#pity the poor electric trans boy for what he had to put up with before he became a supervillain

[itwillbeall-dwight]

sonata no. 4

kate denson/yui kimura; fluff; love confessions; music performances; 3085 words

a/n: bro i love country roads so much do you Know how much i do. do you know.

i’ve been sitting on this one for a while, i’ve been kinda nervous to post it because this isn’t something i relate to as a trans mlm. but i think i did a good job! they deserve so much happiness. also this is a call for kate to please call me god ma’am you are So pretty.

likes < reblogs, any comments in the tags are appreciated

ao3 mirror in the reblogs!

Preview: “Well, uh… any requests?” She seemed almost sheepish now that she sat there, self-conscious that the old thing was oddly silent.  Yui leaned against the top of the piano, folding her arms atop it and resting her chin on them. “Go wild. Beside you singin’, I’ve never… heard your music.” “You’re not missin’ much.” “I’m sure I am.” She looked up with a soft smile, face going a little red as she cleared her throat, hands hovering over the keys as she muttered to herself, before she began to play. 

Another day, another trial in the fog, four poor souls fighting for their lives for the entertainment of some eldritch crowd. This time, the dusty horizons of Glenvale were the sight of such an event; the trial ground mostly silent aside from the occasional scream of pain from one of her fellow survivors. Though that hadn't been often - thus far, with two generators powered up and ready to go, the four of them running circles around the Hag, the poor forest witch so out of her element amongst the dust and sand of the American wild west. That wasn't going to make them pity her, though, and her bony fingers still swiped at them like claws, and she still growled with the same hunger and malice, seeming to only grow angrier with each failed attack.

 The gentle creaking of the nearby hook from a silent wind was only drowned out by the sounds of turning gears and electrical sparks, the smell of rusted copper wires carrying up to her nose and making it wrinkle as she gently crossed over another pair of wires, routinely, as she had learned to do from her trials before. From the corner of her eye, sunkissed arms reached out from the depths of the generator to pull down a nearby leaver and turn a crack, listening to the machine groan and sigh before it purred to life, lights atop it flickering on to signal the third one down-

Before she could stand to her feet and revel in the small victory, the gentle yet surprised yelp to her side caused Yui to look down the trap door atop the gallows down at Kate, now sitting on the dusty ground below, rubbing her tailbone with a pained wince on her face.

"Break your back, cowboy?" She called down, with a small smirk on her face, squatting with her elbows resting on her knees.

The singer looked up with a pained grin, laughing weakly, that in itself sounding like music. "S-sorry... kinda forgot it did that.

Yui chuckled a little, trying not to pay attention to the way her face glowed when she smiled, hoisting herself down the hole with a bend of the knees and a light thud, before holding a hand out to help Kate to her feet.

Which she took. Her hands were soft, like silk, and her grip was somehow both delicate and firm as she pulled herself up to stand, taking a moment to almost shake her hand before pulling it away and resting it on her hip.

(Yui hoped she didn't notice the way she instinctively moved to grab it again, just to hold it for a little bit longer.)

"Well, those generator's ain't gonna finish themselves, huh? Let's get  a move on." Her instructions were like honey - sweet, and thick with kindness and a southern twang that was distractingly enticing.

But she held it together, just enough, to nod. "Yeah, got it. Saloon?"

The other survivor nodded, a default sweet small befalling her features. "Great idea, hon." 

After the two had checked along the horizon of the dusty town to find nothing more than a loose tumbleweed, Kate led them through the back of the saloon, where even the sound of her boots against the old rotting floor, or the way she talked to herself as she dispelled out the talisman's left in the wood with her flashlight was enough to make the stonecold expression so default to Yui's face soften.

