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Beeping cars and towering buildings, loud chattering and dogs barking, it was impossible for Leo to find inspiration in this environment!
He gripped the blank sheets of paper in his right hand and his pen in the other. He desperately wanted to write anything as he walked but he was not going to endure an hour-long lecture from his knights about focusing on one thing before doing another.
After a few minutes of wandering around he came upon a playground. It didn’t appear to be abandoned, but it was off-putting that the only thing that greeted him was complete silence compared to the usual noise from children playing and running around.
There was no any other person in sight, perhaps it’s because it was a weekday. Everyone is busy running around getting to school and work, not taking the time to rest and relax. That was not the case for Leo, he can both work and relax at the same time, how crazy was that?!
Despite the lack of life on the playground he happily jogged over to a swing. His paper and pen where left on the empty swing beside his. He was unconcerned that the empty pages will be scattered by the wind, after all they were nothing but a place for a physical materialization of his works.
It was a fairly sunny day, no dark clouds in sight and no chilly winds, it wasn’t even hot enough to irritate Leo. It was just right for him to feel energized. The sun was directly shining on him, it was like a natural spot light for him and him alone! As if it was saying that he can perform whenever and wherever he liked as long as the sun follows.
As he kicked off the ground all his worries vanished as quick as a bursted bubble. His laughter echoed throughout the empty playground. Every time his feet come in contact with the sand he makes a pleased sound, before he gets launched up higher in the air.
His fun time was interrupted by his ringing phone. He ignored the first call, continuing to swing higher and higher until he felt that he can touch the clouds. That was a mere delusion, after all the clouds were farther than what his eye can perceive. The time he had for relaxing was way shorter than he could have expected but it doesn’t mean that can stop him.
At the third call he finally answered the phone hoping that the caller would leave him alone. “Hello~! Leo is currently unavailable, he’s currently being abducted by aliens! Bzzt pssh! Oh no the signal is breaking!”
“Stop with the bullshit! Where are you?” Izumi’s voice rang loud in his ears, way too loud than what he anticipated. He distanced his phone from his ear before speaking.
“Sena~! Did you miss me a lot that you had to call me so early in the morning?” Leo laughed as he gently kicked the sand rested at his feet.
“What? No! You’re an idiot for forgetting that we have a meeting right now!”
Leo stopped and stared at his phone. Ah, that was what he was forgetting.
“Leo!? Time is ticking and the others are waiting!”
Leo looked around him and realized that he didn’t know where he was. He was too entranced by the thought of finding inspiration. It didn’t help that there was an empty playground that he couldn’t help himself from playing around. “Ehehe. Even if I wanted to, I don’t know where I am right now.”
“You’re unbelievable! You’re in Japan not in Florence!” Shuffling can be heard from the other side of the line. “Send me a picture of where you are so I can come get you!”
“Ehhh… I don’t want to! Babye~” Leo giggled after he ended the call. He redirected the app to the messaging app they use before taking a picture of the playground he was in. It was interesting to mess around with Izumi from time to time.
After that short exchange, Leo felt that he can write a whole song already! The silence helped him concentrate but there was nothing more in the area that helped him shape his masterpiece, except for one. He picked up his pen and paper to begin writing everything that crosses his mind.
Once he snapped out of the song-writing trance he was in, everything written down on the paper was connected to Izumi. He already wrote countless of songs for him but it won’t hurt to make another one, right?
He kept on writing the lyrics line after line, humming a tune for the song that is being created in his mind. It wasn’t foreign for Leo to immediately finish a song with Izumi in mind. But it was strange, how this song was still missing something. There was a nagging voice in the back of his mind that he can’t get rid of.
“There you are, always running off to who knows where.” Izumi shook his head as he saw Leo on the swing. He thought that Leo will fall off when he turned around to look at him.
“Sena!” Came Leo’s excited voice before he ran to his boyfriend. Almost immediately Izumi was engulfed in warmth. He didn’t shy away from it anymore, instead, he welcomed it with open arms.
“How did you find me so easily?!” Leo asked as he pouted at Izumi.
Izumi just rolled his eyes as he tightened his arms around Leo’s body. “It’s easy for an owner to find their runaway pet.”
“Wahhh! Sena so mean! I won’t tell you anything when I’m gone again!” Leo whined as he tried to wiggle his way out of Izumi’s hold.
“I’ll still find a way to you regardless,” Izumi muttered before he let go of Leo. Leo fell down from the lack of support, he glared up at Izumi who just raised an eyebrow.
“You’re so mean, I don’t want to see you anymore!” Leo stood up and dusted himself before he made his way to the swing that held his things. “Go away Sena! You’re a bully!”
“We’re going to be late for the meeting, Leo.” Sena sighed as he walked to where Leo was now seated. “You wouldn’t want Naru, Ritsu, and Tsukasa to get restless when we don’t show up.”
“You can do the meeting yourselves! Go back now and leave me here!” Leo groaned as he continued to scribble on his paper, finally filling in the missing pieces of his creation.
Sena had no choice but to phone the others and tell them Leo was being difficult again. After a few rings, and a few foul words, Arashi answered the call.
“So? Did you find him?” Arashi asked before Tsukasa and Ritsu’s voice took over the call.
