Phone Call

The sound of her phone ringing forces Aki to rouse from her slumber. She lets out a groan as she reaches over to check what time it is. 8 AM? That's far too early for anyone to be making a phone call. However, when she checks the number, she vaguely recognizes it. Too tired to recall exactly who the number belongs to, Aki picks up her phone, and places it to her ear, accepting the call. She doesn't even realize that the number isn't an Equestrian number. "Hello?" Aki's voice is groggy, and sluggish. The voice on the other end responds with an energetic, cutesy tone in Neighpanese. "Heeeeeyyyy sis!" Instantly, Aki's entire day is ruined. "I'm shooting a movie in Vanhoover starting tomorrow, soooo, I was wondering if you'd like to meet up! I'd love to catch up, and tell you all about things back home!" Aki does not respond for quite some time. Deep, mental scars that had only just begun to heal are opened anew. Aki CAN'T deal with her sister. Not now. Not ever again. Yet... "S-sure." The word slides out of her mouth without thought. "Great! How about I pick out a nice cafe, and we'll meet tomorrow at 6 PM, your time, kay? Bye!" Click. Later that morning, around 10, Nar makes his way into Aki's apartment for his usual morning check in. He's a little upset when he finds that Aki has not left her bedroom yet, but he knows it's going to take more than just a week or two for her to get into a better sleep schedule. He heads over to her bedroom, and gives it a few knocks. "Up and at 'em Aki! Time to wake up!" He doesn't get a response. At this, Nar opens the bedroom door, finding his girlfriend curled up around her pillow. She appears to groan softly as the light from the hallway hits her eyes. As she lifts her head to look up at him, Nar thinks it looks like she's been crying. The partially dried wet spot on her pillow where she'd had her face buried in it seems to confirm that. Nar's tone softens. He eases to sit down on the bed beside Aki, and begins to gently rub her shoulder. "Hey, Spidey. What's wrong?" Aki only manages a half-cried groan in response. Her head then thumps back onto her bed. At this, Nar takes off his skates, and slides over to the other side of the bed. He then gently slides up behind Aki, wrapping his arms around her in a big cuddle burrito. "Did you die in that permadeath game you got into yesterday?" Aki only manages to groan again, but she does slowly flip herself over to face him. Nar reaches a hand up to gently stroke her hair as he plants a kiss on her forehead. "Hey, it's okay. I'm here." Aki looks up at him with big, adoring eyes. She then wraps her arms around him in a hug as she buries her face into his chest. The two cuddle in silence for around 10 minutes before Aki manages to break the silence. "My sister called." Genuine confusion washes over Nar. "I didn't even know you had a sister." Aki gives a slow nod in response. "I... I don't like to talk about my family... I moved here to get away from them." "That bad, huh? Do you know why your sister called you?" "She wants to meet tomorrow. She's filming a movie in the city." "And what did you tell her?" Aki is silent for a few moments. "I said sure." "But you really didn't want to, did you?" How can he read her like a book? Can Nar read minds?! "No... I didn't." "Well, you could call her back, and cancel." Aki simply groans. "Or, I could go with you." "You don't have to..." "Well, you clearly don't want to go, and you aren't going to call her back to cancel, so I'm going to go with you." Aki tries to protest, but Nar simply isn't having it. He refuses to let Aki go meet with her sister alone if this is how a simple phone call ends. Eventually, Nar manages to cheer Aki up enough for them to get out of bed, but by that time, it's well past time for breakfast. After a quick shower, and change of clothes, the couple sets out to find themselves somewhere to grab some lunch. Nar shoots a text to his bandmates to let them know he won't be home until tomorrow, then begins to form a plan to help Aki prepare for the meeting with her sister tomorrow.