Archive of Our Own

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1. to seek out beauty - Chika/Mew (romance)
2. kiss the (hand) girl - Sato Sasara/Suzuki Tsudumi (romance)
3. silver woven with love - Iori Yuzuru & Kizuna Akari (friendship or romance)
4. what not to expect in a first kiss - Eleanor Forte/Anri (romance)
5. underneath leaves, tangled in arms - Tohoku Zunko/kokone (romance)
6. Idol - VY2 & IA (ambiguous relationship)

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Call her self-centered or vain, but Chika knew she had an eye for beauty in a person. It mattered not how they appeared physically, the woman could see from a mile away how to make a person’s features shine their brightest. Whether it was a hidden talent or an ability Chika was born with, she found it as a blessing. It did not matter as the world was full of beautiful treasures, and the woman sought to seek them out. 

There were many people who Chika considered naturally pretty. Herself, obviously. With or without makeup, she knew how to make herself a shining figure in a sea of people. Even in a drab place like an office setting, Chika often received compliments about her appearance simply by dressing up.

Unfortunately for the woman, she had received competition as of recently. Enter Mew, a lady in accounting. In Chika’s opinion, the woman was not pretty; in fact, Mew was beyond pretty. She was gorgeous, stunning, ethereal, and a million other synonyms Chika could think of if she remembered. That’s what made it so frustrating for Chika.

To her, Mew was a mysterious one. She mostly wore dark colours and kept to herself. Although her closet appeared to consist of long dresses and skirts, she always wore what fashion was in season flawlessly.

‘She must have secrets to how she carries herself.’ Chika had thought before. It’s just that she has yet to uncover them.

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It was for a play for the school presented from the drama class, which Sasara was now regretting her choice in elective. The play was supposed to be a retelling of the ever popular fairytale classic Cinderella and although Sasara was not the lead role, at this moment, she wished her role was anything but this.

Realistically, Sasara’s role here was nothing but minor. She was a background character, one made to fill the stage with her appearance while the leads shined. One of the settings in a ballroom where people with minor roles had to dance in pairs. Those in the male roles had to take their partner’s hand and pretend to press a kiss to it. However, there was a lack of boys, which they made do by having some girls volunteer to fill those roles.

Nervously, Sasara shuffled awkwardly in her dress as she was the only one waiting for her partners to return from the locker rooms. She felt shouldn’t have anything to worry about. Her partner was her friend Tsudumi, the two have known one another since the beginning of middle school. Tsudumi never enjoyed wearing anything with a skirt and when their teacher asked for volunteers, her hand shot up instantly. So it made sense for them to pair up.

There really shouldn’t be anything for Sasara to be nervous about. They were close, or perhaps it was the closeness that made her nervous? No, it wasn’t that, not entirely at least. Perhaps it was the pretend kiss part? Not that it was real, but Sasara’s never had anyone do that to her.

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“Yuzuru, could you help me braid my hair?” Akari asked one day.

~

It’s sloppier and looser than it should be, but Akari’s smiling so Yuzuru thinks he’s allowed to be proud of his handiwork.

~

“Akari, could I braid your hair?” Yuzuru finds himself asking one afternoon. It’s just the two of them eating lunch outside under one of the large trees in the school year. The sun is bright and it’s close to the picnics that they go on during the summer.

Then Yuzuru panics and looks away before he can see whatever expression Akari is making. That’s such a weird thing to ask, at least as a boy; he’s not really sure but it probably sounds creepy-

“Really?”

Akari must be some blessing in disguise because her voice alone always seems to snap Yuzuru out just before his thoughts could worsen. Glancing at her, he sees that Akari looks far disturbed; if anything, her eyes are wide and shiny like Yuzuru had announced that she won a gameshow.

“Yeah, if you wouldn’t mind,” he says, but Akari’s already pulling her hair ties off and a curtain of silver hair cascades around her. They’re both done eating their lunches with enough time to spare so there’s no rush until the school bell rings. 

It feels familiar and nostalgic with Akari moving to sit in front of him, and Yuzuru’s fingers comb through long, silky locks before separating them into three parts. There’s a strange feeling not exactly seeing, but subconsciously knowing how miniscule the differences are between then and now.

