Author's Note
Myokohi here~
Has it only been a few days since I wrote my last fic? It indeed has. I've been on quite the roll lately, haven't I? Not only that, but this fic is LONG, and I wrote it all in less than 24 hours. I don't know if my motivation has been running strong because of factors I can't understand, or I'm just going slowly insane looping the same songs on Spotify for the whole day.
The main reason I feel that I've been able to pump this fic out as quickly as I have is because it's BASED Mia Taylor's Birthday today, and I just HAD to get this published before it concluded. Now I'll admit that Mia Taylor's birthday isn't exactlyyyy the main focus of this fic, and more about the city both Ms. Yu Takasaki and the birthday girl explore together. This fic is heavy with both dialogue and a lot of real life locations in New York City, so if you come into this fic woth the expectation of getting an NYC tourled by Yu and Mia, I think you'll fully enjoy this work a lot!
Either way, I hope all of you who read this enjoy it as much as enjoyed writing it!
As stated in the summary, this fic is named after the song "I Respect You" composed by Elmer Bernstein for the 1984 Ghostbusters OST, which I played for hours upon hours on loop today while writing this fic, AND this note lol. Again, I hope you all enjoy!
Ladies and gentlemen, we have just been cleared to land at LaGuardia Airport. Please make sure one last time your seat belt is securely fastened. The flight attendants are currently passing around the cabin to make a final compliance check and pick up any remaining trash. Thank you.
"Mia-channnn, wake up already."
Slowly opening her eyes and rubbing her face, the silver blonde girl groaned as she attempted to properly awake from her rather uncomfortable slumber.
"Where are-oh, that's right." Looking towards her left, she swore she spotted a somewhat familiar face. Rapidly and forcefully blinking her eyes, the blurry black and green dot next to her properly came into focus, revealing one Yu Takasaki with that ever-present bright smile on her face.
"Ohayo, Mia-chan."
Mia only groaned once again in response, wanting to fall back asleep. A brief but rough moment of turbulence immediately led to that possibility dissipating, as she was jolted awake against her will.
"Agh, I hate airplanes so much."
Yu giggled. "Didn't get enough sleep I take it?"
"Did you?" Mia asked rather agitated whilst experiencing a minor headache.
"Not really, but a cup of coffee can do wonders."
Mia yawned and rubbed the back of her head. "You and your coffee…"
"You should try it. A good cup of coffee can awaken your creativity to new heights, especially when it comes to songwriting."
"Keep your process of writing songs to yourself. We're rivals after all. Plus, I'm only 14. Who even drinks coffee at that age?"
"Would you believe me if I said I had my first cup at 11?"
Mia looked perplexed before shrugging her shoulders. "It would definitely explain a lot."
"Haha, you're more correct than you think. Regardless, you're not gonna be 14 for long."
"Yes baby-chan, I haven't forgotten my own birthday. It's the whole reason we're on this… wait? Remind me again why you're here?"
The black hair girl finished her small cup of airline-provided coffee before setting it down beside her. "Hmm? Didn't Ayumu or Lanzhu-chan tell you?"
Mia expressed a look of confusion and irritation simultaneously. "It seems like I didn't get the memo. Either that, or I just forgot they told me anything. I didn't sleep that well before or during this flight, and to be honest, I barely remember you even accompanied me because of how exhausted I was."
"Aww. Well, I'm absolutely in love with New York! The city where dreams are made, where highrises define the skies, where cuisine originating from any and all cultures can be found; a city that, quite frankly, transports you to a whole other world! I can never forget the first time I visited with Ayumu back in junior high. That experience will be something I will always treasure. Oh, and uhh, I'm also here for your birthday." Yu giggled to herself.
Mia couldn't help but look at Yu with the most deadpan expression on her face. "Sure… You really sound like such a tourist, baby-chan."
"Mmm, maybe? I'm honestly jealous you've lived here, New York freakin' City, almost your entire life. I don't know how you don't get the sense of adventure journeying through Central Park, eating street food on Columbus Circle, or becoming fully mesmerized looking up at the Empire State Building from Fifth Avenue."
Mia flicked her bang that covered her right eye. "I never said I didn't, but you're right. It's probably the fact I've lived here almost my whole life that I don't get the same feelings of euphoria you do. Manhattan, which is the borough everything you've mentioned in your fangirling is located, is practically a backyard to me."
