Chapter Text
On Christmas Eve, Shiho found herself in a particularly troubling predicament.
Her bandmates in Leo/need had decided that it would be wonderful to spend Christmas together, especially so because it was their first since Saki was acquitted from the hospital. Shiho was more than happy to oblige- They had been working particularly hard lately and she felt that they deserved a break to really enjoy themselves. She was originally reluctant about them coming to her house, worried that her sister would embarrass her, but she was easily convinced. That was fine.
But then, Shizuku had informed her of the fact that More More Jump, her idol group, would be visiting the same day. Upon realizing that both groups were planning to visit on the same day, instead of moving the area they would visit, they decided to have a Christmas party together instead. Which would've been fine too, really! If it wasn't for her massive crush on one of the group members.
Haruka Kiritani.
This crush was really Minori's fault, who showed her so many videos of the idol that she somehow took a liking to her. A liking that evolved into countless hours of kicking her feet and giggling in the privacy of her own room as she replayed her newest songs.
A liking that evolved into a crush. It didn't help that both Ichika and Saki were in the same class as Haruka. They knew fully well how infatuated she was, and they had no mercy in teasing her about it. Not her fault that it was nearly impossible to keep secrets from her childhood friends for long. But at the very least she could trust them to not tell anyone else- god forbid Shizuku found out.
And meeting Haruka in person only served to heighten her attraction. The idol was hardworking, driven and just perfect in general. She could barely function even at that time, how was she going to survive a full day and sleepover around her?
That led back to the present issue, as Shiho was currently tossing and turning in bed, burying her face into a stupidly adorable dark blue phenny plushie. The one that she bought because it reminded her of Haruka. Great. Just wonderful. If anyone saw her right now she would surely die of embarrassment then and there.
...But even so, she couldn't deny being pretty excited for tomorrow.
If she put aside her embarrassment when it came to feelings like this, she couldn't help but admit that being around Haruka was exhilarating. The way her heart thumped in a frantic rhythm wasn't unlike the feeling she felt in concerts, except this time instead of beating to the melody of songs, it was enraptured in Haruka's brilliance.
A text from Saki in the Leo/need groupchat was the last thing she saw before going to sleep.
Saki: SEE U TMRW EVERYONE ☆!! esp u shiho, we have plans 4 u :)
That could really only mean trouble, but she'd deal with that tomorrow.
Shiho's morning started with a loud thwack on her window, along with the muffled sound of someone giggling outside. Groggily, she opened the window only to be met with something cold and white hitting her directly on the face.
A snowball.
"Saki! You can't just throw a snowball at her first thing in the morning!" Honami half-scolded, struggling to hold back her giggles upon seeing Shiho's shocked face. At the very least, she was wide awake now.
"Why not?" She replied with no remorse, rolling up yet another snowball in her thickly gloved hands.
"It is kind of funny to see her so surprised though..." Ichika added, and that was Shiho's breaking point. Throwing on one of her coats, she rushed downstairs past Shizuku wishing her a Merry Christmas, and picked up as much snow as she could in her hand to throw onto Saki.
"Take this!" She said, basking in her victory when Saki wore a similar shocked expression, though she was amply protected from the chill by numerous jackets and scarves. But suddenly, she felt a cold impact on the side of her arm.
Ichika stood not too far away with a smirk, already getting ready for round two.
"You up for a snowball fight?"
"You don't even need to ask."
And so they began to relentlessly hurl snow at each other, Ichika sticking to Saki and Shiho retaliating against their blows with Honami's support. Forts were built and after a while Saki had to take to the side as to not catch a cold, but she still cheered on for ichika fervently while watching their match. Shiho was convinced that she had almost won against Ichika but a suprise attack from her had ended up making her lose balance and fall backwards onto the ground. Luckily, her fall had been cushioned by the layers of snow, but that also meant it was exceedingly chilly on the floor.
