"I could spend hours describing how good you look right now... or I could skip the words and make you feel it instead."

Dany couldn’t help but look at Aja and Gabriel with a slight bitterness. Aja lest her in the dust years ago just to find out that she was her best friends boyfriend, Aja and Dany shared many moments together and she threw that all away without so much as an explanation, one that she still hadn’t gotten, even when she made her promise to never tell Gabriel that they were ex’s. 

It was Gabriel’s birthday and she was more than happy to celebrate it... With Aja present. It was just a small party with all of his friends and she wanted to make sure that she got him the best gift out of all of them, mostly Aja. Dany brought a guitar from his favourite artist of all time, signed and decorated for him along with a photo of the him and the artist from when they first met, signed and framed. “I know he’s your favourite so I pulled some strings.” Dany smiled at him as he opened his presents. “You have to go all out for people who actually stick around long enough. I owe you that much.” It was a shot at Aja that only the two of them knew about.

He hadn't let her keeping him at arms length stop him, wanting to have Aja be in his life; even it was at that distance. She was treat to know, her more toxic habits not something that bothered Jake. Everyone had their story, he wanted to be part of hers.

He smiled as she took a seat in his lap, a familiar feeling rising over him. He barely finished his glass when she leaned into his neck, placing his on the end table. He had missed this, every moment of it. The teasing strokes, the gentle playing of his hair. Her teasing teeth whispering so wonderful words. Aja wanting to be with him, it made his heart skip a beat.

NSFW GIF MEME !

@ajathings

8a

Jake hadn't expected such a reaction from Aja like this, the pair at her apartment late at night. He had surprised her at her gallery, the man in a suit. It was a far look from his causal wear, the brunette usually adorned in jeans and a t-shirt. He tried his best to not make a fool of himself in front of what must of been important people, the pair catching up.

Jake had been swamped with work, a few new film scripts coming into his inbox. None of them had caught his interest after a few reads and rereads of the scripts, sending back an email to the producers about how he wasn't interested in doing a romantic comedy film. As he typed his saw her name in his contacts, Aja not far from his mind. She never was, the beauty's smile flashing through his memories.

Jake had a vacation coming up soon, a nice week away at a tropical beach; away from the cold bite of the city. He knew exactly who he wanted to go with, drafting up a new email to the beauty he was thinking of.

<[email protected]>

Hey Aja,

@ajathings

Minami was dressed for murder, glamour and all the sin in between. When Aja stepped out of her rideshare, Minami had earned the stare Aja gave. “Well, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you had someone to impress.”

It was a feeling that Aja was well accustomed to, stemming all the way back to college freshman years. But here, far from home, being led by the hand into the unknown, the feeling was turned on its side. At home, she knew the hidden gems of Manhattan, and she was the one who led the uninitiated by the hand to discovery.

And a gem it was. Nothing she had seen in all of her years of touring New York nightlife could have prepared her for the space inside. Dark with the sparing lights of a starry night, populated by a sparing few who were lucky to know the secret.

Aja was one of six to experience this. Minami had taken the curator and made her a rarity of Shinjuku nightlife’s patrons. The mystery poured into her eyes and ears and curiosity bubbled within her, thudding against her chest like and expectant heartbeat. She wore her smile with ease.

“Well, I am the uninitiated party here,” Aja replied, impressed with her surroundings. “So, surprise me.”

Aja began to count the drinks. One and counting.

Minami flagged down one of the wandering black clad staff and ordered an old fashioned. Something sweet to sip on, she decided tonight was not a night for drinking; it was for savouring.  

She took the glass and leaned close to Aja, smelling the scent on her neck whether she wanted to or not. A tremor went through her chest, blooming across her back, a shimmer of nerves. 

“We’re about to see Wave perform. She is really extraordinary, a musician primarily. But also the originator of a vast, fictional universe. She refers to herself as a war poet, her compositions are homages to epic battles of her own creation.”

Minami’s eyes gleamed in the low light and it was an effort not to place her cheek on Aja’s bare shoulder.

“She has never done an interview that I know of, and is almost impossible to locate outside of her work. Some say she is quite mad.” A one shouldered shrug. “But there is no one who plays quite like her.”

As if the cue had been given the sonourous thump echoed through the empty space. It was the sound of the end pin of a cello being set down forcibly in the middle of the shallow pool stage.