Yu handed her coffee cup to the flight attendant walking down the aisle with a bag of trash. "When we land, you have gotta show me all the places you've been to. I bet someone as talented as you has got all sorts of stomping grounds across Manhattan!"
"You know I grew up in Williamsburg, right? That's in Brooklyn, not M-"
"Sure sure, I know the boroughs too, Mia-chan. But that means the entirety of Lower Manhattan is one subway ride and or bridge walk away from your place! Chinatown, SoHo, the World Trade Center!"
The silver blonde girl let out a defeated sigh. "I wish I still had your childish innocence, especially if you think the Williamsburg Bridge is but a simple walk."
Yu had a confused and somewhat naive expression on her face, but before she could reply, an announcement over the plane's intercom rang out.
Ladies and gentlemen, Japan Airlines welcomes you to New York City. The local time is 7:31 AM. The local temperature is 39 degrees Fahrenheit.
The silver blonde grabbed her bag from under the seat in front of her before placing it on her lap. Stretching out her arms and yawning, she took out her phone and seemingly pulled up the MTA Subway map.
Still looking at her phone, Mia began talking again. "Once we land, I'd like for you to follow my lead. LaGuardia isn't as much of a cakewalk as JFK, and JFK is already a pain to get out of. We have a bit of time to kill before we have to meet up with my family, so I'll treat you to breakfast at this joint I know in Astoria."
The black-haired girl hummed approvingly before also pulling out her own phone, that is until the silver blonde gently pushed her right arm down to her lap. Yu looked at her confused, before looking at the direction she was pointing at. It was towards the window, and only then did she understand why Mia didn't want her looking at her phone.
Not when there was a view of the city she loved so much that she could only see at this moment in front of her eyes.
Mia snuck a small glance towards the direction of the window too, not towards the view of the Brooklyn and Manhattan below, but of her senpai who had a face of utter awe and joy she had never seen before. That, for the briefest of moments, released a small but sincere smile across her face.
Home Sweet Home, Mia. Welcome to New York, Yu.
"I didn't think they'd have somewhere as retro as this in New York!" Yu exclaimed after taking a bite of her Brioche Breakfast Sandwich alongside her cup of coffee.
Mia looked on with amusement as she held her bagel with cream cheese. "New York is a big place y'know. Plus, aren't you the one who said you could find any and all cultures here?"
"I know, but a place this, how should I say? So stuck in the mid-20th century visually? I just didn't expect it to be smack dab in the middle of Queens."
"I like my burgers old fashioned and fresh, not like that fast food garbage Lanzhu keeps getting me." Yu looked a bit perplexed at the silver blonde, causing Mia to raise her hands up innocently. "I mean, I-I'm not complaining on her part, a burger is a burger after all. But nothing beats the true American taste of the Jackson Hole."
"Why this place in particular though? I thought you said you're from Williamsburg down in Brooklyn."
"There are a few locations like this scattered all across the five boroughs, and I'll admit that this place wouldn't be my first choice. That being said, it's right next to LaGuardia which is the airport I land most often, so it just became my goto place after business trips."
Yu took one last bite of her sandwich. "I see. Do you always walk there too? We could've taken the shuttle y'know."
"We're not in any rush, baby-chan. Plus, if there's one thing you're guaranteed to do in New York, it's walking. You, being the star-studded fanatic of this little town, should know that by now."
"I'd prefer walking the sidewalks of Fifth and Sixth Avenue, or Washington Square Park. Not… Ditmars Boulevard." Yu chuckled to herself.
"We'll have plenty of time to do that and the other basic touristy things. For now though, I'm gonna give you a glimpse of what New York City is really like when pulled away from that concrete island across the East River."
"Well, Queens and Brooklyn are still very much NYC like Manhattan, so I don't mind at all!" the black hair girl finished her second cup of coffee for the day, and it was barely 9:15 AM. "So, where to next Mia-senpai?"
"Eh?" the younger girl paused before taking a bite from her bagel. "What's with this senpai talk now?"
"Well, it's your city after all. My head is still stuck hovering in Midtown while you've got every borough mapped out in that big skull of yours. It only makes sense that you're the senpai in this situation, no?"
