Work Text:
Kita was not usually someone who thought much about the future, or at least, she didn't like to. During her years as a student, she only knew how to describe herself as someone ordinary, someone following a path that, although unknown to her, she knew was no different from the one that other people like her would take. She had a family that supported her studies, even if she did not feel passionate about them, and when she finished studying, she knew that getting a job would not be complicated for her, even if her job was not a remarkable one, and when she returned home, she would surely live in a good place, even if it was empty.
The moment her life began to take an irregular path, things began to change; her current life now conflicted with the life she could have without problems, the easy life that many people would like to have, but also a life that she knew was nothing special for her. So, she followed her new dreams, her new ambitions, this new unexplored path, a path that was completely new to her and all those around her, including the girl she took the hand of to pursue this dream.
She and Hitori came from entirely different paths, and if it were not for their meeting so many years ago, they would think they were parallel, but as soon as the lines drawn between the two stars crossed, following a path that now belonged to both, an illuminated path that formed a constellation for both of them that still remained to be explored.
That fear of uncertainty was fading with the time she spent with the girl she could now call her girlfriend and was replaced by an excitement about the kinds of things she would want to do with the girl who had changed the course of her life. It took her a while to tell Hitori about all the things that were on her mind, after all, she knew that for her there were too many things that still felt unreal to want to think about in the future.
There were many things that Kita wanted, things that Hitori also liked, like adopting a pet for both of them, things that still caused her some anxiety, like the idea of getting married, mostly because of the idea of walking down the aisle with so many people watching her in a dress, and finally things that she wasn't ready to even consider, like the idea of having a couple of daughters, after all, the only memory she had of dealing with kids was her sister who was at the top of the family pyramid.
Before all that, however, the idea was that the two of them could live together. A home they could call their own, where every day they would wake up with the person they loved most by their side, being able to be with the one who made them feel comfortable for as long as possible, and simply, the idea of having a life together.
The years passed, the band had grown in popularity like never before, their years of being students were already in the past, and Hitori was slowly becoming more confident. Sure, she was still herself, but seeing her in such a way that she didn't look like she was going to fall apart at any moment, went from being the exception, to being the rule, or at least, that's how it was most of the time.
And among many things, that dream of having a life together was one that was about to come true today. Hitori and Kita had been planning this for months, and although neither of them had much idea where to start looking, they had all the luck in the world that Nijika had already done a pretty exhaustive search months before when she finally decided to move in with Ryo... a search that until now had no use, as her girlfriend had forgotten to tell her that her parents already had an empty house ready for them for a long time.
After finding the perfect time between concerts and recordings, they finally started with the move to what would be their future home.
Her bandmates helped move several of the boxes into the house. Kita was infinitely grateful to both of them for helping them, as she knew that neither she nor Hitori had the strength to carry some of the heavier ones. Although Nijika had to remind Ryo that she also had to help, in the end the move passed without major problems, beyond the fact that they had many things left to take out and the night was near.
Hitori and Kita said goodbye to the yellow and blue couple, then closed the door and sighed as they sat on the floor.
"S-so-so many boxes..."
"I know... it might take us a few days to get all this stuff out..."
"D-days... a-at least we should take out the things we always use..."
"Good idea Hitori-chan... but I think... I need... rest..."
The last thing Kita felt before she fell asleep was Hitori's arms grabbing her before she fell completely on the ground.
When she woke up, she was in bed, and feeling how comfortable she was, she quietly thanked Hitori for choosing a house that came already furnished, but when she turned to her side, she realized that her girlfriend was not in bed. Slowly, Kita got up, letting out a yawn before heading to the main room.
"Hitori-chan... are you there?" she said in complete drowsiness.
"A-ah, good morning Kita-chan!"
Hitori found herself looking through the multitude of boxes that still remained to be unpacked, mainly noticing the large ones.
"Good morning... thanks for getting me to bed last night... I really needed that rest..."
"O-oh don’t worry! I couldn't let you sleep on the floor after a whole day of moving, or well, on any day in general e-ehm... y-you know what I mean..."
"Hehe... yes I do..." Kita walks over to Hitori, giving her a small kiss on the cheek before continuing, "... and tell me... what is it you're looking for?"
"The box where I put my guitar... I-I wasn't planning to play this early, but I wanted to get it out at once..."
