Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Izumi rapidly clicks the forward button on his camera, scrolling through the photo album. He catalogs what angles and poses work best for the person he’s taking photos of, and makes a note on a pad of paper detailing which photos he wants to focus on while in the editing process.

The subject in question is a famous idol⁠ at the company named Anzu. She’s preparing to release a new album, and Izumi has been put in charge of the photoshoots for the promotional material. This is the biggest job he’s gotten since he began working at the company, and he’s striving for perfection in every aspect. Today’s portion of the job has Izumi working in the indoor studio, with bright studio lights set up against a white screen. Anzu is dressed in a shimmery black dress, contrasting with the brightness behind her.

Izumi actually prefers nature photography⁠, but after graduating from high school, he very quickly realized that this interest wouldn’t support him monetarily⁠— the paychecks barely enough to cover his rent. So he grit his teeth and took a job at Yumenosaki Entertainment. It’s not a bad company to work at, all things considered⁠— he has a day job that will allow him to survive, and he gets enough free time in the day that he can pursue his true photography interests off the clock.

“Thank you, Anzu-san,” Izumi says. “That will be all for today.” He turns off his camera, and turns around to thank the lighting crew as well.

As everyone starts to pack up, Izumi organizes his camera bag, making sure all of his lenses are neatly put away in their proper places, the lids properly screwed on to avoid any damage. He double-checks that he’s taken out the memory stick from the camera, so he can edit the photos on his computer once he returns to his office.

Izumi hears the door to the studio click open as he zips up his camera bag. “Anzu!” A bright, distinctly familiar voice calls.

Izumi knows without turning around that the voice belongs to Tsukinaga Leo. He’s an in-house composer at the company, and someone who Izumi works very hard to avoid.

(In fact, when he found out that he and Leo work at the same company, Izumi wanted to quit his job on the spot. Unfortunately, there weren’t many other companies that offered positions as flexible as the one Izumi holds, so Izumi instead ensures that he sees as little of Leo as possible— which isn’t hard, considering they work in very different departments.)

He slings his camera bag over his shoulder, and makes to leave the studio. As he heads out, he walks by Leo, and they maintain a split second of eye contact. A current runs down his spine, and Izumi looks away and leaves the room.

*

There are a couple of benefits to working at Yumenosaki Entertainment, and one of them is that Izumi gets his own office. He doesn’t need to make small talk with people around him, he doesn’t have to deal with co-workers speaking at inappropriate volumes⁠— it’s Izumi’s ideal setup.

Unfortunately, he thinks he needs to be in search for better friends.

“Naru-kun, I’m trying to work here,” Izumi says irritably. He adjusts the color values on the photo he’s examining, trying to bring out vibrancy in the idol’s face without making her look feverish.

“I’ll leave once you listen to what I’m saying, Izumi-chan.” Arashi sits on the corner of Izumi’s desk, eating an apple. “You’re so lonely here at this company, it’s actually depressing to watch. You should go to the work party tonight so you can actually make some friends other than me.”

Izumi rolls his eyes. “I’m perfectly fine with not having any friends. I’m not getting paid for that.”

“You’re so boring,” Arashi replies. “ This is why it’s so hard to be your only friend here. I need someone to share the responsibility with!”

“Who says you’re my friend?” Izumi retorts, absentmindedly clicking a few buttons in the editing software.

“Oh, you tsundere,” Arashi comments. “Come on, it’ll be fun!”

Izumi looks up at Arashi. She looks effortlessly stylish, wearing dark green pants and a black turtleneck⁠— although, the confidence of being a model with years of experience would make her look good even if she were wearing a garbage bag.

(Occasionally, Izumi wonders how his own life would have turned out if he had continued to pursue a modeling career like Arashi did. Arashi and Izumi met when they were children⁠— both of them were child models, but Izumi left the industry before middle school. Some days, he’s entirely unsure whether he made the right decision to follow his passion in photography instead of returning to modeling, something he knew he had the potential to be great in.)

Izumi sighs, knowing that Arashi really won’t leave until he acquiesces. “What time is this work party?”

*

Izumi feels entirely out of place. He came to the venue directly after work, so he’s still dressed in the khakis and button-down he wore this morning— but most of the other attendees seem to have treated this like a proper party and are wearing dresses and formal jackets.

Izumi curses Arashi in his head for not telling him about the dress code for this party. He hates being underdressed.

Izumi has the misfortune of being trapped into a conversation with someone on the lighting crew from earlier in the day⁠— someone whose name he can’t even remember, and Izumi’s praying that won’t come up.

“Did your pictures from the shoot today turn out well?”

“Yeah, I’m working on editing the pictures now,” Izumi says, trying not to let the disinterest leak into his voice.

The other person nods, taking a sip of her champagne.

It’s really awkward, and Izumi desperately wishes that he could leave.

“Ah, Izumi-chan, there you are!”

Izumi has never been so happy to hear Arashi’s voice. He nods a farewell to the person he engaged in conversation with before walking over to her⁠— she’s standing with another person with inky black hair and startling scarlet eyes.

(Izumi really hopes those are contacts.)

“Izumi-chan, meet Ritsu-chan!” Arashi gestures towards the other person, making the faint glitter of her jumpsuit shimmer. “Ritsu-chan and I went to the same high school.”

Izumi holds out a hand, and Ritsu shakes it. There’s no strength to the grip, and when Izumi lets go of his hand, Ritsu’s arm flops back to his side.

“Izumi-chan is the lonely photographer I mentioned earlier, Ritsu-chan,” Arashi says conversationally.

Izumi scowls at Arashi. “Do you talk about me like that with everyone?”

Arashi laughs. “Don’t worry, that’s what interested Ritsu-chan.”

Ritsu nods sagely in agreement. “I have too many energetic friends. I need to talk to more people who don’t speak with exclamation points.”

Izumi, surprised, lets out a chuckle. “I totally understand.”

Izumi and Ritsu hit it off. Ritsu is a choreographer at the company, and although Ritsu doesn’t seem like someone who would have the kind of energy to choreograph lively dances, he mentions that he appreciates the job because he doesn’t have to do the work of actually dancing very often, and can order others around instead.

Arashi disappears at some point⁠, likely to talk to her other friends. Arashi is far more sociable than Izumi and Ritsu, so she flutters around the room while Izumi and Ritsu stick to their comfortable corner the entire night.

“Did Nacchan drag you to this party too?” Ritsu asks.

“Yeah,” Izumi sighs. “She says I don’t have enough friends.”

Ritsu lets out a short huff of laughter. “I’m glad we talked to each other, at least. Maybe now she’ll get off our backs.”

