College setting Anon (20) x Soyo (20). Dating, living together.
“H- Hello… Nice to meet you. My name’s Anon…” She nervously sipped at her lemon highball as she tried not to look at the woman in front of her.
The whole table of about eight men and eight women sat alternating at the long table of a quiet room in an izakaya. The guy next to Anon introduced himself and everyone else followed in suit.
“Why am I here…?” Anon doubted her sanity, her life, and the rest of her intelligence as she awkwardly sat in her spot, sitting directly in front of her girlfriend, whom she also lived with, Nagasaki Soyo.
“My name is Soyo. Nice to meet you all~” Soyo introduced herself, and the introductions continued to be passed along.
Anon felt a chill at the smile her beloved brunette sent her. It was asking her with a murderous intent.
“Why are you here?”
Anon herself wanted an answer. She pretty much knew the answer, but she wanted one that would not result in her absolute death. At this moment, she would kindly take half-beaten-to-death, than whatever death Soyo currently had in mind.
“I am so dead…” Anon mumbled under her breath as she took a sip out of her highball. “Very very dead.”
~*
“Anon-chan. Are you sure you’re fine with that?” Soyo sighed as she looked at the text message she had typed on her phone but hadn’t sent.
“Mm!” Anon nodded while she buttoned her blouse tucked into her skirt. She grabbed a clip-on necktie and put it under her collar to complete her getup. “I believe in you, and I know this friend has been trying her best to get you to go to one. Maybe if you go once she’ll stop pestering you.”
Soyo sighed. “It’s much easier to just tell them I was already dating someone.”
Anon put on her shoes and grabbed her bag “Would you? Ah, but then you’d have to bring me.” She grinned at Soyo who stood up from the couch to follow Anon to the door way. “Would you take me?”
Soyo pressed send on her message as she leered at Anon. “There’s absolutely no way.”
“Well, until you’re ready to brag about me to your department, do your best~” Anon smiled at her, fang out, the adorable one. “I’ll be leaving now.” She opened the door as she checked that she had everything she needed.
Soyo nodded and saw her off. “Mm. Take care, Anon-chan.”
“Mm! See ya~” Anon then closed the door with her key and left.
Soyo then sighed as she turned around to go back to the living room of their shared house. Soon she heard footsteps back to their front and the door opening with keys jangling.
She turned to look at the door. “Anon-chan? Did you forget some–“
Soyo closed her eyes as she felt warm lips on her’s.
“Got what I forgot.” Anon grinned at her with a wink. “Will be going now~”
Soyo slowly opened her eyes and lightly smacked Anon on the forehead as she shook her head. “Go now, stupid idiot.”
“Ihihi~” Anon laughed as she exited, or more like, ran away, and locked the door once again.
Soyo put her fingers over her lips. She walked towards her laptop that was on the living room as she shook her head once again, with a small smile.
“What an idiot.”
After dating in their early years of high school, they both decided to live together after learning they had been accepted into different departments of the same university in Tokyo. While they promised to continue their bands their whole lives, they’ve been doing their best to keep at it with their school life.
Soyo attended the Department of Business Administration, hoping to one day be a good businesswoman like her mother. She was told by one of her upperclassmen in Tsukinomori that BA students often did group dates with the Marketing students. She had done her best to refuse them all this time, but after a year, they still wouldn’t let up, so she decided to honor them, at least once.
Of course, not wanting to cause any misunderstanding, knowing how complicated she already was, as a person, she brought this up with her lover, Chihaya Anon.
“Mm. Go for it?”
Were vividly Anon’s words. It confused Soyo for a while, but Anon immediately explained that if it was just a friendly invite, it should be fine. It wasn’t like she was there for an actual date, even if technically it was a “group date”.
She totally didn’t want them to know that she was already dating someone who was in Marketing. It would be embarrassing because their buildings were close, and that these people definitely have seen Anon before.
Not that their relationship was a secret, everyone in their band, and their families knew, and anyone else outside of that didn’t have to.
However, in order to survive a social situation, Soyo was sure that their whole university didn’t have to know either.
The phone in her hand vibrated, then a few more as messages of celebration, that “finally Soyo-chan’s joining us!” were sent her way.
And yet…
“Why are you here…?” was the silent question Soyo sent Anon’s way as their eyes met briefly.
“Soyo-chan, I’m glad you finally came.” A stylish guy with long combed brown hair approached her. He swiftly leaned his arm on the backrest of Soyo’s chair. “I thought we’d never get to convince you.”
