Chapter Text
"Firefly, I'm coming in."
Silver Wolf's voice was muffled behind the door to her bedroom. She didn't have a chance to acknowledge what was said before the silver-haired punk was already making herself comfortable on Firefly's bed, effectively squishing her to the wall. Disgruntled noises came from under the blankets that Firefly was curled in. Lifting her head, she was greeted with the sight of bubble gum popping in her face, her best friend deadpanning. "Get up, we're leaving."
"Where are we going?" She yawns while stretching, looking around for some clothes to put on. Her best friend was always known for being a bit reckless and stubborn when it came to what she wanted. Knowing her, Silver Wolf was going to drag her to an internet cafe. Firefly changed into a simple outfit to go out in while the gamer just laid on her bed. Shaking her head, she combs her hair and finishes getting ready.
“Same place,” Silver Wolf said flatly. She was definitely dragging her to an internet cafe. “Come on, cafe’s gonna be closed by the time you’re done.”
Firefly could only shake her head as they walked to a nearby internet cafe. Her friend was known for staying in her place all day, cooped up playing video games non-stop while barely remembering to take care of herself. On the bright side, it's a good change of pace for Firefly since they rarely go out together. Moments like this felt so hard to come by before, but now it's like she has all the time to herself. Time...
Time was always such a weird concept to Firefly. On one hand, she could never seem to do what she wanted, always left longing. Longing for what? She would never know. On the other hand, she doesn't know what to do now that she has all the time in the world to do anything she puts her mind to, anything that she could dream of.
Dream. Such an interesting word to Firefly. Before she felt like she couldn't dream, always stuck in her he-
"-fly. Firefly!" Said girl checks back into reality. "Was your grade that bad on the last exam that it came to haunt you?” Firefly rolled her eyes, pointedly ignoring her comment.
"Sorry, shall we play some games?" Firefly looked around, not realizing they were already at the cafe and taking their seats. Pulled out of her thoughts by Silver Wolf, they booted up the computers for the gaming session. Laughter and jeering towards one another came from the two friends, both of them enjoying chips and their drinks, the shorter of the two having one too many energy drinks. Come their third stretch break, both of them stared out the window, now noticing the sun dipping lower towards the horizon and the streets a bit more crowded.
"Feels like no time has passed at all." Silver Wolf says as she finishes up her third Monster today.
"Mm," Firefly stands up and stretches. "I can't stop thinking that today was a great day. " Her silver-haired friend shoots her a quizzical look as she stretches. "I just mean that this almost feels too good to be real. It's not a bad thing though, I like having all of this time to spend with you."
"Too sappy. Back to gaming." The short silver-haired girl said while putting them both back into the match-making queue.
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“You’re way too nice to be playing this game,” Silver Wolf said, shaking her head disapprovingly at the little ‘gg :3’ Firefly typed in chat.
“It was a good game.”
“You got stomped.”
“But I had fun.”
“Whatever, you better top frag next match.”
She did not. Actually, she’s doing worse. It wasn’t her fault though. The lady who took the seat beside her was just that distracting. It was hard not to notice the blue hair, but it was even harder to not notice how beautiful her voice was as she hummed a melody Firefly didn’t seem to know. Paired with the soft tone of the lady’s voice, the soothing tune was gentle on Firefly’s ears. She felt like she could listen to it for an eternity and never get tired of hearin-
“Firefly, get your head in the game!” Silver Wolf elbowed her, as “ELIMINATED” appeared on Firefly’s screen in giant red text. “What’s up with you? You’ve been pretty distracted today.”
“Sorry-”
“I know you’re bad, but you can’t be this bad.” She elbowed her friend back for that comment. “Come on. I need you to lock in.”
“You’re supposed to be carrying me.” Just as quickly as she respawned, her thoughts drifted to that song again. She glanced over, looking for the lady, only to see that she had left as quickly as she sat down. Her character let out a groan and Firefly looked back over to see she had been eliminated once again. Shaking her head and sighing, Firefly stood from her seat. “I’m going to get a drink. Do you want something?”
“Monster,” Silver Wolf replied immediately, not tearing her eyes away from the screen. Was she even blinking?
“I’m getting you water.” Once again, Firefly’s mind drifted back to that song, and it wasn’t long before she found herself humming it too. Her voice was nowhere near as nice as the other woman's but the song just seemed to stick. It felt like a siren’s song with how much it occupied her mind. She hadn’t even noticed she bought their drinks until her friend’s shouting brought her out of her thoughts.
