A tawny haired woman leaned against the railing of a hotel balcony overlooking the city of Tokyo watching the sunset dim in the far horizon. Ritsu would have never thought she would ever be able to make it to the capital, especially after trading her dream of performing at Budokan for a more humble one of owning her own restaurant. It had been Mugi that had invited her old bandmates to attend a charity event hosted by her family. Though Houkago Tea Time no longer played together as a band, as they all wanted to focus on their professional careers, the now grown women were still as inseparable as they were back in high school. Therefore, it came no surprise to any of the ex-keions that the Kotobuki heiress would ask them to attend the first major event she planned and arranged without the guidance of her father. The charity event was to be held in the ballroom of the hotel they were staying at, so getting ready right before its start would not pose much of a problem.
Ritsu was already dressed, as she simply decided to go in a yellow button up and slacks. Mio was still inside still getting herself ready, but the drummer decided to step out onto the balcony to catch the sunset on their last night in the big city. She continued to admire the vibrant orange to purple gradient cast upon the twilight sky while idly fiddling with a silver band on her left hand. When the sun was no longer in sight and the sky began fading to night, the drummer decided to go back into the hotel room she shared with her fiancée.
"Oi Mio, you ready to go yet?" Ritsu called out as she closed the sliding door behind her. "I'm sure Mugi's charity event has already started and we probably wouldn't want to miss her-"
Before the drummer stood her black-haired beauty, clad in an elegant blue dress that hugged her curves in just the right ways. At least Ritsu thought so. The bassist herself, however, did not share the same opinions as she stared at her own reflection in the hotel room's large mirror. The uneasiness on her face was evident, but the drummer had hardly noticed. Ritsu caught herself staring and quickly shook herself out of her daze. She approached the dangerous queen with caution, as if startling her would shatter the beauty.
"Someone knows how to clean up." Ritsu said in a snicker, walking up to where Mio could see her through the mirror. The answer was an annoyed grunt and a lighthearted whack to the head. Mio hadn't even needed to turn around. However, her face quickly fell to resemble the anxious little girl Ritsu had met all those years ago. "I don't know if I want to go."
"Huh? Why not?" Ritsu asked as she rubbed her head, finally catching the way Mio glanced back at her own reflection. "Mio, you really do look amazing. I don't know what you're so worried about."
"I'm pretty sure I gained a few kilos since I bought this dress last month."
"Nobody is going to notice or care. They probably won't even see us again after this event."
"That's exactly why!" Mio practically squealed. "With everyone that'll be there, we wouldn't really know anyone. What if we have to interact with them? I know we're going for Mugi, but I don't know if I could get myself to-"
"Then we don't have to go." Ritsu replied flatly.
"What?!" Mio's eyes were full of anxiety, "but Ritsu, we came all the way out here to Tokyo; and Mugi invited us because she wanted us to support her; and-"
"Shhhhhh," the drummer cooed, wrapping her arms around the darker brunette's waist. "I'm sure she would understand if you were too socially anxious to attend. How long have we all known each other?"
Ritsu began rubbing circles on Mio's back, trying to get the latter to calm down. "Besides, we'll still see her tomorrow before we leave. I'm sure Moogs will still be happy just to have spent some time with all of us. You know how busy she is now that her father is slowly transferring all the responsibility to her."
Mio nodded as she buried her head into Ritsu's shoulder and wrapped her arms around the shorter woman's shoulders. She felt bad for letting such a close friend down after all the effort they had put in to take off work and fly to Tokyo so to attend the charity event. All for what? The social anxiousness she was never able to get over even after years of performing in a band in her high school and college years?
"If you feel so guilty about it," Ritsu's words interrupted Mio's berating thoughts, "why don't we just stay up here for a little bit?" It was almost funny how close the two had become that it almost seemed like they could read each other's minds. Mio could only smile at the fact that in a couple months she would be marrying her childhood friend that she had been through thick and thin with. "And later, if you're feeling good enough to go down, then we'll go. Sound good to you?"
Ritsu only felt another nod and a deepening hug as a response. The two stayed in that position for quite a while, both perfectly content in the position they were in now. Mio's consciousness began to lull due to her fiancée's ministrations on her back and nearly fell asleep where they were before Ritsu started to hum a melody into her ear. It was smooth and alluring, unlike the rushed and energetic drumming the light brunette was known for during their years in a band. As nice as it was, Mio couldn't help but release a light chuckle at Ritsu's efforts to make her feel better and pulled away to see face to face with her lover. "You're trying too hard. I was totally fine the way we were."
The drummer gave a cheapish grin in return. "Well I'd rather try too hard than not enough. Feeling up to head downstairs?"
Mio pondered her options for a moment. Even if she were to go down to attend the charity event, it was more than likely that she would just end up sticking to Ritsu much like a lost child. Though she could never be lost if she had her knight around. "I'd rather just stay here with you. If that's okay?"
"Whatever you want to do," the drummer answered warmly, giving her princess a peck on her cheek. "Though I would have liked to see who would have won in a dance competition between me and Yui."
"Yui and me."
"Oh don't correct me Miss Editor-of-a-Literary-Magazine." Ritsu broke the hug and crossed her arms in a fake pout. Mio could only roll her eyes. "Also this isn't some high school prom, it's a charity event. Hosted by the Kotobuki family, and the heiress of said family being one of your closest friends. I wouldn't have even let you try to make a fool of yourself in front of all those important people."
"Then maybe I need to try harder. To convince you that I'm not always a fool." Once again, Ritsu had donned her signature grin. She walked over to the study desk where her phone laid. After unlocking the screen, she quickly opened a music app and began to play music. Mio expected it to be something upbeat, but was much more relaxed than she had anticipated it to be. Its melody was very similar to what the drummer was previously humming. Setting the phone back down on the table, Ritsu strode back to the bassist and gingerly wrapped her arms around the latter's waist once more.
Mio sighed again but proceeded to wrap her arms around Ritsu's neck. "You really do try too hard sometimes." The drummer could only smile in response. They continued to dance in each other's arms for the remainder of the night.
