Work Text:
Chiaki tapped her foot faster, waiting for the door to finally open. C’mon, c’mon, c’mon…
“Hey, Morisawa. What’s up?” Kuro let Chiaki inside, helping her to the couch and patting her on the back, “Out with it”
Chiaki took a deep breath and let all the words out in one breath, “Can you teach me how to sew?”
Kuro laughed, leaning back on the couch, “Something as simple as that, huh? Why’d ya ask me about this? This is pretty spontaneous”
“You're right but… I want to make her something special for her birthday.” Chiaki sighed, looking up at Kuro and trying to throw some sort of puppy-dog-eyes her way.
It wasn’t like Kuro would say no - she wasn’t going to be very busy for the next week or so, she could spare some time to help Chiaki make the perfect gift for her beloved girlfriend. Damn, if Kuro could have a coin everytime Chiaki talked about or fawned over Kanata, Akatsuki would be eating good everyday. She didn’t mind it though. These rants were just so wholesome.
“You got any plans on what you want to make for her? We don’t really have that many days left till her birthday, yeah?”
Chiaki shook her head, “I should have asked you before but I don’t really know how to go about it. I have a few designs sketched out but I’m not the best artist” She opened her bag and pulled out a notebook with numerous pages flying out of it as she flipped to the correct one. Who knew Chiaki could draw this well?
Kuro took the notebook from her hands and flipped through each of the pages. They were very ambitious for sure, something a newbie wouldn’t be able to create on their own. Kuro was a bit worried about what Chiaki was expecting of her. Kuro was confident in her abilities but what Chiaki wanted could be a bit out of her wheel-house, not anything like Akatsuki’s clothes or the ones she had made previously for Ryuseitai. She wouldn’t let a good friend like her down though, she’d figure it out. It wouldn’t be too hard with her experience.
Kuro looked at the design that Chiaki had circled, analyzing “Damn, you really wanna put lights in this thing?”
Chiaki nodded her head, “Yes, yes, yes! I need that to happen, if it’s ok with you of course. I want to make her shine on stage, like… y’know those fish that look like they’re twinkling? Like that! I think she would love to sparkle like that.”
Kuro wasn’t surprised by the amount of effort Chiaki had put in, the way her mind had begun working immediately. Kuro, though, was thinking about the sort of fabric she would need, the kinds of thread and the other techniques she’d have to use to make it all possible. There was definitely a strong vision here and Kuro would deliver on it.
“Got it, do you have any ideas of what you want to use or anything?”
Chiaki pulled out some samples of fabric and laid them out in front of Kuro, “Here. I can get as much of it as necessary. I did a bunch of research and it was really confusing but I hope it helps.”
Damn, she had gone out to get the highest quality of silk, lace, ribbon, and the like. Kuro had plenty of experience working with the materials and Chiaki’s design was very detailed. Alright then, “Let’s see what we can do then”
Chiaki followed Kuro around like a dog, watching as Kuro brought out various tools she had never heard of before and laid them out on the table that was occupied already by fabrics that Kuro would be later using for Akatsuki’s outfits. Kuro asked her a couple of questions before settling on a plan of action.
Kuro found it sweet the way Chiaki wanted to be so involved in the project, she would always be up and ready when her previous task would be done. Kuro made sure to leave most of the labor to her with that in mind, just watching over her to make sure she didn’t hurt herself too badly.
Chiaki still found ways to do that though so Kuro made sure to keep a box of band-aids nearby to patch anything up. As the days went on, Kuro had less of a need to be involved with the making of the dress and Chiaki had learned so much from the day she had come in without a clue.
That’s the dedication and passion that Kanata loved after all, no wonder they were so close even after all of the trials thrown their way.
✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦
Over the next few days, Chiaki had learnt so much about the process of making a complex outfit that she could probably do it herself the next time(there would definitely be a next time). Kuro had shown her exactly how to do everything when they were able to meet up and when they weren’t, Chiaki would repeat the repetitive processes in the ways Kuro had shown her.
When the final dress was made, Chiaki wiped off her sweat and sunk into a chair, the pride of making something for Kanata taking the weight off of her heart. It was tailored just perfectly, loyal to the design and the additional ideas along the way. It was just a day before her birthday and would be busy for Midori’s birthday so she was glad to have stayed up to perfect the finishing touches.
It was a challenge to try to keep up appearances at the party. Kanata would stick by her side, discussing the plans for the day and the next and Chiaki had to keep her gift under wraps, literally. Thankfully, her reputation of having band-aids and bandages on her arms and hands helped her to avoid suspicion.
Seeing Kanata after so many days though, Chiaki could already see how the outfit would look on her figure. Of course, that was all she had on her mind as soon as she would enter the studio and even when she left it but it had been two weeks since she had seen the girl herself. The idol life had gotten in the way but thankfully, they were back together in person. She tried to look natural, sneaking quick glances when no one was looking. It was already so easy to see how the dress would flow and how Kanata would shine in something she made.
“Chiaki~ you are staring at me” Kanata’s gentle voice broke her focus. In just a few seconds, Kanata had sat by her side after organizing all of Midori’s gifts on the table.
Chiaki averted her gaze to the balloons tied to paperweights, shaking her head, “It’s been a while, you know? I just missed you” it wasn’t a lie but an aversion to the truth.
Kanata held her hand with both of her hands and chuckled, “I missed Chiaki too”
✦ . ⁺ . ✦ . ⁺ . ✦
As soon as Chiaki had come back from the party, thoroughly making sure Midori enjoyed herself, she called Kuro and let her know that she had to check up on the dress on final time and give it a once over before the big day. Kuro had done the detailed work of hiding seams and wires, Chiaki had learned so much from watching her and getting some hands-on experience.