Izumi smiles in agreement. He walks over to the concessions table nearby to grab a cup of water, and when he returns, Ritsu is in a conversation with a shorter person, with a familiar head of ginger hair. Izumi feels dread as he walks toward them, his body fighting every step he takes.

Ritsu catches Izumi’s eye as he nears. “Ah, Secchan, you’ve come back.” Izumi doesn’t know where in their previous conversation they ended up on a nickname-basis, but that’s the last thought on his mind presently. “This is my friend Tsukipi⁠— or Leo, as most people call him.”

Leo turns to look at Izumi, and his warm gaze hardens into emeralds as they meet each others’ eyes.

Izumi nods stiffly. “We’ve met,” he says, looking away.

Ritsu glances between the two of them, evidently puzzled. Before he can ask, however, Arashi returns, and joins the small circle they’ve formed.

“Izumi-chan, Ritsu-chan, I’m glad to see you two getting along!” Arashi turns to Leo. “And you’re Leo-san, right? Ritsu-chan’s friend?”

Leo faces Arashi, turning his back to Izumi. “Yeah, that’s me! We can be friends too, so you don’t have to use formal language with me!”

“Leo-kun, then!” Arashi smiles brightly. “I think that makes us all friends then.” She seems oblivious to the large gap between Izumi and Leo. “I’ve achieved my goal of the night of getting you both to actually talk to people!”

Leo laughs. “Rittsu isn’t very outgoing, is he! I feel like I do all the talking every time I see him.”

Arashi nods in agreement. “Tell me about it! Izumi-chan is the same, no wonder they’re getting along so well.”

There’s a pause, where it seems like Leo is about to say something, but he falls silent instead. Izumi shifts, feeling the tension of discomfort everywhere in his body. He’s worked hard to make sure he hasn’t engaged in a direct conversation with Leo⁠— this has lasted five years.

Arashi finally seems to sense the tension in the air, and she awkwardly smiles, unease in her eyes. “Well, I need to catch an early flight tomorrow, so I’m heading home now,” she says. “Izumi-chan, Ritsu-chan, you can go too⁠— I won’t force you to stay any longer.”

Izumi sighs in relief. “Finally.” Ritsu is in similar ease next to him, his shoulders relaxing.

“We’re definitely hanging out again, though!” Arashi seems determined, and Izumi tenses in anticipation for what she has planned. “Be prepared to see messages from me with more details once I get back!” She waves goodbye to them and walks away.

Ritsu looks at Izumi. “I wonder what she has planned.”

Izumi shrugs. “I’m not sure why she’s suddenly so hellbent on us finding social lives,” he says. “She hasn’t cared until now.”

“I’m gonna get going too,” Leo suddenly speaks. “Bye, Rittsu!” He very conspicuously does not say Izumi’s name. Leo walks away, Izumi watching the familiar spring in his step carrying him out the door of the venue.

“What happened between you two?” Ritsu asks after a beat, tilting his head.

Izumi stares crossly at Ritsu. “What makes you think anything happened?”

“Where⁠ do you want me to start?”

“Just leave it alone.” Izumi rolls his eyes. He really doesn’t want to talk about it, and he’s hoping that Ritsu gets the hint.

Thankfully, Ritsu doesn’t pry. They make idle chat as they leave the venue, eventually parting ways at the train station as they head in opposite directions. Izumi puts on his headphones once he gets on the train, and he closes his eyes as the opening notes to his favorite song starts playing, hoping that the gentle piano melody washes away the troublesome thoughts soiling his mind.

*

True to her word, Arashi does arrange a get-together once she returns to Japan, and Izumi knows precisely the moment she lands⁠— because he gets added to a group-chat with three others, and receives a singular message from Arashi.

Naru-kun • 11:27am

Are you all free this Saturday for board games and wine?

Izumi sees this message while working at his desk, and so he doesn’t respond initially, planning on replying once he’s done with his work. However, his phone flashes once, twice, thrice before Izumi is unable to ignore the chat any longer and unlocks his phone.

Unknown number • 11:29am

Is this mandatory?

Naru-kun • 11:29am

Yes it is! :)

Unknown number • 11:30am

Fine, I’ll be there then.

Izumi saves the unknown number as ‘Kuma-kun’. He knows who the other number in the group chat is.

Leo-kun • 11:31am

Haha, I thought I lost my phone until I got these messages!

I’ll be there!

Izumi types out a affirmative reply, and hesitates. Deliberately putting himself in the same room as Leo is bound to be an extremely bad idea. But eventually, he does press send on the message, knowing that not attending would result in its own set of problems.

Me • 11:37am

I’ll be there too.

*

Izumi arrives at Arashi’s apartment holding a tray of food covered in aluminum foil⁠, as well as a brand-new box of Uno cards.

Izumi figured that since he doesn’t visit Arashi’s apartment very often, he should bring something and be a proper guest. So he spent the hour beforehand making shrimp tempura, and annoyingly enough, had to change outfits before leaving because of the faint smell of oil that clung to his clothes.

(The Uno cards were upon request from Arashi.)

When he rings the doorbell, Arashi opens the door almost immediately. “Izumi-chan, you’re here!” She has a wide smile on her face that only grows when she sees what’s in Izumi’s hands. “Ooh, and you made food!”

Izumi walks into the apartment. It’s neatly kept, with an undercurrent of pastel pinks and blues in the decor of the apartment. There’s a shelf in the corner of the living room that holds several bolts of fabric, and Izumi questions that as he places the food down on the coffee table, knowing that Arashi doesn’t have an interest in sewing.

“Those are my roommate Mika-chan’s sewing materials,” Arashi replies. “He’s a costume designer at Yumenosaki, but he also enjoys making normal clothes in his down time. He made me this top I’m wearing, actually!” She does a twirl to show off the loose purple top she has on.

“He seems skilled,” Izumi says honestly. He didn’t realize Arashi’s top was handmade, which is a testament to this “Mika-chan”’s abilities.

The doorbell rings, interrupting Arashi before she can elaborate. She gets up from the couch to open the door, and Izumi sits down in her place⁠.

He can hear multiple voices from the hallway, one of them distinctly Leo’s, the bright tone of his voice recognizable anywhere⁠. Izumi takes a deep breath, bracing himself for whatever will happen tonight.

“Leo-san, are you sure this is okay?” An unfamiliar voice speaks. Izumi frowns, not expecting to meet anyone new today.

“I already asked Naru, and she said it’s fine!” Leo sounds impatient, like he’s said this multiple times already.

“Yes, it’s totally fine, Tsukasa-chan! We have plenty of room for an extra person.”

