Work Text:
12/12/2020, 8:14 AM
All about her today was the hustle and bustle of a town already prepared for Christmas, covered in decorations and strung with lights like the people were bundled in sweaters and scarves. Aya pulled her own hands into her sleeves as she strolled down the sidewalk, only to pull them out again for a girl who was handing out tissues in a Santa outfit, more enthusiasm in her motions than she had buttons and bells on her costume.
“Thank you very much,” Aya spoke as she would to a fan at a fan signing, a habit she slipped into without realizing from time to time. “I appreciate it!” For her work and all, it was a good habit to have, but it was overkill for thanking someone with a part-time job handing out marketable tissue packs.
But if the girl found it weird, her smile didn’t break. She opened her mouth and closed it again, as if she had gotten stuck on something. Passersby walked past the pair of them, but no more tissues were given out.
Finally, the girl’s voice returned. “Um. You’re Aya Maruyama, right? From Pastel*Palettes?” And for Aya, that moment was like if the world were a leaf and time had condensed on it like a droplet of water, hanging at the tip of it. It left only the two of them, and the lights flashing in the window of Denkikigu Electronics Store.
“I’m sorry for stopping you like this, it isn’t very polite of me,” the girl blurted out, tripping over her words a few times, “But I’ve always been a big fan of your singing, and I—I just wanted to say please keep up the good work! Ah, uh... would you like some more tissues?”
“No, it’s fine,” Aya stopped her, trying not to smile too much. She clasped the girl’s hand between her own. “That’s really sweet of you. Like, seriously, it makes me really happy to hear that. I hope you have a merry Christmas, okay?”
“O-okay! You too!”
Aya let go of her hand and waved. Bringing herself to turn away took a few seconds, and she continued down the street, her smile now stretching uncontrolled past the corners of her lips. Oh, how she loved December, with all the decorations and the lights. Even fighting to keep warm throughout the cloudy days had never dampened her mood. So much always went on, from the seas of seasonal specialties to the extra free time from winter vacation. There were Christmas parties and birthday parties and gifts so heartfelt that she would smile just thinking about it. And to top it all off, there was New Year’s right around the next corner.
The spring in her step carried her all the way down the block to the first store she had wanted to visit. Slowing down outside, she took out her phone and pulled up the checklist of names she had made last night.
“Alright. Time for some Christmas shopping!”
12/17/2020, 10:38 PM
As the credits of the movie started to roll, Aya felt her sister’s head loll against her shoulder. She put an arm around her, easing her into a half-lying down position so she could rest more naturally across the sofa and Aya’s lap. Her hair was as pink as Aya’s was, still in the same two lazy pigtails it had been in since they had gone out shopping earlier in the day. And when it came to December, her fervor matched that of Aya’s. The majority of her Christmas shopping for her friends, she had already done on her own. Aya was just glad she had gotten the chance to go out shopping with her before she had found everything.
Aya had also gotten her own shopping done too. She had found a present for everyone in Pastel*Palettes as well as a few others who were special to her as well—people she felt she owed something to for all of the kindness they had shown her throughout the year and more. Some of her gifts still weren’t wrapped, but that was all easy work she could finish by the end of tomorrow if she started tonight.
The music from the TV faded out when the credits ended. Aya turned off the TV and gently extricated herself out from beneath her little sister, leaving her head on a pillow as she slipped off to grab a gingersnap from the kitchen.
Bits of sugar and cookie crumbled as she took a small bite, which she swept up into a small pile to clean up later. Her house was steeped in a relaxing silence. She pulled out her phone and flicked through her social media to see what her friends were up to.
The last time she had gotten to talk to some of them was a week ago when they had met up to grab lunch. Outside of that, it seemed like everyone was relatively busy, either running back and forth for work like Chisato or getting invited to Misaki’s family outings like Maya. Aya still had to ask her about that, because she was 90% sure there was something going on between those two.
These days it felt like no amount of time with her friends could keep her satisfied for more than a few days until she wanted to hang out with them again. Being with them was tons of fun, and the only thought that helped her keep her patience in the past few days was that everyone was just taking care of last-minute business before the holidays really set in.
Her feed was full of her friends’ posts today. Seeing their pictures and journals made it feel like they weren’t as far away as they seemed. And even though it was just social media, Aya felt like she could smile and feel a bit more hopeful.
12/22/2020, 11:03 PM
“Good night, guys!”
“Good night, Aya.”
“See ya, Aya-chan!”
Aya disconnected, ignoring the twinge of disappointment she felt upon hearing the disconnect sound effect. Of her friends still in the voice call, Chisato left promptly after her. Maya, Eve, and Hina stayed for a little while longer but eventually left too.
