Hello wow it's been a while. Anyways I've been convinced to hop back into the fandom for a bit and maybe finish a few of those works that have been sitting in my hard drive all this time. I found this one that I never posted because I didn't think it was good enough (still don't but honestly can't be bothered to re-write the whole thing) but maybe someone will like it. Warning it's kinda long, almost 8k. Enjoy and feel free to leave any kind of comment!
For a Flight (YuiParu)Paru hated planes. The constant rickety trembling during takeoff and landing and the people that rode on them. Every single time, it seemed, there would be a crying baby or someone talking obnoxiously loud on the phone. And if she was lucky, then she’d get a middle seat - stuck there with two people on either side of her which made it really hard to go to the bathroom. And it wasn’t like she could just not go, not when the plane ride lasted for a whole twelve hours.
Paru had gone to London, wandering around the old cobblestone streets rich with history and sipping on some strange European tea at a riverside restaurant. It had been her dream to go ever since she was little, and she jumped at the chance when it was presented, ignoring the mountains of paperwork she had to go through, ignoring the long hours of sitting there idly in a cramped seat, and ignoring the fact that she’d be away from her family for a whole month.
Nothing was going to stand in her way, not even her fear of planes. It wasn’t an unreasonable fear, the only other time she had ridden on one was when she was only seven years old, a quiet naïve little girl that got easily intimidated by the plane’s sheer size and rumbling engines.
And planes were flying death traps thousands of miles above the ground that could plummet at any miniscule malfunction, but no, Paru was going to go to her desired place even if it killed her (which she really hoped it wouldn’t).
She had prepared herself, now that she was older it shouldn’t be as bad. She couldn’t really remember much from the last time besides the fear (nothing of the actual experience), so Paru had steeled her resolve...but it kind of crumbled as she went down the tunnel to the plane. Just the tunnel itself was scary enough since it was possible to see through the cracks under feet at the ground several meters below. And after actually stepping on the plane, Paru had heaved a sigh, almost believing the worst was over.
But it had only just begun.
Her knuckles turned white as she gripped the armrest, eyes clenched shut during takeoff, which Paru briefly thought was conveniently visible on the screen on the back of the seat in front of her, though while watching the landing gear disappearing into the plane’s shell she to remind herself to breathe and not hyperventilate. That would be bad. But then it wasn’t so bad in midair, a lot better than she thought it’d be. They cruised along smoothly without any turbulence. Having had her hopes dashed earlier, she had believed that it would be the worst of it when they were high up in the atmosphere, thank the gods it wasn’t.
They even provided a little TV for her (and every other passenger) and it was equipped with the latest movies and songs, providing adequate entertainment and distraction for her mind. Paru had been busy lately with packing and researching London (as if she hadn’t done plenty of extensive research over the years already) and had to get everything done before she could go. This meant that the entire month before hand, she had missed out on her favorite shows and music. So she was glad to catch up on AKB’s new single during the trip.
Paru had passed the plane ride by watching four movies total, and sleeping for the rest. This meant that she was completely distracted the whole time, from the shaky turbulence, from the thought of going to a foreign country alone, and from her discomfort of sitting close to people that she knew nothing about. To her relief, no one had spoken to her and she was glad to have avoided any kind of confrontation. Being approached had never really gone well for her before.
So she simply had to occupy herself somehow so the boredom wouldn’t kill her. And she’d realized at some point though, that plane rides were actually way more boring and tedious rather than scary.
Now that the trip was over, a whole month passing in the blink of an eye, Paru mentally prepared herself to get on the deathtrap once again - now back to Japan. Her trip to London was actually funded by her University, where she was currently residing and studying photography as her major. Her class had written an essay about where they would like to visit to enjoy the scenery and surprisingly, Paru had won, earning her the all expenses paid vacation halfway across the world.
She loitered around the waiting area, buying some ice cream to snack on (but London had much larger serving sizes than Japan) and Paru was quite full when she finished it just in time to board. With her broken English skills, Paru heard the recorded voice of some attendant lady alerting them that her flight was now letting passengers on. And so Paru rolled her carry-on along behind her and hopped on the plane.
This time she had gotten the window seat – an amazing stroke of luck on her side since it meant she only had to deal with one seat mate. Also because Paru liked to gaze out the window, watching the fluffy clouds roll past. Sometimes she wished she could be as easygoing as those clouds.
As an early boarder, Paru found her seat quickly and pulled out her book and food plus headphones, making sure everything was in easy reach before anyone else decided to come along. It’d be a pain to ask them to move for her to grab something out of her bag.
And Paru didn’t like talking to people anyways, they always thought she was rude, just because she was blunt. It was just because Paru didn’t put any effort into first impressions which was why they were always bad.