Arashi and Leo walk into the living room with a third, unfamiliar person.

Izumi barely looks at him, however, because his eyes pull towards Leo like magnets. Leo is wearing a washed pair of baggy jeans and a loose sweatshirt. There’s ink stains on the jeans, and the sweatshirt has clearly been through a wash cycle dozens of times to appear so faded. It’s such a painfully familiar attire, and Izumi feels the muscles in his chest tighten at being able to observe Leo to this extent, in a way he hasn’t been able to for so long.

The unfamiliar person sticks close to Leo’s side. He seems young, but also looks extremely frazzled and stressed beyond his years.

Arashi gestures towards the boy. “Izumi-chan, this is Tsukasa-chan! He’s Leo-kun’s manager.”

That explains the stress , Izumi thinks. He stands up to greet him. ”I’m Sena Izumi.”

Tsukasa looks surprised. “O-oh, Sena-san! Nice to meet you.” He bows his head, and Izumi thinks he senses a note of anxiety meeting him. Izumi glances quickly at Leo, who snaps his gaze away to look casually at a blank wall.

Izumi feels a spark of irritation. What is this idiot telling people about him?

“Izumi-chan, do you want to use the air fryer to reheat the tempura?” Arashi asks, unknowingly giving Izumi a lifeline.

“Yeah, I’ll take care of that,” Izumi responds, walking over and taking the tray of food with him. In the kitchen, Izumi gets a peaceful few moments to himself. He turns on the air fryer, presses the preheat button, and stares at the clock on the microwave as he waits for the machine to get ready.

He doesn’t know how to handle being around Leo going forward. If this gathering is any indication that Izumi’s going to be seeing more of Leo in the future, something needs to change. Izumi would love to keep avoiding him the same way he has for the past five years, but that was back when they never had a reason to be in the same room. Now that they apparently share mutual friends, Izumi doesn’t know how to deal with this issue with the fewest consequences⁠— both with his friends, as well as Leo.

The air fryer beeps, and Izumi carefully drops the tempura in. He spends the next few minutes watching over the air fryer, taking it out every few minutes to mix it around and make sure nothing burns. When he’s satisfied, he adds the tempura back into the original tray and walks back out to the living room.

Ritsu arrived during the time Izumi was in the kitchen, and the four of them are all engaged in conversation, Izumi catching stray gossip about some of the idols at Yumenosaki. It comes to a pause as Izumi sets down the tray on the coffee table and takes the only open seat next to Arashi⁠— and unfortunately, also next to Leo. He tries to leave as wide of a gap between them as possible, without making it look too obvious. Arashi brought out a bottle of wine, and there’s a glass sitting out for him⁠— which Izumi gladly takes. He’s generally not someone that imbibes, but he needs something to get him through the night.

“This looks so good, Izumi-chan!” Arashi eagerly takes a piece from the tray, and the other three follow suit.

Izumi hates how he zeroes in on Leo’s reaction to the food. Izumi can still pinpoint the exact changes in his behavior that signal him liking a dish⁠— the slight way he nods his head as he chews, the way he reaches for a second piece before he’s even done eating the first⁠— Izumi notices all these details without even looking at Leo directly, and he abhors it.

(But there’s still a spark, a warmth that blossoms in his chest as noticing the way Leo obviously enjoys the food.)

“You’re a good cook, Sena-san,” Tsukasa says, a smile on his face. “This tempura is delicious .”

“It just takes practice,” Izumi shrugs.

Arashi scoffs. “Izumi-chan still doesn’t know how to take a compliment properly.”

Izumi chooses not to reply, picking up a piece of tempura for himself. It is pretty delicious.

“So, Suu-chan,” Ritsu says, “How did you end up working with Tsukipi?”

“Is- is Leo-san ‘Tsukipi’?” Tsukasa asks. “That’s certainly a unique nickname.”

Ritsu sits a little straighter and nods, as if it’s an achievement to be proud of.

“The Yumenosaki management hated dealing directly with Leo-san, so they made me the middle man and I became his manager.” Tsukasa sighs. “I nearly quit during my first week.”

Leo laughs loudly. “But you didn’t!” He pats Tsukasa’s back. “And now you’d be sad if you didn’t have this job anymore, isn’t that right?”

Tsukasa flushes.

Izumi steadfastly ignores the vines of jealousy that come clawing at his heart. Even after all these years, there’s a part of him that still instinctively vyes for Leo’s attention, and feels bitter over it having a new recipient now. Tsukasa seems young⁠ and innocent, and Izumi doesn’t like that he feels this way⁠— so he pushes the envy into a cardboard box in the back of his mind, attempting to be forgotten.

Arashi picks up the box of Uno cards that Izumi brought, and she begins organizing the cards into a neat stack. “I have other games, but I figured we could start with Uno,” she says.

Everyone around the table either agrees or doesn’t care, so she shuffles the cards with a practiced hand and begins distributing them to everyone. She sets down the starting card, a blue five.

“Tsukasa-chan, do you want to start?” Arashi asks.

Tsukasa nods. “Sure, Narukami-san,” he replies, putting down a green five.

Leo goes next, and he puts down a green skip card, skipping Izumi’s turn. The rest of the table laughs⁠— except for Izumi, who is trying very hard to not take this personally.

The game continues until it’s once again Leo’s turn. This time, he puts down a +4 card.

Izumi’s eye twitches as he picks up four cards from the deck⁠— and his turn is once again skipped.

Arashi glances at him as she puts down a card. “Poor Izumi-chan,” she says teasingly, “he hasn’t gotten a chance to play at all yet.”

“Yeah, I wonder why,” Izumi replies, irked.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Ritsu and Arashi share a look, which Izumi chooses to ignore.

The game goes around the table once more, and this time, Leo puts down a +2.

Due to him having to draw four cards in the previous round, Izumi has in his possession a +2 card that he stacks. Unfortunately, every other person in the circle has a +2 card as well, including Leo. This results in Izumi having to draw twelve cards.

Everyone else laughs as he angrily counts out the cards he pulls from the deck. Leo’s laugh is loudest of all, and Izumi openly glares at him.

Leo falls silent.

Arashi goes next, and she puts down a reverse card, changing the direction and making it Izumi’s turn once again. “I took pity on Izumi-chan,” Arashi says, laughing.

Despite knowing that he should save this card for later on in the game, Izumi puts down a +4 card. Leo scowls at him as he draws four cards.

As the game progresses, Izumi becomes increasingly focused on ensuring Leo loses rather than getting a win himself, and it seems that Leo has the same focus. They still haven’t spoken a word to each other, but Izumi is determined to make sure that Leo doesn’t end up winning this game.