“Where’s Tsukkipi? I want to go to sleep already.”
“We’re already behind schedule!”
Izumi can already feel the headache forming, he stole a quick glance at Leo’s figure before he sighed. “I did find him, Leo currently doesn’t want to go back, and I am aware that we’re behind schedule.”
“Should we proceed with the meeting without you two?” Arashi’s voice overpowered the other two who were complaining in the background. Izumi is glad she was left behind to look after them or else the meeting room would’ve blown up by now.
“Yeah, provide me a run down of the meeting later.”
“Sure sure~ Have fun with your date!”
“They’re on a DATE!?”
Tsukasa’s screeching was the last thing he heard before he ended the call. Leo was still writing even after the call so Izumi tried to peek at the song he was making. Unfortunately, Leo sensed Izumi behind him so he folded the papers he was holding.
“Why are you still here?” Leo asked, a small frown formed on his lips.
“I did swear that I’d stay by your side, wherever you may be,” Izumi answered before he sat on the swing beside Leo’s. “Take your time here. I already asked Naru to take care of everything.”
Leo’s eyes widened at that. “Really?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you.” Izumi looked at Leo with furrowed eyebrows.
“I heard that many times! Including when you told me we were only going to be away for a week but it’s been almost a month already!” Leo threw a crumpled paper at Izumi’s head.
“It’s not my fault we have a long promotion! I had to cancel some of my photo shoot schedules back in Florence too, you know?” Izumi picked up the paper and unraveled it. To his surprise it was filled with words, praising and complimenting him.
“Another song… for me?” Izumi whispered as his eyes met with Leo’s.
Leo broke the eye contact as he nodded. “Only for you. I was supposed to make another unit song but that happened.”
“It’s been so long since you’ve let me see your unfinished songs.” Izumi carefully folded the paper, even if it was crumpled he wanted to prevent it from being dirtied further, before he pocketed it.
“It was never enough to let someone like you to see just unfinished ones.” Leo breathed out before he turned to Izumi. “But I realized something earlier, something that I’ve always known but kept on denying.”
“What is it?” Izumi asked, slowly pushing the swing he was on with his foot.
“I’ve always wanted silence, everyone else is irrelevant in my vision, but chasing after a world where only I can speak is impossible. It reminded me that I’m alone, with no one to talk to.” Leo mirrored Izumi, his swing gently rocking to his movements.
“I thought I can accompany myself with just my thoughts, but it was scary to live a world where everything is to my liking, it felt… unnatural.”
Izumi reached out to intertwine their hands together. “It’s scary, I understand that much. But I’m always here, I’m not leaving. Despite everything that happened I’ll still fight for whatever you want, with you.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” Leo laughs as he swings their intertwined hands. “At least I know there’s you, who will be a constant in my now changing world.”
Izumi tightened his hold on Leo’s hand, he was afraid he would disappear out of thin air if he didn’t hold on. “I did make a promise after all. I’m not one to break promises.”
“I know, even if you did, it wasn’t because you wanted to.” Leo grinned at him before he let go of his hand to fish out his phone. “Do you know why I don’t stop myself from making songs, especially when it’s about you?”
Izumi was intrigued by what Leo said but before he even got a word out, Leo was already showing a picture of him as his lock screen. “So I can give you a piece of me to carry wherever you go, just like how I carry pictures of you, of us.”
Izumi was speechless, he knew how much of a sentimental person Leo was but it was the first time he was so vocal about it. He also took out his phone and showed Leo a separate playlist for every single song Leo made for him.
“I kept all of them. Even from the first song you wrote for me.”
Leo’s mouth hung agape at the playlist. He didn’t think that Izumi would keep all of them, especially the ones he left him during their third year.
“I even kept every piece you tried to throw away. Regardless if it was about me or a completely different subject.” Izumi started feel emotional so he hid his shaking voice by clearing his throat. “I could never throw away anything you made.”
“Why?” Leo whispered, fearing that if he spoke any louder he might miss the answer.
“It served as a reminder that there was someone who loved me when I had a hard time loving myself. Someone who was passionate in making everyone feel loved, including me who rejected that love.” Izumi wiped the tears that were forming as he laughed lightly. “Maybe I also wanted to hold on to the hope that even if you didn’t come back, we can still be together even if it’s just through these songs.”
Leo jumped out from his swing with a sob before he tackled Izumi into a hug. He was already crying, tears were wetting Izumi’s clothes but he didn’t say anything. Izumi just rubbed Leo’s back in an attempt to comfort.
“Sena! I love you a lot! I won’t get tired of telling you that!” Leo sobbed before he buried his face on the crook of Izumi’s neck. His arms were tightly wrapped around him, not giving Izumi a chance to see his face.
“Thank you, for continuing to fight with us,” Izumi whispered as he pressed a kiss on the top of Leo’s head, words were insufficient to portray Izumi’s love and gratefulness for the one wrapped in his arms, but it was better than not saying anything at all. “I love you too, even if I don’t say it a lot. I always do.”
In that moment, the warmth of their love rivaled the morning sun’s. Even if they were once littered with cracks, they found a way to fix something that was supposed to be beyond repair. Even if it took forever, even after a thousand lifetimes, they would continue to choose each other over everything else. They are the happiness they fought for and will continue to fight for.