Then there was always the chance of those people trying to strike up a conversation with her, and her cold attitude usually made them misunderstand her horribly, leaving her with some nasty remark or comment and making her feel like it was all her fault and regretting ever speaking in the first place.
But then if everyone was going to judge her like that on their first meeting, then Paru decided a long time ago that she didn’t really want to get to know anyone anyways.
Hopefully no one abrasive would come sit next to her. Hopefully she’d be able to end her trip on a good note, with one last pleasant memory to reminisce on.
She already had her headphones atop her head when the first girl arrived, but only on one ear. Actually, Paru thought that she’d be sitting alone by the window since the plane was almost taking off and no one had come to claim the two seats beside her yet. But she was mistaken as another Japanese girl around Paru’s age sat beside her, panting probably because she had sprinted after almost missing her flight. And she sat right beside her.
Paru’s guard immediately went up.
“Phew! I thought I wasn’t going to make it!” The girl spoke in a slight accent – and in Japanese too - as she started rummaging through her stuff and putting some of it away under the seat in front of her. She only had one small backpack which Paru found weird since she herself had a whole suitcase for carry-on. The girl had chosen the seat right beside Paru even though most people would choose distance. Not her apparently.
Paru studied the girl a little more, having deemed she had nothing else better to do at the moment. The girl had shoulder-length black hair, sort of a bob haircut but longer, and from the one sentence she spoke in Japanese, it seemed she wasn’t from Tokyo but Paru couldn’t place it just yet. Her face was also distinctly Japanese and Paru had to admit it, she was very pretty.
Suddenly, the girl turned to her with a wide friendly smile, extending her hand, “Hi, I guess we’ll be together for the next 12 hours so nice to meet you.”
Paru blinked.
Excuse me? Normally people wouldn’t even say anything to the person next to them except a ‘Can you move, I need to go to the bathroom’. She was so...open. Unguarded. Paru didn’t like it.
“Um yeah...Nice to meet you.” She said with a blank face didn’t take the offered hand. Paru moved her other headphone onto her ear, hoping that her salty response would put an end to anything the other girl was trying to start and just slid up the window cover and stared out onto the asphalt, waiting for the plane to start moving. A small movement in the glass caught her attention and she automatically glanced up a little, almost startled at seeing the girl’s reflection in the window, still smiling at her quietly. But of course, Paru refused to show it.
She’s so weird. I already brushed her off so why’s she still smiling like that? She huffed and tried to ignore the girl, and it worked this time. The said girl went back to digging through her bag before the attendant told her to put it away, or at least that’s what Paru assumed happened since she couldn’t hear over the music in her ears.
---
A couple hours later, the plane had started its trip and Paru had gone through most of her playlists, pulling her headphones off with a sigh. Now she had to find something else to do and turned to the screen lodged in the headrest in front of her for entertainment. But as she scrolled through the limited number of movies, she realized that she had already seen all the interesting ones. Sadly she had watched all of them on the last plane ride. Oh what to do, what to do...
“What’re you reading?” The girl tried to peek at the title of the book in Paru’s lap (who had thankfully brought it just in case). Paru held it up for her to see. “Ah Art of War? That’s an interesting choice.”
“Hmm.” She buried her nose back into the reading, trying to keep her mind off of her seatmate who she felt was still staring at her. A few seconds passed, thought it felt like an eternity, and finally Paru closed the book with a sigh, unable to cope with the unwanted attention any longer. “Is there something wrong?”
The girl smiled at her again. Paru was sure she’d never gotten so many smiles from people in her lifetime as she had in these last few hours.
“Nope. I was just curious...”
“About what?...” Paru asked cautiously, brows furrowing a bit.
“About your name, since you never said it. Oh but I didn’t tell you mine, did I?” She smiled sheepishly. “I’m Yokoyama Yui by the way. Sorry I forgot to introduce myself.” And she bowed a little. At least she still had some manners.
Paru still didn’t understand why this stranger was trying to talk with her. It couldn’t be because Paru was interesting because she was always so disinterested in everything around her. So she simply couldn’t fathom why Yui was trying to strike up a conversation, it wasn’t like Paru was ever going to respond with the same fervor and enthusiasm.
This Yui girl might be interesting...or at the least a distraction.
It probably wouldn’t hurt in any case. It’s not like she was ever going to see the girl again after the flight so what was she afraid of? She should at least state her name, Paru decided.
“...Shimazaki Haruka.”
She didn’t think it possible but Yui’s grin grew even wider. She was probably feeling victorious for prying the hard-earned name from Paru’s lips.