Mia let out a small sigh before biting her bagel. "You do you, Yu. I don't know as much as you think I do about this place, just like how you probably don't know everything about Tokyo."
"Not exactly the greatest comparison but-"
"Zip it, baby-chan. You know what I mean..." Mia mumbled under her breath as she finished the cheesy bagel.
Yu couldn't help but giggle at Mia's dismissive and pouting attitude, something she always found kinda cute since knowing her. And yet, the two never had any difficulty conversing with each other, at least when it came to any topic besides music. That's a whole different ball game is what Mia once said to her, true to her personality.
"And as for our next location, it's a place I think you'll like…"
Yu peaked up curiously. "Oh really?"
"You're still doing that whole vinyl collecting hobby, right?"
"This is the place." Mia stood proudly with her hands on her hips in front of a brick building called Face Records. Yu was sitting on the sidewalk behind her, catching her breath after the long trek, both in terms of distance and time it took to reach this part of New York.
"I didn't th-ahh think it would take that many station transfers to get here."
The silver blonde patted the older girl on the back. "Not as easy as taking the 1 Train from Penn Station to Harlem, is it old sport?"
"Not at all… Ju-just how many places do you plan on taking me today?"
Mia looked at Yu with an ounce of disappointment. "You seriously can't be this tired already. You had three cups of coffee in the span of like four hours while I've had none."
"You're much younger than me, y'know."
"Much? I'm only younger by about two years. I barely even exercise too! My diet consists of burgers an…" Mia let out another of many sighs made throughout the day before gently pulling at Yu's pigtails. "No excuses, baby-chan. We're going to make you more fit than Ai by the time we get back to Japan."
"Hai hai…"
The silver blonde smiled before helping her friend to her feet. "Luckily for you, this is the second to last stop I have for us today. After that, we'll get to do your little sightseeing journey to those tourist attractions you love so much."
Yu looked at the sign in front of the brick building. "What even is this place. Some type of record shop?"
"Not just any record shop, but a record shop that specializes in rare Japanese LPs and vinyl. It's here where I got the inspiration for a few of my citypop remixes I dropped back in the days."
Yu was now perked up with excitement to replace her exhausted stupor. "So you mean they got all the city pop classics?"
A sly grin spread across the silver blonde's face. "Why not take a look inside and see for yourself?"
"Mariya Takeuchi? Kiyotaka Sugiyama? Anri? Tomoko Aran! Kimiko Kasai? Minako Yoshida? Miki Matsubara! J-Junko Ohashi!? Haruomi Hosono!? Ahhh, Mia-channnnn! Hitori dake nante erabenai yoooo!"
Wow… Mia crossed her arms with her eyes closed. "I f-feel your pain."
"These records are incredibly rare. I can't even find them in the record shops we've got in Tokyo, and believe me, there's a lot of them!"
"It also means that they're all on the uhh… pricier side too."
Yu took a look at the price of one of the albums, specifically Fuyukukan by Tomoko Aran only to audibly gasp at the price. "This is definitely out of my budget. In fact, all these albums are out of my budget."
"Limited quantity comes with a steep price."
Yu began to fake sob in frustration. "Why did you even take me here? I'd have to drop a limb and a kidney just to get one vinyl!"
"Okay, now you're just exaggerating. You can't possibly be that broke."
"Oh how you underestimate my impulsive buying habits, Mia-senpai."
Mia cringed a bit at the sound of that honorific again, but let out a sympathetic hum. Seeing the look of disappointment on Yu's face, the silver blonde adjusted her bang before stretching her arms out.
"Which one you want?"
Yu looked at her curiously. "Huh? What do-wait. No no no, I couldn't let you do th-"
"I feel bad dragging you this far to this part of town just to show you things you can't even afford."
"But the price of this! Plus it's your birthday this week! I would feel bad myself making you buy something for me when it should be the opposite."
"Money ain't exactly something I'm lacking. Taking into consideration Lanzhu gave me an envelope worth ¥500,000 yen for my birthday, I honestly have too much on me that I don't feel comfortable carrying around at the moment."
"Aw, how nice of her..."
"Ehh. Honestly, I think it's a bit lazy on her part to give me money as a birthday gift. Not to say I'm not grateful that Lanzhu gave it, but to someone like her, it's the equivalent of pocket change, y'know?"
