"Ooh~ these are cute!"
"Why are we here?"
"You said you needed an outfit for the Christmas party."
"It's fine. I don't need anything. I'm sure I have something that'll work."
"Come on, at least look." Yachiyo pouted, "Since we're here."
"Fine..." Akira agreed.
Yachiyo had asked Akira to accompany them on a little shopping trip. They kept the true reason hidden until now.
There was a Christmas party Akira's family was hosting and Yachiyo was trying to help her find an outfit for it. They knew it was tough. Akira didn't have an accepting family, so to convince her to actually wear a dress would be a challenge. Yachiyo was prepared, though. They really wanted to get her to wear a dress. But, they were prepared to be rejected in the end. That didn't mean they still wouldn't try, though.
"I heard you telling Michiru-senpai you'd wear a suit. I'm not having that. We're finding you a dress." Yachiyo stated.
"Yachiyo..." Akira sighed in annoyance, "It's one night. I'll survive in a suit "
"But then you'll be grouchy all night and I don't want a grouchy girlfriend." Yachiyo replied.
"And what are you going to do if there's backlash?"
"I'm gonna be with you the entire night. I'm sure we can handle it together." Yachiyo said.
"You aren't giving this up, are you?" Akira eyed them up.
"Nope. Not unless I have to." Yachiyo replied smugly.
"Then I guess lead the way." Akira resigned to her fate for the moment. Maybe later they could have a talk in more depth about the trouble a dress would cause.
Yachiyo smiled and led her to a rack of dresses. They looked through them, studying each dress. Akira did the same, though out of boredom. She really didn't care to shop for a dress for herself.
"Well, that's certainly an interesting color." Yachiyo pulled out a neon orange dress.
"I don't know anyone who'd wear that." Akira commented, "It hurts to look at."
"Yeah. Definitely not anyone's style that I know of." Yachiyo put it back on the rack and continued their search.
Akira was casually skimming through the rack when a dress caught her eye. She looked at it for a while, before finally pulling it out of the rack.
"Hmm?" Yachiyo was surprised she did so, "Ooh, that's really pretty."
"I remember being younger and seeing this dress somewhere." Akira said, "Guess it still is in style."
"You should try it on!" Yachiyo prompted, "Please?"
Akira eyed the dress. She wasn't too sure about it. Sure, it was a really nice dress. She honestly would like to wear it. But, she didn't think she could pull it off. It wasn't meant for someone like her. None of these were. She couldn't look good in them.
"Come on. Please, Akira?" Yachiyo gave her a pleading look.
"Fine..." Akira gave in.
She hesitantly entered the changing room. Yachiyo waited outside for her. They knew it might take a while before she came out. They were willing to wait.
Akira let out a nervous sigh as locked the door to one of the changing rooms. She hung the dress up and looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a t-shirt and some jeans. Nothing exciting.
She looked away from the mirror and slowly undressed. She didn't like seeing herself in the mirror. It... it was hard not to focus on her less feminine features.
Akira hesitated. She was nervous to try it on. What if it didn't look good? What if it didn't fit her?
Akira swallowed her nerves and finally tried it on. It fit, but... she didn't like it. It felt wrong. She glanced at herself in the mirror. All she could see was someone who didn't belong in the dress. Someone who could never pull it off.
Akira quickly changed out of it. She wasn't even willing to step out and let Yachiyo see. She'd just say it wasn't her size. It had been the only one on the rack. She was probably good.
So, she exited the stall and returned to Yachiyo. Yachiyo pouted slightly when they saw she wasn't in the dress.
"Didn't fit." Akira shrugged, "Can we go yet?"
Yachiyo didn't believe her, but knew better than to say otherwise, "If you insist. Let's hang it back up and go meet up with the others."
Akira nodded. They left the store after returning the dress to the rack. They met up with the other three and went out for lunch together.
DIVIDER--
Later that evening, Yachiyo returned to the store. They just hoped they weren't too late. They made their way back to the rack they had been looking at earlier. Just their luck, the dress was still there.
Yachiyo grabbed it and went to buy it. They had a plan. But, it would require a lot of hiding. They couldn't let Akira know what they were doing until it was done.
Once Yachiyo had bought the dress, they went to a fabric store and bought some supplies. They had a lot of work to do and not a whole lot of time. Looks like it was time to pull some all-nighters again.
