Well... better late than never, ne?
Still, delivery as promised. I wonder what you'll surprise me with about this.
"Buono! Forever"“Do you think this will be our last concert?” a girl asked the shadowy figure in the dark next to her as the staff assisted them in changing for the encore. They’d just run off stage after their last number, and were changing into special outfits composed of tight denim shorts with specially designed and printed t-shirts for just this occasion, red for herself and green for the other.
“I don’t know,” the younger responded. “I hope not. I’ve hardly had more fun than when performing with you two.” The third girl was already changed and over talking with the stage manager about tips for the special improv in the encore.
“There’s always
Aa!” the first suggested, and they began to hear the first chants through the curtains of
“Buono! Saikou!”“But…” Airi said, a hint of a whine in her voice now, “Momo…”
“Meh,” Miyabi replied, switching her mic between hands as she adjusted her outfit in preparation for going back out. “Don’t worry about Momo. She has enough solo activities going on. She’ll be fine.”
She glanced over to see Airi with her cute pouty face and twin tails shadowed in the back lighting. Suddenly the girl lunged at Miyabi, who jumped as she was enveloped in a tight hug, the girl’s mic carelessly digging into her back.
“Airi!” she gasped, scandalized, aware of the staff standing all around them.
The younger girl pulled back to look into Miyabi’s face, tears welling in her eyes. “I’ll miss
Buono!” she whined pitifully.
Miyabi shushed her with a finger to her lips. “Hey,” she scolded. “We don’t even know if it’s over yet. And don’t cry! You’ll ruin your eyeliner.”
Airi nodded, though still made whining noises in her throat as she began pulling away.
“Hey you two!” Momoko crowed, already in position to head back on stage. “Get over here! It’s time for the encore!”
Miyabi rolled her eyes, but took Airi’s hand and dragged her next to the leader. Momoko eyed the two girls suspiciously, and Miyabi made sure to let go of her companion’s hand before they walked on stage. More oddly though, Airi seemed reluctant to let go.
…
“Otsukaresama deshita!!” the staff congratulated them after they ran off stage for the final time, their new shirts now drenched in sweat as well. The girls repeated it, gratefully exchanging their mics for the proffered towels and drying themselves as they headed back to the dressing rooms. Momoko and Miyabi stopped to act silly in front of the behind-the-scenes camera, and eventually Airi popped up in front of them, causing them to scold her to get out of the way. Momoko eventually just tried pushing her out of the way, but Miyabi felt she was too cool for something like that and just rolled her eyes before walking away.
She’d noticed that Airi still had tears in her eyes after almost bursting out crying during their ending introductions, and wondered if the fans knew the true reason for it. She was honestly a little concerned for the girl herself.
She didn’t have too much time to silently ponder though since Airi soon popped up next to her, grabbing her arm and directing her quietly toward a different passage than where she had been heading back to their communal dressing room.
“Where are we going?” Miyabi asked, peering around her and now really beginning to worry about the girl, who had a determined look on her sweat and tear-streaked face now.
“I think I remember seeing…” Airi murmured after a moment as they passed by some staff confused at why they were heading this way, yet of course not questioning them. They would wonder and question soon if Airi took them somewhere that caused them to be late for the after-show meeting which would be starting in only a few minutes. “Ah yes! There it is!” she burst out after they turned a corner.
Miyabi couldn’t see what was so remarkable about yet another backstage hallway, but Airi took them to one of the doors along the side and tried the knob, her face bubbling with glee when it turned and she pushed it open. “While wandering around once I found this room that seems to always be unlocked for some reason,” she explained, and flipped on the light to show another empty dressing room. “Maybe the lock’s broken,” she pondered, peering down at the knob again as she closed the door behind them.
“That’s… nice and all Airin, but… why exactly are we here?” Miyabi asked, still confused, before tossing her towel onto the counter.
Airi tossed her own on top of Miyabi’s, and walked over to stand in front of her, taking her hands in both of her own. “We’re here so we could be alone,” Airi replied, peering into her eyes. Miyabi felt her face heat, her anxiety now increasing every moment, but said nothing, so Airi continued, “Miya, I… I want to know everything’s gonna be all right.”
“What?” Miyabi replied, still clueless and yet somehow relieved as well. “Why? Is something wrong?”
“Just…” Airi replied, looking down at her hands fidgeting with Miyabi’s own, “If there’s no more
Buono! I’d be scared, Miya. °C-ute keeps changing… Even
Aa! is getting shuffled around with everything else.
Buono! was the only thing consistent for me these past few years, and if I lost even that, I… I just don’t know what I’d do…!”
The girl had started to talk faster and more desperately as she rambled on, almost quicker than Miyabi’s ability to comprehend, and when she was done Miyabi reached to clutch her upper arms tightly. “Airi… listen!” she said, stumbling over her words. Why on earth was the girl coming to
her about this? She was like the worst person for giving comfort to people. In fact, usually she had just the opposite effect. “First of all,
Buono! isn’t going anywhere, all right!? If it was, we’d have announced it in the concert. Second, even if it did, you would be far from the one I’d worry about being all right. You’re so strong… stronger than me, that’s for sure. I’m just a brainless, ditsy girl.”
