Even When No One Comes

Nitsuki stared blankly into the cooling night air around them. Fireflies hovered and glided aimlessly above the grass, giving the field a faint glow like an array of lost stars. It was nice—beautiful, really—but she couldn't bring herself to care much right now.

They were currently sitting at one of the public pavilions in front of the Hoshimura Observatory. The moon was bright and hung low in the sky, illuminating the stage the fireflies danced upon in a faint, silver light. It was just her and Tachibana, and it'd been that way for an entire hour.

Nobody had shown up.

It was an odd sensation, really; not quite anger nor just sadness. It was more like a numbness that settled deep in her bones and left her hollow. She'd known it would happen—she'd double checked her visions as if that'd change anything—but that didn't make it any easier. No, if anything it was even more disappointing than she'd thought it would be.

Tachibana was quiet. He wasn't looking at her, instead focusing on a small firefly that'd landed on his arm.

"Tachibana, let's go," she said.

He shook his head. "We still have thirty minutes."

She frowned. "No one's coming. We already know that."

He glanced up at the sky. "Maybe, but that's no reason to stop early."

"Seriously?"

He shrugged and leaned back, resting against the table. "We said that we'd wait until 8:00. So that's what we'll do. What if someone wanted to come but they're just running late?"

Nitsuki sighed, resting her head against the table and staring at the fireflies.

"Do you really think that?" she asked quietly.

"I have to. Otherwise, what was the point?"

"…Fair enough."

They sat in silence for a while longer, neither saying anything as they watched the world around them.

Her eyes shifted focus from the wandering stars towards Tachibana. Despite no one else being here, he still had a faint smile on his face, albeit a slightly forced and tired one.

"What're you smiling at? You dummy?" she grumbled. "You're not fooling me. You're not happy."

Tachibana chuckled weakly. "True. Not the happiest I've been, but definitely not the lowest I've been either. I mean, I'm with you, aren't I?"

She felt her heart flutter, though only a little. It'd take a little more to get her to grovel like usual with the mood she was in.

"You really are an idiot."

"An idiot who loves you," he added, his smile widening.

"…An idiot who loves me."

She glanced at the various refreshments that they'd brought. Onigiri, bags of chips, and some bottles of tea and water, all neatly arranged in a small basket beside them. She grabbed a bottle and opened it. The cool liquid felt good on her throat as it slid down into her stomach.

She looked at it in her hand once she'd drank about half of it, and a rogue pang of sadness hit her. She'd known that nobody would come, but the effort that they'd put into this still hurt to see wasted. All the time and work Tachibana had spent on those posters, the food that they'd bought for people to enjoy together…

A shaky breath escaped her lips before she could stop herself.

"I'm sorry."

Tachibana frowned. "Nia, what are you—"

"For being the reason why no one's gonna show up." She took another drink. "For making you waste all that time and energy. If you hadn't met me, you could be living a normal life. Instead, I dragged you into this."

His forehead scrunched. "Nia, where did this come from? Stop it."

She ignored him. "It's true though, isn't it? You're stuck with a girlfriend who's a 'fake woman' and a 'bad influence on you'. Your reputation's tanking because of me."

"Stop," he said, his voice cracking.

"Your life would have been so much better, so much easier, if you hadn't gone and fallen for some crazy, delusional, freak like—"

He gripped her shoulder. "I said stop!"

Nitsuki blinked and looked at him. Huh, when did her eyes get this watery? And why were her cheeks wet? Was it raining? No, there was nothing on the ground. Weird.

"Are you listening to me?" he continued. "Nia, I love you. I will reiterate that until the day I die. And I don't care what other people think of me. If they have a problem with it even after they know the full picture, then they can go jump off a bridge for all I care."

Her cheeks suddenly puffed up as she restrained a laugh in spite of her tears. Crap, she couldn't stop herself. It was morbidly funny to hear that considering what had started this entire thing.

She would've been at the bottom of the river now had Daimon not stopped her.

"Nia, I'm serious. I love you. You're kind, funny, cool, and so much else. I wouldn't trade that for anything. So don't start spouting this nonsense about how I should have never met you, okay? It's just not right." He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his chest.

She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in the warm comfort of his shirt. Her fingers clung to him, gripping the fabric as if she were afraid he'd disappear.

"I'm sorry, I'm being stupid. It's just… I hate that this happened. Even though you say you're fine with it, I still hate that I've made things harder for you."

He gently rubbed the back of her neck, his touch soothing her. She could feel his heartbeat with how close they were.

"Maybe it is harder," he admitted. "But it's also better. You make it better. I don't want to lose that. I never want to lose it. I won't let anyone take you away from me."