"Oh… I see."
"I mean, I guess it's better in value than Shioriko's gift. But then again, anything is better than a paper fan, especially a stack of cash."
"I still don't feel comfortable having you give me something this expensive when I've yet to give you anything for your birthday."
Yet to give, huh? Mia smiled a bit at that line, but didn't want to think too much of it. She was going to be insistent on this vinyl thing, even if Yu was going to be stubborn about it.
"You told me you can't find any of these vinyl in Japan, right?"
"I mean, not really. The ones in Japan are much costlier than the ones here surprisingly…"
"Then it's final. I'm buying you one here, so pick out which one you want so we can get going to my penthouse already."
"I don't know…"
Mia gently yanked at Yu's pigtails and squished her cheeks. "You heard me, didn't you? This decision is final, and I'm not taking no for an answer."
"You weally want me to get this, muh?" the black hair attempted to speak while Mia was still smothering her face like a marshmallow.
"You're not going to get this chance again for a while, given how broke you are." Letting go of Yu's face, Mia picked up the Tomoko Aran album that seemed like the record the black hair girl wanted most. "Is this one good?"
Yu let out a defeated groan. "Yeah, that would be nice."
"Mmm, it'll make a good addition to your collection. Maybe you can play it for the rest of the club when we get back too."
"Hah… I'm not sure they're the types to like music like that."
"Fine, we'll play it back at the penthouse with just the two of us then. It'll be our special album, from one producer to another." Mia gave a confident yet admittedly dorky wink to Yu before taking the album to the register.
Yu giggled as she began putting away the other albums in their respective boxes. "From one producer to another."
The walk from Face Records to Mia's penthouse took the pair about 20 minutes, which was actually quicker than relying on the somewhat unpredictable schedule of the bus. Overlooking Manhattan from across the East River, one could say that Mia was living quite comfortably for herself from atop this lair in the sky. Yu could only imagine how pretty the view must've been at night, with the lights from the World Trade Center to the skyscrapers of Hell's Kitchen being visible from the living room window, all with the sunset over the New Jersey horizon right in the middle of it. It was still close to noon by this point though, so it would still take some time before Yu's fantasy became reality.
As the black hair girl looked down at the ants of people below the penthouse, Mia grabbed a change of clothes from her room. Gone were the thin cream-colored pajama shirt and grey sweatpants she put on in a hurry before leaving her dorm room at Nijigasaki. She was now donning a more appropriate and festive red sweater, a pair of dark blue jeans, black army boots, and a black coat that went down to her calves. Before she could show off this look to Yu though, she got a phone call from someone who demanded her full attention.
"Give me just a minute, I have to take a family phone call before we head out again!"
Yu yelled back an "Okay!" in the direction Mia's voice came from, reverting her attention back to the view beyond the window. Taking out her phone and earbuds, she played 'Magic' by Mick Smiley to add a more whimsical feeling to her citygazing. For some time, she observed the flow of traffic along the FDR Drive before observing the clouds hovering around Lower Manhattan near Wall Street. 2 minutes and 20 seconds into the song is when her eyes became fixated on the most dominant structure in her line of sight: the One World Trade Center. For the rest of the song's duration, her eyes didn't move, not even to blink. When the song came to an end and nothing but an ambient noise came out from the earbuds, Yu still stared blankly towards New York's tallest building.
She was so entranced and deep in thought, she didn't realize until a gentle nudge on her shoulder that Mia was next to her.
"Yo, you good?" the silver blonde asked with a concerned tone.
"Huh? Oh, yeah. I was just uhh… thinking about something."
Mia looked towards the direction of her friend's line of vision, leading her eyes to the One World Trade Center.
"Something huh… Well, I'd prefer if you kept it to yourself for now. The last thing I need is more sad things to think about."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I have a pretty good idea what's going through your head. Trust me Yu, anyone who's been to, let alone lived in New York has thought the exact same thing."
"I meant like, why more sad things to think about?"
"Oh, that. Well, it seems like we're spending my birthday between the two of us. The family can't make it because of… business."
"Ahhh.. I'm-"
"Sorry? Nah, don't worry about it too much, baby-chan. I'm used to them doing this every year. The only thing that makes me sad is that their excuses for skipping my birthday are always pathetic to the point of laughter."