Soyo moved away from him a little as she smiled. “Kuwabara-senpai. As I said, please, it’ll be a one and done.” Her voice was high, completely in ‘Soyo-san’ mode. “I hope.”
“Come on, don’t say that. I hope you’re having fun. Are you having fun?” Kuwabara moved his chair closer to her, his whole arm, now around Soyo’s chair’s backrest.
Anon watched the scenario unfold from her peripheral, her hold onto her glass of highball tightening.
“Chihaya-san! Ah.” A girl with long black haired suddenly took the seat next to Anon, that she hadn’t noticed was vacated, as she pretended to listen to the group on her other side. “I mean, Anon-…san. ” The girl corrected her previous mistake.
“Saitou, ah, Aya-san.” Anon finally let go of her poor suffocated (if they could suffocate) glass of highball and turned to her. “I didn’t know you liked going to these stuff.”
“I usually don’t but I was invited last minute. You know, meeting and dating someone in your 20s is the best outcome, as they say.” Saitou said with a shy smile. “Do you go to these stuff often?”
“Ah… No.” Anon thought of an idea as she raised her voice a little. “I was just invited last minute because someone backed out!”
Near the end of her sentence, Kuwabara once again opened his flowery mouth, and Anon was so sure Soyo didn’t hear any of her ‘legitimate excuse’ for being there.
“Ahh. Iwahara-san?” Saitou asked as Anon nodded with a wry smile. “Actually, me too! I didn’t know you two knew each other!”
“Yes, we share one class…” Anon trailed off as she watched ‘Kuwabara-senpai’s’ hand briefly brush over her cute girlfriend’s brown hair.
“Thank you.” Soyo smiled at the guy next to her as she swiftly combed her hair through his fingers.
Anon felt like she was about to go crazy, but if she was feeling this way, her normally silent and easily annoyed girlfriend must be extremely uncomfortable with it.
Anon’s gray eyes turned to the wall clock as she sipped her drink. “It’s only 7:45…” Would it be too early to leave? Of course it is, it’s only been forty-five minutes but if she left, would Soyo leave after her? The two of them haven’t talked at all since the “group date” started more or less 40 minutes ago. “If you call random glares a conversation I guess we did talk.”
“Keisuke! Come here!” A guy from the other side of the table called for Kuwabara. He immediately vacated the seat and walked over. Almost immediately, Anon stood up from her chair.
“Anon-san?” Saitou looked up at her in confusion.
“Toilet.” Anon answered with a small smile and escaped. It was her all or nothing. Whoever that dude that called this guy flirting with her girl is, he better keep him there for a while.
The plan was to quickly pretend to use the restroom, then sneakily sit next to Soyo because she can no longer stand having that guy go back to the space next to her.
She entered the surprisingly spacious toilet, with actually no business in mind, so all she did was use the sink and took her time to wash her hands.
“…What do I tell her?” Anon sighed as she neatly lathered her hands with soap. “Soyorin! My coursemates said they desperately needed a +1 so I had no choice but to join them! That’s like laying myself on top of very sharp and pointy spikes waiting for the other side to smash me over.”
Anon let the water run on her fingers as she hung her head in defeat (and fright). She took some paper towels, dried her hands, and went back to the table.
As if all in god’s will, the seat (Kuwabara’s) next to Soyo was open, and she took this opportunity to beeline and sit there.
“Soyo-san!” She called, with that cute fang smile. Soyo only turned to her slowly, with a very narrow glare. “Oh crap.”
Then she smiled.
“Hello, Anon-san.”
“Ah, haha…” Anon smiled at her stiffly. It was far too cold. Stone cold. Asphalt cold. “No, it was cement cold and it will be as cold as my corpse once she murders me with those cold eyes…”
“Do you attend stuff like these, Anon-san?” Soyo turned to her, smile still on her face.
Her answer to this question was definitely relevant to where she’d be spending her night today.
“Not at all. Today’s my first time!” Anon leaned in a little to whisper, but let the people watching their conversation still hear what she’s saying. “I just got dragged here by a senpai…”
“I see.” Soyo’s expression suddenly turned neutral, likely slightly relieved by her answer.
“Soyo-chan! You haven’t been drinking!? Here!” Kuwabara was back again, and this time he sat on the chair on the other side, arm around Soyo’s chair’s backrest once again.
“Grrr…” Anon smiled at him as she gritted her teeth deep inside her heart.
“Ah, I don’t really…” Soyo tried to refuse the fresh glass of umeshu rock.
