Sorry it's been so long. I haven't been sure what to write about. I'm a pretty fluffy writer, and I brought some more fluff for you guys. Maybe I should write some dramatic stuff, I'm not sure.
ANYWAY, today's story it AtsuYuu. Even though I love Atsumina, any pairing with Atsuko is really cute, and I wanted a change of pace
. Please give me your feedback and any ideas for future stories! Thanks a lot!
Two Weeks
I stare out the window towards the empty driveway, not unlike a puppy waiting for its master’s return. Though the warm spring day calls for my appearance, not even the bright sunlight can break through my sour mood. I’m lonely. Acchan, my girlfriend, left to shoot for a movie two weeks ago and told me she wouldn’t be back until tomorrow. At the beginning everything seemed fine. I accompanied her to the airport and wished her all the best with her filming before we parted ways. I can still see the emotion in her eyes as she waved goodbye while boarding the plane, I forced myself to smile until I couldn’t see her anymore. I stood there staring for a while, but I had to leave for practice with team K. With a longing glance back at the plane, I quickly scurried towards the theater.
AKB48 kept me busy through the first week, and the members helped distract me from the fact that Atsuko wasn't there. Nyan Nyan even invited me to sleep over for a couple nights, which hadn’t happened since I broke down when Sayaka graduated. It always surprised me how easily she could detect my true emotions, no matter how hard I tried to cover them up. That nights with her provided a little solace from the ominous thoughts in my head, but as the days dragged on, my enthusiasm dampened exponentially. I started having sleepless nights, tossing and turning without the comfort of Atsuko’s body next to me. Every morning I would leave the house immediately trying to ignore the emptiness of the place.
Everyone started to notice my lethargy, asking worriedly about my health. Every single day multiple people questioned my change until I refused to speak to anyone about it. Eventually Takamina swooped in like always and tried to counsel with me in an empty room.
“Yuko, I’ve noticed you’ve been out of it lately. Is everything alright?” Takamina gingerly questioned, a concerned expression on her face.
“I’m fine” I retorted, before turning away. I couldn’t stand that pitying gaze.
“Are you sure?” Takamina pushed, placing a hand on mine as a comforting gesture. The movement didn’t go unnoticed and I ripped my hand away and glared at her.
“Can you just leave me alone!? Why are you so nosy? Go away and bother someone else!” I snapped, all my pent up emotions erupted for Takamina to absorb the brunt of it. My breaths grew heavy, halfway towards a breakdown as I stared at the general manager. My outburst caused immediate shock to the soukantoku, as I had never got so angry with her before. She stood up and quietly told me that I should take a break from AKB48 for a couple of days before leaving the room.
Instantly I regret my rage, and went out to find her. Sheepishly staring at the floor, I muttered an apology while Takamina decided to enforce her opinion. She forced me to go home, pushing me out of theater and sending me off with an anxious smile before returning to her duties. Perhaps that made it worse, the guilt of my anger and the lack of company did nothing but hinder my happiness. As I stay in this dreary house constant reminders that Atsuko isn't there make my pain worse. The house is dull without her radiant presence, and my eyes always wander towards the window at the off chance that she might make it home early. No such luck.
With another sigh, I leave my post at the window for a change of pace. I start cooking my favorite dish: curry. Cutting up the potatoes and carrots leaves a mess on the kitchen counter as I am too lazy to clean up. While I chop the onions, the stinging juices wavered up to my eyes and caused them to water. Wiping away the unshed tears away I throw the onions carelessly into the pot on the burner. All of a sudden I hear a voice in hallway,
“Yuu-chan...? I’m back.”
I freeze in my tracks before my head turns and I make eye contact with Atsuko. She looks tired and her hair’s ruffled, but an enormous smile makes its way on her face we stare at each other without movement. Suddenly, she drops her bags on the floor and opens her arms slightly inviting me for a hug. Instantly the spell is broken and I barrel into her.