“So Haruka-chan? Hmm do you mind if I call you by your first name? Shimazaki-san is a bit long and I’ve been living in London a while so it’s kind of weird going back. Let’s see~ Do you have a nickname already or do I have the liberty of making one up?”
Paru stared at her incredulously.
Is she being serious right now? “Hmm...Haruka......Haru...” Apparently Yui had taken Paru’s silence as a yes. A light bulb seemed to flick on by the look in her eyes. “...Paru.”
“Wait what?”
“Paru.” She happily repeated. “It sounds cute. Don’t you agree?”
“How did you...” Paru blinked in shock. How did Yui come up with that nickname so easily? It was one that she had been using ever since her childhood but only a rare few ever called her that or knew it now, and she certainly never considered sharing it with someone she just met.
But apparently she didn’t need to.
“Am I right? I am pretty good a giving nicknames.” Yui giggled softly, “I guess I’ll call you Paru then~”
Paru put her blank face back on and turned away, back to the window once again tapping her fingers on the arm rest but also noting that Yui’s laugh was a little high-pitched—not that she cared. But by this time it was already dark outside and there really wasn’t anything to see anymore. The clouds blended into the night sky, forming one endless shape of dark blue.
But Paru, being as Paru is, still thought it was better than talking to Yui. It was kind of beautiful anyways, she thought, how the sky and clouds were two completely different and separate entities yet they somehow complemented each other so well. Even when the sky turned different colors, brilliant blues to warm orange to dark gray, the soft clouds were still there, supporting the sky gently.
---
“Are you from Kyoto? Or somewhere in Kansai?”
Yui looked at her, shocked. It had been the first time throughout the entire trip that Paru had willingly opened her mouth. But perhaps a few hours stuck in a plane would do that to you.
“Yeah, my family’s from there and I lived there when I was little, but then we moved to Tokyo...”
Paru nodded and turned away again, shuffling in her seat and satisfied with the answer.
Yui cursed mentally for letting herself trail off. It was the only time the other girl had spoken to her of her own accord and Yui somehow botched it up. She’d been doing okay until now, asking various questions of Paru and getting varying degrees of answers. Sometimes Paru would nod (just like now) or if Yui had chosen a good question then she’d be able to elicit maybe a few sentences from the normally distant girl. She had figured out that Paru wasn’t really comfortable sharing things, maybe she had a reason to be that way though, and Yui wasn’t one to judge. She had some bad experiences herself that she’d prefer not to dredge up.
But maybe that’s why she wanted to talk with Paru in the first place.
“So um how could you tell?” Her level of excitement had dropped since earlier since instead of infecting Paru with it, it seemed to drain her more. Yui usually wasn’t that excitable of a person anyways, or this talkative, but today was just a little special. A very cute girl sat beside her after all, the issue was just that Yui really sucked at flirting.
“Your accent. It makes it kind of obvious, no offense.”
“Oh I see. And where are you from?”
“Tokyo.” Another one word answer.
“Ah so maybe we live close to each other. I live there now.” Yui remarked, she was gradually getting her flow back.
Okay I got this... “I haven’t been home in a few years, so I wonder how my place looks...probably reeeeaaally dusty.” She cringed at the thought of cleaning, something she missed about living with her family was definitely the division of chores. “So why were you in London? It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me.”
Thankfully, Paru wasn’t fed up with her just yet and Yui nearly cheered.
“My University paid for the trip...so I could study the scenery.”
“The scenery? What for?”
“Photography. That’s my major...We’re supposed to learn how to appreciate all kinds of subjects, from manmade buildings to nature’s trees.”
“I see...That does make a lot of sense. I’m sure you’re a great photographer. You’ve got this whole ‘quiet appreciation’ thing down.” Yui chuckled.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean you’re so quiet. It seems like there’s a lot going on in your head but you choose not to voice it out. I’d love to know what you’re thinking though, seems like it’d be interesting.” She mused.
“...”
“Oh I said too much didn’t I? Haha I always seem to do that. People tell me to mind my own business all the time like ‘I don’t want to hear your ‘damn philosophical teachings’ and stuff like that.” Yui chuckled, trying hard not to make it sound forced.
But Paru shook her head slowly, disagreeing. “No, I don’t think you’re being too intrusive. You just..say what you think. Not a lot of people do that. I was just...surprised.” She admitted, “You’re different than I initially thought.”
“Oh really? Huh...I didn’t think about it that way. Well thanks for defending me~” Yui smiled again.
Her smile was so warm and welcoming Paru didn’t know how to feel about it. She had become cautious of welcoming smiles, seemingly nice people, and those wounds hadn’t healed quite yet. But she decided to venture out a bit, into the unknown, just this once. It came out almost a whisper, “You don’t think I’m silently judging you?”
