Chapter Text
"Hey, Ricky, over here."
Taki looks up from her drums to see Anon idly leaning over, one hand pointing at her cheek while the other holds her phone. "What are you doing?" Taki asks her, instinctually feeding the approaching stray cat as she does. "We're about to start. Get in position."
"It'll be quick, I promise. Just kiss me on the cheek so I can take a selfie."
"…Huh?"
Anon raises an eyebrow. "What's that look for? If it's too embarrassing, you can always fake it. You just have to look like you're kissing me."
You know.
It's not as if they just magically got here. Asking Anon out and becoming her girlfriend required a truckload of vulnerability from the two of them that Taki's still freaked out by. She's not used to it… sometimes she wonders if she's even cut out for this; the only thing keeping her going is the realization that yeah, she really does love Anon. She hated to admit it, but… the solidarity they started feeling for each other; it meant a lot to her. It's why they're here now, arguments be damned. They've been through a lot.
…So why does it feel like nothing's goddamn changed sometimes??? "Ask Soyo."
"I'm not doing it either," Soyo says.
"What's the big deal? We're all dating," the nuisance complains. "Besides, it was your idea, Soyorin."
Taki gives Soyo the stink-eye. Soyo scowls back; "Don't look at me like that. I suggested it as a joke when she started boasting about our relationship."
"But I mean, the fact I have 3 girlfriends… and especially that they're Tomorin, Ricky and Soyorin~… that is pretty nice, right?"
Taki sees Tomori smile a bit from the corner of her eye. It's the only thing stopping her from sinking her face into a hi-hat.
"So I figured it's worth some huge brownie points online!" Anon holds up the phone again; "Please, Ricky? Soyorin?"
"No."
"No. Don't drag me into this."
"C'mon, why not? We've kissed plenty of times," she says to Soyo's increasingly withered expression. "And any excuse for you to start doing it more often, Ricky."
"Does it qualify as plenty if I can count the number on both hands?" Soyo asks.
Anon blinks like a dog seeing a bone and stares at her wide-eyed. "Eh? You remember the actual amount?!"
"…Tch."
"Walked into that one," Taki says snidely.
In exchange, Soyo gives her the equivalent of a guillotine sharpened into two irises. Y'know, it actually feels surprisingly good to have a one-up on Soyo for once- "Well~, if Taki's done it so little, then we should remedy that, shouldn't we~?"
The chill of Soyo's 'regular' voice smacks her like a shovel. "No, wait-"
"Being emotionally open is important, isn't it?" Soyo keeps hacking away. "If you're going to be in a relationship, it's not good to neglect your partner!"
"See, Soyorin's on my side now too~~."
Her face heats up a thousand-fold as Anon leans in with that grating, annoying, infuriating smirk. The kind of self-indulgent grin Taki despises. You know what, actually? Being Anon's girlfriend was a terrible idea. Taki regrets everything. She doesn't even have the luxury of ignoring her anymore, because apparently that's what it means to be dating this menace. "Don't get too wound up, Taki," Soyo says, "it's not like she's expecting you to kiss her on the lips."
"Yeah, it's just a peck on the cheek! Lighten up~."
WHY IS SOYO EGGING HER ON-
-
-Oh.
Taki glances aside at Soyo, sees the trace of a smile… and realizes exactly what she meant. She's right; Anon isn't expecting much, huh?
…Fine then.
"Oo? Are you actually gonna-"
Taki rests a hand on the back of Anon's head,
and pulls her in. "-mgbblr~?!"
There's only one thing she finds more irritating than Anon at her cockiest:
How nice it feels to get back at her.
"…"
"…"
…Taki hurriedly moves off and looks away, leaving a red-hot Anon to smolder in the aftermath. "A"
"I didn't think you'd go through with it," Soyo comments. Then she leans in
"!!"
and kisses Anon herself, extending the bluescreen timer. "Well, at least now she knows what'll happen if she keeps pushing it."
She strolls to her position and gets her bass ready. Tomori waddles in, and gives Anon a quiet smooch as well, before shuffling back to the front.
Anon promptly collapses.
…
…At this point, everyone's just waiting for her. She's been like that for minutes. Raana crouches down and curiously pokes at her. "Hey. Hey."
Fine, Taki'll bite the bullet. "Get up. We should've started practice 5 minutes ago," she says. "Or what, do you want another?"
Anon BOLTS up. "N-Nonono! I'm good now," she blarfs, trying not to topple over. "All good here!"
"Then get your guitar already."
"…Yes, ma'am…"
Taki lets out a ragged sigh before leading them in, wondering how many more times she's going to have to deal with something like that. But secretly… a part of her figures, this isn't so bad. Maybe she'll humour Anon and do it properly; after practice, when nobody else's around.
Not agreeing to the selfie though.