Okay so this is for the Appmon weekly fic-art theme challenge on the Discord as well as a gift for my friend groundramon who is the most loveliest person on the planet and I totally love them! This is one of their favourite pairings and is probably the only one I can write since the other one gets in the way of my OTP. Oh I keep rambling but the theme/prompt for this week is 'concert' so yeah here we are!
Excitement was buzzing all over town because the Nine Gods were having a live concert after many months and it was the first concert since Eri Karan had been selected to be part of the Nine Gods in the recent election. The elections happened every three years after all and through her collabs with Astra, as well as her and Ai going around advertising everywhere and getting gigs for her, it had finally paid off. They had noticed her and selected her as one of the Nine Gods. This concert would be live and recorded to show on TV later on as well. Right now, the idol was currently getting ready at The Kashinoki bookstore. Ai had gone through lots of addresses to get make-up artists straight to her house because it would be comfortable at the salon...it had cost a fair bit but it was the least she could do right?
"Thank you for all this Ai-chan," Eri said gratefully as the hairdresser set up her hair. "This is a lot more comforting than a salon, especially since you're here with me otherwise I'd be giving the walls an explosive punch!" She was smiling but Ai could see the look in her eyes as she twiddled her fingers and looked around the room as the hairdresser finished doing her hair.
Ai smiled softly. "It's the least I could do. Don't worry Eri-san." She placed a hand on the older girl's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I know you'll bring smiles to everyone's faces with your song. I've seen you rehearse after all."
"Eri-chan is the prettiest idol, wasu!" Dokamon chimed, buzzing around her excitedly.
Eri nodded although shifted a little once the hairdresser left the room since there was still 15 minutes before her make-up artist got here.
"This has always been my dream," Eri admitted. "I want to bring a smile to everyone's faces and be the centre of their universe. But it's my first live concert as one of the Nine Gods you know so..." She twiddled her fingers again, her cheeks flushing a little bit, even though her eyes were still lit up in the eagerness to perform as one of the Nine Gods.
Ai couldn't hold back a giggle. While she loved seeing her friend shine up on stage in front of millions of people, it was comforting that beneath all of that, she was just a normal young girl, who got nervous just like everyone else. She quickly covered her mouth as she realised that her friend flushed further at her giggle. "I'm sorry. I wasn't laughing at you. I think it's ok to be a little nervous before a big event...I mean, nerves sometimes help you do better after all. But I know you'll take everyone's breath away when you perform on stage. And Eri-san?" Her hand moved from the idol's shoulder down to grasp her hand gently in her own. "When you feel nervous or overwhelmed, please remember one thing. No matter what, you always bring a smile to my face when you sing with your beautiful voice and I'm sure your Mom feels the same way." Her own cheeks flushed pink as she said this but it didn't make it any less true. Eri was beautiful - and not just because she was pretty. She had a beautiful heart, always thinking about making people smile and wanting to bring a little light to their lives. In all honesty, she had always wanted to do the same thing, bring a smile onto the faces of others.
Eri smiled a little wider at that, squeezing Ai's hand back, despite her own cheeks being pink at her words. "Thank you Ai-chan, really, that means a lot coming from you."
Ai's smile widened a little. "I mean every word. I'll always support you, through the ups and the downs." Her eyes locked with the idol's and for a moment, she found herself being lost in her deep blue eyes, feeling as if she were staring into the the depths of the sea.
"Then I'll definitely shine the brightest," Eri said softly, reaching out a hand to push a strand of Ai's hair out of her house. The two stayed like that for awhile, Ai didn't know if it was minutes or seconds but she enjoyed the warm silence that surrounded them and would have enjoyed it a little longer had it not been interrupted by the knock at their door.
"Eri-san? Ai-chan? Can we come in?" Haru asked quietly, poking his head inside, Rei at his side.
Eri flushed a bit before smiling wider. "Haru! You two are late." She crossed her arms, faking a scowl at the two of them.
Rei shrugged, although was holding a small plate of cookies. "Haru said we should bring something so we stayed at home for a little while longer, baking some cookies."
"Rei baked the cookies," Haru added with a slight giggle. "I just kept him company. But try one, Eri-san! It'll bring you good luck!"
"And he's not just saying that cause Rei-kun is his boyfriend," Ai added with a slight giggle causing both boys to blush and Eri and Dokamon to snicker slightly.
"I'm not saying that because Rei's my boyfriend but his cookies are delicious, even if he wouldn't let me take one," Haru said, still flushing as he turned to pout at his boyfriend.
Rei snickered a little. "I'll bake you more cookies later. Besides," He winked at his boyfriend. "If you get any sweeter than you are, you'll give everyone diabetes."
Haru turned even redder if possible but giggled more, kissing him, curling up into his arms, a slightly flustered mess causing Ai to laugh. Gatchmon was snickering too while Hackmon had a smirk on his face.
"Don't make my childhood friend overheat, Rei-kun," Ai said covering her mouth but more giggles came as Haru turned even redder.
Rei's sly smirk grew even wider, kissing Haru back. "But red is totally Haru's colour though." He snaked his arms around Haru's waist causing him to giggle more, hiding his face in his boyfriend's chest. Ai felt Rei would have continued to tease his boyfriend if the make-up lady hadn't come inside.
"Karan Eri-san, are you ready for your make-up?" The make-up lady asked and Eri nodded. Rei and Haru moved to sit beside Ai who pulled away to let the make-up lady do her work but her eyes locked with Eri's once more, giving her a soft, reassuring smile causing her to return it. Everything would go well.