"Shiho! I'm sorry, did I hit too hard?!" She could hear Ichika, and probably Honami and Saki too rushing to her side. She didn't get injured or anything but the fall was still a bit surprising.
"My, you seem to be in a bit of a predicament." A somewhat familiar voice that wasn't any of her bandmates remarked, holding out a hand. "Need any help?"
She was glad to have some assistance, and got up with the girl's help. She wanted to turn towards her to say thank you, but then her breath caught in her throat.
It was Haruka. It was Haruka who helped her up, Haruka's hand that was holding her own just now.
Suddenly the snow didn't seem that cold anymore.
"Th-Thank you, um... Kiritani-san." The redness on her face was just from being out in the cold for so long- at least, that was what she'd tell anyone who asked.
"It's no problem. And you can call me Haruka, there's no need to be so formal, Shiho. We're friends, aren't we?" She smiled warmly, and she swore that smile could melt ice without trouble. Maybe she exercised more than she thought because Shiho's heart was racing right now.
"Alright, Haruka..." Her hand was still holding the idol's own, and for a moment there it just felt like the two of them in their own little world. But the moment was gone as her friends rushed to check on her.
"SHIHOOOOO!!" Saki tackle-hugged her, as the other two walked towards her as well, faces ridden with guilt.
"Shiho, are you okay? I'm so, so sorry I shouldn't have-"
"Hey, Ichika, it's okay. I'm fine, you don't have to fret over me..." It was admittedly a bit embarrassing to be the receiver of worry instead of the one worrying like she was so used to with Saki, but she didn't hate it either. But the fond, knowing look she could spot Haruka giving her from the corner of her eye was driving her crazy.
It was so over for her.
After the impromptu snowball fight, Shiho had returned inside to change her clothes and freshen up for the start of the day. She wasn't expecting everyone to arrive so early, but at the same time it was pretty nice to have her house so lively once in a while.
Once she got ready, putting on a simple long sleeved band t-shirt and hoping that Shizuku didn't get them matching sweaters (even though she always did without fail) Shiho went downstairs to be greeted by Shizuku, Airi and Honami attempting to fit a comically large but folded up Christmas tree through the door. Their plan was to decorate the Hinomori house together, and each person brought their own little trinkets.
She knew that Ichika brought some streamers to wrap around the tree, Saki brought the star on top, and Honami brought those classic orb ornaments in various colours- they had all went together to buy them after all.
She did wonder what More More Jump had, though. She recalled with a grimace how Shizuku got herself horribly tangled up in the process of trying to find some old christmas lights, and made a mental note to prevent her from messing with the lights again. She spotted Airi holding a pile of stockings earlier, which just left Haruka...
Who brought the exact same christmas special giant Phenny plush that Shiho did.
"Oh my, what a coincidence..." Haruka giggled somewhat sheepishly- it was horribly awkward to stand face with her when she was moments away from having a heart attack from the mere sight of Haruka holding a comically large Phenny plushie. Seriously, it was like two of the cutest things in the world in one! How was she supposed to stay alive?!
"Um. Yeah. Super strange. Give me a minute." She placed the Phenny plush on the ground after a few seconds of short-circuiting, right next to where Haruka had kept hers a few moments ago (the plushies looked like they were holding hands, oh Miku save her poor heart...) and frantically ran upstairs to her room. Closing the door, burying her face into a pillow, she screamed.
"Shihoppy?! What's wrong? Are you okay?" A concerned high-pitched robotic voice spoke, the sound coming from her phone.
"...Rin?" Shiho slowly lifted her face to look at the virtual singer's hologram, frowning when hair unceremoniously fell onto her face. "What are you doing here?" "I was going to wish you a merry christmas, buuut it looks like I came here at a bad time, ehe... This just means I can help you, though!" Shiho took one look at Rin's enthusiasm and immediately felt like shrinking and hiding away in a hole. How was she supposed to tell her about something so embarrassing? "That's none of your business!" She said harshly, though that harshness never really worked to push away people who cared about her. Additionally, her evident blush gave it away.
