Work Text:
“Camera, check!”
“All green.”
“Acoustics, check!”
“Clear.”
“Lights, check?”
“T-minus 6 hours before evening.”
“What? Hey, Bryn, I was joking! I didn’t expect you to actually check the camcorder’s clock!” Saori exclaims from the bench she’s sitting on. “Besides, everybody knows it’s twelve o’clock! If it were any later, we wouldn’t be at the Millennium Park, would we?”
“The Sun is a light source, too,” Bryn retorts as she steps away from the camera stand.
“Yeah, but it’s not like, say, a studio lamp, is it?” Saori asks.
“Fair,” Bryn responds, nodding. “Should I begin the recording?”
“Go on! Everybody’s waiting for this very moment!”
Bryn nods. She deftly starts the recording and hurriedly takes a seat next to Saori.
“Hey, everyone! It’s me, Saori Toda!” she begins, her charisma quickly coming to the fore.
“Bryn Nicholson,” she adds, her quiet smile matching Saori’s.
“And thank you so much for tuning in to this extra special video!” Saori continues. “As a lot of you have remembered, today is June 26, 2015! Two years ago, I started this channel to show the world the cutest songwriter and guitarist to grace both America and Japan! Then, one year ago, my super cute junior, Bryn, fell for me and joined my cause for cuteness, both in music and in love between women, on this very date! And so, to commemorate both occasions in my beloved channel’s history, I present to you a throwback to the days in which I’m the sole practitioner of all things cute!”
Bryn softly claps in response.
“Today, I’m bringing you a super old song from an artist who’d recently collaborated with Quteflower for that anime studio’s newest OVA! It’s more melancholic than my standard fare, but that’s okay! Enjoy, everyone!”
Saori finishes with a bright smile.
“Done?” Bryn asks, standing up.
“Of course we are! We’ll do the usual song title card afterwards,” Saori answers. “Besides, it’ll buy me time to set up the guitar. Cut it, Bryn!”
Bryn nods and stands up, gingerly shutting off the camera as Saori reaches for her guitar case. Saori quickly tunes her trusty acoustic guitar, grinning as she gives the greenish-white body one last tap before she sits back on the bench.
“Is the camera ready, Bryn?”
“On you, Saori,” Bryn answers. “Are you sure it’s just you, though?”
“Hey, I spent nearly a year doing this alone, okay?” Saori retorts. “Don’t worry, though. It’s only for this video! We’ll do another duet the next time we record another video.”
“Okay.”
“Right! Oh, and go ahead! I’m ready.”
Bryn nods, fingers hovering over the button. “3, 2, 1… action.”
On her signal, the first strum starts the song. A gentle arpeggio soon comes to life, guided by every finger pick Saori makes as her charismatic smile makes way for a softer smile, one more in tune with the song she’s playing. Even the sounds of the nearby Pride parade that Bryn notices seem to fade away, her attention focusing on her girlfriend’s performance.
“Moshimo sekai ga owaru naraba… Watashi wa nani o~ suru no darou…”
Her song quickly fades away as she and Bryn see a man storming over. His eyes lock onto Saori, his breathing audibly ragged from the sheer amount of fury surging within. Bryn tilts her head in confusion when she hears the synthesized rumbling note she’d recognized from Saori’s day job in sound design coming from him.
“We’re leaving,” he declares.
“Hold on just a minute, Harper Russo!” Saori exclaims, shooting up to her feet. “We’re busy!”
“You’re recording a video of yourself,” Harper snaps. “Do you know how destructive those are? What if a future employer sees them?”
“Does it look risqué to you?!” Saori retorts, gesturing at her green turtleneck and gray training pants. “I built my channel on playing music and being cute, not by being some boudoir model!”
“You’re dodging my question,” Harper growls.
“Well, even that argument doesn’t hold water, because I already have a job!” Saori yells. “I design sound for one of the most famous animation houses in Chicago, and you still think nobody would wanna employ me?”
“They made a huge mistake,” Harper retorts. “Now come with me!”
Before he could roughly grab Saori by her arm, Bryn suddenly pecks her in the cheek. The sight of that audacious kiss between two women is enough to stagger him.
“No, that can’t be…” he mutters. “We’ve dated before! You can’t be a lesbian!”
“That was ten years ago! We were in middle school back then!” Saori exclaims.
“Then how can you be with someone else?” Harper asks, distraught. “I spent ten years watching and obsessing over you! Why can’t you do the same?!”
“Gumumu…” Saori grumbles. She then glances at the Pride parade before turning back to Harper. “Look, just tell them about it, okay?”
At her words, Harper immediately strides over to the parade and starts yelling about how they’ve corrupted his beloved. Bryn giggles and rotates the camera to film Harper as he starts yelling about gender roles, citing Freud and the Bible in his rant, all while the people in the rally simply heckle and laugh at him.
“Saori, I’m keeping this,” Bryn says as she shuts off the camera.
“Huh? You’re not gonna upload that to our channel, are you?” she asks.
Bryn shakes her head. “Giving it to a friend,” she answers.
“Ah! Yeah, go ahead!” Saori says. “Though, come to think of it…”
Their eyes turn to Harper once more. His voice’s pitch has risen to the point of complete unintelligibility.
“…are we the only ones dealing with men like him?” she asks.
“Others have, too,” Bryn answers. “We can talk about it online.”
“Oh, good idea! I know a forum for that,” Saori pipes up. “Come on, let’s go home!”
Before long, the two women leave Millennium Park entirely. The last thing they hear before Harper’s voice fades away is a loud scream, followed by a psychiatric emergency ambulance driving towards the park.