Yachiyo was wondering how they'd get in the house without Akira spotting them. Well, what else to do but ask someone to make sure she was occupied. So, Yachiyo asked Shiori if she could distract Akira until they got into their room. They promised to explain it all later. That was enough to get Shiori to agree.
Yachiyo was glad they had gotten them all to have a sleepover for a few days. That made this a lot easier. Tonight was the first night of it.
Yachiyo quietly snuck into a work room. Thankfully, no one stopped them. They hid the bags and then went to the living room. Michiru was there, reading a book.
"Why the late night shopping?" Michiru questioned, not looking up from her book.
"I'm doing something that I need to keep a secret. Okay?" Yachiyo hoped that was enough.
"A secret from who?"
"Akira."
Michiru eyed them with suspicion, "What are you up to now?"
"It's nothing bad." Yachiyo held their hands up, "I'm just trying to make something for her."
"It better just be that. The amount of crazy stuff you pull on her and get away with is out of hand."
Yachiyo pouted, "I don't do that much."
"Need I remind you of what you did two days ago?" Michiru threatened with a sly smile on her face.
"Nope. I'm good." Yachiyo replied quickly.
"I'm impressed you've turned her that soft." Michiru said, "That shows she really does care about you."
Yachiyo blushed and quickly looked away, "I-I..."
"Michiru-san, are you teasing Yachiyo again?"
Mei Fan entered the room and took a seat. Yachiyo plopped down beside her. Their face was still red. Mei Fan wanted to laugh, but knew she'd receive retaliation from Yachiyo if she did.
"I thought Akira was soft around Shiori but since her and Yachiyo started dating she's really gotten soft with them. Seriously, Yachiyo, I do swear you can talk her into almost anything." Michiru stated.
That just made them blush more. Michiru laughed at their embarrassed expression.
"I've seen you use that to your advantage numerous times already. I don't doubt she could be persuaded to do almost anything either." Mei Fan agreed.
"Now you're both teasing me!" Yachiyo tried to curl up and make themselves small to hide how much they were blushing.
It just made them laugh more. It wasn't often anyone got to embarrass Yachiyo. It was normally the other way around. This was a rare sight to see and they both were definitely going to enjoy it.
"Is it a bad thing... that I can get her to do that?" Yachiyo mumbled.
"No. Like I said, that just shows how much she cares about you. Just don't abuse your power and it's fine." Michiru frowned at them.
"Yeah, it's good to know she's opening up to someone like that." Mei Fan agreed.
"Hey, guys!" Shiori and Akira entered the room, cutting the conversation short.
Yachiyo tried to hide so they wouldn't see how red their face was, but it was to no avail. It wasn't hard to see.
"What are you guys up to?" Shiori asked.
"Poking some fun at Yachiyo."
DIVIDER--
That night, Yachiyo started their work. What exactly were they doing? They were going to make the dress better. That meant changing the measurements to be more comfortable for Akira, and adding a bit more to it. Mainly glitter. Probably a bad idea but no one was there to stop them from buying it.
It was very time-consuming. Yachiyo was making little progress. They wanted it to be perfect, after all. They had to go slow. Which meant they would be staying up late quite a lot. Not a good thing. But, it would hopefully be worth it in the end.
"Yachiyo? Why are you up still? It's past midnight? I'd assume you'd want to be in bed with Akira-san." Mei Fan entered the room.
"Why'd you come in here?" Yachiyo questioned.
"I heard you making noise. I needed to use the bathroom." Mei Fan replied.
Yachiyo stretched. They had been sitting in place for quite a while now. It was probably a good idea to at least move around for a bit. It would be a better idea to go and sleep but they weren't sure if they were ready to do that yet.
"I'm working on something." Yachiyo motioned to the dress.
"For what?" Mei Fan questioned.
"It's a present."
"For?"
"Akira."
"Okay. I still think you should go to bed." Mei Fan said, "It's going to bite you in the morning if you don't."
"I'll go to bed soon." Yachiyo promised.
Mei Fan crossed her arms. She knew that promise wasn't genuine. Yachiyo sighed. Looks like they weren't getting out of this so easily.
"Fine... I'll clean up now and go to bed."
"What exactly is the reason for making this?" Mei Fan questioned as she examined the dress' current state.
"It's a bit complicated, but basically she doesn't seem to be confident in wearing a dress to the Christmas party so I'm trying to make this something that will hopefully change her mind." Yachiyo explained, "That's why it's something I have to work on at night."