"Mmmh... have you tried that one over there yet?" Kita pointed to the other end of the room, where among boxes there was a large-sized one lying on the floor.
"A-ah... no... I hadn't gotten to that side of the room yet..."
They both approached the box and slowly Kita began to open it from one end, pulling out from inside a case she had seen before on her girlfriend's back.
"Here it is!" said Kita who began to open the case.
"A-ah, thank you Kita-chan!"
As soon as the guitar came into view, Kita automatically realized something: this was not the guitar Hitori was looking for, but it was the one she first saw her play with. It was her Les Paul, which still had that broken string from so many years ago.
"Oh... it's not this one... should we try another ca-...?"
Kita stopped talking as soon as she saw Hitori bending down for that guitar, looking at it head-on for a moment before placing it on as if to play it.
"Hehe... it has been a while since I've had it like this..."
Without questioning, Kita added, "I noticed... you haven't changed the string since what happened at the first-year cultural festival... that was so long ago..."
"Yes!... it's amazing that it really was that long ago..."
"Mmh?"
"I-I mean... back then Kessoku Band was such a small band... and a stage like the one at the school was such a scary thing for me... it would still be scary for me now if I’m being honest, but I guess I learned to have more confidence in myself..."
"I see... are you getting nostalgic, Hitori-chan?"
"Y-yes... s-sorry..."
"No need to apologize! There's nothing wrong with that... besides... seeing you with that guitar brings back memories..."
"S-seriously?"
"Of course!... it was with that guitar that I met you..."
"R-right... I-I still owe you apologies for hearing me sing like that..."
"Stop apologizing, sweetie, you know I loved it then, and I love it now. What's more, if it wasn't for you playing that sad song, I wouldn't have found you outside the hall... or at least I couldn't have talked to you so easily..."
"H-how?"
"I mean... it's not hard to distinguish the only girl who brought a guitar to school, but yeah it would have been hard to get to you without knowing what you were like back then... what I mean is... I don't see any other way we would have met, you know?"
"I-I think I know what you mean... I-I mean... I was looking for a vocalist, but... at that time... if you hadn't approached me... I probably would have run away from you at first sight..."
"E-eh, isn't that too much!"
"Yeah, but... back then I wouldn't have wanted you to see me after I made a fool of myself like that in your classroom..."
"I don't think you made a fool of yourself Hitori-chan, you were just... interesting!"
"Interesting enough to follow me up the stairs to school?"
"Uhum, that's how interesting you were to me... you are... you know what I mean!"
"Hehe... you know... it's because of that sort of thing that this still feels so... surreal."
"Surreal?"
"Y-yeah... I can't think of another word to explain it, but... I went from seeing you as someone unreachable to being with you, like this... to having a life with you and... to think that everything could have been different if something on that day changed... I don't know... it makes me feel really lucky, I guess..."
"Mmh... I guess you could say it's fate, couldn't you?"
"Y-yeah... I guess so..."
"Or karma... as you wrote it yourself..."
"I-it's also surreal to me that you remember every part of that song..."
"Well how could I not... it was the first song you wrote for me... and well... I guess without it, your guitar wouldn't be like this..."
"I know... but in a way it just makes it more special, you know?"
"How so?"
"I-I mean... this guitar was the one I learned everything I know about music with, it was the one I started my life as guitarhero with... and eventually... it was the guitar that gave me such an amazing band to play with, and the one that gave me the girl that changed my life and... I guess... its last song being something for that girl... made it even more special… I-I know it's really cheesy... b-but-...."
"Shh..." Kita put her index finger in front of Hitori's lips for a moment, and as soon as Hitori stopped completely, she continued, "It is, but... you know I like that sort of thing... and... I think I understand..."
"Y-you do?"
"Of course, I do!... I mean, I didn't change guitars until I felt it was time, like it was a new stage of my life and... it makes me happy that that was your time."
Hitori smiled, putting the guitar back in its case and closing it, finally settling it gently in the living room.
"W-well... I think it makes me happy that now it’s here, in this new stage..."
The road that the connection between the two still had a long way to go, dozens of points where they still had to pass, several which neither of them could consider at the moment, but the truth was that as long as their connection let them go through this long journey, they would be happy to go through every stage of it.