Which⁠, Izumi is proud to say he doesn’t. Ritsu does.

“Yaay~, a win for me,” Ritsu says unenthusiastically as he sets down his last card.

Arashi sets down the singular card in her hand. “I was so close!” Across the table, Tsukasa sets down two cards.

Izumi has thirteen cards. Leo has eight.

“Let’s play again,” Izumi says, giving his cards to Arashi.

“Are you sure, Izumi-chan?” Arashi asks. “You suck at this game.”

“You and Tsukipi made it super easy for the rest of us,” Ritsu chimes in. “That wasn’t even a satisfying win.”

“Maybe you’re just that good, Rittsu!” Leo adds from beside Izumi. He reaches over Izumi to pass his cards to Arashi. Izumi holds back a shiver as the fabric of Leo’s sweatshirt ghosts over his arms.

“I don’t think so, Leo-san,” Tsukasa says. “It seemed like you were more focused on making sure Sena-san ended up with as many cards as possible.”

“That twelve card draw was just mean , Leo-kun,” Arashi says. “Do you have something against Izumi-chan?”

Izumi doesn’t let Leo answer⁠— “Naru-kun, just shuffle the cards.”

“Alright, fine~,” Arashi relents. Something about the glint in her eyes tells Izumi that this is not going to be the last time she brings this up.

As Arashi shuffles and redistributes the cards, Izumi looks at Leo, long enough to garner his attention. Leo’s eyes widen, as if he’s surprised to see Izumi looking at him without some kind of negative emotion in his eyes. Then they narrow, as if this act’s somehow suspicious.

Izumi glowers. He returns his attention back to the game that’s about to begin.

The night continues similarly⁠— they grow tired of Uno eventually (Ritsu wins four times, Arashi and Tsukasa twice each, and Izumi and Leo a whopping zero times), and move onto Monopoly, in which Ritsu dominates . Tsukasa is the first to go bankrupt, and Izumi is just trying to buy up spots that Leo expresses his interest in. It’s probably extremely childish, but Izumi, admittedly, enjoys riling Leo up like this. Leo is trying to take revenge by buying up spots as well, but he then goes bankrupt when he lands on Izumi’s hard-won Boardwalk property.

Leo irately slaps the remainder of his money into the palm of Izumi’s hand, and leans back on the couch to sip on his wine.

Ritsu migrated to the floor, and is now leaning against Arashi’s legs as he plays. Arashi leans down to whisper something in Ritsu’s ear, and Ritsu chuckles and whispers something back. Izumi can’t make out their conversation, but he’s surprised at how close the two seem. Izumi has known Arashi for a couple of years and he can confidently say they’re close, but he hadn’t met Ritsu before the work party a few weeks ago— he had no idea Arashi was so familiar with him.

Ritsu eventually falls asleep, his head pillowed against Arashi’s thigh, and they all take it as a sign to retire for the night. Ritsu flops onto the couch and lays there once Arashi stands up, but the rest of them help Arashi clean up the items for the various games they played. Arashi tries to give Izumi the Uno box back, but Izumi pushes it back towards her.

“Keep it,” Izumi says. “It’ll be useful when you host one of these again.”

“Sure, Izumi-chan,” Arashi replies, smiling. She’s known him long enough to understand what Izumi means— that he’s looking forward to the next game night.

Izumi and Tsukasa work together to pull Ritsu off the couch, and they make their way to the entrance of the apartment.

Tsukasa, supporting nearly all of Ritsu’s weight, tries to bow towards Arashi. “Thank you for tonight, Narukami-san,” he says. “I had a lot of fun.”

“Oh, no need to be so polite, Tsukasa-chan!” Arashi pats Tsukasa’s head, which makes him look a little like a disgruntled cat.

“I’ll see you later, Naru!” Leo says.

Arashi waves bye, and the four of them make their way out of the apartment complex.

“Kasa-kun, do you need help with Kuma-kun?” Izumi asks in the elevator, noting the way Tsukasa is trying (and failing) to hold Ritsu up.

“I’m fine, Sena-san, but thank you,” Tsukasa replies, shifting his weight. “It turns out that Ritsu-san and I live in the same area, so we’ll be taking similar routes home tonight. I wouldn’t want to inconvenience you.”

“If you say so,” Izumi says, shrugging.

The second they walk outside into the nighttime air, Ritsu suddenly stands up tall, as if he were pumped full of adrenaline. Tsukasa startles, stumbling back and nearly hitting the wall.

“Ritsu-san!” Tsukasa exclaims, placing a hand over his chest in an almost anachronistic fashion.

“Yes, Suu-chan?” Ritsu replies, nonchalant.

Leo laughs. “Rittsu, you shouldn’t scare him like that!”

Izumi and Tsukasa share a puzzled look.

Ritsu ruffles Tsukasa’s hair, making him scowl. “I’m much more alert in the nighttime, Suu-chan,” he says, with an air of mystery. “Something in my blood comes alive when the nighttime air hits my skin.” His voice drops to a whisper, and Tsukasa’s eyes are wide with a hint of fear.

“Quit it, Kuma-kun,” Izumi says. “You’re scaring the kid.” Ritsu chuckles, and takes a step back from Tsukasa.

“Sena-san, I am not a kid !” Tsukasa protests. “I have a full-time job, same as the rest of you!”

“Your job is being a babysitter, Suo~,” Leo chimes in.

“Doesn’t that make you the baby in this situation then, Leo-san?” Tsukasa smirks, evidently happy to finally have the upper hand.

Leo doesn’t respond, his face flushing, and Tsukasa and Ritsu laugh. Izumi resists a smile.

Once they’re at the train station, Ritsu and Tsukasa bid their farewells, both of them taking the train heading north. That leaves Izumi and Leo alone, waiting for the train that takes them south.

Izumi can’t remember the last time they were together⁠, by themselves.

(That’s a lie. Izumi remembers that moment like it was yesterday.)

The train arrives, and Izumi and Leo silently board. There’s no one else in the car, and they quietly sit on opposite sides, their seats facing one another.

As the train picks up speed, Izumi reflects on the events of the night. By and large, Izumi managed to act somewhat normal around Leo. The competitiveness the two of them exhibited during the gathering was just a staple of their relationship years ago⁠— Izumi and Leo used to regularly visit arcades just to see who would end up with the most tickets at the end of the night, and the loser would have to pay for both their dinners.

