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“Rikki, can you come help me at the bar, please~?”
That was what Anon said to her on the phone. Apparently, Uika, Hatsune’s sister, was in town for a few days and so she took those off to spend time with her, leaving the Anon Tokyo short of one staff member.
“Ah?! … Well, I guess I can't let Tomori tend to the bar alone.” She answered after a resigned sigh “I’ll come fill in for the next few days.”
“Rikki, thank you~ You’re a life-saver! … Eh? What do you mean ‘alone’? I will be here too, you know!”
She had already hung up.
The evening was very calm, only a few customers were in and Anon was able to serve them on her own, leaving the two barmaids idling near the massive oak counter. Tomori was on the laptop, preparing the playlist for the next day. Taki sat on one of the stools. She tied her hair in a side, low ponytail, letting them drop on her left shoulder and cascade on her chest. Her purple eyes were shining as her attention was entirely centered on the focused features of her temporary coworker’s face. Her soft white skin, her slightly opened, delicate lips humming the tunes of the songs playing in her headphones, her grey hair falling on her forehead, almost hiding the brownish eyes shining aetherically from the blue light of the screen reflecting in them. Taki’s look was jumping from one part of her face to the other, captivated by the slightest of her expressions.
Her heart raced.
She was the reason Taki accepted so quickly to help Anon. She never expected the night would be so calm, but she was grateful it was. The soft Jazz music filling the room was almost only for the two women, the annoying owner still being busy away from them. This moment was hers, this peaceful contemplation was more than enough to make the night worth it.
Blood slowly went up to her face as she continued contemplating the woman in front of her. To any observer, she must have looked as if struck with love, because indeed she was. She always had been, ever since she got to know her, she felt something different, something she never had before. She tried to deny it at first, she should never have felt that way for another woman, but each time she saw the grey haired girl, her heart skipped a beat. She couldn’t help but worry for her. The world wasn’t a place for a girl this pure, she just had to protect her. Taki came to terms with her feelings, keeping them to herself, just being near Tomori was enough, she didn’t need more. It was enough…
Tomori lifted her head. Taki’s heart stopped an instant, her face as red as the fine wine in the expensive bottles behind the bar. She quickly looked away, hiding her flustered face behind her hands. Tomori tilted her head in confusion.
“Taki-chan? Are you ok?” Her soft, calm voice melted in Taki’s ears.
“I’m… I’m okay! D-don’t worry about me! I just… I just bit my tongue!”
Tomori’s eyes widened. She immediately rushed to the back to get the first aid kit, Taki didn’t even have the time to stop her.
Anon saw all the scene from afar. A smug grin appeared on her face as she saw her friend panic, red as a tomato.
“Rikki, maybe you should chase after Tomorin and tell her how you feel already!”
“Aaah!?! I’m not… I’m not feeling anything for Tomori!”
Anon’s mischievous grin grew larger.
“Sh… Shut up! … yeah… maybe, maybe I do… a little”
“Eh Eeh~? Just a little? You know, Rikki, you’re not very subtle with how you are with Tomorin. Everytime you come here, you just stare at her, you know? It’s not making you a very reliable employee~”
Taki glared back at Anon.
“I’m just saying, you should be more honest.”
Leaving her on that, Anon went back to taking care of the few customers. Taki found herself alone with her thoughts, this last sentence ringing in her head.
A few minutes later, an agitated Tomori hurried back from the storeroom with the first aid kit and to Taki. She promptly opened the box and removed sterilized compresses from it.
“Taki-chan, please press this against your tongue.”
“Th-thank you, Tomori, but it’s fine, I’m not bleeding.”
The grey haired girl exhaled a huge sigh of relief.
“I’m so glad.”
But the young woman she was tending to couldn’t help but find that agitated look of her cute as well as the way her face relaxed when the relief hit her too. Everything that woman did, how she expressed herself, how adorable she looked as she sat in front of her, each movement she made was enough to make Taki blush, she could look at her just be for hours. And Anon’s words kept resonating in her mind.
“Tomori…”
“Hum?”
“I… I lo…”
“Taki-chan, I can’t hear you.”
“I LOVE YOU, TOMORI!”
She didn’t realize in the instant, but she had to shout the words to keep them from hurting her heart any longer. Everyone in the room turned to them, shocked at the sudden and loud confession. Anon especially wasn’t expecting her friend to take her words so at heart and immediately act on them.
The moment seemed to last forever, as the small crowd had their attention on them, the two women stared into each other’s eyes deeply.
Her heart was racing like never before, her face was the most red it had ever been, her whole body was hot from excitation and embarrassment and her breathing was ragged.
Forever. She felt like she was staring into those eyes for eternity. An eternity waiting for an answer to her feelings finally laid bare. What was in her chest, deep into her heart for all those years, what she forced herself to keep in, was finally out. In all the excitement, she also felt a burden off her shoulders.
“I love you too, Taki-chan.”
She couldn’t believe her ears. It was too beautiful to be true!
“As much as I love Anon-chan, Saki-chan, Hatsune-chan and everyone else.”
Taki died on the spot (and Anon died of laughter).