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“Aoyagi-san, hello.”
“Good afternoon, Asahina-senpai. How was your day?” His voice had taken on the same pure tone Mafuyu often found herself caught up on.
“What brings you to our school? You’re not a student here, after all,” she smiled. He hid his displeasure at the demeanor she had adopted, saccharine and so disgustingly false. Toya held Mafuyu’s true personality dear to him.
“You didn’t answer my question, Asahina-senpai. And for your own, Akito and Shiraishi are caught up at school so Azusawa and I will practice together until they can join. I’ve come to accompany her to Vivid Street.”
“My day was rather nice. I just finished archery practice, as a matter of fact,” and Toya found himself smiling at the detail. She often told him about her practice, the inklings of a smile blooming across her face, and he could not get enough of that look. He was positively addicted to her. “How was yours?”
A voice cut him off before he could answer. “Aoyagi-kun!” Kohane called, waving at him with a small motion. “Ah, Asahina-senpai!” She smiled, bright and cute. Toya chuckled fondly when she tripped in her haste to run over to them, catching her before she fell and helping her regain her balance.
“Hello, Azusawa,” he answered. “Are you ready to go?” She nodded, smile still on her face, and he offered a hand. Mafuyu looked between them, her only real observation being that Toya was significantly taller than Kohane, almost amusingly so. “I’ll see you again sometime soon, yes, Asahina-senpai?”
“Yes,” Mafuyu replied. She watched Kohane and Toya walk off, fingers laced together where they held hands and shared a smile, and she couldn’t fight the smile creeping up onto her own face. If nothing else, Toya’s happiness meant the world to her.
-
Toya appeared by her window that night, shuffling awkwardly outside while he waited for her to notice his text and invite him up. She glanced at her phone quickly in between her studying, catching sight of the boy’s text and hurrying to her window. A knocking from inside made Toya look up at her, smiling at the sight of a familiar purple ponytail trailing out the window.
The entire interaction was frequent; Toya texted her that he was waiting, she saw the text, he came around to the front door and rang the doorbell, she let him in almost instantly, pretending that they had planned to meet and study together if and when her parents inquired about his presence. He always stood around the back of her house, somewhere that she could see him from her room but her parents couldn’t, her way of avoiding their suspicion.
He slid his shoes off quietly, placing them on the shoe stand next to the door and following the girl up to her room. “Mafuyu,” he breathed the moment the door had closed behind them, capturing her smaller frame in a delicate hug and burying his face in the crook of her neck.
“Toya,” Mafuyu recited plainly. He inhaled deeply, his breath tickling her neck, and she came undone. “Toya,” Mafuyu repeated, much more conviction in her voice. “...Thank you.”
He pulled away, looking at her with his head tilted quizzically. God, he was so cluelessly adorable. “What for, if I may?”
“I’m not sure,” she admitted, “for being here, maybe. For coming to see me everyday and trying to help me figure myself out. You’re reliable, has anyone told you that?”
“I’ve heard it more than you would expect,” Toya laughed. “I like being reliable to you. I’m glad that you feel comfortable speaking to me like this. You mean a lot to me, I want to help you as much as I can because your joy means everything to me.”
Mafuyu wasn’t sure how to respond to that, settling for a single laugh that crossed somewhere between resentment, confusion, and affection. She opted to switch the topic, gesturing to her bed as an invitation for them to sit. Toya obliged gladly. “You and Azusawa-san are close, yes?”
“Hm? Not particularly, I believe. I do hope to grow closer to her, but we’re not as intimate as Akito and I, for instance. I attribute that primarily to the fact that she so recently joined us.”
“Really?” Mafuyu gave him a lopsided half-smile that so closely resembled those that were typical to Toya himself, only hers was woven with a strange dullness as opposed to the adoration laced into his. “You seem to care strongly for her. You were laughing a lot.”
“Was I? Perhaps it’s because she’s just so cute.”
Mafuyu hummed, “she is, isn’t she?” Toya leaned against her, enough force in the action to knock her back so they were both lying down, his hands hooked around the back of her neck. “Is this really comfortable for you?”