Izumi ends up staring at a spot just below Leo’s knee⁠, at a dark blue ink stain. It’s likely from Leo losing track of his pen and kneeling on it, causing the stain to spread beyond the point where the tip of the pen would touch the fabric. Once, Izumi lent Leo a sweatshirt when he stayed the night at Izumi’s house, and Leo made this exact mistake, bleeding ink into the sleeve of the clothing. Izumi just let Leo keep the sweatshirt.

(Izumi wonders if Leo still has it in his possession.)

*

Arms wrap around Izumi’s midsection as he takes out his textbooks from his locker, and he nearly drops them in surprise, his entire body flashing hot at the contact.

“Sena~,” Leo greets brightly. “I missed you last night!”

Izumi tries to shove Leo away from him, but Leo is stronger than he looks. “I had homework to do,” Izumi replies, his voice strained. “You know, something you should be doing too.”

“Who cares about such useless things when the universe is so expansive! I don’t want to learn about biology inside a boring room when I can just go outside and watch nature, and learn firsthand from the flowers and birds in the air!” Leo finally lets go of Izumi, just to gesticulate with his hands the flight the birds take.

“You’re lucky you’re a genius,” Izumi complains, putting the textbooks inside his bag. “You already have a job with that producer, you’re basically set for after graduation.”

“Stop caring about lame things like that, Sena!” Leo grabs ahold of Izumi’s hands. “We’re only second years, you should learn to enjoy life as it comes. Stop thinking so much about the future!”

“Again, easy for you to say,” Izumi grumbles. He doesn’t make Leo let go of his hands.

“Are you free tonight, at least?” Leo asks. “There’s a new ramen place that opened up by the arcade. Maybe you’ll pay for me tonight!”

“Yeah, whatever,” Izumi says. His tone is nonchalant, but internally, he’s grateful for the excuse to get out of his parents’ house. “We can head there after school ends.”

“Yay!” Leo cheers. “Free ramen, here I come!”

“Hey,” Izumi retorts. “What makes you so sure you’re going to win?”

“You’ve had a bad track record lately, Sena,” Leo says teasingly. He rubs his thumb against Izumi’s knuckles absentmindedly, and sparks flare at the contact. “Your performance last week was just disappointing!”

“Shut up,” Izumi says intelligently. The bell rings then, and Izumi is suddenly reminded that he has to actually go to class now. He⁠⁠ reluctantly⁠ lets go of Leo’s hands.

“I’ll see you later, Leo-kun. You should get to class too.” Izumi tells Leo this, but he can see that from the lack of a school bag, Leo has no plans to attend.

“See you later, Sena!” Leo walks away first, and Izumi stands there watching him leave the building, staring at the small expanse of his back.

*

“Leo-kun,” he says, quietly.

Leo’s head snaps up. There’s a flash of surprise in his eyes, and Izumi doesn’t blame him⁠— he didn’t think he would say anything either, until the name left his mouth. “Yeah?” Leo replies, an undercurrent of vexation in his tone.

“I⁠—” Izumi’s voice catches in his throat, and he clears it to try to sound more put-together. “I was thinking. Kuma-kun and Naru-kun seem pretty close.”

Leo crosses his arms. “So what?”

“Well, I don’t want whatever happened between us to affect them,” Izumi says. “We should⁠ try to pretend like high school didn’t happen, at least while we’re around them.”

Izumi risks a look at Leo’s face, and Leo is openly glaring at him, those green eyes piercing right through Izumi. “What the hell gives you the right to make these decisions?” His tone shakes with fury. “You don’t get to talk about what happened in high school as if you’re so far removed from it now.”

“I’m not saying that,” Izumi replies irritably, looking away at a sticker on the window of the train. “But it looks like we’ll probably be seeing each other more than we used to, and I don’t want this to hurt our friends.”

The train begins to slow down as it reaches the next stop, and Leo stands up⁠— this must be where he gets off.

“I don’t like it, but you’re right.” Leo states. “Just make sure I don’t have to see your face any more than absolutely necessary.” The doors open, and Leo steps off the train without bidding farewell.

Izumi stares at the empty seat Leo leaves behind for several moments after the train starts moving again.

Chapter Text

Izumi used to love that he has his own office, but now he would do anything to return to the constricting environment of working in a cubicle in a room with ten other people. At least in that situation, he’d be able to get slightly more work done. 

Izumi blames Arashi entirely for what happened to his office. She offhandedly mentioned to Ritsu that Izumi has his own office space, and ever since, his office has become the gathering area for for Arashi, Ritsu, and Tsukasa during the workday. Arashi has always come to bother him at work, but now Ritsu uses the office as a place to nap during the daytime, so there exists a pile of blankets and a pillow in the corner of the room. And now, there’s Tsukasa, who seems to come in solely to complain about Leo.

“He didn’t even show up to his meeting today!” Tsukasa exclaims, clearly vexed. “ I was the one who had to talk with the artists and their manager, and I didn’t even know what Leo-san had written for them!”

“Poor Suu-chan,” Ritsu says from within his pile of blankets. “You should come join me and take a nap, it’ll calm you down.” As if to prove a point, he yawns deeply. 

“Ritsu-san, it is ten o’clock in the morning,” Tsukasa replies. “You should be working , not sleeping.”

Ritsu sighs. “All I needed to do today was teach choreography to a group, but half the members got sick so I have nothing to do now.”

“Why don’t you just go home then, Ritsu-chan?” Arashi inquires, sitting on the corner of Izumi’s desk. 

“Secchan’s office is so comfortable and dark,” Ritsu replies. “I don’t want to get up and go home in the bright sunlight.” 

Izumi makes a noise of irritation. “Stop complaining about your lives and get out of my office.”

“I can’t do that, Sena-san!” Tsukasa says. “When I step out of here, I have to go find Leo-san, and I’m far too annoyed with him currently to want to see his face.”  

“Speaking of,” Arashi begins conversationally, “I’ve never actually seen Leo-kun in her⁠e— I wonder why.”

Izumi stiffens. He clicks out of his editing software to send an email, something he never voluntarily does⁠— but he’s trying to find a way to tune out of this conversation so he doesn’t react in too incriminating of a manner. 

It doesn’t work. 

“Tsukipi and Secchan have some bad blood between them,” Ritsu says, and the rustle of the blankets suggests he’s sitting up. “I don’t know what happened, but I’ve noticed they don’t like being in the same room with each other.”

“Oh!” Arashi exclaims. “I thought it was just me who noticed that!”

Izumi’s eye twitches. 

“They definitely don’t like each other,” Tsukasa chimes in. “Leo-san didn’t have a very positive reaction when he saw Sena-san at the work party.”

Izumi looks up at that. Leo saw him before they met at the party? 