Enough experience that she was sure she could make just one last thing.
She grabbed some thin needles from Kuro’s box and also some of the same ribbon that was used on the dress. She was able to easily manipulate the needle, watching it go through the fabric in the ways she wanted to make what she thought was perfection - a hairpin that would work wonders along with that dress.
Chiaki played and tugged with the look, making sure there wasn’t a thread out of place. She knew this was probably the… fifth or so time of her checking for these imperfections where there weren’t any but she couldn’t stand giving Kanata anything less than absolute perfection. That was just the anxiety of having Kanata be unhappy with the gift though. Kanata loved everything she did but she couldn’t help but feel nervous about it, if it was really enough.
Hell, Kanata was just a hard person to get gifts for despite the fact that she was grateful and overjoyed by everything Chiaki would do or give to her. She seemed so mysterious and out of reach despite being right there next to her. There was no answer in Kanata’s eyes, and Chiaki never expected one. Chiaki loved that mystery, even if it made things like this so difficult.
When she was finally happy with the final gift, Chiaki looked up at the clock and rubbed her eyes. It was a minute away from midnight, Kanata’s birthday was almost here.
Chiaki pulled out her phone and sent her best wishes to her, appreciating her for the years they had been together. She wished the message could have expressed everything she felt but that would have to wait for the party. Right as Chiaki went to put her phone down and call it a night, her phone rang; Kanata’s name lit up the screen.
“Chiaki~”
Chiaki quickly cleared her throat and tried to sound like she wasn’t going to explode from her nervousness, “H-hey! What are you doing so late at night?”
“I should be asking you that” Kanata chuckled, a beautiful sound, “Midori was feeling ‘depressed’ from the ‘attention’ so I was keeping her company. I was going to head back to ‘my dorm’ soon”
“Oh, that’s sweet of you, Kanata. I was just… I was waiting for your birthday and stayed up and actually…” Chiaki muttered the last part, wondering if she should do this right now. “Can you come up to the fitting room? I have… I have something to show you”
Kanata hummed in response, “Ok~ I will see Chiaki there”
Chiaki put her phone down and scrambled up to her feet, smoothing out her clothes and making sure she looked presentable. Chiaki definitely looked like a mess from all of the stress, who was she kidding? She ran to the mirror and meticulously made sure she looked just fine. She really was planning on debuting the outfit just yet but now she couldn't’ stand the wait.
The door swung open and Kanata slowly made her way in. “Chiaki? Why is the light off? Can I turn it on?”
“Yeah, please do” Chiaki took a deep breath before spinning the mannequin around to face Kanata. “Happy birthday! I… I made you this with Kiryu’s help. Do you- do you like it?”
Kanata’s face lit up at the sight, her eyes widened with surprise. A good kind of surprise. Chiaki let out a sigh of relief. Her hands were visibly shaking but she was excited to know that Kanata appreciated her efforts.
“So? What do you think?”
“It is the ‘best thing’ I have ever seen, Chiaki,” Kanata smiled. “Should I wear it?”
Chiaki nodded vigorously before letting Kanata have some space to change. She was shaking with excitement. She had been imagining how Kanata would look in the dress for so long and now that she could finally see it happening, it was a dream come true! Chiaki had no way to contain her energy so she just resorted to taking deep breaths to calm herself. Ah, no she couldn’t be calm in a situation like this! How could she!?
She had made sure that the dress was easy to put on so that Kanata wouldn’t struggle with hooks, straps, and the like. Kanata hated those sorts of things and Chiaki kept all of that in mind; she even fought for it when Kuro had suggested otherwise. It was airy, light, and graceful - an image that was fitting of Kanata.
Chiaki could have almost cried when she came back and saw Kanata in the dress; no, she did start crying. Through her tears, she could admire the way the bodice stuck to Kanata’s torso perfectly while the ruffled organza ruffles flew down, mimicking and echoing the beauty of a serene jellyfish. The soft white lights hung slightly farther than the trim of the dress which offered the effect of the moon shining onto the sea. The trim and their accents were light but looked airy.
The sleeves fit just right and the ruffles created the perfect mimicry of a strong sea wave gracing her shoulder while the other wrapped around her upper arm casually. The dress was beautiful, comfortable, and twinkled like stars on the sea. Those three things that Chiaki prioritized and paid off well in its final form.
“Chiaki is crying~” Kanata giggled and and graced her way to Chiaki, wiping her tears away with a napkin. “So Chiaki likes it?”
“You look so pretty…” Chiaki sniffled and used the napkin well. “I’m just so happy seeing you in a dress I made looking so good” She wished she could give Kanata a nice hug but she couldn’t let these tears stain or taint the delicate fabrics.
Kanata gave Chiaki a slow twirl to make sure everything fitted well before presenting the last gift to her. Chiaki sat Kanata down and brushed down Kanata’s hair. It was wavy and a bit rough from all of the water and salt it gets exposed to often but that only added to its beautiful texture.
While she wasn’t exactly sure what she was doing, Chiaki had an idea of what she was going to do with her hair. She did exactly as those complicated hair tutorials had taught her about doing a neat bun and well, it turned out pretty good! Chiaki took the hair pick from the side of the table and placed it into her hair, marveling over how beautiful it looked among Kanata’s turquoise locks.
“It looks great, Chiaki” Kanata stood up and hugged Chiaki tightly, “This is the ‘best gift’ ever!”
Chiaki blushed and hugged her back, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes again. Kanata looked so beautiful, so much so that Chiaki just wanted to run to her sketches again and make her even more beautiful clothes. Chiaki just wanted to flatter Kanata’s beauty even more, become her own personal designer. She just hoped that Kanata would feel the same way.