 So she had a crush on Kate Denson. Who wouldn't? The girl was perfect, practically untouchable, even in the fog, always excited for a new adventure in every trial and willing to try anything more than once, always celebrating when they escaped but never solemn or disheartened when they didn't, always willing to lend an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on, and never short of a song to get everyone happily singing along. Yui'd had crushes before (she was only human, after all), but never like this - they were always fleeting, passing by before she would care to even give them a chance, her work and ambitions drowning her. But here in the fog, there was no tarmac, no smell of burning rubber or old gasoline, the only roaring not coming from old dirtbikes but from whatever monster of the week wanted them dead... but with Kate, she was head over heels for her, and wanted more than anything to be her girl, to be the wind on her back, but somehow always knew there would never be a chance. Maybe that's why she hesitated, even with a thousand chances.

 She was so caught in her thoughts that she didn’t realise that Kate had stopped walking in front of her, bumping into her back with a quiet litter of a sheepish apology before stopping. “Hey, Denson?”

“Huh?” She seemed to snap out of her own head and look back to Yui, before glancing around. “Oh! Oh, right. Generator.”

“What’s up?”

“Uh, nothing bad, just…” Kate looked back in front over her, as Yui looked over her shoulder and followed her eyes to the old piano, the racket as if someone was falling on the damn keys, over and over. 

“...You play?”

“Vaguely. Helps to tune your guitar, gives it somethin’ to tune it to, ya know? I did lessons as a kid, ‘n my mom would take me to recitals with a camcorder and freak out every time.” She laughed, that sweet honey laugh, that slowly fizzled out into a sound that came from sadness. “...I kinda miss playin’, sometimes.”

That made sense. Yui knew the feeling; tearing up the road on a bike wasn’t the same as kicking up dirt running on adrenaline from an asshole with a knife, but it was the closest she was ever gonna get until they got out of here. Her hands hovered over Kate’s shoulder’s for a moment, before she gently placed them there, weathered palms holding perfect skin, warm to the touch. “We’ll figure somethin’ out. For now though-”

“Generator. Right. You’re not subtle.”

“...Sorry.”

Kate giggled, shaking her head in dismissal, not really minding the acknowledgement of her reminiscing was far from the point of them being there, letting herself be pushed upstairs to the generator on the balcony.

 They were mostly quiet, though Yui did ask for her to talk about the piano more, mostly just to hear her voice. The things Kate was saying didn’t entirely make sense to her (she was never the most musical, but understood when things sounded nice, at the bare minimum), but hearing her sound so excited was more than enough.

The conversation eventually stopped, shifting as Adam came to join them, short of breath and bleeding through his coat, medkit in hand and asking for assistance, which Kate was happy to give. Yui kept her focus on the generator, as best she could, but the ghosts playing the piano just below her kept catching her ear. And as Kate came back to the generator, happily talking to the teacher that now joined them as if they weren’t in a trial trapped in the old west, she knew what she wanted to do.

 They escaped with relative ease, the struggling with never really catching up with them, all four of them escaping with some new items in hand, thanks to Zarina, who had done an excellent job keeping the Hag occupied in the dusty streets. Yui hadn’t seen Kate much for a while after that. When one was busy, the other was not, and when one was enduring a trial, the other was scouting out a realm for any clues to their escape (routine exercise). But that was fine, in terms of her little plan - the less she saw, the better. And besides, she didn’t think Kate would notice, or even care. But soon, they spoke again, after another group of four were sent to fight for their lives.

 “Hey, uh, Yui?” Her sugary sweet voice gave the survivor a start, jumping as she was cleaning a flashlight from the small pile she’d accrued.

“Ah- oh, uh… hey.”

“Hi! Uh… can I ask you somethin’?”

For a moment, her mind jumped to the best-case scenario, but Yui cleared her throat before she could daydream any more on that. “Um, sure?”

“Have you seen… any coins?”

“...Coins?”

She nodded. “Well, Jake was checking through the stock and, uh… says we’re missin’ a few. Haven’t seen him that riled up about somethin’ since… well, ever.”

Yui almost laughed. “That boy is a damn dragon, I swear.”

“Think he likes to just… have things.”

“Things like coins we can’t even use?”

