[fic][revolutionary girl utena] Reunion
I spent my Christmas Eve with my family and going out to eat Japanese food. Which I guess is suitable for a bad half-Jew. Then I came home and wrote more of the gay pilot story I'm posting in bits over at mineoyster. I've already clocked a heck of a lot of words on this and I'm vaguely proud of it!
And then I wrote some of the Revolutionary Girl Utena story that's been banging around in my head after I marathoned the series last month. Post-series. Very post-series. Part one of...well, we'll see how far I get. I've been waiting ten years to write for this series. 1,332 words.
It is a cold day. She wraps her scarf three times around her neck it pushes it into her coat before she locks the door to the greenhouse. It isn't snowing yet, it hasn't decided to yet, there are only little wisps of it in the air. She is grateful for the fact she wears her hair down. When she was young, when kept it piled in a bun behind her head, and her neck would have been cold as she hid the keys in her purse and stepped out into the brisk winter afternoon. The lights have already come on in front of some buildings. They winks in her dark curls. Her hair is black, but sometimes in the rippling reflections of shop windows and frozen puddles, there are hints of violet as it bounces over her shoulders and sways against her back.
She lives on the second floor of a narrow building on the corner, a few blocks away from her greenhouse and her shop. The cold hasn't gotten to her yet. She checks the mail. There is a cream colored letter crammed in the back, like the mail person has shoved it as far away as they could. She pulls it out. It is bent at the corner but the red seal over it is perfectly pressed. It’s a rose. A flower she never grows and never sells. She tucks it into her purse as she walks up the stairs. She leaves it on the little table as she hangs her coat. She puts her purse on the counter. She shakes droplets out of her hair. She rubs warmth back into her fingers as she walks down the hall towards the bedroom.
Utena's beaten her home. She usually does. She lies on the bed with her shoulders flat and the rest of her body propped up by her elbows. Her hand braces her lower back as she holds her legs up high above her, toes pointed at the ceiling. She pulls one knee to her chest. Then the other. Then she straightens both and stretches her feet as far as they will go. She repeats this several times before Anthy sits down at the end of the bed.
"Oh!" Utena's feet hit the mattress with a graceless thump. "I didn't hear you come in."
"I didn't want to disturb you," murmurs Anthy. She watches her from the corner of her eye. Utena groans and levers herself upright, into a butterfly stretch. "How was the game?"
"Well, they WON," says Utena, like it were just the opposite. "But barely. Ugh, I don't know what I'm going to do with them. If they make the championships playing like that they'll be an embarrassment. The off-season's no excuse for slacking. I'm going to have to beat the heck out of them by spring if they want to get anywhere respectably."
"I'm sure Utena shall make a most valiant effort," says Anthy.
Utena flops back, pushing her hair out of her face. It's light blonde, verging on red. Strawberry, most would call it. It’s the closest to pink this world will allow. "Like I have a choice. Eh, what about you? How was your day?" She peers out from under her bangs.
Anthy smiles, it's a soft and slow thing. She draws a circle in the comforter with her finger. "It was all right, I suppose. A little slow. It seems I left greenhouse the door ajar, and all the blossoms died in the night."
Utena sits back up. "That's terrible!" Her eyes are wide and sad for her, she grabs the hand that's resting on the comforter and holds it hard enough it hurts. "Anthy, that's terrible! We'll do something. We've still got the plants in the kitchen and the bathtub, right? We can move those in. And we'll get some seeds tomorrow. Someone's bound to be open! We can---we'll just-" Her voices tails off. Anthy's smiling, very patient. "....that didn't actually happen, did it."
"The begonias sold especially well today," says Anthy. "And the children loved the Impatiens. There were enough of them to do a reading hour. It was very nice."
Utena laughs and pinches Anthy's side. "Oh, go figure." She leans back and takes her with her. They fall across the mattress. They lie in a messy tangle for awhile. It's very warm.
"We got a letter," says Anthy, after awhile.
"Bills. Burn 'em."
"It's from school."
"What, the university?"
"No," says Anthy, "Ohtori. An invitation."
Utena goes stiff under her. "For what?"
"A reunion."
"What, like, a class reunion?"
"Yes. They are frequently held when ten years have passed."
"I know, I know but-oh geez!" Utena stretches her arms over her head. She looks straight up at the ceiling fan, which has been off for the past four months. "High school? Who thinks about high school! I barely remember anything. Just the time that.... that happened. And the time that...that guy, did that thing. Oh fine. I don't remember anything from high school-erm, besides you, Anthy." She adds that last part bashfully, as though she still has reason to feel shy about it. Her blush has always shown easily in her pale complexion. Anthy laughs and sits up, sliding her legs over the edge of the bed.