“Come on, just this glass?” He pushed the glass in front of her as Soyo moved back, her back almost touching Anon’s shoulder.
“Come on, senpai. It’s in bad taste to force someone to drink!” Anon smiled at the guy, she quickly stole the drink from his hand and chugged it down in one go.
“Oho~ Nice swig! What was your name again?” Kuwabara gave Anon a thumbs up.
“My name’s Anon. Nice to meet you, senpai!” Anon smiled at him before closing both her eyes tightly as she swallowed the bitter taste of alcohol in her system. She felt her stomach hurl, and her throat burn as the effects of alcohol immediately chased her.
“Anon-chan, huh? From where–” He was cut off as another guy tapped his shoulder and chatted him away.
Anon felt a hand on her thigh under the table and Soyo looked at her worriedly. Anon took Soyo’s hand into hers as she nodded and flagged a waiter for some water.
~*
It wasn’t on Soyo’s bingo card to see her own lover in this group date that she was basically forced to attend.
Nor was it on her bingo card to see her own lover and the girl who has a crush on said lover, on the very same group date she had just mentioned. “Saitou-san” was a name that often came up when Soyo asked Anon about how the school’s been treating her.
That she ran into her here (what a coincidence), or when she forgot her umbrella Saitou-san lent her one, or that she always says hi when they see each other,
“It’s like she’s got a girlcrush!” was how Anon phrased her behavior, and all Soyo could say inside her own mind was “that’s right and you’re ignoring the signs”. She watched ‘Saitou-san’ without being too obvious.
Soyo occassionally drank her one glass of cassis orange, sometimes glared at Anon, and tried not to get touched by the guy who sat next to her. While Saitou-san stared at Anon like a puppy in love, Kuwabara-senpai was like a leech who wouldn’t keep his hands to himself.
“Soyo-chan, you having fun?” He placed his arm around the back rest of Soyo’s chair.
“So uncomfortable…” Soyo drank down her annoyance with a sip of water before noticing Anon’s glare at this man next to her. It made her feel good. At least she knew that her own lover was being jealous… as she was to this girl who has a girlcrush on her.
Soyo only thought about what kind of punishment to bestow onto Chihaya Anon for not telling her about her existence and appearance in this group date. Was she going to make her sleep on the cold, cold couch for a week? Make her prepare her own meals for three days? Ignore her for a day?
There were so many ways to torture her lover, until she sat next to her.
While she knew that there was going to be seat switching and all the like after their meal, she did not expect Anon to switch immediately. Thankfully, she was glad that she did, because at least she knew she wouldn’t have her pesky senior up in her space ever again.
“Anon-chan…” Soyo could only smile to no one in particular, as Anon held her comforting hand that was on the girl’s thighs after she had just one-chugged a whole glass of umeshu rock.
Six to eight glasses of different alcoholic beverages (addressed to Soyo, from three different men), later…
“There were definitely some regrets had, and this, going to this group date is one of them…!” Anon closed her eyes as she rested her head, on her arm, that was on a clean part of the table. Her head spun, even though she was stationary, and her body temperature was so high.
“Anon-san, are you all right?” Someone was talking to her, it was a familiar voice, but she wasn’t sure how to answer her, so she just raised her free hand with a thumbs up.
Soon, the presence next to her came back.
“I think Anon-san and I are going to excuse ourselves now.” It was a very bold statement, and Anon wasn’t sure where she was going, and who was taking her home.
A hand gently patted Anon’s shoulders before a pair of them took her free arm and gently hooked it around their shoulders.
“Fwer going hwome? Howm going, my girdfr…” Anon mumbled sleepily as she tried to open her eyes to see who was taking her home, but everything was spinning. “Whoooo. Zee. Woozy…”
“I know.” Gentle arms wrapped around her body as Anon struggled to get on her feet, her body weight mostly leaning to the other person. “Thank you everyone.”
Anon tightly closed her eyes as she tried to focus on what was going on. She wrapped her arms around her savior(?) and immediately was surrounded by a calm and comforting scent she was very familiar with.
There were cheers and greetings, and a mix of everything as Anon slowly followed the walking of the person carrying her out to that hellhole of a group date.
“Urgh… Soyo…rin…” Anon put a hand over her mouth as she felt a familiar hurl.
The elevator dinged as it arrived on their floor.
“Are you okay? Do you need the bathroom? Can you make it back to the house? Anon-chan.” Soyo gently comforted her back as they stood in front of the elevator.
“Home…” Anon swayed a little as she took a step towards the light (of the elevator).
“All right. Tell me if you need anything.”