“Well… yeah.”

Yui scoffed a little, rolling her eyes before she put the flashlight down on the log beside her, resting her elbows on her knees and leaning forward where she sat, looking up at the singer. “I… have an idea. But you’re gonna have to trust me.”

“I… OK? You can tell me anything-”

“No, no,” she cut her off. “...I want you to come with me, somewhere. Just the two of us.”

She raised an eyebrow. Yui quickly picked up on the signal.

“...Nothing bad, promise.” The street racer offered a hand, beckoning with a slight movement of her fingers.

She took her hand with hesitation, though quickly squeezed it to affirm her choice. Yui gave her a small smile, hoping it wasn't shaky, before standing to her feet and leading her away into the forest, taking a path with downtrodden leaves, as if she’d taken it before.

 It wasn’t long until the fog cleared again, old leaves crunching under their feet replacing with the grains of sand and dust, trees becoming rotting wooden buildings, while the sky above them twinkled with stars, no air pollution in sight.

“...The saloon.” Kate said from behind her, as Yui stopped them in the walkway just in front of the imposing building. “Is there something here?”

“I… yeah, in a way. ...Look, you wouldn’t tell Jake-”

“Yui, you didn’t…”

“It’s not like we need them anyways! ‘Sides, I thought that old cowboy might appreciate ‘em, and then I could, ya know… negotiate.”

“...For what?”

“Well… the piano.” She cocked her head back towards the instrument, before looking back at the singer, who’s face had softened a little bit from the lecture she was about to give. “You said you missed playing, and you give so much to everyone else, so I thought…”

As the street racer trailed off, Kate smiled, cupping her hand between two of her own, and shaking it. “Well, that’s… mighty kind of you.”

“Y… yeah.” With a free hand, she rubbed the back of her neck, before letting herself be led inside, to the piano, noticing that as Kate sat down, she was hesitant to move her hand away, to flex her fingers and prepare herself.

 “Well, uh… any requests?” She seemed almost sheepish now that she sat there, self-conscious that the old thing was oddly silent. 

Yui leaned against the top of the piano, folding her arms atop it and resting her chin on them. “Go wild. Beside you singin’, I’ve never… heard your music.”

“You’re not missin’ much.”

“I’m sure I am.”

She looked up with a soft smile, face going a little red as she cleared her throat, hands hovering over the keys as she muttered to herself, before she began to play.

It was a slow song, soft and loving, and though she was rusty and stumbled her words as she missed a key or hit a wrong note, she still powered through. Yui watched her face, the way she performed even when no one was watching, and how her music really was like sugar and honey, sweet and enticing. She tilted her head and smiled to herself, looking at the features on Kate’s face with a deep, profound love, as if she could stand there and listen to her forever - and she would, if forever was the time they had.

 She finished with a bittersweet note, slowly opening her eyes and looking up to Yui, face flushing a little from the way she was staring at her. “It’s… nothing special. Just a little somethin’.”

“Well, it sure sounded special, to you. And that makes it special.”

“I… guess? Thank you, Yui.” She gently pulled the cover back over the keys, resting her elbows on it. “It was based on a… dream, I had. I remember writing that on the school bus and working on it all day, ‘cos a teacher of mine tried to take the sheet music off’a me when I wasn’t payin’ her mind… can’t stop me grabbin’ it back when she left the room though.”

“Dick.”

She laughed, nodding in agreement though never saying it outright, gentle laughter fading into silence and a soft smile that they shared before the singer averted the gaze put on her.

 “What was the dream about?”

“Hm?” She looked back again, as Yui was still looking at her.

“The dream you had, about that song. What was it?”

“Are you… sure you want to hear it?”

“Kate, we have as much time as we want. Only the ghosts’ll hear you.” Yui pressed her back against the side of her piano, folding her arms across her chest. “C’mon.”

