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Touya enjoyed the small stripes of moonlight mixed with subtle neon colors from the signs outside. They leaked through the blinds and landed on the floor, climbing up one wall like ivy. He was also fond the music playing outside despite the late hour. Even though it was loud, it could easily work out as a lullaby had he been under less anxiety inducing circumstances.
It's moments like this that make An’s passionate rambles about Vivid Street feel all the more authentic and compelling now that he could truly bask it in, rather than scribbling down notes based off of the ardent words that tumbled out of her mouth.
“I’m so happy you decided to stay over, you know? I know you’ve been so busy with composing and stuff…”
“I haven’t even finished the first track.” Touya admitted, sounding almost bitter about it. He stared morosely at the ceiling, and An held on to him tighter—it was something akin to a child protecting their favorite stuffed animal. “It’s been a whole month and I’ve made close to no progress.”
“You shouldn’t beat yourself up like that, Touya.”
“I’m not beating myself up.” He could feel her eyes grazing his skin, they always looked red at night but yellow in broad daylight. He was almost scared to look back at her, worried that her eyebrows would be furrowed, a tight frown tugging at her lips. He didn’t want to see her disappointed. Would she be dissapointed? “I’m just aware of the quality that my work should be at, that’s all.” Ken-san, Taiga-san and Nagi-san would have already had an entire set list completed by now, wouldn’t they?
“Don’t worry about that right now, okay? You’ve been working so hard and I know your songs are gonna be…” She yawned again, “…amazing. You deserve a night’s rest. And I just wanna lay with you…”
He only hoped he would exceed her expectations. Her legs tangled with his as she said that. He found the closer proximity endearing, he supposed.
He gave in, averting his eyes from the ceiling and down towards An. Shockingly, her eyes were closed with her face smushed against his shoulder, it couldn’t have been very comfortable for her. Her chest bounced up and down rhythmically alongside her breathing, slowly, but not slow enough to prove she was actually asleep. Perhaps her heartbeat—which he could hear ever so faintly had an interesting BPM he could integrate into his song…
His song! Yes, his song. He would be working on that if he was home.
Resisting the urge to literally get out of bed and take his laptop out, he sighs a little too loudly for comfort.
One of An’s eyes blinked open in an instant, “Touyaaaaaaaaaa” An murmurs sleepily, “You should sleep.”
“I will.”
“Are you not able to?”
Truthfully, it wasn’t a matter of being unable to. Infact, his eyes stung from being open for so long. It was more of not wanting to. He wasn’t a fool—he was completely aware that if he didn’t sleep at all, his performance would be lacking in both singing and composing. He couldn’t afford that, especially when his tracks needed to surpass RAD WEEKEND. He wanted to work on his music, he needed to.
And, of course, there was a secondary factor to all of this because there always was.
Going to sleep meant waking up in a cold sweat.
Dreams in which his father’s voice chided him, aching fingers, piano notes. Emptiness.
It was a horrible, no good feeling. So he simply did not want to sleep and be forced to see the reflection of his reality against his will.
He didn’t know how to reply to An. He didn’t want to lie to her, she had dealt with enough of those already…but he also didn’t want to worry her.
An accepted his silence. It was so gracious of her that he felt he didn’t deserve it. “Yeah, sorry if I'm being pushy about it. I just get worried sometimes.” Her eyes started closing again, she was clearly drifting in and out of sleep. She had seemed particularly wiped out after practice today, he could only wonder if it was because of lack of sleep as well. “You have been sleeping, right?”
“Yes. If I didn't sleep, my performance would be hindered. I can't afford that.” It was the truth. He could run but only so far.
“I'm talking a full eight hours—six at the very least.”
“Look who's talking…”
“I'm gonna stop making coffee for you,” An ignored his statement entirely, but it was to be expected from her. He had learned that about her on his road to fully understanding her—she pushes away her own struggles to focus on helping others. She proposed, “How’s a coffee detox sound to you? I’d go on one too so it’s fair.”
“That sounds…”
“—Like hell. I know, right? I don’t even think I could do it.”
“You make it sound like we need rehabilitation because of our coffee consumption.”
“We probably do, let’s be real here.” She nudged into him, “When he was here, Taiga-ojisan told me coffee stunted my growth, and that’s what made me so short.”
“That’s a myth,” Touya chuckles with an irrefutable fondness. “I’m afraid that you’re just short, love.”