"That's nice of you. I can kind of see a regular dress being a little uncomfortable for her to begin with. They don't always have the best measurements." Mei Fan said.
"Yeah. Hopefully I can make it fit her well without ruining the quality at all. Some parts do unfortunately need to be widened a bit more than I'd like to." Yachiyo replied.
"You're our expert at sewing. I'm sure you can do it." Mei Fan said encouragingly.
"I just hope afterwards she will wear it. I know it's a rough place at home and I don't know what to do to help." Yachiyo frowned.
"It sucks that none of us can do much. If Michiru-san can't do anything I doubt we can."
"I just want her to be happy at the party. But after thinking about it. Either way there will be problems." Yachiyo sighed.
"Well, she has all of us there to help. I don't mind fighting people over it."
"That's a ticket out the door and you know it."
"So be it. If they won't respect her why should we even bother staying?"
"But what if that makes her family mad? And they try to intervene? They could stop her from seeing any of us again if they want to."
"Well... hopefully they'll change their attitude if they see us all supporting her?" Mei Fan offered.
"Wishful thinking, but from what I know, not likely." Yachiyo stated.
Akira had only left them all with a brief explanation of her home life. She didn't go into much detail. Michiru obviously knew the most as she was with Akira for the longest. Yachiyo had never pushed her for more information, but she had told them a bit more about just what it was like at home. It wasn't very nice for her.
"Can you elaborate or is it too personal?"
"All I'll say is she tends to try and spend as much time at Michiru-senpai's home as possible."
"Oh... that sounds bad then..."
"Yeah. And I don't even know the full story myself."
"Well, you going to bed now?"
"Yes. I'll head to bed." Yachiyo sighed.
"If you need help making the dress I could assist you." Mei Fan offered.
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind then." Yachiyo smiled.
"Goodnight."
"Night."
Yachiyo locked the door behind them. They couldn't take any chances at Akira finding the dress early.
They went to their room. Akira was in bed. Yachiyo felt a little bad that they weren't with her the entire night. But, what could they do? They had no other time to make the dress.
Yachiyo crawled into the bed. They curled up beside Akira and closed their eyes. An arm wrapped around them and pulled them into a hug. Yachiyo looked up. Akira wasn't awake. That was good. They definitely didn't want to wake her. It seemed it was a natural response to just hug them.
Yachiyo smiled and nuzzled themself closer. They closed their eyes again and tried to sleep. It didn't take too long before they fell asleep.
DIVIDER--
They woke up the next morning to their alarm. Yachiyo didn't want to get up. They were still tired.
Akira turned off the alarm. She laid back down and kissed them on the head. That was enough to at least get them to open their eyes.
"Good morning."
"Morning..." Yachiyo yawned and nuzzled closer.
"Get up. You know the plan for today." Akira gently nudged them.
Yachiyo sighed and unwillingly sat up. Akira joined them and got off the bed. Yachiyo stretched and then followed.
"How long did you stay up for?" Akira questioned.
"Just a little past midnight." Yachiyo replied.
"Why did you stay up?"
"I just had something I wanted to do." Yachiyo shrugged, hoping that was enough of a lie.
"This won't become a habit, will it?" Akira eyed them with uncertainty, "You really need to stop staying up so late."
"No?" Yachiyo hummed nervously.
Akira crossed her arms. Yachiyo pouted. They were stuck. They wouldn't get away with this now if Akira wouldn't accept it.
"One more night? And then I promise I won't stay up late for the rest of the break." Yachiyo tried to compromise.
Akira thought it over, "Fine. But that's it."
"Thank you~"
Yachiyo definitely needed Mei Fan's help now. Maybe they could get one or both of the others to help too? That might be too many people though. Hopefully them and Mei Fan could finish it quickly enough.
With that, they left the room. They had all planned to go see a play together. The play started quite early so they had to get moving if they wanted to see it.
DIVIDER--
Later in the day, Yachiyo got time to ask Mei Fan for assistance. They found her alone in the kitchen. It appeared she was brewing some tea.
"Hey, where's Shiori at?"
"She went to answer a call."
"So... about your offer..." Yachiyo wasn't sure how exactly to ask her for help.
"You want help?"
"Akira won't let me stay up late after tonight so... kinda really need to grind it out now." Yachiyo said.
"I see. She does mention how she hates your sleeping habits."
"Come on, it's not like I'm that bad." Yachiyo pouted.