“Absolutely. The closer I can be to you, the better.”
“How would you feel if I wasn’t a girl?” Mafuyu asked, so calm and immediate with it that it fell in line with the rest of the conversation easily. Toya responded just as naturally, ignoring the skip of his heart when he comprehended the weight of what he was asked.
“I wouldn’t care,” he answered, unaware of the fact that he meant it until after the words had fallen out of his grasp. “It doesn’t matter to me. As long as you’re comfortable with yourself, that’s simply another part of you. I love you entirely.”
Mafuyu settled for kissing the top of his head. “I think I might be a boy. Like you. You don’t mind, yes?”
“Of course not. Is there any change I can make for your comfort? Your name, for instance.”
He smiled into Toya’s hair. “My name makes me feel closer to you. Midwinter, whereas yours is unending winter. It’s unisex, regardless, so I don’t see a need. I don’t want to lose that aspect of relation to you.” Mafuyu paused, prying Toya’s hands off of the back of his neck, instead lacing their fingers together. “You’re still so reliable.”
“Is that your way of saying you love me?”
“Perhaps.”
“I can get behind that.” Both boys’ lips had stretched into a small crescent, their eyes in the same shape.
-
“Aoyagi-san, hello,” Mafuyu greeted. She, because he insisted that Toya, the only person that knew, refer to him as such outside of his room lest someone find out, had that same false affability coating her features, and Toya fought back a scowl. A small voice from within him wanted to burst, ‘You don’t have to pretend. Please be genuine.’ In favor of not upsetting his lover, he swallowed the words.
“Good afternoon, Asahina-senpai.” That conversation was routine. Toya coming to Miyamasuzaka to accompany Kohane was routine. The two meeting at the front gate was routine. The words that they said were routine. Kohane approaching the two with bright laughter was routine. One of the two commenting on how cute they found her was routine. Kohane flustering and therefore becoming exponentially cuter was routine. Toya departing, one hand wrapped tightly around Kohane’s, was routine. Mafuyu found the familiarity comforting.
Toya appearing at his house every night was a longer standing routine. Following him up to his room, enveloping the smaller in his lithe frame, flopping onto his bed, muttering mindless conversation, basking in each other’s presence, all routine.
Toya separated from Mafuyu, reluctantly, but instead opted to turn him onto his side, trailing kisses over any open skin he could find. Mafuyu was more or less unaffected by the physical sensations of it all, having a decreased sense of touch, but he giggled nonetheless at how devoted Toya seemed to be.
“Mafuyu,” Toya said once he was satisfied with how much of Mafuyu had welcomed his lips, “when is your birthday? I can’t recall you ever telling me.”
“January 27th, I believe.”
“You believe?”
Mafuyu rolled back to face Toya. “I tend to forget.”
Toya hummed in understanding, “I’ve done that too, it’s okay.” He paused, calculating the time between his birthday and the date. “That’s in just over a week,” Toya burst, snapping upright. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“My birthday has never been very important to me, and you only just asked.”
“I can’t plan anything in such a short time,” groaned Toya, mostly to himself. “Mafuyu, love, did you really not think to tell me of your own accord? Don’t answer that, actually.”
“Okay.” Toya fumbled to pull his phone out of his pocket, turning the screen away from Mafuyu and typing furiously. “Something wrong?” Mafuyu asked.
“I need outside opinions on what to do for your birthday, I’m texting Akito. Don’t look!” He quickly snapped on, turning even further away, and Mafuyu’s face betrayed his amusement. “Congratulations, Asahina-sama, Akito helped me think of a great idea. Not that he did much. He just tends to inspire me. I am determined to help you properly celebrate your birthday and enjoy it, for once.”
“Oh? I plan to hold you to that promise, then.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
-
Mafuyu did not keep his phone’s ringer off. There was no need to; the only person that texted him was his mother, and it was imperative that he answer his mother’s texts as soon as possible. However, there was a pattern to her texts, enough so that Mafuyu could anticipate them and would therefore not be startled by the notification’s sound.