~*
Soyo immediately led an incredibly drunk Anon outside the establishment, not only because she wanted out of that place, but also because the taxi she called for was arriving soon.
“Brrrr! It’s Autumn, huh… Gueh…” Anon immediately looked down the floor as she tried to stand up straight, and not hurl.
“Here, drink up.” Soyo took out a bottle of cold water she bought on their way down and handed it to Anon.
Anon only looked at the bottle, then looked back down on the asphalt. “No… Spinny… Gueh…”
Soyo sighed and opened the cap. “Here, lean on me.” She put the bottle inside Anon’s hand and helped her look up, letting her weight rest on her arms. “Drink. It’ll help you sober up.”
Anon only obliged as she drank as much as she could of the water bottle. She gave up until half of it, and returned the bottle to Soyo.
“Good job.” Soyo smiled at her as she patted Anon’s head, which was slightly higher now, since the girl had grown taller than her.
“Ehehe…” Anon laughed as she wrapped her arms around Soyo’s shoulders.
Soyo sighed as she capped the bottle and gently rubbed Anon’s back up and down while they waited.
“Anon-chan, you can’t sleep yet.” Soyo gently tapped Anon’s back, who only wrapped her arms around her tighter.
“Mmrgh… Awake… Comfy…” Anon mumbled, her eyes closed as they hugged.
Soon, the taxi had arrived, and Soyo and the driver helped in a group effort to get Anon inside the vehicle that drove them home.
Soyo smiled as she gently carressed Anon’s head, as the pink haired girl rested on her lap.
It was around 12:03am when they arrived at their shared home. Soyo didn’t have to struggle much, since Anon woke up halfway into their car trip, and mostly could walk on her own now.
Soyo locked their front door behind them, and before she could do anything else, there were arms around her shoulders.
“Soyorrrriiiin. I’m sorrryyy…” Anon drunkenly hugged her, leaning all her weight on her as she apologized. “My coursemates dragged me overrr, I said I didn’t have plans and before I noticed, I was in there…”
“I know, I know.” Soyo returned the hug and rubbed her back.
“I wubyyuh…” Anon leaned her face onto Soyo’s shoulders as they hugged.
“I know that, too.” Soyo hugged her tightly.
“Hehe…” Anon laughed as they hugged for a moment. “…I didn’t like… when that guy, touched you…”
“I didn’t like it either.” Soyo nodded as she continued to rub her hand up and down Anon’s back.
“I was… all, get your hands offf! Mineeee!” Anon continued her rant as she raised her arm to make a point.
“Mm, mm. You did great, Anon-chan.” Soyo nodded.
Anon slowly pulled away from the hug and looked at Soyo like a lost puppy. “Ah… I’m home… Welcome home?”
Soyo blinked as Anon stared at her expectantly. “Welcome home. I’m home, Anon-chan.” She gently leaned in for a quick kiss.
“Gehehe…” Anon smiled and laughed lightly as she closed her eyes then hugged her once again, and soon the full-on inebriated girl was leaning on all of Soyo’s body.
“Ah, geez… Don’t fall asleep here.” Soyo could only sigh as Anon dozed off before their front door.
The next morning was what would one expect. The aftermath of an accidental drinking spree: tons of headache.
“Guhhhhh. My head…” Anon turned over on the bed as she buried her face into familiar pillows. “Nghhhhhh.” She wailed as she held her temples with both hands.
The door to their shared room opened, followed by footsteps.
“Anon-chan.”
“…Hm? Is this the voice of an angel?” Anon mumbled as she balled up.
“Or your worst nightmare, depends if you get up now or not.”
“Omkay…” Anon moved as slowly as she could as she nursed her head splitting headache. She turned around and slowly sat up with her eyes closed, after she knew that her head was stable on the headboard of the bed, she opened her eyes.
Soyo put down a tray of soup, “Drink up.”
“Eh? Soyorin… Is this hangover soup?” Anon stared at the luxurious bowl of boiled cabbage, vegetables, and meat, with a savory scent. “You know, the Korean recipe thing.”
“It is. It’s my first time cooking it, so I have no idea if it works.” Soyo handed her the spoon with a worried expression. “How do you feel?”
“Famished, with a headache.” Anon nodded graciously at the spoon and started eating.
“You did throw up last night, I’m glad at least you made it to the toilet.” Soyo sat on the other side of the bed as she turned to Anon.
“Guh… I’m so sorry…” Anon quietly hung her head in defeat, as she pushed a spoonful of soup into her mouth. “Ohhh! It’s really good!” She went for another, and small bites, went by faster.