Yui thought about it, “Hmm maybe you are but is that such a bad thing?”
Paru stared at her.
“Who says that you see everything in a negative way? Like I said, you seem like the type who appreciates things, not judging them negatively. And if you’re taking photography, then you must have an eye for beauty.”
Paru recalled thinking Yui was beautiful earlier on, and that was even before Yui had smiled at her like she is now, but Paru squashed that thought down immediately though finding it more of a struggle than she anticipated. Was it getting hot?
Yui continued on, eyes gazing past the back of the seat in front of her, seemingly lost in thought. “People make all these assumptions but that’s all they are – assumptions. And it doesn’t really matter anyway...you’re just you. It’s fine...and probably hard, I think,” She glanced back at Paru and the latter suddenly felt like shrinking into the cushions. “To say what you really feel.”
Hearing that, it was no wonder people got annoyed at Yui’s so-called ‘philosophical teachings’, because that’s all they thought it was. But Paru knew, that only someone who had experienced pain, betrayal, loss, could speak about it like that. She briefly wondered if Yui’s outgoing side of her personality was developed from that motto.
And so for once, Paru didn’t respond not because she didn’t want to.
She didn’t know how to.
---
“Do you wanna get up and stretch?” Yui had been playing with her phone but noticed out of the corner of her eye that Paru kept adjusting her position in her seat, never staying in one for too long. She didn’t blame her, her own butt was starting to fall asleep too.
“Stretch where?” Paru adjusted so she was facing Yui. Her reaction time to Yui’s questions was getting faster.
“We can walk up and down the aisle. A lot of people do that, see?” Yui glanced back at the few hanging out by the bathroom.
“Okay.”
---
“Ugh, I feel sick...” They had just had lunch (courtesy of the airline) and Paru had finished a cup of ramen, missing the Japanese noodles after her time in London. But the ramen hadn’t agreed with her and the altitude of the plane was not helping.
“Are you okay? Do you need to go to the restroom?” Yui asked with concern, seeing as the other girl was hunched over in her seat with a hand clamped over her mouth and the other pressed flat against her stomach.
A curt nod was all it took before Yui scrambled out of her seat to make way for Paru, who then practically sprinted to the small restroom located at the very back of the plane. She didn’t have the time nor the patience to deal with closing the door, there were more pressing matters at hand.
Like puking her guts out.
Luckily, no one saw the disgusting display because Yui came in and closed the door behind her, rubbing Paru’s back calmly and helping hold her hair back out of the way.
When it was finally over, Paru stood up from her squatting position with a groan, a horrible blush on her cheeks from embarrassment while the rest of her face was a bit pale. She hated when she was sick and letting people see her in that condition. Paru would usually only let her mom see her so weak, but now Yui was in her place. The way she patted Paru’s back and spoke quiet words of reassurance was just as soothing as her mom, and somehow, Paru felt oddly at ease with it. But she was still embarrassed.
They made it safely back to their seats (Paru at the window and Yui beside her) after Paru thoroughly rinsed her mouth of the horrible aftertaste but Yui was still worried at the slight flush in Paru’s face.
“Are you alright? Your face is kinda red...” Yui leaned over and tried to touch foreheads with Paru, honestly concerned with her well being.
Paru leaned back out of instinct and Yui frowned, their faces only a few inches apart. This did nothing to reduce the heat on Paru’s face and she fought to keep her cool.
“I’m
fine.”
It came out more hostile than she had intended and Yui backed out of her personal space immediately. Paru instantly felt terrible for being so cold to the girl when she was just concerned and trying to help.
“I-I’m sorry...” She apologized quietly. “I shouldn’t have said it like that. I didn’t mean to, I know you’re just trying to help.”
Yui shook her head and gave her a small smile, this time a little sad. “Don’t be. I was in your personal space and it’s not my right to be so close to you.” She tugged at the seat belt absentmindedly. “We’ve only just met after all.”
That’s what Paru initially thought too, but she still couldn’t help but feel a pang of sadness when Yui said it. She wanted to make it up to her, she did. The girl looked so dejected. Paru always managed to make people feel that way, she thought regrettably.
“I’m sorry for bothering you throughout this trip. I guess I was just kind of excited to see another Japanese girl like me and couldn’t wait to talk to you. I’m actually a pretty shy person...most of the time, but I haven’t had the chance to speak Japanese in a while besides calls to my mom. And I guess I just happened to let it out all on you haha...” Yui scratched her cheek sheepishly. She didn’t add the part about sitting next to a cute girl exactly her type also putting her in an extremely good mood, which then led to her trying too hard to impress said girl.
“You don’t have to apologize.”
