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As the weather cast had previously warned, snow fell off the heavy clouds that colored the late afternoon sky a dark blueish grey and covered the street right outside the studio with even white. Inside the building, Given was just finishing the last rehearsal of the day and getting ready to go home.
"That part after the chorus sounded really good." Mafuyu commented, more to himself than anything, while packing up his guitar.
Haruki hummed in agreement. "It's tricky but the practice to get it right was really worth it." He throws his case over his shoulders. "Are you staying at Uecchi's place again?"
Mafuyu nodded. "Yeah, it's snowing really bad so we thought it might not be the best idea for me to go all the way to Kanagawa."
"Alright! Let's go then, they're waiting outside." Haruki rushed, turning off the lights and locking the door behind them.
Outside, watching the snowfall as he waited, Uenoyama tried to remember the last time he and Mafuyu had a chance to spend time together without something of worry or anxiety crawling over their heads and it saddened him that it had been so much time.
At least it's finally over, he thought to himself and sighed, creating a white cloud that quickly dissipated.
"What's taking them so long–" Akihiko asked beside him, looking behind them to see Haruki and Mafuyu coming their way. "Oh, they're here."
"So, tomorrow I think we're all busy, right?" Haruki asked, earning nods from the other three. "Okay, so next practice is the day after that at 6pm, don't be late!"
After that, they bid their farewells and "be careful with the ice on the road!" warnings (mostly from Haruki), then parted ways.
He and Mafuyu had been walking for a while now, comfortable silence around them as they got lost in their own thoughts. Mafuyu was especially silent, Ritsuka noted. He had a habit of being quiet when it snowed, it was getting increasingly rare but it still happened and it left Uenoyama extra aware of Mafuyu and what he might possibly be thinking or feeling. He knew the reason behind that silence had a name and a face, even though he didn't like admitting it. The thought had haunted him many, many times, taking away his concentration or ruining his mood in the middle of the day and he couldn't help it. It's not that he thought Mafuyu still had any feelings for his ex, it was far from that, but it still stung at the bottom of his heart to think for even a second about the possibility of dark thoughts related to those years clouding Mafuyu's mind again. It made him worried sick, knowing the layers and layers of trauma his boyfriend had developed before, during and after the event. He knew it wasn't going to be easy, he knew it would resurface now and then, and he was willing to stay by his side through it all, but he didn't know what to say about it. He watched as Mafuyu's silence persisted.
Beside him, Mafuyu walked lost in thoughts he didn't want to have, in a silence he wished wasn't there. It was just that the winter was particularly cold this year, the wind sending a shiver down his back and coloring his cheeks and nose a pale shade of red. It reminded him of a not-so-pleasant night, filled with not-so-pleasant memories and a face that lacked the pale red coloring of winter the last time he had seen it. It didn't steal his sleep anymore, as well as it didn't invade his thoughts everyday any longer, it hadn't for a long time, to be honest. Even so, as he saw the snowflakes fall on his hands, cupped forwards unconsciously, he couldn't help but think that maybe the shivers down his spine weren't caused from the cold of the weather, but rather from the cold from within, the winter from years ago.
The snow that fell and collected in his hands, making them numb and pained, suddenly stopped falling. Mafuyu stared up at the umbrella now open above his head.
Ah, right,
"You're gonna catch a cold if you keep touching snow like that, your hands are already red." Ritsuka said in his usual soft but embarrassed, annoyed tone and it amused Mafuyu how he was able to rip him out of his head with only a swift motion.
I have summer now, he thought.
"Thanks," Mafuyu said with a smile tugging at the edge of his lips. "can I heat them up?"
"What do you me–" Ritsuka's question came to a halt when he felt Mafuyu's fingers slip into his, holding the hand that wasn't busy holding up the umbrella. "Ok. This is fine." His voice wavered and cheeks went beetroot red and Mafuyu couldn't help but chuckle, feeling warmth growing in his chest. His hands no longer hurt from the harsh coldness of the snow Uenoyama made sure he was no longer holding, he didn't feel any shivers either, and it made him happy to realize that even in unusually cold winters the heat and comfort of the summer sun would never leave him.
They kept idle conversation as they walked to Ritsuka's home, and Mafuyu couldn't help but notice details that were vastly different between them other than the seasons of their names. He took note of how their hair colors contrasted each other, the size difference of their hands and how Uenoyama was always wearing something black at the same time Mafuyu was always wearing something white. He picked up on how Ritsuka was always hyper aware of his surroundings when they were walking together, always saving him from bumping into street lights and random people since he was always so distracted while walking. And, talking about distraction, he only noticed they had arrived once he heard the sound of the front door being unlocked and his boyfriend's loud "I'm home!" being answered with Yayoi's equally loud "Welcome!" coming from her room.
"Mafuyu, you can go to my room and shower if you want," Uenoyama said as he took their wet coats and hung them momentarily, then crouched down to untie his shoes. "I'll put the wet clothes away and heat up some water to make us tea."
Mafuyu hummed in agreement, turning to go upstairs before stopping on his tracks. He looked down at Ritsuka's head and didn't hesitate to shake off the snow that had layed there, staining his pitch black hair. It startled Ritsuka, making him jump a little.