“Slow down, don’t aggravate the headache.” Soyo scolded the pink haired girl, who immediately slowed down. “Haaah…”
“I wish I had just attempted sexy things instead of embarrassingly puking…” Anon put another spoonful of soup into her mouth as she sulked.
“You did.” Soyo looked at her with a teasing expression. “Well, you tried.”
Anon pouted and continued on with her soup. “Then that means I totally failed, and I don’t even remember!”
Soyo looked at her in mild surprise. “How much do you remember?”
A spoon in mouth, Anon tried to recall. She then removed the spoon from her mouth and dipped it back into the soup. “I remember leaving, being in the car. I remember apologizing, a kiss, and then that’s it.”
Soyo smiled. “Then that’s about it.”
“Huh!?” Anon almost choked on soup, headache forgotten as she tried to chase her beloved brunette who had just gotten up from their bed. “Eh!? Soyorin!? Wait… You said that I tried. What did I do!?”
“I wonder.” Soyo smiled and walked towards the doorway. “Since you seem to be doing well, bring those back to the kitchen when you’re done… and I’ll be at the couch, if you remember.“
Then the door closed behind her.
“C- Couch!? Wh- What’s with the…” Anon looked at the door like a deer caught in headlights, then she angrily shoved soup into her mouth as she mumbled. “Grrr I don’t remember… Damn hangover.”
(Hangover/END)
After a long struggle of lifting Anon past the front door, Soyo finally succeeded at making her sit down the couch.
Long pink hair all over the place, her head hung forward as she slept in a slightly uncomfortable position.
Soyo turned toward the front door. She fixed their scattered shoes and their bags that she just carelessly dropped on the ground. She picked them up and set them on one of their living room’s chairs.
She turned towards Anon once again, and she was further and further leaning forward. Soyo inmediately grabbed her shoulders and pushed Anon’s back onto the couch.
Before Soyo could leave to fix their other things, there was a strong hand on her wrist. Anon pulled onto her, and pushed her down the couch.
“Soyorin.” Anon climbed over Soyo’s body, with glassy eyes but focused gaze. “Soyorin… I missed you.”
Her voice was one too many tones low, and it was one Anon only used when she’s serious (or seriously trying to seduce her).
Soyo was always weak to that serious tone, and she seriously wasn’t sure what she was thinking of when she let those warm lips kiss her. She immediately put her hand over Anon’s lips, and effectively pushed her away.
Anon only furrowed her eyebrows at her like a sad, dejected puppy.
“Anon-chan, you’re drunk. We are not doing this.” Soyo tried to sit up, leaning her weight on her elbows as Anon moved back up.
Anon blinked and stopped pushing her lips on Soyo’s hand. “Hug…?”
“…Now she looks so sad.” Soyo only smiled at her wryly and wrapped her arms around Anon’s neck as Anon caught her body and wrapped her arms around Soyo’s body, pushing her back down the couch. “But it’s kind of cute.”
“I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have been there, but I’m glad I was.” Anon spoke onto Soyo’s shoulders as they embraced. “…That senpai… Please be careful around him, Soyorin.”
“I know, I will.” Soyo nodded as she gently tapped Anon’s shoulders.
“…Are you angry?” Anon parted from the hug and looked at Soyo.
“…Why would you think so?” Soyo raised an eyebrow as Anon frowned.
“…That I was in that group date and didn’t, well, couldn’t tell you…” Anon avoided Soyo’s gaze as she dejectedly looked down.
“I’m not angry.”
“Really…?” Anon looked back up into Soyo’s blue orbs as gray orbs searched for an answer.
“As a proof that I’m not angry…” Soyo lifted up Anon’s face, gently touching her cheeks with both hands. Her eyes searched into Anon’s as they stared into each other. She gently kissed Anon’s lips, before tracing her index finger over those pink lips. “…If you remember this in the morning, we can continue.”
Anon blinked as the words entered her ears. She felt her body heat up. She opened her mouth… and suddenly felt a hurl in her stomach. She quickly got on her feet, a hand over her mouth as she raced towards the toilet.
Soyo stared at the ceiling in surprise, followed by a gut-retching sound.
“Gweehhhh.”
Soyo smiled as she found it amusing… Amusingly embarrassing. She covered her face with with both hands as she blushed. She had never seduced Anon in any way before. It would be beneficial to her if she doesn’t remember.
“Maybe I’m drunk, too.”
of my love for you.
“Does Anon remember?” is likely a question for another day.
(END)