“I know, but I wanted to.”
.
.
.
“Why don’t we watch a movie?”
“Huh?”
“Let’s watch a movie...You can pick.” Paru suggested, staring intently at Yui.
After a brief pause, Yui felt a fluttering sense of happiness in her chest as she finally realized what Paru was doing.
She’s trying to make me feel better. So she obviously couldn’t refuse the offer, after seeing the effort the usually salty girl was making. Yui beamed, “Sure let’s watch a movie!”
Paru was almost taken aback by Yui’s enthusiasm, but at the same time glad that she had returned to normal. She didn’t know how to return the favor property, but figured it was the least she could do after someone had finally taken the time to try and get to know Paru. And though she wasn’t all that used to smiling, Paru let a small one show as Yui turned her attention to the screen in front of her own seat, already browsing through selection of films her own lips spread in a wide grin.
---
The two ended up watching
Big Hero Six because Yui hadn’t seen it yet and really wanted to. And Paru didn’t complain because she had said that Yui could pick the movie, but also because she quite liked the movie herself.
Unfortunately, the airline only provided on-ear headphones and not earbuds, so that made it impossible to share the sound and watch the movie on the same screen. So that left them with two options – either not watch the movie, or watch it separately and try to time the films so that they played at exactly the same time.
They chose the latter.
Yui refused to give up and actually ended up timing both movies quite close together. It seemed like they were matched completely, but Paru soon realized that her own screen was a split second behind. Yui would be the first to laugh or react to something that happened, and Paru would watch it on Yui’s TV. What was the point of watching her own when Yui’s happened first and distracted her every time? Paru also heard what they said a little late that way so it wasn’t as interesting anymore.
And before she’d realized, Paru had scooted quite close to Yui get a better view since she’d given up watching her own screen, only now noticing a pleasant scent.
Huh. She kinda smells nice...Yui though, kept looking over at Paru, trying to see how the girl was reacting to the scenes, but Paru wasn’t really into it and didn’t have any change in her expression at all. It was kind of odd in Yui’s opinion that Paru was so stoic, but she didn’t question it.
She thought that maybe Paru was just like that – like Paru.
Paru eventually started getting sleepy though, the sky outside the window was completely black at this point and she kept nodding off (she was utterly too comfortable in Yui’s presence). Then her head would bob back up before her eyelids would flutter close again. She wasn’t sure how many times this happened before she actually fell asleep.
Yui felt a weight on her shoulder and looked down (having been distracted by the climax of the film) only to be met with the sight of an adorable-looking Paru using her shoulder as a pillow. Her mouth was slightly open and her breath tickled Yui’s neck, which caused the latter to giggle quietly. “How cute~”
She looked around and realized that just about every other passenger was already asleep and Yui was the only one still awake. Yui had this habit of going to bed late and getting up early (mostly to avoid the nightmares), but somehow she still managed even with her lack of sleep. She had to.
“I guess I should go to bed too. It’s getting kind of late.” Yui didn’t really want to though. There was only six hours left on the flight time and she wanted to spend it talking with Paru, which was a rare case since Yui had few people she actually considered her friends, putting up a front for all the others. But it was different with Paru, they didn’t even have to talk, perhaps just enjoying the other girl’s company would be enough for Yui, she smiled and thought.
Yui didn’t know why she liked the girl so much, she just did. Just like when she first laid eyes on her – staring out the small window of the plane with her headphones on, blocking out the world. Something had spoken to Yui, gave her the urge to reach out and maybe make friends with the lonely girl with light brown hair.
It wasn’t a lie, maybe it was different when she was a kid but Yui was always shy and timid in high school, fearful of her upperclassmen and not really approaching others after her own sad past. But she’d gradually gotten over that. And when she saw that Paru was the same way, so guarded and distant...well one of them had to be the outgoing one and it definitely wasn’t going to be the salty girl.
But it wasn’t hard for her to become comfortable with Paru anyways.
Yui paused the movie, settling into a more comfortable position but careful not to disturb her cute neighbor, then whispered in Paru’s ear with a small smile, “I’ll see you when I wake up then. Good night, Paru~”
Then she pulled a blanket over both of them, leaning her head against Paru’s and fell asleep soundly too - the best sleep she’s had in years.
---
Paru woke up with the sun shining on her closed eyelids, groaning and turning her head while burying her face into something soft. She wasn’t sure when she got such a plump pillow, but it was quite comfortable and she snuggled even closer. But conscious thought hit her moments later.
Wait a minute...this doesn’t really feel like a pillow at all... She reluctantly opened her eyes and saw blue. Like denim blue......the color of jeans.