"Yachiyo, how many times have we had to get someone to drag you to early practices that one time?" Mei Fan asked in a teasing voice.
"Who the hell makes us get up at five to practice for six." Yachiyo shot back, "It was stupid."
"It's the way of acting. I wouldn't be surprised if we have to do that again at some point."
Yachiyo sighed, "I'm just glad we didn't decide to do a play for Christmas..."
Shiori came back to the kitchen. She greeted Yachiyo.
"What are we talking about?" She asked.
"Yachiyo's sleeping habits. Akira-san's had enough of it from the sound of it." Mei Fan said.
"She's always worried about you with that. Since you've almost hurt yourself a few times." Shiori said.
"But it's a break. Why can't I stay up?" Yachiyo whined.
"Tell that to her."
"Meanie!"
"Do you want my help or not?"
"Fine... it's not my fault I'm more productive at night." Yachiyo grumbled.
"Help with what?" Shiori asked with curiosity.
"A surprise."
"Could I help too?"
Yachiyo thought it over. They could probably trust Shiori with this, but at the same time they were hesitant to. They didn't really know what to do.
"I think we'll be good. But thanks for offering."
DIVIDER--
When night fell, Yachiyo returned to work. A short while later, Mei Fan joined them in the room. Yachiyo gave her some instructions for things she could do and they both got to work.
The dress was coming along. Yachiyo had done the majority of the modifications yesterday. Now it was just making it look better. They wanted to make sure the seams were not showing too much.
"Glitter? Really, Yachiyo?" Mei Fan sighed as Yachiyo pulled out the box of glitter.
"No one was there to stop me."
"What do you plan to do with it?"
"Coat the bottom. Maybe four inches." Yachiyo replied.
"This is gonna be a mess..."
"It'll be fine." Yachiyo shrugged her off.
"You say that, but I'm not convinced."
"Don't you have any faith in me?"
"I don't trust you with glitter."
"It's my house. Who cares if I make a mess." Yachiyo hummed.
"I guess you have that going for you... I'm not helping you clean up the glitter if it does make a mess." Mei Fan replied.
"Fine."
Soon enough, they had put the glitter on the dress. That solved the bottom. Now just to add some extra designs to hide some of the sewing seams where Yachiyo had to make some bigger modifications.
They had cute rose patches they added to those areas. It looked cute once they finished it. Now to let the glitter dry onto the dress.
"Do you think she'll like it?" Yachiyo questioned.
"I'm sure she will." Mei Fan reassured them.
Yachiyo seemed like there was something else on their mind. Mei Fan waited, but they didn't say anything else. Would it be wrong to pry?
"Is there something bothering you?" She eventually questioned.
"I don't know..." Yachiyo sighed, "I guess I'm just nervous."
"About what?"
"What if she doesn't like it? I mean... she didn't seem very happy when I tried to get her to pick out a dress... so I'm worried she'll get mad at me for this." Yachiyo didn't really want to voice that fear, but maybe it was best to.
"Yachiyo, I'm sure she'll like it. You just want to help. I think she'll understand it even if she doesn't like what you're doing."
Yachiyo didn't respond. They were staring at the ground. Mei Fan sighed and placed a hand on their shoulder.
"Why not ask Michiru-san about how she might take it? I'm sure she'd know more." Mei Fan suggested, "You have a few days till the party still."
"Yeah... maybe I'll ask her..." Yachiyo agreed.
"Going to bed now? It's almost two already." Mei Fan glanced at the clock.
"Yeah. Thanks for helping me."
"No problem. Let me know if you need anything else."
They left the room, Yachiyo locking the door again.
"You got this, Yachiyo. You'll be just fine."
"I hope so..."
They went their separate ways for the night. Yachiyo hesitated outside their room. After a few minutes, they went inside. They quietly laid down on the bed.
They stared at Akira for a while, before moving closer and snuggling against her. The nerves still remained. They tried not to think about it too much, but it was hard. They really hoped this would work out.
DIVIDER--
The next morning came far too soon for Yachiyo's liking. They groaned and buried themself further into Akira's shirt. Akira turned off the alarm since it was obvious they weren't going to.
"Should I even ask how late you stayed up?"
"Sorry..."
"I guess you can sleep for a bit longer."
"Stay?"
"For a little bit."
Yachiyo tightened their grip on her. It didn't take long for them to fall back asleep. Akira sighed and hugged them. She really didn't appreciate them staying up late. It caused a lot of problems in the long run.