"You think they skip it on purpose?"
"Not because they're ashamed of or hate me, mind you. They're just… not exactly the best of showing their affection. It's not that uncommon among the music industry types. Plus, I prefer my birthday to not be a spectacle for others. If it means I can spend my birthday alone instead of being around people I've never even met, so be it."
"Well, you're not alone this time around."
Mia let out a small chuckle before pointing her finger out the window. "You're just here to see that and we both know it."
Yu copied Mia's gesture and pointed out the window herself. "As well as to spend time with a girl who's lived and breathed through that almost her whole life."
"What are we waiting for then? That city ain't gonna walk itself."
Yu zipped up her olive green jacket. "I hope you're ready for my inner-tourist to come out, Mia-senpai."
Mia flipped her coat's hood over her head, withholding her cringey laughter from hearing that nickname again. "Where to first?"
Yu let out a cheery smile before taking Mia's soft hand. "I could go for some food after all that walking."
"Did we really need to come to Columbus Circle just to have Halal Guys? There's literally hundreds of these between here and Brooklyn." Mia spoke in-between bites of her chicken kebab as she and Yu sat on the Maine Sculpture.
"Mhm!" Yu affirmed while swallowing a bite of her chicken on rice. "Columbus Circle was the first time I ever had street food when I came here with Ayumu, so this location holds a lot of sentimental value to me. Plus, something about this corner of Central Park makes the food all the more tastier to me."
The silver blonde was looking at a pigeon gobbling a half eaten hot dog as her friend spoke, quickly losing her appetite. "All the more tastier huh..."
"After this, we're going to walk Central Pa-" Yu paused when she saw the disgusted and quaking look of her friend, who looked like she was in zero mood for a walk in the world's most filmed location. "We'll… save Central Park for another day."
Mia didn't respond as she rubbed her forehead, which began to worry Yu.
"Should we head back to your place? I don't wanna drag you across Manhattan if you're feeling unwell."
Where was all this energy when we were in Queens and Brooklyn? Manhattan was just built for her it seems. Mia took a sip of her water bottle as she thought to herself.
"But then again, it would be a waste to spend all that MTA fare to get to Columbus Circle just to head straight back to Williamsburg. It would take us another half an hour of train rides and walking to get back, basically defeating the point of not walking. By the time we get back, it'll be close to 2 o'clock..."
"Yu…" Mia attempted to get the black hair girl's attention.
"Maybe a small walk through Central Park would help her feel better?" But to no avail.
The silver blonde sighed as she resorted to her most used method of getting Yu's attention. Yank.
"Ahh! Huh, what's the matter? You're not feeling more sick ar-"
Mia shoved a finger against Yu's lips before rubbing her head with her other hand. "Sometimes, you really need to shut up, baby-chan. A small walk through Central Park would be nice, but as long as I'm leading the way. I don't want to end up walking to 110st Street after all."
The black hair smiled while still having Mia's finger shoved against her lips, standing up from where the two were sitting. "By all means. Just two things though."
Mia got up alongside her friend. "Yeah?"
"There's one part of Central Park I wanna see. It's not too far from here so don't worry."
"As long as it ain't past the Met… The other thing?"
Yu giggled before removing the hair ties that kept her pigtails intact, causing her black and green faded hair to drop to her shoulders. "Enough with the hair pulling for today."
"Damn…" Mia whispered under her breath before immediately shutting up and blushing.
It seemed that baby-chan heard nothing of it though, as she finished the last of her chicken on rice, tossed the paper plate into the trash, and began walking into the southwest entrance to the park.
"C'mon Mia, whatcha waiting for?" Yu waved her arm as the silver blonde still sat dazed in front of the statue.
"C-Coming!" Mia threw away what remained of her kebab in the same trash can before hustling towards the entrance as well.
Shit. Someone needs to tell that girl to keep her hair down more often…
"How the hell did we end up here?" was Mia could say as Yu took pictures of a sidewalk in the Tribeca neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, with the both of them now donning recently-bought Santa hats.