Paru snapped right up into a sitting position and looked at the place where her head had been laying just a second ago, then up at the face of the person who was sitting a seat farther away from her now.
Yui had this surprised look on her face since Paru practically jumped out of the seat. She thought the girl was still sleeping!
“Good morning Paru~” Yui greeted with a grin, recovering quickly and happy that the other girl was now awake. Yui had woken up about an hour earlier, but couldn’t bring herself to wake Paru up. Her sleeping face was simply too adorable to disturb.
Paru frowned and muttered a good morning, rubbing her eyes. Her hair was kind of disheveled and Yui observed that maybe Paru wasn’t much of a morning person due to her grogginess, unlike Yui. She was wondering why Paru seemed confused though, and waited for the girl to speak up.
“...Was I...sleeping on your lap?”
“Yeah, you were. At first you fell asleep on my shoulder, but I happen to be very bony so I didn’t think that was very comfortable at all.” Yui joked. “And you were frowning in your sleep so I moved over a seat and laid your head in my lap. You slept like a baby after that~”
Paru’s brow creased further as she glared at the empty seat between them, gaze practically boring holes in the cushion.
“...Do you want me to move back?”
“Huh?” Her head popped up, eyes now wide.
Yui chuckled at Paru’s ditziness that seemed to come out when she first woke up, Yui learned. Then she hopped over a seat - back to Paru’s side. “There~ Better?
“Wh-What do you mean?” Paru had this slight tinge of red on her face even if she was still frowning and Yui didn’t mistake it for a fever this time.
“Hehe you’re cute when you’re all embarrassed~”
Paru blushed harder and looked away.
“Oh, sorry...I didn’t mean to let that slip hehe...” She trailed off, now also with a red tinge to her cheeks. God this isn’t like me at all...
Nothing happened yet, they were still two strangers that were also seatmates. They hadn’t talked all that much (even if Yui felt like she knew Paru already) and she wasn’t even sure if Paru felt the same. Heck they hadn’t even known each other for a full day yet! Yui couldn’t start pulling shit like that! Not yet at least.
Then Paru groaned and rubbed her eyes again, with both hands this time and muttered to herself, “Ugh I think I’m still asleep...”
Does she think this is a dream? Wait a minute does that mean she dreamt about me?! Yui almost couldn’t contain her excitement but kept a cool face on. Yui had to keep her composure and not act like someone who had just won the lottery (though she felt pretty damn near close). “The flight’s almost over by the way. We practically slept through the last couple hours of it. It was halfway around the world but it sure seemed quick though, for a flight.”
Paru jerked her head up and stared at Yui with wide eyes. “You mean we’re going to land soon?”
It startled Yui for a split second, she wasn’t used to Paru meeting her gaze. But still answered calmly, “Yeah.”
“And we’ll be in Tokyo?”
“Yep.”
“So it’s almost at an end?”
“Yes, that’s what I said.”
Paru frowned again.
So my time with Yui is almost over...The disappointment hit her in waves, each one stronger than the last. But Paru wasn’t sure if she really wanted to admit that.
“Hey it’s okay. There’s still a good half hour left before we land so we can do plenty of stuff in the meantime.”
“Like what.”
“Like um...Like what we’ve been doing.”
Paru sighed, frustrated for no apparent reason. She knew she shouldn’t be, it wasn’t like her at all, but she couldn’t help it.
“Do you not want to spend time with me? I can leave you alone if you want. I understand if you don’t like me since all I’ve been doing is forcefully talking to you...You can’t really force someone to open up if they don’t want to.” Yui was misreading her again, Paru didn’t want that—not with Yui.
“No. it’s not that.” She replied quickly.
Yui perked up a bit.
“It was kind of...fun.” And that got her to brighten instantly, positively beaming with joy and Paru thought the girl may burst so she added hastily. “For a flight.”
But nothing could stop that happy grin. Yui was like, really, like
really ecstatic that Paru was okay with her. “Hey Paru...”
“What is it?”
“Can we just...talk then? For the remaining time? I feel like I still don’t much about you and if you’d let me...I’d love to learn more.”
Yui gazed at her with the most earnest eyes Paru had ever seen, and she almost got lost in them. They were even more colorful than the sky outside.
So she answered the only way she knew how – with one word.
“...Okay.”
---
Paru wandered aimlessly around the terminal exit, hopelessly waiting for Yui. She didn’t know why she was waiting, it wasn’t like they agreed on leaving the airport together or ever meeting up again afterwards. But Paru held a hope and a feeling that Yui might be doing the same – waiting for her.
So she wandered, ignoring everyone that tried to ask if she was lost. They had been together up until only a few minutes ago, so she might still be around. Paru really, like really hoped so.