"Aw, don't be like that!!! I wanna hear! C'mon, tell your ever-so-wise and dependable senpai how she can help you!" Rin said with an air of self-importance, standing up straighter than before in an attempt to seem more 'mature' than she actually was. Shiho wasn't buying it.
"Whatever, i'm going back." She sighed before pocketing her cellphone, ignoring Rin's noises of protest.
Her impatient trodding down the stairs didn't go unnoticed by the idols and her bandmates, who gave her either strange or knowing looks.
Shiho couldn't decide which ones were worse.
It was rare that Haruka would spend Christmas in such a leisurely manner.
She was so used to spending the entire day doing concerts that she hadn't even thought of a work-free christmas. She almost thought it would be boring! But her friends had made an effort to clear up their busy schedules for today, even getting their holiday livestream out of the day, all for some time to spend together without the pressure of work or being an idol hovering over them. She loved her job, and so did the others, but breaks were important.
And besides, she found this visit more interesting than originally thought.
"Shiho," She began, looking amusedly at the flustered bassist. "You look a little red. Is the cold that bad?"
The girl in question nodded profusely, unwilling to divulge the real reason for her blush. Normally she was confident in her voice, especially when singing, but at that moment she didn't trust her voice not to crack pathetically, hence why she responded without speaking.
"Is that so? Then, allow me to help you." What. "Here, your fingers seem to be freezing."
And there Shiho sat, holding hands with Kiritani Haruka. Her idol, crush and friend. Her fingers were so, so soft, a stark contrast to her own fingers that were calloused from years of playing the bass. And she was sitting so close, their knees were nearly touching. "Just don't think about it!" Said the voice in her head, a seemingly simple yet impossible thing to do. "Ah, so that's why you were so nervous!" Said a different voice. One that almost made her jump from how close it was to her ear, and who it was.
She just hoped that Rin wouldn't cause too much trouble and ruin the moment.
While she was going shopping with Leo/need, Shiho found herself completely distracted by her and Haruka's previous... Interaction. What could it have meant? Was it nothing? Was it wrong for her to get her hopes up? She honestly had no idea, but her braincells were melted away from those few seconds of holding her hand. Haruka was so, so perfect and her poor heart was working overtime trying to keep up with her massive crush.
She tried not to let it show, tried not to look as pathetically in love as she was feeling and tried to focus on whatever conversation her bandmates were getting into. This was fine. She was fine, and wasn't about to explode or anything. Absolutely not.
At least, that was what she tried to tell herself during the shopping trip. Shiho could only deny her feelings for so long, however, because the second she returned home and saw Haruka wearing a stupidly adorable penguin themed sweater they were back at full force.
And that wasn't even the worst part- Haruka had been singing karaoke of "All I Want for Christmas is You", and what absolutely insane thing did she do once Shiho had walked in? She winked at her! Unbelievable! Instantly, her face heated up noticeably, but she tried to hide it with the hoodie she wore. It was really warm, despite being December. Must've been global warming. Of course. Unwilling to deal with her extremely gay emotions at the moment, she did what she always did- distanced herself. The comfort of the room sounded really nice right about now.
"Shiho, are you alright..?" Minori walked up to her and asked with a concerned tone of voice once she realized that Shiho was acting... somewhat oddly. She knew that she wasn't always aware of what troubled other people, but Shiho was her friend, and she did know that something was bothering her.
"I-I'm fine, really." Shiho lied unconvincingly.
"Really? Because you know you can talk to me, right? I know I'm a bit of a klutz, but you can tell me things if you want!" That was... Really sweet. Shiho almost considered it for a moment, before taking the easiest route- running away.
"Like I said, I'm fine. And I'm going to my room now, bye." "Wait-!" Minori cried out, but it was too late, as Shiho left before she could get another word in.
She really was acting strange...
"What's wrong Minori?" Oh, she knew that voice!