"Well, we first walked through Central Park to reach the Naumburg Bandshell. We then made our way to Fifth Avenue after you said you were getting exhausted from seeing all the grass and horse droppings along the road, where we then stopped by for ice cream at-"
"I know where we went, baby-chan. I just wasn't expecting you to have all the energy to walk the equivalent of 4 kilometers to every attraction in Midtown, let alone drag me along for the journey."
"It makes for good exercise though, doesn't it? Plus, you don't seem to be as sick as you were before."
Mia sighed. "How ironic hearing that from you. Why are we even in front of this firehouse by the way?"
The black hair girl stopped taking photos as she faced her friend with a look of contempt. "You don't know the significance of this firehouse?"
"Uh, no? Am I supposed to?"
"As someone who's lived in this city for all their life, I'm quite disappointed in you Mia-senpai. Actually, nope. You've lost that title from this moment forth."
Oh thank goodness. "I'm not a fanatic for everything this city has to offer, especially if it's in Manhattan."
"Well, if you must know, this firehouse was the headquarters of the one and only Ghostbusters in the 1984 film of the same name."
"Oh." Mia responded with the most indifferent tone she could muster.
"Yep. You see that art on the sidewalk that I'm standing on? This is based on the logo in the movie!"
"I never expected you to get excited over paint… That being said, it and the building itself looks pretty well in shape for a movie set."
"Ah ah ah." Yu wiggled her finger that reminded Mia of a certain ash brown hair first year. "You see, this isn't a movie set, but an actual-"
The blaring and deafening sounds of a siren and horn blasted throughout the corner of Varnick and North Moore Street as a bright red ladder truck came out through the wooden doors of the firehouse.
"It's an actual firehouse I take it!?" Mia yelled loud enough in an attempt to finish what her friend was saying.
"Yep!"
The ladder truck soon disappeared as it turned onto Hudson Street, sirens still blaring as it headed towards its destination.
"Please tell me this is the last place you plan on visiting for today. I don't know how, but you've managed to actually tire me out in my own city. Plus you're making me wear this dorky thing..."
"Aww." Yu couldn't help but hug Mia who looked beyond adorable in a little Santa hat, which made the silver blonde all the more tired. "Does someone wanna go back home and snuggle up in their own room for the first time in months?"
"Eww, stop that. You're starting to sound like Lanzhu…" Mia didn't attempt to leave the warm embrace of the black hair girl though.
"Mmm, well. I got one last place in mind before we call it a day. It's not too far from here, but we can take the subway regardless. You okay with that?"
"I'd rather not leave you by yourself, so I don't have much of a choice in the end." Mia finally decided she had an adequate amount of hugs before leaving Yu's beyond comforting embrace. "What's your last stop?"
Yu adjusted both her hat and her hair before looking down Varick Street and smiling brightly at Mia.
"You mean our last stop?"
It was only an 8 minute ride along the 1 Train from Franklin Street Station to arrive at the route's final destination: South Ferry Station. Alongside this hub that also housed the Manhattan side of the Staten Island Ferry was the quaint but scenic spot of Battery Park, which would be Yu and Mia's last point of interest on the island of Manhattan for the day. With views of the Statue of Liberty towards the southwest as well as the domineering presence of the One World Trade Center towards the north, Battery Park served as the midpoint between two of New York's most iconic landmarks.
Sitting on one of the many benches scattered near the park and pier, the two girls looked out towards the Hudson as another ferry made its way to Staten Island. It was the one moment of silence between them throughout the entire day, a fact that was not lost on either girl. With the sun already gone as the time ticked to 5:17 PM, it wouldn't be long before they had to head back to the Brooklyn penthouse to get some much needed rest.
"Remember that moment from earlier today before we went to Manhattan?" Yu broke the silence of the moment, hinting at a topic that matched the atmosphere and setting of where they were.
"You mean when you were staring out of my living room's window?"
"Yeah, that."
Mia sighed to herself before positioning her body towards Yu. "What about it?"
"I wasn't thinking about what you thought I was thinking."
"Really now?"
"Nope." Yu turned to face Mia while also glancing at the blue, glass skyscraper that towered over them. "Well… at least not entirely."
The silver blonde kept her eyes on her friend. "Go on."
"There really isn't much to it. In all honesty, it's a bit silly to think abo-"
"I don't care how silly or stupid you may think it is. If it's something you wanna talk about instead of sitting in silence staring at water, then I'm all ears."