"There was snow on your head." Mafuyu explained.
Ritsuka blinked up at him, looking a little lost. He shook his head, regaining focus. "Oh, right. Thanks." He ran his own hand through his hair, getting rid of the remaining snow.
"Next time I'm holding the umbrella so you don't leave half of yourself under the snowstorm." Mafuyu said teasingly, but meaning it. Ritsuka gave him a sheepish smile in return and watched as his boyfriend skipped the steps up to his room.
He got up after he was out of sight and proceeded to put away their snowy coats, then turning on the teapot. It was weird, he thought, the way Mafuyu's words were echoing in his mind. "There was snow on your head." and the way he carefully petted his hair to shake it off. It made his cheeks heat up, as usual, but the thing that made him thoughtful was the wording and the action that followed it. It felt like Mafuyu could read his mind sometimes, even if it wasn't on purpose, and although that was a little terrifying it also brought him indescribable comfort.
Ritsuka went upstairs and set the futon, entering the bathroom once Mafuyu left already dressed. Mafuyu sat on the bed and let his gaze drift around the room, stopping at the shelve of neatly stacked books and cds. They were mostly related to music, and rock seamed to be the most common genre in his guitarist's playlist, but he already knew that.
The thing that really caught his interest was the half open closet door at the corner of the room that displayed a series of carefully hung hoodies he had seen Uenoyama wear before. He stood up and wondered if Ritsuka would mind if he took one for the night. It was fine, right? It was cold and the shirt he brought was way too thin. Impulse ended up getting the best of him as he pulled out the piece of clothing he thought looked the most comfortable and put it on. The smell of Ritsuka's perfume immediately hit his nose and it made him feel giddy inside, the hoodie was big enough to give him sweater paws even if their height was almost the same.
Shortly after, Uenoyama left the bathroom. His eyes landed on his boyfriend before he could say anything and he froze.
Mafuyu was standing in the middle of his room. Wearing one of his favorite hoodies. Cheeks flushed and staring at him with those big eyes of his. He honestly, (and a little embarrasingly), didn't know how to react to that with anything other than very aggressive internal yelling.
I think I'm going to pass out, he thought to himself in the middle of the absolute chaos that was his mind right now. Luckily, he was interrupted.
"I took your clothes, is that okay?" Mafuyu asked.
"Yes!" Ritsuka said a little too quick and a little too enthusiastic, so he corrected himself and tried to hide his own blush to Mafuyu's amusement. "I mean, yeah, sure, why not? You can keep it. I mean, if you want to–"
"Really?? I can keep it?" Mafuyu sparkled.
"Of course." He said softly and starred at Mafuyu's beaming expression, which made his face an even darker shade of red. "Uh, so, let's go downstairs, the tea must be done by now." Ritsuka suggested as his heartbeat steadied, and so they went.
Mafuyu sat down and waited as Uenoyama put two mugs on the table and carefully poured the tea for them.
"Do you want honey or sugar?"
"Honey, please." He answered, watching Ritsuka sweeten his own with sugar after giving Mafuyu his honey sweeten tea. "You make really good tea." He complimented after taking a sip. It wasn't too sweet or too strong, just how he liked it.
"Oh, thank you." Ritsuka put his cup down. "Yayoi taught me, I've been in charge of the tea making of the house ever since."
Mafuyu hummed. "Do you always have it with sugar?"
"Yeah, honey changes the taste too much for my liking." He scrunched his nose slightly and Mafuyu smiled, a tug at the corner of his lips.
He liked honey sweetened tea because it overpowered the taste of the tea itself, which he also liked very light. Ritsuka was the opposite, he realized. His boyfriend seemed to enjoy when the drink was concentrated, even if it was bitter. That reminded him once again of the little things between them that were almost diametrically opposite, but seemed to complement each other so well. It wasn't just their tastes in tea or the color of their hair, like he had noticed earlier. It was also present on the way Ritsuka was always so aware and understanding of Mafuyu's silences, even when he was loud by nature. In the way Ritsuka was surprisingly shy, and Mafuyu was surprisingly daring (or a menace, as Hiiragi would say), which led to conversations filled with flushed cheeks and stuttering that always made Mafuyu's heart feel as light as a feather. They were both disastrous with words, and sometimes they didn't feel the need to speak to understand each other at all, even with all those differences, yet they tried to communicate for the sake of the honesty they both valued so much.
Maybe it was the way Ritsuka was always there to soothe him and give unwavering support to Mafuyu's every step, or maybe it was the way Mafuyu always seemed to break Ritsuka's walls down with ease and help him become a better version of himself everyday... they frankly didn't know.
But, the one thing they knew, sitting down at that table and sharing random conversations as the snow outside slowly became light dust falling from the sky rather than a storm, with all of their contrasts and edges, was that they were thankful to have each other. Not only in moments of despair that made their world spin or joyful days filled with singing and the sound of guitar strings, but also in nights like these, talking about trivial things like honey and sugar and realizing that nothing in the world could compare to the "simple" feeling of having each other through it all.