“Fuck.” She groaned, facepalming aggressively. Until she froze and her head turned back to his direction like an owl. “Wait. Did you just call me love?”
“Perhaps.”
“Flirting with me at midnight? Bold. Now I don’t think I could get upset at being called short. Just who do you think you are?”
“I think I am Aoyagi Touya.”
“You think?”
He corrected himself, “I am Aoyagi Touya.” The lilt of confidence in his voice pervaded through the room.
He had obviously spoken too loud, but An only grinned, “That’s more like it. Now we should seriously go to sleep or else we’re gonna look like zombies at practice. I’m not gonna hear the end of it from Akito.”
“If we didn’t have practice tomorrow, would you be as adamant about sleeping as you are now?”
“Um,” Her face fell. “Probably not, if I was all alone.” A brief moment of hesitation passed her by as she bit her lip and looked contemplatively up at the ceiling adorned with plastic glow-in-the-dark stars. “But at the same time, yes. ‘Cause I know you’re stressing out about composing and all. I just wanna make sure you’re getting rest. I don’t wanna go to sleep until I know you are.” An was no mind reader, especially when it came to him. But, at that very moment, it felt like she had just dug her hands into his brain and pulled out the biggest swarming thoughts inside his head.
Words got caught in Touya's throat.
“So, I want you to sleep, Touya. Just—just forget about everything else and sleep.” Her fingers climbed up from his back to the nape of his neck, ending their journey when they reached his hair.
To forget. Oh, how badly he wanted to forget. To forget the years sat on piano benches, to forget the hollow reactions to his cries that plagued his dreams—that made him keep his eyes open now even when faced with such gracious care. His heart thumps in his chest just thinking about it, chills running up and down his arms all at once.
He squeezes his eyes shut. “I…” She'll be up all night at this rate.
“Touya?”
“I can’t—“ His breath hitches. He can’t go to sleep. If he goes to sleep then he’ll— “I can’t do it.”
“Huh?”
”I can’t go to—I won’t fall asleep…”
An sits up, detangling her body from his, “Touya?” She blinks a few times, examining him from above. She’s frowning so intently that he’s worried that her muscles would get stuck in that position if she burdened herself with looking at him any longer. “Scratch that, you’re obviously not. Do you wanna tell me what’s wrong?”
He averted his eyes away from her out of shame. Who was he, being afraid of nightmares at this age?
“I’m scared.” A pathetic thing to admit, “I’m scared.” He repeats.
“You’re scared?”
“I am…” The words felt like acid on his tongue. Fear wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, he had learned that during his time with Vivid BAD SQUAD. But this was…embarrassing, in a way he couldn’t put words to. The kind of feeling where his stomach would feel empty and he’d want to curl up into a ball of humiliation. He should be working on his song anyways.
“Want me to turn on the lights? Uh, or uhm—” Her forehead was creased in worry. “Or I could open the windows and let some air in? I could get you some water, you want some?” She slides off the side of her bed, making great haste of doing so, evident by some of the blankets that get dragged onto the floor.
“Water would be nice.” He croaks miserably.
“Okay, on it.”
She flashed him a thumbs-up and then nearly bolted out of the room, but before she could lift a foot he grabbed onto her wrist and propelled himself out of bed. “Wait for me.” Something about being left to his own devices terrified him. Maybe avoiding these thoughts with a quick detour to the kitchen would help him out. If Touya had learnt anything while composing this song…it was that he hated running away more than anything. And here he was again. Doing exactly what he had sworn off since that day.
“You sure?”
He could only pray she didn’t notice his wobbly legs. He nodded.
His fingers drifted down; entangling themselves with An’s eventually. She didn’t force him to talk about it. A reassuring squeeze to his hand was all she used to implicitly communicate with him, and somehow, that meant everything.
The sheer idea of being able to understand each other without verbal communication was something Touya would always cherish. Especially since when their groups had both merged together, An had thought he acted like an alien from a distant planet.
She guided him down the hallway, fingers still entwined with his. They made it to the kitchen once the distinct sound of chattering patrons could be heard beneath their feet. An flicked the lightswitch on which illuminated the area. He blinked, adjusting his eyes to the bright lights, which revealed that the Shiraishis treated this kitchen like their second child—not a single scratch or stain on the steel oven, sink, and fridge. It was spotless.