Yu returned her attention back to Mia's eyes before letting out a small chuckle. Was it out of nervousness? Sadness? It was anyone's guess. Regardless, the black hair girl continued her strange thoughts with Mia's permission.
"To put it simply, I wish I could've seen the old ones in person, Mia."
"The old ones?" Mia glanced towards the direction of West Street and what stood alongside it. "Ah… I see."
"Mhm."
"I'm sure we all would like to, but at the end of the day, that's never going to happen. Not for girls like us who were born too little too late."
Yu nodded in agreement, but she didn't say anything more than she did, instead placing her arms along the back of the bench and staring up at the pink clouds.
"Y'know, we could stop at the One World Observatory before we have to-"
"Nah, I'd rather not actually. Finishing today's journey right here is nice."
"Oh, alright. How about we go before we head back to Japan? Last day?"
Yu kept looking up at the clouds smiling before turning her head towards Mia. "No thanks. Honestly, I'd rather not go anywhere near there for as long as I'm around."
"That's… quite a bold statement to make."
The black hair giggled. "What can I say? I'm afraid of heights. That… and I'd rather not visit a place that'll bring me nothing but sadness."
Mia tried to think up a response that could adequately match that of her friend's comment, but came out with little to say. Perhaps a simple statement would work best instead of responding with something that may lead the conversation to a darker place.
"You and me both."
...
"Thanks for-" "I wanted to ta-"
Mia and Yu cut each other off and awkwardly tried to let the other speak their piece first. After 10 seconds of mildly insisting the other speak, Mia gave in and spoke first.
"Okay well, thanks for coming along with me back home to New York for my birthday. Not just because I… well, I don't really have anyone to spend it with usually." Mia chuckled to herself a bit with a hint of sadness. "but also because it helped me learn more about you. More about your interests, your personality, what makes that cranium of yours explode with excitement. Even though I've been to most of the places we went to together many times before, enjoying those experiences alongside you, whether it was Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Times Square, or Washington Square Park, it was… nice."
"It's difficult for you to say you had fun today, ain't it?"
The silver blonde pouted. "Shut up."
"Heh. I had fun with you today as well, Mia."
"There wasn't anything in Manhattan that could compare to the time we spent at Face Records though."
That caught Yu by surprise. "Huh? That's a little… hmm, why?"
"Because it's within those brick walls I discovered just how cultured you are. Nobody I know, not Lanzhu, Rina, any of the other members of the club probably even know the names of Kimiko Kasaki or Haruomi Hosono." Mia flicked her hair so that her bangs were properly covering her eye. "So... when you said before during one of our music writing sessions that you were a fan of city pop, I'm not gonna lie: I thought you were full of shit."
Yu couldn't help but burst out in laughter at that sudden statement after the amount of buildup she put into it. "Did you really now?"
"Yeah. And I was wrong."
"So it seems." Yu giggled as Mia continued to hide her embarrassment behind her bangs to no avail.
"I bought that vinyl for you mainly because I was wrong about you. It's a pain too considering I don't even own that Tomoko Aran album myself."
Yu couldn't stop giggling before getting slightly elbowed by Mia, causing the black hair girl to calm herself a bit.
"What I'm trying to say is… I respect you, Yu. Not like, hate, love, anything like that, but respect, which is the rarest thing I ever give out to people."
"Is that right?"
"Yeah. So far, you're the only one who's earned that from me. Not Lanzhu. Not Shioriko. N-not even Rina, but that's something else…"
"Something else huh…?" Yu raised her eyebrows and hummed in a somewhat suggestive tone that reminded the blonde of another club member the two of them knew.
"M-my point is, consider yourself a very lucky person to have that type of honor bestowed upon you by yours truly."
"I'll consider myself respected and nothing more."
Mia sighed for the who knows what number of times today. She never expected a day spent with just Yu to be… so bothersome. "Enough embarrassing myself in front of you for one day. What is it that you wanted to say?"
Yu grabbed her bag and began to open it. "Well, I originally wanted to do this at the Christmas tree we saw at Rockefeller Center, but it felt a bit too early."
"Yu, please just get to the po-"
"Here." Yu placed her arms out towards Mia, with a festively-themed box on top of her palms. "Go ahead and open it now."
