Lucky Number=======================
Takamina can’t believe it’s been six months already!
For years the de facto leader of AKB48 harbored feelings for the Ace of the team. When the clock stroke twelve during New Year’s Day, Takahashi Minami, the fearless (and yet dense leader, as Tomochin once coined her) captain, finally bared her heart and soul to Atsuko and asked her to be her girlfriend as they were watching the fireworks display by the Tokyo Bay. Surprised by sudden revelation, Atsuko can’t help but cry and kiss her girlfriend without a care in the world.
The day after they officially became a couple, they decided to come out to their closest friends in the team. In truth, Takamina had been nervous in announcing it to them. Atsuko however, threw caution to the wind and told her that if they are their friends, they would wish them well.
Takamina inwardly chuckled as she remembered that day.
Haruna had been very supportive, excited for the fact that they can go on a double date with her and Yuko.
Well, not that we don’t do that on a regular basis anyway, Takamina thought.
Mariko-sama on the other hand, simply rolled her eyes to the heavens and sighed “Finally!” as she hugged them. She took their picture, informing them that she’ll post it in Twitter as a fanservice for Atsuminan fans.
As if she’s already not one of them… she mumbled, shaking her head in memory.
Yuko and Miichan’s reactions have been the most hilarious.
As soon as Takamina informed the two, Yuko groaned in defeat and Miichan whooped out loud, extending her palm in front of Team K’s center. That’s when she found out that the two had been betting when she’ll have the backbone to tell Atsuko her true feelings. Miichan won, whistling happily as she counted her winnings.
The past few weeks have been a challenge for them; both had been very busy in their individual endeavors.
Takamina has been juggling her schedule between stage performances, concerts and shows that she has been hosting. To top it all off, No Sleeves has been busy in preparation for the release of their new single.
As much as Atsuko wants to take part in AKB related activities, she had been working on a new movie which is going to be released this month. Just recently, she was in Milan as one of the runway models of Gucci for their Autumn/Winter fashion show. As she arrived in the country in the wee hours in the morning, she planned to surprise Takamina by heading to her apartment as she step out of the airport. Her plan backfired when her girlfriend is already waiting for her at the arrival area with a huge bouquet of flowers in her arms and a bigger smile on her face.
Takamina and Atsuko decided that they will spend the entire day at the captain’s apartment.
--------------
Takamina can’t help but smile.
As soon as they left the airport, Atsuko started giving out ideas on how they would spend the whole day together. Atsuko eagerly prepared their lunch and appointed Takamina as her assistant chef while talking about their activities while she was away in Milan.
Their afternoon was spent playing with Nyaa-chan as they talked to their friends via speakerphone. Both are grateful that as much as the others would like to spent time with them, their friends know that they would want to spend the entire day with each other and would get their chance when Takamina and Atsuko will get back to work the next day.
Dinner had been a wonderful affair; Atsuko prepared a hearty Japanese meal as they watched Gantz for the nth time in the living room.
Finally it’s time for bed. Takamina groaned as she heard her shoulder pop in place when she luxuriously stretched out on her bed. She followed her gaze on Atsuko when she stepped out of the bathroom and watched the ritual across the room.
After blow drying her hair, Atsuko reached for the hair brush. Then, while watching her reflection in front of the mirror, she delicately brushed her hair twenty-two times to the left side of her mane, then twenty-two times to the right. As Takamina predicted, Atsuko is now ready to go to bed. Switching off the main light, her girlfriend moved and switched on the table lamp , walked over the bed, smoothing out the oversized shirt she always use as a pajama from the waist down.
“Why twenty-two?” Takamina asked, breaking the comfortable silence in the room.
“Nani?” Atsuko asked, as she crawled to her usual side of the bed, sighing in contentment as she settled her head on the captain’s right shoulder. “Twenty-two what?”
“Ah, you know… twenty-two strokes… to your hair.” Takamina said, touching the soft black hair against her shoulder. “I also noticed that when you were cooking, you somehow made sure that there would be twenty-two pieces of
each vegetable in the sukiyaki. You almost made me eat twenty-two pieces of those cherry tomatoes in your salad too.” She added.
“Mou, I only made you eat eleven tomatoes…” Atsuko pouted.
The small captain rolled her eyes, “True, but that’s because I didn’t budge to eat all of it. Then you made a compromise that we share half of the salad instead.” She giggled, hugging the other girl closer. “So, why twenty-two?” Takamina insisted on the question.
“I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about.” For some reasons that Atsuko can’t fully understand, she felt unexpectedly shy.
