It's been a long day since Aqours disbanded.
A girl with shoulder-length brown hair set her stack of books on the desk in front of her. Smiling to herself, she sat down on the chair in front of said desk. Looking around her new environment with enthusisam, she took a deep breath and sighed in satisfaction.
It's been a long day since we sung that song together.
The girl took a book from the stack in front of her and read its title. The book was thick and big, almost bigger than her head. Its cover was hard and thick too, its pages old and wrinkled, making the book look like it was some kind of ancient tome.
The title read as "Computer: The Nooks and Cranies 1989". After seeing the date, she decided to put the book back because she knew it'd be useless now what with the brand new computer model in front of her. She might not be familiar with many technologies, but it was pretty obvious by the way it looks.
It's been a long day since we've seen each other...all nine of us.
She looked to her side, expecting to see her friend, Ruby, but she remembered that she had important business somewhere.
It's been a long day since I've sung a song with her...
Sighing, she took another book from the stack. This one was a bit smaller but still thick. The title read, "Is it too late now?". Flipping the book, she read the book's summary on its back side.
It's been so long since I've seen her...
It turns out that the book was about a girl who was not able to tell her feelings to the person she loves in time. She blocked off all her feelings from this person and remained friends. It was not until graduation when she fully realized how much she needed her...
It's been so long...
With her interest piquing, she opened the book and was about read the first page when she realized something.
She gasped, making her sit erect on her chair. Her eyes gaped, sweat instantly rolled down her forehead, palms became sweaty and shook slightly.
Wait, her...? Why am I thinking about her? Why her?
She shook her head and decided it was probably good to re-check the summary.
Indeed... This was not a romantic story about two girls. It never was. A single glance at the book's cover art and it was already obvious that it was not about that.
But why did she read it like that? Why was she thinking about her right now?
"...Why now?" The brunette whispered as a tear fell down from her eyes and on to the opened book. Her hands shook more and she suddenly felt weak. Deprived of all strength, the book dropped from her hands and fell to the table, making a small thudding sound when it hit the table's surface.
The brunette was starting to break down; however, she did not have enough courage to let out her sobs even though she's currently alone. She just sat there, tears continously streaming down her eyes, internally and focibly stopping herself from letting out even a single sob. She may not be frowning or sobbing, but the amount of tears staining her face was enough for even the most oblivious person to notice her inner emotional breakdown.
As she remained unmoved, a sound of the door being opened and closed again resonated inside the quiet library. Almost immediately, the red-headed girl who entered the room let out a surprised squeal when she saw her crying friend.
"M-Maru-chan!" The red-head ran towards her friend and immediately gave her a hug. The brunette remained on her seat as the red-head lulled her head.
"Wh-why are you crying?" Though she had an idea on what the reason may be behind this, the red-head asked anyway. "Y-you can tell Ruby..."
It took a few seconds, but the brunette finally gave in. She hugged closer and buried her face to the red-head's clothes, letting out quiet sobs and hiccups. They were currently alone, so the brunette's cries, though small and muffled, still echoed throughout the library.
"Shh, shh..." Ruby brushed the brunette's hair with her fingers to calm her down, hugging her a bit tighter. She did not mind that her friend's tears were soaking her clothes. What's important right now was for her friend to let her feelings out. "Ruby's here. Just let it all out, Maru-chan."
The two remained in their position as the brunette continued shedding the tears she's been welling up inside for a long time. This provoked the red-head to continue on trying to calm her down, muttering words of comfort to her every now and then.
Hanamaru was there whenever she needs her the most. That is why she must do whatever she can to support her too. It was the least she could do to return the favor...
"R-Ruby-chan?" Hanamaru suddenly spoke and slowly locked eyes with her, surprising the red-head. The brunette was crying for agood five minutes since she first arrived, so that's why she was startled.
Shaking her surprised expression off, Ruby replied, "Yes, Hanamaru-chan?" while she gently ran her fingers through her friend's hair. As if the broken voice of her friend wasn't already enough for her heart to sink, seeing her face stained with wet and dry tears and eyes puffed from all the crying made her heart sink deeper.
"I-I miss her..." She managed to mutter out these words with her hoarse voice. Hearing this was enough for even Ruby to begin tearing up as well. "I really want to see her... I need her..." she whispered, slowly starting to sob again.
"It's okay, it's okay..." Ruby assured, lulling her friend once again. "I-I know what you feel. But we just have to wait, okay? It's going to be all right... You can hold on to your feelings for a little longer, right...?"
The brunette remained silent, slowly burying her face to her friend's clothes again. The red-head hugged her and gently rubbed her friend's back, whispering "It's okay" to her repeatedly. She didn't know what else to do, but she was doing her best right now.
She was doing what her sister would be doing to her just to comfort her...
"R-Ruby-chan...?" The brunette spoke again, only slightly separating herself from Ruby so she could speak. She remained facing her friend's clothes, refusing to look at anything else right now.
"Yes...?" The red-head replied, wiping stray tears that managed to escape her own eyes.
"...Is it too late now?"
I finally decided to write this one a full story! It's honestly been a while since I've writeen for a whole story so don't expect too much! XD
That said, I hope you do still enjoy my story! And get ready for more DiaMaru in the future
For now, stay cool, coolsies! See ya! Peace out!