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Honami's shirt was missing.
It was a sweatshirt, one she had bought from a hand-me-down store, so it wasn't that much of an issue, but nonetheless, it was missing, and Honami doesn't know where it could be.
She figured the dryer could have eaten it, metaphorically of course. But usually she finds the missing clothes in the gap behind the laundry machines. However, this time, it was absolutely nowhere to be found.
Honami paces around the laundry room, mind sorting through any possibilities.
It could be at her parent's house, maybe she forgot it there after a recent visit? But no, she saw the sweatshirt yesterday.
Honami perked up after a specific fact crossed her mind.
Shiho did the laundry last time! They must know where it is.
But their beloved partner was out, busy at their job. They usually got off earlier, but today was a bit of a special case. Maybe they needed extra help at the livehouse. Who knows? Honami wants to know one thing; when's Shiho coming home?
"I'm home!"
Well that answered her question. Honami walked through the house, and bounded down the stairs to greet them.
"Welcome home, darl—"
A beat passed as they stared at each other.
"You're wearing my sweatshirt."
"…"
Honami knew that Shiho knew she wasn't mad at them, because she was smiling like a love-struck fool, and if they actually did think she was mad at them, she'd kiss some sense into them. But Shiho's smarter than that.
"Mm, sorry." Shiho casted their eyes downward, and distracted themselves by slipping off their shoes and outerwear. Their usual sweater was hung up on the racks, and their bag was leaning against the cabinet by the time Honami broke out of her confusion at their unusual reaction.
"Is everything okay, Shiho?" Honami asked, her caring instincts taking over as she walked over to where Shiho was standing. It seemed Shiho was on the path of not being smarter than that.
Shiho responded with a yawn, then; "Rough night." A short pause, "And a bad day." Honami frowned, she must have been too deep in sleep to notice Shiho toss and turn, or get out of bed during the night, and she felt kinda awful about it- But before she got the chance to say literally anything in response, she noticed Shiho had somehow already made their way to the washroom to freshen up. That sneaky… upset person.
Instead of going after her partner - Honami knew Shiho wouldn't particularly appreciate that - Honami took to sitting lengthwise on their couch, pondering what Shiho could possibly be upset about and how she could make it better, and waiting for them to find her. Shiho was kind of like a cat in that way. Cute.
Maybe her wonderful partner slept uncomfortably? Of course, it's very uncommon for their entire night and next day to be ruined over that… Perhaps it was stress? The band did have a light onslaught of shows and tours coming up during the holidays… although, Shiho's always stressed, that's one thing that's easy to read about them despite how hard they try to hide it. Particularly early on in their band's career, Shiho had gotten so stressed out to the point they fell into old habits of isolating themselves as to not uspet the other three. Ever since then, Honami had made it a part of her ever-growing (not to toot her own horn or anything) list of skills when it came to her lover. And right now didn't seem similar to back then…
Oh dear, her arm is itchy. Thank the stars she was wearing a tank top today, the feeling of her well-kept nails against the stupid itch was the perfect thing this exact second - hm. Honami's nails scratched over a particularly textured part of her upper arm, reminding her of one specific… unhealthy habit the two lovers had in common. Rough night, Shiho said? Well, that won't stand. Honami was going to make sure Shiho was loved and cared for - if her suspicions of what happened were true. No use assuming, but Honami had a sixth sense for things like this.
Shiho walked out into the living room right after Honami's train of thought ended. Right on time, as always. Their maybe-a-bit-too-long hair was tied into a low ponytail, and their bangs looked as if they were curled directly into Shiho's eyes, ow.
"Mmff.. why do I have to wear these again…" Shiho muttered as they fished their glasses out of the couch cushions - wait, what, why? - and opened the case.
"Because you're so nearsighted that you might as well not be able to see something three centimeters from your face, honey." An obvious hyperbole and joke, Shiho's terrible vision was the butt of many jokes, by their own will. Shiho just frowned, sticking their tongue out and haphazardly shoving the pair of miracle workers on their face.
"I wish I could just wear contacts all the time." Shiho whined, tensing and untensing all their muscles.
"Wouldn't that be nice- oh, I've still got my contacts in, too…" Honami trailed off, deciding against getting off the couch. Not that she had a choice, as Shiho took a seat right in her comfortable lap. They curled into Honami's torso, lying in a position that prevented their glasses from digging into either of them.
Honami sputtered mere seconds after opening her mouth, as a mouthful of grey-ish-cyan hair decided to invade it.
"Mm, tasty Shiho hair," Honami muttered as she pulled loose Shiho hairs off of her tongue, "Wanna talk 'bout it?" She asked as she rested the lower half of her face against the curve of Shiho's head closest to her, patiently waiting for a response by pressing soft kisses to where her mouth touched Shiho's head.
Shiho sighed out the speaking equivalent of a keyboard smash (a habit they seemed to have picked up from Saki), flustered-ness evident in their tone of voice. Honami frequently reminds herself that she could die happy if she were to hear Shiho's voice once more, because their voice has been a constant in her life. The good - memories with the band, late nights spent curled up in bed, drowsily confessing all their mushy, romantic feelings - and the not very good - arguments that challenged the two's core beliefs, a time in their life when all hope was lost. If Shiho's voice was the last thing Honami could hear before she died, it'd make her life all worth it.
"In a… maybe in a bit.. it's comfortable." Shiho finally answered, and Honami found herself agreeing. She tightened her hold on Shiho, and hummed.