She sniffled and hugged him tighter. Aagh, why was her stupid monkey brain suddenly deciding to flip-flop between being sad, sappy, and mushy all at the same damn time!?

"Any comment to make, brain?"

A moment of contemplation passed.

Eh he, this is nice.

"…Useless!"

***

The sound of the road beneath them was a gentle drone in their ears as they drove along the winding mountain path back home. They'd stayed at the pavilion for a while after Nia's outburst, chatting quietly and enjoying the cool air and the company of one another.

She looked out the passenger side window as her mind drifted. She'd always found the sight of the stars to be relaxing; the way they glittered against the dark canvas of the sky had always fascinated her. It was almost enough to make her forget about her problems. It'd been one of the reasons why she'd willingly volunteered the first time for the stargazing festival—of course, then Inoue had to come and ruin it all by—

"Hey, Nia?"

She glanced over to the still driving Tachibana.

"Hm?"

He paused for a moment before speaking again. "You want to stop by the cafe? I dunno about you, but I'm in the mood for a cozy drink."

She blinked. That was random.

"What, the leftover refreshments aren't good enough for you?" she joked.

"Maybe, but I'm thinking of a hot chocolate. You want something?"

Nitsuki shrugged. It'd probably be fine. The cafe usually wasn't that packed on Thursdays, so there probably wouldn't be too many people judging them or whatever.

Admittedly, she still felt a little hesitation considering the vision she'd had all that time ago, but the event was long over. Surely, it wouldn't be that big of a deal if they went now, would it?

Really jinxing yourself, aren't you?

"Oh, now you decide to speak up. Stupid brain."

Yeah, yeah. What's it going to be? You're gonna give in and take his offer or not?

Nitsuki paused before sighing.

"…Yeah, sure, I guess."

Tachibana smiled.

When they pulled up into the parking lot, it was nearly empty. There was only a couple of cars there, and one of them was probably the owner's. They parked and got out, the night air cool on their skin as they walked towards the entrance.

When they stepped inside, it was warm. Soft music played from the speakers overhead, and the smell of coffee and pastries filled the room. Just like the parking lot, the interior was rather vacant, though there were still two or three other people inside on the far end of the room. The barista and owner wiped down the counter in front, humming along to the song before noticing their entrance.

"Welcome dear customers—Ah, Rikuo… Amano. It's you."

Tachibana smiled. "Hi, Mrs. Aiko, yeah it has been awhile. Sorry about that. I'd meant to come to the event when that'd been a thing, but… er, some other important matters came up."

Nitsuki gave a small nod in greeting, but didn't say anything.

Aiko was an older lady in her late sixties, with a neutral face and a shock of white hair. She was known to be rather blunt and had a soft spot for certain things that suited her fancy—mainly, the cute and innocent.

In other words, not Nitsuki.

It's not like she actively hated Nitsuki, at least she didn't think so, it's just that they'd never really clicked. Aiko was one of those people that believed in the 'traditional values' of Japan and had gotten pretty bristly when Nitsuki first revealed she was… well, a she.

She hadn't been outright hostile or anything, just distant, aloof, and a bit rude. So, technically leagues better than what she got from everyone else at the time but still nowhere close to pleasant, and that was probably only because of how she'd known her grandmother, Yumiko.

"Well, that's life. Anyways, what'll it be?"

"Um, a hot chocolate, please," Tachibana replied, glancing at Nitsuki.

"…Make that two," she added.

"Anything else?"

"Er, no, that's it."

"Alright. You two can sit down wherever you like while I get those ready."

They nodded and made their way to one of the corners of the cafe, settling into a booth that overlooked the road outside. The lights were dim, giving the place a cozy atmosphere, but bright enough to read by. The wood paneling on the walls and the soft, cushioned chairs all gave it a very homey feeling.

Tachibana reached out and took her hand, smiling at her. "You doing okay? Tonight sort of feels like it's been an off night for you."

Nitsuki snorted. "Off night would be an understatement, but I think I'm starting to recover from my bout of stupidity."

"Hey, you weren't being stupid. You're allowed to have moments of self-doubt, I mean, everyone has their moments."

"…I guess you're right." She tried cracking a reassuring smile at him before her eyes trailed downward. "Erm, I just realized though. Others are around, so may not want to… you know." She gestured toward their hands.

"Oh! Uh, right," Tachibana laughed awkwardly. "Almost forgot about that."

"It's fine… You can always grope me to your hearts content later tonight."

He nearly doubled over coughing and accidentally kneed the table upward.

Nitsuki smirked as the man struggled to regain his composure.

"Holy… Nia! A little warning next time!" he gasped.

She snickered. "That was for two nights ago."

"What?! When I surprised tickled you? From what I remember, you really—"

"Ahem."

