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Soyo Nagasaki was having the time of her life. Autumn sunset was being generous, radiating its soft golden light into her apartment through the glass pane windows. She was lying down on her favorite sofa and favorite pillow, reading the most recent volume of her favorite novel series, and a hand was grooming her hair with the gentleness of-
“Hey, Soyorin.”
Ugh.
Leave it to Anon to ruin a perfectly nice, peaceful evening.
“Hey, hey, Soyorin.”
“What?” Soyo responded without taking her eyes off her kindle. She was just getting to the good part. Seolha was dumbfounded as Yohna-sunbaek reached for her face and-
“Pft-! What the-?!”
The tip of Anon’s hair abruptly reached into Soyo’s nose as she leaned over. It was ticklish enough to distract her from reading. She grabbed the offending strands and tugged at them, but it only served to bring Anon’s face closer to hers.
Way too close.
She was smirking, the audacious pink-haired gremlin.
“What, is it, Anon-chan?” She asks again, glaring angrily at the source of her annoyance.
“I never saw you play your bass at home.”
“Why would I play my bass at home?”
“I don’t know. To entertain your girlfriend when she comes over, maybe?”
“My girlfriend already sees me playing at every practice session and live show.”
“Non, non. That is you playing for the band and the audience. But none for your girlfriend.”
Eugh.
For as long as they had been together, that was the worst combination of flirting and bad puns Soyo had ever suffered. Worse still, she could feel heat rising up her face.
“Why the blush, Soyorin?” Anon showed her fangs as she grinned.
Soyo never knew that her beloved gremlin’s smile could reach a whole other level of smugness, but it just did. It was so annoying in its adorableness. She wanted to bite on that cheeky cheek, but something distracted Anon before she could do that.
“Ouch, sorry, can you let go of my hair already? It’s starting to hurt...”
“Tch.”
Soyo let go of Anon’s hair. The pillow under her head shook about as Anon straightened her back. Soyo sighed as the sweet fragrance of Anon’s perfume left her personal space. It was both a sigh of relief and disappointment.
But don’t tell Anon that.
“I really looked forward to reading this book, Anon-chan,” she said. She set the kindle aside on the coffee table near the sofa despite her claim.
“Why didn’t you allow me to read my book? Why must you distract me?”
Anon made a show of fixing her not disheveled hair before pressing a finger on Soyo’s forehead. Soyo raised her own index finger to touch Anon’s lower lip.
Don’t ask why they did that. Maybe it’s their secret lesbian love language, who the hell knows.
Anon said with an almost melancholic tone, “Reading books is for when you’re alone, not when you’re with me.”
“Like you never scroll mindlessly on your phone when we’re together.”
“Phones can be set aside anytime. Books want all your attention.”
“Are you jealous of a book?”
“Could be. I want to see you do something else.”
“Like playing my bass?”
“Yes.”
“Would you be jealous of my bass too?”
“No.”
“How so?”
“An instrument is a musician’s extension of their body. Your bass is a part of you and I love every part of you.”
Soyo flicked her finger over Anon’s lips and Anon did the same over her nose in return. She smiled, and Anon giggled. This was why she always let herself get distracted.
Anon is more fun than any book.
Soyo got up, leaving the comfort of her girlfriend’s lap.
“Aren’t you going to get your bass?" Anon asked when Soyo decided to sit side by side with her and lean on her shoulder instead.
Soyo shook her head. “Nope. Not motivated enough.”
“I’ll play my guitar when you come over to my house.”
“Still not enough.”
“Hm…”
Anon rested her chin atop Soyo’s head as she started to think. Feeling naughty, Soyo pressed her head against it, and nuzzled her face into Anon’s nape. And then she purred.
Anon laughed.
“Hey! I thought we already had a cat on our roster!”
“Yes, I can be cat-like too,” Soyo said, smirking. “There, you’re learning something new about me. Aren’t you glad?”
“If I throw a ball of yarn, will you chase after it?”
Oh, Anon-chan. Soyo laughed softly into the guitarist’s ear, sending her squealing with mirth. But she wasn’t over yet.
“Don’t be silly, we can play that game next time,” she whispered, making an effort to inject extra huskiness into her voice. “Now convince me for real. Why do you want me to play the bass so badly? I really want to hear your reason.”