"Ichika! It's just about Shiho... She's acting a bit odd and just now, when I asked her if anything is wrong, she left to go to her room! Is anything bothering her?" Ichika thought for a moment. It did seem that she was more distracted than usual during their shopping trip... Maybe it would be good to check on her? "Hmm... You might be right, Minori. I'll go check on-" "Wait!" A voice came from her phone.
"RIN?!" Minori exclaimed to a sheepish-looking Ichika as the virtual singer's hologram popped out from Ichika's phone.
"I know why Shihoppy is acting so strangely, so just hear me out!"
Shiho felt bad, honestly, staying cooped up like this when everyone else was downstairs celebrating. It wasn't the first time she was left out, but this time it was by her own free will. Shizuku had even come upstairs a few times to try and call her out, but was only met with a few irritated deflections in response. But she was a coward, ultimately, and did NOT want to fumble in front of Haruka...
Speaking of Haruka, despite trying to stop thinking about her, Shiho's mind ultimately wandered back to the idol. She had given up on trying to scroll through music recommendations to while away the time since there was so. Much. Haruka.
Seriously, what was wrong with her?
Another knock brought her away from her thoughts. "Shizuku, I already told you I'm not coming out!" "It's not Shizuku, you dummy! And hear us out!" Ah. Saki was worried about her too, now. And opening the door slightly, she could see Ichika, Honami and Minori as well, along with... Rin?!
Well, that was a surprise. Does that mean Minori knew..?
"We're evicting you, Shiho!" Saki exclaimed, which was certainly one way to get her out of her thoughts.
"H-Huh?! What does that mean?" "You've spent soo much time all alone and now, it's time for you to enjoy the festivities!" "Um, Saki..." Honami said nervously, still somewhat confused by the plan. "Everyone's going to bed now... There are no festivities." "Oh! That's okay, we can have a sleepover!" Saki smiled, before suddenly pointing at Shiho. "And you! You're not invited until you learn how to have fun and stop being a disaster!" "Disaster? What do you mean-" "Rin told us everything!" Surprisingly, it was Minori who spoke up this time. "Shiho, I say this not only as your friend and classmate, but as Haruka's friend and fellow idol, so hear me out!" A deep breath.
"Honestly, I completely support you two. But I know my approval isn't the problem- I've always admired that about you, Shiho, how you do what you are passionate about without worrying about what other people think." Shiho's eyes widened. "And that's why I was surprised to hear from Rin here that you- you've been avoiding Haruka so much. Because I think you're brave. Because I know that you're someone who has always wanted to live authentically! So please- don't avoid what you feel right now, and go for it!" Shiho was stunned into silence after Minori's ramble. Did she really give off that impression? Was she really as brave as Minori said? No, she was being a coward. She didn't have much more time to think about it though as Saki promptly pulled her outside, went inside her room and motioned the others to do the same.
"Wait, Saki, you aren't really going to-"
"You heard her, Shiho! Go stop avoiding your feelings!" Shiho looked to Ichika and Honami for help, silently pleading to be saved from this madness, only to be met with guilty smiles.
They were complicit in this to. Shiho didn't have long to feel completely and utterly betrayed as the door promptly shut in her face.
They were about to have a sleepover in her room without her, she thought incredulously as she made her way downstairs. Apparently she was supposed to "deal with her emotions" or something stupid like that.
...She couldn't deny that Minori had a point, though.
More More Jump were having a sleepover too, so at this point she was all alone. She decided to go to the kitchen to get some water- she had been in the room this whole time after all, and didn't have much else to do at the moment.
And there she was, in all her penguin-sweatered glory.
Haruka motherfucking Kiritani.
"Do you really think this will work..?" Honami asked doubtfully as their group settled in the futons in Shiho's room.
"Of course, this plan is foolproof!!!" Saki replied, enthusiastic to know that something would finally happen between her two oblivious friends. Well, mainly Shiho. "Rin told us that Haruka was downstairs at the perfect time, and was able to keep her there until we convinced Shiho to go downstairs. Our Rin will be giving us updates later too!"
