Notes: I may end up doing one of those for each girl at this rate.
Summary: Yui shares a bond with Ritsu that neither really understands. But it is there, and it helps as much as it hurts.
Implied Pairings: YuiRitsu, RitsuMio, YuiAzu
Let's Play, Ricchan!
A K-ON! Oneshot by
Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)
Yui's habit of remembering one thing, and only one thing, is often a blessing. She forgets that people are basically selfish, competitive beings, and that some of them are even worse than that. Instead, Yui sees the world as being full of friends that she simply hasn't made yet.
That is, after all, how she met the girls, and Ritsu.
Yui is almost always able to find something she likes about any person. She adores Mio's innocence, treasures Mugi's generosity (especially where treats are concerned), and loves that Ritsu is always ready to play with her. They are her very best friends, and if she didn't have Ui, she'd want them to be her sisters.
That might be a little tricky with Ritsu, now, but Yui believes they could manage it. They've certainly managed more difficult things between the two of them.
It was nothing that either of them had ever thought possible. They had simply been in Ritsu's room one day, comparing childhood scars. Not surprisingly, they had a lot of locations in common. One moment, they were checking out each other's elbows, and the next, they were inspecting each other's lips.
To this day, Yui had no idea who had started it, or if it was just a huge accident. Ritsu said much the same afterwards, and Yui believed her. They were friends, and neither had been seeking anything more on that day. The kiss had simply happened.
Oddly enough, neither one was exactly opposed to the idea, strange as the experience had been. But Yui had been the first one to remember Mio (which was even stranger), and Ritsu had offered no protest after that. Yui didn't quite understand what there was between Ritsu and Mio, but she didn't want to ruin it with a kiss that didn't really matter.
But, a few months later, Mio pulled Yui aside and asked, stammering the whole time, if she'd ever kissed a girl.
Yui looked at Mio's red face, and then at Ritsu's pale one as she tried to pretend she hadn't heard anything.
"Of course not, Mio-chan," Yui said with a smile. "If I got a kiss, do you really think I'd be able to keep quiet about it?"
Ritsu remained quiet for the rest of the afternoon, and once practice was over, made the excuse that the club president had to stay behind to clean up every so often, just for appearances. Yui stayed as well, naturally.
"Why, Yui?" Ritsu asked when they were alone. "Why'd you lie?"
"Because the truth would hurt you and Mio-chan."
"I know that! It's just... I know we shouldn't talk about it in front of Mio, but... I don't like pretending it never happened, okay? It did, and I don't regret it."
Yui smiled. "Thank you, Ricchan. That really makes me happy."
"W-Well, don't go getting any ideas!" Ritsu said quickly, looking away as her cheeks became flushed. "It's in the past now!"
"Sure," Yui agreed, looping her arm through Ritsu's. "Walk me home?"
Ritsu scowled at her. "Yeah, I guess I better. You'd probably get lost or something, and then Ui's dinner would get cold."
"Thank you, Ricchan," Yui murmured again, resting her head on Ritsu's shoulder.
"Stop thanking me, dummy!" Ritsu reached over to hit Yui, but somewhere between idea and execution, her hand got confused, and she just ended up sort of roughly petting Yui's head, which made Yui giggle. Then Ritsu sort of snorted, and soon they were both giggling.
They never spoke of the kiss again.
But when Azusa joined the band, Yui latched onto her with a speed that was just short of frightening. She did not regret her choices with Ritsu, and certainly did not dislike Mio. But she wasn't about to give up on another potential love interest, even if she had no idea how to actually go about it. So she just hugged Azusa at every given opportunity, and hoped for the best.
In the end, it didn't matter. Yui was sure that once she knew exactly what to do with Azusa, she would immediately forget everything else, and then it would be impossible for Azusa to get away from her.
Yui would always wonder, though.
Would she have been better off with Ritsu? Why had they both rejected the idea of being together, simply for Mio's sake? What was Mio waiting on? How long would Ritsu have to wait for Mio?
But those answers didn't really matter, either.
All Yui knew for sure was that when she looked to her right in the Music Room, Ritsu would be sitting there, ready to play again. And that was more than enough for Yui.
The End.
Endnotes:
My half-assed attempt at explaining why Yui and Ritsu are so close. Not my best work, but then if I really understood these two, I'd be very, very worried about me.