When they left the plane, Yui had offered to (or rather forced Paru to let her) carry both their bags and lug Paru’s suitcase for her, saying that Paru had felt sick earlier and shouldn’t strain herself. And as if sensing that Paru didn’t want to part just yet, Yui stayed with her (though she felt the same), waiting in line together during customs and talking more, going through baggage claim and chasing luggage on the conveyor belt, it wasn’t until the last bit when they had to go through some more security that they got separated.
Paru had made it through safely, her forms in order and apparently not suspicious, but Yui hadn’t. They caught her, the damn customs kidnapped her and dragged her off somewhere for questioning.
Actually it might have just been luck of the draw that Yui was chosen for further investigation (which really happened all the time), but Paru was still furious nonetheless. Especially when Yui had just smiled back at her somewhat reassuringly, leaving Paru with only her luggage as company once again, and said that she’d be right back.
So Paru waited. She had been waiting. And now she’s still waiting.
And while she waited, she thought about the last conversation they had before deboarding the plane. Unlike the lighthearted talks Yui liked to start, they talked about their childhoods a bit, and Paru had learned that they were more alike then she thought.
Yui had been bullied all throughout middle school. Her classmates all thought she was too uptight, too much of a goody two shoes that kissed up to all the teachers to get a good grade. Her parents were always sending her to school with gifts to the teachers for the holidays and that only made it worse. The other students would hide Yui’s shoes and stick gum onto her clothes while she was in gym class. They all snickered when she found out, not even bothering to hide who did it. And Yui never told. She didn’t want to cause trouble and that’s all telling would bring. Trouble for her parents, trouble for the school, trouble for herself. But more trouble came anyways. Nearing the end of her third year, the bullying got worse. She was always pushed around when her classmates passed by, leaving bruises from the impact, calling her names, going as far as suspecting she was sleeping around with the teachers. Eventually she went from a ‘nerd’ to a ‘slut’ to a ‘bitch’ and so on. She cried all alone and wiped the tears off before her parents got home. Every day made her feel worthless. Like there was no point in going to school if it was just going to be torture, no point in working hard if her efforts were just scorned, no point in living if no one else cared if she was alive.
Paru had gripped her hand tightly by that last part, and Yui had just smiled at her. It was a sad smile, but a smile nonetheless and Paru wondered how she did it. The only reason the bullying stopped is because Yui’s family moved to Tokyo and she started going to high school there. She made a few friends that weren’t too close, but it was much better than before, Yui had told her.
At least it was over now. Maybe the past could never be forgotten but it was just that – the past. Yui ended the story with that, and Paru couldn’t agree more upon hearing it. Maybe it was exactly what she needed to hear.
“Paru! Over here!”
Paru spun around and nearly collapsed in relief. There she was. Yui was waving wildly at her from the adjacent exit (probably having come out of Terminal A instead of B like Paru), while pushing through the sea of people and was smiling so brightly it was almost blinding.
So there was only one thing to do. Paru ran up and tackled her in a hug, almost knocking them over and their luggage too (which would’ve been quite the mess) and she wasn’t about to let go even if a plane crashed on top of them.
---
“Where do you live?” Yui asked for the second time in twenty-four hours.
“Why should I tell you?”
Yui laughed, “Answering a question with a question, that’s very Paru-like.”
Paru pouted and started watching the cars and lights pass by outside the window, completely ignoring Yui’s presence but not really. The two were in the back of a cab, it was dark outside considering it was almost midnight, and they were headed home, well, Yui’s home. Paru had actually asked if she could stay the night at Yui’s, since she’d told her she lived alone as well, which surprised the both of them. But Yui had recovered quickly, cheerfully agreeing and relaying her address to the taxi driver.
But Paru since wouldn’t tell Yui where she lived, the latter just hoped it wasn’t too far for her to take Paru home tomorrow. At the very least Yui knew she lived in Tokyo. If it was far though...well Yui would just have to take another trip with Paru then, wouldn’t she?
“Paru~”
“...”
“Paru~”
“...”
“Paruru~”
“Paruru?” Paru quirked an eyebrow at the extra syllable.
Yui just smiled and reached over, placing her hand atop of Paru’s on the seat.
“Wh-What?”
“Nothing. I just want to.” Yui’s warmth enveloped Paru just like their overlapped hands, and Paru felt her heart beat rapidly in her chest. Then she slowly turned her hand over and gripped Yui’s lightly, the latter returning the gesture with a gentle squeeze. Thanks to that, Paru felt even warmer and her heart pounded even harder.
But it wasn’t such a bad feeling. Paru smiled.