At least Yachiyo promised not to do it for the rest of the break. That was at least a start. Akira hoped slowly they could work toward Yachiyo not pulling any late nighters again. But, that would be a long process.
Akira had only planned to stay for maybe an hour before she would get up. However, it didn't seem like Yachiyo was going to let go of her anytime soon. She was kind of stuck.
It wasn't like she really minded that much. Sure, she had things she'd have liked to have done already, but they weren't that important. One day of this wouldn't hurt every now and again.
DIVIDER--
Two hours passed before Yachiyo finally stirred. They yawned and nuzzled themself closer to Akira. Akira ruffled their hair. Yachiyo sleepily blinked up at them.
"Ready to get up yet?"
"Do I have to?"
"No. But you have to let me get up."
"I guess I'll get up..." Yachiyo yawned and sat up.
They were very slow to get out of bed. Akira got up and waited at the door. She crossed her arms as Yachiyo took very long to even move to get off the bed.
"Everyone else is already up. I'm sure it won't be long before someone comes looking for us."
Yachiyo wanted to reply that Mei Fan probably wasn't up either, but stopped. That might cause questions to be asked and they couldn't really answer any of them right now. They just silently accepted the response and got up a bit faster.
"What do you plan to do today?" Yachiyo questioned as the two of them finally left the room.
"I have some things I'd like to look over." Akira replied, "What about you?"
"I don't know yet." Yachiyo shrugged. The one thing they needed to do today wasn't something they could share with her.
They headed to the kitchen. The other three were there already. Yachiyo glanced over at Mei Fan. She returned the look. It seemed she was better off than Yachiyo despite how late she too had stayed up for.
"About time you two joined us." Michiru commented.
"Someone didn't want to get up and in turn wouldn't let me up either."
Yachiyo pouted at her. Akira responded by pulling them closer and ruffling their hair. Yachiyo let out a squeak of embarrassment and tried to pull away to no avail.
"Can we just get on with today...?" Yachiyo whined.
"I'm cooking today." Michiru stated.
With that confirmed, they all fell into something to do. Yachiyo snuck away to go and join Michiru in the kitchen. This was their best shot at a time to ask her for advice.
"Hey... need any help?" Yachiyo asked.
"If you want to."
Yachiyo stood beside her, "Um... could I ask you something?"
"Sure. What's up?" Michiru paused from cooking and gave Yachiyo her full attention.
"Well... I was wondering um... I want to give Akira a dress to wear for the party, but... is that a bad idea?"
Michiru thought it over for longer than Yachiyo liked. The silence made them worried they were doing everything wrong.
"To tell you the truth, I don't know." Michiru replied, "I know she really wants to be able to do that, but the fear of how her family would react is keeping her away."
"I just don't want to give her it if it'll make her upset." Yachiyo said.
That didn't really clear anything up. They had no clue if this was still a bad idea or not. It was starting to stress them out. They had tried to push those thoughts off for too long.
"Why not just give it to her and leave it at that?" Michiru offered, "You don't have to say it's for her to wear at the party."
"Will she believe it though?"
"Yachiyo, you should know how dense that girl is. I think you'll be fine." Michiru scoffed.
Yachiyo still had their doubts, but they felt a bit better now. Hopefully Michiru was right and they could just pass it off as a regular present instead.
DIVIDER--
Before they knew it, it was the day of the party. Yachiyo was a little panicked at the moment. They were worried about everything. Mei Fan tried to help and give them reassurance, but it only did so much for them.
After breakfast, Yachiyo drug Akira away, saying they wanted to show her something. The other three knew what was up. Shiori had been filled in on what exactly Yachiyo was up to. They were all silently cheering them on.
"So... I know it's only Christmas Eve and all, but... I wanna give you one present early." Yachiyo stated as the two of them stopped outside the room.
Akira eyed them with uncertainty. Did that mean she was piecing it together? Yachiyo very dearly hoped not. Though, she would learn the truth soon. There was no other way around it.
"Go inside." Yachiyo stood back.
Akira hesitated, before finally opening the door. She walked inside. Yachiyo followed behind. Akira paused in the middle of the room. She had spotted the dress.
"I know you don't want to wear a dress to the party... and I'm not making you. I just thought I'd give you an option if you wanted to do it." Yachiyo said.
