[did he really think that he was going to get away with that
it's probably the text that wakes anya up, or she's otherwise just barely starting to wake up to get ready for school, and then she's scrambling for her phone (and nearly falling off her bed). she barely reads over the text before deciding to just
call
(it's too early in the morning to process a different writing system than cyrillic)
and her voice is groggy and sleepy but it's okay, she's not saying anything super important right away if he picks up she's just
[there would be a text on Anya's phone before school let out for the day - one from Grell, reading your mother agreed to let me spirit you away for the afternoon, since i promised you a day for the two of us. i'll pick you up from school, katzi.
Grell waits outside of her car, leaning against the side as people begin to pour out of the building. for now, she's calm, in no mood to rush. it's been a bit since she got to see Anya in person, and truth be told she misses her niece. hopefully the idea of surprising her will brighten her Monday at least a little.]
She texts Dave and Yuri to let them know that they can go ahead without her and then proceeds to immediately look for Grell. When she does spot her auntie, she perks up immediately and waves as her pace picks up.]
[ It's one of those rare occasions when Yato, Anya, and Anya's mother are all free for the evening, and so they have planned to have dinner. To Yato, family dinners with the Vasilievas are personal holidays to plan around. If he can, Yato will show up early to help prepare dinner, and then the three of them will catch up with each other. It's a simple ritual, completely domestic. Just the three of them to entertain each other with gentle banter, comfortable conversation, and hearty food.
These nights are the highlights of Yato's life.
Today, it is different.
Whenever Anya arrives home, she'll find her mother and Yato in the kitchen, already in the middle of cooking dinner. Her mother content and busy with her hands, Yato distracted and visibly, anxiously pensive. When he hears Anya coming, he turns toward her. But he says nothing, instead focusing intently on her. He seems to be waiting to see what she will do or say first. ]
[Anya's in the middle of humming some tune that had been stuck in her head since dance practice ended. Her mood is sky high. As far as she's concerned, she gets to spend the night with two of her favorite people in the whole world. There's no one that Anya loves more than her mother, and Yato is the closest possible second. She also knows that the two of them love her just as much and over the years, Anya's mother has had a fondness for Yato that's led her to give him special treatment that almost borders the same flexibility that Anya has.
On nights like this, there's nothing but love in the house.
Still, she catches the look on Yato's face and tilts her head. Her bag is left at the side as she immediately opens her arms to him.]
Yato? Is everything okay?
[To which Anya's mother startles gently, turning from her task to look over her shoulder at her daughter and she blinks.
"Anya, you brought a friend home? Hmm, that's fine - would you set another place at the table then?"
... and that's what makes Anya's expression turn from worried to confused, her arms still open to Yato. For a moment, she's stunned enough that she can't quite find the words she wants in English, her head a mix of sad, jumbled Russian instead.]
[In the mail, Anya will receive three books. All three are thick and absolutely gorgeous astronomy texts that are fairly up-to-date as far as the science goes, with large pull out spreads of galaxies, nebulae and pictures that explain different phenomenon. The books are identical, save for one thing: the languages. One is in Russian, one is in English and one is in Japanese. There isn't anything attached to the package that would tell her more about this gift but she gets a text later that day that does.]
Oh blue blazes i stop checking my email for a few hours and they arrive. I meant to send this before they did. Well anyhoo! I was buying graduation presents for a few of my younger friends and an idea popped into my noggin. I know your birthday is fast approaching but theres never a bad time to give a gift. This should be a fun way to expand your already growing vocabulary! You can compare and contrast the translations as you see fit. I hope you like them! Give me a shout if you dont though.
Her eyes light up the second that she sees them, and she's already making plaintive noises when she has to be somewhere else before she gets proper time to read them. But as soon as she does get home, she's absolutely making an assortment of excited chirps and marveled "прекрасна" murmurs under her breath, commenting on their beauty. She adores them. She loves them. The pull out spreads get stared at for hours and if she shows up yawning to her responsibilities to the next day, she decides they're worth it.
It's actually the next evening when she's going through them again that she remembers to send a text - ]
not a shout ! but i do not just like them i love them !!! very very very much thank you this lifted my spirits high so high they are with the stars ! thank you !
[ another okay day at the agency, and mizuki has just finished another shoot for this month. god, there's been a lot of them just this month alone but considering that it's summer, they're taking advantage of the summer break, so it's fine.
it's also one of those rare days where anya is actually around, so he'll waste no time in coolly approaching her once she's wrapped up her job as well. ]
[It is one of those rare days where Anya is actually around - the photoshoot she was at was in preparation for a big one and given the fact that she was starting to come down with a little bit of exhaustion, her scheduler insisted that she be given time to rest so that she was in peak condition for the convention at the end of the month.
When Mizuki approaches her, she still manages to brighten up immediately.]
Senpai! Hello. Yes?
[what do you need to talk to her about, she's willing to talk about anything!!]
["Share a difficult Retrospec memory" was one of his bingo squares that he was having trouble with, simply because none of the visions he had gotten were particularly difficult for him to talk about. They weren't always pleasant, sure, but it's not difficult to separate yourself from those memories when you were very certain whoever you're seeing in the visions weren't you. So, it took him a long time to figure out what he should do about it.
But after long contemplation, it came to him that there was one memory he wasn't fond of sharing. Not because the memory itself was a terrible one, but the reactions certain people might have if they heard about it. People like Anya.
So a full week after he came to epiphany, he finally worked up the courage to contact her. ]
hey anya. uh...hows your summer?
[Ugh, that sounded totally lame]
look, do you have time to hear something? its for that fucking bingo card thing.
for bingo game ? for noah ? yes ! i will make time
( and my summer is good but i do not think that is what you want to talk about ? )
[teasing.... but she does assume that to be true? she smiles faintly at her phone, surprised by not displeased at all by her friend approaching her. if there was anything that she could do for him, he would simply have to name it.]
[following several concerned messages about her unreachable status and various threats toward her producers if they're just keeping her busy again at a time like this:]
hey, kiddo.
when you get back, if you see this before I find you, you know where I'm gonna be.
[when, not if. failure's not an option here.]
we're working hard over here to get you back, so you better be knocking 'em dead out there, alright?
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