Chapter Text
Mafuyu was absolutely certain he would never forget that evening.
He had sat through countless band rehearsals and had lost track of how many times he’d heard Yuki humming to himself in front of him, but that night would be etched in his memory forever.
Even though Mafuyu had guessed the surprise they’d prepared for him (Yuki had never been good at keeping secrets, especially when wide, pleading eyes looked up at him), hearing a song written entirely for him still took his breath away.
His heart pounded in his chest, almost drowning out the steady beat of the drums. When his eyes clouded with tears, he knew it had nothing to do with the dazzle of the stage lights, and everything to do with the flood of feeling that was washing over him.
He watched Yuki sing onstage with a calm, serene smile, his hands moving confidently over the guitar strings. In that moment, he felt profoundly loved.
In truth, that had always been a constant in their relationship. There hadn’t been a day when he didn’t feel loved by Yuki; even before they became a couple, even when they were still children, Yuki always made him feel safe and cherished.
All his life had been strewn with that warmth and closeness, which quickly thawed the chill of his early childhood, covering the tears and pain of the years he and his mother had spent fighting to survive. Yuki had taken everything ugly in his life and reshaped it, softening its edges, forging it into something new so that the world around Mafuyu became the wonderful, affectionate place he deserved.
A lifetime wouldn’t be enough to express all his gratitude.
His gaze stayed fixed on Yuki for the entire song, as though an invisible thread tied them together, shutting out everyone else. On his lips, he could still taste the kiss they’d shared less than an hour before, the one they’d stolen in the empty staff room.
Now, on that stage, Yuki’s light seemed to shine even brighter. He was the most dazzling star in the whole sky. That warm feeling stayed with him for the rest of the set, even when the band shifted into more driving rhythms and less sentimental lyrics.
It was their first live show since Uenoyama had joined the lineup. There was no use pretending otherwise: they worked well together. Even Hiiragi — who loved to needle Uenoyama, and shoot him glare-filled looks and the occasional middle finger when they disagreed about arrangements — couldn’t deny that their chemistry was something miraculous.
Mafuyu liked that talented guitarist; gruff in his own way, but honest and true at heart. He liked how he lit up whenever he talked about music, how his personality took on a near-leader quality: confident in his ideas, and with a clear vision in his head.
Even if Mafuyu didn’t know much about music, that was the impression Uenoyama gave him every time they were in the rehearsal room and Mafuyu listened as he laid out his suggestions to the band.
He also liked the way Uenoyama blushed and stumbled over his words whenever he got too close or Yuki paid him a compliment. There was a certain innocence in him that made him strangely fun to tease. He had a habit of getting particularly grumpy and aloof when showered with praise, as if trying to deflect any attention.
As he watched him onstage, he noticed how the moving lights sculpted his features, making him seem even more self-assured than he already was.
In his eyes, people who love what they do possessed a particular kind of beauty.
He could see the same in Yuki. Or maybe he just had a soft spot for guitarists.
Yuki came down from the stage with his guitar still slung over his shoulder and walked straight towards him. They looked at each other for a moment, a whole conversation passing through their eyes without a word, before he was held in an embrace. His skin was warm and sweaty, but Mafuyu didn’t care in the slightest.
Being in his arms was his favourite place in the world.
Later, when they would go home after celebrating with the band, in the cool autumn night air, he’d make sure to show him every bit of his gratitude.
***
They stayed out later than intended at a yakiniku place that left their already thin wallets even lighter. Paper bags of over-salted French fries and burgers spilling with sauce and fillings cluttered their table.
“We were the crowd favourite tonight, did you see that?” Hiiragi’s energy was unstoppable that night, but when wasn’t it? “I had everyone’s eyes on me.”
Always talkative, loud, and a little pesky, he was Mafuyu’s exact opposite, and maybe that was why Mafuyu adored his best friend. But in sassiness, he matched him, if not outdid him.
“You probably need a good pair of glasses,” he shot back, popping another fry into his mouth.
Uenoyama snorted a laugh, earning a glare from Hiiragi.
“How would you know? I was the one onstage. I know what I saw.”
“Too bad Yuki told me you can’t see much there because of the spotlights.”
He kept crunching away. Bickering with Hiiragi would always be one of his favourite pastimes. It went back to preschool days, and it only got worse. Hiiragi’s reactions were always quite comical. Now, for example, he was hissing like a feral cat, clearly wounded in his pride at being called out, and had turned indignantly towards Shizusumi.
“Shizu, say something. Tell him it’s true!”
In response, Shizusumi just kept chewing his burger, as if it were the only thing that mattered at the moment.
“Anyway,” Yuki cut in, always ready to restore order in the band, “I asked for the official recording of tonight’s set. We should post it on our page to promote ourselves a bit.”
“We don’t have a page.”
Yuki looked up at Hiiragi, wearing a radiant grin. “I knew we could count on you.”
Before Hiiragi could even protest the new role he had been handed, Uenoyama stepped in decisively. “As soon as you have the video, we can watch it together and see where to improve.”
Mafuyu liked his professional approach to music. Many might have seen it as a hobby, but to him it was a real commitment. His dedication was all-encompassing.
Yuki appeared to share his view, and shot Uenoyama a bright, admiring look. “You’re always so smart, Uecchi!”
If anybody at the table noticed a deeper shade of pink spreading across his cheeks, nobody mentioned it.
With Hiiragi’s laughter still echoing behind them as they left the yakiniku place, a happiness so overwhelming it felt almost unreal settled inside Mafuyu. At some point, Yuki had slipped their hands together, and before Mafuyu fully registered paying the bill or saying goodbye to the others, they were already outside, beneath the starry sky, the world narrowed to just the two of them on the street.
It was already quite late when, after stepping out of the train, he walked towards home with Yuki by his side. A few steps ahead, Hiiragi and Shizusumi were walking closer than necessary, Hiiragi clinging to the other’s arm every few strides. Their voices faded into the night air, but Mafuyu thought he caught “Was I good, Shizu?” and “Can’t wait to play again!”
They’d been a couple for just over a month. After years of quietly chasing and longing for each other, that summer they’d finally taken the step. There seemed to be some hand of fate in it: four childhood friends pairing off into two couples.
“I’m so happy tonight I could run all the way home,” Mafuyu suddenly exclaimed. Their first gig, the song dedication, Yuki by his side — what more could he ask of life?
“Run, then. I’ll catch you.”
Even with his guitar weighing him down, Yuki chased after him down the near-empty street, and Mafuyu’s laughter filled the air as he slowed to be caught. He didn’t even notice they split from Hiiragi and Shizusumi; all he knew was that his forehead was damp with sweat and he felt lighter than ever.
A few meters from home, not yet ready to say goodnight, they paused to catch their breath on a bench. Yuki’s nape rested reassuringly against Mafuyu’s thigh. He gently stroked his sandy blond hair, savouring the serene expression on his face with closed eyes.
“You were amazing earlier.”
Yuki peered at him through one eye. “Yeah? You liked your song?”
My song. He nodded. “I loved it. Thank you for writing it for me.”
Yuki smiled that smile that made him feel like the center of the universe. With the sky growing darker and more stars punctuating the deep blue above them, it wasn’t so hard to believe that.