Ritsu notices Izumi’s reaction. “Secchan, want to fill us in on your relationship?”

“No,” Izumi replies stonily. “Stop gossiping about me and Leo-kun and get out of my office so I can work.”

Arashi turns to face him, her eyes wide. “So you call him Leo-kun ! That’s an awfully familiar way to refer to someone you supposedly dislike!” 

Ritsu’s and Tsukasa’s eyes are also on Izumi, waiting for his response.

Izumi reaches into his desk to take out his noise-canceling headphones and puts them on, effectively silencing any further probing questions. 

*

Izumi scans his badge and presses the button to go up on the elevator. Only two hours ago, he got a meeting invite to discuss a new idol project, and to make matters worse, it’s in-person and not a meeting he can join from the sanctity of his office. 

When he arrives at the conference room, there’s already a few people present. Izumi easily identifies the idols, their bodies stiff with the anxiety of the unfamiliar setting. He greets them cordially, and takes a seat at the opposite end of the table and pulls out his laptop. 

More people file into the room, people Izumi vaguely recognizes from other projects he’s worked on, but not people he knows well enough to start up a conversation. While he waits for the meeting to start, he replies to a message from his mother, whose supposedly well-meaning text is laced with derision about his career choices. Someone sits down to his right as he slowly types out the message, trying to hold back the red-hot anger that wants to take control of his thumbs. 

The person leading the meeting, one of the creative directors, clears her throat as the clock strikes the hour. “Thank you all for being here.” She glances at the empty seat besides Izumi. “It looks like we’re still missing a person, but we can get started for now.”

She pulls up a presentation, and launches into an overview of their newest idol group and the concept that they’ve planned for the group. Halfway into her introduction of the members, the door swings open, and an unfortunately familiar face walks into the room. 

“Sorry I’m late!” Leo says brightly, shutting the door behind him. “I lost track of time.”

The creative director sighs. “Please just take a seat. Thankfully, you haven’t missed too much.”

Leo looks around the room, and his eyes steel as he spots the only open chair, right next to Izumi. He takes a seat beside him, flopping into the chair, and Izumi just tries his best to ignore him, pretend like he isn’t affected by his presence whatsoever, like the hairs on his arms aren’t standing up straight at the proximity. It’s difficult, because Leo spends a majority of the meeting scribbling in his notebook, clearly not paying attention to the presentation, and Izumi still feels far too attuned to his every move, making it harder to concentrate on the details of the presentation. 

“Izumi-san, you’ll take the lead with the concept photoshoots,” the creative director says, and Izumi nods in understanding, jotting down notes on the general styling and concept of the idol group, as well as some nebulous ideas for the future. 

“Leo-san, you’ll work on the composition for the lead single.” Leo’s head snaps up, and his eyes roam over the presentation⁠— and Izumi knows without a doubt that Leo has no idea what he’s been asked to write. 

Despite this, Leo still nods. “You got it!”

The meeting concludes shortly after, and Izumi feels stifled in the crowded room, waiting for a couple of people to leave the room to make his own exit swift and easy. 

“Were you even paying attention to the presentation?” Izumi hears the person to Leo’s other side speak to him, a teasing note to her voice. 

“Nah, not really,” Leo responds. “Do you have notes? I’ll just use that.”

“I didn’t take any notes— I’m not taking charge for anything on this project,” she replies. “You should ask Izumi-san. He’s usually the most diligent note-taker in any meeting, even when he’s not the lead for anything.”

Leo is silent for a few seconds, and Izumi feels a prickle run down the back of his neck, knowing that the two are looking at him. He stares resolutely at the glass door, pretending like he didn’t hear his name mentioned. 

“I’ll just ask the director later,” Leo finally replies. “It’s too much of a pain to deal with people I don’t know.”

Izumi walks out of the room then, not hearing the rest of the conversation, pretending like the words don’t hurt in a place he thought he’s forgotten about. 

*

Izumi steps off the train into a station that’s familiar to him, but it’s not the one near his apartment building. This station is closest to the beach, and Izumi often finds himself here after a long day⁠— sometimes to take photos, and other times to just sit and watch the waves roll into the sand. Today, he’s there to take photographs of the sunset against the ocean, and he lugs his camera bag with him on his walk to his favorite section of the shore. 

Even before he developed a passion for photography, this area was his favorite place to spend free time. It’s further away from the more populated and busy areas of the beach, and there’s a picnic table lodged in the sand with peeling blue paint. He would spend hours there by himself⁠, with his parents— or most often, with Leo. This was one of their favorite places to be together, and being in the area reminds Izumi of the best parts of his youth⁠, the optimism and energy he had⁠— and the love that he was once surrounded with. 

As he nears, he sees a figure sitting at the worn-down picnic table, and as he takes more steps forward, he can make out the distinctive silhouette of the ponytail Leo wears his hair in.

His next steps are hesitant. He remembers the fire in Leo’s eyes on the train, and Izumi has half a mind to turn around and head back home. He doesn’t want to spend another awkward, tense minute around Leo, but the trip he made to get to this spot is long , and he doesn’t want to turn back now. 

Leo looks up as he gets closer, and by this point, Izumi can make out his expression. It’s initially surprise, then something Izumi can’t quite interpret, and then his face finally transforms into irritation. He looks back down, and Izumi can see a spiral-bound notebook laying open on the picnic table. 

Izumi reaches the picnic table and wordlessly sets down his camera bag, avoiding acknowledging Leo’s presence. He opens the bag to pull out his camera and connects to it his lens that he purchased specifically for landscape photography. His job provides him with the lenses he needs for his daily tasks⁠— which are typically portraits or other forms of close-up shots⁠— but his telephoto lens and fish-eye lens are ones he bought with his own money.

He unfolds the tripod in his bag and sets up his camera to face the soon-to-set sun. It’s still too high in the sky for Izumi to start capturing images, but he gets his camera ready now so that he won’t have to waste any time doing it later. 

As he lodges the tripod in the gritty sand, he gets the sense that someone is looking at him. He looks over his shoulder to see Leo staring at Izumi, but he hastily returns his attention to his notebook. 

Since the sun is still at least twenty minutes away from setting, Izumi takes a seat at the picnic bench⁠— on the opposite corner of the table and about as far as he can get from Leo. This corner of the picnic table shows the brown wood underneath the paint, with only tiny flecks of blue paint remaining. He knows that if he feels around the underside of the picnic table, he can find the initials S. I. and T. L. They carved it in one summer, marking this spot as theirs and theirs alone. 

*

Izumi can’t look at himself, but he’s sure he looks like a mess. The wind is much stronger than usual today, and despite his best efforts, his hair definitely resembles a bird’s nest. 

