Work Text:
Squinting at the shoddy notes jotted down on the paper below him, Yuki repeated the section again, his guitar ringing in his ears as he scrutinised his work. There was something off in the last section of the hook - Hiiragi told him it sounded fine during practice earlier, but screw Hiiragi’s opinion - but no matter which notes he altered, it didn’t have the effect he was going for.
Maybe the problem was that he didn’t know what he wanted. The song needed to depict someone who could not be defined by shallow lyrics and an average band’s sound - someone so raw and beautiful that all the words in the world could not form an accurate glimpse into his life - a glimpse into their life.
He knew that behind Mafuyu’s often doe-like, distant gaze laid a story so intricately woven and unique that he felt almost unworthy of those eyes catching his, their gentle spark setting his soul alight. It was a feeling so strong that it was almost unbearable at times, as Mafuyu’s stare weighed heavy on him from across classrooms and as their group parted ways when the band went to the studio to practice.
“Can I watch you practice today, Yuki?”
“Not today, Mafuyu. Maybe another time.”
He didn’t know if Mafuyu was a muse or a distraction, just that he was always lingering in his mind as Yuki played and sang, humming along softly to the melody. He noticed the recent twinges of disappointment when Yuki had made plans with the band over ones with him and when he took the late shifts at work instead of sleeping over at Mafuyu’s like he’d promised to.
But the music always seemed to call louder - he needed the money to hire out their studio and to buy new strings and a coffee on the way home from a late-night practice. Until the day they debuted and his songs could pay for themselves, Yuki’s mind would just have to adapt to the strain.
Letting out a groan of frustration, he balled up the paper he’d been scrawling on all evening, tossing it in the vague direction of his trash can. He pulled up his playlist on his phone, pretending not to see the missed calls from Mafuyu lingering on the screen.
He put in his earbuds and closed his eyes, trying to ignore the swirling doubt in the back of his mind.
When he finally finished Mafuyu’s song, it would have been worth the wait.