"We could go," offers Anthy. "It might be interesting."
"Wakaba probably got the notice," muses Utena. "But I see Wakaba all the time. And it's such a long way away! We'd have to get tickets. High school, ugh, what happened in high school. Besides that guy I dated," she crosses her eyes, "....but I can't even remember his name."
"I doubt he'd be there," says Anthy. "Still, I would not mind. There are some people I would like to see again. It's been so long..."
"Eh?" Utena un-scrunches her eyebrows. "You, Anthy? But you..." She stops short of saying 'you didn't have friends' because it occurs to her she has no moral high ground on the subject. "Chu-chu hates traveling!"
Chu-chu's sleeping in the coin dish downstairs. He's been very bad. Anthy kept potpourri in that dish, and he's eaten it all. He will wake up with an upset stomach, and then no one will be happy. "I think he will accept this for my sake," says Anthy. "He always has. And I knew people at Ohtori. They were very odd, but interesting. The oddest was a girl who dressed like a boy. The teachers were always so sharp with her. And she was always in my garden. And she was always asking such questions, saying such brazen things, doing such brazen things."
"Sounds like a real crazy."
"Yes," says Anthy. "She was."
The corner of Utena's mouth turned up. "Do you ever wonder what happened to her?"
"Never," says Anthy. "I forgot completely until just now."
"Ack. That's cold!"
"It is nearly winter," says Anthy. "Would you like some tea?"
"If it's not too brazen to ask."
"I'll allow it, this once." Anthy slides to her feet. She feels very light, in spite of her heavy winter skirts and her several layers of sweaters. Utena doesn't let her go quite yet. Her hand skates down the back of her arm, pausing to hold her at the elbow. Anthy pivots, Utena lets her go. She lets her go so easily that Anthy feels obliged to take her hand and squeeze it, in reassurance.
"Rest here," says Anthy. "I won't be long."
"If you want to go, we can go," says Utena. "I just don't know what I'd say to anyone! But we can go. Listen, we'll go see if they ever did do anything with those woods. You know, behind campus. Do you remember that? I remember we used to walk there an awful lot. Maybe they're still there. Maybe... eh, and we could use a vacation."
"It would be nice," says Anthy. "Thank you." She goes to put a kettle on the stove.
I hope everyone has a nice winter holiday of their choice.
And then I wrote some of the Revolutionary Girl Utena story that's been banging around in my head after I marathoned the series last month. Post-series. Very post-series. Part one of...well, we'll see how far I get. I've been waiting ten years to write for this series. 1,332 words.
It is a cold day. She wraps her scarf three times around her neck it pushes it into her coat before she locks the door to the greenhouse. It isn't snowing yet, it hasn't decided to yet, there are only little wisps of it in the air. She is grateful for the fact she wears her hair down. When she was young, when kept it piled in a bun behind her head, and her neck would have been cold as she hid the keys in her purse and stepped out into the brisk winter afternoon. The lights have already come on in front of some buildings. They winks in her dark curls. Her hair is black, but sometimes in the rippling reflections of shop windows and frozen puddles, there are hints of violet as it bounces over her shoulders and sways against her back.
She lives on the second floor of a narrow building on the corner, a few blocks away from her greenhouse and her shop. The cold hasn't gotten to her yet. She checks the mail. There is a cream colored letter crammed in the back, like the mail person has shoved it as far away as they could. She pulls it out. It is bent at the corner but the red seal over it is perfectly pressed. It’s a rose. A flower she never grows and never sells. She tucks it into her purse as she walks up the stairs. She leaves it on the little table as she hangs her coat. She puts her purse on the counter. She shakes droplets out of her hair. She rubs warmth back into her fingers as she walks down the hall towards the bedroom.
Utena's beaten her home. She usually does. She lies on the bed with her shoulders flat and the rest of her body propped up by her elbows. Her hand braces her lower back as she holds her legs up high above her, toes pointed at the ceiling. She pulls one knee to her chest. Then the other. Then she straightens both and stretches her feet as far as they will go. She repeats this several times before Anthy sits down at the end of the bed.
"Oh!" Utena's feet hit the mattress with a graceless thump. "I didn't hear you come in."
"I didn't want to disturb you," murmurs Anthy. She watches her from the corner of her eye. Utena groans and levers herself upright, into a butterfly stretch. "How was the game?"
