"Hey, hey, Neo! We should totally go to the beach today!"
"… What." It was a question, but spoken with such flat affect and tone that it sounded more like a statement. But when Neo asked, it was never just a question, always a command. She didn't request answers, she expected them. And especially with someone as chatty as Jenny, Neo didn't need to say much for her to talk more than enough for both of them. Sure enough, Yuka was off in a flash.
She excitedly clenched her hands into fists, eyes practically turning into stars. She was supposed to have gone home as soon as spring semester ended, spending summer in Japan, but she grew so attached (and attracted) to her old buddy, old pal, old American friend, Neo, that she convinced her parents to let her spend at least part of the summer in America. She could play catch-up back home later, but for now, she wanted to enjoy it for all it was worth! The clock was running out on her time with Neo, after all.
"C'mon, Neo, c'mon!" She couldn't help but giggle as she thoughtlessly grabbed for Neo's hand, reflexes so fast that even Neo didn't have time to pull away before she was caught in Yuka's unintentional death-grip.
She is… ridiculously strong… Neo's lip curled, and her nose crinkled as she was forced to allow Yuka to drag her away. "I don't have a swimsuit."
"No worries about that!" Yuka replied cheerfully as she pulled Neo along like an overly excited puppy. "I don't either!"
"Then how are we supposed to—?" Neo deadpanned. She will surely dislocate my shoulder soon…
"But I got money!" Yuka interrupted with a grin, slapping her purse with her free hand. Neo's eye twitched.
ooo
The pair was in New York City, so they were never more than a few feet away from the nearest store, and it didn't take them long to find one that sold swimsuits, especially since it was summertime. "OMG, Neo! Look! We could be matching! Like twinsies!" Yuka pointed at a display window, two mannequins wearing bikinis designed to look like the American flag.
Again, Neo's lip curled, and her nose crinkled. "I wouldn't be caught dead in one of those things."
Yuka smiled sweetly at her, remembering an American meme she'd seen just a few weeks ago. Then perish!
Before Neo even knew what had happened, she and Yuka were on the shore together… in the American flag bikinis.
Somehow, the hyper blonde managed to drag the deadpanning, disinterested one into the store, swiping the two bikinis on the way to the changing room. With muscles as strong as hers, Neo stood little chance again Yuka, and realized that everything would end much quicker if she just went along with the other girl's incessant demands. And while Neo put her bikini on with a scowl, feeling horribly exposed, Yuka's eyes were starry. Contrast to Neo, she didn't seem to have a problem at all—or a care in the world—about showing off as much of herself as she could.
"You wore it for me, bestie!" Yuka grinned once they reached the beach. "Oh! This is begging for a photo op!" She whipped out her phone.
Then beg. Neo thought bitterly, fighting the urge to cross her arms over herself. Then the wind was almost knocked out of her as Yuka again grabbed her thoughtlessly, wrapping an arm around her bare torso and trying to pull her in close for the selfie.
Neo hissed in disgust and not-so-subtly tried to inch her way out of frame. It didn't work. She is… ridiculously strong… Ugh… When is she going back to Japan again? Contrary to the album title, blondes didn't always have more fun, at least if they were Neo. Yuka, on the other hand?
ooo
It was bad enough, putting up with her on their usual city outings, Yuka like some kind of golden retriever in human form.
"WOAH! Look, Neo, look! The Statue of Liberty! Up close and in person! She's so… TALL! And beautiful! …Neo…?" Yuka looked left. Yuka looked right. "Neo? Neo?!"Neo was already half a block away, still moving at the same, steady, determined pace as always.
She would've thought Yuka would take the obvious hint, but whether it was genuine, sheer stupidity or an equally stubborn, relentless optimism, the dumb jock of a student simply shrugged cheerfully and raced after Neo, quickly catching up to her without even breaking a sweat. The way she reasoned with herself, perhaps Neo was just not as awestruck by Lady Liberty because she lived in New York and likely had seen it many times before. So, Neo's attempts at ditching Yuka, and even hurting her feelings a little, had failed spectacularly.
It was an accurate representation of their entire relationship, which could also be summed up in two sentences:
"Someone will die…" Neo would say, scowling.
"Of fun!" Yuka would interject happily, and she would be completely serious while Neo had to shoot her a deadpanning look of disbelief.
When the two spent their first Halloween together, Yuka asked hopefully for Neo to tell her a scary Japanese story.
I don't have to, Neo had thought, giving Yuka a long, silent stare. But just as with everything else, the backhanded insult flew right over Yuka's head. Yuka may have had impossibly fast reflexes, as Neo kept figuring out, but she couldn't catch any of what Neo threw at her. Unless she was only pretending to be that oblivious and stupid. Neo honestly couldn't tell. And she had to admit… It surprised her.
ooo
"—work on your abs first, though, if you wanna be an honorary Sasago!"
