It was a particularly cold morning in mid-November, one of those days where you could easily see your breath come out in puffy white clouds. Not to be taken for someone as foolish as to stand out in the cold, a girl was sitting comfortably inside her home, glancing at the clock every so often. Her childish facial features, just barely starting to mature, slowly became a frown with each glance as if she was impatient for something to happen.
Which, of course, she was.
"I thought Yui-senpai said she'd be here by now," she muttered after looking at the slow ticking hands for what seemed like the tenth time. Just as she was about to pull out her cell phone, she heard a knock at the door. She heaved a small sigh, but got up and opened the door to find the senpai in question smiling at her with a goofy grin.
"Happy Birthday Azu-nyan!" exclaimed the brunette as she lunged forward to hug her favorite kouhai. Being used to this treatment after the years she had experienced it from being around Yui, Azusa simply stood there until Yui was done hugging. "Ready?"
"For what, exactly?" the shorter girl questioned with a deadpan expression, wondering why Yui always seemed to think others could read her mind. Yui in reply put on an "important upper classman" expression.
"Today for your birthday, I will do anything you request no matter what!" was her answer.
"Really," Azusa replied in more of a statement than a question. "You're willing to do anything?"
"Yep!" Yui chirped, obviously excited. Azusa gave her a look of thought, when an idea suddenly came to her.
"Then I want you to practice guitar for once," she decided, holding back a playful smirk.
"Eh? S-sure we can do that. Just grab your guitar and we'll head over to my house," Yui said, trying to save face, to which Azusa agreed and retreated inside to grab Muttan and her case as well as her coat and scarf. Arriving at the doorstep again, the two set out for the older girl's home.
Sticking to her word, Yui immediately started their practice session upon arrival. They played a little bit of everything with Azusa insisting that Yui learn to play the solos herself rather than rely on the younger girl. After what felt like a lengthy session for the brunette, they finally stopped when Azusa looked down at her guitar, plucking each string with a slight frown on her face. "I think I need to change my strings. These are starting the wear out," she said, giving the A string one last pluck.
"Want to go to the mall and get some new ones?" the older guitarist suggested, setting down Gittah with relief and rubbing her shoulders. Though she liked the idea, the twin-tailed girl shook her head in decline.
"I would, but I didn't bring any money," she answered, thinking that it probably would have been a good idea to have done so.
"That's okay. I'll buy them for you," Yui reassured, pressing to get out of the house and away from practicing.
"Oh no, I couldn't let you do that for me." The kouhai never liked it when she couldn't purchase something herself, and leaving the tab for her senpai didn't sit right with her.
"Don't worry about it. It's your birthday after all!" was her answer as she was ushered to the front door. After donning their coats and scarves, the two girls set out for the local shopping mall. Despite being garbed in winter gear, the shock of early cold weather after being inside Yui's warm house still managed to touch Azusa, causing her to shiver noticeably. It was after this that she suddenly felt an arm snake its way through hers.
"Y-Yui-senpai, may I ask what you are doing?" she stuttered out, though admittedly it was warmer, but she was sure that wasn't the only reason her cheeks were burning.
"You looked cold, so I wanted to help," Yui answered with a simple look on her face.
"I appreciate the thought, but I'm fine," was Azusa's stubborn reply, keeping a straight face while trying to not shiver. Though Yui was reluctant to, she let go of her kouhai's arm and the two continued their way, arriving at the mall shortly. Quickly navigating to the local music store, it didn't take long for Azusa to find the type of strings she wanted. Though she still felt a bit guilty for having Yui buy the strings, she allowed the older girl to pay for her, and the two exited the store with Azusa carrying a small plastic bag with her purchase. The guitarists decided to stick around the mall for a bit, and began walking around the area, looking into windows of shops they passed.
"Oh, this new café is supposed to be good I hear," Azusa piped up upon passing the eatery in question.