"I don't think we exactly 'convinced' her, but I suppose she did go downstairs in the end..." Ichika said with a nervous chuckle. She felt a little bad for Shiho considering Saki's methods, but it was effective...
"I was really surprised when Rin appeared, though! I didn't know you had a SEKAI too!" Minori beamed, excited at the prospect of her not being the only one with the knowledge of this little world, and wondered momentarily what other people's SEKAIs were like.
"I know, right?! And thanks to that, we got to execute this plan..." Saki smiled mischievously. "And now, we just have to wait for them to work it out."
Chapter 2
Summary:
Shiho is forced to face her feelings for Haruka directly, but it might not end as unpleasantly as she feared...
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
"Ah, Shiho, what a pleasure to see you here." Haruka smiled that wonderful smile of hers, and Shiho wanted to hate it. She wanted to hate how mushy and in love she felt but she couldn't bring herself to hate something so perfect.
"Y-Yeah. What's up?" She wanted to run away, she really did, maybe she could forget all about this and ignore Saki's inevitable questions during practice. She could forget it all while playing the bass or something-
But she didn't. She was admittedly tired of trying to suppress herself, and Minori's words had struck a chord.
"Nothing much, I was wondering why I didn't see you much at the party though. Would you like to talk over hot chocolate?" She offered, wanting to ease her nerves. As fun as it was to see Shiho flustered, she wanted her to feel comfortable enough to actually stay in the same room for once.
Minori's conversation with her earlier hadn't been as odd as she originally thought-
"Haruka, are you in love with Shiho by any chance?" She asked, in a determined voice that wasn't odd because Minori was always determined- even when asking questions like this that caught her off guard.
"Perhaps I am... Anyways, why do you ask?" A slight blush dusted her cheek as she tried to play it off as not a big deal.
"Why don't you tell her how you feel? ...I've always thought you two might be a nice pair..." Huh. Now, that was odd.
"How can you be so sure?" Haruka honestly wasn't sure at first, whether she wanted this to stay as just a crush or as something more.
"Uhm, I wouldn't call myself sure of anything... It's just a hunch!" Minori said while looking away, trying to stay as unsuspicious as possible. She couldn't exactly just go and out Shiho, but someone had to push them in the right direction.
"Hm, I suppose I'll consider it." She said quietly.
She wasn't sure at first, whether she wanted this to be a crush or something more.
Now, though? As she took in the sight of Shiho's adorable flushed face with nothing but multicoloured Christmas lights illuminating her face? She was sure.
Her admiration for Shiho's hardworking nature, her solidarity for another Phenny lover, and the butterflies that rose whenever Shiho acted cute without knowing.
She knew, from all of those experiences, that she wanted this to be more than just a crush.
She wanted to know Shiho better, she wanted to understand her completely, she wanted to fall in love with her over and over again.
The feeling of want only grew, a feeling as thrilling as the stage and as comforting as a bed full of penguin plushies.
And it was beautiful, just like Shiho herself.
"Why are you staring at me?" The bassist that had been frequenting her thoughts asked shyly, and Haruka honestly wanted to kiss her then and there, but instead she sipped her hot chocolate and smiled.
"You have a pretty face, Shiho. And I'm just... Thinking." The reaction was immediate, with Shiho freezing up, eyes wide, and blushing deeply.
Cute.
"Wha-What are you thinking about." In her panic she phrased it more like a statement than a question, and the disparity made Haruka chuckle. She moved closer to the other girl, slowly but deliberately, until their faces were mere inches apart. Shiho's breath hitched as she stared back at her, entranced as if she was under a spell. Under Haruka's spell.
"I was thinking about how pretty your face is, obviously." She playfully flicked her forehead and sat down beside her, relishing in the slight disappointed whine Shiho gave. "What, were you expecting more?" "...Maybe..." She let a beat of silence pass between them. It was more comfortable than she expected. To her right, Haruka sat with a smile. Her smile was always stunning, but this one, this smile which was so wide it looked like her face was about to split apart, with a slight red tint in her cheeks and just how pleased she looked, was definitely the best one she had ever seen.
