Shizuka slurred, “enough about me. How was your day, Oi-chan?”
"The usual. Making sure everything stay on schedule. Running after Kisa-san for frames. Sometimes I wonder why I still give him work when this happens every time.”
“Because he's the only one not already swamped with work from elsewhere whenever you call?”
“...you're right,” Aoi answered with a sour look on her face.
Unaffected by Aoi's change in expression, Shizuka looked up at her with a smile. “See, I know a lot about you too, don't I, Oi-chan?”
It took a few moments, but Aoi relaxed into a smile as well. “You sure do. You better do, after all this time.” She stroked Shizuka's hair a few times before landing a kiss on her forehead.
“Oh come on, Oi-chan. After all this time, you should at least do this, right?” Shizuka returned the favour with a quick kiss to the lips.
Aoi lifted an eyebrow playfully. “Oh? If that's how you want to play, then after all this time shouldn't we -” Her words were abruptly cut off by a rumble coming from between them.
“...Zuka-chan?”
“That was definitely you, Oi-chan.”
“Was not.”
“Was so.”
“...actually, that reminds me.” Pulling back from Shizuka, Aoi reached into her handbag to pull out a paper bag. “I got some donuts on the way back. Want some?” She took one out and offered it to Shizuka.
“Of course.” Shizuka took the donut before extending her arm at Aoi again. “Don-don-donuts, let's go nuts?”
Now also holding her donut, Aoi tapped hers against Shizuka's, before then leaning in to whisper in Shizuka's ears, “And then we'll go nuts elsewhere?”
Shizuka lightly slapped Aoi's shoulder, face flushing in addition to her intoxication.