Takamina felt the hesitancy in her girlfriend’s tone of voice, “Atsuko…?”
She didn’t want to answer, just wanted to go to sleep. To make her point, she closed and then opened her eyes to regard her human pillow. “Huh?”
“Dou shita no?”
“Nothing…”
Takamina snorted a laugh, “Nothing she says… Come on Atsuko, you can’t fool me.”
“I’m not fooling you.”
Why am I being this way? Atsuko thought desperately.
Unconvinced with her girlfriend’s tone of voice, Takamina decided to try another tack. “Okay… I like the new shower gel that you’ve been using. It smells nice.” To make her point, she leaned in and took a breath of Atsuko’s hair, making the other girl tilt her head up and look at her. “I like these little amenities that you’ve added to your usual routine.” She watched and saw something change in the brown eyes she loved. Takamina kissed the top of her nose and tightened her arm around her.
“Do you?” Atsuko whispered.
“Hai. I love everything about you.”
“Do you?”
Eh~… we have a problem here. “Hai, hai…” Takamina lazily replied, as if she were dropping the subject. She deliberately went silent for a few minutes, with only the sound of their matched breathing filling the room. Takamina could still feel the tension in Atsuko and felt her own frustration in sending it away.
Get a grip Minami, she told herself,
you signed up for this… if her being emotional is the worst thing that could ever happen, you could never repay for how she has supported you all the way. Resolved, Takamina asked, “Do you have a lucky number?”
“L-Lucky number?” The question really threw Atsuko off the loop, having no idea what Takamina is talking about and why. “I haven’t really thought about it…”
“I bet it’s twenty-two, right?”
What’s with all these questions? Are you making fun of me Minami? Atsuko’s mind screamed. “I don’t know,” Atsuko flatly replied.
“Wakatta. Twenty-two it is then.”
“Twenty-two what?”
Takamina rolled to her side to face the other girl. With her left hand, she stroked Atsuko’s cheek tenderly, ignoring the flinch under her touch. “The top twenty-two reasons why I love you. Let’s see… number one – I love your hugs, and how you would cuddle up against me and use me as your pillow.” Takamina smiled as Atsuko snuggled closer to her, proving her point.
“Two, I love the fact that you always want to plan our ‘alone time’ after our busy schedule.” The small captain let out a chuckle as she saw Atsuko’s cheeks turn pink in the dimly lighted room.
“Three, I love you for being my best friend since we entered AKB…”
“Four, I love the fact that it was you who encouraged to bring out the ‘leader’ in me…”
“Five, I love you for always relying on me as the captain of the group…”
“Six, I love you for supporting me – for not being afraid to be hated with me.”
“Seven, I love how you’d always search for me whenever you need someone to talk about your problems.”
She really means to do twenty-two, Atsuko realized as Takamina kept on with no sign of hesitation. The butterflies in her stomach began to calm down.
“Eight, I love how you always remind me to eat vegetables.” Takamina crinkled her nose playfully, making her girlfriend giggle.
“Nine, I love that you would always call me whenever you are overseas, just to tell me that you miss me.” Atsuko smiled at Takamina’s revelation, due to the fact that she has been doing it before they officially became a couple.
Ah, this is working… Takamina realized when Atsuko reached out and touched her chest, letting her hand rest lightly above Takamina’s heart.
“Ten, the way you’d always make sure that we have a picture together, as if putting the times we spent together in memory.”
“Eleven, I love the sound of your laughter and how you laugh at my lame jokes… Itai!” Takamina squeaked when her girlfriend pinched her arm.
“Twelve, I love you for always reminding me that it’s okay for me to relax.”
“Thirteen, how your eyes would show your emotions or moods.”
Atsuko blinked and wondered what her eyes are telling Takamina at this very moment.
I wonder if my eyes are spelling the word ‘insecure’ “Minami,” she said softly, “I…”
Takamina cut her short by placing a finger on the other girl’s lips, “Not right now Atsuko, I’m on a roll… Now let’s see, where was I? Oh, fourteen… Number fourteen – I love you because you trust me so much… so much that you even gave me a key to your apartment before I had the guts to tell you how I feel.” She winked, eliciting another smile from Atsuko.
“Fifteen, I love how you would bash me about my fashion sense.”
Atsuko laughed at that. “Well it’s true! But don’t worry Minami, next time I’ll take you shopping… with Mariko-chan if needed be.” She controlled her giggle when she saw Takamina raise an eyebrow. “I’m sorry, please continue.” She said, batting her eyelashes.
