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"Are you kids sure you have everything?" Ken Shiraishi asked as the four members of Vivid Bad Squad loaded the car and were about to leave.
"Yes, we're sure dad! I triple checked!" An replied playfully, reminding Ken that although she and her bandmates were about to travel solo and put on their biggest event yet, she was still just a kid who hadn't even graduated high school. It had been around a year since Vivid Bad Squad put on their legendary event that surpassed RAD WEEKEND, and their popularity had just grown and grown since then. Now the four of them were preparing to put on a solo show with fans from all over the country.
"See you soon!" An called out to her dad who of course would be seeing their show, and would most likely cry on the first song. The car finally took off and the musicians spent the trip listening and singing along to a variety of vocaloid, jpop, and street music. An and Kohane were constantly giggling and showing each other the cute TikTok's they found, to which Akito would tell them to shut up because they were giving him a migraine. Eventually, An and Kohane both fell asleep, Kohane resting on An's shoulder. Hearing the silence, Toya and Akito looked back and grinned at each other.
"An's probably gonna pass out once she wakes up and sees Kohane." Akito joked, knowing how flustered An gets just making any form of contact with Kohane. "I can't believe it's been nearly 3 years and they still haven't confessed."
"Just give them some time, I'm sure one of them will work up the courage soon enough." Toya replied, even though he knew he didn't even have that courage.
Around half an hour later, An woke up and her heart immediately started pounding after realising. She could feel Kohane's warmth and soft hair on her shoulder, which only made her more nervous.
"How're you going there, An?" Akito joked while looking through the rear view mirror.
"Shut. Up." She replied almost whispering, scared to wake Kohane up. "I am not moving."
Eventually Kohane also woke up, and blushed as she apologised awkwardly. After being trapped in the car for a couple more hours, they had finally arrived at their hotel. They made their way to their rooms, to which An immediately claimed the room with a balcony for her and Kohane. The rest of the day went by without any problems, and before they knew it, it was time to go to sleep in preparation for the show the next day.
__
Kohane woke up to streams of sunlight peering in through the curtains, but the first thing she could notice was the girl beside her. An was still asleep of course, but Kohane couldn't help but admire how the sunlight shone on her hair and how effortlessly beautiful she looked even when sleeping.
Eventually Kohane decided to start getting ready. She got dressed before heading to the living room where she saw Toya, who explained that Akito had gone for a run. Kohane decided to check her socials which is when she noticed a new post from An that she (somehow) hadn't seen. After liking and saving the photo of the four of them about to leave for the trip, Kohane ended up looking through and admiring all of An's other posts that she had already seen so many times.
"She's so pretty..." Kohane mumbled to herself.
"Who, An?" Toya questioned, which made Kohane flinch.
"Oh fuck, I meant to-- I didn't mea- I didn't mean to say that out loud..." She muttered, embarrassed.
"Don't worry about it. You really like her, don't you?" Toya commented as he had noticed her scrolling for the past 10 minutes.
"Well... I.. I guess, yeah..." She replied hesitantly as her blush grew.
"You don't have to be embarrassed. So, when are you gonna tell her?" Toya asked, grinning.
"Oh I don't think I could ever have the courage for that..." She replied.
"I get what you mean, I don't think I ever could either.." He stated sheepishly.
"What do you mean..? Oh, are you talking about Akito?" Kohane questioned.
"Well, yea-" But before Toya could finish, Akito just so happened to open the door, ending the conversation.
__
The hours quickly passed and soon enough the four of them were at the venue getting ready. There was around 30 minutes until the show, so all there was to do was do some final checks.
"Are you all ready?" Akito asked the others in the dressing rooms, to which Toya and Kohane nodded reluctantly. Akito looked over at An, who seemed to be zoned out.
"An, are you ready...?" He called out, but there was no response. He walked over to where she was nervously sitting to get her attention. "An, are you okay?" He asked, which finally got her attention.