“ATSUKO!” I yell excitedly as I jump into her arms, pulling her down to the floor.
“Ouch,” she groans, and I instantly get off her worried that I might have caused her harm.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Are you ok?” I ask, voice ringing with concern
“Nah, I’m fine. You just surprised me that’s all. Come here.” Atsuko replies with a mischievous grin, pulling me back down to the floor into her embrace. “I just want to hold you for a while”. She rocks me in her lap gently as if I was a child, with her arms around my waist. I turn around and face her, before returning the gesture. “Wait Yuko.” She moves her hands towards my cheeks, cupping my face and staring inquisitively into my eyes. “Are you crying?”
Damn it. The surprise of seeing Atsuko actually made me tear up. I cough and shift my gaze to the floor, “No. T-that’s probably the onions I just chopped up” I wipe at my eyes for the second time that day and snuggle back into Atsuko. “So why’d you come back early?” I question, curious for an answer. “Not that I’m unhappy or anything” I quickly add, realizing my statement might have implied that I was annoyed of her early appearance. Atsuko just giggles at my nervousness and strokes my hair. God it felt great.
“A little birdie told me you weren’t doing too well alone” Atsuko tells me, amusement twinkling in her eyes. I groan in embarrassment.
“Was it Takamina?” I ask, already sure of the answer.
“Bingo.” Atsuko replies, laughing a little bit. “She said you seemed frazzled and that you even snapped on her. She told me that I should get home as soon as possible so I pulled a few strings to get back earlier”
“Argh. Takamina…” Guilt courses through me again as I remember my uncalled for outburst;I should really apologize to her again. “I would have been fine waiting another day, Takamina exaggerated.”
“Mhm, sure Yuko, whatever you say” Atsuko answers with a smirk, seeing through my poorly covered lie. Feeling slightly uncomfortable at my reliance on Atsuko, I get up off her lap and bring my attention back to the curry. I taste it and it seems to be ready so I turn off the heat so it won't burn. Atsuko gets off the floor and stands next to me, “So what have you been up to while I’ve been gone?” She questions gently.
“U-uh…” I stutter, before sighing. Why did I always stutter when Atsuko was around? If my fellow team K members saw me now I would be mercilessly teased until I graduated. “Nothing much, what about you?”
“Well I moped a lot because you weren’t there” Atsuko nonchalantly states, looking at the ceiling with her finger on her chin as if in deep thought.
“Really?” I question, happy that Atsuko thought about me. “I… might have moped a little too” I hesitantly admit. Atsuko just scrunches her nose and smiles.
“I know you did.” She giggles, causing me to flush.
“Shut up!” I retort, cheeks aflame. It seems like Atsuko is just full of laughs today, as she bursts into another fit of giggles. “Just kidding,” she quips before kissing my cheek, “I’m just glad I’m back here with you. Filming was such a bore”
“I’m glad you’re back too” I beam, before pulling her close and kissing her full on the lips. God her lips are so soft, and I keep kissing her until I have to pull back for air. “So you want to eat or….?”
“Eating can wait.” She whispers, desire burning in her eyes. She grabs my hand and leads me to the bedroom, and my inner pervert cries with happiness. It was going to be a great day with Atsuko back, and I run into the bedroom with glee.
After our… exercise, we finish the curry (Atsuko said it was delicious) and decide to go to bed early. When we both get under the covers her eyes start to droop. “You know,” I murmur, just making out her silhouette in the darkness“I couldn’t sleep very well when you weren’t here.”
“Really?” She murmurs back, “don’t worry Yuko, I’ll be right here with you tonight. You can sleep easy” I reach a hand over and lace my fingers with hers. I scoot closer towards her until we’re touching before I relax. She snuggles into me and pulls me even closer before falling asleep with gentle snores. I kiss her on the cheek and close my eyes, drifting off into a calm slumber. It was by far the best rest I had in weeks.