It was uncharacteristic of him to nearly jump out of his own skin at all, let alone from something as small as a notification, and it raised the attention of Amia from through the screen, who had decided to join the call earlier than usual, the same as him. “Mafuyu? You okay there?”
“Yes, I’m alright. Startled.” He flipped his phone over, eyebrows furrowed, taking in the notification that had caused his heart to jump into his throat.
‘happy birthday, my love <3 have a wonderful day!’ Toya. He smiled at his phone, thumbing out a response of gratitude. Mafuyu’s eyes wandered to the top of the screen, indicating the time, as it was unusual for Toya to text him without reason, much less so late. 12:00, exactly. Toya had made sure to wish him at midnight, on the dot, on his birthday.
‘Thank you, Toya, but shouldn’t you be asleep?’
‘i had to be the first to wish you so i decided to do my homework a little late. i’ve done worse, if you’re worried. did anyone beat me?’
‘Of course not’
“Why’re you smiling like that?” Amia asked, directing Mafuyu’s attention back to the screen. “It’s disconcerting.” He hesitated to answer, unsure of what words fell together in the optimal manner, and settled for a piercing silence. Amia stared blankly, resigning to the fact that he would not respond, and laughed awkwardly to fill the void. “Okay, okay, I’ll drop it.”
“You’re familiar with Aoyagi Toya, yes?” Mafuyu asked, much to Amia’s surprise.
“Yeah, we’re friends. Kinda. Why?”
Mafuyu paused, another damned half smile creeping onto his face at the mere thought of his lover and his antics. “He made sure to text me ‘happy birthday’ at precisely midnight.”
“It’s your birthday?! We didn’t know! Or at least, I didn’t! We didn’t do anything… Mafuyu, I’m so sorry! Happy birthday!”
“My birthday has never been important to me, calm down. Still, thank you. And I’m spending the day with Toya, so you wouldn’t be able to do anything if you tried.”
“Eh? Toya-kun stole you away from us?”
“Yes.”
“No fun~ I’ll have to ask him about it if I go to school tomorrow! Or technically today, I guess.” Mafuyu chose not to say anything further.
She spent the school day brimming with anticipation, offering a false expression of gratitude to everyone that extended their well-wishes, all too distracted by the prospect of spending time with Toya when the day was over. For once, as she waited by the gate and was greeted by the sight of two-toned blue hair approaching her, her heart swelled in her chest at the knowledge that he was coming to retrieve her, not Kohane.
Much to her distress, however, Kohane came to join the pair by the gate at the sight of her teammate, head tilted quizzically. “Aoyagi-kun? I thought we didn’t have group practice today,” the girl remarked, looking between her associates with her brows furrowed in confusion.
Toya clarified, “We don’t, I’m here for Asahina-senpai. It’s her birthday.”
Kohane lit up, then quickly apologized for her lack of knowledge. “I hope you two have fun!” She exclaimed, smiling at the two of them, and they returned it without hesitation. Adorable, they silently agreed.
“Thank you very much. Asahina-senpai? Shall we?” He extended his arm, elbow out; an invitation for her to link their arms together. What reason did she have to decline? They bid Kohane farewell and Mafuyu let herself get dragged around by Toya, completely unaware of what his plans were. Determination hard-set into his features, Toya only stopped when they arrived in front of a building Mafuyu had merely seen in passing once or twice, a new library that had opened up in place of an old tailor shop.
“Our first stop,” Toya announced, removing his arm from Mafuyu’s in favor of holding the door open for him. Mafuyu smiled politely at him, to which he frowned, “There’s no need to act so false around me. It’s just the two of us now, okay?” He loosened at the words. “Perfect.”
Mafuyu let out a soft gasp upon entering the library, not quite sure what he was expecting but certain that it wasn’t this. Rows upon rows of books, neatly organized with their covers all aligned to near perfection, both flush against the walls and run down the center in exact parallel lines. He could see incense burning by one of the counters, the soft smell of sandalwood emanating from the smoke, and the entire place had an air of comfort to it.