The person holding the neck of the instrument was a tall woman with short black hair and eyes. She was perhaps fifty years old, and what would first have passed for a pair of elbow length black opera gloves revealed themselves to be tattoos. The cellist’s arms had the appearance of being dipped in a dark maroon ink. 

She gestured out and around to the few gathered patrons with an open gesture, holding the cello bow in her other hand.

“What is it that scares you?” She uttered starkly into the gloom, and Minami leant close to Aja’s ear to translate the words;

“I used to be so very fearful. Until I found out how large this world truly is...”A wicked smile, the eyes glittering. “...And not just this world. There are many. But tonight I am here to tell you about only one, at only one time...”

The bow became part of the theatrical shrug. 

“We are but human, we must do one thing at a time. Tonight, we hear of the first great battle of the war. On one side is a slate grey city of fumes and machinery, and on the other side a swathe of red soil and rock. the tectonic movements of war machines is unstoppable. The air is thick with steel and missile. The ground a murmuration of blade on blade.”

Wave swung the bow horizontal to the string.

“Ladies and gentlement, The Battle of East Drey.”

And Wave began to play. The water stage in which her feet were submerged expressing every single vibration by an unseen mechanism.

It was incredible, but Minami’s gaze barely departed from the side of Aja’s face. 

@ajathings

“A night venture, then.” Aja proudly wore curiosity on her face. “Be sure to make an impression. I’d hate to give up a good night’s sleep for nothing. I do have a flight tomorrow, you know.”

Aja turned the knob and stepped into the doorway before spinning on her heel  and greeting Minami with a smile. “See you in awhile. And congratulations again. It’s well deserved.” With that, she was gone. She wore her smile all the way to her rideshare, and to her hotel room.

There were many reasons to smile. Minami was good. Very good. Beginning with her and her work cast the curation in a good light. And also...there was just...her. Mischief clung to the very edge of her aura, waiting for just the right bad influence.

Aja volunteered.

A glass of wine followed a hot shower, waiting on the table nearby as Aja brought the last of her work to a close. There was only one last thing for her to do. Her watch read 8 PM.

As Aja took a breath, she dialed a number and reached for New York. It rang this time, rather than simply defaulting to the voice mail box...although she ended up there all the same.

Beep.

“Hey girlie!” Aja put on bright and sunny tone. “Just wanted to call and wish you good morning. I hope you’re doing well, and that the writing is going smoothly. I hope to hear what you have by the time I get back!”

For a moment, there was a pause that Aja couldn’t fill. Her smile dropped slightly. “And again...I’m sorry for...me. If you ever wanna talk about it just let me know, ok? Just don’t give up, ok? Not everyone’s a hot mess. Just do me a favor; keep your mind on what you love to do. Leave the bottle alone.”

The hypocrisy from Aja’s lips struck her ears like a bat, and her smile faded entirely. “And don’t forget: I’m only a phone call away, ok? Love you...”

The line went dead, and for a moment, Aja did nothing. She stared through the hotel window, counting her sins, measuring the worthlessness that was her friendship.

Perhaps if we just stayed friends, none of this would have happened.

Aja found solace at the bottom of the glass, and the buzz propelled her to get dressed. Gone was the pantsuit of the professional, traded for the maroon dress with silky sheen. She freed her curls from the hair tie and let them fall around her shoulders.

Aja was gone from the room by nine, looking for a distraction in the form of a neon sign.

“You have gone off the rails!” 

Ru laughed at Minami as she paced back and forth in her living room, recounting the entire interview with manic, frantic detail. The excitement of the whole thing sparking off of her. She bundled her hands into fists and she gave a yelp of joy.

“The Met Ru! The Met!” She slumped down on the sofa next to her friend making the whole thing jolt slightly.

Ru laughed and pulled a dorayaki out of its plastic packaging, shoving it playfully in Minami’s mouth before getting one for herself.

“Honestly? I never doubted your work, but...” Ru narrowed her eyes, and Minami could feel the familar sensation of her friend’s x-ray vision. She gave a sigh of exasperation.

“Oh, don’t!

Ru shrugged, “you get like this...I’ve seen it before.”

“Like what?” If someone could eat a pancake recalcitrantly, Minami was doing it.

