Chapter Text
It had been a year since they got off of the train.
“To not being on that goddamn train!” Ryan toasted, holding a wine glass full of beer. Hey, they may have been nineteen, but the drinking age in Canada was eighteen. Don’t crucify them.
“To not being on the train!” Min-Gi said, holding up a wine glass of water. They may have been living in Canada, but they were traveling to America more often now, and Min-Gi didn’t wanna break those laws. Also, he hated the taste of alcohol.
They clinked glasses.
“Man, we’re doing pretty well!” Ryan said before taking a huge sip of his beer.
“Yeah, I’m surprised. Two Asian guys playing songs about trains and friendship managing to pack venues? I thought we’d sink immediately,” Min said, swirling his water.
“What, do you not believe in us?” Ryan smirked.
“I believe in us, just not the rest of the world, you know? I’m just surprised they like us so much.”
“Why wouldn’t they? We’re charming, enigmatic, very cool and most importantly, VERY sexy.” That made Min roll his eyes, but in a lighthearted way.
“You absolute dope.”
“Admit it!” Ryan said, leaning over to kiss Min-Gi’s cheek. They’d been together for about 5 months now. Not out, like, publicly or anything, but together nonetheless.
“Okay, fine, we’re VERY sexy. Happy?”
“Very.”
They’d been living out of Ryan’s van (that he had to steal back from that one ex) while occasionally splurging on a half-decent motel room. Today, though, because they were going to play at their biggest venue yet, their manager decided they should be able to enjoy the luxury of a Holiday Inn. It wasn’t luxurious in any way, and the room was pretty small and surprisingly dingy, but it felt great to be more than two stories off of the ground.
“Okay, so I’ve been- hold on,” Ryan said, reaching into his duffel bag, pulling out a crumpled piece of paper.
“Working on a song?” Min asked.
“Yeah, I have. Where did I put it?” Ryan muttered.
“Oh, I have as well.” Min got up to go get his own song, tucked neatly away in a three-ring binder, along with some viola music he’d printed out at the library. Hey, it was a good instrument and he enjoyed playing it if he wasn’t forced to. He’d even added a bit to some of the songs they’d recently recorded.
“Ah! Found it!” Ryan triumphantly held up a very crumpled piece of paper.
“Great, let’s hear it,” Min said, returning with his binder.
“Okay, sure. But, fair warning, not entirely sure we can add this to our discography.”
“Uh, why?”
“You’ll see.”
Ryan tuned his guitar, and started to softly strum.
If today was our last day on earth
There’s no one better to spend it with
You’ve always been there for me
And I just can’t get over you
You’re so different and oh so sweet
You just sweep me off my feet
You’ll always be there for me
And I just can’t get over you
Even if the sun explodes
Even if the earth erodes
Even if we lose the light
You’ll always be able to kiss me goodnight
Even when our friends all die
Even if those damn pigs fly
Even if we lose the light
You’ll always be able to kiss me goodnight
“And...that’s about it. At least, so far,” Ryan said, after finishing.
“Ry, that’s...it’s beautiful,” Min-Gi said.
“Well, I wouldn’t call it beautiful. More cheesy.”
“It really does suck we can’t add that to the lineup, though.”
“Look, I would if I could. I really wanna. But...I’m afraid, you know? What if people find out and they stop listening? We could crash our careers.”
“I know, and I completely understand. Asian AND gay? We’d be dropped immediately.”
“God, I wish we could come out. Like David Bowie.”
“Well, he was white. And too big to fail. And a solo act.” Min took a sip of his water.
“Yeah. I just...wish we could tell someone. Or everyone.”
“Maybe one day, when the world accepts us better. I mean, we can come out on our own terms, you know? It IS up to us.”
“Yeah, I know. So what’s your song?”
“Uh, I hate to admit this, especially after that wonderful performance...but it’s a remastered ‘Dog in a Toque’ thing...like an homage to our childhood?” Min passed the paper to Ryan.
“...I can’t read this.”
It was in formal musical notation, something Ryan had never bothered to learn.
“That’s okay, it’s not great. Or even good. Honestly I have no idea why I attempted to remaster this song.”
“No, no. It’s nice,” Ryan leaned over to kiss Min-Gi on the cheek yet again.
“Stop doing that, or I’ll be able to fry an egg on my face,” said Min-Gi, face very red.
“Never.”