"Want to stop for something to eat then? It's about lunchtime," Yui proposed, feeling a bit peckish herself. Azusa agreed to the idea, and the two went inside to find a free table amongst the other customers. After placing their orders with the waitress they discussed everyday topics between themselves, jumping from subject to subject freely until their food arrived. "Ah, this is really good! Here try some Azu-nyan," Yui offered to the younger girl, holding out her chopsticks towards her. Though her cheeks were tinged with a slight pink, Azusa knew that Yui wasn't going to let this happen any other way, and tentatively leaned forward to accept the offered food. Just as she was about to agree with Yui on the taste, she noticed the chopsticks in front of her dip down to her own plate a snatch a morsel before quickly retreating to the brunette's mouth.
"Hey, don't take from my plate," the raven-haired girl berated her senpai, and she could have sworn she heard a familiar voice swoon while muttering "indirect kiss," from a nearby table, but shoved the thought into the back of her mind.
"It was a trade. You get some of mine and I get to have some of yours," Yui childishly defended herself. Knowing it was just Yui being Yui, Azusa let it slide with a small side and a scolding of "Ask next time." Yui simply giggled sheepishly, and the meal continued uneventfully with idle banter between bites. The older girl picked up the check for the two while ignoring the insisting from Azusa that she will pay her back after this, and once again the two girls were off walking around the mall, pleasantly full after their lunch.
After a while of strolling around the shops, Azusa was about to suggest for them to head back home until she passed by the movie poster advertisements outside the local theater which caught her attention. "Ah, I kind of wanted to see this movie," she remarked upon spotting a particular poster.
"Well then let's go see it," Yui replied, and without waiting for an answer dragged Azusa over to the box office to purchase two tickets for the next showing, conveniently finding it to be only a short wait. Upon getting inside the theater they found that Azusa wasn't the only one who was interested in the movie, and had some trouble finding a pair of seats together amongst the crowd. They finally found some near the back, but strangely the armrest between them was missing. Beggars can't be chooser of course, so they sat down and waited for the show to start. "I didn't know you liked scary movies Azu-nyan," Yui mentioned, thinking it was an odd choice of genre.
"Once you get passed the idea of it being implausible, the plots become laughable and I find them amusing," Azusa answered, taking a skeptic's stance on it. "The most they can provide is a jump scare to startle you."
"Huh," was all Yui could say at the analysis.
"What about you? Do scary movies affect you?"
"No I'm fine." Though she wasn't particularly scared by movies, being scared was what made them fun, but she reasoned that it was just like her Azu-nyan to think that way. Before long the movie started, and though Yui had said she wasn't frightened, Azusa had to wonder why she would scoot a closer every so often through the movie until she felt their arms bump together. It became apparent, however, when the brunette would occasionally latch onto her arm when she was startled. Having Yui holding on to her was not a new experience at all, but the situation felt a bit different, and for some reason wasn't at all uncomfortable to the kouhai.
"Kind of reminds me of a date," she thought, but the idea didn't unnerve as much as she expected it to. Instead she let Yui continue do cling to her while focusing her attention on the screen, smiling a little every time the older girl jumped.
Once the credits started rolling, the two were finally able to stretch their legs after sitting down for so long. "That was pretty good," Yui said, stretching out her arms above her head as they exited the theater.
"The ending was kind of open ended though," Azusa remarked. "It didn't feel like it had much closure."
"That's to set up for the sequel of course," was the lead guitarist's confident answer. The younger simply shook her head.
"But this one was a sequel, and it didn't have anything to do with the previous movie."
"Mm, then it's a cliffhanger to build suspense," Yui concluded, puffing out her cheeks in a stubborn manner. Azusa figured there was no changing her mind, so she accepted this answer as they exited the mall to the cold outside. "Wow it's pretty late. You never notice how much time passes when in a movie theater," Yui exclaimed, noticing the color of the sky.
"Not to mention it's getting closer to winter so the days keep getting shorter," the shorter girl added. Sure enough the sun was sinking low in the sky as a wave of clouds began to wash across it.