“You get way too involved, way too quickly! This woman is going to be in a cab to the airport come tomorrow and I can already see it on your face’- She raised an admonishing finger “-dont you lie to me, what do you feel about that?”

A far away look which coiled into a smile of aboslute mischief went across Minami’s face.

“I think she could reverse that cab over me and I’d like it...”

Ru rolled her eyes. “You’re hopeless. Totally hopeless. Where are you taking her then?”

“Violet.”

Ru looked surprised. “Oh, fancy...Is Wave performing tonight?”

Minami nodded, springing to her feet. The excitement was like a field that sprung outward from her body.

“She is.” Minami glanced down at the red gown, twirling a little. “I think I’m going to need something a little more...fitting.”

-

Night rolled in over Shinjuku, and Minami strolled down a particlar side street next to some industrial looking buildings. She was early, so as not to leave her guest alone in this quiet, strange part of town. Violet was a deliberately obcure place; you’d only know it’s existence by the neon of the door - and even that only appeared after dark.

Her faux black fur coat was bundled over a dress which was considerably more sleek than her afternoon attire. When the Curator appeared she beamed at the other woman; a streak of maroon silk shimmering in the night light.

“Aja.” She uttered. “I know it doesnt look like much, but that’s the idea...”

She reached up and gave a particular coded knock on the illuminated door. It opened, and a young man dressed in black gave them both a nod and stepped aside to allow them entry to a long corridor bathed in purple light.

The entryway extended at least thirty metres before opening into a renovated warehouse space. The edges of the room were shrouded in gloom, the tiny pale lamps which illuminated the half dozen tables dotted the space like stars.

In the centre of them was a circular stage that at first glance might have appeared to be made of black marble, but was in fact a shallow pool of dark water. The four other guests glanced up momentarily as the two other women entered.

@ajathings

Minami’s glee could have been a drug.

It was only the beginning of Aja’s long journey across the globe and already, she had a glimpse of what it would be; a collection of moments where an outpouring of joy came from artists who most deserved it. The little guys. The people full of inspiration but who lack the platform.

Aja couldn’t wait to see it again, and again.

At that moment, her job was done. There was only a single artist that she considered for this region of Japan. The rest were miles away, most were oceans away. But before she could say goodbye, call an Uber  and dress down at her hotel room, a proposition floated across the room and tapped her on the shoulder. She already had an eye on the nightlife, the pulse of the city when the sun went down.  An active participant of the Manhattan night circuit, she was curious to see how the experiences differed.

Minami couldn’t have known she had offered herself to act as a guide for Aja’s already laid plans. However innocent an offer it was...Aja wasn’t.

Aja smiled, and defiantly stole a step in Minami’s direction. “I have a flight out tomorrow afternoon,” she replied. “So I’m free for the evening to see it. But before that...”

She stole another step forward. “A bit of advice: Don’t worry about ‘perfect.’ Disregard ‘perfect.’ Be authentic, be true to you. Show the complexity alongside the beauty, don’t shy away from the nuisance. Your foot is already in the door-- what you do with the stage is up to you now. You’re arguably the most important part of this whole thing: I don’t want just your artworks, I want you.”

She stole another. “Keep that in mind.”

By then, her steps carried her past Minami and toward the door. “Show me a good time?”

As Aja started speaking the plan began to unfold In Minami’s head; there was a beautiful, classy wine bar just a short cab ride away. Perfect for a business dinner but just cozy enough to allow a decent conversation.

But then Aja finished, and Minami’s mind went perilously blank. It probably showed on her face for a moment or two. And in those moments there was very little occupying her but the way the other woman’s lips made the shape of certain words, certain phrases.

Get it together, she heard Ru’s voice in her head like a guardian angel and her gaze swivelled up to meet Aja’s. Now it was full of a sort of delighted mischief. She bit her bottom lip.

“Well, if what you want is authentic, I have something in mind. I wouldn’t normally choose it for a...meeting, but it’s certainly nuanced...” There were a lot of other words that could be used but that one was certainly true.

It was a risk, but Minami and risk had had a long, fruitful relationship.

She picked up her bag, located her phone and began emailing the address to the curator.

“It doesn’t open till ten, but I’ll meet you outisde.” That look of fiendish joy was on the artist’s face again, illuminating her otherwise angelic features.