“It's earlier than I thought, huh.” An mused to herself. She opened up a cabinet and got on her tippy toes to try and reach a glass. She had mentioned before that all of the appliances in the apartment were adjusted to fit Ken-san’s towering height. “I thought it was later at night, but I guess not since I can still hear drunk people downstairs.”
He reaches up and easily gets the glass for her. The glass is cool to the touch. “Is Ken-san still working this late?” He asked.
“Thanks,” An smiled at him when he handed her the glass. “And yeah, he is. I would help out, but it's past midnight so everyone’s here for the bar. I’m not allowed downstairs since I’m underage or whatever.”
“I think that makes sense.” He told her, “It’s nice that you care for your dad like that.”
“I guess so,” She sighed, “I just think it’s normal worry for him, you know? The man gets, like, two hours of sleep at most—and he stays up working just to wake up early the next day to open.” She walked over to the fridge’s water dispenser and pressed the glass to the sensor. An watched sagaciously as the water slowly poured down into the cup, like it could be a crime if she put too much or too little water inside of it. “My mom said he was even worse when RADder was still active. She told me about how late he stayed up, always falling asleep at the kitchen table, composing music for events instead of in an actual bed. He was kinda like you right now.”
“I’m like Ken-san?”
“Yeah, I can see it. Mainly in your questionable work ethics. Akito is kinda like him too…” She spins back around and places the glass of water in his hand. “No offense.”
“None taken. I’ll try to work on it.” The water rippled in his apprehensive grasp and he took a small sip. It does a pretty nice job at clearing his head, just a bit. “I’ve noticed tonight that you seem heavily involved in everyone’s sleep schedules.”
An giggled like she’s been caught, “Ah, I guess. It’s not something I try to do, just a thing I've caught on to since it’s one of the few things that ever stays consistent.”
“Consistency…” He looked down into his glass, and pondered this for a moment. Singing with Vivid BAD SQUAD had been such a wonderful thing for him, every day was a new experience worth cherishing—each practice was special in its own way. Touya found himself struggling not to crack a grin thinking about each day he has sung this week—he can remember at least one special moment from each day that kept him moving forward whilst he composed until the crack of dawn. In turn, when he did classical…it was, well, monotonous.
The inconsistencies in life were what drove him to improve. Though, if that was truly the case, he began to wonder why he was so uneasy about his role…
An had always been so sporadic in his eyes—was this a new development for her? So, he asked, “Do you prefer when things stay the same?”
“It’s not that I prefer it…it’s just—it’s just nice to bask in those little things ‘cause you never know when everything could be flipped upside down.” She smiles, albeit sadly and pushes some of her hair behind her shoulder. “Change is inevitable no matter how you live your life, I guess. I always wanna keep moving forward and pushing on to new heights with you, Akito, and Kohane. And our dream is obviously going to end us somewhere different compared to where we are now.”
An shifted her weight from side to side, her eyes had long drifted to the ceiling above them. “But, looking at the small consistencies…kind of keeps me grounded, in a way. Which is why it was so nerve wracking when you started staying up so late. ‘Cause it’s not in typical Touya fashion unless you’ve got caught up in a book. You sleep like a dead person!”
She gasped for air at the end of her tangent, moving to the side so she could lean on the counter for support. “Jeez, what am I doing getting so philosophical in the kitchen?” She wheezes in laughter, “I think I’m gonna need some water now.”
“Here.” He set down his half empty glass of water on the counter and grabbed another one for her from the cabinet. “I enjoy your philosophy.”
“I wouldn’t even call it philosophy.” She took the glass from him, “Philosophy, to me, is when a person talks for a good while, and half of what they’re saying doesn’t make sense. Maybe it would've been if I had droned on and on and talked your head off. But hey, I feel like sparing your eardrums right now.”
“You know I'd happily listen to you talk all night if given the chance.”
“Don’t butter me up like that, Touya.” She ducked her head with a sheepish smile. She chugged down her glass of water in one go and proceeded to place it gently into the sink, most likely being careful not to wake her mother up. Though, it was impressive enough that she and An were able to close their eyes with such drunken chaos happening just underneath where they rested, paired with the even louder music outside. Perhaps it was just another one of those small consistencies An seemed to adore. “You can call me the next Socrates another night. Besides, I have bigger fish to fry.”
