Chapter Text
Akito had never cried to music.
He had felt a myriad of emotions when it came to music: passion and hype being the two forefronts. He had felt relaxed, anxious, happy, and depressed. But never depressed enough to cry.
At least, until that day.
He didn’t even realize he was crying until An tapped him on the shoulder. Her eyes were wide and shimmering as well, but she silently pointed out Akito’s tear-tracks. Akito brought a hand to wipe them away. Neither of them spoke a word, for that would undo the spell the pianist had cast upon the awestruck audience.
Fitting for a piece depicting rain, he supposed.
The two, plus their friend Kohane, had gone to see a classical music concert out of a whim. They were eager to experience new kinds of music, although they had gone into the competition hall fully expecting to be bored out of their minds.
This pianist though.
The notes, however soft, resounded in the hall, slower than the others and yet with more care than all of them combined. The melody was slow and sweet, gradually rising only to fall back into the almost lullaby-like main melody.
And then the thunder struck, and before Akito knew it a dark shadow had passed over the pianist’s face as he struck the piano, sharp pedaled notes reaching his ears.
The contrast was frightening.
Maybe that’s when the tears decided to make their way down his face.
When, at the end, the clouds cleared up and the melody became clear again, Akito found that his hands were shaking. He clenched them tightly, ashamed by the weakness.
He would never have thought classical music of all things would evoke such an emotion.
The end of the piece came slowly. Akito didn’t realize the piece had ended until the audience was standing up in roaring applause. The pianist just bowed and walked out.
He didn’t show any emotion.
That bastard. He was too cool for his own good.
Akito flipped through the program guide quickly, finding the pianist’s picture.
Aoyagi Touya — Chopin - Prelude Op. 28, No. 15 “Raindrop”
“You!”
Normally Akito would be more embarrassed about pointing and shouting at a stranger in a library.
But who could blame him, when he spotted the same two-toned hair he had seen playing the piano on stage?
The boy blinked up at Akito, eyes wide. “...Me?”
And that’s when Akito became aware of the weight of the stares of the classmates around them.
The kid next to the pianist (peach hair, bright smile- wait, is he part of that one crazy duo-) ruffled Aoyagi’s hair. “Looks like you’ve got yourself a fan!”
Blood rushed to both Touya and Akito’s faces as the boy rose and walked past Akito, but not before whispering in Akito’s ear, “Go get’im tiger.”
What the fuck.
Once the kid left and everyone went back to whatever they were doing, Akito let out a breath and slid into the now-empty chair next to Aoyagi. “Uh. Yo.”
“Hi.”
Akito sighed internally, brain working abnormally sluggishly. “I’m sorry for embarrassing ya…I was just surprised.”
“You surprised me too.”
Akito let out a sudden chuckle. “You can be a bit of a smartass, ya know?”
Aoyagi blinked. “I can?”
Akito had to forcibly stop himself from laughing out loud. He settled for patting Aoyagi on the head. “Keep being like that.”
“...Okay?”
“Mhm.” Akito didn’t speak for a moment, realizing how awkward the scenario was. “...So I saw the piano competition the other day. You played really well, like I was damn near cryin’. How long’ve ya been playing?”
And apparently that was the wrong choice of words, for Aoyagi’s face closed off and darkened like the rain clouds he was depicting in his last performance. “...Some time.”
“...Ah.” The awkwardness felt suffocating. “...uh. You know, a few friends and I are holding a sort of music event thing soon, and we’re trying to get a lot of different kinds of music genres to perform. If you want…you could perform?”
Surprise colored Aoyagi’s eyes. “...Ah. Let me think about it. Thank you for the offer.”
“No problem dude.” Akito clapped Aoyagi on the back. “Hey, you want my number? That way you could text me when you have an answer.”
“Alright. Give me your phone.”
Akito fished the phone out from his bag (ignoring everything else that came out of it) and handed it to Aoyagi. “Just put your number in here.”
“Got it.”
Once he sent a quick text to Aoyagi and snapped a pic of him as a contact photo, Akito stood up, pocketing his phone. “Well, thanks a lot man. I gotta meet up with a friend, so-”
“Wait, I want to ask you something.”
Akito stalled, mind going into overdrive from the way Touya had suddenly grasped his hand. “Uh, what? I mean, what’s up?”
“You said you liked my performance.”
“...Yeah.”
“What did you like about it?”
“Eh?” Akito tried to conjure memories of the performance, which wasn’t easy spontaneously. “Well, uh, I mean it's all a blur but you played with a lot of…emotion, I feel like. It's like, I could immediately tell how much you practiced…”
Akito trailed off.
Aoyagi was looking at him in bewilderment, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. “...Emotion? Me?”
“...I mean, yeah? That’s what I heard at least.”
“...Are you a musician too?”
“What, me?” Akito laughed dryly. “I mean, I tried. Wasn’t any good though. So I quit.”
“...Ah. I never got your name…”
“Wha- oh, I’m an idiot, sorry,” Akito shook his head. “Its Akito. Shinonome Akito.”
“...Okay. I’ll text you later, Shinonome-san.”
Akito’s immediate reaction was to gag, but he suppressed it for teh sake of face. “Don’t call me that, oh god I sound like an old man. Just call me Akito man.”
“...Okay, Akito.”
Akito’s brain functions halted for a worrying second.
“...Yeah. Is it fine if I call you Touya?”
“I don’t mind.”
This man was going to be the death of him.
“Awesome! I’m gonna go now, my friend’s gonna kill me I’m so late, so uh, bye!”
“Bye.”
Akito hightailed his way out of there.
True, he was supposed to meet An, but he made his way to the boys bathroom instead. It was empty, thank god. He got himself a stall, sat down, and buried his face in his hands, aware of how hot it felt. He knew he wasn’t getting a fever though.
That was most likely the most difficult interaction of his life. And it had only lasted what, two minutes?
It was inexplicable, he knew. And he really should have been meeting with An by now. She'd be furious. However, somehow, he found himself waiting eagerly for Aoya- no, Touya’s text. Even if he knew it would come after a while.
He wanted to know more about him.
That hadn't happened since...since ever, really.
Akito groaned.