In moments like these, quiet with so much left unsaid, so much that didn't need to be said... She felt happy. Really, really happy.
Haruka was comforting. Haruka was exciting. And Haruka was so, so unbelievably perfect.
"Maybe..." Haruka replied after a while, moving her hand to lay on top of Shiho and giving it a light squeeze, "Maybe I was thinking the same." Shiho gasped. "You mean- Do you mean to say, um- Do you... Feel the same?" Her voice threatened to give out at the end, barely audible but just audible enough for Haruka to hear it where she was sitting. Close, so awfully close.
"Yes. Yes, a hundred times over." She smiled, holding Shiho's hand in both of her own. They were slightly calloused from years of playing the bass, and Haruka thought they were perfect.
"Then, can I..." She mumbled something incomprehensible, to which Haruka gave a questioning hum. Shiho whined, cheeks red, and looked at Haruka's lips.
Oh. "Do you... Want to kiss?" Haruka smiled teasingly, but the blush on her own face assured her that she wanted this too. Shiho nodded vigorously, sitting up straighter and realizing that she had never kissed before.
But neither had Haruka.
The idol shifted closer, so close that their noses were almost touching. The only sound passing through the room was from their steady breaths and the light rustling of the couch's fabric, before Shiho's brain was devoid of thoughts as their lips met. It was just as soft and wonderful and perfect as she had always expected, and for a few moments they just stayed there, enraptured in bliss. Haruka tasted sweet from the lingering remnants of hot chocolate on her lips and Shiho could feel herself practically melting into the couch, hooking her hands behind Haruka's neck to keep herself steady. After a while they did have to separate in order to breathe, but Shiho found it hard to catch her breath with Haruka still so close to her, lips slightly red with a dopey smile and half-lidded eyes.
The adrenaline from the kiss somewhat wore off, and Shiho found herself feeling extremely self-conscious.
"Shiho? Why are you covering your adorable little face in your hands?" Haruka chuckled, gently lifting her hands away from her face, revealing a profoundly red Shiho. "I want to see you." "Oh my god. I just kissed you. We- we actually just kissed. Oh my god. What are we now?" While Shiho was having a crisis, Haruka took amusement in her suffering and decided to lay on her lap.
"We can talk about that tomorrow, love." She said softly, intertwining their hands. "I'm tired now, shall we sleep?"
Unable to form any coherent words, Shiho nodded and hesitantly played with Haruka's hair as she quickly drifted off to sleep.
This might've been the best Christmas in her entire life, but wow was she exhausted.
And if the next morning everyone found them cuddled up like this, and Saki potentially took a picture for blackmail,well, she would deal with that when it happened.
But for now, she was happy. So with a smile, she fell asleep too, the warm glow of the fireplace and Haruka's soft breathing lulling her to sleep.
Notes:
hudghhdvgfhhkgjvkl hope you enjoyed bcs i certainly did enjoy making these two kiss kiss fall in love THEYRE SUCH A CUTE PAIRING OMG
the first part was beta read by one of my friends but i posted the second chapter without rereading it :P hope i didnt make any mistakes :/
I would have completed this fic earlier if my brain didnt decide to hyperfixate on a random office worker obsessed with a bucket x cranky british disembodied voice having oddly codependent yaoi together from a game ive never played but here we are ig we got it done in the end um???
anyways its 1 am im gonna go not sleep now bye :3
Lag4123 on Chapter 2 Sun 05 Jan 2025 11:08PM UTC
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candyballofdoom on Chapter 2 Mon 06 Jan 2025 10:48AM UTC
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90PercentHuman on Chapter 2 Thu 09 Jan 2025 05:13AM UTC
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candyballofdoom on Chapter 2 Fri 10 Jan 2025 10:22AM UTC
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