She took his glass from the counter, assuming that he was done—which he wasn’t, but that was okay—and put it in the sink too. “Should I have fixed you some warm milk instead?”
“That sounds nice, but it wouldn’t deter my sleep.”
An frowned and latched onto his arm, “I think you should at least try.”
“I don’t want to.” He shook his head, highly aware of the fact he sounded like a petulant toddler. He stared at the tiled floor, his bangs covering most of his vision from this angle, “I can’t…I won’t. Please.”
“Alright… we don’t have to talk about that now—or at all!” She moved some of the hair out of his face. “Chin up, Touya. You know, sometimes the easiest way to fall asleep when you’re not doing it intentionally—“
“Which is why you keep falling asleep when studying?” His eyebrows raised, amused.
“—Which is why, ahem, we should get comfy somewhere else. A change of scenery always helps me when I don’t wanna sleep.”
He nodded hesitantly, scanning the periphery. Since the apartment had a small, open floor plan, their next destination was right in front of them.
The Shiraishis made good use of their space, Touya had always thought. The living room was small, but the lamps on the end tables at each side of the sofa with yellow lampshades made the place feel welcoming whenever the lights were on. The wall that had their small T.V. on it was covered in vinyls from every artist that probably had ever existed on Vivid Street. A feat he had no doubt Ken-san had spent his whole life trying to achieve, going to hell and back in order to claim each and every vinyl.
“I passed out there last night, so I have a blanket and stuff there already.”
“Passed out? From exhaustion?” A small part of him wanted to point out her blatant hypocrisy, but he decided to hold back. He trailed behind her and she started straightening up the blanket that was discarded here. It was blue and looked sort of fuzzy, with little stars and planets patterned on the fabric. The delicate tassels at each corner of the blanket pushed him to believe that this was an old baby blanket of somet sort..
“Well, it was a really tiring gig!” She huffed, pulling the chain of the closest lamp to turn it on. “I’m sure Kohane did the same thing when she got home, no? Akito fell asleep in the car like an Idiot, so I’m certain he did as well.”
“You fell asleep, too, If I recall. So you’re calling yourself and Kohane stupid?”
“I’m not an Idiot, ‘cause I'm a self aware one. A real idiot would never actually admit it. Ahem, Akito.”
“…I just wanted to make sure you were resting properly.” The two of them were playing tug of war with their hypocrisy. Maybe it was the shame that kept them from admitting it, although it was so blatant.
An gestured to the couch and then picked up a remote from the coffee table.
The idea of laying down seemed daunting. If he moved a muscle, the floorboards beneath him would crumble under his steps. And he didn’t trust himself to climb back up to the surface.
“Okay, I’ll put something on the TV…” She turned on the television with the click of the remote. He knew what she was doing. A distraction. A diversion to chase him away from his thoughts. From his compositions. From his dreams. “What’cha wanna watch? We’ve got, like, two subscription services, so we’ve got some variety.”
”I don’t know…” He admits.
”That’s okay, don’t worry.” She actually nodded with a determined glint in her eyes as she opened one of the services and hacks away at the search bar for what seems like eons. “God, I really wish they made it easier to type on TVs like this—Oh, look! I found it, Touya! I found it!” An crushed a button on the remote, enlarging the film she had spent so long searching up. It was a film adaptation of a detective thriller he had read months ago.
“You remembered.”
“Of course I did! I remember you tried reading it to me and Akito and you kept getting this really dorky smile on your face. It made me happy seeing you so happy that day. Kinda wish Kohane snapped a photo.” She collapsed backwards into the couch, letting the back cushions break her fall. ”Have you seen this?”
“No. I’ve always preferred the original books over their film counterparts. The experience feels more immersive that way.”
“Huh.”
“Sometimes I watch movies and wish they were novels.”
“Now that’s insane behavior. I think school’d be easier if we watched videos instead.”
That would probably make it harder for him to focus, Touya thinks. Words on paper were easier for him to digest because he could take as much time as he needed to analyze the true meaning behind them.
An patted on the spot next to her on the couch, “You don’t seem too keen on actually watching this, then…”
“We’ll watch the movie.”
“Touya, we don’t have to if you don’t want to—”
“We’ll watch the movie.” He’s stiff as a board in his position. He can’t read An’s expression and somehow that was worse. It’s like he’s staring at a…at a…he can’t even think of a word to describe it, the way she was staring at him.