Mia was slightly taken aback and surprised at the sudden gift. I guess we're doing this now? She gently picked up the small box from Yu's gentle hands and began to slowly remove the red string before opening the top of the box.
Inside were a pair of baseball enamel earrings that seemed to compliment the outfit Mia was currently wearing.
"Whatcha think? I picked them up for ya because for one, you like baseball, and two, it would add a degree of femininity while still looking cool and fitting your tomboy persona."
"When you describe it like that, it sounds kinda creepy…" Mia picked up the earrings from the box and looked at them closely. "Honestly though, considering I had no idea what you planned on getting for me, if anything, this turned out to be… really nice."
Yu stood up and placed her hands behind her back as she stared off into the Hudson. "Really nice. Seems like that's the best I'm gonna get out of you, huh?"
"I mean it, Yu. I'm not going to ask how much they cost, because I'll probably be disappointed either way, but the fact you thought about getting these for me is something I really appreciate. So… thank you."
"Mmm, that sounds better. Maybe by the time you're my age, you'll be hugging me tight and crying on my shoulder because of how grateful you are."
"And you made it weird again… Keep your fantasies with Ayumu to herself. Or, maybe Setsuna? Or perhaps it's-"
"Okay okay, let's end it right there." Yu nervously laughed as she pulled Mia up from her chair and put an arm around her shoulder. "Right now, I'm currently with you, and I wanna make the most of this quality time we've got in this amazing city while we still have it."
Mia let out a small smile before resting her head against Yu's cheek, just for a moment, and nothing more though. "Crazy how we're the same height, ain't it?"
"Haha… I feel like I'm gonna end up crying on your shoulder if you keep this up."
"I'm not as nice as you are, so don't expect me to offer a shoulder to cry on."
"Pfff, meanie." Yu and Mia looked on towards the water as the torch of the Statue of Liberty flickered to life in the distance. "You did enjoy the time we spent today, right?"
"Do I really have to spell it out loud for you? I already gave you my answer."
"I know, but the day has yet to end and as far as I can tell, this is going to be the last time I can tease you while you're still two years younger than me. Well, at least for a month."
The silver blonde sighed one last time before putting an arm around the waist of her friend. "I enjoyed the time we spent today, and I certainly won't forget it. Happy now?"
"Very much. I won't forget it either for as long as I'm around."
Mia smiled and patted her friend's silly Christmas-themed head before breaking away from the hug to plan their final journey for the day. "We should head back to Brooklyn now. We can catch the 4 Train at Bowling Green Station, get off at Union Square, and then take the L Train back to Bedford Avenue. Around there, we can grab a bite to eat if you want unless you want to… what are you doing?"
The black hair girl was spinning in circles with her arms out like some type of helicopter. Mia immediately noticed she was wearing a pair of earbuds while performing this act, leading to her assumption that Yu was getting lost in her music once more.
"I'm in New York freakin City" the happy girl exclaimed out loud catching the attention of the few pedestrians still walking along the park.
Mia tried to slowly back away to save herself from the second-hand embarrassment, up until Yu decided to drag her into this circus show.
"And it's that girl's birthday a few hours from now! Mia Taylor everyone! Give her a round of applause!"
Was she attempting to speak with an accent? Not much to her surprise, a few people actually clapped and shouted well wishes of 'Happy Birthday' to Mia as she awkwardly stood next to the bench, waving nervously as she hoped with every second that Yu stopped acting like a stereotypical New Yorker.
"Happy Birthday Mia! I love ya just as much as I love this town! And boy do I love this town!" Yu shouted followed by the cheers and clapping of others.
Well, this only added more validity to each other's statements that this would be a day neither would forget. If Yu was gonna act this cheerful in celebrating her birthday, what did Mia really have to lose tonight? Just blame it on 14 year old Mia Taylor is what she thought.
With that, Mia sprinted towards the direction of her friend before joining her and these other random bystanders in this impromptu birthday celebration along the edge of Battery Park. NYC may not be as special to Mia as it is to Yu, but there was one thing she did come to realize-no, rediscover upon spending time with her friend the whole day.
"I love this town too, damn it! Happy Birthday to me. The one, the only, Mia freakin' Taylor! Born and raised in New York City!"