“I’ve come here quite a few times now, figured you’d like it. It’s usually rather empty, which is another perk,” Toya explained from behind him, voice soft so as to not disturb the serenity woven into the air.
“I very much do.”
“I’m glad.” His voice was so genuine, gentle and laced with uninhibited love, bordering on devotion, to the point that Mafuyu was at a complete loss for words. What had he done, he numbly wondered, to deserve the attention of someone like Toya?
Mafuyu chose to examine the shelves on the walls first, Toya trailing behind him, both of them stopping when they found anything remotely interesting. By the time they had scoured the entire library, both reemerged with their arms full of books, sitting together at a table to shorten their list of choices before they checked out. They distributed the books evenly amongst each other, stuffing them into their schoolbags, and Toya took his lover’s hand again once they had left the establishment.
It was snowing. Lightly, hardly enough to really be considered snow, but Toya’s eyes lit up in delight at the sight, excitedly holding his hand out and watching the flakes drift into his palm, still examining them as they melted away, and whether from the warmth of his hand or his gaze, Mafuyu couldn’t tell. His cheeks and nose were flushed from the cold, breath visible, and Mafuyu was so incredibly tempted to go up on the tips of his toes and kiss the pinkened nose.
Their hands had found their way to each other under the excuse of keeping warm, a fact that Toya took advantage of as he once again bounded ahead, Mafuyu in tow, to a particularly familiar cafe. The man behind the counter cocked an eyebrow, more than well acquainted with the musician that had just entered and yet unfamiliar with the boy at his side.
“The usual?” Ken asked, surprised to be met with a shake of Toya’s head.
“Two hot chocolates, actually,” Toya said, already in the process of pulling his wallet out to pay for the drinks. An had insisted that her teammates indulge in free treatment, only to be met with disapproval from both Toya and her father, who reminded her that they were such frequent visitors that the cafe’s business would suffer a great deal if the three didn’t pay. An still got a bit of an advantage, technically being an employee. “Ken-san, this is Mafuyu. Mafuyu, Ken-san.”
Mafuyu greeted the man with a plastered smile. Toya repeated his insistence: “Mafuyu, please. Vivid Street is like a home to everyone that comes here, there’s no need for that." Ken could have sworn he saw the light melt out of his eyes, shining blue and purple falling into deep voids of dull color.
“Nice to meet you, I’ve heard of you from Toya,” Ken offered, waiting to see if Mafuyu seemed keen to respond. He did not. Ken decided, then, to turn around and start on their orders lest he forget.
“I’m not normally one for sweeter drinks, but Ken-san learns how people likes things so easily, I had to introduce you to him. And besides, he’s something of a father figure to me.”
“Is that so?” Ken peeked out of the corner of his eye, met with the sight of the inklings of a smile on Mafuyu’s face. “You deserve that.”
“Do I?” Toya smiled wistfully, eyes staring at a point that wasn’t quite the boy in front of him. “So do you.”
Ken turned around, two steaming mugs in hand that he slid over the counter to the two children. Toya smiled gratefully and pulled a book out of his bag, turning it to face Mafuyu when he leaned over in an attempt to see the cover. Mafuyu hummed pensively, recognizing the title, but reading had never been Ken’s thing and he couldn’t idenitify the book. At least Toya had someone to talk to about literature, Ken mused, seeing as the rest of his friends were less inclined to spend their free time reading.
“Toya,” Ken started, voice tender. Mafuyu was beyond distracted, completely immersed in his novel, and Toya hardly managed to peel his eyes away either, pulling out the headphones that he shared with his lover. “Are you happy?”
Toya seemed taken aback by the question. “I’m afraid I don’t follow. What do you mean?”
Ken sighed, “I guess that… It seems like you’re more elated in general these days. It’s nice to see. I’ve known you for a few years now, and the only other time I can say you seemed like this is when you had just escaped all of that and found street music.” Mafuyu was listening attentively to their conversation, free ear tuned in but careful to avoid letting his face betray his emotions. He had honed that skill well.