Akira didn't say anything else or make any attempts to move for a while. Yachiyo wasn't sure what to do about that. It was obvious she was thinking about the situation. They just didn't know what her thoughts were. Were they good or bad?
"Want to try it on?" Yachiyo prompted, trying to get some sort of reaction out of her.
Akira shook her head. Yachiyo frowned. Whatever she was thinking about obviously was not good.
"What's the matter?" Yachiyo asked, "You don't have to wear it tonight. Since you don't have many dresses to begin with it can just be a new one for you to wear whenever."
"I can't..."
"Can't what?"
"I can't wear it."
"In general or...?"
Akira nodded. Before Yachiyo could question that answer, Akira left the room quite quickly. Yachiyo went to go after her, but paused. Maybe she just needed some time alone right now.
Yachiyo debated what to do. Did they tell the others or did they go after her? Or did they just pretend this never happened and wait until Akira was ready to talk? They were conflicted.
Yachiyo was confused. What had happened? Why did she say that? Did they do something wrong? Did she still feel pressured to wear it?
Then it clicked. Yachiyo knew there were certain clothes they couldn't wear. It made them feel wrong. Even if they didn't mind the outfit, it just felt like they didn't belong in it. They puzzled together that was most likely what had happened.
Yachiyo grabbed the dress and went after Akira, now having a plan. This was something they could possibly help with. Now just to find her.
It wasn't that hard. She was in Yachiyo's room. Yachiyo entered and shut the door. They laid the dress on the edge of the bed and took a seat beside her.
"You feel like you can't pull it off? That it isn't for you to wear?" Yachiyo questioned.
Akira slightly nodded.
"I get like that to. Probably not like yours but I think it's similar enough. It's sometimes hard to wear feminine stuff because people seem to think that invalidates who I am. So... I struggle to do that a lot now... even if I like the clothes." Yachiyo said, "I know it isn't the same thing, but I can understand how you feel."
"They don't look good on me."
"But this has your measurements. It's made specifically to fit you." Yachiyo said, "Do you ever feel uncomfortable in our play outfits? A lot of those are dresses too."
Akira shook her head, "No... they don't look bad..."
"This one won't either. Think of it just like one of those outfits I've modified. It'll fit and it'll look perfect on you."
Akira didn't seem fully convinced. She warily glanced at the dress.
"Please just try it on? If you don't like it you can take it off and never wear it again. But just try it one time."
"Fine..." Akira agreed.
"Want me to step out?"
"Just turn around."
"Okay!"
It took Akira a while to put it on. It was a struggle to convince herself to do it. But, she did put it on. She glanced at herself in the mirror in the room. It was a very pretty dress. She had to give Yachiyo credit for how much they had done to the dress.
"Can I turn around yet?"
"I... I guess..."
Yachiyo slowly turned to look at Akira. They smiled at her. They thought it looked good on her.
"You know, if we weren't already dating I'd definitely want to ask you out."
Akira's face went red. That was a rare sight to see. She awkwardly stared at the ground and fiddled with the dress. Yachiyo was tempted to continue the flattery, but decided that could wait.
"So, how do you feel about it?" Yachiyo asked.
Akira nervously looked back at herself in the mirror. She stared for a long time. She was conflicted. Part of her screamed she would never look good in a dress. And part of her wanted nothing more than to be able to wear it.
Yachiyo approached her from behind and wrapped their arms around her, "I think you look beautiful in it."
Seeing Yachiyo beside her in the mirror eased up the worries. She didn't know why, but having them beside her made her feel more confident with herself. Maybe she could pull it off?
"I... I like it..." Akira finally said.
"I'm glad."
DIVIDER--
As night fell, they were all getting ready to go. They were just waiting for Akira to join them. They all knew it might be a bit so they started getting ready earlier.
The other four were all in dresses, the colors respectively close to their image colors. Yachiyo had debated wearing a dress or something more masculine. In the end, they chose a dress. It would save them from too many comments.
They heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Akira had finally finished. They all waited anxiously to see what she had decided to wear. It was the suit. Collective disappointment was shared by the four of them, but no one said a thing.
"Ready to go?"
"Yeah..."
It was quite obvious Akira hated the situation she was in. She was frowning and just looked grumpy overall.
"Let's head out then."
They left the house. They would take a car there, courtesy of Michiru's family. Yachiyo stuck close to Akira's side. They were trying to offer some comfort.
It didn't take that long before they arrived. Akira hung back from entering. Yachiyo stayed by her side. The other three waited, but Yachiyo waved them away. They would handle this alone.