“Feed one more time and I’ll shove my keyboard so far down your throat your mom will be pulling keycaps out of your ass!”
Ah, now she knows how the game is going. Firefly sighed. Only a matter of time before Silver Wolf gets banned again. She shook her head as she held out the drink to her. “Wolfie, come on. Let’s go out to eat.”
A groan in response. “You know I’ll get a penalty for leaving mid-match.”
“Maybe the penalty will teach you a lesson in manners,” Firefly said half-jokingly. “I found a nice sandwich shop in Central Plaza.”
“Not interested.”
“I’m paying.”
“I’m locking in.”
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“I think you scarred Caelus with your order, Wolfie.” Firefly grimaced at Silver Wolf’s atrocity of a sandwich.
“The customer is always right, right?” Silver Wolf shrugged. “The other girl didn’t seem that bothered by it.”
“Stelle doesn’t seem like she would be bothered by anything.” Silver Wolf shrugged again as she took another bite of her sandwich. “I can’t be the only one bothered by this.”
“Silver Wolf commits crimes frequently,” Ren said flatly. “That sandwich is just one of many.”
“The only crime here is you getting whole wheat bread,” Silver Wolf shot back. “Who the fuck likes whole wheat?”
“Different tastes for different people,” Firefly said in a sage-like manner. Her two companions just gave her a dead stare while saying nothing, causing the girl to nervously chuckle. The jingle of keys and a door creaking was the trio's sign to quiet down as the owner of the house they welcomed themselves into unannounced had returned. A figure with wine-red hair passed by them silently as she walked to the kitchen, pouring herself something to drink. Back to the group sitting at their table, Firefly cleared her throat. "We got you a sandwich too." A hum in acknowledgment.
The owner of the house walked over to the table, taking the last empty seat and sighing, pulling off her gloves. The trio looked between themselves as their friend took a bite of her sandwich, giving a content hum. "Thank you, darling."
"It's the least we could do," said Firefly "We did stop by without notice." The shorter of the silver-haired friends elbows her. "Hey, it was your idea."
"Kafka doesn't care either way."
"Just as long as you all are comfortable, but I would appreciate a warning in advance," Kafka's sultry voice chimed in, taking a swig of her drink before continuing to eat her food. The melted cheese combined with the lettuce added a nice balance to the meats. Firefly noted that everyone seemed to enjoy the sandwich from Superstellar Subs, taking a bite out of her sandwich, and watching as the sun dipped below the horizon from the windows. Taking a sip from her drink, she reminiscenced, absentmindedly humming the melody she heard earlier.
“You’re still thinking about that song?” Silver Wolf says while taking a bite of her overloaded sandwich, as cheese and chipotle sauce dripped down the wrapper. With how Caelus’ face looked while taking their orders, Firefly could only pray that he didn't quit his job.
"It's a lovely song."
“The same song that cost us the match earlier?”
"It's not like you ranked down, Silver Wolf," Ren said. Conversation, good food (except Silver Wolf's), and drinks were shared through the night at Kafka's place while they all winded down, moving their conversation towards the living room where everyone could relax. Silver Wolf casually walked towards the coffee table, grabbing the TV remote and flicking through programs.
“Wasn’t it Ren’s turn to pick a movie?” Firefly questioned.
“You should let others have opportunities too,” Kafka chided the gamer softly. Silver Wolf rolled her eyes, earning a staredown from Kafka. The gamer sighed and mumbled an apology. Their talks lasted late into the night, with Kafka sharing how work was, Ren relaxing on his off day, and Firefly sharing what she and Silver Wolf did. The background noise of the TV and the chill air made for a great night.
Firefly and Ren were on the floor as Silver Wolf was an asshole and laid across the whole couch after she decided to crash for the night, Kafka was sitting in the armchair reading a book. Ren was long asleep on the floor leaving Firefly and Kafka awake.
"Tell me about the song," Kafka said, turning a page in her book.
"I don't know how to describe it but I just feel at peace when I hear it," Firefly said, blinking slowly. Was it always this hard to open her eyes?
"Do you know the name?"
"Mm, not yet." A yawn comes forth, but Firefly thinks she stifles it. Watching out the window as the stars twinkle and the moon casts a soft glow down. I'd like to reach the sky one day, she thought.
"I see..." Was Kafka talking still? An ideal night for Firefly was spent in quiet, maybe in solitude, but the company was always nice. This is nice. The song the blue-haired lady was humming was also nice. Firefly yawned once more but felt a soft hand ruffle her hair. The sound of a book closing and retreating footsteps were the last things she heard before drifting off into sleep.