It had been delightful to have a chance to call all of her friends over Accord. If only it could have lasted longer. But following Chisato’s suggestion, she didn’t want to hang around too long and risk not getting enough sleep for their feature in the city tomorrow.
Her phone dinged, and she reached for it. While she had been on call, she had also been texting Himari on the side. As was their tradition, they were catching up and telling each other about their weeks. Talking to Himari was always fun, because she was always ready to talk about herself and always happy to hear about Aya’s day. She was just a great listener and a great talker.
| Himari: oh geez, don’t even talk to me about the “party” on friday
| Aya: Wait, what happened?
| Himari: ugh, well… are you busy rn? it’d be easier to tell you than to type it out.
| Himari: it’d also be cool to hear your voice too, you know, lol
Aya responded that she wasn’t, and a few moments later, her phone screen flashed with a call from Himari.
“Hi Aya!”
“Hey Himari!”
“Okay, so. You know how I told you Tomoe invited me to that party, right?”
“Mhm.”
“Turns out, the person hosting the party was her friend from taiko club… wait, no. The host was the friend of her friend that she knew from her taiko club’s brother.”
“Wow...”
“Right? And she like, never told me about it! I’d literally asked her, ‘Who’s hosting?’ and all she said was ‘Oh, the taiko club.’ So Friday I’m all ready to go to the gym where they practice when she texts me this address, and I’m like, this isn’t what I agreed to but I’m already dressed up so I may as well go anyway! So I get there and try to hang out for a bit, but mainly I’m waiting for Tomoe so I can have some way to kind of anchor myself, you know? I didn’t want to just introduce myself as Tomoe’s friend when they’re not even around, because then it seems like I just came for the food or something!”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s kind of awkward being around people who all know each other when you don’t know any of them.”
“Yeah! And you know the worst thing? Tomoe never even showed up.”
“What? No way.”
“I’m serious. She literally asked the dude if it was okay for me to come, but she never intended to show up herself. I got upset at her later and she was so confused. Like, what even gives? Oh, and get this. At least like, five people tried to hit on me while I was there.”
“Five?” Aya’s eyebrows shot up. “That’s, wow… I want to say that’s nice, but you don’t sound happy at all about it.”
“Nuh uh. No offense to any of them, but none of them were my type. And, well, they were mostly guys.”
“Ah… So, you’re more interested in...” Aya trailed away, unsure if she should ask. After a moment she heard Himari cough away from the phone.
“Don’t worry about it. But anyway, sorry for taking up your time just to vent about my tragic party experiences. I know it’s December and we should just be enjoying the end of the year, especially since you said you’ve had a busy month, but… ugh. Just ugh.”
“It’s fine! I haven’t actually had that busy of a month. It’s just that I haven’t been able to talk to many people, just in a casual setting like this, you know?”
“Yeah, I get you. I know we talk pretty often, so I’m sorry if it feels like I just text you to run my mouth sometimes.”
“No, it’s okay! I like talking with you about stuff. I’m just glad you’re having fun. Most of the time, at least. I’m kind of envious that you get invited to so many parties and stuff.”
“Oh, haha, it’s not as glamorous as it sounds. I just have friends that like to throw parties. Rimi always invites me to Popipa events and stuff, and Lisa buys me tickets to Roselia concerts once in a while, and I mostly just feel really bad turning them down when they do so much for me! And—wait a minute, you’re the idol here! I should be the envious one.”
Aya got out of her chair and moved to her bed so she could lie down and relax. Chisato’s advice to sleep early rang in her head, but she forgot all about it as one conversation topic led to the next, and something Himari said would make her excited to share something else she had just remembered.
And so, they continued talking, both about their months so far and what was left to come in the year. Aya didn’t know exactly when they finally finished, but when they did, the sound of the call ending didn’t leave her with the same feeling of solitude she had felt before. She went to bed with a smile playing on her lips.
12/23/2020, 12:50 PM
In the half-hour before their shoot, Eve was so full of jitters that she couldn’t bear to sit still. Her “responsibility to explain Western tradition to the viewers,” as she put it, was filling her with determination and also the shakiest nerves Aya had seen since she’d last looked in a mirror.
This seasonal Christmas market was done in a German style, and ever since their manager had mentioned that Eve might have some knowledge in this area, she had been like this. The others were trying to calm her down and remind her that she didn’t have to disassemble and reassemble her brain just for some fun facts. Aya didn’t want to crowd her, so she sat on the other bench and tried to give Eve reassuring looks every time their eyes met.
