Disclaimer: I don't own Senki Zesshou Symphogear or any of the characters from said series. This is purely a work of fan-fiction, and I do not seek to profit from it. The events depicted in this story are mine, and mine alone, and exist only to entertain.

"Harmonization"

A Senki Zesshou Symphogear story by Razorsaw

"A place where I belong."

That's what Chris wants more than anything in the world. She may stumble over interpersonal relationships constantly, or be unneccessarily combative. And she may be too damn stubborn to let people into her life more times than she does the opposite. But regardless of all that, it's still what she wants most of all.

And for all intents and purposes, she does have that. Kirika and Shirabe look up to her. Hibiki was calling her her friend within moments of them agreeing to stop trying to kill each other. Miku had saved her life and offered her friendship from the very start. Genjuro took her in without question, and accepted her into what was now called S.O.N.G. She had classmates, people who wanted to get to know her, to hear her sing.

Taking that into account, most would say that Chris had what she wanted already, and while she certainly didn't feel as though those things were unsatisfying, or unwanted (even if Hibiki was a constant source of annoyance with how affectionate she was), Chris still felt like there was something she was missing.

And Chris knew where that feeling came from. It rose to the surface whenever she looked at Tsubasa. The older girl had dragged her back from the when Chris had nearly thrown away everything she had gained by siding with Dr. Ver. Even before that, she had encouraged Chris to sing at the school festival when she'd been afraid to do so. Really, almost every single time Chris felt as if she had run into a brick wall in her life, Tsubasa was there to either pull her back and give her the advice that she so needed to set things right. Interpersonal relationships felt like a constant minefield of confusing feelings and emotions for Chris, and Tsubasa was like the guide who would safely lead her through it.

Because of that, Chris had come to realize she needed Kazanari Tsubasa in her life more than she needed anyone else. It was even more than that; she wanted to be the same kind of person for Tsubasa that she was for her. But did her she need Chris the way Chris needed her?

Chris had started to first realize her feelings for Tsubasa when the older girl graduated from Lidian Academy. It only grew when Tsubasa started spending more time overseas - and that meant more time overall with Maria. It wasn't that Chruis was jealous of the idol - no, it was more she was jealous the way Maria and Tsubasa connected. Not only were they were both artists who collaborated creatively, Maria and Tsubasa were both people who lost someone they cared deeply about, and felt they'd failed that person. It was natural that they'd be drawn together, to sing together in a way they couldn't with others. They could share their pain with each other.

The only person Chris had ever shared her pain with had given it back to her, over and over and over again. She'd shared her feelings with a woman who had used her physically and emotionally, and to hurt others, only to throw her away. And yet, Chris had never been able to hate Finé for what she did to her, a fact she felt made her unworthy to try and reach out to Tsubasa the way Maria had. Hell, Finé was everything Tsubasa wasn't, and to compare them was an absolute insult to Tsubasa in Chris's mind.

And yet, Chris couldn't deny how she felt for either of them.

That's the funny thing about bottled up emotions, though: at some point, you just can't contain them anymore.

It happened when Chris and Tsubasa were training together. It happened like it usually did when Chris found herself blundering into a difficult situation, in that she said something without thinking. Tsubasa had said something critical about her stance, and Chris had gotten annoyed. Tsubasa noted that Chris had seemed more distracted than usual, and inquired why... and like water from a busted valve, the truth of what was bothered her exploded out of Chris's mouth.

Before she knew it, she was telling Tsubasa everything. All her frustrations, all her anger, all about how she felt as though she was in the shadow of Maria, a girl Chris suddenly realized she truly didn't know very well. And, most embarrassing of all, how much she wanted to be by Tsubasa's side.

When was over, Tsubasa was left, just... staring at her. Her expression wasn't one of outright shock, like a character in a drama or something, but it was definitely one of surprise. Chris couldn't stand to look at her, to know she'd likely just made things incredibly, irredeemably awkward, so she clenched her eyes shut and turned away. God, the people monitoring their training had most definitely heard it, hadn't they? She wouldn't be able to show her face in front of anyone, let alone-

But before Chris's mind could spiral even further out of control, she heard Tsubasa tell the technicians to shut off the monitors, and that she wanted to talk to Chris privately. Chris's eyes slowly opened, and when they did, she saw Tsubasa standing close to her, having dropped her gear. Taken off guard, Chris ended up doing the same a moment later, returning to her normal attire as attempts to walk what she'd just said to Tsubasa immediately died in her throat.

"Yukine," Tsubasa said, quietly, as she raised her palm. "Take my hand."

Chris blinked, tears beading at the corners of her eyes. Though she was confused, she did as Tsubasa asked of her, placing her hand against Tsubasa's.

Immediately, Chris was surprised by how warm it was. What's more, she realized that this the first time she'd held Tsubasa's hand without wearing the gloves of her Symphogear. Chris was shaken by how soft they were, despite Tsubasa's lifetime of wielding a blade, her hand felt soft and smooth, instead of rough and callous like she expected.

Tsubasa spoke again before Chris could. "Do you remember, Yukine?" she said, a small smile forming at the corner of her lips. "We each took each other's hand like this not too long ago, when we both felt like we would fall into darkness. The first time we used Ignite."