Leo’s hair isn’t any better. Even though he has a hair-tie to keep his hair pulled back, the wind twists the ponytail back and forth to the point the elastic does nothing to keep the locks of hair out of his face. 

“Leo-kun, are you really going to be able to write anything with this wind?” Izumi almost has to shout to be heard over the wind. 

“Of course I can!” Leo says loudly. “In fact, this is giving me inspiration in its own way! There’s a beautiful melody in the wind!”

Izumi smiles to himself. That’s such a Leo response. 

They finally arrive at their spot of the beach. In this part of the shore, there’s an outcropping of rocks that shields them from the wind, and it’s no longer as loud as it was when they made the trek here. As usual, they set down all their belongings underneath the picnic table, and Leo digs in Izumi’s bag to find the notebook Izumi always carries around for him. Leo is certainly a genius, but he’s also incredibly forgetful, and Izumi inevitably has to take care of Leo’s belongings more than Leo does himself. 

Leo sits down with his notebook and one of Izumi’s pens (Izumi’s going to have to make sure that he gets the pen back from Leo before Leo forgets it somewhere), and Izumi takes a seat opposite him, his back to the ocean. Leo begins furiously writing, and Izumi rests his head on his hand, simply watching him. 

Leo has an intense look of concentration on his face as he scribbles, penning in music notes that Izumi isn’t well-versed in reading. Leo tried to teach him how to read music once, but Leo, being a genius and also someone with very little patience, got distracted by another composition while teaching Izumi something about signatures, and they never went back to it. 

Izumi is okay with it, however. He enjoys hearing Leo hum along to the notes he writes down, and in general, he enjoys the thrills of music much more when he gets to be in Leo’s company. Leo will point out the aspects of certain songs that Izumi should pay attention to, whether it’s the syncopation of the drum, a purposefully off-key instrument, or harmonies that give a song a certain emotion, but Izumi has to admit⁠— he enjoys hearing just how excited Leo gets over the music, the exuberant energy infectious.  

“Sena, try singing this,” Leo says suddenly, flipping the notebook around. 

Izumi blinks, glancing down at the incomprehensible lines of music on the page before looking back up at Leo. “I don’t know how to read any of this, how do you expect me to sing it?” 

“Right, I forgot you don’t know how to read music!” Leo laughs, and Izumi feels his brow twitch in irritation. “Here, I’ll sing it for you first.” He hums a short melody, and while it sounds bright and lively in Leo’s voice, there’s a soulfulness in the melody, something deeper and richer that Izumi can’t put a finger on. 

After concluding, Leo looks expectantly at Izumi. 

Izumi tries to parrot the music back. He knows he messed up some of the notes, discordant and off-key amidst the rest of the melody, but he stumbles through the line with some shred of dignity left. 

“Wow, you suck!” Leo says brightly. 

“Why the hell did you ask me to sing it then? You know I have no music experience.” Izumi scowls, irritated. 

“Geez, relax!” Leo puts his hands up at Izumi’s expression. “You actually have a beautiful voice, Sena.”

“Oh,” replies Izumi, not expecting such a straightforward compliment. “Thanks.”

“You just need some training, and you could be amazing!” Leo’s eyes sparkle, reflecting the beauty of the shining sea to Izumi’s back. “I imagined you singing this song while writing it, you know.”

Izumi flushes. “You did?”

Leo nods enthusiastically. “You were humming along to music while cooking when I was over at your place last week. It was the song from that movie we were watching! You suck now, but you can get loads better with practice, and then you can sing my songs. We can sing them together.”

The feverish warmth spreads from Izumi’s cheeks outwards until he’s sure his face resembles a strawberry. “Ugh, sometimes you say things I have no idea how to reply to,” he mutters.

“You don’t have to say anything!” Leo replies. “Having you here is enough.”

*

“When did you get into photography?” Leo asks suddenly. 

Izumi’s head snaps up. 

At Izumi’s silence, Leo continues. “You didn’t have any interest in it back in high school, so I was wondering.”

It takes a minute for Izumi to formulate a sentence, taken aback by Leo voluntarily choosing to talk to him. “It- it just started off with a mild interest, so I asked my parents for a camera.” Izumi shrugs. “They felt bad that I kept getting caught in the middle of their arguments, so they were willing to get me anything I asked for.”

Leo nods. “I remember your parents,” he says. “They did argue a lot.”

“Yeah,” Izumi says in agreement. “They never actually made an effort to stop when I was around, but the camera was a good excuse to get out of the house whenever they’d start up.”

“How are they doing now?” 

Izumi laughs wryly. “Divorced. Finally.” 

He doesn’t need to elaborate. Leo was present for many of the arguments Izumi’s parents would have⁠— Izumi can still remember him and Leo hanging out in Izumi’s room with the door closed, and the raised voices of his mother and father still permeating within the four walls. In those moments, Leo would always talk extra loudly and be clingier than usual, which Izumi knew was an attempt at distracting him from the battle outside. It never really worked, but he appreciated it nonetheless. 

Leo hums. He scribbles something that Izumi can’t make out. “You managed to make a portfolio strong enough to work at Yumenosaki within two years?”

“I guess.” Izumi shrugs. 

Leo looks up at Izumi, and Izumi struggles to meet his eyes. “That’s really impressive, Sena.”

Izumi’s ears burn at the compliment. “Thanks,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. 

Leo shuts his notebook. “I’ll get going now⁠— you can take your photos in peace.”

Izumi wracks his mind for anything⁠— anything he can say to get Leo to stay. This is the first proper conversation they’ve had in years . “You don’t— you don’t have to go. I’m fine with you staying.”

Leo rolls his eyes. “I’m glad you’re fine with my presence here.” He stands up and stretches, causing the fabric of his shirt to rise up and reveal a sliver of his stomach. 

Izumi eyes instinctively gravitate towards the exposed skin. He swallows, and tears his gaze away to look up at Leo. Despite Izumi’s back being to the sun, he can see the colors of the star slowly changing by the way Leo’s hair glows faintly.

“I do actually have somewhere to be tonight,” Leo says. “Suo would never let me hear the end of it if I skipped.”

Izumi huffs out a laugh. “He complains about you enough, don’t stress him out even more.”

“Suo would be fine, I’ve done worse than skipping meetings!” 

“It’s amazing how you say that with no remorse,” Izumi says, shaking his head. He’s naturally fallen into banter with Leo in a way he would have years ago, and a smile tugs at his lips at the thought. 