"Huh...? Oh...! Um... yeah, I'm fine..." She replied, even though she still seemed very out of it. At this point Toya and Kohane had also came over.
"Are you sure...?" Kohane asked, concern on her face. "You seem really nervous, and you're not usually like this..."
"Yeah, I'm.. I'm fine..! I just..." An spoke panicky, stuttering over almost every word, which only made everyone else more concerned.
"I..." She was struggling to speak as her breathing became faster and her voice got more and more shaky. Tears began escaping her eyes and she tried to wipe away her smudged makeup.
"Oh fuck... I'm so sorry..." She spoke shakily and quietly as the others tried to figure out what to do.
Kohane sat down next to her and took her hands. "No don't be sorry, it's okay." She said calmly as she tried to comfort An. Akito and Toya decided it would probably be best if they left, as to not overwhelm An.
"You're okay, try to breathe." Kohane continued to hold her hands as An tried to do what Kohane instructed. At first, she felt as though she was suffocating, every breath being engulfed by her cries. It didn't feel like anything was working, and the longer she took, the guiltier she felt for wasting so much time, and the more overwhelmed she felt.
But eventually after focusing on Kohane's soft hands embracing her own, as well as her beautiful coffee eyes and kind smile, she was finally able to calm down
"Are you okay now?" Kohane asked.
"Yeah... Again, I'm so sorry..." An apologised, feeling bad she made everyone worry about her.
"Don't apologise! It's a big show, so it's normal to be nervous." She reassured.
"No, it's not that... Well, it kind of is, but..." An started, and Kohane waited inquisitively.
"I guess I was so nervous because..." She started hesitantly. "Recently, I always feel like something bad might happen out of nowhere... Ever since..." She paused, struggling to get the words out. "Ever since I found out about Aunt Nagi..."
"Oh, An..." Kohane wasn't sure what to say, she wrapped her arms around An tightly and whispered in her ear.
"I'm so sorry... It must be so hard for you. Just know that we've double checked everything, just as we would at any other show. Nothing bad has happened at any other show, so it would be surprising if something happened now, right?" Kohane let go, awaiting An response, to which she nodded.
"And besides, if something were to go wrong, we'd all be here for each other, and we'd figure something out, together." She finished.
"Yeah... I guess you're right... thanks." An replied, finally smiling again.
Kohane smiled. "Here, let's go wash you face and do your makeup." She said, holding out a hand.
"No, I can't make you do my makeup for me after everything you've already done...!" She replied, feeling bad.
"Don't worry about it! Besides, I like seeing your pretty face." Kohane replied, immediately regretting it after but trying to act cool. Little did she know this only made An love her more.
---
Thanks to Kohanes help, An was able to go on stage, and before she knew it, her worries faded away as the night progressed. The show ended up being a huge success, and the four of them could still feel the adrenaline hours later, after they had packed up and gone home for a well-deserved rest.
As the adrenaline boost eventually wore off, they were rightfully exhausted, seeing as it was already 11 pm after one of the biggest nights of their lives. Well, all except one. After what had happened, An's admiration for her singing partner, her first love and the girl she had been head over heels for for the past 3 years had only grown. After years of consideration and excuse making, An decided tonight was finally the night. Her feelings had been building up for so long, and she didn't want to wait any longer.
She was still unsure exactly how she would do it, but she sat nervously at the edge of the bed waiting for Kohane to finish getting ready for bed. As Kohane came out of the bathroom, looking as effortlessly gorgeous as ever, An only felt herself become more and more nervous.
"Are you ready for bed? Kohane asked as she made her way towards the bed.
"Uh.. Y-Yeah... but..." An looked around the room, frantically trying to find an excuse, which is when she remembered the balcony. "But don't the stars look beautiful right now?"
Kohane seemed slightly confused, but she went out to the balcony, An trailing after. "You're right..! They are pretty beautiful, aren't they?" She admired them for a bit and took out her phone to take photos.