For starters, he’s taller and Akari’s hair is much thicker now. Yuzuru’s fingers are slower and careful now, doing each plait(?) with more precision and care compared to when he was a child.  He’s grateful that his cousin Akane allowed him to braid her hair; oftentimes Aoi would scold her sister for being lazy, but it was nice receiving some form of practice.

Before he knows it, Yuzuru’s hands are near the end of Akari’s hair. Carefully, his work is tied up with a small hair tie.

“How does it look?” He asks as Akari examines it, certain that it looks much better compared to when they were 10-year olds. Pride creeps inside from the bright smile the girl’s wearing.

“It’s perfect!”

If Akari deems it good, then Yuzuru’s willing to style her hair any way she wants. Her smile was worth more than the price of anything in the world.

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So here Anri was: her and Eleanor sprawled across the former’s bed. Or rather, Anri was. Eleanor, on the other hand, acted like she was sitting on a cramped chair with her knees pulled to her chest as she read her book. A typical laidback scenario between girlfriends. Unfortunately, Anri was troubled right now with a couple of things. Not that Eleanor knew.

The first problem? Anri was too distracted to be enjoying the moment. 

The reason for her distraction? She was thinking about how badly she wanted to kiss Eleanor. Keyword: badly.

The second problem? They have never kissed. Ever. Although they have been dating for nearly two months now - best two months of Anri’s life after years of hopeless pining - they have yet to kiss. She still was unsure how to go about it.

Eleanor seemed unaware of Anri’s internal distress. While preferred that she wouldn’t have to know the embarrassing amount of times Anri has thought about kissing, the latter still felt disappointment.

Perhaps the other one needed a push? It’s times like these where Anri had to initiate things first.

“You know,” Anri said in her most casual “I totally don't want to kiss you really badly” voice, “I don’t remember us kissing yet.”

Eleanor looked up from her book and tilted her head.

Okay, way too straight forward. There's no way she was actually going to go along with that.

“We can do it."

“Eh?” Anri stared at her girlfriend, stunned.

Placing a bookmark between her pages, Eleanor laid it down next to her. Then she tucked a lock of silvery hair behind her ear and looked at Anri. “We can kiss,” she said, then as an afterthought, “if you want, that is.”

Gah, it was unfair how straight-faced Eleanor can be while saying something so scandalous!

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Zunko hated running. She hated that in her fight or flight instinct, she always chose to run. When being under the same roof with her sisters became overwhelming, when the mocking glares at schools stared too long, or when her thoughts screamed the loudest. 

Running solved nothing that much she knew. Yet it was the only option that gave her relief.

No matter where she was, Zunko's feet always ran to the only place where she could feel free.

It was not like she wanted to avoid Kokone. Zunko knew she had been unfairly giving such an undeserving cold treatment towards the other girl, who had been nothing but patient with her since they met at the beginning of high school. 

So when Kokone held her in her arms, Zunko found herself unable to run away.

"I care about you." Kokone whispered. She had no reason to; it was just the two of them at the edge of the park.

Despite her dry throat, Zunko swallowed words that were unable to be voiced.

"I can't change your mind. I know that much." Her voice wavered. "But I care about you so, so much. So even if I can't change your mind, I want to remind you every time you doubt yourself and think that you're unloved."

It was all too much. Too kind, too warm, too comforting. Everything Zunko oh so desperately craved but knew she would ultimately fail to become.

Even when she tried to hold back, in just a few blinks her eyes began to water.

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Idols weren't people Yuuma would often turn his head towards. In the end, they were just any other glittery form of musical entertainment. It's not that Yuuma disliked idols, he just leaned towards rock bands more. So it was a surprise to himself when staring at a pink poster inside his favourite records shop.

It was a pair of girls dressed in matching colourful uniforms with striking poses. If he had to guess, they both seemed roughly around Yuuma's age. While the girl with purple hair was cute, he was staring at the girl on the left in particular. She had large blue eyes and a wide smile to match. He wasn't looking because she looked pretty although she certainly was.

Yuuma wasn't one for staring for too long, and in any other case, he'd be more aware of his behaviour. However, his mind was thinking of this familiar girl until it dawned on him.

"Aria!?"

~

Under spotlight, IA glowed. With every note she sang, it was with a steady confidence that seemed to wrap itself around her heart.