Anon was blushing when Soyo pulled herself off her. Soyo began to think that maybe the impromptu cat play and ASMR session was too much for her, but Anon spoke up before she could express her concern.
“You usually stand in the back with Rikki when we have our live shows.”
“True.”
“While Tomorin, Raana-chan, and I front the stage.”
“So?”
“I never get to really see you performing.”
There was a hint of genuine sadness in Anon’s voice that gave Soyo a pause. Her grey eyes held a longing look.
“Sometimes I wish I was standing with the audience to see you from their perspective. I bet you look cool.”
“Me…?” Soyo pointed at herself. “Cool…?”
She half expected Anon to ruin it with some dumb proclamation like, ‘Of course you’d look cool in ANON TOKYO brand outfit!’ but she didn’t.
Anon gave her a nod and an adoring smile.
“Your playing is always on point, it keeps us from straying and ruining the song. And when the song allows you to go off… Well, Soyo, you and your bass produce the most badass sound in the world. And what I want the most right now is to see you in that state. Just being the most badass bassist in the world. In my world.”
Soyo felt a pleasant flutter in her stomach as she listened to Anon’s rambling, especially when she said her proper name. The nickname Soyorin used to weird her out, but now she was so used to it that it had become her new normal, at least as far as it concerned Anon. Now the mention of her real name triggered something in her. Something so pure that she didn’t know she had it in her.
It was a desire to make Anon happy.
“Damn you…” she said, sighing, “you’re getting too good, Anon-chan. Damn you.”
“Eh?” the pink gremlin tilted her head dumbly.
“It’s in my bedroom.”
“What?”
“The bass, the amps, and all the other stuff I need to play you a song, you silly racoon.”
“... Why racoon?”
“Just go and grab my damn bass already!”
“Right! Right, right! I’m going!”
Anon hurriedly scrambled out of the sofa and ran to the room. Soyo sighed again and shook her head as she watched her girlfriend go and trip and stumble. She ignored the clumsy pink racoon’s panicky yelps and sunk her back into the sofa.
“... Yeah, why racoon?” she wondered.
Soyo reached her chest and sensed how fast her heart was beating. It was not the nervous spiel before performing on stage or the trepidation of entering an empty dark room.
It was a new sense of excitement. She wouldn’t admit it out loud, but she was truly excited to play bass on her own without the rest of MyGO!!!!!.
Because she’d be playing only for her.
The whole thing was set up in about five minutes. The amps are powered up and ready to roar. The four strings of Soyo’s ESP bass are all taut and tuned. Anon is seated comfortably in front of her. And Mom wouldn’t be home for about two hours. Perfect.
“Okay, what do you want me to play?”
“Hmm, let’s try something not from our own materials. A song that really showcases bass sound…”
“Don’t take too long now…”
“Ah, right! Hysteria! Give me Hysteria!”
“... I never heard of that song.”
“Liar! I know you’re lying, Soyorin! There’s no self-respecting bassist in this world who has never heard that song!”
“Tch… now my mood is ruined…”
“Eh!? Whyyy!? Come on, don’t make my effort to arrange this mini concert be in vain!”
“That bassline is a four minutes of finger torture, Anon-chan. Is that what you want? To torture my fingers?”
“Well, if I want to torture your soul I’d have you play Haruhikage.”
“... You did not just say that.”
“Right. Of course. That was out of line. I’m sorry. Please forgive me. This racoon is too much of a smartass, no, a dumbass. Again, please forgive me, Soyo, my love...”
“Ugh. Just decide on a song already…”
“Okay, if Hysteria is too hard for you, maybe we should go for something slower…”
“... What did you just say?”
“... Something slower? I mean, a slower song-”
“No, before that. What did you say about Hysteria?”
“... It’s too hard for you…? Oh shit, do I need to apologize again or-”
Soyo’s left fingers dance across the fretboards with a never seen before intensity as her right fingers pick on the strings with tack sharp precision. The opening bassline of Muse’s signature song burst out of the speakers; clear, loud, and on point. Anon’s jaw drops open and slowly turns into a smile so wide and radiant that it pushes Soyo to go at it even harder.
“OOOHHH YEAAAHHH! LET’S GO, SOYORIN!!!”
Later that night, Soyo will be cursing Chris Wolstenholme’s name before she goes to sleep as she nurses the mother of all finger cramps.
But it’s all worth it, because she was playing only for her.