{DISCONTINUED} Dainty Duet • HANANENE

Old Faces and Understanding (4)

"Are you happy to see me, Amane?" Said the person at the door, and Amane hesitated to respond.
"What are you doing here..?"

———

"Mind if I stay here for a bit?" Said the person in the doorway, and Amane found himself unable to speak. He simply backed away.
"How did you even get this address, Tsukasa?" He finally said, with his back against the wall.
"Well, I asked our mum for it. Simple."
"And she actually gave it to you?"
"I'm here aren't I?" Tsukasa tried to smile, but he noticed that Amane was avoiding eye contact. "Why aren't you looking at me?" He said, causing Amane to jolt, and look up at Tsukasa, still avoiding eye contact.
"No- nothing, it's nothing. Can't you find somewhere else? Why here?"
"Nobody else said yes. It's just for a few days. Please?"
"Fine... as long as it's no longer than that-"

Amane felt his heart beat faster, as just the sight of his brother made him remember everything that happened. Tsukasa walked in, and took a look around where Amane and Yashiro lived.
"This is a nice place! It's small, but it's nice!" Tsukasa said, just poking his head around. Yashiro looked at Amane, noticing his expression. She definitely recognised that look, and she realised that since Tsukasa had been gone since what happened, it's probably difficult actually seeing him again.

"Amane-kun? Are you okay?" She said, placing a hand on Amane's shoulder. He flinched, but then looked at her and smiled.
"Yeah- don't worry. It's just Tsukasa."
"Don't forgot where he's been for the last few years."
"I know. I'm glad he's out, I am. Maybe-" Amane cut himself off, but Yashiro knew what he meant.
"You needed time to actually think about what happened?" Yashiro finished, and Amane nodded.
"Also the fact that today was supposed to be just us. Why is there always an interruption in those moments?"
"Just because he's here doesn't mean we can't still spend time together. Remember the one rule we always give to people when they stay here?"
"...Oh, yeah. I forgot about that."

The two of them walked into the living room, where Tsukasa was observing the pictures that had been hung on the wall. Amane hesitated when he saw him there, but Yashiro quickly held his hand, which slightly helped him relax.
"You need something?" Tsukasa said, and Yashiro nodded.
"Since you're staying here for a few days, there's one rule we need to tell you."
"Just one?"
"Just one."
"What is it?"
"You're allowed to go pretty much anywhere, only place you can't go is our room." Yashiro pointed to Amane, then to herself.
"Okay! Might I just ask why?"
"It's not obvious? Well, then I'd need to explain why we decided to move in together in the first place."
"Which was?"
"Well, we wanted to be able to spend a lot of time together, not to mention that when we'd go round to each others houses, somebody's parents would always barge in. Long story short, privacy. We want some actual privacy."
"I see, I see... well I won't judge the couple stuff you do. You do you." Tsukasa said, and got back to looking at photos.

Wow. He's like a different person.

———

The two of them were half-sitting half-laying down. Amane had one of his arms around Yashiro, and she once again had her head on his chest, though this time she also had one of her hands there. She was purposefully listening to his heartbeat, and it was faster than before.

Despite them being in their own home, Yashiro couldn't help but notice that Amane seemed much more tense than earlier. She knew why, of course, it was because Tsukasa was there.
"I spoke to Aoi on Thursday." Yashiro said, trying to take Amane's mind away from the fact that Tsukasa was there.
"You did?" Amane looked at her, slightly confused.
"Yeah, but I've noticed she keeps bringing up the duet we never ended up doing.
"Does she? You know why?"
"Well I don't know what made her think of it, but she said something else, too."
"What did she say?"
"She suggested the idea of me becoming an idol, too."
"She what-?"
"You know what I said. She thinks it's a good idea, but I'm not so sure though."
"Well, you won't know unless you do try. Being an idol doesn't necessarily mean we won't be together more often."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if you end up deciding to do it, then we could perform together. We could still do things together, and maybe even more often than we do now."
"I never thought about that... then if that would happen, then it might not be such a bad idea."
"Exactly. Do you want to try?"
"I don't know for sure yet. Maybe."
"Tell me if you make up your mind. Whichever way you choose, I'll be happy with it."