She looked him in the eyes.
And then she smiled and said, “Want me to be honest with you, Touya?”
Unsure of where she was going, he nodded slowly and replied, “Only if you’d like.”
An gulped and took a deep breath, “I haven’t told anyone about this yet so, uh…” She hugged her legs and rested her head on top of her knees. Maybe that’s what made him finally join her on the couch. An still smiled at him, her winning smile, her smile that put the sun to shame and she spoke to him earnestly, “You’re not alone with the whole ‘being afraid to sleep’ thing. And I don’t want you to think you are. ‘Cause you’re not.”
He blinks, “I didn’t know…” It’s a strange sort of feeling he gets in his stomach. Like someone had just emptied it of all its contents and he felt like a balloon about to float to the ceiling.
“No—no, it’s not something you need to apologize for—I just wanted you to know It’s nothing to be embarrassed about!”
“I can’t help but feel like I’ve forced you into saying that.”
“That’s not it at all, Touya!” She breathed in, although it was a bit shaky. She placed her hands on his shoulders and she bounced her fingers on them to a beat of some song, “I know what we have and it’s—and it’s a safe place for the two of us to be open and understand each other and I don’t want you to feel like you can’t do that with me anymore.”
“Can I hug you?” He asks.
Her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline, ”Huh!? I feel like I should be the one hugging you right now, though.”
Touya wrapped his arms around her waist anyways and pulls her into an embrace. She squeaked at the sudden action but still returned it full force like she’d been training her entire life for this very moment. If only he had noticed something was up with her…but then again, he probably could never help her through it as well as she was helping him at the moment. A simple hug probably couldn’t make up for his lost efforts, but he sure as hell would try to make it worth every hour she stayed up.
“I’m upset that you never told us you were hurting like that. That goes against everything you said just now.”
She takes a while to say anything after that. “I’m sorry for not telling you guys. I just didn’t think it was a big deal at the time! I’m fine now!” Her voice was muffled in his shoulder as he held her even tighter, “It was just ‘cause of the dreams I got after our battle with Taiga-ojisan.”
Dreams. That was exactly why he couldn’t—why he was scared to lay down. The twisting of his stomach and the shivers that slithered down his spine like a snake, in hindsight, it was strange how something that wasn’t real could create such reactions in him. Then again, dreams fed off of reality. He was able to recognize every face in his dreams, along with the staff paper always positioned in front of his head. “Do you mind telling me about what you dreamed of?”
”I don’t mind. It kinda feels a little stupid looking back at them, but I kept getting these recurring dreams. They’re not really nightmares, you know? I’d just have dreams, and Nagi-san would be in them ‘cause she’s on my mind. Like, we’d be singing on the street curve together and we’d just talk. Talked about the new RADder album, about what our plans were tomorrow, and I’d beg her to go to the park with me. And then I’d wake up. And then I…” Her shoulders slumped and she sighed, “I don’t know, Touya. It’s such a weird feeling and I hate not being able to put that kind of stuff into words. Kind of just a pit in the bottom of my stomach and I wouldn’t wanna get out of bed anymore. ‘Cause… It was like watching her leave all over again. And I hated that feeling so I gave up on sleeping for a week or so.” She added cheerfully, “The end~! Also you’re cutting off my circulation.”
“Oh, sorry.” He finally lets go of her, completely bewildered by her story.
The long since abandoned TV made her eys glow almost yellow. She grabbed his hands in hers and squeezed them tightly, similar to how she had done it on their way to the kitchen, but different in that the way she communicated with him was no longer implicit because she said, “So much to say… I understand you, Touya. And it’s gonna be okay.”
“…Can I hug you again?”
“Nuh uh! This time I get to hug you!” An practically tackled him at that, sending him flying onto his back and herself flopping on top of him. Touya felt all the air leaving his lungs but he finds himself not minding the pain at all.
It was going to be okay, she just said. Maybe it would…but he had far less willpower than An did to saunter out of such a haunting experience, nor the courage to do so. He would think, I’ll be able to do it some day—but that was no use. Hopelessly yearning for things to change never did anything. He had to put in the work for that, and that was the first thing Touya had learnt when he started street music.
He had to have courage. And to have courage was to be open. “I’ve been dreaming of my father.”