“Haha, if you say so,” Takamina smiled, “Sixteen, I love being your personal alarm clock… mainly because I love waking up with you in my arms.”
“Seventeen, I love how you take care of your pets and Nyaa-chan.”
“Eighteen, because you know me too well. You know when I need someone to talk to or just needed to be alone for a while.”
“Nineteen, I admire your quiet strength… the way you bear the weight of being the “Ace” and center position.”
“Twenty, I love how we can understand each other even without talking.”
“Twenty-one, I love that we complete each other. We think and feel the same thing, and yet we have different ways of expressing ourselves.”
“Twenty-two… last but not the least: like I said, I love you. I love how diverse your personality is. I love your innocent side, crazy side, lazy side, and cute side. I love you Atsuko. Nothing will ever change how I feel about you.”
“Wow,” Atsuko breathed, not caring anymore if she resembles the color of a tomato as her fingertips make lazy patterns against the cotton over Takamina’s heart.
“Now, can you tell me what’s bothering you?” Takamina asked in a low tone.
Atsuko shook her head, the dim light from the lamp highlighting her hair in a yellowish glow. “Nothing, I’m just being stupid.”
“Hardly…” Takamina said, gently tracing her girlfriend’s face with her fingertips.
Atsuko’s heart clutched in her chest. “How many other members’ habits have you memorized?” she blurted out, before her courage fail her. Takamina’s hand retracted immediately which made Atsuko wish that she shouldn’t have asked or thought of a better way to ask the question. Even in darkness, she could see the wounded look in Takamina’s eyes.
“Minami… gomen…” she whispered, grabbing the hand that was once on her face before she could stop her mouth from blurting the question.
Takamina’s thumb gently caressed her hand. “No, I think it’s a fair question. Probably something that you could’ve asked sooner or later.”
“I don’t want to talk about it…” was the soft reply.
The small captain chuckled, “Oh yes you do, or you wouldn’t have asked. You know me well. As the de facto leader, I am often tasked to see to the well-being of the other members. I have gotten used to visiting the other subgroups in their respective stages and I enjoyed their company. I enjoy being their senpai and how they relied to me whenever they would ask how to improve in their performances. There are a few that I felt I loved, but that’s because of their passion to reach out and bring joy to the fans thru their singing and dancing. There’s only been one member that made me realize that as a part of the team, one has to be that person who could be herself, eager to reach for her dream, and be an idol to the fans at the same time.”
“Who?”
“None other than the Ace of course. It’s always been you Atsuko. You used to be that shy girl that hid well in a shell, then you opened up to me, letting me know the person you are now. I know that it’s lonely and scary to be in the center position, but you chose to be strong and perform well. I’m always grateful that along with that position, it means that you get to be with me all the time. All this time, you could’ve chosen to quit and just become an actress after a year or two, but you chose to be with the team… and with by my side. You stayed because you chose to stay. You gave, because you chose to give. You loved, because you chose to love… not because I gave you any reason to.”
“Eh, that’s not true Minami!”
If everyone knew all the things that you’ve done for me. You’re one of the reasons why I became who I am now.“Yes it is Atsuko. When I realized this, I began to watch you more closely. It made me want to be always by your side. I’ve watched you since we were 14 and you’ve matured into a 20 year old woman who cared for others and had always been direct to her feelings. So I think you could say that I notice everything about you. Everything.” She paused, and finished in a whisper, “Plus, I’m not sure if I memorize other members’ habits. I for one couldn’t tell you one detail about the other’s bedtime preparations.” Takamina chuckled, mainly to what she said.
Atsuko smiled at her honesty, and her heart automatically reached out to her girlfriend whom she knows is just like her, is not very good at expressing her inner feelings in words.
Now I keep her deepest thoughts in my heart “I love you Minami, with all that I am.” She said, giving a chaste kiss on the other girl’s lips. “Gomen ne, my love,” she whispered.
“Whatever for?”
“For being insecure with you. I know you truly have done nothing to let me justify that emotion.”
Takamina shrugged, “I don’t think I tell you enough what you need to hear.”
Now it’s Atsuko’s turn to put her finger on her girlfriend’s lips. “Yes, you do. It’s not always with words, but with your eyes and the little things that you do for me. The way you held me and have always been a rock whenever I would think of giving up. You’ve done a lot of things for me and you never once asked for a thanks or comment. I’m afraid, Minami, I’m still that 14 year old girl when we entered AKB48. A girl who’s always the loner and who never thought that she could be that someone to anyone that she gets jealous and insecure.”