Yashiro nodded, and looked off to the side, again remembering the phone call with Aoi.
"Can I tell you something else?" She began, noticing Amane look back at her.
"What is it?"
"The mentioning of Aoi reminded me of something. Yesterday."
"What about yesterday."
"I called Aoi."
"Ah- you called her-?"
"I think she might have hung up a bit too slow."
"Why's that?"
"I heard something just before she hung up."
"That being-?"
"You."

Yashiro took Amane's hand, holding it against her face. As she did this, Amane placed his other hand on her shoulder, and his head was against hers.
"I can't lie to you. You know I can't." He said, and Yashiro turned her head to look at him, suddenly surprised at how close he was.
"Why're you saying that?" She sighed, and Amane moved his hand from her shoulder to her face.
"I'm saying that I won't deny what you heard."
"I can't tell if you mean that in a positive way or a negative way."
"I mean that I was with Aoi, but you'll understand why soon. Just not the right time yet."
"Meaning?"
"Just wait. You'll find out."
"You know what's next week, right?"
"I haven't forgotten. I've made sure to be free the whole week. Monday to Sunday. I have something planned after, but don't worry. You will understand. You trust me, right?"
"Of course. I don't doubt that you're telling me the truth here, I'm just upset that it took this long."
"Good. I'm sorry about everything else, though. Really."

"Amane-kun..." Yashiro began, trailing off. She meant to say something, but she couldn't find the words.
"What? I am, you doubt that?" Amane said, half jokingly. Yashiro still held his hand, something he didn't try to fight.
"Of course not."
"I'm glad." Amane smiled, not avoiding eye contact. He cupped her face, and Yashiro saw the same sincerity she'd always see from him when they first started dating. She couldn't help but blush, remembering everything that had happened back then. Amane clearly understood what she was thinking of, and freed his other hand to hold her closer.

He had his hand on the back of her head, and his other was wrapped around her in a protective manner. He held her as if he was in his last moments alive and wanted to cherish them, but it was moments like these that reminded Yashiro just how much he loved her. While he couldn't do it all the time, whenever there was anything even remotely important happening in their life, he'd always make sure to drop everything to be with her. She never realised when he was gone, but being able to be so close that she could both hear and feel his heartbeat was comforting. It served as a reminder that while he might not be there all the time, he'd be there when she needed him most.

"I'll try to be here more often than right now, you deserve that much at least." Amane said, and while Yashiro couldn't see his face because of how he was positioned, she could hear in his voice that he was tearing up.
"That would make me happy, Amane-kun." Yashiro said, closing her eyes.
"That's good. About what you said earlier, though, when you said I never even say bye to you when I leave."
"What about it?"
"I never thought of it like that. I guess I saw it more as, you wouldn't appreciate me waking you up for the sole reason of 'announcing when I leave'."
"So you thought leaving and saying nothing would be better?"
"You could say something like that, yeah. I thought that if I woke you up for the sake of you knowing I was leaving would make it worse."
"It wouldn't. God, it definitely wouldn't. It would show that you really do care and like when we spend time together."
"You thought I didn't?"
"I don't know. Maybe?"
"Man... something must be wrong with me then. You should have told me sooner about how that actually made you feel, instead of keeping quiet about it." Yashiro didn't respond, but she did nod. Amane pushed her back slightly, again making eye contact. She could see all kinds of emotions written all over his face, mostly guilt, but she could also tell he was happy to be there.

He wouldn't often let her see, but she could tell tears had formed in his eyes, and he didn't bother wiping them, rather he let her see, let her see the emotion he often tried to hide. Knowing him, this was his way of showing there wasn't anything insincere about what he had said to her.

———