Toya seemed happier? Lovely. Mafuyu hadn’t known him for long enough to make any sort of comparison between his behaviour from the time that Ken was talking about, years prior in junior high school, and his current behaviour, but the idea that Toya had grown to be more content with his life from the time Mafuyu had heard of caused small embers of fire to burn beneath his layers of facades.
He leaned closer, gaining Toya’s attention, and kissed the taller boy’s nose when he turned to look at him. “The hot chocolate is indeed good,” he commented, completely glossing over his display of affection.
“That it is,” Toya muttered, lowering his shoulder so Mafuyu could settle his head in there and he could place his on Mafuyu’s. Ken looked over the pair fondly, turning away to give them some space. Some paternal void in him prayed that Mafuyu would visit the establishment more often; the emptiness in his eyes that only seemed to disappear when looking at Toya concerned Ken, and he wanted to be able to soothe it to some extent as well.
None of them seemed to notice that the two had nearly finished their drinks until a hollow slurping noise was made by an apologetic Toya. Mafuyu quickly drank the remainder of his own, thanking Ken for his hospitality and providing a thoughtless promise to return someday, but Ken really did wish he kept his word.
In their time in the cafe, the snow had only continued to pile and the winds had increased, catching Toya off guard, but he still seemed all too excited about the weather, an avid enjoyer of snowfall. His body had already started to take on a pinkish hue, instantly reacting to the cold, and Mafuyu’s eyebrows furrowed in concern.
He did not expect Toya to kiss the space between them, running a thumb where his lips had just been to smooth out the tension. “You’re concerned about how I’m faring, right? We shouldn’t stay long, yes, especially because we’re both in our school uniforms, but I’m cold.”
“Still… you’ll fall sick, if nothing else,” Mafuyu insisted. “Is it time for you to go home?”
Toya frowned, checking the time on his phone, “Nearly. It’s falling late, both our parents will be upset if we stay out much longer.”
“I’ll walk you home, then,” Mafuyu offered, hearing the twinge of disappointment in his love’s voice. “It’s the least I can do. You’ve shown me such a wonderful time today, Toya.”
They walked relatively silently, comfortable with having their bodies joined at their hands and navigating the familiar path to the Aoyagi household. Mafuyu had actually been inside the house an entirety of one time, as a study date of sorts with Toya, much to his father’s surprise. He made a biting remark about how his son was finally spending time with someone dedicated and dignified, a much better influence than “that Akito,” and Mafuyu had not missed the way Toya’s fist clenched in rage, anger rolling off of him in waves. No one had a right to speak about his partner that way, much less his solitary father, foreign to the concept of caring for someone. Mafuyu had run a hand through Toya’s hair as an attempt at comfort, kissing the boy repeatedly until his worries melted away. Toya had gone to school rather elated the next day.
They arrived at the front gate much quicker than Mafuyu had realized, wrapped up in his own thoughts with all other information shut out wholly. “This is where we part,” Toya pulled Mafuyu close, leaning down and slotting their faces together as he whispered against the other’s lips, “did you enjoy today?”
“Yes,” Mafuyu surprised himself with the answer. How long had it been since a birthday was something to enjoy and not to dread? “Anything that you do for me, I will undoubtedly enjoy.”
“I love you.” He was still whispering, and yet, Mafuyu could have sworn the words were so loud they rang around his ears for ages, drowning out the sound of his own heart beating frantically in his chest.
He responded with silence, but it wasn’t hesitation. Toya could very clearly hear a reciprocation in the lack of noise, smiling against Mafuyu’s lips before readjusting for a proper kiss. Then another. And yet another. Each kiss was a repition of his three words, over an over, a ceaseless, or perhaps senseless, recitation of the only words that seemed to make sense in the moment.
Toya pulled away cautiously, and for once, Mafuyu found himself craving for the warmth to return, desperate. He pulled Toya in forcefully, yanking him down by his tie, to press a kiss to the mole just beneath his eye, releasing him before Toya could process what happened.
“Thank you. For giving me a birthday I actually enjoyed." Mafuyu knew he could rely on Toya for that. He always could.