…
Only 10 minutes later, Shiho would fall asleep in Honami's lap, their breathing finally evening out and their shoulders relaxing.
Shiho awoke to a familiar voice singing a familiar song. They were in a mildly uncomfortable position, something akin to - it definitely is - a collarbone digging into their cheek.
For a moment, they stayed still, cherishing the drowsiness they only get after just waking up, before the voice reached the.. final (maybe?) chorus of the song, and that captured their attention.
It was Honami, of course it was. The song she was singing… Flyway. It was the final chorus. Knowing Honami, it must be taking a significant amount of self-control to not gently drum out her, well, drum section of the song on Shiho's shoulder. Speaking of, this was the most comfortable Shiho had felt in a while, and they planned to stay this way. With a sigh similar to that of a cat's, they curled in impossibly closer to Honami's body, to her warmth and to her whole being.
"Good morning, Shiho." Honami laughed, soft as ever. Shiho only half-heartedly grumbled in response.
"Wake up, sleepyhead. You promised to talk about your big bad feelings earlier, and I'd personally like to get that over with in this century." Honami teased, poking Shiho's cheek lightly.
"Urf, don't remind me…" Shiho murmured, lazily bringing their hand up to cover Honami's mouth. It definitely didn't hit her mouth.
"I can't see, Shiho, those are my eyes." Honami huffs, more amused than anything. Shiho whispered an apology as they lowered their hand. And then, they had a very mischievous idea. Shuffling into a proper straddle in Honami's lap, Shiho managed the most evil smirk they could this soon after waking up, before leaning in and kissing Honami, passionate and deep.
They pulled away before she got a chance to reciprocate, and smirked. In hindsight, it was very Saki-like.
"…that was… Did Saki-chan possess you for a second…?" Honami managed to say through all her blush.
"Anyways, um…" Maybe that did work, and Honami will be so caught up in the fact Shiho just did that so she won't hear what Shiho's about to say, "I had a rough night, last night, like I said. I… let my thoughts get out of hand, and uh… well, give or take three years down the drain. Taking a nap helped with the mood, oddly enough."
Honami's hands ran up and down Shiho's back, and they mentally cursed themselves. Of COURSE she listened; this is literally Honami you're talking about.
"And your bad day?" Honami asked, her face displaying nothing but care and kindness. They're safe, this is home. Shiho took Honami's other, not busy hand, and took a deep breath.
"I had to take over training the new hires. It was an emergency, so I'm not mad they put me there. We were… really short-staffed today. And, since they're new hires and all, they were kinda irresponsible with the equipment, I'm halfway sure someone broke one of the new microphones," Shiho paused to breathe, their eye twitching as they recalled their day, "And they would get kinda touchy with me, despite me literally telling them to stop. I mean, I had to pull out the "position of power" card! I hate using that, but them touching me made me so deeply upset…!" Shiho shuddered. God, they weren't even done, "And halfway through, I was just exhausted. I think… just being… human got really exhausting. Constantly having to put on some kind of mask to make sure people tolerate you, and sometimes it doesn't even work- it's just… ugh."
Oh, Shiho really needed that.
"Sorry…"
"No, Shiho, you don't need to apologize. I get what you're saying. About the mask thing, I mean. I mean, hell, you knew what I was like in middle school. It is exhausting, it really is, but… Now, I'm not sure it'll work for you, but the way I saw it, is that even if you have to wear a mask nearly all the time, there's still one place where you don't have to. For me, back then, it was at night, in my room. Truth is… I'd sometimes stay up way into the night, because that's where I could enjoy my time, where I could be myself. For you, it could very well also be the times when you're undoubtedly alone. Not lonely, but alone. I also want you to know… right here, in this… questionably well sized apartment of ours, on this couch, or in our bed… that can also be your… uh… 'no mask' zone, if you want it to be. I'll love you all the same."
"…Thank you, Honami. Really."
"Of course, Shiho. Anything for you.
…
If you ever find yourself close to wanting to hurt yourself again, talk to me. But, if you just can't muster up the courage, that sweatshirt is ours to share."
"Stop that. I'm gonna cry, I don't wanna cry."
"Nah, I think I'll keep going." Honami chuckles as she kisses the top of Shiho's cheek, making their eye flinch.
After a few moments of blissful silence, Honami speaks up one last time.
"Did you get yourself bandaged up okay?" She asks, slowly trailing her hand down to Shiho's forearms. Shiho doesn't flinch at the contact, not anymore. They healed, slowly, though their scars still told stories, secrets of their very own. In front of them, Honami's upper arms also held emotions and parts of herself she couldn't bring herself to trust others with.
"Yeah. I did everything you taught me."
At that, Honami pulled Shiho down into a tight hug, and the two knew they weren't gonna move for a hot minute.
Shiho inhaled, taking in the moment, all of it's warmth and all of it's implications for their future. They exhaled, grounding themselves for what comes next. Maybe it'll be Saki and Ichika's return, who were currently in a different city for a band-related reason that Shiho couldn't care less about right now. Maybe something to do with songwriting? They inhaled, feeling their breath sync up with Honami's, just as the rest of their life did, and they exhaled slowly.
"I still need to take my contacts out."
"Ugh."
"And you need to get your glasses somewhere safe."
"Mmmm shush."
…
"Alright, let's go do that."
Shiho inhaled.
Honami exhaled.
And they were right where they belonged.