"You alright?" Yachiyo hugged her tightly.
"I don't want to be here."
"I know... we'll leave as soon as we can, okay?"
"Yachiyo... stay away from me for tonight. They don't know about us and I don't want them to."
"But-"
"Please?"
Akira's voice was starting to crack. Yachiyo tightened their hug.
"They won't find out, Akira. I promise. You don't need to do that." Yachiyo said.
"It's not just-"
"There you are. What's taking you so long, --?"
They both looked over at the source of the voice. It wasn't hard for Yachiyo to guess that was Akira's mother. They quickly let go of her.
"We were just talking." Akira replied.
"This is another of your friends from that school?" Her mom eyed Yachiyo with disgust, "I don't like this one."
"Why would you say that to-" Akira trailed off, realizing this wasn't easy to do, "Sorry... I didn't mean to argue..."
"Good. Come in. And you," She looked at Yachiyo, "Better not cause any problems."
"I won't, ma'am." Yachiyo promised.
They entered the house. Akira's mom left.
"I'm sorry..." Yachiyo apologized, "I should've just listened to you."
"I didn't want you to find out my name..."
"It's okay. Honestly I forgot it already. She made me mad. Why am I the one she doesn't like?" Yachiyo huffed.
"I wish I knew. But... I think it's best you stay away still. If people ask about you, you know I have to act like you're a girl."
"Right... I kinda forgot about that..." Yachiyo sighed, "You know what. Screw it. I'm staying with you. If you're going to be misgendered the entire night than I'll suffer with you."
"Yachiyo-"
"Please? I don't want you to be alone. Not when this place can get hostile to you." Yachiyo pleaded.
"I can't talk you out of this, can I?"
"Nope."
"Fine. But please leave if it gets too much for you."
"I will. I promise."
"Alright."
"Um... can I still call you Akira here?" Yachiyo questioned.
"Yeah. Everyone here will know so they'll expect it from you guys."
"Okay. Where are we going then?"
"I guess I should go find my dad. He'll want to see me." Akira frowned.
"Want me to hang back for that one?"
"I don't know..."
They slowly navigated around the place. They found her dad. He was talking to her mom.
"There you are." He didn't seem too happy, "At least you have a suit on. Now if you'd just cut your stupid hair."
Akira looked down. She had no response. Yachiyo wanted to hold her hand, but wasn't sure that was okay to do right now.
"Who is this?"
"This is my friend, Yachiyo." Akira replied.
He looked Yachiyo over. Yachiyo was nervous. This wasn't a good situation for either of them.
"I don't like her." Akira's mother stated, "The only thing good is she understand how she's a girl. Unlike our son."
Yachiyo bit back a reply. They were mad. How dare they talk like that to anyone?
"You can't seriously think he's a girl. It's so obvious he's not." Akira's father stated, "This whole transgender thing is just a stupid fad."
"Dad..." Akira sighed.
"--, you can't seriously think this all. You are delusional."
"It's been how long? Seems quite long for a delusion to last." Akira replied.
"Why can't you be like your friend and stick to how you were born?"
"I-"
"Shut up!"
Yachiyo had had enough, "Shut up... you're the worst!"
"When you have kids you'll understand. This isn't right."
"Yachiyo..." Akira warned them, but it was ignored.
"First off, maybe I don't want kids. Second, guess what? Using me as an example is stupid. I'm not a girl. I'm nonbinary. So just fuck off. I hate people like you!" Yachiyo yelled at them and then ran off.
Akira gulped. This was bad. They really shouldn't have let Yachiyo tag along. That was a big mistake.
"So... that's how it is, is it, --?"
"You bet it is."
Michiru stomped over to them and placed herself between them, "How about you stop and accept that you have a daughter? Is that so hard?"
"And here's the annoying friend again."
"Akira, you need to stand up for yourself against them."
"Michiru... I-"
"They hurt Yachiyo. Are you really gonna let that go?" Michiru demanded.
"That girl is just as delusional as you are." Akira's father stated.
"They're not a girl." Akira defended.
"Yes she is."
"No. I've had enough. If you won't accept me, I'm done. I'm never coming home again." Akira growled, "You've had too many chances. This was it. You hurt my partner. You hurt someone else and I can't stand for that."
"Partner? So you found someone who would date you? Of course it'd be the freak."