"Shall I take you home then?" Yui asked, smiling down at the younger girl. Azusa nodded in response and began walking to the direction of her house with Yui keeping stride beside her. The sun was setting at a fast pace, and soon it was behind the horizon, replaced by the dark clouds it left in its wake, leaving the illumination from street lights to guide the two girls.
"Thank you for today, Yui-senpai," Azusa suddenly said, breaking the silence. "I had a wonderful birthday today."
"Hehe, Azu-nyan's thanking me," Yui giggled. "I'm glad I was able to help." She suddenly felt a dot of cold on her nose and looked towards the sky. "Ah, it's starting to snow," she exclaimed while watching the white flakes lazily float down to earth. Azusa joined her staring, and the brunette took the opportunity to weave her arm underneath her kouhai's, pulling her closer. Much to her surprise, the younger girl didn't resist the action, and instead rested her head against the taller girl's arm.
"It's warmer this way," Yui heard her mutter, her face hidden by her scarf and iridescent-black hair. Yui of course wasn't complaining, and gave a big smile as they continued down the street lamp-lit street amongst the swirling snowflakes arm in arm. The two walked together in a comfortable silence, and before long they arrived back at Azusa's doorstep once again. The porch light came on as they stepped up to the front door, Yui brushing the snow off of Azusa's coat and out of her hair.
"Well here we are. I'm glad you had fun today," the taller girl said, letting go of the shorter to face her. Unsure of what to do next, she began to turn around to begin walking to her house when Azusa suddenly grabbed her sleeve to stop her.
"Wait," was all she said in response to Yui's confused look. "I have one last request for my birthday today." The red on her face deepened slightly as it slowly spread to her ears. Yui gave her a look telling her to go on. "I w-want you to…" Yui had to lean forward slightly to hear as Azusa's voice seemed to get smaller and smaller as she went on. "… to kiss me," the twin-tailed girl finally mumbled with her gaze towards the ground and her face buried in her scarf. She tentatively glanced up to see the reaction to her request to find the brunette giving her a surprised look that slowly formed a small smile.
"I think I can do that for my Azu-nyan," she replied quietly as she stepped closer, leaning down slightly to be level with the surprised shorter girl. Cupping the girl's red cheeks in her hands, she lightly placed her lips on the younger's without hesitation, making it a short but sweet kiss. She pulled away with her cheeks nowhere deep of a red as Azusa's, and she smiled at the dazed look on her kouhai's face. "Happy birthday Azu-nyan," she whispered, letting her hands fall to the girl's shoulders. In response she received a tight hug, which she returned happily.
"Thank you," mumbled Azusa, her words muffled by Yui's coat, before pulling away with a bright smile.
"Anything for my Azu-nyan," the brunette replied, smiling just a brightly before pulling her into another hug. "Goodnight, and have a good remaining birthday," she said, giving Azusa's forehead a quick peck before making her way down the pathway, waving goodbye.
"Goodnight… Yui," the raven-haired girl returned, waving as well as Yui's smiling seemed to broaden. After watching her turn the corner on the sidewalk, the kouhai retreated inside her house, feeling blissful and a little light-headed. At the same time, however, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was forgetting something. The idea pestered her until she felt the plastic bag carrying her strings inside her coat pocket.
"I forgot Muttan!"
A/N: It becomes cripplingly obvious that I have not written anything that isn't academic in what feels like years. What's next is that I write out fluff and more fluff as my 'welcome back' into the genre of creative writing. Either way, the pacing of this is probably atrocious, the characterization off, maybe a comma splice here or there due to dialogue usage, but darn if I didn't need to get it out of my head last Friday night before I lost the idea. Just my addition for this year. I've noticed a lack of AzuYui stories as of late, so what better way to have more than to make it yourself, right?
Also, I didn't really have an idea for when this would be taking place, either during Yui's first year of college or the year after, as Azusa's birthday lands on a Friday this year making it difficult to do any of this without skipping school. You be the judge.