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One, two, three, four...
One, two, three, four…
Falling into the rhythm together had always been easy. Their hearts beat as one, after all, and the synchronicity of their lives had only followed that of their minds, a simple look enough for the other to know where to go, which steps to follow.
They’ve managed to score the top floor studio, the only one with a floor window, and the lights of the big city aren’t quite as intimidating as the flashes of the cameras that have become a fixture in their daily lives. Ryu still hasn’t gotten used to it, the hairs on the back of his neck creeping up at the sight of the lenses more times than he wants to admit. Still, as the world around them speeds up to a dizzying effects, he knows he can count on Takahide to keep him anchored.
It’s always been the two of them. Tapping their feet in assembly, restless and longing to become more, walking together on spring days, the future so wide and distant, but calling to them just the same. First days and first steps at EXPG, pushing each other forward, helping each other shine. Getting into the group had been as stressful as it was rewarding, the fear of the other not making it ever present, until the end, in the pit of their stomachs. It’s not easy feeling like you might have to leave the other half of yourself behind. But everything worked out, and as hard as the road had been, they never had to walk it alone. They’ve gotten used to the numbers now, the group feels like family, but there will always be something special about just the two of them, the music the only witness to their bond.
The moon hangs high in the sky, almost full by the looks of it, their own personal spotlight. Ryu would probably get distracted by it, if Takahide wasn’t in the room with him.
He moves effortlessly, like he was born to do this, and maybe he was, maybe they were born to be here, together. It’s something Ryu often wonders about, when he can’t sleep on the tour bus, looking out at a starless sky, if he and Takahide were born to find each other, to dance together.
Takahide clicks his fingers with each step, keeping himself focused, and Ryu jumps in at his next count of one, feet shuffling across the floor, shoulders swaying to the music, their most natural state of being. Nineteen years old is an awkward age, not yet adults but not quite children anymore, expected to know their place in the world before they even know themselves. So they find refuge in this, rubber soles squeaking against polished wood, labored breathing interrupted by easy laughter, an enclave away from the world.
“Hey,” Takahide quips, fingers still clicking, not losing his step. “You okay?”
Ryu is taken aback by the question. He nevers wants to give Takahide any reason to worry about him.
“Yeah, all good. Just lost in thought I guess.” is the best thing he can say.
Takahide’s feet come to a stop with a squeak. He takes the one, two steps to get closer to Ryu, hand finding hand as easy as breathing.
“What’s on your mind?”
Everything.
“Just… it’s kinda crazy, right? Our lives.” Ryu struggles to find the right words, squeezes Takahide’s hand just a bit tighter. “I never imagined we’d get to where we are now. Together… I mean, I’d probably be so lost without you here.”
Takahide smiles, brushes his hair out of his face. He’s more beautiful than he’ll ever know, but Ryu hasn’t quite worked up the courage to tell him that yet.
“I know. Sometimes I wake up and I think I’m gonna be back in my bedroom at home, and it was all a dream, y’know?” he sighs, looking over Ryu’s shoulder at the moon, lighting up the city beneath. “But we’re really here.”
“You ever wish things would slow down?”
“Sometimes. At first, it kinda felt like we’d have no place of our own anymore but…”
But?
“There’s always somewhere, right?” Takahide exclaims, pulling Ryu towards the window, gesturing at the moon with his free hand. “If we can’t find a place… It’s up to us to create it.”
Ryu wishes, in that moment, that he could untie his own tongue and tell Takahide all of the things he wanted to say, everything that had been weighing on his heart.
You know, I think we found that place already,
It’s here,
It’s safe,
It’s home,
It’s you.
Takahide looks at him, eyes bright, and Ryu closes his eyes, feeling the pulse of his own heart and the warmth of Takahide’s hand in his.
“I”m also glad you’re here. Kinda feels like there’s always a piece of home with me.” is what Takahide finally says, and the world falls a little bit more into place.
Ryu opens his eyes just in time to see Takahide leaning in, and then press a kiss to his cheek, still not letting go of Ryu’s hand.
“Alright, Mr Dreamer, let’s get back to it.” he says, and Ryu swears he can hear in Takahide’s voice that he’s a little breathless. “Likiya will kill us if we don’t have this down by tomorrow.”
“Well… At least, we’ll go down together right?” Ryu jokes, his mind at ease.
Takahide barks out a laugh, arms flying out to wrap around Ryu’s shoulders.
“Yeah. Yeah we will.” he breathes in the crook of Ryu’s neck. “But first, we live.”
First, we dance.
Together.