"Well, they WON," says Utena, like it were just the opposite. "But barely. Ugh, I don't know what I'm going to do with them. If they make the championships playing like that they'll be an embarrassment. The off-season's no excuse for slacking. I'm going to have to beat the heck out of them by spring if they want to get anywhere respectably."
"I'm sure Utena shall make a most valiant effort," says Anthy.
Utena flops back, pushing her hair out of her face. It's light blonde, verging on red. Strawberry, most would call it. It’s the closest to pink this world will allow. "Like I have a choice. Eh, what about you? How was your day?" She peers out from under her bangs.
Anthy smiles, it's a soft and slow thing. She draws a circle in the comforter with her finger. "It was all right, I suppose. A little slow. It seems I left greenhouse the door ajar, and all the blossoms died in the night."
Utena sits back up. "That's terrible!" Her eyes are wide and sad for her, she grabs the hand that's resting on the comforter and holds it hard enough it hurts. "Anthy, that's terrible! We'll do something. We've still got the plants in the kitchen and the bathtub, right? We can move those in. And we'll get some seeds tomorrow. Someone's bound to be open! We can---we'll just-" Her voices tails off. Anthy's smiling, very patient. "....that didn't actually happen, did it."
"The begonias sold especially well today," says Anthy. "And the children loved the Impatiens. There were enough of them to do a reading hour. It was very nice."
Utena laughs and pinches Anthy's side. "Oh, go figure." She leans back and takes her with her. They fall across the mattress. They lie in a messy tangle for awhile. It's very warm.
"We got a letter," says Anthy, after awhile.
"Bills. Burn 'em."
"It's from school."
"What, the university?"
"No," says Anthy, "Ohtori. An invitation."
Utena goes stiff under her. "For what?"
"A reunion."
"What, like, a class reunion?"
"Yes. They are frequently held when ten years have passed."
"I know, I know but-oh geez!" Utena stretches her arms over her head. She looks straight up at the ceiling fan, which has been off for the past four months. "High school? Who thinks about high school! I barely remember anything. Just the time that.... that happened. And the time that...that guy, did that thing. Oh fine. I don't remember anything from high school-erm, besides you, Anthy." She adds that last part bashfully, as though she still has reason to feel shy about it. Her blush has always shown easily in her pale complexion. Anthy laughs and sits up, sliding her legs over the edge of the bed.
"We could go," offers Anthy. "It might be interesting."
"Wakaba probably got the notice," muses Utena. "But I see Wakaba all the time. And it's such a long way away! We'd have to get tickets. High school, ugh, what happened in high school. Besides that guy I dated," she crosses her eyes, "....but I can't even remember his name."
"I doubt he'd be there," says Anthy. "Still, I would not mind. There are some people I would like to see again. It's been so long..."
"Eh?" Utena un-scrunches her eyebrows. "You, Anthy? But you..." She stops short of saying 'you didn't have friends' because it occurs to her she has no moral high ground on the subject. "Chu-chu hates traveling!"
Chu-chu's sleeping in the coin dish downstairs. He's been very bad. Anthy kept potpourri in that dish, and he's eaten it all. He will wake up with an upset stomach, and then no one will be happy. "I think he will accept this for my sake," says Anthy. "He always has. And I knew people at Ohtori. They were very odd, but interesting. The oddest was a girl who dressed like a boy. The teachers were always so sharp with her. And she was always in my garden. And she was always asking such questions, saying such brazen things, doing such brazen things."
"Sounds like a real crazy."
"Yes," says Anthy. "She was."
The corner of Utena's mouth turned up. "Do you ever wonder what happened to her?"
"Never," says Anthy. "I forgot completely until just now."
"Ack. That's cold!"
"It is nearly winter," says Anthy. "Would you like some tea?"
"If it's not too brazen to ask."
"I'll allow it, this once." Anthy slides to her feet. She feels very light, in spite of her heavy winter skirts and her several layers of sweaters. Utena doesn't let her go quite yet. Her hand skates down the back of her arm, pausing to hold her at the elbow. Anthy pivots, Utena lets her go. She lets her go so easily that Anthy feels obliged to take her hand and squeeze it, in reassurance.
"Rest here," says Anthy. "I won't be long."
"If you want to go, we can go," says Utena. "I just don't know what I'd say to anyone! But we can go. Listen, we'll go see if they ever did do anything with those woods. You know, behind campus. Do you remember that? I remember we used to walk there an awful lot. Maybe they're still there. Maybe... eh, and we could use a vacation."
"It would be nice," says Anthy. "Thank you." She goes to put a kettle on the stove.
I hope everyone has a nice winter holiday of their choice.