Every second that passed, An could feel herself becoming more nervous, and she began to wonder if this was a good idea or if she would end up stuttering too much for Kohane to understand her and making a fool of herself the moment she opened her mouth. She figured it was too late to back down now as she would probably never have this courage and adrenaline again.
As she was zoning out, Kohane began to go back inside. "Anyways, I should probably get to bed no-"
"Wait!" An yelled as she grabbed Kohanes hand, surprising her.
"What is it..? Are you okay?" Kohane asked, worried something might be wrong.
"Sorry... I-I'm fine, I just... I need to tell you something..." An hesitated, every word making everything seem more and more real.
Kohane waited curiously as An took a deep breath before starting.
"I... I have a secret I've been keeping from you... for a very long time, and I decided I'm finally ready to tell you..." She started, again wondering if this was a mistake.
Kohane seemed surprised, but kept a kind smile. "Of course! You can tell me anything."
"Okay... Well... The day I first met you, I knew that was the start of something very, very special. The moment I heard you sing, I knew you weren't just an ordinary girl. Not because of how well you sang, but because of how my heart wouldn't stop beating, and how I got butterflies around you." An continued, every word flowing out uncontrollably.
"Out of everything that's ever happened to me, meeting you was by far the best thing. Not only did you allow us to team up with Akito and Toya and put on so many unforgettable events, but you gave me the best singing partner and best friend anyone could ever ask for." She kept going, barely believing she was really doing it.
Kohane listened intently, telling herself that this wasn't what she thought it was as she didn't want to get too ahead of herself.
"Every time I'm performing with you, hanging out with you, or just being in your presence I wonder how I could've gotten so lucky as to even call you my friend, let alone singing partner. An herself was unsure where these words were coming from and was nearly out of breath from talking so much.
"I hope this doesn't sound too corny, but you are truly the best thing that's ever happened to me. It feels like a blessing to be able to call you my singing partner, and..." An paused and took a deep breath as she neared the end of her speech.
"And I was wondering if you would like to be not only my singing partner, but also my partner romantically." As she said the last sentence, she felt a mix of both the most relief she had ever felt, and an overwhelming abundance of nervousness for how Kohane would respond. An looked at the girl in front of her, who could definitely feel the immense amount of sweat on her palms as she kept the grasp of her hands.
Her expression was one of surprise, but An couldn't tell exactly how she was feeling. As Kohane processed what she had said, An started feeling regret sink in, and she wondered if it would have been a better idea to just have gone to sleep those 15 minutes ago.
"Wait, are you serious...?" Kohane asked, to which An nodded hesitantly.
"Yes...! Of course!! An, I... I feel the exact same!" Kohane exclaimed, so excited she could barely speak.
After An processed Kohane's response, she immediately threw herself onto her. "Oh thank goodness... You don't understand how nervous I was just now." She said quietly. "But I'm so happy right now..!"
"Same." Kohane replied, releasing An and giving them both a chance to breathe. "Anyways, I'm kind of exhausted, so why don't we go inside now?" She suggested.
"Good idea, although I don't know how well I'll be able to sleep after this..." An replied.
---
The two of them were huddled under the covers, Kohane long asleep. Before she could sleep, there was something An needed to do. She took her phone out, taking a selfie of herself with Kohane in the background. Maybe a little creepy in retrospect, but it was for a good cause.
She proceeded to send the photo to Akito, attached to a message that read "GUESS WHO GOT A PARTNER BEFORE YOU". Not even a moment later, Akito replied with "Let me guess, she confessed first?", to which An replied "believe it or not, it was actually me". This was then followed by a "Damn, didn't think you really had the balls" and "btw Toya says congratulations". An replied with "Thanks ;)" before deciding to go to sleep. She couldn't wait to gloat in the morning.
She laid her head on the pillow and wrapped her arms around her now girlfriend, letting herself absorb the comforting warmth. Despite all the adrenaline that had been built up that day, as well as how fast her heart had been beating just 5 minutes ago, being in Kohane's presence immediately calmed her, and she drifted off, happier than ever.