Nitsuki's heart dropped as she spotted a rather exasperated-looking Mrs. Aiko standing beside them, tray in her hand.

"Here are your drinks," she said, calmly setting the cups down on their table.

Crap.

That was way too quick! When had she snuck up on them? How much had she seen?!

"…T-thank you, Mrs. Aiko," Tachibana said, his face still a little flushed from before. "We, uh, appreciate it…" He withdrew into himself as he realized their situation.

They were screwed, weren't they?

The elderly woman just looked them over, gave a curt nod, and… suddenly sat down next to Nitsuki.

"!" Nitsuki tensed up. Alarms started blaring in the back of her head.

Oh shit. Ohshitohshitohshit. This wasn't good.

"M-Mrs. Aiko? Is something wrong?" Tachibana asked, his brows furrowing. "Why—"

"I need to talk to you both." She turned to look at Nitsuki. "And especially her."

"M-me?" Nitsuki blurted before quickly stuffing her hand over her mouth. Crap.

"Yes you. Who else would I be talking to?"

Nitsuki swallowed. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Aiko. I didn't mean to—"

"Quiet," the woman snapped, cutting her off. "Now listen closely. I'm going to tell you exactly what I think of the situation."

Nitsuki's blood was running colder and colder with every passing moment, and a deep, primal part of her was telling her to run. Except, she couldn't. She was stuck in her seat. The damn woman had effectively boxed her in.

"The way I see things," Mrs. Aiko said, leaning back in her chair, "is that you're both adults. I'm not going to tell you that I think it'll work out or that I even understand it—"

"M-Mrs. Aiko, with all due respect, I-I'm not quite sure I'm following—"

Aiko interrupted her interruption. "Let me finish, Amano. I'm not done. As I was about to say, I'm not a fool…"

She trailed off and sighed.

"But… I think that support group you're making is a good idea. I'll support you two in it."

"…"

Silence.

"…E-eeh?!" That was not what Nitsuki had expected.

She'd expected Aiko to say something about the rumors that'd been going around town about them. Perhaps some harshly worded reprimand, a rant about how she was corrupting Tachibana, or something along those lines.

But this?!

Aiko stared hard at her. "Did I stutter? I'll help you. I'll provide food and drinks for your little group and even give it a home here at the cafe if needed. The observatory might be pretty, but it's a decent drive out there. If you're trying to attract more people, you'll want to keep it more toward the center of town. I'm sure you know that."

"Y-yeah, that makes sense I guess. It's just…" She trailed off, not knowing what else to say. What could she even say to that?

"What? Is my help too much for you? If you don't want it, just tell me and I'll leave you two alone."

"NO!" Nitsuki practically shouted, causing the woman to raise an eyebrow at her. "I mean, no. I'm grateful for the offer. Really. We both are. It's just, erm, this is really unexpected."

"Really now? Well, I guess I can understand that. I'm not a huge fan of you, Amano. Never have been, never will be. But if you're trying to help the community, even if it is just a silly little group, then I'll support you. After all… you're Yumiko's grandson—erm, granddaughter—and despite it all, I can see you're trying now."

"…"

Nitsuki felt tears start to well up in her eyes and quickly wiped them away before they could fall.

Crap, what the hell was going on? Why were her eyes leaking again?

"T-thank you?" she managed to croak out, her voice breaking slightly.

Aiko scoffed. "Hmph. Enough crying, child. You're far too old for that. I've said what I needed to say. Enjoy the drinks and come see me whenever you're ready."

With that, the older woman got up and walked back to the counter as if nothing had happened.

Tachibana just stared after her before turning to look at Nitsuki.

"Um… Wow. That was, um… unexpected. Ah! Nia, are you okay?!"

Nitsuki looked down at her hands. Her fingers were trembling, and she couldn't seem to make them stop.

"I-I'm fine," she lied. "Just, uh, crap. I… don't know what to say." She glanced back up at the figure of the old woman, her head spinning.

Aiko herself had said it, she didn't like her, and she never would. But even then, she'd offered to help. And to top it all off, the way that she'd referred to her…

Yumiko's granddaughter, not grandson.

"Nia, breathe," Tachibana said, leaning over the table.

She took a deep breath, then another, and then finally a third one. When she'd calmed down, she noticed that the old woman was watching her carefully from behind the counter, though she quickly turned her head when they made eye contact.

What had even changed? And why was she even feeling this… touched?!

It was just some words, a few sentences, a gesture.

Crap, she was going to cry again. She could feel it.

"You sure you're okay?" he asked softly.

"…Yeah," she replied, taking a sip from the hot chocolate in front of her. "I-I am."

She looked at Tachibana, and a sudden burst of emotion surged through her.

Maybe this entire thing wasn't so pointless after all.