The radiator roars from behind the couch, and—that felt way better saying aloud then he thought it would feel. Far less terrifying, although the words empty his stomach again he feels like he can breathe once more.
“Eh?” An looks so utterly concerned again, “That’s what’s been keeping you up?”
“You seem shocked.”
“I thought it was your task.” She admits, sounding a tad bit embarrassed.
“Well, it is.” His dreams had only returned once he had started his work… the last time he ever dreamed of being sewn to a piano bench was in middle school when he began singing with Akito. He wanted to scream, why now!? At such a pivotal moment…his past had to catch up to him again after so much running, and perhaps a part of him was guilty for ever running away in the first place, but another part of him was angry that he ever let it bother him this badly.
He didn’t elaborate and hoped An got the idea. The aching in chest was covered by her body full of solace.
She looked at him expectantly.
“Maybe, a part of me feels…like I shouldn’t be feeling that way, but,” All the same time, being tasked with making the songs for their event was the best thing that ever could have happened to him. With that, he had learnt so much about the rest of his teammates and their feelings, their outlooks on the world (Akito thought his water glass was half empty, Kohane believed hers was half full) and he would savor those feelings whether they were as simple as water in a glass or as complex as rekindling your relationship with those who have betrayed you. “I think I will be okay. Well, you said it was going to be okay. Frankly, I believe you and your philosophy.” He wasn’t alone.
He was Aoyagi Touya—as An had made him proudly announce to the shadows that danced in the corner of her room—and he’d live like that. Living alongside Vivid BAD SQUAD made that prospect seem brighter than he had anticipated.
For his dreams tonight…he wouldn’t know if he’d wake up in a cold sweat or not. And perhaps that would be okay. He would be okay. An was with him. So was VBS. “Thank you.” He breathes out. It’s smooth, no longer rapid. “Thank you for saying what you said.”
An looked even more confused, by his sudden switch up, “I spewed out terrible midnight philosophy, but I accept your thanks, kind sir.” The TV shut off automatically after being left on for so long, unattended. “Are you feeling better now?”
“Yes. It feels like a weight has been lifted—though, not entirely.”
An snorted, “You want me to get off you?” She completely misinterpreted his words then…but that was okay. He was the slightest bit proud of himself for even getting onto the couch, admittedly.
“No. I like this.”
“Even though you’re gonna complain about your chest in the morning and mope about your lack of coffee?”
He reaffirms it, “Even though I’m going to complain about it in the morning and—lack of coffee!?”
“Coffee detox, remember? Starts tomorrow. We need to rehabilitate.”
“I doubt you’ll stick it through for long.”
“Is that a challenge!?”
“If you’d like it to be, then yes.” He smirked despite himself, “You can lay on me whenever you get tired from lack of caffeine.”
“I bet you’ll wanna nap on me too…” She yawned, “We’ll be one big sleepy blob together.”
”Oh dear,” Touya laughed, “Is it already affecting you?”
“…Shmp ump” She murmured the words—they’re barely audible, her head completely falling down into his shirt.
“Please don’t suffocate.” She didn’t reply so he gently adjusted her head to the side so she could actually breathe.
Looked like their conversation really took the wind out of her. He couldn’t blame her in all honestly…the over-tiredness finally setting in as he blinked a few times and his vision would be blurry.
For the first time that night, he welcomed it.
In a short while, the moon would vacate from the sky, the hours would change and so would the days, the seasons, and the years. And the two of them would be changed too. As An had told him, change was in fact, inevitable. With that change, maybe they wouldn’t lay like this again, as the busy and more stressful, yet also joyus inconsistencies of life piled up. It was bound to happen while they sought to take over the world. The future was far stretched, unknown—and perhaps not anything they would want or what they had planned to make it be.
However, this moment was safe, immovable and unchangeable. A moment where the future didn’t matter, and neither did the consistencies or inconsistencies the world could attempt to launch at them. It was this, a precious position where he could truly be content and drowsy while the radiator hummed somewhere behind the couch.
It was funny. The simple act of comforting him, saying, “I understand” with unconditional sincerity weaved into the waves of her voice could possibly be all in a day's work for An. Just like any hour, or season, or year. Maybe she wouldn’t even remember this night, having fallen into the deep pits of slumber long moments ago.
Though, Touya knew he’d hold this fragment of time as close to him as he held her that night