---
“We’re here! Finally! Home sweet home!” Yui exclaimed and stretched with her arms wide, way too much energy in her to be contained (Paru blamed it on the coffee she let Yui buy from Starbucks on the way, logically claiming one of them had to keep awake during the car ride but Paru regretted it now). They were only as far in as the first flight of stairs of the apartment building, a long hallway ran the length behind it with several doors leading to separate apartments. The bottom of the staircase was where they decided to leave the suitcases there to deal with another time.
Paru tugged on her sleeve and muttered, “Not so loud...You’ll wake everyone up.”
She herself had been asleep up until a few moments ago.
Yui chuckled sheepishly. “Sorry, I’m just too excited because you’re here.”
“Hmm, cheesy.”
“Eh maybe I am, but only with you.” Yui took Paru’s hand again, giving it a squeeze before softly pulling her up the stairs. “This sure brings back memories.”
“What floor do you live on?” Paru inquired, taking quick deliberate steps.
“The fourth floor. Apartment 48A.”
“...”
“And here we are~”
Four flights of stairs and some distance down another hallway later, they were standing in front of a wooden door marked with the cursive symbol: 48A.
But Yui didn’t go in, instead letting go of Paru’s hand and scooted over to the next adjacent door, then banged on it full force.
*DON**DON*
*DON*Three loud resounding thumps later, some far away shuffling could be heard behind it, then a sudden thud and some very distraught cursing followed. Yui looked amused. The voice got closer and louder until the door swung open violently to reveal a woman in robe with slightly crumpled wavy black hair. “—I SWEAR IF THAT’S YOU YUI I’M GOING TO—Who’s that?”
“Nice to see you too, Miyuki.” Yui chuckled.
“I don’t see why you’re so energetic at this time of night...You’re almost never this lively...” Miyuki muttered under her breath and rubbed at the back of her head. There would be a bump there tomorrow.
Yui just glanced at Paru in response, then back and that’s all it took for Miyuki to understand. But then she put it off for a moment as she noticed something, staring at Paru and seemingly scrutinizing her appearance. “...Have I seen you before?” She finally asked.
“Yes.”
“I have?”
“You have?” Yui was perplexed. “Where have you guys met before?”
“At the bottom of the staircase.”
“...Huh?”
“Oh yeah I remember!” Miyuki clapped her hands together. “You’re Shimazaki, right? I do remember saying hi to you in the morning once.”
“Eh?”
Paru nodded. “Nice to see you again.” She offered curtly.
“I’m sorry but can someone please EXPLAIN.”
Miyuki frowned and looked at Yui incredulously. “You mean you’re friends with her and you don’t even know that she lives here? She even lives on the same floor, right across the hall.” She jabbed a finger in that direction.
“You can’t be serious.” Yui turned to face Paru. “Is that why you didn’t tell me your address? You really live here. Like, really?”
Paru simply nodded again, a slight smile threatening to break out. “In 48B.”
Yui merely stared at her.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“I’m sorry but can you please take your eye sex somewhere else, I still want to sleep.” Miyuki said, suppressing a yawn with her hand.
“WHAT?!”
Miyuki sighed, ignoring Yui’s flabbergasted expression (though it was priceless), and halfway closed her door with only her head peeking out. “It was nice to see you again Shimazaki-san. And no Yui, I’m not going to help you lug your bags up here. I already helped you tidy your place while you were gone and you still haven’t thanked me yet! So good night you two~”
And with that, she shut the door and went back to bed.
“...That was...interesting.”
“How?” Yui frowned at her friend’s behavior then sighed, “Now how are we supposed to get those bags up here?”
“You carry them.”
“Me?”
“Yes you.” Paru confirmed. “And then you’re going to help me dust off everything in my apartment since Miyuki-san cleaned yours.”
“Okay...” Yui agreed reluctantly. And here she thought she’d finally gotten away without cleaning anything. But then again...if it was for Paru, then she’d be more than happy to. “Let’s start tomorrow. Now we should just get some sleep ‘cause I’m too tired to clean~”
And Yui didn’t even know that Paru’s room was already a mess before she left, but Paru decided against mentioning it. “What about the bags?”
“We can get those tomorrow too. It’s not like anyone’s going to steal them if they’re inside.”
“If you say so.” Though Paru could think of quite a few residents here that might take a peek at the contents.
“So...” Yui smirked, “My place or yours?”
Paru stared at her and replied without so much as a bat of an eyelid. “Yours. Definitely.”
Yui laughed long and hard, the high sound making Paru feel absurdly happy and content about the present, so much so that the past didn’t even seem to matter, and even more so when they stepped into Yui’s home, hand in hand, which may become
their home soon enough.
Topic: [Keiyuu's OS Collection] OS #8 For a Flight (YuiParu) (Read 32453 times)