“You’re everything to me Atsuko… and besides, it’s kinda obvious that you’re not a little girl anymore.” Takamina coughed, trying very hard not to blush.
“No, of course not.” Atsuko leaned in and gave her another kiss on the lips. “Ne, Minami, what is your lucky number?”
Takamina rolled her eyes, “If you’re planning out to give me a list of what you love about me then it’ll take you days before you can finish… It’s three hundred seventy three.”
Atsuko burst out laughing, relieved that they had a heart-to-heart talk, “Three-seven-three? Ma~ you’re so full of yourself Minami.” Atsuko teased, scooting closer, she gave the other girl a sultry look. “Hmmm… It’s good that you have such a big lucky number… though I could say a list of what I love about you, I can do that tomorrow. For now, I’m planning to give you a kiss for every one so…” her lips brushed on Takamina’s collarbone. “One…”
Then moved to her chin, “Two….”
To Takamina’s jawline near her ear, “Three…” Atsuko kept on counting as she placed gentle kisses on Takamina’s face and neck.
“A-Atsuko... we don’t have time for that. We have work tomorrow!” Takamina reminded, not that she doesn’t like the attention that her girlfriend is giving her.
“Mou, Minami. Look what you did. I lost count. Now I have to start all over again.” Atsuko pouted, then immediately gave the other girl a full kiss on the lips. “Now, that’s one...” Atsuko winked as she continued with her ministration.
“A-A-Atsuko… wait, WAIT! Yametteeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
--------------
For the AKB48 members, mornings have always been devoted for practice before performances, may it be a stage or concert performance. Mariko, Miichan, Haruna and Yuko glanced at the clock (funny enough, all at the same time) and wondered why the couple is late, when they know that Takamina always arrives before everyone else. The sound of the practice room door opening pulled them from their thoughts as they saw Takamina and Atsuko come in, engrossed in a somehow serious-yet-cute-kind-of-girlfriend-to-girlfriend-discussion.
“Number two hundred forty seven, I love how you finally gave in and finally took a bath with me in an onsen…” is what the four heard from Atsuko as the couple neared where they are at.
“Ano, Acchan… what are you doing?” Yuko asked.
“Oh, I’m just listing out what I love about Minami based on her lucky number.” Atsuko replied casually. Yuko glanced at Takamina as if asking her what’s going on. Takamina vaguely answered by shrugging her shoulders.
“Oi, Minami, why are you wearing a turtleneck sweater with kind of weather that we’re having?” Mariko asked as soon as she noticed Takamina’s choice of clothes for the day.
“Ah… well… um… to keep the sweat off my neck when we start practicing?”
Miichan wiggled her eyebrows devilishly, “Hmmm…. I bet something happened last night that Takamina wants to hide it from us.” She said in a matter of fact tone to Mariko.
“Oh is that so? Come here Minami, let’s see what you’re hiding…” Mariko teased, her hands poised like a creeper and is dangerously inching closer to the small captain with Miichan beside her.
Knowing that she’s in deep trouble, Takamina started to step back as Mariko and Miichan closes on her, “Eh… w-wait! Mariko-sama! Miichan! We still have to practice! Chotto yameteeeeeeee!” Takamina screamed, running way from the trolls.
“Eh?! Wait! Don’t tease Minami too much!” Atsuko facepalmed, following the troll duo to save her girlfriend.
“Huh? What happened?” Haruna asked her girlfriend.
“I actually have no idea. All I heard is Acchan telling me that Takamina has a lucky number and she’s listing out what she loves about our small captain.” Yuko replied, scratching her head.
Haruna nodded at her answer. Glancing sideways, she smiled at her girlfriend who is still wondering what’s going on.
“Ne Yuko, what’s your lucky number?”
The End
AUTHOR'S NOTES/DISCLAIMERS:
1. Yes, I'm still alive.
2. This is a work of fiction, though I did incorporate some facts based on the real people in this one-shot, this is still fiction
3. I would like to thank
Japanime1,
Immortal-K,
crono1036,
bou-j525, and two other friends from other online social networking site (One of them is not a member... and im not sure if the other one has an account here
) for sharing some ideas for my fic.
4. I apologize for not updating my other fics
I was writing two one-shots at the same time, and thank God I finally finished this one
I promised myself that if I get to finish 1 of the 2 one-shots that I've been writing, then I'll write an update for Love in the Fast Lane. So for everyone who has been waiting for updates, I'll be writing the next chapter soon.
I hope everyone will enjoy this fic! Please leave a comment whenever you get a chance! Thanks everyone for your support!