Leo has an unreadable expression on his face as he stares at the sky behind Izumi. This makes Izumi feel a twinge in his chest⁠— not long ago, he knew every expression of Leo’s, could tell how Leo was feeling based on whether his eyebrows were furrowed, or whether his hands would be moving as he spoke, but with the years they’ve spent apart, there are so many parts of Leo that Izumi doesn’t know anymore— a nearly complete puzzle with missing pieces, except Izumi can’t figure out what pieces he needs to search for. 

“The sun is setting,” Leo remarks. “Isn’t now a good time to start taking photos?” 

Izumi turns to face the sunset. Leo’s right⁠— the sun is grazing the horizon, and this intersection creates brilliant rays of pink and orange in the sky, reflecting onto the ocean waves. 

Izumi turns back around, but Leo is already walking away, too far for Izumi to call out to him. 

Izumi feels his shoulders slump. He forgot just how much energy Leo would bring to his life, and even this brief interaction leaves him yearning for more— even despite the years he spent surviving without him. He makes his way to his camera, where he preoccupies himself with his photography⁠— only stopping when the sky transitions from twilight to a murky violet. 

As he dismantles his camera setup, he notices a notebook with a light blue cover sitting on the picnic table. Izumi draws closer, and sees the characters of Leo’s name written in the bottom right corner. It doesn’t appear to be Leo’s handwriting, as the penmanship is far neater than Leo’s— if Izumi had to guess, he’d assume it’s Tsukasa’s. 

Izumi knows he should respect Leo’s privacy and not open the journal, but the more impulsive part of his brain wins over and he flips to the first page. It’s a little anticlimactic to see what’s inside, as it’s all scribbled staffs of music that Izumi barely knows how to decipher. He carefully flips through the pages, and stops when he reaches a page of hastily scrawled lyrics. He sometimes forgets that Leo, while being a gifted composer, is also a skilled lyricist⁠. 

Izumi’s eyes catch on a line⁠:

Never being expressed... these words hidden in my heart.

Your soft smile... it moves my heart because⁠—

He shuts the book. He doesn’t need to know who Leo writes these lyrics for. 

He doesn’t care. 

(He doesn’t have the right to care anymore.)

*

As Izumi eats his breakfast the next morning, he stares at the blue journal sitting on the table. He brought it home with him the previous night with plans to return it to Leo, but now that daytime has come, Izumi feels unsure at the prospect of seeking out Leo at the company. The meeting yesterday was a complete coincidence, and Izumi doesn’t know whether it’s appropriate for him to try to meet Leo deliberately. 

When he gets on the train headed to work, he sends a message to Tsukasa. 

Me • 7:28 am

Kasa-kun. Do you know where Leo-kun will be working today?

Tsukasa responds almost immediately, which Izumi expects. Tsukasa spends way too much time on his phone.

Kasa-kun • 7:28 am

Leo-san should be in the recording booths all day. 

Why are you asking, Sena-san?

Izumi rolls his eyes and types out a vague response. 

Me • 7:30 am

I need to return something of his. 

Kasa-kun • 7:30 am

What item of his do you have?

Izumi leaves him on read. He already knows this conversation is going to become gossip fodder— he doesn’t need to add fuel to the fire. 

*

His company ID card gets him into every part of the building, but Izumi’s never been in the area dedicated to music production. As he walks through the halls to get to the recording booths, he feels entirely out of place amongst the rooms of instruments and microphones. 

He finally reaches the set of recording booths. There’s two walls of glass⁠— one looking into the rooms from the hallway, and another layer of glass between the middle room and the actual recording booth. Izumi almost doesn’t find Leo, but he then catches a hint of bright hair underneath a beanie, and even though his back is turned to Izumi, he easily recognizes Leo sitting in the chair. He appears to be giving instructions to a man inside the booth⁠— Izumi vaguely recognizes him as a member of an up-and-coming idol group. 

Izumi stands outside the window, simply watching Leo in his element⁠. Leo gestures with self-assuredness, and even though Izumi can’t hear anything he’s saying, there’s a confidence in the way he moves, in the way he points his pen or in the set of his shoulders. 

Izumi’s hands tighten on the notebook involuntarily. 

Leo leans back, presumably to listen to the idol sing his line. He rocks from side to side in the swivel chair, something Izumi knows he always does when he sits in one. Izumi doesn’t know how long he’ll be able to stand outside the studio without raising suspicion, but he doesn’t want to interrupt the session. 

(Moreover, he’s enjoying seeing Leo in his element.)

Izumi stands outside the window for a couple more minutes before a staff member walks up to him. 

“Excuse me, sir,” she says, snapping Izumi’s attention away from Leo and towards her face. “Unless you have business here, you can’t loiter around the recording studios.”

“I’m waiting for a fri- an acquaintance,” Izumi replies. He hopes the other didn’t notice his stumble, and lifts his lanyard with his ID to show to the woman. “I work here.” 

The woman sighs, clearly not getting paid enough to want to pursue this issue further. “Please try to leave soon.” She nods a farewell, and walks down the hallway. 

When Izumi looks back through the glass, Leo seems to have noticed him⁠— his eyebrows are furrowed in confusion as he stares back at Izumi. Izumi lifts up the notebook, hoping that the act is enough explanation. Leo’s eyes light up with recognition, and he exchanges a few words with the other people in the studio before getting up from his chair and heading to the door.

Leo steps out into the hallway and shuts the door behind him. “Hey.”

“You left your notebook at the beach last night,” Izumi says, almost too quickly. He holds it out to Leo. 

“Oh, thanks for bringing it back,” Leo replies, taking the proffered item. He flips through the pages. “Did you look inside?” 

Izumi’s heart rate picks up. He considers lying, but Leo’s eyes bore into his own, and Izumi knows that he wouldn’t be able to convince Leo of the contrary. 

“A little,” Izumi decides to say.

Leo stares at Izumi. 

“Sorry.” 

It’s brutally silent. Leo doesn’t say anything, and strangely, a red flush begins to creep up his neck. 

“I’ll- I’ll get going,” Izumi says eventually, gesturing behind him. His ears are burning. “Bye.” 

He turns around to walk away, but Leo finally speaks. “Wait!”

Izumi turns back⁠— embarrassingly rapidly⁠— to face Leo again. 

“Sorry,” Leo says, chuckling awkwardly. “I was just⁠— surprised.”

“Don’t apologize,” Izumi says. “I shouldn’t have looked inside.”

Leo laughs, bright and familiar. “It’s okay, I would have looked too!”

There’s a pause, and for the first time, it’s not uncomfortable. 

“I have to go back inside,” Leo says, eventually. "Thanks, again!"

Izumi nods. “Yeah.”