"Shut up! I'm done! I'm leaving and I'm not coming back!" Akira stormed off, Michiru quickly following behind.
They found the others outside. Mei Fan had Yachiyo in a tight hug. Shiori was rubbing their back. Yachiyo was sobbing. The whole scene was a mess.
Mei Fan and Shiori looked at the other two as they came over. Akira walked over to them. Shiori backed away. Akira took her spot and wrapped Yachiyo into a tight hug. Yachiyo let go of Mei Fan and hugged Akira back.
"Akira..."
"It's alright, Yachiyo. I'm here."
"I'm sorry... I... I..."
"Shh... it's okay. I'm not mad."
Mei Fan and Shiori walked over to Michiru. They both had the question they wanted to ask ready. Michiru beat them to it, though.
"We're leaving. She's finally cut them off completely."
"So... we're going back home?"
"Well... hold on a minute." Michiru approached the two.
Akira looked at her. She was still comforting Yachiyo as best she could.
"So, want to go to my family's party instead? They'll accept you."
Akira thought about it, "Can we go back to Yachiyo's first?"
"Sure."
So that's what they did. Akira and Yachiyo disappeared upstairs. The other three waited in the living room. They weren't sure how long it would take them to return.
"Akira? Um... did I ruin everything?"
"No. Honestly I think that was what I needed. To get the courage to fight back."
"Why are we up here?"
"You're a mess from the crying. Why don't you go to the bathroom and clean up?"
"Okay..." Yachiyo agreed.
Once they left, Akira took a deep breath. She was going to do it. She undressed. The dress was still in the room. She put it on. She looked at herself in the mirror. Akira cracked a smile. This was much better. She felt more like herself now.
She went downstairs. Yachiyo still hadn't returned.
"Woah..."
The three girls were in awe as Akira entered the living room. They were all smiling. She was actually wearing it.
"Going to wear it now, huh?"
"They made it for this. Why wouldn't I?"
"They're gonna be so happy!"
Yachiyo returned a few minutes later. They froze in their step as they saw that Akira had changed. A big smile formed on their face and they ran into her and gave her a big hug.
"Welp, everyone ready to go? I texted my parents already. They know what's going on." Michiru asked.
Everyone agreed and so they headed out again. Yachiyo refused to let go of Akira. The smile was still on their face. That was definitely better than how they had been a while ago.
The trip to Michiru's house was definitely better than the previous one. This time they held a conversation during the drive. The atmosphere was definitely a lot happier now. There was still some tenseness but nothing too bad.
They were all welcomed inside by Michiru's parents. They were both sympathetic for what had occurred earlier. Everyone learned this was an ongoing battle between the two families. They were fully supportive of Akira, and were constantly defending her from her parents. It just never worked.
They were all set free to roam the house and join in with the party. Akira and Yachiyo went outside alone. Akira wanted to talk to them in private.
"The sky looks really pretty tonight." Yachiyo commented.
"It does." Akira agreed, "So... are you alright? I'm sorry... I should've warned you more than I did."
"It's okay. I'm alright now."
"You sure? You don't have to lie. If you're still hurting don't keep it in."
"I'll be fine."
"If you're so sure..."
"How are you?" Yachiyo questioned. They had no idea about how the rest of the conversation went down.
"I'm alright. It's... strange. I feel better now that I've finally told them off, but I'm scared. What if they come for me still?"
"We're here. We'll think of something if they do try anything." Yachiyo replied.
Akira pulled them into a hug. Yachiyo hugged her back. Akira buried her face into Yachiyo's shoulder. Moments later, Yachiyo felt tears. They tightened their grip on her.
"Why are you crying?" Yachiyo asked.
"I'm... I'm just... relieved..."
Yachiyo fondly kissed her head, "I'm glad. I just want you to be happy."
"T-thank you for... for everything..."
"Take some deep breaths."
"I love you."
"And I love you, Akira."
Akira pulled back slightly. Yachiyo watched her. Akira started to blush, before she leaned forward and kissed them on the lips. Yachiyo was taken by surprise and let out a startled squeak. As Akira pulled back, they pushed forward and kissed her back.
"I love you so much." Yachiyo whispered as they pulled away.
Akira smiled and embraced them again. They stayed like that for a while, until the cold finally started getting to them. They returned inside and were promptly dragged into a game by the others.
The night was filled with smiles and laughter. No more tears or crying. No more fighting. Everything was calm. And that was the best thing that could happen for them.