While all that was happening, Aya looked around the market scene before them. They hadn’t gotten a chance to go into the market proper yet, as they had met up with the camera crew in front of the entrance. Their reactions to this year’s market had to be genuine, after all.
The market was so pretty. Lights were already set up, lining the entrance archway, strung all along storefronts and booths all the way down the street. It was already lively, just not as teeming with people as it would be later in the day. Overlooking the marketplace in the distance, a radio tower was also decorated with flashing Christmas lights in preparation for the nighttime scene. Voices and the sounds of life were everywhere.
“Wow…” Aya couldn’t help but breathe out as she took it all in. “Everything is already so pretty. It’s a shame we can’t shoot in the evening. I would have loved to get that on film, when this place gets even prettier.”
Maya, who always paid attention to her surroundings, glanced over to her and nodded. “Right? And there’s something cool about non-Japanese events like this too! It’s interesting seeing traditions and stuff from other cultures.”
Chisato straightened up, one hand on Eve’s shoulder but her face turned in Aya’s direction. “Think of it as our afternoon feature being an advertisement for the event. We’re going live in the afternoon as a way to get people interested in visiting the night market by themselves, to show off the hard work the local community has put into making this marketplace a success. You might even want to mention that on camera, that the market will look even prettier in a few hours.”
Aya nodded. Chisato’s explanations always had a way of bringing out her enthusiasm. “You’re right! I’ll do everything I can.”
“Get ready girls! It’s almost time to begin.”
Aya sprung to her feet, the rest of her group rising with her.
“Alright everyone! Let’s do this!”
“Yeah!”
12/26/2020, 11:42 PM
Aya capped her markers and sat back to admire her handiwork. Her desk was a mess of paper, glitter, and paints. Calligraphy wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Merely lifting her brush too quickly let ink drip all over her New Year’s cards, to the point where she accepted that splatter paint was part of the aesthetic.
At least she had seen this coming and pushed everything else she had on her desk to the far back wall—especially the pink daily planner Chisato had given her yesterday, and the potted succulents Hina had given her. They’d been on her desk all day, but they were too nice and it was too early to let them get ruined in ink and glitter.
Writing pretty messages for her cards had been a lot of fun though. She had tried to put a bit of personality into each one, to capture what her friends embodied the most. But that had boiled down mostly to picking a color and a brush that felt right and rolling with it. In the end though, it had worked out. It had been a whole day’s work plus some, but all of her New Year’s greetings cards were finished. It felt so nice to finally put the brush down, close her eyes, and just let everything rest while she listened to her friends’ voices in her earbuds.
“… and then, she pulled out this big box she hid in her room! She had it hidden away all month, just ‘cause she wanted to keep it a secret. She can be pretty funny sometimes.”
“My, she has quite the bashful side, doesn’t she?”
“Yeah, right? Speaking of, I wish I’d recorded Aya’s reaction to when Eve gave her that giant omelette pillow! Man, was that funny!”
“I am very glad she liked my gift! I was genuinely worried I had misremembered her favorite food.”
“Is Aya even here right now?” The voices paused for a moment, waiting for Aya to say something. “I wonder if she fell asleep again,” Maya suggested.
“She has been working on her New Year’s cards all day, after all. It would hardly surprise me if she fell asleep at her desk. Oh, that girl… She really should be more careful about her posture.”
“Aw, give her a break Chisato! Well, whatever. We can just ask her to repeat her reaction in the morning! We’ll be seeing her anyway for the you-know-what. Sweet dreams, Aya-chan!”
12/27/2020, 9:01 AM
After dozing off at her desk and giving her friends a drowsy good night, Aya woke up in her bed with a clear head and a realization. It was December 27th. She had enjoyed spending Christmas with her friends and been so busy getting a head-start on her New Year’s postcards that she had low-key forgotten about her birthday.
She rolled over and reached for her phone. As she’d expected, her notifications were soaring. Plenty of people had left her birthday messages on social media, including even some of her closest friends, all wishing her the best to come in the new year and beyond.
The first peek at all the kindness and the funny emoji and the jokes were enough to put a smile on her face.
Among her notifications, there was an “urgent request” in the Pastel*Palettes group chat that she come to Chisato’s house by 12:30 for “unknown reasons.” It was a thinly veiled invitation to a surprise party, but nonetheless, Aya couldn’t help but get a little choked up. Why were her friends so nice? She couldn’t stand it.
“Okay!” She put her phone down on her bedside table, slapped her cheeks, and swung her legs out of bed. Today was her day, and everybody wanted her to enjoy it, so she was going to enjoy it the most she could.
“Happy birthday, me. It’s time to start the day!”