“But that’s the thing,” Airi said, looking back up to Miyabi’s face, and to her horror she realized the girl was crying again. “I’m worried about you too! And Momo… and everyone…! What about the band!?”
“They’ll be fine,” Miyabi replied, now trying to look for a way out as she felt she was almost past her comforting limit. “They’re strong too. You know Momo’s happy doing things on her own. As for me, well… We still have each other, right? Like I said before, for now we have
Buono!. We still have
Aa!. Plus you have °C-ute, I have Berryz…”
“I’ll still miss you…” Airi whined, and Miyabi knew she couldn’t refute that it definitely looked like, barring new
Buono! releases, they wouldn’t be spending as much time with each other. “Just tell me it’ll be all right…”
Then, fatefully and with an urge that Miyabi at any other time would have wondered what the hell she was thinking, as she looked back into those desperate eyes the distance between them began to close. Her next sensation was of her lips pressed tightly against Airi’s as she held the girl against her, first with her grip on her arms and then as her arms slipped around her slim body. Soon they were intensely making out, Miyabi with her unleashed desire and Airi with her desperation and need to feel that intimacy.
After a time their lips at least parted, and they touched foreheads as they breathed heavily, still holding each other close.
“I…” Miyabi panted, feeling the other girl’s breath hot on her face as well. It was very moist, as the kiss had been considering they just finished a concert and the girl had just been crying. She wasn’t crying any more. “I’m sorry about that…”
Airi just kept breathing, leaving a response hanging in the heat radiating between them.
“A-
hem…” came a voice from the door, and the two girls sprang apart, though they still held both hands. Momo stood with her arms crossed, giving them both a birdlike stare, and the two girls exchanged glances.
“Momo!” Miyabi croaked, clearing her own throat so she could speak acceptably. “This… this isn’t what it looks like…” Airi gave her a glance, but then nodded insistently back toward their leader.
Momoko continued just staring at them, making them sweat even more, until a grin suddenly split her face. “But Airi-chan… I thought you loved me?”
Two mouths dropped open.
Miyabi turned a wide-eyed look onto the younger girl, and Airi stammered out, “I d-do love you, Momo,” Airi said. Something odd about the tone of her voice made Miyabi turn back to Momoko, who was now obviously about to burst out giggling.
“Well I’m just glad to see
Buono! is… closer than ever now,” she commented, her voice heavy with sarcasm.
Airi still seemed to be recovering from the previous question, but Miyabi suddenly understood, and she gave a long sigh. “You’re never going to let us live this down, are you?”
Airi turned back to her, as confused as ever, but she suddenly seemed to understand too. The girl’s emotions might have overwhelmed her at first, but she generally was very quick to pick up on things.
“Nope,” Momoko replied, now letting her arms fall to her sides, though when she began giggling she lifted a hand once again to cover her mouth.
Miyabi gave her a flat stare. “Just in case there’s any truth to what you asked, though…” she growled in a low, dangerous voice, and turned back to Airi blinking at her before pulling her tight and kissing her once again, this time visibly more roughly for a better show.
“Ewww~!” Momoko screeched, and Miyabi let the girl in her arms go. “Get a room, you two!!”
Managing to somehow catch her breath quickly, Airi turned to Momo and let her head fall onto Miyabi’s chest as she hugged her close. “We had one,” she chimed, her big smile brightening up her face.
Miyabi realized that the girl now seemed quite content to stay exactly where she was in her arms, and she took a deep breath. “She was… worried about us drifting apart and feeling lonely,” she explained, patting at the knot of one of Airi’s ponytails as the girl contently played with the back hem of her shirt.
“Uh huh,” Momoko said skeptically, still eyeing them suspiciously as if they might start making out again at any moment. “And then she just happened to trip and fall on your lips? Or did that just seem a creative solution?”
She heard Airi giggle softly at her chest.
“Well then,” Momoko continued, adopting an official-looking pose. “As leader of
Buono! I suppose it’s my job then to protect you and see that you don’t get into trouble if you decide to continue to have your little…
fun.” She grinned as she said that last word, but Miyabi noted there was also a playful twist of disgust to the edge of it.
Airi looked up from Miyabi’s chest, Miyabi instantly regretting the loss of warmth which had begun to feel quite cozy, and peered over to Momoko. “Really? Then no matter what happens you’ll have to keep watching over us.”
“Yep!” Momoko said, smiling. “Momo will always be leader of
Buono! you know.” Then she turned to pull the door open, but before slipping out, she twisted her head back toward them. “By the way, we’re late for the staff meeting.” And then she was gone.
Miyabi stared after her as the door swung slowly shut, and when she turned back to the girl in her arms, she saw Airi beaming cutely up at her. It was the classic Airi look, but it appeared different to her now since what overrode all other impression of it was the idea of how delicious she now knew it was to kiss those soft lips.
“If we’re already late, I guess a few more minutes wouldn’t make a difference… would it?” Airi asked, raising her eyebrows to give that cute puppy-eyed pleading expression once again.
“I guess not…” Miyabi replied, envious at the girl’s talent for cuteness since she thought she herself was always too plain and fumbling with her words and expressions. After another long minute of kissing Airi thoroughly though, she pulled back and noticed the adoration in her eyes. Apparently she was doing
something right.
Thank you, Momo… she thought, before capturing Airi’s lips just one more time.