The musician took a pause, sucking in a breath and then letting it out slowly, before she caved and told her tale. “It was… a drive, some red car with the roof sawed off, a crappy convertible that can’t withstand the rain. Ferrari, I think. We were going pretty fast. It was twilight, against the backdrop of the ocean from the cliffside, the pinks and oranges were so… vibrant and free. I stuck my head out of the window and yelled, you know, like a drunk girl at a concert, came back in with my hair across my face, smile stuck to me. S-she was smiling too, my sunset lover. Auburn hair, cut in a bob, sunglasses so big you could hardly see the freckles that dusted her cheeks. Plump lips with bright red lipstick. A dazzling smile. She moved her hand from the gearstick to hold mine, brushed her thumb against my knuckles. She smelled like… pineapples? Or mangos. It was a tropical smell. Very fruity, and nice.”

Yui watched her twirl a bit of her hair between her fingers, face going a little pink as she recalled her dreams, the light dusting of the blush overlaying the freckles and reminding the street racer just how deep she was.

“We pulled up to a car park, near some old beach bar I think, right in front of a bamboo fence that separated the tarmac and the sand. She reached in the back to grab her sunhat - ya know, one of those big floppy things - but I grabbed it from her first, and after she playfully tried to get it back to me, our faces were so, so close… I could smell her fruity smell, and I… we kissed. God, it was like heaven, it was like the world was nothing but at the same time everything, because she was… well, she was it. I dropped her hat out of the window and I’m sure the wind stole it, but I didn’t care. She didn’t care.”

 Yui looked down as she finished, watching Kate fiddling with her hands as her elbows leaned against the piano, trying not to look too embarrassed but failing miserably. It was almost adorable. She swallowed. “...Does it have to be a car?”

“Huh?” Kate looked up to her. The other survivor averted her gaze.

“T-to go on your twilight beach trip, does it have to be in a car?”

“I.. I suppose not? Why does it matter?” She blinked, and paused… before a shy smile spread across her face. “Yui, you-”

“I just- I have… a bike. Means a lot to me. I’ve taken a lot of girls for a ride, but I’ve never… rode to the beach before… maybe, you know, if we make it out of here, I can… take you to that beach.” She fiddled with her collar, forcing herself to meet Kate’s eyes, feeling the heat on her face. She took a breath, before taking to shooting her shot. “...Maybe I can be your sunset lover.”

 Everything else was a rush after that, but at the same time everything around them seemed to stand still. Kate ran hand down Yui’s arm, her touch like silk and skin like sunshine despite the dirt and grime of the fog, fingertips brushing against her softly and delicately before she held onto Yui’s hand, looking down at her perfect nails and running a thumb over her knuckles before she looked up to the other woman through her eyelashes, the smile she had never leaving her face, like an invitation to come in closer. An invitation which Yui took with grace, as with her free hand she cupped the singer’s cheek, moving down to plant a kiss on her lips, one that was slow and tasted like sweet fruits, as she’d always imagined it would, moving her hand down to hold onto Kate’s hip as she still sat at the piano. As she pulled away, she couldn’t help but smile, feeling the other survivor’s lips twinge into a smile of her own as she took Yui’s chin between her forefinger and thumb, grip both firm and gentle and oh so welcome, keeping her close and looking deep into her eyes, her other hand interlocking with the street racer’s that she still held, going in for another kiss; quick, and sweet, before letting her move away again, moving her hand to twirl her curls (perfect and blonde as ever), between two fingers.

“I… wow.” She was breathless, looking down for a moment.

“Yeah?” Yui laughed, then making the singer giggle in response, rubbing the back of her neck rather sheepishly - why did she say that?

Didn’t seem to matter much, though, as Kate seemed… almost… charmed. “...Yeah.”

 She stood to her feet, looking down at the hands still intertwined, gently rocking the union back and forth before she felt a forehead pressed against her own, the two of them sharing a smile that no one else would see, by the window of the old saloon. Well, no one except the old cowboy who had just returned, watching them from across the way, flipping an old, coin in between his fingers.