"What?" Neo was brought back to the present by the feeling of Yuka's fingertips pressing into her stomach. With Yuka's arm no longer wrapped around her waist, Neo was finally free to jerk back, jumping away from the other blonde-haired, blue-eyed, bikini-clad beach girl.
"I mean, you have lovely abs," said Yuka, seemingly unaware of Neo's annoyance—or perhaps so used to it that she considered it Neo's default, rather than an expression of genuine frustration. "But they could be a little more pronounced…"
"Excuse me?" Neo crossed her arms, eyes flashing dangerously, but just as always, Yuka continued on blithely, talking both of Neo's ears off with all of her gym chatter, exercise regimens, and anatomy lectures. In Yuka's eyes, though, Neo really did have a breathtaking, stunning figure. Anyone with eyes, with or without a camera, could see that! But her stomach was just a little too smooth and flat… The abs were there, but a little more sculpting would really make them shine. Then, Neo would be a true bombshell!
"Say, Neo, how about we surf?!" Yuka's smile was downright wicked. Teaching the other girl how to surf had been on her itinerary since the summer rolled in, but getting a look at Neo's abs (or… slight lack thereof) offered the perfect segue…
Neo kept her arms crossed, still scowling at Yuka, but she did not verbally protest this time, perhaps realizing that it would all be futile anyway.
ooo
"WOO HOO, YEAH! COWABUNGA, DUDE! I'M SO, TOTALLY STOKED!" Yuka howled as she raised the shaka sign on both of her hands, standing proud and tall on her surfboard as she rode the curling wave perfectly, just ahead of the tube as the wave crashed back down on itself. She came to a smooth stop back on shore just inches away from Neo, who was still standing with her arms crossed and her face disinterested. "Totally tubular and gnarly and groovy, baby," Yuka joked as she dismounted the surfboard and held it out hopefully to Neo.
Neo scoffed, nose crinkling for a third time that day. If she EVER talks like that again I WILL rip my ears off!
But Yuka wasn't going to take "no" for an answer. Smiling sweetly, innocently, a brilliant, cunning idea was already forming in her mind… "You don't have to be afraid of me. I know you won't be as good since you're just starting, but I'll go easy on—"
"PFFT!" Neo scoffed loudly, cutting Yuka off. Yuka had to bite her tongue to hide a triumphant smirk and a delighted, excited laugh.
Ha, ha, Neo! Gotcha! You may think you're soooo unreadable, but we're buddies now, BFFs, and I've spent enough time with you that I can read you like an open book! Now, let's ride the waves together!
The next thing Neo knew, she was balancing shakily on the surfboard, riding the water, a tiny wave, just for practice. Yuka had since acquired a second board and paddled beside Neo. Even though she was dying to show off, she knew it would only incite Neo to try to outdo her.
And don't get me wrong, that's one of the things I absolutely LOVE about her! But… She bit her lip to conceal another soft chuckle. Neo would drown me AND beat me to death with both of our surfboards for saying this… She's just not quite ready yet! She's good, yeah, but safety first!
Yuka didn't want to risk her newfound friend's health, so if that meant intentionally playing down her own skills so that Neo didn't get insecure and try to show off, then so be it. There would be plenty of time for real competition later. Or perhaps, sooner than Yuka thought.
ooo
Even though Neo had only just started surfing, she suddenly veered off course towards a growing wave in the distance. It was a close call in terms of timing, but Neo just barely caught the wave. And even though her legs were shaking from the difficulty of balancing, she still managed to rise into a fully upright position.
"Keep your core activated!" Yuka cupped her hands around her mouth. "It'll help with your balance!" And your ab growth!
Neo shot her a dirty look, but she forced herself to tense her muscles, nonetheless. It was a foreign feeling, at first, but several waves later, she found that it really did help her balance. That, in turn, helped her confidence. Before long, she was shredding larger waves like it was nothing. Yuka's eyes shined like stars once again. Maybe some people would be disbelieving, even jealous, but Yuka felt nothing but sheer, pure excitement!
Heart pounding as she jumped up on her board, allowing the currents to push her and Neo together, her grin stretched from ear to ear. "Ready to really race and ride the waves?" Her smile turned wicked again, and all her hard work finally paid off when Neo smiled back at her. (Ok, it was more of a smirk than anything, but if anything, Yuka loved it even more). That was the Neo she knew and really loved!
"Take me on if you can," Neo taunted. She turned her board away from Yuka, splashing her face as she did so. For once, Yuka wasn't quite fast enough to pull away in time, and was left coughing and sputtering out the salty seawater, but she was still grinning from ear to ear.
Oh, you're ON! Then she paddled aggressively after Neo. This was about to be the best summer ever! Long live the American dream, her American queen, basking in the sun, sand, sky, and sea!
AN: Written for, and inspired by, my friend HellisJustAplace (DeviantArt) aka Hell_is_just_a_place (AO3). Thx for reading all my D4 fics so faithfully, I appreciate ya!