Chris felt like chewing on her own tongue. "Y-Yeah," she said. "You saved me..."

"And you saved me," Tsubasa replied immediately. "Why do you think that is? Why do you think I reached out to you?"

Chris grit her teeth. "Because I was there. Because we're comrades..."

"Of course we're comrades!" Tsubasa exclaimed loudly, causing Chris to jump slightly. Tsubasa's fingers suddenly entwined with her's, holding her hand more firmly as he expression grew more serious. For a moment, Chris feared she might have upset the older girl, but remained quiet as Tsubasa continued.

"But to say I did it 'because you were there'?! Do you really undervalue yourself that much, Yukine?! I would never reach out for another person simply because they were there! Least of all someone I risked my life to save! You were more than just there, Yukine!"

Chris grit her teeth again, those tears at the corner of her eyes beginning to roll down her cheeks "Where are you going with this?!" she exclaimed. "What does it... what does it have to do with what I said? I-I... We should just forget it-!"

Tsubasa interrupted her again, but this time, she did so by embracing her. Chris's eyes widened like saucers - never in her wildest dreams did she expect someone to hold her like this again. In that moment, the memory of the times Finé had taken into her arms and whispered lies to her came flooding back, and that feeling of guilt for associating her feelings for that woman with Tsubasa came flooding back.

"D-don't-!" Chris choked. "I don't deserve this...!"

"You do," Tsubasa said, as if it were the most obvious fact in the world. "If Tachibana can embrace you so easily, then I can do this much."

"You don't understand," Chris replied desperately, shaking in Tsubasa's arms. "Finé, she held me like this, and-"

"Yukine- no, Chris," Tsubasa spoke softly, paralyzing the shorter girl with the use of her given name. "You cannot compare yourself to Maria, and you cannot compare me to Fine. That woman used your song, your love for the world, and when you gave it to her, all she did was throw you away. I won't do that, Chris. I will never throw you away..."

At this point, it took everything Chris had to choke back her tears. "But I don't deserve it..." she said. "I can't... I don't sing with you like Maria does..."

Tsubasa pulled back, and stared Chris straight in the eye. "We do sing together!" Tsubasa exclaimed. "Have you already forgotten?! The song that came from our hearts when our Symphogear were reborn? We sang together on that battlefield, without Hibiki or anyone else there to accompany us."

Chris's eyes widened again, as the memory came flooding back to her. They had sang together, when they first appeared to save Shirabe and Kirika from the Auto-Scorers. Chris hadn't so much as forgotten, but she also hadn't remarked on it at the time. It had felt so natural, so second nature, like breathing...

"I remember," said Chris. "But why are you bringing it up...?"

"Harmonization."

Chris blinked yet again, as she once again felt confused. "Harmonization," Tsubasa repeated. "That's what we did. Think about it, Yukine. Maria and I... we're so much alike. Perhaps that is why we work together so well. But every time we've sung together in battle, we did it with the whole party. The only person I've been able to harmonize with on their own is you, Yukine."

Chris didn't understand. "Wh- where are you going with this?" she said, brushing away some of her tears.

Tsubasa smiled. "Chris, we're so very different, you and me. When you're loud I'm calm. We're both passionate, but we express our passion very differently. Even our weapons are like opposites! And yet, for alll that, we sang together from the heart and created a melody the world had never heard before.

"That's not something insignificant," Tsubasa continued, while Chris listened. "We did it without Hibiki's ability to link people, or the power of so much phonic gain, like we do with the X-Drives. That's something I achieved with you, Chris. Knowing that... how can you think you're not important to me?"

Chris couldn't answer. "S-senpai..." she could only stammer.

"Tsubasa," the older girl said softly, drawing closer and hugging Chris tighter, to the point her chin came to rest on her shoulder. "Call me Tsubasa."

The shorter girl was quiet after that. The request... it made her cheeks burn with embarassment; saying her name was somehow so intimate and embarrassing it made her blood burn inside of her. And yet, a few long moments, Chris was able to whisper softly whisper "Tsubasa."

She felt Tsubasa smile, somehow. "Chris," Tsubasa began, her voice low. "I care deeply about Maria. But... I also care deeply about you. I can't say where that will lead both of us, but... hearing what you said today made me happy. And if you really want to sing with me... I'm more than willing to try and see where doing so leads.

Before Chris could respond to that, Tsubasa lifted her head from her shoulder, looked her in the eye again... and drew closer. A moment later, Chris suddenly discovered how soft Kazanari Tsubasa's lips were, as they placed themselves against her cheek. Chris felt her cheeks and blood burn in embarassment yet again, but despite that... she ended up smiling.

What Tsubasa had said wasn't a promise. It wasn't her swearing to spend her life with Chris, or that she would try to replace Finé, or fill any of the voids left in Chris's life. But it had calmed her fears, it had shown potential for the future, and it had proved that, despite her fears, Chris had an important, meaningful place in Tsubasa's life. That was more than enough for her.

And it made Chris want to sing. For now, she settled for holding Tsubasa back, resting her head against the older girl's chest, and saying to very important words:

"Thank you."

Author's Notes: This is a repost of my story from AO3. Not much to say here, other than I simply wanted to put more Tsubasa/Chris material out there. Hope you enjoyed this!